I know that there are people who are upset about the Michael Brown/Eric Garner cases. I know that the cases have ripped open old wounds that have to do with America's legacy on race and race relations. I know that it is high time to focus on the overextension and abuse of police power. But life …
The Murder of Eric Garner and the Failure of Justice
As others have noted, while there may have been some reason not to indict Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to have refrained from indicting Daniel Pantaleo for the murder--yes, the murder--of Eric Garner. And why was Garner murdered? For selling "loose" or untaxed cigarettes. "Appalling" does …
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Some Sanity in New York
The nanny-state suffers a blow: The Bloomberg big-soda ban is officially dead. The state’s highest court on Thursday refused to reinstate New York City’s controversial limits on sales of jumbo sugary drinks, exhausting the city’s final appeal and dashing the hopes of health advocates who have urged state and local governments to curb the consumption …
Speaking of Bill de Blasio . . .
This is unconscionable: Mayor de Blasio brought down the hammer Thursday on three charter schools operated by his nemesis Eva Moskowitz, leaving hundreds of kids without classrooms this fall. “This has to be the saddest day for the Success Academy’s children, family, teachers, school leaders,” Moskowitz said after meeting with stunned charter parents in Harlem. “Right …
The de Blasio Administration: Where Ideology Trumps Competence
Let me start this post by being fair to Bill de Blasio: He won the election, his political philosophy got affirmed in the process, and as a consequence, he has the right to hire people who share that philosophy. That having been written, it would be nice if he would balance out ideological hiring with …
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How Bill de Blasio Addresses Inequality
Andrew Rotherham and Richard Whitmire discuss the fissure that has occurred within the Democratic party regarding the issue of education reform. There is a Bill de Blasio camp when it comes to education policy, and the duo describe that camp's "contribution" to the formulation and implementation of principles and programs that shape how kids are …
Man of the People
Behold Bill de Blasio's common touch: Despite repeatedly promising this morning that he’d take questions about the controversy surrounding his caravan breaking multiple traffic laws, Mayor Bill de Blasio shut down questions on the topic at an unrelated press conference this evening. Before walking away as reporters shouted questions at him, Mr. de Blasio read a brief …
It’s Good to Be the Mayor
I get the fact that running New York city comes with certain privileges, and I understand that Bill de Blasio wields a great deal more power than he used to as the public advocate for the city. But unless I was grossly misinformed, or missed some kind of memo, I believe my understanding that there …
De Blasio’s Crowd
New York City is in trouble because of the mayor it elected, and because of the people who rode his coattails into office: She lied on her first day on the job — and got caught. Just hours after being sworn in as the city’s public advocate, Letitia James went on TV to claim that …
Question of the Day
For me, at least. How many Bill de Blasio voters fell good about having voted for this? Stephen Malone is a city-slicked John Grady, driving his black and plumed horse in loops around Central Park. After decades in the business, Malone has a relationship with his horse that he finds hard to explain — he knows …
