New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, under fire for calling one of the Boston Marathon bombers a gun-violence victim, is facing its first desertions of mayors who claim he has gone too far to target critics and legal weapons.
Mayor Donnalee Lozeau of Nashua, N.H., quietly left in May, claiming that Bloomberg’s group wants to ban legal weapons, far beyond its initial plan and name. She also said the group acted unfairly in waging a $2-million campaign against Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., for voting against the Senate bill.
Mayor Larry Morrissey of Rockford, Ill., quit Mayors Against Illegal Guns because it is pushing for a ban on assault weapons and large magazines, both legal.
While far from a trend in a group of more than 750 mayors, news of the resignations came as Bloomberg’s group, during a rally against Ayotte in New Hampshire, used the word “victim” to describe Boston Marathon terrorist Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was gunned down by police while fleeing.
The group apologized, but Secrets has learned that MAIG delivered a document to Ayotte’s Manchester, N.H., office that also listed Tsarnaev as one of those “murdered with guns.”
Mark Glaze, executive director of MAIG, shrugged off the desertions. “We thank Mayors Morrissey and Lozeau for their time with Mayors Against Illegal Guns and we wish them all the best.”
Hey Vlad, just so you know, China is spying on you, too
China’s cyber-spying on American government offices, defense contractors and major businesses, a topic of President Obama’s recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, isn’t just a U.S. crisis.
Beijing is also snooping on Russian computers and President Vladimir Putin’s team might not know about it, according to CrowdStrike, the California-based outfit used by U.S. firms to block computer attacks.
CrowdStrike co-founder Dmitri Alperovitch said that his firm has charted an “incredible” assault by Chinese hackers on Russian targets over the last 18 months, including Moscow’s defense ministry and arms contractors.
“It’s not clear to me that the Russians are fully aware of this,” said Alperovitch.
But, he added, that could be a good thing for Washington. Alperovitch is urging the administration to tell Moscow about the attacks in hopes Putin will join Obama in pressuring Xi to curb the cyber-war.
Ike’s family pushes for cheaper memorial
They lost their battle with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, but members of the late president’s family plan to continue their fight for a smaller, less expensive memorial to the World War II-winning general near Washington’s National Mall.
Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of the two-term president, called the commission’s vote to approve famed architect Frank Gehry’s $100-million design “sad and unworthy” and pledged to Secrets that she will take her fight to Congress and the National Capital Planning Commission. But, she conceded, “it’s a bit of a steep climb.”
She and her family have been pressing for changes to the memorial that would reduce the size and price tag, especially as the nation grapples with unemployment, record deficits and a stubborn recession. “It’s amazing to me,” she said of the commission’s approval. “It’s as if nothing had changed in the economy.”
In a letter to the Ike commission, she wrote, “Revitalizing the process and ‘rebranding’ the Eisenhower Memorial as a nationally unifying effort must be our goal now. There is still the public impetus to do it. But, continued insistence on this controversial plan could easily jeopardize our collective efforts.”
Barack joins Michelle as fashion plate
Move over, Michelle: It’s your husband’s turn at “America’s Next Top Model.”
Paul Trible, co-founder of Richmond, Va.’s Ledbury premium clothing, tells Secrets that the snappy dress shirts favored by President Obama that feature a wider “mid-spread collar” have prompted a sales spike, especially among politicians and reporters eager to copy Obama’s hip look. “He’s a trend setter, that’s fair when it comes to political-clothing trends,” said Trible, son of former Virginia Republican Sen. Paul Trible. ?
Paul Bedard, The Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
