Tag: new york

Sex educator clowns and BDSM classical music: How New York City arts group wasted $800K of taxpayer’s money

Taxpayer-funded woke art events, including erotic poetry readings, ‘sex educator clowns’, a BDSM-classical music mashup, and performances in aid of prison abolition, have got a New York government watchdog hot and bothered.

Nonprofit ‘good governance’ group One City Rising (OCR) has sparked a fight with the New York City Council by writing a letter demanding a review of $787,000 taxpayer funds given to an organization putting on the controversial art acts.

The spat is a microcosm of a culture war raging in the US – one side fearing they are under attack from prudish busybodies policing free expression, the other claiming government institutions are feeding ‘woke’ propaganda.

Last year the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs gave $130,000, one of its biggest cultural development grants, to the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), a group founded in 1973 to promote the arts in the Big Apple.

LMCC also received $657,600 in New York state government funds in 2023, records show.

One City Rising said there are ‘significant questions about appropriateness, oversight, and fiscal responsibility’ of the cash handouts, which they say are being used ‘for purposes that taxpayers might find objectionable’, in a December 18 letter to NYC Commissioner Laurie Cumbo.

The letter highlighted taxpayer-funded events, including a BDSM-themed ‘concert series celebrating queer identity through classical music and the aesthetics of the Leather subculture’ and a show by a self-described professional clown teaching sex education.

It also pointed to a series of ‘socially-conscious musical works’ by Black and Pink, a group ‘dedicated to abolishing the criminal punishment system and liberating LGBTQIA2S+ people,’ as well as ‘raising money for bail funds across the country.’

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Five-Time Deported Child Sex Predator Released Back to NYC Streets

A Mexican child sex predator who has been removed from the U.S. on five prior occasions was arrested again after being released by New York City authorities.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the latest apprehension of 36-year-old Raymond Rojas Basilio, a Mexican national with a shocking criminal record dating back more than two decades.

During a 4-day stretch in 2002, Rojas Basilio was caught by U.S. Border Patrol on three separate occasions after he made illegal entries near Douglas, Arizona.

Rojas Basilio voluntarily returned to Mexico following each interception.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered Rojas Jan. 6, 2012, at Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona, when he applied for admission to the U.S. Rojas presented an Arizona Driver’s License and U.S Birth Certificate which CBP determined to be fraudulent. CBP processed Rojas, served him a notice and order of expedited removal and verified his departure to Mexico on the same date,” ICE explained in a press release.

Five days later, the Mexican pulled a similar stunt at Morley Gate Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona, and was sent back to his home country by U.S. authorities.

Rojas Basilio then illegally crossed the border at an unknown date and time, making him one of millions of ‘gotaways’ lurking across the country.

On Aug. 28, 2023, Rojas Basilio was arrested by the New York Police Department and charged with first-degree sexual abuse with an individual less than 11 years old.

He was then released back to the streets with a future court date.

On Sept. 20, 2024, Rojas Basilio was convicted of forcible touching of the intimate parts of another person.

On Nov. 11, he was sentenced to just 60 days incarceration, six years probation, and ordered to register as a sex offender.

On Dec. 17, Rojas Basilio was arrested at his residence in Queens by officers with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New York City.

He is currently in ICE custody amid pending removal proceedings.

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George Mason University Student Charged With Planning ‘Mass Casualty Attack’ Against Jews in New York

A student at George Mason University was arrested this week over claims he was planning a “mass casualty attack” on the Consulate General of Israel in New York, according to court records.

Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan, an Egyptian national who is only 18, allegedly operated several social media accounts that were promoting “radical and terrorist-leaning behavior.”

While the accounts were run anonymously, investigators managed to trace it back to Hassan using his provided email address, phone number and IP address.

According to prosecutors, Hassan regularly posted about “revering Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri” and operated “several pro-ISIS and al Qaeda accounts that promoted violence against Jews.”

After developing an obsession with terrorism, Hassan eventually began the process of planning a “mass casualty attack at the Consulate General of Israel using an explosive device and rifle.”

Hassan discussed his plan in great detail with an FBI informant he believed to be an admirer of his ideological mission.

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Juan Merchan Ignores Supreme Court, Constitution In Shameful, Latest Court Order That Further Erodes The Integrity Of New York’s Legal System

This past week, Juan Merchan continued his relentless assault on the Constitution and Country by openly defying the Supreme Court’s precedent, which reaffirmed and strengthened the doctrine of presidential immunity, from this past year’s Trump decision.

In denying President Trump’s motion to dismiss the case, Merchan has only prolonged the lawfare against him, further deepening the wound to New York’s legal system in the process.

The Merchan case – which the mainstream press has (improperly) called the “hush money case” (ignoring that hush money payments are not illegal, and have never been illegal, by a public official or private citizen in the history of American law) has been a complete mockery of justice from its inception.

As extensively documented previously in this newsletter, even before the trial, Merchan has been disregarding all legal norms, procedures, and rules – in the pursuit of a twisted, monomaniacal vendetta against a presidential candidate and now president-elect of the United States.

He ignored due process of law – and the regulations governing evidence and professional ethics – by bringing this case, which implicated federal issues that were already cleared by the Federal Election Commission, in state court.

Second, he denied President Trump’s attorneys their right to move to dismiss evidence – and the theory of the case – on Immunity (and other privileges, like attorney client and executive privilege) grounds.

President Trump’s attorneys had to navigate a legal landmine, including pending oral arguments for the Supreme Court’s Immunity decision, which commenced during the course of the Merchan trial.

The ultimate outcome on that Immunity case was not known until after the trial had ended. The Trump decision was officially handed down by the Supreme Court in early July; the Merchan trial wrapped up in late May.

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Mayor Adams Drops Truth Bomb About How Luigi Mangione Was Radicalized, and Dems Won’t Like It

It’s been nearly two weeks since UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in midtown Manhattan. Thankfully, his alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, 26, was captured after someone recognized him at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa.

While the evidence all appears to confirm Mangione is the killer, in a lot of ways, it just doesn’t make sense why this kid, who grew up privileged and went to an Ivy League school and everything, would be driven to murder.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has something to say on that issue that the Democrats won’t be happy about. Adams bluntly described a disturbing trend he’s witnessed among young people in America. Speaking candidly about the radicalization of youth, he addressed the troubling case of Mangione, drawing a direct line between the shooter’s upbringing and the toxic influence of the education system that led to his violent actions.

Adams was quick to point out that Mangione’s background doesn’t fit the typical profile of someone prone to radicalization. “Ivy League, grew up in an affluent household,” he said, emphasizing the disconnect between the shooter’s privileged life and his eventual descent into hatred. 

“His manifesto clearly is showing some signs of hating,” Adams continued, underscoring that even those with seemingly ideal circumstances can be consumed by a dangerous ideology.

The mayor then turned his focus to the broader problem at hand: the radicalization of America’s youth. “Our children are being radicalized,” Adams stated, “I said this over and over again, and everybody’s like, you know, ‘What are you talking about, Eric?’” His frustration with the lack of attention to the issue was clear, but his message was undeniable. This isn’t just a fringe problem; it’s becoming a mainstream crisis.

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Federal Officials Will Deploy High-Tech System To New York After Drones Shut Down Airport, Governor Says

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the federal government will send a “a state-of-the-art drone detection system” to her state after a number of drone sightings across New York and New Jersey in recent days.

While she did not elaborate on the system that will be deployed, it “will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations,” she said in a statement on the morning of Dec. 15.

“I am grateful for the support, but we need more. Congress must pass a law that will give us the power to deal directly with the drones,” the governor wrote on social media platform X around the same time. She urged Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act that will give states “the authority and resources required to respond to circumstances like we face today.”

It’s not clear whether the federal government sent a similar system to New Jersey, where most of the drone sightings have occurred, or in other states. Over the weekend, swarms of drones were spotted in other states along the East Coast, including Maryland.

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Mysterious drones shut down runways of NY airport, causing Hochul to demand feds step in: ‘Gone too far’

The mysterious drones that have been plaguing the skies over the Northeast shut down the runways of Stewart International Airport Friday night, prompting Gov. Hochul to demand the feds step in.

“This has gone too far,” Hochul said in a terse statement Saturday, in which she noted the runway of the Orange County facility was shut down for an hour because of the unidentified aircraft.

Stewart Airport services both commercial and military flights and is adjacent to a New York Air National Guard base, where the 105th Airlift Wing is stationed.

The unidentified drones — which have been hovering over New Jersey for nearly a month and have been seen in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts — were also recently spotted flying over LaGuardia International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.

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NYC Mayor Eric Adams Stuns Lefty Reporters By Going Full MAGA 

New York City mayor Eric Adams continued his recent pivot away from the Democratic Party and toward the incoming administration by declaring in a press conference that he will not provide any sanctuary for criminal illegal aliens.

Adams met with President Trump’s incoming border czar Tom Homan Thursday and made remarks afterwards to the press that stunned reporters into silence. 

“We’re not going to be a safe haven for those who commit repeated violent crimes against innocent migrants, immigrants and long-standing New Yorkers,” Adams said after the meeting.

He continued, “From what I heard from the incoming head of ICE is that we have the same desire to go after those who are committing violent acts, repeated violent acts among innocent New Yorkers and among migration asylum seekers.”

“That’s what I heard from him. And I was pleased to hear that, because we share the same desire,” Adams urged.

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Murdoch Outlets and Bezos’ WaPo Demand More Sympathy for Health Insurance Execs

The early morning murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was met on social media with a “torrent of hate” for health insurance executives (New York Times, 12/5/24). Memes mocking the insurance companies and their callous disregard for human life abound on various platforms (AFP, 12/6/24).

Internet users are declaring that the man police believe to be the shooter, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, is certifiably hot (Rolling Stone, 12/9/24; KFOX, 12/10/24). A lookalike contest for the shooter was held in lower Manhattan (New York Times, 12/7/24).

If so many people are unsympathetic at best in response to such a killing, that might be a reason to revisit why health insurance companies are so loathed. The rage “was shocking to many, but it crossed communities all along the political spectrum, and took hold in countless divergent cultural clusters,” the New York Times (12/6/24) noted. Mangione was reportedly found with an anti-insurance manifesto that stated “these parasites had it coming” (Newsweek, 12/9/24), echoing a resentment largely felt by a lot of Americans, and targeted fury at UnitedHealthcare specifically.

UnitedHealthcare has always stood out for exceptionally high rate of claims denial generally in the industry (Boston Globe, 12/5/24; Forbes, 12/5/24). For example, a Senate committee found that “UnitedHealthcare’s prior authorization denial rate for post-acute care jumped from 10.9% in 2020 to 22.7% in 2022” (WNYW, 12/7/24).

The Times (12/5/24) reported that the Senate committee found that “three major companies—UnitedHealthcare, Humana and CVS, which owns Aetna—were intentionally denying claims” related to falls and strokes in order to boost profits. UnitedHealthcare “denied requests for such nursing stays three times more often than it did for other services.”

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Is this the real reason Luigi Mangione gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO?

Luigi Mangione executed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in cold blood as an ‘act of war’ after the company ‘violated’ its contract with his mother who suffered years of excruciating pain and expense following a diagnosis of severe neuropathy.

This is the claim made in a document purporting to be Mangione’s full manifesto, obtained and shared at length by true crime podcast Hidden True Crime.

Producer Lauren Matthias who runs the popular podcast and YouTube channel with her psychologist husband, Dr. John Matthias, shared the unverified document Tuesday afternoon on YouTube. 

Lauren told DailyMail.com: ‘It seems to have originated on a Substack and we put it out there because people like hearing things in real time.

‘We also thought that if it is a fake somebody would quickly tell us. But nobody has come forward to do that.’

If the document is proved to be genuine, it raises the question of why Mangione, who comes from a wealthy Maryland family, thought his parents would not be able to afford the procedures.  

In the episode, reviewed by DailyMail.com, Matthias reads from the document at length. In it Mangione, 26, compares himself to Gladiator’s Maximus Decimus Meridius as he reveals how his rage ‘surged’ as he witnessed his mother’s suffering in the face of UnitedHealthcare’s repeated delays and denials.

According to the alleged manifesto, Kathleen Mangione, 60, was diagnosed with neuropathy – a nerve condition that causes a range of symptoms from tingling, numbness, burning sensations to pain – when she was just 41 years old, a diagnosis that came after a decade of pain and discomfort.

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