The March of Progress

In the 1950s, a 5MB storage device weighed over a ton. Today, that’s the size of a typical iPhone photo.

OAN Asks the Hard Questions...Really?

One America News (OAN) is a family-owned, far-right, pro-Trump news channel popular with many in the MAGA base. President Trump also loves the network; so much so, that his administration plans to publish news from OAN on the Voice of America and other U.S.-run media. So, it is salient what plays on OAN.

On foreign policy, MAGA's views on Israel appear to be shifting after Netanyahu's pre-emptive attack on Iran that threatened to embroil the U.S. in another Mideast war. In a further sign of unease with Israeli policies that are at odds with MAGA's "America's First" tenant, OAN host Matt Gaetz (the controversial ex-Congressman and Trump acolyte) ran a segment titled: How Many Americans Do Israeli Settlers Have to Kill Before We Care? The report covered the killing of 20-year old Palestinian-American Saif Musallet in the West Bank that Gaetz called an act of terrorism. Gaetz also talks about broader attacks on Palestinians by Israel with U.S. tax dollars...so, OAN doing hard-hitting news now?

The Resistance Begins with Jerome Powell?

The Federal Reserve is, arguably, the most important financial institution in the world. It is responsible for managing America's monetary policy, monitoring and regulating the nation's banks, and maintaining the stability of the U.S. financial system (and by extension, the global financial system; because what happens in the U.S. never stays in the U.S.). But the Fed is also, by design, a staid and dispassionate institution; run by bland, competent technocrats. It's the last place you'd think to find fodder for The Daily Show. And yet, here was Jason Klepper recently doing an extended segment on Trump's beef with Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Klepper jokes that Trump's so angry with Powell, you' think he caught him with [Melania] at a Coldplay concert!! 

Trump's dissatisfaction with Powell stems from the fact he refuses to do the President's bidding and lower interest rates as demanded. Powell is strictly apolitical, which irks Trump no end. After all, Big Law, major media companies, and even the Supreme Court have effectively bowed to Trump. So why not the Fed Chair, who Trump himself appointed? Moreover, Powell has refused to step down before his term is finished next year and has steadfastly maintained he will fight any attempt to remove him. That sounds like a challenge, but Trump realizes that firing a Fed Chair (even if he had the authority to do so) is a huge risk for the economy. Fed independence is a core part of the U.S. financial system and Wall Street has come to Powell's defense. So, is Powell, of all people, the hero the Resistance has been waiting for?

 

Live Aid: The Day Music United the World

Today (July 13), marks the 40th anniversary of that historic event--a bold audacious musical spectacle to raise funds for a "biblical" famine in Ethiopia that would kill 1.2 million people. Conceived and organized by Irish rockstar Bob Geldof, Live Aid "was two epic concerts held in London and Philadelphia" on the same day. Geldof persuaded "many of the world’s most top artists at the time to play for free, including Queen, David Bowie, Madonna, the Who, Elton John, Tina Turner and Paul McCartney." The two shows were seen by over 160,000 people live and by 1.5 billion people on TV in over 150 countries (~a third of the world's population at the time), raising more than $140 million (the government of the UAE, incidentally, was the single biggest donor).

While the horror of that devastating famine is thankfully behind us, Live Aid remains a cultural touchstone. In all 70 artists performed live over 16 hours at Wembley and JFK Stadium. The complete set list for both venues is here. While there were many great performances, by consensus three stand out:

3. David Bowie: Following Queen (see below) at 7:20pm in the evening his set included energetic renditions of TVC-15, Rebel/ Rebel, Modern Love, and a memorable version of Heroes, which became the event's anthem of sorts. Bowie was supposed to play five songs but agreed to cut one "so that his time could be used to show documentary footage of the famine in Ethiopia instead." Bowie quietly introduces the clip (set to the Car's Drive) after Heroes and asks people to send their money in. It was a somber reminder to everyone watching about the gravity of the situation. Apparently, that's when the donations came flooding in.

 

2. U2: Bono was already changing the world, but the band's performance "not only showcased their musical prowess but also cemented Bono as a passionate activist." U2 was set to play at least three songs, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bad, and Pride. However, Bono famously jumped into the crowd to help/dance with a fan during “Bad,” turning what could have been a musical disaster into an emotional and unforgettable moment. Years later, drummer Larry Mullen remarked: "It was kind of excruciating. We didn’t know whether we should stop, we didn’t know where he was, we didn’t know if he had fallen.” After Bono went AWOL for several minutes the rest of the band heroically filled in a very elongated (11-minutes long) version of Bad that "so searing" it cemented the band's reputation. The downside was it meant they didn't have time to play Pride. And Bono does have one regret from that day.

3. Queen: The best live performance in the history of music? Yeah, everyone agrees it probably was; certainly on that night, at least. Pete Townshend: "Queen were in the middle of a tour, walked out there, took the whole thing, and turned it into an advert for themselves. Dave Grohl: “Queen smoked ’em. They just took everybody. They walked away being the greatest band you’d ever seen in your life, and it was unbelievable.” But it almost wasn't, as Queen initially backed out of playing. They did in the end and rest is history...

Interestingly, all three played almost one after the other. So, it must have been the most electrifying portion of an already amazing event. The Wembley evening playlist was:

U2

Dire Straits

Queen

David Bowie

Elton John

Freddy Mercury & Brian May

Paul McCartney

Band Aid Finale

EU vs USA

There are many major cultural differences between Europeans and Americans. But perhaps nothing encapsulates their many dissimilarities than their contrasting views on vacation.

(H/T Sarnia Asset Management)

As the cliche goes, Europeans work to live, and Americans live to work. To each their own.

Happy Birthday: America Turns 249

In celebration of America's birthday, the U.S. Census Bureau ("CB") releases some fun facts every year. E.g., when America declared her independence from Great Britain in July 1776, there were an estimated 2.5 million people* in the 13 original colonies (vs ~7 million in the U.K.); today, per the live U.S. population clock on the CB website, there are over 342.0 million Americans** (vs 69.5 million Britons). Or that in 2024 the U.S. imported $4.7 million worth of American flags and exported(?) $2.0 million worth. Or that in 2024, the U.S. imported $470 million of fireworks. In any case, Happy 4th of July!

*Approximately 450,000 of the 2.5 million were African Americans, who pointedly didn't gain their independence in 1776.

**Approximately 42 million of whom are African Americans.