Audio: Did Mayor Bloomberg Issue a Veiled Threat?

At best, these comments by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg are irresponsible. At worst, and far more likely, they were intended as a threat. Maybe he didn't yell, 'FIRE' in a crowded theater here, but he certainly set the stage for it. Bloomberg appears to be prepared to yell if Congress doesn't spend more money. He also further portrayed himself as an official Obama lap dog here, by saying that unless Republicans 'compromise' on the Obama bill that doesn't even really exist yet, there are going to be riots in the streets.

The falsehoods, lies, and misrepresentations communicated by Bloomberg during this interview on WOR radio in New York City are beyond shameful and come in such a large dose, they could choke a donkey. Two examples are found in his pointing to the riots in Cairo and Madrid as being the result of not passing something similar to Obama's still non-existent jobs bill. In truth, the riots in Cairo were inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood and have nothing to do with lack of government largesse. As far as Spain, the reason those people are so disenfranchised is because the socialist utopia Bloomberg is calling for here, failed over there.

This man is a disgrace and a danger to our national security. Reminds me of Ground Zero mosque imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf telling Americans that if we don't build the mosque, al-Qaeda could attack us again.



h/t Hot Air

Honduras: Bloomberg Calls Referendum a Poll?

The reason for the ouster of Honduras president Manuel Zelaya last Sunday was because he was trying to ensure his re-election via referendum despite the fact his country's constitution prohibits it. The only legal way for him to get his wish is through the amendment process.

While otherwise reporting objectively on the story, Bloomberg's word choices are distubring. Instead of calling attention to the primary reason for Zelaya's ouster, Bloomberg has decided to identify the referendum as a "poll" and a "survey".

Instance #1:
Honduras’s institutions remain united in support of Zelaya’s overthrow. The Supreme Court ruled that Zelaya violated the constitution by trying to hold an illegal poll on whether people support his proposal to change the constitution. The court issued an arrest order for the president on June 26.

Instance #2:
Zelaya also ignored a court order that said he couldn’t fire the head of the military for refusing to oversee the survey, and stormed a military base with a mob of civilians to “liberate” the ballots.

Yet, when referring to how Zelaya ally Hugo Chavez did the same thing to ensure that he would retain power in Venezuela, Bloomberg DID use the term.

The Venezuelan president won a referendum to amend the constitution in February that will allow him to run for re-election indefinitely.

Just to illustrate that I'm not splitting hairs here, check out Merriam Webster's definition of referendum.

1 a: the principle or practice of submitting to popular vote a measure passed on or proposed by a legislative body or by popular initiative b: a vote on a measure so submitted

The terms "poll" and "survey" seem to insinuate that what Zelaya was doing was innocuous and without consequence other than to test sentiment. A referendum carries the tone of something that prompts some sort of action. In this case, the action would have been discarding the constitution.

As the United States, the United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Mainstream Media has decided to align with Zelaya, word games such as this only serve to further alienate those in Honduras who are defending their country's constitution.

Any and all arguments coming from those in support of Hugo Chavez ally Zelaya have totally avoided the reason for his ouster, a sure sign they have no real defense for it. The spinmeister arguments simply say he was democratically elected and was the victim of an illegal coup.