114: Parade Dodger, Bus Bandits, Vile Vivek, & Putin’s Violin

Welcome to David & Stu… Unhinged! As always, we'd like to thank Clara Wang for creating the fantastic artwork for this podcast.

This week on David & Stu Unhinged, we cover the legacy of two great Italian Americans as part of Heritage Week, the continued fare beating on MTA buses, the ugly advertisement being used in the Ohio gubernatorial race by Vivek Ramaswamy, and how once again Trump is selling out Ukraine in favor of his favorite dictator.

Parade Dodger: David celebrates Italian American Heritage Month by discussing the Italians who built New York, like Dr. Vincenzo Sellaro and Mother Cabrini, who founded hospitals for immigrants without waiting for City Hall. Meanwhile, Mayor Mamdani skipped the Columbus Day Parade, which showed a lack of respect for Italians as well as hypocrisy, since his idea of diversity doesn’t seem to include every community, only the ones that fit his radical politics.

Bus Bandits: Fare beating on NYC buses is out of control. The MTA calls it "theft of services." Everyone else calls it stealing, and it cost the system an estimated $568 million in 2024. MTA CEO Janno Lieber says more than 40% of riders now skip the fare, more than double the COVID-era rate and enough to threaten the system itself. His response? After a few complaints of overreach, he temporarily benched the new Eagle Team enforcement units. Train them better, sure, and no ICE-style excess, but don't fold. The real question: will Mayor Mamdani do something about the consistent petty crime on MTA buses?

Vile Vivek: Just when you think political discourse can't sink any lower, Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for Ohio governor, spent $4 million on an ad featuring Democrat Amy Acton's estranged mother calling her a liar. This is the same mother who sided with Acton's stepfather after he was indicted for raping Acton when she was 12. He then disappeared and died without ever standing trial. Republicans, including Gov. Mike DeWine, Sen. Jon Husted, former Gov. Bob Taft, and Nikki Haley, condemned the ad. Trump praised it as "hitting pay dirt," and JD Piglet Vance defended it. This spectacle is an absolute disgrace and another example of how far we have fallen under this failed president.

Putin's Violin: Trump's coziness with Putin keeps getting harder to explain. Special envoy Steve Witkoff called Putin a "humanitarian," which made other officials gag, and only JD Piglet Vance came to his defense. With Putin playing Trump like a violin, it is clear that Trump’s deference to Putin gets in the way of nobody, not even our moral obligation to Ukraine.

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