Optimist. Last two weeks' link 27 January and link 20 January.
Notable dates:
16 January 1978: NASA named 35 astronauts for the space shuttle program, including Sally K. Ride (1st woman) and Guion S. Bluford Jr. (1st African American), both of whom would later fly.
17 January 1946: UN Security Council for first time.
20 January 1945: FDR inaugurated for 4th term.
21 January 1789: 1st American novel, WH Brown's "Power of Sympathy" is published. 2008: Black Monday on Wall Street.
22 January 1946: President Truman establishes the CIA. 1973: Roe v. Wade decided.
23 January 1973: President Nixon announced the Vietnam Peace Accord.
24 January 1984: debut of Apple's Mac personal computer.
25 January 1890: NY Times reporter Nellie Bly completed her 72 days, 6 hours and 11minute trip around the world. 1915: America's first official transatlantic telephone was completed between Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant, Thomas Watson, NYC to San Francisco.
27 January 1951: the USAF air-dropped an atomic bomb on Frenchman Flat, Nevada; 1967: US astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee died in a flash fire on the Apollo launch pad.
28 January 1878: First daily college newspaper, Yale News, was published; 1980: Six US diplomats hiding in the Canadian embassy in Tehran were safely smuggled out of Iran; 1986: Space shuttle, Challenger, exploded moments are launch, killing all seven crew members, including school teacher, Christa McAuliffe.
29 January 1863: The Bear River Massacre took place as the U.S. Army attacked Shoshone in present-day Idaho.
A world date to remember: 27 January marked the 74th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz holocaust complex by the Soviet army.
29 January 1820: King George III (aged 81), remembered as having "lost the American colonies," died at Windsor Castle.
State of the Union, no more? One would not expect this blunt condemnation from a Democrat-turned Republican, the president of Purdue University, and former governor of Indiana. Daniels opines that certain national civic ceremonies can be uplifting occasions (e.g. wreath-layings, outdoor naturalization ceremonies, state funerals, inaugurations); that a "fractured country needs, if anything, more such
moments for reflection on common bonds and mutual obligations. Events
that dignify, unify and signify our membership in this special polity,
and all the reasons we should be grateful for it, faults and all. Mark
me down as a big fan of them."
However, "The State of the Union is [now] a tasteless, classless spectacle. It must go...[I]t diminishes rather than elevates respect for the United States and its institutions." Daniels would prefer Trump taking a cue from Thomas Jefferson and "sending" his speech to Congress in writing. If this year's speech is delivered in the House, it would be highlighted by the Speaker very rarely applauding or "popping up," while the Vice President would look like a tall, perpetual bobble-head figurine. Indeed, the ever-narcissistic Trump might tailor his speech so as to keep "Nancy" seated as much as possible.
Trump's Wall. Kathleen Parker's column began, "When F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, 'Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me,' he inadvertently foreshadowed the government shutdown of 2018-2019." There were more than a few public statements by the President and his family, cabinet members, and administration made that point, over and over and over. For example, Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce (who pads around in hand-crafted velvet slippers), seemed dismayed that furloughed workers would turn to a food bank rather than simply taking out a loan. There were numerous others who "shot themselves in the foot!"
Federalism at the border. Danielle Allen, noting we have a federal system, suggested a novel idea: "Let [the] border states figure out our border security policy." They are, after all, right there on the border!
Russia and Serbia. Foreign Policy writers Una Hajdari and Michael Colborne note that President Putin's recent state visit to Serbia turned into something of a love fest. The Serbian autocrat, President Aleksandar Vucic, gave Putin a puppy and a traditional local brandy named for him. Vucic wanted Putin to feel good about being in Serbia and assured his Russian guest that "all those people out there" had come to see him. Left unsaid -- again -- was Vucic's felt need to seek integration into the EU. Balkan politics has always been a messy, hazy business, the tug of western Europe and the large neighbor to the East.
Davos, a leaderless world? Fareed Zakaria reports from this year's annual meeting in Davos that the meeting was "subdued, cautious and apprehensive." No US or French presidents, a lame duck German chancellor, a dithering, distracted English government, only a figure-head Chinese vice president, no leaders from Russia, Turkey, or Saudi Arabia.
Indeed, "the one area of consistent optimism among the attendees remains technology." This was expounded on, not by governmental leaders, but by various corporate heads heavily involved in artificial intelligence. Several leaders of smaller countries said, "When the Americans are engaged, we have a sense of direction. We might disagree on some points, but at least there is a larger conversation, some efforts at cooperation. Now the only energy is negative — worries about retreat, trade wars. That’s not a world in which it is easy for us to move forward. We are all stuck.”
Sheriffs' revolts. This controversy involves local sheriffs deciding whether or not duly enacted state laws need be enforced in their area, so-called "sheriffs' revolt." Link to story about Washington state.
New Cairo, Egypt. There are plans for a new, Singapore-sized Egyptian capital some 49km east of Cairo. Foreign Policy dubbed it "an elephant in the desert." One unannounced purpose might be to shield the government from "Old Cairo," massively congested and perennially volatile. Who can afford/want to move into the desert is more problematical.
Capitalism's newest iteration: surveillance capitalism. Technology is being increasingly scrutinized as its tentacles spread further and further. This article discusses this latest iteration by Shoshana Zuboff, "a professor emerita of the Harvard Business School, the author of 'The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power.'" Add this to your list of AI-related (artificial intelligence) articles.
Next round of teachers' strikes. This time the strike is in the nation's second largest school district (600,000 + students, 30,000 teachers), Los Angeles, a predominantly Hispanic (73%), Democratic-leaning district. Though last year's strikes were in Republican-leaning AZ, KY, OK and WV, major bones of contention in Los Angeles are largely the same: teacher pay, support staff, and infrastructure conditions. Teachers in the city have been working for over a year without a contract. Closer to home, Denver classrom teachers are also considering striking for better pay/working conditions.
Margaret Thatcher : Conservative party : England :: Elizabeth Warren : Democratic party : United States. Columnist George Will seems to think it is a fair comparison, if the Democrats "dare." Warren's "progressiveness" equates to an "inverted Thatcherism." Will is really pointing to a long, protracted, arduous, and acrimonious primary season for Democrats in 2020. Also see Richard Epstein on Senator Warren.
Thank you for reading. Endure this latest cold snap.
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