Michael Bloomberg

7 posts
Civil Rights

Backlash

Everytown for Gun Safety is less than two weeks old, and it’s already falling apart. Tom Ridge has announced his resignation, and he was supposed to be their star recruit.

I looked forward to a thoughtful and provocative discussion about the toll gun violence takes on Americans. After consultation with Everytown, I have decided that I am uncomfortable with their expected electoral work.

That’s nothing new. He’s not the first politician to be misled by Michael Bloomberg’s recruitment speeches, nor the first to walk away in disgust.

Meanwhile, Everytown associate Shannon Watts has nothing better to do than harass the Lamar billboard company because Todd Kauranen of Slide Fire staged a silly picture with her. Since Slide Fire doesn’t show remorse, she’s going after a company that rented them billboard space in the past.

Also, since the picture didn’t portray her in a positive light, it constitutes violence towards women.

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Civil Rights

Breakfast with Bloomberg

1 comment

Quick, somebody tell me when that has ever happened?

Lamb should be better at her job than this. She’s the communications director for Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Everytown Big Gulp Guns. She has also worked as press secretary for John Edwards and Arnold Schwarzenegger. I’d think she can handle herself in a debate, but she stumbles and falls back on tired slogans.

If Bloomberg wants to blow $50 million to buy his way into heaven, he’s welcome to try. Despite the bullying rhetoric and hubris, money doesn’t buy the support or respect of normal people who actually, say, work for a living.

Info Dump

Two Can Play

Michael Bloomberg has started a new initiative called “Everytown for Gun Safety.” It’s easily the worst gun safety site I’ve ever seen. There is no information about safe handling, safe storage, safety training, or anything about safety at all. It’s just boilerplate for gun-control advocacy.

That just won’t do. Someone created a pro-gun “Everytown for Gun Safety” Facebook page, but it has been removed. Bloomberg must be a really poor sport.

For an alternative, check out Anytown for Gun Safety. Yes, I’m being snarky and spiteful. If anyone wants the .com or .org domains for a better purpose, let me know.

Civil Rights

Bloomberg’s Paper Trail

There have been some questions about the exact relationship between Michael Bloomberg’s New York City Hall staff and his employees at Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Judicial Watch obtained over 500 pages of emails through an FOIA request, and they have it posted here [huge pdf file].

The chain of emails begins a couple of hours before the Sandy Hook shootings on December 14, 2012 and continues through January. Their intention to take control of the debate, even before the White House and Congress have had a chance to respond, is almost immediately apparent.

Civil Rights

Civil Liberties? This is 2012…

2 comments

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is like a Coen Brothers movie sometimes. Just when I’m tempted to laugh at some inane utterance of his, I realize how utterly unfunny and disturbing it really is. Regarding security in the wake of the Boston bombing, he had this to say:

The people who are worried about privacy have a legitimate worry, but we live in a complex word where you’re going to have to have a level of security greater than you did back in the olden days, if you will. And our laws and our interpretation of the Constitution, I think, have to change.

Oh, hell no.

I don’t care how much he tries to look like the reluctant but resigned guardian. No amount of imagined protection is going to compensate for the rights quashed in its service, and no politician who suggests such a thing deserves to hold office.

Civil Rights

False Flags, Again

Frankly, I’m not surprised Mayor Bloomberg sank to this. I’m just surprised it took this long. He’s running an advertisement urging Georgians to write their Senators in support of “comprehensive background checks.”

If you’re just tuning in, that’s shorthand for “registration.”

The problem is, if you’re an urban Manhattanite who’s never actually seen a person from Georgia, you might want to check with the locals before attempting to depict them. Remind your hired spokesmodel that pressed dress slacks don’t really go with the flannel shirt and camo hat. You might also want to make sure he rehearses his southern accent so he doesn’t sound like a bad parody.

You might also consider some firearms training, as your model has his finger on the trigger of that shotgun. He’s likely to crank a round into the cameraman at stage left.

Of course, this isn’t the first time the anti-gun lobby has done this.

Civil Rights

The New York Problem

Tomorrow, we’ll hear all about the ad Michael Bloomberg paid to air during the Super Bowl. It was a typically manipulative affair narrated by children over a faltering version of “America the Beautiful.” The only point made was that the NRA once supported instant background checks, and that those checks should be expanded to cover all firearms sales.

The omissions are what interest me. Gone from their argument is the call to ban military-pattern rifles and limit magazine capacity. Weren’t these the very things they said we needed to do to prevent tragedies like Sandy Hook from happening again? Apparently, those supposedly dire issues have been sidelined for the sake of political expediency.

Perhaps they’re noticing their diminishing relevance in the public consciousness. Circling the wagons around one specific issue may seem like a sound move, but it’s too late.

Case in point: last month, Governor Cuomo strongarmed a bill through the legislature that will leave New Yorkers virtually disarmed, and he did it without giving them any chance to register their opposition or concerns.

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