Tag Archives: New York City

One Responsibility Of Government Is To Keep The People Safe

Posted on by

One responsibility of government is to keep the people safe. I guess New York City didn’t read that part of the assignment.

On Tuesday, The Gateway Pundit reported the following:

New York’s radical sanctuary policies have reached a catastrophic breaking point.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons has issued an explosive letter to New York Attorney General Letitia James, demanding immediate action after state and local officials quietly released nearly 7,000 criminal illegal aliens, including rapists, killers, gang members, and repeat violent offenders, without honoring ICE detainers and without a single notification to federal authorities.

Since January 20, New York has released 6,947 criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets. These offenders are tied to:

    • 29 homicides
    • 2,509 assaults
    • 199 burglaries
    • 305 robberies
    • 392 dangerous drug offenses
    • 300 weapons offenses
    • 207 sexual predatory offenses

Worse, another 7,113 criminal aliens remain in New York custody today, all with active ICE detainers that state officials continue to ignore.

These detainees include:

    • 148 charged with homicide
    • 717 charged with assault
    • 134 charged with burglary
    • 106 charged with robbery
    • 235 dangerous drug offenses
    • 152 weapons offenses
    • 260 sexual predatory offenses

This is a full-scale public safety disaster engineered by far-left officials who are deliberately defying federal law.

What in the world are they trying to accomplish? Well, it’s time to examine the details of a color revolution. On Monday, Doug Ross posted The Color Revolution Playbook. It’s a long article, but if you care about America, it is worth reading.

This Is Upsetting

Posted on by

In recent articles, I have mentioned the concept of a color revolution. A color revolution generally includes protest-driven political upheaval aimed at replacing the current government. Many of these revolutions are actually named after a color that is used as the name and symbol of the revolution (for example, the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, the 2005 Cedar Revolution in Lebanon). Generally speaking, the results of these revolutions were not positive in the long run. A lot of recent events in America are following the sequence of a color revolution.

On Saturday, The Daily Caller posted an article about a recent protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) agents in New York City.

The article reports:

Rioters in New York City attempted to block U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from leaving a parking garage Saturday, leading to at least 18 arrests.

As many as 200 people gathered outside, piling garbage and blocking the entrance to the garage with their bodies, The New York Times reported. New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch blamed ICE for the clash with the protesters, claiming the shows of force by federal agents placed police officers, citizens and the agents at risk, according to the New York Post.

The media has worked very hard to demonize ICE and the people who support their work. They have also demonized the police and the National Guard who are helping ICE and helping maintain order in some of our larger cities. One result of this is the recent murder of a young National Guardsman. Another result is the people protesting ICE. When did individual Americans have the right to decide which laws of our country should be enforced and which laws should be ignored? The real meaning of ‘illegal’ is ‘illegal.’

Now is the time to be aware of everything that is going on around you and not to participate in anything that undermines law enforcement in America. We all need to be part of the solution–not part of the problem.

Elections Have Consequences

Posted on by

I have always enjoyed visiting New York City. I went to school there. My husband worked in a recording studio there when I met him. One of my daughters went to school there and lived there for a few years afterward. I loved visiting her–we walked everywhere and shopped till we dropped. I suspect that a lot of the things I loved about the city are about to change.

The New York Times has the full transcript of Mayor Mamdani’s speech. It includes:

Together, New York, we’re going to freeze the… [rent!] Together, New York, we’re going to make buses fast and… [free!] Together, New York, we’re going to deliver universal… [child care!]

If he can get these changes through the city council, these actions will have consequences. One of the consequences of his election is already occurring.

On November 3rd, The New York Post reported:

As Wall Street faces the prospect of left-wing firebrand Zohran Mamdani becoming the city’s next mayor, a fast-growing business hub down south is beckoning.

Dallas — whose grab bag of major business moguls has included Ross Perot, Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones — has more recently become a major draw for big financial firms that were born and raised in the Big Apple.

Goldman Sachs is building an 800,000-square-foot, $500 million campus in Dallas. It’s set to open in 2028 and consolidate over 5,000 employees. Last year, the mega bank hired Robert Kaplan, the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, as its vice chairman.

On November 5th, The University of Texas at Arlington reported:

A new financial powerhouse could soon emerge in the heart of Texas. The Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE), based in Dallas, has received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to operate as a national exchange—positioning it to compete with the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. Backed by more than $160 million from major investment firms like BlackRock and Citadel Securities, TXSE plans to begin listing stocks by late 2026.

To explain what this means for businesses, investors and the Texas economy, The University of Texas at Arlington’s Sriram Villupuram, associate professor of finance, shares his insight. Villupuram, whose research focuses on corporate finance and capital markets, discusses how TXSE could reshape the financial landscape and the challenges it may face.

What exactly is the Texas Stock Exchange, and how does it differ from the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq?

Villupuram: The Texas Stock Exchange is a national securities exchange like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq, and will compete with those exchanges. Both the NYSE and the Nasdaq have stringent listing requirements for prospective companies to list on their exchanges. In contrast, the Texas Stock Exchange is expected to facilitate the listing of relatively smaller companies.

Please follow the links to read the above two articles. I think the New York City residents who voted for Mamdani are in for a rude awakening.

Avoiding A Potentially Really Ugly Telecom Threat

Posted on by

On Tuesday, The Gateway Pundit posted an article about a potential telecom threat in New York City while President Trump was there.

The article reports:

The US Secret Service announced Tuesday they had disrupted an illicit telecom threat near the United Nations.

The illicit network could have blacked out cell service, shut down cell towers, and jammed 911 calls in New York City and the surrounding area.

According to FOX News the seizure is the largest of its kind.

The investigation has been ongoing for months by the Secret Service made the announcement this morning before President Trump is scheduled to speak at UN headquarters in New York City.

I don’t know what was planned for this threat, but I am glad it was never carried out. Jamming 911 calls in a city the size of New York City could create horrible confusion and possible deaths.

The article notes:

The US Secret Service released this video on Tuesday morning.

Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office Matt McCool announced that the Secret Service has uncovered and dismantled a large network of fraudulent cellular devices in the New York Tri-State area capable of enabling encrypted communications and threatening local infrastructure.

The article contains Agent McCool’s statement. Below is the conclusion of that statement:

Given the timing, location, and proximity and potential for significant disruptions to the New York telecom system, we move quickly to disrupt this network. To be clear, these recovered devices no longer pose a threat to the New York Tri-state area.

We will continue working identifying those responsible in their intent, including whether their plan was to disrupt the UN General Assembly and communications of government and emergency personnel during the official visit of world leaders in and around New York City.

Forensic examinations of the equivalent of 100,000 cell phones worth of data is underway. Early analysis indicates cellular communications between foreign actors and individuals that are known to federal law enforcement. Given the sensitivity and complexity of this investigation, we are not able to go into specifics at this time. This is an open and active investigation, and we have no arrest to announce today. Rather, this announcement is designed to safeguard critical infrastructure and responsibly provide the public what we can at this time.

A disaster was avoided due to the great work of the Secret Service.

New York City Has About Seven Weeks To Wake Up

Posted on by

The mayoral election in New York City will be held on November 4th. If things continue as they are, Zohran Mamdani will be the next Mayor of New York City. I hope New York City residents look at where his campaign money is coming from before they vote.

On Saturday, The New York Post reported:

Deep-pocketed, out-of-state donors account for 78% of the nearly $2.4 million raised by a super PAC backing Zohran Mamdani’s NYC mayoral campaign.

Lefties outside the Empire State wrote fat checks totaling $1,831,706 to the group, New Yorkers for Lower Costs, as of Friday, records showed.

The sum included $762,631 from 26 California donors, with most of it coming from just two people.

“Mamdani’s campaign isn’t about New York City — it’s about fueling a national socialist movement bankrolled by donors in California and beyond … with Hollywood and out-of-state activists trying to dictate the future of our city,” said Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign spokesman Todd Shapiro.

The article includes the following chart:

Why is so much out-of-state money coming into his campaign?

The article notes:

In comparison, a superPAC supporting ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral bid called “Fix The City” has pulled in more than $20 million – or 74% — of its $27.1 million in donations from New Yorkers.

The “Empower NYC” superPAC supporting Mayor Adams’ re-election bid has seen $1,347,600 – or 92% — of its $1,462,600 donations come from the Big Apple.

Money doesn’t buy elections, but it plays a role. If money bought elections, Hillary Clinton would have been President. I am hoping that the difference in contributions from residents of New York predicts voting totals. However, the contribution numbers show that New Yorkers are split, which may give Mamdani a victory.

The Only Solution For New York City

Posted on by

Back in the age of dinosaurs (the 1960’s), I spend two years in school in New York City. I rode the subways, took buses, wandered around Penn Station and Grand Central Station. I felt relatively safe. I ate affordable lunches at the Automat and the various restaurants in and around Grand Central Station. Under John Lindsay, the city was relatively safe. I would not feel safe enough to do any of that now.

On Tuesday, Michael Goodwin at The New York Post posted an article about the upcoming election for Mayor of New York City and one of its former Mayors.

The article reports:

Whew, better late than never!

That was my first reaction to the news that President Trump intends to give Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The announcement followed the serious weekend car crash in New Hampshire that sent the 81-year-old Giuliani to the hospital.

Thankfully, his injuries, said to include a broken vertebrae, are not life-threatening and he has been released from the hospital.

A likely result is Trump’s presentation will focus almost exclusively on Giuliani’s greatest achievement: His stellar tenure as New York’s mayor.

Although he later served as Trump’s pugnacious lawyer during the disputed aftermath of the 2020 election, it was during Giuliani’s two terms as Gotham’s fearless leader that he proved he is fully worthy of America’s highest civilian honor.

The article notes the current condition of New York City:

Giuliani was succeeded by Michael Bloomberg, a fellow Republican whom Rudy endorsed, and their combined five terms over two decades ushered in a new Golden Age in Gotham.

The city was never better, a fact that has made the subsequent years of decline a bitter pill for many and a lesson in the power of leadership, and why elections matter.

Unfortunately, the city is once again consumed with doubts as a mayoral campaign offers little hope.

Indeed, the current crisis is driven home by the fact that Bill de Blasio, who succeeded Bloomberg, took the city backward for the better part of eight years.

And now de Blasio, known as Mayor Putz in my book, is endorsing socialist Zohran Mamdani, and claiming Mamdani has “the right ideas.”

In fact, Mamdani, an anti-cop socialist and an antisemite, has all the wrong ideas for New York.

His election would take the city in the wrong direction, to a version of the bad old days that Giuliani and Bloomberg overcame.

The article includes some well-deserved praise for both Rudy Giuliani and President Trump:

Ah, but that’s not to say that the Rudy model has vanished.

In fact, a certain president was a close witness to Giuliani’s operatic performance and the changes he brought about in his hometown.

Although Trump was never accused of being a shrinking violet in the business world, I’ve long believed that he was largely inspired by Rudy’s take-no-prisoners approach to politics, and realized it was a viable path for him to follow as he, too, crashed the ­political establishment.

Trump, of course, personalized that approach to twice capture the White House, surpassing Rudy and his own dreams of sitting in the Oval Office.

Even now, the similarities between the two men remain striking.

In both of his terms, Trump has been, like Rudy, a perpetual motion machine who rarely sleeps and is always ready for the next fight.

He, too, has an endless stream of big ideas in the works, waiting their turn in the limelight.

Both are New Yorkers to the core, and were born to lead.

Fortunately for the rest of us, they chose public service.

I hope New York City voters realize the danger they are in if they elect Zohran Mamdani.

New York City’s Future Depends On The Mayoral Election

Posted on by

On Saturday, Legal Insurrection posted an article about the recent Democrat primary election in New York City. New York City at various times has been a wonderful city to visit. I went to school there back in the age of dinosaurs, and I really enjoyed the art, the museums, the concerts, and the great places to eat. It was a wonderful place in the 1960’s and the late 1990’s. Right now the city is headed in a really scary direction.

New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani has won the Democrat primary in the Mayor’s race. He is a socialist calling for a global intifada.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines intifada as follows:

A protracted grassroots campaign of protest and sometimes violent resistance against perceived oppression or military occupation, especially either of two uprisings among Palestinian Arabs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, the first beginning in 1987 and the second in 2000, in protest against Israeli occupation of these territories.

Is that really what New Yorkers want?

The election was held using ranked-choice voting, which may be part of the problem.

The article notes that former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has decided to stay in the race. Eric Adams has also decided to stay in the race. Obviously, both of these men staying in the race will split the opposition against Zohran Mamdani. Curtis Sliwa is running for Mayor on the Republican ticket, but New York City has not had a Republican Mayor since Rudy Giuliani was elected in 1994.

The article at Legal Insurrection concludes:

While it’s hard to predict with any degree of certainty how this ultimately will play out, the first post-mayoral primary poll is out and shows Cuomo and Mamdani both with equal levels of support, and Adams trailing badly:

As speculation swirls over whether former [governor] Cuomo will continue his campaign as an independent after conceding the Democratic primary to Mamdani, a new poll shows the two candidates in a statistical tie heading into November’s general election.

The polling, conducted independently by the Honan Strategy Group 48 hours after Mamdani’s stunning victory, showed both Mamdani and Cuomo garnering 39% support among likely general election voters in a five-way race between them, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, independent candidate Jim Walden and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who trailed at 13%.

…In the scenario that Cuomo does not appear on the ballot, pollsters found that Mamdani would lead Adams by 15 points.

But if Adams were to drop out, Cuomo appears to pick up the support of likely Adams voters and gains a slight edge, leading Mamdani by 4 points — just outside the poll’s margin of error of ±3.4%.

Adams officially kicked off his general election campaign Thursday.

Meanwhile–posted on Facebook by a friend:

People Who Live Or Work In New York City Will Cheer This

Posted on by

On Wednesday, The New York Post reported that the much-hated congestion toll in New York City will be going away. The Department of Transportation (DOT) under President Trump has pulled the previous approval of the toll.

The article reports:

New York City’s spectacularly unpopular congestion pricing scheme is on death row as the Trump administration announced Wednesday it is pulling its approval of the toll — slamming it as “backwards and unfair” — in a major blow to Gov. Kathy Hochul, The Post has learned.

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration terminated the approval of the controversial program, according to a letter Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent to Hochul on Wednesday afternoon.

“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,” said Duffy, noting that commuters entering NYC have already financed the construction and improvement of city roadways through their taxes.

“But now the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative, and instead, takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system and not highways. It’s backwards and unfair,” he said, blasting the program as harmful to small businesses in the Big Apple that depend on customers from New Jersey and Connecticut.

I have a nephew (who has since moved to North Carolina) that worked in New York City in the motion picture industry. The toll would have resulted in more than $100 a week in commuting expenses. There were times when he needed to bring his truck into the City for his job, and the extra expense would be a problem. The people paying this toll are not the people who can afford it–they are the working people who are afraid to ride the subways because of safety issues. During the 1960’s, I rode the subway every day when I commuted to school, but I wouldn’t want to ride it now. This tax needed to go away, and I applaud Secretary Duffy for ending it. Also, some serious effort needs to be made to clean up the subways and make them safer.

One Possible Solution To Rising Crime On The New York City Subways

Posted on by

On Sunday, The New York Post posted an article citing one possible solution to the increasing level of crime on the New York City Subways.

The article reports:

The Guardian Angels are resuming their patrols of the Big Apple’s subways as if it were crime-riddled Gotham in 1979, after the horrifying arson murder of a sleeping straphanger on a train last week, founder Curtis Sliwa said Sunday.

The red-beret-wearing volunteer vigilante squad is beefing up its ranks to its level 45 years ago, Sliwa said.

“We’re going to have to increase our numbers, increase the training and increase our presence as we did back in 1979,” Sliwa said at the Stillwell Avenue-Coney Island station in Brooklyn where the woman was killed.

Curtis Sliwa is now 70, but  he still loves his city as much as he did then. He has been a fighter for the city for a long time.

In August of 2005, The New York Times reported:

Testifying in the federal racketeering trial of John A. Gotti, Mr. Sliwa said he thought he had “hit the lottery” when he climbed into the back of the cab he had hailed near his apartment in the East Village before dawn on June 19, 1992. The driver recognized him and seemed to know that he was going to the WABC radio studios near Madison Square Garden, where he was host of a morning show. Within moments, Mr. Sliwa said, a second man popped up from under the dashboard “like a jack-in-the-box,” pointing a silver-plated pistol at his belly.

“Take this, you son of a bitch,” Mr. Sliwa recalled the gunman saying. He said he heard at least three shots, and felt blood spurting under his shirt and then searing pain in his legs, “like a knife through hot butter.”

Mr. Sliwa managed to escape the taxi and survived. Now he is back to help again.

In 1994, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Police Commissioner William Bratton instituted what is called the Broken Windows Theory which resulted in a decrease in crime in New York City. One of my daughters was a freshman at Cooper Union in New York in 1992. The difference in the city the year she began her education there and the year she ended it was noticeable. New York City needs a mayor like Rudy Giuliani again (and the help of the Guardian Angels).

Some Tyrannies Have A Long Grasp

Posted on by

On Wednesday, The Epoch Times reported that a man living in New York City has admitted to operating a secret police station for Beijing in Manhattan. In November 2022, I first posted an article about the Chinese police operations in New York City (article here).

The article at The Epoch Times reports:

A New York City man has admitted to acting as an illegal Chinese agent by operating a secret police station for Beijing in Manhattan.

Chen Jinping, a 60-year-old U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty on Dec. 18 in front of U.S. District Judge Nina Morrison, a development that prosecutors lauded as the latest progress in countering the Chinese regime’s transnational repression scheme.

Chen was one of two individuals the FBI arrested in April 2023 over the illegal police station, one of more than 100 identified overseas Chinese police outposts Beijing had operated globally.

He faces up to five years in prison.

The New York City site runs under the cover of a Chinese organization called the America ChangLe Association in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The association ostensibly serves as a mingling place for immigrants from China’s southeastern Fujian Province, where the namesake district, ChangLe, is based.

Chen was the secretary general of the association at the time of the arrest, while the other man arrested, Lu Jianwang, was the former president. Lu, also known as “Harry Lu,” has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is awaiting trial.
The article notes:

Beijing refuted Chen’s guilty plea.

“The so-called secret police stations do not exist,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in a press briefing on Dec. 19.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace of the Eastern District of New York said the prosecution was part of his office’s efforts to protect vulnerable people who “come to this country to escape the repressive activities of authoritarian regimes.”

Countering the malign activities of foreign states that violate U.S. sovereignty by targeting local diaspora communities is a priority of his office, he said.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division called Chen’s effort in operating the secret outpost “brazen.”

The Department of Justice will “pursue anyone who attempts to aid the PRC’s efforts to extend their repressive reach into the United States,” he said, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China.

Robert Wells, executive assistant director of the FBI’s national security branch, said Chen’s admission of guilt was “a stark reminder of the insidious efforts taken by the PRC government to threaten, harass, and intimidate those who speak against their communist party.”

These police stations don’t exist, but they take up space but they rent space in buildings around the world.

Now That The Election Is Over…

Posted on by

On Thursday, The New York Post reported that New York State Governor Kathy Hochul is restarting the congestion pricing plan. The cost of entering midtown Manhattan was originally set at $15, but the Governor has magnanimously reduced it to $9. She did wait until after the election so that voters wouldn’t be influenced by her adding the tax.

The article reports:

Hochul had abruptly paused the program just before it was set to go into effect in June with a base rate of $15 — and then relaunched with with the lower fee just before President-elect Donald Trump’s administration had an opportunity to block it.

Critics argue the first-in-the-nation toll — which was first approved by state lawmakers and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2019 — is just a cash grab for the MTA that’ll saddle New York City drivers with yet another fee.

The article includes the details:

When does congestion pricing start?

Cars will be tolled beginning at midnight on Jan. 5, Hochul said.

How much will drivers be charged?

Standard passenger vehicles using an E-ZPass will be charged $9 per day for entering the tolling zone during daytime hours, defined as 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

That base amount is set to increase to $12 in 2028.

Other types of vehicles, like motorcycles and trucks, pay at different rates as follows:

    • Motorcycles: $4.50
    • Small trucks and non-commuter buses: $14.40
    • Large trucks and tourism buses: $21.60
    • Taxi and Black Car Drivers: $0.75 per ride
    • Uber, Lyft and other rideshare drivers: $1.50 per ride

The toll is reduced by 75% during overnight hours, between 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., to around $2.25.

Drivers without an E-ZPass will will receive a bill via mail and pay an inflated toll amount, though it wasn’t immediately clear how much.

Where is the toll zone?

The toll zone encompasses all areas below 60th Street – effectively all of Manhattan south of Central Park.

The article concludes:

Currently, the Biden administration is on board with the congestion pricing program. A spokesperson for the Federal Highway Administration confirmed that it is working to sign off on Hochul’s revised plan and get the toll up and running by Jan. 5.

The incoming Trump administration will almost definitely feel differently, with the president-elect telling The Post that he considered the toll the “most regressive tax known to womankind.”

Hochul has previously said she believes the toll can survive court challenges, even at its reduced $9 base rate.

This is one more reason tourists might want to stay out of New York City.

A Call To Restore New York City

Posted on by

New York City used to be a fun place to visit. I went to school there many years ago. There was an energy to the city. There was culture and knowledge available to visitors in whatever area they wanted to pursue. The museums were wonderful, the buildings were fascinating, and the culture was diverse and interesting. I rode the subway to school every day and never thought twice about it. Today I would be afraid to walk down the street.

On Sunday, Breitbart posted an article about President Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden. I only watched part of the rally, but like everyone else, have seen a lot of the short videos from the rally. One of the people who spoke that impressed me was Melania Trump. She said what many of us who have spent time in New York City in the past are thinking–let’s restore our city.

The article reports:

During former President Donald Trump’s rally in Madison Square Garden, his wife, Melania Trump, praised New York City for being the place where “architectural symbols of strength, courage, and unity” made a “canvas for the world’s undisputed capital of industry.”

Melania encouraged voters to “envision a wonderful America where the seats of security, prosperity, and health” would be sewn.

“Hello, Madison Square Garden, our hometown, where architectural symbols of strength, courage, and unity create a canvas for the world’s undisputed capital of industry,” the former first lady said. “Where titans of finance, fashion, and entertainment convene among an iconic range of superior design, structures, and artistic accomplishments. And, American ingenuity blossoms among determined citizens who race across city streets and between offices striving for success. It is you who are the heartbeat of this great metropolis. It is you who are the pulse of this America.”

…“Crime is on the rise, while public safety diminishes creating an environment where families with young children chose to relocate” Melania added. “And this story repeats itself from coast to coast, across our nation: This is America. For generations, this town has produced America’s most fearless leaders, whose mark changed the course of the world. New York City and America needs their magic back. A country of tomorrow that will shape our future and reset expectations for the generations. Envision a wonderful America where the seats of security, prosperity, and health are sewn once again for benefit of our families. Let us charge together with a shared vision that builds on American greatness.”

It is time to bring our cities back to being places where families can live and work in safety and enjoy the diverse cultures around them. New York City has people from every country and most of the time they have all lived in peace. Some of my ancestors were Irish chauffeurs and Czech maids in the mansions of New York City at the beginning of the twentieth century. My husband’s French and Swiss ancestors lived in New York City in the beginning of the twentieth century when they immigrated here.

Let’s make New York City a place of peace, safety, diverse cultures, and great food again.

How Many Is Appropriate?

Posted on by

During a recent interview with Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week, JD Vance brought up the subject of illegal migrant gangs taking over hotels in American cities. When Martha Raddatz commented “The incidents were limited to a handful of apartment complexes and the mayor said our dedicated police officers have acted on those concerns — a handful of problems.”  JD Vance replied, “Do you hear yourself? Only ‘a handful’ of apartment complexes in America were taken over by Venezuelan gangs, and Donald Trump is the problem? Not Kamala Harris’s open border?” (The quotes are from RealClearPolitics.) How many gang takeovers of American apartment buildings is appropriate?

On Wednesday, Zero Hedge reported:

The Biden-Harris administration misled the public with phony FBI crime statistics, pushing the narrative that far-left policies were actually making America safer. Weeks later, those numbers were “revised,” revealing a shocking truth: a 2.1% decrease in US violent crime in 2022 was actually a 4.5% increase! 

…This brings us to the current crime crisis spreading across certain New York City boroughs, like stage four cancer, where armed illegal alien kids are brazenly robbing citizens and tourists alike.

…Here’s more from a separate NYPost report:

Law enforcement sources said gang members hid among the millions of asylum seekers who crossed the US border with Mexico since 2022, then scattered throughout the country.

…

In New York, gang members exploited the city’s migrant shelter system, running robbery crews, as well as trafficking drugs, guns and sex workers under the noses of private security guards. according to sources.

Tren de Aragua has become such a significant concern that leaked US Army documents estimate more than 5,000 of these gangsters, some of which are armed, are running amok nationwide.

These are the illegal immigration numbers from recent years. When you let in that many unvetted people, there are going to be bad apples in the bunch:

The article concludes with a message from a truck driver:

Do yourself a favor this holiday season: Avoid NYC and, in fact, boycott sanctuary towns. Spend your money elsewhere.

Immigration policies (or lack of) have consequences.

 

Priorities, People!

Posted on by

On Thursday, The EconoTimes posted an article about the role of the government in providing relief to the victims of Hurricane Helene. The Biden/Harris administration has warned Americans that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) may run out of money before the end of the hurricane season.

The article reports:

In a shocking development, the Biden-Harris administration announced that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) may not have enough resources to make it through the rest of hurricane season. This warning comes on the heels of billions of dollars being allocated to foreign aid, raising concerns about the government’s ability to respond to domestic natural disasters.

“FEMA’s Running Dry — And They Just Sent Billions Overseas! How Are We Supposed to Get Through This?”

The administration’s statement was made public on Monday, September 30, raising alarm about the depleted state of FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF). With hurricane season still in full swing, this could leave millions of Americans vulnerable in the event of further catastrophic weather events.

In June 2023, The New York Post reported:

New York City is set to receive $104.6 million in grant funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help cover its growing expenses related to the ongoing migrant crisis, Sen. Charles Schumer’s office confirmed to The Post.

That’s a third of the $363 million left in the pot allocated by FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program, dedicated to helping municipalities around the US and nonprofits providing shelter and other services to homeless migrants who crossed into the country from the southern border. 

Although it’s also far less than the $650 million total initially requested by NYC Mayor Eric Adams earlier this year, the Big Apple has now received the largest grant from the program compared to other jurisdictions.

The migrant crisis in New York City is a crisis caused by the open-border policies of the Biden/Harris administration. The devastation in western North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida is caused by a natural disaster. FEMA money should be reserved for natural disasters–not man-made crises.

This Was Inevitable

Posted on by

On Tuesday, The U.K. Daily Mail posted an article explaining how Chipotle is dealing with the new minimum wage requirements for fast-food establishments in California. This is not surprising and should give legislators in all states a reason to pause before changing the minimum wage laws.

The article reports:

Chipotle has introduced two robots that can take over tasks normally done by its workers. 

The ‘autocado’ can peel, stone and cut an avocado for guacamole in 26 seconds. Meanwhile, a ‘digital makeline’ portions up salads and bowls based on orders on the app.

The machines are part of an automation drive that Chipotle bosses hope will cut down the number of workers needed – slashing rising labor costs. 

So, it is no surprise they are being put to use first in two of the Mexican chain’s restaurants in California, the company announced on Monday. 

Recent legislation raised the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20-an-hour in the state. 

The controversial wage hike – $4 more than the minimum wage in the state for any other job – was introduced by California Governor Gavin Newsom at chains with more than 60 locations in the US, and came into effect on April 1.

Chains including Burger King have already ramped up the roll out of digital ordering kiosks to cut the number of cashiers needed in Californian restaurants.  

It is not yet clear how the production costs of using Chipotle’s new machines compares to human labor when making Chipotle menu items. 

Also, robots don’t call in sick or require vacations or sick days.

The article concludes:

Chipotle’s sales this year beat Wall Street expectations – boosted by price hikes and a jump in loyal customers. 

But the company has come under fire for its reported varying portion sizes. 

It prompted Chipotle’s then CEO Brian Nicol – who has now moved to Starbucks – to deny that he had instructed staff to scrimp with servings as he revealed the company will be instituting changes to ensure satisfaction.

He revealed Chipotle will be retraining its staff to ensure ‘generous portions’ are consistent across its more than 3,500 stores.

Last month, Wells Fargo analyst Zachary Fadem and his team tested the theory that Chipotle has been skimping on its usually-large portions, after a series of videos posted to TikTok showed employees barely filling their burrito bowls.

The team ordered and weighed 75 bowls – all with the same ingredients –  from eight locations across New York City.

They discovered that the consistency of the burrito bowls varied widely from restaurant to restaurant. Some locations served bowls that weighed up to 33 percent more than others, the study found. 

Even without the minimum wage hikes, fast food is another victim of Bidenomics.

 

Random Thoughts On September 11, 2001

Posted on by

We all remember where we were when we got the news of the attack on the World Trade Center. I was living in Massachusetts at the time and working an early morning job. I got home just before 9 am and turned on the television set. Shortly thereafter I saw a picture of an airplane in the side of a building. My first thought was that I was seeing a special effect from some new action movie. Then, as I listened to what was being said, reality set in. Then, as I watched, a second airplane struck the South Tower. I watched in shock until I had to leave for a doctor’s appointment. While I was in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, the towers fell. Because some of my immediate family and a lot of my extended family lived or worked in New York City at the time, the shock of what I had seen was soon replaced with concern for their safety. In my morning travels, I then heard about the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The next day I learned that the daughter of one of my co-workers worked in the South Tower and had not been heard from. The fate of Susan Blair, 35, was unknown until she was listed as a casualty after about two weeks.

The events of September 11 were a rude awakening for Americans. What had we done to precipitate an attack on American civilians? Why were some people in New York City neighborhoods celebrating the attack? After the attack, we heard the name Al Qaeda. We even heard the name Muslim Brotherhood. The attack of September 11 was an act of kinetic jihad by Al Qaeda. The Muslim Brotherhood was not happy about the attack–they engage in stealth jihad or cultural jihad.

America slowly stood back up after the attacks. We can never replace the people we lost that day, but we can move forward as a tribute to them.

This is a day for unity in remembering that we need to work together to survive as a country.

Let’s work hard to eliminate the forces that committed the barbaric acts of September 11, 2001.

How About Sharing With Homeless Veterans?

Posted on by

On Friday, Breitbart reported the following:

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) is expanding his program that rewards newly arrived migrants with pre-loaded debit cards for food — paid for by New Yorkers who remain some of the most tax-burdened residents of the United States.

Adams started the debit cards-for-migrants program in February, noting that it would cost about $53 million to provide roughly 500 migrant families with the prepaid cards meant only for food. The program came even as a study recently found that 56 percent of New Yorkers live near the poverty line.

According to The New York Times:

The debit cards are expected to be distributed to more than 7,300 migrants over the next six months at a cost of about $2.6 million, city officials said, building from a pilot program that began earlier this year with roughly 900 families, or nearly 3,000 migrants. [Emphasis added]…

With more than 60,000 migrants currently in the city’s care, the program — which is expanding from three hotels to 17 — could serve about 1,230 people per month, or roughly 2 percent of the total migrant population. [Emphasis added]

The program is part of a contract with Mobility Capital Finance, known as MoCaFi, that could eventually cost the city as much as $53 million, with as much as $2 million going to the company and the rest being distributed to families, city officials said. Under the pilot program, a family of four with young children received about $350 per week for a month. [Emphasis added]

I don’t want anyone to go without food, but why can’t we just send them home since we can’t afford them?

Hotels are being paid to house the illegals. Again, why weren’t hotels being paid to house homeless veterans?

When Radical Isn’t Radical–It’s Original

Posted on by

I am not an economist, but I am an observer of the obvious.

In a recent speech, President Trump talked about ending the Income Tax and restructuring the Federal Reserve. Either or both of those things would be good for all Americans and for the American economy.

Before 1913, the United State had neither the Federal Reserve nor the Income Tax. Both measures were passed in 1913. On February 25, 1913, the 16th Amendment (Income Tax) was certified as part of the U.S. Constitution. On December 23, 1913, the Federal Reserve Act created the Federal Reserve.

The men who met at Jekyll Island to create the Federal Reserve represented 25 percent of the wealth of the entire world. They met in secret, and their identities were concealed for many years afterward. Their goal was to keep that 25 percent of wealth in their hands. They created the system for the purpose of keeping New York City banks as the center of America’s wealth. The federal reserve created a system where money could be created out of nothing and loaned out through a leverage system to create interest. For example, over a 30-year mortgage, a bank can earn more from the sale of a house than any contractor who worked on the house.

The Income Tax was supposed to only impact the top 1 percent of Americans. Before 1913, the government’s expenses had been handled through tariffs.

To end the Income Tax, you would have to end the Welfare State. One way to do that would be to tax welfare benefits but not wages. When it becomes more lucrative to work than to collect welfare, it is possible that the work ethic that used to be part of American culture might be revived. You would also have to slash the bloated bureaucracy. The economic boom created by ending the Income Tax would give those who lose their jobs in government a great job market in which to search for new jobs. We need to get rid of any government department that is not successful–has education improved since the Department of Education was created? What has Housing and Urban Development accomplished? How many people in the Justice Department would have to be fired to end the corruption? You no longer need the Internal Revenue Service. You see where I am going with this.

The opposition to this plan would come from federal workers (fear of losing their jobs). Opposition would also come from Washington swamp creatures who would see it as a threat to their power (in Washington controlling money is power). It would also come from welfare recipients.

The other issue would be Social Security and its related taxes. That could be worked out easily by balancing payments to people who have paid into the program for more than forty years with alternatives for younger workers. With a retirement age of 70, most Americans pay the most into Social Security from about the age of 30.

This is all possible if Americans are willing to elect a businessman who has the economic knowledge to put it all together.

Imagine a world where you get to keep all of what you earn and the government cannot intimidate you about your taxes.

Karma Isn’t Fun

Posted on by

On Wednesday, PJ Media posted an article titled, “What a  Bad Day to Be a Democrat.” The article lists seven reasons for that statement. Please follow the link to read the details.

Here are the seven reasons:

1. By now you’ve heard that the Trump donation site crashed as patriotic Americans, 29.7% of whom were first-time donors, bombarded Trump with over $50 million in about 24 hours after the guilty verdicts, and a grand total of $200 million for the month of May.

2. A poll just out of my home state of Michigan revealed, much to the pain of the wailing, sissy-Mary sitzpinklers on the left, that the 34 guilty verdicts did not hurt Trump but, as America’s favorite commie-hating, radio talk show host/ PJ Media pundit/bourbon-drinking comedian pointed out, likely helped him.

3. New York City decided to incur a $15 “congestion tax” on people who travel south of 60th St. in Manhattan. The commies in charge thought it would be a tasty way to stick it to the profit-grabbing Milburn Pennybags of the Big Apple. 

But on Wednesday, Komrade Kathy Hochul delayed the tax indefinitely until the day after the presidential election because she knows New York State might, actually, possibly vote Republican for the first time in years.

4. As you’ve likely heard, the House Oversight Committee informed America’s notorious tergiversator, Merrick Garland, that it has proof that Hunter Biden and his uncle James Biden lied to Congress, which is a big, fat, juicy felony. The committee recommended criminal investigations.

4.5. The gun case against Hunter is pretty daming. But he is on his own turf, so it’s hard to say how this case will go. If the jury just looks at the facts and doesn’t succumb to the sympathy of the ghost of Hunter’s dead brother Beau, who has already made an appearance, Hunter should be found guilty.

5. Georgia’s sassiest pinko, Fani Willis, might get booted from the Trump prosecution case. That could go either way, but we recently learned that the Trump trial will not proceed until a judge has decided whether or not to send Fani to the showers.

6. Judge Aileen Cannon just might decide that Jack Smith has no legal right to persecute Trump in what the Castromaniacs are calling the “classified documents trial.”

7. The Wall Street Journal released a damning article about how Joe Biden has the mental faculties of a carrot. Biden’s dementia is becoming an inconvenient truth for the Democrats who see voters — especially black and brown people — leaving the Democrat plantation in record numbers.

Almost all of these are ongoing issues. Stay tuned.

What He Says vs. What He Does

Posted on by

President Biden has pledged to get tough on illegal immigration. It’s about time. However, are you going to believe what you hear or what you see?

On Sunday, The New York Post reported the following:

While the Biden administration is attempting to look like it’s getting tough on the border, behind the scenes it’s operating a program of “mass amnesty” for migrants, The Post can reveal.

Data show that since 2022, more than 350,000 asylum cases filed by migrants have been closed by the US government if the applicants don’t have a criminal record or are otherwise not deemed a threat to the country.

This means that while the migrants are not granted or denied asylum — their cases are “terminated without a decision on the merits of their asylum claim” — they are removed from the legal system and no longer required to check in with authorities.

The move allows them to legally, indefinitely roam the US without fear of deportation, effectively letting them slip through the cracks.

The article includes the following chart:

The Democrats keep talking about saving ‘Democracy’ (we are a Republic–not a Democracy), but have they ever considered that the number of people entering this country illegally cannot easily be assimilated? Have they ever considered the number of Americans unemployed because many of these immigrants are working ‘under the table’ for very low wages? Have they considered the impact on our social safety net of having illegals in need of housing, medical care and food? If you are not yet familiar with the Cloward-Piven theory, it is now time to look it up.

The article concludes:

Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s attempt to tighten things up at the border has included issuing a rule in May that asylum claims must be resolved within 180 days for migrants who list their final destination in the US as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles or New York City.

The administration is also poised to issue an order to close the border once the number of migrant crossings reaches 4,000 per day, sources told The Post.

In April, US authoriites in the southwest intercepted an average of 5,990 migrants per day, according to US Customs and Border Protection. That figure didn’t even include the so-called “gotaways” who escape detection and arrest.

I am hoping we can hang on until we can change administrations in November and begin deportations in January.

Let’s Even The Playing Field

Posted on by

On Saturday, PJ Media posted an article titled, “Time To Fight Dirty.” Frankly, I was put off by the title, but when I read the article, I realized that there were some good ideas there.

The article notes:

After witnessing the banana republic court spectacle in New York City this week, I ask our elected Republicans… have you seen enough? Are you going to continue lobbing limpwristed slaps at your enemy’s shoulder as they continue to kick you below the belt? Are you still hiding behind the whole “civility” façade, which the Left abandoned decades ago? Or are you ready to actually man up and fight like our lives, our loved ones, and our liberties depend on it?

We need to start fighting dirty, like they do. If we don’t, what remains of our constitutional order will continue to dissipate until all that remains is the totalitarian state they’ve been working for generations to achieve, complete with state censorship, show trials, and political prisoners.

And when I say we need to fight dirty, let me clarify what I am not saying. I am not saying that we should persecute innocent people, like the Left does. I am saying that we need to go full-throttle, no-holds-barred lawfare against those who do break the law and smugly get away with it.

The article lists a number of times Democrats have broken laws and suffered no consequences. The author of the article believes that there need to be consequences for anyone who breaks the law. I agree.

The article concludes:

The fiercely abolitionist Quakers contributed absolutely nothing towards winning the Civil War, nor was slavery ended by peaceful legislative process. It was ended by the soldiers who slashed and burned their way through Mississippi and Georgia, backed by a Republican president who suspended habeas corpus, who emancipated slaves with a constitutionally-tenuous executive fiat, and who secured the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment via corruption and bribery. And they were right to do so. America is a better place because Larry Hogan’s forefather wasn’t president in 1860.

They all get away with it. They always get away with it. If we win in November, our leaders must ensure that they don’t get away with it, no matter how dirty the fight gets. We need to do to them what they’ve been doing to us, and we need the moral courage to do so. Fighting is dirty only if just one side is doing it.

Holding EVERYONE accountable for their misdeeds is the only way American can move forward. Our laws need to apply to everyone.

This Is What Taking A Stand Looks Like

Posted on by

On Wednesday, The New York Post posted an article about a speech given by Senator John Fetterman at Yeshiva University in New York City.

The article reports:

Sen. John Fetterman told Yeshiva University graduates Wednesday that he was “profoundly disappointed” in Harvard University’s inability to address antisemitism on campus before removing the ceremonial crimson academic hood representing his alma mater.

The Pennsylvania Democrat expressed his disapproval of the Ivy League school during his commencement address at the private Orthodox Jewish university, which bestowed on him its “Hero of Israel” award, the institution’s highest honor. 

“I have been profoundly disappointed [in] Harvard’s inability to stand up for the Jewish community after Oct. 7,” Fetterman, 54, told the new grads at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens. 

Senator Fetterman has openly condemned the attacks of October 7th and supported Israel in its efforts to defend itself.

The article concludes:

Fetterman received his undergraduate degree in 1991 from Albright College in Pennsylvania and obtained an MBA from the University of Connecticut in 1993.

The senator graduated from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in 1999 with a master of public policy degree. He has previously said he doesn’t “recognize” the school as the same place he once attended. 

“As an alum of Harvard — look, I graduated 25 years ago, and of course, it was always a little pinko,” he told Semafor in January. “But now, I don’t recognize it.”

Last month, Fetterman endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. and current US Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) to take over the presidency of Harvard, which is currently being held on an interim basis by Alan Garver, the university’s former provost.

Senator Fetterman has a rather questionable sense of decorum–if you look at the pictures in the article, you notice that he is probably wearing his signature gym shorts under his robe. However, I must say that some of his statements as a Senator have impressed me. He is not afraid to speak his mind when he disagrees with his fellow Democrats. He was elected in 2022 and will be in office until 2028.I wonder if the Pennsylvania Democrats will run a candidate against him if he decides to run for another term.

Setting An Ugly Precedent

Posted on by

As we await the verdict on the New York City trial of President Trump, there are a few things that we need to keep in mind. One thing is the impact this trial will have on future politics and future elections.

On Tuesday, Just the News posted an article about the possible impact of this trial.

The article reports:

Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz said Tuesday that a conviction in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial would weaponize the justice system.

Frankly, I think it has already been weaponized.

The article continues:

Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz said Tuesday that a conviction in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial would weaponize the justice system. 

“If there’s a conviction here, it will change the justice system forevermore,” Dershowitz said on the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show. “It will weaponize the system. It will mean that both sides will try to use the legal system as a way of winning elections.”

Trump is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment involving porn star Stormy Daniels. 

…”If there’s an acquittal, maybe at least we can say the jury system works,” Dershowitz said. “But if there’s a conviction or even a hung jury, it will show that the prosecution benefits from bringing a case, which is no crime at all.”

Dershowitz, who was in the New York courtroom, went on to criticize Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the Trump case.

“I don’t know the reason but it’s obvious that he is not unbiased in this case,” he said. “He wants a conviction.

It is distressing that Loren Merchan, the Judge’s daughter, has been raising money for Democrats using the case as a fund-raising tool. I am not sure that America has ever seen this level of corruption in a presidential election.

The Basic Goals Have Been Met

Posted on by

On May 14th, Newsmax posted an article about the true purpose of the trial of President Trump that is currently taking place in New York City.

The article notes the three purposes:

“The purpose of this trial is three-fold,” Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, said on “National Report.” “No. 1, to convict him down and dirty before the election, although it will get reversed after the election. No. 2, to have a gag order on him, and No. 3, to keep them locked up in the courtroom, so he can’t campaign, and those goals may very well be accomplished.

“This is election interference at its most obvious, and every American, no matter whether you’re for Trump or against them … I voted for [President Joe] Biden … whatever your political affiliation is … I’m a Democrat … you should be equally concerned about how this legal system is being weaponized and abused for partisan purposes.”

It is becoming obvious that if President Biden remains as the Democrat candidate in 2024, he is going to have a problem being re-elected. His approval ratings are very low, and any public event he holds has an attendance problem–no one wants to come. There is definitely an enthusiasm gap. It’s going to take an awful lot of computer manipulations and mail-in ballots to steal the upcoming election, and the only way the Democrats can win it is to steal it. I don’t think the American people would believe a President Biden victory.

There is also the question of the precedents being set. Do we really want to live in a country where a political party freely uses the justice system to go after its opponents? This is an awkward question because if the Republicans take Congress and the White House, there are going to have to be some people held accountable for the weaponization of the justice system. I hope that there are some Republicans who care enough about equal justice to hold people accountable. Based on the lack of outrage over the unconstitutional treatment of the January 6th political prisoners, I am not sure Republicans are any more concerned about our Constitution than Democrats.

Is Anyone Surprised?

Posted on by

On Thursday, The Post Millennial posted an article about a recent group of people who were squatting in the Bronx. These squatters were arrested on drug and gun charges.

The article reports:

Four of the illegal immigrant squatters who were arrested in a Bronx home on charges related to firearms, drugs, and child endangerment reportedly skipped their processing appointments with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

According to the New York Post, Yoessy Pino Castillo, Yojairo Martinez, Javier Alborno, and Yerbin Lozado-Munoz, aged 25, were detained by the US Border Patrol in Texas over a year ago. However, they were subsequently released into the country due to overcrowding at processing centers. They failed to appear for their processing appointments.

Johan Cardenas Silva, another individual involved in the squatting incident, was taken into custody in 2022 and had previously been ordered for removal by an immigration judge. However, he was released from his detention center under an order of supervision to report to New York City. Silva failed to attend his Enforcement and Removal Operations appointment upon arriving in New York City.

“At the check-ins, migrants are supposed to file a claim, that could be for asylum, and let officials know where they are staying. Immigration officials can then determine what level of supervision is required,” the Post explained.

The four men were among eight squatters recently apprehended for occupying a house where firearms, drugs, and a seven-year-old child were discovered in the basement.

This is what happens when you fail to secure the borders of the country.