IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters

Yes We Klan!

What. A. Day.

–I won’t game-story it. You all saw it. The White Lives Master march. I was out shopping (picked up a sweet Nirvana t-shirt at Target) and swimming laps and when I emerged from the pool saw someone tweet, “Is this the worst day since 9/11?” Unaware of the gravity of what was transpiring, I nearly tweeted as a reply, “Since the Bush Push.” But I’ve grown up a little (I said “a little!”) and let discretion be my guide. Did not tweet.

–No AP calculus-level math needed here. On sites such as Parler and others, MAGA folks gathered online for weeks plotting this day. Trump invited a member of Proud Boys into the Oval Office. He used yesterday’s rally on the National Mall as an excuse to gather them all (when has a lame duck president with two weeks remaining in office ever needed to stage a rally?). Then he gave them their marching orders, chiding them with “you will never take our country back with weakness.” And Rudy G. added a Game of Thrones reference, suggesting “Trial by combat.” And then it was a short mile or so walk across a rectangular lawn to the Capitol. If that isn’t inciting a riot, actually, inciting sedition and treason, I don’t know what is.

–My query today is how complicit the top ranking folks at the Capitol Police were with this attempted coup. And that’s what it was, make no mistake. Stephen Sund heads up this unit and he’s got some ‘splainin’ to do. Here’s what I wonder: Did they know this was coming (only a fool wouldn’t have) and decide, from up top, that there would be no guns drawn except in a last-ditch effort inside the Capitol? Because it sure seemed as if there were more than enough reasons to use lethal force outside the Capitol building and these cops never did more than fight back with fists? Were they scared? Were they sympathetic? Or were they following orders from above?

–As easy as it is to vilify the Capitol Police today, let’s look at it from the other side. No one in Congress was abducted or killed. Only one protester was shot, and there’s no video footage of that (yet). MAGA did not get the Kent State moment it wanted, its “Remember The Alamo” moment. Which is maybe what Trump and Giuliani (and where were they?, you wonder. Well, of course, they’re not going to personally get their hands dirty) wanted, an armed conflict around which MAGA could rally for years (They shot innocent protesters on the steps of the Capitol in cold blood!). So, taking the long view, maybe the restraint was, while seeming craven in the moment, the right thing to do from a long-term perspective.

–The FBI will easily be able to locate and/or use facial recognition to arrest hundreds of these criminals. They should and they will. As soon as Trump leaves office. President-elect Joe Biden may want to soothe the nation’s temperature and prevail on us to unite, but there needs to be a reckoning for what happened. People need to go to jail. For a long time. Lock them up.

–Josh Hawley. Ted Cruz. Lindsey Graham. Rudy Giuliani. Matt Gaetz. Every Senator and Congressman who objected yesterday on the grounds that (my quotes) “we didn’t like the outcome.” All of these men and women’s names must be remembered and repeated and placed along that of Benedict Arnold.

–There have been terrible days in these United States, from Pearl Harbor to 9/11 to two high-profile presidential assassinations. There has not, in my memory, been a more shameful day. Even Richard Nixon and Watergate and the resignation, that was just a handful of people led by an amoral president drunk with power (psst: He was ahead in the polls anyway and he still authorized the break-in).

https://twitter.com/SamHustis/status/1347078527078723586?s=20

–If you have traveled around the country, or even just wandered out beyond your New York/LA/San Fran bubble the past decade or two, you’ve met these people. You’ve spoken with them or had encounters with them. They are overwhelmingly white, male, facial-haired losers. They believe the apotheosis of existence is owning a Ford F-150 and being able to shoot something and playing tough guy around women or men physically smaller than they are. They’re proud of not being well-read or yelling “FUCK YOU!” at an NFL game or MMA contest. They look forward to a road-rage incident. They are angry, though about what exactly they cannot quite articulate.

So kudos to Donald Trump. He found a way to rally them and organize them as a political bloc the way no major politician had before. And yesterday, after years of suppression and muttering under their breaths what they’d like to do, they went out and did it. And yes, it might have been much, much worse. Now it’s time to stuff their asses in a garbage can and jail them.

–Oh, and by the way, a record number of Americans, nearly 4,000, died from the coronavirus yesterday. So I’ve got no fucks to give for the stupid woman who charge police inside the Senate chamber after being warned to retreat and got her ass shot to death. She had it coming.

–You can always count on Rudy to be mind-numbingly stupid. He’s the Slim Pickens of the Trump cabal.

–Cards on the table, bottom-lining this thing: It’s White Supremacist America vs. Everyone Else. That’s all any of this is. There’s a bunch of people who believe their ancestors came to this country and settled it and that they then imported thousands of African slaves to facilitate growth. And when that president from Illinois emancipated them, well, those slaves were supposed to know their place, keep their damn mouths shut, and just be happy we weren’t lynching them or sending them back to Africa. This is how these people honestly feel. Democracy is cool, sure, as long as we all remember that white people are in charge. The second people of color organize and become a political force to be reckoned with (thanks, Obama), then the Constitution and the rule of law no longer matters.

–Donald Trump should be removed from the White House today and charged with conspiracy to commit treason. As many have noted, he’s been banned from Twitter and Facebook but he still has the nuclear codes? Oh, and maybe now you see why he fired those important people in charge of the Dept. of Defense and other agencies and installed lackeys in their place.

–This isn’t over. He’ll never “learn his lesson.” It’s all about how much worse it needs to get before he is removed from office, forcefully or peacefully. If I had Donald Trump’s brain and utter lack of ethics, and if I saw that yet again no one was moving to strip me of power, I might send out a signal to all those racist Duck Dynasty types who stormed the Capitol yesterday and invite them to a sit-in at the White House on January 19th. You want to evict me? You’re going to have to deal with my militia first. Don’t bet against it.

–Finally, I believe in metaphor. I believe in micro leading to macro. I believe in the smallest incident being a wonderful indicator of who a person is and how his or her actions will translate to a larger stage (e.g., George Bush was a guest on Letterman once and they cut to the show during an extended commercial break where you, the viewer, are supposed to get a look at what it’s like when they’re not “on” and it’s supposed to keep you from changing the channel; Bush (43) can be seen reaching to clean his glasses and using the hem of Letterman’s female assistant’s sweater to do so; told me everything I needed to know about him). Anyway, I believe that yesterday Donald Trump grabbed America by the pussy. He let us know that this is who he was four-plus years ago, it’s on tape, and too many people forgave it. This is always who he was. He grabbed America by the pussy. The question now is, Will America just let him get away with it?

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters

ImPeachtree’d

It took awhile, almost his entire presidency, but Donald Trump at last achieved his goal of making America great again. In Georgia’s two Senate run-off elections, both Pastor Raphael Warnock and Jon “Laughing My” Ossoff won narrowly.

Both are Democrats. That means beginning in two weeks, the Senate will have a narrow Democrat majority. In just a few short years, Donald Trump has helped transform both the House and the Senate into Democratic majorities.

Wonder Woman 2021

(Nice callback here to Lady Olenna from Game Of Thrones)

They’ll be making a movie about Stacey Abrams some day. And because Hollywood is still Hollywood, I can imagine Meryl Streep in the title role.

Two years ago Abrams, 47, an attorney, lost Georgia’s gubernatorial race to incumbent Brian Kemp. Instead of whining about it or phoning Brad Raffensperger to find her some votes, Abrams got off her ass and become a one-woman dynamo in terms of registering people to vote and looking out for voters’ rights.

Tuesday was Abrams’ day of validation. Make no mistake: No single human being (other than Donald Trump himself) did more to oust the state of Georgia from red to blue during both the presidential election and the senate run-off election. She destroyed both Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell.

Crown her ass.

And erect a statue to her.

(Also, let it be known that Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is a graduate of Howard and Abrams an alumna of Spelman. Both are Historical Black Colleges, a.k.a. HBCUs).

It Was Only A Dream, It Was Only A Dream

Funniest thing we read last night was someone attempting to parody the lyrics from “Mr. Brightside” to describe the run-off elections (Now I’m falling asleep/And he’s calling DeKalb…). But there’s no denying that “It was only a Dream,” as in the Atlanta Dream, helped pivot the outcome of this election.

Back in the summer, Senator Kelly Loeffler (R), who was appointed to her position and is a part owner of the WNBA Atlanta Dream, spoke publicly with contempt for her players openly showing any support for the BLM movement during games.

ā€œThis is a very divisive organization based on Marxist principles,ā€ Loeffler, who has been a co-owner of the Dream since 2011, told Fox News. ā€œThis week, they threatened to burn the system down, literally and figuratively, if they don’t get what they want. This is an organization that seeks to destroy American principles, and I had to draw the line.ā€

So the players reacted by wearing these shirts. At the time Pastor Warnock, who was running directly against the person who figuratively signs their checks (Loeffler), was polling at about 9%. Yesterday, he won.

Game, blouses.

Mr. Smith Goes To Heisman House

On the same night as justice prevails in Georgia, it also follows suit in the Heisman race as the most deserving player, Alabama wideout DeVonta Smith, wins the bronze statue. Smith is the first non-QB/RB to hoist the Jay Berwanger totem since 1997 (Charles Woodson) and the first WR to win it since 1991 (Desmond Howard).

The man they call the Slim Reaper is fully deserving. Forget his 2nd-and-26 walks TD catch in overtime of the 2018 national championship game that ended Georgia (in Atlanta). I mean, don’t forget it entirely, but what he did his season validates his winning: He led the nation in receptions (105), TD receptions (20) and receiving yards (1,641). That’s pretty good.

May this begin a trend.

Weird note: Smith’s teammate and the starting tight end for Alabama, Miller Forristall, was the QB at Lawrence’s high school before Trevor Lawrence beat him out.

Also of interest: Including Smith himself, Alabama probably had SIX first-round WR picks in the time he has been in Tuscaloosa (the first three are already in the NFL): Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III, Smith, Jaylen Waddle and Jon Metchie.

That’s sick.

America? First!

It didn’t even make ESPN.com’s list of headlines, but at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Edmonton, Team USA blanked Canada 2-0 in the gold-medal game.

The Yanks lost the opener of the tournament on Christmas day to the Russians, then went on a six-game win streak allowing a total of five games. Great to have the trophy back where it belongs.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

Listen, Ringo, we’re trying to stay on the path of the righteous. We’re trying to go full Lloyd Braun until January 20 and keep repeating our mantra: “Serenity Now.” But Agent Orange is trying our patience. And yours. So we may mention a thing or two about all that. Sorry.

by John Walters

en route to a “Stop The Steal” rally in Alpharetta

The Walking Dread

Georgia. It’s the location for filming of AMC’s The Walking Dead. What’s that, you ask? For those who don’t know, it’s a series that has remained on air about four years beyond it’s jump-the-shark expiration date. It pits a courageous and resourceful band of lucid human survivors against a relentless swarm of brain-dead zombies.

Why do I bring that up today? Oh, I dunno.

Profile In Courage

Because the White House had phoned 18 previous times to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office before Brad Raffensperger took the call, we can assume that he was prepared for Donald Trump’s effluent bullshit when he finally answered. Still, Raffensperger’s (and his attorney’s) restraint during that phone call is admirable.

What is also admirable—and it’s a shame we need to be saying this, but we do—is his integrity. He’s a Republican and he knows what Donnie Brash Co. is asking him to do—TO CHEAT TO HELP HIM WIN—but he opts to do the right thing.

(When even the sound tech dude is dragging you...)

This is an important thing to commend but also an important lesson to keep in mind for the future. The only mistake Trump made was not having enough corrupt sycophants in enough important posts to overturn the will of the people. But 81 million votes in favor of the Biden-Harris ticket were still at the will of a few state election officials and electors…less than, say, 1,000 people. And that’s a little scary.

For now, a salute to Raffensperger and to all the electors who did the jobs they were called on to do.

And a reminder…Trump and his followers are adhering to the First Law of George Costanza: It’s not a lie if you believe it.

Here’s Jamelle Bouie (yes, that sounds like someone black because it is) asking the fundamental question: “Can Only Republicans Legitimately Win Elections?

The Warriors Need To Sign This Kid

To Live And Die In L.A.

From above-the-fold in this morning’s Los Angeles Times:

Ambulance operators are being told not to bring patients who have virtually no chance of survival to hospitals, as officials scramble to ensure they can provide enough lifesaving oxygen for critically ill patients.

That first clause. So ambulance operators are being given authority to decide who should live and who will die? Does that sound a little to you like… death panels?

Thanks, Obama.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not blaming the health-care workers in Los Angeles, ambulance operators, or the public health system. Merely pointing out that the same people who told you that the previous administration’s health-care plan would foster death panels now has their man in office (for 15 more days) and we have actual death panels happening due to his negligence and incompetence.

Above: a Venn diagram showing the overlap of COVID-19 deniers and election result deniers.

If It’s All White, It’s Alright

Here’s Chris Rock in his absolute prime (and I was fortunate enough to see him on this tour) sharing the unspoken Republican mantra.

Election results a fraud, but only those votes that went to Biden but not those that went to Republicans, even though all of those votes can be on one ballot since you don’t just vote for the president on your ballot? Sure. If it’s all white, it’s alright.

Senators and house congressmen (and women) voting to object to the election even though every state election official ratified the results and more than 50 lawsuits have been thrown out on the basis of no supporting evidence? Sure. If it’s all white, it’s alright.

The first Thanksgiving: a white artist’s rendering. Truth is they all would’ve died if the Pequots hadn’t save their asses.

At its core, Trumpism is all about white supremacy.

And so you ask a Trumper, what is it about black or brown people becoming empowered in this country that so terrifies you. And if they’re being honest (at least in their own mind), they’ll tell you something about how this nation was founded by white men from Europe.

And then you remind them that this land was originally settled by brown men, most likely originally from Asia (with a sprinkling of central America). And then they tell you, Yeah, but those people were savages. The European settlers were savages.

What was civil about it?

And then you remind them that while the Native Americans were not complete pacifists, they didn’t go out and kill more than half a million of their own kind over a silly dispute about slavery. Yes, the Civil War remains not only the deadliest war ever to take place on American soil, it cost the most American lives of any war. That includes World War II.

So, savages? Well, who fits that description better? The white man.

So once you prove that point to them, they just give you that “I don’t care” look. There’s only one guiding principle to these people: POWER, and how to keep it. Everything else they say or purport to be about is bullshit.

Remember that.

And do yourself a favor. Read two excellent books by Nathaniel Philbrick: Mayflower and The Last Stand. It’s a wake-up call to the pioneer myth.

You’re Up, Mike

If you’ve paid any attention to Mike Pence, a.k.a. the Vice President, over the past five years, then you should already know the following:

  1. He ain’t stupid
  2. He’s a brilliant political tactician
  3. He’s ambitious
  4. He’d rather not take a stand on anything (other than pro-life, gun rights, leaving NFL games early and visiting chain restaurants in New York City)

Alas, for poor ol’ Mike, Fate has finally called his number and he cannot avoid it. Tomorrow in the U.S. Senate he has to decide whether or not to formally ratify the Electoral College’s vote that gives Joe Biden the victory. It’s supposed to be a mere formality, of course, but everything about the rule of Trump is unprecedented.

This is what Mike Pence, as Vice President and thus President of the Senate, is charged with doing tomorrow (from The New York Times):

As president of the Senate, Mr. Pence is expected to preside over the pro forma certification of the Electoral College vote count in front of a joint session of Congress. It is a constitutionally prescribed, televised moment in which Mr. Pence will name the winner of the 2020 presidential election, Joseph R. Biden Jr.

President Trump, just last night, said that he hoped Pence would do the right thing (by him). Ā ā€œI hope Mike Pence comes through for us, I have to tell you,” Trump said at a Kelly Loeffler rally last night (where he called her “Karen,” which is just the 4,000th thing in this presidency that is simply too delicious to have made up). “”Of course, if he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him as much.”

So this is Mike Pence’s conundrum: Stick with the rule of law and be remembered in history as someone who, in the biggest moment of his life, chose integrity? Or stay loyal to Trump and, at least in the short term, stay cool with 45 and the Proud Boys and your neighbors who’ve replaced their “Trump/Pence” lawn signs with “STOP THE STEAL” lawn signs.

Should be riveting viewing.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING

by John Walters

Donnie Soprano

So Donnie Soprano phoned Georgia’s Republican Sec. of State, Brad Raffensperger, and told him to stop disrespecting the Bing (the Bada Bing, that is). That’s what it comes down to: Forget about integrity, just remember to stay loyal to the family.

“I just need 11,780 votes.” “You’re a Republican.”

Somewhere Richard Nixon is is sweating profusely in his grave and thinking, And I had to resign for what I said on tape?

First of all, you should know that the White House made 18 attempts to phone the Georgia Secretary of State this weekend before the call actually happened. Dude, she’s moved on to someone else. Let it go.

Second, the Georgia Sec. of State wisely recorded the phone call because he knows very well that President Trump has a well-established history of spreading disinformation and not adhering to the truth.

Third, everything about this phone call reveals who Trump is: 1) Heads I win, tails you lose, 2) If he’s accusing the opposite side of doing something untoward or illegal, you can be sure that he’s doing that very thing himself, 3) Come right to the brink of ordering the hit, but never put it in so many words so that you incriminate yourself. Roy Cohn taught him so well.

This you must know: the phone call you heard Trump make is just another day in the life for him. He makes calls, has conversations like this, every single day. This is WHO HE IS. A mob boss. A manipulator. A bully.

Sixteen more days. Sixteen. And then let the comeuppance begin.

I mean, I don’t even have time to discuss the letter from the 10 retired defense secretaries, or the White House’s complete silence on the Nashville bombing, or the pharmacist in Wisconsin who actively destroyed 500 vials of vaccine, etc. It’s just a shit show from top to bottom.

Sixteen more days.

Jake From The Top Rope

Meanwhile, it’s going to be difficult, even though the year is only four days old, for anyone to top this Jake Tapper drag on Trump counsel Jason Miller from yesterday. Not only does he respond to Miller’s accusation that the recorded call was taken out of context by providing the entire call, but he reminds followers that Miller is the scumbag who got two women pregnant while his wife was pregnant, slipped one of them an abortion pill unknowingly, and still has yet to pay a dime of child support for his son, William.

(I mean, does this look like the kind of guy who would fail to pay child support?)

Okay, maybe Jake did not provide all of that info in that tweet. But I just did.

I Love Lucid

If you were watching college football this past weekend—I had to for work—you noticed a couple of ads for a spiffy and futuristic electric vehicle, one I’d never heard of before. The vehicle is called Lucid and it just made its debut two weeks ago.

Lucid, whose vehicle price is a Tesla-esque $69,900 (“from as low as…” which means you’ll pay more), is also a Silicon Valley-based company. This article talks about the fascinating engineer, Peter Rawlinson, who is the CEO of Lucid. He was formerly the Chief Engineer for Tesla’s Model S. So he may know a thing or two about how to take on Elon Musk.

In case you were wondering, Lucid is not a publicly traded company. Yet.

Steph’s Back

Did you see that video last week of Steph Curry burying 105 three-pointers in a row in practice? Maybe, just maybe, practice pays off. Curry scored a career-high 62 points last night in a win against the Trail Blazers in San Francisco (still sounds weird to type that). He had 22 in the first quarter.

Love the last bucket here. He and Draymond communicating telepathically as soon as that defensive rebound happened.

Deaths In Transit

Sort of buried by the other news this weekend:

–a 29-foot boat en route from the Bahamas to Florida carrying at least 20 passengers was lost at sea. Officials have called off the search after 84 hours. The boat disappeared in the infamous Bermuda Triangle at some point of its 140-mile journey. Odd that no story I’ve found has said what country the missing boaters are citizens of or the purpose of their voyage.

–In Fresno, nine people were killed in a head-on collision on New Year’s Day at about 8 p.m. A 28 year-old man driving a Dodge SUV alone was on State Route 33 when his vehicle veered off the road and into the dirt (distracted driving, perhaps?). He over-corrected and crossed the center line, smacking a Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by a woman and with seven children, ages 6 to15, inside. The pick up was engulfed in flames.

All nine people died.

Alabama’s Position Relative To Notre Dame (And Everyone Else?)

That’s Alabama All-American running back Najee Harris, the school’s all-time leading rusher, posterizing 3rd-team All-ACC Notre Dame defensive back Nick McCloud. The game was over right here.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters

Nothing to do, nowhere to go-o-o

Meanwhile, on the penultimate day of the year, the U.S. broke its less than one day-old record for most coronavirus deaths in a day. We had more than 3,800 yesterday. Experts are predicting approximately 80,000 deaths next month.

If we know 2020 like we think we do, we’ll send the year out with our first 4,000-death day on New Year’s Eve.

Hammon Time

In San Antonio, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is ejected and assistant coach Becky Hammon takes over the squad for the final three quarters (What took Pop so long?) agains the world champion-Lakers.

Hammond becomes the first female to coach any of the four major professional sports teams, albeit in an interim role. Between this and Sarah Fuller and Kamala Harris, it’s been a good past two months for equality. Former NBA coach George Karl tweets out that Hammon will be a full-time NBA coach in the near future. When you consider that most NBA players are African-American or foreign-born men, and not wealthy, middle-aged white American males in suits, I’d say she has a real shot to be heard and succeed.

Dawn’s Sunset

Ginger or Mary Ann?

It’s a question every boy or young man has answered the past half-century.

My answer? Lovey. Wealthy and older and Thurston can’t hold on forever.

Anyway, Dawn Wells, who played Maryann (the beta male’s choice) passed away yesterday at the age of 82. You have to hand it to the creators of Gilligan’s Island. They put seven people on a tropical island, did not make it a reality show, and there was never a hint of sexual indiscretion (although Ginger often seemed, um, in search of satisfaction).

Things you might not have known about Wells: She was born in Reno, attended Reno High School, and was originally a chemistry major. She also was crowned Miss Nevada and represented the Silver State in the 1960 Miss America Pageant back when that was a really, really big deal.

The Shoe Bomber Fallacy

Remember Richard Reid? The “Shoe Bomber?” If you don’t, here’s the Wikipedia skinny…

On 22 December 2001, a passenger on Flight 63 from Paris to Miami complained of a smoke smell in the cabin shortly after a meal service. One flight attendant, Hermis Moutardier, thinking she smelled a burnt match, walked along the aisles of the plane, trying to assess the source. A passenger pointed to Reid, who was sitting alone near a window and attempting to light a match. Moutardier warned him that smoking was not allowed on the airplane. Reid promised to stop.

A few minutes later, Moutardier found Reid leaned over in his seat. After she asked him what he was doing, Reid grabbed at her, revealing one shoe in his lap, a fuse leading into the shoe, and a lit match. Several passengers worked together to subdue the 6 foot 4 inch (193 cm) tall Reid who weighed 215 pounds (97 kg). They restrained him using plastic handcuffs, seatbelt extensions, leather waist belts and headphone cords. A doctor on board administered a tranquilizer to him which he found in the emergency medical kit of the airliner.[16] The flight was immediately diverted to Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, the closest US airport.[17]

The explosive apparently did not detonate due to the delay in the take-off of Reid’s flight. The rainy weather, along with Reid’s foot perspiration, caused the fuse to be too damp to ignite.[18]

So here’s the thing: While a more competent terrorist might have caused a major disaster, Reid never actually killed anyone. He’s serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole. But ever since that day, you cannot board a commercial airline in the U.S. without having to take off your shoes first so that they can go through metal detection separately.

Meanwhile, 350,000 Americans have died this year alone due to the virus. And yet there are people (many in red baseball caps) who will take off their shoes without complaint and then board the plane and get all uppity about having to wear a mask.

Why is that? Might it be because it’s easier for them to fathom the existential threat of a Muslim terrorist (who was unsuccessful) than it is for them to understand or acknowledge science, which has already killed more than 1 of every 1,000 Americans? Hmmm.

And now you know why Space Force exists, and why the GOP spends so much on defense while not caring a whit about distributing a vaccine.

White Bread Cannot Hold The Mayo

During the raucous celebration following the Duke’s Mayo Bowl (an annual tradition), Wisconsin freshman quarterback Graham Mertz drops the glass trophy and shatters it. Someone also might say that Mayo does not belong on a Graham cracker.

Best Bad Beats of 2020

This is always, always entertaining. Our favorite new ESPN segment since “The Blitz.” Enjoy.

Final Tesla Post of 2020

Again, we failed to truly take advantage of this (that is, failed to take our own damn advice), but here’s where Tesla (TSLA) stock was on the first day of 2020:

$84.90

And here’s where it is on the last day of 2020:

$714

Is that good? Yes.