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THE FOLLOWING LETTER APPEARED IN THE MOST RECENT GAZETTE
To the editor:
Human nature is social: whether in high school or in retirement-- we want to be part of the “in” group. The flip side of that is the necessity for an “out” group. We need to have a foil. Whether that is an opposing school football team, an opposing political party, or community members whose failure to follow “The Science” is killing the rest of us.
The Nassau County court ruling about masks was met with predictable outrage, including from our Governor. The Attorney General mobilized the might of her office, rushed a mound of paperwork to the Appellate Division, and order has been restored (at least temporarily).
The official statement from the Governor noted the “vulnerable New Yorkers” protected by the “critical tools” of mask mandates. The Attorney General proclaimed that “protecting the health of New Yorkers…is our top priority.” NYC Mayor Eric Adams repeated the mantra: “we need to follow the science.”
The political narrative is as heartwarming as it is false. The judge did not say that requiring masks violates the State Constitution, nor is the judge opposed to a mask requirement. In fact he said what needed to be done: “While the intentions of Commissioner Bassett and Governor Hochul appear to be well-aimed squarely at doing what they believe is right to protect the citizens of New York State, they must take their case to the State Legislature.”
All of us have gotten those taxpayer-paid campaign advertisements from Assemblymember Galef and Senator Harckham. They list dozens of laws passed on matters great and small. They spend their days pondering such weighty matters as whether it should be illegal for a 20 year-old to use a tanning bed, but they cannot pass a law requiring face masks to prevent people dropping in the street from covid?
The strategy of fake outrage rather than fixing the problem made sense at the national level. The US Supreme Court ruling striking down OSHA’s mask rule was much like the Nassau County ruling: a correct separation-of-powers analysis which would have been uncontroversial in a less partisan time. The social media outrage at SCOTUS made sense, because it gave us another opportunity to smack down those dastardly Republicans seeking to block a wise Latina who discovered federal police power (which lesser jurists say does not exist).
New York does not have many Republicans left, dastardly or otherwise. The same political party that the Governor and the Attorney General are members of is also the party that controls both houses of the Legislature. The Governor and the AG can’t blame a county court judge or Donald Trump for this.
It has now been more than two years of an “emergency.” Government briefings started in January 2020 and the guidance to wear a mask dates back to the April 3, 2020 White House briefing. Now think back over the last two years, and all of those mailers you have gotten from our Albany representatives. Did any of those tell about how Ms. Galef or Mr. Harckham got a mask law passed?
I understand that Ms. Galef and Mr. Harckham are very important people with full schedules. But they do have some time in-between the breakfast fundraiser and the lunch fundraiser. I assume they use the time to count the cash and stroke the lobbyists. My thought is that they take one of those interregna and introduce a bill on the floor. Unlike weighty matters like suntan beds, there is no dispute as to the necessity of requiring every New Yorker to wear a mask. So it should be a quick floor vote, get in an Uber, and drive over to the Governor’s Mansion for signature. Boom. Done. And still time to get to the bank and deposit those campaign donations before the dinner fundraiser.
If there is one thing we have learned from this pandemic, it is that many New Yorkers are still looking for Daddy and Mommy to be the boss. But that is not how representative democracy works. We tried that with the late unlamented Andrew Cuomo. Why do we think it will go any better with a different autocrat?
Our state legislators are paid a good salary for a cushy office job. And in New York, we don’t expect them to do much actual productive work. If Ms. Galef and Mr. Harckham are unsure as to how to do their job, they might consider hiring a $6500 per month consultant to do their job. I hear that is the latest fad in local politics.
--Paul Steinberg
Croton-on-Hudson
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NOT YET--GOV. HOLCHUL NOT READY TO LIFT MASK EMERGENCY MANDATE FOR SCHOOLS, SHE TELLS OFFICIALS, LOHUD & YOUNGKIN, VIRGINIA, WHY ARE DEMOCRATS STILL MASKING KIDS? https://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2022/02/not-yet-gov-holchul-not-ready-to-lift.htm
AND UPDATED AGAIN https://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2022/02/gov-lifts-business-mask-mandate.html
I should say more but I often don't. Thanks Mr. S for your letters. You say what I can't. That's how far things have gotten but will hopefully change soon.
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