We
complete another year of Rink Rats with our thirty second blog of 2017 on this
last day of 2017.
We are in Michigan bringing in the New Year with family, in I
might add sub-zero temperatures.
As
the year draws to a close, it’s time to look back at the moments that defined
2017.
ME TOO - Among the
most important developments of 2017 was #MeToo: the renewed determination of
women to stand up to sexual harassment, and the new willingness of (some)
institutions and corporations to take action. Although the movement itself
started several years ago, it has gained a new urgency since October, when the
New York Times and The New Yorker reported on appalling allegations against the
film producer Harvey Weinstein; since then, the wave of repercussions has grown,
and it has yet to crest.
DIVERSITY
FATIGUE
- For many, the rise of Donald Trump was a manifestation of this long-brewing
and ideologically varied skepticism toward diversity. On the right, it was a
backlash against things changing too fast, and too much. And, for some on the
left, the success of Trump-style populism suggested that liberals had focussed
too much of their energy on multiculturalism and identity. Over the last couple
of years, this skepticism has rippled outward in bizarre, troubling ways. For
decades, diversity was generally accepted across the political spectrum as a
common goal, something that at least merited lip service. In Trump’s wake, it’s
become increasingly mainstream to question the concept’s very legitimacy. When
the Iowa congressman Steve King tweeted that “diversity” was not a “strength,”
a politician who once embodied a nativist fringe seemed to speak with renewed
purpose. Diversity was recently included on a list of words that officials at
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were discouraged from using,
perhaps, according to one sympathetic account, “so as not to raise red flags
among Republicans in Congress.”
Diversity
is increasingly the scapegoat when something old and reliable begins to falter.
This year, the supposed overemphasis on diversity was invoked to explain
everything from ESPN’s falling ratings to the middling quality of U.S. soccer,
from flagging enthusiasm for the Star Wars universe to a dip in comic-book
sales. (A recent MarketWatch piece wondered if the increasingly diverse world
of Marvel superheroes—which included “Afro-Latino Spider-Man, a Muslim Ms.
Marvel, a female Thor, a gay Iceman, a Korean Hulk, an African-American female
lead in Iron Man, and a lesbian Latina America Chavez”—had alienated
“traditional” fans.) Perhaps, some suggested, we simply need to disrupt our
conventional views on diversity. This spring, the Facebook founder Mark
Zuckerberg spoke of the need for “ideological diversity,” particularly among
his closest advisers. He was defending the presence of the Trump adviser Peter
Thiel on Facebook’s board, and sidestepping criticisms of the minuscule size of
his company’s black workforce. But Zuckerberg was also trying to spin diversity
in a way that could make a wider swath of Americans feel included—except,
perhaps, those who were once central to the diversity debates. The Times
invoked a similar principle—a “diversity of views”—when they were criticized
for publishing the dubious claims of a recently hired conservative Op-Ed
columnist.
Diversity
has become a worn and misapplied term partly as a result of its messy origins.
The term as we use it today first emerged in 1978, as part of the Supreme
Court’s landmark decision in University of California v. Bakke. The court
struck down quotas but upheld affirmative action, allowing an applicant’s race
to factor into college-admissions policies. It was a divisive case, which
resulted in a total of six opinions. The judgment of the Court was written by
Justice Lewis Powell, who argued that the state had an interest in maintaining
a “diverse student body.” Powell’s rationale differed slightly from the rest of
the majority, who predicated their support for affirmative action on an
acknowledgment of America’s legacies of discrimination and inequality. From the
very beginning, then, there was something vague and ahistorical about
diversity, particularly in the context of higher education. Rather than a means
of historical redress, it was meant to be useful.
Perhaps
it’s no surprise, then, that diversity’s most enthusiastic proselytizers are in
the world of business. In 2008, Scott Page, a professor of complex systems,
political science, and economics at the University of Michigan, published “The
Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools,
and Societies.” Drawing on empirical research, and also the wisdom of Ben &
Jerry’s, Douglas Adams, and “Seinfeld,” Page argues that “cognitively diverse societies,
cities, and teams perform better than more homogenous ones.” This fall, Page
amplified his pro-diversity argument with “The Diversity Bonus: How Great Teams
Pay Off in the Knowledge Economy.” His rationale isn’t moral—this would make it
easily susceptible to cynicism, or bad faith. Instead, he points to the bottom
line, offering a series of case studies where individuals with different
backgrounds, skill sets, or forms of expertise came together to illuminate new
solutions to old problems.
The
true casualties of “diversity fatigue” are the ones who never feel entitled
enough to complain about it. We’re living in a time when those drafted in the
name of a more diverse society have new ways to speak for themselves, and, in
many cases, a different perspective than the trailblazers of previous
generations. As the past few months’ stories about sexual assault and
harassment in the workplace suggest, just being present is not sufficient.
There’s a familiar refrain to so many of these stories, as women entered into
spaces previously closed to them and then underwent a kind of hazing. They’re
stories of diversity told from the inside out, by people who were assured that
this is the way it is because this is the way it has always been: a boys’ club,
business as usual.
“We’re
hearing a lot about diversity,” the filmmaker Ava DuVernay said last year, in
the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite social-media campaign. “I hate that word so, so
much.” She explained that there was something “medical” and cold about
diversity, and that speaking of belonging or inclusion seemed a more accurate
way of describing what long-marginalized people actually wanted. Progress isn’t
just a seat at the table anymore but the ability to command it, too. This week,
Time magazine features Storm Reid, Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, and Mindy
Kaling, the leads of DuVernay’s new film, an adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s
“A Wrinkle in Time,” on its cover. Witherspoon said that she’s “never seen
somebody demand inclusiveness” the way DuVernay did, casting a film with black,
brown, and white leads. Belonging and inclusion will probably seem like old,
useless buzzwords someday, too. But that’s the point. Images like these still
matter, in small, mysterious ways that won’t be grasped for generations. It’s just
a movie, ultimately. But it’s also a fantasy, a version of the world that was
once unthinkable, which will produce new people and new languages.
MARKET YEAR - Stocks
could ride a tailwind into 2018, bolstered by the best annual gains in four
years and the promise of a generous earnings boost from corporate tax cuts.
With
the holidays over, it's time to get back to work quickly in the four-day week.
December's employment report looms Friday as the first major economic report of
the year. There are also ISM manufacturing and monthly vehicle sales data on
Wednesday.
The
minutes from the Fed's December meeting will also be released Wednesday
afternoon, and that could provide some important clues as to Fed thinking on
inflation and interest rates. The Fed has forecast three rate hikes for 2018,
and some economists are now expecting four. Inflation, which has been lagging
the Fed's target, could be the deciding factor in how aggressive the Fed will
be.
Strategists
expect 2018 to be another up year for stocks, but with smaller gains than 2017
and most forecasts falling between 2,800 and 3,000. The S&P 500 finished
Friday at 2,673, slightly lower on the week but up 19.4 percent for the year,
its best performance since 2013. The Dow was down 0.1 percent for the week at
24,719, but saw a gain of 25.5 percent for the year. The Nasdaq was down 0.8
percent for the week, at 6,903, but scored a gain of 28.2 percent, also the
best year since 2013.
"Barring
any surprises, I'm hoping for new money for the new month and the new
year," said Art Cashin (Rink Rats reader), director of floor operations at
UBS. He said he's also watching the first two trading days of the year, to see
if they are positive. If they are and the S&P 500 is higher when taken
together with the past week's performance, that would be a positive "Santa
rally" period. The Santa rally period is the last five trading days of the
year and the first two days of the new year, and if the market is higher, the
odds are better for a positive year.
Market
milestones for 2017 include a return to higher oil prices, with West Texas
Intermediate futures closing Friday above $60 per barrel, for the first time
since June 2015. That has helped drive a more than 6 percent gain for energy
stocks in the past month, even though the sector was down 3.8 percent for the
year. The best performing sector was tech, up 37 percent for the year.
The
dollar continued its yearlong slide in Friday trading, with the dollar index
ending the year down 9.7 percent, its worst performance since 2003.
Meanwhile,
the 10-year Treasury yield was at 2.409 Friday afternoon, just slightly under
the 2.43 percent level where it started the year. The 2-year yield meanwhile
rose from 1.19 percent at the start of year to 1.88. The two yields are getting
closer together, or flattening, and are now at the "flattest" in a
decade. Some investors worry that's a sign of economic weakness ahead.
Washington
will also be a focus in January as it now gets down to business on spending
issues, after the White House and Congress delivered a big tax cut package reducing
corporate taxes to 21 percent from 35 percent, just before the holidays. But in
2018, the political scene promises to be more difficult, with potential fights
over the debt ceiling and other issues ahead of key midterm elections.
Dan
Clifton, head of policy research at Strategas said there are other issues that
could also emerge early in the new year. "Goodbye tax, hello trade. That's
the start of it, right there," he said, with news on the administration's
review of potential steel and aluminum tariffs expected in January.
"I'm
just outlining that there's a little bit of risk now," he said. The
administration could decide tariffs are warranted on aluminum for national
security reasons. "This is a brush fire, not a forest fire."
Some
strategists believe there are good odds that the negotiations on the North
American Free Trade Agreement could fail, threatening the trade agreement.
NAFTA is being renegotiated by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Traders
have been concerned about Trump's potential to be protectionist, and whether he
would really take action.
NEW WORLD
ORDER
- China eagerly and systematically asserting itself as a global force with
trade deals, investment and posturing. The nation, despite all its flaws, is
rising.
Trump
abandoning the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the multinational trade deal, gave
China huge political and economic openings in its neighborhood.
Trump
eagerly and systematically shaking up U.S. engagement overseas, and attacking
the U.N. and other institutions that helped hold together a post-World War II
world.
Germany,
France and Britain, hammered by surging populism similar to the disruption that
hit U.S. politics, are increasingly looking inward, and away from a unified
European voice. Europe's influence is on a clear decline.
L.A.
Times correspondents interviewed leaders, diplomats and scholars around the
globe, and found other powers eager to fill the void as the U.S. retreats:
"On a range of policy issues, Trump has taken positions that disqualified
the United States from the debate or rendered it irrelevant."
"China
has now assumed the mantle of fighting climate change, a global crusade that
the United States once led."
"Russia
has taken over Syrian peace talks, also once the purview of the American administration."
"France
and Germany are often now the countries that fellow members of NATO look
to."
While
Trump sucks up a lot of attention and blame, a lot of this change was set in
motion before he arrived. The combo of social media + identity politics + fake
news has resulted in less legitimacy for most, if not all, Western governments.
BEST BOOK - In a year
that too often seemed like fiction, my favorite novel was one that felt utterly
true to life: “Conversations with Friends,” by the Irish writer Sally Rooney.
It tells the story of Frances, a watchful, sharp-witted college student in
Dublin and her best friend, Bobbi, who together fall into a risky intimacy with
Melissa and Nick, a couple in their thirties with glamorous artistic
credentials and a fraying marriage. Like the best coming-of-age novels, it
captures the beautiful confusion of being an intelligent young person with lots
of ideas about the world and no clue how to live in it. This is the first novel
that Rooney has written; I was so engrossed in its world that when I finished
it, I flipped back to the first page and read it straight through again. I hope
her next book comes soon.
BEST TV SHOW – “Big
Little Lies”
Gorgeous,
sensual, and seductive, beautifully directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, with perfect,
slow-build pacing, this beachside murder mystery was the year’s best surprise.
Among an A-list cast of movie stars, Nicole Kidman stood out, playing a woman
struggling to admit the truth about her abusive marriage. By the final
episodes, the plot became a wrenching exploration of the hidden bonds between
women who have been hurt, a #MeToo thriller with the rare finale that satisfied
on all levels.
BEST MOVIES
–
1.
“Get Out” (Jordan Peele)
In
his horror comedy, Peele uses familiar devices to convey philosophically rich
and politically potent ideas about the state of race relations in America.
2.
“A Quiet Passion” (Terence Davies)
Davies’s
Emily Dickinson bio-pic is an absolute, drop-dead masterwork.
3.
“Good Time” (Josh and Benny Safdie)
“Good
Time,” starring Robert Pattinson, streaks and smears and shreds the screen with
a sense of furious subjectivity.
4.
“A Ghost Story” (David Lowery)
The
movie’s dramatic power is inseparable from its quiet, sensuous splendor.
BEST PODCAST - “Ways of
Hearing”
The
way we listen has been revolutionized by digital technology, which in turn has
transformed our world, including podcasts. “Ways of Hearing,” hosted by Damon
Krukowski and based on his excellent book “The New Analog,” is about listening.
(It’s the first of a series of podcasts in the Radiotopia show “Showcase.”)
Krukowski makes complex ideas delightfully accessible, and in audio form he’s
able to include wonderful sounds: street noise, song bits, chitchat at a record
shop. Krukowski, the drummer of the great band Galaxie 500, illustrates points
in Episode 1 with gorgeous strains of “Tugboat.” Krukowski is a fantastic
observer; I often think of the ideas he articulates in “Ways of Hearing,” and I
feel like I perceive the world a little more acutely because of listening to
it.
TOP GOOGLE
SEARCHES OF 2017 –
Hurricane
Irma
Matt
Lauer
Tom
Petty
Super
Bowl
Las
Vegas Shooting
Mayweather
vs McGregor Fight
Solar
Eclipse
Hurricane
Harvey
Aaron
Hernandez
Fidget
Spinner
How
to buy Bitcoin
How
to freeze your credit
INEQUALITY
REPORT
- New research from the Ford Foundation and Thomas Piketty with the World
Inequality Lab is "is the first research study to comprehensively examine
wealth and income inequality trends across developed and emerging countries
over approximately 40 years."
Among
the findings: "Globally, few are enjoying the benefits of economic growth.
The richest captured most of the growth, as those who are enjoying the growth
are the top 10 percent, with an exponential growth for the top 0.1 percent. The
global top 1% earners captured twice as much income growth as the 50 percent
poorest individuals.
"Global
wealth and income inequality will steadily rise, if countries follow the
trajectory they have been on since 1980, notably in the U.S. Though, if all
countries follow the moderate inequality trajectory followed by Europe over the
past decades, global inequality can be reduced.”
CALIFORNIA
HERE WE GO
- For many of the state’s residents, one question is omnipresent: Is this worth
it?
The
threat of earthquakes, annual wildfires and high taxes have contributed to a
net outflow of residents for more than three decades.
Still,
the wrath of God has failed to deter companies from thinking this is a great
place to be, although it is expensive and crowded.
MICKEY FOX - Walt
Disney Co. has signed a deal to acquire a large piece of 21st Century Fox Inc.,
... in a pact that could help the entertainment giant accelerate its ambitions
in streaming media, shore up its television business and grab hold of lucrative
movie franchises.
Why
it matters: Most of the assets Disney is buying would be put to use in Chief
Executive Robert Iger's quest to transform his company into a streaming-video
giant that can go head-to-head with rivals such as Netflix.
Mr.
Iger wants Disney to have its own relationships with consumers and a broad
array of content to offer them online.
P.S.
Layoffs likely in Disney-Fox deal," per an L.A. Times A1 teaser:
"Substantial job cuts in Southern California could result." “The companies
have many overlapping departments and Disney would look to wring savings."
TRUMP’S
ECONOMY
- President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are about to own the
U.S. economy in ways that could revive their party's brand or make the next
three years a political nightmare. The president and GOP leaders were all
smiles celebrating passage of a giant tax cut bill that will slash corporate
rates and offer more limited relief to individuals. They are counting on the
widely unpopular measure to produce a series of economic benefits including
faster growth, fatter paychecks and a bigger, more productive labor force. ...
Essentially, Republicans are betting they can take the fairly strong economy
Trump inherited from President Barack Obama and fix the remaining broken parts,
which include a shrunken labor force, limited wage gains and stalled worker
productivity. If they succeed, the GOP could start to reverse their big polling
disadvantages in the 2018 midterm elections and set Trump up to win reelection
in 2020 if he can somehow navigate the Russia investigations and avoid major
foreign policy disasters.
POTUS 101 - Peter
Baker puts on his historian's cap for his installment in the N.Y. Times series,
"Trump's Way" ... "A Year of Reinventing the Presidency ...
Under Trump, a Once Unimaginable Presidency Becomes Reality":
White
House Chief of Staff John Kelly: "I'm not put on earth to control him ...
But I have been put on earth to make this staff work better and make sure this
president, whether you voted for him or not, is fully informed before he makes
a decision. And I think we achieved that."
Kelly
on POTUS: "He remains fairly unconventional ... But as I point out, he now
is fully briefed on the issues and the pluses and minuses, pros and cons."
Ron
Klain, a White House official under Clinton and Obama: "It's a presidency
of one person ... That's really kind of a stunning thing. There is no Trump
doctrine. There is no Trump plan. There is no Trumpism. There's just
Trump."
Peter
notes that Trump has referred to his targets as "crazy,"
"psycho," "short and fat," "crooked,"
"totally inept," "a joke," "dumb as a rock,"
"disgusting," "puppet," "weak and out of
control," "sleazy," "wacky," "totally
unhinged," "incompetent," "lightweight" and "the
dumbest man on television." (BTW, that was CNN's Don Lemon, and Trump
often watches.)
Under
Mr. Trump, it has become a blunt instrument to advance personal, policy and
political goals. He has revolutionized the way presidents deal with the world
beyond 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, dispensing with the carefully modulated
messaging of past chief executives in favor of no-holds-barred,
crystal-breaking, us-against-them, damn-the-consequences blasts borne out of
gut and grievance.
"He
has kept a business on the side; attacked the F.B.I., C.I.A. and other
institutions he oversees; threatened to use his power against rivals; and waged
war against members of his own party and even his own Cabinet. He fired the man
investigating his campaign and has not ruled out firing the one who took over.
He has appealed to base instincts on race, religion and gender as no president
has in generations. And he has rattled the nuclear saber more bombastically
than it has been since the days of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
"The
presidency has served as a vehicle for Mr. Trump to construct and promote his
own narrative, one with crackling verve but riddled with inaccuracies,
distortions and outright lies, according to fact checkers. Rather than a force
for unity or a calming voice in turbulent times, the presidency now is another
weapon in a permanent campaign of divisiveness. Democrats and many establishment
Republicans worry that Mr. Trump has squandered the moral authority of the
office."
SCIENCE - The Moon
shines brightly among our 2017 highlights. Whether it was blocking out the Sun
during one of the most-viewed events in U.S. history, or reinvigorating our
human space exploration plans.
MORON OF THE
YEAR – “In the
East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a
little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other
countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle
up!”
Guess who????
BIRTHDAYS
THIS WEEK
– Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Richard Chute…famous Claremont, CA
resident; Sean Hannity (56) Alexandria,
VA.; Donald Trump, Jr. (40) New York,
NY.; Meredith Vieira (64) Scarsdale,
NY.
ON THIS DAY – December
23, 1947: 70 years ago, at the end of a miracle month of breakthroughs, John
Bardeen & Walter Brattain demonstrated the first transistor to colleagues
at Bell Labs. It's been described as one of the most important inventions of
the 20th century.
STATISTICS
OF THE YEAR: Americans killed annually
by
All
Islamic jihadist terrorists 9
Armed
toddlers 21
Lightning
31
Lawnmowers
69
Being
hit by a bus 264
Falling
out of bed 737
Being
shot by another American 11,737
CASHLESS - As 2018
looms, the dawn of a cashless society feels at hand. Don't believe it? Try
throwing a couple $20 bills on the table next time you're splitting the check. Or
better yet, ask anyone not standing behind a cash register to break a $10 bill.
While
the rise of Venmo, Uber, Seamless and Bitcoin et al have made it practically
gauche in certain circles to flash a wallet thick with bills, there are many
urban workers for whom the shift away from cash represents a serious financial
problem. Doormen, elevator operators, manicurists - any employee who relies on
small, spontaneous cash tips - are finding themselves left out in the cold by
an increasingly cashless world.
SPOTTED – Avid Rink
Rats reader and former Claremont, CA. resident, Tom Playford at Heroes (131 Yale
Avenue) in Claremont. Tom is fighting the battles of Trump in Durham, North
Carolina these days.
2017 TOP SPORT
STORIES –
NFL
kneeling.
College
basketball comes under the microscope after a federal investigation reveals
recruiting corruption.
Houston
Astros win their first World Series, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7
to lift the spirits of a city devastated by Hurricane Harvey.
In
a season that included his four-game suspension for "Deflategate,"
Tom Brady engineers a record-breaking comeback as the Patriots defeat the
Atlanta Falcons in first-ever Super Bowl overtime.
The
president of USA Gymnastics resigns amid a sexual abuse scandal that includes
some of the sport's biggest stars.
Russia
is banned from the Winter Olympics for a massive doping scheme at the 2014
Sochi Games.
Clemson
mounts a last-second comeback to beat Alabama for college football's national
championship.
The
U.S. fails to qualify for soccer's World Cup for the first time since 1986.
Four-time champion Italy also fails to qualify.
New
acquisition Kevin Durant leads the Golden State Warriors to the NBA
championship over the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
Mixed
Martial Arts star Conor McGregor steps into the boxing ring to face undefeated
champ Floyd Mayweather Jr.
JOHNNY BOWER
– Old Time
Hockey, end of an era.
It
was 1963 or '64, but Mark Howe is pretty sure it was 1964. The Toronto Maple
Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final, and in the
handshake line at Maple Leaf Gardens, Maple Leafs goaltender Johnny Bower
traded sticks with Red Wings forward Gordie Howe.
Before
each series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Gordie would ask his son Mark,
"When the series is over, whose stick do you want?" That time, Mark
had said, "I want Bower's."
"I
still have the stick to this day," Mark said Wednesday.
Bower
died Tuesday at age 93. He played on the Maple Leafs' last four championship
teams, in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967; was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in
1976 and was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players presented by Molson
Canadian on Jan. 1.
SWAMI’S WEEK
TOP PICKS
–
NFL Football
Pick of the Week – Sunday 12/31, 4:25 PM EDT, Fox: Carolina Panthers (11-4) vs.
Atlanta Falcons (9-6). Plenty of playoff implications in this one, Falcons win 24 – 17. (Season to date 9-7).
College
Football Pick of the Week – Monday 1/1, 5:45 PM EDT, ESPN: Bowl Season, Rose
Bowl from Pasadena, CA: #4 Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1) vs. #1 Clemson Tigers
(12-1). Alabama seeks revenge from last year, they get it 38 – 35. (Season to date 9-7)
College
Hockey Pick of the Week – Monday 1/1, 6:00 PM EDT FoxDetroit: the 52nd edition of
the Great Lakes Invitational tournament, Bowling Green University Falcons
(8-6-6) vs. University of Michigan Wolverines (7-7-2), we like the Wolverines 5 – 3.
Season to date (6-4)
NHL Pick of the
Week – Monday
1/1, 1:00 PM EDT, NBC: Another edition of the Winter Classic, this years’ game
is at Citi Field in New York. New York Rangers (20-13-5) vs. Buffalo Sabres
(10-20-8). Not an attractive game, Rangers win in a romp, 7 – 2. Season to date (8-2).
NBA Pick of
the Week – Monday 1/1 7:30 PM EDT, FSWI: Milwaukee Bucks (19-15) vs. Toronto
Rapters (24-10). Raptors have a solid club this year, they win this one 101 – 92.r4 (season to date 1-0)
Season to Date
(98 - 72)
Next Blog: 2018 What Next?
Until
next time, Happy New Year
Jackson,
Michigan
Temperature
at edit: 0 Degrees
December
31, 2017
#VIII-21-363
CARTOON OF
THE WEEK – 2017
