perry gershon – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Law and Order: not for Zeldin and Flynn

David Posnett — Thu, 07 May 2020 23:16:03 +0000

Remember when Republicans were known as the “law and order” party?

Seems like a million years ago.

Let’s recap the saga of Mike Flynn:

November 2016: Trump announces Flynn as his incoming national security advisor.
December 2016: Flynn secretly talks to the Russian ambassador.
January 2017: Flynn tells the FBI he didn’t talk to the Russian ambassador.
February 2017: Flynn is fired by President Trump. Trump: “I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI.”
December 2017: Flynn pleads guilty to a felony, saying he “willfully and knowingly” made “false, fictitious and fraudulent statements” to the FBI.
2018-2019: Flynn’s sentencing is repeatedly delayed…
April 2020: Lee Zeldin says he’d be “honored” and “proud” to serve with Flynn.

And finally, today: Donald Trump’s Attorney General drops the charges to which Flynn had already pleaded guilty. And Lee Zeldin celebrates on Twitter.

Unbelievable.

Equally unbelievable is Lee Zeldin’s defense and support of Flynn.

This is unacceptable behavior for a Member of Congress.

This is not the rule of the law.

This is not how a democracy is supposed to work.

If you break the law, you should get prosecuted. If you’re convicted or plead guilty, you should incur punishment. No matter how powerful your friends are.

The good news? In 2020, we can get rid of Lee Zeldin.

I am Pissed off!

David Posnett — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 17:31:46 +0000

From Perry Gershon:

I am pissed off!

The Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, said yesterday that state and local governments should declare bankruptcy if they find themselves in a financial hole due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Is he serious?

How in the world do we fight this crisis and bring jobs back if state and local governments are declaring bankruptcy?

Governor Cuomo called out what McConnell said as “offensive”, and “one of the saddest, really dumb comments of all time.” Exactly right.

Mitch McConnell is competing with Donald Trump to be the poster child for demonizing and politicizing a national health crisis.

But what I am really pissed off about is the complete and total silence from Lee Zeldin. Again and again and again, this guy never fights for us. Never!

Even his Republican colleague on Long Island, Peter King said the comments were “shameful and indefensible” and called McConnell the “Marie Antoinette of the Senate.”

But nothing from Zeldin. Nothing.

Nothing but his usual silence in the face of the most extreme in his own party.

Let me be clear, the money the states and local governments are asking for would go to our fire fighters, police officers, EMTs, and healthcare workers.

HEALTHCARE WORKERS! This is who Zeldin will not fight for.

Folks, we need to defeat Lee Zeldin.

Perry

Exposing Lee Zeldin’s Record on Healthcare

David Posnett — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 17:15:21 +0000

Remember the Graham Cassidy bill?

By Perry Gershon

Representative Lee Zeldin (R-NY1) is a master at telling half-truths. He goes to great lengths to tell his constituents that he supports healthcare coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and lowering prescription drug prices, but his voting record says differently. Zeldin voted against coverage for pre-existing conditions, and just recently shot down a bill for prescription drug coverage reform and prescription drug coverage reform. He even has the audacity to take credit for programs he voted against. A quick look at his record, however, is quite revealing.

Lee Zeldin voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). He has cast several such votes in his three terms in office, most recently May 2017 (and he openly urges the courts to overturn the ACA now). The federal requirement to provide coverage for people with pre-existing conditions comes directly from the ACA, so Zeldin’s opposition to coverage for pre-existing conditions is right there in his votes! Zeldin and Trump claim to offer ACA-replacement legislation that provides for pre-existing condition coverage, but these bills do not protect consumers, especially those with pre-existing conditions. They provide no requirement that these individuals will not be penalized in pricing and availability of coverage.

When Congress, in December 2019, passed its bill to make prescription drugs more affordable, Lee Zeldin voted against the bill (HR-3). His position on this critical issue is again demonstrated by his vote. The only effective way to control the cost of prescription drugs is to let Medicare, the largest consumer, negotiate drug prices directly with the manufacturers. It’s no surprise that Zeldin continues to prohibit Medicare from negotiating because much of his campaign contributions come from drug makers and their affiliates. This isn’t me saying this, it’s right there in his campaign finance reports that he is legally obligated to file with the Federal Election Commission. Given Zeldin’s benefactors, it’s no wonder he opposes true prescription price reforms.

Zeldin takes credit for funding medical research at Stony Brook. His most recent February “newsletter” stated that he secured $3 million of new NIH grants to Stony Brook for medical research, and he cites a bi-partisan letter he signed requesting a budget increase specifically for NIH research. What Zeldin does not tell you is that when the actual budget came to a vote on July 25, 2019, he voted against it. His own voting record proves that Zeldin did not vote to increase NIH appropriations or increased funding for Stony Brook.

But Zeldin’s biggest deception of all is that he is has listened and knows what his constituents need for their healthcare. Again, the facts belie that. Zeldin’s last public town hall was in April 2017, before his vote to repeal the ACA. He has not held one since then. He has no idea what his constituents want or need!

Town halls are meant to be open to ALL constituents who want to attend. There should be no prescreening of questions or questioners (to exclude critics) or else it is not really a true town hall. I know this from first-hand experience.

I have held five open town halls since last September and I will hold five more before the end of June. I take questions from Democrats, Republicans – whoever attends and wants to ask a question. As a matter of fact, I take each and every question asked of me and I give truthful fact-based answers. There is no pre-screening and no spin at my town halls.

People on Long Island deserve a representative who will listen to them when they speak out about healthcare. I want to see universal healthcare for everyone – and I believe we can do it with the ACA supercharged with a public option. We need to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices to achieve true pricing reforms. This November, we have a chance to give NY-1 a representative who will fight for us in Washington and tell us the truth here at home.

Originally published in the Village Times Herald

Zeldin Still Thinks President Did Nothing Wrong

David Posnett — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 14:14:29 +0000

Letter to the Editor, The East Hampton Star

Let’s Show Them
East Hampton
February 10, 2020

To the Editor:

The impeachment trial showed beyond a doubt that the president tried to extort a foreign leader to interfere in an upcoming election on not just one occasion, but several, that many people in the administration were aware of and complicit in that effort, and that Senate Republicans had zero interest in getting to the truth, instead holding a trial that called no witnesses, including those with firsthand knowledge.

It is now clear that we are on a runaway train heading straight toward authoritarian rule. At least Schiff and Co. tried to pull the emergency brake. But since that didn’t work, it really is up to us.

Let’s show them that most Americans respect this country and its most fundamental principles of democracy, that most Americans believe a president should not run his administration like a mob boss, that most Americans expect a president to lead by example, not one who leads by bullying and lying, punishing anyone who dares to disagree.

And in November, let’s remember that our representative, Lee Zeldin, still insists that the president did absolutely nothing wrong.

Sincerely,

CAROL DEISTLER

Zeldin: Enabler of Trump’s Mob-rule

David Posnett — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 18:42:33 +0000

The Daily Beast: this is the Dems “golden opportunity” to beat Zeldin and calls Zeldin one of the Trump family’s “favorite congressmen,” a Trump “attack dog” “owned” by Freedom Caucus founder Representative Jim Jordan.

From The Daily Beast: “Democrats hoping to finally oust Zeldin realize that his political hopes will likely live or die on how impeachment plays. Perry Gershon, his 2018 Democratic opponent… is treating the impeachment push as a golden opportunity to argue that Zeldin is no longer in touch with his district.”

The Daily Beast is right – Lee Zeldin doesn’t care about repealing the SALT cap, bringing high-paying jobs to Long Island, or lowering prescription drug prices. He’s totally out of touch with our district.

The Daily Beast also notes Zeldin’s extremism compared to other Republicans, a key reason why we need to beat him in 2020: “The impeachment inquiry….has placed Republican members of Congress largely into two categories: those who are willing to concede discomfort with the president’s actions and those who are determined to show their loyalty and devotion. Few have embraced the latter mission more than Zeldin.”

We need to unseat an unhinged right-winger who has “gone off into crazy Trumpworld” and rally behind our campaign to make Long Island affordable, to achieve universal health coverage, and to protect our cherished water.

Perry Gershon

Rush $5 today to show Lee Zeldin we know he’s a willing enabler of Trump’s mob-rule presidency.

Bravo East Hampton Star!

David Posnett — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 14:27:51 +0000

Reprinted verbatim from: https://www.easthamptonstar.com/20191010/shrinking-congressman

This is gutsy. And overdue.

Shrinking Congressman

By Star Staff

October 10, 2019

Here we go again. Representative Lee Zeldin is out front in his support of President Trump, dismissing as phony a serious impeachment inquiry based on credible allegations.

If there is one skill Mr. Zeldin has mastered it is disingenuousness. It is one thing to be partisan. It is another to be so cut off from a sense of right and wrong that he and other outspoken Trump faithful are willing to risk their life’s work and reputation when the facts, at a minimum, demand caution. For Mr. Zeldin there is no middle ground. From the earliest days of the 2016 campaign, Trump was his man, and there has been no going back.

Mr. Zeldin has lashed himself to the mast of the 45th president’s ship come hell or high water. He has never been interested in reflecting the views of a district with wildly diverse opinions. His so-called public appearances have been only in front of friendly audiences, and any give and take with constituents is rarely conducted in the open.

The congressman’s most recent question and answer session was at the annual legislative breakfast of the Suffolk American Legion, an organization that would not have welcomed dissident voices had they tried to be heard. In August, Mr. Zeldin spoke at a Patchogue Chamber of Commerce meeting. His mobile office hours and “Coffee With the Congressman” sessions are carefully managed by his staff. Visits to street fairs and other public events are never announced in advance, nor is it obvious how someone might sign up for “Lunch With Lee”; the last held anywhere near here was at Digger’s Ales and Eats in Riverhead. Nor does he or his staff make any noticeable attempt to reach out to the district’s large Spanish-speaking population. Make note, too, that since he went to Washington he has been on cable television far more than he has been in East Hampton Town.

Had Mr. Zeldin made it out of the air-conditioned comfort of his jet-black sport-utility vehicle and actually taken the pulse of constituents regarding the president’s conduct, he might have a more measured tone. In repeating the White House’s talking points in defense of the president word for word, he makes it clear he values party loyalty over duty to country. A real representative of the divergent views of this district would have reserved judgment until fully reviewing the inquiry’s facts and testimony. Had Mr. Zeldin actually been out and about he might know this.

Save the Children

David Posnett — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 19:18:26 +0000

Contributed by James Ewing (Watermill, NY).

Watch this powerful video from the border where Alyssa Milano is broadcasting live:

Over the past year approximately 400,000 migrants have been detained by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP).They are primarily from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Customs and Border Protection Commissioner John Sanders recently said that the Border Patrol is holding 15,000 people, and the agency considers 4,000 to be at capacity.

On any given day, 2,000 children are in Border Patrol custody, and the problems are hardly confined to one facility…Legally, they’re not supposed to be held by border agents for more than 72 hours before being sent to the Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for finding their nearest relative in the US to house them while their immigration cases are adjudicated.

Almost all of these children have family members, including parents, in the United States, who are able to and want to take care of their children.

At the Border Patrol facility in Clint, Texas, some of the children are going weeks without enough food, water, or hygienic sanitation. Researchers report that kids are sick, caring for each other, and lack baths and diapers.

These kids and teens are being forcibly separated from their families. Which, in spite of Trump’s repeated claims to the contrary, has not been the norm in previous administrations.

Unlike privately contracted child detention facilities (which charge the US taxpayer up to $750 a day per child), Border Patrol stations like the Clint Detention Facilty, are federal facilities, exempt from state health and safety standards, according to Texas Department of Health and Human Services spokesman John Reynolds. Child abuse and neglect investigators are not allowed to investigate the stations because they not licensed by the state.

Law professor Warren Binford, saw a 4-year-old with hair so matted and dirty she thought it would have to be cut off. The child had not bathed in more than a week, she said. She witnessed a 14-year-old caring for a 2-year-old without a diaper, shrugging as the baby urinated as they sat at a table because she did not know what to do. Here, in a warehouse filled with filthy kids who had not bathed in days, some with lice and influenza, it was kids taking care of kids. There was no soap. And when she tried to find baby food, there was none of that, either. All they had was instant oatmeal for breakfast, instant soup for lunch and a frozen burrito for dinner, “every single day,”

The Trump administration argued before a Ninth Circuit panel Tuesday that the government is not required to give soap or toothbrushes to children apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border and can have them sleep on concrete floors in frigid, overcrowded cells, despite a settlement agreement that requires detainees be kept in “safe and sanitary” facilities.

A 14-year-old girl from Guatemala said she had been holding two little girls in her lap.
“I need comfort, too. I am bigger than they are, but I am a child, too,” she said.

“She’s suffering very much because she’s never been alone. She doesn’t know these other children,” said her father.

“Try to imagine what it’s like for these children, not as a parent, but as one of the children. To be hungry, without anyone to help you, to be abandoned to filth with no way to get clean, to be trying to take care of yourself and children who are even younger that you are, to be confused about what might happen next and to be terrified that you will never be loved or cared for by anyone again.” (Unknown Field notes)

“In my 22 years of doing visits with children I have never heard of this level of inhumanity”— Holly Cooper—UC Davis Immigration Law Clinic

While existing aid levels to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras will not be reduced this year, the Trump administration “will not provide new funds for programs in those countries until we are satisfied that the Northern Triangle governments are taking concrete actions to reduce the number of migrants coming to the U.S. border, said State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus. ‘This is consistent with the president’s direction and with the recognition that it is critical that there be sufficient political will in these countries to address the problem at its source.’ ” Washington AP 6/18/1

At least 24 adults and 6 children have died in US custody under Trump’s border policies.

“The death of a child is always a terrible thing, but here is a situation where, because there is not enough funding they can’t move the people out of our custody,” says outgoing CPB Commissioner John Sanders.

The victims from upper left (clockwise): Wilmer(2), Darlyn (10), Carlos (16) ,Mariee (20 mos), Felipe (8), and Juan (16)

By the way, Perry Gershon has it right regarding potential solutions.

Lee Zeldin parrots the Trump and FOX line. What a disaster. Think about it in November 2020.

Here is what one Candaian thinks:

and here is what you can do right now:

Trump (and Zeldin) are creating MS13’s across America

David Posnett — Thu, 07 Feb 2019 16:22:08 +0000

On Feb 5, 2019, at 7:36 AM, Judith Hope wrote:

“It’s all about spotlighting MS13 to inflame support for his Wall. It needs to be said (often & loudly) that gang violence is largely a result of young people who have been separated from parental influence. Trump and the GOP have separated thousands of young children & youths from their families at the border, and LOST TRACK of them! They are responsible for creating future MS13’s all over America.”

I don’t know many gang members! But I know of one example (hear say info). They are a set of brothers. The younger one was born prematurely because his mother was beat up by his dad when she was 26 weeks pregnant. The mother later died of unknown causes and the father was essentially absentee, siring many children from different partners. He was a wife beater. The 2 boys (both born in this country) were picked up by the Latin Kings and taught how to become car thiefs. They both spent time in jail. They can be violent. They never had parents…

Relevant posts:

1) From Perry Gershon’s FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/perry4congress/posts/355618388366690?__tn__=-R

2) From the Dailly Beast: Mother and daughter separated at the border

3) Livestream congressional hearing “Examining the Failures of the Trump Administration’s Inhumane Family Separation Policy” – TODAY

4) Feb 10, Sunday at 12:30: Where Are The Children Protest Rally – Rt 110 and Jericho Tpke Huntington

Being Drilled for Armed Killer Opening Kindergarten Door

David Posnett — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 20:36:00 +0000

By Charline Spektor (with permission). She was the owner of Bookhampton stores and is now a Grandma.

My grandson began public school kindergarten a few weeks ago. He is so excited, and he comes home to tell “the best thing that happened today.” The other night at dinner he began: “Today in school we had a drill. It’s called lockdown. I thought it was lockup but it’s lockdown.”

None of us moved. And he continued. “We’re getting ready for a bad person who can come in and want to hurt us. The drill is you have to listen. That’s the drill. Listen. Don’t talk. Go into the closet. You have to go into the closet. If you don’t fit in the closet you have to go into your cubby. And you can’t say anything. And there can be a lot of noise. Close your eyes. Don’t say anything. Even if you have to pee. That’s okay. The drill is you don’t move, you don’t talk. Until someone comes to say you’re safe.”

My grandson just turned five. He is the most beautiful, wondrous gift on earth, as are all of our children, precious to us beyond words. As he told us about the lockup, lockdown drill, my daughter pressed her fingers into my hand: Don’t speak, don’t cry. And my daughter-in-law said, “Angel baby, you are such a good listener, I am so proud of the way you know how to listen. Did you go into the closet?” My grandson nodded. And then he said, “Ahma, did you ever have a drill like that? The kind where you had to be ready for someone bad to come in? Talk about it.”

Talk about it? Talk about what it means that we have created a gun-loaded society where sociopaths can be armed and murder children in school? Talk about what it means that children in kindergarten are being prepared for murder? Talk about the teachers who are teaching how to hide from bad people with guns, preparing children to be assaulted by people who have guns. Murderers with murderous intent who have guns.

I want to ask every single person I know: is this what you want for our children? Do you want our children having lockdown drills? Why didn’t we have lockdown drills? Because gun money was not controlling our country and our politics. Our childhood was not awash in the nightmare of gun-holding murderers. And yes, it is political. And yes, we have been sold and played, and our children’s lives have been put at risk.

We cannot afford to be silent for one more minute. I sat silent as my grandson told me the truth: This is what we have allowed our country to become, a freak show of random violence.

Talk about it? I wanted to say please forgive me. Forgive us.

The cash-and-carry politics of this country corrupted our moral intelligence. Our communities of silence have failed our children. We are facing a midterm election, and one of the remaining opportunities to speak up. Lee Zeldin co-sponsored a bill that permits concealed weapons to be carried in New York. When Zeldin sold out to the gun lobbies, he kicked open the door to the assault of our children.

Who the hell is responsible for my small grandchild being drilled for the day that an armed killer opens his kindergarten door? It’s political. I am voting against Lee Zeldin. I am voting for Perry Gershon.

Courage. Vote for our children. VOTE GERSHON. Please share.

Thank you,

Charline

Zeldin on Yemen

David Posnett — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 02:14:02 +0000

By Ken Dorph

Amal Hussein, the seven-year-old in the two photos below, died of starvation last week in Yemen. I am working with a Yemeni team here in Cairo and I can’t help but despair over the never-ending war there. Our American leadership has created a human catastrophe in Yemen, taking sides in a tribal conflict driven by our greed to sell weapons. I asked our Congressman, Lee Zeldin, who has consistently supported the sale of weapons used to kill civilians to the Saudis, if we could somehow stop these sales. His response, verbatim:

“Not unless there’s, not unless … I’m not completely … No one’s read members of Congress like myself completely what strategically the big picture is with that deal. So I’m left to speculate. I don’t believe that that is a solely Yemen play, what the President agreed to in Saudi Arabia. That there is more of a regional play there that’s going on right now. Yemen is a piece of it. If everything got narrowed down to that we’re giving weapons in order to fight in Yemen, it would be a different analysis of what I am speculating to be part of the picture, not all of it.”

Our leadership will only change if we change them.
Vote for Perry Gershon on November 6th.