Blue-state governors seem to be responding to President Trump's anti-crime campaign with Marxist tactics. Not the communist, Karl, that is, but the comedian Brothers. In "Duck Soup," Chico Marx famously deceives a wealthy widow by asking "Who are you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?" It's an apt metaphor for Governor Kathy Hochul of New York when she poses as a defender of law and order.
Throughout his time in office, Trump has criticized Democratic-led cities for what he calls "radical left" policies on criminal justice. Those attacks have grown sharper in recent days, as the president took the extraordinary step of nationalizing the D.C. police force and deploying the National Guard all while signaling other cities may be next. Democrats have decried Trump's actions, arguing that while crime did surge nationwide during the pandemic, numbers have since fallen.
"What is set in stone is we are absolutely going to build something," Deputy County Executive Consuelo Hernandez stated, emphasizing the necessity of addressing deteriorating jail facilities and community needs.
His death, and his shocking mistreatment at the hands of law enforcement, underscore how people with mental illness are at risk when they encounter the police in the US.
While the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, it preserves a loophole allowing forced labor as punishment for crime, perpetuating exploitation of incarcerated individuals.
It is just an opening salvo. Vera might be the first organization to lose its federal funding, but I am certain we will not be the last in the criminal justice field.