Weekly Recap 1/6: The 3rd Anniversary

By TokyoSand on January 6, 2024 • ( 2 )

Do you remember where you were when the January 6th insurrection happened?

I was working remotely from home, when a colleague texted me to ask if I was watching TV. I had given up on cable years ago, so I found one of the news networks streaming their live coverage on YouTube, and found the insurrection happening in full force. I still had work to do, of course, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of what I was watching.

It wasn’t just that our own Capitol was under attack, but it was under attack by fellow Americans. Writing that sentence still stuns me today.

And yet, in the three years since that terrible day, Trump supporters and other Republicans have tried to downplay the insurrection. The media has abdicated it’s important role and injected false equivalence that’s quite dangerous. Look at what the AP used as a headline just this week (along with a savvy response to it):

For me, three years later, remembering January 6th reinvigorates my desire to make sure that our democracy not only survives, but gets stronger. So this line from Biden’s excellent speech last night really resonated with me:

“Whether democracy is still America’s sacred cause is what the 2024 election is all about.”

Let’s get to work, folks.

And before we get to the good news from this past week, I want to thank my Patreon, Instagram and Threads communities for helping me pick the design for my 2024 blog titles! Lady Liberty was the big winner.

Good News

On January 1, 22 states raised their minimum wage. In California, New York and Washington, the new minimum starts at $16 an hour. You can find the full list HERE.

Also on January 1, new gun safety laws in Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, California and Washington went into effect. (For more, read THIS.)

On January 1, Sanofi joined two other major insulin manufacturers to establish a price cap of $35 for insulin.

Wayne LaPierre, the head of the NRA for the past three decades, resigned from the organization on the eve of his corruption trial. (The trial will continue of course.)

Fidelity reported that Twitter is now worth 71.5% less than at the time of purchase by Elon Musk.

A lawsuit has been filed in Pennsylvania to disqualify Rep. Scott Perry from the ballot for violating the 14th Amendment.

Gas prices are averaging at $3.10 a gallon nationwide, with the median average being $2.79.

Republicans in Michigan are in such disarray, they’re talking about ousting their state’s party chairwoman.

Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) has raised a lot of money — $2.75 million — since announcing his bid for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in New Jersey. (We need to get Senator Bob Menendez (D) out of the Senate. He’s a disgrace.)

Job growth was better than expected, with December’s jobs report showing employers added 216,000 jobs for the month while the unemployment rate held at 3.7%.

Call to Action

The most important action item to kick off the new year is to make sure you are registered to vote! It’s always good to confirm you are registered at the correct address, with the correct name, and that your registration is active. Bookmark IWillVote or your county’s election website (find yours HERE) and check again in the summer. You don’t want to find out on election day that something is wrong!