The topics for this tardy pose: Wells Fargo; no dollars for Zika; playing the media; Nov 8th: an important date for the world; the non-extant no call lists; reading, non-fiction re the Wright Brothers and Marco Polo.

Wells Fargo. In his Wednesday Washington Post column, Dana Milbank discusses the testimony ( and profuse non-explanations) of the Wells Fargo CEO, John Stumpf, before the Senate Banking Committee. Stumpf provided a perfect example of what the mythical "little guy" [hereafter, MLG] sees as wrong with his America. Milbank: "A [v]enerable Wells Fargo has engaged in behavior that would have made a robber baron blush." Which is saying something, looking back at those 0.1% in America's early Industrial Age.

Zika. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has sadly related how "[Health and Human Services] Secretary [Sylvia Mathews] Burwell had to do something she really did not want to do. She had to take money using her transfer authority from cancer, diabetes, heart disease and mental health and give it to us to be able to continue to prepare the sites for the [Zika] vaccine trials that we will be performing.” 
     If you are the MLG living in a mosquito-prone, potentially Zika infested area, you may well view Fauci's revelations as just more proof that Congress "just doesn't know, doesn't care."

Trump and the media. Donald Trump is a confirmed capitalist and, naturally, figured out precisely how to get the free publicity to feed his campaign! It might be noted, though, that he will gratefully accept any/all financial advantages made possible by the current tax code -- even insure more helpful provisions are added.




Importance of November 8th. E.J. Dionne's column (September 22nd) stresses the importance of this vote for the world. "This sounds like melodrama. It isn’t. And while it may ring familiar — citizens of other countries always tell us how important our electoral verdicts are to them — [but] Donald Trump requires us to make a judgment more monumental than any we have faced in our lifetimes."

No Call List??? Irving Berlin wrote, "All alone / By the telephone / Waiting for a ring" Alas, that was in the days before robo-calls ringing from heaven knows where. The public demanded a national " no call" list for their landlines and then demanded it be expanded to include their cell phone numbers. Congress, of course, caved in and exempted charities, political organizations, et. al.
     I have one friend whose family pressed him to finally get a cell phone -- largely for emergency purposes, since he likes to take long, solo walks in the woods. Only four people in his immediate family have that cell phone number, but he is already getting unwanted solicitation calls from all sorts of people/organizations.
     Time for another disgruntled letter to my US representative and both senators.

Reading, non-fiction. I just finished The Wright Brothers, by the eminent historian, David McCullough. First, a note: because I travel so much, I tend to read Kindle editions.
     Hopefully everyone is familiar with the general story of Orville and Wilbur Wright. The more detailed story McCullough tells will be enlightening. Most readers may be unfamiliar with the brothers' early struggles, their initial limited successes, and their relationships with other well- and lesser-known pioneers of flight, especially the early French aeronauts. I suspect few are aware of the years they spent abroad -- again, largely in France -- and the deep adoration of the French for them and their achievements. Their sister, Katherine, spent much time with them in France, learning the language, ever the adored intermediary.
     The patent law suits and the wealth amassed by the Wright brothers may also be an eye opener. Their diligent perseverance to flight is an integral part of the world we now have. Theirs was a  slower-paced world; indeed, they had more time to ponder and appreciate what their heavier-than-air machine was bringing to the world. Orville was the longer-lived (1871-1948), living to see the massive air power of WW II and rocketry. He deeply lamentied the mass destruction that air power made possible.
   I have now delved into Marco Polo (by Milton Rugoff), another well-known travel tale. Like McCullough, I am certain Rugoff will add much to my knowledge of Marco's 20+ year overland journey to/from Asia. Does not a trip a slow, multi-year treck seem unreal in today's fast-paced world?

Thank you for reading. My next post will be after the upcoming visit from my family.