NYC Elects Muslim Socialist Mayor
Self-professed democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the three-way race for New York City Mayor with more than 50% of the ballots cast. He called his victory "a clear mandate for my plan of reform. The majority of the people have endorsed increased taxes on the rich, freezing rents, establishing government-owned grocery stores, free and rapid bus service, and relentless opposition to the Trump tyranny."
The mayor-elect mocked naysayers who predict his policies will wreck the city, saying that "these kinds of policies successfully transformed an agrarian Russia into a global colossus that won both the war against Hitler and the space race. That great system was undermined when its leaders lost their nerve and refused to allow troops to fire on unruly peasants and workers who challenged its right to rule. I will not make that same mistake."
Mamdani went on to say "I dare those who fear my rule to leave the city. They've only got two months to get out before I implement laws that will confiscate the property of all who desert New York. Even if they do get out before then their vacated homes will provide more space to house the surge of immigrants seeking a safe haven for Muslim resettlement in America. These immigrants will provide the votes that will ensure my continued reelection for years to come and the leverage to impose revolutionary changes."
Given his antagonism toward the police many critics have predicted a crime wave will lower the quality of life in the city. Mamdani rebuffed these predictions, saying "the cultural changes I will bring will do a more effective job than any police squad could do to reduce crime. Just taking rape as an example, under sharia law rape is virtually nonexistent. Adult females are required to be fully clothed and are only allowed out in public if accompanied by a male relative. These relatives routinely carry knives for protection. Look up the data. See for yourself."
One Mamdani comment that bodes ill for the city is his notion that "we will prove that there is no problem too large for government to solve and no concern too small for it to care about." This runs exactly counter to former President Reagan's observation that "the nine most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help." Mamdani's hubris replicates the delusions of history's worst dictators.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) tried to reassure America that "Mamdani's ideas aren't radical. They have a long history stretching from Karl Marx who advocated seizing the means of production from the capitalists in 1848 to Vladimir Lenin who actually seized them following the Russian Revolution of 1917. My wife and I honeymooned in the Soviet Union in 1988. The Soviet Union was less glitzy than the United States, but its people were collectively united in building a strong socialist economy in which there were no billionaires. Every person received a fair share of the nation's wealth as was determined by their elected representatives. This is what Mamdani, the majority who voted for him, and I want for America."
CNN commentator Van Jones lamented "Mamdani's sharp tone and gloating over his victory. You'd think he was just elected king of the world. He wasn't. Admittedly, his victory was a constructive step toward the socialism we all want for this country, but I think a more humble and softer tone would make it easier for more folks to jump on our bandwagon."
Meanwhile, a post-election celebration of Mamdani's win entailed vandals spray painting Nazi swastikas and antisemitic graffiti on the Magen David Yeshiva school in Brooklyn. Newly declared candidate for governor of New York Rep. Elise Stefanik (R) blamed Mamdani "for normalizing antisemitism in the city."
In related news, Democratic Socialists of America New York City Council Member Tiffany Cabán proposed "appropriating $200 million to defend immigrants from ICE enforcement. ICE is invading cities across America in an effort to deport people who want to make our country their home. Antifa has private funding and will confront the invaders in the streets without city subsidies, but we need $145 million in public funds to pay lawyers to give immigrants free legal counsel and $43.5 million for other free immigration services."
Patel Defends Selective Prosecution of Comey
Former FBI Director James Comey's claim that he is being "selectively prosecuted by Trump" was verified by current FBI Director Kash Patel. "Every prosecution is selective in a sense that persons who commit crimes are targeted for potential prosecution," Patel explained. "It would be idiotic to randomly prosecute persons who are not committing crimes. Perhaps that's where the Democrats erred by inventing reasons to prosecute President Trump in the run up to the 2024 election."
Comey contended that "the leaked data, my emails congratulating the individuals who took credit for the leaks and expressing my expectation that a grateful President Clinton would reward me when she got elected are all protected political free speech. Just because I was the FBI Director in 2016 doesn't mean I had no right to campaign for the candidate of my choice."
Patel insisted that "the right to support a political candidate does not include using one's access to the power of one's office to disclose confidential information to unapproved persons. Neither does it permit an FBI Director to exceed his authority, as Mr. Comey did, by publicly asserting that no attorney general would have attempted to prosecute Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for improperly using a non-secure server for transmitting classified information. Nor does it exempt Mr. Comey from truthfully responding to Congressional inquiries."
Federal Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick disagreed with Patel, saying "I'm not so sure a former FBI director isn't immune from prosecution. There is no precedent for a previous FBI director facing prosecution for abuse of authority. Former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover used classified files to blackmail many public figures. Those seem like more serious crimes than merely trying to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential election toward a victory for the well-qualified Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over the political novice Donald Trump. I'm inclined to think that if as infamous a character as Hoover was never prosecuted a relatively small time crook like Comey ought to be given a break as well."
21 States "Take the Fifth"
In an effort to determine how many illegal immigrants are receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins asked "every state to send us their SNAP data so we could make sure illegal immigrants aren't getting benefits meant for American families. 29 states stepped up. 21 blue states refused — and two sued us for asking."
California Attorney General Rob Bonta pointed out that "everyone knows that it is unlawful for states to give SNAP benefits to persons who entered the United States illegally. Given the tens of millions of persons who have illegally crossed our borders there's bound to be a few who somehow ended up getting these benefits. So in effect, the USDA's inquiry is asking states to incriminate themselves by providing the names of those we are illicitly paying benefits to. That is illegal under the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution. Anyone who has seen mobsters testifying in court, at congressional hearings, in movies, or on TV knows that a suspect cannot be compelled to testify against himself."
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) asserted that "our demand that government benefits be increased as the 'price' for us to vote to open the government has always been based on the fact that the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, already makes undocumented immigrants ineligible for major federal public benefits such as SNAP and Medicaid. To imply that sanctuary states might be violating this law, as the USDA's question suggests, is attempted entrapment. I don't blame the 21 states that have refused to be lured into incriminating themselves."
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) complained "we're trying to get government to work more efficiently and effectively for citizens, and we are getting hindered by the political games being played by the Democrats. It's unfair to the hard-working, tax-paying citizens that we are supposed to be representing."
"It's Their Own Fault"
Several Trump Administration officials including top adviser Stephen Miller, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, have felt the need to live in military housing in order to be safe from politically motivated violence.
An article the Atlantic by Michael Scherer, Missy Ryan, and Ashley Parker pointed out that "this is far more frequent than what has been the case than in the Obama and Biden administrations. Maybe it's MAGA's own fault. They ought to look inward for answers as to why this might be occurring. Perhaps Trump's policies are at odds with what the masses want."
"From what we are seeing on the streets, the masses are at odds with Trump's determination to deport individuals who unlawfully entered the United States," the authors wrote. "We didn't see any mass demonstrations against Biden's policy of inviting foreigners to come to America. The masses also seem to have disliked Trump taking sides with Israel over its war with Hamas. They marched in the streets calling for Israel to stop fighting and to allow Palestine to reclaim its land from the river to the sea. There have also been demonstrations in favor of Charlie Kirk's assassination and the two attempts to murder Trump before he was elected. No one tried to assassinate Biden. Can the MAGA folks not read the crowd?"
"Clearly, Trump and his ideas are out-of-step with everything that has preceded him," the authors added. "How can he expect people who desperately sought his election defeat to just give up when they failed at the ballot box? Progressive policies and socialism are the wave of the future. Resisting them will only delay their ultimate transformation of our government and culture. The MAGA folks need to reconsider whether trying to delay this transformation by a few years is worth risking their lives."
In related news, US district judge for Washington DC Colleen Kollar-Kotelly voided President Trump's executive order requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship, establishing that they are eligible to cast their vote in federal elections, before being allowed to cast a ballot. "The decision on whether to require identification in order to be allowed to vote is currently left up to the states," the Judge ruled. "Some may deem it worthwhile to require ID, others may be indifferent on IDs, some may be positively against IDs feeling that it violates the premise of a secret ballot. The President has no say on the matter."
Dems Say "Election Wins Validate Shutdown Strategy"
The election success enjoyed by Democrats in New York City, New Jersey, Virginia, and California have buoyed optimism in the Party. Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn) said "the blue wave validates our strategy of keeping the government closed until our Party's demands are met. Essential personnel in areas of national defense and air traffic control are not getting paid. Sooner or later they will have to stop working for the government and get other jobs just to pay their bills. Folks dependent on welfare will balk at the Trump Administration's continued efforts to enforce the legislatively enacted work requirements for able-bodied recipients of this aid. The chaos that will ensue will force Trump to yield to our demand that the covid era's added health care subsidies be continued. We have a winning hand. All we need to do is to continue to raise the stakes."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) agreed, saying "all over this country people are saying, 'Please Democrats, you haven't been strong in the past. Stand tall now, protect our freebies.' The Democrats now are winning because they're standing with the proletariat. If we cave in now and vote to reopen the government, I think it will be politically devastating to Democrats."
As a compromise, Republicans have offered three full-year spending bills and a willingness to rehire federal employees who have been laid off during the shutdown. "It's not enough," Murphy complained. "We've got them on the run. The Federal Aviation Administration has just been forced to reduce daily flights at 40 airports. This will greatly inconvenience those who need to fly for business or vacation travel. Eventually, the suffering will become unbearable and the Republicans will have to do as we say."
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said "continuing a government shutdown just because they had some good election outcomes seems like a really bad rationale to extend what is already the longest shutdown in history. We can talk about politically who's getting blamed, who isn't getting blamed, but in the end nobody wins, and least of all the American people. The debates about what to fund in next year's budget should be undertaken without the added pressure of the shutdown. The Democrats' insistence on getting their way under such duress demonstrates their indifference to both the general public and the public servants who work to keep government functions in operation."
