Bloomberg as Electoral King Kong (Veiled Subscription Pitch)
As the New York mayoral race slumps to a close--and an almost certain landslide in favor of current Hizzoner Mike Bloomberg--ABC News leaves us with this King-Kongish image of Mayor Mike swinging from atop the city's second-favorite skyscraper:
New Yorkers began casting their votes for mayor before sunrise Tuesday, just hours after incumbent Mayor Michael Bloomberg ended his final day of campaigning on a high point from atop the Empire State Building.
The appearance more than 1,000 feet above the city's streets was a fitting finish for a re-election machine that appeared limitless in every way, with no expense spared, nonstop advertising and sky-high poll numbers against Democrat Fernando Ferrer.
Whole thing here. Is this some sort of crazy promotion for Peter Jackson's upcoming remake of King Kong (in a world in which Disney is almost certainly spreading avian flu to push Chicken Little at the box office, all things are possible)? Maybe in his second term Bloomberg can battle Godzilla and Mothra. Call out the planes already to shoot him down (and who precisely is Bloomberg's Fay Wray?). And on the off-chance he loses, who will mutter, "It wasn't those airplanes that killed Kongberg. It was Ferrer who killed the beast"?
In the November issue of Reason, Tim Cavanaugh pulls himself up to his full 4'6" height and blusters: "Mayor Bloomberg, I lived in New Yawk under David Dinkins and you, sir, are no David Dinkins." Go here to find out if that's a compliment or an insult. And what Rudy Giuliani and mugged liberals have to do with it all.
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The last issue I received was the Rudy G. issue, which arrived late, and I've seen at least two other covers pop up on the website since then. I know I've got a ways to go on my sub. Whats up with that?
Jeff,
The Rudy G cover is the November issue, which mailed to subscribers in the last week of September. Depending on where you live, local mail snafus, etc., you should have received it the first week of October.
You should have received the December issue, with a cover package about Hurricane Katrina, by now. The cover of that ish--a muddied Mardi Gras mask--has been featured in some online ads, such as the digital edition come-on.
*sigh*
I gave up on subscribing to magazines when it became obvious I just didn't have enough time to actually read them. If it's any comfort, Reason was the last subscription I let run out.
However, in the interest of Supporting the Cause, I'll commit to buying 5 gift subscriptions this Christmas for people who need it worse than I do.
Now, do you mind if I read the occasional article online without you constantly trying to give me a case of the Guilties?
Thank you.
Are the Bagge strips going to be collected anytime soon?
(Go buy Apocalypse Nerd, wherever comics are sold)
I went and voted a solid Column F for Freedom this morning, for all the good it will do. I can't believe there are so many people who actually like Bloomberg - except there probably aren't: I tend to believe that people vote based on their general level of satisfaction. Crime is down, people feel prosperous, Bloomberg appears to be doing something about terrorism, so people are happy and will vote for him.
Alright already, guys, I won't freeload anymore. I renewed my freakin sub. Now stop pestering me!
(I do actually miss having the full rag.) 🙂
I went and subscribed, but only so I can threaten to cancel it later.
Surprisingly, I've seen Ferrer and Bloomberg ads in roughly equal amounts. And it's been a remarkably civilized campaign, especially compared to the appalling & amusing mudslinging going on in Jersey.
The elections in Virginia are horrible, neither candididate for governor is worth waiting in line at the polls for. Ad's for the attorney general had nothing to do with the position they were running for, they were talking about the one candidate going to Pat Robertsons college and the other helped raise gas taxes, two points which have so much to do with attorney general. i think they are trying to make the candidate so worthless that people just don't care at all anymore.
I saw some ads by a guy who wanted the public to know that he's against sexual predators. It sure takes a lot of courage and intelligence to come up with such a platform.
I decided that if I ever run for office it will be on a strict "Pro-puppy/anti-terrorist" platform. First my ad will show me cradling an adorable little puppy in my arms. Then the ad will show a picture of Bin Laden with a big red slash through him (sort of like the Ghostbusters symbol).
Who could possibly oppose such a platform?
Bananas, don't forget, though: They're both former prosecutors, so they're both Tough On Crime!!! As opposed to those poor sops who run as Soft On Crime.
Have any defense attorneys ever won the office of State Attorney General, anywhere?
I'm all for sexual predators, provided we are allowed to hunt them.
If i was elected governor, I would put kittens in every metro/subway stop. I mean, what terrorist would kill kittens? free kittens for all!
"I saw some ads by a guy who wanted the public to know that he's against sexual predators. It sure takes a lot of courage and intelligence to come up with such a platform.
...
Who could possibly oppose such a platform?"
I don't know, but given the number of predators they turn loose into society, completely unfettered, someone must be. This guy is probably motivated to lower the number of times that happens. Not really so ridiculous...
JDM,
It always amazes me, we have all these sexual predators running around, yet our government is most concerned about picking people up for smoking dope. i don't advocate drug use at all, but we have prisions overcrowding where they must let people out and the main influx are "crimes" which only hurt the individual.
I don't know if you caught that dateline special this weekend, but it was filmed in the town I live in Virginia. I mean, we have all these people running around, harming children and we are doing nothing about it. Why are we letting these animals out of jail if they are still a threat to society.
but logic and polytacs don't go together
JDM-
You may be right, but he never actually said anything specific about how bad the problem was right now and how he'll improve things. He just said that he's against sexual predators. That's all.
Hell, I'm in favor of cute little puppies and against evil terrorists. Vote for me!
If i was elected governor, I would put kittens in every metro/subway stop. I mean, what terrorist would kill kittens? free kittens for all!
Bananas, why do you hate dogs?
T Cav's only 4' 6"? Damn... Explains a lot 😛