THE SHOW NOTES: Depriving Americans of the Dream, The FBI vs The Catholic Church, & The War on Kids
Welcome! Joe Biden is bailing on the Super Bowl interview.
BREAKING: FBI conducting search of former Vice President Mike Pence’s home - CNN
NEW: White House communications director Kate Bedingfield to step down - Fox News
HEADLINE: The NRA Has Lost Over a Million Members Since Corruption Allegations Surfaced - The Reload
OUTRAGE: Maine Mom Demands Investigation after School Counselor Secretly Gives Daughter a ‘Chest Binder’ - National Review
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Clip of the day:
Where Did People Move?
The National Association of Realtors just issued its review of which states were the winners and losers in 2022. Here’s what they found in terms of total percentage changes last year.
The top six: Florida, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia.
The bottom six: California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusets, and Louisiana.
Side problem: States with population growths are seeing large-scale investors purchase every conceivable single-family home that hits the market driving up home prices for first-time buyers. In Atlanta alone, bulk buyers have purchased more than 65,000 single-family homes.
Less than 10 years ago, Florida and New York had almost identical populations. Now, Florida has 2.6 million more people. The Wall Street Journal (paywall) compared the two states and found that Florida’s state income tax is zero while New York’s is 10.9% and 14.8% if you live in New York City. Despite having an older median age, Florida had 5,638,561 residents on Medicaid while New York had 7,761,755 Medicaid recipients in 2022. Despite the drastic differences in state income taxes, Florida’s state sales tax was only two percent higher than New York's.
The bottom line: If Florida wants to raise additional taxes, the legislature is incentivized to grow the economy while New York's plan is to keep increasing income taxes. People are flocking to Florida and other states taking a similar approach.
Fetterman
The New York Times (paywall) is reporting what most of us figured: Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is having a much harder time transitioning to life in the Senate than he expected. Fetterman is “hearing voices like the teacher in Peanuts” while recovering from his stroke and spent two nights in the hospital this week after feeling lightheaded.
Details: Fetterman can’t process voices following the stroke and relies on a transcription service to engage in conversation. A monitor has been installed at his desk that provides closed captioning in the Senate and the committee panels where he is a member.
Remember when: Dasha Burns of NBC was excoriated by Democrats and fellow members of the media for asking objective questions about Fetterman’s health in the Pennsylvania Senate race.
No. Way.
The rest of the news:
Mike Pence subpoenaed by special counsel overseeing Trump probes - ABC
I Thought I Was Saving Trans Kids. Now I’m Blowing the Whistle. - TFP
Senators say 'very disturbing possibility' US manufacturing may have helped build Chinese surveillance balloon - Fox News
The Warner-Rubio alliance bears fruit - Punchbowl
How Disagreement Over a Pedophile Upended a Libertarian Anti-War Rally - Free Beacon
Bill Gates thinks A.I. like ChatGPT is the ‘most important’ innovation right now - CNBC
Minnesota Congresswoman Escapes Attack in DC Apartment Building Elevator - CBS
FBI Retracts Memo on ‘Radical Traditionalist Catholic Ideology,’ Says It Failed to Meet Bureau Standards - National Review (paywall)
Residents seek action as tire and rim thefts increase - The Washington Post (paywall)
How Florida Beat New York - The Atlantic (paywall)
Tweets that caught my eye:
Market snapshot:
"Not a major breach" is Joe's equivalent of "a minor incursion." No big deal.
And that loud rumbling sound south of Atlanta is Truett Cathy spinning in his grave.
National Assoc of Realtor results…. Shocker!