<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Dear Green Friends<o:p></o:p></span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">In an Op-Ed article published in
today’s <i>New York Times</i>, <b>Mayor Michael Bloomberg</b> declared that he
is <b>not</b> a candidate for president.<span style="">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Good!<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></font></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Now Greens won’t have to worry
about this billionaire trying to buy the election as a phony “independent.”<span style=""> </span>Bloomber goes on and on about how he as “a
businessman, I never believed that either party had all the answers,” how “the
message of an independent approach has resonated strongly,” the need “for a new
urban agenda,” and how “more of the same won’t do.”<span style=""> </span>However, he has no kind word to say about any actually
independent individuals or organizations and his rap is nothing but a blend of
Democratic and Republican Establishment clichés.</font> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">=<span style="">
</span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style="">
</span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style="">
</span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Published by The New York Times,
February 28, 2008. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/opinion/28mike.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin">I'm
Not Running for President, but ...</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">by Michael R. Bloomberg</span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">WATCHING the 2008 presidential campaign,
you sometimes get the feeling that the candidates — smart, all of them — must
know better. They must know we can’t fix our economy and create jobs by
isolating America from global trade. They must know that we can’t fix our
immigration problems with border security alone. They must know that we can’t
fix our schools without holding teachers, principals and parents accountable
for results. They must know that fighting global warming is not a costless
challenge. And they must know that we can’t keep illegal guns out of the hands
of criminals unless we crack down on the black market for them.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">The vast majority of Americans
know that all of this is true, but — politics being what it is — the candidates
seem afraid to level with them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">.<span style="">
</span>.<span style=""> </span>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">These forces that prevent
meaningful progress are powerful, and they exist in both parties.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">. . .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">URL: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/opinion/28mike.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin">http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/opinion/28mike.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Michael R. Bloomberg is the mayor
of New York.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">=<span style="">
</span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style="">
</span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style="">
</span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style="">
</span>=<span style=""> </span>=<span style=""> </span>=<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Who knows?<span style=""> </span>Bloomberg may even be sincere.<span style=""> </span>Nevertheless, his Establishment bias is
written all over his little laundry list of issues: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">“we can’t fix our economy and
create jobs by isolating America from global trade…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><span style=""> </span>(Translation: Let foreign sweat-shop operators do whatever they
want).<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">“we can’t fix our immigration
problems with border security alone…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">(Translation: Let foreign
sweat-shop operators and US sweatshop operators do whatever they want).<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><span style=""> </span>“we can’t fix our schools without holding teachers, principals and
parents accountable…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">(Translation: Let foreign
sweat-shop operators, US sweatshop operators, and machine politicians running
schools do whatever they want).<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><span style=""> </span>“fighting global warming is not a costless challenge…” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">(Translation: Let foreign
sweat-shop operators, US sweatshop operators, machine politicians running
schools, and Big Oil do whatever they want).<span style="">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">“we can’t keep illegal guns out of
the hands of criminals unless we crack down on the black market…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">(Translation: Let foreign
sweat-shop operators, US sweatshop operators, machine politicians running
schools, Big Oil, and the police-prosecutor-prison-industrial complex do
whatever they want).<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Bloomberg speaks about unnamed
“forces” preventing progress in both parties taking care not to say anything to
offend any of them.<span style=""> </span>At best Bloomberg
is a boring Obama with a lousy tan.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Read More On Green Commons at: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.greencommons.org/node/977">http://www.greencommons.org/node/977</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><span style="">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 6pt;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div id='u8CA484C4B2BBA45-27C-784B' class='aol_ad_footer'><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Supercharge your AIM. Get the <A title="http://download.aim.com/client/aimtoolbar?NCID=aolcmp00300000002586" href="http://download.aim.com/client/aimtoolbar?NCID=aolcmp00300000002586" target="_blank">AIM toolbar</A> for your browser.</FONT> </div>