Quick Hits: Volume CCXLIV

 - The coordinated effort by Democrat elected officials and their media lapdogs to characterize the recently passed election law in Georgia as "Jim Crow 2.0" has been equally appalling and infuriating to watch. If you want a solid, comprehensive breakdown of the new law, longtime Georgia resident/conservative radio show host/former elections law lawyer Erick Erickson does it better than anybody. 

But there's one reaction in particular that I can't get past. That is the indignant claims on how this law's passage will backfire on the Georgia Republicans because Dems will be so infuriated that they will turn out in record numbers. Such a belief kinda flies in the face of leftists' claims that this is a voter restriction bill, no? How can so many people turn out if the eeeeeevil GOP took away their ability to vote???

- Remember CNN and their indignant "Facts First" ad campaign about how they're the arbiters of truth combatting the untruthful Trump administration?

New CNN ad. pic.twitter.com/GMrkQKojcZ

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 23, 2017

One CNN writer in particular believes that a male child who has a...uh....proverbial "banana" is not necessarily an actual male. 

This is CNN. Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/gTMQOWDXGc

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) March 31, 2021

Sticking with the fruit analogies, CNN is basically calling a banana a peach. 

- While the results of this recent poll are not terribly surprising, it is still awfully depressing. 

A new poll indicates that American church membership has fallen below the majority for the first time.

The data from Gallup tracked church membership across the past 80 years, starting with 73% in 1937 and peaking just after World War II with 76% membership.

The past 20 years have seen a sharp dropoff, falling from 70% to 47% in that time.

The survey asked "Do you happen to be a member of a church, synagogue or mosque?"

If you're talking 20 years, that means the starting point was at the beginning of the new millennia. It's probably not a coincidence that it was the late 1990s/early 2000s when we began to see a bitter divide in partisan politics, particularly in the aftermath of the President Bill Clinton impeachment (circa 1998) and the contentious 2000 presidential election. It's only gotten progressively worse each passing year given there's been literal mobs of violence in the names of elected officials or pet political causes. 

As we approach Good Friday in commemoration of Jesus Christ's crucifixion, I feel confident in saying that Christ's death did not occur so we could engage in bitter disputes over which political philosophy is superior. 

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Vapid gun-grabber demagogues said what?

I've been on the social platform LinkedIn for more than a decade now. I, like most individuals who utilize the site, use it primarily for career networking. This was especially vital when I was working contract jobs that occasionally ended with little notice. While I am blessed to have had gainful employment with the same employer for nearly 5 years now, I will still peruse the site just to find out what some of my former colleagues are up to these days. 

Upon logging into LinkedIn last week, I came across the following post in my feed: 

I'm not connected to this person but that post appeared in my feed due to someone in my network commenting on it. Since I didn't personally know said commenter, I immediately nuked him (yes, he/him/his were the person's preferred pronouns 🙄) from my network. 

I was initially annoyed that such divisive political demagoguery showed up on one of the few social media sites I go to for a reprieve from that garbage. However, upon reading the post, the verbiage in that final sentence appeared awfully familiar, as if I had read it previously. After all, this seems like the typical bilge one might find on Twitter, right?

Sure enough, just two days earlier, token CNN "Republican" commentator Ana Navarro posted this: 

The gun-grabbers know they're on the losing end of this particular battle in the culture war, evidenced by emotion trumping cogency every single time. But for some to just flat out plagiarize others' vacuous talking points emphasizes how they have no intellectual acumen to engage in this debate. 

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Did I call it or did I call it?

From my post this past Friday regarding Minnesotans ages 16 and above being eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination as of March 30: 

I personally have not been in a hurry to get vaccinated, especially since my wife has been administered her two shots. However, with baseball season just around the corner, this expanded eligibility couldn't be more perfectly time. That said, if getting into Target Field requires some sort of "proof of vaccination" to attend a baseball game, I will abstain from seeing the Twins home game in person even if I'm fully vaccinated. There are just some overreaches I'm not willing to indulge.

Via the WaPo:

 

The Biden administration and private companies are working to develop a standard way of handling credentials — often referred to as “vaccine passports” — that would allow Americans to prove they have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus as businesses try to reopen.

The effort has gained momentum amid President Biden’s pledge that the nation will start to regain normalcy this summer and with a growing number of companies — from cruise lines to sports teams — saying they will require proof of vaccination before opening their doors again.

Hey, I get it. These are private businesses. If their criteria is to require proof of vaccinations in order to allow in large crowds to their respective establishments, they are more than welcome to make that their policy. But it is also my sacred right to tell them to whiz off and thus not patronize their business. 

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Box Score of the Week

MLB is back this week!

In honor of Opening Day this Thursday, let's look back at a memorable game from the opener in 1940 - Cleveland Indians at Chicago White Sox. 

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Indians pitcher Bob Feller pitched a no-hitter, the first and only no-no to be thrown on Opening Day.

Ironically, Feller attended the Indians' 1994 opener in their brand new stadium when the opposing pitcher (Seattle Mariners hurler Randy Johnson) took a no-hitter into the 8th inning. The TV camera kept panning to Feller in the press box and he looked as if he was ready to grab a bat before Cleveland's Sandy Alomar ended Johnson's no-hit bid with a single in the eighth. 

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I don't remember all that Spanish or The Gettysburg Address....

It's the final Sunday in March, so spring is definitely...uh....springing. As such, today's two-hour edition of my radio show The Closer will get started at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

Whether the President Joe Biden administration wants to admit it or not, the situation at the U.S./Mexico border is a crisis. We'll discuss. 

At 1:30, Archway Defense founder (and firearms expert) Peter Johnson will join the broadcast to discuss the aftermath of the Boulder, CO shooting and how (once again) the media got it so, so wrong. 

Then at 2:00 I will chat with Stephen R. Soukup, who will be on to promote his new book The Dictatorship of Woke Capital: How Political Correctness Captured Big Business.

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing.

 

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis"). If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #NARNShow or "Like" our Facebook page, where we also conduct a "Live Stream" of the broadcast.

Until then.....

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A shot in the arm

After a uneven start to administering the COVID-19 vaccine, the state of Minnesota is now on target for an expanded eligibility pool.

The COVID-19 vaccine will be available to all Minnesotans 16 and older beginning Tuesday, Gov. Tim Walz announced Friday morning.

A statement from the governor's office said Minnesota's most critical goal is getting "as many Minnesotans vaccinated as quickly as possible to end this pandemic," which is showing signs of increased activity in the state again.

"Minnesotans have done a remarkable job helping our most vulnerable get vaccinated and waiting their turn," Walz said in a statement prepared ahead of a live video address at 11:30 a.m. "Now, as we prepare to receive more vaccine heading into April, it's time for all Minnesotans to get in line."

The expanded eligibility means another 1.2  million Minnesotans will be added to the pool of state residents seeking protection from the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

This definitely brings more clarity to what was a rather befuddling Phase/Tier system previously. 

The Minnesota groups that are becoming vaccine-eligible next week number number about 1.15M people. While everyone’s eligible, some providers may still prioritize people with more risk or more essential jobs for their limited vaccine supply. pic.twitter.com/7YaSdNRX6H

— David H. Montgomery (@dhmontgomery) March 26, 2021

I personally have not been in a hurry to get vaccinated, especially since my wife has been administered her two shots. However, with baseball season just around the corner, this expanded eligibility couldn't be more perfectly time. That said, if getting into Target Field requires some sort of "proof of vaccination" to attend a baseball game, I will abstain from seeing the Twins home game in person even if I'm fully vaccinated. There are just some overreaches I'm not willing to indulge. 

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It *should* be easier

Old and busted: "It’s easier to obtain a gun than a book."

New hotness: "It's easier to buy an AR-15 than it is to register to vote."

Both statements are bull pucky of course, but we'll focus on the latter since it's the latest falsehood to be making the rounds. 

National Review's Charles C.W. Cooke: 

Let’s start with its veracity. It is indisputable that commercial firearms sales in Georgia — which is to say almost all firearms sales in Georgia — require more documentation and more steps than does voter registration. To register to vote in Georgia, one must be a U.S. citizen, be resident in the county in which one is registering, be 17 and a half (18 to actually vote), and not be a felon or mentally ill. In addition, one needs either an unexpired Georgia drivers license, a State ID number, or a “paper registration form.” Registration can be done online, and takes five to ten minutes. To buy a gun from a commercial seller in Georgia, one must be a U.S. person, be resident in the state, be 18 (to buy a long gun) or 21 (to buy a handgun), and not be a felon or mentally ill. In addition, one needs to present a state-issued photo ID, to fill in Form 4473 (which asks many questions, including about drug use), and to undergo a criminal background check conducted by the FBI. The latter process takes longer — and involves more hoops — than does registering to vote.

Cooke also emphasizes that while there are rare occurrences where buying a gun is easier, it's an apples-to-monkey wrenches comparison.

To privately transfer a firearm in Georgia, one must meet the same eligibility requirements as for commercial transfers: One must be a U.S. person, be resident in the state, be 18 (to buy a long gun) or 21 (to buy a handgun), and not be a felon or mentally ill. But one does not need to provide ID or undergo a background check. In the real world, there are, of course, many good reasons for the state to decline to regulate the transfer of private property — including that it is extremely difficult to do well, that compliance tends to be low (even in deep blue states), that it doesn’t help catch criminals, that it rarely intersects with mass shootings (in both Georgia and Colorado, the guns were bought after a background check), that it involves the de facto creation of a gun registry, and that it is hard to devise a useful set of rules that don’t also prevent friends and family from loaning or giving each other guns.

This is an example of why the future of this country is so very much in peril. Instead of verifying whether or not a spectacularly dubious claim is true, one will run with a pithy little soundbite so long as it validates one's worldview. The woeful lack of critical thinking skills is fast approaching a crisis level. 

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As predictable as the sun rising in the East

 National Review writer Jim Geraghty from 5+ years ago: 

Narrative journalism: (P)reconceived storylines that fit a particular agenda or political or ideological view, almost always progressive.

When word came out Monday that an active shooter was on the loose in Boulder, CO, many anti-gunners and other proggie factions assumed it was some white pro-Trump gun zealot wreaking havoc. And of course the obligatory calls for gun control from leftist elected officials went into hyperdrive. 

On Tuesday, the shooter was identified. 

As usual, the media and other leftist groups will seamlessly pivot from generalizing a spree killer when the assumption he's a white guy to pleas for tamping down overzealousness once the shooter is identified as a leftist and/or a minority.

If the shooter is a white supremacist, the event is an indictment of all white people and America. If the shooter is an Islamist, it is a completely individual act that has nothing to do with ideology.

— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) March 23, 2021

Ah, but the "principled" calls for gun control will remain.

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Which sucks worse?

As more and more Americans are receiving a COVID-19 vaccination, the insufferable opinions on vaccines has only ramped up. Granted what we read on social media platforms are not necessarily indicative of the real world, it's no surprise that opinions on the vaccine are as polarizing as pretty much any political/social issue can be.

The main two groups consist of:

a) Condescending anti-vaxxers basically accusing vaccine recipients of being lab rats. 

and

b) Virtual-Signaling vaccine recipients who imply they've got the market cornered on love & compassion because they took the shot(s) and thus are protecting the masses from catching a potentially deadly virus. They also condescendingly coo "I believe in science!" 

As someone who believes in most vaccines but absolutely does not support them being mandatory, I can't decide whether group a) or group b) is more annoying. I guess I subscribe to the Henry Kissinger sentiments pertaining to the Iran/Iraq war in the late '70s/early '80s in that it's a shame they can't both lose. 

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It sounds so simple I just got to go.....

On vacation all this week, so blogging will be non-existent (at least it better be). 

Talk to y'all again this weekend. 

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You've got a great imagination....

 Back in the AM 1280 The Patriot bunker for a second consecutive week! As such, my radio program The Closer will be airing 1-3 PM Central Time. 

A lotta COVID talk in the first hour as we recently commemorated the 1-year anniversary of the pandemic. While we are definitely seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, there's a lot of issues in the aftermath which we Americans should be concerned about. 

In the second hour I'll weigh in on the sinking ship that is the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY). Then at 2:30, I will chat with political wonk Matt Mackowiak regarding another incumbent GOP U.S. Senator not seeking reelection, the latest issues with President Biden's agenda, etc. 

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing.

 

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis"). If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #NARNShow or "Like" our Facebook page, where we also conduct a "Live Stream" of the broadcast.

Until then.....

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Thank you, my liege

It never ceases being downright creepy when American citizens thank their government for returning to them pieces of things that were wrested from them by that same government. 

Too many of my fellow Minnesotans on social media were bending the proverbial knee towards Gov. Tim Walz for the most significant rollback of COVID-19 restrictions since they were first implemented a year ago. The things is, we're still not as free as our neighbors (ND, SD, IA and WI) in the upper Midwest. I can hardly blame the citizens of those states if they were laughing their collective asses off at us. 

In the end, I believe Burnsville City Council member (and friend of the Northern Alliance Radio Network) Cara Schulz captured the spirit best with her tongue-in-cheek reply to the Minnesota "turning the dials" graphic.

Sadly, those sentiments aren't too dissimilar from what had already been conveyed. 

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One year ago

The CCP propaganda arm World Health Organization posted this tweet one year ago today.

🚨 BREAKING 🚨

"We have therefore made the assessment that #COVID19 can be characterized as a pandemic"-@DrTedros #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/JqdsM2051A

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 11, 2020

It likely could have been designated a pandemic weeks earlier had China been forthright about the severity of the coronavirus outbreak within their country (The WHO was also complicit in allowing this to get out of control). 

I was traveling home from a family vacation in Arizona when this announcement was made. I remember how eerily quiet it was in the Phoenix airport, as if the first casualty of the pandemic was air travel. Within two weeks of that designation, I was working my day job from home. Then a couple of weeks after that I was hosting my weekly radio program from the confines of my house. For someone who considers himself the proverbial social butterfly, it was a difficult adjustment. However, I was grateful to be gainfully employed considering how so many businesses were shut down within days of the start of the pandemic. 

While my wife and I never suffered financially (heck, we even came out ahead given the savings on commuting expenses), I was heartsick over the job losses, financial ruin and deteriorating mental health so many people endured. As a political conservative, I also came to grips with the sad fact that pining for an era of small government was starting to become an exercise in futility given the nearly $5 trillion spent on various "COVID relief packages" over the past 12 months. To hear people ecstatic over "free money" means that they'll continue to vote for political candidates who vow to keep that gravy train a runnin'. And when it comes to our basic liberties, those will never return once government succeeds in chipping away at even a fraction of them. Even as we reach herd immunity in the U.S., our betters are never going to proclaim "olly olly oxen free." It's going to have to be up to we the people to draw that proverbial line in the sand. Problem is, I'm not certain there are enough U.S. citizens with the will or desire to make that clean break from Quarantine Daddy.

Yep, a good crisis definitely has not gone to waste. 

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The Doctor is in

 The Minnesota Republicans have their first gubernatorial candidate for the 2022 cycle. 

Physician and former Republican legislator Scott Jensen will run for governor in next year’s election, with an official announcement likely next week.

The 66-year-old, who retired in January after one term in the Minnesota Senate, gained national recognition for his contrarian views on the COVID-19 pandemic. As a family doctor, many in the media took his skepticism seriously. Since leaving politics, Jensen continued his criticism, with several online videos that have aired at Alpha News.

“Over the past year, Scott has gained national attention for his criticism of the CDC’s guidelines on the classification of coronavirus deaths due to inflated numbers,” a release about his gubernatorial campaign said in part. “He has been and will continue to search for truth and expose the facts surrounding COVID-19 and the measures Gov. Walz has implemented. He will elevate thoughtful discourse, engage in difficult conversations, and will not allow pandering groupthink to impede the vital contributions science can provide.”

Naturally the focus of the the DFL will be Jensen's commentary on COVID-19, specifically allegations of his being a "COVID denier." Alas, that is the id of the left wing these days in that refusal to panic or be hamstrung with fear is tantamount to being in denial. For his outspokenness on the virus, Jensen was investigated by the Minnesota State Board of Medical Practice upon multiple anonymous complaints being filed against him. While he was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing, Jensen can use that saga to his advantage by simply reminding voters he's Exhibit A in how people with a political axe to grind can weaponize speech. In this era of "Cancel Culture," that's a concept which could resonate with many.

Jensen will also have to grapple with folks on the right in light of his willingness to entertain gun control legislation two years ago while in the MN Senate. Even though he backed down from what many perceived as an anti-gun position, he's still going to have to assuage the concerns of perhaps the most well organized grassroots organization in this state, which is the pro 2nd Amendment crowd. 

In the end, I would have no issue supporting Jensen were he to become the GOP nominee. However, I'm still hopeful that a much broader field emerges. 

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Quick Hits: Volume CCXLIII

Thus far there has been no guidance from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on how the local MLB club is to proceed regarding a limited number of fans in the stands. Since the DFL majority in the MN House is content to allow Walz to be a veritable ruler, one GOP legislator has a proposal to allow Minnesotans to see their favorite baseball club. 

 

State Representative Patrick Garofalo, R-Farmington, plans to introduce legislation that will allow the Twins to play their home games in Wisconsin during the pandemic if the state decides not to allow fans into sporting events during the pandemic. While the Twins have sent a plan to Governor Walz to host 26% of capacity at Target Field, there is no word if that plan will be allowed.

“Teams across the country have safely allowed fans at stadiums and even typically liberal states like Colorado have announced that fans will be able to enjoy outdoor baseball,” said Rep. Garofalo. “Releasing the Twins from any state contractual obligations to play in Minnesota, will give Minnesotans the chance to cross the river and cheer on the team. The Twins are not the only business having to tolerate the slow-moving Walz administration. This is illustrative of what the wedding planning, youth sports tournament and hospital industries have been dealing with. Minnesotans are ready to safely reopen many activities. It is time for Governor Walz to stop holding Minnesota back.”

Wisconsin health officials recently granted the Milwaukee Brewers to host games with more than 10,000 fans in attendance.

I like this idea and would absolutely be willing to travel across the river to see my Twins club in person. However, even if Target Field was allowed to have fans to full capacity, I personally am more likely to travel to see my favorite squad play in Milwaukee, Chicago or Kansas City before I'd set foot in downtown Minneapolis these days.  

- Another GOP retirement from the U.S. Senate. 

If you're keeping score, Blunt's announcement means that's now four Republican senators (in addition to Pat Toomey of PA, Richard Burr of NC and Rob Portman of OH) not seeking reelection in 2022. With the U.S. Senate deadlocked at 50-50, this pretty much means that the GOP has zero margin for error when choosing a respectable candidate to hold those seats. 

- Finally some CDC guidance for recipients of the COVID-19 vaccination. 

Fully vaccinated Americans can gather with other vaccinated people indoors without wearing a mask or social distancing, according to long-awaited guidance from federal health officials.

The recommendations also say that vaccinated people can come together in the same way — in a single household — with people considered at low-risk for severe disease, such as in the case of vaccinated grandparents visiting healthy children and grandchildren.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the guidance Monday.

The guidance is designed to address a growing demand, as more adults have been getting vaccinated and wondering if it gives them greater freedom to visit family members, travel, or do other things like they did before the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world last year.

This is welcome news, particularly when there has been sheer fecklessness on the issue from "experts" like Drs. Michael Osterholm & Anthony Fauci. I am especially ecstatic for the anguished grandparents who have been unable to hug their grandchildren for almost an entire year. 

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Time is truly wastin', there's no guarantee.....

 I'm back!

After four consecutive Sundays away from the Patriot bunker, my weekly radio show The Closer will be back on the air today from 1:00 until 3:00 PM Central Time.

On the national front, we'll look at the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), which appears to be circling the drain. I will also weigh in on states like Texas, Mississippi and Connecticut loosening COVID-19 restrictions. 

At 2:00 pm I will chat with MN State Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka. We'll discuss, among other things, the ongoing budget negotiations in the face of what is now a state budget surplus. 

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing.

 

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis"). If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #NARNShow or "Like" our Facebook page, where we also conduct a "Live Stream" of the broadcast.

Until then.....

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Funniest thing I've seen in a while

I've said for several years now that long time comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live has been a proverbial steaming pile of dung since the departures of Chris Farley and Phil Hartman. 

That said, if SNL head honcho Lorne Michaels wants to hire my pal Katie McCollow to take on acting,  directing, producing or whatever? They could do orders of magnitude worse. 

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The falsest of false equivlances

False Equivalence: An argument or claim in which two completely opposing arguments appear to be logically equivalent when in fact they are not. The confusion is often due to one shared characteristic between two or more items of comparison in the argument that is way off in the order of magnitude, oversimplified, or just that important additional factors have been ignored.

With that in mind, here is perhaps the most laughably absurd reaction in response to Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) reversing Texas's COVID-19 mandates. 

On this #TexasIndependenceDay we tell @GovAbbott

👨‍🎨@michaelnoteric pic.twitter.com/yhPI2PektM

— Derek Ensign (@derekensign) March 2, 2021

The slogan "Come and Take It" is in reference to what many 2nd Amendment advocates retort with when any government entity, candidate or official touts policies which would infringe upon gun ownership. The only way this analogy works with Gov. Abbott's relaxing of COVID restrictions is if he threatened to confiscate citizens' facemasks or placed burdensome restrictions upon said masks in an effort to make them difficult to procure. Quite obviously neither scenario is in play here.

On a different note, have you heard about all the COVID-infected illegal aliens who have been allowed entry into the U.S. via the southern border? It's quite possible this will cause an outbreak of the virus in the area, yet Abbott's executive order will no doubt be cited by progs and their media cohorts as the sole reason. Book it.

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Openin' up

Here we go. With COVID-19 vaccines more readily available as well as key metrics like hospitalizations and ICU usage down, some states are looking to get back to normal life.

Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday it's time to "open Texas 100%" and end the statewide mask order, citing declining hospitalizations across the state as more people are vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Abbott issued a new executive order, which will take effect March 10 and rescind most of his earlier orders, including restrictions on business occupancy and the July 2 statewide mask order.

"To be clear, COVID has not suddenly disappeared," Abbott said, but adding "state mandates are no longer needed."

"Texas is in a far better position now than when I issued my last executive order back in October," Abbott said, referring to his edict allowing bars to reopen under certain circumstances. Cases spiked after he eased business restrictions in the fall.

Naturally the COVID woke scolds are saying about Gov. Abbott similar things said to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp last spring when he eased restrictions in his state, specifically how any COVID related deaths will be laid at his feet. Some hack at The Atlantic went so far as to say that Kemp's decision in April 2020 was an "experiment in human sacrifice." Ah, but the proverbial bodies piling up in the streets never happened. In fact, it's been the exact opposite in that Georgia had the lowest transmission rate as of late January. Not surprisingly, the state's economy has also been quick to recover. 

And what about Florida? Despite Gov. Ron DeSantis never really implementing any significant restrictions, his state has been one of the few success stories. This is extra impressive when you consider the state has one of the highest elderly populations (i.e. the segment most vulnerable to COVID-19) yet a far lower death rate and raw number of deaths than other larger popular states like New York.

While I am obviously hopeful that Texas ends up being a success story, I can't help but be concerned about some new variants of COVID that have been rearing their ugly heads. 

Shortly after Abbott spoke Tuesday, the Texas Hospital Association issued a statement urging Texans to continue wearing masks in public: "We know that it works. It protects health care workers and the people around you. More infectious variants are circulating in Texas, and millions more people need to be vaccinated. We should still be doing everything we can to protect each other."

I believe this should have been the tactic from the beginning in that elected officials should not be mandating anything (i.e. mask-wearing, businesses closing, etc.) but cede to the public health officials when it comes to recommending the most effective deterrents to spreading this virus. After almost an entire year of this pandemic in America, it's clear we're long overdue for a new tactic. 

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Quick Hits: Volume CCXLII

 - What a difference a year makes. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic began around this time last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) was looked at as the standard bearer of how to navigate a crisis. Heck, even some conservatives were touting his supposed leadership chops. 

Now? In addition to the lid finally being blown off his disastrous nursing home policy, Cuomo is also facing multiple sexual harassment allegations. 

NEW: In statement, @NYGovCuomo says:

"I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended.”

Read here: pic.twitter.com/ZIIkPfonqg

— Luis Ferré-Sadurní (@luisferre) February 28, 2021

To which Hot Air writer (and Northern Alliance Radio Network alum) Ed Morrissey queried: (W)hich box does a forced kiss on an employee by a powerful governor fall into — “insensitive” or “too personal”?

I wonder if Gov. Cuomo would even be welcome on lil' bro's CNN show these days?

- On Sunday, former President Donald Trump made his first public appearance since leaving the White House as he spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, FL.

The good news is he quickly shot down speculation that he is thinking of starting a third political party, which would have effectively ceded perpetual power to the Democrats. 

The bad news? Trump is thinking of running for President again in 2024. Ugh.

- You had to know that hiring high profile figures to spew propaganda about your foundering city was a recipe for disaster. Thankfully key officials recognized it before it was too late. 

The City of Minneapolis announced Monday it is dropping its plan to pay social media influencers to push out the city's messaging during trial of Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd. Monday’s announcement came in a public safety preparations meeting one week ahead of the trial, which is scheduled to begin with jury selection on Monday. March 8.

"We will not pursue the cultural social media partners," said City of Minneapolis Director of Neighborhood and Community Relations David Rubedor.

"When we make a mistake, we will acknowledge that and we will do better," City Coordinator Mark Ruff added.

Minnesota Reformer first reported the city’s plan to hire six "trusted messengers" with large social media followings to share "city-generated and approved messages." The city planned to pay the influencers, who were never identified, $2,000 each.

Any guesses as to whom the City of Mpls was considering? I betcha Andrew Zimmern was on the short list.

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