I Wanted Cuomo and Adams to Cooperate, Then Winter Took Over

June 27, 2025 Lehan Edirisinghe

Cuomo and Adams: no NYC surcharges; dignity comes from jobs. Sleepless in Seattle winter hits; the diary is the magic I start with a civic demand for cooperation, then drift into a Sleepless in Seattle winter mood where cold air and hope share the same frame

Eric Adams, New York and an Argument Against Handouts

Get mayor Cuomo, and deputy mayor Adams, to get together, work together, keep NY great, the town of Frank Sinatra's song, the most iconic place, ever

A beauty like NY City, doesn't need to change, doesn't need to lose what makes them great, by introducing double surcharge taxes

People have money for food, for housing, for child care, for everything else

They have it

They're most likely sponsored from overseas -- by people looking to get another person up on the stage, to hurl attacks on Trump

Eric Adams:

"This is a city not of socialism.

There's no dignity in someone giving you everything for free.

There's dignity in giving you a job, so you can provide for your family and the opportunities that you deserve.

This is not a city of handouts.

This is a city of hands up."

***

Eric Adams captures something essential here — a truth that transcends politics. Dignity isn’t found in dependency; it’s found in purpose. His words remind us that the strength of a city like New York comes from its people’s drive to build, contribute, and rise — not simply receive. It’s a call for self-respect, accountability, and empowerment — values that keep a city resilient and free.

• San Francisco (California) – once the tech capital of the world, now crippled by homelessness, crime, and regulatory overreach born from “free-for-all” policy thinking.

• Los Angeles (California)– drowning in welfare dependency, runaway spending, and failing infrastructure.

• Chicago (Illinois) – decades of public-sector handouts and corruption have eroded safety and solvency.

• Detroit (Michigan) – a tragic case study in union overreach, subsidy addiction, and political stagnation.

• Portland (Oregon) – collapsed under its own permissive ideology, where “help” replaced accountability.

• Seattle (Washington) – taxed itself into stagnation, confusing wealth redistribution for progress.

***

Strong capitalist cities that thrived by rewarding work, innovation, and self-reliance include:

• Singapore – zero tolerance for corruption, low taxes, high personal accountability; turned from a swamp into a global finance and logistics hub.

• Dubai (UAE) – embraced open markets and foreign investment; transformed desert into a world capital of trade and luxury.

• Hong Kong (pre-2020) – free enterprise, lean government, and rule of law made it the benchmark of capitalism in Asia.

• Zurich & Geneva (Swiss) – stable banking, private initiative, and efficiency over bureaucracy.

• London (UK) – thrived through centuries of trade liberalization and global finance, even post-Brexit.

• New York City (at its best) – a magnet for ambition; where effort, not ideology, decides outcomes.

• Seoul – rebuilt through enterprise and discipline, not welfare.

• Austin (Texas) & Miami (Florida) – new-generation American cities growing by rewarding business formation, tech migration, and personal freedom.

***

The image displays a screenshot of a Facebook post featuring a comment section. At the top, there is a user profile icon with a circular shape, possibly indicating the profile picture of the user named "Lehan Edirisinghe." Below the profile icon, the comment reads: "I hear it's nice in the summer, some snow would be nice. Oh yeah." This text is in a standard font and is black against a dark background.

Beneath the comment, there is a visual element that appears to be a still from a film or television show. The image shows two characters seated in what looks like an aircraft cabin. The character on the left is a man dressed in a dark suit, while the character on the right is a woman wearing a light-colored dress and has a neutral expression. She is looking towards the man. The woman is also wearing a blue flight attendant uniform, which includes a hat. 

In the background, there is a window showing a view of a cityscape, with a notable landmark identified in the subtitle as "There's the Empire State Building." The seats in the cabin are upholstered in a light blue fabric, and the overall color scheme of the cabin is a mix of light and dark tones. 

The bottom of the image has a timestamp indicating that the comment was made 9 hours ago, along with options to "Like" and "Reply," which are standard features in social media comment sections. The overall setting appears to be a digital interface of a social media platform, specifically Facebook, with a dark theme.

Sleepless in Seattle, Winter and Diary Magic

In Sleepless in Seattle, they have that winter

Or was that, just the way I imagine or remember it?

Winter must be so hard for the

Winter must be so cold for those with no warm memories

We've already missed the spring...

And the best part, is this

Without Lehan, there would be no magic

There just wouldn't

If Lehan wasn't around, if there was no, all of this, this diary

You wouldn't have seen that

Or any of this

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