in the face

In the face of febrile bond markets, this week the faint sound of the bugle of retreat on the US trade war got louder.

“Dead Outlaw” evokes at moments the droll perversity of “Sweeney Todd,” the cold-hearted glee of “Assassins” and the Brechtian skewering of “Road Show” — Sondheim musicals that fly in the face of conventional musical theater wisdom.

The reference to hockey legend Gordie Howe is a signal to be aggressive in the face of power plays from Canada's neighbor to the south.

Coogler, Roan and Zegler all have three glaring, important things in common: They all belong to marginalized communities; they all achieved their success from the ground up; and they all have stood defiant in the face of a machine much larger and more powerful than they are alone.

But as the regime is learning with DOGE’s firing and then rehiring air-traffic controllers, nuclear safety technicians, physicians and cyber-security experts, not even AI can take the place of localized expert knowledge and human improvisation in the face of unpredictable situations.