By Ray Cardello for August 7, 2023, Season 21 / Post 13

With each headline or chyron across your TV screen, we wait for the next item or service that some Democrat wants to eliminate or restrict. I can envision these folks driving or walking the city streets, and rather than come up with a plan to get the homeless off the sidewalks, they are salivating about their next item to target. Their mission has become so foolish you cannot believe how far they will go to control our lives.

This initiative is fueled by the radical extremists that push the buttons of the Democrat agenda. But the tone is set by the President, who has seemingly developed a Restriction of the Month Program. He, of course, started with our internal combustion cars. With no plan, Biden set an arbitrary deadline to have us abandon our favorite car or SUV for a battery-operated alternative. There has been no consideration for improvements to an already stressed power grid or the number of charging stations needed to keep Americans moving. Even the auto manufacturers are dragging their feet to get on board Biden’s green dream. Electric vehicles (EVs) have been expensive for manufacturers, and they currently lose money on every EV coming off the line. This idea was not appropriately planned and is certainly not being sold well to American drivers. That sounds about right for the Biden Administration.

After our cars, Biden aimed at our refrigerator, air conditioner, washing machine, dishwasher, gas stoves, and water heaters. Nothing we use to facilitate our days or make our lives easier is off-limits for Biden.

While Biden is attacking the big-ticket items in our homes and garages, he leaves the low-hanging fruit for State and Local Environmental Crusaders. By the most recent news stories, these low-level autocrats are getting into the flow and enjoying their power. It started slowly with simple straws. This may seem trivial, but in retrospect, this initiative may have been a trial balloon to test resistance and pushback. They must have been satisfied with the results as paper straws are nearly impossible to find in some fast food restaurants. So in New York, it was time to go bigger, and the first big item targeted was the wood-burning ovens that New York Pizza Shops are famous for. The fact that most of these pizza shops are family owned and the cost of a new oven might force them to close their doors was not their concern. The sweet-smelling smoke had to go in the name of Climate Change.

With pizza shops on their knees, it was time to go after the whipped cream and cherry. This weekend, far-left Brooklyn Councilman Lincoln Restler pushed new legislation requiring Mr. Softee and other Big Apple ice cream trucks to stop powering their soft-serve machines and freezers with fuel generators. Converting these trucks to solar and electric freezers will cost an estimated $5,000 per truck. This legislation will result in fewer trucks or higher prices for that ice cream sandwich to inner city kids. Excellent work, Councilman.

These seem like insignificant issues with all of the problems facing New York. But for people craving power, why go after challenging matters like crime, drugs, and illegal immigration when you can shut down a pizza shop or soft-serve ice cream truck? We will never see our big cities come back while we have politicians with such warped priorities.