ComradeKayAdams

They are “modest” policies in the sense that they are well-supported in the international macroeconomics research literature. The public grocery stores idea is Zohran’s only one that would be classified in Europe as an example of socialism. If you are so perturbed by the thought of government owning the means of production for 5 NYC grocery stores, then consider redirecting your ire towards your precious free markets that created the urban food desert conditions in the first place. “Laissez-faire” was a hyperbolic remark meant to characterize this post-1970’s era of neoliberalism. It would be perfectly reasonable to characterize the historical American economy as laissez-faire all the way up through the Gilded Age. Neoliberalism, for the record, is economically sub-optimal and leads to middle class degradation, working class immiseration, and massive political instability. Laissez-faire economics, for the record, is even worse and includes all the above plus outrageous human rights violations, widespread ecosystem destruction, and intolerably deep and lengthy busts in the natural boom-bust cycles. You’re not averse to hyperbole yourself, as evidenced by your Venezuela remark. Do you have even the slightest clue as to how authoritarian socialism in Venezuela came about, or why socialism specifically failed in that country?? How about a step-by-step outline of the political process in which a city mayor can go from 5 public grocery stores to the complete seizure of the means of production for every bodega (and every private business, in general) in every borough?? Your attacks are all over the place. First, clarify the problem. We are discussing urban affordability for lower and middle classes, which comes down to a discussion of wages versus cost of living (food, housing, transportation, utilities, education, health care) and other economic subtractions (various forms of taxation, inflationary effects). Next, figure out the approximate allocation of responsibility and blame. Surely you understand how local politicians are limited in the extent that they can affect the aforementioned economic factors, compared to state and national politicians? Do you also understand how little political power the actual far left has and has historically had, relative to the establishment left and to right-wingers? Recall one of the most basic definitions of the far left: no acceptance of corporate/big-money campaign donations. NYC hasn’t had a far-left mayor in the ideological vicinity of Zohran since La Guardia (though de Blasio admittedly did a few good things that were progressive). Okay, so NOW you can begin to fairly assess the culpability of local far-left politicians with regard to the aforementioned economic factors. I’m a reasonable person and could concede frivolous far-left regulations and wasteful far-left spending here and there, but it would be absolutely LAUGHABLE to blame the big-ticket items (especially wage growth and health care expenditures) on far-left politicians and not neoliberal ones! It’s genuinely shocking to see the lengths you PPP’ers go to defend corporate oligarchical empowerment. You’re okay with your tax dollars going to low-wage workers when they have to subsist on food stamps, yet you scream “Communism!” at the thought of raising taxes proportionately on the billionaires who won’t pay these low-wage workers higher wages…

Reagan conservatism is not yet dead, unfortunately. It merely metamorphosized and MAGA metastasized to other American demographics. I do believe, however, that the meteoric rise of Zohran Mamdani’s campaign is a harbinger of Reaganism’s ultimate fate: an expiration date inextricably linked with the physical health of the Boomery MAGA crowd obstinately peddling it. The essence of Zohran’s campaign is convincing NYC’s working class that almost half a century of policies promoting upward wealth redistribution is not in their own best interests. A longstanding economic climate of trickle-down economics, dangerous deregulatory practices, anti-union laws, dismantlement of the social safety net, and the like has created the miasma of urban unaffordability. A democratic socialist would (rightly) call this “wealth theft.” Zohran’s plans to help reverse that redistributive trend (fare-free city buses, 5 government-run grocery stores, $30 by ’30 minimum wage increases, public assistance for childcare, circumstantial rent freezes and public housing options, etc.) are incredibly mild and not remotely commensurate with the national outrage. Not even 11 full days following the decisive primary victory, the collective oppositional response to Zohran’s very modest intrusions into laissez-faire economics has been both pathetic and predictable. Oh, let’s review the myriad ways in which this flustered cohort of right-wingers and establishments lefties are flailing… 1. 1950’s McCarthyism redux: Raising the marginal tax rate a couple percentage points for the highest income bracket, apparently, is some sort of clarion call to the resurrected corpses of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. 2. 2000’s Islamophobia redux: Jihad! Intifada! Scary Arabic words are scary and Arabic! 3. Anti-Zionism = anti-Semitism conflations: The desperation of discourse has so degraded to the point that Zionists are now using “anti-colonialists” as a slur LOL… 4. Anti-immigrant rhetoric: This is where the white MAGA nationalists really expose themselves. The bulk of Zohran’s support is actually coming from white people, and the “dangerously high” percentage of foreign-born NYC’ers isn’t any different than it was a century ago when immigrants were predominantly European (~35-40%). 5. Freeloader accusations: Voters in support of Zohran are mostly found among the higher economic brackets, minus the sociopathic corporate CEO’s and the downtown Gordon Gekko degenerates. Nevertheless, market-based counters to all the “whining” about costs of living and stagnant socioeconomic mobility have so far come in the form of recommendations to stop being so lazy and instead add on night shifts at Walmart and what not…because nothing screams “effective campaigning” quite like trivializing the concerns of the voters… 6. Reverse ageism: The relative youth of Zohran’s voters is being held against his campaign. This means nothing to me, personally, because I value wisdom and not necessarily age. In fact, I have seen little evidence supporting the adage that wisdom accompanies age. See: middle-aged and Boomery MAGA denizens of this forum. 7. Character assassination: Any attempts at questioning Zohran’s integrity are laughable, really, when you juxtapose his with that of his opponent, Eric Adams. 8. Economic illiteracy accusations: Whatever. I scoff at right-wingers and neoliberal dullards who slavishly follow axiomatic economics to the exclusion of data-driven economics. Kay Adams Fun Fact: understanding the practical importance of saving and investing in life has ZERO relevance to understanding the academic field of macroeconomics. 9. Random misogyny: Oh noes!! The childless yuppy cat lady Zohrandinistas are destroying the city and the country! Eeek!!! El. Oh. El. Not. A. F*ck. We. Have. To. Give. In the spirit of EmRata, I shall order my “Hot Girls for Zohran” t-shirt, wear it in the form of a crop top to show off my flat summer tummy, and post it on Instagram so that all the Strong Island finance bros can respond and cry about the downfall of Western civilization.

Eric Adams is probably the best option of the three, but I don’t think he can beat Zohran with Cuomo and Sliwa still in the race. He’ll also need to build up a semi-competitive ground game. You can’t just scream “Socialist! Jihadist! Communist! Anti-Semite!” from afar and expect anyone outside the PPP MAGA nursing home demographic to take you seriously. My guess is that the race will come down to the working-class minority neighborhoods, and so I really like Team Zohran’s odds. He’s refined the AOC 2018 playbook that enabled her to take down Joe Crowley. Oh, and I’m now hearing rumors of corporate donors pressuring Cuomo to stay out of the general election. So the establishment Dem fear is both palpable and justified, in both NYC and throughout the rest of the country. Trumpian and Israeli politics are absolutely factoring into these political dynamics, but demographic breakdowns in the NYC mayoral race polling data suggest more fundamental economic fissures in play…fissures that were equally emergent in the polling data during the 2016 and 2020 Bernie primaries.

Believe it or not, he’s not stridently political like I am and doesn’t normally discuss politics with me over the phone. We talk a lot more about the respective states of the Bills (yay!) and Sabres (ugh!). Having said that, I can tell you that my dad remains a long-time two-state solution guy and only very recently began to acknowledge the genocide in Gaza (sometime around April of this year). He was especially close to his Jewish maternal grandfather, which I personally believe has compromised his ability to rationally assess the present situation. I’ve been a one-stater (a.k.a. an advocate for the peaceful dissolution of a Jewish supremacist ethnostate) for the past two years, as you know, and have called out the genocide and the far-right Greater Israel project since they bombed the first Gazan hospital (November 2023?). Now…let’s get to your pop quiz… << pulls out red pen >> << shakes head disapprovingly >> For starters, Leh-nerd, it is not a good strategy to question the writing “efficiency” of your quiz grader. What could be more “efficient” than a simple one-question math quiz to assess the health of a multi-year forum friendship?? Looking over your answer, you clearly did not take the quiz very seriously… Ugh, let’s just get to the answer key… KAY’S OFFICIAL POP QUIZ ANSWER KEY: STEP 1: Note the Cauchy red herring! Your clue that mathematical mischief is afoot! Why the heck would you need to integrate over the complex number plane, Leh-nerd?? This is a first-grade math problem, dude. STEP 2: Note the extraneous sartorial information provided. I would NEVER be caught in public wearing a frumpy Hillary Clinton warmonger pantsuit. A mathematical possibility of precisely 0%. You’re supposed to know that about me, Leh-nerd…the quiz raison d’etre… STEP 3: 2 * 4.5 = 2 * (9/2) = 9 blazer dresses. Put away your Boomery slide rule/abacus/sundial, Leh-nerd, and focus. STEP 4: 9 / 1.8 = 9 / (9/5) = 5 skirt suits. OH MY GOD, Leh-nerd. I’m not asking you to solve a Millennium Prize Problem, bruh. Stop whining… STEP 5: 9 + 5 + 2 = 16 distinct formal business outfits. 16 > 10. Take off your socks, Leh-nerd, if you need help counting higher than 10. STEP 6: 16 / 5 = 3.2 weeks (also acceptable answer: a truncation to 3 weeks). QED,L. Quod. Effin.’ Demonstrandum. Leh-nerd. Hmmm…but your remark about my complexion was surprisingly on point! How astute! Very light colors DO work well with the grossly pale white hue that I maintain for almost the entire year. Also acceptable color alternative: anything red to match the natural facial blush from the summer heat. Wow! You passed, Leh-nerd! Who knew that a lifetime of totally fu*king around in math class chasing floozies would somehow pay off for you in the biggest test of your life?? Our forum friendship is saved! Yay! << steps forward to hug Leh-nerd >> << trips over discarded pile of 4 frumpy Hillary Clinton warmonger pantsuits >> << extended arms create a punching motion that strikes Leh-nerd in the face >> << Leh-nerd too unconscious to consciously note the situational irony >> EDIT: Spelling mistake: “assess,” not “access.”

Cuomo may run as an independent in the general election, however, which would divide the anti-Zohran vote between him and Eric Adams (independent) and Curtis Sliwa (Republican). This reminds me of the 2021 Buffalo mayoral race in which Byron Brown defeated India Walton in the general election as a write-in candidate. I’m also reminded of the 2020 Democratic primaries in which all the centrists consolidated under Biden after Bernie won in Nevada. Note the strategic lesson here… Nevertheless, I’m pleasantly surprised with last night’s results (shout-out to Staten Island…WTF LOL) and now feel that Zohran’s campaign has potential to grow to an indomitable electoral majority by November 4. Having recently canvassed for Zohran in Manhattan and Brooklyn and The Bronx, I can say that we have plenty of room for growth with working-class minority communities. Lots of people have still never heard of Zohran, but they do recognize the Cuomo name. Zohran has 4 full months now to work his Obama-like charisma and keep championing his economic message with implacable focus. The weather here is hot, my friends, and so is Zohran. The thirst for water is high, my comrades, and so is the demand for pragmatic solutions to economic market failures under late-stage neoliberalism.

The spirit of the Constitution is such that the legislative branch limits the unilateral power of the executive branch to start wars. It is emphasized in the War Powers Clause and later reinforced in the 1973 War Powers Resolution. BOTH political sides repeatedly ignoring this Constitutional intention since WW2 has dangerously emboldened American imperialism. The hyperbolic Canada remark was an obvious reductio ad absurdum meant to point out MAGA hypocrisy. Perhaps it would have been more persuasive for me to just substitute Canada with Iran. If senile Joe Biden had suddenly bombed Iran in the same manner as Trump, we all know exactly how MAGA would have responded. No one in my family would follow me to Scandinavia, bruh... I’m going to stay in the United States, I’m going to vote for Zohran today, and I’m going to vote for AOC as President in 2028. Deal with it. According to Papa Adamski: 2 to 3 years with a concerted effort. His assessment is based on the public IAEA reports after JCPOA but before Israel and the U.S. started bombing Iran. According to him, the above-ground activity needed for properly building nuclear weapons would have been far too conspicuous to evade the IAEA to the level that Bibi and Trump claim happened. He emphasized the plutonium processing much more so than the uranium enrichment and the missile deployment technology. Any additional sci/tech questions for Papa Adamski? I’d be happy to ask him! Regarding pantsuits: oh you dare lots, indeed! POP QUIZ TIME FOR LEH-NERD SKIN-ERD: The ratio of Kay’s blazer dresses to chic pantsuits is known to be 4.5, and the ratio of Kay’s blazer dresses to skirt suits is 1.8. Kay owns 2 chic pantsuits. If Kay is suddenly gifted 4 frumpy Hillary Clinton-esque pantsuits, how many weeks can Kay now go wearing a unique formal business outfit? You may or may not need to recall Cauchy’s Integral Theorem for this: the line integral over a closed contour C for w(z)*dz = 0. If you get this question correct, I will press a gold star sticker onto your forehead. If not, you will see gold star stickers circling above your forehead (i.e., I shall punch you in the face, bruh). High-stakes pressure elevates cognitive performance, Leh-nerd…

Whose opinions I would trust, you ask? Select IAEA representatives plus Congressional members of national security and intelligence committees (of all political stripes: left and right, populist and establishment). We should be following Constitution-esque protocols when dealing with imminent nuclear threats. Would you have been comfortable with a senile Joe Biden whimsically and unilaterally bombing, say, Canada over unsubstantiated rumors of imminent nuclear annihilation? Why am I still living here in the United States, you ask?? LOL…um, family and friends, career and culture, the melting pot ethos, a lifetime of cherished memories, the vast natural geographic beauty, representative democracy, the Bill of Rights, the Constitutional separation of powers, etc… What’s wrong with me using the political process to change public policy? Didn’t you try to do the same last November? You are perfectly free to consider yourself an arbiter of what’s “American” and what’s not. Go ahead and declare imperialism and trickle-down economics “American,” while declaring universal health care and nationalized land/natural resources “un-American.” Just remember that at previous points in American history, ideas like slavery and Jim Crow and miscegenation and Gilded Age capitalism and legalized misogyny and the ethnic cleansing of Native Americans were considered sclerotic American values. Yes, your post is a bit opaque to me, but I THINK I’m following: you’re telling me that there are clear standards for defining “imminent” nuclear emergencies like this one, and that you personally know of evidence existing that shows Iran crossed this “imminence” threshold? I’m honestly in no position to tell you that you are incorrect. I’m a civilian biomed device engineer who took one college elective course in intro nuclear science/engineering (random shout-out to the Lamarsh textbook…I still have it in my bookshelf!). All I can tell you, anecdotally, is that my Dad is a solid-state materials physicist and a mild-mannered political centrist. His technical nuclear background is a lot better than mine, and he has DARPA funding under his belt. We talked about this exact topic for a few minutes last night, and he seems to think that the technological likelihood of Iran being able to strike Israel (let alone the U.S.) with nuclear weapons this calendar year is absurd. I feel like we’re going around in tautological circles at this point? Absent new nuclear intelligence information that is made publicly available, let’s agree to disagree. I envisage scenarios in which we’re aligned with what the proper course of action should have been. P.S. My formal business wardrobe ratio of blazer dresses to CHIC pantsuits is officially 4.5. FOUR POINT FIVE. The implication that I might ever wear a frumpy Hillary Clinton warmonger pantsuit was completely out of line. You’re out of your element, Leh-ny, and how dare you.

Agreed! And let’s also reiterate the TRUE origins of this Iran-Israel-U.S. conflict, lest the PPP warmongers try to obfuscate otherwise: the 1953 coup in Iran and the 1948 Nakba. I’m anti-American Empire, not pro-Iran. I am in favor of national sovereignty and human rights while against unnecessary wars and collective punishment. My first instinct of distrusting government claims of WMD’s is a consequence of growing up in the post-9/11 era. What you deem to be a sign of mental illness is what I consider to be a sign of basic intelligence. No, I don’t believe we will see the evidence in under 10 years or ever. As a concerned American citizen, it’s not that I need the specific intelligence made public to me. I just need various trusted third parties to see the evidence in private and then to publicly confirm that the claims are legitimate. I’m a girl, actually, but thank you for your kind words! You’re a good poster, too. This forum could use more people like yourself who can sustain political discussions and debate. Also: I’m a social democrat and not a communist or even a socialist, but don’t expect BillsFanNC to ever understand the distinction. The “comrade” in my name is a tongue-in-cheek thing. P.S. A friend of Muppy is a friend of Commie Kay! I hear ya, but I’m just super pessimistic that the current Iranian regime can be ousted without American boots on the ground. Moreover, I’m far from confident that a replacement regime would be any better for the world or for Iranians. Love ya, Mups! << hugs Muppy >> << punches Leh-nerd because…reasons >> “Imminent” = on the order of days or weeks or months, not a year or longer. There has been ZERO evidence suggesting the danger was imminent. Trump and Netanyahu opted out of diplomacy way too soon for, I believe, reasons that I’ve already articulated. You’re presenting a fork-in-the-road situation as if both choices are of approximately equal caliber in rationale. What happened to the Leh-nerd who is uber-skeptical of government power, the establishment, the deep state, and what not?? You seem to be suspending a lot of your innate distrust when it comes to this particular dilemma.

Brilliant retort! Super profound! Much logic! Many insight! Yes, a guess from a random online MAGA Carolina bumpkin carries the same approximate weight as an estimate from a peer-reviewed publication in the world’s most prestigious medical journal. And yes, Trump certainly did a lot to help dispel that mean-spirited TACO label. Proving people wrong who say mean things about you is the most important component of foreign policy. Careful, measured analyses of the long-term consequences of one’s actions is for soy boys, women, and the LGBTQ+. MANLY MEN bomb sh!t and scream, “America! F*ck yeah!” in any nearby faces of brown-skinned people with funny-sounding names. I am STILL WAITING, by the way, for any evidence that Iran’s nuclear program posed an IMMINENT threat to Israel and the United States. Perhaps one of you warmongering PPP’ers, replete with MIC stocks but totally devoid of the physical fitness to serve in battle, will step up to the plate in this regard??

Fine, I’ll engage you in your obvious deflective pedantry. There is no objective ranking of human rights crises, but why I think calling the Gaza genocide the worst “since the Holocaust” is not hyperbolic: 1. 50-60k deaths is a horrific undercount. The Gaza Health Ministry lost the ability to officially count its dead long ago. The Lancet estimated almost 200k last summer, when you include people still buried under the rubble plus all the indirect deaths. 2. It is ongoing and only getting worse with the impacts of malnutrition on starving children. 3. It is being carried out by a First World country and funded by another one. 4. It is occurring in the age of the internet and digital mass media. 5. From a historical perspective, it probably marks the beginning of the end of Zionism. 6. From a historical perspective, it probably marks the end of the American Empire as a respected moral figure on the international stage.

Your first paragraph: Sure, but Iran was reasonable to not be compliant after being compliant. That’s what tends to happen when one side suddenly reneges on a deal! The IAEA works for the countries of the United Nations, so it is incumbent on those countries to make sure a more stringent JCPOA v2.0 is composed. Your second paragraph: Correct, I was not arguing in favor of any covert CIA government nonsense! Fully open channels of communication, like what we have with other countries of the West, must be part of any potential treaty with Iran. The Iranian theocrats are just going to have to deal with my ridiculously chic outfits in my Instagram photos. Your third paragraph: Oh boy…you are on thin ice with me, Leh-nerd. Thin. Ice. And believe me, your 24.8 BMI is the least of our problems on this frozen metaphorical pond. “Dismantlement of the genocidal Zionist project” is a peaceful proposal that simply means bestowing upon Palestinians the exact same citizen rights that Jewish Israelis enjoy, while at the same time prosecuting all war criminals within both the Israeli government and Hamas. I should also clarify that I’ve been using a colloquial definition of “non-interventionism,” when I probably should be saying “anti-imperialism.” As a self-described “ardent non-interventionist,” I still want to “intervene” multilaterally to stop blatant acts of aggression if it makes sense to do so. The MOTIVES behind military and economic pressure are paramount to me. I keep repeating myself about Israel and Gaza because you guys keep framing the Iran-Israel conflict so ignorantly! On one side, Iran’s government is a socially regressive theocracy guilty of making irresponsible verbal threats to Israel and funding terrorists/resistance fighters. On the other side, Israel is an apartheid state guilty of genocide and illegal occupation of land. Neither are good, but only one side here is initiating acts of aggression against its neighbors. Only one side here has fully functioning nuclear weapons not monitored by the IAEA. Only one side here agreed to become a member of the NPT. Which side, exactly, is the greater threat to nuclear escalation at the moment?? But fine, I’ll stop bringing up the worst human rights crisis since the Holocaust because doing so challenges your infantile black vs. white worldview. Paradigm-shifting thoughts affect poor wittle Weh-nerd in the feel-feels, and awww…Weh-nerd’s feel-feels are what weally matter!! << haughty eyeroll >> << tosses baby formula bottle at Leh-nerd’s face >> << uploads latest cut-out maxi pic to Instagram page >> << sends Instagram page link to Ali Khamenei >>

International economic sanctions would serve as the carrot and the stick. A “kinetic” approach shouldn’t be necessary because the IAEA found Iran fully compliant during the JCPOA v1.0. Iran’s era of non-compliance began after Trump suddenly reneged on the deal. “Intervening via low-key revolution and king-making” is still letting the Iranians decide for themselves how they want to be governed. ~80% of Iranians are already dissatisfied with a theocracy. Basically, Iranian women can come visit me in NYC and watch my TikTok videos on how to wear bell-sleeved floral-patterned skater dresses while haughtily flipping one’s hair out in public, on the way to one’s appointment to abort one’s rapist’s baby. Iranians will want to live like Kay because who wouldn’t?? This is the extent of the revolution fomentation: simply opening up channels of communication (internet, travel, etc.) that promote the awesomeness of secular humanism and the American Bill of Rights. Iran’s government would theoretically agree to this because it would be part of the prospective international peace deal. And while I’m proposing theoretical solutions, allow me to expound on an additional carrot we are morally obligated to dangle in front of Iran: the full dismantlement of the genocidal Zionist project…a new one-state solution, under equally full IAEA surveillance as Iran, and with all Israeli government war criminals sent to The Hague. This would make the Houthis and Hezbollah happy, too, to go along with their Abraham Accords brethren and the rest of the Middle East (if they’re all being honest with their feelings about the psychopathic country that is Israel).

What I think SHOULD happen? As an ardent non-interventionist, I would have Iran agree to a JCPOA v2.0 crafted by the IAEA. In return, the international community would lift all economic sanctions on Iran, agree to a permanent ceasefire, and impose a worldwide BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction) policy against Israel if Israel does not oblige. I would also open up all channels of cultural communication with Iran as part of the deal, which would essentially be a “Trojan horse” strategy to foment internal dissent and revolution via secular humanist principles. Consider these additional questions as you assess this topic: 1. Who do you trust the most among Trump, Netanyahu, Khamenei, and the IAEA? My answer: easily the IAEA. Not even close. 2. Is Iran a rational actor or an irrational one? My answer: a rational one, believe it or not. Their observed behavior has remained consistent with a country fully aware of and completely invested in its self-preservation. A “rational actor,” as defined in this instance, understands that the single use of a nuclear weapon against Israel would equate to its own instant annihilation. Modern world history has taught us that possession of nuclear weapons equate to protection from American imperialism. Become Russia or North Korea and not Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, etc… 3. What is motivating the United States government in this conflict? My answer: the MIC, AIPAC, powerful individual oligarchs like Miriam Adelson, and (sadly) many Christian fundamentalists. 4. What is motivating Israel in this conflict? My answer: a quest for regional hegemony so that a Greater Israel (including Gaza, the West Bank, all of Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, southwest Syria, and southern Lebanon) can be constructed with minimal resistance. 5. Why did Israel attack Iran just days before the latest scheduled peace talks in Oman? My answer: to sabotage the peace talks. 6. Why was Trump insistent that Iran not have a nuclear energy program for civilian purposes? My answer: typical “Art of the Deal” stupidity. 7. What are the prospects for de-escalation? My answer: Frighteningly poor. The world leaders involved all appear to be sociopaths, in the clinical DSM-5 sense of the word. Tribalism is deeply entrenched and the dehumanization process is highly advanced. Iran just struck an Israeli hospital, for bleep’s sake, which I interpreted as an “oopsie!” response to all 36 of the hospitals Israel has targeted in Gaza since 10/7/23.

LOL…I knew it! I can spot an Abundance stan from a mile away! Sorry, but I’m just not a fan. The only meaningful message I could glean from the book is that Democrats need to deliver on their promises to improve people’s daily lives. That’s about it. You know my politics, Tibsy, so you know that I think progressives are far better positioned than establishment liberals to solve these problems. If you want to talk about homelessness, increasing the housing supply is only one component of a multi-faceted issue. Sure, there are definitely silly regulations that hinder housing construction progress. But what about oligopoly effects from corporate landlords? Sluggish wage growth relative to rising prices throughout the economy? Bankruptcies due to health care debt? Mental health crises? Drug addictions? Deficiencies in our veterans affairs program? Then there’s the grave matter of ecosystem collapse due to suburban sprawl. You praised Houston for its lax building regulations, but us New Yorkers are not like Texans! We actually care about things up here like the environment, efficient transportation, and global warming. I can be aligned with you on issues like public housing and anti-NIMBY politics, but a lot of that available land needs to be reserved for natural carbon sequestration (i.e. planting trees) in the form of (preferably unfragmented) woodland/wetland ecosystems. Ugh…I hijacked the Iran thread…so I suppose I’ll ask, again, the collective PPP warmongers salivating at regime change: where is the evidence that Iran’s nuclear program posed an imminent threat to Israel and the United States? Note how “imminent” doesn’t mean “eventual.” This question should be the CENTRAL FOCUS of this thread. Also, for the people who think Iranian regime change is a simple matter of bombing the right places and that it won’t escalate to American boots on the ground: what about the potential for a refugee crisis a la Syria 2015, when Iran is FOUR TIMES the population size of Syria?? The law of unintended consequences…ugh…

The law of unintended consequences? Good luck with that. The vast majority of Americans are perfectly comfortable with “might makes right” imperialism. We’re simply too ignorant and arrogant to learn lessons from the past 80 years of failed interventionism. Most contemporary Americans can’t even distinguish between democratic socialism and authoritarian socialism, so it’s a safe bet that most Americans alive today would have supported the 1953 coup in Iran. It would have been efficaciously sold to us under the guise of ethical existentialism, as opposed to the blatant machinations of American and British fossil fuel oligarchs. Imperialism and Zionism go hand in hand, of course, so no surprise that this majority Christian nation can’t see Israel for the rogue pariah state it has become. Americans find comfort in a black-and-white view of the world because it assuages our delicate egos and our infantile preconceptions. We need to see “good guys” fighting “bad guys,” and we need to be the “good guys.” This is why we obstinately maintain so much trust in a nation actively committing genocide, stealing more Arab land, and refusing to sign the NPT. This is why we are unable to examine our own country’s mistakes in diplomacy from the perspective of Iran, which quite rationally desires the status of a North Korea over that of a present-day Libya. Still waiting for ANY evidence that Iran’s nuclear program posed an IMMINENT threat to Israel and the United States… OH MY GOD, Tibsy…you’ve been reading Ezra Klein’s “Abundance,” haven’t you?? I want to remain mindful of not hijacking the thread, so I’ll just make these two quick points: 1. Some regulations are bad, and some are good. Regulations that prevent ecosystem degradation and promote collective bargaining are most often among the latter category. 2. Be wary of anyone not willing to frame political arguments as the American people in opposition to corporate oligarchs. More specifically, be skeptical of anyone who is not vocally against Citizens United v. FEC (2010). << Kay throws her green MAFA** hat at Tibsy’s face >> ** - MAFA = Make America Forested Again (it’s a custom designed hat!)

Fair enough, Leh-nerd. I did enjoy your “astute” remark and the BMI compliments! A +1 rep boost for you! It’s only a “like” reaction and not an “awesome” reaction, however, because I only counted these 2 distinct compliments when I was kinda hoping for a compliment tally more in the 5+ range from you... But getting back on topic, let’s now briefly review La Commie Kay’s outline of what SHOULD be done (but obviously won’t): 1. Stop attacking Iran. 2. Lift all economic sanctions on Iran. 3. Negotiate a JCPOA v2.0 deal with Iran. 4. Encourage internal revolt and regime change within Iran. 5. Arrange a permanent ceasefire and full hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas. 6. Send Bibi, Smotrich, Ben-Gvir, and the rest of Israel’s government leaders to The Hague for their war crimes. 7. Send Hamas military leadership to The Hague for their war crimes. 8. Lead an international coalition to guide a new single Israel-Palestine country, with full and equal rights for all, regardless of ethnicity or religion. P.S.: 24.8 BMI is actually pretty good! Don’t forget that muscle weighs more than fat, so I think BMI as a health metric can sometimes be misleading for guys. But you gotta go 100% whole-food plant-based if you want to drive from Fat Boy City to Slender Man Town! P.S.P.S.: WTF is a “cassette deck,” bruh?? Is that a device situated alongside your rotary phone, typewriter, and cathode ray TV?? (P.S.)^3: The rapper spells his name as “Eminem.” You were thinking of the candy, “M & M’s.” Typical 20’s BMI’er…always thinking about junk food… Even lesser known fact: John Lennon’s first draft to those original lyrics predicted the internet, Two Bills Drive, and our political debates all in one!! He was so far ahead of his time because he could LITERALLY see half a century into the future! Lennon, however, probably correctly assumed that the people would fear his powers of omniscience. So he promptly threw this first draft into the trash bin, to be forever forgotten by history, until now… Imagine there’s no Leh-nerd. It’s easy if you try. No conservative poster With a 24.8 BMI. Imagine all of PPP Havin’ more of their say. Ah-ha-aaah… Imagine there’s no Leh-nerd. It isn’t hard to do. No one for Kay to bully And to claim smells like poo. Imagine all of PPP Lookin’ less obese. You-oo-oooh… You may say Kay’s a dreamer, But she’s not the only one. Muppy has her own opinion, “Ugh. With his MAGA rants I’m done.” Imagine there’s no Leh-nerd. I wonder if you can? Fewer non-sequiturs and whataboutisms, As if a moderator ban. Imagine all of PPP Sans Leh-nerd’s thoughts unfurled. You-oo-oooh… You may say Kay’s a dreamer, But she’s not the only one. Muppy once more opines, “Meh. His verbose opinions had a good run.”

HECK. YEAH. I’ve been to the Brooklyn Wegs a few times already while visiting friends, but the Manhattan Wegs is closer to where I work and live. Greenpoint is the place to be on Dyngus Day if you can’t make it to Buffalo!

AWESOME! The one next to NYU! I go there a couple times a month just for the upstate NY nostalgia! Zohran picked up the Bernie Sanders endorsement yesterday, so now he’s ready to roll for this coming Tuesday. It will be an all-hands-on-deck canvassing adventure over the final weekend. We still need volunteers in the Bronx, FYI…for any progressive PPP lurkers out there… My official ranked-choice top-5 vote for Tuesday: 1. Zohran Mamdani 2. Brad Lander 3. Zellnor Myrie 4. Scott Stringer 5. Adrienne Adams It’s super strategic if you’re a progressive: Zohran #1, all 5 spots filled, no Cuomo listed, and Adrienne Adams as an emergency anti-Cuomo centrist rally candidate.

Your sarcasm is adorable, but let’s please try to stay on topic. Polling data suggests that older conservative men, more or less, are the one demographic holdout in majority support of both neocon foreign policies and the state of Israel. Let’s call this the “Leh-nerd Skin-erd Demographic,” or “LSD” for short. As this group’s representative, could you perhaps explain why the LSD may be so dissociated from reality, present AND past? All of us young whippersnappers promise to step off your lawn if you can lend insight into your group’s apparent majority support for the following ethical quandaries: government claims involving WMD’s, regime change wars, preemptive military strikes, collective punishment, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and apartheid states. My perceived arrogance, by the way, stems from a strong understanding of this broad topic. If you see faults in my line of thinking, by all means point them out! Such verbal back-and-forth forms the basis of what linguistic scholars call a “discussion.” Try it, bruh. Oh, and yes I am most certainly “buttoned up for reals.” Sartorial fastening is a trivial endeavor for any vegan with a 19.3 BMI. << haughty hair flip >>

Tibsy?! You look…different. Yes, Israel absolutely wants the U.S. involved with regime change in Iran. They want us to eventually do most of the legwork for them. Once the Iranian theocracy’s regional influence is dismantled, Israel can more easily move toward their Greater Israel plans that include, at minimum, ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the annexation of the West Bank. I don’t know exactly what’s wrong with the Boomers on this topic, but I do know that they grew up at a time when Israel was a much more politically reasonable country. Since the Likud Party formed in the 1970’s, it has been a gradual descent into far-right nationalism that really accelerated after the Second Intifada. First and earliest impressions are hard to shake. I’m sure I could whip up a delightfully caustic hypothesis from Bruce Cannon Gibney’s book, “A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America.” However…I do now sort of regret picking on the Boomers (and the middle-agers). I suspect other factors are much more strongly in play that transcend biological age: Islamophobia, the inevitable dehumanization process resulting from settler colonialism, the particulars of one’s news media diet, etc… “So be it,” indeed, because I don’t see much evidence lately suggesting Israel cares that much about international opinion. As long as the United States allows them to operate with impunity, they’re perfectly content with whatever war crimes their darkened hearts desire. Israel is ALREADY attacking Iran’s fossil fuel energy infrastructure with the obvious objective of significantly harming Iran. If these continued attacks happen to impact the global fossil fuel economy as well, then Israel will simply scream “anti-Semites!” or “Hamas!” or something. I think everyone here wants to see regime change in Iran. I’m just not personally a fan of the U.S. (or Israel) using its military might to make it happen. I’d rather see the Iranians do it completely on their own. I would lift all international economic sanctions on Iran and cultivate a more diplomatic relationship with everyone there. This would then hopefully elevate the country’s standard of living, empower Iran’s intelligentsia, and embolden its working class based on the principles of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Political revolutions come in many different flavors. Why not buck the American trend from the past 75 years and try it my way??

Israel’s attacks on Iran’s fossil fuel infrastructure are already expanding, bruh… The civilian death toll on both sides is increasing. The people of Tehran are being threatened with evacuation recommendations. So yeah…this thing is escalating beyond the limited strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Instigating an internal regime change in Iran with limited external force is just so unbelievably harebrained! The permutations of outcomes are far too numerous to predict, but I can’t seriously envisage new Iranian leadership taking power AND doing so following negligible collateral damage to Iranian civilians. I especially can’t envisage this new leadership group also being friendly with Israel and the U.S. while also having strong support among Iran’s citizens. The current Iranian theocracy remains too deeply entrenched in power despite decades of draconian (and inhumane) sanctions. Iranians may not like their rulers, but they also haven’t been successful in overthrowing them and are simultaneously not too fond of American imperialists, either (not since the 1950’s). If you have concrete evidence that Iran was violating the JCPOA behind the IAEA’s back, then please post it here. Israel has been the proverbial boy who cried “Nuke!” for decades now towards Iran. If we want to discuss Iran’s incorrigibility during peace talks, we first have to examine the reasonableness of demanding they not have nuclear energy to meet their power grid and medical research needs. I bring up the Gaza genocide because it is incredibly germane to this discussion. As I had made perfectly clear, the question of hasbara integrity is crucial to determining whether Israel’s initial attack on Iran was justified. Curious how Israel has banned international war journalists in Gaza, no? Curious how Israel is implementing a total siege in the West Bank at the same time as these attacks against Iran, no? This is what Israelis do…they use various forms of subterfuge to steal land and natural resources (and financial resources, in the case of the U.S.) from others. It’s been their modus operandi since the New Yishuv. Part of me is genuinely shocked that the PPP faithful are actually falling for Israel’s latest lies! Then again, the demographics of PPP are ~99% middle-aged/Boomery men with centrist/conservative political leanings. You guys are way too old and fat to be drafted into another disastrous Middle East regime change war. Your investment portfolios, meanwhile, are likely flush with MIC stocks. So it’s likely more a matter of moral turpitude than hasbara propaganda.

Preemptive attacks are contentious issues in international law and depend entirely on the evidence for “imminence.” Sure, you can be logically consistent in denouncing Israel’s actions in Gaza while supporting their preemptive strikes in Iran. My question, however, is why should the outside world trust a country that is actively committing a genocide and stealing land in every direction?? I personally trust Israel’s government far less than I do the same American government that told us about those WMD’s in Iraq! But now Israel is attacking Iran’s oil and gas infrastructure. So now the goalposts are rapidly moving beyond “prevention of imminent nuclear attack” to “regime change war, with assistance from the United States.” Lovely. If Iran chooses to close off the Strait of Hormuz, say hello to a devastating economic recession. Israel couldn’t wait a few more days for the peace talks in Oman?? Really?! Yeah, right… Keep in mind that we already know Israel has been sabotaging direct talks between the U.S. and Hamas so to keep Hamas in power in Gaza. Many of you guys need to examine why you keep falling for neocon lies and message framing. There are many nuanced lessons to be learned about the dehumanization process, “might makes right” American imperialism, Zionism, and the like. I’ll keep things simple: what is the perspective of our perceived enemy, Iran? Answer that question. My answer: Iran has no reason to ever trust the United States. Our country has been disrespecting their sovereignty since the 1950’s, due to access to fossil fuel energy resources. Iran agreed to the JCPOA and followed it faithfully, according to the IAEA. Then Trump ripped it up, made unsubstantiated claims of violations, and failed to replace the JCPOA with revised peace terms. Fast forward to 2025, and Trump’s “Art of the Deal” strategies somehow include denying Iran’s fundamental international right to fissile nuclear material for energy and medical research purposes. Meanwhile, Trump is supporting Israel’s offensive attacks against Iran…just as he’s supporting their ethnic cleansing in Gaza and their annexation of both the West Bank and southwest Syria (all of which had been previewed years earlier with the Abraham Accords and with Trump’s acknowledged annexation of the Golan Heights). To be clear: I’m no fan of Iran’s theocracy, in a similar way that I’m no fan of Christian nationalism in the United States or of Jewish apartheid practices in Israel. But the neocon fearmongering of Iran using nuclear weapons in the region, which would thereby 100% assure their own destruction, is tired and stupid. If Iran wants nuclear weapons ASAP, it is so to avoid becoming the next Libya.

My top 5 (double asterisks for movies that have already been mentioned in the thread): The Last of the Mohicans L.A. Confidential** Mulholland Drive Rear Window The Silence of the Lambs** Honorable Mention #1: The Godfather**: It should probably be my #1 movie of all time, but I’m such a fan of Puzo’s book that it’s tough for the movie to live up to my super high standards. Honorable Mention #2-3: The Big Lebowski**, The Notebook: I’ve probably seen these movies TOO many times, to the point of fatigue. Honorable Mention #4-6: Saving Private Ryan**, Terminator 2, The Thing: I’m normally not a fan of the war, action, and horror movie genres. The fact that I enjoyed these movies so much means they’re worthy of a mention.

Update to my top-5 ranked-choice vote: 1. Zohran Mamdani 2. Brad Lander 3. Zellnor Myrie 4. Scott Stringer 5. Adrienne Adams I removed Jessica Ramos and replaced her with Adrienne Adams. As it turns out, Jessica is indeed a FILTHY RAT and was also running an incompetent campaign. Adrienne is widely perceived to have strong centrist support, which makes her the most competitive challenger to Cuomo should Zohran and the progressives falter. So if you despise Cuomo at all costs but don’t think Zohran can make the final ranked-choice elimination round, then you’ll most likely want Adrienne somewhere on your top-5 list so that you’ll at least have a voice in the final say. Yeah, but the 2020 NYC lockdown occurred because there was evidence of a pandemic and because NYC is one of the most densely populated places in the world. There is no legal justification for an imposition of Sharia law. And besides, pics I’ve seen from Zohran’s recent wedding show a well-assimilated American Muslim with a new wife (Rama Duwaji) not practicing Sharia law. The actual criticisms surrounding Zohran are related to his inexperience and to his potential naivete about what he could realistically accomplish. Cuomo is also hitting him hard for his anti-Israel stance, bizarrely enough, in a U.S. mayoral race. Within wonky progressive circles, social democrats like myself might lightly challenge him on rent freeze details or on his “$30 by ‘30” minimum wage plan (FWIW: it’s currently $16.50 in NYC, $15.50 in NYS, and $7.25 in the US).

A really important question! The short answer is that ICE needs to consistently overstep their authority in order to meet the high daily deportation quotas that the Trump administration established. This overstepping of authority is the specific reason for the ICE protests, regardless of what MAGA’s may try to argue otherwise. The longer answer is that authoritarians use the dehumanization process* as a cudgel for increasing power. What it means to dehumanize, in the legal sense, is to not respect certain rights as universal that are supposed to be thought of as such: due process, free speech, no cruel/unusual punishment, recognition of international law, etc… As soon as the citizenry sees these rights infringed upon, it is their duty to protest and disobey so as to not normalize the aberrant behavior. Intelligent people will understand how the dehumanization process is an eventual boomerang**. MAGA populists, meanwhile, easily fall for the scapegoating*** of brown immigrants (illegal or legal). * - Other examples of creeping authoritarianism: ignoring and undermining decrees from the judicial branch, subsuming the powers of Congress to set tariffs, circumventing the Congressional “power of the purse,” crafting unconstitutional executive orders, increasing voter disenfranchisement, leaving military spending unfettered, hosting military parades, and normalizing military responses to domestic affairs. ** - Speaking of boomerangs…it is said (by some French guy, I think…Foucault?) that fascism is imperialism turned inward. So when an empire expends money and energy abroad to the neglect of its own citizens, the domestic decay leads to internal instability. The government will then attempt to stabilize using tactics it perfected abroad. The point here is that the MAGA authoritarianism we’re witnessing isn’t a black swan event, but rather the predictable product of unchecked post-WW2 imperialism (along with Reagan neoliberalism). *** - Culpability lies with the people responsible for labor exploitation and the people who destroyed collective bargaining leverage in the United States.