Mark Boughton and the Notorious B.I.G.

While many people and elected officials have simply followed the Weather Channel's decision to call the snowstorm hitting the Northeast "Nemo," the mayor of one city in Connecticut has decided to come up with his own name for the blizzard and it's a reference to the late, great rapper Notorious B.I.G. In a series of tweets sent today, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton has used the #SnowtoriousBIGII hashtag to refer to the storm.

"Wind is definitely picking up," Mr. Boughton wrote this afternoon. "This is becoming an old school storm. #OG #snotoriousBIGII"

Politicker asked Mr. Boughton whether "Snowtorious B.I.G." was the official name for the storm within the City of Danbury.

"Yes. Of course," he replied.

Mr. Boughton, who was first elected in 2001, also pointed out he previously used the reference to the late, great rapper Biggie Smalls A.K.A. Notorious B.I.G. to refer to another snowstorm two winters ago.

"This the 2nd storm to carry the hashtag. Hence the II at the end," wrote the mayor.

During the first "Snowtorious B.I.G.," Mr. Boughton, who has been on Twitter since 2008, drew national attention for the way he communicated with constituents on the social media site during the storm. He dispatched a plow to a snow-covered street after a tweet alerted him to the situation there.

Since he named the storm after Mr. Smalls, we also asked the mayor if he's a rap fan.

" I love all kinds of music including Biggie Smalls," wrote Mr. Boughton.

If you don't know, now you know.

(Photo: Wikimedia)

Earlier today, National Rifle Association C.E.O. Wayne LaPierre and other leaders from the gun group held a much-anticipated press conference to react to the ongoing controversy surrounding the shootings at a Sandy Hook elementary school one week ago. For those hoping for a grand speech, Mr. LaPierre certainly didn't disappoint. In the address, Mr. LaPierre pushed back hard against those calling for additional gun control measures while accusing the media of being "silent enablers, if not complicit co-conspirators" in the violence. He also seemed to hold a host of other entities and events responsible, such as Hurricane Sandy.

"Violent crime is increasing again for the first time in 19 years," Mr. LaPierre said. "Add another hurricane, terrorist attack or some other natural or man-made disaster, and you've got a recipe for a national nightmare of violence and victimization. And here's another dirty little truth that the media try their best to conceal. There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people. Through vicious, violent video games with names like 'Bulletstorm,' 'Grand Theft Auto,' 'Mortal Kombat,' and 'Splatterhouse.'...A thousand music videos, and you all know this, portray life as a joke and portray murder, portray murder, as a way of life. And then they all have the nerve to call it 'entertainment.' But is that what it really is? Isn't fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography?"

Mr. LaPierre then accused the media of financially profiting from these digital forms of violence, which result not only in unfair coverage of the gun industry, but causes the bloodshed itself.

"In a race to the bottom, media conglomerates compete with one another to shock, violate and offend every standard of civilized society by bringing in an even more toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty right into our homes, every minute, every day, every hour of every single year," he continued. "A child growing up in America today witnesses 16,000 murders and 2,000 acts of violence by the time he or she reaches the ripe old age of 18. And throughout it all, too many in the national media, their corporate owners and their stockholders, act as silent enablers, if not complicit co-conspirators. Rather than face their own moral failings, the media demonize gun-owners."

Mr. LaPierre and the other NRA leaders at the press conference did not take questions at the press conference. Protesters twice interrupted the proceedings with chants of "The NRA has blood on its hands...ban assault weapons now!" and "NRA Stop Killing our children!" Though reporters in attendance tried to ask Mr. LaPierre to respond to the protesters, he continued with his remarks.

The N.R.A. head didn't only have criticisms, however, as he also proposed solutions, including eliminating "Gun-Free School Zones" and putting an armed security officer in every single school in America.

"With all the foreign aid the United States does, with all of the money in the federal budget, can't we afford to put a police officer in every single school? Even if they did that, politicians have no business and no authority denying us the right, the ability and the moral imperative to protect ourselves and our loved ones from harmed," Mr. LaPierre argued. "We can immediately make America's schools safer, relying on the brave men and women in America's police forces. The budgets--you all know this, everyone in the country knows this--of our local police departments are strained, and the resources are severely limited. But their dedication and courage is second to none and they can be deployed right now. I call on Congress today, to act immediately, to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation! And to do it now! "

In order to facilitate getting armed guards into American schools, Mr. LaPierre announced the launch of an NRA "National School Shield" program spearheaded by former congressman Asa Hutchinson that will help advise officials on how to properly secure their schools. He said this program will not be a strain on budgets because it will involve volunteer guards.

"This will be a program that does not depend upon massive funding from local authorities or the federal government. Instead, it will make use of local volunteers serving in their own communities," Mr. LaPierre said. "The National Rifle Association is the obvious choice to sponsor this program. "

With mounting calls for gun control measures, it remains to be seen whether politicians will be willing to take the NRA up on their offer to put armed volunteers in schools.

Additional reporting from Hunter Walker

The campus of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo: TrinColl.edu)

On May 1, 1987, City Council Speaker and all-but-officially announced candidate in next year’s mayoral race Christine Quinn found herself in a makeshift boxing ring set up in the backyard of a fraternity at her school, Trinity College. As part of Trinity’s annual spring weekend festivities, Ms. Quinn was to face off against her friend and classmate Sean McHugh in “Bantam Bouts,” a charity boxing exhibition named after the school's mascot. Ms. Quinn's matchup against Mr. McHugh, a lineman on the school football team, was billed as the “Battle of the Big Mouths.”

Posters for the fight dubbed the Speaker "Christine 'Maddog' Quinn," a moniker she said also came from her outsized reputation.

"It was just one of those nicknames that went along with being loud and pushy," Ms. Quinn told Politicker. "Some people are just born loud and I was one of them."

Though Ms. Quinn and Mr. McHugh described the event as "fake" and a "goof" to raise money for a local daycare, there was no doubt about the winner.

“I lost. She won," Mr. McHugh remembered. "She knocked me out.”

"Well, you know, he may have looked away once and I may have seized an opportunity," quipped Ms. Quinn.

Mr. McHugh was not the only opponent vanquished by Ms. Quinn at Trinity. Former classmates told Politicker that Ms. Quinn was a major presence on her college's political scene who even then showed the same brash personality and talent for political maneuvering that has served her adult career.

She was a staff writer for the school paper, The Trinity Tripod and active in the anti-apartheid club, which got Trinity’s student government to pass a resolution calling for the school’s board of trustees to divest stock in companies that did business in South Africa.

Her main cause was ConnPIRG, the local Connecticut student chapter of the Ralph Nader-inspired student consumer advocacy Public Research Interest Groups that sprung up on American college campuses starting in the 1970’s. Ms. Quinn had a leadership role in the group and helped bring Mr. Nader to speak at the school in April 1986.

Her student activism included multiple trips to Washington D.C. and the State Capitol in Hartford where she participated in lobbying and rallies for environmental causes, the anti-apartheid movement and for an end to the arms race. These experiences nurtured Ms. Quinn's love for the political process. In a 1986 Tripod article about ConnPIRG’s lobbying day at the Connecticut State Capitol, Ms. Quinn gushed about her work with the organization.

"Lobbying with ConnPIRG has been one Of the most interesting and educational experiences in my past 3 years: at Trinity," she said.

However, despite her extensive collegiate political activities, Ms. Quinn, who sometimes donned a blue-and-gold chicken suit to serve as Trinity’s mascot, the Bantam, insists she didn’t miss out on the lighter sides of campus life.

“I didn't lose out in more typically fun college experiences as well,” she said, before adding of her activism, “But that was fun also, but it was a different kind of fun.”

When she arrived at Trinity in 1984, Ms. Quinn was not new to student politics, having served as student body president of Holy Child Academy in Old Westbury, Long Island, where she was also editor of the school newspaper.

"I went to a small high school so there weren't a ton of different activities. I participated in just about all the ones there were in high school,” she said. "I liked working with people, I liked being part of teams, part of groups that worked together, I guess that's what attracted me in a legislative body. So what my personality was like, what I liked to do and a good way to meet people."

According to Ms. Quinn, her love of politics began at an even younger age.

"The thing that got me really, really interested in politics and government was my library at my parish elementary school on Long Island. They had this set of paperback biographies, stories of famous political people and trailblazers who had changed the world. The first this, the first that, et cetera, et cetera. These books were the most fabulous and exciting stories I ever read," said Ms. Quinn.

"After I read those books, I was sold. I actually never dreamed of being an elected official but I dreamed of having a role in politics and government."

This pattern continued at Trinity where Ms. Quinn said she was "a joiner." Her career in student journalism ended, in her words, "quickly," but she remained involved in activist groups because she said she was "much more interested in political campus organizing."

Ms. Quinn seems to have displayed an early skill for political maneuvering on behalf of her various causes. In one instance during her senior year, her effectiveness rankled some of her peers. In January 1988, she appeared before Trinity's Student Government Association to encourage them to join a list of organizations that supported visiting professor Margaret Randall, a teacher and author who was fighting deportation in federal court after her request for permanent resident status was denied because the Immigration and Naturalization Service believed “her writings advocated the doctrines of world communism.”

Ms. Quinn successfully persuaded the student government to sign the petition of support for Ms. Randall. But soon after the vote, five of the thirty SGA members wrote a letter to the Tripod in which they argued they were "hurried into making a decision based on ignorance" by Ms. Quinn, whom they accused of making an “unscheduled” appearance that did not give the group time to read the professor’s writings or research the situation.

“The body was asked to vote in ignorance in order to come to a quick decision as [Ms. Randall’s] court date is rapidly approaching," the letter said. "The members of the SGA were denied several important opportunities for the sake of expediency."

Asked about the situation, Ms. Quinn said the student government only had themselves to blame if they felt manipulated.

"You come into a legislative body and you ask them to do something and the members that are not prepared, that's on them, not you."

Her current colleagues might recognize some of the same characteristics Ms. Quinn displayed as an adept, outspoken college who wasn’t afraid of ruffling feathers. In the Council, she has been accused of stalling legislation she opposes and, in the words of her fellow Council member Jimmy Oddo, “When she is unhappy, she thunders, and I love it.”

Ms. Quinn concedes she has not lost her reputation for being a “big mouth” who is “loud and pushy,” but she hopes her lighter side comes across as well.

“I'm still fun-loving in the midst of all of this,” said Ms. Quinn. “I was the same way then -- serious and fun-loving all at the same time.”

President Obama reacting to today's news. (Photo: Getty)

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not satisfied with President Barack Obama's reaction to the recent shooting at a Connecticut elementary school. Specifically, a tearful Mr. Obama called for "meaningful action" to prevent future tragedies, a vague vow that Mr. Bloomberg, who has emerged as one of the chief gun control advocates nationwide, found wholly unacceptable.

"President Obama rightly sent his heartfelt condolences to the families in Newtown. But the country needs him to send a bill to Congress to fix this problem. Calling for ‘meaningful action’ is not enough," Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement. "We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership – not from the White House and not from Congress. That must end today. This is a national tragedy and it demands a national response. My deepest sympathies are with the families of all those affected, and my determination to stop this madness is stronger than ever.”

This is not the first time Mr. Bloomberg, who heads Mayors Against Illegal Gun Violence, has called Mr. Obama out in the immediate aftermath of a violent tragedy.

View the full statement below:

Statement of Mayor’s Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg:

“With all the carnage from gun violence in our country, it’s still almost impossible to believe that a mass shooting in a kindergarten class could happen. It has come to that. Not even kindergarteners learning their A,B,Cs are safe. We heard after Columbine that it was too soon to talk about gun laws. We heard it after Virginia Tech. After Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek. And now we are hearing it again. For every day we wait, 34 more people are murdered with guns. Today, many of them were five-year olds. President Obama rightly sent his heartfelt condolences to the families in Newtown. But the country needs him to send a bill to Congress to fix this problem. Calling for ‘meaningful action’ is not enough. We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership – not from the White House and not from Congress. That must end today. This is a national tragedy and it demands a national response. My deepest sympathies are with the families of all those affected, and my determination to stop this madness is stronger than ever.”

Statement of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino:

“As a parent and grandparent, I am overcome with both grief and outrage by the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. This unspeakable act of violence will forever imprint this day in our hearts and minds. My heart goes out to the families impacted by this senseless tragedy and the many others we have recently witnessed across the United States. As a Mayor who has witnessed too many lives forever altered by gun violence, it is my responsibility to fight for action. Today’s tragedy reminds us that now is the time for action. Innocent children will now never attend a prom, never play in a big game, never step foot on a college campus. Now is the time for a national policy on guns that takes the loopholes out of the laws, the automatic weapons out of our neighborhoods and the tragedies like today out of our future.”

(Photo: Getty)

In one of the worst school shootings in American history, over two dozen were left dead at a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school earlier today. And, although many facts have yet to emerge, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called for the public to learn from "yet another senseless and horrific act of violence involving guns," and for the government to act in response.

"We as a society must unify and once and for all crack down on the guns that have cost the lives of far too many innocent Americans," Mr. Cuomo said in a statement. "Let this terrible tragedy finally be the wake-up call for aggressive action and I pledge my full support in that effort."

Mr. Cuomo, of course, is not the only prominent New Yorker to call for new gun control measures, and elected officials' press releases have been pouring in, both expressing their sympathy and pushing for new policies to slow the flow of illegal guns. Manhattan Congressman Jerry Nadler announced he was "challenging President Obama, the Congress, and the American public to act on our outrage and, finally, do something about this,” for example. Similarly, Speaker Shelly Silver tacked more broadly, declaring, "If ever there is a time to finally have a serious discussion about our country's culture of violence that time is now."

View Mr. Cuomo's full reaction below:

"I was shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School this morning in Newtown, Connecticut. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the innocent victims – many of whom were young children – whose lives were claimed by this senseless and horrific act of violence. During times of such unthinkable tragedy, all New Yorkers stand together with the people of our neighboring state to grieve the loss of life and help bear the pain and anguish that will be felt by so many in the weeks, months, and years to come.

"While we don’t have all the facts and our focus must be on the victims, this is yet another senseless and horrific act of violence involving guns. We as a society must unify and once and for all crack down on the guns that have cost the lives of far too many innocent Americans. Let this terrible tragedy finally be the wake-up call for aggressive action and I pledge my full support in that effort."

Ex-cop and current gun owner Val Demings. (Photo: ValDemings.com)

In advance of the upcoming elections, the women's magazine Marie Claire got a look inside the purses of several prominent female candidates for their "Running in Heels" feature. Based on their findings, iPads and other Apple gear are must-have accessories on the campaign trail, but a few of the women in the article apparently tote less standard fare including one candidate with a heavy energy drink habit and another who's packing heat.

New Mexico Senate candidate Heather Wilson, Hawaii congressional hopeful Tulsi Gabbard and Connecticut Senate candidate Linda McMahon said iPads were among the essentials in their purses. Elizabeth Warren, who is running for Senate in Massachusetts, noted she carries a "backpack" rather than a purse and said she brings around an iPod rather than a tablet.

In addition to the iPad, Ms. Wilson said she has an "iPhone, credit card, PowerBars and Rockstar Lemonade" in her "small Coach briefcase." Ms. Gabbard opts for something far more mellow than energy drinks to go along with her tablet. She revealed her purse is also stocked with "meditation beads," a hairbrush and, of course, "campaign brochures."

Locally, Queens Assemblywoman Grace Meng was featured in a separate sidebar that covered her daily routine, but didn't reveal what's inside her bag. We reached out to Ms. Meng's campaign and found the contents of her purse contents include,  baby wipes, Fresh brand lip gloss, flats, a Kellogg's cereal bar, and an iPhone.

For her part, Illinois congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth is clearly quite proud of her bag, which is a vintage store find.

“I have a fabulous vintage hot-pink purse I got for $10. It fits my speeches, netbook, Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer in Rhubarb, and Sephora Minimergency Kit,” reported Ms. Duckworth.

Tammy Baldwin, who is running for Senate in Wisconsin, said her bad holds "only the essentials."

"I keep my purse small so my male staff aren’t embarrassed if they have to hold it for me.”

By far, the most interesting find was in the purse of Democratic Florida congressional candidate and former Orlando police chief Val Demings, who is apparently armed out on the campaign trail.

“I carry a 9-millimeter gun in my Dooney & Bourke that was a gift when I retired from the police department,” she said.

View the full article below:

Alex Laska and Congressman Jim Himes (Photo: Facebook)

Alex Laska, a communications aide and staff assistant to Democratic Connecticut Congressman Jim Himes apparently takes bagels pretty seriously. After reading a listicle entitled "84 Things That Aren’t On An Everything Bagel" on the online meme-machine BuzzFeed.com, Mr. Laska posted a comment expressing his wish the writer of the list, Katie Notopoulos, would commit suicide.

"I want the next thing Katie Notopoulos posts on here to be her suicide note," Mr. Laska wrote via his personal Facebook page, which identified him as an employee of the House of Representatives.

BuzzFeed's community moderator responded by posting the exchange on Tumblr and criticizing Mr. Laska for "publicly embarrass[ing] himself by asking for one of our editors’ suicide note." The Politicker reached out to Mr. Laska to see whether he thought the comment was appropriate. Despite having posted there, Mr. Laska claimed to be unfamiliar with BuzzFeed.

"I'm sorry what was this website?" he asked when we described the situation.

We repeated that the comment was posted on BuzzFeed.

"Can you spell that please?" Mr. Laska asked.

We spelled out the name of the site and read the comment to Mr. Laska. He asked us to send him a link to it.

"Oh my gosh, yeah if you could send that to me right away that would be great," Mr. Laska said.

In the meantime, we asked Mr. Laska if he had any comment on the issue.

"No. I'm sorry, I'm a little unfamiliar with this," said Mr. Laska. "If you could send me the comment I'd appreciate that."

We sent Mr. Laska a link to the post about his comment and are awaiting a response. Since he received our call, the information about his work with the House has been removed from his Facebook page. We also reached out to BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief (and Politicker alum) Ben Smith for his take on the situation.

"I don't have anything to say about it," Mr. Smith said.