Category — Michael Bloomberg

I have a sinking feeling that NYC Mayor Bloomberg and President-elect Obama will be sharing similar tax plans this year:

To illustrate the problem, the mayor said a 7.5 percent increase in income taxes for a family of four earning $50,000 to $70,000 annually would mean they would pay an extra $116 a year.

That “does put in perspective what might have to change,” Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg defines the “rich” as a family of 4 making $70K a year in the world’s most expensive city.  You have got to be kidding me.  But that’s not all by a long shot.  Mayor Mike wants to eliminate property tax rebates, hike property taxes, fire 1,000 cops, raise sundry fees, and hire more meter maids to, as liberals would quaintly put it, raise more revenue.

I’m so glad the Republican Party supported the liberal Bloomberg.  He not only embarrassed the party by turning independent, but he continues to damage the Republican brand with liberal policies.  It would have been better to have a Democrat in office to push these liberal policies and let them own them.

That’s right.  If Republicans are going to rise from the ashes, they have to let liberals own their policies.  This will be especially important for Congressional Republicans.  If they follow the moderate “reach across the aisle” meme and provide a fig leaf for the failed Democratic policies soon to be pushed by Pelosi, Reid, and Obama, they’ll be slitting their own throats.

There’s nothing in Obama’s priorities that Republicans should support.  Are Republicans going to “compromise” on higher taxes?  Is muzzling talk radio via the Fairness Doctrine a good idea after the media just kicked the “moderate” McCain in the teeth?  How about adding 10s of millions to Democratic coffers by supporting card check for the unions?  Will the GOP add 20 million new Hispanic voters after they just broke 2 to 1 for Obama even though John McCain has been front and center on all their issues?

There’s nothing to do now but let the Democrats kill themselves.  They’ll overreach.  They’ll kill an already bad economy with higher taxes.  Be disciplined, take some media flack, get out of their way, and get ready to run against them when even a blind monkey could tell their policies have failed.

Life in the Bad Apple is tough. After the Heller case is adjudicated, less of these disgraces should occur for the means of true equal protection will exist.

200 surveillance cameras at Van Dyke houses fail to stop rape suspect

Once again a rapist was caught on videotape, and once again cops failed to see him, police sources said Thursday.

A 19-year-old woman was raped at knifepoint inside the Van Dyke houses in Brooklyn early Thursday - a housing complex with more than 200 cameras supposedly monitored around the clock by the NYPD.

Should she have called 911 as Mayor Menino suggests? Or do as Bloomberg suggests, leave personal protection to the police?

One thing that would have worked in this situation is a .38 snubby. Guaranteed!

Let’s hope Mike Bloomberg mounts an independent campaign for the White House.  With his liberal policies and agenda, he’ll be a bigger drag on the Democrats than Republicans.  For example, who’ll be most attracted by this message on illegal immigration?

“To those who are wailing against immigration, to those politicians who, all of a sudden, have embraced xenophobia, I say: open your eyes,” he said. “Take a look behind me. This is what makes America great. This is New York City. This is freedom. This is compassion, and democracy, and opportunity.” 

He said the city is in a competitive struggle with cities like London, Paris, and Shanghai, which are working to attract top people in every field. For New York and America to stay competitive requires an acceptance of the new energy and ideas immigration and innovation bring, he said, adding that that’s the approach he’s taken in New York.

First, Michael, didn’t your school teachers drill you on the importance of adjectives?  People oppose ILLEGAL immigration and not immigration as a general policy.  The “xenophobic” meme transmitted by the open borders crowd doesn’t have a lot of punch when you guys refuse to properly define the issue. 

Second, Paris and London compete for highly skilled immigrants.  Everybody wants the MDs and PhDs.  Not many countries are running ad blitzes for lettuce pickers and fast food restaurant workers.  And just to let you in on a little secret, most of the people sneaking into our country aren’t PhDs.

Finally, we already have an entire political party dedicated to pandering to illegal immigrants.  So why would the majority of them pick the faux Democrat?  Good luck with that mayor thing because your chances of being president are infinitesimal.

Perhaps they can broadcast the take on the BBC, fabulous reality TV. Sit at home and watch your wife get mugged.

Tens of thousands of CCTV cameras, yet 80% of crime unsolved

London has 10,000 crime-fighting CCTV cameras which cost £200 million, figures show today.

But an analysis of the publicly funded spy network, which is owned and controlled by local authorities and Transport for London, has cast doubt on its ability to help solve crime.
A comparison of the number of cameras in each London borough with the proportion of crimes solved there found that police are no more likely to catch offenders in areas with hundreds of cameras than in those with hardly any.

In fact, four out of five of the boroughs with the most cameras have a record of solving crime that is below average. [snip]

“Although CCTV has its place, it is not the only solution in preventing or detecting crime.

“Too often calls for CCTV cameras come as a knee-jerk reaction. It is time we engaged in an open debate about the role of cameras in London today.” [snip]

NYC Mayor: Surveillance a City Necessity

Residents of big cities like New York and London must accept that they are under constant watch by video cameras, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday.

Bloomberg, holding talks with his London counterpart Ken Livingstone, said such measures as London’s “ring of steel” — a network of closed-circuit cameras that monitors the city center_ were a necessary protection in a dangerous world.

“In this day and age, if you think that cameras aren’t watching you all the time, you are very naive,” Bloomberg told reporters at London’s City Hall.

“We are under surveillance all the time” from cameras in shops and office buildings, “and in London they have multiple cameras on every bus and in every subway car,” he added. [snip]

This is from two unabashed liberals.

Whether a program works or not makes no difference, Livingstone and Bloomberg each will spend public money so they can say something is being done.

Do not expect the MSM to report this, all liberal failures are quashed to protect the image of perfection.

Bloomberg And Hagel For 2008?

Chuck Hagel, the senator from Nebraska, describes himself as a “tidal” politician, one who believes that larger forces in society shape careers more than the ambitions of individuals. “The only mistakes I’ve made,” he told me last week, “were when I tried to go against the tide.”

Today, that tide may be carrying him away from his Republican Party and toward a third-party or independent ticket with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg — a development that could reshape the dynamics of the 2008 presidential race.

Next month, Hagel will make a threshold decision — whether to run for a third term in the Senate. [snip]

So it really comes down to a question of the strength of those tidal forces moving out there in American politics. Hagel’s sense, reinforced by a recent trip to California, where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is providing a demonstration of the powerful appeal of “post-partisan” politics, is that “the tide is really moving fast.” [snip]

The tide Hagel will experience is what occurs at Mont Saint Michel in Normandie; the expected results will be the same.

This is the ultimate moonbat ticket approved by the Daily Kos and the Kidz. Well, Kos will vote that party as will Mrs. Hagel and Bloomberg’s house cleaner.

However, for this endeavor, let us give Hagel the:

Kerry for President Italian Racing Bike .

Bloomberg can take the subway.

Bloomberg: ‘Nobody Will Elect Me President’

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said — again– that he’s not running for president, adding in a television interview that he wouldn’t win anyway. [snip]

“Nobody’s going to elect me president of the United States,” he told Dan Rather… [snip]

He finally got that right. His fistful of bucks couldn’t get him elected stud in a political whorehouse.

Bloomberg’s many leftist positions make Moveon.org and that swarm of moonbats look calm and thoughtful.

Mike Bloomberg’s departure from the Republican Party and potential presidential run is causing a major stir. Will he? Won’t he? Who’s most hurt? But the question on my mind is why the Republican Party supported him in the first place? Everyone knew he was just using the party to get the backing of a major political party for his mayoral run. This isn’t the Senate where supporting Lincoln Chaffee helps you organize it and put committee chairmen in place, which I don’t agree with anyway (more on that later).  Nobody thought Bloomberg was a conservative.

All the Republican Party got was another person with an R after their name in office. In return Bloomberg got a major political office from which he can launch a presidential run. I can hear the rabid Republicans now—it’s so important to keep power and keep those committees and offices in the party. Do you want a Democrat in office?

But what good is power if it can’t be effectively wielded? By adding the Lincoln Chaffees, Arlen Specters, and “compassionate” conservatives of the world, you basically cripple yourself from within. Instead of effectively advancing a conservative agenda, it gets subverted from the inside.

It’s what you do in office, not what letter designation comes after you name that matters. People need to start making harder decisions at the ballot box instead of just looking for the Rs and Ds.

This is an immaculate example of a liberal solution to a problem, heartily supported by the judgment-impaired greens. Always tax the problem, damn the consequences.

NYC Mayor Cites ‘Inconvenient Truths’ of Congestion, Pollution in Pushing Traffic Fee Plan

NEW YORK (AP) — Traffic congestion and devastating pollution are among the “inconvenient truths” of our age and could be eased by imposing pay-to-drive fees on Manhattan motorists, Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a legislative panel Friday. [snip]

His remarks were greeted by a roaring ovation from supporters who included environmentalists in bright green T-shirts handing out fresh green apples before the hearing. [snip]

Under Bloomberg’s proposal, cars entering Manhattan south of 86th Street would be charged $8 per day, and trucks $21. Under a three-year pilot program, the fees would be collected only during the worst traffic hours, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Two major roadways flanking the east and west sides of Manhattan, FDR Drive and the West Side Highway, would be exempt.

Why Bloomberg bothers with this penny-ante method is abstruse. Just demand that the businesses with all these commuters move out of NYC to NJ, CT, or north of the city to the suburbs from whence they came. Traffic problem solved. (Corporate headquarters are there for show with all the back offices moved to Bucolia, NJ.)

Why stay in the city; the additional $176/month to work there, plus the city income tax (10% of the federal tax) and the cost of parking is sufficient impetus for moving.

Mayor Bloomberg has a very bad idea:

Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg thrust himself into the national immigration debate Wednesday, advocating a plan that would establish a DNA or fingerprint database to track and verify all legal U.S. workers.

Even if there were no privacy and abuse concerns, would I want to entrust my DNA to the people who cannot protect my discharge, social security, and other personal information:

Sensitive personal information on 26.5 million U.S. veterans, including Social Security numbers and discharge records, was stolen from a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee’s residence in suburban Maryland after the staffer took the data home without proper approval, the Associated Press reports via The Wall Street Journal.

If government proves one thing consistently, it is their incompetence.  There is no way I would entrust my DNA to these people.

The mainstream media has put it’s cheerleading for liberals in overdrive after last night’s off-year elections. Everywhere you turn, there is another article saying last night’s results are a preview of what we will see in 2006.

To but it bluntly, their “analysis” is a bunch of bullshit like much of their everyday reporting. If these so-called pundits would take five minutes to actually compare the results of the 2001 and 2005 elections they would see things aren’t so dire for Republicans. Let’s take a look:

In Virginia, the Democrats won by 6% which is a 1 point increase over 2001. That statistically meaningless change is easily explained by the presence of an independent candidate.

2001 Virginia: Warner (D) 52%, Earley (R) 47%
2005 Virginia: Kaine (D) 52%, Kilgore (R) 46%

Republicans also took back the Virginia Lt. Governorship, a fact often glossed over in the media.

In New Jersey, the Democrats won by 9 points, a 5 point reduction from their 14 point win in 2001. So they actually lost ground in this heavily democratic state.

2001 New Jersey: McGreevey (D) 56%, Schundler (R) 42%
2005 New Jersey: Corzine (D) 53%, Forrester (R) 44%

In NYC, Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg won by a whopping 20 points! That is a 17 point increase over 2001 and an impressive win in one of the most liberal areas in the country.

2001 New York City: Bloomberg (R) 50%, Green (D) 47%
2005 New York City: Bloomberg (R) 59%, Ferrer (D) 39%

How you can look at those numbers and say Democrats are on track to gain seats in 2006 is beyond me. The loss in Virginia is disapointing, but it says absolutely nothing about what the future holds for the mid-term elections. As usual, the media’s analysis is nothing more than wishful thinking.

Here are a few other thoughts on last night’s results, I’ll try and add more later:

John Podhoretz:

“To sum up: Incumbent party victories in two states and one city. A Republican state rejected Democratic initiatives. A Democratic state rejected Republican initiatives. Don’t let the Democratic spin doctors fool you. Election Day 2005 has nothing to tell us about where the electorate is going in the wake of Bush’s terrible year.”

John McIntyre:

“The Democratic sweep of New Jersey and Virginia foreshadowed absolutely nothing for 2002. So the idea that the election results are proof of Democratic strength or Republican weakness is partisan blather, parroted by a sympathetic media.”

Howard Kurtz:

“Every four years, the press grabs onto the flotsam of the Jersey and Virginia races and the New York mayoral contest–boosted this year by Arnold’s special election in California–and tries to interpret, infer and extrapolate what it all means . And it may not mean squat beyond the borders of those states.”

Visit the official site of the convention for a full roundup of all the events. Here is a list of speech transcripts. Here is a recap of some of yesterday’s speakers.

Mayor Ed Koch had a small speech during the day. I wish they had given him a more prominent role. He was followed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg who gave a nice tribute to NYC.

Senator Kit Bond (MO) talked about the Democratic smear machine and politicization of intelligence (emphasis added):

Ladies and gentlemen, we have seen a concerted effort by the Democratic smear machine attacking the President.

We have heard accusations repeated as if they were the truth.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has worked for over a year to find the truth.

And if John Kerry had paid attention, and if John Edwards had ever showed up, they would have known the truth too.

The truth is that the President’s statement was “well-founded” about Iraq’s intentions regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction.

And there was never pressure put on analysts to change their assessments on Iraq.

President Bush has led with strength, principle, and conviction.

He will continue to strengthen our Intelligence network - not politicize it as John Kerry has tried to do. President Bush knows that Intelligence is too important to be politicized.

America needs his leadership in the White House now more than ever.

John Thune spoke about the “Daschle Dead Zone”:

I’m John Thune and its time to end what the Wall Street Journal calls “Daschle’s Dead Zone.”

With the help of thousands of South Dakotans, we are going to end Tom Daschle’s obstructionism in the Senate.

The common sense agenda of President Bush and our Senate Republican Majority has been obstructed too long.

Judicial nominations are dying in the “Daschle Dead Zone.”

Permanent tax cuts and Welfare reform are dying in the “Zone.”

Repeal of the death tax and the marriage penalty are dying in the “Daschle Dead Zone.”

Medical liability reform is dying at the hands of trial lawyers in the “Zone.”

Class Action Reform is dying in the “Daschle Dead Zone.”

An energy bill including a national commitment to renewable fuels is dying in the “Daschle Dead Zone.”

We can pass this common sense agenda when we defeat Tom Daschle and reelect President George Bush in November.

Actor Ron Silver gave a passionate speech about the need to keep fighting the War on Terror. As I mentioned yesterday, he is a 9/11 Democrat, a group I think we will hear a lot about in the analysis after the election. Here is an excerpt (emphasis added):

Just over 1,000 days ago, 2,605 of my neighbors were murdered at the World Trade Center — men, women and children — as they began their day on a brilliantly clear New York autumn morning, less than four miles from where I am now standing.

We will never forgive. Never forget. Never excuse!

***

We are again engaged in a war that will define the future of humankind. Responding to attacks on our soil, America has led a coalition of countries against extremists who want to destroy our way of life and our values.

This is a war we did not seek.

This is a war waged against us.

This is a war to which we had to respond.

History shows that we are not imperialists . . .

but we are fighters for freedom and democracy.

Even though I am a well-recognized liberal on many issues confronting our society today, I find it ironic that many human rights advocates and outspoken members of my own entertainment community are often on the front lines to protest repression, for which I applaud them

but they are usually the first ones to oppose any use of force to take care of these horrors that they catalogue repeatedly.

Under the unwavering leadership of President Bush, the cause of freedom and democracy is being advanced by the courageous men and women serving in our Armed Services.

The President is doing exactly the right thing.

That is why we need this President at this time!

I am grateful for the chance to speak tonight to express my support for our Commander-in-Chief, for our brave troops, and for the vital cause which they have undertaken.

Representative Heather Wilson (NM) gave a nice tribute to the Armed Forces including this story of a hero who gave his life while defending America in Afghanistan:

Thank you and thank you to my friends from New Mexico.

I am honored to be here with you tonight to salute our soldiers, our sailors, our airmen and our marines.

We are proud of every one of them and blessed by their service to America.

I want to tell you about one of them. Jason Cunningham grew up in Farmington, New Mexico.

He joined the military and became an elite Air Force pararescue jumper.

In March of 2002, Jason was in Afghanistan when a Navy SEAL was knocked out of a helicopter hit by a rocket propelled grenade.

Jason and his team went in to try to rescue him.

When his own helicopter was shot down in the vicious firefight, Jason began treating the wounded and moving them out of the line of fire.

He was going back and forth treating the wounded when he was shot.

As his own life ebbed away, he told his buddies how to keep the others alive.

On the north side of a ridge near a grove of evergreen trees in Arlington National Cemetery an Air Force honor guard carried Airman Jason Cunningham to his final resting place.

To the south, two cranes lined the sky where crews worked feverishly to heal the jagged scar in the Pentagon.

Jason Cunningham died for a cause worth fighting for. Jason chose to put on the uniform.

He knew the risks, and he did it anyway.

He knew what he might leave behind a lifetime of dreams, and love, and two beautiful little girls.

Where does the courage come from? Where do we find men and women like this? We find them in Carlsbad, New Mexico and Cleveland, Ohio. We find them in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Tampa, Florida, and Houston, Texas.

We are a nation of courage, called upon at this moment in history to lead other nations and to carry burdens that no other nation can carry.

In this great struggle, we need a commander-in-chief who is a beacon, not a weathervane.

We have one in George W. Bush.

Former NYC Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik spoke next about our reaction to 9/11 and why the President needs to be re-elected:

…Mayor Giuliani appointed me as Police Commissioner of this great city and it was a great day in a great time. Crime was down; the city was prospering like never before, and then the unthinkable: America was under attack.

In the attacks of September 11th, we witnessed the worst and the best in humanity.

Through the devastation created by 19 evil men, we witnessed heroics by our first responders that were unparalleled.

We witnessed strong and decisive leadership on that day and those that followed in Mayor Giuliani, Governor Pataki and most importantly, our Commander in Chief, President Bush.

We didn’t ask for this war, but faced with an evil whose only mission is to destroy our country we had to respond.

We had to fight this war abroad. And we had to fight the war here at home.

The President responded by creating the Department of Homeland Security, he enacted the PATRIOT Act and he has tripled our homeland security funding since 2001.

And today in Afghanistan, the Taliban has been unseated from power and the Al Queda leadership is on the run.

In Iraq, Saddam Hussein will finally be held accountable.

Today, we live in a much safer world as a result of this President’s strong leadership.

As I think about his leadership, I think of the courage it took for our Commander in Chief to land on an airstrip in the dark of night, a world away, to be with our troops on Thanksgiving.

He was there for them as he was for us right here in New York City, inspiring a nation as he stood on hallowed ground, supporting the first responders.

This fight against terrorism takes decisiveness, not contradiction.

It takes continued support for our troops and first responders, not votes against our military, our intelligence and law enforcement spending.

Most importantly, it takes courage and inspirational leadership in the White House.

There are two candidates in this race, but only one fills those needs.

George W. Bush has my vote and for the future and safety of this country, I pray to God he has yours as well.

An Iraqi-American woman named Zainab al-Suwaij gave a short speech thanking America on behalf of Iraq:

…I am honored to stand here tonight. When I came to the United States from Iraq 12 years ago, I would never have imagined myself speaking to a group like this.

Living under Saddam Hussein, we could not gather as we do now to discuss things like democracy and freedom. We could only dream of a day when we could speak freely, and worship God in ways of our own choosing.

Instead, we lived under a murderer who used every weapon in his arsenal against us– from tanks to torture chambers to poison gas.

When people talk about the war in Iraq — I want to remind them that there has been a war raging in Iraq for the last 3 decades.

A war waged by Saddam against his own people.

I lived through it. I saw it brutalize my friends and my family.

But today, I come to tell you that Iraq enjoys a new day.

Yes, there is still bloodshed and uncertainty — but America, under the strong, compassionate leadership of President Bush, has given Iraqis the most precious gift any nation has ever given another — the gift of democracy and the freedom to determine its own future.

Already, the seeds of democracy are bearing fruit — with popular elections recently held for local officials. And we know our children face a brighter future.

So as I grieve for the courageous Americans and Iraqis who were killed and injured during Iraq’s liberation, I tell you proudly that their noble sacrifice was not in vain.

As Iraqis assume full sovereignty, they embrace the American people in friendship and gratitude.

I promise you: we will never forget what your sons and daughters did for us.

Thank you.

NFL Star Jason Sehorn and his wife actress Angie Harmon honored two Medal of Honor recipients:

HARMON
Good evening.

Tonight we are proud to recognize two men who embody the American spirit of bravery and sacrifice.

Their heroic feats earned them our nation’s highest military award, the Medal of Honor.

SEHORN
Some say that playing football takes courage - but it’s just a game. Nothing compares to the valor of these men.

These are America’s heroes. They know the price of liberty.

And they support President George W. Bush.

HARMON
The first sailor to earn the Medal of Honor was John Williams of the USS Pawnee during the Civil War.

When the ship’s flagstaff fell, the wounded captain held the splintered remains in his hand, keeping the flag aloft and rallying his men.

SEHORN
The Medal of Honor represents the highest aspirations of our country, a duty that demands sacrifice, honor drawn from character…..

HARMON
And a country where the flag is lifted high, and freedom still reigns.

SEHORN
Tonight we honor the bravest of the brave.

HARMON
It was May 31st, 1951 on a hill near Wontong-ni, Korea. Army Corporal Rudy Hernandez and his platoon took defensive positions after gunfire and heavy artillery caused numerous casualties.

Lacking ammunition, his comrades retreated; but a wounded Corporal Hernandez stayed behind to slow the enemy.

When a ruptured cartridge prevented him from firing, he rushed forward anyway, armed with a rifle and bayonet — one man against many — before falling unconscious from his wounds.

His heroic and selfless actions saved lives and allowed his unit to retake their ground.

Ladies and gentlemen, Corporal Rudy Hernandez of North Carolina.

SEHORN
In December 1950, in the Chosin Reservoir area of North Korea, Navy pilot Lieutenant Tom Hudner came to the rescue of a downed pilot trapped in burning wreckage behind enemy lines.

At great risk, he successfully attempted a wheels-up landing on the mountainous terrain.

Enemy fire surrounded him, and he knew there was little chance of escape or survival in the sub-zero temperatures.

However, Lt. Hudner stayed, packing snow into the burning plane’s fuselage with his bare hands.

He battled time, cold, and flames in his attempt to rescue the downed pilot. Ladies and gentlemen, Lieutenant Tom Hudner of Massachusetts, who celebrates his 80th birthday tomorrow.

HARMON
We thank you both for your service to America, and to the cause of peace and freedom in the world.

And we join you in supporting a leader of courage — a President building a safer world, and a more hopeful America.

President George W. Bush.

Senator Lindsay Graham (SC) introduced Senator John McCain (AZ). He did a great job of explaining how the world changed on 9/11 and how the War on Terror must be fought to conclusion. He also tied the War in Iraq to the overall War on Terror. I also liked the swipe at Michael Moore. Here is the whole speech (emphasis added):

Thank you, Lindsey, and, thank you, my fellow Republicans.

I’m truly grateful for the privilege of addressing you.

This week, millions of Americans, not all Republicans, weigh our claim on their support for the two men who have led our country in these challenging times with moral courage and firm resolve.

So I begin with the words of a great American from the other party, given at his party’s convention in the year I was born.

My purpose is not imitation, for I can’t match his eloquence, but respect for the relevance in our time of his rousing summons to greatness of an earlier generation of Americans.

In a time of deep distress at home, as tyranny strangled the aspirations to liberty of millions, and as war clouds gathered in the West and East, Franklin Delano Roosevelt accepted his party’s nomination by observing:

“There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.”

The awful events of September 11, 2001 declared a war we were vaguely aware of, but hadn’t really comprehended how near the threat was, and how terrible were the plans of our enemies.

It’s a big thing, this war.

It’s a fight between a just regard for human dignity and a malevolent force that defiles an honorable religion by disputing God’s love for every soul on earth. It’s a fight between right and wrong, good and evil.

And should our enemies acquire for their arsenal the chemical, biological and nuclear weapons they seek, this war will become a much bigger thing.

So it is, whether we wished it or not, that we have come to the test of our generation, to our rendezvous with destiny.

And much is expected of us.

We are engaged in a hard struggle against a cruel and determined adversary.

Our enemies have made clear the danger they pose to our security and to the very essence of our culture …liberty.

Only the most deluded of us could doubt the necessity of this war.

Like all wars, this one will have its ups and downs.

But we must fight. We must.

The sacrifices borne in our defense are not shared equally by all Americans.

But all Americans must share a resolve to see this war through to a just end.

We must not be complacent at moments of success, and we must not despair over setbacks.

We must learn from our mistakes, improve on our successes, and vanquish this unpardonable enemy.

If we do less, we will fail the one mission no American generation has ever failed to provide to our children a stronger, better country than the one we were blessed to inherit.

Remember how we felt when the serenity of a bright September morning was destroyed by a savage atrocity so hostile to all human virtue we could scarcely imagine any human being capable of it.

We were united. First, in sorrow and anger. Then in recognition we were attacked not for a wrong we had done, but for who we are a people united in a kinship of ideals, committed to the notion that the people are sovereign, not governments, not armies, not a pitiless, inhumane theocracy, not kings, mullahs or tyrants, but the people.

In that moment, we were not different races.

We were not poor or rich. We were not Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative. We were not two countries.

We were Americans.

All of us, despite the differences that enliven our politics, are united in the one big idea that freedom is our birthright and its defense is always our first responsibility. All other responsibilities come second.

We must not lose sight of that as we debate who among us should bear the greatest responsibility for keeping us safe and free.

We must, whatever our disagreements, stick together in this great challenge of our time.

My friends in the Democratic Party and I’m fortunate to call many of them my friends assure us they share the conviction that winning the war against terrorism is our government’s most important obligation.

I don’t doubt their sincerity. They emphasize that military action alone won’t protect us, that this war has many fronts: in courts, financial institutions, in the shadowy world of intelligence, and in diplomacy.

They stress that America needs the help of her friends to combat an evil that threatens us all, that our alliances are as important to victory as are our armies. We agree.

And, as we’ve been a good friend to other countries in moments of shared perils, so we have good reason to expect their solidarity with us in this struggle. That is what the President believes.

And, thanks to his efforts we have received valuable assistance from many good friends around the globe, even if we have, at times, been disappointed with the reactions of some. I don’t doubt the sincerity of my Democratic friends. And they should not doubt ours.

Our President will work with all nations willing to help us defeat this scourge that afflicts us all.

War is an awful business. The lives of a nation’s finest patriots are sacrificed. Innocent people suffer. Commerce is disrupted, economies are damaged.

Strategic interests shielded by years of statecraft are endangered as the demands of war and diplomacy conflict.

However just the cause, we should shed a tear for all that is lost when war claims its wages from us. But there is no avoiding this war. We tried that, and our reluctance cost us dearly. And while this war has many components, we can’t make victory on the battlefield harder to achieve so that our diplomacy is easier to conduct.

That is not just an expression of our strength. It’s a measure of our wisdom.

That’s why I commend to my country the re-election of President Bush, and the steady, experienced, public-spirited man who serves as our Vice-President, Dick Cheney.

Four years ago, in Philadelphia, I spoke of my confidence that President Bush would accept the responsibilities that come with America’s distinction as the world’s only superpower.

I promised he would not let America “retreat behind empty threats, false promises and uncertain diplomacy;” that he would “confidently defend our interests and values wherever they are threatened.”

I knew my confidence was well placed when I watched him stand on the rubble of the World Trade Center, with his arm around a hero of September 11th, and in our moment of mourning and anger, strengthen our unity and summon our resolve by promising to right this terrible wrong, and to stand up and fight for the values we hold dear.

He promised our enemies would soon hear from us. And so they did. So they did.

He ordered American forces to Afghanistan and took the fight to our enemies, and away from our shores, seriously injuring al Qaeda and destroying the regime that gave them safe haven. He worked effectively to secure the cooperation of Pakistan, a relationship that’s critical to our success against al Qaeda.

He encouraged other friends to recognize the peril that terrorism posed for them, and won their help in apprehending many of those who would attack us again, and in helping to freeze the assets they used to fund their bloody work.

After years of failed diplomacy and limited military pressure to restrain Saddam Hussein,

President Bush made the difficult decision to liberate Iraq. Those who criticize that decision would have us believe that the choice was between a status quo that was well enough left alone and war. But there was no status quo to be left alone.

The years of keeping Saddam in a box were coming to a close. The international consensus that he be kept isolated and unarmed had eroded to the point that many critics of military action had decided the time had come again to do business with Saddam, despite his near daily attacks on our pilots, and his refusal, until his last day in power, to allow the unrestricted inspection of his arsenal.

Our choice wasn’t between a benign status quo and the bloodshed of war. It was between war and a graver threat. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Not our critics abroad. Not our political opponents.

And certainly not a disingenuous film maker who would have us believe that Saddam’s Iraq was an oasis of peace when in fact it was a place of indescribable cruelty, torture chambers, mass graves and prisons that destroyed the lives of the small children held inside their walls.

Whether or not Saddam possessed the terrible weapons he once had and used, freed from international pressure and the threat of military action, he would have acquired them again.

The central security concern of our time is to keep such devastating weapons beyond the reach of terrorists who can’t be dissuaded from using them by the threat of mutual destruction.

We couldn’t afford the risk posed by an unconstrained Saddam in these dangerous times.

By destroying his regime we gave hope to people long oppressed that if they have the courage to fight for it, they may live in peace and freedom.

Most importantly, our efforts may encourage the people of a region that has never known peace or freedom or lasting stability that they may someday possess these rights. I believe as strongly today as ever, the mission was necessary, achievable and noble. For his determination to undertake it, and for his unflagging resolve to see it through to a just end, President Bush deserves not only our support, but our admiration.

As the President rightly reminds us, we are safer than we were on September 11th, but we’re not yet safe. We are still closer to the beginning than the end of this fight.

We need a leader with the experience to make the tough decisions and the resolve to stick with them; a leader who will keep us moving forward even if it is easier to rest.

And this President will not rest until America is stronger and safer still, and this hateful iniquity is vanquished. He has been tested and has risen to the most important challenge of our time, and I salute him.

I salute his determination to make this world a better, safer, freer place. He has not wavered. He has not flinched from the hard choices. He will not yield. And neither will we.

I said earlier that the sacrifices in this war will not be shared equally by all Americans. The President is the first to observe, most of the sacrifices fall, as they have before, to the brave men and women of our Armed Forces. We may be good citizens, but make no mistake, they are the very best of us.

It’s an honor to live in a country that is so well and so bravely defended by such patriots.

May God bless them, the living and the fallen, as He has blessed us with their service.

For their families, for their friends, for America, for mankind they sacrifice to affirm that right makes might; that good triumphs over evil; that freedom is stronger than tyranny; that love is greater than hate.

It is left to us to keep their generous benefaction alive, and our blessed, beautiful country worthy of their courage. We should be thankful — for the privilege.

Our country’s security doesn’t depend on the heroism of every citizen. But we have to be worthy of the sacrifices made on our behalf.

We have to love our freedom, not just for the material benefits it provides, not just for the autonomy it guarantees us, but for the goodness it makes possible.

We have to love it as much, if not as heroically, as the brave Americans who defend us at the risk, and often the cost of their lives.

No American alive today will ever forget what happened on the morning of September 11th. That day was the moment when the pendulum of history swung toward a new era. The opening chapter was tinged with great sadness and uncertainty. It shook us from our complacency in the belief that the Cold War’s end had ushered in a time of global tranquility.

But an absence of complacency should not provoke an absence of confidence. What our enemies have sought to destroy is beyond their reach. It cannot be taken from us. It can only be surrendered.

My friends, we are again met on the field of political competition with our fellow countrymen. It is more than appropriate, it is necessary that even in times of crisis we have these contests, and engage in spirited disagreement over the shape and course of our government.

We have nothing to fear from each other. We are arguing over the means to better secure our freedom, and promote the general welfare. But it should remain an argument among friends who share an unshaken belief in our great cause, and in the goodness of each other.

We are Americans first, Americans last, Americans always. Let us argue our differences.

But remember we are not enemies, but comrades in a war against a real enemy, and take courage from the knowledge that our military superiority is matched only by the superiority of our ideals, and our unconquerable love for them.

Our adversaries are weaker than us in arms and men, but weaker still in causes. They fight to express a hatred for all that is good in humanity.

We fight for love of freedom and justice, a love that is invincible. Keep that faith. Keep your courage. Stick together. Stay strong.

Do not yield. Do not flinch. Stand up. Stand up with our President and fight.

We’re Americans.

We’re Americans, and we’ll never surrender.

They will.

Mayor Rudy Giuliani followed on McCain’s theme and talked about his memories of 9/11 and why he feels the President’s leadership in the War on Terror must continue. It was an excellent speech that also touched on European appeasement and Kerry’s flip-flops (emphasis added):

Welcome to the capital of the World.

New York was the first capital of our great nation. It was here in 1789 in lower Manhattan that George Washington took the oath of office as the first President of the United States.

It was here in 2001 in lower Manhattan that President George W. Bush stood amid the fallen towers of the World Trade Center and said to the barbaric terrorists who attacked us, “They will hear from us.”

They have heard from us!

They heard from us in Afghanistan and we removed the Taliban.

They heard from us in Iraq and we ended Saddam Hussein’s reign of terror.

They heard from us in Libya and without firing a shot Qadhafi abandoned weapons of mass destruction.

They are hearing from us in nations that are now more reluctant to sponsor terrorists.

So long as George Bush is President, is there any doubt they will continue to hear from us until we defeat global terrorism.

We owe that much and more to those loved ones and heroes we lost on September 11th.

The families of some of those we lost on September 11th are here with us. To them, and all those families affected by September 11th, we recognize the sacrifices your loved ones and you have made. You are in our prayers and we are in your debt.
This is the first Republican Convention ever held in New York City.

It makes a statement that New York City and America are open for business and stronger than ever.

We’re not going to let the threat of terrorism stop us from leading our lives.

From the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, to President George W. Bush our party’s great contribution is to expand freedom in our own land and all over the world.

And our party is at its best when it makes certain that we have a powerful national defense in a still very dangerous world.

I don’t believe we’re right about everything and Democrats are wrong about everything.

Neither party has a monopoly on virtue.

But I do believe that there are times in our history when our ideas are more necessary and important for what we are facing.

There are times when leadership is the most important.

On September 11, this city and our nation faced the worst attack in our history.

On that day, we had to confront reality. For me, standing below the north tower and looking up and seeing the flames of hell and then realizing that I was actually seeing a man a human being jumping from the 101st or 102nd floor drove home to me that we were facing something beyond anything we had ever faced before.

We had to concentrate all of our energy, faith and hope to get through those first hours and days.

And I will always remember that moment as we escaped the building we were trapped in at 75 Barclay Street and realized that things outside might be even worse than they were inside the building.

We did the best we could to communicate a message of calm and hope, as we stood on the pavement seeing a massive cloud rushing through the cavernous streets of lower Manhattan.

Our people were so brave in their response.

At the time, we believed we would be attacked many more times that day and in the days that followed. Spontaneously, I grabbed the arm of then Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and said to Bernie, “Thank God George Bush is our President.”

And I say it again tonight, “Thank God George Bush is our President.”

On September 11, George W. Bush had been President less than eight months. This new President, Vice President, and new administration were faced with the worst crisis in our history.

President Bush’s response in keeping us unified and in turning the ship of state around from being solely on defense against terrorism to being on offense as well and for his holding us together.

For that and then his determined effort to defeat global terrorism, no matter what happens in this election, President George W. Bush already has earned a place in our history as a great American President.

But let’s not wait for history to present the correct view of our President. Let us write our own history.

We need George Bush now more than ever.

The horror, the shock and the devastation of those attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and over the skies of Pennsylvania lifted a cloud from our eyes.
We stood face to face with those people and forces who hijacked not just airplanes but a religion and turned it into a creed of terrorism dedicated to eradicating us and our way of life.

Terrorism did not start on September 11, 2001. It had been festering for many years.

And the world had created a response to it that allowed it to succeed. The attack on the Israeli team at the Munich Olympics was in 1972. And the pattern had already begun.

The three surviving terrorists were arrested and within two months released by the German government.

Action like this became the rule, not the exception.

Terrorists came to learn they could attack and often not face consequences.

In 1985, terrorists attacked the Achille Lauro and murdered an American citizen who was in a wheelchair, Leon Klinghoffer.

They marked him for murder solely because he was Jewish.

Some of those terrorist were released and some of the remaining terrorists allowed to escape by the Italian government because of fear of reprisals.

So terrorists learned they could intimidate the world community and too often the response, particularly in Europe, was “accommodation, appeasement and compromise.”

And worse the terrorists also learned that their cause would be taken more seriously, almost in direct proportion to the barbarity of the attack.

Terrorist acts became a ticket to the international bargaining table.

How else to explain Yasser Arafat winning the Nobel Peace Prize when he was supporting a terrorist plague in the Middle East that undermined any chance of peace?

Before September 11, we were living with an unrealistic view of the world much like our observing Europe appease Hitler or trying to accommodate ourselves to peaceful co-existence with the Soviet Union through mutually assured destruction.

President Bush decided that we could no longer be just on defense against global terrorism but we must also be on offense.

On September 20, 2001, President Bush stood before a joint session of Congress, a still grieving and shocked nation and a confused world and he did change the direction of our ship of state.

He dedicated America under his leadership to destroying global terrorism.

The President announced the Bush Doctrine when he said: “Our war on terror begins with Al Qaeda, but it does not end there.

It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.

“Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.”

And since September 11th President Bush has remained rock solid.

It doesn’t matter how he is demonized.

It doesn’t matter what the media does to ridicule him or misinterpret him or defeat him.

They ridiculed Winston Churchill. They belittled Ronald Reagan.

But like President Bush, they were optimists; leaders must be optimists. Their vision was beyond the present and set on a future of real peace and true freedom.

Some call it stubbornness. I call it principled leadership.

President Bush has the courage of his convictions.

In choosing a President, we really don’t choose a Republican or Democrat, a conservative or liberal.

We choose a leader.

And in times of danger, as we are now in, Americans should put leadership at the core of their decision.

There are many qualities that make a great leader but having strong beliefs, being able to stick with them through popular and unpopular times, is the most important characteristic of a great leader.

Winston Churchill saw the dangers of Hitler while his opponents characterized him as a war-mongering gadfly.

Ronald Reagan saw and described the Soviet Union as “the evil empire” while world opinion accepted it as inevitable and belittled Ronald Reagan’s intelligence.

President Bush sees world terrorism for the evil that it is.

John Kerry has no such clear, precise and consistent vision.

This is not a personal criticism of John Kerry.

I respect him for his service to our nation.

But it is important to see the contrast in approach between the two men; President Bush, a leader who is willing to stick with difficult decisions even as public opinion shifts, and John Kerry, whose record in elected office suggests a man who changes his position often even on important issues.

When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, John Kerry voted against the Persian Gulf War. Later he said he actually supported the war.

Then in 2002, as he was calculating his run for President, he voted for the war in Iraq.

And then just 9 months later, he voted against an $87 billion supplemental budget to fund the war and support our troops.

He even, at one point, declared himself an anti-war candidate. Now, he says he’s pro-war. At this rate, with 64 days left, he still has time to change his position at least three or four more times.

My point about John Kerry being inconsistent is best described in his own words when he said, “I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.”

Maybe this explains John Edwards’ need for two Americas - - one where John Kerry can vote for something and another where he can vote against the same thing.

Yes, people in public office at times do change their minds, I’ve done that, or they realize they are wrong or circumstances change.

But John Kerry has made it the rule to change his position, rather than the exception. In October, 2003, he told an Arab-American Institute in Detroit that a security barrier separating Israel from the Palestinian Territories was a “barrier to peace.”

A few months later, he took exactly the opposite position. In an interview with the Jerusalem Post he said, “Israel’s security fence is a legitimate act of self defense.”

The contrasts are dramatic. They involve very different views of how to deal with terrorism.

President Bush will make certain that we are combating terrorism at the source, beyond our shores, so we can reduce the risk of having to confront it in the streets of New York.

John Kerry’s record of inconsistent positions on combating terrorism gives us no confidence he’ll pursue such a determined course.

President Bush will not allow countries that appear to have ignored the lessons of history and failed for over thirty years to stand up to terrorists, to dissuade us from what is necessary for our defense.

He will not let them set our agenda. Under President Bush, America will lead rather than follow.

John Kerry’s claim that certain foreign leaders who opposed our removal of Saddam Hussein prefer him, raises the risk that he would accommodate his position to their viewpoint.

It would hardly be the first time he changed his position on matters of war and peace.

I remember the days following September 11th when we were no longer Democrats or Republicans, but Americans determined to do all we could to help the victims, to rebuild our city and nation and to disable our enemies.

I remember President Bush coming here on September 14, 2001 and lifting the morale of our rescue workers by talking with them and embracing them and staying with them much longer than originally planned.

In fact, if you promise to keep it just between us so I don’t get in trouble it was my opinion that the Secret Service was concerned about the President remaining so long in that area.

With buildings still unstable, with fires raging below ground of 2000 degrees or more, there was good reason for concern.

Well the President remained there and talked to everyone, the firefighters, the police officers, the healthcare workers, the clergy, but the people who spent the most time with him were our construction workers.

Now New York construction workers are very special people. I’m sure this is true all over but I know the ones here the best. They were real heroes along with many others that day, volunteering immediately. And they’re big, real big. Their arms are bigger than my legs and their opinions are even bigger than their arms.

Now each one of them would engage the President and I imagine like his cabinet give him advice.

They were advising him in their own words on exactly what he should do with the terrorists. Of course I can’t repeat their exact language.

But one of them really went into great detail and upon conclusion of his remarks President Bush said in a rather loud voice, “I agree.”

At this point the guy just beamed and all his buddies turned toward him in amazement.

The guy just lost it.

So he reached over, embraced the President and began hugging him enthusiastically.
A Secret Service agent standing next to me looked at the President and the guy and instead of extracting the President from this bear hug, he turned toward me and put his finger in my face and said, “If this guy hurts the President, Giuliani you’re finished.”

Meekly, and this is the moral of the story, I responded, “but it would be out of love.”

I also remember the heart wrenching visit President Bush made to the families of our firefighters and police officers at the Javits Center.

I remember receiving all the help, assistance and support from the President and even more than we asked.

For that I will be eternally grateful to President Bush.

And I remember the support being bi-partisan and actually standing hand in hand Republicans and Democrats, here in New York and all over the nation.

During a Boston Red Sox game there was a sign held up saying Boston loves New York.

I saw a Chicago police officer sent here by Mayor Daley directing traffic in Manhattan.

I’m not sure where he sent the cars, they are probably still riding around the Bronx, but it was very reassuring to know how much support we had.

And as we look beyond this election and elections do accentuate differences let’s make sure we rekindle that spirit that we are one America united to end the threat of global terrorism.

Certainly President Bush will keep us focused on that goal. When President Bush announced his commitment to ending global terrorism, he understood - - I understood, we all understood - - it was critical to remove the pillars of support for the global terrorist movement.

In any plan to destroy global terrorism, removing Saddam Hussein needed to be accomplished.

Frankly, I believed then and I believe now that Saddam Hussein, who supported global terrorism, slaughtered hundreds of thousands of his own people, permitted horrific atrocities against women, and used weapons of mass destruction, was himself a weapon of mass destruction.

But the reasons for removing Saddam Hussein were based on issues even broader than just the presence of weapons of mass destruction.

To liberate people, give them a chance for accountable, decent government and rid the world of a pillar of support for global terrorism is something for which all those involved from President Bush to the brave men and women of our armed forces should be proud.

President Bush has also focused on the correct long-term answer for the violence and hatred emerging from the Middle East. The hatred and anger in the Middle East arises from the lack of accountable governments.

Rather than trying to grant more freedom, create more income, improve education and basic health care, these governments deflect their own failures by pointing to America and Israel and other external scapegoats.

But blaming these scapegoats does not improve the life of a single person in the Arab world. It does not relieve the plight of even one woman in Iran.

It does not give a decent living to a single soul in Syria. It certainly does not stop the slaughter of African Christians in the Sudan.

The changes necessary in the Middle East involve encouraging accountable, lawful governments that can be role models.

This has also been an important part of the Bush Doctrine and the President’s vision for the future.

Have faith in the power of freedom.

People who live in freedom always prevail over people who live in oppression. That’s the story of the Old Testament. That’s the story of World War II and the Cold War.

That’s the story of the firefighters and police officers and rescue workers who courageously saved thousands of lives on September 11, 2001.

President Bush is the leader we need for the next four years because he sees beyond today and tomorrow. He has a vision of a peaceful Middle East and, therefore, a safer world. We will see an end to global terrorism. I can see it. I believe it. I know it will happen.

It may seem a long way off. It may even seem idealistic.

But it may not be as far away and idealistic as it seems.

Look how quickly the Berlin Wall was torn down, the Iron Curtain ripped open and the Soviet Union disintegrated because of the power of the pent-up demand for freedom.

When it catches hold there is nothing more powerful than freedom. Give it some hope, and it will overwhelm dictators, and even defeat terrorists. That is what we have done and must continue to do in Iraq.

That is what the Republican Party does best when we are at our best, we extend freedom.

It’s our mission. And it’s the long-term answer to ending global terrorism. Governments that are free and accountable.

We have won many battles at home and abroad but as President Bush told us on September 20, 2001 it will take a long-term determined effort to prevail.

The war on terrorism will not be won in a single battle. There will be no dramatic surrender. There will be no crumbling of a massive wall.

But we will know it. We’ll know it as accountable governments continue to develop in countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.

We’ll know it as terrorist attacks throughout the world decrease and then end.

And then, God willing, we’ll all be able on a future anniversary of September 11th.

To say to our fallen brothers and sisters. To our heroes of the worst attack in our history and to our heroes who have sacrificed their lives in the war on terror.

We will say to them we have done all that we could with our lives that were spared to make your sacrifices build a world of real peace and true freedom.

We will make certain in the words of President Bush that they have heard from us.

That they have heard from us a message of peace through free, accountable, lawful and decent governments giving people hope for a future for themselves and their children.

God bless each one we have lost, here and abroad, and their families.

God bless all those defending our freedom.

God bless America.

Overall the first night appeared to be very successful. I didn’t see a transcript, but the 9/11 widows that spoke were very moving as well. Many in the crowd had tears in their eyes while they spoke. The first night did what the Democrats failed to do in their whole convention. Republicans talked about the biggest issue in this election, perhaps in our lifetime. The War on Terror is by far the issue that will decide this election. Democrats do themselves no favors when they fail to put forward a plan. This was apparent when I saw a Democratic consultant this morning saying that Republicans failed to talk about issues like health care. They just don’t get it.