Friday Five: 12.21.18

It’s time for the last Friday Five of the year. Hopefully some of these links will help you seem smarter at Christmas dinner when you’re arguing with your drunk uncle who is either a) wearing a MAGA hat or b) espousing the virtues of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. See if you can remember these points from this week as you slug down another glass of spiked egg nog.

1. Yesterday, General James Mattis wrote a letter to President Trump announcing his resignation as the nation’s 26th Secretary of Defense. The letter, a final straw and direct result of the President’s decision to pull U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan, highlighted Mattis’s tipping point in that he could no longer execute Trump’s policies. Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s closet allies, called the withdrawal “disastrous to our own national security.”
2. Earlier this week, American Airlines launched daily flights from GSP to Miami. A spring trip to the Florida Keys looks like it might be in order…
3. “I don’t feel done.” The 2018 Democratic nominee for governor, James Smith, ponder his next move after losing the 2018 General Election back in November.
4. Congress passed a sweeping and bipartisan criminal-justice bill, known as the First-Step Act, that will affect thousands of prisoners. The bill is awaiting a signature from the President (which he should sign today) and makes historic strides to improving our country’s criminal justice system. We have been strongly supportive of criminal justice reform as a way to get people back into the workforce.
5. U.S. Congressman Trey Gowdy intends to rejoin Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough after leaving Congress.
6. (Six? OK, well, it’s Christmas, we’re in the giving mood). Did it take you longer to navigate traffic while shopping? Maybe it’s because SC is the 9th fastest growing state in the nation — adding the equivalent of a city the size of Greenville last year.

Bonus: Stay warm, Upstate! Today, December 21st, marks the first day of winter. In addition, and on behalf of the Upstate Chamber Coalition, we would like to thank you for your support this year. We wish you all a happy Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!