December 15, 2015

NYC and LA get the same threat. LA closes all its schools and the NYC police commissioner, standing next to Mayor de Blasio, says what LA did was "a signficant overreaction."

"We see no need whatsoever to take that action here in New York City."

Also in the news from New York City, the commissioner of Homeless Services, Gilbert Taylor, is stepping down. I'm linking to the NYT report, which doesn't specify anything Taylor did wrong, but:
Mayor Bill de Blasio, still struggling to manage near-record levels of homelessness... has ... been under pressure from advocates. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said the issue was a matter of “intelligence and the management.” Mr. Taylor, 45, had never headed an agency, but Mr. de Blasio’s transition team saw potential in tapping the longtime public servant who had spent his career working on behalf of at-risk youths and families.
Just trying to understand the blasé world of Mayor de Blasio. The threat doesn't seem like much and Gilbert Taylor seems as though he might have potential.

34 comments:

Eric said...

Commissioner Bratton has his good and bad points, but the man knows his job. Glad the Mayor listened. The superintendent of LAUSD is a lifelong educrat. Of course he over-reacted. That's what they do.

Sal said...

Maybe it'll be like local governments dealing with school closings for snowstorms -- a pendulum swinging back and forth between overly cautious and not cautious enough.

damikesc said...

I'm glad rounding up daycare for 900,000 kids won't be problem for their parents. I'm sure it's REAL easy to come up with it with no notice.

Robert Cook said...

Closing down a city's entire school system because of a non-specific threat is over-reacting in the extreme.

David Begley said...

How about that LA school guy in a baseball hat?

No credibility. Horrible role model.
Only surprised he wasn't wearing a hoodie to cover his tats.

A Siren call for full privatization of K-12 education.

No wonder they have problems in the LA public schools. Fool.

Sebastian said...

"Just trying to understand the blasé world of Mayor de Blasio." "Blasé": cute. But not apt. Debased gets closer. No one in De B's world can afford to be blasé, not even the supposed beneficiaries.

Etienne said...

Home of the brave... NOT!

Bryan C said...

Police in NYC, despite de Blasio, have considerable experience evaluating terrorist threats.

I wouldn't be too hard on LA, though. Jihadi attacks against US schools and Islamic terrorists based in Frankfurt, Germany are both plausible. Inevitable, even, on our present course.

traditionalguy said...

Telephoned in bomb threats are easily used to disrupt public life, much as the Mexican Government operatives did one at a time screaming out in Trump speeches until they were removed.

In LA the usual method of governance is reacting to fantasy, so what's one more fantasy. That's standard operating governance for the Corrupt Dems in charge.

David Begley said...

The guy in the baseball hat is Ramon Cortinas. He is 83.

83!

Wikipedia excerpt below.

"In 2012, a year after Cortines retired, the district announced a $200,000 settlement with a mid-level administrator, Scot Graham, who accused Cortines of sexual harassment. The deal later unraveled and Graham sued Cortines and the district. One suit was dismissed on technical grounds, and a second suit was withdrawn, according to L.A. Unified.[9] After Cortines returned as superintendent in 2014, Scot Graham filed a new lawsuit with claims of sexual harassment against Cortines in February 2015."

averagejoe said...

Pretty easy to see that the "over-reaction" is Los Angeles is due to the fact that Muslims went on a murdering spree 30 miles away just a few weeks ago. Pretty sure that if the city of Paris had the same threat as New York and LA, then Paris would also err on the side of caution.

sean said...

Good for DeBlasio on the schools. It's better than that hysteric Cuomo, who shut down the whole freaking subway for a minor snowstorm. Pathetic. I had to walk two and a half miles to work that day in the snow. (Like most New Yorkers, if I don't work, I don't get paid.)

David Begley said...

LAUSD is headquartered in a 24 floor building.

24!

How many floors for Sony and NBC-Universal?

I bet fewer administrators at UWM than LAUSD.

Capt. Schmoe said...

A resounding victory for "the terrorists". With nothing more than an e-mail, they managed to disrupt the largest city west of the Mississippi, dominate local and national news and start conversations as to how we can "stay safe" and keep it "from ever happening again". We don't get it. It's not about the bodies, it's about our reaction. Counter, attack, engage, mop up the mess, say a prayer and move along. Cause something bad to happen somewhere to someone who wants to do us harm and move on. It's really the only way.

The media coverage on this was absolutely absurd. Somewhere a jihadi wanna-be was laughing his ass off.

Biff said...

Exercise for the reader: How would The New York Times go about covering "near-record levels of homelessness" if a Republican were in the White House today? A sympathetic side note about the mayor facing the pressures of an apparently mysterious increase in homelessness on his watch, or a lengthy series of hard-hitting investigative pieces about presidential policies forcing families and working people onto the street, or something else?

David Begley said...

RBG is only 82.

Why do these Progs never retire?

Michael said...

"... the blasé world of Mayor de Blasio." In the world of the Progressive leadership, words and perceptions, and hopes and dreams, are what matter. It is only reality which they view with sangfroid.

David Begley said...

Ramon's salary is $300k.

RBG is at $244k.

Ruth needs more so she can buy a cool baseball hat and where it to the next State of the Union.

Tank said...

Why did Bratton explain what they got wrong? Are we in the ISIS Ed business?

Michael said...

Capt. Schmoe

And had something terrible happened in Los Angeles I suppose you would not have written such a stupid post. But keeping those words in scare quotes marks you as something of a sophisticate, a man of the world given to understanding and nuance, i will give you that. On the other hand you may live in the boondocks where evil never treads.

Achilles said...

Public education in this country is a complete and total failure because of the people who now run it.

Michael said...

Let us imagine that five guys with five scary looking weapons that fired one bullet for every pull of the trigger went into five schools and shot ten times. Accurately. Fifty dead. How hard would/could that be?
Robert Cook would note that the reaction then would be an over reaction. Capt Schmoe might, just might, remove the scary quotes from terrorist.
Hard to wipe off smug.

narciso said...

well, it's because bratton practices willfull blindness, in the realm of DeBlasio,

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/428540/tashfeen-malik-social-media-ignored-dhs

pm317 said...

hindsight 20/20

clint said...

"averagejoe said...
Pretty easy to see that the "over-reaction" is Los Angeles is due to the fact that Muslims went on a murdering spree 30 miles away just a few weeks ago. Pretty sure that if the city of Paris had the same threat as New York and LA, then Paris would also err on the side of caution."

Yep. Exactly. Definitely an overreaction, but totally understandable.

Etienne said...

The best defense is a good offense. Imminent domain the mosques and cathedrals and make Nuns and Muslims get rid of the 5th century clothing requirements.

If you dress like a Nun or a Muslim in America, prepare for tough love.

Go after them where it hurts - their wallets.

rwnutjob said...

Two stoners with an algebra test.
Threat over.

what do you expect from a system that can't fire anyone? Efficiency? Competence? Teaching?
smdh

Michael K said...

"the fact that Muslims went on a murdering spree 30 miles away just a few weeks ago. "

Yes and the cellphone of the male killer had videos of schools. This might have been a probe to see what and how they react.

The next five years until we get a president who is serious, will be a wild ride.

victoria said...

There are over 750,000 students in the LAUSD.If even one of them had gotten blown up or shot at by a "terrorist", you righties would have condemned the mayor, the superintendent and the chief of police. Did they overreact? Maybe, but better 1 day out of school than weeks of right wing rhetoric about the "terrorists" and how the LAUSD ignored the warning signs.

I am now listening to the Republican Debate and thinking to myself, everyone of you idiots is helping to get Hillary (who i don't even like) elected President. You bunch of num nuts

Vicki from Pasadena

jr565 said...

The threat was that explosives had already been planted. Not sure if you should take such a threat likely.
How do you disprove it?

jr565 said...

Someone on Fox News just explained how Bratton, after 9/11 would have streets shut down in NYC if they found a package in the ground.
Because 9/11 happens here. So Bratton was talking out of his ass.
Well, a terrorist attack just occurred there. They are going to be wary. If you can't confirm the threat you are playing the odds if you don't respond to a threat.
So. I'm ok with CA officials over reacting. Lucky it was a hoax. Bratton and co are lucky there's was a hoax too. Can you imagine if they knew it was a threat kept schools open and a bomb went off in schools? That would be the end of dibkasio's career.

Rick said...

victoria said...
You bunch of num nuts


Wasn't there a time when vicki was less of a tool? Maybe she just hid it better.

Fen said...

"Pretty easy to see that the "over-reaction" is Los Angeles is due to the fact that Muslims went on a murdering spree 30 miles away just a few weeks ago"

That, and people have lost faith in the counter-terrorism efforts of state and local governments. From what I can tell, the policy is:
1) if you see something and say something, you are a racist
2) ?
3) hashtag campaign to remember the dead for 3 days

mikee said...

When I was a grad student, teaching freshman Chemistry labs, there was at least one bomb threat or fire alarm pulled every year, in the freshman Chemistry building during final exams. This was apparently done by a friend of a kid taking an exam, allowing that poor student to get an answer or two to the questions he'd seen, before restarting the exam.

The kids were reminded that they were on the honor system and were not to look at any study materials or talk about the exam while they milled about outside for 30 minutes.

That was the 1980s. Now we learn an entire city can be shut down with one anonymous email.

I don't call that progress.