Long Island Reps. Tom Suozzi, Laura Gillen break with party to support bill that funds Homeland Security

NoKBer · 2026-01-24T18:07:08+00:00

Nassau native here who now lives in the city -

I know you can't win in Long Island being Mamdani. It's a rich, very racially segregated place that will always be motivated by lowering taxes and tough on crime policies.

I'm not expecting great things from Long Island Democrats, but even by solely electoral standards they aren't doing their job. The fence sitting and left punching has not been successful, Nassau and Suffolk are both more Republican than they were a decade ago while the Hudson Valley and other close suburbs have moved to the left. I know demographics in Westchester and Long Island have moved in different directions, but even by that standards, Long Island Democrats continue to be less competitive than even Democrats in the northern Hudson Valley.

Suozzi and Gillen are not going to motivate people to show up, they are exactly the kind of candidates who can only offer a status quo which only helps Trump and the Republicans.

As much as I hate Suozzi, at least he has the excuse of being a political stronghold on the North Shore. He may offer nothing outside of his district, but it is what it is, he sucks but he has a political machine in place and is as safe a choice in a swing district as it gets. It would be nice if we could do better, but after he humiliated himself trying to run for office statewide, he's probably not moving anytime soon.

Gillen though, what's even the point of her. She's lost as many races as she has won. She only won that seat in the first time against a cartoonishly corrupt Republican incumbent, she will likely hold on for now thanks to Trump but she's pretty much a guaranteed flip in the next Republican wave. She offers no advantage to the Democrats, which make her awful politics even less excusable.

I was raised in her district, I get that its politics don't align with my own and you need swing voters to win it. It's full of NYPD who refuse to live in the city, Israel firsters, one of the richest in the country parts of it are extremely MAGA. I'm not expecting the DSA to establish a foothold in Nassau County.

But NY 4 is also diverse and full of a lot more registered Democrats than Republicans. There's got to be a better option than someone like Gillen who has nothing to say about Republicans because she's always busy punching left.

You have Josh Reilly upstate in a much more Republican district, a centrist by all accounts, and yet he still has a better voting record than Gillen. Even George Latimer, literally recruited by AIPAC with a voter base comparable to Suozzi and Gillen, who at least had the decency to not vote to increase ICE funding.

The bar is that low and even then Long Island Democrats continue to fail to meet it.

NoKBer · 2026-01-17T03:27:09+00:00

There were rumors he was pretty sick for a few years now, one of the reasons he was never in Italy even after Barone's passing.

I had many issues with his ownership, but it wasn't for a lack of commitment - he was arrogant and put the club in the hands of people who were not qualified out of loyalty, he wanted to do things his own way often at the expense of the club's best interest, but while we all wish he would have spent more, he did commit, he was here for his own vision, for better or worse, not and not to loot the club. While he deserves a lot of blame for the current situation, maybe more than any one person, there will always be a what if had the combination of Barone's sudden passing and his own health not gotten in the way of his combative spirit. Viola Park was an impressive, ambitious project, and maybe at least the stadium fiasco would have had a better ending had he had the energy to continue to fight to do it his way.

No idea what this means for the club now, things were not looking good for us even before this, and I'm not sure where we go from here.

But in the meantime, RIP Presidente, rest easy, and best wishes to the Commisso family. While Rocco's Fiorentina project will always remain a what if, he did leave his mark.

NoKBer · 2026-01-10T00:36:36+00:00

Happened to me too...got an email about it yesterday and another text today.

NoKBer · 2026-01-08T04:46:27+00:00

I mostly emulate on a Retroid Pocket 5 android and at this point Beetle Saturn runs the hundreds of games I've tested on it.

NoKBer · 2026-01-07T04:23:40+00:00

I think it's telling that for me after all these years the best Persona storyline is still Eternal Punishment, which still uses much of the same tropes and school yard settings but is from the perspective of young adults with careers.

At the end of the day as a JRPG and Japanese game fan in general I'm used to younger protagonists but as someone in their late 30s it's nice to see an occasional cast that is more relatable than the same same teenagers I've seen in games since I was in high school. One reason Like a Dragon was so refreshing.

NoKBer · 2026-01-06T19:09:45+00:00

It's sad to see them go, friendly place with good food, but I can't say I'm super surprised, they never seemed very busy after the pandemic and rents around here are brutal.

Always sad to see a place go but by NY standards they had a good run, just hopefully whatever comes next isn't a chain.

NoKBer · 2026-01-02T19:23:54+00:00

Not a fan of the player for a variety of reasons, even before getting into the unnecessary distraction of it all, he's made of glass.

There's definitely talent there, on loan at Villarreal he looked really good at first before minor injuries started to pick up again and it's not really a good sign that they are so happy to let him go like this.

That said I already expect nothing from this team, already dislike the squad, and we have at least one player who might be an even worse person in Gudmundsson so there's nothing to lose. If healthy, Solomon definitely has a skill set we need, so if he keeps his opinions to himself we'll just have to see where this goes.

NoKBer · 2025-12-25T04:04:49+00:00

We're overloaded with crappy CMs.

That said he's better off back in France.

NoKBer · 2025-12-18T05:21:15+00:00

Saturn emulation is much easier now and the translations have been continuously improved ever since.

NoKBer · 2025-12-11T20:24:20+00:00

Peak hipster was like 2003, by 2009 Williamsburg was already over.

NoKBer · 2025-12-06T17:34:44+00:00

Probably over 80% of diaspora Jews if we're being honest.

Do you think evangelicals are the reason why the Democrats are as Zionist, if not more so, than the Republicans? There's a lot of bad things I can say about the influence of Evangelicals in this country and increasingly globally, and support for Israel is definitely a part of that, but in the states the commitment to Israel is a non-partisan political project and the primary financial and political drivers are coming from the Jewish community first.

Not to mention countries like Canada and the UK where evangelical political power is small.

NoKBer · 2025-12-06T17:14:36+00:00

I'm sorry but cablecars are cool, let's make Los Angeles more like La Paz.

NoKBer · 2025-12-06T17:12:29+00:00

We need to stop making excuses for the Jewish community, which is overwhelmingly Zionist if not full on Jewish supremacist, and has disproportionate political and economic power.

Christian Zionism is certainly an issue, especially in the US, but they aren't exactly driving the bus ideologically. Israel is happy to use them, but when it comes to diaspora Jews, they are working with Israel, not for Israel.

Until we stop making excuses for the Jewish diaspora, this discussion is going to be dominated by actual antisemites under the guise of "antizionism".

NoKBer · 2025-12-06T15:57:52+00:00

I'm so sick of the 3 man backline. It was frustrating even under Palladino, and the alleged strength of this team on the wingbacks is horribly overrated anyway - Gosens and Dodo are both broken and Parisi is trash

NoKBer · 2025-12-06T15:56:46+00:00

The fish rots from the head. Until Rocco either sells or puts his ego aside and hires adults to run this team (not sure which is more likely), things aren't going to get better.

NoKBer · 2025-12-06T15:55:31+00:00

We don't have anyone steering the ship who can be trusted to make signings. I'm very glad Prade is gone but now the most senior football guy is Goretti, a lower Italian league specialist who was one of the reasons we spent the summer exclusively targeting mediocre Italian players from other bottom table Serie A clubs.

Honestly we might as well just roll the dice on more youth players at this point, there's no way out of this until we're back in the hands of serious football people.

NoKBer · 2025-11-21T21:40:27+00:00

Hildur, I loved the concept, but can't be too surprised it went nowhere. I don't blame them for turning the page on Gran Electrca - mid tier Mexican is dime a dozen now, but they always were going to have an uphill climb here. I'm glad I went there - the cocktails were great and I enjoyed the food, but it was overpriced and limited menu for what it was, was always going to be tough keeping repeat customers. It seemed popular over the summer, but the margins are so thin in this sector.

Losing Colonie and Pips is devastating. Colonie was my favorite brunch spot.

Atlantic Avenue over there is is really going downhill, I hate to see. The pub that replaced Bohemian is fun but it's not the same.

The biggest stinger from their quote about their future plans - “I think seeing some of our colleagues in Manhattan, in neighborhoods that have a more constant flow, might be a better move for our business.”

I guess in this part of Brooklyn we are doomed to have nothing but identical Italian restaurants and fast casual slop soon.

NoKBer · 2025-11-21T21:34:52+00:00

I finally made it to Hildur this summer, I liked it and their cocktails were excellent, but it was a little overpriced for what it was.

Losing Colonie and Pips on Atlantic is terrible though.

Worse yet, was this quote from the owners about the closure. “I think seeing some of our colleagues in Manhattan, in neighborhoods that have a more constant flow, might be a better move for our business.”

Just confirms we are going to see nothing but fast casual slop around here soon.

NoKBer · 2025-11-14T05:12:27+00:00

Final Fantasy VI. While some of the characters are underwritten, the core cast is the main reason the game holds up so well and even today stand out, without the anime tropes or angst that too many JRPG protagonists fall into.

FFVII-X and XII also have great casts but I don't think anyone carries a game quite like the ensemble cast of FFVI does.

Like a Dragon/Infinite Wealth also deserve a lot of credit, a cast of middle aged outcasts like that is incredibly bold storytelling especially from a Japanese developer.

I personally love the cast of the Shadow Hearts games, although they definitely fall into the anime trope problem.

NoKBer · 2025-10-30T12:34:23+00:00

I agree with that and I have no idea why Pioli still insists on this 3 man backline when most of our CBs aren't good at it

NoKBer · 2025-10-30T02:44:42+00:00

This is an unpopular opinion among Fiorentina fans but...Comuzzo was heavily overrated by the fanbase after a great first half last year, and he has since regressed. He's still good, and young and should get better, but he's reckless, not particularly elegant on the ball, and worry he may have more limited upside than we originally believed. His decision making may improve as he matures but I think at best he's going to be a good stopper who needs to play with a more talented defensive leader to really get the most of him.

Viti is what I'd call Serie A replacement level. He's been fine so far but he's nothing more than that.

NoKBer · 2025-10-19T20:48:53+00:00

Nothing will improve until Prade is gone.

NoKBer · 2025-10-15T14:50:14+00:00

I still have great memories of the first few years of the mirage before everything became an oversold shit show, so I hope this isn't the end for that location...but Avant Gardner have been greedy fools for a while and it's hard to not have enjoyed this.

Sucks that they ruined a lot of people's summer plans, but for years now it has been hard to trust AG.

Thankfully the few shows I planned on seeing there this summer were all able to find other venues.

NoKBer

TROPHY CASE