Wharton/Bloomberg Gun Plan Lacks Details

[Pat McGarrity]

Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton has long been a member of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's gun grabbing mayors club. It is well documented that this outlaw group sent agents to make highly illegal straw purchases in several states, including Tennessee, to manufacture evidence to sue gun manufacturers and retailers. These serious crimes, orchestrated by Bloomberg and his gun grabbing comrades like Wharton, have not, as of yet, been prosecuted by ATF. They don't have to look far, the evidence of Bloomberg's federal felonies are on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zOnS7L4AwI

It's a little understandable, the Obama/Holder ATF is so busy these days using tax payers money to smuggle guns to Mexican and Honduran gangs that wind up being used to kill U.S. Border Patrol Agents...

The Communist Appeal (http://www.communistappeal.com) was short on details regarding the grant. I would guess it will buy propaganda ads in the media, gun "buy back" programs and other schemes that remain to be seen. One detail that did make it to the public is that the $4.8 million grant requires a 50 percent local match. Kerry Hayes, special assistant to Wharton, said a "precise breakdown of public/private sources" for the $2.4 million match hasn't been determined.

If the CA practiced responsible journalism, we might know the answers to some troubling questions. Is it legal to spend any tax payer money for anti-civil rights schemes? With Memphis running massive deficits, is it responsible to borrow money and deficit spend on, at the very least, ineffective, feel good programs? Will this program make the "private sources" funders known so gun owners can make choices on doing business with these individuals and/or companies?

Memphis residents may want to get answers from their City Council representation on this.

In Liberty,

Pat McGarrity
Director - Shelby County TFA




http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/20 ... 8-million/

Wharton wants to use Bloomberg grant to fight gun violence, help local economy
By Amos Maki

Posted July 14, 2011 at 8:53 a.m., updated July 14, 2011 at 11:08 p.m.
Mayor A C Wharton says he'll use the $4.8 million that he's getting from the private foundation of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to help reduce handgun violence in Memphis and spur economic development in the inner city.

The money will pay for "innovation teams" to focus on reviving blighted or abandoned properties in the city core and to approach the problem of handgun violence as a public health crisis, Wharton said.

Memphis is one of five cities splitting a $24 million grant as part of the Mayors Project, a government innovation program of Bloomberg Philanthropies.

"Mayors are uniquely positioned to tackle some of our most pressing challenges -- from growing jobs to fighting climate change to keeping quality of life high," Bloomberg said.

The $4.8 million grant requires a 50 percent local match, which would bring the total to $7.2 million. Kerry Hayes, special assistant to the mayor, said a "precise breakdown of public/private sources" for the $2.4 million match hasn't been determined.

Other recipients of Bloomberg grants are the mayors of Atlanta, Chicago, New Orleans and Louisville, Ky.

The grant money will pay the salaries of teams operating outside of city government who will help the cities carry out their plans.

In New York, Bloomberg used similar teams to develop anti-poverty, education and efficiency programs.

"This is for one thing: the talent to help us get the best and brightest to fight these issues," Wharton said Thursday. "We're going to use this to attract more intellectual capital and financial capital."

Wharton said he would launch a worldwide search to find the "best and brightest" to staff the teams. The grant agreement calls for the city to hire a director by Sept. 6.

Each city chose two initiatives and will have three years to tackle them.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said his city will use its money to create a 311 phone system to improve customer service and to address homelessness and panhandling.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel aims to cut the amount of time aspiring entrepreneurs wait in line to start a new business, get a permit or obtain a new license, and will focus on reducing energy use.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer wants to work with the city of Lexington in a new regional export strategy and to improve public accountability.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu wants to reduce homicides.

Wharton, whose relationship with Bloomberg stretches back to his term as Shelby County mayor, selected the goals of fighting gun violence and spurring job creation in the city core, possibly by rehabilitating vacant and abandoned commercial properties in the inner city.

"Folks want safety and folks want jobs, and I think this is a good combination," said Wharton. "They're tied together. You cannot sustain the pursuit of economic development if the image that you're not safe is out there."

Wharton said the city needs an approach to combating gun violence that resembles the fight against a health care epidemic.

In 2009, 114 people were killed with guns in Memphis. In 2010, 84 people were killed with guns. So far this year, 61 people have been killed with guns.

"We're never going to be successful at combating that if we continue to treat it as a law enforcement problem," he said.

The announcement put Memphis in the national spotlight for the second time in four days. On Monday, the White House included Memphis in a six-city pilot program called "Strong Cities, Strong Communities," designed to allow local officials to dictate what they need from the federal government.

-- Amos Maki: (901) 529-2351