Opinion | Farewell, Bill de Blasio: Good riddance to the mayor who talked the talk but failed to walk the walk. By Ash_Prashar.
As the outgoing New York City mayor's second term nears its end, he leaves office with the city in the middle of a humanitarian crisis. This year alone, 14 people have died at Rikers Island, the city's infamous jail. People there are not guilty of anything,they are being held pre-trial and simply can't afford bail. They suffer violence and medical neglect amplified by a pandemic.
Recently, de Blasio also issued an executive order authorizing indefinite solitary comment in New York City jails. Solitary confinement is a form of psychological torture and the UN condemns such confinement lasting longer than two weeks. The mayor's move backtracks from his earlier commitments to criminal justice reform and is an about-face from his rhetoric in June to end solitary confinement.
While this shouldn't be a surprise, I have to ask what, exactly, happened to the man who campaigned as a police reformer and the enemy of stop-and-frisk? The mayor came into office on a progressive platform, pledged to champion overlooked communities and curtail police tactics that had disproportionately targeted Black and Hispanic residents.
And that was just the beginning of de Blasio's about face on justice reform. De Blasio followed his more conservative predecessors in reflexively defending the cops in a moment of crisis, going from campaign speeches railing against racist police tactics to defending the NYPD's violent crackdown on protests over the last year., the night a pair of police cruisers lurched into a crowd of protesters.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Entire House GOP opposes Biden's $1.7T bill, but 42 percent of Republicans voters back itSubstantial majorities of Republican voters also back some of the legislation's key provisions, according to new polling.
Read more »
Opinion | The Real Biden Bill: At Least $4.6 TrillionFrom WSJopinion: Democrats have rigged the budget rules with multiple tricks that disguise the real cost of their tax and entitlement bill by trillions of dollars
Read more »
House advances Build Back Better Act, sending social spending bill to SenateThe $1.7 trillion bill represents a major victory for President Joe Biden and the Democrats.
Read more »
Dems' $1.7T spending bill clears House, but Senate changes loomAfter months of infighting and cost concerns, House Democrats passed their massive social spending bill. Now, it’s the Senate’s turn.
Read more »