"While the worst-hit parts of the United States have seen new infections recede and hospitalizations drop after strict social-distancing measures were put in place," the country is still actively battling the pandemic, the New York Times reported Tuesday. "For every indication of improvement in controlling the virus, new outbreaks have emerged elsewhere, providing a steady, unrelenting march of deaths and infections," another Tuesday Times report noted. Am I being sensational or alarmist or overreacting?
When the pandemic is over, should we fear the tech industry more than ever? According to Kara Swisher, writing in the New York Times on May 1, "If power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, how can we best describe the kind of power Big Tech will wield when the coronavirus crisis is over?" What are we to glean from the stock value of tech firms? Wall Street vaulted the stock of Amazon to close to $2,400 a share earlier this week, from $1,838 at the end of January, with a total valuation of $1.14 trillion. Microsoft was valued at $1.32 trillion, Apple at $1.26 trillion, Alphabet at $900 billion and Facebook at $577 billion. "This group now makes up just over 20 percent of the S&P 500. ... But even if it is good that companies like Amazon and Google and Facebook and Apple have become an essential part of making it easier to shelter in place or to track the virus — thanks a bunch for food delivery, contact-tracing apps and lots of funny memes — there’s much that’s not good," Swisher argues.
When Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) officially suspended his presidential campaign on April 8, a number of people said, “Oh, there he goes again, falling in line with the establishment.” But he "made clear he would stay on the ballot in upcoming primary contests to accrue delegates and wield some influence over the party platform and rules come convention time," Jacobin reported Monday. Now, New York has removed Sanders from its Democratic primary ballot and canceled the contest. There are lots of dedicated Bernie folks who truly believe in the process, and this is just a slap in the face. One would think that the Democratic Party leadership would have learned a lesson from 2016 to least give the appearance of inclusion. Are they afraid of engaging? Is it arrogance? Do they think that this is going to be easy? How can they be so myopic?
GUESTS:
Dr. Yolandra Hancock — Board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist who combines her hands-on clinical experience and public health expertise with her passion for building vibrant families and communities by providing patient-empowering, best-in-class health and wellness care to children and adolescents who are fighting childhood obesity.
Chris Garaffa — Web developer and technologist.
Dr. Ajamu Baraka — Journalist, American political activist and former Green Party nominee for vice president of the United States in the 2016 election.
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