Mike Bloomberg on Homeland Security Mayor of New York City (Independent)

We've stopped making weapons for the last war; good job

Address high suicide rates and mental illness among veterans

Reverse ban on transgender people serving in the military

Expanded surveillance kept NYC safe from terrorists

His administration's approach to counterterrorism was controversial, with his increased surveillance measures drawing criticism for relying on racial and religious profiling and violating civil liberties. In the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, he argued that "our laws and our interpretation of the Constitution, I think, have to change" to accommodate increased surveillance and other restrictions necessary to ensure public safety.

He argues that technology companies should be required to cooperate with government investigations by sharing customer data.

Argued against increasing military spending

He advocates for a new congressional authorization for overseas military operations, many of which currently rely on two-decade-old legislation, to put them "on sound legal footing."

He points to his mayoral record on veterans' issues. His administration's programs included job placement and career assistance services, a veteran-run job center, and a joint program with the Department of Veterans Affairs to combat veteran homelessness in New York.

Supported building mosque near Ground Zero

NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg and other supporters of the initiative have argued that not allowing a mosque to be built at a sacred site where nearly 3000 people lost their lives in the name of Islam would somehow violate American principles of tolerance and openness.

Many Americans, me included, feel it would be an intolerable & tragic mistake to allow such a project to go forward on such hallowed ground. Of course the supporters of this project have a constitutional right to build a mosque on private land. But just because they can do something doesn't mean they necessarily should. This is nothing close to "religious intolerance"; it's what our Founders called "a decent respect for the opinions of mankind"--or in this case, their fellow Americans.

1960s: Rejected as "1Y" when volunteering for Vietnam

He was still subject to call-up by his hometown draft board, whose recruiting quota had tripled. Yet the board also invoked the flat feet and classified him as "1Y"--draftable only in a national emergency. How the board learned about the flat feet without ordering its own medical exam remains a mystery. Bloomberg insists he was not the source, and the officer training program would not normally be.

Asked a few more questions about his draft board's decision, he suddenly tore off his loafers and stood in stocking feet. "Look, those are my feet," he said, his voice rising. "Do you see an arch?" Indeed he has no arches.

New York was 49th lowest per-capita in post-9-11 DHS grants

The per capita comparison was misleading. If you look at the numbers, New York and Washington got the bulk of the money. In the second round of grants, we got the FBI to assess the threats and tied grants to them. The political reality is you're not going to get representatives and senators from smaller states to vote in favor of a program that sends funds to only a few larger states, and nothing to anyone else.

9/11 FYPD were heroes because they chose to stay behind

Use DNA and fingerprint technology for worker ID database

The mayor said DNA and fingerprint technology could be used to create a worker ID database that will ”uniquely identify the person“ applying for a job, ensuring that cards are not illegally transferred or forged. The New York Civil Liberties Union said a DNA or fingerprint database ”doesn’t sound like the free society we think we’re living in.“