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ITEM #1
Where ‘defund the police’ leads...
To many left-wing politicians, “defund the police” must seem like an appealing and risk-free slogan to embrace. You’re guaranteed to receive fawning coverage from the “news” media, and your position of privilege insulates you from the actual repercussions that follow logically from putting those words into practice.
But for ordinary Americans, it’s a different — and often tragic — story.
The editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal have the grisly details:
“Last month, the FBI released its 2020 crime statistics. The increase in homicides jumped off the page. In 2020, there were an estimated 21,570 homicides in the United States, a whopping 30 percent increase from 2019. … According to Jeff Asher, a data consultant interviewed by NPR, that’s the largest year-over-year increase since national record keeping began in the 1960s.”
The editorial notes that in Clark County, “[h]omicide investigations were up 33 percent in 2020.” And the editors waste no time in making the obvious connection:
“While many factors influence homicide rates — the ‘root cause’ of crime are many and remain hotly debated — efforts to ‘defund the police’ empower criminals and don’t help drive down violent crime rates. After the horrific killing of George Floyd, protests erupted around the country. Many called for reducing the presence of law enforcement, through budget cuts or policy changes.
“In many places, they succeeded. More than 20 large cities cut police budgets. Collectively, the 50 largest cities in the country lowered police budgets by more than 5 percent. The ‘Ferguson effect,’ a description of when police officers do less proactive policing after public backlash, may have further reduced the presence of police.
“The police pullback had devastating consequences for African Americans in particular. FBI statistics show that more than half of homicide victims are Black. That means these devastating losses were most prominently felt in many African American neighborhoods.”
The political reckoning for those who have recklessly waved the “defund” banner — while leaving their fellow citizens to suffer the deadly consequences — is long overdue.
ITEM #2
Follow the money...
"Where will $6.7B ‘once in a lifetime’ infusion of funds be distributed?" asks a Las Vegas Review-Journal headline. The reference is to federal funds awarded to the State of Nevada under the American Rescue Plan.
Mick Akers reports that Gov. Steve Sisolak “has been holding public meetings in large and small communities across the state since early August in what was dubbed the Nevada Recovers Listening Tour. The governor said the undertaking was necessary to pin down the most important needs to address with money from what he called a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity.’”
We’re all painfully aware of how national Democrats like to spend this type of emergency relief money — by showering their favored constituencies with generous giveaways. It’s unknown what precisely the Democrats who run Nevada’s state government will do, but Sisolak’s comment that the funds “will help us build back better” — an obviously conscious reference to the name of the Biden administration’s plan — is an ominous sign.
Stay tuned, folks. We need to keep an eye on this one.
ITEM #3
Election watch...
The already-crowded Republican primary for Nevada Governor became busier still this week, with Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore announcing a bid for the office.
She joins a field that also includes former U.S. Senator Dean Heller, Las Vegas Metro Sheriff Joe Lombardo, North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee, Reno attorney Joey Gilbert, venture capitalist Guy Nohra, medical doctor Fred Simon, Tom Heck, and Barak Zilberberg.
“Let’s start with a three-shot plan,” Fiore says in her campaign launch video. “Ban vaccine mandates. Ban critical race theory. And stop voter fraud.”
Whoever wins the GOP nomination will of course face Democrat incumbent Steve Sisolak in November 2022.
ITEM #4
Vilification and vindication...
While the mainstream media continue to vilify Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for his response to the COVID pandemic — which has been far less restrictive than the route taken by other governors, including Nevada’s — the facts continue to vindicate DeSantis’ approach.
The Washington Examiner’s Sarah Westwood reports:
“New infections per 100,000 residents dropped to 12 over the past week, according to the New York Times coronavirus tracker. Over the past 14 days, cases dropped by 48%.
“Other states with far more expansive pandemic restrictions are seeing COVID-19 continue to spread at faster rates than Florida.”
As Westwood notes, the media’s interest in what’s going on in Florida — which was sky-high when COVID cases there increased over the summer — has suddenly waned. How odd.
ITEM #5
Do as they say, continued...
Last week we reported on New Jersey’s Democrat Governor being caught maskless at an indoor ball after imposing a mask mandate for young kids in school.
This week, our profile-in-hypocrisy award goes to none other than President Joe Biden.
Writing for National Review, Brittany Bernstein informs us:
“President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were seen violating Washington, D.C.’s indoor mask mandate at an upscale Georgetown restaurant on Saturday.
“Video of the incident shows the Bidens walking through Fiola Mare without masks, in violation of the district’s indoor mask policy, which Mayor Muriel Bowser reinstated in July amid rising cases of the delta variant of COVID-19.”
Mask mandates for thee, but not for me.
NOTABLE QUOTE
“Although the big word on the left is 'compassion,' the big agenda on the left is dependency.” ― Thomas Sowell
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