What Was John McCain Thinking...

...when he invited New York City's gun-grabbing, way-out-left liberal mayor, Michael Bloomberg, now an Independent, to introduce him at a campaign event?

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Bloomberg Still Mulls Presidential Race

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been quietly polling and analyzing voting trends in every state as he contemplates launching a campaign for president as an Independent, it's reported today. Last Tuesday, his supporters launched a 50-state petition drive in an attempt to "draft" him into the race.

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Boren Panel Wants 'Straight Talk'

A bipartisan panel today told presidential candidates to be more specific on their goals and encouraged the American people to demand more straight talk from contenders.

An overflow crowd of more than 1,000 attended the one-hour session on the University of Oklahoma campus put together by OU President David Boren and former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga.

Meanwhile, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has been mentioned as a possible independent presidential candidate, said, "I am not a candidate."

Read all of Michael McNutt's report at www.newsok.com.

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OU Meeting Draws Huge Media Pool

Today's gathering of "centrist" present and past political figures at the University of Oklahoma in Norman may be one of the most-reported events of this presidential election year.

About 175 reporters and photographers, including those from every major New York City media outlet, plan to attend, said Catherine Bishop, OU's vice president of communications.

The New York interest, of course, occurs because its mayor, Independent Michael Bloomberg, is a participant and possible third-party candidate for president.

The meeting is being hosted by OU President David Boren and Sam Nunn, Democrat and former U. S. Senator from Georgia. It ends at 1 p.m. today with a scheduled news conference.

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Bloomberg's Coalition Loses Another Mayor

From NRA-ILA ~ Oldsmans Township, New Jersey Mayor Harry Moore has resigned his membership from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun coalition, continuing the trend of mayors jaded by Bloomberg’s focus on gun control rather than crime control. “I applaud Mayor Harry Moore for having the courage to quit this anti-gun coalition once he recognized Mike Bloomberg's true intentions,” said Chris W. Cox, National Rifle Association (NRA)’s chief lobbyist. “Mayors across the country have come to realize the coalition is nothing more than a front group for gun control.”

Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor remains a member of Bloomberg's coalition.

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Bloomberg Exits Republican Party

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is leaving the Republican party and has announced he is currently unaffiliated with a political party, it's reported today. The move will clearly begin advancing rumors that the mayor is gearing towards an independent presidential run, which he has denied in the past. In a statement, however, the 65-year-old billionaire mayor indicated this doesn't change his plans for his political future. "I have filed papers with the New York City Board of Elections to change my status as a voter and register as unaffiliated with any political party."

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Novak: A Bloomberg-Boren Ticket?

By Robert Novak ~ When New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered the University of Oklahoma commencement address May 11, he engaged in a long, private discussion about 2008 politics with university president and maverick Democrat David Boren. According to New York political sources, they discussed a role Boren might play in an independent Bloomberg campaign for president, generating speculation about a Bloomberg-Boren ticket. In introducing Bloomberg for his commencement speech, Boren praised the mayor's record stabilizing his city's budget and strengthening its economy after the 9/11 attack. Boren was governor of Oklahoma before serving 16 years in the U.S. Senate. A moderate Democrat, he clashed with President Bill Clinton and left the Senate in 1994 to take the University of Oklahoma post. He declined Ross Perot's offer of the Reform Party vice-presidential nomination in 1996 but said he might be open to a 2000 draft.

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Blogger Okie Insight Asks, 'Would You Support Michael Bloomberg For President?'

On the blog Okie Insight, the poll question is, "Would you support (Republican) Michael Bloomberg for president (as an independent)?" Thus far, Bloomberg draws little support.

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Kathy Taylor, Gun Control In The New York Times

Tulsa blogger Michael Bates notes today that Mayor Kathy Taylor, a member of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's coalition of gun-grabbing mayors, made the New York Times as a result of that membership. Bates asks questions the mainstream Tulsa media hasn't asked.

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Taylor Names Gun Control Advocate Interim Chief

Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor has named gun control advocate David Bostrom as the city's new interim police chief.

Bostrom, a former commander in the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington DC (site of the most stringent gun control in the nation) and the Wilmington, Delaware, police department, has been working as a independent contractor and consultant to Street Law, Inc.

Street Law, Inc., in partnership with the Soros Foundation, is establishing an Open Society Street Law Program which currently involves 13 countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The goals of this program are to provide training and technical assistance to partner country teams. The Soros Foundation is headed by billionaire gun control advocate George Soros.

Directly and through his organization Open Society Institute (OSI), Soros (pictured) has funded various gun control organizations, such as the Tides Foundation, the HELP Network and SAFE Colorado. He and seven friends founded their own political committee — Campaign for a Progressive Future — and spent $2 million on political activities in 2000, including providing the prime financial backing for the Million Mom March. OSI has supported UN efforts to create international gun control regulations and has singled out the United States for failing to go along with the international consensus on protective gun control measures.

Bostrom has 35 years of police experience, including work commanding the Special Operations Division of the Washington D.C. police department. He has been active in the International Association of Chiefs of Police, an organization that supported the Clinton gun ban (AKA "The Brady Bill") and opposes concealed carry by law-abiding citizens. The IACP has received millions of dollars in funding from the ultra-liberal, anti-gun Joyce Foundation.

Bostrom is not a candidate for the permanent police chief's position, Taylor and Bostrom said.

Taylor declined to name a chief from within the department; three officers applied and when they were passed over, a legal challenge was mounted. Taylor contracted with an out-of-state firm to recommend potential chiefs to her. That action fueled speculation that Taylor, a charter member of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's coalition of mayors with gun control as an agenda item, wanted a pro-gun control chief.

Hat tip to readers of batesline.com in Tulsa for research assistance on Bostrom.

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Nutso Bloomberg Has Another Great Idea

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has another nutso idea...an $8 per day tax to drive in NYC! Read all about it on Ernest Istook's blog.

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Taylor Hides Identities Of Top Cop Finalists

The Tulsa World reports today that, "External candidates to be Tulsa's next top cop must apply by Wednesday, but don't expect Mayor Kathy Taylor to identify them publicly or even name the finalists. Her spokeswoman, Kim MacLeod, said Tuesday that Taylor intends to conduct the police chief search the way she would any other job search and not disclose the candidates' names -- a change from the city's past practices when hiring police chiefs. Meanwhile, City Councilor Rick Westcott, an attorney and former police officer, said Tuesday that his interpretation of the City Charter is that the mayor is required to hire one of the three qualified internal candidates who applied but ultimately were rejected."

Taylor's search for a new chief is being watched closely by 2nd Amendment advocates, who believe she is searching for a chief who will advocate the gun control policies of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Taylor was a charter member of Bloomberg's coalition of mayors that supports gun control measures but she's not publicized her membership in Tulsa. She has attended numerous meetings of the group in New York, Chicago and Washington.

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Another Mayor Dumps Bloomberg Anti-Gun Group; Tulsa's Kathy Taylor Remains Member

From The New York Sun ~ A fourth mayor has withdrawn from Mayor Bloomberg's coalition against illegal guns, officials said.

Mayor Mary Wolf of Williamsport, Pa., said in an interview yesterday that she withdrew from Mayors Against Illegal Guns because she thought it was attempting to erode all gun ownership, not just illegal guns.

Bloomberg and Mayor Menino of Boston formed the coalition last year to lobby for laws that would prevent guns from illegally ending up in the wrong hands. Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor (pictured here, center right, at a coalition meeting at Gracie Mansion), was a founding member of the group and remains a member.

In a letter to Bloomberg, Ms. Wolf wrote, "I have learned that the coalition may be working on issues which conflict with legal gun ownership, and that some actions on your behalf are dubious."

Some of those actions, she said, include the city's civil lawsuits against gun dealers in five states whom private investigators videotaped making illegal "straw sales."

The other mayors who have left the coalition are Jared Furhriman of Idaho Falls, Idaho, Mark Begich of Anchorage, Alaska, and Kevin Jackson of Rio Rancho, N.M.

A spokesman for Bloomberg, Jason Post, said in a statement that the gun lobby was distorting the facts about the coalition. "All mayors in this coalition share a common concern about illegal guns and a common desire to move beyond the tired old politics of exaggeration and mischaracterization that has unfortunately dominated the illegal gun debate in the past," he said.

The owner of a firing range and gun dealership in Williamsport, Frank Tripoli, said he learned more about the coalition's activities through the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade group representing 3,600 retailers, distributors, manufacturers, publications, and other organizations. "We live in a community that is a hunting, fishing, and shooting sports-focused group of people," he said. "I think a lot of people wrote to the mayor."

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Kathy Taylor: Her Bloomberg Involvement Examined By Tulsa Blogger

Tulsa blogger Michael Bates has an excellent post in which he examines the controversy over Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor's involvement in New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's gun-grabbing coalition of mayors, an issue TMRO also has followed closely.

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Taylor's Search For Tulsa Top Cop Turns Ugly

Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor's search for a new police chief has turned ugly, with three rejected Tulsa officers prepared to file merit grievances because Taylor has ignored them to seek a chief from outside the city.

Deputy Chief Bill Wells, Major Paul Williams and Major Rob Turner are being represented by an attorney with Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 93.

Taylor's search for a new chief is being watched carefully given her membership in New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's coalition of mayors that favor gun control in their cities. While Taylor has been silent on the issue in Tulsa, she has attended coalition meetings in New York, Washington and Chicago in support of the group's agenda.

It has been speculated that Taylor wants an anti-gun chief in Tulsa and the three present officers are all advocates of gun ownership by private citizens. That is why, the speculation goes, she bypassed the three local officers and continues a nationwide search.

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Taylor Turns Back On In-House Chief Candidates

Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor, the Tulsa World reports, has decided to look outside the Tulsa Police Department to find the city's next police chief, in effect turning her back on three in-house applicants, Deputy Chief Bill Wells, Major Rob Turner and Major Paul Williams. They were certified as meeting at least the minimum qualifications and were each interviewed by the mayor twice.

Gun rights advocates are watching Taylor's actions in the selection of a new chief given her involvement in New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's pro-gun control group, a coalition of mayors. Taylor was an original member of the group, but makes no mention of it on her website and apparently avoids discussing it in Tulsa. She has, however, appeared in other cities (Chicago included) with some of the nation's most vigorous gun control mayors to help push Bloomberg's agenda.

A national head-hunting firm was hired by Taylor to conduct a nationwide search for a new chief, prompting criticism by some in the Tulsa law enforcement community.

Image courtesy David Arnett, Tulsa Today

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Feds Reject Bloomberg-Taylor Anti-Gun Crusade

The federal government will not file criminal charges against any of the 15 out-of-state gun dealers accused by New York City Mayor Bloomberg and his coalition of mayors, including Tulsa's Kathy Tayor, in a federal lawsuit of selling guns illegally, the New York Daily News reports.

In a stern rebuke to Bloomberg's high-profile crusade against guns, the feds warned the Bloomberg administration that it could face "potential legal liabilities" if it continues to conduct sting operations that fall within the jurisdiction of federal agents.

The letter from the U.S. Department of Justice scolding the mayor’s infamous 2006 gun sting operation and advising that Bloomberg's administration could face 'potential legal liabilities' over such stings was called a "significant victory" against the Big Apple mayor's anti-gun antics by the Second Amendment Foundation.

"This new development,' said SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb, "adds insult to injury for Bloomberg. We were adamant early on that this vigilante attack on gun dealers by Bloomberg and his posse of private investigators went way beyond his legal authority. Now it appears the Justice Department believes likewise."

The National Rifle Association's Chris Cox said, "NRA has always maintained that Mayor Bloomberg overstepped his boundaries and possibly broke the law in conducting these sting operations, and we expressed our concerns to ATF immediately. NRA is grateful that ATF has reviewed the matter and concluded that no further action is warranted against these firearms retailers. The NRA hopes that Mayor Bloomberg heeds the ATF's stern warning that he and his administration could face potential legal liabilities if they continue their disregard of current federal law and the safety of ATF and other law enforcement officers. If Mayor Bloomberg was serious about reducing crime, he would focus on prosecutions for violent criminals in his city, instead of resorting to media stunts and press conferences."

The NRA's Cam Edwards, writing for Town Hall, has an excellent column on this issue.

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Anchorage Mayor Has Message For Kathy Taylor

From Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich: "This is in response to some recent questions about my involvement in the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition. I recently withdrew my name from the coalition after initially agreeing to sign on.

"I do support the efforts to strengthen laws and prosecute individuals who dispense or use illegal guns, and getting them out of the hands of criminals. However, upon further review of the coalition, it appears they may have a different agenda than I anticipated.

"I am concerned the coalition is working on issues that conflict with the beliefs we share in Alaska about legal gun ownership, and I'm also concerned gun ownership advocates are not part of the full discussion within the coalition. We cannot afford to risk protecting our Bill of Rights and the rights of legal gun owners.

"Because of these conflicts, I have written to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, chair of the coalition, and have asked him to remove me as a supporter of the coalition.
We do have a problem in Anchorage with youth violence, gangs and their use of illegal guns. We are working with our gang task force, the Police Department and other means to eliminate the violence.

"We'll continue to fight that problem without infringing on the rights of legal gun owners." - Mayor Mark Begich, Anchorage

Note: Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor is the only Oklahoma mayor who has joined Bloomberg's coalition.

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Confused In Fargo?

From The NRA ~ Fargo, N.D. Mayor Dennis Walaker, who has joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun mayoral coalition, is either woefully confused, or deliberately misleading the public, about his alleged NRA membership status. In trying to highlight his pro-gun credentials when joining this cabal of mayors, Walaker billed himself as a one-time member of NRA. The only problem: there is no record of Walaker ever being a member.

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Kathy Taylor Supports Bloomberg's Agenda

Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor joined mayors from around the country in Washington to urge an end to federal restrictions on information supporters claim could help local police track illegal guns. Gun rights groups disagree, saying the proposal opens the door to gun control.

In Washington for a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Taylor joined other members of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's coalition known as Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which has targeted a bill it believes keeps the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other agencies from sharing trace data they claim could help local police combat illegal guns.

Taylor's membership in the coalition has sparked considerable discussion among pro-2nd Amendment bloggers; see www.okshooters.com.

One of the most outspoken members of the coalition is Boston Mayor Thomas Menino (pictured), a proponent of total gun control.

Taylor, the only Oklahoma mayor who has joined the group, cited Tulsa's escalating murder rate and acknowledges she might be facing off with the powerful gun lobby.

Most of the members of Bloomberg's coalition are gun control advocates who support efforts by the Brady Center and others to ban handguns in the United States.

"I believe in the Second Amendment, but I don't believe terrorists should have guns," Taylor said. "I don't believe people who are felons should have guns. I don't believe kids who have been convicted of violent crimes should be able to have guns, but they are getting them." She did not explain how any of the Bloomberg's group proposals would solve any of those concerns, nor did she address the existence of laws that now exist to prevent terrorists and those convicted of crimes from carrying illegal, stolen firearms.

Bloomberg's coalition members believe the only way to remove "illegal" guns is to remove all guns from the United States.

Taylor cited Tulsa's escalating murder rate for her concern. Tulsa has had five murders in the past several days. Two of them were drive-by shootings, a third was a domestic murder-suicide. "Three-quarters of homicides are with guns, and most of them are obtained illegally," she said. "It is a public safety issue." Prosecution of people caught committing violent crimes must remain a priority, Taylor said. "But when you are mayor, that is after the fact," she said.

Sharing stories she heard from mayors of other cities, Taylor noted that 30,000 Americans die each year from gunshots. She did not cite the number of cases in which law-abiding citizens use legally-owned firearms to prevent crime.

During Taylor's trip to Washington, the mayor also met with a top official of the National Rifle Association, and she agreed that they are right to be concerned that the rights of responsible gun owners not be abridged. Restrictions exist that make certain data harder to obtain, Taylor said, adding that she would discuss the NRA's concerns with the Tulsa Police Department.

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