New York Politics & News
News coverage and commentary of New York state politics, progressive policies, and governance battles in the Empire State.
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opinion
The New York Times Continues Its Tradition of Whitewashing Communism
It seems communism is back in vogue at The New York Times. A sad but common issue in the modern West is that progressives have created a fanciful and distorted picture of socialism to make it seem like an intriguing alternative to American-style capitalism. Ikea socialism—with Sweden as the model—is an utterly distorted, but at… -
opinion
How New York City May Be Shortchanging Its Poorest Students
Last year, 822 public school employees sat idle in “rubber rooms” in New York City. Well, perhaps not entirely idle. Some played Scrabble, others slept. On average, a quarter of these taxpayer-funded employees have sat in these rubber rooms—places where teachers who have been dismissed from the system but can’t be fired spend their days—for… -
news
5 Biggest Screw-Ups by The New York Times So Far This Year
After The New York Times reported that the newspaper had “obtained” an unpublished government draft of a climate change report some feared President Donald Trump would suppress, it turned out the draft has been available online for eight months. In light of this oversight Monday, which the Times since issued a correction on, here is a list of… -
opinion
New York Times ‘Voter Suppression’ Video Game Is Pure Propaganda
An “Oregon Trail”-style “Op-Doc” video game released by The New York Times just days before the 2016 election asks readers to “find out if your vote can survive the great, flawed adventure of American democracy.” The premise: The race of the character you choose determines whether your vote survives “the GOP’s tactics.” This biased game… -
news
How Trump’s Tax Plan Would Affect High-Tax States Like California, New York
High-income earners in high-tax states would see a federal tax rate cut, but may pay more in the end if they’re unable to deduct state and local taxes under President Donald Trump’s tax reform proposal announced Wednesday. “We’ll be attacked from the left. We’ll be attacked from the right,” @GaryDCohn says. The White House released… -
news
Journalists From BuzzFeed, New York Times Assess Daily Signal’s Splash in White House Press ‘Pool’
A story in The Washington Post questioning the legitimacy of The Daily Signal and its White House correspondent demonstrates the entrenched news media’s slowness to adapt and protectiveness of its turf, a veteran Washington reporter observes. “I was surprised that anyone objected to @FredLucasWH’s inclusion in the WH pool,” @BuzzFeedBen says. Those “gatekeepers” in the… -
opinion
New York Times Misuses Data to Criticize Defunding of Planned Parenthood
Earlier this week, The New York Times ran a piece responding to Congress’ current plan to reallocate Planned Parenthood funding. The piece is little more than a recycling of old, problematic studies conducted by a partisan research group, combined with both anecdotal and selective evidence drawn from interviews and media reports. The article also completely… -
news
Book Detailing the Story of Infamous Abortionist Left Off New York Times Best-Seller List
A popular book chronicling the story of abortionist Kermit Gosnell, who was convicted for murdering several infants, was left off The New York Times best-seller list. Since its release on Jan. 24, "Gosnell: The Untold Story of America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer" quickly reached Amazon’s best-seller list, but was left off The New York Times' hardcover nonfiction best-seller… -
news
New York Proposes Free College, but Not Everyone’s Buying It
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an “aggressive” new plan to provide free college tuition to families earning up to $125,000 a year. Under the proposal, nearly a million families would qualify. “We’re making college tuition-free for middle-class families,” Cuomo, a Democrat, said. “This is the most aggressive plan ever proposed.” To participate, students are… -
news
State Lawmakers Seek to Stop New York City From Destroying ID Records
A judge is expected to rule soon on whether New York City can destroy records associated with an identification program commonly used by illegal immigrants who lack Social Security cards or driver’s licenses. Earlier this month, Ron Castorina Jr. and Nicole Malliotakis, Republican members of the New York State Assembly from Long Island, filed a… -
opinion
New York Bombing May Be Another Terrorist Attack Inspired by al-Qaeda’s Anwar al-Awlaki
New York City and New Jersey dodged a bullet on Saturday. The terrorist bombings allegedly perpetrated by Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 28-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Afghanistan, could have been much worse. Several of the bombs that he reportedly planted failed to explode, giving investigators important leads that enabled Rahami’s quick arrest…. -
opinion
New York Times Promotes Myth That Man-Made Climate Change Refugees Exist
The New York Times has declared the first American climate refugees. The article, published on May 2, tells the story of families living in southeastern Louisiana on the Isle de Jean Charles who will have to relocate (apparently due to man-made climate change). The article begins by warning that, “Around the globe, governments are confronting the… -
opinion
What Would Happen If New York City Went Forward With Letting Illegal Immigrants Vote
The New York Post is reporting that some members of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus will be pushing for the New York City Council to pass a law allowing illegal aliens to vote in NYC elections for mayor, comptroller, public advocate, borough president, and City Council. This is an anti-democratic policy driven by politics… -
news
Hold the Lobster. This New York Legislator Wants to Prevent ‘Luxury’ Purchases With Food Stamps
Food stamp recipients in New York could be barred from using their benefits to purchase “luxury” items like steaks and lobsters if a bill makes it through the state legislature. State Sen. Patty Ritchie, R-Oswegatchie, introduced legislation last week that would impose restrictions on enrollees in New York’s food stamps program to ensure they purchase only food and… -
opinion
What This New York Times Writer Got Wrong on Supreme Court Case Challenging Obama’s Executive Actions
In a recent New York Times op-ed, Linda Greenhouse takes the Supreme Court justices to task for the “startling” action of asking the Obama administration to address whether its deferred-action immigration program violates the Take Care Clause of the Constitution. The Take Care Clause is the president’s duty to “take Care that the Laws be… -
news
In New York, You Could Be Fined $250K for Failing to Use a Transgender Person’s ‘Preferred’ Pronoun
Raising the bar for other cities throughout the country, New York City announced “strong” and “bold” protections for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. The new legal guidance, issued Dec. 21 by the New York City Commission on Human Rights, came as part of an expansion of the city’s 2002 Human Rights Law, which protects against discrimination… -
opinion
What the New York Daily News Got Wrong About God, Reality
The New York Daily News’ cover in the aftermath of the tragic San Bernardino, Calif., shootings is being heralded as provocative and challenging. “God Isn’t Fixing This,” blares the cover, which features tweets from Republicans urging prayer after the shooting and then launches into a lecture: “As the latest batch of innocent Americans are left… -
opinion
New York Attorney General Tries to Criminalize Scientific Dissent on Climate Change
Everyone reading this should do the attorney general of New York, Eric T. Schneiderman, a big favor: buy a copy of the U.S. Constitution, highlight the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights with a bright yellow or orange Sharpie, and mail him a copy. Schneiderman obviously needs a remedial lesson in the fact that… -
news
In New York, Restaurant Industry Fights Minimum Wage Hike, Argues NY Governor Guilty of ‘Executive Overreach’
The National Restaurant Association is fighting New York’s anticipated $15-per-hour minimum wage hike in the restaurant industry’s latest wage battle. The association filed a petition last week pressing the New York Industrial Board of Appeals to scrap the anticipated increase for fast food workers in the state. The group argued that the New York Department… -
news
New York Gov. Cuomo Rejects New Evidence, Continues to Forbid Fracking
For officials in the economically depressed region of New York state known as the Southern Tier, two recent hydraulic fracturing studies gave them the slightest glimmer of hope that the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo would reverse the state’s ban on hydraulic fracturing. But in a brief email to Watchdog.org, the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation shut the door on…