(via Bloomberg wants to shape national politics, whoever’s president in 2013 | Capital New York)
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney’s answers to a gun control question at their most recent debate appears to have been the last straw in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s frustration with partisan politics, sort of.
After calling Obama and Romney’s remarks on the topic “gibberish,” he announced he would spend between $10 to $15 million helping elect moderate candidates from both parties.
Bloomberg broadens his war on the Tea Party, but quietly, Reid Pillifant reports. The Bloomberg agenda seems to be driven by a desire to build a bulwark against the Tea Party, albeit with a carve-out for conservative Republicans who, for various reasons, he likes.
![Mayor Mike Bloomberg and transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan at the Municipal Arts Society Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal Awards dinner. [Kirsten Artz / Azi’s morning briefing]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2zmiv4NFu1qc0o3ko1_500.jpg)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg and transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan at the Municipal Arts Society Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal Awards dinner. [Kirsten Artz / Azi’s morning briefing]
![Asked about the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, “The gun lobby is writing our nation’s gun laws.”
“It’s a disgrace,” said Bloomberg, during the question-and-answer session of a press conference today about the expansion of Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. “They write ‘em in Washington. They write ‘em in the state capitals. And the result is that our children are being killed, our police officers are being killed, you and I and our families are in danger.” [Read more]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1i8p5Ggtg1qc0o3ko1_500.jpg)
Asked about the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, “The gun lobby is writing our nation’s gun laws.”
“It’s a disgrace,” said Bloomberg, during the question-and-answer session of a press conference today about the expansion of Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. “They write ‘em in Washington. They write ‘em in the state capitals. And the result is that our children are being killed, our police officers are being killed, you and I and our families are in danger.” [Read more]
Bloomberg gives gun control partial credit for New York’s low suicide rate
“The rate of suicide in New York City is almost half of what it is in the country on average,” he said. “And most of that comes from the difficulty in getting a gun.”
For his second-to-last time at 1 p.m. today. According to Azi, it’s not expected to be so painful this year, thanks to $1 billion in expected revenue from the sale of new taxi medallions. Read more at the morning news brief.
“You can’t prove that a teacher is not effective,” said the mayor. “But it’s like the Supreme Court, I forget which justice said it, he said, ‘You know, I can’t define pornography, but I know it when I see it.’ Well, same thing.”
Penn Badgley wears a “We are the 99%” t-shirt at a “Gossip Girl” press conference today, where Mayor Bloomberg defended NYPD police commissioner Ray Kelly and responded to questions about Greg Kelly and investigations into an alleged rape.
He then introduced Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who entered through the back door. As he did, many boos drowned out the applause. Bloomberg looked at the crowd and back at Sharpton.
“I’ve got serious issues,” Sharpton said. “He’s got serious issues. We disagree on those. But I want us to deal in the spirit of King and in solidarity together. This bloodshed’s got to end.”
“We might disagree on some things, but I’ve always thought you were right to be wrong,” Bloomberg told Sharpton, who laughed and sat behind him.
As Bloomberg touted progress in dropping murder rates and rising test scores, many in the crowd continue to boo.
“If you don’t want crime to go down and test scores to go up, than we have nothing in common,” he said. “That’s what we all should want. That’s what Dr. King would have wanted.”
— Jim Weisman, general counsel for the United Spinal Association, on a court’s broad decision to mandate “meaningful” taxi service for the disabled in New York City.
“There definitely was an element of teacher-bashing going on.” - Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, on Bloomberg’s State of the City Speech,in which he offers teachers a carrot and a stick.
“Most important of all, we’re going to mount a major new effort to help the New Yorkers who’ve defended our nation’s freedoms find the jobs and housing they deserve. Today, there are some 9,000 unemployed veterans in our city. There’s no excuse for that. And that’s why this year, with the help of the Robin Hood Foundation, our Workforce One Centers will offer new services to connect veterans to jobs.”
— Mayor Bloomberg at today’s “State of the City” address announcing our partnership with the City of New York to provide veterans with the resources they need to find work.
He also proposed giving a $20,000 bonus to teachers who get rated “highly effective” two years in a row, and to pay off up to $25,000 of student loans for new teachers. Here’s the whole prepared text of his speech.
Bloomberg and the Bloomberg muppet.
He’s trying something new: pictures at the end of his post. Like it?
