Website of Tom Rue
How Sensible Is It To Appoint A Convicted Felon A Prosecutor?
OPINION
Would it be sensible to appoint a convicted felon as a municipal prosecutor, even if the felon were reformed, rehabilitated, repentant, and an otherwise all-around nice guy, or even the best attorney in town?
It would seem to me hard to argue that appointing a felon as a prosecutor is ever a good idea.
That is what the Monticello Village Board of Trustees voted to do last week. The real problem, as I see it, is that the Board wasn't informed, before being asked to vote, of the lawyer's felony history.
The board voted three to one (with one Trustee absent) to approve the appointment by Mayor Gordon Jenkins of Robert Gaiman as Deputy Village Attorney to prosecute alleged Building Code violators. Village Manager John Barbarite asked Mayor Jenkins to make the appointment and, without informing the Board of the attorney’s felony record, the Mayor did so. Mr. Barbarite and the attorney have been close friends for many years.
Even if not explicitly prohibited by statute, it would seem like common sense to think that an attorney who not long ago pled guilty to federal tax fraud might run into credibility problems as a prosecutor -- or even as a Notary Public, for that matter.
For example, imagine a hypothetical civil rights suit in which a conspiracy by a municipal manager and prosecutor might be alleged. Imagine that the Manager and attorney being accused of unlawfully plotting together to wrongfully prosecute building owners based, for example, on reasons of ethnic prejudice, political vendettas, or other private motivations.
Who Cares About An Old Cemetery?
It's been said that you can tell a lot about a community by observing how they treat the elderly, children and their cemeteries.
On the northern boundary of Sleepy Hollow Apartments, adjacent to athletic fields of Monticello High School, there sits a small abandoned cemetery. Located inside a dilapidated split rail fence are several graves, with at least two visible tombstones. One marks the final resting place of Daniel Litts. The stone has been knocked over and lies flat on the ground, its lettering is barely legible. Next to to it is an unmarked block which which may memorialize Danie's wife Metje (Martha), who reportedly died on November 4, 1859 in Forestburgh. Metje was christened 7 April 1776 in Shawangunk, Ulster County, making her 82 years old at the time of her death.
The tract on which Monticello High School and Sleepy Hollow Apartments are today situated, in the southwestern section of what is now the Village of Monticello, was once owned by Ezekiel I. Masten. A portion described as being "on the road from Mamakating Hollow to Kinnebrook" was granted by Johannes Masten and Magdalena (or Madleen) Swart, who was born about 1756, to their sons-in-law Daniel Litts and Evert Terwilliger who moved there in February 1797.
In Monticello As Elsewhere: "All Politics Are Local"
The above aphorism, attributed to former House Speaker Tip O'Neill, could not be more timely, as shown by events this past week here, in Albany, and nationally.
Here in Monticello an election was held on Tuesday the results of which will shape local history not just over the coming four years in this community, but by its outcome will directly affect thousands of lives in this small town. By extension, as the present becomes the past, the ripples of this election on local residents will spread.
The day before the Village election, on March 17, 2008, a U.S. Senator from Illinois delivered a speech in Philadelphia. Senator Barak Obama's "speech on race" as it has been called, will be remembered as one of the more noteworthy political speeches of 2008.
Also on March 17, 2008, in Albany Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye of the New York State Court of Appeals (herself a native of Monticello) administered the oath of office to New York's first black governor.
Perhaps Monticello can be seen as a microcosm of the country.
Privacy Of Healthcare Data Is Not A Partisan Issue
For Immediate Release
NEWS
Dated: February 22, 2008. Privacy protection with respect to personal healthcare information is not a partisan issue, although in this instance it involves data demanded and maintained by the Board of Elections. Writing as an advocate for the mentally and physically disabled residents of Sullivan County who are entitled to vote by Absentee Ballot, I am also concerned as a taxpayer that, if adequate safeguards are not in place, the County of Sullivan opens itself to civil liability to a large class of potential plaintiffs.
NEWS
Dated: February 22, 2008. Privacy protection with respect to personal healthcare information is not a partisan issue, although in this instance it involves data demanded and maintained by the Board of Elections. Writing as an advocate for the mentally and physically disabled residents of Sullivan County who are entitled to vote by Absentee Ballot, I am also concerned as a taxpayer that, if adequate safeguards are not in place, the County of Sullivan opens itself to civil liability to a large class of potential plaintiffs.
Clinically Measuring Spirituality?
Robert Cloninger, M.D. of the the School of Psychiatry at the Washington University of St. Louis originated the “How Spiritual Are You?” quiz which appeared in abbreviated form in a 2004 edition of Time Magazine,Time, October 25, 2004 and also on the website of Michael A. Toth, Ph.D. for use in a graduate Sociology of Religion class at Portland University. [PDF]
The "How Spiritual Are You" test was adapted from the Temperament and Character Inventory, a 240-question personality test developed by Cloninger at Sansone Center for Family Wellness, a psychiatric research center at Washington University. The "self-transcendence" sub-scale reportedly measures "what allows us to have the kind of experience described as religious ecstasy," according to Cloninger.
Frederick Douglass Breakfast
Photos taken at the Frederick Douglass Breakfast held Sunday, February 10th at the Woodbourne Fire Hall, and a copy of the breakfast journal (without ads) describing the accomplishments of the honorees, can be viewed by clicking on the image at right.
The 2008 recipient of the Frederick Douglass Award, Dorothy Fields of South Fallsburg, is pictured along with other recipients including Anthony McKinny of Monticello, Garrick Jackson of Liberty, and Jennifer Williams of Ellenville.
The full text of Ms. Fields' acceptance speech is posted here with the author's permission.
The annual breakfast, which marks the commemoration of Black History Month, is sponsored by the Sullivan County Chapter of the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History.
Texts of articles concerning a few past similar events covered for local news media include these: Genetha Armstrong (1997), Gladys Seals of Liberty (1996), and Bazelay Perry (1995).
For a complete list of past Frederick Douglass Award recipients, see the breakfast journal. Things To Buy Before You Need Them
I do not sell these things. Links are external.
Nicotine Dependence In The U.S.
According to a recently-released study by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, tobacco is used more widely than illicit drugs in the U.S., and it is implicated in more deaths each year than alcohol and illicit drugs combined.
Thunderstorms and iPods: Bad iDea
New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 357:198-199
To the Editor: The potential for permanent hearing loss due to prolonged use of personal stereo equipment, such as portable compact-disk or MP3 players, at high decibel levels has been well described in the literature. 1 We have recently become aware of an additional, albeit uncommon, hazard associated with the use of such devices.
A 37-year-old man was brought to the emergency department at our hospital. He had been jogging in a thunderstorm, listening to his iPod, when an adjacent tree was struck by lightning. Witnesses reported that he was thrown approximately 8 ft ( 2.4 m) from the tree.
