The Year in Review - 2021

As the crazy year of 2020 came to a close, most of us looked forward to 2021 as the year to transition back to “normal”. Now, as we come to the end of 2021, “normal” still seems a long way off.

The political drama of 2021 began right away. As congress convened on January 6th to certify the results of the controversial 2020 presidential election, supporters of President Trump began protesting in front of the capitol and calling for investigations on all the election shenanigans that took place in jurisdictions throughout the country. In the swing states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, and Arizona, rules were changed during the closing months of the election, predominantly in ways that benefited activist Democrats (e.g., ballot bundling, elimination of voter ID requirements, elimination of absentee ballot signature verification, etc.). As the protest gained momentum, some of the protesters began heading toward the doors of the capitol building, crossing police barricades, and eventually breaking into the building itself. The protest inside the building raged for several hours, as congressmen and senators hid in inner rooms or escaped under the protection of the Capitol Police. Eventually, cooler heads prevailed, and the protestors exited, but not before one unarmed woman was shot by Capitol Police and several police officers were injured in scuffles with protestors.

President Biden’s election was certified on the following day, but Democrats in congress, who had supported the violent BLM and Antifa protests in US cities throughout 2020, were suddenly aghast that anyone would violate the sanctity of their own hallowed halls of congress. Democrats labeled the protests as an “insurrection”, began hearings and investigations, and voted to impeach President Trump again for encouraging the breach of the capitol because he did not issue any public statements dissuading the protestors until 20 minutes after they had entered the Capitol Building. This, despite the fact that the president would be leaving office within just a few days.

On January 13, the House voted to impeach President Trump for a second time, predominantly along party lines (10 Republicans voted in favor). By the time the articles of impeachment were taken up by the Senate, Trump was no longer in office and Chief Justice John Roberts refused to chair the impeachment trial since a post presidential impeachment is not within the purview of the constitution (since removing the President from office is the penalty!). On February 13, the Senate acquitted the former President on a vote of 57 to 43 (60 votes are required to convict).

California Covid craziness continued this year. As vaccination numbers increased and case numbers fell early in the year, the health department rescinded their indoor masking requirements in June. Then in September, as case numbers increased nationwide, the health department issued another directive requiring masks in indoor public spaces, and requiring that restaurants, gyms, and movie theaters check vaccination status of patrons to be served indoors. Several local restaurants, including In-N-Out Burger, refused to be the “vaccination police” and refused to follow the directive. They were fined and shut down temporarily - Totalitarians can tolerate no dissent. In-N-Out reopened a few days later but did not open their indoor dining so they would not have to comply with the order. In October, Governor Newsom extended his “emergency” declaration through March of 2022, so there remains no sanity in sight.

In August, after 20-years of fruitless occupation, the Biden administration unilaterally decided to pull all US troops out of Afghanistan. While the decision was probably a correct one, in the long-term best interest of the US, the execution was one of the most egregious displays of incompetence in the country’s history. The State Department and the intelligence services advised the president that the US supported government there would be able to withstand the attacks of the Taliban insurgency and maintain the territories they controlled for several months, without the support of US troops. All US forces were withdrawn from Bagram Air Force Base, the US military’s most defensible position, and congregated at Kabul International to organize the complete withdrawal. In leaving the air base, the US forces left behind their ability to defend our allies in the region, and hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of weapons and equipment. Within just a few hours, the Taliban had taken Bagram, along with all the military hardware that we had left behind, had Kabul International surrounded, and controlled the entire nation. A suicide bomber’s terrorist attack outside one of the gates at Kabul International resulted in the death of scores of people trying to escape Afghanistan, as well as 13 US Marines who were guarding the airport. Over the next three weeks, US military, diplomats and some Afghan allies were extricated from Kabul, but hundreds of US citizens and thousands of Afghan allies were left behind to face the wrath of the Taliban. There were no disciplinary actions taken against any US military or state department officials responsible for this latest ignominious surrender and defeat. The only person court-martialed over these events was a Lt. Colonel, named Stuart Scheller, who publicly asked why none of the defense department staff who were responsible for the debacle were held accountable.

Our ineptitude did not go unnoticed by our primary international adversaries, China and Russia. After subduing the democracy movement and fully taking control of Hong Kong over the past two years, the Chinese Communist Party set its sights on the island nation of Taiwan. By the end of 2021, Chinese military planes were flying well into Taiwan’s air space on a daily basis and the CCP had declared that Taiwan’s resistance to “unification” are futile. A full military invasion is likely to occur during the next year and the feckless US government will be absolutely powerless to stop it.

Vladimir Putin spent the fall months assembling a massive Russian invasion force along the norther border of Ukraine, after the former Soviet satellite state requested entry into NATO. While the Russian invasion of Ukraine is less likely, due to the serious financial consequences they would face from the US and EU, the show of force has almost certainly precluded the NATO allies of inviting Ukraine to become a member nation.

The administration’s incompetence was not limited to international affairs. Early on, the president issued executive orders which limited US oil production, shut down construction on petroleum pipelines, and rescinded executive orders issued by the Trump administration which had scaled back federal regulations to encourage business investments in the US. These actions, along with insane energy policies (going “green”), dumping trillions of dollars’ worth of Covid relief handouts, and issuing vaccine mandates on federal employees combined to wreak havoc on the US economy. By the end of the year, gasoline and energy prices were at record highs, the inflation rate was its highest point since the Carter administration, and the national debt surpassed 24 trillion dollars. The Biden administration’s solution to the financial issues they created is to pass a multi-trillion dollar “Build Back Better” legislation that is full of the same socialist and authoritarian policies and programs that have put us in the precarious position we find ourselves.

On October 2nd, a NASCAR driver named Brandon Brown won a race at Talladega Superspeedway. During a post-race interview, the crowd began chanting, “F#%k Joe Biden”, which had become quite popular at both NASCAR races and football games during the fall. The interviewing reporter, trying to coverup what was being chanted, suggested they were actually cheering, “Let’s Go Brandon!” A new meme was born and spread across social media and political punditry with lightning speed.

So, I’d like to end 2021 by appropriately recognizing both the fecklessness of our government and the lack of reliability of our mainstream media by welcoming 2022 with a hearty, “Let’s Go Brandon!”