Tag: new york

This Line From Zohran Mamdani’s Inauguration Speech Should Terrify Freedom Loving Americans

Zohran Mamdani had a second swearing in ceremony in New York City today, in which he gave a speech that contained a shocking line.

The new mayor of New York City actually said these words out loud:

“We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.”

Here is the line in full context, via Real Clear Politics:

NEW YORK CITY MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I welcome the change. For too long, those fluent in the good grammar of civility have deployed decorum to mask agendas of cruelty. Many of these people have been betrayed 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 we 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.

First of all, ‘rugged individualism’ is Americanism. It’s what built this country. A rejection of this idea by the mayor of New York City is unsettling enough, but the second part of that sentence is even worse.

The warmth of collectivism? He is coming right out and admitting that he is a communist. Collectivism is a central tenet of the communism that destroyed the Soviet Union and starved millions of people in China under Mao.

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IDIOTS: Zohran Mamdani Supporters Chant ‘Tax the Rich’ as Bernie ‘Three Houses’ Sanders Speaks

As Bernie Sanders was speaking at Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration on Thursday, a number of people in the crowd broke into a chant of ‘tax the rich.’

The stupidity on display here is appalling. Do these people really believe that their lives will improve if the government forcefully takes more money away from other people? Do they think the New York City government is going to take money from others and give it to them? Do they honestly believe that if ‘the rich’ are forced to pay more in taxes, it is going to fund programs that will benefit them?

This is the politics of envy, plain and simple.

The New York Post reports:

‘Tax the rich’ chant breaks out as Bernie Sanders swears in NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani

A raucous chant of “tax the rich” broke out as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders blasted the wealthy and called out “hatred and divisiveness” before swearing in fellow democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York City mayor.

“At a time in our country’s history when we are seeing too much hatred, too much divisiveness and too much injustice, thank you for electing Zohran Mamdani as your mayor,” Sanders said outside City Hall.

He then argued that Mamdani’s socialist agenda, including free buses and taxing the rich was not “radical,” sparking the chant.

After Sanders administered the ceremonial oath of office to Mamdani, the new mayor addressed the crowd, saying he planned to govern “expansively and audaciously.”

For too long, he argued, New York belonged to the “wealthy and well connected,” but no longer, Mamdani vowed.

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Mamdani Names Lawyer Who Defended al-Qaeda Terrorist As City’s Top Attorney

On Tuesday, Socialist New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced the appointment of Ramzi Kassem as the city’s top attorney.

Kassem gained notoriety for defending al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed al-Darbi when he served as lead counsel.

In 2014, al-Darbi pled guilty in connection with an al-Qaeda terrorist plot to bomb a French oil tanker near Yemen in 2002, leaving a civilian dead and several others injured. He was convicted in 2017 and ultimately transferred to Saudi Arabia in 2018.

Al-Darbi’s brother-in-law was Khalid al-Mihdhar, one of the five hijackers on American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon during the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The New York Post reports that in 2009, “Kassem founded a legal clinic at CUNY, which offers free legal representation to Muslims and other communities in New York City.”

The nonprofit, Creating Law Enforcement Accountability and Responsibility (CLEAR) is largely funded by progressive philanthropist George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, which have given the clinic more than $3 million, public records show.

The Associated Press and The New York Times reported at the time that Kassem said, “While it may not make him whole, my hope is that repatriation at least marks the end of injustice for Ahmed… He had 16 long and painful years in captivity.”

Kassem is also part of the legal team representing radical Islamist Mahmoud Khalil.

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Far-left billionaire George Soros and family donated $71,000 to Trump-hating NY AG Letitia James

Far-left billionaire kingmaker George Soros and his family members have poured more than $71,000 into state Attorney General Letitia James’ campaign coffers since 2019 — including $31,000 to help the longtime adversary of President Trump get re-elected next year. 

The contributions include $18,000 from Soros in July 2024 and another $13,000 from his daughter-in-law, Jennifer Soros, in May, records show. Soros and his clan also gave James another $40,000 dating back to 2019 for previous campaigns.

And the windfall doesn’t even include indirect support James receives through far-left organizations Soros helps bankroll, including millions to the Working Families Party.

Soros’ ultra-woke grant-making network Open Society Foundation has doled out $23.7 million to the WFP since 2016 through its fundraising arm Working Families Organization Inc., and he and his family members showered the New York branch with another $865,000 in direct donations since 2018, records show.

James’ relationship with the WFP is all but unprecedented in New York.

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New York To Demand Warning Labels On Social Media Platforms

New York is requiring warning labels on social media platforms about addictive features in a bid to address a youth mental health crisis.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the bill into law on Dec. 26, targeting infinite scrolling, auto-play videos, and algorithmic feeds that encourage prolonged use.

The law, S4505/A5346, sponsored by Democrats state Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Nily Rozic, requires social media platforms to display non-dismissible warnings when young users first encounter these features and at regular intervals during use.

As The Epoch Times’ Kimberley Hayek details below, the required warnings are based on consumer protections seen on products such as tobacco and alcohol, noting risks like increased anxiety, depression, and poor body image.

“Keeping New Yorkers safe has been my top priority since taking office, and that includes protecting our kids from the potential harms of social media features that encourage excessive use,” Hochul said in a statement.

“New Yorkers deserve transparency. With the amount of information that can be shared online, it is essential that we prioritize mental health and take the steps necessary to ensure that people are aware of any potential risks.”

Studies highlighted in the legislation suggest that teens spending more than three hours daily on social media face doubled risks of anxiety and depression symptoms. About half of adolescents report that platforms worsen their body image, and those with heavy usage are nearly twice as likely to describe their mental health as poor.

“New York families deserve honesty about how social media platforms impact mental health. By requiring warning labels based on the latest medical research, this law puts public health first and finally gives us the tools we need to make informed decisions,” Rozic said in a statement.

“I’m proud to sponsor this legislation alongside Senator Gounardes as part of our broader effort to create a safer digital environment for kids.”

In June 2024, Hochul signed the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act, also sponsored by Gounardes and Rozic, mandating parental consent for minors to access addictive algorithms while also banning unsolicited nighttime notifications.

The SAFE Act aims to address how platforms exploit vulnerabilities for engagement while profiting billions in ad revenue from minors. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who helped draft the bill, sought public input on it in 2024.

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‘Eat the Rich’ Activist Married to $34M Mets Star Joins NYC Socialist Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s Inaugural Committee

Katia Reguero Lindor, wife of New York Mets superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor, has been named to the inaugural committee of incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Lindor, a vocal social justice advocate who has publicly railed against the wealthy elite, is married to an athlete pulling in a staggering $34.1 million annual salary.

Elite hypocrisy like this is often seen in far-left circles, where champagne socialists preach equality while enjoying the fruits of capitalism.

Katia Lindor, a classically trained violinist and host of “The Unaparent Podcast,” describes herself as a “breastfeeding + home birth + social justice advocate.” She has used her platform to push progressive causes, including sharp criticisms of the rich.

In a November Instagram post during the mayoral election, she declared, “Your enemies aren’t the immigrants — they’re the one-percenters hoarding the wealth while leaving you without basic needs.”

She further emphasized that supporting politicians like Mamdani, who fight for immigrants, artists, workers, and “everyone who deserves a dignified life,” isn’t against her interests, “even if I’m in a different economic position.”

This rhetoric echoes the “Eat the Rich” mantra popular among anti-capitalist activists, including The Squad, yet it comes from someone whose household wealth is firmly in the top 1%.

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School District Accused of Putting Disabled Students in Wooden Crates While Promoting “Diversity”

Every major failure in public education follows the same pattern: administrators become fluent in slogans while their most basic duties collapse.

The unfolding scandal in the Salmon River Central School District is a case study in how a system that advertises “values” can fail students in practice—spectacularly, expensively, and with little accountability.

Salmon River Central School District serves roughly 1,300 students in Fort Covington, New York, near the Canadian border. The district spends approximately $41 million annually, translating to about $29,000 per student. Under any reasonable standard, that level of funding should produce strong academic outcomes and attentive student support.

Instead, just 16% of students are proficient in math and only 25% in reading on state exams. Those numbers reflect a deeper systemic failure that extends far beyond this single district and across much of the public education system.

Yet a visit to the district’s public-facing materials tells a different story. The front page of the district’s website prominently emphasizes diversity, language, and institutional values, projecting moral seriousness and cultural awareness.

That messaging now stands in stark contrast to allegations that elementary students with disabilities were confined in wooden “timeout” boxes—structures parents described as resembling small padded cells.

According to reporting confirmed by local outlets, district officials are under investigation after images circulated on social media showing wooden enclosures built inside two elementary schools.

The district acknowledged that three such crates existed, claiming they were never used and have since been dismantled.

Parents told a very different story at a community meeting, alleging that their children were placed inside the boxes as a form of seclusion.

One parent of a minimally verbal child said his son described the structures as a place students were sent “to calm down,” regardless of emotional state.

That description alone should alarm anyone familiar with special education law.

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NYC teachers discover teens can’t read clocks after school cellphone ban

Time got away from them!

New York City teachers have found that scores of teenagers can’t read traditional clocks after a cellphone ban in schools statewide — because students figured the skill would be useless in the digital era, according to a report.

“The constant refrain is ‘Miss, what time is it?’” said Madi Mornhinweg, who teaches high school English in Manhattan.

“It’s a source of frustration because everyone wants to know how many minutes are left in class,” she told Gothamist. “It finally got to the point where I started saying, ‘Where’s the big hand and where’s the little hand?’”

Many tech-minded teens have no clue what time it is during the course of the school day because classrooms generally only have analog clocks on the walls, teachers told the outlet.

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New York Legalizes Doctors Prescribing Death

ew York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in an op-ed last week that she will sign a bill legalizing medical assisted suicide for adults with a terminal illness.

Hochul says she is passing the Medical Aid in Dying Act due to the “genuine and deeply held belief that government must respect the rights and will of the people it serves.” To qualify, an adult must be “mentally competent” and have a “prognosis of six months or less to live,” the bill states.

The bill also makes it clear that anyone who makes the request for medical assisted suicide must not be considered “suicidal” and taking medication to intentionally end one’s life should not be considered a “suicide.”

This move lets New York join the club of 12 states and the District of Columbia that preach suicide as a form of “medical aid in dying.”

Although the act will allow “individual doctors and religiously affiliated health facilities” to decline offering suicide as a form of treatment to those who are suicidal, doctors must “promptly” transfer requesting clients to a health care provider who is “willing to permit the prescribing, dispensing, ordering or self-administering” of suicide medication.

“I heard stories of a parent or spouse pleading for an end to the suffering,” Hochul, whose own mom died from ALS, writes. “I am all too familiar with the pain of seeing someone you love suffer and feeling powerless to stop it.”

I have never had any form of terminal illness, but I watched my mom fight cancer for five years and die. It’s no easy thing to watch and I can conclude it’s even harder to fight. Yet, that doesn’t mean we should let our government allow the terminally ill to kill themselves as a form of so-called “healthcare.”

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WTH? Zohran Mamdani Appoints First Lesbian New York City Fire Commissioner with ZERO Firefighting Experience

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has appointed former chief of emergency medical services Lillian Bonsignore to serve in his incoming administration as commissioner of the New York City Fire Department.

She will be the second woman and the first openly gay Fire Commissioner in New York City’s history.

During a news conference on Tuesday, announcing the appointment, Mamdani described Bonsignore as “a leader who cares about their work because she did it herself.”

However, Bonsignore has never served as a firefighter. After more than 30 years as an emergency medical technician (EMT), Bonsignore retired from the FDNY as Chief of EMS operations in 2022.

“I know the job. I know the— what the firefighters need, and I can translate that to this administration, who’s willing to listen,” Bonsignor said.

“I know what EMS needs. I have been EMS for 30 plus years.”

In her new role, Bonsignore will oversee approximately 11,000 firefighters, 4,500 EMTs, and more than 2,000 civilian employees, according to CBS.

The role is currently held by Mark Guerra, a career FDNY firefighter, who took over after former Commissioner Robert S. Tucker resigned, citing Mamdani’s stance on Israel.

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