Conservative: No ‘There’ There in Trump Case
“There’s just not much to the Manhattan prosecution. The penalties sought are way out of line with the offenses alleged,” and it was “brought by a prosecutor, Bragg, who campaigned on a platform of pursuing Trump,” . “County prosecutors enforcing federal law” are “seeking to convict Trump of 34 felonies, and jail him for a maximum of 136 years, on very little basis.” They’re using wordplay over the “definition for ‘unlawful means’ ” and other phrases and arguments critical to Bragg’s case. “It’s flimsy, unfair, and politically motivated. Now that the trial 𝓡is♋ reaching its climax — the verdict — its injustices are becoming more and more obvious.”
Campus watch: Jewish Students Stand Up
The “antisemitism that has entrenched itself in America’s universities will only collapse when enough Jews stop being afraid and stop unwillingly aiding it by hiding and self-censoring,” . “In the past 20 years, the ideologues of this new antisemitism continued to pour their fervor into demonizing Israel.” Yet amid the current furor “over America’s campuses, it was easy to miss the letter that 500 of Columbia University’s Jews penned and signed to present their position in their own voice” — which could prove “the turning point in the struggle for American Jewry’s future.” It’s critical for students at other campuses, too, to join Columbia’s Jews. Doing so means “they stand a chance to do more than stand up for theiꦿr own truths.”
Energy beat: The ‘Transition’ That Won’t Happen
“It’s an iron law of our universe” that innovation “is followed by an epic increase in energy consumption,” . Between electric cars, “repatriating manufacturing,” a surge in demand for AI chips and more, “today’s forecasts see near-term grꦆowth in demand for electric power three times as great as in recent years,” with data centers “flagged as the primary culprit for this exploding power demand.” “It is inconvenient, to put it mildly, to see demand for electricity — especially reliable, 24-7 supply — take off at the same time as regulators are forcing utilities to shut down conventional power plants.” In fact, “the world will need all forms of energy production imaginable,” yet an “ ‘energy transition’ would only restrict energy supplies.” That’s just “not going to happen.”
Election 2024: Biden’s ‘Negative Coattails’
Polling shows President Biden “underperforming his party by a large margin in November,” to wonder what is the opposite of “presidential coattails.” In swing states Biden won in 2020, Senate polling shows “the Democratic candidate is outperforming the top of the ticket by a significant margin.” On average, “Biden underperforms his Senate Democratic counterpart by 9 points.” Biden trails Trump by one point nationwide, while House “Democrats have a slight edge” iꦗn the generic polling. “The Democratic vote is holding up remarkably well in the Senate seats at stake,” suggesting “Biden’s coattails are negative, [while] Mr. Trump’s are nonexistent.” Bottom line: Biden’s so unpopular, “voters are saying they will vote for his opponent while choosing a Democratic Senate or House candidate.”
Education desk: How COVID Aid Backfired
“Public schools are a [financial] mess heading into next school year” — not “for a lack of dollars” but because Biden’s COVID-19 windfall for public schools is backfiring,” . “During the pandemic, Congress doled out $190 billion in K-12 relief aid, which created a fiscal cliff and helped fuel inflation that’s now eating into school districts’ budgets.” Of that, $122 billion came on Biden’s watch via the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which school unions pushed for even as economists warned ARPA would fuel inflation. “ARPA’s legacy will be the financial instability” left for schools. In the long run, they “would have been better off without Biden’s $122 billion gift to the teacher’s unions.”
— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board