Free Republic

The de Blasio administration is planning to eliminate one of two ice skating rinks run by the Trump Organization in the northern part of Central Park, despite strong public opposition. Over 4,000 people have signed a petition decrying a $150 million plan to refurbish Lasker Rink and Pool near W. 106th Street, saying that it will deprive local residents of much-needed recreation space. The renovation will reduce the size of the rink area, leaving room for just one rink for skaters, and also make a public swimming pool operated by the city’s Parks Department smaller. The Trump Organization’s 20-year concession...

Are we still permitted to question and debate the mask and lockdowns, or is the new inquisition muzzling us in more than a figurative way? Many – including physicians and health-care workers of all stripes – have been skeptical of the mask (as well as the curfews and ‘stay at home’ orders) and their prophylactic efficacy: What do these layers of fabric do to stop a virus that is so small it almost obeys the rules of the quantum world? People speak of ‘particularates’ and ‘expectoration’ with solemn and grave tones, as though viruses could vector no other way, when...