published 4/8
MANHASSET PRESS date.....4.../...9....1998
BERNIE'S BANTER====by Bernard Klainberg
The Report Card
Yesterday I received the Report Card, and was I shocked !.
Let me explain. The communication came by mail, and contained the annual
ratings of
the League of Conservation Voters, (LCV).
The LCV is a bipartisan group which monitors all year the actions of
local, state
and federal elected officials ,regarding the preservation and improvement
of our
environment.
Politicians throughout the country are then rated on a scorecard, and
at election
time, the ones with the highest scores receive the endorsement of this
ecology minded
group regardless of their party affiliation.
I know how hard they work all year checking on legislators , because
son Joshua
Franklin (JFK), has been the NYLCV'S political coordinator for several
years. A large
part of their work is to meet with public officials and to lobby in Albany
at the State's
The Score Card
The Report for 1997 covering the rate of support votes cast for
environmental
protection, shows that in the Congress (House and Senate) the average score
was 47%.
Of course enlightened representatives scored much higher. For example
Cong.
Nadler and Schumer, 100%, McCarthy, Maloney, Lowy, Slaughter, 88%, Ackerman
81%
and so on.
Unbelievable
I was dumbfounded to find that the lowest score of "all members of
the New York
delegation to Congress'' ,belongs to our own area's representative, Mr.
Peter King . His
score Thirteen (13) percent .
Thinking this was an error, I checked further with other political
watch groups, the
Internet, etc. and this record of voting against environmental issues
eighty seven (87)
percent of the time seems to be accurate.
Conclusions
Dear Rep. King.
Since you will probably run for re-election this November, shouldn't
you look
closer into your heart and mind to correct your non support for vital
environmental
issues.?
Any school child in Nassau County can tell you there is an epidemic
here of breast
cancer, tumors, asthma, and neurological disorders. They look to you to
change this
legacy of sickness from their future.
We all know someone with Alzheimer's , Multiple Sclerosis, and our own
beloved Parkinson's
that may be caused by environmental disasters. Isn't it time we spent more
time , effort
and money in the improvement of our water , air, pesticides and poisons?
The people you represent are a largely well educated group. It is an
insult to their
intelligence to be against practically all environmental and ecology
protection measures.
Best Regards , Bernard Klainberg
P.S. A personal request. It took Congress years to pass the Udall bill
for research
on Parkinson's Disease. We understand it is now again being held up. The
NIH (Nat'l
Health Institute) in Bethesda, Md. cannot start their research till the
funds agreed upon
are released. Could you please lean on Mr. Gingrich to release them , time
is running out
on some of us.
