Zohran Mamdani, 2025 elections, federal shutdown, Dick Cheney

Mamdani will learn there’s no free lunch

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is bright, charismatic, articulate — and 34, far too young to have acquired enough experience and the ability to attract a network of professionals to assist him in managing New York City, a position that has been called the “second toughest job in the United States” [“Mamdani starts to staff his administration,” News, Nov. 6].

Campaigning on a promise to provide low or no-cost transportation, day care and grocery stores and affordable housing is a romantic notion but not founded in reality. There is no free lunch.

In his victory speech, to the accolades of those in attendance, he challenged President Donald Trump to “turn up the volume.” If he is to be a successful mayor, it will require far more than loud voice vacant promises.

— Ed Weinert, Melville

Zohran Mamdani is in for a rude awakening about executing his tax plan. Gov. Kathy Hochul is running for reelection next year, and if she hopes to win, she will not include any tax increases as part of her campaign platform.

If Hochul does lose the election, Mamdani’s tax plan goes up in smoke. It will be a lesson about politics for all the people who voted for him.

— Kevin McGrath, Northport

After elections, it’s time to look ahead

What made America great was that the truth always mattered — and still does. Right from wrong used to be obvious to many more. A time will come when the truth cannot be buried in labels like “fake news” and “liberal lunatics.”

I predict that things are coming to a head. There is finally some hope for sanity, justice, and righteousness for all those who were losing hope and belief in the resilience of the United States, a long-running democracy.

It’s not time to sit back and take a sigh of relief or to celebrate. It’s time to stand up, to engage and continue to challenge the misinformation, lies and corruption that are the signatures of this nightmare. Democracy dies from silence. We must engage.

— Paul Henry, Greenport

Once again, Nassau County Democrats, who outnumber Republicans, failed to vote in numbers proportional to their majority [“Defeated again, Nassau Dems eye ’26,” Opinion, Nov. 6]. The result? Another term for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a MAGA supporter, and a loss in three other major posts.

Apathy begets tragedy — when will Democrats learn? Oh well. Hope springs eternal for ’26.

— Peter Block, Roslyn Heights

Just a few people are ones shutting it down

How can the decision for a federal government shutdown be made by only a tiny percentage of our population? The 535 people in Congress are dictating how more than 340 million people’s lives may be affected. Especially when it involves people’s paychecks and governmental lifelines that support the ability for people to survive [“Government shutdown is now the longest in history,” Nation, Nov. 5]. I wonder if our members of Congress had their paychecks stop, how long would it take for their votes to change?

Politicians are always fighting for change. How about including federal government wages to be voted on? Only the people should be able to change that. The recent public demonstrations about the federal government’s failures should have also announced about the shutdown: No vote to open — no pay for you!

— Arthur Mann Jr., Coram

Cheney’s tough stance outguns Grumman bid

There’s more to the story about former Vice President Dick Cheney ending Grumman’s Tomcat and Intruder production [“Cheney ended jets built by Grumman,” News, Nov. 5].

Cheney wanted more different planes on the carrier deck, more different parts, and differently skilled support staff. He wanted a new combat aircraft that could do it all, and he had one: the twin-tailed F-14 Tomcat.

It was the best fighter in the sky. During Operation Desert Storm, Iraqi fighters would turn and run when Tomcats’ radar had them. Tomcats could both carry bombs and act as the “mother ship,” guiding air-to-ground weapons launched from lesser-range aircraft.

Its final deployment was Iraq. Rooftop snipers were shooting our grunts on the ground, then escaping to another roof. But Tomcat had a video camera. Engineers adapted a laptop for the weapon systems officer — the “back-seater.” From above, Tomcat’s camera could scan the roofs, and those images would be sent to our ground troops.

Still, Cheney wanted a new aircraft. Grumman engineers offered a fantastic next-generation fighter/attack design: Tomcat 21, with better performance than the next-generation F-18. But the Hornet won because it had one weapon more powerful than Tomcat 21: political power. In the end, that’s the story.

— John Vosilla, East Meadow

The writer was the last Northrop Grumman public affairs F-14 product publicity manager.