The Real timschochet

To the contrary: I have made the point several times that Trump is a wannabe authoritarian but NOT one because he doesn’t have legislative power. This is basically the same point I’m making here (though Mamdami is not authoritarian so far as I can tell.) On the other hand, the Supreme Court seems to be working hard at increasing the powers Trump DOES ) have…

Agree with all this but he shouldn’t have said “whiter”. It’s not quite racist but it’s borderline.

Never mind I found it. He says he wants to tax “richer and whiter neighborhoods”. That’s unfortunate. He never should have said “whiter”; it borders on racism. Just another thing that would cause me not to support this guy in a sane world. My point stands that his tax ideas are irrelevant because as mayor he has no power to enact them.

Can you link that for me please?

Your use of the term “DEI Justice” to describe Jackson is racist. You deserve to be called out for this every time you do it. It’s ugly and stupid.

First off the reason I posted the article is because it clearly states that in order for such a tax to happen, the state legislature of New York needs to pass it and the governor would need to sign it. So it’s not a “local issue” as you claimed and the mayor has no power to enact it on his own. That was the third of my 5 points. Are you now willing to acknowledge this? Second, you keep using the term “white neighborhoods” and you claim that Mamdami did as well. The article doesn’t use that term and I can’t find Mamdami ever uses it. The term suggests racism. If you’re the one using it then YOU are the one being racist. But if you have an example of Mamdami using it please provide it. Second time I’ve asked.

I didn’t even know who he was until a week ago. I spent the last three days reading various interviews with him. I’ve already linked some here. The 5 points in my post were based on falsehoods I’ve read several times in this thread. Again if you think I’m wrong about any of it you’re welcome to provide evidence to the contrary.

Link to him saying white? And no per my understanding all taxes in the state of New York, including city taxes, have to be approved by the state legislature. I got that from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2025/06/27/will-mamdanis-proposed-millionaire-tax-save-or-sink-new-york-city/ if you have contradictory info please present it. NY isn’t my state so I have to rely on what I read.

Hey dude you’re welcome to try and contradict any of this. So far nobody has been able to.

If he believes in Israel’s right to exist and a 2 state solution, I don’t see how he can be labeled anti-Israel.

You’ve made this false argument before. I’ve offered you books and articles as to why it’s not true. I’ve tried to show you example after example of how Democratic Socialists have worked to defeat Communism. I’ve explained how, at the height of the Cold War, our greatest allies against Communism were the Democratic Socialists in West Berlin, and later in Poland (such as Lech Walesa). If you insist on rejecting facts I can’t help you.

Right now we have a system where we give poor people money, in the form of SNAP (previously food stamps) to purchase groceries. And we also have special grocery stores, privately run but under heavy government restriction and regulation, that sell items to these same people. Mamdami wishes to replace these stores with government run stores. He would never have the power to do this as mayor and it is not in my judgment a good or efficient idea. But it’s also not a new idea and it has no relationship to Communism, as it wouldn’t affect the private stores already in place. Under a Communist dictatorship all private ownership would end and be replaced with government run entities.

You’re wrong on both counts. A government run grocery store, while IMO a terrible idea, is not Communism any more than public education is Communism. It would be closer to Communism if he also made all private grocery stores illegal. Do you see the difference? It’s a huge difference but somehow conservatives never seem to see it. I have an interview, already linked in this thread, in which he states he recognizes the state of Israel and it’s right to exist, so your second assertion is simply false.

You of course mean neighborhoods with wealthier incomes right? But in any case he wouldn’t have that power as mayor.

It’s not even accurate to call him a socialist in that he’s not in favor of replacing capitalism. He wants to modify it, impose more restrictions. But again, he won’t be able to do this in his role as mayor so it seems irrelevant.

From what I’ve been able to learn about Mamdami: 1. He’s not a Communist, nowhere close. Like Bernie and AOC, he’s a Democratic Socialist. The two ideologies are very opposed, not similar at all. DS believes in free speech, Democracy, and our current system of free enterprise (though with much more government involvement.) Communists don’t. 2. While Mamdami was at one time in favor of the original set of “defund police” ideas (which was ALWAYS falsely titled; the ideas actually involved a nuanced reallocation of police funds and duties based on recommendations from police groups and advocacy groups, NOT a defunding) he has since changed his position, correctly realizing that whatever good was originally intended, the word “defund” is political poison. 3. Most of Mamdami’s economic ideas are irrelevant to any time he spends as mayor because he does not have the power to enact them. He is not a lawgiver. Like all other mayors his effectiveness will be based on his level of efficiency in keeping existing structures running. In this regard it should be noted that the man historians regard as the greatest mayor in New York history, Fiorello LaGuardia, was also a Democratic Socialist. This is nothing new. 4. Mamdami is a centrist Muslim, like most Muslims living in this country. His wife does not cover. He is not an Islamist, nor does he share the extreme Muslim beliefs of Islamist clerics. He is a feminist and pro LBTQ+. 5. Mamdami is not anti-Semitic. Nor is he anti-Israel. He is anti-Netanyahu and highly critical of Israel’s current government. Mamdami does not support Hamas. Once these facts are accepted, we can then have an intelligent conversation about what kind of mayor this guy will be. Until then we can’t.

It’s astonishing that you and others really believe this.

People voluntarily choosing to pray? Wasn’t aware I wanted this. Not particularly opposed though.

I never realized.

What you wrote is thoughtful and plausible except for one thing: the economy. I believe that Trump’s tarrifs and the Big Beautiful Bill are going to be so disastrous for people that ‘28 is going to be a shoe-in for the Democrat whoever that is. Now I hope this doesn’t happen- because as much as I want the MAGA crowd defeated, I don’t want it at the expense of the economy. So I would be happy to be wrong about this. Nonetheless I think this is where we’re headed.

I found what you wrote awful but I don’t think you deliberately meant it that way. I believe your comments were well-intended. I’ve certainly made my share of posts in the past that came out much worse than intended. I think you’re a good dude (just absurdly wrong about almost all political issues!)

Thank you @TheNewGirl. I disagree with you quite a bit and I know you don’t think much of my politics at all (or possibly not much of me at all) but I support what you wrote here 100%. I have two daughters now in their early 20s and feel exactly the same way.

Lol isn’t Zoltar the fortune telling dude from Big that turns Tom Hanks into an 11 year old kid?

Didn’t work out so well for me. Even without having to pay you I lost quite a bit of money. I won’t do that again. But I honestly do think Democrats are going to win big both in 2026 and 2028. Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with what they are offering or their ideas or their overall competence level which I don’t think too highly of. It will simply be a rejection of Trump. And I also believe that progressives and leftists will start to dominate in the Democratic Party for the next few years. Which I don’t like. Unfortunately the establishment types, with the possible exception of my governor Newsom, come off as too namby pamby, too weak. People love fighters.

Of course! Actually Im pretty good at it, at least half the time. (Though, like Winston Churchill, when I’m wrong I’m REALLY wrong.)