Classic Rant #247 (May 4, 2010): Bomber Bombed Out, So Did Mayor

You probably have already heard about the bomber who tried to blow up Times Square on Saturday evening.

The bomb didn't go off, and the police, using surveillance video and other information that they have, are hot on the pursuit of this nut.

Whoever did this--and several groups are claiming responsibility, although it seems highly unlikely that this was such an organized affair--should be put to death. I don't care if the bomb did not go off, could you imagine if it did? It would have killed hundreds from the bomb itself, and others would have died in the panic.

The intention was to maim and murder, so when they find the dummy who perpetrated this potential disaster, I volunteer to pull the plug on this idiot ... and I will probably have to stand in line, because hundreds, if not thousands of people, would love the chance to do this.

That aside, the NYPD, and in particular, one cop on horseback, is being given credit for thwarting this situation. He was the first cop on the scene, and the first cop to alert others that there that there was a potential for danger.

The officer, from Holbrook on Long Island, is being applauded, and had dinner with the mayor last night.

Yes, it was a job well done.

But what about the street peddlers who initially alerted the cop about the potential dangerous situation?

A couple of the New York stations have identified the vendors, but I don't see the mayor having dinner with them.

If it wasn't for their quick action--along with cab drivers, they know the streets better than anyone--the cop would have never known anything about what was going on. They were the ones that alerted him!

So while I applaud the officer's actions, it was actually the two street vendors who were the true heroes in this situation.

But Mayor Bloomberg never said their names to the press, only called them "concerned citizens."

Look, we know that the mayor looks down on most of the citizens of New York City as peons. He can afford to.

He has never had a good word for these peddlers, and has tried to lessen their presence in the city.

Just last week, there was a protest by many artists who sell their wares on the street. It seems the mayor wants them to stop cluttering the byways of Manhattan.

The street vendors are as much a part of Manhattan as Bloomberg thinks he is. They were there before he got there, and they will be there after he departs.

To not honor their actions during this horrific episode is not only wrong, it is condescending.

But honestly, this did not start with Mayor Bloomberg, Lessening the heroic actions of the general public compared to police and firemen began during 9/11. Remember how police and firemen were referred to as "heroes" while citizens were referred to as "victims"?

Those who went through that horrible episode were as much heroes as the cops and firemen were.

But in the city, you have to use your words carefully, especially when it comes to the unions, which still run the city, so you have to refer to cops and firemen as "heroes," and not include your average Joe in the same breath.

But as far as this current event, what do you expect from a mayor who is as much about money as he is full of hot air?