I would like to see a poll indicating how many New York Jews like Mamdani. I grew up in the City and lived there as a young adult, after coming back from the Middle East. I knew plenty of anti-Zionist Jews, all of whom were called “self-hating Jews” by Zionists. None of my friends would have condemned “globalize the intifada.” As Mamdani says, intifada means struggle, it doesn’t mean supporting terrorists or antisemitism. It means fighting against Bibi and his monstrous friends. Something some of us have been doing since the early 70s. Unfortunately, even globalizing the struggle, so that what they’re doing in Gaza and the West Bank is condemned by a number of democracies, doesn’t seem to bother them at all.
Hard to overstate how naive and unprepared to be mayor Zohran is. The fact the he wants to globalize the intifada is really the cherry on top. DSA is not sending its best
The Middle Way is the best way. Please be a moderate. Being far right like maga is extreme. Being far left like mamdani is extreme.
America has always been the place of opportunity. Please. There is no systemic this or systemic that. This monk sees that the "systemic..." cited by "socialists" are excuses, not reasons for "failures".
This monk grew up in the "hood". There were gang fights and this monk got beaten up many times. Maybe half of them "bullies" are dead/in prison, though the other half are doctors, engineers... And, this monk stays in shape, just in case a "gang fight" is needed.☺️
The monk is from an immigrant family, and lost a parent while growing up. As a result of the loss, this monk also knew hunger. But, this monk also learned how to mend his clothes and still live frugally, even when this monk is now part of the "middle class". And, it turns out that the standard American diet of fast foods, processed meats, sugary drinks... is expensive not only for one's wallet, but also on one's health. The challenge: try to live on ~$10/day for food. The occasional eating out (twice a month) is ok.☺️
A "political swipe": is the city-run grocery store proposed by mamdani going to "endanger" American health by having chips, cookies, sweets, meats...? If the store offered ONLY non-fat dairy, fruits and vegetables, that would be ok. The monk has seen folks buy chips and cookies with the "food stamps". Need not say more.
Care for the environment? Cut out red meat completely from the diet. Confirm the data yourself: raising cattle is terrible, especially now that the Amazon forest is no longer a carbon sink, due to all the deforesting for raising cattle. Buy fewer "disposable clothes", made with "forever plastics".
The monk sees that family is important, though the bigger perspective is that the community, which happened to be mostly immigrants, is also important. This monk remembers that the community helped in feeding the kids. Family is important, because, thankfully, this monk was raised to "always do the right thing, and do it well".
Still, this monk sees that each person makes his own path. So, hand-outs are NOT needed. Still, a hands-up like financial aid for college is good for all, because college enables a lot of job opportunities.
This monk is born and bred in America. This monk has friends who, right now sees the other with hatred: the guy from the hood to the guy working in the fields to the assault rifle toting "maga guy". We are all human beings. The monk and family are volunteers in the immigrant community, because we are all immigrants.
Thanks for this interesting analysis. I no longer live in NYC (thank god) but one's soul is never far away. I had been thinking that the city needed a badass asskicker like Cuomo, and that his name recognition was good. Now I'm not so sure. Yes many of Mamdani's ideas seem overly optimistic and naive. But we need to get rid of the Democratic gerontology. Its killing the Left. And I'm 76 years old!!!!!
I can’t say I care too much about who is elected mayor of New York, except that it is interesting for the future of legacy politicians, but I doubt Mamdani’s election would usher in a Communist regime. New York probably could do a lot worse, like Cuomo.
If Cuomo wins, I'll feel sorry for New Yorkers. If Mamdani wins, I'll feel sorry for him, because being mayor of NYC isn't always great for one's future in politics.
To say the mayoral candidates of the biggest and most dynamic city of America suboptimal is probably charitable. I share Sarah's view on Mamdani and seriously suspect he can do much to stand up to Trump other than getting himself famous.
Beame was mayor when New York City was going through its fiscal crisis in the mid-70s. That’s when my parents chose to leave the city. I ended up moving back for most of the 80s.
Oh, it's like a broken record with you people. Don't you ever get sick of it?
1. Coming here and living in substandard housing and working your ass off for minimum wage in jobs no native born will deign to do while you try to avoid getting noticed by the secret police hardly qualifies as a reward except for the fact that some of these people would have died had they stayed in their native countries. So, yeah I guess living is a "reward," but are you suggesting they should have just thrown their hands in the air and said, "OK, guess I'll die?"
2. Most of the immigrants without legal status DID NOT "enter" illegally--they just overstayed visas.
3. Many many others followed the internationally recognized process for seeking asylum--meaning they are following the law and are indeed "authorized."
4. Others have (had) Temporary Protected Status making them basically refugees and again, not unauthorized.
5. The channels for legal immigration have been so choked off that it is next to impossible to do it the legal way.
6. The reason that we continue to have high levels of migration--even with the legal route all but closed off--is that we NEED THE WORKERS. They take the risk not just because the situations at home are so dangerous and dire but because they know they will find the work. And without them, we would be facing a labor shortage of catastrophic proportions, with food rotting in the fields, construction projects shut down, and our disabled and elderly completely uncared for.
It's not like I actually expect you to read this or reply or engage in good faith. There is a huge troll army of xenophobes doing hit and run commenting across the Internet who can't seem to stop screaming "Illegal! Illegal! But, but, but, but, but--Illegal!" who seem to have absolutely no concern for all the illegal (and cruel and dangerous) acts perpetrated by ICE and the administration. So, I gotta ask: What did an immigrant ever do to you?
Send the people who hire undocumented people to the gulags. Why should they be rewarded for exploitation and human trafficking of people fleeing terrible situations? After all, they're breaking the law too.
"...It's not like I actually expect you to read this or reply or engage in good faith..."
I read it.
I'm replying.
Good faith is likely like beauty, in the eye of the beholder for yourself as well as all of those who liked your initial reply to my question.
My take on your reply, not knowing you, is you clearly deem my question to be somehow unreasonable, but I'm not seeing it being answered beyond your claim of somehow "needing the workers".
Those who entered the U.S. without govt authorization have broken the law.
Violation of visa terms is also breaking the law but let's be clear that this group represents one's who received an initial authorized entry.
I will conclude that your view is that those here without authorization should get to stay even though they have knowingly broken the law by their actions.
Wrong. I think they should get the due process they are entitled to under federal and international law. They should go before immigration judges. If an immigration judge says you have to go, then you’ve got to go. But then you go back to your own country— Not a hell hole in El Salvador or Sudan. I don’t have a problem with that. I have a problem with locking people up When they have not been convicted of felonies. And I have a problem with the hypocrisy of a country that will exploit the labor of these human beings without giving Them the rights that the rest of us have.
I don't know what sites you read last week or five minutes ago do I that led to what your claim. Notice I am not saying "bogus". I don't know what you read that lead to what you wrote.
Thank goodness for ranked choice voting in the primary which may reduce the likelihood of either a sleazeball or a socialist from being elected. Or worse, Curtis Sliwa becoming mayor.
Except the problem of Cuomo being the most popular, only because more people have heard his name and don't associate anything bad with it (short term memory loss?).
Please, stop calling ICE assaults “crackdowns”. Crackdown implies legitimacy. There is nothing legit about this 21st c. Gestapo.
I would like to see a poll indicating how many New York Jews like Mamdani. I grew up in the City and lived there as a young adult, after coming back from the Middle East. I knew plenty of anti-Zionist Jews, all of whom were called “self-hating Jews” by Zionists. None of my friends would have condemned “globalize the intifada.” As Mamdani says, intifada means struggle, it doesn’t mean supporting terrorists or antisemitism. It means fighting against Bibi and his monstrous friends. Something some of us have been doing since the early 70s. Unfortunately, even globalizing the struggle, so that what they’re doing in Gaza and the West Bank is condemned by a number of democracies, doesn’t seem to bother them at all.
Abr was a great Comptroller but a crummy Mayor.
Saw him on Tim and Cam’s podcast. I like him.
Hard to overstate how naive and unprepared to be mayor Zohran is. The fact the he wants to globalize the intifada is really the cherry on top. DSA is not sending its best
Oh, it is.
The Middle Way is the best way. Please be a moderate. Being far right like maga is extreme. Being far left like mamdani is extreme.
America has always been the place of opportunity. Please. There is no systemic this or systemic that. This monk sees that the "systemic..." cited by "socialists" are excuses, not reasons for "failures".
This monk grew up in the "hood". There were gang fights and this monk got beaten up many times. Maybe half of them "bullies" are dead/in prison, though the other half are doctors, engineers... And, this monk stays in shape, just in case a "gang fight" is needed.☺️
The monk is from an immigrant family, and lost a parent while growing up. As a result of the loss, this monk also knew hunger. But, this monk also learned how to mend his clothes and still live frugally, even when this monk is now part of the "middle class". And, it turns out that the standard American diet of fast foods, processed meats, sugary drinks... is expensive not only for one's wallet, but also on one's health. The challenge: try to live on ~$10/day for food. The occasional eating out (twice a month) is ok.☺️
A "political swipe": is the city-run grocery store proposed by mamdani going to "endanger" American health by having chips, cookies, sweets, meats...? If the store offered ONLY non-fat dairy, fruits and vegetables, that would be ok. The monk has seen folks buy chips and cookies with the "food stamps". Need not say more.
Care for the environment? Cut out red meat completely from the diet. Confirm the data yourself: raising cattle is terrible, especially now that the Amazon forest is no longer a carbon sink, due to all the deforesting for raising cattle. Buy fewer "disposable clothes", made with "forever plastics".
The monk sees that family is important, though the bigger perspective is that the community, which happened to be mostly immigrants, is also important. This monk remembers that the community helped in feeding the kids. Family is important, because, thankfully, this monk was raised to "always do the right thing, and do it well".
Still, this monk sees that each person makes his own path. So, hand-outs are NOT needed. Still, a hands-up like financial aid for college is good for all, because college enables a lot of job opportunities.
This monk is born and bred in America. This monk has friends who, right now sees the other with hatred: the guy from the hood to the guy working in the fields to the assault rifle toting "maga guy". We are all human beings. The monk and family are volunteers in the immigrant community, because we are all immigrants.
Fight without anger. The Middle Way.
Peace. 🙏
You call yourself a monk yet you judge people for what they are buying with their SNAP card?
This monk would be interested in how you would define chips and cookies as “healthy nutrition”? Chips and cookies are “hand-ups”???
As they say in the hood: “no judge, just fact”.
It's simply none of your business what others are buying and eating.
lol. So sad. Folks like you are the real reason Harris lost. ☺️
Thanks for this interesting analysis. I no longer live in NYC (thank god) but one's soul is never far away. I had been thinking that the city needed a badass asskicker like Cuomo, and that his name recognition was good. Now I'm not so sure. Yes many of Mamdani's ideas seem overly optimistic and naive. But we need to get rid of the Democratic gerontology. Its killing the Left. And I'm 76 years old!!!!!
I can’t say I care too much about who is elected mayor of New York, except that it is interesting for the future of legacy politicians, but I doubt Mamdani’s election would usher in a Communist regime. New York probably could do a lot worse, like Cuomo.
If Cuomo wins, I'll feel sorry for New Yorkers. If Mamdani wins, I'll feel sorry for him, because being mayor of NYC isn't always great for one's future in politics.
With regard to not having heard of Beame, Adrian: Your youth is showing. I remember him and I'm not even a New Yorker! (Just old. . . :-)
To say the mayoral candidates of the biggest and most dynamic city of America suboptimal is probably charitable. I share Sarah's view on Mamdani and seriously suspect he can do much to stand up to Trump other than getting himself famous.
“Try to,” not “try and.” I tend to ignore written comments from those who butcher basic English. Copy editors are also guilty.
Beame was mayor when New York City was going through its fiscal crisis in the mid-70s. That’s when my parents chose to leave the city. I ended up moving back for most of the 80s.
I remember the draconian cuts he made to the NYC budget.
Why do those who did not get authorized to enter the U.S. get rewarded?
Oh, it's like a broken record with you people. Don't you ever get sick of it?
1. Coming here and living in substandard housing and working your ass off for minimum wage in jobs no native born will deign to do while you try to avoid getting noticed by the secret police hardly qualifies as a reward except for the fact that some of these people would have died had they stayed in their native countries. So, yeah I guess living is a "reward," but are you suggesting they should have just thrown their hands in the air and said, "OK, guess I'll die?"
2. Most of the immigrants without legal status DID NOT "enter" illegally--they just overstayed visas.
3. Many many others followed the internationally recognized process for seeking asylum--meaning they are following the law and are indeed "authorized."
4. Others have (had) Temporary Protected Status making them basically refugees and again, not unauthorized.
5. The channels for legal immigration have been so choked off that it is next to impossible to do it the legal way.
6. The reason that we continue to have high levels of migration--even with the legal route all but closed off--is that we NEED THE WORKERS. They take the risk not just because the situations at home are so dangerous and dire but because they know they will find the work. And without them, we would be facing a labor shortage of catastrophic proportions, with food rotting in the fields, construction projects shut down, and our disabled and elderly completely uncared for.
It's not like I actually expect you to read this or reply or engage in good faith. There is a huge troll army of xenophobes doing hit and run commenting across the Internet who can't seem to stop screaming "Illegal! Illegal! But, but, but, but, but--Illegal!" who seem to have absolutely no concern for all the illegal (and cruel and dangerous) acts perpetrated by ICE and the administration. So, I gotta ask: What did an immigrant ever do to you?
Send the people who hire undocumented people to the gulags. Why should they be rewarded for exploitation and human trafficking of people fleeing terrible situations? After all, they're breaking the law too.
"...It's not like I actually expect you to read this or reply or engage in good faith..."
I read it.
I'm replying.
Good faith is likely like beauty, in the eye of the beholder for yourself as well as all of those who liked your initial reply to my question.
My take on your reply, not knowing you, is you clearly deem my question to be somehow unreasonable, but I'm not seeing it being answered beyond your claim of somehow "needing the workers".
Those who entered the U.S. without govt authorization have broken the law.
Violation of visa terms is also breaking the law but let's be clear that this group represents one's who received an initial authorized entry.
I will conclude that your view is that those here without authorization should get to stay even though they have knowingly broken the law by their actions.
Wrong. I think they should get the due process they are entitled to under federal and international law. They should go before immigration judges. If an immigration judge says you have to go, then you’ve got to go. But then you go back to your own country— Not a hell hole in El Salvador or Sudan. I don’t have a problem with that. I have a problem with locking people up When they have not been convicted of felonies. And I have a problem with the hypocrisy of a country that will exploit the labor of these human beings without giving Them the rights that the rest of us have.
5
Why are people who enter legally and follow the laws deported?
Why is ICE invading workplaces and court rooms, where people are getting HEARINGS on their LEGAL STATUS?
Where are all the criminals they planned to deport?
Details - who, what, when where?
You don't read any social media? News sites? The Bulwark? You Tube?
https://youtube.com/shorts/CoDiniK1Tb0?si=Mlq-Ug6OEYD9SfBC
I don't know what sites you read last week or five minutes ago do I that led to what your claim. Notice I am not saying "bogus". I don't know what you read that lead to what you wrote.
Do you know what Google is?
That doesn't inform anyone as to what you read and how you arrived at your conclusion, unless it's you agreeing with everything at a given site.
"Google it" is the refuge of the lazy.
The New York Times? NPR? Network news?
Who wrote it? When was it published? What was the title? And then tell what led you to your conclusion. Or is one supposed to read your mind?
I mean, how could you be here on the Bulwark and not know about that?
(by the way, your comment up at the top is right on!)
Thank you.
Thank goodness for ranked choice voting in the primary which may reduce the likelihood of either a sleazeball or a socialist from being elected. Or worse, Curtis Sliwa becoming mayor.
Except the problem of Cuomo being the most popular, only because more people have heard his name and don't associate anything bad with it (short term memory loss?).
We so need to stop electing a**holes
Let's just say that NYC voters do not seem to vote in their own self interests.
Lived there 25+ years. Same as it ever was.