A look back. I want to thank President Trump for his successes of the last four years. With "The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," we saw lower taxes and deregulation, and we had great economic growth and very low unemployment numbers - at least until the pandemic hit. Trump got 220 judges appointed to the federal courts, including 3 Justices to the Supreme Court. With "The First Step Act," we had the first significant criminal justice reform in decades. The law reduced mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, and provided more rehab and job training. With "Operation Warp Speed" we had multiple vaccines developed in under a year - a process that usually takes multiple years.
Trump established the US Space Force. A lot is happening in the space around earth. GPS, spying by the US and against us by our enemies, communications. As more satellites are regularly being launched into space, the new Space Force is a forward looking initiative. Trump helped deal a significant defeat to ISIS. He pulled the US out of the weak and toothless Iran deal. He moved the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. He recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. He stopped payments to the Palestinian Authority for as long as they fund the murder of Jews. And, in a move that would have resulted in universal praise had it done by a democrat president, we had the Abraham Accords: the normalization of relations between Israel and Sunni Arab countries. The UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. With more countries likely to follow.
It is a number that is hard to believe. But from March 14, 2020 through December 26, 2020, a total of 73,000,000 claims for unemployment benefits were filed. Even if we factor in the 8,610,000 (estimated based on pre-pandemic numbers) claims that might have been filed anyway, that would still leave 64,390,000 new claims. The other day we picked up some takeout from a neighborhood restaurant. I asked how they were doing. They laid off all but two of their cooks. They laid off all the busboys but the one who also does deliveries. They laid off a bunch of the servers. The closing of outdoor dining was a big blow. Meanwhile, recall that back in early December, a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge ordered the County to provide actual evidence - data - to support the Order closing outdoor dining. But a California Appeals Court reversed that Order. Therefore, without having to provide any reasonable basis for the Order closing outdoor dining, the County Order remains in effect until the next hearing on February 10.
A look ahead. Will the shift in population continue? In the last decade, Texas grew by over 4,200,000 people. Florida grew by just under 3,000,000. North Carolina and Arizona each gained over 1,000,000. While California is in the top five gainers, over 2,100,000 people, the state has actually been losing more people than are moving in. California counts on immigrants (legal or otherwise) to increase population. Recently, Elon Musk announced he will be building a new Tesla factory in Texas. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Apple, Oracle and Hewlitt Packard are also planning on moving to Texas. It is no coincidence that people and businesses are moving from blue states to red states. Lower taxes. Less regulations. Less politically damaging policies affecting the quality of life. The only question is, will these former blue state residents bring left-wing politics with them. Will they vote in Democrats, whose policies caused them to move to red states.
California is a one party state. Not just the governor and every top political office. But the Democrats in the State Senate have a 31-9 super majority, and in the State Assembly there is a 60-19 Democrat super majority. Maybe some are happy with one party rule. Extremely high taxes. Burdensome regulations. A homeless problem in Los Angeles and San Francisco (two cities also run by Democrats) that`is affecting the quality of life in those cities.
Now the question is: will we have a one party country? I am not just referring to just the next Congress in the event the two Democrats win both Georgia Senate seats on Tuesday. If that happens, it could change in another two years. Rather, I am referring to the promise by Democrats to change America - changes that are intended to make Democrat rule permanent in the entire country. Just think, Democrats would be able to ruin the country the way they have done to California and other places. With a Senate majority, along with the majority in the House and the White House, the Democrats intend to lock in permanent control. They will make Washington, D.C. a state and Puerto Rico a state, adding four Democrats to the Senate, and another 7 to 8 House members. They will pack the Supreme Court by adding maybe 4 new justices, in order to lessen the impact of the Trump appointees. They will attempt to eliminate the electoral college.
Democrats have done a great job in other places as well. In this weekend's Wall Street Journal was an Op-Ed (by former Republican candidate for governor, Bob Stefanowski) discussing the significant decline in Hartford, Connecticut. Noting that Hartford has been run almost exclusively by Democrats for 7 decades, the writer tells us: "Hartford has been in decline for 30 years. In the 1990s, Hartford's population hemorrhage made national news. Today it is smaller still, less than 70% of what it was in 1950." We also learn that Hartford needed the State to pick up its debt in order to avoid bankruptcy. Public employee unions, along with their generous pensions, are apparently part of the problem. But the Democrats and the unions have had what I consider to be a corrupt relationship for decades, throughout the country. The unions help to fund the campaigns of Democrats, who then return the favor once in office by voting generous benefits for those same unions.
Meanwhile, the propagandizing in our schools continues. In San Francisco, they are considering renaming schools currently named after Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, presumably because, well, you know - racist slave owners and whatever about Lincoln. Maybe they will rename the schools after Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. Maybe Barney and Betty. Meanwhile, there is a movement afoot to ban certain classics from the reading lists in schools, including works by Homer, F. Scott Fitzgerald and even Dr. Seuss. Said one author: "It's a tragedy that this anti-intellectual movement of canceling the classics is gaining traction among educators and the mainstream publishing industry." In San Diego, the school district wants to re-educate the teachers. The training being offered is in regards to "white privilege." The teachers will be told they are racist, and "upholding racist ideas, structures, and policies." The teachers need to adopt the left-wing approach to being "anti-racist." For those following critical race theory, the opposite of "racist" is not "not racist." It is "anti-racist."
The latest numbers. The US has nearly 21,000,000 cases and over 358,000 deaths. California has over 2.3 million cases and and over 26,000 deaths. Texas has almost 1.8 million cases and over 28,500 deaths. Florida has over 1.3 million cases and nearly 22,000 deaths. New York has over one million cases and over 38,000 deaths. Illinois has 975,000 cases and over 18,200 deaths. Los Angeles County has over 790,000 cases and over 10,500 deaths. New York City has over 436,000 cases and over 25,000 deaths.
Thankfully, the vaccines have been rolled out. I'm hoping that by summer or autumn the vast majority of Americans will have been vaccinated. But, it's still unclear what "normal" will look like at that point.
