Quote Of The Day II - Michael Bloomberg

"I said to David Paterson, I said, ‘You know, get yourself a cowboy hat and a shotgun. If there’s ever a great video it’s you standing in the middle of the New York State Thruway saying you know read my lips, the law of the land is this and we're going to enforce the law.'" - Michael Bloomberg, telling Gov. Paterson that he needs to crack down on Native-American tribes selling tax-free cigarettes.

Gothamist notes that the Seneca Nation is, uh, "on the warpath" over the historical insensitivity of the comment. Like in the rest of the country, New York's native tribes consider themselves sovereign nations and therefore not subject to state taxes. Both the city and the state recently increased the tax on cigarettes to the highest in the nation, sending city residents flocking to local Native-American websites and tribal outposts. In NYC a pack of cigarettes presently costs about $12-$13, with another increase due shortly. Bloomberg has stated that he wants to see cigarettes cost $20/pack before the end of his final term.