Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York vs. Freedom

[Eric J in MN]

http://www.moveleft.com/moveleft_essay_2005_07_22_mayor_michael_bloomberg_of_new_york_vs_freedom.asp

New Yorkers are losing freedom under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

First Bloomberg said that people can't protest in Central Park because they might damage the grass.

Now he says that people can't go about their lives without being searched by the cops, because they might be terrorists.

New York City will begin making random checks of bags and backpacks at subway stations, commuter railways and on buses, officials announced today in the wake of a second wave of bombings on the London transit system. The checks will begin on Friday morning.

People waitng for a bus have Constitutional rights. The act of waiting for a bus doesn't mean a cop should be able to search your bags.

Similarly, the New York City subway system is a vast public place. The US Constitution ("The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures") applies there, too.


This is different than searches at an airport.

Most people don't fly multiple times per day; many New Yorkers ride the subway or bus multiple times per day.

Also, the risks are different:

A small amount of explosives on a plane can kill hundreds by causing a crash; a small amount of explosives on a train is no more or less dangerous than on a sidewalk crowded with people.

If the next terrorist attack in New York is someone detonating a bomb on a crowded sidewalk, will police be allowed to search the bags of anyone walking down the street?

That would be only slight worse than what Mayor Michael Bloomberg is already putting into effect, where anyone using mass transit can be searched.

The time to draw the line is now. The New York subway system is too vast to exempt it from the Bill of Rights.

It would better advance the safety of New Yorkers for the police to investigate tips about terrorists, than to have officers who could be investigating real terrorists searching the general public.

[jeff30997]

1. Remember John Carpenter's movie Escape from New York ?

In the movie,the city is a huge prison...

[FreedomAngel82]

2. Very scary

And you can't protest cause you might ruin the grass?! WTF?!!

[Eric J in MN]

7. New York City spent money on landscaping, and the

argument at the time was that it could better withstand big crowds.

Now the Republican Mayor is saying no big crowds for protests because they might damage the grass.

But big crowds for concerts are ok, becuase they won't damage the grass.

[noamnety]

3. Also, they're asking you to look out for suspicious activity

according to *cough* drudge, the NYC Police Commissioner has said to watch for "people sweating."

(Subway temps in NY are currently ranging from 86 to 102 degrees.)

[newswolf56]

4. Very justifiably angry thread on this topic earlier today:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4158708

[VPStoltz]

5. Bloomberg used to be Democrat

and isn't it sickening to see how those who jump ship for their own sick personal gain come to love being a mean-ass prick? I think we are being overrun by Repugs simply because Americans would rather be pissed off than peaced out.

[Eric J in MN]

6. Norm Coleman of Minnesota used to be a Democrat, too.

Converts to Republicanism who prove they're as slimy as politicians who were always Republicans.