Nashville Bombing, ‘Defund the Police,’ COVID, Lockdowns, Taxes, Trump, Tom Brady, and the ‘Rigged’ 2020 Election
Nashville Bombing Shows Why It’s Probably Not a Good Idea to ‘Defund the Police’
CBS News—Nashville, Tennessee, resident Noelle Rasmussen: “We were all in bed. We have a four-year-old and a one-year old.
“It was about 5:50 in the morning [Christmas day]. We heard loud banging at the door, over and over and over again. So we went, sleepy in our pajamas to the door, and there was a policeman and a police woman telling us to evacuate immediately…
“We were confused, and we had a lot of presents set out for our kids to go see. And we were like, asking if there was any way we could stay, and they said, no, that there was a public threat…
“So we woke up our kids and put on shoes and jackets and left, and got in our car and drove away… And as we were driving away, I kept turning around to look…
“And I was looking at our stretch of buildings downtown and I saw it explode. I saw a huge explosion, a big orange fireball up in the air about twice as tall as our building. And I just said to my husband, ‘Oh my gosh! I think our building just exploded…’
“I was so grateful we left… I’m so glad we have our kids.
“And, above anything else, I am so glad for those officers who walked into a building that they knew was a dangerous spot to be and woke us up and got us out. I am so grateful…”
Why You Should Have Bought Stocks When the Market Tanked in March—and Why You Should Do So When It Tanks Again
CNBC: “The S&P 500 heads into the final week of the year with about a 15% gain for 2020, but from the March low the index is up about 65%. The bull market turned nine months old this past week.
“According to CFRA’s Stovall, that nine-month gain is more than twice the average nine-month gain of 32.2% for all bull markets since World War II. In the remaining course of the bull markets, their average compounded growth was just 20.3%, showing a slowdown in the rate of gains…”
Lockdowns Don’t Stop COVID, But They Do Screw the Poor and Disadvantaged
Stephen Moore, Fox News: “Liberals love to talk about following the science, but all evidence of the last nine months points to the scientific conclusion that lockdowns do not work to reduce deaths.
“Contact-tracing studies show that about half of those infected with the coronavirus got it despite staying at home. Only 2% of the transmission comes from restaurants, and almost none come from outdoor dining, which is now idiotically prohibited in California.
“The states that have not locked down their economy have lower death rates than New York and New Jersey.
“The unemployment rate for service workers in these states has skyrocketed to as high as 10%. In contrast, the red states, such as Utah and Florida, that are still open for business have unemployment rates for service workers as low as 4%…”
Low-Tax States Are Booming and Taking People and Businesses from High-Tax States
Scott Sumner, EconLib.Org: “In recent months, a number of important firms have announced they are relocating from California to Texas…
“The movement of these industries is toward three states—[Texas, Tennessee, and Florida]—that have one thing in common—no state income tax. And these are the only three states with no income tax in the southeastern quadrant of the US—say Texas to Florida and south of the Ohio River…
“A person would have to be pretty blind to ignore the migration of firms from places like New York, New Jersey, and California, to lower tax places…
“Interestingly, Washington State has no income tax, which is unique for a northern state with a big city…
“For the first time ever (AFAIK), California saw its population fall last year, and yet it has a delightful climate (even with the recent forest fires.) High tax Hawaii also lost population.
“So while people are gradually moving to warmer locations, state tax policies explain why certain states attract a disproportionate share of the migrants.
“Indeed, last year more that half of the U.S. population growth occurred in just two states—Texas and Florida. I believe that’s the first time that has ever happened. Add in Tennessee and Washington and you are at nearly two-thirds of the nation’s population growth…”
Courts Universally Reject Trump’s Allegations that the Election Was ‘Rigged’ and ‘Stolen’
Business Insider: “The Trump campaign, Republican allies, and Trump himself have mounted at least 40 legal challenges since Election Day.
“They’ve won zero.
“The lawsuits argue that states and counties have violated election laws, playing into Trump’s political strategy to discredit the results of the 2020 election that President-elect Joe Biden won.
“Republicans have filed the lawsuits in local, state, and federal courts in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania—all states that Biden won. They have also filed direct appeals to the Supreme Court, all of which have also failed…”
Tom Brady: 43 Years Old and Still the Greatest
ESPN: “Brady put together the best first half of his career, completing 22 of 27 passes for 348 yards. He is the only player over the past 40 seasons with at least 240 passing yards and four TDs before halftime, according to Elias Sports Bureau. (Brady also threw for 345 yards and five TDs in the first half against the Titans in 2009)…”
