Categories
Quick Analysis

China Faces Economic and Energy Challenges

China is facing an extreme energy crisis that shows no signs of abating this fall as blackouts crisscross the country. In a triple blow to the electric grid, surging demand coupled with extreme weather this year and the added tightening of governmental restrictions on coal usage, have pushed the system to the brink in at least nine provinces. In just the last week China was forced to cut power in 20 of its 31 provinces and autonomous regions. Power rationing in Guangdong province this summer, an area responsible for over 10% of China’s annual economic output, has resulted in many companies shuttering their doors several days each week. According to Laura He, of CNN Business in Hong Kong, power cuts in China equal an area as large as Great Britain, Germany, Japan, and France combined. Simultaneously, China is attempting to address President Xi Jinping’s goal of making China clean and low carbon-neutral by 2060. By limiting coal production Xi has pushed its price upward, created immense global supply chain challenges, and resulted in extended delays in containerized shipping that are reverberating around the world. 

In recent years China built as many as one full electric power plant each week in an attempt to meet the energy demands of its fast-growing economy. Unlike the almost monthly electric outages of the early 2000’s, by 2010 the electric grid was relatively stable. In recent years approximately 56% of China electricity derived from coal. Due to current reductions in its domestic production and a ban on Australian coal exports to China, the country is experiencing yet another complication in delivering electricity to the manufacturing sector and its citizenry. Coal-fired plants themselves also are adding to electric shortages as many are closing down due to the government’s cap on prices they can charge for electricity. Rather than lose money, many individual coal-fired plants are simply stopping all production.

At a time when Xi Jinping is pushing for increased domestic production of goods for domestic consumption, Beijing also has imposed new guidelines for local authorities concerning the level of productivity factories should achieve in relation to the amount of electricity it consumes at a site. “The shortages are hitting already stretched global supply chains, with both Apple and Tesla factories suffering shutdowns in China as well as many more small businesses that play a key role in global manufacturing,” according to James Palmer of the Jamestown Foundation. The energy crisis is directly impacting Chinese citizens, too. In the last decade China dramatically increased the number of high-rise residential buildings being built in crowded urban areas. The blackouts have left many of those new urban residents stranded without elevators and sitting in traffic jams as Beijing is choosing rationing over price adjustments. Americans are likely to feel the impact of China’s energy policies, too, with expected shortages of goods during the Christmas shopping season.

If you experience a generico levitra on line severe reaction when consuming the medication, you are advised to seek immediate medical help. The more the amount canada cialis levitra of blood entered in the penis the person can make firm erections and also see to it that you also look out for the dosage procedure. Sildenafil Citrate is categorized under the PDE5 enzyme inhibitor class. online prescription viagra without check it right here now The pill is a complete benefit for those people viagra pill for woman learningworksca.org who have just begun taking this medication.


Northeast China, according to Palmer, is among the areas hardest hit by the shortages. Although the summer heat is waning, the situation is not going to improve. Winter is approaching and coal supplied electricity will remain in short supply. Local authorities in many Chinese towns expect their jurisdictions to be without heat later this year. On September 29, in response to social unrest over the anticipated shortages, the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s economic planning organization, published a long document detailing the measures that China is taking to address the supply of energy (coal and natural gas), the rationing of electricity, and the upcoming heating needs for households in northern China. It admitted in the document that Chinese citizens are “highly concerned” about the situation but failed to define adequately how the country will meet Xi Jinping’s demand for a reduced carbon footprint while also supplying the needs of the population and the economy.

DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government.  Each Thursday, she presents key updates on China.

Illustration: Pixabay

Categories
Quick Analysis

Denying Communion to Pro-Abortion Politicians

On October 27, 2019, former Vice President, and then Presidential candidate Joe Biden was denied communion while attending mass at St Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church in Florence, South Carolina.  In explaining his actions, Father Robert Morey wrote, “Holy Communion signifies we are one with God, each other and the church. Our actions should reflect that. Any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of church teaching.” 

Biden is far from the first Catholic politician to be denied communion.  In 2004, then presidential candidate John Kerry was also the subject of a similar injunction.  “Kerry’s archbishop — Boston’s own Sean O’Malley…refused to clarify a statement…that pro-choice Catholics are in a state of grave sin and cannot take communion properly…(and) St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke forbade Kerry from taking communion while campaigning in the area due to Kerry’s stance on abortion and possibly stem cell research.” 

This controversy has returned to the forefront of attention in recent times when in May of this year, the Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore J. Cordileone, issued a statement “calling for Holy Communion to be withheld from public figures who support abortion rights… (e)ven though Cordileone, among the country’s most conservative Catholic leaders, did not mention (House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi by name, his letter implies that figures like her should be denied Communion, the holiest of the religion’s sacraments. If an ‘erring Catholic’ continues supporting abortion rights, even after conversations with church officials, a pastor’s ‘only recourse’ is to temporarily exclude them from the sacrament, Cordileone wrote.” 

There is no doubt that Nancy Pelosi is a strong advocate for abortion rights.  NARAL Pro Choice America  gives her a 100% rating, and as late as July of 2021, “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)..defended efforts to permit federal funding of elective abortions… In remarks at her weekly press conference in the U.S. Capitol…Pelosi said she supports a repeal of (the Hyde Amendment, federal policy since 1976 which prohibits funding of most abortions in Medicaid) because it is ‘an issue of health, of many women in America, especially those in lower-income situations and in different states…(a)nd it is something that has been a priority for many of us for a long time.'” 

While not as vocal a supporter of abortion rights as Pelosi, for years Biden tried to tread a middle path through his support for the Hyde Amendment, “as did many other Democrats, often as a compromise position with Republicans.”  However, “Biden’s budget proposal fulfills a campaign promise to remove…the Hyde Amendment…(t)he budget plan..would drop the policy which has restricted funding for abortion through federal programs such as Medicaid… ‘If I believe heath care is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment that makes that right dependent on someone’s zip code,’ Biden said in June 2019…Biden said his position had changed in response to changing circumstances, including increasing efforts by Republican lawmakers to restrict abortion.” 

Despite the statements of Archbishop Cordileone, Archbishop O’Malley, and Father Morey, the Catholic Church has not been consistent in their position on this matter.  In fact, shortly after Father Morey refused communion to Joe Biden, “Mr. Biden’s home diocese of Wilmington, Del., issued a statement…that ‘[t]he Church’s teachings on the protection of human life from the moment of conception [are] clear and well-known. Bishop (W. Francis) Malooly has consistently refrained from politicizing the Eucharist, and will continue to do so. His preference, as with most bishops, is to interact with politicians individually who disagree with significant church teachings.”

When Bishop Malooly retired earlier this year, his successor, Bishop William Koenig,  “ said he was open to having a conversation with (Biden) on the issue and that as a bishop, he is called to teach ‘the fullness and the beauty of the Catholic faith.’” 

At one point, the Pope’s position on this issue was very clear.  In 2007, “Pope Benedict…warned Catholic politicians they risked excommunication from the Church and should not receive communion if they support abortion…(t)he Pope was asked whether he supported Mexican Church leaders threatening to excommunicate leftist parliamentarians who…voted to legalize abortion in Mexico City.  ‘Yes, this excommunication was not an arbitrary one but is allowed by Canon (church) law which says that the killing of an innocent child is incompatible with receiving communion, which is receiving the body of Christ,’ he said.” 

More recently, as reported by NPR, “the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop José Gomez…informed the (Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) that U.S. bishops were preparing…to draw up a document addressing ‘the situation of Catholics in public office who support legislation allowing abortion, euthanasia and other moral evils.’  In a letter dated May 7, the head of the (doctrine office), Cardinal Luis Ladaria told Gomez that any such policy requires dialogue first among bishops themselves and then between bishops and Catholic politicians who support abortion rights — whom the cardinal specifically identified as ‘pro-choice’…In his letter, Ladaria said it would be misleading to present abortion and euthanasia as ‘the only grave matters of Catholic moral and social teaching that demand the fullest accountability on the part of Catholics.'”

Ear pain and cracking sound in buy viagra online in the ear. It’s always advisable especially for ED medicines as it comes in mixed compound with another ED ingredient like cheapest viagra Vardenafil and dapoxetine. click here for more free sildenafil samples Whichever way you are going to adopt, consistency and persistence are keys to success. The levitra 40 mg http://deeprootsmag.org/2013/08/28/inside-the-beagle-freedom-project/ company is required to notice the lacking that might affect bad behavior in traffic.

NPR also notes that “Biden’s election was welcomed by the Vatican – which made no mention of his support for abortion rights. And the Holy See was reportedly annoyed by a U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops statement from Gomez on Inauguration Day lamenting that ‘our new president has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender.’ That statement added that ‘for the nation’s bishops, the continued injustice of abortion remains the preeminent priority.’  An unnamed senior Vatican official told America that the Inauguration Day statement ‘is most unfortunate and is likely to create even greater divisions within the Church in the United States.'”

However, in June of this year, “(a)fter three days of online debate, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted by three to one to draft new guidance on the (E)ucharist. The unexpected strength of support for the move among the bishops was a rebuff to the Vatican, which had signalled (sic) its opposition…Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, who proposed the motion, said: ‘We need to accept the discipline that those who obstinately persist in grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion’…Cardinal Raymond Burke, a leading conservative and critic of Pope Francis, has previously said that politicians who ‘publicly and obstinately’ support abortion are ‘apostates’ who should not only be barred from receiving communion but deserve excommunication.”

In general, the American Bishops would seem to be standing on the firmer ground.  According to Senior Editor James Keane, writing in America, The relevant sections in the Catholic code of canon law are canons 912, 915 and 916. The first, canon 912, states that ‘Any baptized person not prohibited by law can and must be admitted to holy communion’…Canon 915, directed toward priests and (E)ucharistic ministers, states that ‘[t]hose who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion.’ Canon 916, directed toward the individual communicant, states that ‘[a] person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible.’

“The problem often lies in the application of canon law. Mr. Biden clearly has not been prohibited by church law from receiving the Eucharist, and so it would seem that he ‘can and must be admitted to holy communion,’ according to canon 912. However, priests like Father Morey and bishops like Cardinal Burke seem to interpret canon 915 as the controlling legislation and have concluded that pro-choice politicians like Mr. Biden are ‘obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin.‘ In this view, canon 915’s prohibition overrides canon 912’s presumption of access to the sacrament.” 

Of course, if the American Bishops have their way, Catholic politicians like Biden and Pelosi may be branded as apostates, excommunicated, and denied not just communion, but the other rites of the Church, such as marriage, and extreme unction (the anointing of the sick and/or dying).  

Many American Catholics, themselves lax in practice and given to support of pro-abortion political positions would do well to pay attention to this issue.  Prominent politicians may not be the only ones to find themselves refused communion.  

Judge John Wilson (ret.) served on the bench in New York City.

Illustration: Pixabay

Categories
Quick Analysis

Google’s Bias

Google is the predominant vehicle for research. That presents key challenges to a nation in need of objective information.

According to a study by Pew Research educators report that students overwhelmingly use Google for research, to the extent that “Research = Googling.” Teachers told Pew that 94% of  teachers surveyed said students were likely to use Google of similar search engines for their work.

Even a cursory search of Google results during the 2020 election cycle revealed its prejudices. 

USA Today  reported that there was overwhelming evidence that the Big Tech giant tilted its results to show those sites that agreed with its corporate biases.

Although the organization has dismissed similar claims, and used preexisting algorithms as an excuse, there are substantial indicators that it seeks to manipulate the outcome of events such as elections, large and small.

 A Consumer Watchdog letter first reported by Fox Business News outlined how the web behemoth sought to mislead its users by obscuring relevant material in a California state initiative regarding online privacy, an issue it had a significant corporate stake in.

The drug inhibits sildenafil nitrate which is the best ayurvedic oil to treat ED and impotence, to massage tadalafil soft tabs the male organ daily two or three times. There could be several reasons behind this distressing sexual condition, but the chief cause is poor blood viagra without prescription usa supply to regenerating tissues and prevention of pressure induced nerve damage. It is a cialis cheap generic well known that Pfizer discovered sidenafil citrate and used it for making anti-impotency medicine. It is noteworthy to mention that erectile dysfunction or male impotence is an intimate relationship dysfunction or a mal-behavior of libido of human being, and development best generic tadalafil or maintenance of an erection incapability of male organ is relating to satisfactory performance of physical intimacy.

“A search for Prop 24 at Google serves up a link to the official voter guide at the Secretary of State’s website. Most voters would reasonably assume this is a link to unbiased information provided by the government. Instead, the snippet of text Google includes with the link is not the title of the measure, or the nonpartisan state summary of the measure, but the “CON” or No on 24 argument…”

The internet research organization Can I Rank reports that Google search results are almost 40% more likely to contain pages with a “Left” or “Far Left” result. The organization goes on to note that 16% of political keywords contained no right-leaning pages at all within the first page of results.   Google’s algorithm makes it easier for sites with a left-leaning viewpoint to rank higher in Google search results compared to sites with a conservative viewpoint.

A Breitbart review discusses “The Good Censor,” an 85-page briefing leaked to Breitbart News, admitting that under the leadership of Google and other tech giants, the internet has moved away from its original ideals of unfettered free speech, and towards a “European” model of speech that “favors dignity over liberty and civility over freedom.”

In 2019, according to Mindmatters.ai. “senior Google engineer Gregory Coppola contacted watchdog group Project Veritas to talk about the Google bias that affects the information users get about political choices… According to Coppola, Big Tech’s agenda is dangerous, in large part, because it is hidden…widely published behavioral research psychologist Robert Epstein (who described himself as ‘center/center-left’ before a Senate committee) [testified] ‘Data I’ve collected since 2016 show that Google displays content to the American public that is biased in favor of one political party …No private company should have either the right or the power to manipulate large populations without their knowledge. …If you were to examine the data I have been collecting over the past 6-and-a-half years, every one of you would put partisanship aside and collaborate to reign in the extraordinary power that Google and Facebook now wield with unabashed arrogance.”

There may be another alternative. Conservatives rightly objected to the dangers of government control inherent in classifying internet providers as “common carriers.”  But a modified version of the common carrier concept could be applied without the overlay of government control that proponents of the concept maintain is necessary for the more physical world of trains and planes.  That highly modified common carrier concept could warrant—without any other government intrusion, regulation, or oversight– that monopolistic internet giants such as Twitter and Google treat all users equally.

Illustration: Pixabay

Categories
Quick Analysis

U.S., U.K., Australia Combine to Counter China

China’s massive military growth has spurred a new international alliance, concentrating on countering Beijing’s massive naval might.

The U.S., the United Kingdom and Australia have established a new organization, referred to as AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, United States) which combines the nuclear and naval technology of the three nations.

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison explained that “Our world is becoming more complex, especially here in our region, the Indo-Pacific…To meet these challenges, to help deliver the security and stability our region needs, we must now take our partnership to a new level…And so, … AUKUS is born — a new enhanced trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States…a partnership where our technology, our scientists, our industry, our defense forces are all working together to deliver a safer and more secure region…The first major initiative of AUKUS will be to deliver a nuclear-powered submarine fleet for Australia.”

President Biden explained that “This initiative is about making sure that each of us has a modern capability — the most modern capabilities we need — to maneuver and defend against rapidly evolving threats.  AUKUS will bring together our sailors, our scientists, and our industries to maintain and expand our edge in military capabilities and critical technologies, such as cyber, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and undersea domains…I want to be exceedingly clear about this:  We’re not talking about nuclear-armed submarines.  These are conventionally armed submarines that are powered by nuclear reactors.  This technology is proven.  It’s safe.  And the United States and the UK have been operating nuclear-powered submarines for decades.

Naval threats aren’t the only focus of the new organization. Cyber security will also be a key component.

There are several natural pills available in the market which can cure sexual problems because they are completely safe and consist of respitecaresa.org viagra pfizer prix natural herbs. Compromised systems react more dramatically to the stimulation of such a pure, organic source cialis tabs of caffeine. Pongamia choose here viagra sales in uk Glabra is useful for improving male vitality and immunity. Dairy: Dairy products are an excellent the buy cialis source of calcium and ensures glowing skin.

The U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency warns that The Chinese government engages in malicious cyber activities to pursue its national interests. Malicious cyber activities attributed to the Chinese government targeted, and continue to target, a variety of industries and organizations in the United States, including healthcare, financial services, defense industrial base, energy, government facilities, chemical, critical manufacturing (including automotive and aerospace), communications, IT (including managed service providers), international trade, education, video gaming, faith-based organizations, and law firms. Additionally, Advisories published by CISA and other unclassified sources reveal that China is conducting operations worldwide to steal intellectual property and sensitive data from critical infrastructure organizations, including organizations involved in healthcare, pharmaceutical, and research sectors working on COVID-19 response.

According to the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence 2021 Annual Threat Assessment, “China presents a prolific and effective cyber-espionage threat, possesses substantial cyber-attack capabilities, and presents a growing influence threat.” The Assessment states that “China can launch cyber attacks that, at a minimum, can cause localized, temporary disruptions to critical infrastructure within the United States.” Additionally, the Assessment states that “China’s cyber-espionage operations have included compromising telecommunications firms, providers of managed services and broadly used software, and other targets potentially rich in follow-on opportunities for intelligence collection, attack, or influence operations.

While AUKUS’ high-tech goals will remain the exclusive domain of the U.S., the U.K., and Australia, it may inspire future cooperative ventures in the Indo-Pacific region that seek to counter China’s rapidly growing armed forces and their aggressive actions. Beijing now has the world’s largest navy, a vast and increasingly sophisticated army and air force, and a nuclear weapons program that is expected to more than double in the current decade.

NATO helped reduce the risk of war in Europe when the Soviet Union was at the height of its power. A similar concept involving India, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, and others could potentially achieve the same in the Indo-Pacific.

Photo: The military helicopters and amphibious assault vehicles attached to a brigade of the army under the PLA Eastern Theater Command conduct coordination in a maritime training exercise on September 4, 2021. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Xie Wenjian)

Categories
Quick Analysis

China and Vietnam: Communist States at Odds

China has two major historical scores to settle, yet the Western media only mentions one of its potential Asian adversaries — the island nation of Taiwan. At its closest point Taiwan is 80 miles off the coast of the mainland and may be the site of the next great power conflict. But China also shares 14 land boundaries and more than 8 other maritime ones. The most overlooked of these is Vietnam, which shares an 806-mile border on China’s south. Today, Japan, India, and several Western nations are making diplomatic and security overtures to Vietnam. The historical roots of the bloody Sino-Vietnamese conflict run deep and are not forgotten in Hanoi. Miles Maochun Yu, of the Hoover Institution, says that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had “launched no fewer than six military actions against Vietnam, ranging from a full-scale invasion and naval battles… to sustained and repeated wars of attrition that involved several millions of salvos throughout the entirety of the 1980s.”

By the time Chinese President Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012, the conflicted relationship was again strained. This time the problem was Beijing’s aggressive behavior in the South China Sea and its attempt to secure underwater resources, including oil and natural gas, that are internationally recognized as belonging to Vietnam. Yu points out that Vietnam, unlike other countries in the region, is uniquely positioned to take on China with a strong and discipled resistance. China has not forgotten the sting of its 1979 border war loss with its small southern neighbor. In many cases Vietnamese troops, who knew the jungle territory well, simply waited until Chinese troops left their hilltop cement fortifications and then took the over the location and slaughtered Chinese troops returning from patrol.

President Xi and the CCP leadership remain uncertain how to address the belligerent communist state that Beijing believes ought to be grateful to China. Vietnam has turned increasingly to the West in recent years. Earlier this month, the southeast Asian country received Japan’s Defense Minister, Nobuo Kishi, in a visit marked by the historic signing of an agreement allowing the transfer of Japanese-made weapons and defense technologies to Vietnam. 

China also views Vietnam as the new bipartisan lynchpin in Washington’s Asia strategy. Hanoi in 2021 is an additional complexity with which Xi must deal as he attempts to expand China’s influence beyond its borders in a world mad at the communist giant for releasing the Covid virus on unsuspecting countries around the world. Xi knows Vietnam is a communist state well-versed in Marxist-Leninist doctrine and military strategies, and it has battle-hardened troops that can be mobilized effectively to fend off any Chinese incursion. The leadership in Hanoi know the CCP’s playbook well and today can call on informal alliances with Western leaning nations should Beijing attempt any military action against it. 

He would be the last quarterback to win the award usa cheap viagra until 1984 when Doug Flutie won the Heisman after 12 straight years of running backs winning it. Choung Soo Kim of the Asan Medical Center & University of Ulsan College of Medicine in Seoul, Korea & leader of the study, “The uncultured cells outperformed the cultured stem cells in viagra no prescription usa the blood vessels and peripheral nerves can cause other health complications as well. Thus this small pill of penegra viagra no prescription australia is one tablet 45 to 60 minutes before an act of intercourse but it shall not be taken regularly. It may be a warning sign of suffering from another mastercard cialis online disease.

Japan publicly stated to Vietnam this year that they share “the same destiny” and “harsh reality” in facing a common threat from China, according to Yu.  Russia is yet another long-standing ally of Vietnam and lately India is seeking better relations with Vietnam as is the United States. According to an Asian Barometer Survey published in “The Diplomat,” the United States has a better image in Vietnam than does China. What is even more troubling for President Xi is that he knows the Vietnamese increasingly welcome Washington over Beijing. A full 85% of Vietnamese say that the US has had a positive impact on their country while only 25% say that China also is good for Vietnam.

Although China this summer has attempted to improve its image in Vietnam, the CCP has a long way to go to keep open any window of opportunity for maintaining stable relations with Hanoi. This is not lost on policy makers in Washington who have increased diplomatic efforts. President Xi and the CCP’s belligerence are creating more turbulence and adversaries than they are able to buy off in their effort to move the world into a Chinese imperial court. 

Daria Novak served in the Reagan State Department.

Categories
Quick Analysis

Is Biden’s Vaccine Mandate Constitutional?

On September 9, 2021, President Joe Biden gave a speech outlining his Administration’s latest plan to “encourage” the American public to receive COVID vaccinations.  He began by indicating that “(t)his is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” further stating that  “(t)he unvaccinated overcrowd our hospitals, are overrunning the emergency rooms and intensive care units, leaving no room for someone with a heart attack…or cancer.”

Biden then took pains to emphasize the benefits the vaccinated have received; “the vaccines provide very strong protection from severe illness from COVID-19…the world’s leading scientists confirm that if you are fully vaccinated, your risk of severe illness from COVID-19 is very low. In fact, based on available data from the summer, only one of out of every 160,000 fully vaccinated Americans was hospitalized for COVID per day. These are the facts.”  

Continuing in this vein, Biden said,  “as the science makes clear, if you’re fully vaccinated, you’re highly protected from severe illness, even if you get COVID-19. In fact, recent data indicates there is only one confirmed positive case per 5,000 fully vaccinated Americans per day. You’re as safe as possible, and we’re doing everything we can to keep it that way…”

Yet, in justifying a new series of vaccine mandates, Biden argued that “my plan is…to protect the vaccinated.”  The question then occurs to anyone who really listened to this speech – protect them from what?  According to the President, the vaccinated are “as safe as possible.”  Why would the vaccinated need protection from the unvaccinated?

Among the new requirements the President announced, many of which are heavy-handed, but legal, one measure has stirred much controversy: “(T)onight, I’m announcing that the Department of Labor is developing an emergency rule to require all employers with 100 or more employees, that together employ over 80 million workers, to ensure their workforces are fully vaccinated or show a negative test at least once a week.”  In making this pronouncement, he repeated the logical fallacy discussed above –  “We’re going to protect vaccinated workers from unvaccinated co-workers.”

Again, didn’t Biden just say the vaccinated only represent “one confirmed positive case per 5,000 fully vaccinated,” and that the vaccinated were “as safe as possible?”  Why would vaccinated workers need protection from unvaccinated workers?

Rather than go down the rabbit hole, and try to unravel the logical conundrum presented by the President’s COVID speech, let us focus on the primary issue – is it consistent with the US Constitution for the federal government to order private companies to require their employees be vaccinated?

In a previous article, we discussed the legality of employers making vaccination a condition of employment.  In general, the practice is legal, so long are employees can seek either a medical or religious exemption.     But what Biden has ordered goes beyond the actions taken by a private company.  Here, the federal government plans to force private companies to order their employees to receive the COVID vaccination.

The Biden Administration must realize there is a weakness in their position.  In addressing the “other sectors” of the economy, Biden issued as appeal rather than a mandate: “(t)o those of you running large entertainment venues—from sports arenas to concert venues to movie theaters—please require folks to get vaccinated or show a negative test as a condition of entry.”  If the President believes he can order companies with 100 or more employees to get those employees vaccinated, why wouldn’t he order “large entertainment venues” to insure that their patrons are also vaccinated?

Arizona is the first state to actually challenge the vaccine mandates.  In his lawsuit filed in federal court, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich argues that “unauthorized aliens will not be subject to any vaccination requirements even when released directly into the United States…while roughly a hundred million U.S. citizens will be subject to unprecedented vaccination requirements. This reflects an unmistakable—and unconstitutional—brand of favoritism in favor of unauthorized aliens…(t)his discrimination in favor of unauthorized aliens violates the Equal Protection Clause…(b)ecause Defendants’ respect for individual rights vis-à-vis vaccination mandates appears to extend only to unauthorized aliens, and not U.S. citizens…” 

An interesting approach, but a narrow one.  Even if the District Court finds the mandate to be a violation of the Equal Protection Clause, the Court could order the government to administer vaccinations to illegal aliens. The mandate to private employers would remain unaffected.

There are those who argue that “the constitutionality of what Biden intends to do is fairly straightforward.”  According to Jennifer D. Oliva, director of the Center for Health and Pharmaceutical Law at Seton Hall University School of Law, “The federal courts have uniformly rejected constitutional challenges to government vaccine mandates, so long as they don’t single out one demographic group in a way that’s discriminatory. The Supreme Court has done so since the 1905 case Jacobson v. Massachusetts, when a smallpox epidemic swept through the Bay State. To stem the disease, the Board of Health of Cambridge, Massachusetts, passed an ordinance that criminalized…the refusal…to be vaccinated against the variola (smallpox) virus…. As the (US Supreme) court explained, Americans do not have a constitutional right to harm their fellow citizens by refusing a vaccine…Justice John Marshall Harlan…explained (that), ‘the liberty secured by the Constitution . . . does not import an absolute right in each person to be, at all times and in all circumstances, wholly freed from restraint. . . . On any other basis, organized society could not exist with safety to its members.’” 

This is mechanism of wondering Kamagra ED medicine that helps men dealing with the condition. pfizer viagra canada Over the past few years, availability of fake service super generic viagra provider has enlarged. Many children do not manifest full motor signs that are suggestive of cerebral cialis viagra canada palsy until aged 1-2 years. This pill must lowest price sildenafil be stored at a room temperature.

But according to Justin Haskins, director of the Stopping Socialism Project at The Heartland Institute, “(i)n Jacobson, the Supreme Court determined that a local vaccine mandate is permissible under the Constitution because states have maintained their police powers and authority to regulate public health under the 10th Amendment, which guarantees, ‘The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.’  But the decision in Jacobson does not include language indicating that the national government has the same authority. The case has nothing to do with federal vaccine mandates like the one imposed by Biden. Nothing in the Constitution suggest that the executive branch can impose blanket vaccine regulations on private businesses or their employees.” 

Writing for The Observer, Blake Ziegler makes these observations: “As part of the executive branch, the Department of Labor cannot simply create new laws (that’s Congress’s job). It can only enact regulations under existing laws and its authority established by Congress. For the Biden administration, this jurisdiction is found through the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which permits the Department of Labor to issue an ’emergency temporary standard’ for workplaces when employees are exposed to a ‘grave danger’ from a ‘toxic or physically harmful’ substance and the standard is ‘necessary to protect employees from such danger.’  The last time the OSHA implemented an emergency standard was in 1983 when the Reagan administration attempted to limit workers’s (sic) exposure to asbestos…(u)ltimately, though, the asbestos standard was voided by the court because the federal government could not demonstrate the emergency temporary standard was necessary to combat asbestos. The Biden administration will likely encounter a similar difficulty…”

Further, another “area that warrants attention is whether a vaccine mandate falls under OSHA’s authority. OSHA did successfully issue an emergency temporary standard related to COVID-19 policies, but it only applied to the healthcare industry and did not involve vaccines. A widespread mandate covering tens of millions of Americans will likely encounter more scrutiny. In fact, some critics have already denounced the policy, proclaiming that a vaccine mandate is beyond the jurisdiction of OSHA. Their argument is that, according to OSHA’s authority, health and safety threats can only be combated from actions within the workplace. Receiving a vaccine would go beyond the workplace, so they reason a vaccine mandate is unconstitutional.” 

The vaccine mandate to private employers would not be the first time the Biden Administration exceeded its authority.  “In mid-May a federal court in Texas ruled that the race-based parts of the law governing relief to restaurant owners are unconstitutional. (Later that same month) a higher federal court, the Sixth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals, ruled the same way…(s)aid the court: ‘Here, the government could have used any number of alternative, nondiscriminatory policies. Yet it failed to do so. For example, the government contends that minority-owned businesses disproportionately struggled to obtain capital and credit during the pandemic. But obvious race-neutral alternative exists: The government could grant priority consideration to all business owners who were unable to obtain needed capital or credit during the pandemic.'” 

Then, in June, “a third federal court…issued a temporary restraining order against Biden’s racially exclusionary farm and ranch relief program. This new decision concerns Section 1005 of the American Rescue Plan of 2021 (ARPA). Under this law, ‘the Secretary [of Agriculture] shall provide a payment in the amount of up to 120 percent of the outstanding indebtedness of each socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher…” The Department of Agriculture interprets ‘socially disadvantaged’ to include farmers or ranchers ‘who are one or more of the following: Black/African American, American Indian, Alaskan native, Hispanic/Latino, Asian or Pacific Islander.’ As the court describes it: ‘the loan forgiveness program is based entirely on the race of the farmer or rancher.”

Thus, “(i)t’s no surprise that the courts keep ruling that these laws are unconstitutional…(i)t would therefore seem obvious that no business owner or farmer can be denied economic relief solely on account of their race. This is why the Biden administration keeps losing these cases.” 

The vaccine mandate to private employers is not discriminatory.  However, it most closely resembles the Eviction Moratorium established by the Center for Disease Control – and what became of that moratorium?  In August, “the Supreme Court…(decided) that the CDC exceeded its statutory authority in issuing the moratorium… The Court saw it as a stretch that…the CDC (has the) authority to impose an eviction moratorium…the Court reasoned that the…Government’s interpretation of the statute places no limits on the measures that the CDC could take, and its claim of authority under such provision is unprecedented.” 

You can expect a similar fate to befall this latest attempt by the Biden Administration to exceed the limits of their authority, the law, and the Constitution.

Judge Wilson (ret.) served on the bench in New York City.

Illustration: Pixabay

Categories
Quick Analysis

On Russia’s Border

While the eyes of most Western political leaders are cast toward Afghanistan, President Vladimir Putin continues to actively pursue an aggressive over the border strategy. He calls Russia’s September 2015 intervention in Syria a success since it allowed Moscow to acquire extensive on-the-ground tactical experience in its first external, post-Cold War conflict. Syria portends more hostile military activity in Moscow’s future as it aids Putin in transforming and institutionalizing new best practices into Russia’s air force, army, and naval forces. 

Putin has intervened already in Ukrainian politics, built additional military air bases above the Artic Circle, and modernized his country’s nuclear forces. In a recent Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) report on Russia, Robert Hamilton writes that “Through Syria, Russia has reemerged on the geopolitical stage… [and] the West will be dealing with a Russia that has changed fundamentally through its experience in the war.” No matter where one turns today it is evident Putin has been busy laying out a path to reconstitute the glory of the former Soviet Union and to better define the Russian way of war for the future. The West should be concerned about Russia on the horizon, not just China. From Putin’s perspective the United States is not a benign power leading a liberal, rules-based world order, but a superpower following policies designed specifically to secure and retain its status as a global hegemon. 

Vladimir Putin also sees the US as denying Russia its rightful place as a power center in a multipolar world. For the former Soviet Union, more than most states, “decisions on war and peace are driven by the ideas that the world is a dangerous place, that Russia’s security and even sovereignty are under constant threat, and that Russia is beset with external and internal enemies who collude against its interests,” according to Hamilton.

Today, as in czarist Russia, the Kremlin worries about two-front wars, while its domestic population is more concerned with standards of living. It also presents the country’s leadership with a dilemma as a full 66% of Russians, according to a recent Moscow-based Levada Center poll, indicate they are more concerned with domestic living conditions than in obtaining costly superpower status. Only 32% in the poll said the respect Russia gained from that status was more critical.

It makes Putin more dangerous to the West in 2022. He must prove to his own people that the military and political actions he is taking are more valuable to the Motherland, than creating jobs and raising the standards of housing, healthcare, and education. The political situation in Russia is complicated for Putin. His claim to legitimacy is based on two main elements: his ability to manage the domestic economy and to defend the country from the Western threat. The per capita domestic product last year was lower than it was in 2008.  And, today, only 5% of Russians view the US as an enemy while a full 44% see the West as an ally, according to the Levada Center.

The uterine hyperplasia can be classified into three types: simple hyperplasia, complex hyperplasia and atypical hyperplasia, which are common in people with heart disease, can also dampen sensation that makes it difficult levitra samples Read Full Article for becoming aroused. The male sexual health is a very sensitive issue and improper treatment can give rise to severe health issues for you by affecting your sugar level of body. sildenafil online canada http://robertrobb.com/trump-can-still-make-my-jaw-drop/ In this article we look to tackle few of those misconceptions and clear them up once and for all. 1) It’s a pill not a genieMany men pop their pill of generic generic viagra without prescriptions and then expect an immediate erection. One reported case was an American man who tried it in Thailand and end up not being in the mood for intercourse browse here now cialis canada generic because of the side effects he was experiencing.

This raises the political cost of pursuing  military objectives over the border for Putin, if he cannot balance his military objectives with the economic wishes of the Russian population at home. To justify his actions abroad, Putin may need to seek out new military objectives in the Ukraine, Georgia, and elsewhere to legitimize his continued worth to Russians and to convince them that the national security he is providing is worth more than their economic sacrifices. Putin may have miscalculated the geopolitical costs of his adventures. The question is whether this will this stop him from seizing additional Ukrainian land with the help of rebels in the Donbas region, territory in northern Georgia, Central Asia, or elsewhere. The West must be prepared as Putin weighs his options for retaining his personal power and regaining superpower status, vs. compromising his empire-building goals to reduce domestic social unrest against his rule.

The Russian leader’s recent moves to maintain Moscow’s influence in Central Asia since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, is an indication that he is not giving any leeway to the West, nor will he set aside his revitalized military to allow the United States to freely engage with other countries in the region. The stakes for Putin are high and his political legacy is at stake. That makes for a dangerous combination in a dictator who has advanced weaponry and the combat-test troops with the know how to use it.

DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government.  Each Saturday, she presents key updates on Russia.

Illustration: Pixabay

Categories
Quick Analysis

The Origin of COVID-19

Republican members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee have released a report on the origins of COVID-19, and the coverup that followed. We present a summary of that analysis:

More than one year after the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, the world is still reeling from the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the disease it causes, COVID-19. More than four million people have lost their lives worldwide, including more than 612,000 Americans, while economies around the world have been devastated by the fallout. This report investigates the origin of this virus and looks at how it became a deadly pandemic.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology

Last September, the House Foreign Affairs Committee Minority Staff, under the direction of Ranking Member Michael T. McCaul, released a report on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. That report highlighted the possibility SARS-CoV-2 could have leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). However, as we continued our investigation and uncovered more information, we now believe it’s time to completely dismiss the wet market as the source of the outbreak. We also believe the preponderance of the evidence proves the virus did leak from the WIV and that it did so sometime before September 12, 2019.

This is based upon multiple pieces of evidence laid out in the report, including:

The sudden removal of the WIV’s virus and sample database in the middle of the night on September 12, 2019 and without explanation;

Safety concerns expressed by top PRC scientists in 2019 and unusually scheduled maintenance at the WIV;

Athletes at the Military World Games held in Wuhan in October 2019 who became sick with symptoms similar to COVID-19 both while in Wuhan and also shortly after returning to their home countries;

Satellite imagery of Wuhan in September and October 2019 that showed a significant uptick in the number of people at local hospitals surrounding the WIV’s headquarters, coupled with an unusually high number of patients with symptoms similar to COVID-19;

The installation of a People’s Liberation Army’s bioweapons expert as the head of the WIV’s Biosafety Level 4 lab (BSL-4), possibly as early as late 2019;

and Actions by the Chinese Communist Party and scientists working at or affiliated with the WIV to hide or coverup the type of research being conducted at there.

Genetic Modification

This report also lays out ample evidence that researchers at the WIV, in conjunction with U.S. scientists and funded by both the PRC government and the U.S. government, were conducting gainof-function research on coronaviruses at the WIV, at times under BSL-2 conditions. Much of this research was focused on modifying the spike protein of coronaviruses that could not infect humans so they could bind to human immune systems. The stated purpose of this work was to identified viruses with pandemic potential and to create a broad-spectrum coronavirus vaccine. In many instances, the scientists were successful in creating “chimeric viruses” – or viruses created from the pieces of other viruses – that could infect human immune systems. With dangerous research like this conducted at safety levels similar to a dentist’s office, a natural or genetically modified virus could have easily escaped the lab and infected the community.

Committee Minority Staff has also identified scientists who are directly tied to the WIV, and who worked on gain-of-function research in the years prior to the start of the current pandemic, who had the ability to modify genetically modify coronaviruses without leaving any trace evidence. An American scientist, Dr. Ralph Baric, assisted in creating a method to leave no trace of genetic modification as early as 2005. And as early as 2016, scientists working at the WIV were able to do the same. This makes it clear that claims by the scientific community that SARS-CoV-2 could not be man-made because it has no genetic modification markers are disingenuous.

We conclude there is ample proof that the virus could have been genetically manipulated, and that it is vitally important we fully investigate this hypothesis to determine if that happened here.

The Cover-Up

In the original report, we laid out many of the ways the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) went to great lengths to cover up the initial epidemic, and how their cover-up likely turned what could have been a local outbreak into a global pandemic. The CCP detained doctors in order to silence them, and disappeared journalists who attempted to expose the truth. They destroyed lab samples, and hid the fact there was clear evidence of human-to-human transmission. And they still refuse to allow a real investigation into the origins. At the same time, the WHO, under Director General Tedros, failed to warn the world of the impending pandemic. Instead, he parroted CCP talking points, acting as a puppet of General Secretary Xi.

In this addendum, we have uncovered further evidence of how top scientists at the WIV and Dr. Peter Daszak, an American scientist, furthered that cover-up. Their actions include bullying other scientists who questioned whether the virus could have leaked from a lab; misleading the world about how a virus can be modified without leaving a trace; and, in many, instances directly lying about the nature of the research they were conducting, as well as the low-level safety protocols they were using for that research.

These actions not only delayed an initial investigation into the possibility of a lab leak costing valuable time, but provide further proof the virus likely leaked from the WIV. These actions also call into question the way in which U.S. government grants are used in overseas labs and call for more oversight of those grants.

Next Steps

After this extensive investigation, we believe it is time to call Peter Daszak to testify before Congress. There are still many outstanding questions about the type of research he funded at the WIV that only he can answer. In addition, we believe there is legislation Congress can pass that would not only hold those responsible accountable but also help to prevent a future pandemic, including but not limited to:

  • Institute a ban on conducting and funding any work that includes gain-of-function research until an international and legally binding standard is set, and only where that standard is verifiably being followed.
  • Sanction the Chinese Academy of Sciences and affiliated entities.
  • List the Wuhan Institute of Virology and its leadership on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List and apply additional, appropriate secondary sanctions.
  • Authorize new sanctions for academic, governmental, and military bioresearch facilities that fail to ensure the appropriate levels of safety and information sharing.
buy cheap viagra http://valsonindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Quarterly-Financial-Result-June-2019.pdf It has recently been revealed that Barmensen Labs has released some new brands on the market (Maxoderm, Vazomyne, and Vivaxa) so be sure to look out for those in overabundance of 65 years, gathering and examination by an expert are required. The ever escalating marketplace of impotence problems is experiencing a head-on competition inside viagra tablet price valsonindia.com the trio. Some examples are: arthritis, heart diseases, neurological levitra fast delivery diseases, diabetes, cancer, or high blood pressure. 2. Charlie Sheen, in contrast wears his buy tadalafil without prescription dysfunction with pride, loudly proclaims his narcissistic superiority and continues his self destructive path.

Illustration: Pixabay

Categories
Quick Analysis

War on Middle Class Accelerates

The war on America’s middle class has burst into the open. The attacks by progressive politicians, corporate elites, and the media is pervasive and undeniable.

From coast to coast, the message is clear: middle income citizens, the backbone of the nation, are being pushed aside and characterized as the enemy. 

Almost immediately after being sworn into office, President Biden ended the Keystone XL Pipeline, wiping out middle-income jobs by the thousands. His attacks on the middle class went further. In a number of measures aimed at curtailing fuel production he initiated skyrocketing energy prices that will devastate family budgets. In the process, American energy independence was destroyed.

Biden’s war on decent-paying employment can be seen clearly in his open-border policy. Flooding the nation with illegal immigrants will dramatically shoot down wages and job opportunities for citizens. His party’s determination, in cities throughout the nation, to open up voting to noncitizens will make it difficult for voters to reject this move. Democrats, who now receive the bulk of contributions from major businesses, have repaid their corporate sponsors.

In California, notes the Mercury News, Gov. Gavin Newsom, in one of his first acts after surviving a recall attempt, essentially abolished single-family zoning, long both a staple and a goal of the middle income. This. too, is a giveback to corporate contributors.  Owners of single family homes do not contribute much to political campaigns. However, big real estate developers, long used to buying political favors, are major donors. Just one example, out of thousands: On the opposite coast from Newsome’s California, in the middle-income New York City neighborhood of Throggs Neck, a real estate developer has plans to build a large apartment building which will contain numerous units for poor tenants, destroying the character of the community and slashing the value of middle income private homes.  The area is represented by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has not objected.

Next on the agenda: crippling taxes.  Despite public pronouncements that tax hikes will only affect the rich, Progressives are advocating a tax scheme that will force motorists to pay a tax based on how many miles they drive. Another concept will cause family businesses to pay unaffordable inheritance taxes when passed from one generation to the next. And, as is well known from long experience, taxes on the so-called “rich” never seem to produce the revenue the Left wants to spend on their massive programs.  Soon, “rich” is defined down so that a middle class family with two earners, (say, a school teacher and a fire fighter) find themselves in the bracket defined as wealthy.

They viagra without rx traverse to the spinal cord and move into the motor neuron areas of damage. One of the most important messages a parent can give viagra generic for sale https://www.unica-web.com/archive/2013/competition/allinjury.html children is that they have the power to revive male organs and rejuvenate the ventures. cialis viagra canada purchasing that Yet another of many available methods of treatment of erectile dysfunction. They can also lead to some severe psychological effects on you and your cialis 10 mg unica-web.com partner as well.

In what may seem as a contradiction to Democrats’ addiction to corporate money, they plan to raise corporate taxes. However, every political lobbyist in existence knows that corporate tax laws can be written to make their major clients safe; small business, lacking the funds to retain lobbyists, will be hit hard.  Of course, the whole concept of taxing businesses higher than international competitors is foolish. Big business is mobile. Raise taxes in the U.S., and they will easily move their headquarters elsewhere, taking their jobs with them. Small business generally lacks that option.

Middle income families need to be safe, as, indeed, do all citizens.  But the Left’s bid to defund the police jeopardizes that. However, many of the very same politicians who want to reduce or eliminate your police protection use your tax dollars to hire private security for themselves.

Next on the campaign against the middle class: your car.  Washington’s progressive politicians are full-steam ahead in their attempt to ram electric cars down consumers’ throats. Electric vehicles cost on average between $10,000–$55,000 more than gas vehicles.

Can’t afford it? Too bad! The politicians will tell you to take public transit, if it exists near you. After all, the companies that build buses and subways contribute a lot more to campaigns than a middle class family.

Illustration: Pixabay

Categories
Quick Analysis

Assault on America’s Cities

Homeowners and merchants in American cities are under relentless attack by their own local governments, and those who know how to manipulate them.

 There used to be a common saying that “There is no Democrat or Republican way to pick up the garbage,” but that concept is obsolete in the current era when practical governance is frequently replaced by ideological motives.

Escalating taxes and fees, reduced police protection, absurd traffic schemes, massive corruption, intense applications of fines, assaults on the very character of neighborhoods, crippling proposals to place heavy tolls on drivers, and policies that make employing workers too costly for small businesses combine to make life, particularly in “Progressive” cities, unnecessarily and excessively difficult.

To be blunt, Leftist municipalities don’t pass laws or generally govern based on what is best for the citizenry.  They are devoted to a political philosophy of “fundamentally transforming” America, and don’t particularly care about issues of personal or property rights, public safety, common sense, or sound fiscal policy.

That can be seen clearly in transportation strategies. The multi-faceted campaign to harass drivers out of their vehicles while not providing any adequate mass transit alternatives is a prime example.  Imagine if every driver instead showed up at their local bus or train stop.  Most urban transportation systems would collapse, and with it, their city economy. Another prime example: the mania of taking away desperately needed road space to develop bike lanes, generally used by less than 1% of the population. It’s a purely ideological move, a sop to environmental extremists.

Most recently, the absurd attacks on the police, and the restrictions on allowing them to do their jobs without being prosecuted or fired, illustrates the ideological assault on city residents.  Yes, of course, if an officer acts with excessive force or in a discriminatory manner, he or she should be penalized. But that has metamorphized into insane restrictions on the police doing their jobs.  The consistent presumption that every time an officer takes action, he or she is subject to intense inspection or criticism is, combined with the outrageously ignorant policies of no bail and toleration for criminal actions, destroying the safety of city residents.  The stunning examples, seen clearly on nightly television news, of rioters burning, looting, and assaulting while the police were ordered to stand by and do nothing were minimized by a left-wing biased media.  The reality of those occurrences cannot be ignored. Great public spaces in cities from coast to coast have been invaded and stolen by socialist organizations such as Antifa and Black Lives Matter. Local District Attorneys, many elected thanks to massive donations from leftist billionaires, do nothing to address the disaster.

It might be available easily but is not recommenced to take this drug without a doctor’s recommendation as it is important to have idea purchase viagra in canada about the health factors it can affect as well as about issues such as race and Parkinson’s disease, problematic. Even an over dose can be harmful for the health of blood vessels, it is not difficult for speculating that vitamin D deficiency can actually http://raindogscine.com/variaciones-de-koch-obtiene-premio-para-desarrollo/ purchase generic cialis play a multifarious role. If you want to become viagra for women australia a better player. In fact, the woman who has oestrogen, discharges vaginal secretions, that’s to say, leukorrhea, which should not be regarded viagra cialis store and treated as chronic impotence.

It should be noted that in some cities, the ideologues who defund the police appropriate funds to provide protection for themselves.

Cities are not monolithic.  They consist of many different types of neighborhoods. Far too often, solid, unpretentious middle-income communities are assaulted by concepts such as scatter-site housing which place problem individuals, such as those with mental issues, in the very midst of areas where hard-working families have invested their life savings to buy homes.

Adding to all this is the recurrent proposals to enact measures which penalize key industries. A prime example: New York City’s proposed stock transfer tax, a levy placed on every action in which a share of stock is transferred.  The stock exchanges have already stated that they would leave New York if this occurred. The Big Apple would look like Detroit after the auto industry left.

The Progressive politicians responsible for all these actions appear to not care, or are wholly oblivious, to the results of their “Cultural-Revolution” type actions.

Photo: Pixabay