- 3 weeks ago
CTP (S3EDecSpecial3) New York At A Crossroads
Exploring more of the fascinating intersection of Activism, Community Engagement, Faith / Religion, Human Nature, Politics, Social Issues, and beyond
We unpack what New Yorkers actually voted for, how state law curbs City Hall’s reach, and why due process and cultural context matter as much as policy promises. Sara Alessandrini shares insights from her documentary and on-the-ground election work, cutting through the noise to the numbers.
• exit polls showing narrow mandate and who voted for whom
• difference between mayoral power, council authority, and Albany control
• feasibility of tax hikes and risks of mobile high earners
• government-run groceries and free buses weighed against costs
• housing supply crunch from 2019 rules and slow approvals
• due process standards, cultural norms, and workplace boundaries
• crime trade-offs, focused deterrence, and system transparency
• competence over charisma as the path to real change
http://ThisIsWhatNewYorkersSay.com
https://tinyurl.com/SubscribeToCTP
Exploring more of the fascinating intersection of Activism, Community Engagement, Faith / Religion, Human Nature, Politics, Social Issues, and beyond
We unpack what New Yorkers actually voted for, how state law curbs City Hall’s reach, and why due process and cultural context matter as much as policy promises. Sara Alessandrini shares insights from her documentary and on-the-ground election work, cutting through the noise to the numbers.
• exit polls showing narrow mandate and who voted for whom
• difference between mayoral power, council authority, and Albany control
• feasibility of tax hikes and risks of mobile high earners
• government-run groceries and free buses weighed against costs
• housing supply crunch from 2019 rules and slow approvals
• due process standards, cultural norms, and workplace boundaries
• crime trade-offs, focused deterrence, and system transparency
• competence over charisma as the path to real change
http://ThisIsWhatNewYorkersSay.com
https://tinyurl.com/SubscribeToCTP
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello, welcome to another episode of Perstitutionalist Podcast.
00:06I am your host, Joseph M. Leonard.
00:10That's L-E-N-A-R-D at the French.
00:13It's not, it's Leonard without an O.
00:17Thank you for tuning in, as Graham Norton used to say, on his show.
00:24Let's get on with the show!
00:26Hello! Hello, everyone!
00:29A special introductory segment before getting into the episode.
00:36The remainder of December.
00:39Merry Christmas to all, and since I'll be using this opening through the rest of December,
00:46there will be Tuesday and Thursday drops here on out for December
00:51to help me get caught up with some interviews that I've got in the pile
00:56that have been recorded, waiting to be released.
01:01To help with the backlog, I'm going to do two a week now,
01:06Tuesdays and Thursdays, the rest of December,
01:09as well as January and February.
01:13So, in the background here, audio only, you're not seeing it, obviously,
01:20says, Merry Christmas to soldiers everywhere who can't be with their families,
01:26showing a group of soldiers with Santa hats and elf hats on.
01:32But, anyway, or at any rate, write the ongoing...
01:38Oh, I said write again.
01:40I've found I've gotten to the habit of saying, write?
01:44Write?
01:45I gotta watch that.
01:46I gotta stop that.
01:49Anyway, let's get on with an interview.
01:53Hello, everyone!
01:54Welcome to another episode of Christitutionalists.
01:59And, first, apologies to others who may be waiting for their discussions to drop,
02:07because Sarah is here to talk New York,
02:11and with the man-dummy, and I've gotta be careful I say that slow.
02:17People who watch the show regularly or listen, know my politics,
02:22so I generally call them madman-dummy.
02:26So, I want to be careful, though.
02:29I want us to try to have a down-the-middle diplomatic discussion,
02:35much like Mam, Donnie, and Trump had in the Oval Office
02:39by the time this airs now a couple weeks ago.
02:43But I want to, indeed, move this up in the release rotation ahead of others,
02:51because who knows what will follow that discussion they had
02:57in the first few months when Mam, Donnie, actually takes office.
03:02So, joining me today is Sarah, and I'll only say this,
03:08Alessandrini?
03:10Yes.
03:11Is that Greek?
03:13It's Italian.
03:14Oh, I'm part Italian, but yeah,
03:17Slovenian, Mom's Italian side there.
03:21But yeah, no, I would have guessed Greek,
03:24and of course my audience also knows I can't persist the lame puns,
03:29so it's like, it's all Greek to me.
03:32But I'm fun, right?
03:34As the saying goes.
03:36Anyway, all joking aside, welcome to the show, Sarah.
03:41And I'm not a fan of Mam, Donnie, either, so don't worry about offending me.
03:47I'm not a fan.
03:49That aside, I hope we'll be able to try to keep our discussion somewhat diplomatic,
03:56as nonpartisan as possible, and theoretical.
04:02I'm on the Cuomo side, so I like Cuomo, so yeah, definitely I'm not happy that Mam, Donnie won.
04:08Yeah, well, I'm not a fan of the Senior Slayer, either.
04:13But yeah, again, I want to put that aside for today's discussion.
04:19It was not this fault.
04:20We can talk about the nursing homes, too, but yes.
04:23Yeah.
04:24Not this fault.
04:25First, though, about you.
04:28Where were you born and raised?
04:30Where are you now, significant places you may have been in, between how much time did you spend in prison and for what?
04:39That kind of stuff.
04:41Luckily, no time in prison, because I'm an immigrant, so I don't want that record.
04:45So, yes.
04:47So, no time in prison at all.
04:49Yeah, I was born and raised in Italy.
04:51So, I'm from the north of Italy, like the south of the north.
04:55Oh, Sicilian, so.
04:56So, again, we'll have to put that aside, too, yeah.
05:01Yeah, so I was born and raised there, like I was there for 20 years.
05:05So, then I moved to Roma, where I studied, like, filmmaking.
05:08I worked there in the industry.
05:09So, that's where I was for a few years.
05:12Then, a short parenthesis in Australia.
05:15Just went a few months there and then, but I always want to come to this country.
05:19So, my dream was here.
05:20But, as an immigrant, it's complicated, obviously, to come to this country.
05:25So, first, I went to Australia.
05:26If you do it legally, yes.
05:28Yes.
05:30Yes.
05:31I mean, it's very difficult even to be legally here.
05:34So, like, I would never do it illegally.
05:37But, yeah.
05:37So, then, after there, I came to Los Angeles.
05:40So, I've been living in Los Angeles for 10 years.
05:42But, my brain lives in New York, apparently, for the past four or five years, because I made this documentary called This is What New Yorkers Say, that is, felt like, talked to regular New Yorkers about Andrew Cuomo's resignation.
05:57So, I've been following all that situation for the past years, when he was forced to resign with accusation of sexual harassment.
06:04And, also.
06:05Which, I'm on the fence with that.
06:08But, a lot of celebrities and or politicians get fake Me Too accusations.
06:17We see it left and right.
06:19So, I don't know where I stand on that.
06:22And, again, that aside, we're here more to talk Mondani-Trump meeting and going forward now that he's elected.
06:31But, anyway, I interrupted you.
06:33It's about the process.
06:34It's like, whatever, how you feel.
06:36Like, obviously, like, I read the accusation.
06:38I have so many questions about it.
06:39I don't believe what they said about him.
06:41I don't believe what the media say constantly about him.
06:45But, I wanted to hear directly from the people and, like, in that conversation about these topics.
06:51So, it started from Cuomo, but really to talk about, like, council culture, social media, how we deal with social media, how we don't really interact with people.
07:01And, especially, like, now there is this thing, if I don't agree with your politics, I should not talk to you.
07:06So, it's terrible.
07:08It's a terrible situation.
07:10Yeah.
07:10And there was also the issue.
07:11Now, all that stuff about Anthony Weiner, that I believe.
07:15But, again, a whole other show.
07:17It's a different one, yeah.
07:19But, yeah, that's what I've been spending, like, the past four years, seeing, like, all the situation about Andrew Cuomo.
07:25So, then, obviously, I was also, I went to New York multiple times this past few months for the election.
07:32So, I was there, like, I was at the watch party of the Cuomo team during the election.
07:38So, I was definitely, like, watching very closely, volunteering, too, sometime, like, going around and talking to people and seeing what, like, during this past month, what they were feeling, how the election process works.
07:52So, yeah, I was, like, learning a lot in the past month while I was traveling there in New York, seeing, like, firsthand the election.
08:00I'm clearly on the right side of the aisle as a constitutionalist.
08:05Biblical community versus worldly communism.
08:09Big distinction.
08:11But, again, all of that aside, if I were one of those hyper-partisan idiots, and I don't like them on either left or right, you know, Democrat, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, my team, or Republican, rah, rah, rah, rah, my team, only my team.
08:30I'm, you know, blinders on.
08:31I deal in reality, but if I were one of those hyper-partisans, you know, I would want to attack Cuomo, obviously.
08:41But, again, after all that garbage with the Kavanaugh hearing attacks and, in my opinion, false allegations and whatnot,
08:52I try to be a little more sensitive to people who are going to make accusations regardless.
09:01Yeah, we should give due process to everybody.
09:04Like, everybody deserves due process.
09:05Not because you're rich or you're a man or you're a politician, then you're a horrible human being.
09:10Like, that's not how you create a fair society.
09:13That's the problem.
09:14And it doesn't help women either.
09:16If, like, now suddenly everything becomes, like, an offense, like, words of, like, people losing their life.
09:23Yeah.
09:24Actual battered and abused women suffer when there are a million false Me Too accusations because then their story doesn't get believed.
09:35If everybody, like, scream wolf, then at a certain point you don't believe any of them.
09:40So, that's where, like, you have to be careful.
09:42You need to have a system where, like, it's fair.
09:45Like, okay, you do the investigation.
09:47You see just because someone obviously makes an accusation doesn't mean, like, someone else is guilty.
09:52And, again, like, you're innocent until proven guilty.
09:54And that's what should be.
09:56Not depending on who you are.
09:58Okay?
09:58And I don't like Trump necessarily.
10:01Like, I don't have any issue with him.
10:02I'm not a fan of Trump.
10:04But I would give him the same benefit of the doubt.
10:08Like, he's innocent until proven guilty.
10:10I don't have TDS, but I'm also not a Trump cultist.
10:15Yeah, I don't have TDS either.
10:17Was he a serial philanderer millionaire, billionaire playboy?
10:24Absolutely.
10:25You know, all the women he dated, he cheated on all his previous...
10:30All that is factual.
10:33That, you know, for someone to deny that is just dumb.
10:38It's, you know, it's delusional.
10:40It's cultism.
10:43But is he the same or a different person now?
10:47And, again, that's a whole other debate.
10:49But back to Cuomo, then I want to move on to Mom Dami.
10:54Cuomo, do I think he's a Bill Clinton?
10:58No.
10:59We all know Clinton and his escapades.
11:02Yeah.
11:03And, like, Cuomo is, like, someone who, like, worked 24-7.
11:07Cuomo is always, like, very...
11:08In a way, he was like Trump.
11:10Yeah, Trump always working.
11:12Yeah.
11:13So, like, he's not someone with that, like, lifestyle, Cuomo, like, going out and all kind
11:18of, like, crazy stuff.
11:19So that's where, even in my documentary, like, people, like, just don't believe the accusation
11:24because, like, they have seen Cuomo.
11:26They have worked with him.
11:27They've seen how he behaved.
11:28And then there is the cultural element, too, obviously, like, culture, like, Italian,
11:33the Latinos.
11:34Like, obviously, we have a different way of interacting with other people, which is, like,
11:38more human.
11:39It's less that...
11:40And a lot of times could be more flirtatious and that could be...
11:45Yeah, and asking personal questions.
11:46Like, to me, it's funny.
11:47Like, if you ask me the difference, like, in Italy, if someone asks you if you are in a
11:53relationship, it's the most normal question someone can ask you.
11:56So, like, here, when you meet someone, you ask them, what kind of job do you do?
12:00In Italy, it's like, oh, are you in a relationship?
12:02That's the most normal question you do.
12:05But in this country, if you just ask that question, even if you know them for, like,
12:10a while, even if it's in the middle of, like, a question, if you just ask that question,
12:16that means they're interested.
12:17And it's like, yeah, that's not, like, not for this kind of culture.
12:21So, like, we're just very curious about other people's life, and we want to know everything
12:28about other people's life.
12:29It doesn't necessarily mean we're interested.
12:31I've got a couple shows, especially around Valentine's Day every year, right, regarding
12:37dating and relationships.
12:39And I have a show I finally did on Beauty Eye of the Beholder, right?
12:46Because, you know, physical attraction and appearance is part of our human nature and experience
12:53and plays a role in relationships.
12:57I break down the different categories of beauty.
13:00I didn't get into it in the Beauty Eye of the Beholder episode, and probably should have.
13:06I have said forever, there's a big difference, and you kind of alluded to this and triggered
13:13in a good way, this thought, not me emotionally, but me intellectually, you triggered the thought
13:21there's a difference between admiration and, and, and, oh, I forget my own terminology here.
13:32Like appreciation?
13:33Right, right, right, but like, I can, like, well, Mary, it didn't mean I stopped admiring
13:44other women's beauty, but I didn't seek, I wasn't looking to obtain.
13:52There's a difference between admiration and whatever my other term, I can't remember now,
13:59but an interest and seeking to act upon that potential admiration, you know what I mean?
14:07And then I think that the problem that I touched on the documentary is the fact like,
14:11and now a lot of people like interact through social media, they're not used to actually
14:15get to know people, understand who they are, where they're coming from, their culture,
14:20their beliefs, or whatever it is.
14:22Because, and coming from Italy, where we still like, we're, we're not so obsessed with technology
14:27as people are in this country, like people you see here, everybody's always on their
14:31phone, they cannot have like regular interaction with other people.
14:35In Italy, it's very different, like people still seek that kind of like human connection,
14:41and so they're less obsessed with their social media, less obsessed with showing off that
14:47stuff.
14:47So you actually get to know people on a human level, and I see here a lot of people in the
14:53workplace, especially also, like people feel like, I don't need to know anything about you,
14:57but when actually you learn about people on their human level, then you understand what
15:03they mean when they say something.
15:04It's just caring.
15:06To tie it back to biblical, admiration doesn't necessarily mean lusting after someone.
15:14I can admire the way they look, that doesn't mean I lust after them.
15:21And in biblical caring about our neighbors, are you in a relationship?
15:29No, it's not because I want to ask you out on a date.
15:32It's just because, hey, curious about what's going on in your life.
15:38Major cultural issue, different shock, especially with all the Me Too movement, the fifth wave
15:46feminism stuff goes on over here.
15:50It's, oh my God, emotionally triggered snowflake meltdowns.
15:54We talk about diversity so much, like in this country, but then like, okay, if someone does
16:00something in a way that comes from like a different culture, different way of behaving, now suddenly
16:04like you're a monster.
16:06It's like, if you want diversity, you're going to have like people who do things in different
16:11ways.
16:12Yes.
16:12Obviously harassing women, it's not good for anyone.
16:16It doesn't matter what the culture is.
16:18You have to obey our Western culture laws.
16:23Yeah.
16:24And norms.
16:25Yes.
16:25You have.
16:25Yeah.
16:26Like obviously when you come like to a workplace, obviously you do all the trainings about sexual
16:30harassment and all of that.
16:32But again, it's also on the people to understand what, like just because someone asks you a
16:37question doesn't mean necessarily what kind of movie you're making in your own head.
16:41And it might be even that, but again, even if like someone is interested in you, it doesn't
16:46mean that person is like threatening you or something.
16:49So there are so many different layers.
16:51It's like so many gray areas.
16:53You cannot just say, even if someone asks you out, someone is interested in you, doesn't
16:57mean he's like a child.
16:57How is that offensive?
16:59Yeah.
16:59Yeah.
17:00Like you're interested.
17:01You can say no.
17:02And it's like, I'm young, like in my, my thirties, I've said not to a lot of people.
17:07A lot of people have said not to me.
17:08It's not that every man is interested in you.
17:11So there are so many layers and we need to have that honest conversation.
17:15Like everything is different.
17:17You cannot just make, just someone touches your shoulder.
17:20That's sexual harassment.
17:22It cannot be that simple, black and white.
17:25Right.
17:26Oh, and you touched on it.
17:27We need to relax and calm down.
17:30And the problem is we can't have honest conversations.
17:35Even the conversation is, oh my God, offensive.
17:40Right.
17:40Even though many on the left constantly are saying, we need to have the conversation.
17:46You don't want conversation.
17:48You want to dictate your way, but assimilation, you need to assimilate to our culture and our
17:56laws and diversity, diversity, equity, inclusion.
18:00We already are the most diverse and inclusive nation this planet has ever seen.
18:08Have you heard of E Pluribus Unum, the Latin motto for America from many one?
18:16It isn't cultural appropriation for me to put on a sombrero and drink margaritas on Cinco de Mayo.
18:24No, that's not appropriation.
18:26That's appreciation.
18:28That's diversity.
18:30That's inclusion.
18:32When I hear people talking about like immigrants, like being an immigrant, like obviously it's
18:38difficult to differ.
18:39But of course you're going in a country with different culture, with different customs.
18:43You have to learn assimilate and everything.
18:45Like obviously I was always a huge fan of this country.
18:47So it was not an issue for me because I came here to be in this country, not to be with
18:53other, create like an Italian community or something.
18:55But if you go to other countries, like even Italy or France, immigrants are not as integrated
19:01as they are in this country.
19:03So you have a very different, much more difficult.
19:06And that's what those of us on the right want to avoid.
19:11The, like I'm in Detroit area, right?
19:14Dearborn, a stand.
19:16We have Greek town in Detroit and Chinatown in Detroit.
19:22And, you know, little communities where you celebrate other cultures is good.
19:28But if it becomes an enclave and you're not part of anything else, you've not assimilated
19:35at all, then yes, that becomes a problem rather than a benefit.
19:42Yeah.
19:42I mean, I know even Italian people, like they barely speak their language.
19:46Even they are like young at my age, where like they have all the opportunity to learn
19:51the language.
19:51They come from like good backgrounds, not like poor or something.
19:56And still like, even they're coming here, but they come here with the idea, like still
19:59like everything about my culture is better than this.
20:02To me, the question is always, why are you here if you don't really love this place?
20:08Like, and again, I will never stop being an Italian on some level, obviously, because
20:12I'm, and not just Italian.
20:14We've both got the hands thing going.
20:16Yeah.
20:17Like my hands, I cannot think if I don't move my hands.
20:20Like sometimes I try to stay still and I'm like, oh wait, what do I should say?
20:24I cannot think.
20:26So, but.
20:27Yeah.
20:27I'm also part Polish and German in my heritage.
20:33Hamtramck was known as Little Poland before.
20:38It's no longer the Polish enclave it used to be.
20:41Here in Weingot, where I actually live, downriver, there is little, the Polish community, the German
20:50community, the Italian community, doesn't mean they don't mingle and mix, obviously.
20:57Grandpa and grandma.
20:59Grandpa was, on mother's side, was German.
21:02Grandma on mother's side, Italian.
21:05On my dad's side, both Polish, but, you know, all intermingled and intermixed and interrelated,
21:13intermarried, assimilated together, didn't appropriate each other's culture, but took part of other
21:21cultures as their own as a benefit, not as a theft.
21:27Mm, yeah.
21:28Anyway, yeah, we're up.
21:29Yeah, we've been talking about everything.
21:3222 minutes in, and let's actually get to what you're here for.
21:36Mom, Dami, got elected.
21:40Good, bad, indifferent, whatever your opinion, we're here to theoretically talk about what,
21:48because Trump is not a conservative.
21:50He's not a real Republican.
21:52He's a populist.
21:54What can they, he's not adverse to spending money, despite the doge pennies on the dollar
22:03cuts here and there, we are still over between one and two trillion dollar federal deficit.
22:12He's not adverse to spending money.
22:15So, I'm curious, because I don't know the New York City or state statutes.
22:23Like, a big issue is crime.
22:27Affordability, yes, but crime also.
22:30And Mom, Dami, with his statements in the past, catch and release mentality versus broken windows mentality,
22:41letting people back out on the streets to re-offend over and over and over again is an issue with many,
22:48but yet they voted Mom, Dami, in, who would be still weak on,
22:52what plan does he have in the prosecutor's office or any at all?
23:02Well, obviously, like, so, first of all, we need to also, like, look at the numbers of actually the election,
23:06because, yeah, people talk about, a lot about what's been going on,
23:11and they act, because if you look at, like, social media, if you look at the media or whatever,
23:15like, it looked like Mandani, like, would have made, like, 90% of the votes.
23:20If you look at, like, the New York Post released, like, an article acting, like, as if no one voted for Cuomo.
23:26It's like, that's not the reality if you look at the numbers.
23:28So, Mandani got barely, like, closer to 51% of the votes.
23:3551% of the votes, if you consider also, like, I think it was, what's that, 70% of people in New York,
23:42New York City voted for Kamala Harris instead of Trump.
23:45So, it's a very blue city, obviously.
23:48So, and considering how progressive a lot of people are there, 51% is not that much as people are making.
23:55And, yeah, Cuomo is like...
23:56And that's of the pool of people who actually got off their butts to vote.
24:03Yeah, yeah.
24:04More people didn't vote than did vote for all of them combined.
24:10Yeah, this obviously was, like, the most, like, the election that, like, in the past, I think, three decades,
24:16they said the most people went to vote, so it was 2 million people.
24:19But, again, we're talking about, I think, a population of, like, 6 million people that could vote, or...
24:25Or maybe less of that.
24:26But, yeah.
24:27So, we're talking about, obviously, it's not everybody.
24:30A lot of people are always disillusioned about politics.
24:33So, I was talking to people.
24:34So, yeah, there are people that are like, oh, what's the point of me going to vote?
24:38There are situations where the person, like, even if maybe they just moved, so they didn't change their registration,
24:43so they couldn't vote.
24:45Or someone who was working the whole day couldn't take the time off from work.
24:49So, there are all kinds of situations.
24:51And that's true of almost all elections, though, too.
24:56Yeah.
24:56Local, state, federal, right?
24:59A fraction of a fraction of a fraction elects whomever.
25:05Yeah.
25:06So, obviously, that was, like, an issue during the primary, because much less people went to vote,
25:10because people were just assuming Cuomo would win.
25:12And then, because the people, the young people that are, like, very far to the left,
25:18they are very engaged compared to other people from other communities,
25:22then they all went to vote.
25:23And so, he got the primary.
25:25And, of course, when you become, like, the head of, like, the Democratic Party in the primary,
25:31obviously, a lot of people, as you said, they just vote for the party.
25:34They don't vote for the person or whatever it is.
25:36So, Cuomo was actually the real Democrat, but he was on an independent line.
25:43And then, you had Mamdani, who was a socialist, or democratic socialist, if you say it's a difference.
25:49Yeah.
25:49Uh-huh.
25:50Right.
25:50There's a difference.
25:51If you believe in the difference.
25:53And it's socialist with sprinkles on top, as the online name goes.
25:56Yes.
25:56I see all the people are like, that's not socialism.
25:59It's different.
26:00Whatever.
26:00However you feel about that.
26:01But he wasn't the Democratic Party.
26:03I don't know real socialism like immigrants do.
26:06I have a lot of friends escape from behind the Iron Curtain that know what real socialism and communism is.
26:15And they know it when they see it, and they're seeing it here.
26:19Yeah.
26:19But, again, if you never lived outside of this country, then you just assume, like, people,
26:25and I see that all the time when I talk to my Italian friends, too.
26:28If you are in a culture, you just assume that everybody else in other countries think in the same way as you do,
26:35when it's not the reality.
26:36Every culture really changes the way you think about topics.
26:40So you cannot put your American mind to really understand the Middle East without taking in consideration that they have a different culture and the same other countries.
26:50And so a lot of people think, like, oh, yeah, socialism didn't work in Venezuela because of this and that, but it's going to work here.
26:59So that's a different conversation, obviously.
27:01We all have different definitions of what everything is.
27:04We don't teach history in this country anymore, civics or history.
27:10It's all theoretical, cultural, Marxist, social studies now.
27:15Yeah.
27:15And it's also, like, even, like, in Italy, where, like, we have a much better educational system than in this country.
27:21Still, your history, you just learn, okay, this happened on this day, this happened that, then after that.
27:26We don't really understand the why, what was going on in the society around that time.
27:31In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
27:35I still have that, of course, memorized.
27:38Well, the details beyond that are what are important and matter.
27:44Like, people didn't learn the Bradford Colony, the Mayflower Compact.
27:53We tried communism long before Marx ever thought he dreamt it up on our soil.
28:01The Bradford Colony, the Mayflower Compact, was a socialist, communist, commune compact.
28:09In fact, collective ownership, collective rights, they almost all starved to death.
28:17Then they pivoted to personal rights, individual private property ownership, free market capitalism.
28:28And the rest, as they say, is history.
28:30What a miracle was founded on.
28:32And it was a very different time with very different issues than the ones we have now.
28:35So, to me, it's just ridiculous to be still talking about fascism and communism in 2025.
28:41Just come with a new system, come with something that is more related to this time than the same words that were spoken 50, 60, 70 years ago or something.
28:51Maybe more, because, like, we are in 2025.
28:53It's like, I still have 2000.
28:55I cannot even count how many years ago it was that.
28:58But, yeah.
28:59Move your hands more or it'll come to you, right?
29:02Yeah, it's going to come back if I just say.
29:05Italian humor.
29:09Yes.
29:10But, yeah.
29:11So, going back to the election.
29:12So, that's the thing.
29:14So, we have, like, this amount of people.
29:16But if you look at the exit polls, like, it was interesting to see.
29:21They were asking, like, the people the question, how long have you lived in New York?
29:25So, there was, like, zero to five years, five to ten years, ten, like, more than ten years.
29:32But I was not born here or I was born here.
29:34The more, like, the more someone was born.
29:38The general graphics.
29:38The more someone had been in New York, the more likely they were to vote for Cuomo.
29:43So, the people, the zero to five voted, like, 86% for Mamdani.
29:49So, that tells you also, like, the difference.
29:51Like, if you were born and raised in New York, you were more likely to vote for Cuomo.
29:55If you were, like, if you moved to New York, like, zero to five years ago, that means you probably never even seen Cuomo, like, governing.
30:04Because he resigned in 2021.
30:07So, that means that was, like, four years and more ago.
30:10So, a lot of these people, they moved to New York probably after he resigned.
30:15So, they never got to see him and, like, how he was working.
30:20They never saw his father, obviously, but that, obviously, was, like, long.
30:25No, that's ancient history, yeah.
30:27Yeah, so, and that's, like, to me, when I was listening to, like, Mamdani's speech and talking about how they're toppling down, like, they won against a dynasty.
30:38To me, it's, like, if you, you might, like, obviously, you might hate Andrew, Andrew Cuomo.
30:44Like, obviously, we're not going to be friends, but I accept that.
30:47If you don't like him, that's okay.
30:49But a lot of people love Mario Cuomo.
30:51So, if you have issues with Andrew, why do you have issues with Mario?
30:55So, it just shows that, like, they just hate dynasties just because of the concept.
31:00Oh, we know it well here in Southeast Michigan.
31:04The Dingle dynasty goes back almost a hundred years.
31:10The original Dingle was there for life.
31:15Then his son took over for life.
31:19And now John Dingle Jr.'s wife, Debbie Dingle, heir to the Fisher Guide at Fortune and GM, Debbie Fisher, Debbie Dingle, she took, felt entitled and inherited more or less the seat based on the name recognition.
31:42So, yeah, we understand that in Southeast Michigan well.
31:46Yeah, but at the same time, like, first of all, people loved Mario.
31:49A lot of people loved him anyway.
31:51So, like, now you have issues with Mario Tudes.
31:54Like, one thing is to have an issue with Andrew.
31:56But also, like, again, and it's not nepotism anyway.
32:00It's not that, like, because you had to be voted for governor.
32:03So Andrew was voted.
32:05You still had to get the votes, yeah.
32:07Yeah, so people voted for him and they voted for him three times.
32:10And if it wasn't for the sexual harassment allegation and how they were trying to force him to resign or impeach him, he would have won a fourth term very easily.
32:20Yeah.
32:20So, and even for this election, he still got, like, 900,000 votes when people act as if, like, no one wants him.
32:27But a lot of people still love him, yes.
32:29A lot of people that voted for him in this election, of course, they might hate him and still voted for him because they prefer him.
32:36Plus or two evils, yeah.
32:38Yeah, like, obviously, there are all kinds of people.
32:40But I met also people that voted for Mamdani.
32:43They still loved Cuomo.
32:44So we're not talking about just because you voted for Mamdani.
32:47That means you hate Andrew and everything.
32:51So there are all kinds of situations.
32:53So that, to me, was interesting to see the exit poll.
32:55So, okay, okay, 50% of the people voted, but a bunch of those people are also people that maybe just moved there, like, a few months ago or so.
33:06And they got to decide.
33:07Yeah.
33:09We're discussing it again.
33:11Turnout.
33:11If all those people that whine, moan, and complain, my vote doesn't matter.
33:18If all you, my vote doesn't matter, people actually showed up, you could have all wrote in, Bozo the Clown, and Bozo the Clown would have won by writing.
33:32So don't tell me that my vote don't count because it does.
33:38If everybody actually showed up, the results would be different.
33:42The dynasty people wouldn't win on name recognition.
33:48Yeah, I mean, and that's the issue, obviously.
33:50Like, democracy only works if everybody's engaged and everybody has the information and the system is set to actually make it work.
33:58And, again, if you keep defunding the educational system, if, like, the media doesn't do its job and they're always, like, attacking people on a personal level,
34:08it's, like, it's not a good society, it's not a good society, it's not, like, democracy, it's not, like, an effective democracy.
34:14And I can hear people yelling at their computer or their phone if they're listening on their phone right now.
34:23You know, even though this will air weeks from now, I'll get the nasties.
34:29Well, see, no, we are a representative republic, but everybody uses the word democracy, correct.
34:39We are a representative constitutionally limited republic.
34:44So, I know what you mean, you know what you mean, but yet there will still be people get upset because...
34:52And I get it because I also studied business, like, I came to this country and I always hear everybody talking about it's a democracy, it's a democracy.
35:00And then I was studying business and I was like, well, actually, democracy is not even part of the, let's say, the constitution or whatever.
35:07And it was like, oh, that's interesting. I never, like, heard that. I never heard that at the time because I also live in Los Angeles.
35:13So, everybody's very on the left side here. So, definitely, I don't understand what you mean, saying that I have a democracy.
35:23But, I mean, democracy meaning, like, when people are, like, going out to vote, like, you're going to vote for the good people and you're going to have good people if the system is set so that actually you have the right information.
35:34Our founders spoke to that at the convention. They did not want mobocracy, ineptocracy, kleptocracy, like, unfortunately, we've got far too much of now.
35:51The old adage, two wolves and a lamb voting what's for dinner. It's not what's for dinner, it's who's on the menu. The sheep. The two wolves outvote the sheep.
36:03That's why we are not a mobocracy. The minority is supposed to be protected. But, again, we've gotten off the beaten path again.
36:14There are so many topics that, like, are worth talking, obviously.
36:18I toggled my video, too, because my movements threw my video off there and I went blurry.
36:27But the power of the mayor versus the power of the council is a dynamic in play here, too.
36:38The mayor is kind of like a president. The Congress or the council really has the bill-making authority and the mayor can sign or veto.
36:53He has executive privileges, but in order for Mondani to get through many of the things he's talked about, like government-run grocery stores, like Moscow or sailed in St. Louis even more recently here, he's got to have a council.
37:18So, what's the council make up, Blake?
37:21I mean, and also, like, a lot of things that he wants to do, like he needs the governor to sign up to go for that.
37:28And a lot of that, like, it's not possible.
37:30Like, he wants to tax, increase taxes on the wealthy, the rich.
37:35First of all, that's not how the system works because billionaires don't take regular salaries.
37:40So you cannot just increase the percentage because that's not how they make their money.
37:45They don't have a regular salary.
37:47If you make, like, a million-dollar salary, you're already taxed a lot.
37:52And in New York City, you are taxed way more than everywhere else.
37:5590% of most taxes, you know, your region may vary.
38:03Your mileage may vary, as I say.
38:05But in general, 90% of all taxes everywhere are paid by the top 10% or 5% of people already.
38:16How are they not wanting others to pay their fair share?
38:23Yeah.
38:23But so there is that issue.
38:25But again, he doesn't, as a mayor, he doesn't control where the, like...
38:29Doesn't have that power and authority.
38:32Yeah, he needs Albany to do that.
38:34And again, next year, there is an election for the governor.
38:39So Cassie Ockel, she already said she cannot increase taxes.
38:42But also, like, she's fighting, she's going against Elise Stefanik, that, like, she's Republican.
38:48And even a lot of people that, like, voted for Cuomo, obviously, during the election,
38:54like, they're already thinking about voted for Stefanik.
38:57Because, like, if they're ready, like, it's very far left in New York City, they don't want the state to be also left.
39:04Yeah, New York taxes are off the charts.
39:06Only California is worse.
39:08There might be a couple others worse, but New York, New Jersey, California, major taxation.
39:15Yeah, but so that's the thing.
39:18Like, it's an election next year.
39:20She already had a hard time winning the last time.
39:23But now that there is, like, New York City that's going very far left, a lot more people will prefer to vote for a Republican candidate.
39:31So she cannot be like, oh, let's increase taxes, when already she's in a very difficult situation.
39:36And millionaires and billionaires are very portable.
39:41They can move, and they'll take their companies and your job with them, and you lose your job.
39:51Yeah, like, you can live in Jersey, you can live in Westchester, you can live in a lot of places, still do business in New York.
39:56But also, at the same time, it's not like he wants to tax the millionaire or the billionaire, whatever it is.
40:03Because in New York State, and then put all the money made by that tax into New York City, instead of redistributing that around the state, like, that's not going to be okay.
40:14Like, there is already a lot of, like, hate between upstate and downstate in New York, because everybody thinks that the governor always favors and only cares for New York City.
40:24So a lot of other districts, other, like, areas, region, they're not going to be okay with, like, adding, like, an extra tax just to give more money to New York City to fund free buses or, like, other services.
40:39We have that exact dynamic in Wayne County, especially, which is where Detroit is.
40:46I'm in Southern Wayne County, the Wayne County politics, taxation, and where does all of it go?
40:55Detroit, right?
40:57And same with the state, state politics.
41:00Most people, the western part of the state, constantly.
41:04The northern touristy parts of the state, constantly complaining about how much of state taxes get funneled to Detroit.
41:14Yeah.
41:15Yeah.
41:17And even, like, the groceries, having, like, one for each borough.
41:22Like, first of all, there are, like, 16,000, I think, like, grocery store, bodegas, and everything.
41:28So five extra is not going to change the situation of New York City.
41:32And if you, and I guess it's more symbolic, but even if that was the case, everybody travels to those groceries because the prices are cheaper, then you're not going to have any food.
41:43No, nothing on the shelf.
41:44There is nothing on the shelf.
41:46But also, government always say that, oh, we're going to tax this, and we're going to give you lower prices.
41:52First of all, you're starting a new industry.
41:55Like, the government is taking on a new industry that's never been before in New York City.
42:00So that's going to cost you a lot of money, a lot of consultants, buildings.
42:04So that's going to be a lot of expenses just to get started.
42:07So, like, even in Italy, I remember, like, apparently when they created, like, the highways, the freeways, they were saying, oh, we're going to just charge you for the first year so that you don't have to, then we just pay for that money for, like, to make it.
42:23And then it's going to be free forever.
42:24And then, of course, it's never free.
42:26Then they keep it.
42:27So, as Reagan said, there is nothing more permanent than a temporary government program.
42:35Yes.
42:35So, like, you start a new industry, you've never been in, and you think you're going to be able to give cheaper prices than the people that have done that business for years.
42:45I used to work for Kmart, which is now gone, but, yeah, all the super caves.
42:52So I understand the grocery market and how all that works.
42:57And, yeah, the only way a government-run store works is then if you go full South Africa and seize all the farms so that you can feed the stuff to the government-run store.
43:12Yeah, and that would cost a lot of money, like, traveling her place and stuff, cargos.
43:19But, yeah, I mean, that's the issue.
43:21It's, like, it's dreaming.
43:23Like, and, again, even if that was a plan that works, it's not that what's going to change the life of New Yorkers or anyone.
43:31Yeah.
43:32Or, like, free buses.
43:33Like, I live in Los Angeles, and I actually take public transportation in Los Angeles, which is very different, like most people.
43:39So it's already cheaper than having a car, and, of course, it's more expensive in New York and everything.
43:47So, but even there, most people take the subway, not the bus, and even, like, to fund that.
43:52Yeah, there are a lot of, like, questions about everything that he wants to do.
43:57He doesn't have the power to just do it.
43:59Everything takes a lot of work.
44:01Like, affordable housing, like, the problem in New York is that there is, like, a crisis because they have, like, a 1.4% of available houses in the market.
44:11But it's not just that there are not enough, like, buildings.
44:14Like, there was a new rule that passed in 2019.
44:19I think it was 2019.
44:21And because of that, a lot of landlords that they have, like, apartments, they're saying it's not worth it for them to renovate them.
44:28So some of them are broken.
44:30They need renovation.
44:31But because they change how much they can deduct, how much in the law, how much they can charge after they do the work, they cannot recover their money.
44:40So, because of that, a lot of our keeping their apartments unused, they're not usable because, obviously, they're, like, in very bad conditions.
44:48So, like, some are, like, broken, like, holes in the ceiling and everywhere.
44:53So, if you just, like, if you could get those apartments on the market, that would help.
44:59But, again, it's not going to solve because you need to build housing.
45:02You need to do all of that, too.
45:04And so, and you need to know how to do it.
45:06So, to me, it's not just, like, that what he proposed, it's impossible.
45:10I'm saying, if Cuomo proposed the same thing, I would believe it because I know that Cuomo gets the job done.
45:17If he says something, he's going to do that in some way.
45:20He has a plan.
45:21Someone who has a proven record.
45:23As opposed to a delusional pipe dream fantasy.
45:26Like, someone who's never done his job before.
45:29Like, he never really had any job.
45:31Like, not even being a waiter.
45:33He's, like, the son of, like, millionaires, too.
45:36So, he's, like, a wealthy friend.
45:38He wants to tax, he's like Bernie Sanders.
45:40Wants to tax the millionaires.
45:42Bernie Sanders always used to say, I want to tax the millionaires and billionaires.
45:48You notice Sanders never says millionaires anymore because he's a multimillionaire with three mansions, including an oceanfront property, even though he peddles the climate scam.
46:00And has a quarter of a million dollar sports car.
46:05How many people have that?
46:08But, so, yeah, he's a millionaire.
46:11So, now he just wants to tax the millionaires.
46:13And if you're a millionaire, like, you know how to get the system to work, too.
46:18Like, not in an illegal way.
46:20Like, you know how it works.
46:21So, you know, like they were saying, even the people from Hollywood, they have millions, but they still propose this thing because they get paid through companies, not as individual taxpayers and everything.
46:32So, a lot of these people, they don't have an idea about actually the system.
46:37No, because, again, it goes back to the top.
46:40We don't teach civics, economics, or history at all.
46:45And I've got a piece on beforeitsnews.com I wrote in December on housing and actual ways to fix it.
46:54And, again, I'm not a Trump cultist.
46:56So, Trump proposing a 50-year mortgage, I'm like, are you kidding?
47:03But no one, no one, Mandani is not proposing you must buy a 50-year.
47:12No one is forcing anyone.
47:15So, as an option, okay, make it an option.
47:19If people want a 50-year mortgage, make that available.
47:24But that doesn't solve anything.
47:26There's a whole lot of other things we've got to address to solve the housing issue.
47:33And I have a piece on that, addressing the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all.
47:40I watch a lot of Dan Ramsey.
47:42So, when that 50-year mortgage came, like all the memes you see online about Dan Ramsey.
47:47Like, it's funny.
47:4830 years is already too long.
47:51I mean, right?
47:52I mean, but that's, again, it's all patches, putting patches on stuff instead of actually,
47:59like, finding the way to solve the problems at the root and everything.
48:03So, yeah, definitely.
48:04And then, like, as an immigrant, it drives me crazy, honestly.
48:07Because, like, I came here to this country.
48:09So, when I had to learn system, like, health insurance, how the taxes work, all of that.
48:16Like, I never, like, you come to a new country.
48:19You don't know how the system works.
48:21So, for me, I always first ask American people, and they never knew anything.
48:25So, I had to learn all of this.
48:29And, like, even now, it's, like, crazy.
48:30You know more, right?
48:31And that's why I love legal immigrants.
48:35You know more about our system than the people born here.
48:40Because they're just coasting through life.
48:43Yeah, it's crazy.
48:45And I have a lot of people that are very much on the left, friends and everything.
48:49And I'm the one explaining to them how the health system works, how the insurance works,
48:54and, like, how to go, which hospital you should go, how to figure out.
48:58I had to explain.
48:59Because even at work, like, someone got cut, and he didn't know what to do.
49:03And I was the one, like, going, figuring out, okay, this is your insurance.
49:06This is the hospital.
49:07You can go this and that.
49:09So, it's, like, interesting for me to see.
49:12Like, there is nothing wrong in not knowing the knowledge.
49:15But when you're the person who is pushing that solution on other people,
49:20but you don't actually have the knowledge to understand how the system works,
49:23and you just want to destroy things because it makes you feel good about yourself or whatever,
49:29that's an issue.
49:31And I have issues with Mamdani because, like, he's a populist, too, obviously.
49:38And so, he's always about, like, this thing, oh, people tell us what we cannot do.
49:43I've been, like, I've been annoyed by people telling me that, like, I cannot do this,
49:47and I cannot do that all my life.
49:49And I've done it because people never thought I would be able to come to this country,
49:52to stay here, to work, get visa, and everything.
49:56And beyond that, like, I work in the movie industry.
49:58Well, a lot of people, it's an excuse to just give up and not bother to try.
50:03Yeah, so I've done a lot of things that, like, even working, I made this documentary with no money and everything.
50:09So, I've done a lot of things that are not, like, my background or where I was born.
50:14Like, not the family.
50:15My family is not in this industry, in this business.
50:17They came to this country only once in 10 years because they don't travel.
50:22So, I hate when people tell you something cannot be done.
50:27But you should prove first that you're someone also that can achieve things, that have done something.
50:33And Mamdani, beside winning an election, has done nothing in his life.
50:38So, that's the...
50:39Okay, we've come full circle.
50:43I'm going to wrap it up.
50:44I usually try to keep my shows around 30 minutes so they don't get too long.
50:50We could talk for 30 hours and still be going.
50:54So, I do, though, I want to wrap it up because we blew way past the 30-minute mark.
51:01Do you have a website for people to reach out to you?
51:05Yeah, I mean, I have the website for my documentary series.
51:08It's called This Is What New Yorkers Say.
51:10So, that's the best place where, like, you can read more about the documentary.
51:15You can find my social medias, where to watch it.
51:18It's now available on streaming platforms like Apple TV, 2B for free.
51:23Someone is interested.
51:25Is that .com?
51:27.com, yeah.
51:28And New Yorkers is spelled out.
51:31It's not NY.
51:32No, no.
51:32It's all, like, written.
51:34This Is What New Yorkers Say.com.
51:36So, yeah, that's where you can find more about the documentary.
51:41It's me and social media.
51:43Oh, I went blurry again.
51:47Anyway, it's more important people see you than see me anyway.
51:51They know my ugly face.
51:53Yeah.
51:54Anyway, thank you, Sarah Alistairini, for coming by today.
52:01It was a great conversation.
52:03It usually happens with me.
52:06What rabbit holes open and I can't help with my OCD brain but dive down them.
52:12So, thank you, Sarah.
52:14Take care.
52:15God bless.
52:16Have a great day.
52:17All right.
52:18You too.
52:19Like and subscribe to Christitutionalist Politics Podcast and share episodes.
52:27We need your help.
52:28Thank you for having tuned into another Christitutionalist Podcast Show.
52:36I really appreciate that you stopped by.
52:40Again, please like, share, subscribe.
52:43We need you to help spread the Christitutionalist Movement.
52:49Thank you again.
52:50Take care.
52:51God bless.
52:53Love you all.
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