Editor’s Note: From the Back Forty is Liberty Nation’s longest running and most popular weekly column.
Unwelcome endorsements had political talking heads flummoxed this week. New York City is now charging people money to drive the mean and not-so-mean streets. America is what she claims: diverse across every platform imaginable, and heartlanders are once again validated in their choice to avoid the crazies and stay rural.
Four More Years
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on television that he would prefer to keep Joe Biden in the White House. Whatever will Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky feel about that? Wait, isn’t Trump in Putin’s pocket? Well, the Russian strongman did not even attempt to cross into Ukraine for a quick snack of Holubtsi and a Spotykach cocktail when Trump was in office. A thinking person at the Kremlin might believe that four more years of Joe Biden could see Ukraine swept back into the folds of Mother Russia’s skirts.
This analysis by Liberty Nation drew out the comments:
“It was always hard to fathom why Putin would have ever favored Trump in any presidential race. The Russian leader may be a megalomaniac and a tyrant, but he is not stupid. He obviously would always prefer not to have an unknown quantity in the White House. He would want someone he could understand, read, and predict. Above all, Putin would want someone who he knows probably wouldn’t stand up to him. Trump did not fit that profile. Hillary Clinton did; so does Biden.”
Sonny Cervone in Ohio felt it, too: “He smells weakness.”
It’s Crowded Out There
The field of presidential candidates is getting uncomfortably crowded: Biden, Trump, and RFK Jr. But on Thursday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) boldly let this statement fly: “Hypothetically, if I was picking my running mate, really who I would ask right now is Mitt Romney.” Now, that’s the way to clear out a future voting block of UniParty folks. Maybe Michael Bates of Batesville, Alabama, was eyeing Manchin until that hypothetical declaration: “They could be called the ‘Wishy-Washy’ ticket.”
Janey Bradstreet in Kentucky was once a fan of Mr. Manchin, but that flew out to the open window: “Any respect I might have had for Manchin went down the toilet with that statement.”
And maybe it was the massive amounts of ridicule and guffawing of the anti-Romney blowback had the gentleman from West Virginia declaring a day later: “I will not be seeking a third-party run. I will not be involved in a presidential run.”
Joe Biden finally let his breath out.
Or, as one Michigander gal stated: “Just came to read the comments, and you folks did not disappoint. The comments were as hilarious as these two running.”
Big Apple Bites Back
If one wants to hop in the car and take in a show, dine at world-class establishments, or just go to work, New York City is going to levy a fee anywhere from $7 to $36, depending on the vehicle of choice. It’s a plan – possibly ill-conceived – by the Metro Transit Authority to encourage the use of public transportation. along with a few disturbed, angry, and perhaps smelly unwashed travelers.
The governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, praised the decision made November 30, 2023, that takes effect this spring in the nation’s largest metropolis:
“Congestion pricing means cleaner air, better transit, and less gridlock on New York City’s streets, and today’s vote by the MTA Board is a critical step forward. The proposal approved today heeds my call to lower the toll rate by nearly 35 percent from the maximum rate originally considered.”
Manhattan’s central business district is where NYC will get you: Drivers will incur fees if entering or exiting that area during peak traffic hours.
Cars will cost $15, small trucks $24, and large trucks $36. The city will also ding you around seven dollars if you ride a congestion-causing motorcycle. As Dan Decker of Farmington, New Mexico, stated, “Them Dems are something else.”
And Mr. Mike McGee in Utah concurred: “Only in Democrat America!”
