Blossom Dearie’s song, I’ll Take Manhattan, (Great rendition here by Ella Fitzgerald, needs to be brought up to date. With apologies to the late, great Blossom, today’s Manhattan is far from “an isle of joy,” especially if one has to ride the subway. Dante would have loved the NYC subway, giving it a circle of its own. Commissioned to re-write the song, my title would be You Take Manhattan. But Bragg still gets points among Democrats for trying. I’m sure he went home conviction night feeling good about himself. The latest Gotham gothic comes from a Manhattan courtroom where one of America’s latest heroes is being criminally tried for doing the right thing, preposterous and ill-motivated charges having been brought by the most political prosecutor in the lower-48. Informed TAS readers are familiar with how Daniel Penny stepped in and disabled a crazed subway rider who threatened to kill other passengers. “Somebody’s going to die today,” Jordan Neely explained to his terrified fellow riders. He then moved toward innocent strap-hangers in a threatening manner as if to suit the action to the word. Death or great bodily harm might have resulted had Penny not stepped in and done the honorable thing. For which gift to New York, this friend of civilization is placed in peril of prison by Alvin Bragg. Reasonable persons had every reason to expect that Penny acted reasonably, and a reasonable jury, after brief deliberation, would have brought back a verdict of not-guilty. Then trial judge Maxwell Wiley could have thanked the jurors for their service, dismissed Penny, and then sentenced Alvin Bragg to riding the NYC subway for eternity. But no. After three-plus days of deliberation we learned Friday that the jury could not come to a unanimous decision on the manslaughter charge, which was later dropped. But they’ll be back Monday to deal with the lesser charge of negligent homicide, Bragg’s fallback position. Manhattanites are not famous for sticking their necks out for others. Who there now will ever do so again after a brave ex-Marine was roundly punished for doing so? Regardless of the final result of the criminal trial, or the civil case brought against him, Penny’s life has been upended. If he ever gets untangled from New York courts, even if he’s not convicted and sent to prison, it might take most of his remaining life to pay his legal bills. And I’m sure he’ll be nimble enough to spend that life somewhere other than in the Big Apple. Let’s not leave the subject without highlighting the obvious racial elements in this case. It’s Daniel Penny’s ill-luck that he’s white and the dearly departed was black. Reverse the races and the story is totally different. If a brave, black ex-marine stepped in and disabled a crazed, and aggressive white subway rider threatening to attack innocent bystanders, even if it led to the attacker’s death, he would be hailed a hero. No criminal charges would be brought or even considered. New York Mayor Eric Adams would give him the key to the city. He would no longer have to pay for his drinks in New York City bars. He would do guest appearance on the late night TV shoes. Bragg’s World Today’s Manhattan is Alvin Bragg’s world. The people of Manhattan just live in it. And they live under insane rules of engagement. Bragg is a repeat offender in the outrageous charges department. It was his lurid imagination that cooked up the fanciful charges that led to Donald Trump being convicted on 34 felony counts. The charges were incomprehensible. Serious legal scholars had no idea what Trump was being charged with. But no matter. Bragg was confident that jurors in Manhattan — the world-wide headquarters of Trump Derangement Syndrome — would find Donald Trump guilty of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby. And they did what was expected of them. Bragg’s purpose in bringing these antic charges was to burnish his own bona-fides among Democrat circles by attempting to throw a spanner in the spokes of Trump’s presidential ambitions. It didn’t keep the Donald out of 1600. But Bragg still gets points among Democrats for trying. I’m sure he went home conviction night feeling good about himself and his prospects. And he doesn’t go home via the subway. So he has the luxury of not having to worry about the Jordan Neely’s of this world. Nor does he have to rely on the Daniel Penny’s of the world to step in and save his fat ass. In the state it’s in, if Eric Adams gave me the key to the city, I’d have all the locks changed. READ MORE from Larry Thornberry: Entrepreneurship Survives Vicious Milton RIP Pete Rose — Few Played the Game Even Remotely Like Him The post The Alvin Bragg Horror Show in Manhattan Continues appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.