John Brown's Notes and Essays

From an article:  By  Peggy Noonan July 30, 2020 6:51 pm ET, The Wall Street Journal,  https://www.wsj.com/articles/burn-the-republican-party-down-11596149482?mod=followpeggynoonan Extract: "Where did Donald Trump come from? ... Mr. Trump’s election came from two unwon wars, which constituted a historic foreign-policy catastrophe, and the Great Recession, which those in power, distracted by their mighty missions, didn’t see coming until it arrived with all its wreckage. He came from the decadeslong refusal of both parties’ leadership to respect and respond to Americans’ anxieties, from left and right, about illegal immigration. He came from bad policy and bad stands on crucial issues. He came from the growing realization of on-the-ground Americans that neither party seemed to feel any particular affiliation with or loyalty to them, that both considered them lumpen bases to be managed and manipulated. He came from the great and increasing social and cultural distance betwe...

Soda giant to push into alcoholic beverages with its Topo Chico brand The company plans to first try out Topo Chico hard seltzer in Latin America. PHOTO:  COCA-COLA By  Jennifer Maloney July 30, 2020 1:12 pm ET  The Wall Street Journal   https://www.wsj.com/articles/coca-cola-to-launch-hard-seltzer-drink-11596129143?mod=lead_feature_below_a_pos1   Coca-Cola  Co.   KO  -0.80%   said it plans to launch a boozy version of its Topo Chico sparkling water in the U.S. next year, plunging the soda giant into the market for alcoholic beverages. With the move, the company joins the fray of beverage giants vying for market share as consumers flock to hard seltzer for its minimal calories and lower alcohol level. Americans spent $3 billion on hard seltzer in U.S. retail stores in the 52 weeks ended July 11, up 241% from a year earlier, according to Bump Williams Consulting Co. The market is dominated by White Claw, owned by Mike’s Hard Lemonade Co....

Image from article: Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos; Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg; Google chief executive Sundar Pichai; and Apple chief executive Tim Cook " At Wednesday’s much-anticipated  hearing on technology monopolies  before the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Apple’s Tim Cook all took their lumps. But the normally fractious panel united in a withering, bipartisan barrage against Pichai, the CEO of Google ... Bezos, who also owns The Post, handled them [the lawmakers] all with grace and aplomb. Also, he was handsome, charming and well-dressed." Bezos image (not from article) from Decan Herald https://www.deccanherald.com/international/customer-obsession-has-made-us-what-we-are-statement-by-amazons-jeff-bezos-to-us-congress-on-antitrust-law-867219.html   -- Opinion by Dana Milbank, The Washington Post, July 29, 2020 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/29/how...

By  Robin Givhan Fashion critic The Washington Post  https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/tech-titans-gave-their-house-testimony-virtually-but-it-was-the-congressmen-who-departed-from-reality/2020/07/29/dd9f95fe-d1a8-11ea-9038-af089b63ac21_story.html , July 29, 2020 at 6:18 p.m. EDT The congressional hearing starring the country’s tech titans began as so many video conferences have in the midst of a pandemic, with the chief executives of Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple appearing like tiny talking heads on a digital grid with neither charm nor grandeur. They spoke of their companies’ modest beginnings, of achieving the American Dream and of the unique wonders of capitalism. Because they didn’t march into the wood-paneled committee room with its high ceiling and leather chairs where they would have been swarmed by a phalanx of photographers and trailed by a clutch of attorneys, the men seemed less consequential than they actually are. Technology, which has brought t...

Masks were  common in some Western cities  during the 1918 flu pandemic and mandatory in San Francisco. There was  even a jingle : “Obey the laws, wear the gauze. Protect your jaws from septic paws.” “A libertarian movement, the  Anti-Mask League , emerged,” Dr. Lincoln of San Francisco State said. “There were fistfights with police officers over it.” Ultimately, city officials “waffled” and compliance faded. Text from:   https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/health/coronavirus-future-america.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage ; image from  https://www.google.com/search?q=outrageous+masks+trump&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiiwOmylPPqAhXQC98KHXwmA6sQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=outrageous+masks+trump&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoCCAA6BggAEAUQHjoGCAAQCBAeOgQIABAeUOVtWOuGAWD8igFoAHAAeACAAT6IAfQCkgEBN5gBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=EskhX6LvDdCX_Ab8zIzYCg&bih=403&biw=875&hl=en#imgrc=H8AXByIZkOa7OM

The New York Times; scroll down link for item  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/world/coronavirus-covid-19.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage ; see also: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/28/us/covid-19-colleges-universities.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage A Times survey of every public four-year college in the country, as well as every private institution that competes in Division I sports or is a member of an elite group of research universities, revealed at least 6,300 cases tied to about 270 colleges over the course of the pandemic. And the new academic year has not yet begun at most schools.   There is no standardized reporting method for cases and deaths at colleges, and the information is not being publicly tracked at a national level. Of nearly 1,000 institutions contacted by The Times, some had already posted case information online, some provided full or partial numbers and others refused to answe...

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press By  Frank Bruni Opinion Columnist Almost anywhere in America that you look, you see strivers who weren’t born here and didn’t have roots here but made the decision to come here anyway, and that wasn’t some whim. That wasn’t some fluke. They came because they had taken the measure of this messy planet and determined that our patch of earth held more opportunity than any other — that it was their best bet. They work in your go-to restaurant. They operate the dry cleaner that you rely on. They’re scientists in laboratories that might be the cradle of a coronavirus cure. They’re financiers. All had their reasons for faith in America, and many had that faith rewarded. Has Donald Trump soiled the welcome mat for them? Yes. But it’s beyond his power (or competence) to erase completely decades of an openness that has made this country so alive with possibility and so thrillingly diverse. That aspect of America is bigger than he is. I cling to the hope — no...