Op Ed - Look At RAVE Carefully Details Matter

By Robert Trotta, Suffolk County Legislator 13th LD

As a former Suffolk County Detective, member of the FBI Gang Task Force and the husband of a kindergarten teacher, school safety is of the utmost importance to me. We all want to do everything possible to protect our children in school and elsewhere, but the steps we take in pursuit of that critical goal must provide a real, significant, effective means of protection, not simply be feel-good measures or public relations stunts that detract from our true mission.

County Executive Bellone recently signed legislation to borrow $2 million to cover the licensing of the Rave Panic Button for public and private schools across the county. The smartphone-based application alerts authorities in the event of an active shooter or emergency situation.  I guess that sounds okay and makes for a good press release and photo op, but is it really the best way to spend significant taxpayer dollars and protect our children? After all, given the rate at which technology is evolving, such an application could be obsolete within a year or two yet our residents will be paying for it for a decade or more.

Let’s take a look at what the $2 million bought…here is a disclaimer from the Rave website: “The services do not replace dialing 9-1-1 in the event you require immediate assistance. The services must not be relied upon to provide emergency response services. Such emergency response services can only be accessed by placing a direct call to 9-1-1.” Please tell me the county didn’t just spend $2 million for 9-1-1 speed dial. Also troubling is the fact that RAVE considers the personal data of its users to be a “business asset” that may be transferred or shared with other parties in the event of any acquisition, merger, reorganization, etc. Given the volatile nature of the IT industry, who knows who will ultimately have access to the personal information of teachers, school administrators and employees?

The tragic shootings that have taken place in schools across the country have understandably prompted the call for government action. We do need to act. However, that action must make sense and serve the best interest of our children and all our residents. It cannot be action simply for the sake of saying we did something and we cannot allow on our fears to be used  for a company’s  financial gain. The “another tool in the toolbox” approach can do more harm than good if that tool is ineffective or confusing or causes unnecessary delays or other unintended consequences.  The steps that elected officials take must be responsible ones, driven by public safety not public relations. Let’s not forget that Bellone was the same guy who gave us and stood by  Chief Burke who together dismantled the FBI Gang Task Force and allowed MS-13 to wreak havoc in Suffolk County. Of course, as you may know, Burke  is now an inmate in federal prison.   As a side note  Intralogic the company that represents Wave on Long Island donated over $10,000.00 dollars to Bellone and Suffolk Democrats . Starting to get the picture?

Robert Trotta, Suffolk County Legislator 13th LD

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Press Club Responds To Ejection Of Journalists

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

It was an unprecedented incident in Suffolk County history—two journalists were kicked out of a political rally. It happened last month at a “kickoff” rally for Congressman Lee Zeldin whose district includes most of Smithtown.

As Pat Biancaniello, editor of Smithtown Matters, one of the journalists kicked out of the rally, wrote in an editorial: “Last night I was ejected from the Lee Zeldin kick-off rally which I was invited to, without cause. Yes, I was invited to attend the rally by the Zeldin campaign and was credentialed by the Zeldin campaign. Upon arrival I was told to go anywhere I wanted to take photos, again by the Zeldin campaign. I stood in the same spot, with my credentials plainly in sight, for roughly an hour and a half before, out of the blue, I was told to leave without an explanation.”

Ms. Biancaniello continued: “I was forced to climb over a rope to get to the path leading to a door—(one woman sneered and said ‘bye bye’ as I walked past).  Once out the door and in a backyard area, I was mocked by a group of people. A man upset that I was taking photos smacked my camera and I was told by security to leave the Elks Club premises. All the while I was wearing the press badge supplied by the Zeldin campaign and telling everyone I was an invited press person.”

As David Ambro, managing editor of The Smithtown News, wrote in an article: “Without provocation, without just cause, and without a word of explanation, the campaign staff of Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) threw me and a fellow journalist out of his campaign kickoff at the Elks Club on Edgewood Avenue in Smithtown Thursday, June 28. It was the first time in my 40-year career as a journalist that I have ever been thrown out of anything. I didn’t like it.”

“I saw a tweet that said we had been thrown out of a ‘white supremacist fest,’” Mr. Ambro went on, “a reference, I suppose, to one of the Zeldin-rally speakers, Sebastian Gorka, who Democrats charge is a ‘Nazi sympathizer.’ I’ve covered a white supremacist rally before—a cross-burning during a brief Suffolk uprising of the KKK in 1998—and that’s not what this was. I will say, though, that being thrown out was arbitrary and capricious, overbearing and intimidating.”

Mr. Ambro declared: “It put us in a precarious situation, singled out in a crowd that was revved up to a fevered pitch by the rhetoric of the speakers and at a time when the president they idolize has declared the media to be ‘an enemy of the people.’ And, in the aftermath, the response by Rep. Zeldin and his campaign was in bad taste.”

The Press Club of Long Island issued a statement last week on what happened in which its board of directors stated: “When reached by the Press Club, Zeldin said in an email: ‘As Americans, we cherish our Constitution, freedoms and liberties, and that includes our sacred First Amendment protecting freedom of the press.’”

          “The press,” said PCLI, a chapter (one of the biggest) of the national Society of Professional Journalists, “serves an important role to keep Americans informed of facts that allow us to form our own independent judgement on matters before our community, nation and world. The congressman, who was reportedly not present when the journalists were removed, said Biancaniello and Ambro were confused as protesters, and he invited them back to his events.” 

PCLI continued: “While we appreciate Zeldin’s apology and strong statement on the press, we do not believe Biancaniello and Ambro should have been removed from the event in the first place. We see this most recent incident as part of a larger pattern of mistreatment of the press. The Trump administration set the stage in February 2017 when then White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer excluded The New York Times, CNN, Politico, The Los Angeles Times and BuzzFeed from a press briefing. Around the same time, President Trump began calling the press the ‘enemy of the people.’ It was a phrase often used in the past by communist dictators to refer to dissidents, or political opponents. Mr. Trump has repeatedly employed the term to speak of hard-working journalists simply doing their jobs…As a nation, we must afford journalists the protections that we have from the time of our founding, thus allowing them to reveal important truths.”

I am proud that the Press Club of Long Island reacted quickly and strongly to what happened—and proud of the two Suffolk journalists put upon.  

I founded PCLI in 1974. I was sitting at my desk at the daily Long Island Press reading a story about a reporter jailed for not divulging a source. My recollection was that this occurred in Maryland. I arranged for a gathering of Long Island journalists to form an organization to challenge this kind of thing. At the meeting I was elected president of the club. Through the years PCLI has taken on various government officials on Long Island for not complying with the Freedom of Information Law and similar behavior—but journalists getting kicked out of a political rally here, this is new—and intolerable.  The assault on the media that is underway today in the U.S., led by Donald Trump, is an attack on the U.S. democratic process. It is not acceptable in the U.S.—and on Long Island.

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books.  

Theater Review - 'NEWSIES'

Theater Review – ‘Newsies”

Produced by The John W. Engeman Theater - Northport

Reviewed by Jeb Ladouceur

Every good musical is firmly rooted in the significant historical facts that form its plot. Indeed, while a show’s success may depend greatly on clever lyrics, flashy costumes, and intricate choreography to command our attention, the fact is that minus a meaningful story line to go with the glitz, our toes are unlikely to start tapping when they should.

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A good example of this theatrical phenomenon is ‘Oklahoma.’

It’s all very well for a group of gals in gingham and boys in boots to serenade us with a rendition of ”…oh, what a beautiful mornin’…” but until we’re aware that this is essentially a story about farmers feuding with ranchers, the production’s not much more than a sing-along.

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The same can be said for ‘Les Miserables,’ ‘Evita,’ or for that matter, the overrated ‘Hamilton.’

But history’s great upheavals and revolutionaries notwithstanding, I doubt there’s ever been a show on Broadway with a more interesting backstory than the one which opened on The Engeman stage a few nights ago. It’s titled, ‘Newsies,’ and the good news is that we’re unlikely ever to see a more appropriate treatment of an obscure, but poignant, slice of Americana.

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The musical is centered on the actual 1899 Newsboys’ Strike in New York City, where a conflict develops between the town’s ragamuffin ‘newsies’ (paperboys) and none other than powerful New York World publisher, the renowned Joseph Pulitzer. Pulitzer has raised the price of The World  to his hawkers a fraction of a cent, but it’s enough to affect the boys’ sales … and consequently their already meager income.

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If ever there was a ‘David and Goliath’ story staged on the ‘Great White Way,’ this surely is it.

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The show (with music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman) was faithfully written by Harvey Fierstein, and all were nominated for Tony Awards when the musical debuted on Broadway in 2012. Thereafter, ‘Newsies’ went on to stage more than a thousand performances before producers launched its boffo national tour. Not surprisingly, Menken and Feldman won the Tony for Best Musical Score … while Christopher Gattelli took top honors for Best Choreographer.

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The endearing show was Toni-nominated in no fewer than six other categories … and an equal number of Drama Desk slots … for singing and dancing. Impressive!

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One of the most intriguing aspects of this fascinating re-telling of journalistic history is that it boldly labels an iconic American businessman as the opportunist he actually was. Leave it to Hollywood (where the film ‘Newsies’ premiered in 1992) … and ultimately to Broadway … to blow the whistle on even the mighty Joseph Pulitzer. We have the entertainment industry to credit for tagging Pulitzer the opportunistic ‘yellow journalist’ he turned out to be.

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Tom Lucca, who was an Engeman standout in both ‘Jekyll & Hyde,’ and ‘1776,’ doesn’t miss a trick in his interpretation of the hard-hearted Pulitzer, as he balances Dan Tracy’s protagonist, Jack Kelly. Also Whitney Winfield brings charm and grace aplenty to her local debut as the delightful Katherine Plumber. We have not seen the last of this multi-talented young woman. The same can be said for child actor Zachary Podair as Les. Near-perfect stage presence in one so young is an amazing thing to behold … and the mark of a born performer.

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Lighting, Costume, and Scenic Design (Zach Blane, Kurt Alger, DT Willis) supply everything we have come to expect from the Engeman’s Creative Team … nor do Director Igor Goldin, or Choreographer Sandalio Alvaraz disappoint. They are among Long Island’s finest practitioners of theater arts.

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There’s a strong element of Dickens (primarily ‘Oliver Twist’ and even ‘A Christmas Carol’) in this fine production, though Harvey Fierstein’s pathos will never be mistaken for the simpatico that England’s greatest novelist was able to produce. That said, it’s difficult to imagine Bob Tzudiker and Noni White (who collaborated on the original screenplay) … or for that matter, Fierstein himself … not being heavily influenced by the bleakness which was Charles Dickens trademark.

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This dynamic production runs through September 2nd.

Award-winning writer, Jeb Ladouceur is the author of a dozen novels, and his theater and book reviews appear in several major L.I. publications. His recent hit, THE GHOSTWRITERS, explores the bizarre relationship between the late Harper Lee and Truman Capote. Ladouceur’s newly completed thriller, THE SOUTHWICK INCIDENT, was introduced recently at the Smithtown Library. The book involves a radicalized Yale student and his CIA pursuers. Mr. Ladouceur’s revealing website is www.JebsBooks.com

People In The News - Ed Spinella

Ed Spinella

by p. biancaniello

Kudos to Smithtown’s Ed Spinella for doing what he loves and for doing good at the same time. Ed, a passionate cyclist, participatedEd Spinella in Babylon’s 11th annual Soldier Ride.

“A great day at a extremely well organized event, for a great cause with amazing people. Big thanks to SCPD for keeping a huge ride like this so safe,” said Ed.

The 25 mile Soldier Ride raises money and awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project. All of the money raised goes to helpL-R Mary Anderson - Corinne Ciccarelli- Carlyn Hesse- Roger Mellon- Ed Spinella- Dave Klosner- Ashley Marie warriors with combat stress recovery, job training, counseling, adaptive sports programs, and more.

The Soldier Ride began in downtown Babylon and ended at Overlook Beach. One of the highlights is riding over the Robert Moses Causeway Bridge. Participants included members of the armed forces who returned to the U.S. after suffering life changing inuries while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

For more information or to make a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project visit https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/donate

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - "Space Is A War-Fighting Domain"

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

If President Donald Trump gets his way on formation of a Space Force, the heavens would become a war zone. And inevitably there would be military conflict in space. 

The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 designates space as a global commons to be used for peaceful purposes.  Russia and China, as well as the United States, are parties to the treaty. If a Space Force becomes a reality, the years of work facilitating the treaty will have been wasted.

 If the U.S. goes up into space with weapons, Russia and China, and then India and Pakistan and other countries, will follow. 

Moreover, space weaponry would be nuclear-powered—as President Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” scheme was to be with nuclear reactors and plutonium systems on orbiting battle platforms providing the power for hypervelocity guns, particle beams and laser weapons. As General James Abrahamson, director of the Strategic Defense Initiative, put it at a Symposium on Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion, “without reactors in orbit [there is] going to be a long, long light [extension] cord that goes down to the surface of the Earth” to power space weapons.

I got to writing about and presenting TV programs on space issues more than 30 years ago. It was 1985 and I was reading a U.S. Department of Energy publication, Energy Insider, which told of two space shuttles—one the Challenger—which were to loft plutonium-fueled space probes in 1986. The Challenger’s plutonium mission was to happen in May, the ill-fated shuttle’s next mission. 

From having authored “Cover Up: What You Are Not Supposed to Know About Nuclear Power,” I knew that plutonium is considered the most deadly radioactive substance. I sent requests under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act to NASA and Department of Energy asking for their data on consequences if one of the shuttles underwent a major accident on launch, in the lower or upper atmosphere, or didn’t attain orbit and fell back to Earth.

The weeks dragged on—I had hit a stone wall. I protested this apparent cover-up and, finally, 10 months later, received documents claiming that because of the “high reliability inherent in the space shuttle” the odds of a catastrophic accident on one of these nuclear space shots were one-in-100,000. (After the Challenger disaster, those odds were suddenly changed to one-in-76.)

With the Challenger accident, I broke the story of its nuclear mission ahead and began researching accidents that had happened in the use of nuclear power in space. I connected the interest in using nuclear power in space with “Star Wars” and how it was based on nuclear-powered battle platforms overhead. 

This resulted in my writing two books, “The Wrong Stuff” and “Weapons in Space,” and three TV documentaries, the first “Nukes In Space: The Nuclearization and Weaponization of the Heavens.” Considerable travel and presentations followed—including two presentations before members of the British Parliament and a series of talks at the UN in New York and Geneva. As the years have gone by I’ve continued to pursue the issue especially when there were administrations that pushed space warfare, the two Bush and now the Trump administration.

“It is not enough to merely have an American presence in space, we must have American dominance in space,” Trump said at a meeting of the National Space Council last month, announcing his intention “to establish a Space Force.”

In one of the TV documentaries, “Star Wars Returns,” on the push to revive the “Star Wars” program in the George W. Bush administration, I interviewed Craig Eisendrath who had been a U.S. State Department officer involved in the creation of the Outer Space Treaty. “We sought to de-weaponize space before it got weaponized…to keep war out of space,” he explained. It has been ratified or signed by 123 nations and provides that nations “undertake not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction.”

 The U.S. military has been gung-ho on space warfare. A U.S. Space Command was formed in 1982. “U.S Space Command—dominating the space dimension of military operations to protect US interests and investment. Integrating Space Forces into war-fighting capabilities across the full spectrum of conflict,” it declared in its report “Vision for 2020.”

There have been attempts to expand the Outer Space Treaty to bar all weapons from space. This is called the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) treaty and leading in urging its passage have been Canada, Russia and China. There has been virtually universal backing from nations around the world. But U.S. administration after administration have refused to back the PAROS treaty preventing its passage. And now with the Trump administration, there is more than non-support of the PAROS treaty but a new drive to weaponize space. 

That could be seen coming. In a speech in March, Trump asserted: “My new national strategy for space recognizes that space is a war-fighting domain.”

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books.