‘I witnessed our Ebola response in 2014. We are now seeing the costs of US aid withdrawal.’
Elizabeth Shackelford at the Chicago Tribune
As the “current Ebola epidemic unfolds,” the “withdrawal from the World Health Organization during the second administration of President Donald Trump” alongside “massive cuts to foreign aid” and the “gutting of global health staff” has “put us and the world at far greater risk from epidemics,” says Elizabeth Shackelford. By “withdrawing our funding, expertise and participation from the WHO, the United States also severely eroded the capacity of the global institution best positioned to respond to epidemics.”
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‘The GOP wants to tax your car’
Kimberley A. Strassel at The Wall Street Journal
“Campaign slogans can be catchy, clumsy or clever,” but “few are as crazy as the one Republicans are setting themselves up for this fall: ‘Vote GOP. The party that brought you a national car tax,’” says Kimberley A. Strassel. Republicans have “conjured up a new revenue stream: the first-ever federal ‘annual registration fee’ for vehicles,” and “such is the blindness that accompanies Washington’s lust for earmarking dollars for home-state pork.” This “idea is as short-sighted as they come.”
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‘Cuba’s only choice’
Michael J. Bustamante and Ricardo Herrero at Foreign Affairs
Donald Trump’s “de facto oil blockade” of Cuba has “pushed the country to the precipice: power blackouts are now daily and unpredictable, basic services have ground to a halt and citizens are growing desperate,” say Michael J. Bustamante and Ricardo Herrero. This is “not just a story about Washington’s choices, however,” as “for decades, the island’s government has prioritized internal control and external patrons over political and economic transformation.” Cuba “has long framed negotiating with Washington” as “incompatible with sovereignty.”
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‘Dear Disney, there’s such a thing as too much “Star Wars”’
Miles Surrey at Bloomberg
Disney “acquired ‘Star Wars’ with a strategy built around saturation when the franchise has historically thrived on scarcity,” says Miles Surrey. “Between 1977 and 2005, Lucasfilm released six ‘Star Wars’ films,” and this “turned out to be an economic asset.” Every “time a ‘Star Wars’ film arrived in theaters, it was a genuine cultural event.” But Disney’s “approach inverted that logic entirely,” so they must “restore the feeling that every theatrical release is an unmissable event.”
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