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🇺🇸 Train Tragedy

🇺🇸 Train Tragedy

Plus, the 10 most obese states in America...

May 08, 2023

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Good morning, and happy Monday! These guys spent $100,000 on an abandoned high school, and $3.3 million to convert it into apartments. Take a look inside!

Plus, these are the 10 most obese states in America...

Also, whether you rent or own a home, today's partner, Arcadia can help you power it with 100% clean energy for just $5/month.

FLAG POLLS

📉 Friday, May 5, President Biden Job Approval: Approve 38, Disapprove 54 (Daily Kos/Civiqs)

📉 Friday, May 5, President Biden Job Approval: Approve 48, Disapprove 50 (Rasmussen Reports)

🐎 Thursday, May 4, Tennessee: Trump vs. Biden: Biden 26, Trump 42 (Vanderbilt University)

🐎 Thursday, May 4, Tennessee: DeSantis vs. Biden: Biden 24, DeSantis 33 (Vanderbilt University)

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QUICK CLICKS

Separate Tragedies in Texas, Wildfires in Western Canada, King Charles' Coronation

US: Texas mall massacre gunman identified as witnesses describe horror of the shooting spree that killed 8 people (CNN)

US: At least 8 dead, 11 injured after driver plows into crowd near migrant shelter in Brownsville, Texas (Fox News)

US: Trump misses deadline to testify in E. Jean Carroll civil case (The Hill)

World: Out-of-control wildfires cause evacuations in western Canada (NPR)

UK: Kate, Princess of Wales, honors Queen Elizabeth and Diana at King Charles' coronation (CBS News)

US: Robert Kennedy Jr. blames CIA for JFK assassination, fueling controversial claim (NY Post)

US: 12-week abortion ban will do great harm, North Carolina's governor says (POLITICO)

US: Debt Ceiling Battle Lines Drawn Ahead Of White House Meeting (Daily Wire)

CITIES

Train Tragedy

A week ago today, 30-year-old Jordan Neely was put into a chokehold by another subway passenger in New York City after he was allegedly haranguing other riders. Responding police and paramedics were unable to revive Neely after he lost consciousness. The Medical Examiner's Office ruled it a homicide.

Reporting from The Left: Jordan Neely, the man killed in chokehold on NYC subway, is remembered as an entertainer shattered by his mother's murder Paget & Elamroussi, CNN

Reporting from The Right: Mayor Adams rips AOC for rush to conclude that Jordan Neely was 'murdered' Lee Brown, New York Post

From The Flag: The 24-year-old former Marine who placed Neely in the chokehold was questioned by cops the day of, but no charges were pressed. The Manhattan District Attorney is continuing to investigate. Some prominent elected officials have called for an arrest, but Mayor Eric Adams has called for patience. Here's more from both sides.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

With Poverty Criminalized, Homelessness Receives a Death Sentence

This case is a reminder of how our society treats poverty like a crime, and soldiers like they are weapons to be stowed away.
Neely's death brings desperately needed attention to the homelessness crisis, but will any concrete changes actually result?
Jordan Neely was a known street performer who routinely "made people smile," but instead he's made out to be a menacing criminal.

One Man Killed Jordan Neely — but We All Failed Him Elie Mystal, The Nation: "The victim was Black; the assailant was white. The victim pretty much had to be Black to support the callous disregard for his life, and the assailant had to be white to secure the disregard of law enforcement. ... But, to be honest, the racism saturating every part of this story is only the most obvious of its horrors. This murder takes many of the problems we have in our society and shoves them into a giant melting pot. Everything starts with the plague of poverty and homelessness. New York City is one of the wealthiest cities, in one of the wealthiest countries, on Earth, and yet many of us just accept that some of us are starving. Some of us are destitute. Some of us—in fact, tens of thousands of us—have nowhere to live."

Jordan Neely's Death and a Critical Moment in the Homelessness Crisis Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker: "Last July, one assailant stabbed three homeless men he found sleeping in New York City. Just a few months before those incidents, a thirty-year-old man named Gerald Brevard III, shot five homeless people in Washington, DC, and New York City, killing two. These acts of violence did not inspire the same response from activists... The difference between last year’s attacks and Neely’s death was the video. We can see the panic on Neely’s face, the life slowly extinguished from his eyes. We can see others who do not intervene. We can see the face of his killer, which remains calm and largely expressionless throughout the struggle. We cannot see what precipitated the event... According to reports, he ranted that he was 'fed up and hungry,' and, so, we are faced with the senselessness of what we are watching... Homelessness and erratic, nonviolent behavior, in this case, received a death sentence."

One more opinion piece from the Left: Jordan Neely's Killing Is the Predictable Result of Dehumanizing and Despising the Homeless Nathan Robinson, Newsweek

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

What Happens We Won't Police Our Streets or Confine the Violently Mentally Ill? Chaos

We continue to fail the mentally ill and society as a whole by refusing to take the approach of ensuring people receive treatment — even involuntarily.
Democrat-run cities like New York have become havens for mentally ill and homeless drug addicts because we never replaced the mental institutions closed 75 years ago.
Why was Neely, a criminal with a history of drug use, out on the streets? Because New York City has decided to stop prosecuting crime.

Neely Tragedy Shows Need for Involuntary Commitment Stephen Eide, New York Post: "Press reports present these details: Neely had an untreated serious mental illness, he had not assaulted anyone but was displaying a threatening manner, the man who subdued him with a chokehold was white and had a military background, and Neely had a long involvement with the criminal justice system. ... But some essential details we may never know... (like) what kind of involvement Neely had with health and human services systems. ... Criminal-justice reformers might point out, correctly, that Neely’s many past arrests did not stabilize him. But nor did whatever contact he may have had with homeless-outreach teams, social workers, safe-haven shelters, and outpatient clinics. ... As for disorder... you’re generally expected either to endure it or rely on public authorities to handle it. The Neely tragedy... wouldn’t have happened if he had been in treatment, which was not the case, according to his family. This detail also makes his a representative tragedy."

What’s Needed Now Is Not False ‘Compassion’ But Real Courage Laura Hollis, American Greatness: "An obsession with a distorted sense of 'compassion' is strangling our national debate on the most important issues of our time and contributing to the ongoing deterioration of the country. Leftist activists and politicians love to appeal to people’s 'compassion' in support of policies with demonstrably destructive results. We must stop being taken in by this deceit if we hope to repair our damaged nation. Blue city and blue state policies on mental illness, drug use, and homelessness are perfect examples. An NPR article from 2017 described 'deinstitutionalization'—the nationwide effort to close mental hospitals and other long-term psychiatric facilities in the 1950s and 1960s—as being an outgrowth of the civil rights movement. But the hoped-for move to 'community-based' care was a chimera; in fact, thousands—perhaps tens of thousands—of the most seriously mentally ill have ended up homeless. There they have stayed, and their numbers have grown—particularly in places where policies permit it."

One more opinion piece from the Right: When You Don’t Police Crime, Civilians Will Ben Shapiro, Daily Signal

FLAG THIS

Crime in Gotham Has New York Moving Out

Polling conducted last month shows New Yorkers are increasingly worried about crime, and it's causing them to leave the state.

Close to a third of those surveyed indicated they want to move out and crime is one of the main reasons why, in addition to struggling schools and elevated housing costs.

Asked how "safe from crime" they feel in New York, 49% responded with a rating of "fair" or "poor," while 51% said "good" or "excellent."

Would the threat of crime make you think twice about visiting or living in America's big cities?

FLAG FINDS

Power Up, Cool Cat Nap, Mini Home Office

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WATERCOOLER

V-E Day, How to Stop Being Late, Reversing a Cavity

Celebrations in London on 8 May 1945

On May 8, 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners in honor of the defeat of the Nazi war machine during World War II.

Vanity Fair: TV’s Streaming Bubble Has Burst, a Writers Strike Looms, and “Everybody Is Freaking Out”

Pocket Collections: How to stop being late

Mental Floss: Yes, You Can Reverse a Cavity—Here’s How

Today I Learned the Moon is one of the dullest objects in the solar system. If Neptune's moon Triton was in its place, it would appear 7 times brighter.

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