Hi everyone!
Today is the big day in NYC where the 11 Democrat mayoral candidates will face off in the mayoral primary. Two men lead the pack, former Governor Andrew Cuomo who is staging a political comeback, and State Assemblyman from Queens Zohran Mamdani. Cuomo was ousted from office by his former Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul and her ally Attorney General Letitia James over what really look like bogus sexual harassment allegations. He's also faced allegations of screwing up with Covid by implementing an order telling nursing homes to take back residents after they'd been treated for the illness in hospitals.
Mamdani has a socialist policy platform that would see city-run grocery stores, a rent freeze for all rent-stabilized apartments, having mental health professionals patrol subways, free buses, and no real plan for how to pay for any of it other than raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations, who can always just leave. Mamdani's proposal for the city-run grocery stores, in his own words, would "create a network of city-owned grocery stores. It's like a public option for produce. We will redirect city funds from corporate supermarkets to city-owed grocery stores whose mission is to lower prices, not price gouging. These stores will operate without a profit motive, or having to pay property taxes or rent and will pass on those savings to you."
I think there's a good chance that Mamdani doesn't understand the economics of grocery stores, which have slim to no profit and risk the expiration of perishables daily. Mamdani also is a bit pro-Hamas, was endorsed by AOC, and has promised to spend $65 million on sex changes for New Yorkers. He promised to investigate hospitals that don't offer sex changes, too. Maybe he'll create a public option, city-run gender clinics where everyone can get sex changes and abortions, maybe both at once, because everyone knows New Yorkers are busy.
When accounting for the ranked-choice voting options, Mamdani leads Cuomo 51.8% to 48.2%. Here's how ranked choice voting works: You put down your candidates in favorites order, up to 5 total, but you don't have to, you can also just pick one. But if you just pick one and your candidate doesn't advance to the next round, your ballot is chucked. After the first count, the candidate with the least votes is out, and the tabulators go on to the next line, etc., etc. until someone gets 50%. They keep counting until one candidate gets a majority. In just looking at the first line, Cuomo leads Mamdani 35% to 32%, so it's all about getting himself a win on the first count.
Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran yesterday which appeared to be promptly broken. When he was asked about the apparent lack of cessation of hostilities before boarding Marine 1, he said "Two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*ck they're doing. Do you understand that?" He took no further questions and could be seen boarding the helicopter to head off to NATO meetings in Brussels.
Ahead of that meeting, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said "We are not living in happy land after the Berlin Wall came down. We are living in much more dangerous times and there are enemies, adversaries who might want to attack us. We have to make sure that we defend our beautiful way of life and systems and our values." Trump has been pressing the group to spend more on their own defense and not rely so much on American cash. US Ambassador to NATO said, "We're going to see a renaissance of our defense industries."
Trump is a man with the world on his shoulders and no matter which way he turns, whether to the Middle East, Europe, or even Mexico with these brutal cartels that seem to be running the government, no one seems particularly interested in peace. Overnight, in a series of posts, he wrote: "The ceasefire is now in effect. Please do not violate it." Then five hours later, he said "Israel. Do not drop those bombs. If you do it is a major violation. Bring your pilots home, now!" Both of these were in all caps.
Just an hour after that, he said "Israel is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home while doing a friendly 'plane wave' to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect! Thank you for your attention to this matter." He signed it with his name and title before writing "Iran will never rebuild their nuclear facilities."
Hard to know what happens next. Maybe nothing.
Here's what's on my desk today:
Trump calls for MAGA Rep Thomas Massie to voted out of office after objections over Iran strike
“Get this ‘bum’ out of office ASAP!!!”
Andrew Cuomo was ‘blackmailed’ as governor, ‘some’ sexual allegations were ‘100 percent fake’: OMG undercover video
“Some of the allegations are 100 percent fake, because those girls who are like, in the allegations, were sitting on his lap, taking selfies with him.”
Jury orders J6 pardonee to pay $500,000 in restitution to MPD officer’s widow
Officer Jeffrey Smith died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound 9 days after J6.
BBC anchor refuses to say term ‘pregnant people,’ replaces it with ‘women’ on air
“The aged, pregnant people—women—and those with pre-existing health conditions need to take precautions.”