You can learn continually from listening to others, so each month I will give you a few LIFE LESSONS, as I term it.  – HT

Moses Samuels single handedly carried on the hundreds of years’ tradition of a continuing Burmese Jewish community, and passed on this year at age 65. His son Sammy Samuels now is the voice of the community, and will be opening the most beautiful Congregation Mesmuah Yeshuah synagogue, where he was married this year, for the High Holiday services. I was there, I met them, got to know them over the years, and they are true Jewish heroes of our people.

Dennis Hamill wrote in the Daily News, “Mister Mayor, tear down this mall! Hizzoner should heed the call of Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. to level the Times Square pedestrian mall.” Humbug! What a terrible idea, essentially said Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance, who has built Times Square with vision to become a mecca for major happenings and a regular stop for tourists. A magical New York place. We await the news of how the Mickeys, the Batmen, the Naked Cowboy and Painted Women of Times Square will sensibly be dealt with, short of tearing up the Plaza and reintroducing traffic. Stay tuned.

1. Mayoral Control of NYC Education

This is about children, and the public process.  Not  neo-progressive,not neo-liberal, not conservative.  Increases in scores that leave children at 33% passing grade levels is failure in my thinking, and the test of Mayoral control over the past decade has not succeeded.  As we continue to have top-notch Borough Presidents, as well as a Public Advocate and Comptroller of quality, let’s add them to the Mayor’s leadership in the schools, and I recommend we now move to the future by restoring a Central Board of Education, or a close version of it, with elected Community School Councils that parents and other community activists can actively participate in, and a new  openness of information for public awareness. My recommendation for the NYS Legislature 2016 to enact, with the intention of having an effective date for the incoming new Administration in 2018.

2. Societal Costs of Shootings

During one Summer weekend, there were twelve shootings in Brooklyn, and aside from the outrageous human cost of pain, suffering, and  loss, society is forced to pick up the tab for medical care and hospitalization, criminal justice proceedings from cops and investigators to courtroom proceedings to incarceration costs, and on and on.  Millions of dollars to cover these uncivilized acts. Don’t know about you, I would rather see this money go in to after-school programs  for children, and other positive programs  for uplifting this City.  I clearly see that it is not just about the victims of the shootings, it’s about all of us.  Time to hold families of these violent offenders, communities and community leaders responsible for this lawlessness.  And we all need to do better, to create a safer and gentler society.

3. Change We Can Believe In

I am a Hillary person.  Yet, I thank Donald Trump, for he has awakened us, that speaking out Truth to Power, saying what’s on your mind, making clear that political correctness is an impediment to open discussions, may well be creating a renewed path to a better society, and a better America.  For there is a possibility of a much better America, an excellent   America, not a dumbing down America, as Senator Moynihan once  called it, not a second-class America.  The Obama years have put money into the pockets of the top 1%, increased the   dependency of 50%, and demoralized the remaining 49%.  And he has divided America in a way I have not seen it for decades.  Overseas, he has created a new world in his image, denigrating the excellence of America , increasing opportunities for societies not in America’s traditional image, and putting our leadership in jeopardy, and the security of our traditional friends in doubt.  As the end of the Obama Administration approaches, we all recognize the importance of the 2016 elections to take us in a new direction. I remain a Hillary person for I know her potential to lead America to a better future, and to create a fresh, new, more enlightened Democratic Party that will be important for America’s future nationally and locally.  There is a new challenge for America ahead, and we all have a most important role in meeting that challenge.

GUEST BLOG

NOTES by Brian Gaisford

Introductory comment by Howard Teich

Brian is the owner of Hemingway African Galleries in New York City, a leading advocate for actions to insure the survival of the African lion, elephant and Hippopotamus, and safari guide in Southern Africa.  Not only have I purchased several amazing stone sculptures from him, I have been absorbed by his profound commitment to the survival of wildlife in Southern Africa, and so I share these notes he gave me to read after his most recent visit to Southern Africa on the status of the Hippopotamus.  Their website is:  www.hemingwayafricangallery.com 

Subject: Rhino War

I am just back from S. Africa and Mozambique . We were taking a close look into who and why our rhinos are being slaughtered. We interviewed farmers, officials, hunters, veterinarians, police, army units, trackers, guides  and dedicated rhino security units in the field, Walked miles in the parks and along the Mozambique border. People across the world are calling the most recent rhino slaughter the Rhino War. Here I will outline the reasons why the rhinos are currently losing this war and why there is little hope in sight.

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1. 9-11 First Responders Keep Dying of Cancer

Bottom line, the ongoing treatment regimen being used on First-Responders at the 9-11 ground zero site needs to be looked at, and alternative and complementary medical approaches considered for inclusion in the Zareiga Bill. The compounds created by the collapse of the Twin Towers collapse were deadly and new in many cases, and regular medical treatment will, and does not work. The First Responders deserve a chance of recovering.

2. Take A Spin In Space

Well, notwithstanding the recent accident, finally we astronaut wannabes will be able to have our tour in space for anywhere from $95,000 to $50 million. Yes, space tourism is on the way. Fortunately for many of us, we can have a land-based mini-space experience at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL, with simulators, and a taste of weightlessness. There are available programs in Spring, 2016, and I think I may sign up.

3. Religious Liberty, Not Public Discrimination

Religious liberty, a basic foundational principle of our country is under attack in America, as intolerance towards religion has become chic in some communities here. Yet, in taking a stand, there is no place for crossing the line intoan excuse for discrimination against others. We continue to face this difficult issue where balance based on opportunity, not limitation, is necessary.

1. As a Country, We Can Do Better

I am not particularly different than so many other Americans, I have no doubt that we can do better as a country, and I turn to our elected officials to meet the challenge in this next two years.  They are there to govern and legislate, not just raise money and win for themselves and their party, and serve special interests.  I did my fair share of supporting Democratic national candidates in the 2014 Election Cycle, and I am disappointed and angry.

2. Time to Have Term Limits in Congress

Too many in Washington DC now just go with the flow.  It’s more of a monotone in the Democratic Party, one voice led by consultant’s opinion polls rather than a newly energized team making a difference for America.  Term limits would help, and I call for them now, and I would recommend twelve years for both the House and the Senate.  In 2016, I would like to see this implemented voluntarily if not passed, or by challenge of all those having served more than twelve years.

3. Great Nations Keep Their Word

Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian Has an important exhibit in Washington, DC, Nation to Nation:
Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations.  History written from the Native perspective, clarifying ongoing tribal land issues that need be resolved by the United States government   Real treaties, with lasting implications, and an overlying message:  Great Nations Keep Their Word.

4. Selfishness and Greed  – the 1%

The 99% want to place sole ownership of selfishness and greed with the 1%.  Well, maybe so, and yet, time that the 99% look into the mirror.  Too many are self-satisfied, and doing little for America, not carrying their weight, while the 1% may be making more than their fair share contribution. President Kennedy’s words, listen to them all (paraphrased), “Ask what you can do for our country, not what your country can do for you.”

This recent election was so significant, I am devoting all this month’s items to my reaction to it, as we move towards the most important 2016 Election Cycle.

1. As a Country, We Can Do Better

I am not particularly different than so many other Americans, I have no doubt that we can do better as a country, and I turn to our elected officials to meet the challenge in this next two years.  They are there to govern and legislate, not just raise money and win for themselves and their party, and serve special interests.  I did my fair share of supporting Democratic national candidates in the 2014 Election Cycle, and I am disappointed and angry.

2. Time to Have Term Limits in Congress

Too many in Washington DC now just go with the flow.  It’s more of a monotone in the Democratic Party, one voice led by consultant’s opinion polls rather than a newly energized team making a difference for America.  Term limits would help, and I call for them now, and I would recommend twelve years for both the House and the Senate. In 2016, I would like to see this implemented voluntarily if not passed, or by challenge of all those having served more than twelve years.

3. The Democratic Party Must Be New Again

To the largest degree, President Obama’s policies have been rejected by America, and that’s clear from this election.  The Democrats looking to 2016 must develop a new optimism for America, not just based on equity and helping the poor, but also a grand message of lifting everyone to be a participant in this amazing experiment called America.  The economy has made quite an amazing recovery, and yet has left too many hard-working people behind.

4. I’ve Been a Clinton Person, But….

For the good of the Democratic Party and the country, we need to have fresh, new visions for America.  I have been a Clinton person since 1991, and supporting the President in his ’92 and ’96 runs, as well as supporting Hillary in ’08.  I still fully admire Hillary, and do not think it best for the Party nor America that our new policies be just her new policies.  I would suggest we launch National Party Debates/Forums of new Democratic leaders for 2016 and beyond, whether candidates for President or not.  We need to hear those new voices for a New America.

Meriania aurata, a tree species we discovered in what is now EcoMinga’s Rio Zunac Reserve. Flower is large, about 7 cm across. Photo: Lou Jost/EcoMinga

I’m compiling a list of all the plant and animal species discovered by our reserve manager Juan Pablo Reyes, our director Javier Robayo, myself, and our students and co-investigators in and around our EcoMinga reserves near Banos, Ecuador. In this first installment, I’ll deal with the plants. (I’ll be saving some major as-yet-unpublished plant discoveries for a later post.) Nearly all of these species are still known only from our immediate area and nowhere else in the world. Adding these new discoveries to the previously-known locally endemic plants of the area, there are now more plant species unique to this area (the upper Rio Pastaza watershed) than there are in the world-famous Galapagos Islands! This is one reason why we are so committed to its conservation.

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1. Liberty Enlightening the World

With children coming over our Southern border, we need be reminded of Emma Lazarus’ words on the Statue of Liberty, “Send these, the homeless, tempest tossed to me, I lift my lamp besides the golden door.” Though there are no such words welcoming these youngsters from Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador, we must have an open mind, and remember the original name of Lady Liberty, “Liberty Enlightnening the World”, for America must continue to live true to this message to the world.

2. Children in Central America

While we are on the subject of those children, why are we not spending more time caring about the conditions in those Central American countries that are forcing these people out. Not a word is spoken in media, and not a cent is spent! It is time for the United States to devote time and attention in our Americas’ hemisphere to make every child safe in his/her home country, and to create a better future for them. That’s also an American responsibility.

3. A Message of America’s Founders

All men (people) are created equal, with certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Along with these rights come responsibilities. Liberty is not license, it has built-in expectations of a way of being that makes it work, not a free-for-all. Even the pursuit of happiness had service to others as an underlying expectation. Too many in America are self-interested today, and America was founded on public good. If America is to continue on the path of being a grand experiment, a model to the world, we citizens need to heed the Founders’ messages.

4. On Making Demands for America

Yes, we have to uplift people who have fallen, and yet we must have the intention in America that everyone must give something back to our country (and I am not talking of taxes). Why should not everyone in America have to give some time of service, whether by reinstituting a National Draft perhaps for American Service, or mandating an annual community take-on during one’s life?