The Grass is Greener in Red States

How smart were the Framers in the design of our system? Darn smart. Beyond studying government systems for decades, they collectively sequestered themselves for four months arguing daily on how to craft a proper design. Recent events allow us to measure their wisdom in one aspect of the design. They set up a system with thirteen (at the time) laboratories for political experimentation. How’s it working.

Twenty-seven states are run by Republican governors and twenty-three by Democrat governors, and there are no Republican mayors in the largest twenty cities. The relative approach to governance across America has become increasingly disparate.  The purpose of government is to keep us safe and improve our lives.  Factually, how are the two political parties doing?

 Covid19

Deaths in Blue States were 45 per 100,000, while deaths in Red States were 21 per 100,000. This means that a person was more than twice as likely to die from Covid19 in a state with a Democrat governor.

When the legislatures and tenure are examined, the results become even worse for Democrat leadership. The two Republican states in the top 10 are the traditionally Democrat states of Massachusetts and Maryland, where Democrats continue to control both houses of the legislature.  Throw into the mix the District of Columbia (78/100,000) and the picture becomes dismal.

Crime

All top ten cities are run by Democrats and nine have the worst crime record in the nation. Detroit has been the most dangerous city in the nation for four years running.  The average for these ten cities is 1,560 violent crimes per 100,000 people.  By contrast, the nation’s eighth largest city, San Diego, has only 370 victims per 100,000 and has been designated by the FBI as the safest city in America. San Diego, which was Republican recently elected a Democrat mayor. We’ll see if they can maintain their stellar reputation.

Violent protests have occurred primarily in the Democrat controlled cities of Minneapolis/St Paul, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, New York and D.C.  Insurance claims are estimated to be “catastrophic.”

Taxes

On average, income taxes are 30% higher in Blue States with California, New York, Minnesota, Oregon, New Jersey, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia leading the pack in high rates.  If you like paying taxes, the following Democrat cities have an additional city income tax: New York City; the District of Columbia; Louisville; Birmingham; Baltimore; Detroit; Kansas City and St. Louis, MO; Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Toledo, OH; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA.

A Google search came up with no Republican mayor that imposed a city income tax.

Illegal immigrants

Nine of the top ten cities with an illegal population have Democrat mayors, with one progressive Independent.  Six of these cities self-designate as sanctuaries. Texas has a state law forbidding sanctuary cities or it would likely be eight out of ten.  Nearly a quarter of the nation’s illegal immigrants reside in California, where they constitute more than 6% of the population. (Other estimates are far higher.)

Homelessness

New York has the highest number (47) of homeless per 10,000 residence, followed by Hawaii (46), Oregon (35), California (33), Washington (30), Massachusetts (29), Nevada (25), with Colorado and Maine both at (19). All Blue States. In contrast, the large Red States of Florida (15), Arizona (14), and Texas (9) come in much lower.  The remaining Red States are all below 13 per 10,000.

According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, an average of 568,000 individuals were homeless in 2019.  Over one third of those live in the three Blue States bordering the Pacific Ocean, the citadel of progressive Democrats.  Add in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, and you have well over half of the nation’s homeless in eight Democrat states.  Outside of Hawaii and Southern California, the weather does not attract the homeless to these states.

Income Disparity and Poverty

 When cost of living is taken into account, California has the highest poverty rate (18.1), putting almost seventeen percent of California residents below the poverty line.  California poverty is only exceeded by Washington D.C. (18.2).  Overall, Blue State poverty is 4.2% greater than in Red States, but the picture become bleaker when income disparity is examined.  Income disparity is 7% greater Blue States than in Red States, and only four Democrat states and D.C. are above the national average (.486) as measured by the Gini coefficient. D.C. (.542), New York (.523), Louisiana (.499), Connecticut (.495), and California (.490), substantially skew the average upward for the rest of the nation.  Ironically, these bastions of progressivism constantly harangue the rest of us about the evils of income disparity.

The results are crystal clear. Now, it’s only left to be seen whether we’re smart enough to use the Framers design to better our lives and the lives of our children.

Yet Another American Icon Pulled Down

 

Everything American seems under duress.  Our Constitution is dismissed as racist, our democratic processes are corrupted, our rights have been crushed by a virus, people have lost faith in government institutions, and every self-entitled busybody is telling us how to live, think, and speak.

My wife and I needed a break.

We met my son’s and daughter’s families for vacation in Orlando.  We had a great time, especially at our rented house.  Three families eating, celebrating birthdays, playing in the game room, watching movies, and splashing around in the pool.  The extended weekend was the highlight of our life since Covid19. We lived the “old normal” for four days and it was a wonderful reminder of living free.  That is, until we ventured into Orlando’s famed parks.

The parks were expensive, crowded, and autocratic.  Disney World took honors as the worst. Walking up to the entrance, we were greeted by people wearing masks and face shields holding disinfectant and temperature wands.  It felt like we were entering a pandemic center not the happiest place on earth.  Inside, signs and loudspeaker ordered you to never drop your mask on penalty of expulsion, and so-called Cast Members became downright snarly.  The hot and humid lines felt cruel, not happy.

This was the polar opposite of my childhood experience at Disneyland.

Walt Disney had a vision for America, and Disneyland was not an amusement park; it was the fulfillment of that vision.  It was clean, it worked flawlessly, and it was egalitarian.  Above all, it was a place that celebrated family. Walt delivered wonder and happiness.  It was all about the experience … and nothing was allowed to interfere in with that experience.  When Walt was alive admittance was calibrated to preclude outlandish wait times, a mix of food vendors could accommodate any budget, and the park added a dazzling new feature every year.  Walt even had service trucks troll the parking lots ready to provide gas or a jump start to cars that refused to start.  He explained that he didn’t want a family’s last memory of his park to be a disappointment.

Today?  All the Orlando Parks claim to be operating at one-third to half capacity.  If true, then at full capacity, they must use Japanese transit pushers to get the last patrons through the gate.  Interminable lines are also caused by Disney World’s strict caste system. Families with unlimited resources hire private guides that sidestep the riffraff.  Those in the middle buy FastPass tickets which allowed them to stand in shorter lines.  The rabble?  They spend a huge sum to stand in hour-plus lines in exhausting heat, struggling to breathe.

Everyone, including children over two, must wear a mask over their mouth and nose.  On the rides, in line, and outdoors.  Evidently, the Magic Kingdom Disney ignores science.  We were even ordered to keep our down syndrome grandson home because he refused to religiously wear a mask.  The Magic Kingdom now celebrates family by ignoring the Equal Opportunity for Individuals With Disabilities Act.  And don’t even think about waving your vaccination card.  The Magic Kingdom ignores your doctor provided certification.  The Magic Kingdom makes its own rules.

The rules are strict, and you’re reminded endlessly.  Mask police are omnipresent and harsh taskmasters.  Never let it drop below your nose, and no mask break without buying food or drink and remaining socially distanced and absolutely still.  Ride operators scold you if you try to pull a clean breath in the dark.  The mask police even patrol outside the park, so no breathing freely on your way to the car.  This is all after your temperature has been proved normal in a state that claims to be fully open.  It’s almost as if they want you to remain frightened and off-balanced.

This is not Walt’s vision for America.  It’s the bizarre vision of others.  Bunched us up in queues with no open space, omnipresent officials enforcing rules, loudspeakers barking orders, and some animals more equal than others.  All of this has been sold as safety measures for our loved ones and others.  Sacrifice for the common good.  Good people doing a good deed.

Isn’t it ironic that to exert authoritarian control, our betters artfully appeal to our innate goodness.

A Virus Attacks Our Constitution

This image changed my opinion about masks.  At first, I was ambivalent about their use in public but after viewing this picture, I found them abhorrent.  The photograph shows the Chinese National People’s Congress dressed in monolithic black suits accessorized with matching masks.  That unmasked dude strutting in front of his faceless lackies is Xi Jinping; General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and President of the People's Republic of China. 

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.  Animal Farm, by George Orwell.

We’ve already imported too much from Communist China.  I’m not talking about only products. The Cultural Revolution was the original Cancel Culture.  Leftists adopted Hong Kong White Shirt tactics to stake out a thuggish street presence.  Audited and censored social media took a cue from the Communist Chinese. Enough is enough. Americans chart their own course.

Suppression of constitutional rights, state control, and roughshod policing of lawful behavior has become more of a norm than an exception.  The Wuhan virus was the piece de resistance.  Emergency powers gave governors and mayors an opportunity to flaunt totalitarian instincts.  None of this has done us any good and we sure don’t need to import the Communist Chinese fetish for stripping people of their individuality.

Public safety does not require mandatory masks.  Even when used properly, surgical masks cannot fully protect against a virus. Unlike bacteria, viruses are submicroscopic and easily pass through most masks. Improperly used, masks become a petri dish that increases the risk of catching a bacterial illness.  Additionally, Mask wearing by the healthy can cause headaches, breathing difficulties, facial skin lesions, dermatitis, mask mouth, and worsen acne.

How about wearing masks to protect others?  As evidenced by shifting recommendations by health organizations, there is no settled science on this assertion.  First off, the sick should quarantine themselves and wear a mask if they absolutely must go out in public. This was the standard practice before everything got turned upside down by this virus. To counter this commonsense response, a narrative has been crafted that asymptomatic Covid19 carriers unwittingly spread the disease.  Recent studies could not confirm this supposition. Asymptomatic individuals might be false positives, or the absence of coughing and sneezing may curb contagion. After the World Health Organization stated that the pandemic spread by the asymptomatic is “very rare,” the organization got so much pressure from mask bigots that they revised their statement to basically say that there’s no evidence either way.  How WHO was supposed to prove a negative is beyond me. Here’s an idea, if you see someone in public without a mask, don’t get in their face.

Masks are scary, a health risk, dehumanizing, and uncomfortable.  We learn as babies how to read expressions. Many actors do their best work when they don’t have a single line of dialogue.  Comedians, voice actors, and politicians know that inflection is a big part of verbal communication. Just imagine going to a movie where every character wore a mask.  Criminals and Antifa use masks to remain incognito.  Much like the niqab, pandemic masks adherents aggressively browbeat others into donning this symbol of collectivist virtue.

Leftists pooh-pooh the idea that masks are some form of abasement.  But look at the type of people who inflexibly insists everyone must always wear a mask.  Look at the bullying tactics they use to forbid us from exposing anything but our eyes.  Look at those who demand that every American wear a mask in public at all times.  Why?  Science does not justify this oppressive level of control over our daily lives.  In America, we take pride in our liberty.  There should be no stigmatism attached to wearing a mask nor should there be any stigmatism for declining to wear a mask.

Here's the bottom line, once we are all obediently masked, we’ll discover which animals are more equal than the rest of us.