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Situational Analysis - January 15, 2021

We made it to the end of another week. Can you believe January is half-way gone?! Today is National Bagel Day. The beginnings of the modern bagel can be traced to the Polish obwarzanek in the 1300s, a thin, boiled, then baked ring of dough. In 1610, an order was given in Krakow that bagels should be given to women shortly after childbirth. In November 2020, New Yorkers overwhelming voted that the "Everything Bagel" with scallion cream cheese was the best. Now you know.

I try to teach my kids that you can choose your actions but you can't choose your consequences. President Trump and his supporters are starting to see consequences in a myriad of ways, including being booted off privately owned platforms, stopping the flow of PAC money, the PGA championship moving away from Trump National Golf Course and airlines putting rioters on a no-fly list. But Forbes really laid down the gauntlet in this op-ed by the editor. If you read nothing else today, read this: "A Truth Reckoning: Why We're Holding Those Who Lied for Trump Accountable." Here's a taste:

"Let it be known to the business world: Hire any of Trump's fellow fabulists above, and Forbes will assume that everything your company or firm talks about is a lie. We're going to scrutinize, double-check, investigate with the same skepticism we'd approach a Trump tweet. Want to ensure the world's biggest business media brand approaches you as a potential funnel of disinformation? Then hire away.

This isn't cancel culture, which is a societal blight. (There's surely a nice living for each of these press secretaries on the true-believer circuit.) Nor is this politically motivated, as Forbes' pro-entrepreneur, pro-growth worldview has generally placed it in the right-of-center camp over the past century - this standard needs to apply to liars from either party. It's just a realization that, as Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said, in a thriving democracy, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. Our national reset starts there."

TICK TOCK

4 days to the start of the 2021 Utah Legislature (1/19/2021)
5 days to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris's Inauguration Day (01/20/2021)
49 days to the end of the 2021 Utah Legislature (3/5/21)
89 days until the end of the Cox/Henderson administration's first 100 days (04/14/2021)
105 days until the Biden/Harris administration's first 100 days are up (04/30/2021)

Today At Utah Policy

Utah Headlines

Deseret News

• What these religious leaders would change about the COVID-19 vaccine rollout
• Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. in a month of political violence
• America has a bad case of selective outrage
• While FBI not aware of 'substantiated' threats to Utah Capitol, governor declares emergency
• With huge demand for vaccine overwhelming local systems, Utah governor asks for 'continued patience'
• Over age 70? Here's what you need to do to receive a vaccination

Salt Lake Tribune

• Utah activist who allegedly rioted at U.S. Capitol has been arrested
• Utah governor declares state of emergency: what you need to know as police prepare for Capitol protest
• New Huntsman Mental Health Institute will help Utahns during COVID-19 and beyond, leaders say
• Delta Air Lines bans passengers who taunted Mitt Romney on flight
• Does a plan to merge Utah's environment and natural resources agencies signal a waning commitment to clean air, water in Utah?
• Latter-day Saints are overrepresented in Utah's Legislature, holding 9 of every 10 seats
• Utah Capitol is closed to the public for start of legislative session

Other

• First Salt Lake City teachers line up for Covid-19 vaccine (FOX 13)
• Utah residents continue to have issues scheduling COVID-19 vaccine appointments (FOX 13)

COVID Corner

• These states have done best - and worst - at vaccinating their residents against COVID-19 (CBS News)
• More than 90,000 Americans could die of Covid-19 in next three weeks, CDC forecast shows (CNN)
• Smokers are eligible for the COVID vaccine in N.J. The move has some in a huff, but experts say it's good policy. (NJ.com)
• Post-COVID lungs worse than the worst smokers' lungs, surgeon says (CBS News)
• Newly identified strain of COVID in US may be most contagious yet (New York Post)

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National Headlines

• A Look at What's in Biden's $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Plan (New York Times)
• Here's what's in Biden's $1.9 trillion economic rescue package (CNN)
• Too Much Biden Stimulus Would Backfire (Bloomberg)
• Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid relief plan calls for stimulus checks, unemployment support and more (CNBC)
• Michael Cohen writes foreword for Trump impeachment book (Associated Press)
• Biden swells the ranks of his White House climate team (Washington Post)

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Policy News

Gov. Cox, Lt. Gov. Henderson declare state of emergency
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Governor Henderson signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency ahead of potential protests at the Utah State Capitol this weekend.The precaution comes after the siege of the U.S. Capitol that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C., which resulted in five deaths including a U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick and significant damage to the historic building.

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Podcast: Color Country Politics hosts Senator Evan Vickers in legislative preview
With the legislature literally just a few days away, it's time to tune in to some of the many legislative previews popping up. In this one, co-hosts Jennie Hendricks and Jesse Harris talk with Senator Evan Vickers about what to expect from the 2021 session.Click here to listen in!

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Pioneer Park Coalition partnering w Presidential Inauguration committee to raise money for Utah Food Bank
The Pioneer Park Coalition is proud to partner with the Presidential Inaugural Committee to raise money for the Utah Food Bank in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. From now until Monday, January 18th, interested donors can go to http://UtahMLKday.com and give to this important cause.

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Curtis: Must tone down rhetoric and calm tensions
Yesterday, Congressman John Curtis (R-UT) voted "no" on impeachment and joined colleagues Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), and Nancy Mace (R-NC) in releasing the following statement:"We the undersigned offer the following statement regarding articles of impeachment directed at President Donald J. Trump:

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New Utah Foundation report looks at shift to telework, impacts on air quality
The events of the past year have forced a major shift to telework in Utah, with important implications for traffic, air quality and growth. Today, Utah Foundation releases The Way Home: The Shift to Telework and its Air Quality Ramifications, which focuses on how remote work relates to air quality in Utah, provides new insights gained during 2020, and looks toward the future interplay of remote work and air quality. It is the second installment in Utah Foundation's Utah Telework Series.

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Business Headlines

• Stock futures little changed as Biden unveils $1.9 trillion stimulus plan (CNBC)
• Google says it's closing the Fitbit acquisition-uh, without DOJ approval? (Ars Technica)
• The Bitcoin Dream Is Dead (Medium)

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On This Day In History

(From History.com)

• 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah's reign.
• 1535 - Henry VIII declares himself head of the Church of England.
• 1559 - Elizabeth I crowned Queen of England at age 25. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
• 1777 - Vermont declares independence from New York.
• 1831 - Victor Hugo finishes "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."
• 1870 - The Democratic Party donkey first appears in Harper's Weekly.
• 1892 - Jane Hoey is born. She later became the director of the Bureau of Public Assistance, Social Security Board and helped states develop programs of assistance, especially mothers' aid programs.
• 1895 - Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" ballet premieres in St. Petersburg.
• 1898 - Irene Kuhn is born. She became a journalist and scooped the world when a tidal wave hit Honolulu in 1923, worked on Thomas Dewey's campaign and wrote a conservative, nationally syndicated column for more than two decades.
• 1902 - Abdulaziz Ibn Saud leads 40 men over the walls of Riyadh and takes the city, marking the beginning of the Third Saudi State.
• 1919 - The Great Boston Molasses Flood killed 21 people and injured scores of others when fiery hot molasses burst from a huge tank in the heart of the city.
• 1929 - Martin Luther King Jr born.
• 1943 - The Pentagon is completed.
• 1967 - The first Super Bowl was held. The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10. The cost of a 30-second commercial was $42,000.
• 1970 - Qaddafi, the son of a Bedouin farmer, becomes premier of Libya.
• 2000 - Utah's Jerry Sloan becomes 12th coach in NBA history to reach the 700-victory plateau when the Jazz defeat the LA Clippers, 112-75 at the Delta Center, Salt Lake City
• 2001 - Wikipedia is launched by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger

Wise Words

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Lighter Side

Sadly, no one is safe from receiving the dreaded pink slip. Recently, a job application came across my desk at the federal personnel office in Washington, D.C. It was written on a standard form, which includes the question "Why did you leave your previous employment?"

The applicant, a former U.S. Congressman, responded, "The express wish of 116,000 voters."

(Reader's Digest)

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