Dancing apart, together: fifty years of dance revolution
By Kevin Bratcher
(NEW YORK) Say the name Chubby Checker- what comes to mind?
The Twist.
It’s the hit dance style made famous by Chubby Checker in 1960 that has left the dance world forever changed.
On Friday Chubby Checker will be back in his hometown of Philadelphia for a free concert to celebrate 50 years of the Twist and to remind everybody who the father of modern dance is.
Chubby, born Ernest Evans, was born October 3, 1941 and was raised in Philadelphia with his parents and two brothers. He would introduce his version of “The Twist” in July of 1960 on The Clay Cole Show, launching a hit that is the only single to top the Billboard Hot 100 twice.
The advent of the Twist, along with a number of other original styles (“The Fly,” “The Pony,” and “The Hucklebuck” to name a few), made popular what Chubby refers to as “Dancing apart…together.”
“People have been dancing by themselves with somebody else for centuries,” Chubby said. “It came along in the 20th century and The Twist happened to have the name on it, and it became a successful thing for the music that young people enjoy…and I just happen to be blessed to be the person that’s doing this.”
Chubby drew a comparison between what he did with dance and what inventors such as Alexander Graham Bell did with their inventions:
“Is Alexander Graham Bell not here when I’m talking on a cell phone to you? The man who made the typewriter, when you’re on the computer, is he not there? When you’re on the floor dancing and enjoying yourself to Lady Gaga or any of those people like that, is Chubby Checker not there?”
Chubby noted that the free concert isn’t targeted just towards the generation alive when the Twist first made its debut:
“It is not limited to your mother and your dad and ‘I remember the Twist,’ Chubby said, “You’re caught up in it. If you’re ten years old, you’re caught up in it. You’re caught up in dancing apart to the beat. Before Chubby Checker brought that, it wasn’t here.”
Asked if he had a message for the new generation, Chubby said, “For the kids that were born in 1989, they’re living in the best time of humanity. They have everything available to them: more information, more technology, and they need to take advantage of it… And one more thing: Behave!”
Chubby Checker’s concert will be at noon in Dilworth Plaza at City Hall in Philadelphia. Additional information may be found at Chubby Checker’s official site at www.ChubbyChecker.com
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Immigration process in need of change
Immigration process in need of change
By Kevin Bratcher
NEW YORK-
Immigration forms the foundational backbone of the population of the U.S. Without immigration the United States would not have been colonized, nor would it have the wide variety of individuals and cultural expressions it has now.
Immigration has, it would seem, become a bureaucratic bog that causes more problems than it helps.
Immigration attorney and former mayor, Michael Wildes spoke to the WJI Times about some of the overall problems immigration is dealing with.
“Immigration is tremendously backlogged in applications such that the retrogression of visas creates collateral consequences for businesses and families who are not reunited with one another,” Wildes said. “Immigration also does not have proper technology and records in place to track departures from the United States.”
With both government and the people calling for a change in the immigration process, stories of miscommunication and abnormal delays give an idea of what sort of reforms need to be made.
One story involves an American man marrying a Canadian woman. After applying for the proper forms and legally marrying, they moved to an apartment in the states, where they planned to wait the allotted amount of time for her to receive a social security number and a work visa.
However, upon visiting the local social security office after a couple months in southeastern Pennsylvania for information, the computer systems informed government employees she was eligible for a social security card already. INS officials later informed the confused couple that she was not, in fact, eligible for a social security card.
Michael Wildes shared another story of a diplomat who has been experiencing an abnormal delay in the processing of his application for citizenship.
“[I have a story of a] diplomat who filed a case for citizenship in 2003 and still in 2010 the case has not been adjudicated,” Wildes said. “He already passed his interview. This is a simple case of a gentleman that actually came forward with great intelligence to help our nation, and this is the reward he gets.”
Wildes referred as well to a number of other cases in which length of time made immigration very difficult and painful for families.
“We’ve literally had clients die while the applications for citizenship are pending…these are people put in harm’s way because of immigration delays,” Wildes said.
These two accounts indicate that there are major flaws in the immigration system which Congress and the President will have to deal with in the coming years. With questions as to how to deal with illegal immigration and recent controversy in Arizona concerning new laws passed, the issue of immigration is increasingly important for the U.S. government to address.
By Kevin Bratcher
NEW YORK-
Immigration forms the foundational backbone of the population of the U.S. Without immigration the United States would not have been colonized, nor would it have the wide variety of individuals and cultural expressions it has now.
Immigration has, it would seem, become a bureaucratic bog that causes more problems than it helps.
Immigration attorney and former mayor, Michael Wildes spoke to the WJI Times about some of the overall problems immigration is dealing with.
“Immigration is tremendously backlogged in applications such that the retrogression of visas creates collateral consequences for businesses and families who are not reunited with one another,” Wildes said. “Immigration also does not have proper technology and records in place to track departures from the United States.”
With both government and the people calling for a change in the immigration process, stories of miscommunication and abnormal delays give an idea of what sort of reforms need to be made.
One story involves an American man marrying a Canadian woman. After applying for the proper forms and legally marrying, they moved to an apartment in the states, where they planned to wait the allotted amount of time for her to receive a social security number and a work visa.
However, upon visiting the local social security office after a couple months in southeastern Pennsylvania for information, the computer systems informed government employees she was eligible for a social security card already. INS officials later informed the confused couple that she was not, in fact, eligible for a social security card.
Michael Wildes shared another story of a diplomat who has been experiencing an abnormal delay in the processing of his application for citizenship.
“[I have a story of a] diplomat who filed a case for citizenship in 2003 and still in 2010 the case has not been adjudicated,” Wildes said. “He already passed his interview. This is a simple case of a gentleman that actually came forward with great intelligence to help our nation, and this is the reward he gets.”
Wildes referred as well to a number of other cases in which length of time made immigration very difficult and painful for families.
“We’ve literally had clients die while the applications for citizenship are pending…these are people put in harm’s way because of immigration delays,” Wildes said.
These two accounts indicate that there are major flaws in the immigration system which Congress and the President will have to deal with in the coming years. With questions as to how to deal with illegal immigration and recent controversy in Arizona concerning new laws passed, the issue of immigration is increasingly important for the U.S. government to address.
Building homes and helping wallets- and futures
Building homes and helping wallets- and futures
By Kevin Bratcher
If someone told you that you could buy a house and end up saving money and eliminating waste, you probably wouldn’t believe them.
However, that’s precisely the idea home designer AmeriSus has in mind with its innovative new line of homes.
Charlie Kamps, managing director of AmeriSus, spoke in an interview recently about the mission of AmeriSus.
“Nobody out there seems to want to really provide the general public en masse with a house that is more affordable,” Kamps said. “[We have] gone through the effort of literally pulling out the waste in the labor and the wasted materials and converting those savings into a higher quality home.”
Kamps noted as well that they went out of their way with their house designs to avoid starting with the cheaper industry standards, which can survive longer. They have companies like Whirlpool, IKEA, and Shaw supplying high quality products for their houses.
AmeriSus’ home designs start in the $200,000 range, which may seem like a daunting price tag at first, until you consider everything included in the house and the savings AmeriSus guarantees on energy costs.
“You get a lot of house with [our designs],” Kamps said. “You get a house that will have a utility bill that is 70% less than a comparable home built by another builder. You get a home that has product in it that is really first class.”
Seventy percent might not sound like a lot to someone with an apartment, but 70% off of $2400 (based on average household energy costs in the northeastern U.S. according to U.S. Energy Information Association (EIA) statistics) per year amounts to $1680 per year in savings. That sort of savings really adds up in the long term.
In addition, AmeriSus offers a line of “net-zero” homes which use solar power to produce as much energy as they use, creating an environmentally self-contained house.
AmeriSus is primarily marketing itself toward middle-tier builders who would be building between one and one thousand homes. They are also eager to provide the very best house to individual customers looking to set up a new home.
“For 2010 our focus is on projects in the mid-Atlantic region, and by 2011 we’ll cover the 48 contiguous states,” he said. “Also by 2011 we’ll be aptly postured to accommodate individuals looking to build a vacation house or just a new house.”
In a market increasingly concerned with energy footprints, where customers have always been concerned with getting the most for their money, AmeriSus promises to be a popular and wise alternative to typical housing designs.
More information about AmeriSus can be found at their website: www.Amerisus.com
By Kevin Bratcher
If someone told you that you could buy a house and end up saving money and eliminating waste, you probably wouldn’t believe them.
However, that’s precisely the idea home designer AmeriSus has in mind with its innovative new line of homes.
Charlie Kamps, managing director of AmeriSus, spoke in an interview recently about the mission of AmeriSus.
“Nobody out there seems to want to really provide the general public en masse with a house that is more affordable,” Kamps said. “[We have] gone through the effort of literally pulling out the waste in the labor and the wasted materials and converting those savings into a higher quality home.”
Kamps noted as well that they went out of their way with their house designs to avoid starting with the cheaper industry standards, which can survive longer. They have companies like Whirlpool, IKEA, and Shaw supplying high quality products for their houses.
AmeriSus’ home designs start in the $200,000 range, which may seem like a daunting price tag at first, until you consider everything included in the house and the savings AmeriSus guarantees on energy costs.
“You get a lot of house with [our designs],” Kamps said. “You get a house that will have a utility bill that is 70% less than a comparable home built by another builder. You get a home that has product in it that is really first class.”
Seventy percent might not sound like a lot to someone with an apartment, but 70% off of $2400 (based on average household energy costs in the northeastern U.S. according to U.S. Energy Information Association (EIA) statistics) per year amounts to $1680 per year in savings. That sort of savings really adds up in the long term.
In addition, AmeriSus offers a line of “net-zero” homes which use solar power to produce as much energy as they use, creating an environmentally self-contained house.
AmeriSus is primarily marketing itself toward middle-tier builders who would be building between one and one thousand homes. They are also eager to provide the very best house to individual customers looking to set up a new home.
“For 2010 our focus is on projects in the mid-Atlantic region, and by 2011 we’ll cover the 48 contiguous states,” he said. “Also by 2011 we’ll be aptly postured to accommodate individuals looking to build a vacation house or just a new house.”
In a market increasingly concerned with energy footprints, where customers have always been concerned with getting the most for their money, AmeriSus promises to be a popular and wise alternative to typical housing designs.
More information about AmeriSus can be found at their website: www.Amerisus.com
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
New York legislature votes for more schooling
New York legislature votes for more schooling
By Kevin Bratcher
NEW YORK- Upwards of 80,000 New York students and parents will now have the power of choice given to them over the next few years thanks to recently passed legislation in the State’s House and Senate.
After a long and difficult battle, the State Senate and House passed the proposal on May 28 to raise the cap on charter schools in New York State from 200 to 460. The legislation marks a victory for the Bloomberg administration as well as for supporters of charter schools such as Andrew Cuomo and Bill Gates.
There are some public school advocates who are in favor of charter schools as well. Edward Tom, principal of the Bronx Center for Science and Math, spoke about charter schools and the raised cap.
“I believe charter schools should be an option for taxpayers.” said Principal Tom. “I don’t think it will be THE solution for the issues we have in urban educations, but I do feel it is a viable option for parents and students to choose.”
Charter schools were approved in New York State in 1998, and there has been a high concentration of the schools within New York City. Charter schools operate with an average of 300 students according to numbers from the Center for Education Reform, which shows the scope of the possibilities offered by the raised cap.
The raising of the cap was controversial not least because there has for some time been confusion as to whether charter schools are private schools. A charter school is in fact a publicly funded school which is operated by a private organization, meaning it is not under the direct control of teachers unions or the government- although what is taught still follows governmental guidelines.
Among the new rules applied to charter schools is a mandate for the state comptroller’s office to audit the schools, as well as a ban on operation of new charter schools by any for-profit organization.
One of the benefits Principal Tom noted about the charter schools is “the non-unionization…and also not being confined by the union contract so that their day can begin earlier and end later.” Mr. Tom also noted that the ability of charter schools to pay their teachers “based on a meritocracy…”
Principal Tom went on: “I think it’s ironic that education is one of the few industries where you can’t hold the stakeholders accountable for actual achievement when our clients are children.” He noted, however, that charter schools seem to be in danger of losing their fiscal viability soon if they aren’t careful, as they must provide benefits and pension funds out of their own budgets.
Charter school critics have claimed in the past that the much-touted better results among students of charter schools are due more to a selective enrollment process than better teaching methods.
The newly passed legislation stipulates that charter schools must accept the same percentage of special needs and English-as-second-language students as their public school counterparts, in an attempt to remove such a possibility. However, Principal Tom offered up a different explanation for the positive results attained by charter schools:
“I think there’s a natural filter,” Principal Tom said, “when you have parents who are more involved in their children’s education, that are more informed…those are probably the parents and kids that are more on top of their game in terms of their academics to begin with.”
As Principal Tom noted, it is unlikely that charter schools will be the perfect solution to the education issues being dealt with both in New York and across the country. New York legislators are hoping that providing more options to parents and students will lead to better results for New York’s educational system, and produce a smarter generation.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Small church offers change and hope to New York City's people
By Kevin Bratcher
NEW YORK CITY- In New York City in downtown Manhattan, a small new church is bringing a new comprehensive evangelistic approach to the streets.
Operating out of a small building situated only blocks away from Ground Zero, where construction is ongoing, the Messiah Reformed Church is working on building a foundation of its own.
Rev. Paul Murphy opened Messiah Reformed Church in 2003 after he decided that what New York City really needed after the attacks of 9/11 was a new Christian outreach.
Messiah Reformed Church is located at 241 Water Street where they rent space from Seamen’s Church Institute, an institution founded in 1834 which cares for the personal, professional, and spiritual needs of mariners around the world.
Sam Perez is an assistant at Messiah Reformed Church, and has been here since right after the church began in 2003. He spoke to the WJI times about the church’s beginning, and some of its goals.
“The central mission of our church…is to make Christ known to people around here,” Perez said, “and everything kind of builds on that and supports that and is a scaffold to that.”
The unique focus of Messiah Reformed Church is displayed strongest in the Wall Street Bible studies Rev. Murphy holds every Tuesday and Thursday.
Reverend Murphy focuses in these Bible studies on how doing business is a Godly activity, and how it can be conducted in a Christian manner.
These studies represent an unexpected focus for a church to focus on, since much of the Christian world views business as being too sinful, or secular, to guide with Biblical principles.
“We go through what the Bible has to say about business,” Perez said, “Which speaks to the need of that (Wall Street) community in a world and a time where there’s much doubt regarding economic things. It’s good to know the Bible isn’t silent about such matters.”
Messiah Reformed Church is also involved in a few other outreach programs, including an ESL program and door-to-door evangelizing.
According to Perez the congregation maintains an average of about 65 regular attendants. The congregation is still relatively small, admitted Perez, because of what he refers to as “transiency”.
Perez said that while they see many fresh faces every Sunday, and receive many new members each year, it is difficult to maintain a large regular congregation because many people are only in New York for a short amount of time.
Often individuals and families will join their congregation and remain active in the church for a few years, only to move away later because of a job opportunity or other life circumstances.
Still, Perez is confident that Messiah Reformed Church can have a powerful impact on the people of New York City.
He sees New York City and its people as having a unique and challenging character that he hasn’t experienced in other cities. Planting a church, then, presents a unique opportunity for Christian evangelism.
Among the skyscrapers of Manhattan, Perez and Rev. Paul Murphy hope through their ministry to raise a towering Christian foundation that will help to change the face of business, and of the people of New York City.
More information about Messiah Reformed Church can be found at their website: www.merfnyc.org
NEW YORK CITY- In New York City in downtown Manhattan, a small new church is bringing a new comprehensive evangelistic approach to the streets.
Operating out of a small building situated only blocks away from Ground Zero, where construction is ongoing, the Messiah Reformed Church is working on building a foundation of its own.
Rev. Paul Murphy opened Messiah Reformed Church in 2003 after he decided that what New York City really needed after the attacks of 9/11 was a new Christian outreach.
Messiah Reformed Church is located at 241 Water Street where they rent space from Seamen’s Church Institute, an institution founded in 1834 which cares for the personal, professional, and spiritual needs of mariners around the world.
Sam Perez is an assistant at Messiah Reformed Church, and has been here since right after the church began in 2003. He spoke to the WJI times about the church’s beginning, and some of its goals.
“The central mission of our church…is to make Christ known to people around here,” Perez said, “and everything kind of builds on that and supports that and is a scaffold to that.”
The unique focus of Messiah Reformed Church is displayed strongest in the Wall Street Bible studies Rev. Murphy holds every Tuesday and Thursday.
Reverend Murphy focuses in these Bible studies on how doing business is a Godly activity, and how it can be conducted in a Christian manner.
These studies represent an unexpected focus for a church to focus on, since much of the Christian world views business as being too sinful, or secular, to guide with Biblical principles.
“We go through what the Bible has to say about business,” Perez said, “Which speaks to the need of that (Wall Street) community in a world and a time where there’s much doubt regarding economic things. It’s good to know the Bible isn’t silent about such matters.”
Messiah Reformed Church is also involved in a few other outreach programs, including an ESL program and door-to-door evangelizing.
According to Perez the congregation maintains an average of about 65 regular attendants. The congregation is still relatively small, admitted Perez, because of what he refers to as “transiency”.
Perez said that while they see many fresh faces every Sunday, and receive many new members each year, it is difficult to maintain a large regular congregation because many people are only in New York for a short amount of time.
Often individuals and families will join their congregation and remain active in the church for a few years, only to move away later because of a job opportunity or other life circumstances.
Still, Perez is confident that Messiah Reformed Church can have a powerful impact on the people of New York City.
He sees New York City and its people as having a unique and challenging character that he hasn’t experienced in other cities. Planting a church, then, presents a unique opportunity for Christian evangelism.
Among the skyscrapers of Manhattan, Perez and Rev. Paul Murphy hope through their ministry to raise a towering Christian foundation that will help to change the face of business, and of the people of New York City.
More information about Messiah Reformed Church can be found at their website: www.merfnyc.org
Saturday, May 29, 2010
“Helping our economy and our fellow humans- Stimulus dollars working for our future”
“Helping our economy and our fellow humans- Stimulus dollars working for our future”
By Kevin Bratcher
NEW YORK CITY- One New York City researcher is using federal stimulus dollars to battle the Nipah virus- a lethal bug in the same family as measles.
Dr. Kevin J. Olival, a Senior Research Fellow working with Wildlife Trust, has traveled the world to study the seasonal outbreak of the Nipah virus and coordinate research. Government stimulus funding has provided a needed boost to make his work possible.
“We’re looking at the ecology of the Nipah virus,” Olival said, “We’re in the process of testing samples we’ve collected now from [Bangladesh].”
Outbreaks in Bangladesh and India since 2002 have resulted in over 100 deaths. While each outbreak is limited in exposure, the mortality rate is between 69% and 92%, making it one of the more deadly viral outbreaks today.
Dr. Olival outlined the dangers of the Nipah virus, “It’s an encephalitic virus, so it affects your brain. People generally within a week or so will get infected and often go into a coma.”
The money allocated for Wildlife Trust Inc. comes from a larger grant of more than $86.1 billion given the Department of Health and Human Resources, for the purpose of stimulating the economy and creating jobs. The grants given to Wildlife Trust represent vital supplements along with other funding it has received.
The first grant of $51,225 upgraded technology both at the home office in New York City and at the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research in Bangladesh (ICDDR,B). One of the key upgrades involved providing the research center in Bangladesh with a T1 line, as local telephone lines are not reliable enough for the level of communication necessary between the two research centers..
Videoconferencing technology has also been installed and will connect scientists in New York with scientists across the world in Bangladesh to ensure faster communication. With these technological improvements, Wildlife Trust hopes to speed up the process of finding a way to deal with the virus.
The second grant for $204,688 is to research, map and hopefully contain the virus. Dr. Olival has made multiple trips to Bangladesh over the last nine months to arrange research and train local veterinarians, doctors and field technicians.
The money has also been used to provide one job- specifically for Dr. Olival, who was hired by Wildlife Trust Inc. after they received funding last year.
Dr. Olival has a Ph.D. from Columbia University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. His recent work includes three years as a research associate for Dr. Michael Hadfield at the University of Hawaii studying population biology for endangered Hawaiian tree snails.
Further grant spending will cover the testing of the many samples being gathered in Bangladesh, as well as real-time videoconferencing between scientists here and those in Bangladesh.
The project is currently focused on placing GPS collars on a particular species of fruit bats known as the “flying fox”, which is known to carry the virus. Wildlife Trust hopes through their research to determine the flight patterns and living areas of the fruit bats, and to determine how the virus infects humans.
Fruit which has been bitten by the bats is the most common way in which people are infected, however, and Dr. Olival’s research is also studying the local fruits to find where the bats most commonly feed.
While the virus has only rarely been transmitted between humans, it has occurred, making outbreaks all the more important to contain when they occur.
Through government grants and grants from other science foundations, Wildlife Trust hopes to achieve significant results in the next five years to combat this virus. It is hoped that through their research another life-threatening virus may be contained.
Dr. Olival sounded optimistic as well. “It’s a 2-year grant we have, and then we have other funding which will go for a few more years,” Olival said, “so we’re expecting to be working in Bangladesh for awhile, if all goes as planned and we can keep securing funding to do work there.”
Full Podcast Interview With Dr. Kevin Olival
By Kevin Bratcher
NEW YORK CITY- One New York City researcher is using federal stimulus dollars to battle the Nipah virus- a lethal bug in the same family as measles.
Dr. Kevin J. Olival, a Senior Research Fellow working with Wildlife Trust, has traveled the world to study the seasonal outbreak of the Nipah virus and coordinate research. Government stimulus funding has provided a needed boost to make his work possible.
“We’re looking at the ecology of the Nipah virus,” Olival said, “We’re in the process of testing samples we’ve collected now from [Bangladesh].”
Outbreaks in Bangladesh and India since 2002 have resulted in over 100 deaths. While each outbreak is limited in exposure, the mortality rate is between 69% and 92%, making it one of the more deadly viral outbreaks today.
Dr. Olival outlined the dangers of the Nipah virus, “It’s an encephalitic virus, so it affects your brain. People generally within a week or so will get infected and often go into a coma.”
The money allocated for Wildlife Trust Inc. comes from a larger grant of more than $86.1 billion given the Department of Health and Human Resources, for the purpose of stimulating the economy and creating jobs. The grants given to Wildlife Trust represent vital supplements along with other funding it has received.
The first grant of $51,225 upgraded technology both at the home office in New York City and at the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research in Bangladesh (ICDDR,B). One of the key upgrades involved providing the research center in Bangladesh with a T1 line, as local telephone lines are not reliable enough for the level of communication necessary between the two research centers..
Videoconferencing technology has also been installed and will connect scientists in New York with scientists across the world in Bangladesh to ensure faster communication. With these technological improvements, Wildlife Trust hopes to speed up the process of finding a way to deal with the virus.
The second grant for $204,688 is to research, map and hopefully contain the virus. Dr. Olival has made multiple trips to Bangladesh over the last nine months to arrange research and train local veterinarians, doctors and field technicians.
The money has also been used to provide one job- specifically for Dr. Olival, who was hired by Wildlife Trust Inc. after they received funding last year.
Dr. Olival has a Ph.D. from Columbia University in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. His recent work includes three years as a research associate for Dr. Michael Hadfield at the University of Hawaii studying population biology for endangered Hawaiian tree snails.
Further grant spending will cover the testing of the many samples being gathered in Bangladesh, as well as real-time videoconferencing between scientists here and those in Bangladesh.
The project is currently focused on placing GPS collars on a particular species of fruit bats known as the “flying fox”, which is known to carry the virus. Wildlife Trust hopes through their research to determine the flight patterns and living areas of the fruit bats, and to determine how the virus infects humans.
Fruit which has been bitten by the bats is the most common way in which people are infected, however, and Dr. Olival’s research is also studying the local fruits to find where the bats most commonly feed.
While the virus has only rarely been transmitted between humans, it has occurred, making outbreaks all the more important to contain when they occur.
Through government grants and grants from other science foundations, Wildlife Trust hopes to achieve significant results in the next five years to combat this virus. It is hoped that through their research another life-threatening virus may be contained.
Dr. Olival sounded optimistic as well. “It’s a 2-year grant we have, and then we have other funding which will go for a few more years,” Olival said, “so we’re expecting to be working in Bangladesh for awhile, if all goes as planned and we can keep securing funding to do work there.”
Full Podcast Interview With Dr. Kevin Olival
Friday, May 28, 2010
Mayor Bloomberg aims for new gun laws
Mayor Bloomberg aims for new gun laws
By Kevin Bratcher
NEW YORK CITY- A proposed package of changes to gun laws has lit a fire under gun enthusiasts and Second Amendment rights groups. The changes are a part of the gun law reforms proposed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, both for New York City and for the whole U.S.
Bloomberg touts the proposals as a way to streamline the process by which New Yorkers can obtain gun permits. One key change involves reducing the famously lengthy time and difficulty in obtaining a gun permit in New York.
The main purpose of the proposed change is to increase the number of personnel and resources available for looking into cases of illegal purchase and possession of guns.
There are currently 30 locations within a three mile radius of central Manhattan which are listed as selling or manufacturing guns and gun accessories.
One building in particular, the underground-housed Westside Pistol and Rifle Range on 20th Street, boasts one of very few gun ranges in the five boroughs of New York City. Westside’s rules and regulations are strict and first-time members must pass through numerous checks and safety tutorials before they are allowed to fire a weapon on the range. For Westside, an establishment frequented by police officers and occasionally celebrity personalities, following the current rules makes Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed changes irrelevant.
It’s a similar story for Holland and Holland (H&H), a high-end rifle and shotgun manufacturer on 40th street in Mid-town Manhattan. Enclosed within a finely polished wood-panel suite on the 19th floor, H&H isn’t worried about the new proposal. One of H&H’s sales associates informed the WJI Times that their high quality firearms are very different from the sort of guns New York’s gun law changes will affect, noting that: “Our cheapest second-hand shotgun goes for $6000 at minimum.”
Beretta Gallery, a retailer operating under the trademark of gun manufacturer Beretta which produces both long guns and handguns, refused to comment on the proposed law changes.
A more controversial element of Mayor Bloomberg’s gun agenda stems from the Senate hearing at which he testified on May 5th. In light of the attempted attack on Times Square by confessed terrorist Faisal Shahzad, Mayor Bloomberg along with Senators Frank Lautenberg and Peter King called for a ban on the ability to purchase or possess firearms if you are on the terrorist watch list.
Senator Lautenberg of New Jersey made the same proposal in 2007, garnering the approval of the Bush administration. At the time the bill was defeated in large part because of criticism from the National Rifle Association (NRA). NRA critics noted that tens of thousands of people may be on the watch list, and that since some may be falsely placed on the list, the law would become a restriction of civil rights.
Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal comes after it was discovered that Shahzad was able to buy a rifle at a gun store in Connecticut just weeks before he attempted to commit a terrorist attack in Times Square. Mayor Bloomberg also noted a Government Accountability Office report which showed that individuals on the watch list were able to buy firearms and explosives legally 1,119 times in the past six years.
However, Shahzad was not on the terrorist watch list when he purchased the gun.
Senior Editor Dave Workman of Gun Week, which is sponsored by the Second Amendment Foundation, commented on what he sees as the dangers of making such a law. “The criteria,” said Workman, “are unclear as to how one ends up on the terrorist watch list- or how one’s name is cleared, as well.”
Workman noted an incident in 2004 in which Senator Ted Kennedy encountered difficulties in boarding airplanes both to and from Boston because a name similar to his was on the terrorist watch list. “If you follow Senator Lautenberg’s logic, Senator Kennedy would not have been able to go to a sporting goods store and purchase a shotgun without having to go through a lot of red tape,” said Workman, referring to Sen. Lautenberg’s similar proposal in 2007.
Workman said, “To be automatically denied a civil right without benefit of trial or some kind of adjudication- if this were any other civil right I think the ACLU and a lot of civil liberties organizations would be screaming at the top of their lungs.”
Virginian lawyer and author of the brand-new political thriller “Montanamo” Chris Leibig raised further criticism of the terrorist watch list in a phone interview. “A terrorist watch-list is not like a criminal history report,” he said. “The criteria for being on the list are secret. Only specific branches of the government know what it takes to get on the list. The list would give the government the sole power to deny someone a gun without the person knowing about it. There’s no due process at all.”
Asked if he believed the terrorist watch list was effective, Leibig admitted, “I feel sure that attacks have been prevented, partially through use of the list…it may be an important tool. What it shouldn’t be used for is to deny people Constitutional rights.”
Senators Lautenberg and King are pushing along with Mayor Bloomberg and other mayors to have this legislation put on the board in both the House and the Senate. If they succeed it will become illegal for anyone suspicious enough to warrant being placed on the terrorist watch list to purchase a firearm.
By Kevin Bratcher
NEW YORK CITY- A proposed package of changes to gun laws has lit a fire under gun enthusiasts and Second Amendment rights groups. The changes are a part of the gun law reforms proposed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, both for New York City and for the whole U.S.
Bloomberg touts the proposals as a way to streamline the process by which New Yorkers can obtain gun permits. One key change involves reducing the famously lengthy time and difficulty in obtaining a gun permit in New York.
The main purpose of the proposed change is to increase the number of personnel and resources available for looking into cases of illegal purchase and possession of guns.
There are currently 30 locations within a three mile radius of central Manhattan which are listed as selling or manufacturing guns and gun accessories.
One building in particular, the underground-housed Westside Pistol and Rifle Range on 20th Street, boasts one of very few gun ranges in the five boroughs of New York City. Westside’s rules and regulations are strict and first-time members must pass through numerous checks and safety tutorials before they are allowed to fire a weapon on the range. For Westside, an establishment frequented by police officers and occasionally celebrity personalities, following the current rules makes Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed changes irrelevant.
It’s a similar story for Holland and Holland (H&H), a high-end rifle and shotgun manufacturer on 40th street in Mid-town Manhattan. Enclosed within a finely polished wood-panel suite on the 19th floor, H&H isn’t worried about the new proposal. One of H&H’s sales associates informed the WJI Times that their high quality firearms are very different from the sort of guns New York’s gun law changes will affect, noting that: “Our cheapest second-hand shotgun goes for $6000 at minimum.”
Beretta Gallery, a retailer operating under the trademark of gun manufacturer Beretta which produces both long guns and handguns, refused to comment on the proposed law changes.
A more controversial element of Mayor Bloomberg’s gun agenda stems from the Senate hearing at which he testified on May 5th. In light of the attempted attack on Times Square by confessed terrorist Faisal Shahzad, Mayor Bloomberg along with Senators Frank Lautenberg and Peter King called for a ban on the ability to purchase or possess firearms if you are on the terrorist watch list.
Senator Lautenberg of New Jersey made the same proposal in 2007, garnering the approval of the Bush administration. At the time the bill was defeated in large part because of criticism from the National Rifle Association (NRA). NRA critics noted that tens of thousands of people may be on the watch list, and that since some may be falsely placed on the list, the law would become a restriction of civil rights.
Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal comes after it was discovered that Shahzad was able to buy a rifle at a gun store in Connecticut just weeks before he attempted to commit a terrorist attack in Times Square. Mayor Bloomberg also noted a Government Accountability Office report which showed that individuals on the watch list were able to buy firearms and explosives legally 1,119 times in the past six years.
However, Shahzad was not on the terrorist watch list when he purchased the gun.
Senior Editor Dave Workman of Gun Week, which is sponsored by the Second Amendment Foundation, commented on what he sees as the dangers of making such a law. “The criteria,” said Workman, “are unclear as to how one ends up on the terrorist watch list- or how one’s name is cleared, as well.”
Workman noted an incident in 2004 in which Senator Ted Kennedy encountered difficulties in boarding airplanes both to and from Boston because a name similar to his was on the terrorist watch list. “If you follow Senator Lautenberg’s logic, Senator Kennedy would not have been able to go to a sporting goods store and purchase a shotgun without having to go through a lot of red tape,” said Workman, referring to Sen. Lautenberg’s similar proposal in 2007.
Workman said, “To be automatically denied a civil right without benefit of trial or some kind of adjudication- if this were any other civil right I think the ACLU and a lot of civil liberties organizations would be screaming at the top of their lungs.”
Virginian lawyer and author of the brand-new political thriller “Montanamo” Chris Leibig raised further criticism of the terrorist watch list in a phone interview. “A terrorist watch-list is not like a criminal history report,” he said. “The criteria for being on the list are secret. Only specific branches of the government know what it takes to get on the list. The list would give the government the sole power to deny someone a gun without the person knowing about it. There’s no due process at all.”
Asked if he believed the terrorist watch list was effective, Leibig admitted, “I feel sure that attacks have been prevented, partially through use of the list…it may be an important tool. What it shouldn’t be used for is to deny people Constitutional rights.”
Senators Lautenberg and King are pushing along with Mayor Bloomberg and other mayors to have this legislation put on the board in both the House and the Senate. If they succeed it will become illegal for anyone suspicious enough to warrant being placed on the terrorist watch list to purchase a firearm.
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