by Bob Barr | Feb 7, 2022 | Daily Caller Article |
Daily CallerPresident Joe Biden left the safe confines of the Oval Office last week to visit New York City, which is suffering under a massive rise in major crimes — two young police officers were murdered there just days before.Rather than use the visit to highlight real, workable solutions to rising crime rates in New York and other major American cities, the president spent the day calling for – no surprise here, folks – more gun control.While in the Big Apple, Biden called for more taxpayer dollars and new bureaucracies to curb the one factor he apparently considers to be at the root of rising violent crime rates everywhere – too many guns. He asked the Congress to pass legislation establishing, among other liberal shibboleths, “universal background checks” and a ban on “assault weapons and high capacity magazines.”Not once in his remarks did the president ask New York to do the one thing that has proven in the past to curb gun crimes – aggressive use of existing federal laws.For example, were Biden interested in true, bipartisan solutions rather than simply playing to the liberal gun-control wing of his party, he could have announced a reaffirmation of “Project Exile,” a program first implemented in 1997 by a Republican Virginia Governor, George Allen, and the U.S. Department of Justice under a Democratic President, Bill Clinton.Project Exile, which actually remains in operation in a limited number of cities even today, began as a highly-publicized initiative in early 1997 in Richmond, Virginia, which was experiencing a significant surge in firearms crimes. In response, federal and state prosecutors announced that serious firearms offenses...
by Bob Barr | Feb 2, 2022 | Townhall Article |
Townhall“Advantage Putin. No, advantage Biden. Clearly a stalemate.” The debate goes on and on in Washington, Moscow, Berlin, and elsewhere, in anticipation of an armed conflict between the former Soviet vassal state of Ukraine and its erstwhile mother state of Russia.The “fog of war” is becoming denser with each passing day, even though no shot has yet been fired. Assuredly, many people will die if there is in fact a war between Russia and Ukraine, although this “human factor” figures little in public policy debates. Of far greater interest to world leaders are the economic and geopolitical consequences of a potential war.Ukraine occupies a position of some geographic and economic importance to Russia and to Europe (especially Germany). And, while not a member of NATO, Ukraine is a friend and ally to the organization and to its most important member – the United States. Considering the stakes involved, it would be reasonable to presume that President Biden would be doing everything possible to avoid an armed conflict. However, aside from Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s sincere and well-intentioned efforts to keep matters in that region on a diplomatic track, others in the Administration and on Capitol Hill, including Biden himself, appear hell-bent to push the situation towards a military resolution. In recent days, Biden has pressed the issue directly in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart. Biden also has ordered U.S. troops in the region placed on high alert, and accelerated shipments of American military materiel to Ukraine. What precisely is the vital national security interest that would justify direct or even heavy indirect U.S. military involvement in Ukraine, has never been clearly...
by Bob Barr | Feb 1, 2022 | Daily Caller Article |
Daily CallerAny American driver who might occasionally like to put “pedal to the metal” on one of our nation’s many roadways had better take notice of provisions in the “infrastructure” bill signed into law recently by President Joe Biden.In particular, freedom-loving motorists had best be aware of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s just unveiled Master Plan to pursue a target of “zero deaths” on America’s roadways. A key component of his plan is to blanket those roadways with speed cameras – technology controlled by government supposed to achieve a lofty, though unattainable goal.The plan is, of course, based on the false premise that the Constitution provides the authority for the federal government to embark on a massive spending and control spree to eradicate all driving-related deaths on roadways across the nation, but who is going to nitpick constitutional principles when it comes to “saving lives?” Certainly not Buttigieg, or apparently anyone else in the Biden administration.Another speed bump standing in Buttigieg’s way is that several states already outlaw speed cameras, and for good reason. In addition to their questionable safety benefits (some studies suggest they make roadways more rather than less dangerous), control and enforcement of such networks is often outsourced to non-government entities — companies that profit from each ticket sent out. These private companies do not have to worry directly about pesky due process, privacy and other constitutional rights that might stand in the way.As for achieving traffic death “equity,” while Buttigieg argues speed cameras remove “racial profiling” from policing, he ignores studies that show speed cameras disproportionately hurt poor and minority citizens – a fact even Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot...
