The Way It Iz

There is always one question that hits at the heart of any story about Batman: Why does he need to exist? Why does a city as large as Gotham – a major metropolis presumably with a functioning government and police force – require a vigilante to prevent crime? It’s not like other superheroes who have superpowers, and combat villains with abilities beyond the abilities of local law enforcement. Most of Batman’s nemeses do not have superpowers; and those who do, like Mr. Freeze, can theoretically have their powers neutralized by local law enforcement. Most of Gotham’s “supervillains” are just glorified mob bosses. Batman himself does not even have any superpowers, making his stories more relatable than other comic book heroes.

We are now finally past the election, so...hurray! or boo! depending on who won and whom you wanted to win. It’s time now to go back to our regularly scheduled lives. Today, I have the unfortunate duty to inform you of the death of one of New York’s most beloved fixtures: Vision Zero. Let me clarify that. Vision Zero, the program, is not dead. However, the façade that New York City is interested in reducing preventable fatal car crashes in the guise of Vision Zero is dead.

All praise the mighty and benevolent governor of New York: Her Majesty, the Honorable Kathy Hochul! If there is one elected official who knows and understands the current fiscal plight of the constituents he or she represents, it is Hochul. Back in June, New York City was set to experience its first-ever congestion pricing toll plan. Vehicles entering lower Manhattan were set to pay a brand new $15 toll. However, the Governor put the kibosh on that plan.

If I had to pinpoint the moment in my life that set me on the political path that I am on now, it was the day I was looking for something to read when I was in 11^th grade and found my mother’s copy of Bernard Goldberg’s Bias. For those who have not read it, Goldberg was a reporter at CBS News, and this was his whistleblower memoir telling the world how news agencies, specifically CBS News, would curate what they put on the air to fit a particular political narrative, and if the story did not fit the narrative, it did not make it to air.

On March 31, 2021, New York State passed a law legalizing recreational use of cannabis for adults. Three-and-a-half years have since passed, so perhaps we should look at the effects of legalization on New Yorkers.

Sometimes, when I find myself doomscrolling through clips online, I come across a video of comedian and renowned atheist Ricky Gervais making his argument for science and against religion. He states, “If we take something like any fiction, any holy book, and any other fiction and destroyed it, in a thousand years’ time, that wouldn’t come back just as it was. Whereas if we took every science book and every fact and destroyed them all, in a thousand years they’d all be back, because all the same tests would be the same result.”