Dick Muri

Married Mary 47 years, father 4, Poppi to 12, ret USAF LtCol, past-Mayor & Steilacoom School Board, Pierce County Council, WA State Rep, Kiwanis, MOWW, GOP

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

My view is that a reduction in population in the next 74 years is a good thing for China. A China with only 400 million people vs the current 1.4 billion people would be a much more sustainable and enjoyable place to live. With the emerging AI & robotics technologies there will be plenty of jobs for the future population.

[Rod D. Martin @RodDMartin]

🧵 China’s population collapse is now mathematically irreversible.

There simply aren’t enough women left of childbearing age.

Even if the fertility rate magically returned to replacement level (2.1 children per woman) tomorrow, the country would still lose more than 40% of its population by 2100.

It won't. The real number is 75%. There's nothing like it in history. 🧵

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

This is so true with me! I can now chat with my wife at ease, or chat on the phone (blue tooth of course) while observing the traffic surroundings & making sure all is well. FSD is addicting, 97% of any driving is FSD.

[Dutch Rojas @DutchRojas]

I thought Tesla Full Self-Driving would make my commute easier.

I did not expect it to expose me as the problem.
Turns out I was not “driving defensively.”

I was conducting a one-man municipal audit of every idiot within 300 yards.

Someone going 40 in a 25?
I had notes.

Someone taking too long at a green light?
I had a full theory of civilizational decline.

Now the car drives and I just sit there like a reformed man.

No high blood pressure.
No death grip on the wheel.
No courtroom monologue about lane discipline.

My wife noticed immediately.

She said, “You’re way more chill in the car, I like this!”

That is when I realized Tesla didn’t just make the car drive itself.

It made me stop narrating the collapse of society from the driver’s seat.

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

Very interesting data! We need to make sure this petition gets on the ballot this November 2026!

[Brian Heywood - That Damn Mormon @bkheywood]

Income Tax Initiative Update!! Everybody hates the Income tax

-As we mentioned earlier we gathered 92,780 signatures in the first week
-But the make up of those signers is interesting.
-We ran a voter ID model on all the signers so far

And the model tells us
49.64% are Dems/Indep
50.24% are Republican

-However, 27,655 of those 92K signers have never signed even one of our other initiatives in any prior year
- The party make of new signers is as follows:
Republican 36.49%
Independent 33.21%
Democrat 30.29%

64% of those who have never signed an initiative but did sign IP26-645 to stop the income tax , so far, are either Democrat or Independent.

This is not a partisan issue
-People understand the tax is coming for them.
-They don’t trust Olympia to spend the money wisely, and
-they seem to be really pissed about the unconstitutional approach taken by Jamie Pedersen and Bob Ferguson

Make your voice heard join us and help us beat the state record of 699K signatures

https://t.co/nKzm0n1G1w

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

@Jet_City_Music @jasonrantz Smart business people “get ahead of the curve”. Real estate prices will slightly decline as this has now become a buyers market. We will have more good data on that by August.

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

@mgmidget @PNWConservative Only congress can raise tax rates.

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

Well, at least my State of Washington is in better fiscal shape than New Jersey!

States in the USA have what is called budget reserves. What are the top ten states for budget reserve and what are the bottom ten states.

U.S. states maintain "budget reserves," commonly known as rainy day funds (or budget stabilization funds). These are savings set aside from surplus revenues to cover unexpected shortfalls, economic downturns, revenue volatility, or emergencies. They are typically measured as a percentage of general fund expenditures or, more accessibly, as the number of days of operating costs they can cover.
The most comparable and policy-relevant metric is rainy day fund balance as days of operating costs (or % of annual spending), based on data from the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) as analyzed by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Data is for the end of fiscal 2025 (preliminary actuals), the most recent detailed period available.
Top 10 States by Rainy Day Fund Strength (Highest Days of Operating Costs)
These states have the strongest cushions, often due to resource revenues (e.g., oil, minerals) or conservative fiscal policies.
Wyoming — ~320 days (by far the highest, due to volatile severance taxes)
Alaska — ~155–191 days (varies slightly by report; resource-dependent)
Idaho — ~148 days
North Dakota — ~138 days
Kentucky — ~111 days
Arkansas — ~105 days
New Mexico — ~105 days
Texas — ~103 days
Others near or above 100 days in some reports include states like those with strong energy or conservative budgeting.
Note: Wyoming consistently leads by a wide margin. Several Western and resource-heavy states dominate the top.
Bottom 10 States by Rainy Day Fund Strength (Lowest Days of Operating Costs)
These have the weakest dedicated reserves.
New Jersey — 0 days (fund drained multiple times post-pandemic)
Washington — ~12.8 days
Illinois — ~15.6 days
Delaware — ~18 days
Rhode Island — ~19–23 days 6–10. Other low performers typically include states like those in the Northeast/Midwest with structural budget pressures (e.g., Illinois, New Jersey often rank near the bottom), sometimes joined by states with low or no dedicated funds historically.
Notes on bottom rankings: Exact order beyond the top few lowest can vary slightly by source/year, but New Jersey, Washington, Illinois, Delaware, and Rhode Island are consistently among the weakest in recent Pew/NASBO data. Some states may have other reserves or ending balances outside formal rainy day funds.

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

John Braun is a Naval Academy graduate, former wrestler, current State Senator & is very articulate & polite. He will be a great congressman.

[Ari Hoffman @thehoffather]

DEVELOPING: Inside Elections just moved the WA-03 race between Marie Gluesenkamp Perez & John Braun from "Tilt D" to "Toss Up" 

Polls have Braun leading by 7% with room to grow. Perez is underwater with voters at -30% net image & 50% unfavorable rating

81% of her contributions came from outside WA

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

@3lIngeniero @SoulSloop99 The data suggests a different conclusion. Currently, Tesla's stock value is five times greater than the entire Chinese EV industry combined.

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

Latin America is quickly changing for the better. A lot of the credit goes to our brilliant, multi lingual Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

[Secretary Marco Rubio @SecRubio]

🇺🇸🇨🇺

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

I am at 97 percent FSD!

[Sawyer Merritt @SawyerMerritt]

Elon Musk in new interview: "10 years from now, probably 90% of all distance driven will be driven by the AI in a self-driving car. It will be quite a niche thing in 10 years to actually be driving your own car."

AI already drives for 90%+ of the miles I travel.

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

But give China credit, they are quickly pivoting to nuclear and renewables. In the meantime they are using a lot of fossil fuels.

[Jack Prandelli @jackprandelli]

🚨The world's 5 largest energy consumers

1 number changes how you read everything else on this chart

🇨🇳 China: 48,400 TWh
🇺🇸 US: 25,800 TWh
🇮🇳 India: 11,200 TWh
🇷🇺 Russia: 9,000 TWh
🇯🇵 Japan: 4,800 TWh

China consumes nearly twice as much energy as the United States.

But the mix is what tells the real story.

China's coal consumption alone is visually larger than the entire US energy stack combined.

The US is running on gas and oil, with nuclear and renewables as meaningful contributors.

China is running on coal, with everything else added on top.

India, the 3rd largest consumer and the fastest growing major economy, is also coal-dominant with gas playing a minimal role compared to its peers.

Russia's profile is the inverse: gas-heavy, oil-significant, almost no coal at scale.

That's a direct reflection of geography Yamal and Western Siberia make gas the default fuel for everything from heating to industry.

Any global energy transition runs through coal in China and India first.

Until those bars change shape, the conversation about net zero is largely theoretical.

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

Yes, as stated in these 30 words in our pledge of allegiance.

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the REPUBLIC for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

[Phantom II @Phantom2Phlyer]

OK, here's why the Democrats got kicked in the groin by the Virginia Supreme Court.

The people of Virginia, in trying to protect against momentary democratic (small 'd') emotions of the day, put into their Constitution that, in order to amend it, there had to be two things happen.

First, any proposal to amend their Constitution required that two legislatures, separated by an election (and there's the big part), vote to put the amendment before the people.

The Virginia Democrats didn't do that. They stuck the first reading into a special budgetary session, and the next reading into a general session.

While the resolution passed both times, there wasn't an election in between the two votes. So there was no election that separated the legislature who voted in a special session, and the legislature that voted for the amendment in the general session.

Moreover, the Virginia Constitution required that the votes be taken in two general legislature sessions. The special session that was called was not a general session.

So this action violated the Virginia Constitution in two separate ways. Which is why the Virginia Supreme Court shot it down.

So when you see the Democrats whining because 'democracy was overturned,' they're right. Because we're not a democracy, and neither is Virginia. We're a republic, and so is Virginia. We're ruled by the Constitution and the rule of law, not by mob rule, which the Democrats prefer.

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

Free market at work. Texas, with no special pro-climate policies, has blown passed California in clean energy. In large part because Texas has less red tape & makes it easier to build.

[John Bistline @JEBistline]

Texas just passed California in utility-scale solar. And it's not close in wind or energy storage.

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

@ahtlmufc @Breaking911 Intoxicated

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

@rvanomaly @Breaking911 Intoxicated

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

@HarrisonHSmith @Breaking911 It was filmed because he dangerously and illegally cut in front of a Pierce County ferry boat. Lots of witness. Boater was inebriated. Here in my Town of Steilacoom

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

@v270355 @SawyerMerritt Logistics. There cars are shipped via boat. So the last few days of April were robust. Expect a large increase in sales in May.

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

Is this true? If so we should see a lot of Tesla Semi Trucks very soon.

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

@Trendstockers @RiseOfAlberta The 🌎 needs it. But it needs to get to market

[Dick Muri @DickMuri]

This is very good news for both the USA 🇺🇸 and Venezuela 🇻🇪! The free flow of people, money and ideas usually results in a dynamic economy based on capitalism.

[Gunther Eagleman™ @GuntherEagleman]

🚨 BOOM! FIRST DIRECT COMMERCIAL FLIGHT FROM U.S. TO VENEZUELA IN SEVEN YEARS TAKES OFF FROM MIAMI!

Gate D-55 in Miami is buzzing with excitement, Caracas is back on the departure board for the first time in seven years.

Families are emotional, finally able to reunite after decades apart. One Venezuelan-American said:

“We are going to be able to see our families. This is amazing.”

This is a massive symbol of how much has changed in just 117 days since Maduro was taken out. The U.S. Embassy is reopening, Venezuelan oil is flowing to American refineries, and daily flights are coming.

After 25 years of brutal socialism that drove 8 million people to flee, Venezuela is finally starting to open back up for business.