The cancel mobs had better sharpen their pitchforks.A new film treats our Founding Fathers as flawed but ultimately good, even great, men and celebrates America as a place where anyone, “even orphan immigrants,” can make it. Oh, and actors play characters of races other than their own.I’m referring, of course, to Broadway genius Lin-Manuel Miranda’s megahit, “Hamilton,” which .Ever since its first performance in 2015, the show has been a sold-out success. Audiences loved it. President Barack and Michelle Obama saw it several times and raved about it. But could the original show expect to...…The cancel mobs had better sharpen their pitchforks.A new film treats our Founding Fathers as flawed but ultimately good, even great, men and celebrates America as a place where anyone, “even orphan immigrants,” can make it. Oh, and actors play characters of races other than their own.I’m referring, of course, to Broadway genius Lin-Manuel Miranda’s megahit, “Hamilton,” which .Ever since its first performance in 2015, the show has been a sold-out success. Audiences loved it. President Barack and Michelle Obama saw it several times and raved about it. But could the original show expect to...WW…

Remember COVID-19? Owners of small businesses that have yet to open but are in danger of sure do.As Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo take turns making vague comments about the continued destruction, many small-business owners caught in limbo are asking: Why are crowds OK for protest but not anything else? Our fearful leaders have no answer.New York City is still a full five days away from entering Phase 1. This will open up only some industries, like construction and manufacturing and retail on a pickup basis only.Many business owners are wondering if they’ll have a business left...…Remember COVID-19? Owners of small businesses that have yet to open but are in danger of sure do.As Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo take turns making vague comments about the continued destruction, many small-business owners caught in limbo are asking: Why are crowds OK for protest but not anything else? Our fearful leaders have no answer.New York City is still a full five days away from entering Phase 1. This will open up only some industries, like construction and manufacturing and retail on a pickup basis only.Many business owners are wondering if they’ll have a business left...WW…

A moral panic is sweeping the nation. How we react to the pitchfork hordes will determine the fate of our country for a generation or longer.We call what the hordes do to our fellow citizens “,” but the term is far too cute to capture the cruel, mindless and life-destroying process taking place all around us in the name of “fighting racism.”The tendency has been with us for some time, but the current, ­extra-crazed moment has accelerated its malignant energies: Locked in for months due to COVID-19, we re-emerged into a society more enraged and at war with itself than ever...…A moral panic is sweeping the nation. How we react to the pitchfork hordes will determine the fate of our country for a generation or longer.We call what the hordes do to our fellow citizens “,” but the term is far too cute to capture the cruel, mindless and life-destroying process taking place all around us in the name of “fighting racism.”The tendency has been with us for some time, but the current, ­extra-crazed moment has accelerated its malignant energies: Locked in for months due to COVID-19, we re-emerged into a society more enraged and at war with itself than ever...WW…

The killing of George Floyd rightly horrified Americans. The ­ united us around police accountability. But no sooner had people lined up to agree with the premise that bad police officers should be punished, and racism within organizations rooted out, than the movement put forth a demand to defund the police.It’s utterly bonkers.Anyone who imagines “” doesn’t actually mean defund the police should watch the viral video featuring Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey by protest leaders. Frey had been at all the protests, had sobbed at Floyd’s coffin, held every correct progressive opinion — until...…The killing of George Floyd rightly horrified Americans. The ­ united us around police accountability. But no sooner had people lined up to agree with the premise that bad police officers should be punished, and racism within organizations rooted out, than the movement put forth a demand to defund the police.It’s utterly bonkers.Anyone who imagines “” doesn’t actually mean defund the police should watch the viral video featuring Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey by protest leaders. Frey had been at all the protests, had sobbed at Floyd’s coffin, held every correct progressive opinion — until...WW…

In 2013, Mayor Bill de Blasio rode to Gracie Mansion with the theme of “A Tale of Two Cities,” decrying New York City’s class divide, ­between rich and poor, haves and have-nots. Seven years later, with his threat to “pull” New Yorkers “right out” of the water , Hizzoner has made clear which side of that divide he sits on.I grew up in Brooklyn but didn’t know there was a Prospect Park ­until I was a teen. You can draw a straight line through Brooklyn with the park as your divider. It’s a different world beyond the park, and that world was mine. Growing up in Flatbush and then Bensonhurst,...…In 2013, Mayor Bill de Blasio rode to Gracie Mansion with the theme of “A Tale of Two Cities,” decrying New York City’s class divide, ­between rich and poor, haves and have-nots. Seven years later, with his threat to “pull” New Yorkers “right out” of the water , Hizzoner has made clear which side of that divide he sits on.I grew up in Brooklyn but didn’t know there was a Prospect Park ­until I was a teen. You can draw a straight line through Brooklyn with the park as your divider. It’s a different world beyond the park, and that world was mine. Growing up in Flatbush and then Bensonhurst,...WW…

Sign up for our  to get a daily update on the coronavirus pandemic.With his announcement Thursday that , it became clear that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has lost control of the crisis — which he hitherto had such command over.The problem, in a nutshell, is that the blanket policy divides businesses into “essential” and “nonessential.” The better frame is to divide businesses that can operate safely and those that can’t.Cuomo’s totalizing approach, moreover, fails to distinguish between Manhattan (population: 1.6 mill­ion) and Morehouse, NY (population: 77).Cuomo had been a calming force,...…Sign up for our  to get a daily update on the coronavirus pandemic.With his announcement Thursday that , it became clear that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has lost control of the crisis — which he hitherto had such command over.The problem, in a nutshell, is that the blanket policy divides businesses into “essential” and “nonessential.” The better frame is to divide businesses that can operate safely and those that can’t.Cuomo’s totalizing approach, moreover, fails to distinguish between Manhattan (population: 1.6 mill­ion) and Morehouse, NY (population: 77).Cuomo had been a calming force,...WW…

Closen old saying goes: “If you want to be someone, go to California. If you are someone, go to New York. If you were someone, go to Florida.”But in 2020, Florida Man, Woman, and Child exacted revenge. Now, if you want to be someone, go to Florida. If you are someone, go to Florida. If you were someone, just stay in Florida.Florida is the future people increasingly want.It’s hard to tell the story of Florida’s ascent without the corresponding account of the COVID-19 global pandemic, though the category of “what Florida is doing right” is about far more than COVID. The Sunshine State enjoys...…Closen old saying goes: “If you want to be someone, go to California. If you are someone, go to New York. If you were someone, go to Florida.”But in 2020, Florida Man, Woman, and Child exacted revenge. Now, if you want to be someone, go to Florida. If you are someone, go to Florida. If you were someone, just stay in Florida.Florida is the future people increasingly want.It’s hard to tell the story of Florida’s ascent without the corresponding account of the COVID-19 global pandemic, though the category of “what Florida is doing right” is about far more than COVID. The Sunshine State enjoys...WW…

he sharp contrast between how Europe is handling schools in the era of COVID-19 and how America is handling them is dispiriting. In Europe, the children are a priority. In the United States, they’re an afterthought. And it puts the lie to the false piety of American governors and mayors as they kept schools shut while claiming to be “following the science.”Data from Europe show the U.S. to be an outlier here — a status sure to increase parents’ frustration and productivity struggles further and cast into doubt the country's ability to get back to what it once considered normal.In early...…he sharp contrast between how Europe is handling schools in the era of COVID-19 and how America is handling them is dispiriting. In Europe, the children are a priority. In the United States, they’re an afterthought. And it puts the lie to the false piety of American governors and mayors as they kept schools shut while claiming to be “following the science.”Data from Europe show the U.S. to be an outlier here — a status sure to increase parents’ frustration and productivity struggles further and cast into doubt the country's ability to get back to what it once considered normal.In early...WW…

The end of the pandemic is nigh. Americans continue to get vaccinated at a rapid clip. Life will be moving on. Except, it seems, for children. For more than a year, they have suffered from irrational, unscientific and downright superstitious policies inflicted upon them by adults — and there is no end in sight.In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ­issued new guidance that suffices in schools, instead of the usual six. Yet in many localities where teachers unions wield power, schools still didn’t fully reopen. In New York City, schools have ­reopened on a (very) part-time...…The end of the pandemic is nigh. Americans continue to get vaccinated at a rapid clip. Life will be moving on. Except, it seems, for children. For more than a year, they have suffered from irrational, unscientific and downright superstitious policies inflicted upon them by adults — and there is no end in sight.In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ­issued new guidance that suffices in schools, instead of the usual six. Yet in many localities where teachers unions wield power, schools still didn’t fully reopen. In New York City, schools have ­reopened on a (very) part-time...WW…

There is a , whether Team Biden will admit it or not. Actually, that’s precisely the problem: Democrats won’t admit a lot of things when it comes to immigration. Last month, more than 170,000 would-be migrants crossed the border — the highest level in 15 years. This isn’t a coincidence. President Biden’s irresponsible rhetoric has led directly to this surge. For years, Democrats painted then-President Donald Trump as cruel to migrants. Biden’s campaign site promised he would “welcome immigrants in our communities” and “reassert America’s commitment to asylum-seekers and refugees.”...…There is a , whether Team Biden will admit it or not. Actually, that’s precisely the problem: Democrats won’t admit a lot of things when it comes to immigration. Last month, more than 170,000 would-be migrants crossed the border — the highest level in 15 years. This isn’t a coincidence. President Biden’s irresponsible rhetoric has led directly to this surge. For years, Democrats painted then-President Donald Trump as cruel to migrants. Biden’s campaign site promised he would “welcome immigrants in our communities” and “reassert America’s commitment to asylum-seekers and refugees.”...WW…