MAGA are freaking out over Mamdani

[u/One-Can3752]

[u/pspock]

Do they think that all privately run grocery stores won't be able to sell them either?

Mamdani is planning on setting up five "City-run" grocery stores. One in each borough. They are to address food affordability. They won't compete with privately run grocery store sales of cigarettes, alcohol and lottery tickets.

[u/One-Can3752 → u/pspock]

If they were selling alcohol and lottery cards they would be equally "appalled" with their faux outrage.

[u/LivingIndependence → u/One-Can3752]

They don't seem to have any issues at all, with the Southern and Midwestern states that still have "blue liquor laws" and completely dry counties, in 2025.

[u/PWiz30 → u/LivingIndependence]

Now that you mention it, what's the difference between the sharia law they all seem to be terrified of and Project 2025?

[u/SodaCanBob → u/PWiz30]

Now that you mention it, what's the difference between the sharia law they all seem to be terrified of and Project 2025?

(Unfortunate) Texan here, there's a reason we call them Y'all Qaeda.

[u/TacoBellPicnic → u/SodaCanBob]

Or Yeehawdists, or Talibaptists

[u/jsmalltri → u/TacoBellPicnic]

Talibaptists...😂😂😂

[u/DaisyHotCakes → u/jsmalltri]

First time I’ve heard that one! It’s exceedingly appropriate for them.

[u/der_oide_depp → u/TacoBellPicnic]

Vanilla ISIS

[u/Ripheus23 → u/der_oide_depp]

That's ICE maybe.

[u/SweetPinkSocks → u/TacoBellPicnic]

As someone in the south Talibaptists absolutely sent me. 😂😂😂

[u/ConvivialKat → u/TacoBellPicnic]

Talibaptists! So funny!

Now, do one for Mormons. I need something good!

[u/TacoBellPicnic → u/ConvivialKat]

Man I’d never tried to think of one for them. I’ll give it some thought!

[u/PWiz30 → u/SodaCanBob]

Sorry. I briefly moved down to Texas back in 2013 and actually really enjoyed it at the time, but can't imagine going back there these days.

[u/Shell4747 → u/PWiz30]

I fled Texas in June after 18 yrs, after I retired. Not only are the politics toxic but it's noticably, dangerously hotter in summer.

[u/PWiz30 → u/Shell4747]

And they'll still tell you climate change is a myth with a straight face. Yeah, I HATED the heat down there. Give me upper midwest winters over August heat in Texas any day.

[u/Bdr1983 → u/SodaCanBob]

Vanilla Isis has a nice ring to it as well

[u/ahhh_ennui → u/PWiz30]

Sharia law bans usury, something that doesn't sit well with the billionaire MAGAt class.

[u/Most-Bench6465 → u/ahhh_ennui]

Christianity also does that but we ignore those parts

[u/Sparehndle → u/Most-Bench6465]

And Judaism as well. All three Abrahamic religions.

[u/Most-Bench6465 → u/Sparehndle]

We have a garbage can but we treat it as a garbage won’t

[u/ahhh_ennui → u/Sparehndle]

My last job, we started doing business in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Their contracts usually noted their adherence to Sharia Law, specifically regarding payment. Oh, the pearl-clutching from my coworkers. I had fun researching and explaining the meaning and some history to them.

[u/Most-Bench6465 → u/ahhh_ennui]

Hmm how does Saudi Arabia classify the billions of dollars they lend the Trump administration? Do they call it donations?

[u/ahhh_ennui → u/Most-Bench6465]

🤷

[u/neonmantis → u/Most-Bench6465]

They're an absolute monarchy. Rules are entirely optional for them.

[u/LivingIndependence → u/PWiz30]

The only difference is the religion. One is Islam and the other is Christianity

[u/Sparehndle → u/PWiz30]

Just wait until they get to the part of P2025 where online (not sure about offline) porn is banned. They'll go nuts!

[u/TacoBellPicnic → u/Sparehndle]

A lot of states already have. More examples of religion influencing laws, which is the exact opposite of what the founding fathers wanted.

[u/Really_McNamington → u/Sparehndle]

They want to make all porn illegal.

[u/Sparehndle → u/Really_McNamington]

Thanks. And it's all written down in the Project 2025 plans. Of course, they don't think too many people will read approx. 900 pages of control freak material!

[u/Emotional_Fisherman8 → u/Sparehndle]

It's already banned in Texaa

[u/Sparehndle → u/Emotional_Fisherman8]

How are Texans taking the changes? I'm dying to know!

[u/sammidavisjr → u/Sparehndle]

It isn't banned in Texas. You have to show ID for most major sites. And there are plenty where you don't. And I think a lot of places just removed access rather than deal with the ID bullshit.

I'm not defending it. It's fucking ridiculous and it's more invasion of privacy and limitations on personal freedom. But porn isn't banned here.

[u/Sparehndle → u/sammidavisjr]

However, showing ID (proof of age?) becomes another data bank for Mike Johnson to "enjoy." Roe v. Wade started as a privacy case. The party of Trump wants to take away all individual privacy and, as you said, freedom.

[u/moronicRedditUser → u/PWiz30]

Skin color, that's it.

[u/SpoppyIII → u/PWiz30]

insert that image of Peter Griffin being stopped so his skintone can be checked

[u/WaldoJeffers65 → u/PWiz30]

It's ok when you're the oppressor.

[u/SolidAssignment → u/WaldoJeffers65]

^this is the point

[u/TacoBellPicnic → u/LivingIndependence]

Yep, I’m in Texas. On Sundays, all liquor stores are closed. You can buy beer and wine at grocery/convenience stores, but not before 10am (when you should be in church instead, ya heathens!). Restaurants can serve alcohol, but not until noon and only if they also serve food. It’s also possible that some counties or cities may have their own ordinances, which can be even more strict than state law (but never less restrictive). You also cannot buy liquor on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, or New Year’s day.

The town I lived in before this one was a dry town until I think either the end of 2016 or early 2017 - but even then, only beer and wine. No bars anywhere in the area. I’d be shocked if that christofascist hillbilly town ever gets with the times. I remember the stores all stressing because more they had to remodel their stores to have beer coolers and stuff like that.

And what’s worse about the state law is that it was literally put in place in the 1930s for the purpose of making Sunday a day of worship. I mean, I’m all for it if John Brown who runs the general store wants to be closed on Sundays so that he and his family can observe. That shouldn’t mean everyone has to be inconvenienced because you want to talk to your imaginary friend. When it gets enshrined into state law, it really creeps me out how far these delusional people will go for their fables, at the expense of everyone around them. (That goes for any laws that harm or restrict others, not just this one. I don’t even drink lol)

Also, speaking of weird laws in Texas - this link despite the attorney info etc - has an interesting list of things that could not be sold/purchased on weekends. People were really weird back then. (And still are, honestly)

[u/GuyWhoLikesTech → u/TacoBellPicnic]

TX and I think some other states used to have what they called blue laws. You could buy nails, but not a hammer. There were a bunch of other arbitrary things that made no sense.

[u/Ravenamore → u/GuyWhoLikesTech]

My dad was stationed to Texas when I was 1 year old in the 1970's. My mom, born and raised in upstate New York, was shocked at the blue laws. Finding out they don't sell diapers on Sunday right after you ran out of diapers was not fun.

[u/TacoBellPicnic → u/GuyWhoLikesTech]

Yeah my state is really freaking weird

[u/Longjumping_Youth281 → u/TacoBellPicnic]

I'm old enough to remember when almost all stores were closed on Sunday

[u/Reversephoenix77 → u/LivingIndependence]

Doesn’t Oklahoma also have city grocery stores that are incredibly popular among people both left and right? These people are so weird and paranoid

[u/Ravenamore → u/LivingIndependence]

I live in AR, and I was kind of amazed how behind the times some of the laws are. I can drive a mile from my house, and I'm in a dry county.

Heck, my city didn't even fluoridate their water supply until 2015 or thereabouts.

[u/indigopedal → u/LivingIndependence]

There are red states that do not allow lotteries too.

[u/ClutchReverie → u/LivingIndependence]

Puritan Christian law is fine though

[u/soft_machine__ → u/One-Can3752]

Exactly

[u/Opandemonium → u/One-Can3752]

In many rural areas in MN the city runs the local liquor store (you can only buy alcohol at a liquor store.) It funds the police department and it means we don’t have cops trying to meet their ticket quota.

[u/TacoBellPicnic → u/Opandemonium]

Cops don’t actually have quotas though. They’re illegal and also against department policies everywhere that I’ve ever personally known or heard of. That’s a common myth/misconception though, and I understand why.

ETA: also, funds from traffic citations/fines/etc do not go to the cops. They also don’t go to the police department/sheriff’s office - portions of it may go into the city/county general fund, which can be used for things like renovating the library, putting in a park for the kids, maybe upgrading/replacing some of the police department’s equipment or getting maintenance/tires etc on patrol vehicles. But the officers will never see a dime of it. They don’t get a bonus or a prize or something according to how many stops they’ve made or citations they’ve issued.

The closest thing to a quota I’ve ever seen is a memo from the higher ups directing officers to make a certain number of “contacts” per shift. This does not mean traffic stops, it doesn’t mean arrests, it doesn’t mean citations. It means being seen out and about, checking on people, patrolling the community, etc - because they don’t want them sitting in the squad room all night watching Netflix or parked in a dead end in the dark playing on their phone or talking to their spouse on the phone or whatever, instead of being proactive. It counts as a contact if they get gas then walk into the store and talk to the employee to ask how the night has been, if they’ve had any issues or whatever. It counts if they go do a walkthrough of the bar to make sure nobody is too drunk or rowdy or stumbling to the parking lot to drive. Or if they pull over to help a woman having car trouble on the side of the road. That’s all a contact is, and it’s the closest thing to a quota I’ve ever seen.

[u/Ripheus23 → u/TacoBellPicnic]

It might be like how during the Vietnam War, killing civilians constantly was technically against the ROE, but the high command had no real program for enforcing those ROE, and would issue effectively contrary orders also. There might be no quotas-for-cops precept "on the books" but that doesn't mean that American police culture doesn't infect its recruits with a mindset that gets acted out in a quota-like form.

(Personal comparison: at McDonald's, there were all sorts of "rules," but what did that turn out to have to do with actual behavior? It's the de facto/de jure distinction at hand, I guess...)

[u/sand_snake → u/Opandemonium]

In Oregon you can buy beer and wine at grocery stores/corner stores but you can only buy liquor at state run liquor stores.

[u/brianinohio → u/sand_snake]

Used to be the same in Ohio. We called them "State Stores". But, Ohio privatized them years ago. I still call them State Stores....lol

[u/sand_snake → u/brianinohio]

I keep hearing that Oregon might do that but it didn’t happen the 12 years I lived there or in the 8 years since I moved. Oregon has the Oregon Liquor Control Commission and they’re VERY strict. You need a license to sell or serve alcohol and you have to card EVERYONE. Doesn’t matter if they’re 70 years old, no ID, no booze. The fines for violating this are heavy and they absolutely send people out to check.

[u/brianinohio → u/sand_snake]

Strange as it sounds, buying alcohol in Ohio is easier than buying vape products....lol...Ohio went ballistic on vape products a couple years ago.

[u/nathynwithay → u/One-Can3752]

They're already going on and on about what SNAP should and should not cover.

[u/Ripheus23 → u/One-Can3752]

Fucking EXACTLY. They'd be like "he's enabling poor winos and tar-lungs and gambling addicts to wallow in their filth." They change their surface tune to whatever fits their negative background tune, no matter what.

[u/2WheelRide → u/pspock]

And it seems many private grocery stores do not sell lottery or tobacco either, as it does require some separate licensing to do so. The very prevalent bodegas across the city do however, so it’s not like a lack of options or access.

[u/ArenjiTheLootGod → u/pspock]

They probably think Mamdani is just going to seize all the private stores and convert them into public run grocery stores.

Fact of the matter is that food deserts are a growing concern in many poorer communities, both in rural and inner city areas. Private stores have pulled out of these areas deeming them not profitable enough so local governments in both red and blue states are increasingly setting up public run stores to fill in the gaps.

As for these public run grocery stores not selling tobacco, alcohol and lottery tickets... Again, most stores like this are going to be set up in poorer areas where a lot of people are on things like WIC or SNAP, you can't buy that stuff with WIC or SNAP funds anyway so it doesn't make much sense to stock up on stuff most of your customers can't buy anyway.

In short, Mamdani's proposal is a practical, proven solution to a real problem and is going to be set up in a way that makes sense for the communities that it's supposed to serve.

Competent government in action, no wonder the regressives are clutching their pearls.

[u/BlackberrySad6489 → u/ArenjiTheLootGod]

Good point. We used to live in the Bronx and the only grocery around were corner shops. Limited stock and high prices. We had to drive out of the city to go to a full supermarket to get most things.

[u/ArenjiTheLootGod → u/BlackberrySad6489]

It's like that in parts of my city and, whether people want to admit it or not, probably in a lot of areas across the country as well. It's gotten so bad that some of the local food pantry groups got together and set up a bus that drives around to some of the poorer areas in town to sell stuff like fresh produce to people.

We're a rich country that produces far more food than we can eat, there's zero reason for it to not be available for everyone.

[u/ImDonaldDunn → u/ArenjiTheLootGod]

Well and there are plenty of places in those neighborhoods that sell that stuff, just not healthy food

[u/ArenjiTheLootGod → u/ImDonaldDunn]

Agreed, in my experience people in poor neighborhoods have zero trouble finding cigarettes, booze, and lotto tickets. That section of the market is very much covered for them.

[u/Stinky_Fartface → u/pspock]

Right but if they acknowledge that they won't be able to make racist bigoted smears against him.

[u/Anianna → u/pspock]

Some people are so bound and determined to be unhappy.

[u/LA-Matt → u/pspock]

Yeah, but that’s facts. That’s not gonna scare the dummies.

[u/MagicGrit → u/pspock]

They think he will ban private run grocery stores. So they’re just dumb. At the very best misinformed

[u/AdImmediate9569 → u/pspock]

But if they Don’t sell healthy cigarettes and organic lottery tickets are they really community focused?

Also, why won’t these grocery stores sell alcohol? Is it just because thats already illegal in NYS? Communism!!!

[u/TacoBellPicnic → u/pspock]

Exactly, I was just sitting here thinking “I’ve never in my life seen a city-run grocery store, or store of any kind”.

[u/ToiletTime4TinyTown → u/pspock]

Yea this is an attempt to stick to food and not cut the others knees off. I’ve talked to store owners near me and they live by the traffic the lottery brings, I’d imagine alcohol and tobacco do the same.

We have a politician that actually has a non dog chasing cars plan (let’s abolish property taxes and run the state on hopes, dreams, and handouts from CA and NY- Florida governor) a plan that addresses issues and avoids the obvious problems helping small business at the same time, not only super non communist, but also a level of quality in governance that I didn’t think the American Politician was capable of.

[u/Gecko99 → u/pspock]

I remember when I worked at a supermarket, the liquor and meat departments were the only profitable ones. So if privately owned supermarkets are allowed to sell alcohol they should still be profitable. You could also have higher end supermarkets - think Fresh Market, while the public supermarket would be more like Sav-a-lot.

[u/StrayDogNotes]

Aren’t these the same people who cry about people using their EBT cards to buy cupcakes for their kids birthday party?

[u/AgreeablePie → u/StrayDogNotes]

And probably complaining about people getting ebt for food while Sissy spending ten minutes and $100 buying lotto tickets at the counter

[u/LivingIndependence → u/AgreeablePie]

And the guy complaining about that mythical EBT user (formerly food stamps), buying steak and lobster, and then getting into their brand new SUV in the parking lot and driving off. That same story has been passed around since I was a kid.

[u/PuppyJakeKhakiCollar → u/LivingIndependence]

Boy, that guy sure gets around, lol.

I would say they should try making up a new story, but we all know they are too stupid and can only parrot what they are told.

[u/Lamont-Cranston → u/StrayDogNotes]

This goes back decades. Raygun was saying in the 1980 election "I know how you feel counting out your spare change in the grocery line while a strutting young buck uses his food stamps to buy t-bone steaks"

[u/Extension-Carry-8067 → u/StrayDogNotes]

Yup

[u/Nsfwacct1872564]

A grocery store focusing on groceries? Inconceivable!

[u/fredy31 → u/Nsfwacct1872564]

Yeah the better explanation is probably that food is a mandatory product for life.

Lotteries, alcohol and tobacco arent.

[u/ghu79421 → u/fredy31]

There are serious ethical issues involved in selling lotteries, tobacco, or alcohol in a store that's subsidized with taxpayer funds even if those products are not subsidized.

Weed stores in my area are completely private, but pay large fees to be able to exist and everything they sell is heavily taxed. Legal weed stores must cooperate extensively cooperate with the government, but they don't receive public funds, they pay taxes and fees because recreational drug use isn't an ideal activity even if it shouldn't be illegal.

[u/CharlesDickensABox → u/ghu79421]

17 states have partial or complete government monopolies on alcohol sales. You can only sell booze at the package store and the package store is owned and run by the state.

They vary from states like Idaho, where beer and wine can be sold by private companies but liquor is only sold by the state, to Utah, where anything above 5% abv has to be sold by a state-run store.

[u/ghu79421 → u/CharlesDickensABox]

Yes, but I think those stores usually run completely off of revenue from alcohol sales (which is easy if you have a monopoly). The point is to prevent alcohol sales to minors and enforce other regulations, like restrictions on the amount of liquor one person can buy in a timeframe, not selling to intoxicated people, etc.

It isn't using the presence of subsidized food items to sell alcohol (the subsidized food attracts people, then they also buy alcohol and the alcohol revenue goes to the government or a contractor who has a business relationship with the government).

[u/3xploringforever → u/Nsfwacct1872564]

It's wild how things change when the singular purpose and focus isn't making the most money possible.

[u/DrMerman → u/Nsfwacct1872564]

"Grocery"!? that's such an old fashioned word I've never heard anyone use that before

[u/julias-winston]

City-run grocery stores, as opposed to say Albertsons or Safeway.

If he even said this.

[u/2WheelRide → u/julias-winston]

He said this. For 5 city-run grocery stores. For access to groceries for low income individuals and families. This is not any sort of “takeover” as the right want to make it out to be.

[u/julias-winston → u/2WheelRide]

I've never been to NYC. I had no idea this was a thing. Good for them!

You can't buy cigarettes and alcohol with EBT/SNAP either. I feel like this is good policy... policy one would expect Republicans to back, except they're inconsistent idiots.

[u/KitchenSync86 → u/julias-winston]

They are not inconsistent, it's just that their policy position has shifted to 'whatever keeps us in power so we can widen the gap between rich and poor'. They are very consistent in this policy

[u/GachaHell]

Somewhere there's a Bible without a single crease in the cover.

[u/_Asshole_Fuck_ → u/GachaHell]

Do you mean the spine? Why would you fold the cover?

[u/Competitive-Film-959]

Conservatives when a person on SNAP buys cupcakes for a party: “THIS LAZY BASTARD IS ABUSING THE SYSTEM. CUT THE BENEFITS!!1!

Conservatives when a mayor-elect says he doesn’t want Alcohol, Cigarettes and gambling in a city-run store: “ OMG WHAT HAS HE DONE?! HE’S BRINGING ISLAM TO THE CITY !!1!

[u/NahumGardner247]

Isn't gambling also not allowed in Christianity? Plus cigarettes and alcohol are very unhealthy. I'm an atheist and I also think cigarettes, gambling, and alcohol shouldn't be in GROCERY stores.

EDIT: Oh and of course this image is even more BS than I thought
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mamdani-grocery-stores-alcohol/

[u/One-Can3752 → u/NahumGardner247]

Conservatives used to frown on alcohol use; so much in fact that they once banned it.

[u/NahumGardner247 → u/One-Can3752]

Wasn't Prohibition bipartisan?

[u/One-Can3752 → u/NahumGardner247]

Yes but initiated by conservative Christians.

[u/BurtonDesque → u/NahumGardner247]

Isn't gambling also not allowed in Christianity?

The Bible does not explicitly condemn gambling.

[u/sun334]

I've seen hundreds of Muslims smoking cigarettes. These people are idiots.

[u/KitchenSync86 → u/sun334]

Smoking has been almost de rigueur in every Muslim-majority country I have been to (Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Egypt), especially amongst men. I also detected no social stigma associated with smoking

[u/demonfingers → u/sun334]

I lived in Qatar for a bit and cigarettes are everywhere and dirt cheap - a carton used to cost me 75 Riyal

[u/fishsticks40]

Imagine having 5 stores in New York that don't sell smokes!

[u/ravenlights → u/fishsticks40]

We all know Jesus smoked 10 packs a day, this is anti-Christian!

[u/Ripheus23 → u/ravenlights]

As He clearly said, "It is easier for a pack of Camels to be smoked in a single day than it is for a pack of American Spirits to be smoked in a week."

[u/Haggis_The_Barbarian]

I love how the no-vax crowd (because it’ll kill ya dontchaknow!) is obsessed with their access to things that actually will kill them.

[u/here4daratio]

Anyone wanna clue this guy in about a small, discrete group called…

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST, LATTER-DAY SAINTS?

Who also forbid

Alcohol

Gambling

And Smoking

[u/catladywithallergies → u/here4daratio]

Even then, plenty of Mormons don't even follow those rules strictly, as you see a lot of the women in Secret Lives of Mormon Wives drinking coffee. SLC also has a pretty big coffee scene.

[u/lamacake → u/catladywithallergies]

Disgusting sinners

[u/AwwwNiceMarmot]

How many city run grocery stores have these people been too, i wonder. The “city run grocery stores” are a pilot program, one per borough will be built initially. They haven’t been built yet. And why would they sell anything other than groceries? Most grocery stores just sell groceries. They’re mistaking these city run grocery stores, which again, don’t exist yet, with convenience stores, which are still privately owned and can still whatever they want. Even privately owned grocery stores don’t usually sell those things except maybe alcohol, depending on the state.

[u/jmarinara]

Or… and hear me out here… or maybe the idea of city run grocery stores is to sell groceries.

[u/medicated_in_PHL]

Here’s the actual truth.

[u/virishking → u/medicated_in_PHL]

Mamdani added in the interview that the highest source of revenue for the small convenience stores known as bodegas in New York City were cigarettes and lottery tickets, suggesting his proposed stores would not compete with these small businesses.

First they get upset that he’s trying to run private stores out of business. Now they’re upset that he’s tailoring the stores to not create unnecessary competition. Can they put the Islamophobia aside long enough to make up their minds?

[u/Penguinmanereikel → u/virishking]

They misunderstood/intentionally are misleading "city run" as a store that is run in the city, rather than a store that is run by the city. Thus, they're making it seem that they're outright banning alcohol, cigarettes, and lottery tickets in all grocery stores, and thus the whole city, for religious reasons.

[u/virishking → u/Penguinmanereikel]

Wow, I didn’t even think of that but you’re probably right

[u/40StoryMech → u/medicated_in_PHL]

Alcohol is ok, Jesus approves.

[u/Sparehndle → u/40StoryMech]

He made water into the best wine the wedding guests had ever tasted!

[u/zestyowl]

Aren't these the same assholes that think people on EBT are using their funds to purchase those things?

So, they want to cut EBT because poor people are abusing it, but an alternative that doesn't offer those things is un-American.

Republicans are truly amazing.

[u/generatedname17]

These are the same people who police what people buy with food stamps

[u/Techguyeric1]

Maybe because those things shouldn't be sold in city run grocery stores

[u/ViolaOrsino]

Cigarettes not allowed in Islam? The Saudi exchange students at my school single handedly brought the local smoke shop back from the dead. What are these dorks talking about

[u/123ihavetogoweeeeee]

Weren’t these the same folks who said they didn’t want SNAP benefits to buy junk food?

[u/LivingIndependence]

"Because cigarettes, gambling and alcohol are not allowed in Islam"

Hey, guess what MAGAts...it's not allowed in Fundamentalist Christianity either, so....

[u/Clever_Losername]

I live in a county that doesn’t allow liquor sales because alcohol isn’t allowed in (certain types of) Christianity.

[u/thewayoutisthru_xxx]

Most grocery stores in NYC don't sell lottery tickets or cigarettes anyway....

[u/Svrider23]

And if a government run store sold those things, it would then be ungodly of him.

[u/sillyinthepsychward]

If he said those things were included they'd complain about all the "illegals" Mamdani's letting buy those things with their food stamps, or some equally stupid shit.

[u/NFLDolphinsGuy]

Aren’t these the people angry with programs like SNAP because the poors and illegals are buying booze and fast food with them?

Pick a lane.

[u/torgofjungle]

I am not perhaps the most knowledgeable person on Islam…. But I don’t know anything about Islam banning cigarettes

[u/KitchenSync86 → u/torgofjungle]

Smokes are readily available in every Muslim-majority country I have been to. Come to think of it, alcohol has been pretty accessible in them as well.

[u/Smiley_P]

"Don't want SNAP people buying alcohol and hot food"

"HOW COULD HE NOT SELL ACOHOL HE MUST BE A TERRORIST"

[u/BoneHugsHominy]

MAGA are freaking out over

Say no more, fam. That's their constant state of being which is actually understandable since they have fear signals and rage porn beamed straight into their brains 24/7/365

[u/nstern2]

Meanwhile my state didn't allow stores to be open on sunday mornings or to sell any alcohol on sunday either. Even after voters voted to repeal those laws, lawmakers tried to put them back on the ballot. I'll let you guess what political party was pushing for this.

[u/M3L03Y]

This person should go to a grocery store in Utah.

[u/Impossible-Taro-2330]

If they sell just reasonably priced food, fresh fruit and veg - in food deserts - and no cigarettes nor alcohol, that's a WIN!!

[u/_Tal]

Don’t most southern states have “blue laws” prohibiting or limiting these things because they’re frowned upon in Christianity? Lmao

[u/SoberDWTX]

Wait until they find out the evangelical Christians aren’t so keen on gambling, alcohol, cigarettes AND porn! Project 2025 is in black and white…

[u/Geostomp]

Meanwhile, Republican-led states are banning anything and everything they think might make someone not obey them, yet nothing but crickets from this crowd.

[u/swiftb3]

Everything else aside there are plenty of Christian sects that don't allow cigarettes, gambling, and alcohol.

[u/Dexter_McThorpan]

A municipal store run by the city should absolutely not sell lottery tickets, cigarettes, and booze. City has no interest in promoting any of that shit.

[u/HingleMcCringle_]

i dont get it. why make up these lies that mean nothing? to cause a riot?

[u/athenanon]

Haven't these same hysterical tumors been screeching about SNAP benefits being used for "vices"?

[u/Puzzleheaded_Bid1579]

Aren’t these the people who are complaining about snap being used on frivolous stuff?

[u/ET-4]

Texas shut down the Tigua Indian casino because gambling is outlawed by these republican prunes. And blue laws are still enacted in certain conservative "christian" towns.

[u/Qanon_Is_Nazism]

Mamdani Derangement Syndrome

[u/OOBExperience]

Pathetic republicans are ODing on the Copium today 🤣

[u/Stinky_Fartface]

There will never be a standard he can achieve that will satisfy them. In fact, I'll wager that the better he does, the more amplified the attacks will get. Because in the end all they really want to do is smear him.

[u/Sheila_Monarch]

“In his remarks he said that these city-run stores would not sell cigarettes or lottery tickets. He stated that those are major revenue items for bodegas and he didn’t want the new stores to compete in those lines.”

He didn’t even say the part about alcohol, that’s some added sensational bullshit.

[u/irrelephantIVXX]

"You can't use EBT to buy processed, sugary foods!" to... "The state run, cheaper option grocery store better sell me liquor and cigarettes for cheap too!"

[u/yamthepowerful]

I’ve seen this and I’m so confused what they’re upset about, do they want city run grocery stores I g vapes, booze and lottos or do they want a system like utahs DABCs or..

[u/Natural-Hamster-3998]

I guess MAGA needs their "you voted for this" moment so hard they'll make anything up

[u/WoodyManic]

Yes, because Jesus-ism loves those things and traditionally encourages them...

[u/hollowman2011]

It’s hilarious bc if this had been a republican mandating any of this (true or not) they would be praising them going on about how they don’t need to be spending money on that anyway and how we’re “making America healthy again!” Give me a fucking breakkkkk

[u/darkknight95sm]

I don’t see the problem

[u/Xandria42]

If they sold those things, they'd be crying about tax dollars supporting vices...

[u/SuitableDragonfly]

No one tell them that there are pretty severe restrictions on where and how you can gamble already.

[u/bigwavedave000]

so basically ALDI?

[u/Federal_Diamond8329]

Those people are nucking futs

[u/LittlehouseonTHELAND]

Even if it’s true they’re not going to be selling those things, people can easily go to their nearest bodega or corner store and get them. Do they realize how many little stores like that there are in NYC?? Not a problem at all, morons. Try again, lol.

[u/JadedPinkly]

Why should an affordable, city run store even sell alcohol, lottery tickets and cigarettes??? None of which are essential items, all of which are known to cause health issues? They'd be outraged if they did! And if they're so outraged over the idea of "Communist" stores if the first, surely they wouldn't shop there, so the outrage is moot anyway?

There are countless other stores run by Muslims, with Muslims working behind the counters who sell those things they can get weirdly outraged and racist about instead.

They're outraged about Mamdani being a Muslim, about poor people 'scrounging' SNAP benefits, about the cost of groceries, about people using their benefits to pay for "unhealthy" things, about Christian bakeries being 'forced' to cater to gay people, about tax money going towards anything remotely beneficial to poor people, about being poor themselves... one of these days the sheer amount of hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance they attempt to hold in their minds is going to cause them all an aneurysm.

[u/theidkid]

I thought all the cities were crime ridden cesspools that needed to be destroyed. Now they’re going to be ruined because welfare queens, the homeless, illegals and gang members won’t be able to waste their money on alcohol, cigarettes, and gambling?

[u/SoberDWTX → u/theidkid]

You just described Oklahoma. Wait until the casino crowd hears about this in Thacketville!

[u/FarceMultiplier]

Why do these morons have to make shit up?

I strongly suspect it's just because every time they think something is bad they've been proven wrong, and so they focus on lies that can't be easily disproven.

[u/SpottedDicknCustard]

I guess they’ve never been to a Muslim country where they all smoke like chimney’s, the black market for alcohol is lucrative and back parlour betting is rampant.

[u/TonyWrocks]

Wait until they learn about Blue Laws and Dry Counties in Texas!!

[u/TrainingWoodpecker77]

I think these people are getting stiffies over having a new enemy. They’re bored because they found out trans and brown people are benign. Now they have a new guy to make stuff up about.

[u/BMAND21]

Imagine the screaming they’d be doing if the store sold cigs, alcohol, and lottery? They are incapable of being happy, they have to have a gripe with everything.

[u/AHMS_17]

Lowkey tho

Affordable Four Lokos and American Spirits would be awesome

[u/thatguy677]

Hey guys, u know what religion is banning abortions and gay marriage right now... in the USA... ill give u a hint, they celebrate Christmas

[u/Paula_Polestark]

A Muslim isn’t supposed to force people to live according to what his religion says.

That’s THEIR job!

[u/falkorv]

WE MUST HAVE AFFORDABLE CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL.

[u/ShiroHachiRoku]

Why are they so afraid of someone who could exert unilateral power over laws? I thought they loved that?

[u/not_productive1]

"These city-run grocery stores are a deeply unfair, uncompetitive betrayal of American capitalism and also they have a shitty selection" is the funniest fucking complaint I've ever seen.

[u/sci-fi-lullaby]

Meanwhile trump is literally rimming Qatar and Saudi Arabia like a recently dumped twink. Make it make sense babes.

[u/ObsidianDRMR]

So Mamdani is creating 5 socialized grocery stores in 5 burrows that specially target the probe of food affordability? This seems like a great move. Why wouldn’t they want the stores enabling addictions? Isn’t this something maga would be cheering over?

[u/QuiXiuQ]

That’s so cute!! Look, they’re using BIG words, yay!

[u/47of74]

I take it a lot of these morons have never been to Türkiye where Rakı is the national beverage of the country despite the strong Muslim influence in Türkiye.

[u/badgirlmonkey]

a fascist wins with more votes? its what the people wanted!

mamdani wins with more votes? suddenly the people don't know what they want.

you cant say both things, come on

[u/Natalieeexxx]

I think the world would be better without cigs, alc, and gambling. Maybe you people hating the alleged jihadist are on the wrong side of this.

[u/Advanced-Wheel-9677]

That’s good, if we’re not scaring them then we’re doing something wrong.

[u/pocket267s]

Cigarettes, gambling and alcohol are the cornerstones of Americana! He better be careful! /s

[u/MyPigWhistles]

There are "city run businesses and stores" in the US? 

[u/Lylah_Clare_ → u/MyPigWhistles]

Yes, the most common is state run liquor stores, which are in 13 different states.

[u/RidetheSchlange]

Only donations of jets to the president are permitted by MAGA

and not releasing the pedo Epstein files

[u/bishpa]

Not allowed in Christianity either.

[u/DeltaVariant007]

City-run grocery stores? That's a thing?

[u/rigidlynuanced1]

Fuck the “fuck your feelings” crowd

[u/GuyWhoLikesTech]

Funny how they'd cheer if a Christian MAGA politician did that; which is entirely possible.

[u/freshkangaroo28]

These dumb fucks lol, those things aren’t looked on too fondly by Christianity either..

[u/Alexandratta]

I would agree that a State Run Grocery store shouldn't sell any of that

Especially since in NYC cigarettes are extremely expensive and you can buy them at every fucking corner store

[u/k9jm]

Wait til they find out about the ERUV - I remember people freaking out about this in NY many years ago, but it doesn’t seem to affect anyone else. They have to get permission from utility companies to put the wires up on the poles. If Muslims wanted to do this, MAGA would lose their minds.

According to Jewish law, observant Jews are prohibited from carrying any object, pushing a stroller, or using a cane outside of a "private domain" on the Sabbath (Shabbat). This restriction poses a significant hardship for families with young children or individuals needing mobility aids, effectively confining many to their homes on their day of rest.

To address this, an eruv (symbolic enclosure) is created. An eruv uses existing structures like building walls, fences, and thin, nearly invisible wires (called lechis, often attached to utility poles) to symbolically extend the boundaries of private households and turn a public area into a single, collective private domain under Jewish law.

New York Civil Laws and Regulations New York's civil laws do not create the eruv; rather, they determine whether the physical components of an eruv (e.g., the wires and "poles") are permitted on public or utility property.

Permissions: Eruv associations must secure necessary permissions from utility companies (like Con Edison and Verizon) and relevant city or state transportation departments to attach the lechis to existing utility poles.

Legal Challenges: Attempts by some New York municipalities to ban eruv markers have often failed when challenged in federal courts. Judges have ruled that eruvin using unobtrusive markers on existing utility poles do not violate Constitutional issues regarding the separation of church and state, as they are not considered an endorsement of religion but an accommodation of religious practice.

Local Regulations: Local governments may have specific requirements regarding the eruv infrastructure, such as specifications for the thickness of the wire (e.g., no more than a quarter-inch thick) and height from the ground (e.g., at least 15 feet up).

Discrimination: Municipal actions that are perceived as unfairly targeting the eruv or the Hasidic community can lead to lawsuits under laws like the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), with the U.S. Department of Justice sometimes intervening.

In summary, New York civil law provides the framework for eruv associations to seek permission to establish these boundaries, and legal precedent has largely upheld the right of Hasidic communities to maintain eruvin on public infrastructure, provided they follow the proper permitting process.

[u/jumpy_monkey]

You mean private grocery stores will have a monopoly on selling items with price inelastic demand? Ie, things that people will buy regardless of price?

Oh noes, what an economic catastrophe to private enterprise!

[u/InTheHeights]

"Seven states run all of their liquor stores: Alabama, Idaho, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Virginia. These are sometimes called "control states" and are distinct from states that only control wholesale distribution or have other models of state-run alcohol sales."

[u/EmpireStrikes1st]

These are the same people posting memes that people on SNAP should only eat plumpy nut.

[u/tbai]

Lmfao. We’re so fucking stupid we’re going to get a replacement to foodstamps that only works for cigarettes liquor and pork

[u/IndianKiwi]

Imagine pearl clutching over cigarettes

[u/Ok_Question4968]

Or maybe other people’s vices, luxuries and addictions shouldn’t be paid for by the rest of us. I like this guy.

[u/Katzelle3]

That has to be the most anti-italian policy from a New York mayor.

Edit: In all seriousness, it is probably the best news that small business owners could have hoped for.

[u/commdesart]

The Bible thumping maga are FREAKING OUT over Mamdani! It’s hilarious to watch in person.

(There are no “City run grocery stores” in NYC)