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June 2019

Staten Island Democratic Association est. 1961 as Staten Island’s reform Democratic Club

www.sidems.org

At our Next Meeting:

Jumaane Williams NYC Public Advocate

Boyd Melson Talk on Stop Soldier Suicide

Cynthia Davis National Action Network, on Eric Garner

Tuesday, June 18, 2019, 8:00 P.M. Oriental Plaza, 1845 Richmond Avenue

Staten Island, NY 10314

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Editorial Policy Items for publication should be submitted to the newsletter no later than the last Friday of the month before the meeting. Please send items to: cmaxbauer@yahoo.com. Unless explicitly stated, the views herein are those of the authors and not of S.I.D.A.

Chris Bauer, Editor (917) 576-9248

Table of Contents Kevin Peter Carroll .................................................................................. 3 S.I.D.A. President’s Statement ................................................................. 4 Boyd Melson ............................................................................................ 5 May 2019 Minutes ................................................................................... 7 Loretta & Gene Prisco Memorial Essay Competition................................ 9 Prisco Essay Competition Essays ........................................................... 10 Delegate and Alternate Delegate to Judicial Convention Sample Ballots 17 Photo Album – Oran Brown ................................................................... 20 S.I.D.A. Banquet Save the Date.............................................................. 21 Bulletin Board ........................................................................................ 22 Mark Herman Picnic .............................................................................. 23 Upcoming Meetings .............................................................................. 24 Renewal Form ........................................................................................ 24

“I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms are in the physical.” - Thomas Jefferson 1787

Newsletter Submission Deadlines July ...................................................................................... July 1 August ............................................................................ August 5

S.I.D.A. Executive Committee President .................. Radhakrishna Mohan Member at-Large ............................. Clara Ogburn Vice President ............................. Liz Price Member at-Large ....................... Emmanuel Dami Executive Secretary ............. Dennis Brown Ojo Powerson II Corresponding & Member at-Large ......................Jasmine Robinson Recording Secretary ............. Marie Dwyer Member at-Large .......................... Sharon Santana Treasurer .......................... Bonita Rothman Ex Officio ........................... Michelle Akyempong Social Secretary ................... Pearl Minsky Ex Officio ...........................................Bobby Digi Member at-Large ................. Patricia Kane Ex Officio ...................................... Belinda Dixon Member at-Large .................... Phil Marius Ex Officio ............................. Rosemarie Mangano Member at-Large ............. Roy Moskowitz Ex Officio ....................................... Joann Olbrich Ex Officio ................................... John Mastellone

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Kevin Peter Carroll

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S.I.D.A. President’s Statement

June 2019 re we a “house divided”? An open call! The Democratic Committee of Richmond County Primary Elections are around the

corner and will be held on June 25, 2019. With that, we are yet to see more people declaring their candidacy for County Leader; there are some discussions, but nothing is definitive. This is the exact situation we all want to avoid, as we are left to ponder and make assumptions without any clear announcements either to run or not, except for Nick Popolo, who has already announced his intention to run for the Leadership position. We need to bring all interested parties to a formal and open discussion to clarify this situation and to decide the future of the Democratic Party on Staten Island. Open discussion will pave the way to a stronger Democratic Party, especially with the looming Presidential election in 2020. We should meet, agree to disagree or disagree to agree, whatever it takes to reach an understanding in the interest of the Party’s future. We need to find experienced non-partisans, who are knowledgeable of rules, regulations and the By-laws of the Democratic Party to start the dialogue. It’s very crucial to get this done before the Primaries as we all have to rise above, one more time, to finish what we all started as a grassroots effort. To get the ball rolling, the leadership of all the Democratic Clubs on Staten Island should meet, the sooner the better, to set the tone for a free and open dialogue to plan for the primaries. Any confusion, mistrust or delay will result in the same old chaos that existed before and will be to the advantage of the Old Guard waiting in the wings. Shall we come to our senses and do the right thing for the Democratic party? We have talked the talk, and now it is time to walk the walk. And please let’s not blame each other because when the Leadership election is over, it will be everyone’s success or everyone’s failure. Now, let’s take a look at S.I.D.A.’s future activities starting with our Annual Picnic on Sunday, July 21st, the details of which will be provided at our June 18th S.I.D.A. meeting. Also at that meeting, a report from our S.I.D.A. Social Secretary will be provided regarding S.I.D.A.’s Annual Dinner Thursday, September 19th, including this year’s Honorees. In the news on Wednesday, May 29, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the Office of Faith-Based Community Development Services would be hosting the State’s first Iftar Dinner to celebrate the Muslim month of Ramadan. Iftar is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset, with the festivities of the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of Ramadan next week. This is the first Iftar Dinner hosted by any gubernatorial administration in New York State. A quick look at the National front shows that President Trump is unleashing tariff trade war with Mexico, China and India with different reasons for those countries on the basis of immigration, trade deficit and not promoting US interests in their respective countries. If the tariffs are fully implemented, they may cause some increase in automobile prices among other things. It remains to be seen how this will play out in the stock markets which have already shown signs of uncertainty and especially how this will affect our overall economy. Also, the President’s visit to Britain’s is another important event to watch with his comments on Brexit and on whom he believes will be the best person for Prime Minister of the UK.

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I wish the best to all our candidates in the Richmond County primary election, scheduled to take place on June 25, 2019.

Radhakrishna Mohan President

Boyd Melson Former Congressional candidate Boyd Melson will be a guest speaker at our May 18 General Membership Meeting to talk about www.StopSoliderSuicide.org. He provided the following biography.

oyd Melson, born to a Louisiana Creole father and an Israeli mother whose parents were Holocaust Survivor, is a graduate of The United States Military Academy at West Point.

Boyd began his 47-month West Point experience on June 28, 1999. It was during his freshman (Plebe) year at The Academy that he was introduced to the “sweet science” of boxing. Melson would go on to have a very successful national and international amateur boxing career that included the accolades of: Three-time Collegiate Boxing All-American, Four-Time All Army Boxing Champion, Three-Time Armed Forces Boxing Champion, World Military Boxing Championships, Bronze Medalist at the 2005 U.S. Nationals, Silver Medalist at the 2006 U.S. Championships, 5th Place Finisher at the 2005 Men’s World Amateur Boxing Champions, and an Alternate for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team. Being introduced to the world of boxing would become very important in Melson’s life, but not in the stereotypical way. In 2002 Melson met and fell in love with a young lady named Christan Zaccagnino. They spent six years in a relationship together. When they started dating Boyd promised Christan that for the rest of his life, he would never give up on helping Christan achieve her dream of walking again. You see, Christan had a horrific accident at the age of ten years old diving into a swimming pool where she suffered a broken neck that severely damaged her spinal cord. Together they formed a 501c3 non-profit foundation called Team Fight to Walk with the mission of raising awareness and making all possible efforts to fund a cure for spinal cord injuries in the United States. During Boyd’s commitment to his promise to Christan, he met Dr. Wise Young, one of our medical world’s premiere experts on spinal cord injuries and spinal cord injury research. Dr. Young is the Chair of the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University. Dr. Young conducted clinical trials in China on patients with spinal cord injuries by increasing doses of umbilical cord blood mononuclear stem cells that were transplanted into the spinal cord. His published results had 15 out of 20 patients paralyzed an average of 7 years, with chronic complete spinal cord injuries, recover their abilities to walk at least 10 meters with minimal assistance. These results took place after a combination of the cell transplantation with a highly rigorous walking protocol. Additionally, over half of the patients were also able to use the bathroom on their own. As successful as the trial was it left several unanswered questions, which are the basis for additional clinical trials that need to be done. However, money needed to be raised before these clinical trials could hopefully proceed in the United States. Despite the fact that Melson had a very successful amateur boxing career, he never felt the desire to be a professional boxer until this point. Knowing that money needed to be raised, Boyd

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decided he would turn professional and use that platform that comes with being a professional athlete to raise awareness for their campaign. However, it didn’t merely stop there. Melson made the extraordinary decision to donate all of his fight purses to their campaign, while working a full-time job for Johnson & Johnson in order to provide for his own life. In total, he fought a total of 18 professional fights and won the World Boxing Council US title. More importantly in January of 2019, the FDA approved Dr. Wise Young clinical trials for the United States, and is currently waiting for a date to commence. Never one to slow down, Melson is always a man on the move. “Boyd Melson” has several important and exciting projects that he’s working on that the Jackson Family Foundation is very excited to help support and be a part of, which is very important for us at this time” Thornton said. “On the other hand we also know that we bring a lot to the table for all involved. The Jackson brand has an incredibly strong platform and wide global reach, and will greatly increase exposure and reach to gain new support for each joint venture or new relationship. We foresee a very strong synergistic effect that will bring great results for all of us.” Working with children and mentorship programs has and always will continue to be a top priority for Boyd. For the past decade, Boyd has volunteered his time to deliver motivational speeches to kids whenever he has the opportunity, and doesn’t let anything stand in the way. “I must have delivered over 100 speeches to students in schools beginning as early as Pre-K and as old as collegiate-age. It’s a definite passion for me and of the highest importance. I’ve quit jobs when they have begun to prohibit me from doing my work on this planet I care most about” said Melson. Boyd recently spent 14 days in Nigeria representing the non-profit organization Island Voice. Island Voice’s Founder is Bobby Digi with Boyd serving on their Board of Directors, and the two of them traveled together to Nigeria. The Island Voice’s mission is to act as a resource to actively engage in community development by offering solutions to promote economic development and empowerment opportunities, strategies to engage the youth and to cultivate a positive environment of unity amongst the African, African American and Caribbean Communities of Staten Island, and Canvas Institute who seeks to increase the positive impact of community driven artists, scholars, and civic leaders. Together they broke ground on a new library at an elementary school that serves 4,000 children in Minna, Nigeria. They plan on returning to Nigeria in December for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Additionally, they have begun discussions with NBA Africa so that Senegal may be the next country in the near future where they help build a new school. Melson sits on the Advisory Board for the non-profit organization Global War On Terror Memorial Foundation with the mission to lead the efforts to build the National GWOT Memorial in our nation’s capital to commemorate and honor the members of the Armed Forces who served in support of our nation’s longest war, especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Consistent with its mission, the Foundation will recognize and salute the service and sacrifices of all who served in defense of the nation in this conflict, as well as their families and friends. This amazing group is poised to make a lot of noise in 2019 and 2020. They have the support of former President of the United States George Walker Bush, who serves the foundation as an Honorary Chairman along with a long list of veterans who have served our country and some of their closest supporters. Now a 16 year military veteran who ranks as a Major in the Army Reserves, Melson was deployed to the Middle East last year in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. While deployed, The Rainmaker co-authored a script for a movie called Round One with Ondra Berry II. Round

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One will star former professional boxing World Champion Austin Trout along with Noel Gugliemi (Hector from Training Day), Quinton Aaron (Michael Oher from The Blind Side), Boyd Melson, and Vivica Fox. They are continuing to cast. The movie is being directed by Eric Martinez, and produced by Dream House Productions and Infinite Possibility Films. Round One was the winner of the award Best Full-Length Script (ITI Film Festival) and nominated for the award Best Trailer (ITI Film Festival). Round One is dedicated to the Non-Profit Organization Stop Soldier Suicide, another organization for which Boyd sits on the Advisory Board of. They are selling memorabilia for the movie with half of profits going to Stop Soldier Suicide, and Boyd will be donating a portion of what he makes from being Producer, Co-writer, having a supporting acting role, and Fight Choreographer.

May 2019 Minutes

General Meeting May 21, 2019 Oriental Plaza

1845 Richmond Avenue

ice President Liz Price called the meeting to order at 8:22 p.m. in the absence of President Mohan, who was away. Tom Shcherbenko made a motion to accept the minutes as

published in the May newsletter. The motion carried.

Social Secretary’s Report Dennis Brown reported in absence of Social Secretary Pearl Minsky that S.I.D.A.’s annual banquet will be held on September 19 and Pearl signed the contract to reserve the date with The Crystal Room. The committee is working on the honorees.

1ST Speaker Kendall Bentsen of National Advocates for Pregnant Women spoke about this non-profit organization that works to secure the human and civil rights, health and welfare of all people focusing primarily on pregnant and parenting women and those who are most likely to be targeted for state control and punishment - low income women, women of color, and drug-using women. After her presentation Ms. Bentsen answered questions from several members in attendance. She also urged members to sign a petition that she distributed.

2nd Speaker Donald De Rosa, the Staten Island Borough Director for New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer told members that he functions as the Comptroller’s primary representative in Staten Island overseeing community outreach around office initiatives, policy reports, programs, and services and provides the public with information on the functions of the various bureaus within the Comptroller’s office. In his position he seeks to identify city programs and services that may warrant investigation or audit and assist Staten Islanders with their everyday concerns. He

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mentioned that he tries to advocate for Staten Island. After speaking Mr. De Rosa answered questions from several members.

3rd Speaker Nick Popolo, Candidate for Chair of Democratic Committee of Richmond County is a past S.I.D.A. President. He told S.I.D.A. members that he is running to become Chair of the Democratic committee of Richmond County. He feels it’s time to elect a leader who embraces all voices and will build a party. Nick spoke about his 25 years of experience including the fact that he has been President of two clubs, has served as treasurer for 13 Candidates in 18 races, and his volunteer experience in ground operations. Nick spoke about his vision and objectives for the Democratic Party if elected. Nick gave kudos to all those that carried petitions in March and he reminded members that there will be a primary on June 25. He mentioned that there are some people facing primaries for a seat on the county committee and he encouraged members to adopt a person in need to help them win. After his presentation, Nick took questions from several members in attendance.

District Leader Endorsement Vote Vice President Liz Price reminded members that Joann Olbrich is seeking the clubs endorsement as District Leader which would make her an ex-officio of the club. Steve made a motion to endorse Joann Olbrich as District Leader of the 64th AD. Jill Latman seconded the motion. The motion carried, and Joann has been endorsed by the club.

Executive Secretary’s Report Vice President Dennis Brown mentioned that he was sorry that we didn’t have use of the microphone for the meeting and thanked members for their understanding. On a national level he feels that impeachment of the current President is needed. He told members that Impeach.org has pre-stamped and addressed post cards available to send out. He mentioned that Nick Popolo is doing what he can to become the next chair of the Democratic Committee of Richmond County. He also welcomed new members that recently joined the club.

Treasurer’s Report Treasurer Bonnie Rothman provided members with an up to date treasurer’s report including bills that were paid and money received. There was discussion about the $404 spent for the recent fundraiser for Mike McMahon. It was noted that Nick Popolo made a motion for S.I.D.A. to be one of the co-sponsors of the event, but the amount to be spent was not discussed. Liz Price suggested we refer this issue to the Executive Committee for discussion.

New Business Steve Schwall announced that he has posters for the Memorial Day Parade on Forest Avenue and he encouraged members to take them. Helen Settles asked club members to observe a moment of silence for Larry Hanley, who recently passed away. The deadline to send items to Chris Bauer

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for the next newsletter is June 4. Irving Mintz announced that Congressman Max Rose voted for hydro fracturing and supported S 704 and HR 1616. Irving recommends that the club should get in touch with Congressman Rose and ask him to renounce his vote.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:03 p.m. Respectfully submitted,

Marie Dwyer Corresponding &

Recording Secretary

Loretta & Gene Prisco Memorial Essay Competition

The Fourth Annual

Loretta & Gene Prisco

Memorial Essay Competition

will be held on June 18, 2019

at the Oriental Plaza

1845 Richmond Avenue at

5:30 p.m.

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Prisco Essay Contest Essays Copied below are the winning essays of the 2019 the Fourth Annual Loretta and Gene Prisco Memorial Essay Competition. This year’s topic was global warming. The winning essays are presented in alphabetical order by last name of the author, and they are transcribed as given to the Editor.

ulia Agugliaro ........................ IS 34 How does the possibility of global warming and climate change affect our lives here on

earth? There has been much debate in the last decade or so regarding the existence and reality of our planet heating up faster than ever before in history. Although our weather record keeping logs are not that old in comparison to the earth’s age, the last 100 years or so have shown that earth’s average temperature is rising. Many scientists believe that our increased use of fossil fuels such as oils and gases have added to the “Greenhouse Effect”. The Greenhouse Effect is where the gases in our atmosphere work to keep our planet’s temperature constant within a few degrees. Scientists make the argument that by our increasing population and expanding need for more and more fossil fuels our greenhouse effect is not working properly anymore. Scientists believe that by our increased fuel burning and manufacturing, our atmosphere is holding on to too much of the sun’s radiant heat and as a result heating our planet above the normal temperatures we are used to. How does an increasing temperature affect us on earth? Scientists believe that rising temperatures will start to melt our polar caps and icebergs. This would lead to an increase amount of fresh water being mixed into our oceans and seas. The effect of more fresh water mixing with our salty oceans would cause both rising of the oceans causing flooding along the world’s coastlines as well as more severe storms such as hurricanes. The rising of the coastlines would force people to move away from the edges of their countries and destroy homes, businesses and industry. The severe storms would cause loss of life at a greater level than ever before. Storms such as Hurricane Sandy are an example of this. What can be done to slow down or stop the earth’s temperature from rising so fast? Scientists believe that if we start using more renewable energies such as solar, wind, nuclear and hydro, we can use less oils and fossil fuels and start to reverse the bad greenhouse effects that are happening today. The governments of the world’s countries need to spend more money developing the renewable energies and fund scientists and their labs to make these new forms of energy cost efficient and practical. There are other people that believe earth has always had periods of global warming as well as global cooling. We have had ice ages in the past and will probably have more in the future. Those believe that earth always goes through weather and climate cycles and that man’s use of fossil fuels are not enough to affect the climate. Those people believe that we do not have enough data over a longer period of time to properly calculate our history’s climate. Global warming and climate change is something that does affect my generation and many others. We should all be aware of our surroundings and keep earth clean and make the world a better place!

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James Anderson ..................... IS 34 Global warming is global climate change. Global climate is the average climate over the entire planet. Scientists say that the Earth’s global climate is changing. The planet is warming up faster than at any time scientists have known about from their studies of Earth’s entire history. The earth has its own control system. The oceans, the land, air, plants and animals, as well as the energy from the sun all affect each other to make everything work together. Nothing changes in one place without changing something else. It’s a synergistic codependent system. The overall effect gives us or global climate. Greenhouse gases act like insulation to keep the Earth warm. However, as more and more greenhouse gases get into the atmosphere, the Earth will start to grow warmer. The main greenhouse gases that keep the Earth warm are water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane. In the past 100 years humans have been the cause of a significant increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide. Every time we drive our cars or use electricity, more carbon dioxide is released into the air. There are also factories, farming technics and air pollution that have cause an increase in the rate of temperature elevation that humans are responsible for. Scientists believe these things will happen if we don’t change our ways to slow this process down by 2050: Glaciers melting – Many glaciers are already melting and shrinking throughout the world. If

the temperature increases they will continue to melt. Ocean levels will rise – As the glaciers melt, the ocean levels will rise. This could cause

flooding in cities located near the coast. Migration of animals – Animals will migrate to cooler spots as their old habitats get too warm.

This could upset the food chain and put some species in danger of extinction. Extreme weather – Some scientists think that warming will fuel more powerful hurricanes as

well as more droughts and flooding in different areas of the world. Changes in ecosystems – Cold weather biomes such as the tundra will shrink, while desserts

will continue to expand. What can we do to help fix this global problem? One thing we can do is to become more aware in our daily living to do our best to limit the use of things that will add to global warming. For example, I can start walking to school or ride my bike to places instead of driving. Limit my cell phone use. The other thing we can do is to start a petition and raise awareness with our community. We can contact our local congressman and ask him to petition for a bill to put limits on things that cause pollution. We have to start somewhere. Every journey begins with taking a first step. Nicholas Baillargeon .............. IS 34 Global warming is one of the biggest problems the Earth is facing during this ear. This is mostly humans’ fault, considering ninety-five percent of climate scientists have presented evidence of manmade global warming. Although global warming seems like a challenge which cannot be overcome, it can be, if the people and the U.S. government take action, before damages become permanent. The government has to begin reforestation, since photosynthesis takes carbon dioxide out of the air, which is a major factor, along with greenhouse gases, in global warming. Regular people can also help reduce emissions released into the atmosphere by changing their routine, such as switching the food they eat and reducing the waste they produce.

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The first major step the government can make to reduce greenhouse gases, is replanting forests where they were chopped down. This is evident in Brail, where replanting trees can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by billions. “Restoring forests already chopped down in Brazil, for example, could draw about 1.5 billion metric tons of CO2 out of the air (Nunez 8). Planting trees where; they could be planted, as well as seagrass, can reduce carbon dioxide, because they go through photosynthesis, removing carbon dioxide out of the air. “But planting trees, restoring seagrasses, and boosting the use of agricultural cover crops could clean up significant amounts of carbon dioxide” (8). Therefore, the government can curb a major factor of global warming by starting the process of reforestation all over the United States. Regular citizens can also take action in fixing the environment, without sacrifice, but instead, just a switch in routine. Citizens cutting the amount of red meat they eat can help significantly in reducing greenhouse gases since they produce emissions in the atmosphere. “Red meat is particularly to blame, consuming 11 times more water and producing 5 times more emissions than its poultry counterparts” (Holth 1). In additions, citizens, by recycling their waste, lessen landfills, which are major contributions to greenhouse gases, while also reducing their carbon footprint. “When the waste is burnt, it releases toxic gases in the atmosphere which result in global warming” (Conserve Energy Future 6). By making minor change in what citizens eat and what they do after they are finished with something, the environment can be impacted for the better. Thus, global warming is not impossible to overcome, but people from around the United States must unite and take action. It does not matter how major or minor a contribution is, it is the fact it was made, in a push to make the polluted atmosphere of today, be the one hundred percent clean atmosphere of tomorrow. Work Cited Nunez, Christina. Global Warming solutions, explained. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warmingsolutions/ Hoth, Jess. 7 Instant Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/7-instant-ways-to-reduce-your-carbon-footrpint.us.59321992e4b00573ab57a383 Conserve Energy Future. 35 Easy Ways to Stop Global Warming. https://www.conserve-enerty-future.com/stopglobalwarming.php Vanessa Cascio ....................... IS 34 Global warming is defined “a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere, generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorcarbons, and other pollutants (Webster’s dictionary). What it really is, is truly a danger! Given that over 94% of climate scientists have presented evidence of man-made global warming, we are putting our animals and our plants in danger, our safety is at risk, we are jeopardizing the existence of mankind as a whole and we are truly destroying the Earth. We must do whatever we can to abolish manmade global warming, however this must start by addressing it head on. There are many strategic ways to get a person’s attention. The use of ethos, logos, and pathos can be helpful to the cause. The ethos step of this process will be establishing an ally, to establish credibility among the audience. This is exactly how the author of Natural and Man0Made Causes of Global Warming raised awareness of the cause, by establishing an ethos and crating a feeling

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that everyone, as a whole, can unite when they say “The future of the earth is in our hands” (Willison 1). Having a powerful logo creates an image for people to rally around, helps them identify with the cause. We must be able to explain all possible effects of the global warming catastrophe. The government must be able to explain the logic behind why they want people to change the way they are currently operating and give powerful examples to urge them to change their ways. One way is to talk about what has drastically changed from years ago. “Hurricanes and other storms are likely to become stronger. Floods and droughts will become more common. Large parts of the U.S., for example, face a higher risk of decades-long mega droughts bye 2100” (Nat Geo 3). Lastly the government should use every egg in the basket and appeal to the audience’s emotional side by using pathos, which is an emotion of sympathy and pity. For instance, Bill Nye, from PBS TV and who is known as The Science Guy, in his videos he appeals to our emotional side to invoke change. For example, in one of them, he states “this is bad for the 1 billion people relying on the ocean as their main source of protein.” He is trying to get us to feel sympathy for the people who need to rely on a broken food chain. Through this he tries to motivate us to change our ways. I believe using these strong strategies and tactics, such as ethos, logos, and pathos would have a huge effect on any campaign that was trying to persuade people to change. It would simply be foolish for the government not to bring up these rhetorical appeals in their argument. As long as the government approaches this head on, there should be no problem revolutionizing our society. Cody Doskocil ......................... IS 34 What is Global Warming? Global Warming is the rising of the Earth’s average temperature. Although there have been natural fluctuations in the Earth’s temperature over the past several decades, scientists have started to worry as these temperature changes have begun to have severe impacts on Earth’s natural environments. These impacts include melting glaciers, ocean temperature rises and sever and dangerous weather patterns. The good news is we may be able to stop these effects. There are several ways we as people and our government can fight the effects of Global Warming. Our government has already taken several steps to help reduce carbon pollution, by introducing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan in 2015. The basis of this plan was to reduce power plant pollution by a third before 2030. Also, the United States has put standards in place to cur car emissions and raise fuel economy standards, including the introduction of more electric powered vehicles, but there is still more to do. The government cannot fight off global warming alone, it needs our help. As citizens of the world, if every person took simple steps and changed their lifestyle a little bit, we could help fight the effects of this epidemic. Some of these steps include reducing your energy consumption by using energy efficient appliances, reducing water usage, changing all light bulbs to LEDs and weatherizing your house to prevent energy loss. All of these ideas will help in reducing the amount of carbon pollution each person creates. As you can see, some of the ways to help fight global warming are more difficult than others, but we can all do our prt to help fight back and protect the Earth from further damage. Remember, simply waking to the store instead of driving, not only keeps you healthy, but keeps the earth healthy also.

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Justin Kane ............................. IS 34 It is no secret that the world we live in is facing the effects of global warming. We recognize climate-warming trends are due to human activities. Climate change is a real issue we have to battle together. Scientists now have strong evidence that global warming is occurring and worsening. The evidence comes from measurements of rising surface air temperatures, subsurface ocean temperatures and from increases in average global sea levels, retreating glaciers, and changes to many physical and biological systems. The US Global Change Research Program states, “The global warming of the past 50 years is due primarily to human-induced increases in heat-trapping gases. Human ‘fingerprints’ also have been identified in many other aspects of the climate system, including changes in ocean heat content, precipitation, atmospheric moisture, and Arctic sea ice.” Relief is in sight to make our world a healthier and safer place but it starts with us. Various countries have rallied together to come up with a plan of action and fight against climate change. Although President Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, our federal government backed down, our local government branches have stood up to fight this. Many state government officials support the goal of limiting future warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius. A new initiative by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked mayors from the 100 most populous cities in the country to share their plans for making their buildings and transportation systems run cleaner and more efficiently. The top twenty mayors that demonstrate the greatest potential for cutting the dangerous carbon pollution that is driving climate change will share a total of $70 million in technical assistance funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Deputy Director of NRDC’s Clean Power Plan initiative says, “There’s no other way, if it doesn’t start with people.” We can minimize the poisons from our environment. Carbon dioxide is described as one of our climate’s worst enemies. This gas is released when oil, coal, and other fossil fuels are burned for energy. This is the same the energy we use to power our homes, cars, and even our smartphones. We can help solve this issue by speaking up and getting the word out to friends and family, powering our homes with renewable energy from wind or solar companies weatherizing our homes with uses of energy that are efficient. Another way to help is to use energy-efficient appliances, reduce our water waste, be mindful of foods we eat with meat-free meals, purchase bulbs with less energy, avoid plugging things in over necessary charge time and drive fuel-efficient cars. To avoid climate pollution, keep our car well maintained with proper inflation, air filter changes and tune-ups. Walking and biking to conserve energy and less planes, trains and vehicles in travel will make a difference on climate pollution. The more we know about the effects of global warming, the more the government will do. We can fight this threat and the time is now! Are you ready? Robert Marciante ................... IS 34 Global warming is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere. The world is experiencing melting glaciers, rising sea levels, and dying forests. It is becoming apparent that humans have presented evidence of this. The government and people of the world need to address this issue. The “greenhouse effect” is the warming that happens when certain gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, in the Earth’s atmosphere trap heat. As more gases are released into the atmosphere, a thick layer is created and traps heat causing an increase in temperature. Smoke from vehicles releases an abundance of carbon dioxide into the air. One way

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we can reduce this is by converting fuel-powered cars to gas-smart cars such as hybrids and fully electric vehicles. These cars do not emit gas into the air. Also, smoke from factories is a major cause of the release of greenhouse gases. We cannot eliminate factories altogether because we depend on many products that are produced such as cars, appliances, food, etc. However, we can follow the three principles of reduce, reuse, and recycle. Recycling our everyday garbage into paper and plastic is important so it can be reused into new products. The government should enforce more laws and fines if this is not followed. People can use reusable bottles for drinking and storage to eliminate waste. Another way we can reduce global warming is powering our homes with renewable energy instead of using fossil fuels such as coal and gas. We can choose a utility company that generates most of its power from wind or solar. People can also replace home appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines with energy efficient ones that reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Another major cause of global warming is deforestation. When trees are cut down to produce goods or heat, they release carbon that is stored for photosynthesis. This process releases nearly a billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere per year. A way we can reduce this is replanting trees. The government can create and enforce stricter laws for the replacement of trees. Also, the government can reduce the destruction of forests by designating more land for parks, forests, and wildlife. This will prohibit building and destroying tress on these areas. In conclusion, we cannot eliminate man-made global warming due to everyday life. However, there are ways people and the government can address this issue and reduce the release of harmful gases into the atmosphere. Christina Muglia .................... IS 75 “Global warming isn’t a prediction. It is happening.” This quote exploits the necessity for action to be taken against this environmental dilemma. To begin, global warming occurs when the layer of greenhouse gases surrounding Earth traps extra beams of sunlight in our atmosphere. These rays cause a spoke in temperature. NASA stated some effects of global warming are an increase in weather intensity and sea-level. These things impact the economy, habitats, and emigration levels. Due to its effect on our country, many question how the government should address this issue. The answer lies in the 3 R’s of conservation: Reduce, reuse, and recycle. One contributor to global warming is fossil-fuel use. According to EPA.gov, “6% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from carbon-dioxide released from burning fossil-fuels.” This exploits the idea that there is a correlation between overuse of resources and overheating the planet. The best way to do this is by increasing our use of alternative energy. According to the Department of Energy the government is exploring methods, including, “solar, wind, water, geothermal, bioenergy, nuclear and hydrogen and fuel cells.” These sources provide cleaner energy which is beneficial to our economy. The Department of Energy states, “clean energy generates hundreds of billions in economic activity, and is expected to continue to grow rapidly.” Clearly, alternative energy sources benefit the economy and our planet. Reducing our use of fossil-fuels and replacing our energy sources is a step towards resolving this crisis. Reusing our resources decreases the demand for energy as well as fossil fuels. According to the EPA reusing resources, “Reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change.” This reusing resources and climate change. The EPA also states that reusing resources saves money. This will protect our future and conserve government spending.

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Recycling decreases global warming potential. The EPA states the benefits of recycling as “saving energy, conserves natural resources, prevents pollution, and even reduce amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators.” This illustrates how recycling prevents emission of air pollutants and the need for these resources. A 2016 EPA article states, “The production, transport, and disposal of solid waste leads to GHG emissions…Increasing our national recycling rate from its current level of 28% to 35% would reduce GHG emissions by 9.88 MMTCE.” This illustrates how recycling is a defense against global warming that can deteriorate greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the atmosphere. Conclusively, using the fundamentals of Earth preservation can be the strongest and cheapest answer to this environmental issue. Programs revolving around reducing, reusing, and recycling resources in the USA are estimated to have made $6.7 billion in tax revenue. By using this system of the 3 R’s we reduce pollution and the demand for resources. We must realize how global warming impacts our future. Barack Obama once said, “There’s one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other, and that is the urgent threat of a changing climate.” Francesca Sferlazza ................ IS 34 Global warming is a big problem in the United States of America. Over 95 percent of global warming is man-made which is causing climate change. This means that global warming is caused by what we do on a daily basis. We, the people of America, and the government need to address this problem and do something to help prevent global warming. One way that we and the government can address global warming is by reducing emissions. Emissions produce and discharge something like gas and or radiation. These emissions are releasing chemicals into the atmosphere which is causing even more global warming. We need to find a solution to produce more natural gasses and less methane and nitrous oxide which is released during combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil. “Carbon dioxide (CO2) makes up the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions from the sector, but smaller amounts of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are also emitted. These gases are released during the combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gasses, to produce electricity” (EPA 1). Another solution to addressing global warming is carpooling or walking to more places. When we use cars, carbon dioxide is being let out into the atmosphere. Carpooling will be a great solution to minimize; the amounts of carbon dioxide that we release into the air. Walking to more places will be a great solution as well. It is even better than carpooling because it releases no carbon dioxide into air and gives us exercise. Lastly, we can invent new ways of working so that we have less machinery in factories that let out gas. Factory buildings produce various amounts of chemicals and gasses. Minimizing these factories and machines will be an enormous help to our atmosphere. There are many ways to address global warming that are much simpler, such as just waking and not driving everywhere. We, the people of America, and the government can do something about global warming and prevent it from becoming even worse. The U.S. can start off little and then aim bigger to what needs to be changed to prevent global warming. We need to start now to put global warming to an end.

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Judicial Delegate and Alternate Judicial Delegate Primaries The state primary this year will be Tuesday, June 25. There will be a primary in the Democratic Party for the Party Positions of Delegates to the Judicial Convention and Alternate Delegates to the Judicial Convention. The Democratic Committee of Richmond County has put up a slate of candidates in each Assembly District (A.D.), and there is an insurgent slate as well. Per a request at our May 21 meeting, copies of the sample ballots are being published in the newsletter along with notations of which slate is County and which slate is insurgent. Please note that the actual ballots will not indicate which slate is which, and please also note that S.I.D.A. has not made any endorsements in these races, so the information is being presented for informational purposes only. Finally, one does not need to vote for an entire slate, one can mix and match ones votes to the maximum number of votes per A.D. as indicated on the ballot.

Assembly District 61 (vote for any 11)

Insu

rgen

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Cou

nty

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Assembly District 62 (vote for any 6)

Cou

nty

In

surg

ent

Assembly District 63 (vote for any 9)

Insu

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Assembly District 64 (vote for any 6)

Insu

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Photo Album – Oran Brown There was a display of photos at the funeral home during visiting hours for Oran Brown. Sally Jones shared some of these showing glimpses of Oran’s life and activism.

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S.I.D.A. Banquet Save the Date

SAVE THE DATE!

S.I.D.A. Annual Banquet

September 19, 2019 7:00 PM

Crystal Room 67 Olympia Boulevard

Awardees to be announced.

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Bulletin Board

Past S.I.D.A. President Tom Shcherbenko joins the

Revolution as New Jersey Delegate Reverend John Witherspoon.

Six shows at Historic Richmond Town Courthouse

July 4, 2:00 and 8:00 p.m. July 5, 8:00 p.m.

July 6, 2:00 and 8:00 pm July 7, 2:00 pm

Ghostlight Productions

Bulletin Board Policy Items posted on the Bulletin Board are done so at the request of an S.I.D.A. member and are for informational purposes only. A posting on the Bulletin Board does not imply endorsement by S.I.D.A.

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Mark Herman Picnic

Sunday, July 21, 2019 Noon – 4:30 p.m.

Celebrate Summer & the Memory of Mark Herman at Our 4th Annual Mark Herman Memorial Picnic!

S.I.D.A. and Members of all Democratic clubs as well as family and friends all welcome - free event - beer, soft drinks and water plus

barbeque foods and salads - bring a dish if you wish - NO GLASS BOTTLES ALLOWED - you'll have to settle for beer in a

can! We look forward to seeing you.

MILLER FIELD PICNIC AREA

Sections 25 & 26 next to Ranger Station & Rest rooms

Driving Directions: Take New Dorp Lane down to Cedar Grove

Avenue and make a left turn onto the field. Follow road around to picnic area.

For information contact Social Secretary Pearl Minsky

tryminsky@aol.com

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June 18, 2019 General Meeting

8:00p.m. Oriental Plaza, 1845 Richmond Ave.

NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams Cynthia Davis, National Action Network,

on Eric Garner Boyd Melson, Stop Soldier Suicide

July 16, 2019 General Meeting

8:00p.m. Oriental Plaza, 1845 Richmond Ave.

Speaker TBD

It’s Time to Join or Renew Your S.I.D.A. Membership! To become a member, renew membership, or make a donation, call Bonita Rothman at (917) 596-3724, or complete and return the coupon. Voting privileges begin 45 days after joining. ------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2019 DUES DONATION

$25 - Family $5 $20 - Individual $50

$15 - Senior, Student, or Unemployed $100

Other Check (payable to: S.I.D.A.) Cash I understand SIDA is a Democratic Party club. I (or we, if this is a Family Membership) am (are) at least 17 years of age and an enrolled Democrat, or intend to enroll as a Democrat upon becoming eligible. Signature Name(s) Address Apt # City State Zip Phone E-mail Make checks payable S.I.D.A. to S.I.D.A. and send to: P.O. Box 140371 Staten Island, NY 10314-0371 For internal use only: Comp: Received $: Deposited $: Entered Sht: Computer: