Tea at Trianon: San Francisco Doom Loop Quickly Spiraling

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, January 21, 2024

San Francisco Doom Loop Quickly Spiraling

From The Federalist Papers:

San Francisco’s doom loop just got worse. On the heals of the Hilton Hotel in downtown defaulting on their loan, another major player is packing up and heading out. KPMG, a prominent consulting and accounting firm, has decided to vacate its prestigious, namesake $400 million office tower.

Since its grand opening in 2002, KPMG has been a notable tenant of this 25-story skyscraper, occupying over 100,000 square feet. The company’s name prominently adorns the building’s entrance, signaling its significant presence.

This departure is not an isolated event but part of a larger exodus from the city’s core, reflecting a broader, distressing trend. The departure of Alto, a shoe store, from the major downtown San Francisco Centre mall, is just another indication a growing disillusionment with the city’s business environment. (Read more.)