Just One Voice

”Limits” are a funny thing…they can be cautionary, they can serve as a challenge to be met, or they can be both.

For example, posted speed limits serve as a safety warning but they can also serve as a challenge to those who like to see the extent to which they can be exceeded before suffering the consequences of receiving a speeding ticket.

Limits may also be viewed as thresholds…points that you may or may not want to exceed depending on whether the consequence of doing so is a reward or a punishment. For example, if I am a sales person I may have to achieve a certain threshold level of sales before I start to earn a commission or bonus. If I am young child my parents may set a limit on the amount of screen time I am allowed each day. Or maybe as a teenager they set a curfew time.

Regardless of the reason for or the nature of a limit, setting it provides implicit approval, encouragement and/or permission for actions or behaviors leading up to the limit.

Moreover, limits or thresholds only work if there are consequences for exceeding or not exceeding them…a speeding ticket, a bonus, or continued access to an IPad.

When the consequence of a exceeding a limit is punitive most people get as close to the limit as possible or try to circumvent it in a way so that they will not suffer any repercussions. We are all familiar with the expression “pushing the limit.”

Sometimes limits are viewed as suggestions…not something to abide by but more guide posts to be maneuvered around or between. Moreover limits only work when there is strict enforcement.

Which brings me to the proposed bipartisan senate package on immigration.

According to Newsday, the proposed package on immigration sets limits and thresholds on the number of permissible migrants that may enter the country before our borders will be shut.

Specifically, the measure would allow the president to close the border if:

– the number of migrants exceeds 4,000 per day for more than a week.  

– the number of migrants exceeds 5,000 per day for a week, or

– if it reaches a number of 8,500 on a single day.

On the face of it a quick calculation would have us believe that “only” 1,460,000 migrants would be allowed to enter illegally each year. Right? No. It’s significantly more than that.

From my reading of this it means that in a one week period (presuming a week runs Sunday through Saturday), every other week it would allow some 5,000 to enter for five consecutive days or 25,000; 8,499 to enter one day; and 4,000 to enter one day for a total of 37,499. That comes to 1,012,473 annually ( 26 weeks times 37,499). For the other 26 weeks or 182 days, 4,000 would be allowed each day or 728,000 annually for a grand total of 1,740,473. That ends up averaging over the course of the year 4,768 per day yet the border would never be closed even though the number exceeds 4,000 per day for more than a week.

The question is whether this proposed solution does anything to stem the tide of illegal immigration or simply provides guide posts that can be exploited in order to circumvent the limits that have been established. I assert it does nothing to stem the tide. Also, these limits give tacit approval to illegal immigration. Why?

In fact, the only effective way to discourage illegal immigration is to establish a rule that says anyone entering illegally between regulated ports of entry will be immediately detained and deported and sent back to their own country and have to wait 10 years in order to apply for asylum or a visa. This is the only way to control our borders and re-establish our sovereignty as a nation. Anything less just continues us on the path to becoming a third world country.

Tough? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely.

As we enter the new year, there are two maladies affecting the American electorate…TDS and TRS.  

The first, Trump Derangement Syndrome, affects almost all Democrats and the second, Trump Revenge Syndrome, affects so called MAGA Republicans.  Both syndromes cause those affected to have a singular and myopic view of Donald Trump.  

For those with TDS, Trump is someone who portends the downfall of our democracy tied to what they view as his authoritarian leanings…he is also, in their view, a racist and misogynist…to them he represents our worst instincts, morally and politically. For those with TRS, Trump is someone who is plain speaking and has been unfairly maligned, misinterpreted and persecuted…he simply wants America to be great again. To them that means replacing the progressive and socialist path the country is on and returning it to a society that adheres to law and order and the principle of hard work and earned achievement. 

Those with TDS give Trump no quarter…he can do no right.   His personality is their flashpoint causing a viscerally negative reaction…”hate” is probably not too strong a word when it comes to the TDS view of Trump. Those with TRS love and admire Trump without reserve…he can do no wrong. For them he represents a return to common sense.  

Those with TDS will do anything to prevent Trump from acquiring power again. Those with TRS seek to exact revenge against those who beleaguered Trump’s presidency with unfounded accusations by putting him in office again thereby allowing him to attain the power needed to right the wrongs done against him.  

For those affected by these syndromes there is no middle ground.  They represent the extremes.  The fact is that neither faction, if successful in electing their respective candidates in 2024, will enable us to achieve an agenda that will allow America to move forward again.  Rather, we will continue to be bogged down in vitriol and non compromise.

If Biden is elected again it will be solely due to TDS despite his own supporters’ acknowledgment of his obvious mental and physical deterioration.  If Trump is elected it will be due to TRS despite the chaos that will undoubtedly ensue. 

What is the solution? Do we vote for someone who is failing and feckless or do we vote for someone who is divisive? Neither party seems to want to give up their candidate for the good of the country. 

There is, however, one path that may work to the benefit of Republicans and Democrats…indeed, to the country as a whole.

As reported by The Hill early in December, according to the Messenger/Harris poll, Nikki Haley beats Biden by 4 percentage points on a head to head basis in the general election.  Trump beats him by 7 percentage points.  At the same time Haley attracts 40 percent of independents and Trump 37 percent. A Wall Street Journal survey later in the month had Haley beating Biden by a healthy margin of 17 points. The Real Clear Politics polling average has Haley beating Biden by 4.9 percentage points whereas Trump leads Biden by 2.9 percentage points.  In essence, these polls show that Haley has a chance of beating Biden by drawing support from independents and moderate Republicans who object to Trump and his hard right allies as well as disaffected Democrats who object to Biden’s pandering to the extreme left and are worried about his ability to govern. Both of these factions encompass people who want us to be governed from the middle and who yearn for a common sense approach to government.

The upcoming primaries will be a good harbinger of Haley’s standing in the party.  If she has a relatively strong showing she could prove to be the alternative that Republicans are able to turn to in the nominating convention that will put them in good stead with the general electorate despite the fact that Trump may actually beat her in the Republican primaries.

Nominating someone who does not win the majority of the Republican Party’s primaries is not without precedent. For example, in 1912, the first time a Republican primary was held, William Howard Taft was nominated despite Theodore Roosevelt winning most of the state primaries and receiving more of the popular vote. In 1932, Joseph France won most of the state primaries but Herbert Hoover was re-nominated as the Republican standard bearer. In 1936, William Borah won more of the state primaries but Alf Landon became the party’s nominee. In 1948, Harold Stassen won more primaries than Thomas Dewey but Dewey won the party’s nomination. And in 1952, Robert Taft won more primaries than Dwight Eisenhower but lost the nomination to Eisenhower.  

So the questions that have yet to be answered are whether the Republican Party will, despite his assumed primary victories and lead in the polls, be willing to shed Trump for the benefit of the country and whether Democrats and MAGA Republicans are able to embrace Haley as a reasonable and viable alternative to another four years of an increasingly failing Biden and the threat of a Kamala Harris succession.

We can only hope.

Unfortunately, and unbelievably, George Santos’ expulsion from the House of Representatives was not a foregone conclusion.  Despite the damning House Ethics Committee Report, it was only through the exercise of conscience by 105 Republicans that it occurred at all. The question is why it took so long to bring this sorry state of affairs to conclusion.

The answer is that the Constitution (Article 1, Section 5, Clause 2) only gives the power to expel its members to Congress.  The problem with that limitation is the decision to expel is fraught with politics…in this particular case, with a desire to maintain the narrow Republican majority and, in a conflict of interest, to generally protect themselves from a similar fate by citing expulsion as a bad precedent except in extremely limited circumstances. In other words it was not expedient for Republicans to move forward with an expulsion.  Politics trumped moral duty. Witness the fact that 112 out of 217 Republican representatives voted “no” on the expulsion resolution despite the fact that a preponderance of voters in the Third Congressional District who had elected Santos had been calling for his resignation or expulsion throughout the past year thus making hollow Republican Party leadership and hard right remonstrations that such a decision should be left to the voters.

What is the solution? 

We need to amend the US Constitution so that, in the face of inaction by our elected representatives, voters are allowed to directly “recall” their representatives when they no longer serve their interests.  This includes the President, Senators and members of the House of Representatives  The ability to recall an elected official before he or she serves out his or her term is an effective way to hold that person accountable directly to the voters.  It is one hallmark of a true democracy.  At the same time, there need to be reasonable constraints on the ability, or hurdles to overcome, to initiate a recall. Clear procedures as well as the behaviors and circumstances that allow for a recall vote to be justified and initiated would need to be specified.  In this regard, it is important to note that some 19 states provide, either through their Constitutions or legislation, a recall mechanism for those elected at state or local levels that could be used as a model at the federal level.

As voters we need a way to assert ourselves outside of election cycles to insure that our elected officials continually represent our interest…allowing for a recall vote is one way to do that. 

But that’s just one person’s perspective, what’s your opinion?

Whether the indictment Alvin Bragg brought against former President Donald Trump is politically motivated is a matter of perspective. Rather than wade into that subjective controversy, it is more useful to focus on the three pivotal questions:

Are non disclosure agreements (NDAs) legal? 

A unilateral non disclosure agreement, which constitutes a contract between two parties where one party receives compensatory consideration, is legal as long as the activity covered under the agreement is not illegal. That is why the Bragg indictment does not include the NDA itself as the basis for any of the felony charges. Rather, a primary focus of the indictment is on how the compensatory consideration Stormy Daniels received was recorded for accounting purposes and whether it violated tax law.  

How are payments made in consideration of someone entering into an NDA to be treated for accounting and tax purposes? 

It is notable that in all the reporting on this matter there is no mention as to how such a payment is actually supposed to be accounted for under accounting rules or for tax reporting purposes. Trump’s accountants recorded the repayment to Michael Cohen (of the money he had paid to Stormy Daniels) on Trump’s behalf as a legal expense. 

In fact, non disclosure agreements are essentially settlement agreements which, under the tax code, allow related payouts and attorney’s fees to be deducted as legal expenses for tax purposes. This would be determinate in how such a payout would be characterized from an accounting standpoint.  

Moreover, it was not until January 1, 2018 that Section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code was amended to prohibit such tax treatment if the payments are made under an NDA related to sexual harassment or sexual abuse. Notwithstanding that Trump’s payments to Cohen were, in fact, not related to sexual harassment or sexual abuse, any attempt to characterize them as such would fall short of a violation of the law since all of the payments to Cohen occurred in 2017. It is also notable that Bragg is, to my current understanding, not charging Trump with state tax fraud.

Does the NDA between Trump and Daniels and the payment made to Daniels constitute a violation of the federal election law prohibition relating to concealment of material facts that could affect an election?

It is Bragg’s assertion that hiding the payment is a violation of federal election law that is his basis for escalating the charges to felonies. This begs the question whether a candidate has a right to protect his or her reputation from disputed and embarrassing claims that can unfairly harm his or her reputation. The operative word here is “disputed” because Trump denies he had an affair with Daniels and, with no proof on either side, this is nothing more than a “he said, she said” situation.

We also know that in the realm of public opinion the concept of innocent until proven guilty is turned on its head. The fact is that federal election law defines election interference to include concealment of a material fact or making any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or representations.  In that context, a disputed and unprovable claim is not a material fact and would not preclude it from being concealed. 

As this case against Trump moves forward, it would seem these questions would need to be adjudicated. Of course, there is also the question of whether Bragg is exceeding his jurisdiction in bringing charges related to an alleged federal election violation where both the Federal Election Commission and the DOJ have given Trump a hard pass in the matter of the Stormy Daniel payment. As mentioned above, it is this supposed violation that was Bragg’s justification for raising the charges to felonies.

Bragg’s tactic is to magnify the import of this case by bringing 34 duplicative counts.  The obviousness of this approach does the opposite…it dilutes its seriousness and calls into question Bragg’s motives.  Is it simply to “get Trump?” Is it Alvin Bragg himself who is interfering with a future federal election by bringing spurious allegations? Will the public spectacle  and Trumps defiance serve to enhance his reputation in the eyes of his base?  Will it attract others to Trump’s side because they see the charges brought as an abuse of power by Bragg? We don’t know the answers to these questions.

What we do know is that Trump is a survivor having overcome the Trump Derangement Syndrome which fueled two impeachment attempts and the Mueller investigation . Whether he survives this indictment, or not, it might very well assure a Trump redux.

As I watched the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court I could not help but conclude that we are missing the point of what we are learning about our criminal justice system that goes beyond and is more important than Judge Jackson’s specific qualifications to serve as an associate justice.

From the standpoint of her qualifications, Judge Jackson is absolutely worthy of having been nominated.  Furthermore, her approach to applying the law is consistent with the general pattern exhibited throughout our judiciary system. It is, however, this second larger point that is the most troubling and should give us pause relative to her confirmation yet  seems to be lost on those questioning her and on the media covering the hearings.

Some of the most pointed questions posed to Judge Jackson related to her sentencing of convicted child pornographers.  Those questioning her offered evidence that in passing sentences in these cases she as the sitting judge, in the majority of cases, assigned sentences well below federal sentencing guidelines and below what was even being recommended by the prosecution, which was already below sentencing guidelines. Those who support her nomination, including much of the media, point out that her sentences were in the mainstream, i.e., most judges imposed sentences below the guideline…for some reason thinking that fact is supposed to make us feel comfortable with her decisions. As Mitt Romney opined relative to this issue,” …there is no there, there.”  I would characterize that as quite a cavalier attitude, one that completely misses the point. More specifically, are we, as a society, willing to appoint judges to the bench who more often than not tip the scales of justice in favor of the perpetrators as opposed to the victims of their crimes?

Of course the counter to that is the question of whether we also expect judges to exercise their discretion in meting out punishment taking into consideration various circumstances as opposed to strict adherence to the law.  Certainly justice is not always served by such strict adherence; however it seems that the prevalent pattern is to exercise that discretion in favor of criminal defendants out of some misplaced sentiment that our system of justice is, in fact, unjust and must be corrected.

In the case of federal sentencing guidelines for those trafficking in child pornography the law already distinguishes between those who receive or possess (although that distinction is lost on me), produce or distribute  and transport as well as whether it is a first offense or a second offense with a prior sex offense conviction. It also distinguishes between mandatory and statutory minimum sentences.

The reality is that, according to the U. S. Sentencing Commission,”federal judges feel that many child pornography sentences are too long” and (since the Supreme Court has ruled that federal sentencing guidelines are advisory not mandatory) routinely impose lesser sentences.  I would ask these judges (and Judge Jackson) whether these lesser sentences are justified considering the lifetime psychological sentence imposed on the children exploited to produce the child pornography.

This brings us full circle back to Judge Jackson’s nomination.  She did not refute in any way that she sentenced well below the guidelines in these cases.  Rather she sought to explain it away, as did her supporters, as being consistent with the sentences being imposed by her fellow judges and well within her discretion as a judge.  But her actions belie her pledge to “stay in my lane’’ and not make policy or legislate from the bench.

Certainly Judge Jackson possesses the right credentials to qualify as an associate justice of the Court. She appears to be, and by all accounts is, a decent, intelligent woman with a good, if not excellent, legal mind. But when I think of a Supreme Court justice I would prefer someone who is independent of thought who administers the law consistent with the intent of those who passed the law and those they charge with implementing it. Neutrality and adherence to the statute should be the initial basis for any judgment rendered.   As they say, the exception proves the rule, not the exception is the rule. Despite the description she offered of her approach to interpreting and applying the law (which sounded like that of an originalist) I very much question the accuracy of her claims given her record.

There is no doubt that Judge Jackson will be confirmed in light of the historic opportunity this nomination offers – confirmation of the first black women to the Court.  Of course, I, nor should anybody, have any issue with the goal of expanding the diversity of the court.  But in doing so the person chosen needs to rise above his or her identity and be the right person, chosen for the right reasons.  We already see the result of choosing a person for the wrong reason in our Vice President, a mistake that can be corrected in the short term. 

Lifetime appointments to the bench however require a more sober, considered approach focused on creating a judicial system weighted in favor of the victims of crime.

“Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to (expletive) things up” – President Barack Obama.”

Biden ” has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.” – Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, Obama Administration.

When President Obama and Robert Gates shared these insights about Joe Biden’s competency we did not realize how prophetic their assessments would prove to be.

How so?

For one thing, Biden’s campaign and inaugural promise of political unity has been betrayed by his threatened ill conceived use of budget reconciliation as a tool to pass a $3.5 trillion bill that will massively expand the welfare state. (How did the nuclear option work out for the Democrats who introduced it under Harry Reid?)

For another, his shutdown of the Keystone Pipeline has foreclosed our energy independence and resulted in higher oil and gas prices.

Further, his passage of stimulus legislation went significantly overboard in countering the economic effects of the pandemic …stimulus checks that provided a windfall to many who did not need the money or, at the very least, had no where to spend it…higher unemployment benefits which served as a disincentive for many to reenter the workforce leading to continuing shortages of help in small businesses which have been the hardest hit during the pandemic and which continues to hinder their recovery.

Add to this the record numbers of illegal immigrants crossing on our southern border based on what was effectively his campaign promise to them of an open border further facilitated by his suspension of virtually all of the prior administration’s executive orders which effectively served to stem the tide of such immigration…. or his lack of an ordered withdrawal plan ( he ignored the warnings of his advisors and the assessment of state department employees on the ground) from Afghanistan leaving our in-country operatives and American citizens at risk and the reestablishment of the country as a Taliban-controlled state for the promulgation of international terrorism.

In fact, for anyone to suggest that he and his Vice President have been anything but dismal failures with regard to both domestic and foreign policy is disingenuous at best and, at its worst, completely dishonest.

Biden’s election promised a breath of fresh air after a tumultuous four years of Trump. That, in fact, is what got him elected. While I did not vote for him I was willing to give him a chance regardless of his less than remarkable career in the Senate. I considered him and continue to consider him ” my president.”

Well, my president is a complete incompetent and I am not sure we can afford three more years of his and his party’s Democratic rule and march to the progressive left. I am hoping that the mid-term elections act as a check on this march and return us to a more centrist agenda for the country.

The country should have all gotten the hint that Joe would be a disaster when Barack Obama first failed to rally behind him as his immediate successor in the 2016 Presidential Election and instead chose to back Hillary Clinton. The second hint was provided in the delayed backing by Obama for Joe in the Democratic primaries leading to the 2020 Presidential Election.

We now have proof positive (hints are no longer necessary) that Joe Biden is in over his head. He is a stellar example of the Peter Principle…he has risen to his level of incompetence as has his Vice President.

It is time for the electorate to admit its mistake and make sure that going forward we decide who are to be our leaders based less on personality and, instead, based on exhibited ability to govern. We need to start voting for a candidate based on what he or she has actually done, what he or she has actually voted for in the past… as opposed to vacuous promises that pander to our interests and which vary based on the direction of political winds.

One of my fondest memories growing up in Woodside, Queens in the late 1950’s and 1960’s was, during the winter months, taking the elevated IRT No. 7 Flushing Line into the “city” with my sister and mother to skate at Wollman Skating Rink in Central Park.  It was only a short ride to 60^th Street and 5th Avenue after a transfer to the BMT Line at Queensboro Plaza and, after disembarking from the subway, only a short walk to the rink.  I would lace up my hockey skates while my sister donned her figure skates and we would spend our afternoon racing around the rink weaving in and out of the other skaters, stopping occasionally for a hot chocolate to warm our hands. 

Another memory was driving over the Whitestone Bridge to visit my relatives in the Bronx where both my parents grew up.  As we approached the Bronx side of the bridge and looked out to the east we could see city sanitation trucks dumping garbage in the landfill in what is now known as Ferry Point. 

Fast forward a few years… in 1980 the Wollman Rink was closed when its concrete floor buckled and a two year renovation was planned.  By May 1986, six years later, the renovations had still not been completed and with some additional construction changes it was estimated the work would now not be completed until the winter of 1987. Enter Donald Trump who offered to rebuild the rink at his expense (within six months) in return for a lease to operate the rink and an adjacent restaurant to recoup his costs.  Then Mayor Ed Koch agreed and, lo and behold, the work was completed some two months ahead of schedule and under budget.

A similar saga of failed development began to unfold beginning in 2000. This time with respect to the long awaited development of a golf course (Robert Moses actually had thought of a golf course at the location in the 1960’s) on that same landfill east of the Whitestone Bridge that I saw on my way to the Bronx from Queens.

The city, in 2000, entered into an agreement with developers to build and develop an 18-hole golf course on some 195 acres. In return the developers would be given a 35-year franchise to operate the course. Environmental concerns emanating from the leaking of methane from the landfill required a clean-up of the landfill with the city expending millions in the process on top of a development budget that was already running 18 million dollars over original projections. In 2012, the city turned the project over to Trump.  Remember this was 12 years after the original contract was awarded. Trump completed the course in 2013, only one year after having the project turned over to him, and his organization has been running the facility ever since.

In terms of these two projects at least, the Trump Organization has done right by the city and its residents and visitors.

The reward, however, for the Trump Organization’s competency is a cancelling of the Wollman Rink contract and a planned cancellation of the Ferry Point Golf Course contract.

The reason cited by the Di Blasio administration for the former is President Trump’s inciting of an insurrection at the Capitol, a charge of which he was formally found not guilty by the Senate.  And notwithstanding the fact that the Ferry Point golf course has run into some financial difficulty, the primary reason given for the latter contract’s cancellation is that the PGA, citing reputational concerns, cancelled its 2022 Championship at Trump’s Bedminster Golf Course.  Based on that, the city felt these same reputational concerns would impact the Trump Organization’s ability to fulfill that part of the Ferry Point contract which required the Trump Organizations to attract major championship events.

So in the end politics, not business competency wins the day. And innocent until proven guilty, a hallmark value of our democratic society and the core premise of the US justice system, also takes a holiday.

Equally important is that the decisions being made to marginalize the Trump Organization affect more than the Trump family…they also affect the many people who work for the Trump Organization and rely on it for their income. 

The fact is that cancel culture will endure as long as we are willing to stand by and let it.  We can as individuals and as a society fight against this insidious tool of oppression, which is more and more being used against any one with whom we might disagree  or whom we find disagreeable.

When progressive voices suggested that Goya be boycotted because its CEO spoke out in support of Trump, people, including this writer, countered by going out and buying more Goya products, which by all accounts led to a 1000% increase in Goya sales. What were progressives reacting to in calling for the boycott? Specifically, the CEO had referred to Trump as a “blessed leader” following his promised expansion of taxpayer support for charter and private Schools and additional tax benefits for opportunity zone development in urban areas.

Recently in reference to the planned cancellation of the Ferry Point Golf Course contract the President of the Friends of Ferry Point Park posted the following:

“The quality of maintenance (under Trumps name) has been fantastic and we hope if any other concessionaire takes over it will also be immaculate and sensitive to wildlife. It is a shame that our prejudice (sic) NYC “Leaders” did not allow Trump to help the West side of this Park for fear of political alienation from others Democrats.”

It is obvious that he gets it…too bad our political leaders do not.