OpEd - A Few Brave Veterans - By Tom Chandler
A few brave veterans.

As this legislative session expires, it is once again time to consider the impact of a few brave media veterans who have year after year taken on all-comers, no matter how powerful and influential, to make this a better safer State for all those who live here and come here to visit.

Most of the media will not even acknowledge some of our worst legislative scandals exist. They definitely will not recognize the impact exposure of long obstructed legislation by their competition, may play in getting that legislation finally voted on and passed after years hidden in obscurity.

The New York Sun article “How Mr. Silver Manages To Unite Post, Times, O’Reilly, Daily News” is an example of glossing over and facilitating the corruption in our State Assembly. A reader would not understand why so many in the media have recently taken to condemning Assembly Speaker Silver’s actions this legislative session.

Ken Lovett of the NY Post wrote May 16th in his article SEX-RAP STATUTE FREES 332 FIENDS

Silver is paid an undisclosed amount for working for one of the nation’s biggest trial-lawyer firms, Weitz & Luxemburg.

“Shelly Silver has done plenty for trial lawyers, he should take his trial-lawyer provision out of this bill and let us protect the women and children of this state from sexual offenders,” Pataki said.

The NY Post article of May 17th SILVER’S SHAME “How many sex criminals are walking the streets because Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Weitz & Luxenberg) cares more about his law firm than he does about crime victims?” And continues.

And the trial-lawyer lobby has no better friend in Albany than Sheldon Silver.

Not for ideological reasons, either.

Since 2002, Silver has been “of counsel” to Weitz & Luxenberg, arguably New York’s biggest personal injury law firm. It pays him a salary estimated by those in the know at $1 million a year - or more.

Unfortunately, estimates are all that’s available. Silver won’t say how much he earns, in fact, he won’t release his tax returns. He won’t say why he was hired, nor what exactly he does for the firm.

But it’s pretty obvious just what Weitz & Luxenberg - and every other tort-law firm - has gotten from Sheldon Silver.

He opposes tort reform in Albany. And that’s all it takes to kill reform.

Thus, the firm benefits directly from Sheldon Silver’s actions.

It’s an appalling conflict of interest.

The North Country Gazette, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Ithaca Journal, Long Island Herald, have also earned ‘on target ‘ status and many of the articles that have earned these papers such recognition these past few weeks can be accessed through the North Country Gazette links below, courtesy of Gazette publisher June Maxam. Google Maxam v. Sheriff Larry Cleveland (Ethan Allen, Lake George) to appreciate her record of fighting to expose corruption.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/061406FewDareSee.html
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/062006BlindEye.html

Read these links and you will appreciate how articles such as Mr. Gershman’s New York Sun article facilitate corruption and scandal in our State Assembly. Such journalists are as guilty of facilitating corruption as the Assembly members who year after year re-elect Sheldon Silver to the power of Speaker, knowing he will obstruct these laws as he has every year they have given him the power to do so.

Just chalk me up as another venue that is disgusted with Silver and all the legislators that do as they are told like Sam Hoyt, Schimminger, Tokasz, Peoples, etc…. Instead of representing the people, they represent Silver, the trial lawyers, union and all the other well funded special interests.

I am so happy people from all over this state and country are reading this BLOG, I have gotten many emails telling me they had no idea why NY was in such sad shape, and they are getting an education in state politics reading here.