Why is society in trouble? Here is the simple one-word answer
Why the violence, the shootings, the divisions, the vitriol in our nation, our cities, our society? Let’s start with God.
Non-citizens voting in California: Judge says no, even in left-wing state
Sometimes, common sense can prevail – even in far-out California. Last week, California Superior Court Judge Richard B. Ulmer Jr. ruled that only U.S. citizens have the right to vote. In this, he echoed an earlier ruling by the New York Supreme Court.
This January, the New York City Council passed an ordinance that would have allowed 800,000 non-citizens to vote in its municipal elections. The ordinance clearly violated New York’s state constitution and its election laws. There’s no special carveout for NYC in these prohibitions. Fortunately for the citizens of the Big Apple, a New York court struck down this ill-advised ordinance in June.
On its face, the city ordinance would have applied only to “lawful permanent residents” and aliens authorized to work in the United States. But since NYC’s “sanctuary city” policies bar city officials from differentiating between legal and illegal aliens, this limitation would have been difficult to enforce, if not meaningless, in practice.
To demonstrate just how bizarre this ordinance was, it would have allowed foreign reporters for Communist propaganda outlets like Russia’s Pravda and Red China’s People’s Daily stationed in New York City to vote in local elections.
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Yet, New York City wasn’t the first large, “progressive” municipality to pioneer noncitizen voting. That dubious distinction belongs to San Francisco.
Six years ago, that city’s voters approved an ordinance that, as the San Francisco Chronicle explains, “allows noncitizens, including undocumented immigrants and legal residents, to vote for school board candidates if they are a parent or guardian of a school-aged child and are not in prison or on parole for a felony conviction.” The ordinance took effect in 2018 and was slated to expire this year. But last November, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors extended the ordinance indefinitely.
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Fortunately, Judge Ulmer recognized that letting noncitizens – even illegal aliens – vote was, itself, a lawless action. He noted that California’s “transcendent law” (i.e., the state constitution), “reserves the vote to a ‘United States citizen,’ contrary to [the] San Francisco ordinance …” and concluded that the city’s effort “to give the California Constitution a different meaning is unavailing.”
To prove the absurdity of the city’s position, the judge pointed out that by the ordinance’s illogic, children under 18 and residents of other states could vote in California elections, which the California Constitution clearly prohibits.
In addition to being unconstitutional, efforts to let non-citizens vote is bad policy. Aliens who remain legally bound by, and beholden to, the governments of their native lands should not be allowed to shape and mold our educational, law enforcement, and other policies potentially to the detriment of our country.
That is especially true in the education context, where efforts to indoctrinate young children with harmful ideologies have been well documented. Lawmakers such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have put forward common-sense proposals to encourage schools to drop the indoctrination and focus instead on educating our children. These proposals have met with massive blowback and mischaracterization from activists on the left. Yet, it is in this very sensitive area of educational policy and school board elections that San Francisco specifically proposed allowing aliens to vote and shape policy.
At least for now, the rule of law has prevailed in California and New York City. Judges there have recognized that the efforts of municipal officials to allow non-citizens to vote effectively disenfranchises their own citizens and violates their respective state constitutions.
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Hans von Spakovsky is a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies.
Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act includes another lavish EV subsidy for the rich and famous
Of all the ridiculous provisions in the Democrats’ absurdly named Inflation Reduction Act, perhaps the most amazing is the lavish subsidy it provides for the rich and famous. The bill expands upon already deep federal subsidies for Americans who purchase electric vehicles.
There are myriad reasons why this is a bad idea. But with Arizona Democrat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema finally falling in line with the rest of her far left party, this looks to be a done deal. And a very bad one for the average American.
First of all, as many have pointed out, the electricity that runs these futuristic vehicles doesn’t just flow freely from the sky, as envisioned by Nicola Tesla whose name is now synonymous with electric vehicles. Rather these supposedly green status symbols on our roads are powered by the grid. And what powers the grid? In many cases the very fossil fuels meant to be phased out.
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Adding to this is the fact that a mandate in the bill requires that the rare minerals needed for the batteries may not come from Russia or China. The only problem is that American auto manufacturers say that without those sources, they simply can’t meet demand. So the already months long waiting lists for many EV’s may only get worse.
It also isn’t clear that this measure will actually lower prices, in fact, manufacturers may simply use the subsidy to create nicer products at the same bottom line cost for their mostly well off consumers.
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But perhaps the biggest flaw of the bill and the one that will stick in the craw of middle class Americans most pointedly is that average price of a new EV is over $54,000, with many much more expensive. Even used EVs, which get a smaller subsidy in the legislation, don’t come cheap.
For the average American this a luxury item, even with Uncle Sam kicking in $7,500 dollars if all requirements are met, it’s a reach these days. It’s like giving everyone a thousand dollar gift card to the Rolex store, great, but where do we get the other 9 grand?
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There are also regional disparities to consider, California for example has over 550,000 electric cars, which dwarves Texas which has a mere 130,000 and New York with a paltry 62,000. This makes the Golden State a much easier place to drive electric, in part because California Democrats intentionally increased gas prices to create an incentive which resulted in an enormous amount of charging stations, and a culture surrounding the vehicles.
They call this policy a win, but with Californians fleeing the state for less progressive and expensive confines, is this really a path the entire country should be going down? And more broadly, is this even the best way to encourage the growth of the electric vehicle industry?
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In the last decade, owing to free market competition with gas guzzlers, EVs have become more competitive, the best way to encourage that is to allow that fair competition to continue, not for the federal government to put its thumb on the scale.
This is not the first time that Democrats under President Joe Biden have sought to give working class cash over to their economic betters. Their desire to forgive student loans for the college educated is another such inverse wealth transfer, and they wonder why they are bleeding blue collar voters like a sacrificial goat.
The bottom line is that top-down attempts to manipulate the American economy so as to achieve environmental or social goals are always a failure. Americans will broadly adopt EVs when they reach a point of equality or superiority in the marketplace.
The actions of people like California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to inflict pain at the pump to prime this change is hurting people. And now with this subsidy for the wealthy, the Democrats, once again, are aiming to make the problem worse.
Biden’s risk-averse foreign policy is risky business for Americans
President Joe Biden’s foreign policy is a toxic mix of ideas from both extremes of the political spectrum.
On the one hand, Biden and company have embraced the Obama era policy of maximum restraint. The idea is that the less the U.S. engages in foreign affairs, the fewer problems it will have to deal with.
The problem with maximum restraint is that it can let a manageable foreign problem fester and grow into a tremendous problem. It’s like when a homeowner keeps putting off fixing a leaky roof; one day the ceiling will collapse.
Maximum restraint can also lead to precipitous withdrawal from foreign engagements. This too can be disastrous. For example, Obama precipitously withdrew from Iraq, and ISIS promptly filled the vacuum. Biden did the same in Afghanistan, and we now know that Al Qaeda has already reestablished a foothold there.
The reality is: Whenever America walks away, our adversaries happily fill in. Just look at what happened at our southern border. As soon as Biden reversed all of Trump’s border security measures, the cartels started lining up people to come across.
On the other hand, Biden is often over-eager to engage on the world stage, turning American interests over to globalist management. The idea is that we can make the world safer, more equitable and more just if we follow the wisdom of global elites and govern according to international agreements on everything from climate policy and tax policy to labor policy and the treatment of women.
The problem with this is that it can sacrifice our national interests — and our sovereignty — abiding by international compacts that our enemies ignore, and our friends find preposterous. For example, the Chinese have zero intent of following the U.S. into the abyss of “net zero” green energy policy. To keep their economy growing, they are building coal plants right and left.
Yet, Biden persists in thinking that he and other leaders of developed nations can establish global “norms” by pledging to follow the dictates of Davos. This is like the little kid sitting in a grocery cart who thinks he is steering down the aisle.
By following these impulses to 1) do nothing and 2) tell everyone else what to do, Biden believes he is reducing risk and making a better world. In reality, what he has is a schizophrenic foreign policy that has increased global risk and left our friends and allies dazed and confused.
The most recent victim of this approach was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Her trip to Taiwan was important. And the stakes were high. China is America’s No. 1 threat, and Taiwan is the most serious issue that divides us. One would think every step the president would take would be serious, deliberate and proactive, because that is how serious people deal with serious risks. Not Joe.
His first instinct was to try to make the problem go away. So, he asked Pelosi to cancel the visit. This would have been a big slap in the face to Taiwan and a huge loss of face for the U.S.
When Pelosi refused, Biden then called Chinese President Xi Jinping and, after meekly reassuring him that the U.S. still clings to the “One China Policy.” asked him to back down from his regime’s saber-rattling rhetoric opposing the trip. Again, no effect.
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Indeed, throughout the crisis, Biden came across — to China, to Taiwan, to Pelosi and the rest of the world — as little more than a do-nothing Bystander-in-Chief. (Though, in fairness, he did tweet afterward.)
Once Pelosi left, China ramped-up its “wolf warrior” diplomacy ringing Taiwan with live fire drills. The administration response was mostly finger-waving at the Chinese, tut-tutting that they were not following the international norms as approved by our globalist overlords in Davos. Beijing must still be laughing.
But this is no laughing matter. Just ask Ukraine. When Putin threatened to invade, Biden tried the mix of do nothing, threatening with a handful of sanctions, and finger-waving about international norms. Rather than being deterred, Russia started a war that has harmed our economy and lowered our national security.
When will U.S. foreign policy get better instead of worse? The answer is: When the administration starts dealing with risks, rather than ignoring them.
Far-left AOC needs to learn that ‘defund the police’ hurts her constituents
Recently, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, was upbraided by one of her fellow progressives for rarely being present in her own district. We may now know why.
It turns out that while the Duchess of Defund has been advocating for less policing across the nation — with statements like, “defunding police means defunding police. It does not mean budget tricks or funny math” — her own district could use some more police. A lot more.
A deep-dive analysis of AOC’s 14th Congressional District reveals that crime is skyrocketing in her area — and is likely to get even worse. While the representative engages in street theater in Washington — pantomiming being handcuffed for the cameras — her constituents are dealing with genuine criminals. The results are shocking.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
The methodology for the analysis was simple. According to Ocasio-Cortez’s official government webpage, her 14th congressional district represents more than 650,000 people from the following neighborhoods:
Astoria, College Point, Corona, North Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Sunnyside and Woodside in Queens;
Pelham Gardens, City Island, Country Club, Van Nest, Morris Park, Parkchester, Pelham Bay, Schuylerville, Allerton and Throggs Neck in the Bronx
So: by simply correlating those areas to the NYPD’s official precinct webpages, we find that AOC’s district encompasses all or part of the following precincts: the 43, 45, and 49 in the Bronx; and the 108, 109, 110, 114, and 115 in Queens.
The NYPD publishes weekly crime statistics — known as “CompStats” — on its official webpage, broken down by precinct. These stats capture the numbers of the “seven major” (most serious) felonies: murder, rape, robbery, felonious assault, burglary, grand larceny, and grand larceny auto. These “index crimes” are the ones that have the greatest impact on citizens’ quality of life and are how crime is tracked across the city. The NYPD also publishes stats on the number of shooting incidents and shooting victims in each precinct.
A simple accounting of these numbers during the representative’s tenure (AOC entered Congress in 2019) will therefore give us an unbiased, empirical view of the street conditions that her constituents experience daily.
Let’s begin with the numbers through July 24-29 week of the year. The chart for the seven majors in AOC’s district looks like this:
Total Major Crimes
2022 2021 2020
9,862 6,842 6,281
So: AOC’s district is up in major felonies so far this year by 44.13% over 2021. And it’s up a whopping 57.01% over the last two years.
Let’s just say, with those numbers: Were she a precinct commander, she’d better have some answers for the chief of department. (For context: police commanders are often called on the carpet for even single-digit increases).
Now let’s look at shootings for the same period. For shooting victims, the chart looks like this:
Shooting Victims
2022 2021 2020
90 86 64
So, AOC is up so far this year 4.65% over 2021, and 40.62% since 2020.
Forget the chief of department. She’s going to the police commissioner’s office.
Now let’s go to shooting incidents. Here’s the chart:
Shooting Incidents
2022 2021 2020
75 75 51
So, AOC is even since last year on incidents, but up 47.05% over the last two years.
There are times statistics can be misleading. Not here. To boil it down: As of the year’s 29th week, AOC had 22 more people shot in 2021 over 2020; she had 26 more shot in 2022 than at the same time in 2020. That means, over the last two years, 48 more human beings were shot in AOC’s district by this point over the last two years. Many of them undoubtedly people of color. Many of them undoubtedly dead.
Tellingly, the congresswoman stated the following in a July 2021 interview: “there is an increase in crime and in incidents of violence as the country really reopens up from the pandemic.” But by that logic, her shootings should be spiking this year, after the lockdown ended, no? They have in fact been rising since two years ago; that is, since 2020, when the lockdown was well underway.
Oh, and what also occurred in 2020? The city caved to activists and the NYPD was defunded by $1.5b. Which AOC lamented was not enough.
Ah, but I can hear the rejoinder to all this. “COVID somehow skewed the numbers!” “2020 and 2021 were anomalous years!” Fair enough. Let’s look at 2019 — the first year of AOC’s tenure in Congress.
For the seven majors through the year’s 29th week, the chart looks like this:
Total Major Crimes
2022 2019
9,862 6,280
So year-to-date, from pre-COVID to now, AOC is up 57.03%.
She’s going to the PC’s office, alright. And she better bring a union rep.
Let’s try one last simple exercise. If we take the average number of seven majors per month so far this year and extrapolate those out for the rest of the year, we can get a predictive year-end number for 2022. That chart, as compared to the published final numbers for her pre-COVID, first-year-in-office, looks like this:
Total Crimes
2022* 2019
17,684 11,709
*Projected
Meaning: At the current pace, AOC will finish this year with a 51.02% increase in major crime since her first year in office.
A gloss on all this is what the representative has had to say on the crime issue since she entered Congress — and what she hasn’t said. Despite being from Westchester, she references her “bodega” life and upbringing ad nauseum. Yet amidst the outcry over the prosecution of bodega worker Jose Alba — much of it from the Hispanic community — the representative said … nothing.
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In response to Donald Trump’s 2019 so-called “Muslim ban,” AOC positioned herself as an outspoken supporter of the Yemeni-American bodega association (she even called for bodegas to boycott The NY Post). But when the same association held a joint press conference in support of the Yemeni-American owner of Alba’s bodega, the representative said … nothing.
A lioness of women’s rights — it was at an abortion-related protest that AOC mimed her handcuffing. Her response to New York’s Asian women being stabbed 40 times in their homes, spit on, beaten, and pushed in front of trains in the subways, has been a tweet supporting — of course! — more funding for “housing and treatment for those suffering with mental illness.” In a city that spent $2.8 billion on homeless services in fiscal year 2022.
Meanwhile, hate crimes are up in her district 81.25% over the last two years.
I grew up in the representative’s district. I know many of the neighborhoods. I suspect I speak for many when I say: Forget the union rep, AOC. Maybe it’s time you just cleaned out your locker.