I absolutely despise people like him. He does everything in his (now considerable) power to make a legal act, smoking, as illegal as hell..........then fires people who are forced to play by their stupid, silly rules (e.g. you have to go outside to catch a butt). Then, you get some d**kwad reporter (real crusader for the public, this one, eh??) who takes pictures while holding a stopwatch......attempting to make a handful of smokers look like f**king criminals.
There is not enough money on this planet to get me to live in NYC.
He really is a BloomingIdiot! The man just can't handle his position. It turned him into a control freak! His way or the HWY!
Someone wrote in about this:
EDITORIAL: GET A GRIP, MIKE Source: New York Post, 2002-10-24
Intro: As the letter points out, the elder Swinton apparently didn't exceed the legitimate daily time off a city worker is permitted (a total of 90 minutes, covering lunch and coffee breaks): The real reason that Swinton was fired was because he was caught - by a Post photographer - smoking.
In the brave new Bloomberg world, there apparently is no greater sin.
Indeed, it is becoming increasingly clear that the mayor's anti-smoking campaign is rooted in a disturbing obsession. . .
Bodegas - as successful small businesses - send a signal to a community about hard work, entrepreneurship and attaining the American Dream.
If they go out of business, the general quality of life in those neighborhoods will seriously suffer - to say nothing of the impact on overall city tax revenue. . .
Mayor Bloomberg needs to understand that his obsession is out of control.
He needs to remember what he once understood as a businessman: Oppressive city regulations can choke businesses and undermine the economy.
And then he needs to reinstate Bob Swinton - who broke no rules, and who most certainly committed no crime.