Garbage socialism: Mamdani gives it to New Yorkers good and hard

 Monica Showalter - American Thinker  

"Trash and rats are piling up as snow stays uncleared, but Mayor Mamdani has more important things to do."

 "Under socialism, New Yorkers are learning the hard way how fast a city can go downhill.  

Garbage filled streets is providing New Yorkers with the Warmth of Collectivism. https://t.co/hewdZHfJKq

— Rob Schneider 🇺🇸 (@RobSchneider) February 3, 2026

In Mayor Mamdani's New York City, they don't actually remove the snow, they just spread it out on the street so that everyone suffers equally.

. . ."Here's what his boosters at the New York Times are zeroing in on:

NYT gushes over Mamdani’s custom Carhartt winter storm jacket — as New Yorkers die in freezing temps, trash piles up https://t.co/IgJRve4bii pic.twitter.com/DuF25LnlhD

— New York Post (@nypost) February 3, 2026 . . .

. . . "It's a nightmare. I've lived in New York and know what it's like in February. Black snow, freezing rain and slippery sidewalks are bad enough, and everyone is just sick of the cold temperatures and snow mess that's made as the wreckage of winter slowly melts away. But the snow was always cleared under Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg. Now they don't bother. Handicapped people cannot cross streets, snow plows are abandoned, and garbage is piling up, complete with rats eating through the decay and putrification.

"Mamdani was elected mayor of New York, not ruler of the world. But he's acting like the latter. Mayors keep streets plowed and garbage collected. Mamdani makes Instagrams instead. Now New Yorkers are learning the hard way that they don't matter as all power concentrates in the hands of the state under socialism. This is as true of New York City as it is of China, Venezuela, Cuba, or any place that has embraced the socialist model."

Mahmoud Khalil opens up uncomfortable questions about October 7

"How could anti-Israel protests be so well coordinated, so fast?"

 Aaron Shuster - American Thinker 

 "And is it unreasonable to ask whether some organizers arrived in advance not merely to study or observe, but to mobilize — knowing that a catalytic event was coming?"

Followed by...

 "The recent decision to expel Mahmoud Khalil from the United States has been treated by much of the media as a narrow immigration matter — a technical ruling about visa status and disclosure failures.  That framing misses the larger question his case raises.  Khalil’s removal invites a re-examination not just of who he is, but of what followed Hamas’s October 7 massacre — and how quickly the global response was prepared.

...the stooges...

"On October 8, before Israel had mounted any meaningful military response, before troops entered Gaza, before retaliatory operations had even been organized, massive demonstrations erupted across cities, countries, and continents.  These rallies were large, coordinated, visually unified, and message-disciplined.  They featured printed placards, chants in multiple languages, and identical slogans framing Israel as the aggressor and Hamas’s violence as “resistance.”

"The speed and scale of these demonstrations demand scrutiny.  Large protests do not materialize overnight.  Anyone who has organized even a modest public rally understands the realities involved: permits, staging, sound systems, marshals, messaging, coalition coordination, transportation, and promotion.  At an international level, these requirements multiply.  Coordinating demonstrations across time zones and legal jurisdictions requires planning.

...the sinister.

"That reality raises an uncomfortable question: How were so many people, in so many places, ready to mobilize immediately after October 7?

"To understand why this matters, we must recall what October 7 actually was.  Hamas fighters breached an internationally recognized border and carried out a coordinated massacre of civilians inside Israel.  Entire families were murdered in their homes.  Concertgoers were hunted and executed.  Women were raped, mutilated, and paraded.  Elderly civilians and children were abducted and dragged into Gaza as hostages.  More than 1,200 people were killed in a single day.  Over 250 were taken captive.

"This was not a clash between armies.  It was mass murder.

"The rallies that followed inverted the moral frame almost immediately.  Israel was accused of genocide before it had fired back.  Self-defense was pre-emptively delegitimized.  Terrorism was contextualized, rationalized, even celebrated." . . . More...

Aaron J. Shuster is a writer, producer, and cinematist. His work focuses on moral clarity; political inversion; and the intersection of history, ideology, and power.  He has written extensively on antisemitism, totalitarian movements, and Western civilizational ethics.

Joe Biden: Decline and Fall

PragerU

"Joseph Biden spent his career chasing one goal: the presidency. After decades of political frustration, he finally became the 46th president of the United States. What happened next is one of American history’s tragic ironies. Presidential historian Tevi Troy explores Biden’s rise and fall."

Should we trust this commentator? Joe Biden is the Most Corrupt President in Our History

Democrats, lacking a positive agenda, bet on chaos, Trump hysteria, and media allies to spark a midterm backlash as Trump’s economic rebound gains steam.

 Victor Davis Hanson › American Greatness  

"The more violence, Nazi-invective, and sheer craziness the left can instill—storming church services, ramming ICE vehicles, taking over the streets, or boasting of armed resistance—the more they believe that voters will blame not them, the instigators, but Trump, the target of their insurrectionary madness.

 "Recent regional special elections have seen Democratic candidates win a number of special election races.

"Now energized left-wing politicos remind the nation daily that every incumbent president, except three over the last century, has suffered substantial midterm losses in Congress.

"Polls show Trump suffering an average 11-point negative unfavorability rating.

"So Democrats promise to soon stop all new legislation and end Trump and his counterrevolution itself.

"But the left will never offer any alternative agenda on the economy, the border, crime, or foreign policy.

"Instead, the new Democrat-Socialist Party views the Biden disaster of 2021-2024 not as a result of his puppeteers’ toxic policies of open borders, 21 percent aggregate inflation, dead-end green energy subsidies, DEI mandates, trans fixations, and an appeasing foreign policy that led to wars abroad and emboldened China.

"Instead, they now blame those catastrophic years on Biden’s own enfeebled state—as if he were merely a hapless, debilitated messenger for their otherwise superb radical message.

"So absent a positive agenda, Democrats will simply run all their state and federal campaigns as if Trump, their Satanic monster, is on every ballot.

" 'Their Trump obsessions result in three now well-worn strategies.

"The first, of course, is still more chaos.

"The left believes that the unending 2020 riots cost Trump the election.

"Ever since, they have sought to concoct a nihilist replay—whether the Tesla hysterias, the perpetual threats of government shutdowns, tough-guy talk of open insurrection against the federal government, or the current, performative-art, anti-ICE violence in Minneapolis.

"They concede most Americans still support Trump’s closed borders and legal-only immigration, but hope they want a return to “normalcy” even more."    Full article...

"An L.A. Eviction Lawyer Has a Message for Billie Eilish, and I Can't Stop Laughing" Stephen Green

 Let's be careful what we wish for. How about we just build them a big casino?

Stephen Green   

"So imagine you're one of the remaining 3,900 or so Tongva people native to the Los Angeles basin and Southern Channel Islands, who had everything stolen from them by nasty white people just like Billie Eilish, including their language." 

"It's one thing to live on stolen land, constantly looking over your shoulder to see if anybody noticed and might decide to do something about it. It's quite another to insist that "No one is illegal on stolen land" in front of 14.4 million viewers on live television, and have that clip played countless times for countless millions more all over YouTube and social media — all while living in a mansion that, well, sits on "stolen land."

"Billie Eilish did the latter on Sunday, and now one Los Angeles attorney plans to do something about it.

"But I haven't even told you the best part: Avi Sinai specializes in difficult evictions.

"Just roll me over and throw some dirt on top of me because I'm dead of laughter.

" 'If you are facing a contested or high-risk eviction," Sinai's website boasts, "Sinai Law Firm provides strategic, trial-ready representation grounded in real courtroom experience."

"Sinai also claims he runs "the premier eviction firm in the county." 

Apologies to these people:

"One happy client named Alessandra T gushes on the website, "Avi was an absolute game-changer in our eviction case in Santa Monica... he not only secured a judgment for the amount owed, but also successfully removed the tenant." And Paula B. wrote that he "was able to turn a very difficult tenant situation that appeared very bleak into the best possible outcome."

"If you've ever heard any horror stories about how difficult it can be to secure an eviction in Democrat-run locales, you get some idea of what a fierce attorney Sinai must be.

"All that is why, when Avi says he'll represent the indigenous Tongva people pro bono, should they decide to try to reclaim the stolen land where Eilish's $2.3 million Glendale mansion sits, you've got to sit up and pay attention.

"Or fall down laughing. Results vary by individual." . . .

P.S. On the off chance that you are part of the Tongva people or know one, here's a link to Sinai Law Firm's webpage where he offers "same-day service," just by calling 310-967-7772.

Steve launched VodkaPundit on a well-planned whim in 2002, and has been with PJ Media since its launch in 2005. He served as one of the hosts of PJTV, a pioneer in internet broadcasting. He also cohosts "Right Angle" with Bill Whittle and Scott Ott at BillWhittle.com. He lives with his wife and sons in the wooded hills of Monument, Colorado, where he enjoys the occasional adult beverage.

The Recall Push for LA Mayor Karen Bass Should Be Without Question After This Development

The recall I remember was to take out Gavin Newsom; how did that go?

Matt Vespa  

"There have been petitions to recall Bass—this story should make that push unstoppable. She doctored the report on the fire (via NY Post): . . . "

GrrrGraphics – Official Ben Garrison Cartoons

"Her city was burning, but Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was too busy partying in Africa, having been invited to attend the inauguration of Ghana's president. It was a terrible move, a public relations nightmare, especially after fire crews struggled to contain the blaze, which became one of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in state history. It raged for most of January 2025. There have been petitions to recall Bass—this story should make that push unstoppable. She doctored the report on the fire (via NY Post): " . . .  

Embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass secretly altered the official Palisades Fire response report to downplay the failures made by the city and fire department when the deadly blaze erupted, a new report said.

Bass, after seeing an early draft of the after-action report, wanted key findings of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s shortcomings scrubbed or watered down — and even warned then-interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva the unedited conclusions could expose the city to legal liability, sources close to the Democrat’s staff told the Los Angeles Times. 

Bass was cautioned that the self-serving tweaks in with the report was a “bad idea” that could torpedo her political career but still withheld the working draft until after changes were made, insiders told the Times.  . . .  

Celebrities Who Lost Homes in LA, Palisades Fires: Full List - Business Insider [From Jan 2025] Guess we might not see celebrities wearing "Save Mayor Bass" pins at the next Hollywood function. We'll wait to see how she is covered on MSNOW and Joy Reid.

"Wildfires in Los Angeles raged through the star-studded Pacific Palisades neighborhood.

Paris Hilton, Miles Teller, and Anthony Hopkins were among the celebrities who lost their homes.

The average house price in the northern LA area is around $4.5 million." . . .

While it can be hard to feel pity for so many self-righteous, virtue-signaling pin-wearers, losing old personal memories is a loss one fears significantly. TD

'Dead on arrival': Chuck Schumer says Dems will 'go all out' to defeat voter ID bill

 Carlos Garcia  It's OK, Chuck. MSNOW will support you.

Babylon Bee | Fake News You Can Trust

"Schumer compared the SAVE Act to the racist Jim Crow laws against black Americans after the Civil War and warned of a government shutdown.

"I have said it before and I'll say it again, the SAVE Act would impose Jim Crow type laws to the entire country and is dead on arrival in the Senate," said Schumer in a statement on Monday. "It is a poison pill that will kill any legislation that it is attached to. If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to the bipartisan appropriations package it will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown."

"Schumer concluded by saying Democrats would "go all out" to defeat the bill.

"Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas previously defended the bill from Democratic criticism in comments to Blaze News.

" 'This is a commonsense reform with broad public support from Americans who want elections that are free, fair, and secure," Roy said.

" 'Now it's time for the Senate to act. All it takes is 51 Republicans willing to demand a vote," he added. "And if Democrats choose to filibuster, they can explain to the American people why they believe noncitizens should be allowed to vote. That is a debate we will win every time."

"If passed, the SAVE Act would require "proof of United States citizenship to register an individual to vote in elections for Federal office." . . .

Antifa, a wholly owned subsidiary of a billionaire; Bernie Sanders in 2019: “Billionaires should not exist.”

 Don Surber  

"Although framed as a spontaneous uprising of concerned, everyday people, the demonstration—like countless that have regularly metastasized during President Trump’s terms—featured a familiar cast of politically obsessed activists and terminally online characters."

AfterMath - Home

. . . "But Bernie bashes billionaires and that is OK by me.

"And I am pleased that he is honest enough to admit that he supports those who obstruct law enforcement officers from enforcing federal law.

"On January 20, he said, “I want to thank our courageous friends in Minnesota who—in below freezing temperatures—are standing up to ICE. The American people want democracy and justice, not authoritarianism. When we stand together we win.”

"I am delighted that Bernie said that because his words show what a phony baloney, hypocritical, dishonest, two-faced, lying chiseler Bernie Sanders is.

"Prove it, you ask.

"The New York Post reported:

Anti-ICE protests in Minnesota may appear to be “grassroots” efforts organized by concerned citizens, but they’re really funded with megadonor money — some coming from China.

A so-called “ICE Out” march drew an estimated 15,000 left-wing political activists to a frozen, snow-covered Minneapolis on Friday, with attendees chanting “ICE out now” and demanding an end to federal immigration enforcement in the city.

Although framed as a spontaneous uprising of concerned, everyday people, the demonstration—like countless that have regularly metastasized during President Trump’s terms—featured a familiar cast of politically obsessed activists and terminally online characters.

They organize on radical message boards and encrypted texting apps, but are backed by funds created by radical leftist billionaires.

“My team’s best judgment is that it’s the Neville Singham network that is most active [in Minnesota], partly because that’s the most crazy network. But they aren’t alone,” Scott Walter, president of Capital Research and an expert on dark money outfits, told The Post.

"I am not surprised to learn the CCP—Red China—is behind this effort to stop the U.S. government from kicking illegal aliens out. After all, Tim Walz was its Manchurian vice presidential candidate, chosen by the Democrat Party because of his ability to milk social justice programs to fund Democrats." . . .More...

“ 'Singham comes from a leftist background—his father, Archibald Singham, was a Sri Lankan political scientist and academic.” It seems like having a Communist father leads to a communist offspring. The current mayor of New York City has one, Biden’s transportation secretary had one, and how can we not forget that the “Light Bringer” was the ultimate offspring of a commie bastard and look how he tried and in many aspects succeeded in “fundamentally transforming” this nation." From the comments to the above. TD

Lincoln Emancipation Proclamation Statue at Stevens Hall

Lincoln Emancipation Proclamation Statue at Stevens Hall | Gettysburg Daily

Gettysburg Daily

Artist Stan Watts took two years to complete the statue.

"The Carlisle Road is in the left background. The college is currently renovating and expanding the “Eisenhower House,” which you can see in the right of frame. This image was taken facing south at approximately 10:30 AM on Tuesday, January 17, 2017.

"Watts told the Evening Sun that “this is probably the most important piece I have done.” The bronze statue “[honors] Lincoln because he did the hard task. He freed the slaves.”

"Secretary of State William H. Seward and Assistant Secretary of State Frederick W. Seward took the official copy of the Emancipation to Lincoln’s office around noon on January 1, 1863. Lincoln signed the proclamation in his office."

"Lincoln’s office served as his cabinet room. The room is today known as the “Lincoln Bedroom,” and was redesigned in the 19th century style under the presidency of George W. Bush. This photograph shows the northwest corner of the room as it appeared in 1889.  

"This 1889 view of the northwest corner of the room shows the Lincoln-period mantel in detail and is courtesy of the Library of Congress."

Gettysburg Battle historical material

Gettysburg Witness Trees Main Battlefield Witness Tree Map   "Please note: I am updating all the maps, adding newly discovered witness trees, and uploading numerous new then-and-now comparisons, all to make this website as comprehensive as possible!

"When this updating project is complete, you will find every photographically confirmed witness tree on the Gettysburg battlefield!

"Because I continue to identify new witness trees, please be aware that the numbers of the trees on this website do not necessarily match the numbers of the trees in my published witness tree field guides."  Gettysburg Witness Trees Shop

What is a Gettysburg Witness Tree? And Where To Look - Civil War Cycling  

Silent Witnesses

Witnessing History from a Tree’s Perspective: A recount of important Witness Trees in American History

# 13. Lincoln Witness Tree (north)

"President Lincoln would have passed tree #13 on his way to deliver his Gettysburg Address at the dedication of Soldiers’ National Cemetery on November 19, 1863. A plaque that commemorates that fact is mounted on a stone at the base of the tree."

National Park Service Discovers Bullets in Downed Witness Tree on Culp's Hill | Gettysburg Daily

Gettysburg Witness Trees . . .   

"are living trees that were alive during the Battle of Gettysburg, which took place from July 1-3, 1863. These trees are significant as they have "witnessed" the events of the battle. The United  States War Department tagged certain trees in the early 1900s that were believed to be witness trees, with some still retaining their tags today. Notably, these trees would have been seedlings at the time of the battle, as mature trees would not have survived to the present day. Examples of notable witness trees include the Sickles Oak and the Burnside Sycamore, which have historical significance related to the battle."'

 3D Tours - Gettysburg National Military Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Restoring the stone walls of Gettysburg | Gettysburg Daily

How California Colleges Created Kwanzaa and Destroyed America

 Daniel Greenfield | Frontpage Mag  

"The same California university system that helped give us Kwanzaa, Angela Davis, Barack Obama and Kamala Harris wrecked the state and the country. And it isn’t done yet. Imagine if we stopped funding it."

"In 1965, Ronald McKinley Everett changed his name to Maulana Karenga, in 1966, he invented the fictional holiday of Kwanzaa, in 1969, members of his US black nationalist organization got into a gunfight with Black Panthers at UCLA, in 1971, he was arrested for torturing two women, and in 1989, he was hired as the chair of the black studies department at a California State University college where he currently teaches on subjects such as “the socio-ethical thought of Malcolm X” and “Ancient Egyptian Maatian Ethics” (after the goddess Maat).

"The story of Kwanzaa and Karenga is a small part of the larger story of how California’s public colleges, its UC (University of California) and CSU (California State University) systems, incubated, financed and inflicted some of the worst racial political extremism on America.

"When Chancellor Charles Young (later the head of the Qatar Foundation) took office, UCLA had a 12% minority population. Young, like many radical administrators, was on a mission to rapidly increase the minority population through affirmative action and make it more appealing to them with identity politics courses of the kind being championed by the Ford Foundation.

"Karenga (pictured above) was admitted to UCLA despite being a high school dropout. UCLA had created the ‘High Potential Program’ as a form of affirmative action to enable black students with poor grades and not much of an academic track record (but ‘high potential’) to be admitted ahead of more qualified students on account of their race. Or at least that was the theory.

"The reality however was quite different." . . .  More...

January 22, 2026 Democrats Join Republicans in Voting the Clintons in Contempt of Congress

 Hillary Clinton Fundraises for Minneapolis Rioters  "And accidentally exposes the radical networks behind the rioters."

Democrats Join Republicans in Voting the Clintons in Contempt of Congress – JONATHAN TURLEY   

 "For a party that runs on fighting the privileged and entitled wealthy class, this vote is comically ironic. They are supporting the claim of the Clintons that they get to decide when they will be subject to legal demands without offering an even remotely plausible legal defenses." 

Editorial Cartoons That Bite

Yesterday, a curious thing happened in a House Committee. Bill and Hillary Clinton were actually held accountable for flouting the law — at least as a preliminary matter. In the House Oversight Committee, Democrats joined Republicans in approving contempt resolutions against the two political figures after they refused to appear to answer questions about their connections to Jeffrey Epstein.

The House panel voted 34-8 to advance the resolution on Bill Clinton to a floor vote. It voted 28-15 to advance a resolution on Hillary Clinton.

"As previously discussed, the Clintons adopted a position that was devoid of any cognizable legal defense. It was simple hubris, telling Congress that they did not want to appear to be saying that congressional subpoenas are discretionary for them.

"From the Whitewater case to the Lewinsky matter to the email scandal, the Clintons have always escaped accountability for their actions. Courts can find perjury and prosecutors can find classified material without a criminal charge. Evidence can suddenly surface after investigations, or thousands of emails can be destroyed without any repercussions.

"After that history, it is little surprise that the Clintons would believe that they, unlike other Americans, can choose whether to comply with a subpoena. After standing in flagrant contempt, the Clintons only reaffirmed the sense of entitlement by offering to allow an interview in New York without a transcript. There would be no “what the meaning of ‘is’ is” moments.

"It is a demonstration of our partisan times that the mere fact that Democrats joined in the motion came as a surprise to many. Nine Democrats voted with their GOP colleagues against the Clintons

"What is disgraceful are those Democrats who dispensed with any institutional or ethical obligations in opposing the resolution. Here were the eight Democrats who voted to allow the Clintons to disregard lawfully issued subpoenas from the Committee:

"The three Democrats who voted to advance the resolution against Hillary Clinton are Lee, Stansbury and Tlaib, according to Politico."

 Full List of Democrats Voting to Approve Clinton Contempt of Congress Resolution - Newsweek  

The committee voted 34-8 to advance a contempt recommendation against Bill Clinton, with two members voting present. A separate contempt recommendation against Hillary Clinton passed 28-15, with one member voting present. Nine Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the contempt measure against Bill Clinton, while three Democrats voted with Republicans to advance the recommendation against Hillary Clinton.