I Am Very Tall

I've always liked Michael Bloomberg. That may be because I want to ingratiate myself to people worth billions of dollars in the hope that they might spare me a couple million. But I think it's because I think of him as a generally competent, polished yet straight-talking kind of guy. That being said, his response to the recent JFK terrorist plot is surprising:

"There are lots of threats to you in the world. There's the threat of a heart attack for genetic reasons. You can't sit there and worry about everything. Get a life."

What a sweetheart. Predictably, some people think that he's an ostrich with his head in the sand, others think that this is a breath of fresh air. I'm a little in the middle. I can't see any utility in having millions of New Yorkers freaked out about possible terrorist attacks that they have no way of knowing about or preventing. So I agree with the message.

On the other hand, I can't really say that this is the most diplomatic way of putting it. Telling the city that it's stupid to worry isn't going to make people worry any less.