- A fierce will to win pushed Donald Trump to the top (WaPo) "For much of his 70 years, Trump has been on a roller-coaster ride of rebellion and revolution and upending it all, of risking everything, leaving wreckage in his path when necessary, and, above all, finding a way to survive. To win. What is now clear is that lack of ideology is his ideology: It’s the ideology of winning. If he is to be successful, that pragmatic side, which has served him so well when he needed it, could be his guiding principle — unless he finds it cannot coexist with his love of rebellion."
- How Donald Trump Can Change Conservatism (NYT) "During the campaign, Mr. Trump threw out the traditional conservative playbook. He appealed directly to the demographic that, in the mid-1970s, the sociologist Donald Warren called 'Middle American Radicals.' These voters are not persuaded by tropes about limited government, but they have little interest in the Democratic Party’s cosmopolitan egalitarianism. They identify with neither Wall Street nor Occupy Wall Street. They are frightened by the prospect of privatized Social Security, but roll their eyes at the far left. They are not against government; they want a government that works for their specific interests. For better or for worse, Mr. Trump’s victory was propelled by populist civic nationalism. His win was not a mandate for slashing Medicare, cutting taxes on the wealthy, an aggressive, interventionist foreign policy or most of the other items on the traditional conservative to-do list."
- A close examination of Trump's inaugural speechwriting photo (Newsweek)
BUSINESS/INVESTING:
- This Man's Algorithms Will Manage Your Money — With a Conscience (Ozy) "In a nutshell, the OpenInvest algorithms take the issues you care about — such as carbon emissions or gender equality — along with your financial circumstances to create a bespoke portfolio chosen from its universe of stocks, which is currently limited to the S&P 500."
NEWS:
- Inside Trump’s shadow national security council (WaPo) "But internally in Trump world, it’s understood that Bannon, Kushner and Priebus have the most influence with Trump and the most decision-making power. In addition to overseeing personnel appointments, each of them has emerged as influential on foreign policy in unique ways. Bannon has been working on the long-term strategic vision that will shape the Trump administration’s overall foreign policy approach. He has a keen interest in Asia, is committed to working on the buildup of the military and is also interested in connecting the Trump apparatus to leaders of populist movements around the world, especially in Europe. Kushner has become a main interlocutor for foreign governments and has been interacting with leading representatives from countries including Israel, Germany and Britain. Priebus’s role is often to take the ideas and plans put forth by other Trump loyalists and filter them through the lens of what would work practically. 'Bannon is focused on Trump the ideological brand, Kushner is focused on Trump the man, and Priebus is focused on everything else,' the transition official said."
- The Somehow Controversial Women’s March on Washington (New Yorker) "Like the idea of a female President, the idea of this protest, called the Women’s March on Washington, seems quite reasonable. And to many it feels welcome, inevitable, even obligatory. But, as with that notion of a female President, the Women’s March on Washington has proved, well before it has actually come to pass, to be a source of persistent and often unexpected conflict."
- Republicans are losing the argument over Obamacare repeal. Can that save it? (WaPo) "Most signs suggest that, as repeal looms as a reality, the terms of the debate are, if anything, shifting in favor of the law. One obvious tell is that Trump and his advisers continue to be almost comically cagey about the intentions for their replace plan. Trump and his political team continue to suggest that everybody will be covered under it, even as his own pick for health and human services secretary, Tom Price, plays semantic games designed to obscure whether this is really so. Other Republicans have employed all sorts of tortured talking points designed to shroud their true long-term intentions in impenetrable rhetorical fog. The bottom line is that Trump and Republicans appear deeply reluctant to associate themselves with an outcome in which lots of people would in fact end up losing coverage."
- In retraction request to CNN, Trump team confirms CNN story (WaPo) "Citing House records, CNN’s Raju earlier this week reported that last March, Price bought $1,001 to $15,000 worth of shares in Zimmer Biomet, a medical device company specializing in knee and hip implants. The purchase was followed less than a week later by Price’s introduction of the Healthy Inpatient Procedures (HIP) Act, which would delay implementation of a regulation affecting companies such as Zimmer Biomet. 'This new, mandatory payment model handed down from CMS comes with tremendous risk and complexity for patients and health care providers. Rushing its implementation would be unreasonable and potentially detrimental to patients and their quality of care,' Price said in a statement. 'At the very least, a delay in implementation is warranted to give all involved time to better assess, review, and weigh the impact and consequences of this proposal and more adequately prepare so patients are protected.' As Raju reported, Zimmer Biomet was among two companies that would have been most dramatically affected by the regulation that Price sought to delay."
POLITICS:
- U.S. Republican leaders love Ayn Rand’s controversial philosophy—and are increasingly misinterpreting it (Quartz) "But the political leaders who love Rand don’t seem to entirely grasp the truth of her philosophy, says Stanford historian Jennifer Burns, author of Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right (2009). What is objectivism? She said selfishness is a virtue, and the goal of life is to grow and develop as an individual, and that a moral social system supports the rights of the individual above all. Has she been completely distorted? What is left is something that’s run under the radar: the elevation of the business person, the elevation of the capitalist entrepreneur individualist as the true leader of society, as the true change agent of society."
- An Emerging, and Very Pointed, Democratic Resistance (New Yorker) "The charge of illegitimacy made last week by John Lewis was part of a broader turn among Democratic representatives toward a politics of unified opposition, with an emphasis on the defense of working people."
TECHNOLOGY:
- Ten years ago, Netflix launched streaming video and changed the way we watch everything (Quartz) "Ten years after streaming video first launched on Netflix, the service has roughly 87 million subscribers around the world, compared to about 4.3 million DVD users. In 2007, Netflix spent about $40 million to build out its data centers and cover the cost of licensing for the initial streaming titles. By comparison, the company allocated $6 billion to content this year."
- In retraction request to CNN, Trump team confirms CNN story (WaPo) "Citing House records, CNN’s Raju earlier this week reported that last March, Price bought $1,001 to $15,000 worth of shares in Zimmer Biomet, a medical device company specializing in knee and hip implants. The purchase was followed less than a week later by Price’s introduction of the Healthy Inpatient Procedures (HIP) Act, which would delay implementation of a regulation affecting companies such as Zimmer Biomet. 'This new, mandatory payment model handed down from CMS comes with tremendous risk and complexity for patients and health care providers. Rushing its implementation would be unreasonable and potentially detrimental to patients and their quality of care,' Price said in a statement. 'At the very least, a delay in implementation is warranted to give all involved time to better assess, review, and weigh the impact and consequences of this proposal and more adequately prepare so patients are protected.' As Raju reported, Zimmer Biomet was among two companies that would have been most dramatically affected by the regulation that Price sought to delay."
POLITICS:
- U.S. Republican leaders love Ayn Rand’s controversial philosophy—and are increasingly misinterpreting it (Quartz) "But the political leaders who love Rand don’t seem to entirely grasp the truth of her philosophy, says Stanford historian Jennifer Burns, author of Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right (2009). What is objectivism? She said selfishness is a virtue, and the goal of life is to grow and develop as an individual, and that a moral social system supports the rights of the individual above all. Has she been completely distorted? What is left is something that’s run under the radar: the elevation of the business person, the elevation of the capitalist entrepreneur individualist as the true leader of society, as the true change agent of society."
- An Emerging, and Very Pointed, Democratic Resistance (New Yorker) "The charge of illegitimacy made last week by John Lewis was part of a broader turn among Democratic representatives toward a politics of unified opposition, with an emphasis on the defense of working people."
TECHNOLOGY:
- Ten years ago, Netflix launched streaming video and changed the way we watch everything (Quartz) "Ten years after streaming video first launched on Netflix, the service has roughly 87 million subscribers around the world, compared to about 4.3 million DVD users. In 2007, Netflix spent about $40 million to build out its data centers and cover the cost of licensing for the initial streaming titles. By comparison, the company allocated $6 billion to content this year."
- Most pressing infrastructure needs do not require federal money or approval (TechCrunch) "Regardless of one’s views on rooftop solar or net metering policies, encouraging early investment in infrastructure and technology — based on good planning and forecasting — is the most immediate way to capitalize on the benefits of this growing resource and improve electric reliability simultaneously."
- Slovakia’s Hyperloop Moves One Step Closer to Not Being a Joke (Wired) "On Wednesday, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies signed an “exploratory agreement” with the Czech city of Brno, which wants to examine the feasibility of a hyperloop line to Bratislava, Slovakia, where HTT also is working with the government. Being fired through a tube will cut the 80-mile trip, which takes 90 minutes by rail, to 10 minutes."
- Test Run: How to Plan Your Next Vacation With a Chatbot (NYT) "The technology is young, and while most of these chatbots have yet to become viable alternatives to existing travel planning options like Trip Advisor and traditional guides, it could be only a matter of time before our smartphone-obsessed culture embraces booking by text."
- How Chromebooks Aim To (Finally) Crack The Consumer Market In 2017 (FastCompnay) "Although Android apps launched on a small number of Chromebooks last year, Meredith expects them to become much more broadly available in 2017. This will make Chromebooks more interesting to a mainstream audience, he says, because all the apps and services people have on their phones will become accessible on a Chromebook. Meanwhile, the lack of a traditional PC experience will be less of a problem for younger users who've grown up on cloud services like Netflix and Facebook."
BOTTOM OF THE NEWS:
- Beer yoga is nothing new in Oregon (Oregon Live) "The concept is simple: you take yoga and add beer, sometimes consumed during the practice, other times enjoyed afterward in a brewery where the classes are taught."
- Test Run: How to Plan Your Next Vacation With a Chatbot (NYT) "The technology is young, and while most of these chatbots have yet to become viable alternatives to existing travel planning options like Trip Advisor and traditional guides, it could be only a matter of time before our smartphone-obsessed culture embraces booking by text."
- How Chromebooks Aim To (Finally) Crack The Consumer Market In 2017 (FastCompnay) "Although Android apps launched on a small number of Chromebooks last year, Meredith expects them to become much more broadly available in 2017. This will make Chromebooks more interesting to a mainstream audience, he says, because all the apps and services people have on their phones will become accessible on a Chromebook. Meanwhile, the lack of a traditional PC experience will be less of a problem for younger users who've grown up on cloud services like Netflix and Facebook."
BOTTOM OF THE NEWS:
- Beer yoga is nothing new in Oregon (Oregon Live) "The concept is simple: you take yoga and add beer, sometimes consumed during the practice, other times enjoyed afterward in a brewery where the classes are taught."
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