Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Golden's Silence on Security Hearings is Reaching a Critical Mass

Over a Week and No Report or Comment from State Senator-Chairman Martin Golden about his participation in "massive" hearing about "an even greater threat than nuclear war"


"Host" State Senator-Chairman Joseph A. Griffo did post an item about  the hearing after it was held  --  but that release wasn't picked up by "Co-host" Golden



I'm sure that things weren't intended to turn out this way for Brooklyn Republican State Senator Martin Golden.  He was going to get a trendy-sounding chairmanship of an arcane and very broadly defined "State Senate Select Committee on Science, Technology, Incubation & Entrepreneurship." From that point forward, I'm sure the plan was for it to be all lulus and bennies, and every inventor of a better mousetrap, computer app or online business beating a path to State Senator Golden's door (actually more important, that  their lobbyists and representatives beat a path to Golden's fundraisers).

There has been a little bump in the road for our State Senator from Bay Ridge  -- Golden has to actually do something in his new position.  No, he has to come up with a little more than just "do something" to justify his added staff and budget.  State Senator-Chairman Golden actually has to give an account of what he is doing as Chairman of the State Senate Select Committee on Science, Technology, Incubation & Entrepreneurship to show his constituents back home and the taxpayers of the State of New York that they are being well represented and getting their money's worth from their new "Chairman" and his new "Select Committee".

That's one of the reasons that I am harping on State Senator Golden's doing a little more about last week's "Public Hearing: Cybersecurity: Defending New York from cyber attacks" than posting an unannotated  four and a half hour (4 1/2 hr) video of the hearing with my State Senator sitting out in left field at the end of the line of six state senator-chairmen.

I don't believe that any of the pre-hearing buildup of the hearings about cybersecurity and defending New York from cyber attacks was in any way hyperbolic or overheated.  The threats are as real as any posed by terrorists or any other of our nation's and society's enemies.  And, their targets can include anything from the water we drink and the food we eat to the sewage we expel, with everything that goes into paying for it, powering it and moving it along. That's why seeing these hearings pass without comment or even mention seems more than merely perfunctory indolent nonfeasance.  It's beginning to look like this is becoming an incredible malfeasance of a necessary and profound duty.

Maybe, the goings on at the hearings on November 18th were too deep and complex for State Senator Golden to present to the public in a simple and understandable fashion -- that's why Golden has a staff  --  to put stuff like that together  in a simple and understandable fashion. Another participant  in the hearings, State Senator Joseph A. Griffo  issued a brief release about the hearings last week. Golden didn't even republish his own version of the same remarks. It's up to Golden or somebody high in his organization to whip the staff to do the job of making Marty Golden look like he's doing his job and not being guilty of a possible "incredible malfeasance of a necessary and profound duty."

Turnabout is fair play.  I'll use Golden's words about Brooklyn GOP Chairman Craig Eaton against the State Senator himself.  If State Senator Golden isn't up to handling the duties of Chairman of the State Senate Select Committee on Science, Technology, Incubation & Entrepreneurship, then he needs to step down from that position.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Incubation?

I havent heard of that one since I traded my Ice Box in for a refrigerator

Anonymous said...

Golden chairing Science and Technology?

His legislation will be available on 8-track tape.

Anonymous said...

This is all a big circle jerk by Golden and the coalition running the senate in Albany. Golden's new Science and Technology Select Committee has as members on it, Gallivan, Griffo and Valesky. Those three along with Golden were four of the six Senate chairmen who presided over the hearing upstate about defending New York City from cyber attacks. If anybody was in charge it was probably Griffo, who you said is the only one to do a press release after the hearing, because the hearing was held in his home town, and that says a lot.

Anonymous said...

Golden gets beat by a candidate from Marine Park.
Hes already proven hes not viable in Bay Ridge.

Anonymous said...

The dem who runs against Golden has to have his or her own money. The dem senate comm is bankrupt and Seddio has a deal with Golden.

Galewyn Massey said...

Let the Dems worry about themselves.

This is a Republican blog, and the main discussion right now for a challenge to Golden needs to be about getting somebody in the GOP that everybody opposed to Golden can get behind.

The current crop of pretenders to the thrown all carry substantial baggage. So recruitment seems to still be at the top of the list. The anti-Golden wing of Brooklyn GOP needs to flesh out slates with at least two (2) state senate candidates -- one against Golden and one against Simcha Felder and about six or seven strong assembly candidates. And if no deal can be worked out with Grimm.....

Galewyn Massey said...

Get a look at State Senator Golden on the video at http://www.nysenate.gov/committee/science-technology-incubation-and-entrepreneurship. track along to 48:40 where Golden says this: "I'm one that doesn't parch...um ... I'm from Brooklyn [everybody laughs]... It's not so much worried about the gangs and the rogue nations... it's the 15 year olds and the lone wolves that are going to cause us the damage, and how do you regulate against them..."

Anonymous said...

A GOP primary against Senator for life Golden.
Ha Ha ha !!!
This blog amuses me so.

Anonymous said...

Well, the last GOP Senator to represent Bay Ridge lost his seat in a Primary, so ... it's not as crazy as you might think.

Golden's voting record is ripe for attack from the center and right.

The recent battle for county leader proved that Republicans are not shy about criticizing Golden in public. If he continues this nonsense, he deserves what he gets.

Galewyn Massey said...

I live to amuse you, whoever you are. I gives me... AH ! FORTE ! AH, AH ! FORTISSIMO ! AH ! AH ! UH ! CRESCENDO !

My famed "One Handed Sonata for a Handy Instrument"

Anonymous said...

Wasn't he closely aligned with Clorinda Annarumo and the Seergy Club, and didn't he wind up completely alienated from the Brooklyn GOP organization and rank-and-file just like Golden is right now ?

Anonymous said...

Senator Golden had a GOP primary and he got 81% of the vote.

You malcontented fools are so amusing.

Anonymous said...

How many clubs and leaders backed that candidate and how many backed Golden ? 2014 will be very different.

Anonymous said...

In September 2004, State Senator Martin Golden defeated, Jessica C. Sutliff, a Republican challenger in the Republican Primary garnering 3,483 votes or 88.83% of the total primary vote. At the time, Golden was still young, beautiful and popular.

Galewyn Massey said...

BACKFILL: THE "EVEN IF YOU CAN'T AGREE WITH ME --- AT LEAST SAY THAT YOU DO" EDITION

OR MAYBE THIS IS WHY GOLDEN ISN'T REPORTING ON WHAT HAPPENED AT THE HEARING

During an interesting spot in proceedings of the "Public Hearing: Cybersecurity: Defending New York from cyber attacks", State Senator Golden seemed to have a little rough sledding with the Superintendent of the New York State Police Joseph D'Amico, perhaps the most impressive witness to testify at the hearing, and a former rising star in the NYPD. It would seem oddly so, in that both Superintendent D'Amico and State Senator Golden are former officers of the NYPD.

Golden started by asking D'Amico a question about Federal funding for security for "landmarks and infrastructure" and it went down hill from there (See the video at the State Senate Select Committee Website [http://www.nysenate.gov/committee/science-technology-incubation-and-entrepreneurship ]).

At one point Golden was just giving "advice" -- and the Superintendent really wanted no part of it. It seemed that Golden wanted D'Amico to commit to supporting subcommittees for banking and insurance on The New York State Cybersecurity Advisory Board. Our Brooklyn State Senator was then obviously carrying water for Banking Chairman Griffo, the real man in charge of the hearing, who didn't confront Superintendent D'Amico at all.

The state police superintendent more or less said there are too many committees and advisory boards already, and there isn't any need for Golden's and Griffo's "Subcommittee for Banking and Insurance" on the Cyberseccurity Advisory Board. D'Amico specifically expressed his concern that the focus of Cybersecurity Advisory Board would be "watered down."

In response to that, at 1:13:13 Golden said this to the State Police Superintendent: "...The banking and insurance industry is obviously much different and both agencies are much different and both such organizations... I can't come up with the word... both different industries are different to each other..."

And lastly, Golden finished off by thanking State Police Superintendent D'Amico, but also, almost of course, Golden misstated Superintendent D'Amico's title as "Commissioner."

Several times during the video of the hearing State Senator Golden referred to State Senator Joseph Griffo as "Mr. Chairman" most notably during his earlier discussion with Benjamin Lawsky, Superintendent of the NYS Department of Finacial Services and Co-Chair of Governor Cuomo's Cyberadvisory Board. Before he finished with Mr. Lawsky, Golden also added that Police Commissioner Kelly might be useful as a member or advisor to the Cyberadvisory oard, because he'd soon have the time to do it.

Much further along in the proceedings, right before he left the hearing early, Golden again referred to Senator Griffo as "Mr. Chairman." This was when Golden was mentioning to Griffo, "If you ever set up your subcommittees inside the Cyberadvisory Board." That all happened during State Senator Golden's questioning of the witness Josiah Wilkerson, the Senior Counsel to Nationwide Insurance Companies,

Anonymous said...

In honor of Thanksgiving maybe you will make a post of why you are thankful for Senator Golden....

Anonymous said...

Golden has never faced a primary ooponent that will attack him from the far right and has a credible resume both political and nonpolitical.

2014 will indeed be different.

Galewyn Massey said...

Been there -- done that !

[See my Thanksgiving Day post above]

Galewyn Massey said...

"Critical Mass..." "...Critical Mass..." "...Critical Mass"

Does our Chairman-State Senator understand why that term and concept is in the title of this post above ? It's because the words that he utters have meaning -- equally so, the words that he doesn't utter. He might speak in Rochester or Rome and then be silent in Brooklyn -- all of it moves toward a "critical mass"....

Likewise, the totality of what Golden has done in office and what he is all about politically moves toward a "critical mass" -- some time in 2014 might well be the critical moment when critical mass is achieved.