Free Republic

Now that socialist Bill de Blasio is washed out of the Democratic presidential election primaries, he's back to running New York City, doing the Sandinista thing , and banning free speech. The New York Post has identified his latest bid to make New York Cuba : It’s now against the law in New York City to threaten someone with a call to immigration authorities or refer to them as an “illegal alien” when motivated by hate. The restrictions — violations of which are punishable by fines of up to $250,000 per offense — are outlined in a 29-page directive released...

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s withdrawal from the presidential race last week is a lost opportunity. A successful de Blasio effort in the Democratic primaries—his was anything but—could have sparked a necessary national debate over signs of rising disorder in American cities. We haven’t returned to the bad old days of the 1970s and 1980s. The troubles of that era had many causes: disappearing jobs, changes in social welfare policy, changes in cultural attitudes, deinstitutionalization of the mental health system, drug wars, crack cocaine, a surging crime rate—all intersecting to drain the vitality of neighborhoods and stamp countless urban...

It hasn’t been a good year to be a cop in New York City, but at 12:30 Sunday morning at the gang-plagued Edenwald Houses in the Bronx, bad became infinitely worse. ... Then onlookers loudly did their best to escalate the incident — wishing the cops on the scene dead, among other ugly things. How many cops on the beat fear ending up as a scapegoat — as did Daniel Pantaleo, fired in the Garner case — and hesitate for a fatal split-second in responding to a lethal challenge? It doesn’t help that many cops believe, quite reasonably, they’ve been...

Last December, the final phase of increasing the minimum wage in New York City to $15 per hour went into effect. (Well, at least the last stage for now.) It was considered a huge victory for the Fight for 15 crowd and, presumably, a big win for workers, particularly in the foodservice industry. So how has that been working out since then? As the New York Post reported this weekend, the law of unintended consequences has come roaring into play. They feature the story of one taco and tequila joint on the upper west side that’s been doing a thriving...

The New York Post reacted to Bill de Blasio's exit from the 2020 presidential race in much the same way it treated his entry and campaign in general — with mockery. The mayor of New York City dropped out of the Democratic primary on Friday, announcing an end to his long-shot bid on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. The New York Post, a right-leaning outlet, wrote the campaign’s "obituary" and placed it on the front cover of the Saturday print issue. "Bill de Blasio's presidential campaign, May 15, 2019-Sept. 20, 2019. Dead of ego-induced psychosis. Neighbors said the body had been in...

Mayor Bill de Blasio finally got the viral hit he was hoping would rescue his on-life-support presidential campaign — but it wasn’t the breakout moment he’d imagined. “News of him dropping out has already garnered roughly 84,000 mentions in roughly four hours, surpassing his highest media moments while a candidate,” said Josh Ginsberg of the San Francisco-based media analytics firm Zignal Labs. Earlier this month de Blasio mused that, “People go from unheard of to totally famous in 72 hours in America now, so a candidate like me who’s not that well known yet, you ask me in 72 hours,...

Friday on WABC’s “Eyewitness News at Noon,” Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio said President Donald Trump might have committed “an act of treason,” referring to recent reports on a whistleblower’s complaint involving Trump’s communications with a foreign leader. Responding to Trump’s tweet about his dropping out of the presidential race, de Blasio said, “This is classic Donald Trump, you know, bait and switch. He is this morning staring down the fact that he may have committed an act of treason. You know, a whistleblower has come out, pointed out our president might have been ready to sell...

SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- Thousands of fetal remains were found at the home of a former South Bend abortion doctor, WSBT reports. The remains were discovered while family members were searching through the home of Dr. Ulrich Klopfer, who passed away on Sept. 3. His home is in Will County, Illinois. WSBT reports Kloper used to practice at the Women's Pavilion in South Bend. His medical license was suspended in 2015 after he was accused of failing to report an abortion on a 13-year-old girl.

NEW YORK, NY—In honor of the anniversary of Chairman Mao Zedong's death, The New York Times unfurled a giant, 50-foot-wide banner honoring the "brave revolutionary" outside its New York offices Monday. After public outcry, they admitted this might have been "slightly inappropriate." "While we stand by our decision to honor one of history's great men, we admit the banner lacked important historical context," said one Times editor. "While his ideas were morally right, they factually killed a bunch of people, and that's not something we wanted to promote. Unless you're killing yourself to combat climate change." Paper executives considered adding...

A New York City law banning so-called gay conversion therapy would be repealed under legislation introduced Thursday over concerns that a pending federal lawsuit could lead to a decision unfavorable to the LGBTQ community if the case were to make it to the Supreme Court. Council Speaker Corey Johnson introduced the repeal in what he called “a painful decision.” The council had passed the ban against the widely discredited practice, which aims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, less than two years ago, at the end of 2017, and it took effect last year. The proposed repeal...

Mayor de Blasio apologized on behalf of New Yorkers for the Trump presidency Saturday as he continued his long-shot White House bid in New Hampshire. “Let me issue a formal apology on behalf of the people of New York — I’m sorry you got to know Donald Trump,” Hizzoner said in a speech at the state’s Democratic Party Convention. “New York did not send its best to Washington in this case. But this New Yorker is willing to get rid of him for you.” The half-empty hall — which had been brimming during addresses by front-runners like former Vice President...

It's never a good sign for a city when starts to see its population contracting. But that seems to be New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan, trashing the few little islands of good public school education in the great city, in the name of socialized outcomes. He set up a commission of cronies and those cronies recommended what he wanted them to recommend - that New York's charter and competitive schools be shut down in the name of "equality." Now, every school is set to be equally bad. But the custodians will continue to draw $100,000 salaries. Kyle Smith at...

As you'll see in the screencap, MSNBC continues to pass Susan Del Percio off as a "Republican strategist." In fact, her last strategery gig was as an adviser to Andrew Cuomo, the liberal Democrat governor of New York. In any case, when it comes to strategy, Del Percio's specialty seems to be recommending personal attacks on Republicans and other opponents. In July, our Gregory Price caught Del Percio recommending that constituents "attack" and "scare" their Republican congressmen for purposes of forcing them to support a piece of Democrat legislation. Appearing on MSNBC today to discuss Saturday's West Texas shootings, Del...

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Police are trying to find the suspect in an assault that may have been fueled by hate. The victim is out of the hospital and recovering at home. His family tells CBS2’s Ali Bauman the beloved father and grandfather was exercising on the fields at a Crown Heights park like he does every week when he was blindsided by a man yielding a very large rock. Investigators say the suspect hit the 63-year-old man with a paving stone Tuesday morning inside Lincoln Terrace Park.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Police are looking for two suspects who they say attacked an Orthodox Jewish man in front of a synagogue in Brooklyn. It’s the third attack on Orthodox men in Brooklyn in less than a week, according to police. It happened in Midwood on Saturday night just as Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, was coming to an end, CBS2’s Marc Liverman reported. Police said the 45-year-old victim was walking home when he saw two men drinking in front of a synagogue near Avenue J and East 15th Street. They said there was some type of verbal dispute. That’s...

New York City is losing more than 270 residents each day, more than any other city in the United States, according to census data analyzed by Bloomberg. Driving the Big Apple residents away are high taxes, staggering costs of living, and a significant decline in quality of life. While local politicians watch swaths of people pack up and leave, they continue to prioritize rank partisanship over smart policy. As a result, the great exodus is likely to accelerate in the months and years to come. New York City is home to the highest tax burden in the nation. Its residents...

Gov. Andrew Cuomo doubled down last week on his blame-the-messenger approach to New York’s growing shortage of natural-gas supplies by ordering the Department of Public Service to “broaden its investigation” of National Grid and threatening to “find another franchisee.” Anything, rather than admit that his own policies are at fault. The utility has stopped taking new gas customers in parts of Long Island, Brooklyn and Queens where it can’t handle the new demand — because Team Cuomo vetoed the proposed Williams pipeline to bring in supplies from New Jersey. (Jersey is also blocking the pipeline, since Gov. Phil Murphy is...

Mayor Bill de Blasio has aggressively pushed a bike-friendly agenda, adding about 100 miles of dedicated .

Mayor Bill de Blasio has aggressively pushed a bike-friendly agenda, adding about 100 miles of dedicated lanes for cyclists amid a spike in rider collisions, but he’s done little to address the danger that bikers themselves pose. Since 2011, bicyclists have injured more than 2,250 pedestrians — including at least seven who died — according to stats from the city Department of Transportation and published reports. Injuries are up 12 percent this year, rising to 127 through June 30 from 113 over the same period in 2018, the NYPD says...

Selling political favors works: That’s clearly Mayor Bill de Blasio’s philosophy, and his bid to box in hotels to please their union is but the latest example. On Monday, Crain’s reported that Hizzoner ordered city planners to “study” the idea of forcing hotels to get special permits, a move long sought by the hotel union. Just coincidentally, the union is the only labor group backing de Blasio’s 2020 bid. This month, The Post reported that 70% of his donors are tied to it.