Note from Quin: We haven’t featured a roundup of various and disparate items here for many months (much less used, as our photo/illustration, the visual pun of a cattle roundup, which returns here for fun), but here are some worth reading. We start with two at National Review Online:
Washington Republicans Have Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself, by Deroy Murdock.
Death of a F***ing Salesman, by Kevin Williamson, explaining the pathetic “tough guy” approach in Trump-world.
At Real Clear Politics:
Constant Chaos from Trump Has GOP on Edge, by A.B. Stoddard.
In the Wall Street Journal (and with a quote from Yours Truly):
For Alabama’s Junior Senator, What a Long, STRANGE Trip It’s Been, by Fred Barnes.
Absolutely crucial description at the vile railroad job that took the place of an Alabama State Board of Education meeting last week, courtesy of excellent work at Yellowhammer Politics:
The Alabama State Board of Education’s Dubious Review of Michael Sentance, by Larry Huff.
And, to re-instate a former feature, here’s something from the thoughtful center-left, from the Brennan Center’s brilliant and always-insightful Victoria Bassetti:
…. Sessions Has Already Recused Himself from Investigating Hillary Clinton.
Finally, the latest two little gems mined from the Wall Street Journal and summed up by my brother-in-law Zach Robinson:
On electric cars:
Toyota in U.S. patent papers claims it has found a way to extend the range of electric cars and decrease the charging time of these automobiles by having formulated a breakthrough invention in the composition of lithium ion batteries. However, it is expected it will take about five years before Toyota can commercially produce such new cars and make them available for purchase. One of the inventors is a Japanese professor who also collaborates with Toyota. Separately, Great Britain had previously announced its goal was to move to an all-electric passenger vehicle fleet by the year 2040.
On Amazon’s fiscal health
Amazon announced a 25% increase in quarterly sales versus one year ago, though operating income decreased due to continuing investments in its businesses’ American and international assets. Right now the deal to buy Whole Foods is still pending as the company awaits government anti-trust approval. For a brief time recently, appreciation in Amazon’s stock price meant that its Chief Executive Officer and major shareholder Jeff Bezos was the world’s richest man. Amazon has plans to hire tens of thousands of new workers in the U.S. by 2018, even as bricks and mortar retailers are laying off staffers.