Four thousand weeks, two months on the road, and one wide-open midterm

There is more to life than the 24 hour news cycle

Checking back in with all of you as we close out spring and head into what looks like a long, hot summer.

The truth is, I’ve barely been home. Over the last two months I’ve logged more miles than I can remember in any stretch of my life:

• France, for Amy’s birthday.

• Boston, for the retirement of one of my favorite professors from 25 years ago.

• Lexington, Kentucky — my hometown — to watch the Texas women’s softball team win the SEC Championship.

• And a long Memorial Day weekend in Chicago, where my sister-in-law sang the National Anthem and my father-in-law was honored on the big board, out on the field, as the hero of the game during the third inning.

In my travels this spring, I managed to snag my first foul ball at an MLB game.

I can’t recall another two-month stretch where I’ve been away from home — and away from the 24 hour news, and my normal routine — as much as I have been lately. And here’s the strange part: it was both refreshing and disheartening at the same time.

Let me give you a few examples.

The last time I was really plugged in this spring was the final weekend of February, when we launched what was supposed to be a very quick war in Iran to disarm their nuclear capability. Here we are on June 3rd, and instead I’ve come home to a never-ending series of Trump and a seemingly ineffective negotiating style that has sent energy prices spiking around the world. This morning’s Wall Street Journal carried reports from the OECD warning of possible recessions stretching into 2027.

At the same time, I fear the souring of our 250th anniversary as a country. Our president seems intent on making it about him — and less about the achievements of the world’s most successful and longest-running democracy.

I consider Jon Stewart the Mark Twain of our time. On Monday, he did a great job of summarizing the season of political turmoil.

But here’s what stepping away gave me. With that time, I tried to fill the void and seek meaning in ways that reminded me how precious life really is.

A friend recommended the book Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. As a self-confessed productivity geek — always hunting for the right life hack to squeeze more out of a day — this book hit me like a lightning bolt. The premise is that we’ve become so over-engineered by modern technology that we’ve forgotten to step back. The shift Burkeman asks for is simple but profound: stop thinking about how you’re using your time, and start thinking about how your time could be using you — in a more fulfilling way.

I’m only on Chapter 3, and I already love it. I recommend it to you. (Here is a quick Ted Talk from the author if you don’t have time for the book)— I recommend you make the time. In a world of endless political noise, Burkeman reminds us that finite time is best spent on what actually builds the tomorrow we want

Looking forward

There are still a lot of answers that remain out of reach.

The political landscape is a head-scratcher. It’s hard to know what happens in November. Will enough people — Democrats, independents, and Republicans alike — feel the exhaustion and still have the energy for one more season of political push? That’s what would let the midterms become a defining moment in our nation’s history.

With the primary losses of Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and our own Senator John Cornyn here in Texas, I think space may be opening up — if only behind the scenes — for Republicans to push back and try to check the administration in a number of areas. We’ve already seen signs of it: the $1.8 billion slush fund for January 6th rioters, as it’s been described, looks set to meet an untimely end.

But the larger question remains. And the Senate race here in Texas is the one to watch: James Talarico versus Ken Paxton.

The Paxton crew has a number-one mantra they’re running on loop — an older clip of Talarico talking about meat and meat products, and about the unknown nature of God, and the controversy that sparked. It’s already been packaged into a scathing campaign ad, and it’s going to be a tough video to overcome once it starts spreading in MAGA circles.

Here’s what more people need to realize: Paxton isn’t even in that video. He never speaks. He never moves. The whole thing is Talarico’s own footage — and Paxton himself only shows up at the very end, in a photo standing next to Trump. But if Democrats not careful, Republicans will run those clips over and over, and if that’s all everyday voters see, Talarico is likely to lose. A Senate seat that shapes AI investment, energy jobs, and education funding for the next generation for our kids’ future.

Think about what that would mean. The U.S. Senate could be filled by a Trump acolyte who was not only indicted by his own Republican-controlled state legislature, but who stood alongside Trump as a speaker at January 6th. I honestly can’t think of a lower point. Many of his own former staffers have said publicly that he should go — including Congressman Chip Roy, who once served as Paxton’s first assistant attorney general. As Roy put it: “For the good of the people of Texas and the extraordinary public servants who serve at the Office of the Attorney General, Attorney General Ken Paxton must resign.”

Whether you’re a Republican tired of the chaos or a Democrat ready for new energy, the real question is whether we show up.

We’re going to need to motivate a lot of people that don’t vote to vote.

We’re also going to convince a lot of our neighbors to vote outside their party lines.

The work that doesn’t wait for November

While many of us keep our attention on the midterms, there’s still real work to be done in the workforce — specifically, coming together as a community to talk honestly about the impact of AI data centers and their explosive growth.

Here’s a fact worth sitting with: if it weren’t for AI and the investments it’s driving nationwide, many experts believe our economy would already be in a recession right now.

As my last newsletter argued, AI has become the new fracking.

Data Centers Are the New Fracking. We Should Talk About That.

I’d encourage you to read the 100-plus comments I received on the LinkedIn post about that article. What struck me — and you’ll appreciate this, having read this far — is that it was obvious many of the people commenting never read the actual newsletter (imagine that!) They took the headline and formed their own opinions. If anything, that’s an indictment of where we are today.

Over to you

Let me know what you’re seeing out there. I’m genuinely curious where people are putting their energy this summer and into the fall, as we head toward a midterm cycle that matters.

What’s the most exciting race where you live? What should I be paying attention to and highlighting in future newsletters?

Hit reply. I read every one.

Take care,

Joseph

Joseph Kopser

Co-Founder of USTomorrow

Joseph Kopser is a lifelong problem solver committed to building the teams needed to take on our toughest challenges. He is currently President of Grayline after he co-founded and served as CEO of RideScout, before it was acquired by Mercedes. He served in the U.S. Army for 20 years earning the Combat Action Badge, Army Ranger Tab and Bronze Star. He is a graduate of West Point with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and also received a Masters from the Harvard Kennedy School and former member of the Army Science Board. He was recognized as a White House Champion of Change for his efforts in Energy and Transportation as well as won the U.S. DOT Data Innovation Award. He co-authored the book, Catalyst, a book focused on helping teams adapt to change. He is the Chair of the Board of Advisors for the CleanTX, an economic development and professional association for energy innovation. In 2025, Joseph was selected for the Texas Business Hall of Fame Future Texas Business Legend Award. Joseph and his wife of 31 years, Amy, live in Austin and they are extremely proud of their three adult daughters living their best lives.