This is the picture (source here) of 46-year-old commander of Patrol Borough Manhattan North, Chief Aaron Edwards, chasing down the wannabe ISIS bombers who attempted to murder and mangle cops and others outside Gracie Mansion this past weekend. Obviously, he was not really wearing a Superman cape, but he definitely deserves one.
Thank you, sir.
On Saturday, The New York Post reported that two homemade explosive devices were tossed outside Gracie Mansion Saturday. There were two competing protests going on there at the time–one against the war in Iran and one supporting the Iranian regime.
The article reports:
Counter protester Emir Balat, 18, lit and threw the first device into the crosswalk of East 87th Street and East End Avenue, where it struck a barrier and later extinguished itself, police said.
The second person, who has been tentatively identified as 19-year-old Ibrahim Nikk, allegedly handed the device to Balat, authorities said.
Balat is alleged to have lit a second improvised explosive which he dropped on while running on East End Avenue between East 86th and East 87th Street.
…Mayor Mamdani’s Press Secretary, Joe Calvello, put out a statement late Saturday that said: “The ‘Crusade Against Islamification’ gathering held outside Gracie Mansion today by Jake Lang, a vile white supremacist, was despicable and Islamophobic.
“Thankfully, the Mayor and the First Lady are both safe, though the events are a stark reminder of the threats they both face regularly.
“The Mayor has spoken with Police Commissioner Tisch, and the NYPD is actively investigating the protest, counter-protest, and suspicious devices discovered outside Gracie Mansion.”
The NYPD, meanwhile, said the devices did not explode or detonate.
Video circulating on X showed the moment one device was thrown towards Lang.
Lang said he fled New York City for Long Island after the incident.
Wait a minute. Regardless of what you think of Lang, he does have the right to protest, and he was protesting in a non-violent manner. The people who threw the explosive devices were not protesting legally as soon as they threw the bombs. Notice that the Mayor is quick to condemn Lang–not mentioning who threw the devices.
On March 9th, The New York Post posted an article about the people who threw the explosive devices.
The article reports:
One of the accused terrorists busted for lobbing explosive devices near Gracie Mansion flashed a sick salute honoring ISIS as he was led in shackles from a police precinct Monday.
Emir Balat, 18, was seen holding up his right index finger — a universal salute for the terror group — and grinning at the press while being led by a cop and an FBI agent.
How many people have we allowed into America who believe it is justified to murder innocent civilians?
The Northeast has endured a blizzard that began Sunday night and went through Monday afternoon. Obviously, there was a lot of extra help needed to clear the snow, so Mayor Mamdani asked for people to apply for snow removal jobs. Seems logical.
On Saturday (updated Sunday), Fox News reported:
New York City on Saturday put out a call for emergency snow shovelers ahead of a powerful nor’easter bomb cyclone, requiring workers to submit multiple forms of identification — contrasting the city’s election policy for most voters.
For the first time in nearly a decade, a blizzard warning was issued for New York City, with expected snowfall totaling 19 to 24 inches and wind gusts up to 55 mph.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a State of Emergency for New York City, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced outreach teams have been mobilized.
…While pay is generous, starting at $19.14 per hour and increasing to $28.71 per hour after the first 40 hours worked in a week, workers must meet a number of requirements to be eligible.
Shovelers must be at least 18 years old, able to perform heavy physical labor and eligible to work in the U.S., according to the department.
They must also bring two small 1.5-inch square photos, two original forms of ID and copies, along with a Social Security card for registration, officials said.
The article concludes:
First-time voters are only required to bring one of three documents including: driver’s license number, non-driver ID number or the last four digits of a Social Security number.
Those who did not provide ID when registering to vote are also able to vote by affidavit ballot.
The snow will eventually melt. Stolen elections tend to linger for a long time.
On Friday, The Federalist posted an article about some of the changes Mayor Mamdani is making to New York City law.
The article reports:
At New York City’s Interfaith Breakfast last week, Mayor Zohran Mamdani did not merely criticize federal immigration enforcement — he reframed it as a religious and moral transgression. Invoking the Islamic doctrine of hijra, he urged New Yorkers to “stand alongside the stranger” in permanent, unqualified solidarity, elevating prophetic example above constitutional sovereignty.
“Islam [is] a religion built upon a narrative of migration,” Mamdani declared. “The story of the Hijra reminds us that Prophet Muhammad … was a stranger too, who fled Mecca and was welcomed in Medina.” He then universalized the narrative into a binding civic command: “The obligation is upon us all … to look out for the stranger.”
I have no problem looking out for the stranger who came to America legally and has committed any crimes.
The article notes:
In this framework, federal enforcement is not lawful authority but cruelty. Immigration officers become “masked agents, paid by our own tax dollars,” who “violate the Constitution and visit terror upon our neighbors.”
“If these are not attacks upon the stranger among us, what is?” Mamdani asked. “There is no reforming something so rotten and base.”
This is an inversion of moral authority.
Mass migration is framed as a moral and civilizational imperative, demanding compassion and openness, while serious pushback on enforcement is recast as intolerant, unjust, or even xenophobic. This framing mirrors elements of the Muslim Brotherhood’s doctrine of tamkeen (institutional entrenchment) outlined in strategic writings such as the 1991 Explanatory Memorandum and the 1982 Project, which describe a phased civilizational strategy built on population presence, parallel institutions, resistance to full assimilation, and long-term influence over policy, law, and public narrative.
The article concludes:
Mamdani’s speech illustrates that process in motion. The same pattern produced Europe’s parallel societies and no-go zones, where enforcement became politically untouchable. It is now visible in American cities, where sanctuary expansion renders borders symbolic and law selectively optional.
This is not compassion. It is the systematic replacement of citizenship with dependency, sovereignty with moral coercion, and a nation bound by law with tribes bound by grievance — abandoning the Naturalization Oath’s demand for “true faith and allegiance” to the Constitution.
Someone who supports Sharia Law cannot have an allegiance to the U.S. Constitution–the two legal codes conflict. There is also the issue of taqiyya which essentially says that is is permissible under Islam to lie to an infidel in order to advance the cause of Islam.
Wake up, America!
The mission of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) is to protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety. Many of the people who crossed the border during the Biden administration were gang members, people with criminal backgrounds, and people with ties to terrorist countries. Most Americans do not want these people as their neighbors. The article below is an example of the reason for ICE.
On Saturday, The New York Post reported:
An alleged crack-smoking, sexual-predator migrant wanted by ICE was allowed to flee through a back door of a Manhattan courthouse — infuriating federal agents, The Post has learned.
Gerardo Miguel Mora, 45, was arrested Thursday for shoplifting and possession of stolen property after allegedly snatching $130 in items from an H&M display case in Midtown that day, court records show.
Mora, whose country of origin was not disclosed, was collared on the Upper West Side on Jan. 7 for possession of alleged crack cocaine, according to a criminal complaint. That case is pending in court.
In 2011, Mora was busted for attempted rape and strangulation after he allegedly followed a 21-year-old woman home in Midtown, choked her and tried to remove her clothes, police sources said.
He was stopped by a bystander who heard the woman’s cries and came to her aid, holding Mora down until cops arrived, the sources said.
He was presumably deported after that, and was off the radar for 12 years. But in 2023 he was back in the US and arrested for showing a false ID.
Federal authorities had been looking for Mora on a criminal arrest warrant under a section of the US code that concerns “reentry of removed aliens,” law enforcement sources said.
But on Thursday in a court hearing on desk appearance tickets, the judge let Mora waltz out of the courtroom, sources said.
The shoplifting charge itself was not bail eligible, but Judge Sheridan Jack-Browne, a Democrat who won a special election last year in Brooklyn, would have had the federal arrest warrant, two sources told The Post.
The warrant is actually put in a folder for the judge to peruse on the bench.
“Everything was sent over” to the courthouse by ICE, a federal law enforcement source said.
But instead of handing him over to waiting ICE agents, Mora was allowed to simply slip out the back door of Manhattan Criminal Court, law enforcement sources said.
“They refused to hand him over,” the irate fed said. “They let him out the back to avoid ICE.”
ICE agents realized Mora had been released, and chased him down outside, a source said.
Mora’s now in federal custody. The Department of Justice could prosecute Mora, deport him or both.
It’s a pretty safe bet that this criminal is not going to show up in the judge’s well-guarded neighborhood or living quarters, so it’s no skin off her back to let him loose. Where is the regard for the safety of her fellow New York City residents. If he attempts to rape someone, is she responsible?
Elections have consequences. Unfortunately, not all of those consequences are good. New York City is experiencing some of the consequences of electing a Mayor with little business experience or understanding of economics.
On Monday, The Epoch Times reported:
President Donald Trump said on Jan. 19 that building a New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Dallas would be detrimental to New York and pose a big test for newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the NYSE, announced in February 2025 that it would launch NYSE Texas, a fully electronic equities exchange based in Dallas, pending regulatory filings. As part of the move, NYSE Chicago was reincorporated in Texas and renamed as NYSE Texas, allowing companies to list their securities on NYSE Texas.
NYSE Texas began operations in March 2025, and Trump Media & Technology Group was the first company to list on the Dallas-based exchange and hold a dual listing, according to a company statement.
“Building a ‘New York Stock Exchange’ in Dallas is an unbelievably bad thing for New York,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “I can’t believe they would let this happen.”
What would be the economic impact on New York City if the stock exchange moved to Dallas? I have no idea, but it wouldn’t be good. How much money flows into the city from people who work for the stock exchange through property rentals, lunches, etc.?
The article notes:
NYSE Group President Lynn Martin said in February 2025 that Texas hosts the most NYSE-listed companies, representing more than $3.7 trillion of market value. The exchange views Texas as “a market leader in fostering a pro-business atmosphere,” Martin said.
“We are delighted to expand our presence in the Lone Star State, which plays a key role in driving our U.S. economy forward,” Martin said in a statement at the time.
The article concludes:
The establishment of NYSE Texas coincided with the rise of another major exchange in the state.
TXSE Group said in January 2025 that it had filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to register the Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE) as a national securities exchange. The company has raised $161 million in an initial funding round and plans to begin trading early this year.
Businesses move to places that have policies that are favorable to doing business. Under Mayor Mandani, New York City may no longer fit that description.
On Friday, The Center Square reported the following:
New York City lost nearly 5,000 businesses early last year as employers closed their doors or left for other low-tax states, according to a new report.
The analysis comes as newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani pushes to hike business taxes to foot the bill for his agenda.
The report, released Thursday by the Economic Development Corporation, showed more than 3,500 new businesses opened their doors in New York City during the second quarter of the fiscal year but that was offset by a loss of about 8,400 employers. That’s the weakest quarter for business formation since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report’s authors said.
The corporation’s report is the latest to highlight New York City’s shrinking business sector with employers looking to other low-tax states as Albany piles on new regulations and costs.
It also comes as Mamdani seeks to draw up support for higher taxes to pay for plans for universal childcare, tuition free college and free bus service in the city.
Mamdani’s plans call for increasing the state’s top corporate tax rate by about half, up to 11.5% from its current maximum of 7.25%, which has caused concerns among New York City’s business community. If approved, that would match the highest corporate rate in the nation next door in New Jersey. He’s also called for “wealth” tax and a $30 per hour minimum wage for the city.
His ideas will seriously damage the City’s economy.
The article concludes:
In 2023, New York’s effective state business tax rate was 5.9%, making it the ninth-highest in the nation, the report’s authors noted. The state also ranks poorly for individual income, sales, property and unemployment insurance taxes. It has the fourth highest percentage of housing-burdened households in the country, with 38.6% of households spending more than 30% of their income on housing.
Those factors have contributed to outmigration, with New York losing more domestic taxpayers than any other state from 2020 to 2022, according to the report, as residents fled to New Jersey, Florida, and other low-tax states.
The independent businessman is the backbone of the American economy. People who are self-employed don’t work a 40-hour week. People who are self-employed and successful work an 80-hour week. Logically, why would you stay in a state that takes a large percentage of what you work so hard for when you can move to a state with less regulation and lower taxes? That is what has happened in the past, and if Mayor Mamdani implements his policies, we will see more businesses leave New York City.
This is an excerpt from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s speech after being sworn into office (source here):
Many of these people have been betrayed by the established order. But in our administration, their needs will be met. Their hopes and dreams and interests will be reflected transparently in government. They will shape our future.
And if for too long these communities have existed as distinct from one another, we will draw this city closer together. We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism. If our campaign demonstrated that the people of New York yearn for solidarity, then let this government foster it. Because no matter what you eat, how you pray, or where you come from — the words that most define us are the two we all share: New Yorkers.
Rugged individualism is what built America. Rugged individualism is what settled and civilized the west. Collectivism almost destroyed America’s original settlers at Jamestown and Plymouth. The original charters of both settlements required collectivism. In both cases, the colonists nearly starved to death. Collectivism does not work as long as human nature exists. In Massachusetts in 1623, a decision was made to do a second planting to avoid starvation. Part of that decision was to parcel out individual lots for the planting. Before this all crops had been communal and the produce given to each according to his needs rather than according to his effort. When the individual parcels were given out, much more corn was planted, and the free market took over. The free market prevented the starvation of the Pilgrims.
In 1905 George Santayana stated, “Those who do not learn from the experience of history are doomed to repeat it.”
Recently I posted an article about the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) passed by the New York City Council (article here). Mayor Adam’s vetoed the bill on New Year’s Eve. It will be interesting to see if the bill is reintroduced, because Mayor Mamdani will sign it. The bill interferes with property owners’ ability to sell their property.
I wish New York City well, but I am seriously concerned about the future of the city.
One responsibility of government is to keep the people safe. I guess New York City didn’t read that part of the assignment.
On Tuesday, The Gateway Pundit reported the following:
New York’s radical sanctuary policies have reached a catastrophic breaking point.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons has issued an explosive letter to New York Attorney General Letitia James, demanding immediate action after state and local officials quietly released nearly 7,000 criminal illegal aliens, including rapists, killers, gang members, and repeat violent offenders, without honoring ICE detainers and without a single notification to federal authorities.
Since January 20, New York has released 6,947 criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets. These offenders are tied to:
Worse, another 7,113 criminal aliens remain in New York custody today, all with active ICE detainers that state officials continue to ignore.
These detainees include:
This is a full-scale public safety disaster engineered by far-left officials who are deliberately defying federal law.
What in the world are they trying to accomplish? Well, it’s time to examine the details of a color revolution. On Monday, Doug Ross posted The Color Revolution Playbook. It’s a long article, but if you care about America, it is worth reading.
In recent articles, I have mentioned the concept of a color revolution. A color revolution generally includes protest-driven political upheaval aimed at replacing the current government. Many of these revolutions are actually named after a color that is used as the name and symbol of the revolution (for example, the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, the 2005 Cedar Revolution in Lebanon). Generally speaking, the results of these revolutions were not positive in the long run. A lot of recent events in America are following the sequence of a color revolution.
On Saturday, The Daily Caller posted an article about a recent protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) agents in New York City.
The article reports:
Rioters in New York City attempted to block U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from leaving a parking garage Saturday, leading to at least 18 arrests.
As many as 200 people gathered outside, piling garbage and blocking the entrance to the garage with their bodies, The New York Times reported. New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch blamed ICE for the clash with the protesters, claiming the shows of force by federal agents placed police officers, citizens and the agents at risk, according to the New York Post.
The media has worked very hard to demonize ICE and the people who support their work. They have also demonized the police and the National Guard who are helping ICE and helping maintain order in some of our larger cities. One result of this is the recent murder of a young National Guardsman. Another result is the people protesting ICE. When did individual Americans have the right to decide which laws of our country should be enforced and which laws should be ignored? The real meaning of ‘illegal’ is ‘illegal.’
Now is the time to be aware of everything that is going on around you and not to participate in anything that undermines law enforcement in America. We all need to be part of the solution–not part of the problem.
I have always enjoyed visiting New York City. I went to school there. My husband worked in a recording studio there when I met him. One of my daughters went to school there and lived there for a few years afterward. I loved visiting her–we walked everywhere and shopped till we dropped. I suspect that a lot of the things I loved about the city are about to change.
The New York Times has the full transcript of Mayor Mamdani’s speech. It includes:
Together, New York, we’re going to freeze the… [rent!] Together, New York, we’re going to make buses fast and… [free!] Together, New York, we’re going to deliver universal… [child care!]
If he can get these changes through the city council, these actions will have consequences. One of the consequences of his election is already occurring.
On November 3rd, The New York Post reported:
As Wall Street faces the prospect of left-wing firebrand Zohran Mamdani becoming the city’s next mayor, a fast-growing business hub down south is beckoning.
Dallas — whose grab bag of major business moguls has included Ross Perot, Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones — has more recently become a major draw for big financial firms that were born and raised in the Big Apple.
Goldman Sachs is building an 800,000-square-foot, $500 million campus in Dallas. It’s set to open in 2028 and consolidate over 5,000 employees. Last year, the mega bank hired Robert Kaplan, the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, as its vice chairman.
On November 5th, The University of Texas at Arlington reported:
A new financial powerhouse could soon emerge in the heart of Texas. The Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE), based in Dallas, has received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to operate as a national exchange—positioning it to compete with the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. Backed by more than $160 million from major investment firms like BlackRock and Citadel Securities, TXSE plans to begin listing stocks by late 2026.
To explain what this means for businesses, investors and the Texas economy, The University of Texas at Arlington’s Sriram Villupuram, associate professor of finance, shares his insight. Villupuram, whose research focuses on corporate finance and capital markets, discusses how TXSE could reshape the financial landscape and the challenges it may face.
What exactly is the Texas Stock Exchange, and how does it differ from the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq?
Villupuram: The Texas Stock Exchange is a national securities exchange like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq, and will compete with those exchanges. Both the NYSE and the Nasdaq have stringent listing requirements for prospective companies to list on their exchanges. In contrast, the Texas Stock Exchange is expected to facilitate the listing of relatively smaller companies.
Please follow the links to read the above two articles. I think the New York City residents who voted for Mamdani are in for a rude awakening.
On Tuesday, The Gateway Pundit posted an article about a potential telecom threat in New York City while President Trump was there.
The article reports:
The US Secret Service announced Tuesday they had disrupted an illicit telecom threat near the United Nations.
The illicit network could have blacked out cell service, shut down cell towers, and jammed 911 calls in New York City and the surrounding area.
According to FOX News the seizure is the largest of its kind.
The investigation has been ongoing for months by the Secret Service made the announcement this morning before President Trump is scheduled to speak at UN headquarters in New York City.
I don’t know what was planned for this threat, but I am glad it was never carried out. Jamming 911 calls in a city the size of New York City could create horrible confusion and possible deaths.
The article notes:
The US Secret Service released this video on Tuesday morning.
Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office Matt McCool announced that the Secret Service has uncovered and dismantled a large network of fraudulent cellular devices in the New York Tri-State area capable of enabling encrypted communications and threatening local infrastructure.
The article contains Agent McCool’s statement. Below is the conclusion of that statement:
Given the timing, location, and proximity and potential for significant disruptions to the New York telecom system, we move quickly to disrupt this network. To be clear, these recovered devices no longer pose a threat to the New York Tri-state area.
We will continue working identifying those responsible in their intent, including whether their plan was to disrupt the UN General Assembly and communications of government and emergency personnel during the official visit of world leaders in and around New York City.
Forensic examinations of the equivalent of 100,000 cell phones worth of data is underway. Early analysis indicates cellular communications between foreign actors and individuals that are known to federal law enforcement. Given the sensitivity and complexity of this investigation, we are not able to go into specifics at this time. This is an open and active investigation, and we have no arrest to announce today. Rather, this announcement is designed to safeguard critical infrastructure and responsibly provide the public what we can at this time.
A disaster was avoided due to the great work of the Secret Service.
The mayoral election in New York City will be held on November 4th. If things continue as they are, Zohran Mamdani will be the next Mayor of New York City. I hope New York City residents look at where his campaign money is coming from before they vote.
On Saturday, The New York Post reported:
Deep-pocketed, out-of-state donors account for 78% of the nearly $2.4 million raised by a super PAC backing Zohran Mamdani’s NYC mayoral campaign.
Lefties outside the Empire State wrote fat checks totaling $1,831,706 to the group, New Yorkers for Lower Costs, as of Friday, records showed.
The sum included $762,631 from 26 California donors, with most of it coming from just two people.
“Mamdani’s campaign isn’t about New York City — it’s about fueling a national socialist movement bankrolled by donors in California and beyond … with Hollywood and out-of-state activists trying to dictate the future of our city,” said Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign spokesman Todd Shapiro.
The article includes the following chart:
Why is so much out-of-state money coming into his campaign?
The article notes:
In comparison, a superPAC supporting ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral bid called “Fix The City” has pulled in more than $20 million – or 74% — of its $27.1 million in donations from New Yorkers.
The “Empower NYC” superPAC supporting Mayor Adams’ re-election bid has seen $1,347,600 – or 92% — of its $1,462,600 donations come from the Big Apple.
Money doesn’t buy elections, but it plays a role. If money bought elections, Hillary Clinton would have been President. I am hoping that the difference in contributions from residents of New York predicts voting totals. However, the contribution numbers show that New Yorkers are split, which may give Mamdani a victory.
Back in the age of dinosaurs (the 1960’s), I spend two years in school in New York City. I rode the subways, took buses, wandered around Penn Station and Grand Central Station. I felt relatively safe. I ate affordable lunches at the Automat and the various restaurants in and around Grand Central Station. Under John Lindsay, the city was relatively safe. I would not feel safe enough to do any of that now.
On Tuesday, Michael Goodwin at The New York Post posted an article about the upcoming election for Mayor of New York City and one of its former Mayors.
The article reports:
Whew, better late than never!
That was my first reaction to the news that President Trump intends to give Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The announcement followed the serious weekend car crash in New Hampshire that sent the 81-year-old Giuliani to the hospital.
Thankfully, his injuries, said to include a broken vertebrae, are not life-threatening and he has been released from the hospital.
A likely result is Trump’s presentation will focus almost exclusively on Giuliani’s greatest achievement: His stellar tenure as New York’s mayor.
Although he later served as Trump’s pugnacious lawyer during the disputed aftermath of the 2020 election, it was during Giuliani’s two terms as Gotham’s fearless leader that he proved he is fully worthy of America’s highest civilian honor.
The article notes the current condition of New York City:
Giuliani was succeeded by Michael Bloomberg, a fellow Republican whom Rudy endorsed, and their combined five terms over two decades ushered in a new Golden Age in Gotham.
The city was never better, a fact that has made the subsequent years of decline a bitter pill for many and a lesson in the power of leadership, and why elections matter.
Unfortunately, the city is once again consumed with doubts as a mayoral campaign offers little hope.
Indeed, the current crisis is driven home by the fact that Bill de Blasio, who succeeded Bloomberg, took the city backward for the better part of eight years.
And now de Blasio, known as Mayor Putz in my book, is endorsing socialist Zohran Mamdani, and claiming Mamdani has “the right ideas.”
In fact, Mamdani, an anti-cop socialist and an antisemite, has all the wrong ideas for New York.
His election would take the city in the wrong direction, to a version of the bad old days that Giuliani and Bloomberg overcame.
The article includes some well-deserved praise for both Rudy Giuliani and President Trump:
Ah, but that’s not to say that the Rudy model has vanished.
In fact, a certain president was a close witness to Giuliani’s operatic performance and the changes he brought about in his hometown.
Although Trump was never accused of being a shrinking violet in the business world, I’ve long believed that he was largely inspired by Rudy’s take-no-prisoners approach to politics, and realized it was a viable path for him to follow as he, too, crashed the political establishment.
Trump, of course, personalized that approach to twice capture the White House, surpassing Rudy and his own dreams of sitting in the Oval Office.
Even now, the similarities between the two men remain striking.
In both of his terms, Trump has been, like Rudy, a perpetual motion machine who rarely sleeps and is always ready for the next fight.
He, too, has an endless stream of big ideas in the works, waiting their turn in the limelight.
Both are New Yorkers to the core, and were born to lead.
Fortunately for the rest of us, they chose public service.
I hope New York City voters realize the danger they are in if they elect Zohran Mamdani.
On Saturday, Legal Insurrection posted an article about the recent Democrat primary election in New York City. New York City at various times has been a wonderful city to visit. I went to school there back in the age of dinosaurs, and I really enjoyed the art, the museums, the concerts, and the great places to eat. It was a wonderful place in the 1960’s and the late 1990’s. Right now the city is headed in a really scary direction.
New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani has won the Democrat primary in the Mayor’s race. He is a socialist calling for a global intifada.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines intifada as follows:
A protracted grassroots campaign of protest and sometimes violent resistance against perceived oppression or military occupation, especially either of two uprisings among Palestinian Arabs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, the first beginning in 1987 and the second in 2000, in protest against Israeli occupation of these territories.
Is that really what New Yorkers want?
The election was held using ranked-choice voting, which may be part of the problem.
The article notes that former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has decided to stay in the race. Eric Adams has also decided to stay in the race. Obviously, both of these men staying in the race will split the opposition against Zohran Mamdani. Curtis Sliwa is running for Mayor on the Republican ticket, but New York City has not had a Republican Mayor since Rudy Giuliani was elected in 1994.
The article at Legal Insurrection concludes:
While it’s hard to predict with any degree of certainty how this ultimately will play out, the first post-mayoral primary poll is out and shows Cuomo and Mamdani both with equal levels of support, and Adams trailing badly:
As speculation swirls over whether former [governor] Cuomo will continue his campaign as an independent after conceding the Democratic primary to Mamdani, a new poll shows the two candidates in a statistical tie heading into November’s general election.
The polling, conducted independently by the Honan Strategy Group 48 hours after Mamdani’s stunning victory, showed both Mamdani and Cuomo garnering 39% support among likely general election voters in a five-way race between them, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, independent candidate Jim Walden and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who trailed at 13%.
…In the scenario that Cuomo does not appear on the ballot, pollsters found that Mamdani would lead Adams by 15 points.
Adams officially kicked off his general election campaign Thursday.
Meanwhile–posted on Facebook by a friend:
On Wednesday, The New York Post reported that the much-hated congestion toll in New York City will be going away. The Department of Transportation (DOT) under President Trump has pulled the previous approval of the toll.
The article reports:
New York City’s spectacularly unpopular congestion pricing scheme is on death row as the Trump administration announced Wednesday it is pulling its approval of the toll — slamming it as “backwards and unfair” — in a major blow to Gov. Kathy Hochul, The Post has learned.
The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration terminated the approval of the controversial program, according to a letter Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent to Hochul on Wednesday afternoon.
“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,” said Duffy, noting that commuters entering NYC have already financed the construction and improvement of city roadways through their taxes.
“But now the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative, and instead, takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system and not highways. It’s backwards and unfair,” he said, blasting the program as harmful to small businesses in the Big Apple that depend on customers from New Jersey and Connecticut.
I have a nephew (who has since moved to North Carolina) that worked in New York City in the motion picture industry. The toll would have resulted in more than $100 a week in commuting expenses. There were times when he needed to bring his truck into the City for his job, and the extra expense would be a problem. The people paying this toll are not the people who can afford it–they are the working people who are afraid to ride the subways because of safety issues. During the 1960’s, I rode the subway every day when I commuted to school, but I wouldn’t want to ride it now. This tax needed to go away, and I applaud Secretary Duffy for ending it. Also, some serious effort needs to be made to clean up the subways and make them safer.
On Sunday, The New York Post posted an article citing one possible solution to the increasing level of crime on the New York City Subways.
The article reports:
The Guardian Angels are resuming their patrols of the Big Apple’s subways as if it were crime-riddled Gotham in 1979, after the horrifying arson murder of a sleeping straphanger on a train last week, founder Curtis Sliwa said Sunday.
The red-beret-wearing volunteer vigilante squad is beefing up its ranks to its level 45 years ago, Sliwa said.
“We’re going to have to increase our numbers, increase the training and increase our presence as we did back in 1979,” Sliwa said at the Stillwell Avenue-Coney Island station in Brooklyn where the woman was killed.
Curtis Sliwa is now 70, but he still loves his city as much as he did then. He has been a fighter for the city for a long time.
In August of 2005, The New York Times reported:
Testifying in the federal racketeering trial of John A. Gotti, Mr. Sliwa said he thought he had “hit the lottery” when he climbed into the back of the cab he had hailed near his apartment in the East Village before dawn on June 19, 1992. The driver recognized him and seemed to know that he was going to the WABC radio studios near Madison Square Garden, where he was host of a morning show. Within moments, Mr. Sliwa said, a second man popped up from under the dashboard “like a jack-in-the-box,” pointing a silver-plated pistol at his belly.
“Take this, you son of a bitch,” Mr. Sliwa recalled the gunman saying. He said he heard at least three shots, and felt blood spurting under his shirt and then searing pain in his legs, “like a knife through hot butter.”
Mr. Sliwa managed to escape the taxi and survived. Now he is back to help again.
In 1994, New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Police Commissioner William Bratton instituted what is called the Broken Windows Theory which resulted in a decrease in crime in New York City. One of my daughters was a freshman at Cooper Union in New York in 1992. The difference in the city the year she began her education there and the year she ended it was noticeable. New York City needs a mayor like Rudy Giuliani again (and the help of the Guardian Angels).
On Wednesday, The Epoch Times reported that a man living in New York City has admitted to operating a secret police station for Beijing in Manhattan. In November 2022, I first posted an article about the Chinese police operations in New York City (article here).
The article at The Epoch Times reports:
A New York City man has admitted to acting as an illegal Chinese agent by operating a secret police station for Beijing in Manhattan.
Chen Jinping, a 60-year-old U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty on Dec. 18 in front of U.S. District Judge Nina Morrison, a development that prosecutors lauded as the latest progress in countering the Chinese regime’s transnational repression scheme.
He faces up to five years in prison.
The New York City site runs under the cover of a Chinese organization called the America ChangLe Association in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The association ostensibly serves as a mingling place for immigrants from China’s southeastern Fujian Province, where the namesake district, ChangLe, is based.
Beijing refuted Chen’s guilty plea.
“The so-called secret police stations do not exist,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in a press briefing on Dec. 19.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace of the Eastern District of New York said the prosecution was part of his office’s efforts to protect vulnerable people who “come to this country to escape the repressive activities of authoritarian regimes.”
Countering the malign activities of foreign states that violate U.S. sovereignty by targeting local diaspora communities is a priority of his office, he said.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division called Chen’s effort in operating the secret outpost “brazen.”
The Department of Justice will “pursue anyone who attempts to aid the PRC’s efforts to extend their repressive reach into the United States,” he said, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China.
Robert Wells, executive assistant director of the FBI’s national security branch, said Chen’s admission of guilt was “a stark reminder of the insidious efforts taken by the PRC government to threaten, harass, and intimidate those who speak against their communist party.”
These police stations don’t exist, but they take up space but they rent space in buildings around the world.
On Thursday, The New York Post reported that New York State Governor Kathy Hochul is restarting the congestion pricing plan. The cost of entering midtown Manhattan was originally set at $15, but the Governor has magnanimously reduced it to $9. She did wait until after the election so that voters wouldn’t be influenced by her adding the tax.
The article reports:
Hochul had abruptly paused the program just before it was set to go into effect in June with a base rate of $15 — and then relaunched with with the lower fee just before President-elect Donald Trump’s administration had an opportunity to block it.
Critics argue the first-in-the-nation toll — which was first approved by state lawmakers and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2019 — is just a cash grab for the MTA that’ll saddle New York City drivers with yet another fee.
The article includes the details:
Cars will be tolled beginning at midnight on Jan. 5, Hochul said.
Standard passenger vehicles using an E-ZPass will be charged $9 per day for entering the tolling zone during daytime hours, defined as 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
That base amount is set to increase to $12 in 2028.
Other types of vehicles, like motorcycles and trucks, pay at different rates as follows:
The toll is reduced by 75% during overnight hours, between 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., to around $2.25.
Drivers without an E-ZPass will will receive a bill via mail and pay an inflated toll amount, though it wasn’t immediately clear how much.
The toll zone encompasses all areas below 60th Street – effectively all of Manhattan south of Central Park.
The article concludes:
Currently, the Biden administration is on board with the congestion pricing program. A spokesperson for the Federal Highway Administration confirmed that it is working to sign off on Hochul’s revised plan and get the toll up and running by Jan. 5.
The incoming Trump administration will almost definitely feel differently, with the president-elect telling The Post that he considered the toll the “most regressive tax known to womankind.”
Hochul has previously said she believes the toll can survive court challenges, even at its reduced $9 base rate.
This is one more reason tourists might want to stay out of New York City.
New York City used to be a fun place to visit. I went to school there many years ago. There was an energy to the city. There was culture and knowledge available to visitors in whatever area they wanted to pursue. The museums were wonderful, the buildings were fascinating, and the culture was diverse and interesting. I rode the subway to school every day and never thought twice about it. Today I would be afraid to walk down the street.
On Sunday, Breitbart posted an article about President Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden. I only watched part of the rally, but like everyone else, have seen a lot of the short videos from the rally. One of the people who spoke that impressed me was Melania Trump. She said what many of us who have spent time in New York City in the past are thinking–let’s restore our city.
The article reports:
During former President Donald Trump’s rally in Madison Square Garden, his wife, Melania Trump, praised New York City for being the place where “architectural symbols of strength, courage, and unity” made a “canvas for the world’s undisputed capital of industry.”
Melania encouraged voters to “envision a wonderful America where the seats of security, prosperity, and health” would be sewn.
“Hello, Madison Square Garden, our hometown, where architectural symbols of strength, courage, and unity create a canvas for the world’s undisputed capital of industry,” the former first lady said. “Where titans of finance, fashion, and entertainment convene among an iconic range of superior design, structures, and artistic accomplishments. And, American ingenuity blossoms among determined citizens who race across city streets and between offices striving for success. It is you who are the heartbeat of this great metropolis. It is you who are the pulse of this America.”
…“Crime is on the rise, while public safety diminishes creating an environment where families with young children chose to relocate” Melania added. “And this story repeats itself from coast to coast, across our nation: This is America. For generations, this town has produced America’s most fearless leaders, whose mark changed the course of the world. New York City and America needs their magic back. A country of tomorrow that will shape our future and reset expectations for the generations. Envision a wonderful America where the seats of security, prosperity, and health are sewn once again for benefit of our families. Let us charge together with a shared vision that builds on American greatness.”
It is time to bring our cities back to being places where families can live and work in safety and enjoy the diverse cultures around them. New York City has people from every country and most of the time they have all lived in peace. Some of my ancestors were Irish chauffeurs and Czech maids in the mansions of New York City at the beginning of the twentieth century. My husband’s French and Swiss ancestors lived in New York City in the beginning of the twentieth century when they immigrated here.
Let’s make New York City a place of peace, safety, diverse cultures, and great food again.
During a recent interview with Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week, JD Vance brought up the subject of illegal migrant gangs taking over hotels in American cities. When Martha Raddatz commented “The incidents were limited to a handful of apartment complexes and the mayor said our dedicated police officers have acted on those concerns — a handful of problems.” JD Vance replied, “Do you hear yourself? Only ‘a handful’ of apartment complexes in America were taken over by Venezuelan gangs, and Donald Trump is the problem? Not Kamala Harris’s open border?” (The quotes are from RealClearPolitics.) How many gang takeovers of American apartment buildings is appropriate?
On Wednesday, Zero Hedge reported:
The Biden-Harris administration misled the public with phony FBI crime statistics, pushing the narrative that far-left policies were actually making America safer. Weeks later, those numbers were “revised,” revealing a shocking truth: a 2.1% decrease in US violent crime in 2022 was actually a 4.5% increase!
…This brings us to the current crime crisis spreading across certain New York City boroughs, like stage four cancer, where armed illegal alien kids are brazenly robbing citizens and tourists alike.
…Here’s more from a separate NYPost report:
Law enforcement sources said gang members hid among the millions of asylum seekers who crossed the US border with Mexico since 2022, then scattered throughout the country.
…
In New York, gang members exploited the city’s migrant shelter system, running robbery crews, as well as trafficking drugs, guns and sex workers under the noses of private security guards. according to sources.
Tren de Aragua has become such a significant concern that leaked US Army documents estimate more than 5,000 of these gangsters, some of which are armed, are running amok nationwide.
These are the illegal immigration numbers from recent years. When you let in that many unvetted people, there are going to be bad apples in the bunch:
The article concludes with a message from a truck driver:
Do yourself a favor this holiday season: Avoid NYC and, in fact, boycott sanctuary towns. Spend your money elsewhere.
Immigration policies (or lack of) have consequences.
On Thursday, The EconoTimes posted an article about the role of the government in providing relief to the victims of Hurricane Helene. The Biden/Harris administration has warned Americans that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) may run out of money before the end of the hurricane season.
The article reports:
In a shocking development, the Biden-Harris administration announced that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) may not have enough resources to make it through the rest of hurricane season. This warning comes on the heels of billions of dollars being allocated to foreign aid, raising concerns about the government’s ability to respond to domestic natural disasters.
“FEMA’s Running Dry — And They Just Sent Billions Overseas! How Are We Supposed to Get Through This?”
The administration’s statement was made public on Monday, September 30, raising alarm about the depleted state of FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF). With hurricane season still in full swing, this could leave millions of Americans vulnerable in the event of further catastrophic weather events.
In June 2023, The New York Post reported:
New York City is set to receive $104.6 million in grant funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help cover its growing expenses related to the ongoing migrant crisis, Sen. Charles Schumer’s office confirmed to The Post.
That’s a third of the $363 million left in the pot allocated by FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program, dedicated to helping municipalities around the US and nonprofits providing shelter and other services to homeless migrants who crossed into the country from the southern border.
Although it’s also far less than the $650 million total initially requested by NYC Mayor Eric Adams earlier this year, the Big Apple has now received the largest grant from the program compared to other jurisdictions.
The migrant crisis in New York City is a crisis caused by the open-border policies of the Biden/Harris administration. The devastation in western North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida is caused by a natural disaster. FEMA money should be reserved for natural disasters–not man-made crises.
On Tuesday, The U.K. Daily Mail posted an article explaining how Chipotle is dealing with the new minimum wage requirements for fast-food establishments in California. This is not surprising and should give legislators in all states a reason to pause before changing the minimum wage laws.
The article reports:
Chipotle has introduced two robots that can take over tasks normally done by its workers.
The ‘autocado’ can peel, stone and cut an avocado for guacamole in 26 seconds. Meanwhile, a ‘digital makeline’ portions up salads and bowls based on orders on the app.
The machines are part of an automation drive that Chipotle bosses hope will cut down the number of workers needed – slashing rising labor costs.
So, it is no surprise they are being put to use first in two of the Mexican chain’s restaurants in California, the company announced on Monday.
Recent legislation raised the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20-an-hour in the state.
The controversial wage hike – $4 more than the minimum wage in the state for any other job – was introduced by California Governor Gavin Newsom at chains with more than 60 locations in the US, and came into effect on April 1.
Chains including Burger King have already ramped up the roll out of digital ordering kiosks to cut the number of cashiers needed in Californian restaurants.
It is not yet clear how the production costs of using Chipotle’s new machines compares to human labor when making Chipotle menu items.
Also, robots don’t call in sick or require vacations or sick days.
The article concludes:
Chipotle’s sales this year beat Wall Street expectations – boosted by price hikes and a jump in loyal customers.
But the company has come under fire for its reported varying portion sizes.
It prompted Chipotle’s then CEO Brian Nicol – who has now moved to Starbucks – to deny that he had instructed staff to scrimp with servings as he revealed the company will be instituting changes to ensure satisfaction.
He revealed Chipotle will be retraining its staff to ensure ‘generous portions’ are consistent across its more than 3,500 stores.
Last month, Wells Fargo analyst Zachary Fadem and his team tested the theory that Chipotle has been skimping on its usually-large portions, after a series of videos posted to TikTok showed employees barely filling their burrito bowls.
The team ordered and weighed 75 bowls – all with the same ingredients – from eight locations across New York City.
They discovered that the consistency of the burrito bowls varied widely from restaurant to restaurant. Some locations served bowls that weighed up to 33 percent more than others, the study found.
Even without the minimum wage hikes, fast food is another victim of Bidenomics.
We all remember where we were when we got the news of the attack on the World Trade Center. I was living in Massachusetts at the time and working an early morning job. I got home just before 9 am and turned on the television set. Shortly thereafter I saw a picture of an airplane in the side of a building. My first thought was that I was seeing a special effect from some new action movie. Then, as I listened to what was being said, reality set in. Then, as I watched, a second airplane struck the South Tower. I watched in shock until I had to leave for a doctor’s appointment. While I was in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, the towers fell. Because some of my immediate family and a lot of my extended family lived or worked in New York City at the time, the shock of what I had seen was soon replaced with concern for their safety. In my morning travels, I then heard about the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The next day I learned that the daughter of one of my co-workers worked in the South Tower and had not been heard from. The fate of Susan Blair, 35, was unknown until she was listed as a casualty after about two weeks.
The events of September 11 were a rude awakening for Americans. What had we done to precipitate an attack on American civilians? Why were some people in New York City neighborhoods celebrating the attack? After the attack, we heard the name Al Qaeda. We even heard the name Muslim Brotherhood. The attack of September 11 was an act of kinetic jihad by Al Qaeda. The Muslim Brotherhood was not happy about the attack–they engage in stealth jihad or cultural jihad.
America slowly stood back up after the attacks. We can never replace the people we lost that day, but we can move forward as a tribute to them.
This is a day for unity in remembering that we need to work together to survive as a country.
Let’s work hard to eliminate the forces that committed the barbaric acts of September 11, 2001.
On Friday, Breitbart reported the following:
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) is expanding his program that rewards newly arrived migrants with pre-loaded debit cards for food — paid for by New Yorkers who remain some of the most tax-burdened residents of the United States.
Adams started the debit cards-for-migrants program in February, noting that it would cost about $53 million to provide roughly 500 migrant families with the prepaid cards meant only for food. The program came even as a study recently found that 56 percent of New Yorkers live near the poverty line.
According to The New York Times:
The debit cards are expected to be distributed to more than 7,300 migrants over the next six months at a cost of about $2.6 million, city officials said, building from a pilot program that began earlier this year with roughly 900 families, or nearly 3,000 migrants. [Emphasis added]…
With more than 60,000 migrants currently in the city’s care, the program — which is expanding from three hotels to 17 — could serve about 1,230 people per month, or roughly 2 percent of the total migrant population. [Emphasis added]
The program is part of a contract with Mobility Capital Finance, known as MoCaFi, that could eventually cost the city as much as $53 million, with as much as $2 million going to the company and the rest being distributed to families, city officials said. Under the pilot program, a family of four with young children received about $350 per week for a month. [Emphasis added]
I don’t want anyone to go without food, but why can’t we just send them home since we can’t afford them?
Hotels are being paid to house the illegals. Again, why weren’t hotels being paid to house homeless veterans?