By The Numbers. . .

(By The Numbers. . .)

One begin this morning with the news that Israel has resumed combat operations against Hamas. The cease fire has expired but renewed hostilities accompany further outrages on the part of the terror group. Some children were drugged and branded in case they escaped. All that being said, how much more difficult will further progress against Hamas be because of this respite that lasted six days instead of the originally planned four.

In any event, California Governor Gavin Newsome and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis faced off on the Hannity program last night. On paper, Florida compares very favorably to California. Florida has no income tax and California has the highest in the country. California has experienced an exodus, many of these went to Florida. The Florida Governor could point to his states booming economy and budget surplus. California by contrast is experiencing a slew of social ills.  Newsome complained about Florida's "book banning" where DeSantis said things needed to be age specific. California and Florida took opposing directions when responding to the pandemic where the Golden State went for a full lock-down including masks and closing schools while the Sunshine State limited disruption, keeping residents of The Villages safe. Other highlights included DeSantis commenting San Francisco public crapping problem, how Newsome corrected DeSantis on the pronunciation of the Vice President's first name.

In subsequent analysis, DeSantis was the "winner" because he had the better story to tell. His state his prosperous because of policies coming from Tallahassee. Newsome, in Sacramento, who has his own "green" agenda has been placing restrictions on energy output and his own designs for forcing electric vehicles on Californians, whether they want them or not. Gas in California is the highest in the country at almost five dollars a gallon on average. For its part, Florida gas is less than the national average. While neither Governor is going to be nominated by their Party for President, this year, in 2028. one could see a repeat performance. 

So, while Sean Hannity was playing host to Governors DeSantis and Newsome, in Dubai of all places, the U.N. climate crowd in their best elite that would make Davos proud. These people operate in their own bubble, isolated from the realities of the broader world. And as if to prove a point as to the uselessness of such a gathering, the remedy's suggested are a complete ban on U.S. natural gas, and that Americans need to eat less meat. Now, neither of these recommendations are practical, especially the request to eat less meat. For a culture that developed the Monster Thick Burger from Hardees or the Meat Mountain by Arby's (just retired) there will be no plan to limit either.

Finally, the House of Representatives voted to expel Congressman George Santos (R-NY). The Santos case has been examined and, because House Republicans have such a limited Majority, one would have thought that the Representative should stay and vote rather than be expelled and be lost. Now, Speaker Johnson has one less "Yea" to work with when up-coming bills need to be passed with the slimmest of margins.

This is the first day of December and Hannukah is just around the corner. This year the celebration is taking place with Jews again in harms' way. With Blue State-Red State gubernatorial debate, with a Dubai climate conference, Israel is again at the center of the world. And that, is by the numbers.