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Fairness is something that five-year-olds are preoccupied with.
— David Drew Pinsky, M.D.
Reading Time: 4 minutes 50 seconds
Today is Monday, November 13th, the 317th day of 2023. There are 48 days left in the year. It is Sadie Hawkins Day, Start a Rumor Day, National Indian Pudding Day, and World Kindness Day.
On This Day
In 1775, American forces under General Richard Montgomery occupied Montreal.
In 1864, the three-day Battle of Bull’s Gap ended with a Confederate victory as Union forces, short on everything from ammunition to rations, retreated.
In 1918, Allied troops occupied Constantinople.
In 1927, the Holland Tunnel opened to traffic, linking New Jersey to New York City.
In 1940, Walt Disney’s animated classic Fantasia was released.
In 1947, the Soviet Union completed development of the AK-47.
In 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Alabama laws requiring segregated buses were unconstitutional.
In 1982, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini defeated Duk Koo Kim in a boxing match held in Las Vegas. Minutes after the bout was over, Kim collapsed into a coma. He died five days later, leading to significant changes in boxing, including the standing eight count, the reduction of fights from 15 to 12 rounds, and additional tests to pre-fight checkups.
In 1995, Islamic terrorists detonated a truck bomb outside the U.S.-operated Saudi Arabian National Guard training center in Riyadh, killing five Americans and two Indians.
In 2015, Islamic State terrorists carried out a series of coordinated attacks in Paris, including suicide bombings, mass shootings, and a hostage crisis.
Today’s Birthdays
Merrick Garland, arguably the worst U.S. Attorney General in history, is 71. Actress Frances Conroy is 70. Actor Chris Noth is 69. Actor Steve Zahn is 56. Actor Gerard Butler is 54.
The Links
Control of Congress up for grabs next year as voters split between Republicans, Democrats (The Center Square)
“The survey found that 44% of likely voters said they would choose the Republican, compared to 43% who said the Democrat. Another 11% were unsure, suggesting the election is still up in the air about a year out.”
3 Reasons Biden’s Strong Economy Is Unpopular (New York)
“[A] recent Blueprint/YouGov survey, which found that 64 percent of voters consider lower prices on ‘goods, services, and gas’ to be their top priority, while only 7 percent said the same of ‘jobs.’ The Biden administration’s economic message has understandably emphasized job creation, since its success on that front is unambiguous. Yet 15 percent of Americans are retired, and the vast majority of U.S. workers remained stably employed throughout the pandemic. So, the biggest beneficiaries of Biden-era job growth comprise a small fraction of the public, whereas all Americans are directly impacted by consumer prices.”
How Bidenomics May Cost Biden the Youth Vote (Allysia Finley)
“Mr. Biden won the youth vote by double digits in 2020, while seniors swung for Mr. Trump. Recent polls, however, show that seniors are now the only age group that favors Mr. Biden in a rematch. It isn’t difficult to explain the reversal. Bidenomics has exacted a massive wealth transfer from young people to seniors.”
Shrinking Schools, Soaring Salaries (City Journal)
“In almost all districts across America, funding is tied to enrollment. But starting in 2020 under the Trump administration, the federal government massively increased the money that it gives to local education. Some of that initially was to help schools fortify themselves against Covid, by, for instance, installing better air filtration. But even as it became clear that grammar school and high school kids were among the least susceptible to the virus, the feds kept sending larger sums to schools — money that has now found its way into contracts.”
“His union, the American Postal Workers Union, has endorsed the Social Security Fairness Act, a bill proposed in Congress that would repeal Social Security rules known as the Windfall Elimination Provision, or WEP, and Government Pension Offset, or GPO, that reduce benefits for workers had positions where they did not pay Social Security taxes, also called non-covered earnings.”
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