THE SHOW NOTES: The Two-Parent Privilege, Major Jobs Report, & What is going on at Politico?
Welcome! Brian Kemp is heading to the border to stand with Texas against Biden.
BORDER: Illegal border crossings fell from 4,000 per day to 200 after the National Guard took control from the feds.
NEW: The three dead Chiefs fans had three times the lethal amount of fentanyl in their system.
DATA: U.S. economy added 353,000 jobs in January - CNBC
LOL: Larry David apologizes for beating up Elmo. - Fox News
BIG MONEY: Two of Trump’s Super PACs spent $55.6 on his legal bills last year. - The Washington Post (paywall)
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Israel
The Israeli Defense Force is claiming it has largely defeated Hamas in Gaza’s populous southern city of Khan Younis. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claims the IDF has killed 10,000 Hamas fighters and injured at least 10,000 more.
Details: While Israel has not declared full operational control in Khan Yunis, the new data signals that up to 75% of Hamas’s pre-October 7th fight force has been eliminated.
The Problem: Israeli intelligence suggests that Hamas leaders along with the remaining Israeli hostages may have been relocated to Rafah where Israel refuses to send troops because of its proximity to Egypt.
Yemen: The US military initiated new air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen eliminating a drone ground control station that was preparing to launch attacks against cargo ships in the Red Sea.
What is going on at Politico?
The long-standing political news site known as Politico is doubling down on running unusually favorable stories for the Biden administration. Consider these recent headlines:
US intelligence officials estimate Tehran does not have full control of its proxy groups
Biden says he’ll shut down the border if deal gives him authority
🚨 Breaking: Jim Jordan just subpoenaed Fani Willis
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has subpoenaed District Attorney Fani Willis of Fulton County, Georgia, demanding documents from her office following allegations that Willis fired a whistleblower who tried to stop a top campaign aide from misusing federal funds.
The subpoena, obtained by NBC News, is part of a broader probe by Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Republicans into whether Willis used federal funds in conducting her more-than-two-year investigation into former President Donald Trump, who was indicted in Fulton County last year on charges that he attempted to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Full story at NBC.
The Two-Parent Privilege Is Real
Check out this review of Melissa S. Kearney’s book on the advantages of marriage at The Liberal Patriot.
In her new book, The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind, economist Melissa S. Kearney takes an unflinching look at how the fragmentation of the ordinary American family is, in fact, both an overlooked dimension and driver of modern inequality. “It is not only that lacking two parents makes it harder for some kids to go to college and lead a comfortable life,” Kearney contends. “In the aggregate, it also undermines social mobility and perpetuates inequality across generations.”
Backed with abundant data, Kearney argues the collapse of marriage as a social institution among lower-income families has compounded the demographic consequences of stagnant wages and the loss of steady employment in many sectors and regions. This phenomenon, she writes, is inextricable from the education gap, the geographic narrowing of economic opportunities, and policy decisions that have reinforced the advantages of the already well-off.
MUST WATCH: Immigrant Crime In New York
Two CNN hosts were left speechless after a law enforcement analyst explained that illegal immigrants steal in New York and live in Florida because if they committed the crimes in Florida, they would go to jail.
"So what the detectives are telling me is, they have crews here that operate in New York, do all their stealing, then go to Florida to spend the money and come back. I’m like, ‘Why don’t they just stay and steal in Florida?’ They said, ‘Because there you go to jail,'" Miller said.
Bank losses revive fears over US commercial property market
Mounting losses from banks in the US, Asia and Europe have rekindled concerns about weakness in the US commercial property market, a sector that has been under pressure from lower occupancy levels and higher interest rates.
Regional US lender New York Community Bancorp on Wednesday revealed it had taken large losses on loans tied to commercial property, while Japan’s Aozora Bank and Deutsche Bank on Thursday warned about the risks from their exposure to US real estate.
The losses mark the latest fallout from the US commercial property market’s dual problems of fewer people working in offices since the pandemic and more expensive borrowing costs. “We expect evidence of distress to ramp up this year as loan extensions end,” said Kiran Raichura, deputy chief property economist at Capital Economics. “Many borrowers will be forced to either inject new capital, return assets to lenders or sell into a soft market.”
Full story at The Financial Times (paywall).
Trending news:
A U.N. Agency Is Accused of Links to Hamas. The Clues Were There All Along. - WSJ (paywall)
Iran manufactured the drone that killed 3 US soldiers in Jordan, US official says - Fox News
Chinese crime and geopolitics in 2024 - Brookings
A Houthi missile was just seconds from hitting a US warship. The Navy used its ‘last line of defense’ - CNN
Inflation has fallen. Why are groceries still so expensive? - MSN
A Brutal Crime Crackdown Is Emboldening Leaders Across Latin America - Bloomberg (paywall)
In U.S., Physical Health Plummets After the Pandemic - Gallup
EU agrees $54 billion in new aid for Ukraine as Hungary falls in line - Reuters
The Taylor Swift ‘Psyop’ - WSJ (paywall)
Market snapshot:
"Inflation has fallen. Why are groceries still so expensive?"
Because prices are only going up more slowly - not actually decreasing. Politicians and journalists (both of which obviously failed math) will tell us that a 5% budget increase - rather than a 10% increase - is a 5% 'cut' when its still a 5% increase.
On the economic news and the UPS layoffs.
The Layoffs happening at UPS are entirely the fault of the unions. While some market considerations like Amazon switching to their own delivery service, are a factor. It is clear the overweight costs of the new union deal have strangled the company financially and forced them to take action.
This very much reminds me a factory in Wisconsin. The company was facing sales shortfalls so they began to cut wages. The union workers went on strike to demand a new deal. The company couldn't match the deal as it just didn't have the money so they closed. 12 months after the factory closed there was still union workers picketing outside an empty and decaying building shell.
Unions hardly ever think of the consequences of their immediate actions and any benefits reaped from their existence is usually only felt by the Union bosses who are akin to the mob.
Now on to the two parent advantage.
I would say that needs a footnote. Two "stable" parents advantage. If you lived in a house where the parents are constantly at each others throats arguing and even some physical or verbal abuse, that is NOT a good situation to remain married just to give a child a two parent household.
I grew up in a divorced parent being raised by my Dad. Perfectly fine if done properly. I was only 2 at the time they split so I have no recollection of it but according to my dad they constantly fought and they both determined they didn't want their children growing up in a hostile environment.
I also can't say splitting is completely a good situation either. I have an acquaintance right now that has been divorced for 8 years and they are constantly fighting over the kids. Multiple trips to court. Kids used as pawns against the other parent, kids manipulated to like one over the other. Certainly not a good situation either.
I think the definition needs to be changed as "Two parent" advantage meaning two parents mutually involved in the childs life. Whether that's being married or not.