News February 23, 2020

News Stories

• Today’s strongmen are weaker than we think

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Times) – The lesson of history is that dictators tend not to die in their beds

• Why Does the U.S. Have So Few Confirmed Coronavirus Cases?

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Wall Street Journal) – A mere 15 cases of the Wuhan coronavirus have been diagnosed in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and that number hasn’t budged in a week. But the true number of cases is unknown, because the U.S. is testing only those who recently arrived from China or have been in close contact with confirmed patients.

• Nobelist Romer Wants to Target Tech Giants With Taxes (Podcast)

  SPEAKER: Paul Romer

  (Bloomberg Tax) – Google, Facebook, and other tech giants have too much market power and way too much information about all of us. That’s the opinion of lots of political figures, as well as of Nobel economist Paul Romer. What makes Romer different is his preferred way of dealing with this problem: taxes.

• Bloomberg’s billions vs. Sanders’ socialism – which Democrats are in and who is soon to be out of 2020 race

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – Every presidential election is unique, but the 2020 Democratic race is quite extraordinary.

• With Liberty and Justice for Some

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – Attorney General Bill Barr seems willing to deploy the law as a weapon, cracking down on crimes by the poor and the foreign-born while going easy on the crimes of the president’s associates.

• The China Challenge

  SPEAKER: Robert Zoellick

  (The National Interest) – The United States needs to compete with China within international institutions and country-by-country. It is hard to beat something with nothing. America should promote better ideas and practices and offer attractive partnerships, instead of retreating and bullying.

• Fresh Talents, Unprecedented Heights

  SPEAKER: John Edward Hasse

  (The Wall Street Journal) – Duke Ellington, I like to argue, ranks as America’s greatest all-around musician—composer, arranger, bandleader, accompanist, soloist and musical thinker. Who else did it all with such sit-up-and-notice style, originality and longevity?

• The Dismal Kingdom: Do Economists Have Too Much Power?

  SPEAKER: Paul Romer

  (Foreign Affairs) – Over the past 60 years, the United States has run what amounts to a natural experiment designed to answer a simple question: What happens when a government starts conducting its business in the foreign language of economists?

• Senators hail their emperor, but Trump’s no shoo-in for a second term

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Boston Globe) – The eventual Democratic nominee will have at least some chance of beating Trump.

• Gottlieb says screening and fist bumps over handshakes will help protect against coronavirus

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CNBC) – Coronavirus is spreading in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore. Community spread is suspected in other nations. Models suggest that for every person who traveled into the U.S. infected with coronavirus, and who was successfully diagnosed and quarantined, maybe three more arrived undetected.

• Former FDA Chief Scott Gottlieb answers viewer questions on coronavirus

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CNBC) – Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Pfizer board member and former FDA commissioner, answers viewers’ questions about the coronavirus outbreak.

• For Joe Girardi, every day is Take Your Parents to Work Day

  SPEAKER: Joe Girardi

  (NBC Sports Philadelphia) – When Joe Girardi addresses his new ballclub for the first time on Day 1 of spring training next week, he won’t be alone. Jerry and Angela Girardi will also be there because for Joe Girardi, the new Phillies manager, every day is Take Your Parents to Work Day.

• Coronavirus is a reminder to stay ahead of pandemics

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – We first heard about coronavirus only weeks ago. What started as a local outbreak in Wuhan, China, quickly spread across the entire country – and then around the world. Now there are at least 12 cases of the coronavirus in the United States. The death toll in China is well into the hundreds and continues to increase. Across the globe, people are asking whether we are facing the next global pandemic.

• Prof. Niall Ferguson: A Brief History of Tomorrow (Part one)

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (St. Galllen Symposium) – In this two-part interview, Niall Ferguson and Grégoire Roos exchange on how the Millenials are about to disrupt politics in the West, discuss the current crisis of the Atlantic community, and address the challenges of the rise of China.

• How the Coronavirus Epidemic Could Upend the Global Economy

  SPEAKER: Ian Bremmer

  (TIME) – There are many ways to measure the costs of coronavirus. There have now been more than 24,000 officially reported cases, and nearly 500 people have died, but we’d be wise not to have much faith in these figures.

• The deadliest virus we face is complacency

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Boston Globe) – The Black Death — mainly bubonic plague but also the even more lethal pneumonic variant — killed between 75 million and 200 million people as it spread eastwards across Eurasia in the 1340s. The disease was transmitted by flea bites; the fleas traveled by rodent. Up to 60 percent of the population of Europe perished. Survivors imagined an even worse plague — originating, like the Black Death, in China.”

• Can Bernie Sanders Defeat Trump?

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (Democracy Now!) – After a chaotic night in Iowa, the focus of the Democratic race has now shifted to New Hampshire. Senator Bernie Sanders is leading in most New Hampshire polls a week ahead of the state’s primary. While Sanders has been surging in popularity across parts of the country, the Democratic Party establishment is openly expressing concern that the self-described democratic socialist could win the nomination. While Bernie Sanders faces attacks from the corporate wing of the Democratic Party, many of his supporters say he is the candidate best suited to beat Trump in November.

• Can an inflation cap on drugs be inflationary?

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (AEI) – Members of the Senate Finance Committee have fashioned a well-meaning effort to modernize the Medicare drug benefit. Among its key features, the bill would help protect seniors from high out-of-pocket costs by limiting beneficiary cost sharing to $3,100 annually.

• Containing the Spread of the Coronavirus

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CNBC) – Dr. Gregory Poland, professor of medicine and infectious diseases and the director of the Vaccine Research Group at Mayo Clinic, and Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Pfizer board member and former FDA Commissioner, join CNBC to discuss the spread of misinformation on the coronavirus.

• Likely Iowa caucuses winner is this candidate – Here is what it could mean for Democrats

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – I don’t know who will win the Iowa Democratic caucuses Monday night. As a historian, I will analyze the results after the fact.

• The Trump economy is GOP’s greatest strength – Here’s why it may not be enough in 2020

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – Some taxpayers will begin to feel a sense of helpless frustration as they prepare to hand over a chunk of their hard-earned money to the government. Others will anxiously wait to see how much of their hard-earned money the government will be willing to give back.

• The Next Trump Crisis Is Already Here

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – Republicans voted down a measure to call witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial and are moving to acquittal in a hell-for-leather dash to put the crisis behind them. It’s a doomed errand. With Trump, the next crisis is always just ahead.

• How Republicans can beat Democrats in November elections

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – The current moment in American politics is quite remarkable. We have the chance to create fundamental change within our nation and undo the damage done by years of bad policy and bureaucratic control.

• Taxing digital ads could bring Maryland $250 million — and a hefty legal challenge

  SPEAKER: Paul Romer

  (The Washington Post) – A novel proposal to tax targeted digital ads in Maryland could be extremely lucrative — provided it can survive an expected legal challenge from the world’s largest Internet and social media companies.

• Assuring Taiwan’s Innovation Future

  SPEAKER: Evan Feigenbaum

  (Carnegie Endowment For International Peace) – Taiwan’s innovation advantage is in danger of eroding. It needs a revitalized and broadened strategy, more diverse investments in human capital and next-generation industries, and forward-looking partnerships with the United States.

• Trump’s defense team failed at their most important job

  SPEAKER: Jen Psaki

  (CNN) – On Monday, President Donald Trump’s defense team failed at their most important job — making a clear and compelling argument that there was no need to hear from former National Security Adviser John Bolton.

• Act Now to Prevent an American Epidemic

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (Wall Street Journal) – Quarantines, flu vaccines and other steps to take before the Wuhan virus becomes widespread.

• We need to prepare for US outbreak of Wuhan coronavirus

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (CNBC) – Even though there’s a lot that we don’t know about the novel coronavirus that’s burning its ways through China, there are some critical assumptions we should make about its continued spread.

• Crumbling Infrastructure – or Crumbling Cliché?

  SPEAKER: Todd Buchholz

  (Project Syndicate) – Democratic US presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg unveiled an infrastructure plan that magically settled on the same trillion-dollar price tag that candidate Donald Trump announced in 2016. But is America’s infrastructure really so bad?

• Vice President Pence’s big week

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – As Vice President Mike Pence, his wife Karen, and their daughter-in-law Sarah got off Air Force Two in Rome this morning, it hit me what an action-packed week they have had.

• Annie Leibovitz Among 2020 Advertising Hall of Fame Inductees

  SPEAKER: Annie Leibovitz

  (Ad Age) – The American Advertising Federation announced today the eight individuals and one corporation that will be inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame this year.

• Auschwitz is something we should always remember — It is a grim reminder that evil is real

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – Jan. 27 is the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, one of the most extraordinary events of our time.

• Davos Man is cooling on Stockholm Girl Greta Thunberg

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Times) – Delegates publicly praise the gloomy activist, but privately prefer dirty Don.

• The world is better prepared for the coronavirus threat. But we remain tragically vulnerable.

  SPEAKER: Scott Gottlieb

  (The Washington Post) – Health authorities’ concern about the new coronavirus in China, with cases spreading in Asia and as far as the United States, deepened Wednesday with news that the Chinese government plans to shut down transportation from Wuhan, a city of 11 million people that is considered ground zero of the pneumonia-like virus.

• Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale says impeachment “excites” the base

  SPEAKER: Brad Parscale

  (CBS This Morning) –  Trump 2020 Campaign manager Brad Parscale discusses their re-election strategy. 

• Tulsi Gabbard Sues for Attention

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – Representative Tulsi Gabbard today filed a defamation lawsuit against Hillary Clinton in federal court.

• Professor Paul Romer: “It may take more than 10 years to resolve the US-China conflict.”

  SPEAKER: Paul Romer

  (economy) – In 2018, Paul Romer, a New York University professor at Stern School of Business, interviewed with the Korea Economic Daily. “It may take more than 10 years to resolve the conflict,” he said.

• Paul Romer: “Rising Interest Rates Risks Financial System”

  SPEAKER: Paul Romer

  (economy) – Last year, we interviewed Nobel Laureate in Economics, Professor Paul Romer New York University. It was for the New Year’s interview, and the article was published on January 1 in the Korea Economic Daily.

• Lifelong Republican on which Democrat she would vote for

  SPEAKER: Sheila Bair

  (CNN) – Lifelong Republican Sheila Bair says she has never voted for a Democrat for president, but she is now considering it.

• Brad Parscale: This president is a fighter and he’s going to win this election in 2020

  SPEAKER: Brad Parscale

  (Fox News) – Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale discusses the future of the Trump campaign and what he’s looking to improve this time around.

• Donald Trump must split up Putin and Xi, the new odd couple

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Times) – The US can win the Second Cold War only by drawing apart the Russian and Chinese leaders

• Incredible revolution changed Iran from US friend to foe – We need to understand how and why

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – As we watch the current tensions with Iran, I believe it is important to help explain how we got here. That’s why I wanted to focus this week’s episode of “Newt’s World” on Iran’s political history, the Iranian Revolution, and what the revolution meant for the Iranian people.

• Ocean Photography Awards to launch March 2020

  SPEAKER: Paul Nicklen

  (Oceanographic) – This March, the Ocean Photography Awards will launch as the first awards to focus exclusively on celebrating the best amateur and professional ocean photography.

• Korea’s income-led growth model “risky”: Nobel laureate Paul Romer

  SPEAKER: Paul Romer

  (Pulse) – South Korea’s income-led economy is a risky model that could backfire if companies are discouraged to add new hires, warned Paul Romer, co-winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize for Economics.

• Niall Ferguson: ” Trump Unleashed”

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (Die Weltwoche) – New York Times bestselling author, Emmy award winning documentarist, and celebrated conservative intellectual — predicts this year’s newest conflict zones and examines President Donald Trump, the most controversial guest attending the upcoming World Economic Forum.

• After Iowa Democratic debate, party could get its nightmare: Trump’s reelection

  SPEAKER: Newt Gingrich

  (Fox News) – It took a while for me to understand the nagging feeling I got from the Democratic debate in Iowa Tuesday night. I kept grappling with my dissatisfaction and could not find the right words.

• The Trump family and the Corleone Doctrine

  SPEAKER: Niall Ferguson

  (The Boston Globe) – It is certainly no cause for glee that the most powerful man in the world should aspire to be a mafioso. Yet there may be worse figures to imitate than Vito Corleone.

• Matt Bai joins Washington Post Opinions as politics contributing columnist

  SPEAKER: Matt Bai

  (The Washington Post) – Matt Bai will be joining Post Opinions as a politics contributing columnist.

• ‘Better the Russian trolls help fund education’: Maryland looks to pioneer taxes on digital advertising

  SPEAKER: Paul Romer

  (The Washington Post) – Two powerful Maryland politicians want that ad chasing you around the Internet to pay the state for the privilege of collecting your data.

• Trump Broke It. Now He Owns It.

  SPEAKER: David Frum

  (The Atlantic) – The president withdrew from a flawed deal with Iran, but had no realistic alternative. With that choice comes responsibility for what ensued.