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New York Tag

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 28, 2018 63 Comments
Legal Insurrection readers will recall the California legislature's attempt to create a special government fund as a "charity" for taxpayer donations to mitigate the loss of state and local tax (SALT) deductions in the recently passed GOP tax plans. The politicians must have realized the approach was full of fail, so now leaders of several blue states are planning a lawsuit to block the entire overhaul package. California may join in.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 07, 2018 53 Comments
When President Trump signed the tax bill into law, Democrats, particularly in blue states with high state income taxes, wailed.  The Nation declared the new tax law "a deliberate attack on blue states," and New York governor Andrew Cuomo called it an "attack only on blue states" and "economic civil war." Among the attacks they perceive is the new law's $10,000 maximum for all state and local deductions.  Oddly, the left is howling because this is, as Vox points out, "effectively raising taxes on wealthy people." Setting aside the fact that taxing the rich has been the leftist mantra for decades and became particularly shrill during the Obama administration, blue states are now actively looking for ways to get around this and other measures in the new tax law.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on January 01, 2018 31 Comments
Many of us will look back on 2017 with some regrets. However, few will have as many as blue state Democratic politicos who decided to embrace the #Resistance instead of acting as true representatives of their states' citizens. Rather than negotiate or compromise with either President Trump or the Republicans, they have postured and tweeted away this past year as if there were absolutely no consequences to be faced. As 2018 opens, the bill has come due. I noted last week that the Department of Justice quashed a $3 million project with Los Angeles over that municipality's proudly proclaimed "Sanctuary City" status.

Posted by Mary Chastain on September 25, 2017 19 Comments
Disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner has received a 21 month prison sentence for sexting with a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina. He also has to register as a sex offender. His numerous sexting scandals have ruined his career and his marriage to Huma Abedin, failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's long time aide.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 16, 2017 3 Comments
Israel's mission to New York reopened after being closed following an evacuation Friday in response to the discovery of a package containing white powder and a letter threatening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Israeli Consulate was closed off due to the suspicious nature of the powder in the package, and the staff has been ordered to remain inside while the material was inspected. The source told the Post that the building has been on lockdown and no one was allowed to enter or leave the premises. New York State Department Police have been called to the scene after the contents of the package were discovered and screened in the consulate's screening room. The [Jerusalem] Post has also learned that the threatening letter in question was written in English and addressed directly to the premier.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 28, 2017 11 Comments
Northwell Health, New York's largest hospital network, has decided to stop selling Obamacare plans over....you guessed it...huge losses. From The New York Post:
Northwell Health (the former North Shore-Long Island Jewish Medical Center network ) blamed a flawed provision in the Affordable Care Act — and the lack of action in Washington to fix it — as the culprits for winding down its CareConnect insurance company.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on August 18, 2017 59 Comments
Just in case you thought removal madness couldn't get any wilder...New York! Friday, MTA announced plans to "modify" some subway tiles in Manhattan. Patrons have complained the tiles, which have graced the Times Square station for these last 100 years too closely resemble the Confederate battle flag.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 29, 2017 53 Comments
Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has asked the private sector to help foot the bill to fix the subway in New York City. From New York Daily News:
"We have to change our attitude. This is our MTA [Metropolitan Transportation Authority], right? This is our transit system," Cuomo told members of the Association for a Better New York as he stood beneath a jumbo screen that flashed the words “We must change our attitude: OUR MTA.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 22, 2017 14 Comments
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a lawsuit against people who have protested outside of Choices Women's Medical Clinic in Queens for the past five years. Schneiderman has accused the defendants of "targeting patients and employees every Saturday morning, telling them 'You don’t know when you might get shot' and even calling them murderers."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on June 09, 2017 23 Comments
Legal Insurrection readers may have noticed that I sometimes refer to President Donald Trump as "Master of the Unexpected." That is a term of endearment among Trump's fans who also love the 1963 epic, Cleopatra, as it refers to quote about Julius Caesar and his tactic that led to a victory over the Egyptian army. However, a New York theater group has taken that analogy to a much darker level.
Shakespeare in the Park, an annual summer program by The Public Theater that puts on plays by William Shakespeare in Central Park, kicked off May 23 with a performance of Julius Caesar.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 08, 2017 3 Comments
The Department of Justice has announced the arrest of two Hezbollah men, one in New York and another in Michigan, for allegedly plotting attacks in New York and the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Panama. DOJ officials released these statements:
Acting U.S. Attorney [Joon H.] Kim said: “Today, we announce serious terrorism charges against two men who allegedly trained with and supported the Islamic Jihad Organization, a component of the foreign terrorist organization Hizballah. Recruited as Hizballah operatives, Samer El Debek and Ali Kourani allegedly received military-style training, including in the use of weapons like rocket-propelled grenade launchers and machine guns for use in support of the group’s terrorist mission. At the direction of his Hizballah handlers, El Debek allegedly conducted missions in Panama to locate the U.S. and Israeli Embassies and to assess the vulnerabilities of the Panama Canal and ships in the Canal. Kourani allegedly conducted surveillance of potential targets in America, including military and law enforcement facilities in New York City. Thanks to the outstanding work of the FBI and NYPD, the allegedly destructive designs of these two Hizballah operatives have been thwarted, and they will now face justice in a Manhattan federal court.”

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on June 03, 2017 55 Comments
On Thursday, President Trump announced the great news that he is withdrawing the U. S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, and the response across the internet was predictable.  On Friday, dozens of states and cities announced that they had established a "United States Climate Alliance" to meet the U. S.'s commitment without Washington. Thus far, the California-led effort seems focused on lowering carbon emissions and not on the government's financial commitments. The Los Angeles Times reports:
President Trump may be quitting the Paris accord on climate change — but forcing the rest of the nation to go along with him is proving more of a challenge. Led by California, dozens of states and cities across the country responded Friday to Trump’s attack on the worldwide agreement by vowing to fulfill the U.S. commitment without Washington — a goal that is not out of reach.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 27, 2017 18 Comments
Authorities have arrested Jacob Schwartz, a New York City employee and president of the Manhattan Young Democrats, for allegedly possessing child pornography. The NYPD Computer Crimes division began an investigation in March and Schwartz surrendered his computer. The detectives "found more than 3,000 images and 89 videos depicting girls as young as 6 months old performing sex acts on adult men."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 13, 2017 43 Comments
Earlier this week, I blogged about New York's 'free' college tuition initiative. Not only is there no such thing as a free lunch, there's definitely no such thing as a free government offering as The Excelsior Scholarship illustrates. Among the many strings attached to the tuition program, one of the most unrealistic is the requirement that tuition recipients serve state work time after graduation. Those finishing a two-year degree would be required to remain in New York for two years post-college while bachelor degree holders would be required to stay in the Empire State (presumably working) for four years. Leave before the state-mandated time and the scholarship turns into a loan that must be paid back. New York's Director of the Division of Budget in the Governor's office read our post and offered an alternative explanation to the unworkable (as I called it) tuition program. For debate's sake, we've posted his response in full beneath.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 11, 2017 33 Comments
New York state recently passed legislation making it "free" to attend two and four-year state colleges. It's so free, it's estimated to cost New York state taxpayers a paltry $163 million per year. Called a "last-dollar" plan, would-be participants must first apply for federal monies before turning to the state for assistance. This 'free tuition' only covers half the cost of attending school and doesn't cover incidentals like books, fees, or housing. Oh, and participants must finish school on time.
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