Lost Art of Common Sense

The forgotten and ignored middle class

2011-10-05T22:42:00.000-04:00

We were promised change and a better lifestyle

But promises were all that we got

We were dazzled with speeches and blinded with style

And change did we get…We did not

So our taxes go up and our jobs disappear

Paying four dollars a gallon for gas

Paycheck to paycheck we live now in fear

The forgotten and ignored middle class

The Cut and Paste Generation

2011-10-01T11:53:00.000-04:00

More and more states are on the verge of bankruptcy and the federal government just continues to toss good money after bad. Has anyone wondered why we are in this situation? Here is our take. The problem is that we have become a cut and paste society and original thinking has all but disappeared from this generation. Just ask any student when was the last time they visited a library to do real research. Why should they when with the click of a cursor they can get all of the information they need. Ask them to write an essay and see how many spelling errors or "text abbreviations" you find. And you can forget about grammar all together. But why do they need to worry when they all have spell and grammar check on their computers. And it is not only the student's fault. School rankings are based on success in standardized tests. So students are taught to pass those tests. Shortcuts are instituted to bypass anything that is not covered on these standardized tests. And the problems just get worse and worse. An entire industry now exists to teach students to pass High School entrance exams and SAT tests. Shortcuts....shortcuts....shortcuts. And this extends to the business world as well. These same students have become today's executives. The majority of who have never worked their way up the corporate ladder. No real on the job training and more importantly no common sense. Personal gain overshadowing corporate responsibility. And why not! This is a generation that has been able to fast forward most of their lives while skipping over or deleting anything that has gotten in their way. A generation of "Guitar Heroes" who can't read a note of music. A generation who do not know the value of a dollar and whose lives are "PRICELESS" or who "WON"T LEAVE HOME" without their credit cards And these are the people who are now making the corporate decisions that have brought our country to the brink of bankruptcy. They are the same people taking these ideas into government who think that a $14 trillion national debt is not a concern. The same people who pass bills without reading them. So we will have to work till we die as our 401K's disappear and Social Security goes bankrupt. As the new cut and paste generation takes the place of the old cut and run generation before them We can only pray that the day will come when they begin to realize that Real Life is not something you watch on MTV. And hopefully that day comes soon.

9/11: Politics and Money vs. Commitment

2011-08-21T12:18:00.002-04:00

Ten years ago many promises were made. “We will never forget the victims of this tragic day” seemed to be on the lips of every elected official. Shortly after these same elected officials took every opportunity to praise the brave first responders who worked tirelessly to find survivors before they took on the task of finding remains of those lost in the rubble. But that was ten years ago and many of those promises have been forgotten. There is already talk about not reading the names at the 9/11 ceremony after this year. We are also all aware that the first responders are not even invited to this year’s ceremony. So much for not forgetting. Prominent elected officials are falling over themselves to be in attendance this year. Many of these have never been there before or only showed up on the 5th anniversary as if the other years did not matter. Many of these will be to too busy running for office to attend next year unless they are behind in the polls in New York. This is the type of hypocritical behavior has been prevalent over the last 10 years. Many have made and continue to make millions or have built their political careers off this tragedy. And these same people have forgotten or only remember when it serves their agenda. Mr. Mayor why don’t you ask some of the survivors who made it out because of the brave first responders if they think these heroes should be able to attend. Or ask a family who were able to respectfully bury their loved one because of the efforts of these same people you look to exclude from this year’s ceremony. As for the reading of the names going forward I ask that you ask all of the 9/11 families not just the select group that you always refer to that have rubber stamped any decision you wanted to make regarding Ground Zero. It has never been a problem reaching out to all of the families when it comes to asking for donations for the memorial so it should not be a problem reaching out to all of them for their opinion on this. While we are speaking about the memorial has anyone even considered how you are going to deal with the tens of thousands (mostly tourists) who are going to want to visit every day if you cannot even handle inviting the first responders for one day. We hope that those in power will take these things into consideration when decisions are being made. Unfortunately when it comes to 9/11 politics and money have always come before commitment.

2011-08-12T14:59:00.000-04:00

To All,

As we approach the 10 year mark we thought we might look back as to where we started and thank all those who stepped up after 9/11. Below is an article written shortly after 9/11 documenting the beginning of or organization and the small role we played.

Dennis

FROM THE GROUND UP

Dennis McKeon
Executive Director
“Where to Turn Inc.”

St. Clare’s WTC Outreach

On September 11, 2001 America as we knew it was changed forever. 2,759 lives were senselessly lost and it would be difficult to find anyone not impacted by the tragic events of that day. In Staten Island, New York the parish of St. Clare lost 29 of its parishioners. Monsignor Murphy called together a small group to see what we could do for the families of the victims. Jim Mazzarella, Tony Cimaglia, Tom Gisonda, Bernice Fisher, Maureen Atkinson, Jim Connors, Stephen Rynn, Jack Lamantia, Daniella LaRocca and I got together and formed the St. Clare’s WTC Outreach Committee.
Knowing that something needed to be done but not really knowing what we immediately asked the members of the parish if they would be willing to help. At once we had over 200 volunteers who were at the ready to do anything from baby sitting to cooking meals. We had over 100 activities covered in a matter of days.
We then proceeded to review individually the 223 organizations that were listed on the Attorney General’s WTC Relief Website. We knew that the families were in no state of mind, or even have the time to access the data, so we did it for them. We prioritized what needed to be done and came up with a First Steps of Recovery guide to what the families needed to do. We listed the organizations that needed to be contacted (e.g., Federal Emergency Management Administration, American Red Cross, New York State Crime Victims etc.) and their contact information and shared it with the families. We then sent out a letter to each family letting them know that we were available if needed and if they preferred we would meet with them individually.
During the first few weeks following 9/11 we received very few calls. In late October, we received our first call for a meeting from the sister of a woman who had lost her husband. Armed only with our “First Steps to Recovery” guide, as well as many doubts and uncertainties, Jim Mazzarella and I met with the family. It was immediately obvious that the family was still in shock and confused and uncertain as to what they needed to do. We listened to the victim’s wife and father and attempted to answer any of the questions that we could. We made sure that they had any applications for assistance that they needed, and made them aware of any filing deadlines that had been established. There were many questions that we could not answer, but we promised to find and return with the answers. We spent about two hours with the family before telling them that we would be back in touch shortly and giving them our contact numbers in case they had any additional questions. Upon leaving them that night, Jim and I were not sure if we had actually done any good. Little did we know that this was the beginning of an incredible journey.
Shortly after this meeting we began getting calls from other families and began making appointments to meet with them. At least two Committee Members participated in each meeting, and with accrued experience, we became more confident and informed. In the meantime we continued to accumulate information and researched the questions we had received. If we could not find the answers on the web we would contact agencies directly until we got an answer. While we were putting a structure to this program, St. Clare also put together a 9/11 Bereavement Program for the families. Under the guidance of Marty Philips, this group began to meet every week. Slowly but surely this group grew. After a while Marty asked if I would be able to speak to them and explain our program. The following week I went to the meeting, explained what we were attempting to do and handed out to the seven family members in attendance the package of information that we had put together. Later in the week, Marty called and asked if I would be able to present again at the next meeting. He explained that he had gotten requests from some family members who had missed the meeting. I was shocked to find almost twenty five family members in attendance when I returned the following week Once again I explained the program and handed out our information. I also told the group that I did not want to interfere with the work of the Bereavement Group and that I would ask Monsignor Murphy if we could schedule our own meeting once a week. For the next year and a half we met every Tuesday night. The local newspaper ran an article about the program and before we knew it, we had family members from all over Staten Island as well as Brooklyn and New Jersey. At times, we had fifty to seventy five family members in attendance. As attendance grew, so did our scope and responsibilities.
The primary focus of the St. Clare’s WTC Outreach Committee was always the needs of the families. We structured our meetings around family requests. We discussed any issues deemed necessary by the families and, when necessary, we brought in representatives from support organizations and elected officials to answer questions or address concerns. I believe there were two reasons why we succeeded: We always listened, and we never treated the family members as victims. We provided an environment in which they felt safe. They were not afraid to say what was on their minds. We gave them an opportunity to vent their frustrations among other survivors who in turn became friends. We were also there, when things needed to get done, to ensure that they got done. Members would often put something off because they did not want to deal with it. As a group, we made sure that they realized that it was in their best interest and we were able to move forward and get through some difficult times.
Over the course of the last three years we covered topics ranging from development at Ground Zero to the Victims’ Compensation Fund. When the city turned down the families’ request to have the closing ceremony at Ground Zero on the weekend, we held our own. We supplied buses to family events during the year as well as transportation to Ground Zero on 9/11. We convened information forums which gave the families the opportunity to meet face to face people they had only contacted over the phone. We scheduled family days and events for the children throughout the year. Most of all we kept things simple. If there was a question we got it answered. If an issue arose, we got it resolved or at least tried. We never made promises that we could not keep, but made sure that other organizations and elected officials made good on the ones that they had made.

Role of the Internet – Post 9/11

As we moved forward with the program we received more and more inquiries. People who could not attend the meetings wanted to know how they could receive the information and support we were providing. We began an e-mail distribution list that soon grew to 1,500 families, support organizations , elected officials and media outlets. With the help of a few individuals we were able to create a 9/11 family network that continues to distribute information across the nation. In the course of gathering this information we met many individuals who were also attempting to keep the family members informed. One such person was Arnie Korotkin.
Arnie was the Director of Community Development United Way and became a 9/11 contact person. In this capacity he contacted local families that had lost a loved one on September 11. In the course of his outreach he spoke with many family members who were in a state of shock and finding it difficult to understand or accept their loss. During a conversation with a mother of four who had lost her husband, he learned that she had stopped reading the daily newspaper or listening to the radio and television news reports in the days following 9/11. Believing that it was essential for 9/11 families to stay informed and connected he began sending her regular e-mails containing articles and information relevant for her to access services that had been established after 9/11. He informed her that these e-mails would assist with the myriad of problems (financial, emotional, etc.) she was facing and that she would have the option to read them when she in a state of mind to do so.
Arnie built on this idea and began to send daily e-mails to a growing list of 9/11 families and organizations. This activity became part of his daily routine and reaffirmed the vital role that e-mail and the internet could now play in the recovery process. No longer did the families have to rely on traditional media outlets. The use of e-mails and the internet now provided them 24/7 access to timely information. Others including Bill Doyle and Alan Duncan joined in the information sharing and soon the network was providing families with newspaper and magazine articles as well as information for social and human services, financial resources, scholarships and support groups.

The distribution continued to grow and now reaches thousands of people every day. We share all new information so that the families get information from a variety of sources. Government offices and Major Support Organizations have used this distribution network to get word out to the families about upcoming events. Press releases as well as media requests are shared by most news outlets as they know that they will reach the 9/11 families. At one point I was receiving over 200 e-mails a day and sending close to 100. Even today I process nearly 20 e-mails to the distribution on a daily basis.
Thanks to the internet we have become a 9/11 information conduit that the 9/11 families rely on. It is important to note that we distribute a variety of opinions and views along with general information. Anything distributed is for informational purposes only and we let the readers decide for themselves what they think is the correct course of action. We have built a trust with the families that we hope never to lose.
Our St Clare’s Group continued to meet on a regular basis through June of 2004. At that point it was decided that regular meetings were no longer needed but the distribution of information and the availability of support are, and they continue today. When we began the St. Clare’s WTC Outreach Program we pledged to be around as long as the families needed us and we plan to honor that commitment.

Where To Turn

Over the past three years we learned many lessons about recovery. We found that too often groups are too set in their ways and too protective of their territories to make changes. Many times this results in unnecessary problems for the victims. Also, it seems that at times researchers and support organizations get so caught up in studies and statistics that they lose site of the fact that the individual victim’s needs should come first. By now we all know that there is no road map to recovery and that every individual has his or her own path to follow. We need to continue to make sure that information that the victims need is readily accessible. We also need to assure that programs are being developed for all the populations that need them. Too often we have multiple organizations competing for a specific population while others who need help are being neglected. Unfortunately, this seems to have become more the norm then the exception.
Over the past year, a few members of the St. Clare’s WTC Outreach Committee (Jim Mazzarella, Jim Connors, Stephen Rynn, Jack LaMantia, Tim Rice and I) decided it was time to address this issue. We decided to take all of the lessons learned after 9/11 and put together an organization that would provide any victim of tragedy a single place to go to look for help. We decided it was time to let any victim know “Where To Turn”.
The concept of “Where To Turn” is fairly straight forward. We plan to create and maintain a database and a web site which will enable any victim of tragedy to easily locate and access what aid and support is available to them both locally and nationally. We will also provide a showcase that will enable local grass root programs to share with a national audience what they have developed. Most of all we will provide a voice for the victims. We will allow them to help us help them by giving them an avenue to provide direct feedback on what is working and what is not.
Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2004, we began accumulating data on support organizations across the country. We first verify and sort the organizations by program and location. We then link these organizations to a single web site and enable any victim to access the data. If your home burns down in Topeka, Kansas or if you lose a loved one in an accident in Santa Fe, New Mexico you will be able to find what support is available both locally and nationally. We will also make you aware of what support groups are doing around the country. Basically, we will let you know “Where To Turn.”
We plan for this organization to grow based on input from the victims themselves. We will spotlight programs and organizations on a regular basis. We will also open a call center so that people without computers will be able to access this information. We will also look for ways to accommodate the concerns of non English speaking victims. We will develop the program so that it is accessible to all populations including all immigrant and minority groups and attempt to address the multiple language issue. We will also attempt to aid community projects for victims and most of all we will act as a clearinghouse of information for all victims of tragedy.
Some may think that this is an unrealistic project. If 9/11 has demonstrated anything it is that, not only is this realistic, but it is necessary. Too often valuable programs never reach their intended audiences. Too often, great ideas never get the opportunity to be developed because they never get presented to the right people. Too often, victims remain victims for their entire lives because they never get the opportunity to know that there are people out there willing to help. They need to be put in touch with people who have gone through similar circumstances and were able to move on. We need to let them know that there is hope and we need to get this sense of hope out to all victims of tragedy.
It is important to note that we are not counselors, psychologists or trauma experts. We are attempting to connect these victims to the experts to help aid in their recovery. We hope to bring common sense back to the recovery process. We hope to break down some walls, or at least install a few windows, that will enable people on both sides to see that there are alternatives. Too often victims are lost because their spirits are broken early on. We hope to rekindle that spirit and bring hope back into their lives.
A few days after 9/11 Wendy Pellegrino found a picture of one of the victims of 9/11 that had been left in a vacant lot near her home on Staten Island. Wendy cleared a small area of the lot and made a makeshift memorial for the victim. As the days passed, more and more pictures where dropped off at the site and Wendy continued to create individual memorials. She started with candles, which were replaced by lanterns. At dusk she would make sure that each memorial was lit and at midnight she would return to put them out. With the help of Fred Ariemma, a local landscaper, she transformed this vacant lot into a beautiful memorial which, as of this writing, includes 188 tributes. She named the memorial Angels Circle and it has done more to comfort and support the victims’ families then countless sophisticated programs developed by so- called experts. A simple gesture of kindness has grown into a meaningful memorial
Such innovative programs will only develop if you continue to get feedback from those affected. We need to create an environment where new ideas can flourish. We need to give a voice to these ideas and maybe get some of these long-standing organizations to make some changes not just for the sake of change but because it is the right thing to do.

Looking Forward

Aldous Huxley once said “Experience teaches only the teachable.” We must continue to allow ourselves to be teachable. Shortly after 9/11 the country as a whole came together and many families whose lives were devastated on that tragic day were able to keep going because of the love and support that was shown. Many of the programs were developed by everyday people who just wanted to help. People like Arnie, Bill and Alan who took it upon themselves to keep the families informed. Organizations like the St. Clare’s WTC Outreach program were successful because they were adaptable. They were not bound by any bureaucratic rules. They saw a need and did whatever was necessary to fill it, and many families benefited. People like Lisa Orloff who created Septembers Space which provides a place where victims can go and meet and heal. Simple ideas, great results. We need to continue to cultivate an environment where new ideas in the field of recovery are permitted to grow. For example:

The most underserved population in terms of recovery appears to be the teenage children of victims. While they attempt to be strong for their surviving parent or younger siblings, they are not giving themselves the opportunity to heal. Let’s create programs where they might be able to mentor younger victims at camps or after school programs. In helping others they may be able help themselves under the watchful eye of professional counselors. We can help them without them even knowing it.
The parents of victims are also almost always forgotten. We have found that just enabling them to interact and communicate with other parents has made a world of difference. Let’s embrace this concept and foster lines of communications between parents of victims and let them help heal each other.
Let’s make it easier for the everyday person to get involved. We have already started the “Gift of Life for 9/11” program. Through this program we are hoping to get 10,000 everyday people to commit to either donating blood or performing a community service four times a year in memory of those lost on 9/11.
These are just a few ideas and I am sure that there are thousands of others out there as well. Through “Where To Turn” and the use of the internet we hope to be able to rediscover these programs and share them with the victims of tragedy. We do not have to recreate the wheel but I think that it is time to replace a few of the spokes. We cannot continue to treat victims as numbers or statistics. We must not lose site of the fact that we could just as easily be in there situation. They are friends and, over the past few years, many have become family.
We all need to take a step back and look at the whole picture. On September 11, 2001 America was devastated but not defeated. Families were broken but not destroyed. Our faith was shaken but hope was not lost. With the eyes of the world upon us we pulled ourselves up. Petty prejudices were forgotten. The lines that so often have separated us were forgotten. No one spoke of race, religion or political affiliation. We were one family that had been severely hurt and, we responded as a family. We did not ask how or why we needed to help. We just did. We need not forget how we as a nation responded that day as a nation and we need never forget that every member of our collective family deserves the same treatment today. No tragedy is too small, no trauma to insignificant for it is never too far removed from each and every one of us especially in today’s political climate.
So let’s continue the work of Arnie, Bill, Alan and Wendy. Let’s follow the examples of St. Clare’s WTC Outreach, September’s Space and Where To Turn. Most of all, let us continue to be teachable and never forget that every problem has a solution. We just need to find it.

For Too Long We Have Delegated "Authority"

2011-08-12T14:13:00.000-04:00

So the Port Authority is going to raise tolls by $4.00 on all New Jersey crossings. Is anybody surprised?

And it’s just a matter of time before the MTA starts claiming that they are broke and will be demanding fare increases for less service. Since these autonomous agencies were first created by Robert Moses back in the 1930’s as a way to circumvent local government they have been nothing but a cash cow for those involved. Decades of mismanagement caused by executive ranks filled with unqualified employees who got their jobs solely based on their political connections have cost New York hundreds of billions of dollars. And while no one seems to have any control of the authorities it is always the taxpayer that has to bail them out time and time again. The PA, the MTA, the TBA the list goes on and on we have basically given them the authority to steal taxpayer money by not having any system of checks and balances in place to control them. We couldn’t even require the PA to rebuild Ground Zero according to NYC Building and Fire codes, but that’s another story. Although we have very little faith in Albany this would be a great way to show that they are actually attempting to bring back at least a little fiscal responsibility. But if they are going to do it they need to do it right. There is currently no need for any of these Authorities and they should be disbanded altogether. Like a cancer they have spread to areas far outside the scope of what they were created to handle. Has anyone even asked why the Port Authority is in the real estate business and what did the World Trade Center ever have to do with the ports of NY and NJ? It is time to shut them down and make all of the high paid executives get some real jobs. And while we are at it the Mayor should do the same with the myriad of agencies that have been created at the city level that use the Authorities as their role models. Agencies like the LMDC that spends over $4 million a year with little or nothing to show for it. An agency that has spent nearly a billion dollars on the dismantling of a single building that still stands at Ground Zero. This is where we need to begin and we have been calling for this for the past 9 years. Time and time again they have proven that they are not able to handle the authority that was delegated to them. It is time we took it back.

There Are Twice as Many Slot Machines in the US as There Are ATM's

2011-08-01T22:52:00.001-04:00

As the economy continues to falter and budget deficits continue to swell more and more states are pursuing legalized gambling as a way to generate revenues. At last count there are 38 states that now support some type of state sponsored gambling. To the government this looks like a quick fix to the budget crisis. Unfortunately they are gambling with our future. Studies have shown that more people are gambling than ever before. And as the economy gets worse we will only see these numbers grow. (See below) As people look for that quick score to pay the bills. People who cannot afford it particularly seniors are getting caught up in the "Dollar and a Dream" hype and are now spending grocery money on scratch off or trips to casinos. More of our children watch the World Series of Poker than the World Series. World Series games don't start until almost 9:00 PM and don't end until after midnight while gambling shows are on around the clock on multiple channels. And it is only going to get worse. As the Governor looks to expand slot machines at local race tracks and LOTTO spends millions on new ad campaigns more and more people are losing their savings and in some cases even their homes. Many have already lost their retirement plans thanks to our friends on Wall Street and are now looking to gambling as a bailout. This is the worse possible time for the government to be expanding its gambling operations. But as usual they will not be able to pass up a quick fix with no regard for the future. Awhile back we asked our local electeds to support an effort to at least stop state sponsored advertising for gambling (see below) But none of them even considered it. Don't you think that the millions spent on the "Little Bit of Luck" and other ads could be put to better use? Obviously they do not think so. So they will continue to try to draw more people in to inflate their short term revenues as they continue to spend more and more on advertising and administrative costs.

As they continue to gamble with our future.

Over the past few years there has been a significant increase in the number of seniors who have taken up gambling as a new form of entertainment.
Unfortunately it is not entertainment
The gambling establishments have created various incentive programs and innovative advertising gimmicks to lure them into a dark world. The end result is a senior with a self destructive behavior pattern and low self esteem.
They constantly receive enticements such as:
Tired of staying at home with nothing to do, come down and visit us we will make you feel at home.
Free live entertainment awaits you.
Buffets and exotic restaurants
Make new friends
Not only will we pay for the transportation with coupon vouchers, we will also throw in free lunch at our buffet. You are getting a full day of entertainment and we will feed you too.
ATM machines, cash advances and line of credits are available
The result has been that many seniors are losing their pensions, losing their life savings and some even losing their lives.
In New Jersey alone on over 15% of the callers to the 1-800-GAMBLER© HOTLINE are over the age of 55.
The situation is not much better with the youth of America.
On line gambling, World Series of Poker on every day with other gambling shows on cable and now even network channels.
Texas Holdem Tournaments everywhere.
In a recent study 70% of students interviewed between the ages of 13 and 17 stated that they had gambled.
In a Florida study 12.5% of adolescents interviewed reported they had purchased a lottery ticket in the past year.
And what is the government doing about this problem…….nothing.
As a matter of fact more and more states are legalizing gambling as a means of generating revenues.
Don’t be surprised if you wake up one morning and hear about Governor’s Island becoming a casino destination.
While we know that there is nothing we can do about commercial gambling establishments (although there should be) there is something we can do about government sponsored gambling.
For example the NY State Lottery.
Why is it necessary to advertise?
Why are we going after other people to gamble?
If the state wants the lottery that is fine but instead of spending millions on advertising they should use these funds for gambling treatment and education for which funds are almost nonexistent.
Don’t they know that more people die as a result of gambling then drugs and alcohol combined?
Why the need to draw new people into this addiction.
They have warning labels on cigarettes and ban soda from schools but actively recruit people of all ages?
We hear of stores being fined for selling cigarettes to minors but when is the last time you heard of the same for someone selling lottery tickets?
Well we want something done.
We are going to continue to call on our elected officials to ask them to call for a ban on gambling advertisement similar to the one on cigarette and liquor ads.
We hope that you will join us in our effort.
We are also going to coordinate seminars with the DA’s office to schools for both parents and students to make them aware of the warning signs and preventive measures to take.
We hope to be able to make a difference.

Below is a letter we sent to our state electeds in 2008 and we have been reminding them every year since.

Hopefully we can get their attention.

Dennis McKeon
150 Greaves Lane # 312
Staten Island, NY 10308
718-966-6531

WHERE TO TURN
150-L Greaves Lane # 312
Staten Island, NY 10308
Phone: 718-966-6531 Fax: 718-966-6515
www.where-to-turn.org

January 14, 2008

State Senator Diane Savino
State Senator Andrew Lanza
Assemblywoman Janelle Hyer-Spencer
Assemblyman Michael Cusick
Assemblyman Matthew Titone
Assemblyman Lou Tobacco
District Attorney Daniel Donovan

Knowing of your concern for the youth and senior citizens I would like to ask your assistance in addressing a growing problem impacting both groups.

Over the past 10 years gambling has become a major problem with both the youth and senior populations.

Seniors have lost their life savings, their homes and in some cases even their lives after being drawn into the dream of winning it big by both the private and public gambling sectors.

The NY State Lottery spends millions on ad campaigns to draw unsuspecting seniors into the world of gambling, while the casinos lure them with promises of free meals and coped rooms.

A recent study showed that in New Jersey alone over 15% of the callers to the 1-800- Gambling Hotline were over the age of 55.

The problem is no better with the youth in America. Through online gambling and the host of poker tournaments on cable and network TV we are presenting gambling as a positive alternative to hard work and education.

A study in Florida showed that 12.5% of adolescents interviewed reported that they had purchased a lottery ticket this past year and that 70% of students between the ages of 13 and 17 stated that they had gambled.

I am sure that if studies were done in New York we would find the numbers to be similar if not higher.

I know everyone has to right to “legally gamble” and that we really cannot do anything about the casinos advertising but why does the state of NY have to contribute to this outreach.

If New York wants the lottery that’s fine but instead of spending millions on advertising to try to draw more people into gambling they should be using these funds for gambling treatment and educational programs about the dangers of gambling.

Don’t they realize that more people die from the effects of compulsive gambling then the effects of drugs and alcohol combined?

The government places warning labels on cigarettes and bans soda from schools but continues to actively recruit people of all ages with their concept of a “Dollar and a Dream”

We hear of stores being fined for selling cigarettes or beer to minors but when was the last time a store was cited for selling lottery tickets to underage kids.

We are asking for your help to address this issue.

To start would it be possible to at least propose legislation to ban advertising for state sponsored gambling?

We currently have such bans on liquor and cigarette ads.

Would it not make sense to do the same for gambling ads?

We are in the process of working with the DA’s Office to develop seminars to outreach to schools to warn students of the dangers of gambling. These seminars will also be available to parents to make them aware of the warning signs of teenage gambling.

We hope you will join us in this effort to protect our seniors and students,

We are available at your convenience to discuss this further.

Sincerely,

Dennis McKeon

Executive Director

And They Wonder Why We Lose Faith In Our Government

2011-07-26T22:54:00.001-04:00

The United States Department of Health & Human Services announced today that there is insufficient medical evidence to support a link between the exposure to Ground Zero toxins and various forms of cancer at this time. The government strikes again. It was nearly 10 years ago when former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman knowingly released falsely reassuring and misleading statements of safety after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Even though the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found that her statements were "without question conscience-shocking." Even though The court also found the facts "support an allegation of a violation of the substantive due process right to be free from official government policies that increase the risk of bodily harm" by Whitman's misstatements regarding the air quality of the affected area. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stated that she could not be held liable for her actions. Now 10 years later people who worked at Ground Zero and believed Christie Todd Whitman because she represented the government continue to get sick. And what does the government do? It takes cancer, the disease that represents the largest number of claims in the Zadroga Bill, and makes anyone who contracted cancer as a result f their work at Ground Zero or Fresh Kills ineligible for aid. So our government which is about to raise the debt ceiling once again because they just cant control their spending on anything else decides to save a few bucks here at the expense of 9/11 victims. If we try to fight them on this they will probably use the same excuse they did back then when the Appeals Court stated that legal remedies are not always available for every instance of arguably deficient governmental performance. But we must fight them just as we fought them to get the Zadroga Bill passed. We owe it to those who helped and are now sick. We owe to all of those who have died of cancer after working at the site or at Fresh Kills. It is our responsibility to make sure our government holds to its commitments to the victims of 9/11. This September is the 10th Anniversary of the attacks and this is no way to honor the memory of those who died that day. Teddy Roosevelt once said "Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but in finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found, against the wrong". That is what we need to do today. Let your voices be heard. Lest We Forget Dennis

Remembering 9/11 Every Day

2011-05-07T11:08:00.000-04:00

This week the papers and news shows were filled with stories about the death of Bin Laden and the President’s visit to Ground Zero.

I saw editorials from people I have never heard of who are now experts on military events and 9/11 issues.

And I saw quotes from elected officials who I have not heard from since they voted against the Zadroga Bill.

Politicians who have most likely never even been to Ground Zero and probably never seen Shanksville.

All grabbing the spot light and stating how great the death of Bin Laden was and how it shows that they will never forget.

It makes me sad to know that after the Sunday editions and the morning talk shows all of this will disappear for another three months.

And then for the 10th Anniversary these same people will once again get back on their soap boxes with their cries of “We will never forget”

Well the fact of the matter is that most of them have forgotten.

They are more concerned with their own pet projects then they are of national security.

If they were really concerned about the victims of 9/11 it would not have taken them so long to pass the Zadroga Bill.

If they were as concerned with the 9/11 families as they were to respectfully bury Bin Laden we wouldn’t have remains of victims still buried in the Fresh Kills Landfill.

We still would not have possible remains on rooftops and sewers surrounding Ground Zero in areas that have not been properly searched.

We would not have spent hundreds of millions and still have thousands of remains unidentified.

Remains that will be buried below street level at Ground Zero along with the 9/11 Memorial Museum.

We would have an explanation of how thousands in cash and personal items disappeared from the NYPD Property Department.

We would not be spending millions of dollars a year on the LMDC to pay the salaries of political favorites.

And we would not continue to mistreat the thousands of soldiers who have returned from fighting since 9/11 as well the families of those who never returned.

If they really did not forget these issues would not still be left unresolved.

If they really did not forget we not only hear from them on 9/11 or when terrorists are killed.

So while I would like to personally that the President, the Navy Seals and everyone else who contributed to the death of Bin Laden, I would also like to thank all of you who keep the memories of our loved ones alive every day.

And I hope that one day those in power will realize that we need to remember 9/11 everyday and not when we get an Outlook reminder.

We most continue to speak for those who no longer can and assure that this never happens again.

We Must Never Forget.

Keeping The Memory of Those We Have Lost Alive

2011-05-02T13:46:00.001-04:00

As word of the death of Osama Bin Laden spread a sense of satisfaction also began to spread that this mass murderer finally had met his end at the hands of the US military. People rejoiced and celebrated the death of this evil conspirator who caused the death of nearly 3,000 innocent people on 9/11 and so many others over the past nine years. Upon hearing the news a I was hit with a sense of relief that this nearly ten year effort had finally resulted in the death of one of the most despicable men the world had ever known. Unfortunately I kept hearing that this will bring closure to many of the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 and in the efforts since. While this does close a significant 9/11 chapter it does not bring closure at all. It will not bring back the parents, the children, the siblings or the friends lost on 9/11. It will not fill the emptiness in the hearts of so many 9/11 family members. It will not eliminate the haunted memories of that September morning in 2001. Hopefully what it will do will be to send a message to the remaining terrorists out there and remind them that they are all still on our radar and that we will not rest until they all meet the same fate. As for us we need to continue to keep the memory of those murdered alive. We need to continue to speak for those who no longer can. We need to constantly remind those in power that “We Will Never Forget” loses its effect when we only hear it on days like this or on the anniversary of 9/11. We need to keep the memories of those who have died alive by continuing to support those who still suffer the after effects of that tragic day. We need to keep the memories of those who have died alive by supporting the soldiers who protect us and by properly treating the physical and mental needs of those when they return home. And we need to keep the memories of those who have died alive by being vigilant and on guard against future terrorist attacks. Finally we need to rekindle the sense of unity and patriotism that we saw the weeks following 9/11. And we need to continue to take a positive, proactive approach to instill goodness and decency in our youth, assuring that all of those who were lost will always be our beams of light towards a better tomorrow. A generation of caring individuals, concerned about their neighbors, who are not afraid to get involved, would be the greatest memorial to those we lost on 9/11. And although this still will not bring closure it will certainly keep the memories of our lost loved ones alive for generations to come.

Lest We Forget

Dennis McKeon

We Must Never Forget

2011-04-29T22:56:00.001-04:00

Nearly 10 years ago our country went to bed on night in September as it had every night before. Some people worried about pressing deadlines at their jobs. Some kids worried about upcoming tests in schools. Schedules to keep, things to do, people to meet, vacations or weddings to plan. Good thoughts, issues, or future plans swirled around in many minds as America drifted off to sleep. Nearly 3,000 never realized that it would be for the last time For everyone else life would never be the same. Fear would become a part of our life every day. Worries about our jobs were replaced by worries for our lives. Students’ worries about tests were replaced with worries about their parents coming home. Plans were scrapped, vacations cancelled and for the first time fear became a part of our every day life. Terrorism was never really a major concern for Americans. It was always somebody else’s problem. It appeared September 11th 2001 had changed everything. Nine years later, and for many, things are back to normal and many people are sleeping easier once again. Airlines seem more concerned with charging for extra bags then they are about security. Vacation plans are determined by gas prices and the state of the economy not fear of terrorists. Elected officials are telling 9/11 families that they need to move on. Some teachers are even being told not to mention 9/11 in their classrooms. Homeland Security appears to have been relegated to the back seat. While we defend the people in Afghanistan and Iraq against terrorists we seem to have forgotten security here at home. Forgotten that this year is the 10th Anniversary of the murder of 2,975 at the hands of terrorists Forgotten that hundreds have died and continue to die as a result of the attacks Forgotten that the terrorists are very patient and that they will lay in wait. Wait for us to get complacent and lower our guard. Wait for us to stop worrying. Wait for us to forget how we felt on September 11th 2001. And then they will strike again. The best way to honor our lost loved ones is to assure that this does not happen. We must not drop our guard. We must remember that the threat still exists and that it is real. We must “Never Forget”

NOT EXACTLY WHAT DEMOCRACY SHOULD BE ALL ABOUT

2011-04-05T14:22:00.000-04:00

As Japan works to contain what could be one of the worst nuclear disasters we have ever seen much has been said about how the Japanese government has not been forthcoming with information about the magnitude of the breach and its containment efforts. If you think such government responses only happen outside the United States you are sadly mistaken. A few years after 9/11 the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found that former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman's falsely reassuring and misleading statements of safety after the September 11, 2001 attacks were "without question conscience-shocking." The court also found the facts "support an allegation of a violation of the substantive due process right to be free from official government policies that increase the risk of bodily harm" by Whitman's misstatements regarding the air quality of the affected area. A law suit by affected responders against Christie Whitman was thrown out of court as it appears that a judge did not want to set a dangerous precedent that would make public officials fear making public statements in the future. The second U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that even though Whitman made comments reassuring people about the safety around Ground Zero based on conflicting information and reassurances from the White House she could not be held responsible. They went on to state that legal remedies are not always available for every instance of deficient governmental performance. So today we have responders and residents sick and dying because they trusted our government. We have people dying from 9/11 cancer related illnesses that are not covered by the Zadroga Bill. So just a word of advice. If things get worse in Japan and our government says not to worry I would advise that you think twice. The courts have basically given the government permission to lie and not take responsibility for the impacts of these lies. Funny thing if people lie to the Government they go to jail. If Government lies to the people nothing happens. I don’t think that this is what Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton and crew had in mind in 1776.

Another Authority Head Probed....Is Anybody Surprised?

2011-04-04T14:50:00.000-04:00

To All, In today’s NY Post there was yet another article ( Power Chief Probed Over No Bid Deals) about how the Executive Director of the NY Power Authority is being investigated for allegedly handing out millions in grants to politically connected organizations. Power Chief Probed Over No Bid Deals http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/power_chief_probed_over_no_bid_deals_CcR7dnYOHJKyiOz2niqCIK Once again this will be a topic for a couple of days and then nothing will be done. If the new Governor or the new Attorney General really wanted to make a difference they would have an independent audit of all of the Authorities and Corporations that are just homes for political appointments in return for favors in the past. For years we have been calling attention to these Authorities that pay billions in compensation ad benefits to part time or no show Board Members or employees but nothing is ever done. Take a moment to read a few of our past posts that have been ignored by both our elected officials and the press. Dennis For Too Long We Have Delegated "Authority" (11/19/09) http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=49982&highlight=authority DON'T STOP THERE (6/20/08) http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=43405 990 FORM MAKES FOR INTERESTING READING (6/19/08) http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=43364

I Guess Reading Isn't Fundamental Anymore

2011-03-04T15:26:00.001-05:00

As most of you are aware Congress is not very big on reading as they have already admitted to not reading most of the bills they vote on.

What you might not be aware of is that the Reading is Fundamental Program will be one of the first programs cut with the proposed reductions in the budget.

So one of the few programs that actually tries to address the illiteracy problem in America by supplying millions of books to millions of children will go but we will continue to give billions in rebates to oil companies as they continue to rip us off at the pumps.

I guess Congress is afraid of getting voted out if they educate the masses and is hedging their bets through their big business lobbyists just in case they do.

Just goes to prove who they really represent.

When it comes to Congress reading isn't fundamental as it is very difficult to read when you are in the pockets of big business.

Emperor Bloomberg Fiddles as NYC Burns

2010-12-28T20:54:00.002-05:00

He has no money to remove snow or save firehouses on Staten Island but allows $80 million to be misspent on bogus contracts for City Time. He praises the passage of the Zadroga Bill but spends $500 million to fight every claim submitted by workers who became ill working at Ground Zero. He appoints a School Chancellor with no education experience and changes term limits because the city needs his financial expertise and we are now on the verge of bankruptcy......Just like Nero Emperor Bloomberg fiddles as the city crashes and burns.....Can anybody say John Lindsay II

State Controller DiNapoli...How About a Political Pre-Nup?

2010-12-23T22:58:00.000-05:00

State Controller Tony DiNapoli that he will begin to publicly push for laws that would par busted politicians busted on felony charges from getting their pensions.

While this is a good idea, with the lawyers that these politicians have (paid for with campaign funds), we rarely ever see anything less than pled out cases.

For two years we have been promoting the idea that elected officials should have to sign political pre-nups before taking office.

This would be a legally binding document

It’s very simple. They sign this pre-nup which states that if they are forced from their positions due to illegal or improper behavior they will give up any claim to any pensions or benefits that they may be entitled to. And they agree to pay back any monies that may have been illegally gained without dispute. Now any honest politician should have no problem signing this agreement. It would be interesting to see if any actually would.

Dennis

See our post from June 2008

It's Time For A Political Pre-Nup

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=43838

Transcend political correctness and strive for human righteousness

2010-12-12T18:41:00.001-05:00

The failure of the Senate to pass the Zadroga 9/11 Health Care Bill is just the latest example of all that is wrong with our current two party political system. Now while the Republicans are solely to blame in the current round a quick review of the bill’s history of this bill as well as its sister bill in the House will show that the Democrats also playing party politics have long delayed the bills getting anywhere near proposal.

In the house as well as in the Senate these bills have spent most of their times in committees as the party leaders would not even allow them out for a vote.

In the House’s case this was under direct orders from Nancy Pelosi who would not allow any bills out of committee until the President’s Health Care Agenda was moved forward.

In the Senate this was delayed and only put to a vote when they knew it would defeated as the Republicans vowed not to approve any bills until the Bush tax breaks were extended.

So we have both Republicans and Democrats playing party politics while people continue to die.

Is it only me or does anyone else believe that both parties are becoming more like the Borg Collective only moving forward as a block with no independent
thinking allowed?

They continue to totally disregard the majority of Americans and only move forward with what the “Party Wants”

All of our Senators and Representatives believe that “Resistance is Futile” as they fear the loss of campaign financing if they don’t tow the party line.

Well it’s about time we let them know that we want independent thinkers.

We elect candidates to represent us not the Republican or Democratic Parties.

We deserve more than these Stepford Senators and Representatives marching mindlessly to the orders of the Party Borg Collective.

It is now time that we make them release that “Resistance is Not Futile” and that we will no longer put up with it.

As Anthony J. D’Angelo once said we need to “Transcend political correctness and strive for human righteousness”

And we can start with the passage of the Zadroga Bill.

A Gambler's Christmas

2010-12-01T20:09:00.002-05:00

As I was coming back from getting my newspaper this morning I noticed a group of at least 100 people (Mostly Seniors) waiting for the bus to Atlantic City.

This afternoon there was a group almost double that size waiting in the same spot.

As the economy gets worse more and more people are taking a chance.

And the government continues to try to bring draw more and more into this trap with ads in print on radio and on TV.

More and more seniors and young kids are getting drawn.

Something needs to be done.

This was first published last year and I thought we should share it again.

Take a moment and read it and the articles below.

“A GAMBLER’S CHRISTMAS”

T’was the night before Christmas when all through the house
The only sound heard came from my mouse
While the stockings where hung from the chimney with care
They were all empty barren and bare

My youngest was nestled all snug in his bed
While the piles of bills rose above my head
His mother and sister along with Aunt Bea
Were on they’re way back from a trip to AC

My other son James was locked in a gaze
As Chris Moneymaker considered a raise
Not even a Yule Log on our TV set
As he watched Phil Ivey check the last bet

The World Series of Poker on every TV
Had replaced all the classics that we used to see
No Frosty or Rudolph or Charlie Brown’s tree
Just Texas Hold'em on four channels not three

As I clicked all around to find my next site
To play online poker and cover last night
All the games that I lost both college and pro
Outside of my window it started to snow

I thought of the call I received just last night
From my dear old mom who had missed the last flight
It appears the she didn’t notice the time
While playing the slots where she lost her last dime

And the letter I got from my brother Bob
Letting me know that he just lost his job.
He had gone out to lunch and didn’t come back
Losing his pay check again at the track

I closed my eyes but I couldn’t sleep
Thinking of promises I wouldn’t keep
And Johnny would wake tomorrow to see
Not one single present under the tree

And I would have to think of a really good lie
To explain why Santa had passed us by
I would explain it was just a mistake
While thinking of even more bets I could make

But as if by magic I saw my way out
And I started to leap and dance about
For from the radio I heard a voice scream

“The New Christmas Lottery A Dollar and a Dream”

Although many of you may think that the poem above is an exaggeration it is a lot closer to the truth they you may believe.

Gambling is becoming more of the norm then the exception to the rule.

Families are losing their houses because of compulsive gambling.

Seniors on a fixed income are losing their life’s savings on repeated trips to Atlantic City and other casinos.

You cannot turn on the TV without seeing one version of a poker match or another.

Children in their teens and younger are playing at on line sites and losing real money.

Texas Hold’em tournaments are sponsored by schools and churches and teenagers are playing with alarming regularity.

Nights at the Races and Casino Nights are now regular events.

And the worst offender is New York State.

They spend millions a year advertising to lure more innocent people in with promises of millions.

Gambling is now at epidemic levels especially with teens and seniors.

Recent studies indicate that more than 70 percent of youth between the ages of 10 and 17 gambled in the past year, up from 45 percent in 1988. Almost one in three high school students gamble on a regular basis, according to the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers at Pennsylvania State College of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania surveyed 843 elderly people 65 years and older and discovered that 70 percent had been involved in at least one gambling activity in the past year and 11 percent fit the criteria of at-risk gamblers: they had recently laid down more than $100 on a single bet and/or they had bet more than they could afford to lose.
We are going to work with Gambler’s Anonymous next year and develop some seminars to address these issues. We will offer these to both schools as well as senior groups.

Anyone wishing to participate can contact us at info@where-to-turn.org.

In the meantime we need to get the Government out of the recruitment business. If people want to gamble that is their prerogative but we do not need to be barraged with lottery ads.

The state should get out of the gambling business all together. Just look what a great job they did with OTB. I never heard of a bookie losing money.

If they need to keep the lottery they should at least cut the advertising. The reduced cost would probably compensate for the lost revenue from new gamblers.

If you know of someone with a gambling problem call 1-800-GAMBLER

Dennis

THE GROWING GAMBLING PROBLEM IN AMERICA

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=41184

They Are Gambling With Our Future

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=45712

Mosque Developer Can't Manage Existing Holdings Yet Wants Federal Grant to Build Near Ground Zero

2010-11-23T10:51:00.001-05:00

It has been reported that the developers looking to build the mosque near Ground Zero are requesting a $5 million grant from the LMDC to help finance the build. Hopefully the LMDC has done its homework as the developers do not have such a great track record when it comes to managing properties. According to Mike Daly of The Record “Rauf' is the owner (along with Daisy Khan) of a slum apartment building in Union City, NJ. The local mayor refers to Rauf as a slumlord. Last week, a judge placed the building in the hands of a custodial receiver until code violations were fixed. (There were more than 200 violations.) The place didn't even have working fire alarms. While Rauf and Khan were out raising money for their Ground Zero mosque, the poor people of Union City were forced to live with rats.” (See full article below) Now whether you believe the mosque should be built or not do you really think that management of this property would be any better. Hopefully the LMDC will consider this when making their decision about the grant. The mayor and all the others fully supporting this effort should have at least done the same fact checking as Mr. Daly. Again they have every right to build the mosque but they definitely do not appear to be the people that they present themselves to be and they definitely do not deserve any type of City, State or Federal support of this effort.

Kelly: Mosque developer misses chance to come clean on apartments

http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/103027309_Cleric_misses_his_chance_to_come_clean_on_repairs.html

THE CUT AND PASTE GENERATION

2010-11-16T13:44:00.001-05:00

More and more states are on the verge of bankruptcy and the federal government just continues to toss good money after bad. Has anyone wondered why we are in this situation? Here is our take. The problem is that we have become a cut and paste society and original thinking has all but disappeared from this generation. Just ask any student when was the last time they visited a library to do real research. Why should they when with the click of a cursor they can get all of the information they need. Ask them to write an essay and see how many spelling errors or "text abbreviations" you find. And you can forget about grammar all together. But why do they need to worry when they all have spell and grammar check on their computers. And it is not only the student's fault. School rankings are based on success in standardized tests. So students are taught to pass those tests. Shortcuts are instituted to bypass anything that is not covered on these standardized tests. And the problems just get worse and worse. An entire industry now exists to teach students to pass High School entrance exams and SAT tests. Shortcuts....shortcuts....shortcuts. And this extends to the business world as well. These same students have become today's executives. The majority of who have never worked their way up the corporate ladder. No real on the job training and more importantly no common sense. Personal gain overshadowing corporate responsibility. And why not! This is a generation that has been able to fast forward most of their lives while skipping over or deleting anything that has gotten in their way. A generation of "Guitar Heroes" who can't read a note of music. A generation who do not know the value of a dollar and whose lives are "PRICELESS" or who "WON"T LEAVE HOME" without their credit cards And these are the people who are now making the corporate decisions that have brought our country to the brink of bankruptcy. They are the same people taking these ideas into government who think that a $10 trillion national debt is not a concern.

The same people who pass bills without reading them.So we will have to work till we die as our 401K's disappear and Social Security goes bankrupt.

As the new cut and paste generation takes the place of the old cut and run generation before them We can only pray that the day will come when they begin to realize that Real Life is not something you watch on MTV. And hopefully that day comes soon.

A GOOD TRAILER DOES NOT GUARANTEE A GOOD MOVIE...DON'T BE FOOLED AGAIN

2010-11-01T16:31:00.000-04:00

As it has been recently reported candidates for office in this midterm election will spend over $4 billion dollars on their campaigns.

That's right not $4 million...$4 billion and this is not even a presidential election year.

And that's just what they are going to spend; God only knows how much they have actually raised.

Maybe it's just me but in these tough economic times there are definitely better ways to spend this money.

People can't put food on their tables, unemployment is near record highs, schools are having their budgets slashed, the country's infrastructure is falling apart and we are trillions in debt but candidates can spend $4 billion attempting to get elected.

How can we expect any fiscal responsibility from any of them?

And this is just one side of the coin.

You then you have the millions that has been raised that will just go into campaign war chests for future elections or even worse spent on legal fees for when quite a few of those elected get into trouble.

And this process is repeated every two years with the numbers jumping during a presidential election.

So much for campaign finance reform.

They say that money can't buy you love but it is obvious they think that it can buy an election.

And it doesn't say much about what they think about the electorate.

Half of these ads just bash opponents with very little regard to honesty.

To say that they stretch the truth is an understatement.

The other half exaggerate what the incumbents have accomplished or overstate what the challengers will do if elected.

But they must think that it is worth it because the spending increases with every election.

And it is our fault if we let these ads impact our decisions.

If an incumbent is not doing the job vote him or her out.

If you only see a challenger come election time disregard him or her.

We need to put people in office who are involved with our community and care about “our needs”

We need hands on people of action.

As they say a good trailer does not guarantee a good movie.

Tomorrow let’s tell them we are smarter then they think.

If we don’t we will wind up with another two years of broken promises and little change.

And They Wonder Why People Don’t Vote

2010-10-19T19:26:00.000-04:00

Every year we always hear how unfortunate it is that so many people don’t vote.

The real tragedy is that we have set up a system which produces so few candidates worthy of our votes.

Candidates have become more like cartoon characters that morph into criminals once elected.

We have members of the locust party that only appear every election telling you what they are going to do when elected.

Most of these professional candidates only appear every two to four years and do little or nothing to help their communities between elections.

They are at least not as dangerous as the party “store bought candidates” who run on campaigns based on promises that they know the people want to hear but they know they can’t deliver.

Add these to the candidates whose only platform is bashing and badmouthing their opponents.

These candidates wouldn’t know a local issue if it bit them in the butt.

But this is the process that has been created.

There was a time when we could at least choose the lesser of two evils but nowadays that’s not even the case.

We now get to choose between criminals both accused and convicted or witches or wrestling owners.

We have people who have never had a real job running against those whose resumes are more fiction than fact.

And that is why we have a federal government that has spoken about fiscal responsibility for years that has managed to increase federal spending every year since 1954.

On a local level back room deals and partisan politics have made the NY elected officials the poster children all that is wrong with government.

At the federal level we constantly send back millionaires who never had to worry about what they spend and act surprised when they do the same with our tax dollars when elected.

Ronald Regan once said “Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first”

Maybe it’s not crazy that a former madam is running for Governor at least she will know how to deal with the Assembly and Senate in Albany.

But we cannot give up. We need to go out and vote.

We just need to be smart with our vote.

We don’t need to vote Republican, Democrat or Conservative.

We don’t need to follow the Tea Partiers or the Tax and Spend Liberals.

We need to become educated about the candidates and make educated choices.

Our own choices, not choices made by the self serving media.

It’s the only way that we will stem this tide of inept government and finally get some real change.

I am a disgruntled tax payer and I have approved this message.

Chilean Miners....British Petroleum and our Government

2010-10-13T15:05:00.001-04:00

The effort to save the miners is a perfect example how a focused well thought out solution works.

A stark contrast to BP's fiasco in the Gulf.

Unfortunately our government seems to have missed the boat on focused and well thought out solutions and that is why the country is in such bad shape.

So cheers to all those involved in this rescue and hopefully we will be able to replace the do nothing but spend Representatives (off all parties) in government in November

Now that would be a legitimate change

OPEN LETTER TO MAYOR BLOOMBERG REGARDING ZADROGA BILL

2010-09-29T22:16:00.000-04:00

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

In your statement regarding the Zadroga Bill today you stated ““Today’s bi-partisan vote by the House of Representatives is a significant moment in a fight we have waged for years. Today’s vote acknowledges that the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks were an attack on America, and addressing its health impacts is a national duty. This bill recognizes that the country should be there for the tens of thousands of responders who were there for us on 9/11”

I find it difficult to understand how you could make such a statement at the same time that your administration through the WTC Captive Insurance Corp has denied almost every claim from people ill as a result of 9/11.

The Federal Government gave New York City $1 Billion to aid those ill as a result of 9/11

The WTC Captive Insurance Corp a Registered Not For Profit that has spent over $400 Million in Federal Funds and distributed less than 1% of the funds to satisfy health claims.

They have paid their administrators millions in salaries and have regularly paid attorneys $500 an hour to fight the claims of our sick 9/11 responders.

I do agree with you that the bill recognizes that the country should be there for the tens of thousands of responders who were there for us on 9/11 but my question is why your administration hasn’t been there as well.

Dennis McKeon

FROM THE GROUND UP...SUPPORT AFTER 9/11

2010-09-06T11:07:00.002-04:00

On September 11, 2001 America was devastated but not defeated. Families were broken but not destroyed. Our faith was shaken but hope was not lost. With the eyes of the world upon us we pulled ourselves up. Petty prejudices were forgotten. The lines that so often have separated us were forgotten. No one spoke of race, religion or political affiliation. We were one family that had been severely hurt and, we responded as a family. We did not ask how or why we needed to help. We just did. We need not forget how we as a nation responded that day and we need never forget that every member of our collective family deserves the same treatment today. No tragedy is too small, no trauma to insignificant for it is never too far removed from each and every one of us especially in today’s political climate.

This passage is from an article written in 2005 about support after 9/11.

From the Ground Up

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=52444

OF MEMORIALS AND MOSQUES

2010-08-17T20:39:00.000-04:00

As the controversy around the mosque near Ground Zero grows Postcards the 9/11 Memorial on Staten Island was vandalized with five 9/11 victims’ profiles being smashed.

Now one thing may have nothing to do with the other but the possibility always exists.

Don’t all involved see the potential danger of the Mosque being built just a few feet away from Ground Zero?

Say during the construction or after it is built some fanatic attempts to bomb the mosque.

Now this could happen.

It could be an Islamic extremist or a crazed American.

Either way people will die and the rift between all involved will be widened with each blaming the other.

Why would we want to create such a no win situation?

Now all of this should have been taken into consideration early on.

But now it has, as with all things related to 9/11, become a political hot item.

And all the same politicians who did not give a second thought about defeating the 9/11 Health Care bill just a few weeks ago are on their soap boxes attempting to gain a political advantage in the upcoming elections.

The same politicians that have allowed the 9/11 memorial/museum to be buried underground will use this for their political gain.

And mayor Bloomberg who continues to allow the WTC Captive Insurance Corp to pay lawyers millions to deny health claims to 9/11 victims is appalled that New Yorkers might actually have thoughts of their own about a mosque a few blocks from Ground Zero.

So unfortunately the sad saga of Ground Zero drags on into its 9th year.

Ex politicians who have made billions off the tragedy join with those still in office for photo ops on the 11th day of September each year and could care less about 9/11 or its victims for the other 364 days.

And the atmosphere of hate increases.

Nobody can convince me that a mosque a few blocks from Ground Zero is going to make things any better.

SO MUCH FOR TRUTH JUSTICE AND THE AMERICAN WAY

2010-08-01T18:35:00.000-04:00

In a Sept. 13, 2001, press release, the EPA said the air around Ground Zero was relatively safe.

On Sept. 16, 2001, Christie Whitman as Director of the EPA said that tests showed air pollution levels "that cause us no concern."

Two days later, she said she was glad to reassure New York and Washington residents that their air and water were safe.

As most of you know the law suit against Christie Whitman was thrown out of court when a judge did not want to set a dangerous precedent that would make public officials fear making public statements in the future. In 2007 the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found that former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman's falsely reassuring and misleading statements of safety after the September 11, 2001 attacks were "without question conscience-shocking." The court also found the facts "support an allegation of a violation of the substantive due process right to be free from official government policies that increase the risk of bodily harm" by Whitman's misstatements regarding the air quality of the affected area. So the courts basically stated that government officials can lie and put us at risk and we have no recourse. The head of the Environmental Protection Agency that reports directly to the President can not be held responsible for lying to the people she was being paid to protect. And now on Thursday the House of Representatives play their partisan politics game to stop the 9/11 Health Bill once again.

Our government was set up with 3 branches the Judicial, Legislative and Executive to assure that the people were properly treated and that one branch did not dominate decisions.

Who would have thought that the sick and dying heroes of 9/11 would get screwed by all three?

So much for truth justice and the America way

Isn’t it time we took our government back?

An Open Letter to Our So Called Representatives

2010-07-30T13:29:00.000-04:00

Dear Congressmen and Congresswomen,

I could not even address this letter to our Representatives as you have once again shown that you do not warrant that title.

Your rejection of the Zadroga bill is just another slap in the face to those who actually attempted to do something after 9/11.

As you sit in your offices paid for by those who elected you and meet daily with lobbyists to discuss how you can promote their interests brave people continue to die.

People who did not hold press conferences after 9/11 to swear they would never forget.

But people who did the right thing and worked at Ground Zero or Fresh Kills in an attempt to find the victims of the most vicious attack in the history of America.

And when we came to you to help those who are sick and dying because of their efforts you turned your backs.

You hide behind Congressional tricks that allow you to change the voting rules to get your desired results.

You line up behind Nancy Pelosi who has stonewalled this bill since it was first introduced with the hopes that it would die in committee.

Well the bill didn’t die but many of our loved ones will continue to as you play politics with their lives.

It is amazing how the House continues to be held hostage as its members sell their votes to the highest bidders every chance they get.

Unfortunately we do not have the money or the influence to buy your votes.

But be assured we will keep up the fight.

And we will let everyone know who voted against this bill.

We will also make them aware of what to expect “God Forbid” something like 9/11 happens again.

So the next time you are counting the money in your campaign war chests, money that you will most likely need to use to pay lawyers to get you out of trouble most of you seem to find yourselves in, remember we are still here.

We expect to be represented.

We expect you to care for the victims who where lied to by the Federal Government about the quality of air after 9/11.

We expect you to make decisions based on what is right and not what fills your pockets.

And most importantly unlike you……”We Will Not Forget”

Dennis McKeon

Haiti....6 Months Later

2010-07-12T14:53:00.000-04:00

Most of the media outlets are doing their 6 month update on Haiti and surprise surprise not much has been done and they are questioning where the billions that were donated or supplied by governments went.

This is like a broken record.

After every tragedy or natural disaster millions are collected by agencies that state they are using the funds for that specific event.

They get kind hearted people to donate and the money goes into their general administration fund to be spent when and where they want it.

We warned people up front that this was happening. (see below)

If the government really wanted to do something it would be really easy.

Compare the amount of money that was collected by these charities this year (from Jan through July) with last year.

The bulk of the increase could be associated with what was donated for Haiti.

Then check how much of that money was actually sent to Haiti and how was it spent.

But this will never happen.

Do you know that we could not get one of these charities to give us $15,000 to ship our T Shirts to Haiti?

We had to rely on individuals and small organizations and we are finally going to be able to ship the shirts.

Many of the people who we reached out to stated they already gave to these major charities and were shocked that they would not support our effort.

100% of what we collect will go towards shipping the shirts and the shirts will be distributed directly to those in need in Haiti.

We are making the final arrangements and should be shipping by the end of the month.

We are going to give everyone who donated a dollar or a shirt to sign labels that we are going to be placed on the shipping cartons to let them know who helped out.

We will also ask everyone who comes to help us load the container to bring a bottle of Dawn dishwashing liquid which we will be sending to the Gulf area to help with the cleaning of wildlife impacted by the oil spill.

We would like to thank everyone who has helped us with this effort. We will also let you know about a small fundraiser we will be planning to cover any additional costs we may run into getting the shirts through customs.

We hope that you will take part in some of our future events and hope that you continue to support other grass root efforts that are always there at every tragedy and really give you a bang for your donated buck

Follow the Money...The Donation Shell Game

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=50415

GROUND ZERO: ABOVE GROUND MOSQUE AND UNDERGROUND MEMORIAL

2010-06-09T21:51:00.000-04:00

As plans are underway to build a huge mosque AT Ground Zero remains are still being found.

Just today another 4 potential human remains were uncovered bringing the total to 1831 since the second recovery effort was started in 2006.

While you may not think that these have anything in common they certainly do.

Shortly after 9/11 in an effort to bring business back to Lower Manhattan the process began to remove the stigma of 9/11 from Ground Zero.

The mayor rushed to convert the site from a recovery area to a construction zone and the search for any additional remains was called off.

They couldn’t have remains being found because that would remind people of what happened on 9/11 and keep business away.

If not for an accidental discovery in 2006 the new search that turned up nearly 2,000 remains would have never even taken place.

At the same time the site was turned into a construction zone plans began on what type of memorial would honor those who died on 9/11.

Once again the concerns of the community and economic factors cast the deciding vote,

An above ground memorial would make Ground Zero too much like a cemetery and they couldn’t have that.

9/11 family members were pretty much eliminated from any planning sessions and any design that contained an above ground memorial structure was immediately eliminated.

So the 9/11 Memorial (I will not call it the WTC Memorial because it should be honoring all who died on 9/11) will be entirely underground.

Visitors will have to travel between four to seven stories underground to get to the memorial and museum.

They even wanted to list the names of those who died at the bottom of the two waterfalls and would have if we didn’t fight them tooth and nail to bring them above ground.

And who are the people who pushed for this underground memorial?

The same people who are pushing for a huge mosque to be built a block away.

The members of Community Board One and our local elected officials, that’s who.

They have and will continue to try to remove any reminders of 9/11 from the site.

The mayor has already stated that this is not the 9/11 families’ memorial but that it belongs to everyone.

So they continue to bury everything related to 9/11.

The memorial………….. underground.

Human remains ………..underground at the site.

Human remains ………..underground at Fresh Kills.

And unfortunately we continue to bury loved ones still dying from 9/11 illnesses because the city would rather fight claims than save the lives of 9/11 victims.

They even changed the name of the Freedom Tower because they didn’t want to offend anyone.

But that is how it has always been and will continue to be at Ground Zero.

And when family members come to the site to pay their respects they will have to walk by a huge mosque before they begin their long journey underground to visit the 9/11 memorial or museum.

But why would we expect anything different.

If it were up to them there would be no memorial at all.

M MEMORIAL DAY PRAYER

2010-05-23T10:44:00.001-04:00

As I stand with hand on heart

Pledging to the land I love

Proud to be an American

As Old Glory flies above

I see the red the white the blue

And my heart fills with pride

And a tear rolls down cheek

For those who fought and died

I remember those we have lost

Fighting to keep us free

And I pray you all do the same

And keep alive their memory

Remember these fine Americans

And the price that they did pay

And say a prayer for all who still

Answer the call today

The backbone of America

We honor on this day

For they are the only reason

We have a USA

100,000 T Shirts for Haiti 4/14...81,375...We Are On Our Own

2010-04-14T21:54:00.001-04:00

To All,

We really need help getting the word out about our need for assistance with shipping.

Please pass on to all of your distributions.

If you have a contact in the media please give them a call. (Oprah Ellen etc)

If you know an elected official please contact them.

If you have friends in the shipping industry have them give us a call.

Donations can be made through Facebook at 100,000 T-Shirts for Haiti http://apps.facebook.com/causes/435485/38137363 or Through the Network for Good https://www.networkforgood.org/donation/ExpressDonation.aspx?ORGID2=200404386 or By check made payable to Where to Turn 150-L Greaves Lane # 312 Staten Island NY 10308 Please note Haiti T Shirts in memo section All donations are 100% tax deductible.

To date we have collected 81,375 shirts

We need help with pickups from the following locations

ON ISLAND

PS 16 80 Monroe Ave (100 shirts)

OFF ISLAND

2 Hudson Place Hoboken NJ (700 shirts)

St. Theresa's Church 2855 St. Theresa Ave Bronx NY 10461 (500 shirts)

787 7th Ave NYC 10019 (300 shirts)

Baruch College Performing Arts Box Office 25th and Lexington Ave (3,000 shirts)

We have no success with our outreach to any charities or businesses so we will have to do this on our own

We got another e-mail from the Red Cross

The best advice I can give you is to ask airlines for free or discounted space. They are opening up again for Haiti. Or, you could run them to Miami – there is a lot of ocean transport available from there. The American Red Cross is not able to assist with funding.

I guess they really want to let us know that they are not interested.

All we are asking is that they include our supplies with one of their shipments. So I really do not understand the response.

We will be brainstorming this week about a possible fundraiser your input would be appreciated.

We still need another 10,000 shirts but are looking for a few big pickups.

We ask everyone to check with their businesses, schools or organizations about leftover shirts from old events.

I once again like to that everyone who has contributed so far.

To date we have collected $2,830.

We are also going to make up labels that say from your friends at _________. We will then print all of the various schools organizations etc who have participated.

Keep up the good work.

Dennis

100,000 T Shirts for Haiti

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=89

IT BEGINS ALL OVER AGAIN

2010-04-07T22:52:00.000-04:00

Eight and a half years later and they are still finding potential remains at Ground Zero.

While we are glad that remains are being found we are once again reminded how poorly the recovery process has been handled.

These remains were from the Haul Road or the area that included hot spots.

Witnesses have stated that the Haul Road itself was constructed by unsifted debris from the pit itself.

This contention was supported when steel beams were found when the road was dismantled.

Although there was a very good chance that remains would be found in this material, the city let it sit unattended for over a year.

Delaying the process that started over eight years ago another 18 months.

Now family members will have to go through the ordeal yet again.

From day one the city has handled the recovery effort as a “when we get around to it” effort.

They have spent millions on a contract to a company with a questionable past that was supposed to produce a significant amount of identifications but have produced few.

They have refused to expand the search of the roofs of surrounding buildings and flat out refuse to resift the remains buried at Fresh Kills.

The recovery effort was forced to close to expedite the rebuilding at the site.

Well we all know how swiftly that has progressed.

Unfortunately at this rate they will still be finding remains as people are going into the Memorial.

One only has to refer to the way the Deutsche bank was handled to get an idea as to how the recovery effort was as well.

While we hope that some of these new remains actually lead an identification our hearts go out to the families that are continuously put through this ordeal.

MAYBE WE SHOULD ONLY ELECT CURLERS

2010-02-18T18:53:00.001-05:00

For years many people have made fun of curling with its stones and sweepers.

But I did a little research and maybe our elected officials could take a page out of the curling rule book.

Below is the Code of Ethics for Curling Participants.

Curler’s Code of Ethics

I will play the game with a spirit of good sportsmanship.

I will conduct myself in an honorable manner both on and off the ice.

I will never knowingly break a rule, but if I do, I will divulge the breach.

I will take no action that could be interpreted as an attempt to intimidate or demean my opponents, teammates or officials

I will interpret the rules in an impartial manner, always keeping in mind that the purpose of the rules is to ensure that the game is played in an orderly and fair manner.

I will humbly accept any penalty that the governing body at any level of curling deems appropriate, if I am found in violation of the code of ethics or rules of the game

Just think how much better off we would be if those in office were held to the same standards.

As Thomas Jefferson once said “When a man assumes a public trust he should consider himself a public property”

Unfortunately today we have too few elected officials who do.

Since we cannot trust them to govern themselves we once again say

It's Time For A Political Pre-Nup

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=43838

Or maybe we should only elect curlers

THIS IS NOT THE CHANGE WE WERE PROMISED

2010-01-28T23:20:00.000-05:00

For the past year we have been trying to give the president the benefit of the doubt.

Even when he bailed out Wall Street but still allowed ridiculous bonuses to the same execs who caused the financial meltdown.

Even after he pulled all resources in the House to work on nothing but a Health Care Plan filled with pork and tried to force feed it to America.

Even after his chief of Homeland Security didn’t think there was a problem with the underwear bomber getting on a plane.

But what his administration did today was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

After promising throughout his campaign and throughout his first year that he fully supported the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

After stating that the bill would be a top priority after National health Care was passed

His administration now says they cannot support the bill because of a technicality about permanent funding.

This from the same administration that with the help of Nancy Pelosi basically bought the votes they thought they needed to pass health care.

Just look what Nebraska and Louisiana got in return for their votes.

So votes can be bought but 9/11 victims cannot be cared for.

If there was really a technicality why was it not brought up when the bill was first introduced.

The bottom line is that this has nothing to do with a technicality.

The reason this bill is being stalled is because many of the other Representatives believe that 9/11 is a New York problem and they are also concerned that because the bill covers residents and workers of lower Manhattan that it may raise the issues of health care for some undocumented residents.

And the administration does not what to address these issues so they would rather turn their backs on 9/11 victims.

We have raised these issues numerous times (see links below) but our appeals went unanswered.

We yearn for the days when decisions were made on the facts and not because of political ideals.

You would have thought that after the vote in Massachusetts that president would be more aware that people are growing wary of broken promises.

For too long candidates have treated campaign promises like New Year’s Resolutions, unrealistic and usually discarded after a month.

We deserve better. We demand better.

We will never forget and will continue to fight for all those impacted by 9/11.

Mr. President this is not the change we were promised.

And if your administration thinks we are kidding just wait till the next election

9/11 Health Care Our View

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=50326

Terrorist Trials and 9/11 Health Care

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=50055

Fear of Flying.......The Government's Solution

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=50254

Lost in Translation

2010-01-16T22:23:00.000-05:00

Do you remember the time when people said what they meant and meant what they said?

Maybe I am getting old but I am beginning to lose things in translation.

Here are a few examples.

Transparency in Government

Vice President Biden is holding hearings on transparency in government.

Sounds good right?

But he is holding them behind closed doors with no media access.

Am I missing something?

Disaster Relief for Haiti

Hundreds of millions have been donated to support the relief effort in Haiti.

Sounds good right?

Unfortunately only a fraction of this money will actually make it to Haiti.

Even though they advertise these appeals as Haiti Relief efforts if you read the fine print all the money goes into the organization’s general fund and is distributed or not at the discretion of the organization.

There is one organization that has collected over $40 million but has only allocated a little over $10 million to Haiti Relief.

The same thing happened after 9/11 and Katrina.

Whatever happened to truth in advertising?

We Got You Covered

In the ongoing battle between wireless providers they keep attacking each other’s coverage.

In a recent advertisement Luke Wilson shows a map of coverage in New York.

The ad boasts coverage from Bridgeport to Hempstead to Princeton.

Isn’t Bridgeport in Connecticut and the last time I checked wasn’t Princeton in New Jersey?

Maybe that’s why they are having problems or am I missing something.

Hi I Just Moved Here and Want to Be Your Senator

More and more you see candidates who can’t win in their home states moving to other states to run for office.

Wasn’t the government set up so that states would have people that represent them not political parties?

Am I the only one who thinks this is wrong?

The Edward M Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate

I heard on the radio that there is a $20 million earmark in the current Health Care Bill for the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate at the University of Massachusetts campus in Boston.

I tried to research this but despite claims of transparency (see item 1) it is still almost impossible to know what is in or not in the bill.

I did find out that an earmark for this was originally placed in a Defense Bill.

Either way what does this institute which will include an exact replica of the Senate floor to be built on the college campus have to do with health care or defense?

Maybe I am just lost in translation

The Buck Stops Where?

2010-01-10T16:20:00.002-05:00

Time and time again when elected officials attempt to make a point or show the American people that they are on top of things we always hear the phrase “The Buck Stops Here”

Unfortunately the buck hasn’t stopped anywhere near any of our elected officials in recent memory.

On the political side the problem is that we have allowed a situation to be set up where vital positions are no longer filled by qualified individuals but by people who have either helped the elected get into office or who are the pawns of lobbyists who funded the campaigns.

On the financial side we continue to elect people who have never met a dollar that they didn’t love to spend.

They not only spend the money that they have but continue to spend what we don’t have.

The recent near disaster is a perfect example.

A man on a terrorist watch lists gets on a plane with explosives and Janet Napolitano the Director of Homeland Security states that the system worked properly.

The day after the attack, Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, created after 9/11 to receive and analyze data from throughout the intelligence system goes on a ski trip.

In the real world both of these people would have been relieved of their positions.

But in the real world people are responsible for their positions and held accountable for their decisions.

But Washington has not been a part of the real world for a long time.

And it is obvious that the buck did not stop at either of their desks or at the desk of their boss.

And I can almost guarantee that any decisions being made will most definitely include the passing of millions of more bucks to the TSA which has wasted billions since 9/11.

Audit results have been ignored as is always the case when you have a self monitoring situation.

And needless to say the buck has never stopped with the TSA.

This is not a knock on the current administration as this is nothing new.

Going back to the Bush Administration one only has to look at the identification of remains at Ground Zero.

Even though two additional victims were identified last week the numbers of identifications over the past few years have been few and far between.

A few years ago a multi-million dollar contract was awarded to Logistics Health Inc. that promised a significant increase in identifications.

Here is some background as to how that company got the contract.

This contract was awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which happens to be a part of the Health and Human

Services Department, which just so happened to be run by Tommy Thompson during Bush's first term, who also happens to be president of Logistics Health Inc, which just by chance is the firm that was awarded the contract.

So you see unfortunately that’s the way positions are filled and contracts awarded.

The bottom line is if we don’t change the process the buck will not stop until it finds its way into the pocket of some political crony and as

for responsibility and accountability we will continue to have none.

If the current administration really wants to prove they are serious they can start with an independent audit of the TSA.

I am sure the results would shock not only them but all of us as well.

9/11 Health Care Our View

2010-01-07T22:09:00.000-05:00

There has been a lot of craziness going on surrounding the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act so we thought that we would give our perspective.

The act has been stalled in the House Health Subcommittee since July with little or no activity.

Rep. Frank Pallone has stated that he is doing all that he can to move the bill along but he does need to take at least some of the blame for the inactivity considering that in a press release this past September 11 he stated that he will be scheduling a mark-up of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2009 in the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee at the end of this month. At the same time, Pallone, who chairs the Health Subcommittee, urged all supporters of the measure to mobilize and to press other members of the subcommittee to provide enough votes for approval. "We can start the momentum with a mark-up, but we need to generate enough support to get it voted out of the subcommittee," said Pallone. "The emergency responders put their lives on the line when they were needed, we should respond to their needs now."

It is now 2010 and nothing has happened.

The least he can do is co-sponsor the bill as I do not see his name on the list of co-sponsors (see below)

That being said there are plenty of others to blame including the other 103 co-sponsors and the 331 representatives that have not co-sponsored the bill.

We need to go after them to put pressure to get this bill out of committee.

I have been told that there are three reasons why there has been no movement.

Primary Reason

Orders from the top (Obama and Pelosi) have pulled all available resources and put them on the National Health Care Bill.

I have been told that there are very few resources available to work on anything else.

If this is the case it is a very sad commentary on the ways things are getting done.

Also the veil of secrecy that continues to shield activity makes it very difficult to get the real story.

Secondary Concerns

It appears that members of the subcommittee as well of other members of Congress are concerned that the bill not only covers responders but residents and workers in NYC as well.

They tend to think that this is a New York issue and not a national concern.

Our response to that is that once Christie Whitman as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (a Federal Agency) made a public statement assuring everyone that the air quality was fine in New York City shortly after 9/11 this became a Federal issue.

There is also a concern that NYC was already given $1 billion to support health claims resulting from 9/11 but has only used that money to pay lawyers to fight the claims.

Unfortunately we cannot argue this point as it is a disgrace the way the Captive Insurance Corp under the guidance of Mayor Bloomberg has handled 9/11 health claims over the past 5 years.

The final issue is that of the many undocumented workers that are also covered under the current version of the bill.

It appears that many of the members of the committee are leery about opening up a can of worms if coverage is expanded to cover this portion of the population.

To this point we really do not have an answer but one would think they would be able to work something out.

So those are the facts as we know them.

Although most of the attention has been about the first responder portion of the bill because of the way our government works there are always other things involved.

Our recommendation would be to continue to reach out to your Representative to get him or her on board.

We would also like to know why Obama and Pelosi are allowed to basically bring all other work to a halt by assigning resources to their pet projects and why hasn’t the media been all over this.

We would ask Representative Pallone to at least co-sponsor the bill to show his support.

Finally we hope that everyone realizes that this is just the first step as if we do get these issues worked out there is still the Senate version of the bill S.1334 which currently only has 3 co-sponsors which will need to be addressed.

We hope this makes things a little clearer and we will continue to support this effort and keep you updated.

Below please find some additional information on both bills.

Dennis McKeon
150-L Greaves Lane # 312
Staten Island, NY 10308
718-966-6531

H.R.847 Title: To amend the Public Health Service Act to extend and improve protections and services to individuals directly impacted by the terrorist attack in New York City on September 11, 2001, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14] (introduced 2/4/2009) Cosponsors (103) Related Bills: S.1334 Latest Major Action: 7/29/2009 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Discharged.
COSPONSORS(103), ALPHABETICAL [followed by Cosponsors withdrawn]: (Sort: by date)
Rep Ackerman, Gary L. [NY-5] - 2/4/2009
Rep Andrews, Robert E. [NJ-1] - 5/4/2009
Rep Arcuri, Michael A. [NY-24] - 2/4/2009
Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2] - 10/20/2009
Rep Berkley, Shelley [NV-1] - 2/10/2009
Rep Bishop, Sanford D., Jr. [GA-2] - 3/5/2009
Rep Bishop, Timothy H. [NY-1] - 2/4/2009
Rep Brady, Robert A. [PA-1] - 5/7/2009
Rep Braley, Bruce L. [IA-1] - 12/15/2009
Rep Burgess, Michael C. [TX-26] - 2/4/2009
Rep Cao, Anh "Joseph" [LA-2] - 12/1/2009
Rep Capps, Lois [CA-23] - 9/15/2009
Rep Carney, Christopher P. [PA-10] - 10/22/2009
Rep Castor, Kathy [FL-11] - 9/16/2009
Rep Christensen, Donna M. [VI] - 4/22/2009
Rep Clarke, Yvette D. [NY-11] - 2/4/2009
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] - 4/29/2009
Rep Connolly, Gerald E. "Gerry" [VA-11] - 2/13/2009
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] - 3/31/2009
Rep Courtney, Joe [CT-2] - 7/31/2009
Rep Crowley, Joseph [NY-7] - 2/4/2009
Rep Cummings, Elijah E. [MD-7] - 12/1/2009
Rep Dahlkemper, Kathleen A. [PA-3] - 3/26/2009
Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3] - 3/4/2009
Rep Dent, Charles W. [PA-15] - 3/5/2009
Rep Doyle, Michael F. [PA-14] - 3/5/2009
Rep Ellsworth, Brad [IN-8] - 10/20/2009
Rep Engel, Eliot L. [NY-17] - 2/4/2009
Rep Etheridge, Bob [NC-2] - 3/26/2009
Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] - 7/28/2009
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] - 11/19/2009
Rep Garrett, Scott [NJ-5] - 5/20/2009
Rep Gonzalez, Charles A. [TX-20] - 7/28/2009
Rep Green, Gene [TX-29] - 2/10/2009
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 3/4/2009
Rep Hall, John J. [NY-19] - 2/4/2009
Rep Harman, Jane [CA-36] - 11/19/2009
Rep Higgins, Brian [NY-27] - 2/4/2009
Rep Himes, James A. [CT-4] - 2/4/2009
Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22] - 2/4/2009
Rep Hodes, Paul W. [NH-2] - 7/9/2009
Rep Holden, Tim [PA-17] - 12/1/2009
Rep Holt, Rush D. [NJ-12] - 3/10/2009
Rep Israel, Steve [NY-2] - 2/4/2009
Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila [TX-18] - 11/16/2009
Rep Jones, Walter B., Jr. [NC-3] - 9/10/2009
Rep King, Peter T. [NY-3] - 2/4/2009
Rep Klein, Ron [FL-22] - 3/4/2009
Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10] - 3/4/2009
Rep Lance, Leonard [NJ-7] - 2/25/2009
Rep Larson, John B. [CT-1] - 3/10/2009
Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] - 3/4/2009
Rep Lee, Christopher J. [NY-26] - 2/4/2009
Rep Lewis, John [GA-5] - 3/4/2009
Rep Lipinski, Daniel [IL-3] - 9/22/2009
Rep Lowey, Nita M. [NY-18] - 2/4/2009
Rep Lynch, Stephen F. [MA-9] - 12/1/2009
Rep Maffei, Daniel B. [NY-25] - 2/4/2009
Rep Markey, Edward J. [MA-7] - 12/2/2009
Rep Massa, Eric J. J. [NY-29] - 2/4/2009
Rep McCarthy, Carolyn [NY-4] - 2/4/2009
Rep McCaul, Michael T. [TX-10] - 6/4/2009
Rep McCollum, Betty [MN-4] - 12/15/2009
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] - 2/4/2009
Rep McHugh, John M. [NY-23] - 2/4/2009
Rep McMahon, Michael E. [NY-13] - 2/4/2009
Rep Meeks, Gregory W. [NY-6] - 2/4/2009
Rep Murphy, Christopher S. [CT-5] - 3/10/2009
Rep Murphy, Patrick J. [PA-8] - 11/19/2009
Rep Murphy, Scott [NY-20] - 7/15/2009

Rep Murphy, Tim [PA-18] - 9/16/2009
Rep Nadler, Jerrold [NY-8] - 2/4/2009

Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [CA-38] - 12/1/2009
Rep Neal, Richard E. [MA-2] - 11/19/2009

Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] - 12/1/2009
Rep Nye, Glenn C., III [VA-2] - 12/8/2009

Rep Pascrell, Bill, Jr. [NJ-8] - 2/4/2009
Rep Pierluisi, Pedro R. [PR] - 3/16/2009

Rep Rangel, Charles B. [NY-15] - 2/4/2009
Rep Reichert, David G. [WA-8] - 12/16/2009

Rep Rothman, Steven R. [NJ-9] - 12/1/2009
Rep Rush, Bobby L. [IL-1] - 10/13/2009

Rep Sarbanes, John P. [MD-3] - 9/16/2009
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9] - 2/10/2009

Rep Schauer, Mark H. [MI-7] - 5/7/2009
Rep Schwartz, Allyson Y. [PA-13] - 7/9/2009

Rep Serrano, Jose E. [NY-16] - 2/4/2009
Rep Sestak, Joe [PA-7] - 3/12/2009

Rep Shea-Porter, Carol [NH-1] - 12/1/2009
Rep Sires, Albio [NJ-13] - 9/22/2009

Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [NY-28] - 3/16/2009
Rep Smith, Christopher H. [NJ-4] - 2/10/2009

Rep Stupak, Bart [MI-1] - 9/10/2009
Rep Sutton, Betty [OH-13] - 2/4/2009

Rep Thompson, Bennie G. [MS-2] - 10/13/2009
Rep Tonko, Paul D. [NY-21] - 2/4/2009

Rep Towns, Edolphus [NY-10] - 2/4/2009
Rep Upton, Fred [MI-6] - 11/19/2009

Rep Velazquez, Nydia M. [NY-12] - 3/24/2009
Rep Walz, Timothy J. [MN-1] - 12/9/2009

Rep Weiner, Anthony D. [NY-9] - 2/4/2009
Rep Wexler, Robert [FL-19] - 4/22/2009

Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] - 2/4/2009

S.1334 Title: A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to extend and improve protections and services to individuals directly impacted by the terrorist attack in New York City on September 11, 2001, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY] (introduced 6/24/2009) Cosponsors (3) Related Bills: H.R.847 Latest Major Action: 6/24/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
COSPONSORS(3), ALPHABETICAL [followed by Cosponsors withdrawn]: (Sort: by date)
Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] - 6/24/2009
Sen Menendez, Robert [NJ] - 6/24/2009
Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY] - 6/24/2009

The Rich Get Richer and the Sick Continue to Suffer http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=46070

WHERE TO TURN INTO 2010

2009-12-31T18:32:00.000-05:00

To All,

As 2009 draws to a close and we embark on a new decade we would like to thank our volunteers and everyone else who made this a very successful year at Where to Turn.

Special thanks to Senators Savino and Lanza, Assemlymen Cusick, Tobacco and Titone, District Attorney Daniel Donovan, Councilmen Oddo, Ignizio and Mitchell, the Richmond County Bank Foundation and the Staten Island Bank Foundation for their ongoing support of our programs

Here are a few highlights.

Overall

Our two websites have attracted over 400,000 visitors and we continue to serve a distribution of over 10,000 on a daily basis.

The site is updated every day with articles of interest and our calendar lists upcoming events for any participating organization.

We continue to share information from numerous sources and allow all of our followers to form their own opinions on topics of interest.

We have links to over 800 support organizations and weekly update grant, employment and volunteer opportunities.

In the past year we have expanded our partnerships with the NYPD, the Mayor’s CAU, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the DA’s Office and both the Criminal and Family Courts, South Beach Psychiatric, Friends of Abandoned Cemeteries, the NRPA, the NY Blood Center and many local community and civic groups.

In 2009 over 2,500 volunteers participated in our programs including representatives from almost every school on Staten Island and we have provided volunteers and support for numerous other not for profits on Staten Island.

9/11 Support

We have posted updates to our site every day in 2009. We have also partnered with Arnie Korotkin and will continue to post 9/11 articles of interest on a daily basis.

We have kept pressure on our elected officials with letters and OP ED’s addressing everything from the continued lack of support for suffering survivors of 9/11, to the upcoming trials as well as the issue of the remains in Fresh Kills.

We continue to work on plans for the Hearts and Hands Memorial.

Preliminary designs are complete and we have commitments from most of the elected officials on Staten Island.

We have over 8,000 supporters following the memorial on Facebook and hope to begin construction in 2010.

We are trying to get “Extreme Makeover” involved in the project for a 10th Anniversary show.

Community Programs

Graffiti Cleanups

Working with the 122 and 123 precincts we completed over 350 cleanups with our court ordered participants.

Scott LoBaido also completed 51 American Flag Murals through our Flags Across Staten Island Program

Court Referrals

Working with the Criminal and Family Courts on Staten Island nearly 120 juveniles were sentenced to community service for non violent crimes and referred to Where to Turn. We coordinated
weekend activities and these juveniles performed nearly 3,500 hours of community service on Staten Island.

Information Forums

Over 100 local not for profits and nearly 1,000 students attended the two volunteer information forums that we held this year with the help of the Parks Department and South Beach Psychiatric.

Snow Shoveling for Seniors

Over 600 students participated in 2009 and shoveled for 650 seniors free of charge.

Re-Gifting for a Good Cause/Toy Drive

We collected over 2,500 items and toys most of which were redistributed to needy families on Staten Island. The remaining novelty items were sold at our yearly Blood Drive/Flea Market where we also collected nearly 100 pints of blood.

Academic All County Awards

In 2009 we once again partnered with St. John’s University and honored all graduating high school seniors on Staten Island who participated in a varsity sport while maintaining a 90 or above GPA in their junior and senior years.

Prom Dresses for All

We collected over 100 prom dresses which will be dry cleaned and made available to high school girls who are not able to afford them so that they might be able to attend their proms in 2010.

Park and Beach Cleanups

Partnering with the NRPA and the Department of Parks and Recreation we participated in over 20 park and beach cleanups in 2009

Restoration of the Asbury Methodist Cemetery

In the fall of 2009 we began the restoration with weekly cleanups which resulted in the clearing of half the property of 25 years of overgrowth. Our goal is to complete the cleanup in the spring and possibly convert some of the unused space into an urban garden while converting the exterior into the first dog walker’s park on Staten Island.

Looking Ahead to 2010

With the current state of the economy and the fiscal condition of New York we do realize that everyone is going to have to do more with less in 2010.

Our goal is to work with our elected officials and other not for profits to better coordinate and align our various projects.

By working together we have a better chance of getting things done.

We plan to expand our outreach and supply volunteers to more programs outside of Where to Turn.

We plan to hold forums to get input from Staten Islanders to help us prioritize our efforts.

We hope to expand our Crisis Relief Network and get more organizations and schools to participate and post on our website.

We will continue to act as a voice for those in need from 9/11 families to senior citizens.

We will continue to work with at risk students giving them opportunities to better themselves through innovative programs.

We hope to double the amount of volunteers participating in our programs.

But most importantly we will continue to listen to the concerns of those in need and create new programs to address those needs.

We will also add programs that have worked in other areas such as “Pedals for Progress” where we will begin collecting used bicycles. These bikes will be restored and shipped to third world countries
where they are the primary form of transportation. Since 1981 this program has shipped over 125,000 bikes and kept them out of our waste stream.

We hope that others will use our programs as templates and use them in other areas of the country.

In addition we will be continuing with 3 capital projects for which we will require significant funding.

Hearts and Hands Memorial – Creating a permanent home for the United in Memory 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt by restoring abandoned buildings at the Sea View Campus.

Restoration of the Asbury Methodist Cemetery - Restoring the cemetery to its original condition. Majority of cost will be restoring the stone wall along Richmond Ave.

Restoration of TV studio at South Beach Psychiatric – Updating an outdated facility and create a working space for students to learn TV production skills.

We once again would like to thank all of you who have helped us in the past and hope that even more of you will become involved as we move into this new decade.

Check out our website at www.where-to-turn.org as we look forward to your feedback.

Happy New Year

Dennis McKeon
718-966-6531

Fear of Flying.......The Government's Solution

2009-12-28T22:12:00.000-05:00

Much is being made of the latest attempt of terrorism.

Once again the government is stating that all is well and that their security procedures that are in place are adequate.

What else do you expect them to say?

The fact of the matter is that if history has proven anything it is that our government has become almost 100% reactive and has become all about money.

Here is a little history lesson.

After 9/11 the government was in a panic but it was not solely related to terrorism.

Their major concern was not for the victims but a fear that law suits would bankrupt the airlines and send our economy into a nosedive.

To prevent this from happening the government did two things.

They created the Victims Compensation Fund to circumvent the lawsuits and in typical government fashion they created a new Agency the TSA to deal with transportation security.

Now they already had the Office of Homeland Security but that wasn’t good enough.

We needed this new Transportation Security Administration with a budget of over $1.3 billion and were told:

The events of September 11th underscore the importance of transportation security as part of America’s homeland security. There is a realization that protecting airports, bridges, highways, seaports, mass transportation, and the Nation’s transportation infrastructure in general is vital to protecting the Nation against acts of terrorism. During 2002, the Transportation Security Administration will become operational and the first steps towards an increased Federal role in transportation security will be taken. In 2003, TSA will continue implementing an aggressive, comprehensive aviation security program. The 2003 budget for TSA totals--the first full year of funding for the new agency--$4.8 billion, an increase of over $3.5 billion from current 2002 funding levels. The budget reflects estimated fee collections of $2.2 billion raised through a combination of passenger and air carrier fees authorized by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act.

Passenger Screening: Although TSA will take over the screener contracts in 2002, these contracts will be replaced by Federal screener personnel by November 19, 2002. As a result, the budget includes the costs of well over 30,000 airport security personnel, including screeners, law enforcement personnel, and screener supervisors.

Cargo Screening: Explosive detection systems must be in place to screen all checked baggage by December 31, 2002. The 2003 budget includes funding for equipment purchases, installation, and maintenance, more than three times the level of funds currently available in 2002.

Federal Air Marshals: The 2003 budget is the first year reflecting full funding of a greatly expanded Federal Air Marshal (FAM) program. The number of FAMs is classified information and, therefore, is not included in public documents. Following September 11th, law enforcement officers from other Government agencies were loaned to the Department of Transportation and trained as FAMs, which allowed the program to quickly expand. These loaned law enforcement personnel will be replaced before the end of 2002 with permanent FAM staff, and the number of FAMs significantly increased.

Transportation Network Security: Language is included in the 2003 budget that allows for the transfer of resources from the other modal budgets to the TSA budget, as necessary, to perform the security functions identified in the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. The resources currently residing in the other modal budgets are being identified and will, as appropriate, be transferred to TSA as soon as practical.

Here are a few things that the first audit of the TSA turned up.

There were serious questions raised about how over $300 million was spent by a firms contracted by the newly formed Transportation Security Administration.

$5.4 Million for 9 months salaries for executives of a firm that received a contract before it was incorporated and has subsequently gone out of business.

$8,100 for elevator operators at the Marriott Marquis Hotel

$125,000 rental fee for six magnetometers that could have been purchased for about $5,000 apiece

$4.4 Million for no show fees for exams not taken by potential candidates

$28,000 for coffee at the Sheraton Hotel in Reston

Now this audit took place in 2005 and as with most government audits we never found out if any of these items were addressed.

We also have not heard anything of subsequent audits.

What we have learned is that since 9/11 the TSA’s budget has ballooned to over $6 billion.

In 2009

• It devotes nearly $6 billion to the multi-layered, risk-based aviation security system.
o $3 billion for over 48,000 Transportation Security Officers and technologies to screen passengers and their baggage for weapons and explosives.
o $1.2 billion to recapitalize checked baggage screening devices and accelerate deployment of inline systems that will increase baggage throughput up to 300 percent. The Budget proposes a temporary, four-year surcharge in the passenger security fee of $0.50 per enplanement with a maximum increase of $1.00 per one-way trip. The additional fee collections of $426 million would be deposited in the Aviation Security Capital Fund to accelerate the deployment of optimal checked baggage screening systems and address the need to recapitalize existing equipment deployed immediately after September 11, 2001.
o $128 million for enhancements at passenger checkpoints to improve the detection of prohibited items, especially weapons and explosives, through the use of additional sensors, such as whole body imaging, liquid bottle scanners, automated explosive sampling, and cast and prosthesis scanners. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will continue to provide specialized training in the detection of suspicious behaviors, fraudulent documents, and improvised explosive devices.
o Nearly $100 million for air cargo security inspectors, canine teams, and the Certified Shipper Program to achieve 100-percent screening of passenger air cargo in 2010.
• Enhances security assessments. Funds security assessments on more than 2.4 million individuals in the Nation’s transportation system, including commercial HAZMAT drivers, airport and port workers, and international airline flight crews. In addition, TSA will continuously vet 13 million individuals who have already undergone a security assessment. These assessments will be based on terrorism and criminal information from the U.S. intelligence community and FBI databases. And, TSA will assume the watch list matching of over two million airline passengers daily with the implementation of Secure Flight.
• Addresses surface transportation vulnerabilities. $37 million for surface transportation security, including funding for nearly 100 inspectors to conduct risk-based assessments in the largest mass transit and rail systems.

Over $6 Billion and still a terrorist walks on a plane with explosives.

So what will happen now?

While the fear level is high the government will request additional funding.

Requirements will be written so that only certain companies will be able to be granted contracts.

We will hire more bureaucrats add more levels of government and spend, spend, spend.

But we will not adequately address any of the issues such as proper salaries and training for screeners.

It is almost impossible to separate salaries from technologies in the current budget.

We need to change that now.

We have an opportunity to change that now.

The government was reactive after 9/11 but for all the wrong reasons.

The government has been inactive since (except for spending)

We have a chance to be proactive moving forward.

And it starts with the basics.

Now there’s a real solution.

Health Care Bought at the Expense of Dying 9/11 Victims

2009-12-27T00:05:00.002-05:00

Another 9/11 hero will not live to see the New Year.

As all the Senators lined the pockets of their pork projects in the name of Health Care they all continue to turn a blind eye to all those who continue to die because of 9/11.

$300 Million to Louisiana for disaster relief after they misappropriated nearly $1 Billion in Katrina aid.

Nebraska gets free Medicare and the list goes on and on.

And the list of our honored dead continues to grow.

It is a disgrace and Pelosi and Reid and all the rest should be held accountable for stone walling 9/11 Health Care while they bought votes just to get a Christmas vote on National Health Care to make it look like they actually care.

Everyone needs to remember this come next election.

Dennis

9/11 Hero Dies of Cancer on Christmas Day

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/911-Hero-Dies-of-Cancer-on-Christmas-Day-80139487.html

"Services for FF Jim Ryan Ladder 167 will be held at:

Brueggmanns Funeral Home
522 Larkfield Road
East Northport, NY 11731
Tel: 631-368-1235

Wake/Viewing:
Sunday 2-5pm & 7-9pm
Monday 2-5pm & 7-9pm

Funeral on Tuesday 11am at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church
4 Trescott Path
Fort Salonga, NY 11768

R.I.P. 5-5-5-5"

Our Most Troubled Authority is Not Alone

2009-12-20T21:21:00.000-05:00

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority or as we like to refer to them as our Most Troubled Authority is now going to reduce service for its riders and eliminate free service for school kids.

So let me get this straight

The MTA is totally mismanaged

Its executives continue to make exorbitant salaries

Its Board Members are still allowed to ride for free using their EZ passes.

Hundreds of its employees are supplied with agency cars

And even more of its employees get free service as part of their job.

So with all this going on they decide to go after the school kids.

This after asking for yet another bailout from the government.

And we will bail them out, not hold them responsible and they will continue to lose money with no oversight and no accountability.

And if this wasn’t enough they are not alone.

We have an alphabet of Authorities and Agencies that do the same thing year after year.

If you could believe the financials that they provide they lose millions in investments and real estate deals.

Why are Authorities and Agencies involved in investments and real estate in the first place?

And what are they going to do about this?

Practically nothing.

Even though Albany is enacting some type of legislation everyone knows it is too little too late.

Until we do away with all the agencies and authorities we will always be the ones left holding the bag.

We will continue to pay more for less service and our kids will walk while these millionaire board members and executives will continue to enjoy their free rides in more ways than we can even imagine.

It is time that we step up and say enough is enough.

Tomorrow we look at the LMDC.

Dennis

WE NEED A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

2009-12-13T10:10:00.001-05:00

To All,

Over the past 8 years we have done many things that people said could not be done.

I now ask you for one more favor.

Please read the e-mail below.

Kerry is a good friend of mine who has done countless great things for our community.

Let’s try for a Christmas miracle and get him a donor.

Please pass this on to all your distributions and list serves.

Let’s blanket the country through Facebook and other social media outlets.

“Those who don’t believe in miracles, don’t believe in themselves”

I believe in miracles and I believe in you.

Let’s do this for Kerry

Dennis

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Everyone.......

It's easier to do an e-mail blast like this, rather then to try to explain it over the telephone, and break down every time I have to tell this story..........as it stands right now, I am not eligible for a Liver Transplant, as I do not have "Liver Disease", I have "liver cancer", which does not fit the criteria for a liver transplant from the national transplant organization ......... How I made it through life without a liver disease, amaze's even me !

Since my liver is in perfect condition, and working, I cannot get on the liver transplant list, I have to find my own Donor..... Problem #2:....... Me being of Irish decent, I have O Positive blood type, the hardest to find. So I have to ask one of you for a donation of a piece of your liver ............

The type of cancer I have is extremely aggressive : hepacellular carcinoma...... 20 months ago, it grew from 3 centimeters to half my liver in two week's time........It's growing fast again, I go in to Mount Sinai on Tuesday for what is called an Hepatic Arterial Chemoembolization (whew, big word!) .......

What that is, is this.... they will put a fiber optic tube in to my liver through my groin area, in to my liver, they will burn the cancer, radiate it, then encapsulate it in a chemo to keep it from spreading into my bloodstream, if the cancer gets into my blood, I am dead.......period

This will last about 2 months, then the cancer will start to break through it, and I will have to have it done again, and again...

So, I need to ask all of you, to consider giving me a piece of your liver..... an e-mail is a little impersonal , but it has been so hard on me, saying this over and over on the telephone to those of you I have spoken with so far.....that I have to do it this way, Vicky walks around crying every time I make a phone call, and it just adds to the difficulty in explaining the situation

You would be in the hospital for 3 days, and would have to take it easy for one week........your missing piece will grow back within 30 days........ Since our blood type is so hard to get a donor from, the surgeon will also use a small piece of your liver, and implant it in an yet, unknown baby. You will save two live's ...........

You can be any type "O" blood, Plus or Minus, and must be younger then 55 years old............The donation does not have to be from a family member, it can be from anyone with "O" Type blood

I have CC'ed some of my friends at the Natural Resources Protective Association and some of our compatriots in this e-mail, as it really is difficult explaining this time and time again. So I had to inform them about this, In this e-mail too ......

Thanks........

Kerry

Mr. Kerry Sullivan

718 720-5951
kerrysull@aol.com

www.facebook.com/kerrysull

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE...WHAT CAN BE DONE

2009-12-10T18:06:00.000-05:00

I have the consolation of having added nothing to my private fortune
during my public service, and of retiring with hands clean as they are
empty

Thomas Jefferson

I wonder how many of our friends in Albany and Washington would be able
to make the same claim.

Not many I am sure.

This will continue to be the case as long as we allow our
representatives to have outside interests with economic consequences.

Government should not be a part time job.

There should also be some type of Common Sense requirement for those to
hold office.

Right now we have the JAMES ZADROGA 9/11 HEALTH & COMPENSATION BILL stuck in committee
with no one even ooking at it but Congress has time to look at bill that would require
the NCAA to have a playoff for the national football championship,

Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this picture?

Also we basically allow Congress to buy Health Care votes by giving
Louisiana anywhere from $100 million to $300 million in disaster
recovery aid.

Now I do not begrudge the victims in Louisiana but this is the state at
misappropriated nearly $1 billion in disaster aid after Katrina.

How about getting some of that money back before they get anything else?

But we will continue to toss good money after bad and while local grass
root organizations that actually do some good struggle to survive
billions will go to phantom not for profits or shell organizations under
ACORN.

This will not change until we get some accountability in place.

It will also not change until you get the aid to the people who need it
and not into the pockets of middleman and political cronies.

It was just announced that $150 million will be coming to New York.

I ask Senator Schumer and Congressman McMahon to make sure that this
money goes to what it was allocated.

I ask them to set up workshops to help organizations like CERT who at
the local level actually get things done get some of this money.

Don't let the money be spent on garbage trucks and executive salaries or no show
jobs like it was after 9/11.

We should use some of the money to document what was done in New York at
the local level after 9/11.

Had it not been for these local efforts and all of the volunteers God
only knows where we would be now.

Many of these volunteers are now dying and being denied medical
benefits.

Possibly we could use some of this money to help them out.

Taking care of those who took care of us in our time of need would only
promote the same response if this ever happens again.

Thomas Jefferson also said "We in America do not have government by the
majority. We have government by the majority who participate."

Participation begins at the local level and needs to be fostered.

We need to make sure that it is.

“A GAMBLER’S CHRISTMAS”

2009-12-05T21:17:00.001-05:00

“A GAMBLER’S CHRISTMAS”

T’was the night before Christmas when all through the house
The only sound heard came from my mouse
While the stockings where hung from the chimney with care
They were all empty barren and bare

My youngest was nestled all snug in his bed
While the piles of bills rose above my head
His mother and sister along with Aunt Bea
Were on they’re way back from a trip to AC

My other son James was locked in a gaze
As Chris Moneymaker considered a raise
Not even a Yule Log on our TV set
As he watched Phil Ivey check the last bet

The World Series of Poker on every TV
Had replaced all the classics that we used to see
No Frosty or Rudolph or Charlie Brown’s tree
Just Texas Hold'em on four channels not three

As I clicked all around to find my next site
To play online poker and cover last night
All the games that I lost both college and pro
Outside of my window it started to snow

I thought of the call I received just last night
From my dear old mom who had missed the last flight
It appears the she didn’t notice the time
While playing the slots where she lost her last dime

And the letter I got from my brother Bob
Letting me know that he just lost his job.
He had gone out to lunch and didn’t come back
Losing his pay check again at the track

I closed my eyes but I couldn’t sleep
Thinking of promises I wouldn’t keep
And Johnny would wake tomorrow to see
Not one single present under the tree

And I would have to think of a really good lie
To explain why Santa had passed us by
I would explain it was just a mistake
While thinking of even more bets I could make

But as if by magic I saw my way out
And I started to leap and dance about
For from the radio I heard a voice scream

“The New Christmas Lottery A Dollar and a Dream”

Although many of you may think that the poem above is an exaggeration it is a lot closer to the truth they you may believe.

Gambling is becoming more of the norm then the exception to the rule.

Families are losing their houses because of compulsive gambling.

Seniors on a fixed income are losing their life’s savings on repeated trips to Atlantic City and other casinos.

You cannot turn on the TV without seeing one version of a poker match or another.

Children in their teens and younger are playing at on line sites and losing real money.

Texas Hold’em tournaments are sponsored by schools and churches and teenagers are playing with alarming regularity.

Nights at the Races and Casino Nights are now regular events.

And the worst offender is New York State.

They spend millions a year advertising to lure more innocent people in with promises of millions.

Gambling is now at epidemic levels especially with teens and seniors.

Recent studies indicate that more than 70 percent of youth between the ages of 10 and 17 gambled in the past year, up from 45 percent in 1988. Almost one in three high school students gamble on a regular basis, according to the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers at Pennsylvania State College of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania surveyed 843 elderly people 65 years and older and discovered that 70 percent had been involved in at least one gambling activity in the past year and 11 percent fit the criteria of at-risk gamblers: they had recently laid down more than $100 on a single bet and/or they had bet more than they could afford to lose.

We would like to work with Gambler’s Anonymous next year and develop some seminars to address these issues. We will offer these to both schools as well as senior groups.

Anyone wishing to participate can contact us at info@where-to-turn.org.

In the meantime we need to get the Government out of the recruitment business.

If people want to gamble that is their prerogative but we do not need to be barraged with lottery ads.

The state should get out of the gambling business all together. Just look what a great job they did with OTB. I never heard of a bookie losing money.

If they need to keep the lottery they should at least cut the advertising. The reduced cost would probably compensate for the lost revenue from new gamblers.

If you know of someone with a gambling problem call 1-800-GAMBLER

Dennis

BETTING THEIR LIVES Kids as young as 8 are getting caught up in the new spin on an old problem

http://www.parentsknow.com/newarticle.cfm?colid=7281

Terrorist Trials and 9/11 Health Care

2009-12-01T19:20:00.001-05:00

Saturday there will be a rally in New York City to voice the concerns of many individuals who feel that the trials of the 9/11 terrorists belong in a military tribunal and not in Federal court in NY.

We support this effort for many good reasons (see below) but are very concerned that once again 9/11 is being used as a tool to support political agendas.

We are also concerned that political groups are making statements as if they speak for all the 9/11 families.

The fact of the matter is that there is not one 9/11 opinion.

If 9/11 showed us anything it was that this vicious attack did not discriminate and people of all faiths, nationalities and ways of life were killed.

The great thing about America is that we are allowed to voice our opinion.

We have a government that allows us this right, along with the many other rights which were were also attacked on 9/11.

We must never forget this.

While we may feel that our opinion is correct we must not assume that it is the only opinion that warrants consideration.

While I applaud the effort to try to get the government to change its position on this matter I do not want to see this as a way to use 9/11 to promote political agendas as has happened in the past.

Arguments should be presented and evaluated on their merits and not on what side of the political fence we may find ourselves.

That being said (and this is just my opinion)

I believe that these terrorists are war criminals and should be treated as such.

They were arrested by the military and should be tried by the military.

I am very concerned that legal maneuvers will be deployed in criminal court by the defense that the accused were not properly advised of their Miranda rights required in criminal court and that this ploy may be used to get the charges dismissed.

I am also concerned that through discovery the defense may demand that all documents relating to 9/11 be made public and that this could detrimental to national security.

As for the location of the trial I do not feel that it should take place in New York City.

Although the city was the most directly impacted in the country we cannot afford what it will take to secure downtown Manhattan.

This trial may last for years and cost and security issues do not warrant it taking place in New York.

We also do not need to give these terrorists a platform to promote their Anti American doctrines blocks away from where they killed nearly 3,000 people.

A more logical location would be Shanksville Pennsylvania.

We should construct a courthouse in the area where United Airlines flight 93 crashed, away from any major city.

This area would be easily secured at a fraction of the cost of a trial in NYC and when the trial completes the building could be used as a museum/memorial to those who died there on 9/11.

This location would work for either a military or criminal venue.

Again this is just my opinion.

On a topic that is just as important, I am concerned that while everyone is concentrating on this issue we are losing site of the fact that people continue to die as a result of 9/11 as the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act continues to be ignored in committee.

Even though this bill had enough votes to pass it has been placed in committee and will not even be considered until the current Health Care Bill is sorted out.

People continue to die as a result of illnesses they contracted because of 9/11 and the government refuses to move this bill forward because of the political football that National Health Care has become.

The first question I would ask of any elected official that might show up on Saturday is what are they doing to get this bill out of committee and onto the floor for a vote.

If they can afford to spend hundreds of millions in pork to buy Congressional votes on National Health Care they can certainly do something for those with 9/11 related illnesses.

This bill would provide medical care to many of those who are now sick because the EPA, an agency of the government, told them that there were no concerns as to the quality of the air after 9/11 even though they knew that what they were reporting was inaccurate.

So on Saturday I hope that those who are sick and those who continue to die as a result of 9/11 are not forgotten.

And I hope that we are able to convince the current Commander in Chief that these terrorists need to be tried in military tribunals.

Dennis McKeon

MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY.........MONEY

2009-11-22T12:37:00.001-05:00

“Follow the Money”

Whenever you watch a cop show on TV they always say the way to solve a crime is to follow the money.

Maybe the current Administration should so heed this advice.

It was reported this week that the Federal government as part of its $797 billion stimulus package had no clue as to where some of the money went or why it went where it did.

The 4th, 22nd, 35th and 40th congressional districts in New Mexico received funds when New Mexico only has 3 congressional districts.

At the same time Arizona’s 15th Congressional District received over $750,000. Only problem is that Arizona does not have a 15th congressional district.

And the list goes on and on.

Hell this is a crime so maybe somebody should be following the money.

“He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money”

Benjamin Franklin

To be politically correct we must say he or she but if we continue to allow Senators and Representatives to sell off their votes on bills we might as well just close up shop.

One needs only to look at how the state of Louisiana voted on the Health Care Bill to see the latest example of how much $100 to $300 billion in state aid can influence how one votes.

It reminds me of a story I heard about Winston Churchill.

He once asked a woman if she would sleep with him for 100,000 pounds and she said she would think about it.

He then asked her if she would sleep with him for 10 pounds and she replied “No, what do you think I am a prostitute”

To which he answered “We have already determined that, I am just negotiating the price”

Sounds eerily similar to what our government has become at all levels.

“My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income”

Errol Flynn

This one is for our friends in New York but could also apply to those in Washington.

For too long we have allowed our elected officials in Albany to hold second jobs which basically makes them susceptible to the interests of their other employees.

Their argument is that they cannot afford to live on the $100,000 to $150,000 salaries and need these second jobs.

My answer is that there are thousands of New Yorkers who would be willing to live on half what you make.

And if you haven’t noticed they could probably do a better job.

Representation should not be a part time job and this goes for our friends on the City Council as well.

As for our friends in Washington, too many of them have so much money that they have no clue as to how to manage a budget on a fixed income.

Maybe if we had some more middle class representation in Washington our needs would actually be considered and our deficit would not be in the trillions and heading for I don’t even know what comes after trillions but I am sure we will find a number.

“If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion”.

George Bernard Shaw

Finally to everyone in government, stop treating us like fools.

If we have learned anything over the course of the last 233 years is that the government is great at playing with numbers.

They have experts that won’t admit where in a Recession until we are in a Depression.

And when those experts are proven wrong they bring in another group who try to tell us that the numbers were misinterpreted or misrepresented.

To them we say we are the only ones being misrepresented and in the next round of elections we are going to make sure that changes.

We don’t need the same experts who buried Wall Street who are now working for the Administration telling us that the stimulus package is working when unemployment is now over 10%.

And we don’t need government to continue to grow when we can’t even afford what we have now.

We were promised “Change” but for many the only change we have is what is left in our pockets.

Anyway we all know that it has always been about the money.

And the majority of those who put you in office will not allow you to continue to tax and spend when we are losing our jobs and our homes.

So to our elected officials we say

If you don’t know what we want and need from our government, here’s a clue.

F_SC_L R_SP_NS_B_L_T_

Why don’t you take some of that stimulus money and buy a few vowels?

HEARTS AND HANDS MOVING FORWARD

2009-11-21T18:09:00.001-05:00

To All,

Attached please find a link to some preliminary drawings of the Hearts and Hands 9/11 Memorial at Seaview.

We are currently scheduling the clearing out of the garden area and the interior of the rotunda.

We will be sending out letters to our local officials as a follow up to our meetings and to get their commitment of support.

We are aware that government money will be tight but we will be moving forward.

We will be finalizing our discussions with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and hope to schedule a meeting with them at the site.

We are also planning a meeting with members of the Board of Directors of Seaview to get them more involved in the project.

We are also looking for benefactors as we will need to raise at least $1 million in donations next year.

If you have any connections with corporations please make them aware of our plans.

At this time we are asking for your support.

If you are able a tax deductible donation would be greatly appreciated.

Contributions at any level would be greatly appreciated.

If that is not possible we ask you to spread the word about this memorial or should I say your memorial.

Help us spread the word to everyone as to what we are planning.

A memorial for the 9/11 families, for the responders, and for everyone that still feels the pain of that tragic day and feels as we do that those who died on 9/11 and those who continue to die as a result of 9/11 deserve a personal memorial that remembers who they were and who they continue to be in our hearts.

Please join us in giving all of them what they deserve.

To learn more about the memorial go to

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/index.php?c=21

Donations can be made by check payable to

Where to Turn
150-L Greaves Lane # 312
Staten Island NY 10308

or through this Facebook Cause

Thank you in advance for your support

If you have any questions feel free to contact us at 718-966-6531 or info@where-to-turn.org

Dennis

For Too Long We Have Delegated "Authority"

2009-11-19T23:39:00.000-05:00

Word from Albany is that the Governor and the legislators are finally going to do something about the Authorities.

We can only hope.

Since these autonomous agencies were first created by Robert Moses back in the 1930’s as a way to circumvent local government they have been nothing but a cash cow for those involved.

Decades of mismanagement caused by executive ranks filled with unqualified employees who got their jobs solely based on their political connections have cost New York hundreds of billions of dollars.

And while no one seems to have any control of the authorities it is always the taxpayer that has to bail them out time and time again.

The PA, the MTA, the TBA the list goes on and on we have basically given them the authority to steal taxpayer money by not having any system of checks and balances in place to control them.

We couldn’t even require the PA to rebuild Ground Zero according to NYC Building and Fire codes, but that’s another story.

Although we have very little faith in Albany this would be a great way to show that they are actually attempting to bring back at least a little fiscal responsibility.

But if they are going to do it they need to do it right.

There is currently no need for any of these Authorities and they should be disbanded altogether.

Like a cancer they have spread to areas far outside the scope of what they were created to handle.

Has anyone even asked why the Port Authority is in the real estate business and what did the World Trade Center ever have to do with the ports of NY and NJ?

It is time to shut them down and make all of the high paid executives get some real jobs.

And while we are at it the Mayor should do the same with the myriad of agencies that have been created at the city level that use the Authorities as their role models.

Agencies like the LMDC that spends over $4 million a year with little or nothing to show for it.

An agency that has spent nearly a billion dollars on the dismantling of a single building that still stands at Ground Zero.

This is where we need to begin and we have been calling for this for the past 8 years.

Time and time again they have proven that they are not able to handle the authority that was delegated to them.

It is time we took it back.

Dennis

Related posts

GREAT WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=42846

The Government Needs a Twelve Step Program

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=46623

THE ABC'S OF BUDGET CUTS SHOULD NOT INCLUDE FDNY

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=46216

Unfortunately It's Not A Joke

2009-11-18T22:44:00.000-05:00

What is the difference between winning the NYS Lottery

and

Finding an honest politician?

At least you have a chance at winning the lottery.

The Daily News reported today that 14 state lawmakers left Albany

because of criminal or unethical conduct in the past decade.

10 of them in the past 5 years.

These numbers taken from a new report by the Citizens Union of the City

of New York do not even include Eliot Spitzer or Alan Hevesi.

So over 10% of the 139 office holders that we elected to represent us

have been forced to leave office.

And this number doesn't even include those currently under

investigation.

But here's the kicker.

All of these people were caught by law enforcement.

Not one of them by the so called state ethic watchdogs that are

currently in place.

Makes you feel real good about who is minding the hen house and how many

more have yet to be discovered.

I wonder how many of these are still collecting pensions paid for with

our tax payer money.

I also wonder how many dollars of campaign funds went towards defending

these people while they were fighting the charges.

And you wonder why New York is in such dire straits.

If we are ever going to get back on track we have to start holding these

guys responsible.

So once again I propose our "Political Pre-Nup"

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=43838

And I once again issue this public appeal to all elected officials to

step forward and voluntarily sign on.

But I won't hold my breath.

And the sad part about it is that this is just the tip of the iceberg

and things are just as bad if not worse at the national level.

Take it from somebody who knew:

"Sure there are dishonest men in local government”

”But there are dishonest men in national government too"

Richard M. Nixon

The Carny is Back at Coney Island

2009-11-15T12:39:00.001-05:00

The media spin machine was once again running overtime as almost all media outlets praised the so called “renaissance” that was previewed at Coney Island last week.

The mayor and his usual list of suspects were there in full force telling everyone what a wonderful thing this was going to be for the neighborhood and the economy of Coney Island.

I was very glad that I was not there but if I was I would have definitely checked to make sure that I still had my wallet before I left.

This was just the latest example of the shell game that is constantly being perpetrated upon the residents of NYC.

While everyone would agree that for years Coney Island has been neglected and needs to be redeveloped no one wants to admit that this current plan revolves around one thing that was never mentioned in any of the speeches.

“Gambling”

If anyone believes that the developers do not have that on their minds then they have been taken over by the spell of our three card monte politicians.

Even in its hey day Coney Island was only a summer destination.

The only way that this plan will make it into a “resort destination” is if gambling is brought into the mix.

And you don’t have to be a mind reader to know that the luxury hotels planning to be built adjacent to the site are not being built for people coming to ride the Cyclone.

But once again the rich will get richer and more and more people will lose their homes and pensions chasing that dollar and a dream that will undoubtedly be coming soon to Coney Island.

This will be just another grasp to raise city and state revenues to cover a deficit created by over 30 years of mismanagement by our elected officials.

With the deficit where it stands now they will look more and more into short term “fixes” and to them gambling will be the best bet.

Just the fact that the state spends hundreds of millions a year on advertising on lottery and other ads is proof positive of their overall plans.

People will gamble if they want to but why do they need to try to drag new victims into this scam everyday.

And the people of Coney Island will just be the next set of victims.

Just take a look at the neighborhoods that surround Atlantic City to see how much that did to revitalize and rehabilitate the neighborhood.

And the sad part about it is that the state has already proven they are totally incompetent when it comes to gambling.

Just look at the great job that they did with OTB.

And when OTB goes belly up New York taxpayers will be left on the hook for billions in pensions (better then many city employees) that were arranged for the politically connected people that were able to get jobs at the local OTB offices.

While back on the beach according to the mayor and the other elected officials the future looks great for Coney Island.

And he will be saying the same thing when they sell Governor’s Island to a group of Native Americans for a quick infusion of a couple of billion to cover the next deficit.

So to the people of New York and in particular the residents of Coney Island I leave you with the immortal words of P.T. Barnum “There’s a sucker born every minute”

DENNIS MCKEON

Related Posts

THEY ARE GAMBLING WITH OUR FUTURE

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=45712

THE GROWING GAMBLING PROBLEM IN AMERICA

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=41184

LETTER TO SI ELECTED OFFICIALS RE: YOUTH AND SENIOR GAMBLING

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=41194

WHY ISN'T THE INQUIRY LIGHT FLASHING?

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=43322

Lose Weight…Feed the Hungry…Get Healthy...."Take a Load Off"

2009-11-13T23:18:00.001-05:00

Lose Weight…Feed the Hungry…Get Healthy

Want to feel better about yourself both physically and mentally.

Well here’s your chance

Join the “Take a Load Off” program today.

With the holidays coming we all know that we are going to eat and party a little too much.

Come January 1 we are going to be another belt hole wider or another dress size larger.

And we are all going to make that same New Year’s resolution to lose weight.

Well Where to Turn is going to give you a way to drop a few pounds and help out some of those less fortunate.

While food pantries are usually well restocked during the holidays it is the cold winter months when many of them run short.

During the coldest days of winter many just don’t have the food to meet the need.

This is where the “Take a Load Off” program comes into play.

Each person who joins the program pledges to lose a specific amount of weight.

They also donate a dollar match to the amount of weight they pledge to lose.

So if you want to lose 20 pounds you donate $20.

Where to Turn will reach out to get corporate sponsorship to match every dollar collected.

All donations are 100% TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

100% of all the money collected will go towards re-stocking local food pantries and get food to those who really need it.

We will run the program quarterly so you have 3 months to meet your goal.

At the end of the quarter we will see how each of you has done and start a new class.

You lose weight, help feed the hungry and get healthy at the same time.

Our first class will begin on January 1.

It will be called “A Ton of Fun” as we will try to lose a collective 2,000 pounds and raise $4,000

You can register by credit card through our Facebook page at http://apps.facebook.com/causes/397970/38137363?m=5c768c22&ref=mf

You can also register through Where to Turn at info@where-to-turn.org

Donations can be made by check made payable to Where to Turn 150-L Greaves Lane Staten Island, NY 10308

If you have any questions feel free to call us at 718-966-6531.

I have kicked off the program with a commitment to lose 25 pounds.

Also the South Beach Civic Association has donated $100 to match the first 100 pounds

I hope you will follow suit.

Dennis

Wake Up America....There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

2009-11-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

I am so excited.

I just found out that I do not have to work anymore.

You see I got this e-mail from Nigeria from someone I don’t know and they are going to transfer $23 million into my account.

At about the same time I got another one informing me that I won the Canadian lottery for another $15 Million.

I am glad that I got these e-mails because I was just about to take a work at home job offer and make $2,500 a week stuffing envelopes.

But now I won’t have to and I will have a lot more time on my hands.

Considering I am going to have all this free time and all this money I am sure that I will be real popular with the ladies.

But I am not concerned because I just ordered pills that are a combination of Viagra and Cialis with some natural ingredients.

They guarantee that I will be a stud in bed, satisfy endless women and at the same time clean out my colon and allow me to lose 30 pounds in 3 days.

Yeah Right……..In My Dreams

But this is no different than the way our government continues to treat us on a regular basis.

They are going to provide Health Care to every man women and child (legal or not).

A program that is going to cost trillions of dollars and they are going to do this with no significant tax increases.

They implemented a stimulus package that was supposed to stimulate the economy.

It appears to only have stimulated the bonuses of the executives of the bailed out companies.

And after paying out these bonuses some of these companies are still going belly up.

And if you hadn’t noticed the national unemployment rate just rose above 10%

Doesn’t sound like much of a stimulus package to me.

But we continue to play the fools and believe these people.

And we continue to pump millions into their campaigns so that they can make their lobbyists and lawyers rich.

I have lost track of how many elected officials have been indicted and convicted over the past 10 years.

And many of them continue to collect their paychecks while they fight the charges with campaign funds.

In many cases they keep their taxpayer paid pensions even if convicted.

But we continue to allow this to go on.

We allow state after state to legalize more and more types of gambling and more and more citizens particularly seniors are losing their paychecks or pensions on all sorts of state sponsored lotteries.

They want to bring slots to the race tracks and don’t be too surprised if they wind up selling Governor’s Island to some Native American entity to open a casino closer to home for all those people chasing that dollar for a dream.

And the government allows it to go on and they can’t even do that right.

Just look at what they did with OTB.

But I digress.

What it all comes down to is too many people want to believe the promises that they are fed during every election.

They want to believe in these no substance solutions just like they want to believe in the e-mails they receive every day.

We need to wake up.

We need to see legislation while it is in committee before it is voted on.

We need to know if our representatives are actually representing us.

And we need to vote them out if they are not.

If we don’t we might as well wait for that next e-mail from our new friend in Nigeria.

Dennis

BY THE NUMBERS

2009-11-07T00:29:00.000-05:00

Everyday people complain about how bad things are yet on Staten Island where we have over 200,000 voters and only about 75,000 voted last Tuesday.

So the next time you want to complain first ask yourself if you were one of the 125,000 Staten Island Registered voters who didn’t vote.

Just if you weren’t paying attention

Bloomberg spent over $100 million and got 557,000 votes. That’s about $175 a vote.

Alex Zablocki spent $17,000 and got 157,000 votes. That’s about $9.25 a vote.

But here’s the real shame.

Alex filed 30,000 signatures to get on the ballot while Bloomberg only filed 21,000.

But Alex was excluded from all the debates because his campaign didn’t raise enough money.

And you still think we don’t need campaign finance reform.

By the way these candidates keep building up their campaign war chests with millions and wind up spending it on lawyers when they get caught.

Great system we have here.

We should require that 90% of all excess funds be either set aside for community projects or returned after each election.

But we know that will never happen.

So why don’t we try this.

Ban the use of campaign funds for legal costs.

Any excess campaign funds after an election must be used to repay any matching funds that were received.

And here’s an easy one.

We give the candidates one week to take down all their signs.

We ask organizations to set up sign collections after the week grace period.

We then charge their campaigns $10 a sign that is turned in.

We set up collection sites and reimburse the organizations for the signs they collect.

We would probably raise enough money to stock a food pantry every year.

We know none of these will ever be implemented but we will keep trying.

Dennis

IT'S NOT ONLY IF YOU VOTE.... IT'S HOW YOU VOTE THAT COUNTS

2009-11-01T23:22:00.001-05:00

So now that we have come to the end of campaigns that have been going on forever.

The candidates will pull out all of their dirt tricks over the next 24 hours in a last ditch effort to sway our decisions.

And then it will be up to us to decide.

Unfortunately many of us will not even bother.

Some will look at the polls and decide their candidate doesn’t have a chance so they will not bother to vote.

Others will think just the opposite and feel that their candidate is so far ahead that their vote is not necessary

What’s worse is that many of us will just enter the voting both and just vote straight down our party line.

This has become standard practice with many Americans.

It has also contributed to the current state of our nation as well as the condition of our states and cities.

On Staten Island decisions will be made for the City Council and Borough President and city wide we will be deciding on a mayor.

Decisions such as these will be being made all over the country.

But again many will not vote and others will be selecting candidates for no other reason than the fact that they are on the same party line as their choice for president.

This is the real problem facing America today.

We need to be more involved and voting is just a part of that responsibility.

We need to know who we are voting for and we are not going to get that information from advertisements, lawn signs or mailings.

Have you ever once gotten information from any candidates stating what promises they didn’t deliver on?

I haven’t

So on Election Day do us all a favor.

Take a little time and put some thought into what candidates you are selecting.

They will have a job for the next few years.

Let’s make sure that they will work to assure that we can say the same.

I have said it before and I will say it again “We need representatives not politicians” at every level of government.

On Election Day we can make a difference.

Let’s see if we will.

Dennis

ONCE AGAIN CALLING FOR A POLITICAL PRE-NUP

2009-10-31T19:11:00.001-04:00

The Washington Post has reported that more than 30 lawmakers and a few staff members were under scrutiny, including nearly half the members of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.

The sad part of this story is that any of these Representatives if indicted will be able to use campaign funds to pay their legal fees.

So taxpayers not only pay their salaries but also have to foot the bill for their legal costs when they get caught stealing from the public.

Is that why you contribute to campaigns?

And it is not only at the Federal level.

The Associated Press has reported that former NY State Senate Leader Joe Bruno has already spent $633,000 in campaign funds on criminal lawyers.

Question: When is the madness going to stop?

Answer: Only when we hold these elected officials responsible for their actions.

We once again call for a political pre-nup which we would ask each candidate to sign.

This pre-nup would state that if they are forced from their positions due to illegal or improper behavior they will give up any claim to any pensions or benefits that they may be entitled to. And they agree to pay back any monies that may have been illegally gained without dispute. We could also add that they would agree not to use any campaign funds for legal defense.

See post below from 7/13/08 when we first requested this.

It's Time For A Political Pre-Nup

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=43838

We are still looking for at least one candidate to voluntarily sign one but we are not too optimistic.

A great commentary on our political process.

We would love to have the media ask any of the candidates on the record if they would be willing to do this.

In the meantime we would at least like someone to introduce some legitimate campaign finance legislation which would prohibit the use of campaign funds for legal expenses. It should also limit the amount a candidate can carry over after the election.

Wouldn’t you agree it’s time has come.

Names Leaked in House Ethics Probes

http://news.aol.com/article/congressional-ethics-probe-targets/744598?icid=main|main|dl4|link4|http://news.aol.com/article/congressional-ethics-probe-targets/744598

PUTTING "US" BACK INTO USA

2009-10-25T17:49:00.001-04:00

Each year we have candidates running for office promising what they are going to do for “us”.

They constantly state that they are running “for us” and will “work for us”

I am going to take a page out of Bill Clinton’s playbook and ask how do they define “us”?

Because the entire political process seems to have very little to do with “us”.

This includes the candidates, the media and the elected officials once they take office.

Here are a few examples

In New York they asked “us” in a referendum if we wanted term limits.

We said yes.

But “they” said to hell with “us” and did away with them any way.

In Congress the majority of Representatives back the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2009.

But Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi who doesn’t represent any of “us” is holding the bill hostage and refuses to put it up for a vote even though there are enough votes to pass it.

Now how is that representing “us”?

And the media is even worse.

The Obama administration refuses to even acknowledge the Fox Network because “they” don’t agree with the administration’s policies.

MSNBC and CNN reports are almost always pro administration.

These are supposed to be news networks and are supposed to be reporting facts not opinions.

Are we not entitled to the facts?

Aren’t we smart enough to form our own opinions?

Again I ask what about “us”?

The same can be said of almost any newspaper or radio outlet.

What ever happened to “all the news that’s fit to print” or “we report you decide”?

If they really cared about “us” these would be more than just catch phrases.

Well it is time that we demand that they all start representing “us”

And we are made up of many races, many religions, many political opinions and many life styles.

And they have been elected to represent “us”

And we can begin with Nancy Pelosi.

We need to let her know that her house is in California and not Washington DC.

And while she may control that one she does not control the one on Capital Hill.

And until we change the name of it to the House of Nancy Pelosi or the House of Bohner it is still the House of Representatives.

And they better start representing “us”…all of “us” and not just their personal agendas.

And this goes for all our elected officials from the President on down to our local representatives.

And to all the media outlets as well.

As the old adage goes “there is no I in team” and the last time I looked there is no I in USA either.

But there is an “US”

And if they don’t start listing to “us” and representing “us” we will find someone who will.

And we will put the “US” back into USA.

NANCY PELOSI HOLDS THE ZADROGA BILL HOSTAGE

2009-10-22T22:29:00.000-04:00

Just a heads up of what is going on with your leadership in Washington.

Even though there are enough votes committed Speaker of the House Pelosi will not allow the Zadroga bill to be put up for a vote until the Health Care Bill is resolved.

How too faced can you be?

If Health Care is so important why would you deny it to those who got sick risking their lives saving victims of the worst attack in the history of America?

Call your Representative and demand that they do not allow this to continue.

They are playing political Russian roulette with the lives of our loved ones while pushing their own agendas.

We need to stand up and be heard.

Too many have died already while Congress begins to look more and more like the NYS Senate.

You cannot continue to remain silent.

Also join the rally on Saturday

Coalition of 9/11 Organizations Press Conference 10/24/09

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=49882

AND WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPY

2009-10-21T23:08:00.000-04:00

To All

Got this E-Update from the LMDC today

Eight and a half years later.

At a cost of over $300 Million (do you know how many sick victims could have been treated with this money?)

Corruption, kickbacks and under the table deals.

The improper removal of victims’ remains

The death of 2 NYC firefighters

And we are supposed to be happy that they are finally getting this done.

This building will always stand as an example of all that has been wrong at Ground Zero.

But we keep on dumping millions into the LMDC and LMCCC

Some things never change

Dear Community Member,

Yesterday, the NYC Department of Buildings issued permits to demolish the remaining 26 floors of the former Deutsche Bank Building at 130 Liberty Street. The General Contractor, Bovis Lend Lease, and its subcontractor, LVI/Mizzochi, are now mobilizing the equipment necessary for the work to begin. Demolition is expected to begin Monday, November 2nd.

MAYBE IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE

2009-10-21T22:59:00.000-04:00

As our country tries to recover from one of the worst economic downturns in its history many people are living day to day.

Foreclosures are still near all time highs.

Unemployment numbers are staggering.

Retirement is no longer a possibility for many.

Everyone is just trying to survive.

Well not everyone.

As it appears that our candidates are recession proof.

While the country’s economy crashed and burned last year’s presidential candidates raised more money than ever before.

And it’s not just at the top.

Just this week two fundraising events pulled in over $5 million for the Democratic Party in New York alone.

Similar events are doing the same for the Republicans and all the other parties all across the nation.

We may not have money for health care or for our schools but we continue to fork over the bucks to any Tom, Dick or Mary running for office.

And what do they do with this money?

They fill our mailboxes with campaign literature telling us all the great things they have done if they are in office or promising the great things that they will do if they get into office.

They fill the airways with ads (fact checking optional) bashing their opponents

If truth in advertising applied 90% of them would be in jail.

On the other hand they wouldn’t because they can also use these same campaign funds to hire the best lawyers to keep them out.

One of our esteemed Congressmen has spent over $500,000 of campaign funds to pay for legal fees over the past year.

And I am sure that one of our NYS Senators will be doing the same over the next few months.

Is this what you really want to do with your money?

Campaign reform is a joke and there is nothing we can do about big business and their pay to play policies.

There is also nothing we can do about the lobbyists who continue to buy and sell elected officials like they were penny stocks.

But there is something we can do at least at our level.

The next time you are thinking about writing a check out for a campaign maybe think about giving at least part of it to a local charity.

The next time you are going to spend hundreds of dollars to attend a campaign dinner think about going to an event like the Poor Peoples Dinner or a fundraiser for a local not for profit instead.

The next time you are going to spend hundreds of dollars for a handshake or a photo op with a candidate think about the sick first responders that these same people continue to ignore and write a check to the Fealgood Foundation or some other organization that is actually doing some good.

The bottom line is that if an elected official has done a good job his record should speak for itself.

And if it doesn’t vote for the other guy.

There is no reason why these candidates should be allowed to build up millions in campaign war chests for future elections while some of us can’t even afford to put food on the table.

The process has gotten so bad that we allow candidates to collect matching funds even after they have dropped out of races.

So until if and when we actually get some campaign finance reform in place maybe we can do our part by redistributing the campaign wealth.

They say “you get what you pay for” and if history shows us anything it is that we have gotten very little return on our investments when it comes to campaign contributions.

Maybe it is time for a change.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

2009-10-12T22:34:00.001-04:00

The city settles claims with accused drug dealers but fights every claim by 9/11 victims.

3 more 9/11 victims died this week from illnesses related to 9/11 and the WTC Captive Insurance Fund continues to fight every claim.

But when it comes to criminals what does the mayor have to say?

"The city gets sued 200 times a week," Bloomberg told the Daily News. "We take as many cases to trial as we possibly can, but we would [go] bankrupt if we tried to defend every one of them."

There is something wrong with this picture.

Three heroes of 9/11 die of cancer in five days

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/10/12/2009-10-12_3_heroes_of_911_die_of_cancer_in_5_days.html#ixzz0TmIszS4a

Mayor Michael Bloomberg defends city legal settlements to drug gang

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/10/12/2009-10-12_mike_defends_city_payouts_to_drug_gang.html#ixzz0TmJRkhg3

The Rich Get Richer While the Sick Get Sicker

2009-10-09T20:54:00.001-04:00

Over the past eight years more and more people have become seriously ill

as the result of the aftermath of 9/11.

Now let's see how the government and the courts have handled this.

Even though the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New

York found that former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman's

falsely reassuring and misleading statements of safety after the

September 11, 2001 attacks were "without question conscience-shocking."

The court also found the facts "support an allegation of a violation of

the substantive due process right to be free from official government

policies that increase the risk of bodily harm" by Whitman's

misstatements regarding the air quality of the affected area.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stated that she could not be held

liable for her actions.

Why you might ask?

Well the Appeals Court stated that legal remedies are not always

available for every instance of arguably deficient governmental

performance.

So a representative of the government knowingly deceives the public and

puts them at risk but they cannot be held responsible.

If you think that's bad it only gets worse.

In what looked like an act of good faith the federal government gives

NYC a billion dollars to help settle claims for people taken ill as a

result of 9/11.

And what does NYC do?

It gives a contract to the WTC Captive Insurance Corp not to settle

these claims but to fight every one of them in court.

So instead of settling these claims with the money provided, over $300

million has gone to pay lawyers to fight the claims.

This not for profit is also permitted to invest these funds and manages

to lose another couple of hundred million.

And it gets worse.

NYC then uses these funds to fight not only health claims but also to

fight the case brought by 9/11 family members seeking to have remains

relocated from the Fresh Kills Landfill.

So NYC is just using this fund as its own personal checking account to

do with it what it pleases.

Over half a billion spent or lost and less than $500,000 paid to sick

victims.

As victims lose their life savings paying medical bills these lawyers

laugh all the way to the bank.

As the NYC paid lawyers rack up their billable hours people continue to

die.

Teddy Roosevelt once said "Justice consists not in being neutral between

right and wrong, but in finding out the right and upholding it, wherever

found, against the wrong".

Apparently not in New York where the rich get richer while the sick get

sicker.

VICTIMS ARE THE ONES BEING HELD CAPTIVE

2009-10-07T21:13:00.001-04:00

To All,

Please take a moment and look at the information below.

A Registered Not For Profit that has spent over $300 Million in Federal Funds and distributed less than 1% of the funds to satisfy health claims.

If we weren’t dealing with peoples lives here I would say it was like watching a re-make of the Rain Maker.

But here is the even bigger disgrace.

I have been told from very good sources that even though they are a registered not for profit they refuse to open their books.

We really need someone to step forward and get this information

Under the Freedom of Information Act we should be able to see exactly how they are spending tax payer money that was ear marked to help pay for victims’ health benefits.

We have bits and pieces (see below) but nothing since 2008

We need to know

How much has been paid in salaries and administrative costs

We need to know how much was spent on entertainment (lunches, dinners etc)

Finally we need to know how much they have lost through bad investments.

Until we can get an independent audit we need to make sure that not another dollar is spent unless it goes towards helping victims.

If we can’t get our elected officials to do it our only option may be the courts.

WTC CAPTIVE INSURANCE COMPANY, INC.

Current Entity Name:
WTC CAPTIVE INSURANCE COMPANY, INC.

Initial DOS Filing Date:
JULY 01, 2004

County:
NEW YORK

Jurisdiction:
NEW YORK

Entity Type:
DOMESTIC NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION

Current Entity Status:
ACTIVE

It's Time For The Return of the Special Master

2009-10-05T18:14:00.000-04:00

To All,

Almost a year ago we posted the pieces below.

At that time over $200 Million had been spent on lawyers fighting health claims related to 9/11.

Also at the time Judge Hellerstein said he was going to step up efforts in settling claims.

So here we are almost a year later and we are no better off.

And we still can’t get a full accountability from the WTC Captive Insurance Company so we don’t know how many more millions have been spent on lawyers and salaries or on bad investments.

Most of our investigation was prompted by the reporting of Sue Edelman of the NY Post who seems to be one of the few reporters that feels the plight of 9/11 victims is important enough to report on days other than 9/11.

We apologize because we actually thought that we could take the word of those in power a truth at least in this circumstance.

Again we were wrong.

There was a small article in today’s Post once again by Sue.

In it she reminds us that Kenneth Feinberg has already volunteered to oversee these cases as he did the Victim’s Compensation Fund.

Although we had our problems with Mr. Feinberg at the beginning we found that overall he did a very good job under almost unworkable conditions.

In my meetings with Mr. Feinberg he was open to at least listen and I do believe he did the best he could for the victim’s families.

It is time to ask him to do the same and take over and mediate the settlements in these 9/11 health related cases.

It is also time for a complete independent audit of the WTC Captive Insurance Company.

Enough is enough.

The longer we delay the more people die.

This does not have to be.

Since we cannot get anywhere with the mayor and this is federal money we need our Senators and Representatives to step up and get this done.

They need to hear from you.

They need to hear from you today.

The Rich Get Richer and the Sick Continue to Suffer

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=46070

The Rich Get Richer Part II

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=46079

The Rich Get Richer Part III

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=46091

WE CAN BEGIN ON NOVEMBER 3

2009-09-25T21:08:00.001-04:00

Our generation was always accused of watching too much TV.

And it appears that our elected officials think we still do and find the

need to be on all of the time.

It seems that every time you turn on the TV the president is on.

And not just on the news channels.

Letterman, GMA...the list goes on and on.

I wouldn't be surprised if he turns up on Dancing with the Stars or has

a guest spot on Desperate Housewives.

And he is not the only one.

It seems that our Governors, Senators, Congressmen right on down the

line spend as much time in the studios as they do in their offices.

No wonder nothing gets done.

If they feel this need maybe we should require them all to appear on

"Are You Smarter Then a 5th Grader" we might just find out why the

country is in the shape it is.

As both sides try to force their versions of the so called Health Care

Plan down our throats little else is getting any attention.

Whatever happened to reducing the troop size in Iraq?

Whatever happened to all the promises made to our injured veterans after

the Walter Reed scandal?

What about the freeze on bailout bonuses?

Or all of the other promises made during last year's campaign.

And closer to home almost every campaign ad paints the opponent as

either a criminal or a liar.

We have a president who worked with a governor in one of the

historically corrupt states in America telling our governor not to run.

We have appointed a Lt. Governor who used to run the MTA.

The former head of the same MTA that has mismanaged their finances for

years at the expense of NY taxpayers is next in line to be governor.

We have a state senate that is laughing stock of the entire country with

most of its current or former leaders on trial or at least accused of

crimes.

And we have people dying every day as a result of not being able to get

proper treatment for illnesses resulting from 9/11.

These are the same people that came to help after 9/11 or went back to

work when they were assured by the government that the air quality was

safe even though the EPA knew it was not.

And most of those in power only seem to remember them one day every

year.

And it's just not right.

But we allow it to go on.

We laugh with the president on Letterman.

We see nothing wrong with the endless parade of elected officials

involved in scandals or illegal activities.

To borrow a phrase from Pink Floyd when it comes to politics we have all

become "Comfortably Numb"

And those in power continue to take advantage.

If our country is to survive we need to break out of this apathetic

malaise.

We need to take back our government by making sure that those in office

remember they work for us.

In the words of Aristotle 2300 years ago... If liberty and equality, as

is thought by some are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be

best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the

utmost.

We can begin on November 3.

WITH APOLOGIES TO THE ROLLING STONES

2009-09-21T21:01:00.001-04:00

YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT

Legitimate representation at all levels of government.

Representatives that actually care about your wants and needs

Fiscal responsibility in our government

YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT

A judicial system that is based on the law and not political patronage.

Elected officials that don’t change the rules to suit their needs.

Tax dollars going towards needed improvements and not pork.

YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT

A Social Security System that will be around when you retire.

A government run by the will of the people and not lobbyists

Accountability and not endless bailouts

BUT IF YOU TRY SOMETIME

Get out and vote

Not for your party’s candidate

But for the best candidate.

YOU JUST MIGHT FIND

Elected Officials tend to listen when they fear they may be replaced.

Your vote actually makes a difference if you actually cast it

Change is possible and not just a catch phrase

YOU GET WHAT YOU NEED

Your Government back

A government of the people, by the people, for the people

A government for all and not a select few.

EIGHT YEARS LATER

2009-09-03T22:04:00.001-04:00

9/11/2009 is only a week away and unfortunately for many it will be just another day.

We have already had a movie poking fun at the attacks and more recently we had a game maker who thought it was a good idea to remake space invaders and use the World Trade Center as the target of the attacks.

Needless to say we have come a long way from the “Never Forget” attitude that followed the attacks.

We have elected officials from other states telling us we need to get past the event and move on.

And of course we will always have those who feel too much has already been done to support the victims of the attacks.

The $64,000 question is why?

Maybe it’s the economy.

Maybe it’s the fact that thousands of additional sons and daughters have died in a seemingly never ending war.

Or maybe it’s the fact that after eight years and billions of dollars spent all we still have is a huge hole in the ground at the site.

Whatever the reason, the fact is that there are those who wake up every day hoping that the whole thing was only a bad dream.

For those that have forgotten close your eyes for a few moments.

The complete darkness that you experience is what many family members have experienced every day since 2001.

Experienced because:

Eight years later and the victims’ list grows every day as people die because they put their faith in Christie Whitman, when as a representative of our government, she assured them that the quality of the air was fine at Ground Zero.

Eight years later and the city continues to pay millions to lawyers instead of covering the medical bills for those in need.

Eight years later and the judicial system continues to deny any legitimate claim against deficient governmental performance or any action against foreign countries that have proven ties to funding the attacks.

Eight years later and thousands of remains are still not identified.

Eight years later hundreds of millions have been spent to dismantle a building that still stands after taking two additional lives but no money can be found to remove human remains from a landfill.

All of this after eight years.

So while complete closure will never come, addressing these issues will surely go a long way towards easing the pain.

Lest we Forget

Dennis

"Branches of Government" vs "Family Trees"

2009-08-21T19:20:00.001-04:00

Somebody in Albany needs to explain to our elected officials that the term "branches of government" does not give them the right to treat their offices as family trees to employ their relatives.

But this is not going to happen because instead of cleaning house and kicking their buts out we send them right back in and give them bigger positions of authority.

And we only have ourselves to blame.

We blindly follow party lines and now have governments at every level that would even embarrass the Cincinnati Bengals.

It doesn't matter if the candidate is a thief, a liar or in some cases a convicted felon as long as he or she is my party's candidate they get my vote.

When is the madness going to stop?

When candidates run and there are large grass root efforts supporting them they beat their chests and say this is what Democracy is all about.

Letting the people be heard.

When the same people protest policy they are ignored or even worse branded puppets of that every present right or left wing conspiracy.

Government spends what they don't have.

They build what we don't need.

And now the government is into everything from banking to selling cars.

Speaking of selling cars I have met some used car salesmen who wouldn't steep to the level of some of these people running our government.

But we keep sending them back.

Am I the only one who thinks that our government is starting to look like the NBA or NHL the revolving door of hiring just recycles the same old coaches no matter how bad their records are?

If the last few months have shown anything it is that you spending money does not necessarily bring about change.

The bankers are still getting their bonuses.

There is more pork in Washington than on a pig farm. (so much with doing away with earmarks)

And I haven't seen too many lobbyists on the unemployment line.

But we allow it to continue.

And the only way to make it stop is for us to make intelligent decisions when we enter the voting booth.

For the candidates are the only ones enjoying their political parties.

Once they are elected too many of them forget to let the rest of us enjoy the benefits.

The benefits of a government "of the people" "by the people" and "for the people"

Cash For Clunkers and Other Items

2009-08-01T23:47:00.000-04:00

I don’t know what the big deal is about the Cash for Clunkers Program.

It appears to me that we have had a Cash for Clunkers Program for as long as I can remember.

Year after year billions of dollars are contributed to campaigns and nine out of ten times we wind up with clunkers.

At least with the car program you can turn in your clunker and get something back.

With our elected officials once they are in we are stuck with them for at least four years even if they don’t show up for work.

One only has to look at Albany over the past six months to see what a bad joke this whole process has become.

Or take a peak across the river in New Jersey where it appears that more elected officials go to jail than go to work.

Maybe they should just move the Legislature to Rahway Prison and just cut out the middle man.

Save us some time and the taxpayers some money.

Speaking of money the federal government continues to allow bailed out banks to pay their execs millions in bonuses.

I guess this could be considered Cash for Clunkers II

The banks and financial institutions insist they need to pay these bonuses to keep the top financial minds in their executive offices.

The same execs that bankrupted them in the first place.

And it appears that more and more of these execs are taking these bonuses and walking out the door shortly after anyway.

And it appears that the only thing being stimulated by these programs is the amount of money being spent by the federal government.

They are more concerned about bailing out businesses then they are about social security.

But why not? They are not in the social security program anyway so why should they care.

Same thing with health care, they want to spend billions on this new program but asked if as elected officials they would be participating in it and we get a responding no comment.

Sometimes silence speaks volumes.

And as more and more people get further into debt, maxing out their credit cards more and more states are turning to legalized gambling instead of doing something about the usury laws that allow these credit card companies to treat their customers worse then some loan sharks.

And speaking of gambling New York cannot even do that right.

Illegal bookies have never had a problem turning a profit but we have OTB on the verge of bankruptcy. Can anybody say bailout?

Only in New York.

To be continued…….

HEARTS AND HANDS UPDATE 7/31

2009-07-31T22:30:00.000-04:00

Dear Friend,

In 2001 we made a commitment to assist 9/11 families in any way we could.

For eight years we have tried to keep that commitment and have worked hard to keep you informed and help you through a very difficult time.

We have also listened to your concerns and believe that we have come up with a plan that will honor the memory of your loved ones by celebrating their lives through our Hearts and Hands Memorial.

By creating a permanent home for the United in Memory 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt along with a Corridor of Memories and a 21,000 square foot Memorial Garden we hope to create a peaceful and serene location where visitors will be able to quietly remember their loved ones.

Our recording studio will enable you to add personal stories about your loved ones or listen to stories others have recorded.

Our educational programs will take a positive and proactive approach to instill a sense of goodness and decency in our youth while documenting all the events related to 9/11.

Our Corridor of Memories will be filled with photos supplied by you with the names of your loved ones displayed as requested by you. It will also honor all of those who have died as a result of 9/11

While we are receiving some governmental support we need your help in making this a reality.

Our goal is to have this completed in time for the 10th anniversary.

To that end we are hoping that you will become a benefactor by committing to support this effort over the next two years.

At this time we are asking for a small tax deductible contribution of whatever you can afford.

We are developing giving programs to get people involved at all levels in 2010 but for now we need to know we have your support.

We are working on plans to have the quilt displayed at Ground Zero over the weekend of September 11th and hope that you will take a few moments to experience the love that went into this 16,000 square foot memorial.

Most importantly we hope that you will spread the word about the Hearts and Hands Memorial to all your family and friends.

If you would like a copy of our brochure please respond to this e-mail with your mailing address.

For more information visit our website at www.where-to-turn.org

Thank you in advance for your support.

Dennis McKeon

Where to Turn

150-l Greaves Lane # 312

Staten Island, NY 10308

Important 9/11 Mailing

2009-07-29T21:25:00.000-04:00

To All,

Over the last eight years I do realize that many of you have moved.

Since we have always communicated via e-mail that has not been a problem.

I will be sending out an important mailing regarding the 9/11 Hearts and Hands Memorial.

If you would like to receive it please e-mail me back with your current address.

Thanks

Dennis

WTC STATISTICS AND RESPONSES

2009-07-13T21:38:00.001-04:00

World Trade Center Operational Statistics dated June 30

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=48572

Responses to WTC Potential Human Remains Reconciliation

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=48573

Government By the Majority

2009-07-06T22:25:00.000-04:00

As we just celebrated our country’s birthday I was wondering where we would be if our Founding Fathers were like our Senators up in Albany.

233 years ago a group of men who had monumental differences were able to put them aside for the sake of our nation.

Personal agendas, biases, life long beliefs were all put on hold for the common good.

If this group of Senators were there in 1776 we would all be eating crumpets, drinking tea and singing God Save the Queen.

Fortunately they weren’t there but that does not help us today.

These “elected officials” who are being paid to represent us are doing anything but.

They seem more concerned over the size of their offices or the number of their perks than they are about our schools, our welfare or the welfare of our state.

Maybe we should take a page out of the revolutionary book and toss them all out on their ears.

It was “No Taxation Without Representation” back then but we get stuck with “Taxation and No Representation” today.

Thomas Jefferson once said “We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate”..

If only Albany would listen.

What's In A Name?

2009-07-02T22:04:00.000-04:00

There is still much discussion going on as to how the names should be listed on the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero.

Although there will never be a solution that will please everyone it appears that we have once again excluded common sense from the process.

This memorial is meant to honor the people who died on 9/11.

People are more than just names.

Many people spend years becoming who they are and in many cases they become more than just the name they were given at birth.

I don’t ever remember calling my Doctor by his first name.

I even had a friend called Junior and to this day I still don’t know his real name because I never knew his father’s first name.

I grew up watching Captain Jack McCarthy and Officer Joe Bolton on TV.

I was taught by Sister Sean Patrick, married by Father Murphy and I have even attended services with Rabbi Sussman.

I grew up learning about Sergeant York and General George S. Patton.

I will say it again, people are more than what appears on their driver’s license or social security card.

And they deserve to be remembered for who they are.

This is particularly true with people in our military, and our police and fire departments.

These people who put their lives on the line every day deserve the respect for the rank they have obtained.

And those who died on 9/11 deserve the same such respect.

So whether it be Father Mychal Judge, or Captain Timothy Stackpole or Sergeant Rodney Gillis, let’s honor and remember the individuals and who they were and not just their names.

They deserve nothing less.

Meeting With the WTC Memorial Foundation

2009-07-01T22:46:00.000-04:00

To All,

I had a very productive meeting with the representatives of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum
at the World Trade Center.

They showed me the current plans for the museum and it contains many interesting features.

I expressed my concerns about being able to handle the crowds, the fact that the memorial is still 70 feet underground and the problem that still exists with the listing of the names.

I then presented our plans for the Hearts and Hands Memorial.

I told them that while the museum at Ground Zero has personal aspects the Hearts and Hands Memorial is totally personal.

From the quilt to the listing of the names as the families requested to the Memorial Garden our location will allow the families a place for peaceful contemplation.

I also told them that by working together we would be able to give the family members a place to go for the 10th anniversary and that no matter how hard they try to convince us that we do not believe that the Memorial will be completed by 2011.

They seemed very interested in our Memorial but we almost certain that they would not be able to help us financially.

I explained that by working together we would be able to give the families everything they had asked for and also offer a place where family members who do not want to go to Ground Zero will be able to go.

After meeting with the representatives I had a personal meeting with Joe Daniels and went over the same points.

I told him that there had to be a way we could work together and he agreed to look into the possibility.

We also talked about trying to make plans to bring the United in Memory Quilt to Ground Zero this September 11th.

He promised to get back to me.

At this point I am cautiously optimistic but only time will tell.

I will keep you posted.

Dennis

Meeting With WTC Memorial Foundation 7/1 To Discuss the Hearts and Hands Memorial

2009-06-30T22:37:00.000-04:00

To All,

Please be advised that I am meeting with Joe Daniels and the WTC Memorial Foundation tomorrow to discuss the Hearts and Hands Memorial.

I am going to try to convince them to help us get this done.

No matter the outcome of this meeting we will be moving forward with this project and with your support we will have this completed by the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

We will keep you posted and thank you for your continued support.

Dennis

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Dennis McKeon
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 9:40 PM
Subject: HEARTS AND HANDS UPDATE

To All,

We have finally reached the stepping off point for the Hearts and Hands Memorial.

We will be beginning our fundraising efforts and I have also been asked to meet with the WTC Memorial Foundation to discuss their recent press release and the similarities to the Hearts and Hands Memorial.

To that end I would like to request the following.

From 9/11 Family Members

I need letters of support as well as 8x10 photos of your lost loved ones.

I also need current contact information for mailings.

I also need to know if you would like to be interviewed for the documentary and if you would attend an exhibition of the United in Memory 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt during the anniversary weekend this September.

From 9/11 Family Groups and Responder Unions

I need letters detailing your organization’s awareness of the project and your support.

I also need to know if you would like to schedule an interview for the documentary.

From Elected Officials

I need to know availability of funding as well if you would like to be part of the documentary.

From WTC Companies

I need current contact information.

Together we can get this done and have a peaceful and serene memorial to all those impacted by 9/11 completed by the 10th Anniversary.

Below please find a link to background information.

Please send all responses to info@where-to-turn.org or 718-966-6531

Thank You

Dennis McKeon

HEARTS AND HANDS MEMORIAL

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/index.php?c=21

Fundraising Opportunity

http://www.where-to-turn.org/lobaido_poster.php

WILL THE MADNESS EVER END AT GROUND ZERO?

2009-06-15T21:05:00.000-04:00

James Abadie, executive at Bovis Lend Lease in charge of Sept. 11 Memorial, resigns amid probe

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/06/15/2009-06-15_james_abadie_executive_at_b_in_charge_of_sept_11_memorial_resigns_in_the_wake_of.html

What Government Should Be All About

2009-06-15T20:45:00.000-04:00

Today we found out what government is all about.

Forget about Albany and the circus that continues to masquerade as a Legislature.

Forget about the pay for play or the behind the scene deals.

Forget about the Democrats, Republicans, Liberals or Conservatives.

What we saw here on Staten Island was a government of the people by the people and for the people.

We saw Staten Islanders taking the lead from the McAllister’s standing together for the right reasons.

We saw Dominick DeRubio prove that you are never too old or young to get involved.

We saw Jimmy Oddo and other Staten Island elected officials work for the people despite possibly getting on the wrong side of the mayor.

We saw that the power of the people is not just a catch phrase.

And Engine 161 will remain open.

A victory for all Staten Islanders and hopefully a message to the mayor that when push comes to shove, while we may bend we will not break.

So thank you Roe, Joe, Dominick, the South Beach Civic and everyone else who made this possible.

Thank you for restoring our faith in the system.

And to those in Albany we hope you are watching.

Because we have been reminded what government should be all about.

And it is sure as hell not what’s going on in our capital.

Dennis McKeon

Deal will save Staten Island's Engine Co. 161 from closure

http://www.silive.com/eastshore/index.ssf/2009/06/deal_will_save_staten_islands.html

HEARTS AND HANDS MEMORIAL

2009-06-14T20:40:00.001-04:00

We have finally reached the stepping off point for the Hearts and Hands Memorial.

We will be beginning our fundraising efforts and I have also been asked to meet with the WTC Memorial Foundation to discuss their recent press release and the similarities to the Hearts and Hands Memorial.

To that end I would like to request the following.

From 9/11 Family Members

I need letters of support as well as 8x10 photos of your lost loved ones.

I also need current contact information for mailings.

I also need to know if you would like to be interviewed for the documentary and if you would attend an exhibition of the United in Memory 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt during the anniversary weekend this September.

From 9/11 Family Groups and Responder Unions

I need letters detailing your organization’s awareness of the project and your support.

I also need to know if you would like to schedule an interview for the documentary.

From Elected Officials

I need to know availability of funding as well if you would like to be part of the documentary.

From WTC Companies

I need current contact information.

Together we can get this done and have a peaceful and serene memorial to all those impacted by 9/11 completed by the 10th Anniversary.

Below please find a link to background information.

Please send all responses to info@where-to-turn.org or 718-966-6531

Thank You

Dennis

HEARTS AND HANDS MEMORIAL

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/index.php?c=21

Fundraising Opportunity

http://www.where-to-turn.org/lobaido_poster.php

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT THINGS COULDN'T GET WORSE

2009-06-10T22:05:00.000-04:00

Just when you think things couldn't get worse......they do.

What is going on in Albany is an outright embarrassment.

Our Legislature in New York looks more like something out of MTV's the "Real World" or Monday Night Raw than a governing body.

We have a cast of characters that are only out for themselves and what's worse is we pay their salaries.

Can you imagine any of these people holding a real job?

You know like the rest of us;

Up early

Commuting every day at our own expense.

Working at least 9 to 5 with many of us working 50 weeks a year or holding second jobs to make ends meet.

Actually having to deliver on our responsibilities.

I can only speak for myself but if I told my boss that I decided I wasn't going to come in because I couldn't get along with my co-workers my next stop would be the unemployment line.

Republicans or Democrats, Liberals or Conservatives it doesn't matter, they were elected to represent the people of New York and the bottom line is they are not doing their job.

And while the newspapers are happy because they finally found a story other than the Astor trial (does anyone really care?) other things are happening that will have an effect on us all.

Very quietly the Federal government is relaxing its caps on salaries for firms receiving bailouts from the government.

And it is just a matter of time when they do the same with bonuses?

Oh but all is well because they are going to appoint a "Pay Czar" to keep an eye on things.

When in doubt appoint a "Czar"

You cannot make this stuff up.

And back at Ground Zero they entire rebuilding plan is about to fall apart because the Governor spends more time on damage control than actually governing.

The PA, the MTA and all of the other Authorities continue to be exempt from governmental rules but are the first ones with their hands out for taxpayer money when they run out of cash.

And God forbid anyone requires that these agencies funded with taxpayer money be made to make their books public.

We all know they would never lie!

But I digress.

The bottom line is that we have set the bar so low when it comes to holding government responsible that we have created this mess.

The background of many of our elected officials at all levels would make the Cincinnati Bengals blush.

We need to raise the bar.

We need those in government for the right reasons to step up and take the lead.

We need them to agree to a political pre nup.

We need them to put the people before their party.

Most of all we need them to be representatives not politicians.

And the New York State Senate would be a good place to start.

FOR OUR FRIENDS IN ALBANY

2009-06-10T22:03:00.001-04:00

THROW OUT THE CLOWNS

(WITH APOLOGIES TO STEPHEN SONDHEIM)

ISN'T IT RICH

BEYOND COMPARE

FLIP FLOPPING EVERY DAY

TO GET THEIR SHARE

THROW OUT THE CLOWNS

WHO'S IN CHARGE NOW

SO YOU DON'T APPROVE

TURN OFF THE LIGHTS, LOCK ALL THE DOORS

WHAT'S YOUR NEXT MOVE

THROW OUT THE CLOWNS

THE HELL WITH THE LAW

MORE PORK FOR MY FRIENDS

TOTAL DISREGARD FOR US ALL

IT NEVER ENDS

THROW OUT THE CLOWNS

AND WHO'S TO BLAME

IT WOULD BE ME AND YOU

WE VOTED ALL OF THEM IN

KNOWING WHAT THEY COULD DO

SO WE'RE STUCK WITH CLOWNS

VERY RICH CLOWNS

YES THEY ARE ALL HERE

IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE

GET RID OF THEM ALL

MAKE THEM ALL GET REAL JOBS

WHEN WE VOTE IN THE FALL

CAUSE WE DON'T NEED CLOWNS

THERE OUGHT NOT BE CLOWNS

WELL, MAYBE NEXT YEAR

FAMILY MEMBERS TO PARTICIPATE IN MEMORIAL EXHIBITION

2009-06-10T21:59:00.000-04:00

To All,

I am forwarding this on because I have made a commitment to pass on all 9/11 information and I really do want the memorial/museum at Ground Zero to succeed.

That being said I find it very disheartening that for the past five years we have asked the mayor and the World Trade Center Foundation to assist us with the hearts and Hands Memorial.

A Memorial that is going to include 8 x 10 photos of all the 9/11 Victims in a corridor of memories that will also allow family members to record memories.

Our numerous e-mails and letters have gone unanswered and now we receive this.

We are moving forward with the Hearts and Hands Memorial an along with our Corridor of Memories we will house the United in Memory 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt and a 21,000 square foot memorial garden..

We hope that you will continue to support our effort to complete this project by 9/11/11.

For more information please click the link below.

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/index.php?c=21

Dennis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, June 10, 2009

NATIONAL SEPTEMBER 11 MEMORIAL & MUSEUM INVITES VICTIMS’ FAMILY MEMBERS TO PARTICIPATE IN CREATION OF MEMORIAL EXHIBITION
Family Members Contributions of Objects, Text, and Recorded Memories to Make Up Content for Exhibition Honoring Each Individual Life Lost;
Outreach Effort Begins to Verify Listing and Arrangement of Memorial Names

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum today began inviting 9/11 victims’ family members to contribute objects, text and recorded memories that will make up the content of one of the Museum’s key exhibitions — the Memorial Exhibition. The Memorial Exhibition will allow visitors to the Museum to learn more about each individual who was killed in the September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 attacks. The Memorial & Museum also began an important outreach effort to verify the listing and arrangement of each victims’ name for the 9/11 Memorial.

“We are asking those who knew these individuals best — their family, friends, and colleagues — to help ensure that the memory of each person is preserved through the Memorial Exhibition,” 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels said. “Objects, photographs, recorded memories and text will create moving portraits that celebrate each individual life and allow visitors to relate to those who died.

“The next-of-kin’s participation in arranging and verifying the names to be inscribed on the Memorial is vitally important. We plan to work with the information provided by families to place the names in a meaningful way that recognizes relationships and friendships,” Daniels said.

“The Memorial Exhibition will underscore the value we place on individual lives,” 9/11 Memorial Museum Director Alice M. Greenwald said. “The thousands of faces and memories demonstrate the impact of terrorism on individuals, families and communities. The exhibition clearly shows that terrorism is not an abstraction, reinforcing a core message of the Memorial Museum - that the indefensible acts of terrorism affect real people.”

The Museum’s goal is to collect at least one photograph or portrait image for each person killed in the 2001 and 1993 attacks, as well as written and oral remembrances, commemorative text and personal objects, in order to develop the Memorial Exhibition and build a robust, accompanying biographical archive. There are a number of ways that the public, whether parents, siblings, spouses, co-workers, or friends of victims, can contribute.

Images, written remembrances, and commemorative text can now be submitted through a new special section on the Memorial & Museum website, http://newmuseumme.national911memorial.org/. Contributors to the website will be able to create unique profiles to upload images, digital files, and text that can be continually accessed by the contributor and will become part of the Museum’s permanent collection. This material can also be submitted by mail.

In addition, the public can share images and text about their loved ones through the “9/11 Living Memorial” project, an interactive, digitized, and searchable database designed to commemorate individual lives and stories, that will be a central component of the Museum’s archive. The Memorial & Museum has established an official collaborative partnership with leading family advocacy group VOICES of September 11th to support the “9/11 Living Memorial.”

The Memorial & Museum has also launched a new feature, the “Call to Remember” initiative which allows people to record 10-minute remembrances about their loved ones by phone at (866) 582-5613 (toll free) or (646) 248-6225 (local). Callers are encouraged to imagine that they are speaking with a friend and to share information that will help others to understand the individual who died. Remembrances can be recorded in any language.

The “Call to Remember” initiative uses web services provided by Twilio, a company headquartered in San Francisco, California, which supplies telephony infrastructure web service "in the cloud", enabling web programmers to integrate phone calls into their applications. With Twilio, developers can initiate and receive real-time phone calls using existing web application frameworks such as PHP, Java, .NET, Python, Ruby, C#, ASP, and more.

Excerpts from the “Call to Remember” oral remembrances, as well as from the Memorial & Museum’s oral history program and a partnership with the national spoken history initiative StoryCorps, will be a core component of the Memorial Exhibition and will be used to support other Museum exhibitions.

The Memorial Exhibition will commemorate the lives of those who perished on September 11, 2001 and February 26 1993, and will provide visitors with the opportunity to learn about the men, women, and children who died. The Museum plans call for visitors to enter the exhibition along a corridor in which nearly 3,000 victims’ photographs form a “Wall of Faces,” intended to communicate the scale of human loss. Nearby, interactive tables will allow visitors to discover additional information about each person, including photographs, recollections by family and friends, artifacts, and the location of individual names on the Memorial pools. Rotating selections of personal artifacts will also be featured. An adjoining chamber will present profiles of individual victims in a dignified sequence, through photographs, biographical information, and audio recordings.

The Museum is currently developing a primary interpretive exhibition that will focus on what happened on September 11, 2001, how these events transpired, and detail the extraordinary response — locally, nationally, and internationally. The exhibition will allow visitors to contemplate what it means to live in a “post-9/11 world.” Powerful artifacts, ranging from the monumental to the intimate; documentary photographs and film footage; and first-person narratives will combine to relate a story of tragedy and survival, and of selflessness and courage.

The Museum will also incorporate as exhibition elements a variety of existing materials that encompass an extraordinary range of size, weight and media. These include: remnants of the World Trade Center structures attesting to the enormity of the buildings and the forces of destruction—multi-ton pieces of steel currently in the care of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; intimate mementos that mark individual experiences; paper-based and mixed media materials detailing some of the aftermath of the events; vast collections of photographic, video and born-digital imagery by both amateurs and professionals; oral histories and other audio materials; artistic expressions made in tribute to the lives lost and to the events and their emotional impact; and in-situ physical remnants of the site including the surviving Slurry Wall and the truncated box column remnants.

The Museum’s exhibitions are currently in design development. In April 2007, Thinc Design, Inc., in partnership with Local Projects, LLC, was chosen as the lead exhibition design firm for the Memorial Museum.

To download new renderings of the Memorial Exhibition, visit www.national911memorial.org/renderings.

Outreach Effort Begins to Verify Listing and Arrangement of Memorial Names

The Memorial & Museum is asking the next-of-kin of each victim to participate in the important process of ensuring that all names are inscribed correctly on the 9/11 Memorial. Over the next month, the next-of-kin of each victim should receive an official Memorial Name Verification and Arrangement package in the mail that includes a form to verify the inscription of the name and to provide other information that will help to guide the arrangement.

The names of the nearly 3,000 victims will be inscribed on bronze parapets surrounding the Memorial pools, which sit in the footprints of the Twin Towers. The Memorial pools will each be nearly one acre in size. The names will be stencil-cut into the parapets, allowing visitors to look through the names at the water and to create paper impressions or rubbings of individual names. At night, light will shine up through the voids created by each letter.

Names placed around the North Pool will include those who worked in or were visiting the North Tower (1 WTC); crew and passengers of American Airlines Flight 11; those who were killed in the February 26, 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center.

Around the South Pool, names will include those who worked in or were visiting the South Tower (2 WTC) and all other areas of the World Trade Center complex and surrounding areas; crew and passengers of American Airlines Flight 175; those who worked in or were visiting the Pentagon; crew and passengers of American Airlines Flight 77; crew and passengers of United Airlines Flight 93.

Within these groupings, the names of those who shared the same affiliation will be inscribed together (such as co-workers from the same company, flight crew of the planes, or people visiting the Towers together). Additionally, the forms being sent to the next-of-kin will ask if there are specific victims’ names they would like to be inscribed adjacent to their loved ones — whether family members, friends, or co-workers.

Visitors to the Memorial will be able to locate individual names through on-site kiosks, staff and volunteers, online websites, and printed directories.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL SEPTEMBER 11 MEMORIAL & MUSEUM

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is the not-for-profit corporation created to oversee the design, raise the funds, and program and operate the Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center site. The Memorial & Museum will be located on eight of the 16 acres of the site.

The Memorial will remember and honor the nearly three thousand people who died in the horrific attacks of February 26, 1993, and September 11, 2001. The design, created by Michael Arad and Peter Walker, consists of two pools that reside in the footprints of the original Twin Towers, surrounded by a plaza of oak trees. The Arad/Walker design was selected from a design competition that included more than 5,000 entrants from 63 nations.

The Museum will display monumental artifacts associated with the events of September 11, while presenting intimate stories of loss, compassion, reckoning and recovery that are central to telling the story of September 11 and its aftermath. It will communicate key messages that embrace both the specificity and the universal implications of the events of 9/11; document the impact of those events on individual lives, as well as on local, national, and international communities; and explore the continuing significance of these events for our global community.

Donations can be made through and more information can be found at the Memorial & Museum’s website, http://www.national911memorial.org/, or by calling 1-877-WTC-GIVE.

# # #

Contact: Lynn Rasic/Michelle Breslauer, 212-312-8800
Click here to download this release

One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006 ║p (212) 312-8800 ║f (212) 227-7931
http://www.national911memorial.org/

The No Rules Blues

2009-06-03T18:40:00.001-04:00

I may be showing my age but when I was growing up we had rules.

Whether it be at home or when we were out playing with our friends there
were always rules.

If you hit the ball past the second sewer and it went into Mrs. Guido's
yard it was a double.

You were only allowed to rush the passer after 10 Mississippis.

You were expected to be home by a certain hour and if you were late you
were grounded.

You were taught to respect your neighbors and nobody ever called their
friend's parents by their first names.

You never wanted to be brought home by the police because you were more
afraid of what your parents would do to you if you were.

Life was much simpler back then because of these very simple rules.

Unfortunately rules went the way of black and white TV's and for the few
rules that still do exist, it appears that playing by them is now the
exception rather than the norm.

Now we could spend hours debating why this happened but the fact of the
matter is that it did.

My take is that the current generation has seen nothing but rule
breakers from the top on down so they don't see any reason to follow
rules.

We have a Supreme Court that has made a habit out of making laws instead
of enforcing those that exist.

We have elections to put laws into place and then we have elected
officials ignore or overturn them when they no longer suit them. (Did
anybody say term limits?).

We have cabinet members that don't pay their taxes.

We have millionaire elected officials living in rent controlled
apartments.

We have half our athletes looking to renegotiate their contracts every
year with the rest pumping themselves full of steroids or human growth
hormones to get an edge.

We have even changed the basic rule of work hard, do a good job and you
will succeed to cook the books, bring your company to bankruptcy and you
will get a bailout.

And our government is the biggest offender continuing to pay contractors
who run over budget and do not deliver on time. (Just take a look at the
WTC).

And the list goes on and on and the new mantra appears to be:

Rule 1 Don't follow any rules because nobody will hold you accountable
if you don't

Rule 2 Refer to Rule 1.

The bottom line is that if there are no rules or no penalty for breaking
rules there is very little hope for our future.

Our Founding Fathers knew that the country that they were creating would
not last without some basic rules and the Bill of Rights was created.

It was a good idea back then.

Maybe we should give it another shot.

"Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege"

2009-06-01T18:19:00.000-04:00

I was watching a show recently where they were reviewing some of the worst shows ever on TV.

My Mother the Car, Cop Rock, The Jerry Springer Show and the list went on and on.

Hundreds of millions of dollars to produce and most of them didn't even last a season.

So called experts who were paid very well because "they had their pulse on the consumer and knew what the viewer wanted to see"

And most of these people kept right on working following one failure after another and some of them made an entire career based on one success.

My initial thought was how could these networks be so stupid?

Didn't anyone of these execs see how stupid some of these ideas were?

How could have anyone in charge actually let these shows on the air?

But then I began to think of where we have come as a country over the same period of time.

We have spent hundreds of billions on ideas that were just as bad.

Some of our elected officials have made careers based on bad decisions and some of them never even had one success as did some of their TV counterparts.

The problem is that we seem to set the bar so low and have allowed mediocrity to become the gold standard.

Scandals, improprieties, or a total disregard of the law, it does not seem to matter as we just keep voting these same people into office.

Every four to six year we are promised change or we are told that things are going to be different and we take the bait, hook, line and sinker.

So we continue to spend hundreds of billions on military aid in other countries but can't find any funding to take care of our returning veterans. (Wasn't it just a few years ago when the Walter Reed scandal broke that all those in office said things were going to be different).

Our infrastructure is collapsing across the country and we can't find the money to support it but our government is going to soon be a majority shareholder in numerous banks, financial institutions and even GM.

We have money to finance bonuses for executives that were at the helm during the worst financial collapse in history but we do not have money to properly pay our teachers who are our only hope for our children and our future.

We continue to write checks for entitlements and bailouts instead of developing work programs to put the unemployed to work.

God forbid we should revisit things that actually worked to get us out of the last Depression.

But things will not change as long as we show some intelligence when we go into the voting booth.

As it stands now we only have ourselves to blame.

While everyone is entitled to be stupid, for too long too many of us have been abusing the privilege.

Making Things Possible for Those In Need

2009-05-25T21:19:00.001-04:00

We saw an article recently about some designers and retailers that were donating a few prom dresses to less fortunate girls.

This is a really nice idea and I am sure that those young ladies who received these dresses were probably very grateful.

We began to think that there are probably hundreds of young ladies that never go to prom because they just can’t afford the gowns.

We also thought about all of those prom dresses that get used once and never make it out of the closet again until they are either thrown away or donated to a charity years later.

Well here is our idea,

If you have a prom dress that you know you will not be using again give it to us.

We will arrange to make it available for some less fortunate senior next year and maybe enable them to go to prom.

We will reach out to local dry cleaners to see if they will donate their services so that we can offer a practically new dress to these students.

Also we are still getting calls from some schools that are still in bad shape from Katrina.

Each year many schools on Staten Island replace their athletic equipment.

We were wondering what they do with the old equipment.

If they are not using it we would gladly arrange to pick it up and we will get it to these schools in need.

Finally we would like Staten Island schools to step up and adopt schools in disaster areas.

By proactively adopting a school we will be able to set up a direct line of communication between these schools and their Staten Island counterparts.

If a disaster does hit (hurricane, flood etc) these schools will be able to directly contact their Staten Island sister school and request items they may need.

The Staten Island school would collect these items and Where to Turn will ship the goods to the schools in need.

This proactive approach will enable schools in disaster areas to more quickly recover.

These are just a few ideas.

Let us know what you think.

Dennis

Daily News Story on Flags Across Staten Island

2009-05-25T07:08:00.001-04:00

Daily News Story on Flags Across Staten Island

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=48180

BECOME A PART OF OUR HEARTS AND HANDS MEMORIAL

2009-05-22T20:06:00.000-04:00

To All,

As you know we are steadily moving forward with our plans to complete the Hearts and Hands Memorial in time for the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

Last weekend we began filming the site for a documentary of the process.

As part of the documentary we will like to interview those we have worked with over the past 8 years.

We want to let people know how important it is that we get this done.

We want show how so many came together to help with the healing process after 9/11 and how this Memorial will continue that process with:

The United in Memory 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt

A 21,000 square foot Memorial Garden

Personal photos of all of the victims (including those who have died as a result of the aftermath of 9/11) arranged in alphabetical order by affiliation with no naming restriction.

A studio for visitors to record or hear personal stories about "THE PEOPLE" who died as a result of 9/11, as we must never forget the individuals, the mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, significant others, uncles, aunts, grandchildren and grandparents who perished as a result of the attacks of 9/11/01.

If you would like to be a part of this documentary please let us know.

We want your input.....We need your input.

We are restoring the old kitchen and dining area of the Sea View campus on Staten Island.

This is part of an abandoned hospital site built in 1913.

The site where the cure for tuberculosis was discovered.

We want to show that rebuilding and healing can go hand in hand if done for the right reasons.

So we will rebuild on the site that saved thousands upon thousands of lives and attempt to instill that healing process in every step of this project.

Creating a peaceful, serene and respectful memorial to honor those who were taken from us.

A place where people will come for the right reasons.

To learn about the "PEOPLE" who died as well as the good and bad that happened after 9/11.

So that our children and their children will be able to know these people and hear the true story about 9/11 from those who lost loved ones as well as those who came together in the greatest outpouring of caring and generosity that the world has ever seen.

We made a commitment to the 9/11 families to get this done.

Help us make this dream a reality.

Dennis McKeon
Corey Gammel
Rich Pierce

info@where-to-turn.org

Good News Story About Student Athletes For A Change

2009-05-19T20:53:00.001-04:00

Good News Story About Student Athletes For A Change

Where to Turn Academic All County Ceremony

We currently have 203 candidates identified by the following 13 High

Schools

CSI High School for International Studies

Monsignor Farrell High

School New Dorp High School

Notre Dame Academy

Port Richmond High School

St. John Villa Academy

St. Joseph by the Sea High School

St. Joseph Hill Academy

St. Peters Boys High School

Staten Island Technical High School

Tottenville High School

Xaverian High School

Xavier High School

These senior athletes who maintained academic excellence will be

honored at a ceremony on May 27 at St. Johns University.

Our guest speakers this year will be Linda Manfredi principal at PS 29

and Assemblywoman Janele Hyer-Spencer both of whom were athletic

scholars during their High School careers.

Invitations have been sent to all the identified candidates and their

Families and over 200 candidates and family members have already RSVP’d.

Dennis McKeon

Executive Director

Where to Turn

718-966-6531

LETTER TO MAYOR BLOOMBERG RE: HEARTS AND HANDS MEMORIAL

2009-05-11T22:28:00.001-04:00

May 11, 2009

The Honorable Michael R. Bloomberg
Mayor of the City of New York
City Hall
New York, NY 10007

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

Each day we read about additional delays and issues related to the redevelopment at Ground Zero. At this point in time it does not appear that it will be possible to have a fully completed memorial in place for the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Besides the fact that there are still many concerns related to the currently planned memorial not having it completed by September 11th 2011 would be yet another blow to the 9/11 families.

To that end we would like to once again make you aware of a 9/11 memorial we are currently planning for Staten Island. This memorial will provide a permanent home for the United in Memory 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt. It will also include a 21,000 square foot memorial garden and a corridor of memories which include 8 x 10 photos of all 9/11 victims arranged in alphabetical order by affiliation. It will also allow family members to identify their loved ones as they wish under each photo.

We estimate the total cost of this memorial to be approximately $6.5 million most of which will go to the restoration of an abandoned complex on the Seaview Rehabilitation campus on Staten Island. We have already received a $457,000 start up grant from Senators Schumer and Clinton. We also have a commitment from Senator Lanza and are working with Congressman McMahon’ office and our state and city representatives to secure additional funding.

We are currently finishing up paperwork with HUD and hope to begin work on actual renovation of the facility during this summer.

We are requesting your assistance with this project, which has the support of almost all of the 9/11 family groups, and will deliver many of the elements requested by family members which due to space and other restrictions are not included in the current memorial plans.

We are asking that you consider supporting this effort as it will compliment the memorial at Ground Zero by providing a peaceful and serene space for us to honor those lost on 9/11.

With your support we will be able to get this completed well in advance of the 10th anniversary.

This effort will also support your recent call to the support of volunteerism as much of this work will be provided by volunteers already committed to this project. We also envision the completed memorial to be staffed by senior and student volunteers.

As mayor and president of the WTC Memorial Foundation we hope that you will seriously consider partnering with us to bring this project to fruition.

We will be available to discuss this further at your convenience to answer any of your questions or to address any of your concerns.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Dennis McKeon
Executive Director

cc:

Senator Charles Schumer
Congressman Michael McMahon
Borough President James Molinaro
Senator Andrew Lanza
Senator Diane Savino
Assemblyman Michael Cusick
Assemblywoman Janele Hyer-Spencer
Assemblyman Matthew Titone
Assemblyman Lou Tobacco
Councilman James Oddo
Councilman Vincent Ignizio
Councilman Ken Mitchell

Accidents Involving Children and Falling Furniture Up 41%

2009-05-05T19:34:00.000-04:00

Recent reports have indicated that accidents resulting in the injury or death of children due to falling furniture have increased by 41% over the last 18 years.

Please note that the figure is actually much higher.

These statistics only include reported cases and in the case of death they only include incidents in which cause of death is listed as a direct result of the accident.

Many cases are not included as cause of death may just be listed as trauma or asphyxiation and the fact that it was caused by falling furniture is not always listed or reported.

For the past 5 years families who have lost children in these types of accidents have been attempting to get legislation passed at both the state and federal level to protect children.

Unfortunately their attempts have resulted in little or no legislation being passed.

Since it appears that our elected officials are reluctant to even ask major manufactures to include warning notices with furniture it will be up to us to get the word out to the public.

Hopefully these same elected officials might be open to help us raise public awareness.

Although family groups have been doing a great job through their websites and distributions the great percentage of the population is still not aware of the dangers that exist in their homes.

With help hopefully we can begin a public campaign to raise awareness,

Through print ads, PSA's and the internet hopefully we can prevent future accidents and the heartbreak of "If I only knew" that we hear after almost every accident.

If you are an elected official we call on you for your support.

If you are in the media we call on you for some help with possible free or discounted ads or PSA's (paper, TV, radio or internet)

If you are a member of an organization or school group we call on you to help spread the word.

If you are a business that might lend financial support to help fund production costs we call on you to get involved.

Finally if you are a concerned citizen who has a son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandson or granddaughter we need your help.

If you think that something like this could never happen to your family, you are sadly mistaken.

We need your help to protect the most vulnerable of us, those who cannot protect themselves.

If you would like to get involved please contact us at 718-966-6531 or info@where-to-turn.org

Dennis

Helpful Links

http://katieeliselambert.org/

http://www.securatv.com/

Newscasts

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4988949n

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/30558115#30558115

The WTC and How Not To Save Our Economy

2009-04-27T19:16:00.001-04:00

It was nice to see that Archbishop Dolan has not forgotten about Ground Zero as we can certainly use the prayers.

With the Port Authority yet again changing its plans and Silverstein asking for even more money on his end as if the $21 million he has received from the PA so far as well as the hundreds of millions he has collected in insurance funds is not enough, we can use all the prayers we can get.

Although they keep putting up a good front everyone I have spoken with has told me that there is no way they are going to meet any of their scheduled completion dates and that spending is once again spiraling out of control.

What's even worse is that the current handling of our national economic crisis seems to be using the WTC plan as a template.

Just as they did with Ground Zero our government is now throwing good money after bad while requiring little or no accountability.

As with Ground Zero spending does not seem to be an issue and they continue to spend like drunken sailors with no real end plan in site.

Just like with Ground Zero they are continuing to point fingers at those who were in charge before them, while taking no responsibility for their roles relating to our current economic situation.

Unfortunately our country cannot afford for this to drag on for 8 years as has the Ground Zero Debacle.

While NYC was able to survive for eight years with a hole in the ground our country cannot survive the hole that has been left by the total mismanagement and lack of supervision of our financial institutions.

While we agree that we need to rebuild our economy lets learn from our mistakes.

Let's use the WTC as an example of how things should not be done.

Because if we don't we will wind up with a country owned and operated by the Chinese.

A fate that appears destined for the World Trade Center.

USURY LAW....AND CREDIT CARDS

2009-04-25T00:04:00.000-04:00

President Obama has announced plans to try to stop credit card companies from increasing rates and misleading customers with introductory rates.

Unfortunately most of these problems stem from states that do not have Usury Laws.

"Usury" is the unlawful act of charging interest on a debt (including discount points, fees and other charges) at a rate greater than what is permitted under any applicable law or exemption from a law.

Most of the credit card companies in question are affiliated with banks in these states with no Usury Laws.

If we really want to make a difference we need to get these states to enact Usury Laws.

Below is a posting from January 23, 2009.

The Bailout and Usury Law

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=46605

Maybe those in office should start listening to the common people instead of their high priced experts.

BROOKFIELD LANDFILL...WE HAVE BEEN DUMPED ON LONG ENOUGH

2009-04-14T18:27:00.001-04:00

There are millions available for a new park near the Brooklyn Bridge.

All of the other 5 landfills that were to be remediated as part of the Super Fund have been completed with little or no resistance.

They are now talking about cleaning up the Gowanis Canal as part of another Super Fund and you know they will find money for that.

Question: What do all theses things have in common?

Answer: They are not in Staten Island

For nearly 3 decades the people of Staten Island have been promised that the Brookfield Landfill would be properly remediated and capped.

For nearly 30 years the site has gone untouched while contaminants seeped into the water table and God knows what was carried by the wind currents into the neighboring communities.

For years a Community Advisement Committee has attempted to get the DEC and the DEP to live up to their end of the bargain.

And all they have gotten for their efforts were lies after lies and delay after delay.

And now the city and the state say they do not have the money that they committed to this project and they basically want to throw a little additional top soil of the site and move on.

Needless to say if this site was in Manhattan or Brooklyn or any of the other boroughs it would have never gotten to this point.

But again as always we are the forgotten borough.

For over half a century the rest of the city just dumped its garbage on us and between Fresh Kills and Brookfield we have the biggest landfill in the world.

As the Urban Legend goes:

Question; What are the two man made structures can astronauts see from outer space?

Answer: The Great Wall of China and the Staten Island Landfills.

And while we have all the “Landfill to Landscape” fanfare associated with its larger counterpart Fresh Kills, Brookfield was the one designated as a toxic landfill.

It is time for all Staten Islanders to take a stand.

The mayor and the governor need Staten Island to get reelected.

Tell them “We are mad as hell and we are not going to take it any more”

They can afford a park in Brooklyn, or to clean the Gowanis Canal and they found money to clean all the other sites why can’t they find the money to remediate a site that was supposed to be completely closed in the 1950’s.

Come to the meeting on April 22 at PS 8 and let them and the DEP and the DEC and all our elected officials know that we have been dumped on long enough.

Dennis

NYCDEP Public Meeting 4/22

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=47563

HAPPY EASTER CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

2009-04-12T17:28:00.003-04:00

Hope This Was the Last Thing Those Pirates Saw

Happy Easter Captain Phillips

GO SEALS

Finally Help May Be On The Way For Some 9/11 Responders

2009-04-08T09:48:00.001-04:00

Finally help may be on the way for some 9/11 first responders suffering from medical ailments.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York has assigned two special masters to examine some of the suits brought by nearly 10,000 plaintiffs.

Judge Hellerstein seems to be the only one concerned about what is going on at WTC Captive Corp as last year he also demanded that lawyers from both sides turn over information on each case and is pushing for trials and settlements.

As you know if not for some coverage by New York Post reporter Sue Edelman who continues to pursue this story very little of this is covered by the media.

We did a little more research on what is going on with World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company.

First of all click on the link below for a press release from a year ago relating to the company and the mishandling of claims. As usual there was little or no follow up to this.

Press Release: Status of Compensation for 9/11 Illnesses

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=42103

Our first clue that nothing was going to come of this should have been that it was released on April Fools Day 2008.

As usual with how any 9/11 or WTC issue has been handled the joke was on us.

In response to the concerns addressed in the press release an audit by the Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security found that the World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company did nothing Illegal and has the right to fight every claim.

This is like a scene right out John Grisham's "The Rainmaker" they will continue to deny every claim that comes in.

The only difference is in the book the client wins.

Here we have the Office of Homeland Security stating that it is perfectly legal for this company to use funds designated to help victims to pay legal and administrative fees.

The last time I looked grants and contracts for not for profits had to be justified by the number of people the program serviced.

Only a certain percentage of the grant or contract could be used for legal or administrative fees.

But it appears here that the World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company does not have to play by the same rules.

Over the last four years more than 99% of the costs charged have been administrative and legal.

Not a single dollar has been paid to anyone who suffered from toxic exposure as the only claims paid ($320,000) were for orthopedic injuries.

The company went as far as to try to have all the claims thrown out of court by arguing that the city had blanket immunity because the injuries were a result of a terrorist act.

But that didn't work so now they just litigate every claim.

So by the time they pay all the lawyers and staff, combined with what they continue to lose in the stock market it appears there will be little left to pay any claims.

And the claims continue to be submitted and at last count there were over 10,000 claims for respiratory and toxic injuries alone.

If they had no intention of paying claims they could have bought a rubber stamp marked "DENIED" for $1.99 and saved hundreds of millions.

The result for the victims would have been the same.

Hopefully Judge Hellerstein will have more of an impact then the Inspector General who called for tighter scrutiny of legal and administrative costs at the WTC Captive Insurance Corp.

Obviously that did not strike any fear with the WTC Captive Corp as over the past year they have continued to pay out millions in salaries and legal fees while continuing to deny every claim.

Maybe now some victims will get relief and just maybe some action can be taken against those running the WTC Captive Insurance Corp as they continue to spend like drunken sailors on everything but compensation for those injured.

Quotes from Thomas Jefferson...Common Sense Never Grows Old

2009-04-02T11:33:00.001-04:00

Our country and state would be in much better shape if our elected officials would just take Jefferson’s advice.

John Kennedy once said to a assembled group of scholars in the White House, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House - with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

The quotes below could prove his point.

When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe .

Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

Thomas Jefferson

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.

Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.

Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.

Thomas Jefferson

No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.

Thomas Jefferson

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

Thomas Jefferson

In light of the present financial crisis, it's interesting to read what Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:

Banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

Doesn't this sound eerily familiar to what is happening in America today?

WITH THE PORT AUTHORITY EVERY DAY IS APRIL FOOLS DAY

2009-04-01T23:24:00.000-04:00

To All,

Isn’t it amazing on the day we bring into question their contracts with China, the Port Authority once again tries to shift the attention away from their current failures with this.

The bottom line is the PA is still exempt from NYC Building and Fire codes.

Even if they allowed regular inspections, which they don’t they are not legally bound to make any corrections nor can they be fined or penalized.

They continue to be self regulated and make their own rules and regulations.

I think that it is very appropriate that this was released on April Fools Day as it is a joke.

Anyone following the working of the PA at Ground Zero can tell you that it has never been about safety or security it has been about money.

The more they can make by cutting corners or avoiding codes or regulations the better.

Case in point the contract for safety glass awarded to China because they were the lowest bidder not because China is the only tenant of the Freedom Tower.

Here is an example of how concerned the PA is about safety and security.

About a year ago, on April 14, 2008, a homeless man found detailed confidential building plans for the Freedom Tower in the garbage.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04182008/news/regionalnews/trashy_wtc_security_106987.htm

How is that for safety?

And as with everything else related to the PA this was swept under the rug as well.

Unfortunately every day is April Fools day when you are dealing with the Port Authority

Press Release

PORT AUTHORITY POSTS ASSESSMENT RECORDS AND CONFORMANCE STATUS FOR ALL AGENCY FACILITIES

Date: April 01, 2009
Press Release Number: 42-2009

Meeting its commitment to enhance public transparency, the Port Authority today posted on its Web site - www.panynj.gov - the assessment records and conformance status for all of the agency's facilities in New York and New Jersey.

The records, which will be updated annually, cover all Port Authority facilities, including all of the agency's airports, bridges, tunnels and terminals, port and PATH facilities, and Port Authority-controlled World Trade Center buildings.

The Port Authority has a longstanding policy to meet or exceed all local building and fire codes, including those in New York City.

Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia said, "Today's release meets our foremost commitments to public safety and transparency. We are pleased to join forces with Borough President Stringer in this effort."

We're committed to providing safe and secure facilities for the public, and today we're taking an important step forward to show the public what we've done and what we plan to do moving forward."

Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward said, "We've worked diligently with New York City building and fire officials to make sure our buildings are safe, secure and in conformance with all local building and fire codes. Today's action will allow the public to see what we've done so they can track our progress and judge for itself."

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, in whose office the transparency initiative was announced in January, said, "I want to commend the Port Authority for its leadership on this issue. Now it's time for other property owners exempted from city safety codes to follow the Port Authority's lead. Code exemptions for regional authorities and federal and foreign buildings create a patchwork of regulation that is confusing and dangerous, putting first responders and the public at risk. The Port Authority's work is a roadmap for fixing this problem and saving lives."

The Port Authority - a bistate agency created in 1921 by the states of New York and New Jersey - is one of many federal and state agencies in both states that is not legally bound by local building codes. However, over the years, the agency has reached agreements with New York City to meet or exceed its building and fire codes. Similar exemptions apply to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, federal buildings such as U.S. courthouses, and foreign embassies and consulates, including the United Nations headquarters.

The report provides a detailed overview of the Port Authority's policy and process with an interactive facility map that allows users to see assessment schedules for each facility, a survey of the construction projects completed by the agency using its code conformance process and a complete inventory of each facility's component parts that are subject to code conformance, such as façade, boilers, refrigeration systems and elevators.

During a project's design phase, the Port Authority's Quality Assurance Division reviews all design drawings for adherence to local code. The division interacts with the New York City Department of Buildings on code interpretation issues, and has received written concurrence on major projects.

During the construction phase, the Port Authority's Quality Assurance Division interacts with the agency's Construction Management Division to ensure code compliance. The agency's Chief Engineer will not issue a Certificate of Occupancy until it can be verified that all code issues have been resolved.

Following a building's construction, Port Authority engineers perform regular assessments of each facility and provide repair recommendations if warranted, which are addressed as quickly as possible.

CONTACT:
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Steve Coleman, 212 435-7777

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates many of the busiest and most important transportation links in the region. They include John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, Stewart International and Teterboro airports; AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark; the George Washington Bridge and Bus Station; the Lincoln and Holland tunnels; the three bridges between Staten Island and New Jersey; the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) rapid-transit system; Port Newark; the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal; the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island; the Port Authority Auto Marine Terminal; the Brooklyn Piers/Red Hook Container Terminal; the Greenville Yard-Port Authority Marine Terminal; and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan. The agency also owns the 16-acre World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan and is a partner in the Access to the Region's Core tunnel project.

Tell the PA We Won't Be Fooled Again

2009-03-31T23:09:00.001-04:00

Besides the tainted milk and the lead paint in children’s toys products from China by the millions have been distributed with little or no concern for consumer safety.

See some articles below.

So now the Port Authority is going to get its glass from “you guessed it”……China

Not just glass but the glass that is to protect the most vulnerable floors of the “Freedom Tower” (and it will always be the “Freedom Tower” no matter what the Port Authority says)

Here is a little history

Early in 2006 when the Freedom Tower” had to be re-designed because it was too close to local streets the Port Authority was also told that there was too much glass on the lower floors of the design of the Freedom Tower and that 80% of injuries from terror attacks come from broken glass. A reasonable approach would be to eliminate the glass. No way, can’t lose that valuable window space. They stated that they were going to limit the size of the panes and do whatever was necessary to assure that the best products would be supplied to prevent injury.

Fast forward to today when we find out that the contract for this glass was given to a Chinese company.

So let’s get this straight. The Port Authority could not find one company in the US to supply this glass.

They couldn’t find one company anywhere else in the world to supply this glass.

So where to they go?

To a country that has probably the worst track record when it comes to consumer safety.

Does anyone think that this contract being awarded shortly after a Chinese company became the first tenant of the Freedom Tower is just a coincidence?

But when has anything concerning Ground Zero or the Port Authority been on the level?

Do you think that people who refuse to build to NYC Building and Fire Codes really care about safety?

But once again they are an Authority and can do whatever they want.

And it will be just a matter of time before they force their workers or other state and federal workers to occupy the offices they can’t rent.

And it will be just a matter of time before they will be looking for bailouts like the MTA.

Where are our elected officials?

We know where they were after 9/11. Hopefully it will not take another 9/11 to get them to stand up to the PA.

Well we have an opportunity to stand up with the Skyscraper Safety Campaign to let them know that we are mad as hell and we are just not going to take it anymore.

Hopefully you will join us 4/1 at 9:45 AM.

Let the Port Authority know that we won’t be fooled again.

“Chinese Corruption Allows Toxic Products Onto Global Markets” Epoch Times May 2007

“Chinese Chemicals Flow Unchecked Onto World Drug Market” NY Times December 2007

“Toxic Chinese Chairs Plague France” The Huffington Post September 2008

“Chinese Drywall “Reeks” Havoc in Florida” Manufacture This January 2009