lee zeldin – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Zeldin’s complete Environmental Record

David Posnett — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 18:37:54 +0000

Latest update of Zeldin’s environmental voting record below.
The spreadsheet itself (all 193 bills since Zeldin was first elected) is linked in Excel format: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19e5j3Z3xupufWNReLsO-P69eL316sJDLBbf8EZDFklg/edit?usp=sharing

This is our last update before the November 3rd election. It covers the 21 bills tracked by the League of Conservation Scorecard so far in 2020.So far in 2020, Lee Zeldin has voted against the environment in 14 of these bills and for the environment in 7, for a year-to-date score of 33%. Zeldin’s lifetime score (to date) is 15%. Although Zeldin’s lifetime score has crept up by a few percentage points over the last 2 years, it remains embarrassingly low when viewed in context: the average LCV score of a Member of Congress last year was 59%. Some highlights of Zeldin’s environmental voting record so far in 2020: He voted to permit Trump’s EPA to issue weak standards on soot pollution. He voted against more federal infrastructure funding for clean energy, clean water and mass transportation. He voted not to restrict funding for resumption of nuclear testing. He voted against increases in funding for climate, oceans, coastal science, energy efficiency and renewable energy. He voted against increases in federal funding for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds. And he voted against funding for replacing lead service lines providing drinking water to predominately minority and low income neighborhoods. On the plus side, Zeldin voted for full and permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program he has long supported. LWCF funds are used to protect and enhance public lands and to provide community recreational facilities. This bill passed the Senate and was signed into law. Finally, and in seemingly contradictory fashion, on the same day Zeldin voted for greater regulation of PFAS chemicals, which are suspected carcinogens, but against a bill to close a loophole in the Clean Water Act that permits PFAS to be discharged into waterways. Details can be found in the linked spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19e5j3Z3xupufWNReLsO-P69eL316sJDLBbf8EZDFklg/edit?usp=sharing

To sum it up, he has voted the wrong way on bills to mitigate climate change 92% of the time, to be exact, despite the double talk, evasions & obfuscation he dished out in his video presentation at the NYLCV climate change forum a few days ago.

Best, Marc Rauch and Suzi Kondic

Who’s Funding @RepLeeZeldin ?

David Posnett — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 01:07:21 +0000

From JewKidsontheBlock @jewkidsotb

Twitter Jul 17

Who’s funding@RepLeeZeldin?

It’s not women.

It’s not organized labor.

It’s not the constituents in his district.

#FollowTheMoney

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Lee Zeldin: We call BS when we see BS!

David Posnett — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 22:41:49 +0000

By Marc Rauch

To the editor of the Long Island Advance:

NY-01 Representative Lee Zeldin has tried to portray himself as an environmentalist in a recent TV campaign ad, in press releases and in letters to constituents. However, a new report released last week by the Environmental Working Group Action Fund, a Washington, D.C. based group that seeks to protect people, communities and natural resources from the health and environmental consequences of toxic chemicals, suggests just the opposite.

EWG rated all 435 Members of the House on 17 recent House votes impacting toxic chemicals safeguards. Mr. Zeldin voted to weaken safeguards against these poisons, not to strengthen them, all 17 times. Mr. Zeldin’s “0” rating tied him with Claudia Tenney, an upstate Republican, for dead last in the 27-member New York House delegation. The full report can be found at https://www.ewgaction.org/protectyourhealth/billsummaries.html.

Adding this new report on toxic chemicals to Zeldin’s consistently rock-bottom across-the-board ratings from the national League of Conservation Voters, NY-01 voters should treat Zeldin’s claims to have their health and environmental concerns at heart with the deepest of skepticism.

Yours truly,

Marc Rauch
Bellport

Don’t Make Me Laugh

David Posnett — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 14:41:01 +0000

By Perry Gershon:

Lee Zeldin wants you to think he’s an environmentalist. He’s spending big bucks blasting that absurd idea across Long Island television.

Don’t make me laugh.

In his four years in Congress, Lee has voted against the environment over and over again. He’s taken tens of thousands of dollars from the oil and gas industry to prop up his campaign.

It’s no wonder Lee opposed protecting the environment on 21 out of 22 votes.

Lee opposed seven bills on air quality protections.

He opposed protections for clean water 19 different times.

He opposed protecting wildlife eight times.

And he continues to stand by a president who insists climate change is a Chinese hoax.

Get the idea? Lee Zeldin is no friend of the environment, of clear air and water, or protecting our planet for future generations.

Long Island voters have a clear choice in November.

I promise to work tirelessly to protect the environment – whether that be our clear air, clean water, clean energy production, or protecting wildlife.

Lee’s record is clear, and that’s just another reason why he has to go.

Donate $5 right now. Let’s show Zeldin we won’t stand for his hypocrisy on the environment.

Posts on R&R (since July 2018) related to Zeldin’s environmental record:

Zeldin’s Environmental Voting Record Goes from Bad to Worse

Posted on August 28, 2018 by D. Posnett MD

Lee Zeldin wants to Drill in the Ironwood Forest National Monument By Marc Rauch: Latest update: Zeldin’s Environmental Voting Record Goes from Bad to Worse in 2018 In the first 3 years of Lee Zeldin’s congressional term (2015-2017), he earned … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, Environment, EPA, Executive Order, GOP, National Parks & Monuments, Trump, Uncategorized, water quality, Zeldin | Tagged Environment, lee zeldin, voting record | 2 Comments | Edit

Zeldin’s War on the Environment

Posted on August 20, 2018 by D. Posnett MD

By Perry Gershon: (Source: https://www.facebook.com/pg/perry4congress/posts/?ref=page_internal) Lee Zeldin continues to support the Trump Administration’s destruction of our environmental protections. The new “plan” for coal represents one more example of the total disregard for the serious health effects of air pollution. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Environment, Trump, Uncategorized, water quality, Zeldin | Tagged car emission, clean air, clean water, pollution | 2 Comments | Edit

Is Lee Zeldin Really “Good On The Environment”?

Posted on January 19, 2018 by francescarh

A slickly produced mailer from Lee Zeldin appeared in my mailbox this week. It touted our Congressman’s supposed record in “safeguarding our environment.” Mr. Zeldin has been very adept in pulling the wool over voters’ eyes about his actual environmental … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment | Edit

Zeldin Boasting about Environment Record?

Posted on January 2, 2018 by maidstonejewelry

Recently Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), co-chair of the Long Island Sound Caucus and founding member of the “Congressional Estuary Caucus”, was joined by EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Regional Director Carrie Meek … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, Environment, EPA, Paris Climate Accord, Uncategorized, Zeldin | 4 Comments | Edit

More Bad Zeldin Environmental Votes

Posted on October 12, 2017 by D. Posnett MD

By Marc Rauch and Chelsea Estevez Since our last update in late August, fourteen bills impacting the environment have come before the House of Representatives. Lee Zeldin took the anti-environment position on 12 out of 14 of these recent bills. … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, Environment, EPA, Paris Climate Accord, Trump, Uncategorized, Zeldin | Tagged environmental justice, EPA, fracking, methane, ocean, public land | Leave a comment | Edit

Complete Lee Zeldin Environmental Voting Record

Posted on July 2, 2017 by D. Posnett MD

A great resource! D Posnett Marc Rauch·Friday, June 23, 2017 Complete Lee Zeldin Environmental Voting Record (Last Updated 6/29/17) Introduction Linked here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19e5j3Z3xupufWNReLsO-P69eL316sJDLBbf8EZDFklg/edit?usp=sharing is an easy-to-use Excel spreadsheet summarizing Lee Zeldin’s complete environmental voting record in Congress. Purpose This spreadsheet … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, climate change, Environment, EPA, National Parks & Monuments, Offshore Drilling, Uncategorized, Zeldin | Tagged energy, Environment, record, wind, Zeldin | 2 Comments | Edit

Lee Zeldin’s Duplicity on Environmental Issues

Posted on March 7, 2017 by D. Posnett MD

Marc Rauch, from Bellport, New York. had the following letter in the March 2, 2017 edition of the Long Island Advance: I was taken aback by Rep. Lee Zeldin’s “official positions” on protection of the environment, as reported last week … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Uncategorized, Zeldin | Tagged duplicity, Environment, pollution, Zeldin | 1 Comment | Edit

Zeldin & Environment?

Posted on February 19, 2017 by D. Posnett MD

My letter to editor of LI Advance was published this week- 2/16/2017 Voting to loosen standards on oil and gas industries Where is Congressman Zeldin on the environment? Two weeks ago I visited Congressman Zeldin’s office to talk with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Uncategorized | Tagged Environment, Zeldin | 5 Comments | Edit

Flip the House — Defeat Zeldin!

Posted on August 4, 2018 by amyturner2000

By Jacquelyn Gavron & Amy Turner, July 19, 2018 New York’s First Congressional District (NY-1), historically a swing district, is represented by Lee Zeldin (R). He was initially elected with Tea Party support and is an unwavering Trump loyalist with … Continue reading →

Posted in ACA, AHCA, economy, Environment, Guns, Health Care, Politics, Tax Reform, Uncategorized, Women, Zeldin | 3 Comments | Edit

Moral Obligation to send Zeldin packing

Posted on July 19, 2018 by D. Posnett MD

Published in the East Hampton Star – the July 10, 2018 To the Editor: Offered less than 10 days into our district’s 133-day congressional race, The Star’s advice to local Democrats (“First District Dilemma”) is not only premature, but also … Continue reading →

Posted in perry gershon, Uncategorized, Zeldin | Tagged David Rattray, democratic, gershon, Star, turnout | Leave a comment | Edit

Zeldin’s Environmental Voting Record Goes from Bad to Worse

David Posnett — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 14:21:58 +0000

Lee Zeldin wants to Drill in the Ironwood Forest National Monument

By Marc Rauch:

Latest update:

Zeldin’s Environmental Voting Record Goes from Bad to Worse in 2018

In the first 3 years of Lee Zeldin’s congressional term (2015-2017), he earned a 10% scorecard rating from the League of Conservation Voters (LCV). This means that he voted against the environment 90% of the time.

So far in 2018, LCV has scored 22 House votes related to the environment. Zeldin has voted against the environment 21 out of 22 times, or 95% of the time.

Since our last update on July 5, 2018, Zeldin has voted:

— to undermine fisheries management tools that are essential to prevent overfishing

— to prevent implementation of vital safeguards that protect communities from exposure to toxins in the fish they eat

— to prevent EPA from implementing its standards to reduce methane pollution in the oil and gas industry

— to prevent Congress from considering the economic costs of climate change

— to undermine the EPA’s ability to protect the 64,000 square mile Chesapeake Bay watershed

— to block federal funding for the New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse under the Endangered Species Act

— to support Republican Congressman Steve Scalise’s House Resolution declaring that a carbon tax to fight climate change would harm the U.S. economy

— to prevent the EPA from using funds for an environmental justice grants program

— to deeply cut funding for the EPA and cut $65 million from the budget for the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)

— to cut funding for the Department of the Interior’s Inspector General’s Office

— to open the Ironwood Forest National Monument to mining and drilling

On the “bright” side, to the extent that there is one, Zeldin in his only pro-environment vote so far this year voted against a bill that would allow LWCF funding to be redirected to park maintenance.

Details can be found here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19e5j3Z3xupufWNReLsO-P69eL316sJDLBbf8EZDFklg/edit#gid=1927606526

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19e5j3Z3xupufWNReLsO-P69eL316sJDLBbf8EZDFklg/edit#gid=1309884550

Zeldin’s Friend Steve Bannon

David Posnett — Sun, 31 Dec 2017 00:36:31 +0000

You Are the Company You Keep! “Personal branding is the name of the game these days, and in our age of radical transparency it is informed not just by how you present yourself but also by the people you associate with“. So writes Marian Salzman , Contributor to Forbes. I doubt many would disagree.

Let’s examine Rep. Lee Zeldin of NY Congressional District-1. He has associated himself with Steve Bannon of Breitbart fame. Bannon recently headlined a Zeldin fundraiser in New York City and this has not gone un-noticed! Zeldin has excused Bannon noting that Bannon “gets a bad rap” and is not anti-semitic, but a “friend of Israel”. You can check out the story via various local outlets:

in the East Hampton Star
in Newsday

Dan Rattiner writes in Dan’s papers: “For those that have been living under a rock, Steve Bannon is the chief of Breitbart News, one of the most right-wing, fake-news, dangerous organizations imaginable. His “news” celebrates the Ku Klux Klan, anti-Semites, the wildest of the redneck bigots and the neo-Nazis. If he had his way, Bannon would surely consider the likes of me, a member of the media, as someone who belongs in jail. He is a clear and present danger to the American democracy we all hold so dear.”

But what I would like to do here is expose Bannon. His tactics are devious. He avoids leaving a personal trail of antisemitic or hateful comments. In stead he hires writers for Breitbart News, his Alt-right platform. They then write inflammatory commentaries based on their neo-nazi sources, and an army of alt-right followers and nut-cases leave the most awful and hateful comments. So, lets examine the specifics. They need to be public to expose Mr. Zeldin and the company he keeps.

Breitbart Under Bannon: Breitbart’s Comments Section Reflects Alt-Right, Anti-Semitic Language as exposed by the SPLC (Southern Poverty Law Center). Bannon turned the comment section into “a cesspool for white supremacist mememakers.”

POLITICO reported, “Bannon said the best things about Breitbart are the comments section and the callers.”

Here is a list of Breitbart contributors, who they are and what they do. It is based on reporting by Breitbart Truth, It covers White Nationalists and InfoWars conspiracy theorists at Steve Bannon’s Breitbart News. This is a great source (screenshots from FB and Twitter etc. )

The Breitbart journalists featured here have collectively written over 17,000 articles for Breitbart since 2010.

Click here and see more! Specially if you want to check the screen shots of tweets and pictures! (The material was too much to include in this post)

Charles Johnson, Breitbart US writer, CJ has written nearly 300 articles for Breitbart between 2010 and 2013. On January 9th, 2017, Forbes.com staff reported that CJ was helping to select Trump administration officials during the Presidential transition. On January 27th, 2017, CJ self described himself as a fascist in a Reddit Ask-Me-Anything. A Holocaust denier, Charles went on the self-described fascist podcast “Fash the Nation” where he talked about the genetic IQ inferiority of blacks and how Jews should not be able to hold top positions.
Milo Yiannopolous, Breitbart US writer: Milo was a senior editor at Breitbart US, and wrote 400+ articles for Breitbart between 2014 and 2017. In leaked emails, Milo praised a Neo-Nazi staff member of the Nazi website The Daily Stormer. Milo said: “He’s one of the funniest, smartest and most interesting people I know.” He also befriended white supremacist Devin Saucier and hired white nationalist Tim Gionet. In emails with Devin Saucier, Milo said he was “easing everyone in gently” to the racial IQ superiority ideas that Saucier supports. In April 2016, he sang for a Neo-Nazi gathering in Dallas, Texas. White nationalist Richard Spencer can be seen in the video.
Jack Hadfield, Breitbart US writer. …frequent Breitbart contributor JH acts as an administrator of the right-wing “free speech” Facebook group the Young Right Society (YRS), which is frequently awash with appalling racist and ‘alt-right’ content. Hadfield has authored over 200 articles for the far-right news outlet Breitbart, itself accused of pandering to the white nationalist alt-right.
Membership of the secret group has included open fascists and nazis, well-known alt-right figures such as Scottish blogger Colin Robertson (aka Millennial Woes), alongside Conservative Party activists and UKIP youth leader Jamie Ross McKenzie. …Hadfield also posted the work of Italian “traditionalist” philosopher Julius Evola, who idolised Hitler’s murderous SS and was admired by Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, with the caption “Got me some good new summer reading”. The book was published by Arktos, the central publisher of the racist alt-right.
PJ Salvatore, Breitbart US writer. Twitter handle: @PortosJ81J. Salvatore has written over 750 articles for Breitbart between 2010 and 2012. As of 12-2-17, PJ has deleted nearly all of his Tweets and has removed nearly all of the accounts he Followed, like @DegeneracyKills @DereksCorpse

Virginia Hale, Breitbart London. @Virgehall. Hale has written over 300 articles for Breitbart since December 2014. Hale is currently writing articles at Breitbart London. Virginia Hale “liked” a tweet from @ShabbosShekels (aka FashyGoy). “Fash” means fascist in far right circles, and “goy” is a non-Jew in Yiddish. Followed and communicated with Julius Ebola, white nationalist Twitter user, as well as white nationalists Richard Spencer and Matthew Heimbach. She also follows Wagner C. Soto. You can read more about Virginia Hale’s views at Media Matters. Update (April 2017): Virginia Hale deactivated her Twitter account sometime in March of 2017, but continues to write for Breitbart London.
John Binder, Breitbart US writer. @Jxhnbider.He has written nearly 300 articles for Breitbart since August 2016. Follows Paul Town, Baked Alaska, InfoWars. Also follows Peter Brimelow, white nationalist who gives speeches for white nationalist groups National Policy Institute and American Renaissance. Follows Based Monitored, Blaqpilled Victor, Brittany Pettibone, Ricky Vaughn, and Brannon. All followers/retweeters of white nationalists. Retweets WND, a conspiracy theorist website, VDare and Vegas4Trump, a self described white nationalist.
Nick Hallett (@NickJhallett) Breitbart London writer. He has written nearly 2,000 articles for Breitbart since February 2014. Nick follows Infowars editor Paul Joseph Watson. Infowars believes 9/11 was performed by the US government (inside job), and that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax.
Nick also follows @ReactionaryTree (aka TrumpenReich Tree)
Ezra Dulis, Breitbart US writer. @ezradulis Ezra has written about 300 articles for Breitbart since 2010. Ezra follows self described “American Nationalist” @RopePusher777 who retweets InfoWars, the 9/11 conspiracy website that says the US government performed 9/11 and killed 3,000 of its own citizens. Ezra follows and communicates with “Saul Townstein“ whose real name is Paul Town. Paul Town’s website, PaulTown.com, has a sidebar that invites people to visit American Renaissance website, a white nationalist group, and Daily Stormer, a neo-nazi group, and Fash, the Nation.com, a white nationalist website and podcast.
Christian Toto, Breitbart US writer. @HollywoodinToto. Mr. Toto has written nearly 3,000 articles for Breitbart since 2009. Mr. Toto follows Mark Dice, Illuminati/NWO conspiracy theorist. And also follows @kaleriley, who believes in the PizzaGate conspiracy theory and that Kanye West is fighting the Illuminati.
Donna Rachel Edmunds (@Donna_R_E). Breitbart London writer. Donna has written nearly 2,000 articles for Breitbart since May 2014. Follows Alex Jones (Info Wars), Info Wars main account, and Paul Watson (Info Wars). Info Wars is a conspiracy website that believes 9/11 was an inside job where the US government killed 3,000 of its own citizens. Also follows @ThaRightStuff, a self described fascist who runs http://www.Rightstuf.biz.
John Nolte, Breitbart US writer. @NolteNC. He has written nearly 6,500 articles for Breitbart since 2009. Nolte follows @velow1 who describes himself as a pro-white nationalist. He also follows “Resist Tyranny” who tweets Muslim American conspiracy theories and also follows “Fash” who tweets Infowars.
Lucas Nolan, Breitbart USA writer.@Lucasnolan_. He has written nearly 270 articles for Breitbart since June 2016. He follows InfoWars. Follows MissPatriarch (aka Becky), who is pro-Assad, pro-RT.com, and pro-white nationalism. Also follows and communicates with Paul Town, white nationalist who runs a website linking to Daily Stormer and Fash the Nation.
Katie McHugh, Breitbart US writer. @k_mcq. She has written more than 500 articles for Breitbart since 2014. She communicates with Paul Town (link 1, link 2) and Richard Spencer supporter @ReactionaryTree (link). Screencapped on 1-12-17. Here, Katie McHugh “likes” a Vdare tweet about John Derbyshire. Derbyshire was fired from the conservative journal National Review after he wrote the following:

“The mean intelligence of blacks is much lower than for whites. The least intelligent ten percent of whites have IQs below 81; forty percent of blacks have IQs that low. Only one black in six is more intelligent than the average white; five whites out of six are more intelligent than the average black.

(9) A small cohort of blacks—in my experience, around five percent—is ferociously hostile to whites and will go to great lengths to inconvenience or harm us. A much larger cohort of blacks—around half—will go along passively if the five percent take leadership in some event. They will do this out of racial solidarity, the natural willingness of most human beings to be led, and a vague feeling that whites have it coming.

(10c) If planning a trip to a beach or amusement park at some date, find out whether it is likely to be swamped with blacks on that date.
(10d) Do not attend events likely to draw a lot of blacks.
(10e) If you are at some public event at which the number of blacks suddenly swells, leave as quickly as possible.”

Source for quotes.

Derbyshire was positively mentioned by Breitbart here
As mentioned above, Vdare hosts white supremacist articles.

Dustin Stockton, Breitbart US writer, @DustinStockton. He has written nearly 150 articles for Breitbart since August 2015. Dustin follows, retweets, and tweets Based Alaska (@bakedalaska), who retweets Paul Town, InfoWars, RightStuff, and Richard Spencer. Dustin also retweets Mike Cernovich (“diversity is code for white genocide” link) and Mark Dice (NWO/Illumunati conspiracist)

Neil McCabe, Breitbart US writer. @NeilWmccabe. He has written nearly 400 articles for Breitbart since June 2016. Neil follows Irma Hinjosa who posts birther conspiracy theories. And Neil retweets InfoWars’ Paul Watson. InfoWars is a conspiracy site that believes 9/11 was done by the US government against its own citizens. Neil retweets Russia Today (RT.com) articles (RT is Russian government propaganda).
Matthew Boyle, Breitbart US writer. @mboyle. Matt has written nearly 2,500 articles for Breitbart since 2012. Mr. Boyle retweets VDARE tweets.Here are some excerpts of VDARE’s work:“America was defined — almost explicitly, sometimes very explicitly — as a white nation, for white people, and what that means is that there is virtually no figure, no law, no policy, no event in the history of the old, white America that can survive the transition to the new and non-white version. Whether we will want to call the new updated version ‘America’ at all is another question entirely.”— Sam Francis, VDARE.com, July 21, 2003“What race realists find most infuriating about the liberalism of the last half-century is not just that it has lost its instinctive appreciation for the culture and people of the West but actively, viciously attacks them. Whites are doing something no other people have ever done in human history. Our rulers and elites welcome replacement by aliens, they vilify our ancestors and their own, they sacrifice our interests to those of favored minorities, and they treat the entire history of the West as if it were a global plague of rapine and exploitation. This is a disease that is killing us, and we must fight it head on.”Jared Taylor, VDARE.com, July 4, 2008

Lee Stranahan, Breitbart US writer. @Stranaha. He has written nearly 900 articles for Breitbart since 2010. Lee follows Haley Claus. also follows Westleigh, and Infowars, also follows Jeremy Nolt, more Infowars / RT connections. Infowars is a conspiracy website that believes 9/11 was a US government attack on its own citizens. RT (Russia Today) is a Russian government propaganda website.

Chris Tomlinson. Chris is a writer at Breitbart London. He has written over 660 articles for Breitbart since January 2016. He follows multiple “Identitarian” Twitter users. Identitarians are far-right activists similar to white nationalists.

Brandon Darby, Breitbart Texas Editor-in-Chief. @Brandondarby. He has written nearly 500 articles for Breitbart since 2010.Brandon follows John Blake, who retweets self described fascist @TheRightStuf, a self described fascist who runs www.Rightstuf.biz.

ASK YOURSELF: Do President Trump and Lee ZELDIN know that Steve Bannon hired multiple white nationalists and InfoWars conspiracy theorists? And that Breitbart News still employs them? Do right-wing media outlets like FOX News know of Bannon’s links to white nationalists and InfoWars conspiracy theorists, but choose to ignore the issue?

Here is an interesting article on Breitbart, racists and the dirty work of laundering the ‘alt-right’. I quote from this article: “the more apparent portrait is of a budding media empire that seems intent on growing its own market share, and political power, by courting some of the coarser and most hateful elements on the American right — or turning a blind eye to the staffers doing the dirty work. It shows its one-time star [Milo Yiannopolous] literally seeking the approval of the farthest of the far right, even as he and they agree that Breitbart risks too much in acknowledging their influence…. That was the conclusion conservative blogger Ben Shapiro reached when he resigned from Breitbart in March 2016.”

And what happened to Ben Shapiro after he left Breitbart? It is a messy story! I quote:

…since his resignation from Breitbart in March, Shapiro, currently editor-in-chief of Daily Wire, has increasingly found himself targeted by the so-called alt-right movement…Breitbart published a piece by an alt-right Twitter personality known as “Pizza Party Ben” …that consisted mostly of a video mocking Shapiro for having complained about anti-Semitism, the alt-right, and Trump…

The nadir came a couple of weeks ago, though, when Shapiro’s wife gave birth to the couple’s second child. As the Daily Wire noted, Shapiro was hit with a wave of vicious anti-Semitic abuse, including multiple Holocaust references and requests that Shapiro and his family be sent to the ovens.

Breitbart News is “the platform for the alt-right,” boasts Stephen Bannon as per MotherJones.

I ask Lee Zeldin, is this the kind of personal brand you want?

Taking Action for Suffolk County: TASC

David Posnett — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 09:48:48 +0000

From Bryan Erwin
Founder, Taking Action for Suffolk County

I started Taking Action for Suffolk County to rebuild what we once had, the ability to elect progressives up and down the ballot in Suffolk County.

In truth, given the outcome of the 2016 national election, I would have founded TASC even if we had calm, common sense elected representatives who were in the community engaging us.

We have no such luck.

Instead, we have two Congressmen who, in my opinion, have embraced the worst of the Trump agenda and rhetoric. Not only with a voting record in lockstep with President Trump, but with reprehensible words and actions that are further dividing us. But with your support we can make a change!

For Peter King:

Voted for the Republican healthcare repeal bill when it was in the House, and then railed against it in the Senate. The bill he voted for would have cut $14 million from 3 hospitals in his district, and left 2.7 million NY residents without healthcare.
Urged President Trump to put Muslims and community and student groups with Muslim members under strict surveillance based on a failed NYPD program. The NYPD dismantled that practice due to its encroachment on civil liberties, potential unconstitutionality and its utter ineffectiveness.
In Peter King’s district, the opioid crisis has impacted families and communities of all backgrounds. Peter King has done nothing to help solve this crisis, and has ignored it. He has done nothing to lobby Trump to do more to address this. Indeed, Trump’s recent declaration of an “emergency” did nothing to provide support for communities facing this epidemic.

For Lee Zeldin:

Said Trump was right to call out liberals for being as violent as those on the “alt right” protesting in Charlotesville and in 2016 called President Obama “racist”.
Took $10,000 of NRA money. His only response or legislative action to the tragedy in Las Vegas was a tweet mourning the “senseless loss;” and voted to allow the severely mentally ill to purchase firearms.
Appears with President Trump to claim leadership in the fight on MS-13, yet voted against funding for our police to buy cameras to collect license plate data, a proven tool to fight terrorists and gangs.
Has consistently voted for draconian GOP budgets that cut federally subsidized student loans, a necessary component to afford college from high cost Long Island.
Not only voted for, but co-sponsored the so-called First Amendment Defense Act which allows for businesses to discriminate based on perceived sexual orientation.

Forget sharing our progressive values, the above actions, votes and statements demonstrate that Representatives Zeldin and King are not even mainstream Republicans, but are part and parcel of the ethno-nationalist radicalization of the Republican party.

The truth is they only vote and act this way, because they can. They are counting on your being too busy to notice and to fed up to do anything about it. Zeldin and King are serving their extremist masters in the White House and the right-wing donor base.

But TASC knows. And TASC is keeping score. And we are motivating our neighbors to register to vote, to engage our neighbors on issues they care about now and not waiting until election season. But we need your help to keep it up!

They have gone too far. Fight back now with TASC.

Bryan

Short Hospital Stocks!

David Posnett — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 16:36:14 +0000

I have been waiting for this: Wall street is jittery about Hospital stocks. Here is why:

(1) Investors are approaching hospital stocks cautiously

As Les Masterson has said:

“Some unfavorable financial trends and an air of uncertainty for healthcare’s future has led to an environment not particularly friendly for major investment…as hospitals continue to struggle with fewer inpatient admissions, lower reimbursements and potential increases in uncompensated care, investors are growing wary”

“The current environment caused disappointing second quarters and lower earnings projections for major for-profit systems like HCA, Community Health Systems (CHS) and Tenet Healthcare…. The results led stock prices to tumble.”

(2) Hospital Sector Slides:

The Financial Times notes that US hospital operators‘ stock prices are sliding down following a report that President Donald Trump will sign an executive order this week to withdraw some insurance requirements laid out under Obamacare. Tenet Healthcare, Community Health Systems, Surgery Partners, HCA Healthcare, DaVita shares tumbled losing up to 10% in stock prices.

(3) some are suggesting “Checking in on the Canadian Healthcare Stocks“ Ha!

I wonder whether Donald Trump and the rest of his cronies have already sold their healthcare stocks? And how about Lee Zeldin’s “concern” (?) about the hospitals in Suffolk county. It is the biggest sector of the local economy.

Zeldin Must Stand Up And Protect Long Island’s Health Care

David Posnett — Mon, 25 Sep 2017 17:27:26 +0000

Letter To Editor: Zeldin Must Stand Up And Protect Long Island’s Health Care

Published in “Smithtown Matters”, Friday, September 22, 2017 at 6:08PM

Dear Editor,

Next week, Senate Republicans will debate a cruel plan to take away health care from millions of Americans and tens of thousands of Long Islanders. Under the Graham-Cassidy bill, there would be a massive shift of federal support from “blue” states to “red” – especially from New York to Texas. In fact, New York could lose more than $45 billion dollars in federal funding. This would create enormous market uncertainty and devastate thousands of Long Islanders, particularly working families, the elderly, and the disabled.

Where is Rep. Lee Zeldin on the bill? Does he realize how much funding would be stripped from New York? Does he care? Even some New York Republicans, like Rep. Tom Reed and Rep. Peter King, have come out against Graham-Cassidy. I urge Rep. Zeldin – who voted to strip health care from millions of Americans earlier this summer – to stop playing politics with the lives of Long Islanders and oppose this bill for the good of his constituents.

Perry Gershon

Democratic candidate for New York’s 1^st congressional district

Also, check this out:

http://www.businessinsider.com/graham-cassidy-healthcare-bill-obamacare-insurance-2017-9

David Posnett MD

Two-faced Lee Zeldin on White Supremacist Rally in Charlottesville

David Posnett — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 20:35:02 +0000

Zeldin’s bizarre bifurcation of responses to Charlottesville continues. Yesterday he went back to his original position defending Trump and blaming both sides. That weak response is also the one on his website press release page, his official Facebook page and his official Twitter feed. He condemns the KKK and Nazism by name, before going on to blame the violence on both sides: but only on his personal Facebook page and in a letter sent to select donors and the Shelter Island Reporter (now also on the “in the news” section of his website).

Trying to show donors he’ll condemn anti-Semitism, while keeping his core Trump-supporting rightwing supporters happy by calling out both sides?

Contributed by Sue Hornik