Domestic Policy

After Boston Bombing, Rightbloggers Turn on Immigration (Mexican or Whatever)

There's a bill working its way through Congress that would offer a "path to citizenship" to the sort of immigrants currently known in some circles as illegal. Though its application is general, it's obviously aimed at U.S. guests of the Mexican persuasion, and it only has a chance of passing because ... More >>

Bloomberg's Gun Control Group Undeterred by Congressional Inaction

With Rep. Gabrielle Gifford alongside him, President Obama called it a "pretty shameful day for Washington." Nearly five months after the massacre at Sandy Hook, the gun control package making its way through Congress shut down in the Senate yesterday. Democratic politicians were unable to muster th ... More >>

Democrats Worried About Other Democrats With Bloomberg's $12M Ad Blitz

Yesterday, we reported on Mayor Bloomberg's announcement to spend $12 million on a campaign set forth by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns to counter the NRA in battleground states. The move is the largest yet from the Hizzoner to translate ideology into action on the topic of gun control and, in effe ... More >>

With His $12M Ad Blitz, Bloomberg Is Finally The Opponent The NRA Needed

The substance of this story was almost fit to print. We all know Mayor Bloomberg's stance on guns. He is a co-founder and head of Mayors Against Illegal Guns - a group of America's most powerful metropolitan leaders that all share a very strong stance on gun control. And he's backed his message wit ... More >>

SCOTUS-Backed Surveillance Law Built on a Bush-Era Lie

Obama's Modest Proposals Drive Rightbloggers Gun Crazy

Last week President Obama, inspired by December's Newtown shootings, announced 23 executive actions, and proposed some legislation, to address gun violence. The actions are rather mild ("Require criminal background checks for all gun sales," "Nominate an ATF Director," etc.) and the legislation prob ... More >>

New York Becomes First State To Pass Gun Control Bill After Newtown

Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address was entitled 'New York Rising.' What happened yesterday in Albany might explain why. In a 104-to-43 vote, the New York State Assembly officially passed the NY Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act on Tuesday afternoon. Th ... More >>

Obama Announces Gun Control Proposals, Signs 23 Executive Orders

Just before noon, President Barack Obama addressed the nation to propose wide-ranging reform to curb gun violence in the country. "While there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of ... More >>

Mayor Bloomberg, President Obama and the Politics of Gun Control [UPDATED]

UPDATED (1/15/13): On the one-month anniversary of Newtown, we heard yet more news about gun control from our Mayor and President. In Baltimore, Mr. Bloomberg attended a summit on the topic at John Hopkins University and, once again, called for more action on a national level. His speech outli ... More >>

The Gawker/Christine Quinn Gun Owner Database Debacle

We were a bit afraid that this would become a "thing." Two weeks ago, we reported on the Journal News, a newspaper based in White Plains, published the names and addresses of all the gun owners in and around New York City. As a result, readers and media folk alike flipped out, leading one blogger ... More >>

With Compromise In Sight, Gov. Cuomo Talks Gun Control In State Of The State Address

In recent weeks, we've been following the Governor's actions regarding gun control quite closely. After the Newtown tragedy, Cuomo proposed a handful of measures to hopefully curb gun-related violence; one of which would be the strictest magazine clip ban in the nation. However, the momentum hit a w ... More >>

What 'Meaningful Contributions' Could NRA Offer To The National Discussion On Friday?

As the horrific news came out of Newtown last Friday, the National Rifle Association went silent. Its Twitter was inactive, its Facebook shut off and no word came from the organization that was on everyone's mind this weekend. It witnessed its strongest political advocates bail, with Sen. Joe M ... More >>

After Gun-Control Talk Reportedly Banned on Fox News, Murdoch Turns to the Post

It appears that media mogul Rupert Murdoch may have some level of, dare I say, morality and compassion inside of him. A day after New York Magazine reported that higher-ups at Fox News directed producers and reporters to avoid engaging in gun-control talk, Murdoch's New York Post published an edit ... More >>

Make Way for More Media Giants: FCC Paving Way for Titans to Cross-Own Entities

The FCC may allow the media landscape in top-20 markets to resemble the one in New York City -- where media mogul Rupert Murdoch is permitted to own television stations and newspapers. The internet has been abuzz for the past month with news that FCC chairman Julius Genachowski circulated a plan to ... More >>

After Newtown, Rightbloggers Agree: Guns Don't Kill People, Everything Except Guns Kills People

After the gruesome murders of children and teachers by Adam Lanza in Newtown, Connecticut, apparently mostly performed with a Bushmaster AR-15 ("the civilian version of the military's M-16 and M-4," says the New York Times, "a logical choice for anyone whose goal is to kill a lot of people in a shor ... More >>

Bob Costas, Jovan Belcher, and the Fear of Talking About Gun Control

In case you missed it, during the second half of December 2nd's Eagles-Cowboys game, NBC ran a story about the Kansas City Chiefs' victory over the Carolina Panthers and how the team had dealt with the suicide of their teammate Jovan Belcher after murdering Kasandra Perkins, his 22 year old girlfrie ... More >>

New York AG Takes On "Reciprocity" Gun Bill

As it currently stands, the Second Amendment guarantees U.S. citizens the right to own firearms. But each state is permitted to place its own restrictions on the types of firearms -- and the manner in which they're possessed -- that people are allowed to own.A bill making its way through Congress wo ... More >>

Concealed Weapons Not Protected By The Second Amendment: Court

Unlike some states (we're looking in your direction, Arizona), in New York it takes a little more than a trigger finger to get a permit to carry a concealed handgun -- under state law, a person needs to have "proper cause" to carry a concealed firearm."Proper cause" is defined as "a special need for ... More >>

Goodbye, Affirmative Action?

A Supreme Court case has colleges considering how to stay diverse if race-based admissions is axed

New York's "Public View" Marijuana Law Ranked "Dumbest Drug Law" In America

Of all the ineffective, unfair and idiotic drug laws out there, New York's "public view" marijuana law officially is the dumbest -- according to a recent ranking of idiotic drug laws, anyway.We've been covering the debate over the controversial law for several months. It essentially says that having ... More >>

State Senator Malcolm Smith: An Illegal Gun Should Cost You 8 Years In Prison. About That...

As it currently stands, anyone caught with an illegal gun in New York is looking at a maximum of two years in prison. Two years, apparently, is chump change -- according to Democratic state Senator Malcolm Smith, anyway, who now wants to up the ante for those busted with less-than-legal firearms."We ... More >>

Mike Bloomberg, Gun Hypocrite: City Sells 28,000 Pounds Of Shell Casings To Georgia Ammo Store For Re-filling

A report was released earlier this week by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives showing that of the 8,793 guns seized in New York in 2011, only 1,595 were actually purchased here.Numbers like that fuel Mayor Mike Bloomberg's incessant call for other states to implement tougher reg ... More >>

New York's Tough Gun Laws Are Pretty Worthless: Report

Mayor Mike Bloomberg is on a crusade to rid the world of guns. Unfortunately, it's not doing a whole lot to keep guns out of the hands of thugs in New York City, according to a recently released report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.According to the report, 8,793 guns w ... More >>

Gun Bully Mike Bloomberg To Host Fundraiser For NRA Darling Scott Brown

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has made it explicitly clear that he hates guns. For example, he recently urged cops across the country to go on strike in protest of the nation's lax gun laws. Additionally, he founded the organization Mayors Against Illegal Guns in an effort to get rid of loophol ... More >>

Would Stricter Gun Laws Have Done Anything To Prevent Colorado Killing Spree?

As the entire country tries to make sense of what happened in Colorado last week, the obligatory debate whenever one of these mass shootings occurs has commenced: would stricter gun laws have prevented 24-year-old James Holmes from marching into a sold out movie theater and shooting more than 70 peo ... More >>

Barack Obama To Congress: Extend Tax Cuts for The Middle Class

Taking aim at trickle down fiscal policies and warning legislators not to hold the American economy "hostage," President Barack Obama demanded today that Congress extend Bush-era middle class tax cuts for a year. Addressing the nation from the White House's East Room, Obama implored Congress to "do ... More >>

Failed War On Drugs Contributing To AIDS Epidemic: Report

The Global Commission on Drug Policy released a report this afternoon that shows how the failed "war on drugs" is contributing to the AIDS epidemic amongst intravenous drug users and their sexual partners (you can review the entire report below).The Commission, which is made up of the who's who of f ... More >>

ACT UP Did March for Single-Payer Health Care

In this week's Pride Issue feature "Does 'Gay Inc.' Believe in Free Speech?" we report about how the mainstream gay organizations, even the AIDS groups, were largely absent from Zuccotti Park in 2011 and were not advocating a single-payer option during 2010's raging health care debates. Reader Eust ... More >>

Senator Bill Perkins Actually Voted Against Ban On Spending Welfare Money On Cigs, Booze and Strippers

A bill that would ban spending welfare money on "sins" like cigarettes, booze, strippers and gambling sailed through the New York State Senate yesterday, which is no surprise. The fact that some legislators actually voted against the bill, however, is absolutely shocking.One of the few lawmakers to ... More >>

Bad News, Impoverished Sinners: Lawmakers Want To Ban Buying Cigs And Booze With Welfare Money

As un-fucking-believable as it may sound, welfare recipients in New York currently are allowed to spend public-assistance money on things like cigarettes, booze, and strippers -- but hopefully not for long.A bill has been introduced in the state Senate that would ban welfare recipients from using pu ... More >>

New Yorkers Are Systematically Screwed By "Public View" Marijuana Law. These Are Their Stories (Part Six)

In an effort to persuade New York lawmakers to support Governor Andrew Cuomo's push to decriminalize "public view" marijuana arrests, a drug policy group has started a video campaign to illustrate how people are getting screwed by a loophole in the Marijuana Reform Act, which (supposedly) decrim ... More >>

New Yorkers Are Systematically Screwed By "Public View" Marijuana Law. These Are Their Stories (Part Five)

In an effort to persuade New York lawmakers to support Governor Andrew Cuomo's push to decriminalize "public view" marijuana arrests, a drug policy group has started a video campaign to illustrate how people are getting screwed by a loophole in the Marijuana Reform Act, which (supposedly) decrim ... More >>

New Yorkers Are Systematically Screwed By "Public View" Marijuana Law. These Are Their Stories (Part Four)

In an effort to persuade New York lawmakers to support Governor Andrew Cuomo's push to decriminalize "public view" marijuana arrests, a drug policy group has started a video campaign to illustrate how people are getting screwed by a loophole in the Marijuana Reform Act, which (supposedly) decrim ... More >>

New Yorkers Are Systematically Screwed By "Public View" Marijuana Law. These Are Their Stories (Part Three)

In an effort to persuade New York lawmakers to support Governor Andrew Cuomo's push to decriminalize "public view" marijuana arrests, a drug policy group has started a video campaign to illustrate how people are getting screwed by a loophole in the Marijuana Reform Act, which (supposedly) decriminal ... More >>

New Yorkers Are Systematically Screwed By "Public View" Marijuana Law. These Are Their Stories (Part Two)

In an effort to persuade New York lawmakers to support Governor Andrew Cuomo's push to decriminalize "public view" marijuana arrests, a drug policy group has started a video campaign to illustrate how people are getting screwed by a loophole in the Marijuana Reform Act, which (supposedly) decrim ... More >>

New Yorkers Are Systematically Screwed By "Public View" Marijuana Law. These Are Their Stories (Part One)

In an effort to persuade New York lawmakers to support Governor Andrew Cuomo's push to decriminalize "public view" marijuana arrests, a drug policy group has started a video campaign to illustrate how people are getting screwed by a loophole in the Marijuana Reform Act, which supposedly decriminaliz ... More >>

Gun Couture: Firearms Industry Gets 'Fashionable'

It's long been a big problem for the fashionable firearm owner: How to hide a handgun and look haute couture at the same time. Well, a report in today's New York Times has some great news for the tres chic ranks of the U.S.'s 7 million concealed carry permit holders. Clothing companies have start ... More >>

NRA Calls Bloomberg "An Arrogant Bastard" for Anti-Gun Campaign

As the trial nears for the Trayvon Martin case, a firestorm of debate has spread across the nation surrounding the centerpiece "Stand Your Ground" law -- the legislation George Zimmerman has used as his defense. And now, the Hozziner is beginning to feel the flames from the nation's go-to gun-toters ... More >>

Andrew Cuomo's Saying Nope To Medical Dope Actually Is "Encouraging" To Prescription Pot Advocates

An upcoming bill in the New York Legislature that would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes is getting no love from New York's gov -- Andrew Cuomo said yesterday that he still thinks the cons outweigh the pros when it comes to medical marijuana and that he wouldn't support the bill...this year ... More >>

Mike Bloomberg Hates Guns. What Else Is New?

As you've probably heard, four New York City police officers were shot over the weekend during a shootout with a man in Brooklyn. As you've also probably heard, Mayor Mike Bloomberg hates guns -- and he's using the shootout as the latest anecdote to illustrate his point that gun laws need to be toug ... More >>

Can the DREAM Act Help Undocumented Students Earn a Living?

Dream, deferred

Would Stricter Gun Laws Have Prevented Trayvon Martin Shooting? Mayor Mike Sure Thinks So

​New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg yesterday said at a press conference that stricter gun laws could have prevented the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Florida teen killed last month by a wannabe cop/neighborhood watch volunteer."Your heart just has to go out to the parents," Bloomberg said a ... More >>

Mike Bloomberg: Having An Illegal Gun In New York Isn't Quite As Bad If You're From Out Of State. Sorry, Plaxico

​Last week, we told you about a former United States marine who was sentenced to 10 hours of community service for possessing a gun that wasn't registered in New York state. We noted that Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who's led the charge in calling for stricter gun laws across the country (despite his ju ... More >>

Rightbloggers: S&P Downgrade of U.S. Means We're On The Right Track

Last week, hot on the heels of the Congressional debt-ceiling fiasco and the ensuing stock market drop, Standard & Poor's downgraded the credit rating of the United States of America from AAA to AA , and placed the ailing superpower on "CreditWatch with negative implications." The reactions of Ame ... More >>

GLAAD Stops Supporting AT&T Merger with T-Mobile

​Last month, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation got in a lot of trouble when they backed a merger between AT&T and T-Mobile, after their full relationship with Ma Bell was exposed. GLAAD had received $50,000 from AT&T in donations and had a former AT&T executive and lobbyist on its ... More >>

Richard Branson and Friends Gathering Tomorrow in NYC For Drug Legalization

Very powerful man​Tomorrow at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, Virgin boss and billionaire Richard Branson will appear with former presidents from Brazil, Switzerland and Columbia, together representing the Global Commission on Drug Policy, to present a report that calls for an end to t ... More >>

Jewish Firearms Group Compares Bloomberg Gun Control to Genocide, Nazis

​A new inflammatory open letter from the Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership advocacy group addressed to Mayor Michael Bloomberg argues that "'[g]un control' actually (and historically) means letting government, whether benign or ruthlessly evil, disarm certain sectors of society a ... More >>

Inside the Great Cathie Black Media Blitz

​Today in How Reporters Report: Everyone got their panties in a twist when former city schools chancellor Joel Klein resigned last November and Mayor Bloomberg appointed Cathie Black -- a publishing exec with no discernible skills, background, or preparation for the job -- as his replace ... More >>

Return to Sender

What would comprehensive immigration reform look like if the feds got off their duffs?

House Republicans Give Unemployed the Finger

​Almost 100,000 unemployed New Yorkers whose unemployment benefits are expiring will have a very not-so-merry Christmas this year now that House Republicans have killed a proposed $56 billion benefits extension, the Daily News says.