This week's topics include: the Optimist column;  tariffs; party power; public access.

Optimist, 11 March. Link here. Michelle Obama and Parker Curry, age 2. The Peace Teacher in Lafayette Elementary School in Washington, D.C. Ditching high heels (sales down 12%, sneaker sales up 37% last year). Quebec's doctors demand less pay, and more.
     While I was not overly impressed by Ms. Obama's portrait at the National Gallery, you had to love how young Parker was so totally captivated. Their later dance was, of course, a You Tube hit. One wonders how, some years distant, Parker will remember her moment in history.

Tariffs. George Will writes pithily about the president's proposals, forthrightly noting some "true" facts you have not heard from the administration about domestic "winners and losers." More than a few in Washington, Democrats and Republicans alike, have voiced their opposition and the list of exempted nations is growing.

Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Not since the days of Stalin and Mao Zedong has a communist party been so feared as seems to be reoccurring in Xi Jinping's China when he recently declared "...the party is the leader of all..." and reformist groups began to fall into line. The full effect of his statement will surely be felt when, at Xi's behest, the CCP amends the constitution to abolish his current two-term limit. Indeed, on Monday, Foreign Policy reported that, in its annual sitting, China's National People's Congress amended the constitution to eliminate presidential term limits.  Xi Jinping can remain president for as long as he wants.
     Interestingly, the vote was not unanimous. "Out of 2,964 votes ...two delegates voted no, and three abstained." (5 votes, .002%) Truly, was this a "vote your conscience" or a programmed show of "democracy in action?"
     As China struggles to modernize, "...critics question whether the country’s authoritarian political system can establish an educational system that fosters the kind of creativity and critical thinking needed in a modern economy. Xi’s crackdown on independent thought has only deepened their suspicions." The horrendous damage of the Cultural Revolution is not all that distant. The linked article on Shantou University speaks to this momentous period of Chinese history.

Pubic access. Here in the west, we often just assume that public access is a given. Some have experienced a good day when we were able to go somewhere to see something wonderful, a national park, national forest, even a pedestrian path around a lake or pond, e.g. Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park or Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. A challenge: "Vinod Khosla, the influential technology investor, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, has been battling California regulators and environmental advocates for years over access to Martin’s Beach, a picturesque cove about 30 miles south of San Francisco." Some think money always speaks in their favor!

Thank you for reading. Happy St. Patrick's Day.