With so many things going on, I finally managed to read New York State Sen. Jack Martins’ column of July 5, 2024 titled “New Yorkers deserve better than DA Alvin Bragg.” Martins starts by saying about DA Bragg, “If ever there was an ideological demagogue shilling a political agenda, he’d be a poster child.” Martins makes that claim after DA Bragg “dropped all the charges against protesters that had been arrested in April for taking over Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall.”
These “protesters openly chanted pro-terrorist, anti-Jewish and anti-American hatred for the world to see” that “disrupted the education of thousands of students” and forced the cancellation of graduation commencement ceremonies. “Nearly half of those arrested were not even students, but professional agitators” who “seized a historic building, held it for days, and caused untold property damage.”  As for the consequences for the multitude of crimes, hatred and chaos, there were none as District Attorney Bragg claimed there wasn’t enough evidence.
Martins goes on to say that “everything you and I saw for days on end with our own eyes – everything that millions of people saw somehow was all a mistake.” As for Bragg, “he routinely releases violent repeat offenders who go right back out onto our streets.” Martins concludes that Bragg “is clearly beholden to a political ideology and placed that ideology ahead of his oath to protect New Yorkers and prosecute crimes. He has forgotten what it means to be a New Yorker.”
According to Martins, millions of people saw it. I wonder how many people outside of New York City saw it? But there was an event, the magnitude of which dwarfed the Columbia protests, that hundreds of millions of people saw, not only in the United States but all over the world. Those hundreds of millions of people had their eyes glued to their television screens on Jan. 6, as a mob of supporters of then -U.S. president Donald Trump attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., preventing a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden.
Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four police officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months. Damages caused by the attackers exceeded $2.7 million. More than 1,265 individuals have been charged and Justice Department prosecutors have secured more than 718 guilty pleas – including 213 who pleaded to felonies that include assaults on police officers, obstructing law enforcement and seditious conspiracy.
And Trump wants to pardon most of those who were convicted. A convicted felon wants to protect fellow convicted felons. Trump wants to fix government? “Fix” is the proper word.
Seeing is believing. “The eyes have it,” but since State Sen. Martins follows his leader, Dictator-wannabe Donald Trump, he is one of many Republican office holders who have become blind and pretend Jan. 6 was a fabrication and did not happen. It is clear that Mr. Martins is beholden to a political ideology and placed that ideology ahead of his own oath to follow the Constitution.
Mr. Martins has forgotten what it means to be an American. Lies! The current foundation of the Republican Party. Without truth, there can be no democracy.
Alvin Goldberg
Great Neck
