January 09, 2022

End Stage Covid Craziness in New York

January 09, 2022/ Francis Menton

I thought the whole idea behind getting vaccinated for Covid-19 was to put the societal disruption behind us.
Yes, the vaccines may not be perfect; but then, nothing in this miserable world is perfect. Still, with the vaccines we should surely be able to go back to work, go back to school, hold sporting events and theater and concerts and political rallies and everything else where people gather. And for God’s sake get rid of the masks. Right?
That’s the way it works in Florida. But this is New York. Here, we are engaged in end-stage Covid craziness. Most office work is still suspended, and theater and concerts are 50/50, with endless protocols.
But my favorite is the masking.

January 05, 2022

No End To The Audacious Deplatformings

January 05, 2022/ Francis Menton

About a year ago I had a series of posts covering some of the more audacious deplatformings and cancelations then occurring in the realms of progressive orthodoxy enforcement.
Examples of prominent victims of such conduct cited in my posts of February 22, 2021 and March 4, 2021 included: The Epoch Times (“demonetized” by Google, apparently as a result of relentless criticism of the Chinese Communist Party), Project Veritas (a constant irritant to the Left, shut out by Twitter), Catholic World Report (locked out by Twitter after calling President Biden’s nominee for Assistant Secretary of HHS “a biological man identifying as a transgender woman”), Ryan Anderson (politically incorrect book on transgender issues, “When Harry Became Sally,” suddenly removed from sale at Amazon without explanation), and multiple others.
The takeaway was that the Big Tech censors had lost all sense of constraint, and had decided to see how far they could push the envelope to remove mainstream conservative thought from the public square.
Lack of further posts from myself on this subject should not be taken as an indication that the situation has improved.

January 02, 2022

January 02, 2022/ Francis Menton

At this writing on January 2, de Blasio is finally gone from office. Whether the new guy (Eric Adams) proves to be any better remains to be seen.
Before leaving the topic of de Blasio’s legacy to New York, I would be remiss not to include a post on the subject of crime.
The bottom line for crime, as for every other major issue of public policy, was that the progressive de Blasio ruined everything he touched. Outcomes worsened across the board, and the decline was the clear result of the progressive policies that de Blasio either implemented or advocated.

December 31, 2021

December 31, 2021/ Francis Menton

It’s almost time for the ball to drop in Times Square, and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s remaining time in office is reduced to minutes.
Let me wish all Manhattan Contrarian readers a Happy New Year!
But before de Blasio finally goes, we ought to take a quick look at how his progressive policies have succeeded in solving another one of his signature issues, namely homelessness.

December 29, 2021

December 29, 2021/ Francis Menton

Sometimes, it seems like the world is just flailing away in its concerted efforts to achieve zero carbon emissions.
In the U.S. the President can’t get his grand “green” plans through a Congress controlled by his own party. In Europe, a countryside blanketed with wind turbines can’t counteract a wind drought in 2021, and emissions rise even while natural gas prices spike to nearly 10 times the U.S. level.
New York may be a late-comer to Net Zero plans, but by God, our politicians and bureaucrats are so much smarter than those clowns across the country or the pond.

December 26, 2021

December 26, 2021/ Francis Menton

Here in New York City, political offices change hands on New Year’s Day. That means that, come Saturday, we will finally be rid of Mayor Bill de Blasio.
De Blasio got a full eight years in office to implement his uber-progressive agenda and finally bring perfect fairness and justice to New York City. He was handed by his predecessor (Mike Bloomberg) a government that did have an unreasonably high level of spending, but still was in relatively good fiscal condition, with crime under control and strong economic growth.
With the momentum of the economic growth and a supportive State Legislature and City Council, de Blasio was able to have dramatic increases in revenues, and therefore spending, to achieve his goals. The budget bequeathed to de Blasio by Bloomberg for the fiscal year that ran from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014 was $72.9 billion. The current budgeted spending level, running to June 30, 2022, that de Blasio is bequeathing to his successor, is $102.8 billion.
Surely, you will say, for those huge spending increases, de Blasio must have been able to achieve his goals and more.