Californians Just Said "Yes" to "The Science"
Brace Yourself for More Insanity this Winter
My big takeaway from the Recall Election results: Californians just said "Yes" to "The Science".
Not Yes to Science, or Yes to Vaccines, or Yes to "Ending the Pandemic", or Yes to Diversity or Inclusion or any of that other crap Newsom blathered on out in his victory speech. Just "Yes" to "The Science" created by our Public Health Betters for combating Covid which California under Newsom has followed about as consistently as any other state, and what good it's done us...
What California actually just said "Yes" to is Vaccine Mandates, Mask Mandates, School Closures, and ongoing restrictions on businesses and normal life for at least another year in a vain attempt to combat a virus we have next to no control over. Why do I say this?
Well as even Gavin's most prominent opponent Larry Elder admitted there's only so much a new governor could get done with a legislature controlled by a super majority of Democrats. However during this pandemic governors have gained tremendous abilities and influence through emergency powers. In California Gavin Newsom wielded these powers to disastrous effect.
We had some of the strictest lockdowns and business restrictions in the country which began 18 months ago. Over the last year most of the state has spent only a month without a mask mandate. All of which has left us with nearly the highest unemployment rate in the country (tied for 2nd to last in the latest report). On Tuesday the US Census bureau reported that California has the highest poverty rate of any state in the nation.
Our schools were closed for over an entire year and the average Californian public school student saw fewer school days in the classroom than students in any other states in the country!
The damage this has caused to our kids is still unclear as California has yet to report on student performance since 2019, but we know from looking at other states that have reported that the learning loss has been massive. A study out of Ohio found learning loss of over 1/3 of a year’s worth of learning, and Ohio was middle of the pack on school closures.
The damage also extends beyond education loss. A recent study found an alarming rise in body mass index among children in LA county during 2020, especially among elementary age kids where rates of obesity increased by almost 40%! School closures were likely the culprit for mental health declines as well, with another study in Northern California finding a 20% rise in suicide related ED encounters among school age girls during the 2020 school year compared to 2019.
I could go on about the damages, (we haven’t even touched on small businesses, or the restaurant and hospitality industries in general) but even worse none of this did us any good. Even with some of the tightest restrictions we've still ended up with near the US average in Covid deaths when adjusted for age and higher excess deaths than the US average.
Yet even with all of this: with all the damage to our economy, our kids, and our lives, with no discernible benefits regarding outcomes with the virus, California's Governor ran on his Covid response. He released ads claiming you needed to vote for him to "Stop the Spread". That your vote was a “Matter of Life or Death”. And it worked!, he won by a wide margin even as polls just a few short months ago showed a tight race. Now, having run on this, and having won in a landslide, you can bet that Gavin will continue to use Covid as a political tool to distract from the state's many failures. And he'll feel compelled to "do something" the next time cases rise (and they will).
These election results will echo throughout the country as well. Newson's win will be taken as a sign that all these restrictions have popular support. Not just in California, but in blue areas across the country. You can expect a lot more of this insanity as we enter this fall and winter when Covid cases will be rising again in the northern half of the country.
Brace yourself, Winter is coming.
Anyway 0 and 2…