When I was in college, I was an anti-genocide activist.

I helped to organize for Amherst College to divest from companies implicated in the Darfur genocide.

With that experience, I am vehemently opposed to mis-use of the term genocide re: the war in Israel > Gaza. I'm against mis-use of the term "genocide" to describe civilian deaths in Gaza, as collateral damage in urban warfare, because it's simply false.

Words have meaning.

Genocide is a specific crime of intent defined by Art. II of the Genocide Convention.

So I actually listened to the entirety of Fatima Mohammed's speech to the CUNY Law School graduating class of 2023, and yes, this is a prime example of modern Left-wing anti-Semitism.

She basically recited a laundry list of anti-Semitic tropes.

Conceded, Fatima Mohammed makes no less than 10 references to Israel - she does touch on foreign policy, sort of - that's not what makes her speech anti-Semitic.

The rhetoric alleging a global conspiracy of "Zionists", "investors", and "Chuck Schumer" really crosses the line.

In case there was still a sliver of doubt in anyone's mind, this more or less proves Tara Reade's allegations vs. Joe Biden were 100% false, malicious fictions.

She was cultivated by Russian intelligence to sow chaos in the 2020 elections.

They compensated her. Handsomely.

https://twitter.com/KaivanShroff/status/1663625791379329027

If you recall, Tara Reade alleged that in 1993 Biden had committed sex crimes in the hallway of the Russell Senate Building, she filed a complaint, and was fired.

Alt Left "journalists" Ryan Grim, Katie Halper, Nathan J. Robinson fell for this bait hook, line, and sinker.

One major issue which will surely be litigated in NY v. Daniel Penny is whether the defense will be able to introduce evidence of Jordan Neely's criminal record of assaults vs. random people on the subway.

Whether the judge allows such evidence could make or break the case. The defense will want to introduce such evidence, whether in police reports, court transcripts, etc. to establish that Neely did have a pattern of behavior, extremely relevant, that he was about to repeat again - and that Penny did reasonably fear this repeat behavior.

The most Chuck Schumer move ever would be to hold a parade up 5th Ave. from Sunset Park thru Park Slope to the Barclays Center with every mainline Dem candidate ever associated with Brooklyn to hammer home the Party backs Dan Goldman. It would be a literal parade of every Brooklyn Democrat elected alive and dead, Elizabeth Holtzman, Jo Ann Simon, Yvette Clarke, Hakeem Jeffries, Marty Markowitz, Antonio Reynoso, and all of the candidates who got 100 votes even, everyone gets a float in the parade.

Look, I'm perhaps as guilty of AOC derangement syndrome as any.

But no other single individual has poisoned the well of New York Democratic politics with demonstrable falsehoods, childish tantrums, intentional sabotage of liberal Democratic programs and messaging like she has. Literally the day before Joe Biden and Barack Obama hold a joint event to tout the successes of the Affordable Care Act expansion, she goes on a tirade about "why the ACA is bad actually".

Democrats might not be the best at messaging - the least AOC can do is not sabotage it.

I believe that Andrew Cuomo is a backslapping politician who hugs and kisses staffers, who tells cringey jokes - and that could be the basis of a Title VII lawsuit.

But I doubt some of the most explosive, lascivious accusations. They seem ... contrived. And out of character. This entire saga reminds me too much of the "Handsy Joe Biden" narratives circa 2019-2020.

I absolutely believe that he hugged too much and kissed too much.

... but the notion that that established a character propensity to commit manual sexual assault was a bridge too far.

Of the individual accusations vs. Andrew Cuomo in the James Report, I believe that the most damning - if true - might be Executive Assistant #1 (but I have serious doubts whether her accusations are true).

I believe the most truthful might be Trooper #1. These accusations by Executive Assistant #1 and Trooper #1 are so serious that they could, by themselves, fell the Governor of New York.

I do think that it is imperative for the State Assembly Judiciary Committee to hold hearings.

OK, so now for the stuff that Cuomo fans are really not going to like...

(I warned you, I'm calling balls and strikes here) Let's subtract all of the individual accusations that you might think are over-the-top, exaggerated, or cranks.

Governor Cuomo is still in legal jeopardy. A civil rights claim on the basis of a "hostile work environment" is a very real thing.

One of the major weaknesses of the James Report is that it seems to take every one of the accusers' allegations at face value.

I 100% believe Andrew Cuomo hugged and kissed staffers and made some cringey jokes.

But there's also a lot of stuff in here that seems really doubtful. The most glaring example on this is the section on Lindsey Boylan.

From Boylan's own statements to the press, we know she accused Cuomo of kissing her on the lips - then walked back the story dramatically.

The James Report includes Boylan's accusation - but not her retraction.

I've finished reading the James Report. It's not so much a conclusion of fact-finding, as much as it is a legal brief.

It reads less like the Warren Commission Report or the Mueller Report and more like a roadmap for possible future sexual harassment litigation. The James Report concludes that Governor Cuomo's office violated federal and state laws re: sexual harassment, including a hostile work environment, and unlawful retaliation.

It's a persuasive argument. If a plaintiff made these arguments, it goes to trial.

"Cuomogate" is an entire 2 month media cycle that began because Lindsey Boylan, a minor candidate for Manhattan Borough President, hired a media consultant for her campaign, who explained to her how to create a news cycle to maximize web traffic, likes, clicks, and campaign $'s This whole "Cuomogate" saga started because Boylan posted her now-infamous Medium post on 2/24.

Since then, her web analytics must now show that her tweets are going viral, directing traffic to her campaign site, and donations. Boylan's trolling for clicks.

The longer this "Cuomogate" saga continues, the one thing that is clear is that the accusers are not seeking a redress for actual or perceived grievances for sexual harassment under Title VII or NYSHRL, like plaintiffs normally do.

They're trying to do something else. There's a process that lawyers would follow to preserve their client's claim, file a complaint, and litigate to achieve some sort of settlement.

With the notable exception of Debra Katz, Charlotte Bennett's attorney (who may have a claim), the other accusers aren't doing this.

I doubt that Hispanic voters in the NYC Mayor's race will reflect national trends 1:1.

Hispanic communities in New York City are very distinct from those in the rest of the country, with very different cultures, and very different voting patterns. Almost all of the articles that you've read about nationwide trends with Hispanic voters the past 20 years focused mostly on Mexican-Americans in California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, or Cuban-Americans in Florida.

Both groups are relatively small minorities in NYC.

It took me a while to sink in, but there's one major detail, or lack thereof, in the Albany Times-Union that gives me significant reason to doubt the Anonymous accusations vs. Governor Cuomo.

There's no date. This may be a very big tell. In every single complaint I've ever written, every complaint I've ever answered, the plaintiff alleges that "On April 5, X happened", or at least "on or about April 5".

This specificity establishes credibility. It pinpoints what specifically the plaintiff alleges happened.

I would much rather be tweeting about government policy that really matters.

So I'm reading the Biden admin's white paper on the "American Jobs Plan" - their $2 trillion infrastructure package, and there's a lot to unpack here.

punchbowl.news/wp-content/upl… First, it looks like the Biden admin is leaning hard into $115 billion to "modernize the bridges, highways, roads, and main streets that are most in need of repair."

This reads less like business as usual at DOT, and more like smart streets with bike lanes and bus lanes.

I think we can all agree that Gloria Allred's new client's accusations vs. Andrew Cuomo are comparatively frivolous.

This is getting ridiculous.

nydailynews.com/news/politics/… So the Governor hugged and kissed a woman whose home was flooded, in front of her family, with photographers from the Office of the Governor snapping away.

This does not seem sexual in any way.

Moreover, Sherry Vill was not the Governor's employee. Title VII doesn't apply.

I suspect the reason why Andrew Cuomo attracts such disproportional, apoplectic criticism - despite being quite liberal and reform-minded - is that such a concentration of Left-oriented journalists/activists are based in Brooklyn - and they need a foil to serve as their bogeyman. If you're at a Bushwick house party with your Hampshire College friends and Occupy comrades, it's easy to fall to illogic: "but for Andrew Cuomo, we would have Single Payer in New York."

There is much Underpants Gnomes thinking lining the foundation of anti-Cuomo hysteria.

For the record, I'm not a reflexive Andrew Cuomo sycophant.

There are multiple things I might criticize him for. I think he's often too much of a micromanager, and should defer more to Carl Heastie, Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Albany lawmakers on legislation. Sometimes I fear Cuomo panders too much to Upstate voters and suburban voters in Long Island - New York's swing voters - at the expense of reliable New York City voters.

This may be true on property taxes, MTA capital construction priorities, tolls, etc. etc.

I will caution Andrew Cuomo fans, it is a very bad idea to try to impugn the motives or honesty of Charlotte Bennett.

That's really not a winning argument. It makes our side look ugly and tacky.

(she is also the one accuser who may have a bona fide civil rights complaint). Since Bennett has leveled serious accusations vs. the Governor of New York, very publicly, it is fair to question whether her accusations are true.

It's fair to question whether, if true, her accusations rise to the level of misconduct, and if so, what is the proper remedy.

One of the biggest reasons I'm so skeptical about "Cuomogate" is that - between nursing homes + Tappan Zee Bridge-gate + "testgate" + Lindsey Boylan & Co., it really feels like Cuomo's opponents are just throwing spaghetti at the walls with hope that something sticks. If you take a bird's eye view, it's that the Progressive™ Caucus in Albany did the math, realized that with vaccines rolling out and New York opening up, Cuomo wins a 4th term in a cakewalk in 2022.

There's no way a Cynthia Nixon, Zephyr Teachout could beat him in '22 unless...