SANITY RULES: HIKIND DELIGHTED BY COURT’S DECISION TO ALLOW BIG GULPS

NEWS FROM
ASSEMBLYMAN DOV HIKIND

July 30, 2013

Contact: Yehudah Meth                                                         For Immediate Release

718-853-9616 (office)
973-945-4903 (cell)

SANITY RULES: HIKIND DELIGHTED BY COURT’S DECISION TO ALLOW BIG GULPS

ASKS BLOOMBERG NOT TO GO TO SUPREME COURT

“Sanity rules,” said Assemblyman Hikind (D-Brooklyn) reacting to an appeals court ruling today that New York City's Board of Health had exceeded its authority and acted unconstitutionally in trying to limit the size of soft drinks served in city restaurants. In a unanimous opinion, the four-judge panel of the State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division said the Board of Health acted too much like a legislature when it created the limit, which would have stopped sales of non-diet soda and other sugar-laden beverages in containers bigger than 16 ounces. The judges wrote that while the board had the power to ban "inherently harmful" foodstuffs from being served to the public, sweetened beverages didn't fall into that category.

“I’m very interested in health,” said Assemblyman Hikind. “I just don’t believe we need government regulating the size of the sodas people can purchase. That’s going a wee bit too far. I hope the mayor let’s this go now.”

ASSEMBLY MEMBER DOV HIKIND ENDORSES KEN THOMPSON FOR BROOKLYN DISTRICT ATTORNEY

I am proud to endorse Ken Thompson because he is the best choice for the Jewish community and all the people of Brooklyn to be our next District Attorney. It's time for a change. As a prosecutor and attorney in private practice, Ken has a proven track record of fighting for one standard of justice. Ken is a true friend to our community who honors the cultures that make Brooklyn great -- I have no doubt that he will be an outstanding District Attorney.

In recent days, Thompson has also won the support of former candidate Abe George and New York City's largest labor union, 1199/SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which represents 220,000 members in New York City and over 100,000 members and retirees in Brooklyn alone.

The son of one of the first female NYPD officers to patrol the city, Ken Thompson has fought to ensure equal justice and equal protection for everyone throughout his career. As a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, he investigated and prosecuted a wide range of criminal cases. He was part of the legal team that delivered justice for Abner Louima, who suffered some of the most horrific acts of police brutality ever committed in the history of New York City. In private practice, Ken has stood up for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, and employment discrimination to ensure that their voices were not drowned out by the wealth or political connections of their abusers. 

For more information on Ken's campaign, visit: www.KenThompson4DA.com

HIKIND CHARGES CREDIT-CARD COMPANIES WITH AIDING AND ABETTING HATE GROUPS, HOLOCAUST DENIERS

NEWS FROM
ASSEMBLYMAN DOV HIKIND

July 30, 2013

Contact: Yehudah Meth                                                         For Immediate Release

718-853-9616 (office)
973-945-4903 (cell)

HIKIND CHARGES CREDIT-CARD COMPANIES WITH AIDING AND ABETTING HATE GROUPS, HOLOCAUST DENIERS

INSISTS AMEX/VISA/MASTERCARD/DISCOVER/PAYPAL PULL SUPPORT FROM PROPAGANDISTS

HIKIND TO CREDIT CARD COMPANIES: “STOP PARTNERING WITH HATE GROUPS”

Assemblyman Hikind (D-Brooklyn) is calling on the major credit card companies to withdraw their support from numerous hate groups operating in the United States and abroad. It was discovered that eight Holocaust denial organizations are currently selling racist, anti-Semitic and Holocaust Denial products (books, videos) via websites through credit card sales.

“Unfortunately, it is no longer shocking in this day and age to find those who deny the Holocaust—those who espouse openly racist, hateful ideologies,” said Assemblyman Hikind. “What is shocking is to find prestigious credit card companies doing business with them and enabling these groups to raise money to spread their hateful messages.”

The Holocaust Denial organizations offering credit card sales are:

- Institute for Historical Review (Amex, Visa, MC, Discover)
- Noontide Press (Amex, Visa, MC, Discover)
- Inconvenient History (Visa, MC)
- Barnes Review/Foundation for Economic Liberty (Amex, Visa, MC, Discover)
- Irving Books/Focal Point Press (Amex, Visa, MC, Discover, Paypal)
- The International Conspiratological Association (Amex, Visa, MC, Discover, Paypal)
- Castle Hill Publishers and CODAH (Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust) (Visa, MC)

Some of the many anti-Semitic and Holocaust-denial books sold by these organizations include Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, The ‘Gas Chambers’ of Dachau, Mauthausen and Hartheim, which states that “none of these facilities were ever used, or could have been used, as lethal ‘gas chambers’” and The Rudolf Report which states, “The alleged gas chambers of Auschwitz could not have existed.”

“As someone whose mother went to Auschwitz while her own mother went to the gas chambers, I find it immoral that respected banking institutions can partner with these hate groups,” said Assemblyman Hikind. Hikind has reached out to AmEx, Visa, MasterCard, Discover Financial Services and Paypal asking them to cease their business relationships with these and other hate groups, and to better monitor who they do business with.

In 2009, Assemblyman Hikind brought attention to the relationship between Holocaust denier David Irving and American Express when the Assemblyman discovered that Irving was accepting AmEx payments for tickets to his ongoing book tour. Assemblyman Hikind drafted a letter urging the company to “rescind Mr. Irving's merchant agreement” and one dozen of the Assemblyman’s fellow elected officials also signed the letter. American Express complied and Hikind applauded the company for “doing the right thing."

Anthony Weiner & Jeff Jacoby on The Dov Hikind Show

Join us this Saturday evening at 11:00 pm -- my special guests will be mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner and nationally acclaimed Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby.

HIKIND DEMANDS LIBRARIES REMOVE CHILDREN’S ACCESS TO PORNOGRAPHIC MATERIALS

NEWS FROM
ASSEMBLYMAN DOV HIKIND

July 10, 2013

Contact: Yehudah Meth                                                       For Immediate Release
718-853-9616 (office)
 

HIKIND DEMANDS LIBRARIES REMOVE CHILDREN’S ACCESS TO PORNOGRAPHIC MATERIALS

Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) is insisting that New York City Public Libraries take more responsibility in preventing children from accessing pornographic materials currently found throughout city branches. In a press conference this morning, the Assemblyman will be joined by concerned community parents who were shocked to learn that even the smallest children can easily obtain inappropriate materials that no retailer would ever allow a child to hold.

“I am not asking for censorship of any books for adults who want them,” said Assemblyman Hikind. “The issue is removing such books from the ready access of children. I am certain that the overwhelming majority—if not unanimity—of parents in our city would be appalled to find such books readily available to their children.”

Following complaints by constituents, Assemblyman Hikind’s staff surveyed numerous branches of the public library in Brooklyn where they found such inappropriate titles as Best Gay Erotica, Lux’s Practical Erotica Adventure, and Girls Who Score: Hot Lesbian Erotica, all clearly within reach of small children.

Under the library’s current system, children can check out any library book once they are 13 years of age—or even younger if parents did not realize such material was available when library cards were created for their children. Books can also be automatically checked out without the likelihood of any interaction with an adult librarian.

“Because of the way fiction books are placed on library shelves, inappropriate books often end up on the very bottom shelves, clearly within reach of the smallest children,” said Hikind. “This kind of content would never be allowed in schools nor placed within a child’s reach by retailers. Certainly our public libraries can do more to keep such books out of the reach of unsuspecting children.”

In a letter to the heads of New York City’s Public Libraries, the Assemblyman asked for immediate action to better protect the city’s children from inappropriate books their parents would never want them to see, let alone expect to find in the public library within easy reach of a child.