Episode 33: Alive and Kicking
If you are reading this message, you are alive and kicking. Congratulations, you survived 2020! Unfortunately, there are over 3.2 million people in the US who didn’t. This year was like no other in my lifetime. We experienced “part two” of the Spanish Flu, The Great Depression, and the Civil Rights Movement. All in the same year! Of course, the COVID pandemic that has infected 82 million and killed 1.8 million worldwide (nearly 350,000 in the US) was not as severe as the Spanish Flu in 1918 that infected 500 million and killed 50 million worldwide (about 675,000 in the US). The recession this year produced unemployment of 15% (before falling to 6.7% to end the year) but wasn’t the 25% recorded during The Great Depression of 1929-1933. The BLM movement and nationwide protests represent a historic stand for racial equality but don’t compare to The March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Still, the year 2020 felt like a dog year vs. a human year, and the last 12 months will have a lasting impact on society.
Our collective lexicon grew this year with an assortment of new words, acronyms, and phrases that encapsulate 2020: pandemic, coronavirus/COVID-19, PPE, PPP, IPO, Zoom, remote learning, social distancing, wear-a-mask, wash-your-hands! The top stories of 2020 are below, and here is a link to the WSJ Year in Pictures:
The UK officially departed the European Union after 47 years of membership
President Trump ordered a US airstrike that killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Quds Force and planner of various terrorist acts against America
President Trump was impeached (only the third in US history) for abusing power and obstructing Congress but the process ended in an acquittal
A helicopter crashed and killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, the pilot, and six other passengers
Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault and sentence of 23 years in prison
The FBI arrested Ghislaine Maxwell, former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, based on accusations she played a lead role in Epstein’s sex trafficking ring of underage girls
SpaceX and NASA blasted two astronauts into orbit, making the first human launch into space from US soil in a decade.
A police officer killed George Floyd, and public outrage of the incident (along with the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and others) ignited the BLM movement and nationwide protests for racial equality
Climate change produced violent events from Mother Nature: migration of murder hornets to North America; record wildfires in CA, Australia, and the Amazon rainforest; a record-breaking hurricane season with 30 named storms, 12 making landfall in the US; and locust swarms in East Africa.
The US reported the first case of the coronavirus in January, and by March, the nation was on lockdown, and an economic meltdown ensued, producing soaring unemployment
Americans struggled to adapt to social distancing, mask-wearing, and how to juggle work-from-home with remote learning for children
The economic recession ended 11 years of economic expansion and led to an explosion of federal government stimulus and national debt
A massive blast at a warehouse in Beirut killed 200 and injured more than 6,000,
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died and President Trump appointed Amy Coney Barrett to the highest court, shifting SCOTUS to a 6-3 conservative majority
Israel and four countries in the Middle East (UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco) signed peace agreements known as the Abraham Accords
Massive voter turnout of 83%, and record mail-in ballots, helped elect Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States
Various pharmaceutical companies partnered to create two COVID vaccines with 95% efficacy in record time
A RV-bomb rocked downtown Nashville on Christmas morning
Many events were canceled in 2020 but some leagues found creative ways to preserve a season and crown a champion: Kansas City Chiefs (NFL), LA Lakers (NBA), Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL), LA Dodgers (MLB), Collin Morikawa (PGA), Dustin Johnson (Masters), Bryson DeChambeau (US Open Golf), Takuma Sato (Indianapolis 500), Authentic (Kentucky Derby), Dominic Thiem (US Open Men’s Tennis), Naomi Osaka (US Open Women’s Tennis), Tadej Pogacar (Tour de France)
The Justice Department resumed executions after a 20-year hiatus and applied a lethal injection to ten people on death row
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 closed trading for the year at all-time highs
Investigators concluded that Anthony Quinn Warner acted alone in the RV-bomb that rocked downtown Nashville on Christmas morning. The blast injured three people, damaged 40 buildings in downtown Nashville, and caused disruption to AT&T cell and data service across the southeast. Warner died in the explosion without leaving behind a manifesto or any other clear clue of his motive. The bomber’s girlfriend reported him to the police last year for building bombs in his RV trailer. (The bomber has a girlfriend, and I don’t, how humiliating. This fact calls for some weighty introspection.) Officers visited the Warner residence to follow-up and knocked on the door, but he didn’t answer. Nashville police reported the situation to the FBI, but since Warner didn’t show up in their database, both agencies dropped the lead.
The new strain of COVID has made it to our borders. Colorado and California have confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 strain of COVID that is up to 70% more contagious than earlier variants. Most experts believe the two vaccines approved in the US should be effective against the latest virus strain. House of Rep-elect Luke Letlow of Louisiana died of COVID complications at the age of 41. He is survived by a wife and two children, ages 3 and 11 months. Letlow announced on December 18 that he tested positive for COVID and died ten days later. According to his doctor, he had no underlying health conditions.
California remains the epicenter of the US’s COVID outbreak, where ICU capacity remains at 0% in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley. California is an interesting case study on COVID and looking at the demographics, two statistics jump off the page:
Latinos comprise 39% of the population but makeup 56% of the positive COVID cases
Residents age 65 and above comprise 10% of the positive COVID cases but account for 74% of the deaths
Below are more statistics on the Golden State:
Population of CA: 39.5 million
Demographics of CA: 71.9% - White; 39.4% - Hispanic; 15.5% - Asian; 6.5% - Black
Total COVID cases: 2.22 million / Total COVID deaths: 24,958
Positive COVID cases by ethnicity in California: 55.6% - Latino; 20.0% - White; 12% - Other; 6.3% - Asian; 4.0% - Black
Total deaths by ethnicity: 47.4% - Latino; 31.4% - White; 11.5% - Asian; 6.9% - Black; 0.90% - Other
Positive Cases by age: 58.5% - 18 - 54; 19.0% - 50 - 64; 10.4% - 65+
COVID-related deaths by age: 7.09% - 18 - 54; 18.7% - 50 - 64; 74.3% - 65+
The distribution of the coronavirus vaccine in the US is behind schedule. The target was 20 million vaccinations by the end of 2020, but less than 3 million people have received shots. The vaccine will become available to the general population by April. According to Dr. Fauci, the US will have “enough good herd immunity” to reopen schools, theaters, sports events, and restaurants by the fall.
President Trump signed the COVID relief/Omnibus bill on Monday, making it law. The $2.3 trillion bill will provide $900 billion in coronavirus relief and $1.4 trillion to fund the federal government’s operating budget for the fiscal year through September 30, 2021. However, the President and Democratic leaders requested an increase in direct payments from $600 to $2,000. The House passed the measure, but Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell blocked a vote on the $2,000 stimulus checks. McConnell labeled the request as “socialism for rich people.” Earlier this week, the majority leader introduced his own bill for $2,000 stimulus checks, tying them to other Republican priorities, such as repealing Section 230 liability protections for online media platforms and election security.
The labor market is still 9.8 million jobs short of its total before the pandemic hit in March. On Thursday, the Labor Department’s final weekly unemployment claims report for 2020 showed another 787,000 Americans filed for first-time jobless claims, a figure well above the pre-pandemic weekly average of 200,000 new claims. On a positive note, new jobless claims broke below the 800,000 level for the first time this month.
Stocks closed out the year with strong returns, despite entering bear market territory in February and March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 30,606, marking a record close for the blue-chip index. The S&P 500 index notched its record closing high, ending at 3,756. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed just shy of a record, at 12,888. Below are the annual returns for the three indexes:
Down Jones Industrial Average: +7.25%
S&P 500: +16.26%
Nasdaq: +43.64%
Argentina’s Congress approved a bill legalizing abortions in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, making it the first Latin American country to legalize abortion. In 2016, nearly 40,000 women were hospitalized for complications from illegal abortions in Argentina, including over 6,000 girls and teenagers between 10 and 19.
If you want to see something that is simultaneously fascinating, exciting, and frightening, check out this Boston Dynamics video of robots dancing. Can you imagine what will be possible in five years? Good grief! Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on “Gilligan’s Island,” died on Wednesday in Los Angeles of COVID complications at 82. Tina Louise (born Tina Blacker), who played Ginger on the same show, is 86 and lives in NYC. RIP, Mary Ann; I will treasure memories of your pig-tails, gingham dress, and girl-next-door good looks.
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I. Below are the articles I found interesting the past week:
To create your best work, ditch the absurdity of productivity
Still Disinfecting Surfaces? It Might Not Be Worth It
The 36 questions that lead to love
Favorite home products of the year
II. Stats that made me go WOW!
- New York City has registered 447 homicides this year, a 41% increase over last year.
- The emotional toll of COVID on children and teenagers is severe. Good Morning America reported that the CDC had published a survey of 18-24-year-olds and 75% of the group participants have COVID-related anxiety or depression, and 1 in 4 thought about suicide. The suicide prevention hotline is 1-800-273-TALK and available to anyone 24x7.
- Apple valued at $2.3 trillion and up 85% for the year.
- California registered its worst wildfire season on record. By the end of it, the flames had killed 31 people, destroyed or damaged more than 10,000 buildings, and burned a staggering 4.1m acres.
III. Name that Tune!
As I write this email, I am listening to "Alive and Kicking" by Simple Minds.
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. The group is best known for its 1985 hit “Don’t You Forget About Me” from the movie The Breakfast Club’s soundtrack. Simple Minds was the most commercially successful Scottish band of the 1980s. Despite various personnel changes, they continue to record and tour. The song “Alive and Kicking” reached number 3 on the charts in the US charts and number 4 in Canada.
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