Hugo Rizzo who raises money for research in their memory. Photo from Hugo Rizzo
One Northport resident found inspiration through loss.
Hugo Rizzo lost two brothers to lung cancer, and has since devoted his time to raising money for lung cancer treatment research.
“Mothers don’t deserve to bury their children,” Rizzo said through tears in a phone interview. “I had to tell my mother both times that her sons died. It has been up to me both times. Nobody deserves to get lung cancer.”
Rizzo said his family’s struggle is what makes him so passionate about being involved in cancer research organizations.
Carlos Rizzo who died from lung cancer at 60. Photo from Hugo Rizzo
He also touched on the stigma he believes is associated with lung cancer patients, and how he wants to help change that.
“The stigma is that ‘you brought it on yourself,’” Rizzo said, “that it’s a smoker’s disease.” He said he feels this assumption is unfair, and “lung cancer patients share the same fears as colon and brain cancer patients.”
Rizzo said lung cancer is one of the most underfunded cancers in terms of research. According to LUNGevity Foundation, lung cancer is the leading cancer death, but only receives six percent of federal research dollars. That comes out to $2,366 per life lost, compared to $24,167 per life lost to breast cancer, and $14,510 to prostate cancer. LUNGevity also reported 60 to 65 percent of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers, and 10 to 15 percent of lung cancer patients have never smoked in their lives.
This year marks the first time Rizzo is part of the organizing committee for non-profit Free to Breathe’s Lung Cancer 5K in New York City and Brooklyn. The event is on Sunday, Oct. 30, starting at 10:30 a.m. at Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn. Rizzo said he is proud to help and wants to make sure the event is fun.
“This shouldn’t be a morose event, it should be hopeful, hopeful that we find better treatment,” he said.
The event includes a 5K run, walk, and kids run, as well as other activities, including face painting, a magic show and a yoga warm-up. There will also be guest speakers and a heroes wall to help show young children they are just as much heroes for being involved as the superheroes they read about.
Rudy Rizzo, who died from lung cancer at 64. Photo from Hugo Rizzo
Free To Breathe is a nonprofit organization made up of lung cancer survivors, advocates, researchers, health care professionals and industry leaders, all working to raise money for lung cancer research, increase the number of lung cancer patients participating in clinical trials, and build and empower the lung cancer community.
Rizzo said the nonprofit donates 83 percent of the money it raises to research and the development of programs.
“Before I get involved, I make sure [an organization] fits well with me,” he said. “And they give back such a high amount of what they fundraise.”
This year Rizzo said they are expecting between 400 and 500 participants, and are hoping to raise between $45,000 and $60,000. He said they were able to raise more than $40,000 last year.
“This is a movement that is growing,” he said. “If I can do my part to help others, to make sure they don’t go through what my brothers went through, then that is time well invested.”
To find out more information on Free to Breathe’s Lung Cancer 5K or to donate, visit www.freetobreathe.org.
Down Payment Assistance Program to help 35 families
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Legislator Kara Hahn congratulate down payment recipients in Port Jefferson. Photo from Steve Bellone's office
By Donna Newman
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) recently announced the extension of the Suffolk County Down Payment Assistance Program, which assists first-time homebuyers with funds for a down payment to help make the “American Dream” of homeownership a reality.
Assistance will provide up to $10,000 in grant funding to eligible first-time homebuyers — helping an additional 35 Suffolk County families. Since the program’s inception, Suffolk County has helped more than 1,700 families with down payments on their first homes.
Applications are now being accepted through Nov. 30. Residents may download the application through the Community Development tab on the County’s website, www.suffolkcountyny.gov.
Applications will be accepted by mail only and may also be requested by telephone from the Community Development Office: 631-853–5705.
Bellone stressed that qualified Suffolk County residents must purchase a home within the consortium area. They will have 90 days from the date of issuance of the Purchase Certificate to submit a fully executed Contract of Sale to the Community Development Office — or 300 days to submit a fully executed contract of sale if the first-time homebuyer is purchasing a new construction home.
The consortium includes all of Suffolk County, excluding the Towns of Babylon and Islip.
Comprehensive details of the eligibility criteria, income guidelines and other elements of the program are available on the County website. Key eligibility elements include:
• An applicant must be a first-time homebuyer as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a household that has not owned a home during the three-year period immediately prior to the purchase of a residence with HOME funding.
• Prospective applicants must represent a low to moderate income household with an annual income not exceeding 80 percent of the area median income as determined by HUD, which includes an adjustment for family size; must have at least $3,000 banked at the time of application; have a documented minimum income of at least $30,000 and be able to obtain a mortgage from a qualified lender.
• The maximum appraised value of a single-family residence to be purchased within the Suffolk County Consortium HOME Selection Area cannot exceed $356,000 for existing housing or new construction. Single-family homes, condominiums and cooperative apartments (co-ops) are eligible.
Suffolk County Police 7th Squad detectives are investigating a crash that killed a woman in Rocky Point Sept. 22.
Rachel Stalter was operating her 2014 Toyota Highlander westbound on Route 25A when she approached an intersection and collided with a 1999 Chevrolet Malibu that was turning to go northbound onto Hallock Landing Road.
The passenger in the Chevrolet, Carol Sardegna, 65, of Rocky Point, was transported to John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson where she was pronounced dead. The driver of the Chevrolet, Colleen Gorman, 61, of Rocky Point, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Stalter, 47, of Port Jefferson Station, and her 12-year-old daughter were transported to Saint Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, where they were treated with non-life-threatening injuries.
Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks and the investigation is continuing. Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to contact 7th Squad detectives at 631-852-8752.
The Setauket Fire Department Auxiliary will hold a Pancake Breakfast fundraiser on Sunday, Sept. 25 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Setauket Fire Department, 9 Arrowhead Lane, East Setauket. Breakfast includes pancakes, bacon, sausage, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Themed baskets will be raffled off at $1 per ticket or 6 for $5. Grand raffle prize is a Weber Grill for $5 per ticket. Admission is $8 adults, $5 children ages 2 to 9, under 2 years free. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Stony Brook Children’s Hospital and the Suffolk County Volunteer Firefighter’s Burn Center. For more information, call Karen at 631-365-2518.
The cast of ‘Born This Way,” from left, John, Megan, Cristina, Sean, Rachel, Steven and Elena. Photo courtesy of A&E Network
Young adults with Down syndrome break free from limitations in award-winning show
In 2015, A&E Network collaborated with the team that produced “The Real World” to create an original docuseries called “Born This Way.” Just last week, the show took home an Emmy for outstanding unstructured reality program at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, beating out a field of nominees that included HBO’s “Project Greenlight,” Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” and CNN’s “United Shades of America,” among others.
“We have been overwhelmed and moved by the feedback we’ve received for ‘Born This Way’ from viewers, as well as people with disabilities and their family members,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president and head of programming at A&E Network, in a press release. “It’s rare to be able to present a show that changes the way we see the world; we believe ‘Born This Way’ is one of those shows.”
The docuseries also received two nominations for outstanding picture editing for reality programming but did not win in that category. Now in its second season, the reality show follows the lives of seven young adults — John (JT), Megan, Cristina, Sean, Rachel, Steven and Elena — with Down syndrome through the ups and downs of dating, employment and the quest for independence. It also gives their parents, who are also part of the cast, a chance to weigh in on the joys and challenges of raising someone with an intellectual disability.
Every episode is as inspiring as the last as many of the cast members look at their intellectual disability with a sense of unbridled optimism. According to Steven, it’s more like “Up Syndrome.”
Steven has mosaic Down syndrome and a contagious smile. His disability is rare and higher functioning, so he’s always felt stuck “in the middle” growing up. He seems to have found his a place at Leaps N Boundz, a Los Angeles community center for people with special needs. If you ask Steven, he is the “Matt Damon of the bunch.” Beyond his wit, he is also the most thoughtful of the group, always offering his friends insightful advice. His wisdom makes it easy to see past his disability and he is often the voice of reason, especially for his good friend Sean.
Sean has a harder time dealing with Down syndrome than Steven does. He can become very impatient with his parents when they try to talk to him about sensitive subjects like getting a job or moving out. When dealing with difficult emotions, he tends to snap and yell “end of discussion!” His parents are patient with him and Sean shows tremendous growth throughout the show. Beyond his angry little fits, Sean is an excellent golfer and a self-proclaimed “ladies man.” We see him transition from a flirt who struggles to respect the boundaries of other relationships to a gentleman looking for marriage.
Rachel, the adorable beam of sunshine with cheeks as rosy as her hair, will bashfully admit how “boy crazy” she is. She is always on the lookout for a serious relationship and is a little jealous that her brother is getting married first. Yet, she can’t help showing how excited she is to be the maid of honor at her first wedding. Rachel’s soft heart has been hurt in the past, which makes her family extra protective. In one scene, tears roll down Rachel’s round cheeks as her mother tells her how lucky any guy would be to date her. When the romantic Rachel isn’t singing along to an Adam Lambert song, she is consoling her friends with warm hugs and gentle compassion. She is great at helping her friends talk through their feelings and has been there from the beginning to support her friend Elena through some tough lessons.
The group at Leapz and Boundz discuss an upcoming white water rafting trip. Photo by Adam Taylor, courtesy of A&E Network
Elena’s life has been emotionally turbulent. She was born in Japan where her mother Hiromi admits that Elena “was a shame to the family” — even to Hiromi. Hiromi’s struggle to accept Elena parallels Elena’s struggle to accept herself. Though Elena acts out her emotional impulses and has a hard time containing some troublesome behavior, she is intelligent enough to understand her negative actions upon self-reflection. It takes a longer time for her mother to realize the part she plays in Elena’s outbursts. Elena likes to stand out and express her authentic self, just like her favorite dance partner, John Tucker.
JT is a performance artist with a sassy attitude and a love for rap and dance. Though he can be just as wild as Elena, JT has always been supported by the unconditional love of his mother Joyce. Joyce accepted JT before he was even born. She was told that her son was going to have Down syndrome and the doctor suggested abortion as an option. Right then and there, Joyce decided that regardless of her son’s disability, he was still her son; she would love him just the same. She does worry about his filter in social situations, sometimes. Like Elena, he tends to be impulsive and unpredictable.
Also like Elena, JT mainly just wants to be accepted for who he truly is. Joyce just doesn’t want people to see JT for his disability. She hopes that others see him for “this gift that God gave him” and not just “good for someone with Down syndrome.” She wishes people to see him the way she does, as a unique individual with the same rights as anyone else. JT doesn’t see himself as anyone who should be underestimated, either. “If you don’t want me to treat you different, don’t treat me different” he says. “I have hopes, dreams, everything that you have.” His hopes and dreams are especially grand, and his dedication to becoming a musical artist is impressive. His journey begins with his first performance and propels forward into making his first rap album and selling it.
From left, Elena and Megan share a tender moment. Photo by Adam Taylor, courtesy of A&E Network
He’s not the only one who aims for the stars, though. Megan is the founder of Megology, a tie-dye clothing company she runs with her mother Kris, who Megan calls her “Dream Maker.” Aside from being a successful entrepreneur, Megan also does keynote speeches for events. Her speech titled “Don’t Limit Me” has been seen as a beacon of hope for those who share her struggle.
“My goal is to inspire people with my work,” Megan proclaims with her usual ambition. If you thought her dreams ended there, think again. She also wants to move to Hollywood and pursue a career as a movie director. However, her mother and boyfriend live in Colorado.
Megan slowly learns what it will take to really make her dreams come true. Though moving to another state and pursuing the uncertainty of an ideal life would be a challenging task for any person, she comes to accept what steps she has to take. Over the course of the show, she is faced with obstacles, but never choose the option to give up on her dreams. Her mother is the one still struggling to let go.
“I think she’s … attached to me” Megan says while sitting next to Kris, who winces at the truth of the accusation. Regardless of the roadblocks, Megan relentlessly pushes toward her aspirations. In Season 2, Megan gets a job in Los Angeles with Best Buddies and decides to move out on her own. We see Kris go through the same situation as most mothers who fear letting their child go out on their own. Although Megan has a few more issues than most, like comprehending money or learning to do her own laundry, Kris is still experiencing a common milestone in any daughter-mother relationship. Kris evolves with Megan, and slowly becomes more open to Megan’s big, sometimes scary, dreams.
Cristina, the beautiful, mature romantic in a committed five-year relationship, is still working on making her mother feel better about the future. Though her mother is worried, she finds humor in it all, remembering when she thought “she wasn’t going to wait up for [Cristina] to come back from a date like her mother did.” She recalls losing “all hope of having a normal child,” but now she worries about her child’s very normal life! According to Cristina’s father, his daughter has the “relationship intelligence of a 40-year-old woman,” even if her comprehension skills are lower than her actual age. Her father is the more open of the two parents, but even he has struggled to accept his daughter’s future.
When Cristina’s boyfriend, Angel, asked her father for his daughter’s hand in marriage, it took a while for the innocent joy in Angel’s eyes to convince him the time had come. We witness so many transitions in Cristina’s relationship with Angel. They go from dating to getting engaged, all while overcoming situations like getting jealous and staying faithful. They also demonstrate responsibility by choosing to wait until they’re financially stable to get married, and by understanding that having children may not be the best option. Ultimately, they come out strong, demonstrating what enduring love really looks like.
“Born This Way” is not an account of how debilitating Down syndrome is; rather, it is a testament to the hopeful human spirit in all of us. Even with their disabilities, the cast inspires us to aim higher; their emotional openness provides a deeper insight into our own hearts. It shows us that, no matter how different we may seem on the surface, we experience many of the same obstacles, and we dream many of the same dreams. Most of all, we all want the chance to be who we truly are.
Catch the last episodes of A&E’s “Born This Way: Season 2” on Tuesdays at 10 p.m., or just log on to www.aetv.com to watch all of the previous episodes.
Author Colm Ashe is a rising junior at Molloy College in Rockville Centre majoring in New Media and Journalism. He grew up in East Islip and loves creative expression almost as much as new experiences.
Participants from last year's event. Photo from Daniel Kerr
SOLES for All Souls Run/Walk All Souls Church, 61 Main St., Stony Brook will hold its 8th annual SOLES for All Souls 5K Run/2K Walk on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 9:30 a.m., rain or shine. Proceeds from the event will help fund the maintenance of the historic chapel and church outreach events to the community. All preregistered runners and walkers are guaranteed a commemorative T-shirt. A postrace award ceremony will be held in the parking lot behind the church immediately after the event. Registration is currently underway through the www.active.com website, and there is a special discounted rate for participants under 19 of $10/person. For more information, call 631-655-7798.
Theatre Three, 412 Main Street, Port Jefferson will screen the award winning documentary “Magnus” on Monday, September 26 at 7 p.m. as part of the 2016 Fall Port Jefferson Documentary series.
Through archival footage and home movies “Magnus” tells the story of 26-year-old Norwegian chess champion Magnus Carlsen’s rise to the top. A hit at several international festivals and winner of the Ray of Sunshine prize at the Norwegian International Film Festival, the documentary also gives the audience a peek inside the isolated world of the chess community. In English and Norwegian. Sponsored by the Long Island Chess Club. Guest speaker, via Skype, will be the director, Benjamin Ree.
Tickets are $7 and will be sold at the door. For more information, call 631-473-5220 or visit www.portjeffdocumentaryseries.com.
Please note the incorrect date was listed in the printed Times … and dates calendar under the photo.
Participants at the SASI Family Fun Day held last month in Huntington. Photo by Rebecca Anzel
By Rebecca Anzel
A young scientist at Stony Brook University has received a $2.3 million grant to fund research he hopes will eventually lead to new therapies for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder.
Matthew Lerner, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of clinical psychology at Stony Brook University, and director of the Stony Brook Social Competence and Treatment Lab, the focus of which is learning to understand how children and teens with ASD form friendships.
“We use the word lab loosely, only because we collect data there,” he said. “It’s a fun space with games and activities for kids.”
“Matthew Lerner is sort of a pioneer in his thought process, and that’s what makes him special to me.”
— Priscilla Arena
His work thus far has ranged from lab-based studies — evaluating and developing tools to measure what is happening during social interactions and how the brain processes those interactions — to real-world applications. Lerner’s previous studies ask how, when and if kids make friends, and what helps them do so.
Efforts to link these two levels of analysis have never been done simultaneously — until now. Lerner won a highly competitive National Institute of Mental Health award to fund his innovative approach to studying social behaviors of children with ASD.
“It’s kind of remarkable that it really hasn’t been done in quite this way before,” he said. “We presume that these things — lab-based measures of how kids think about social interactions and real world interactions themselves — are linked, because otherwise, why would we look at them? But how they’re linked, and importantly, how we can understand how those links differ across individuals, hasn’t really been done thoroughly before.”
Priscilla Arena, the leader of a support group for parents of children with ASD, said Lerner is excited about the potential the grant gives his research.
“Matthew Lerner is sort of a pioneer in his thought process, and that’s what makes him special to me,” she said. “He sees potential in the future.”
It’s not far from her initial reaction after meeting with the Stony Brook researcher, who asked permission to speak to the parents in her group.
The Suffolk Aspergers/Autism Support and Information co-founder wanted to protect the parents, who have “already been beaten and kicked” by others looking for monetary donations and permission to study their children. But when she met Lerner, she said she knew almost immediately that he was different.
“He’s sincere, honorable, impassioned, smart and cerebral,” Arena said. “I don’t think my first impression of him has ever changed, and I think that’s why, from the get-go, I’ve had respect for him.”
The award, called Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientists, was created in 2009 as a way to provide younger scientists with financial support for research. It is for early-stage investigators who are on a tenure track and have no prior research project grants.
“BRAINS” is earmarked for “the most promising early investigators” and is “one of the most competitive [awards]” NIH offers, according to Lisa Gilotty, Ph.D., program officer of Lerner’s grant. Gilotty is also the chief of NIMH’s research program on autism spectrum disorder.
Matthew Lerner is enthusiastic about finding treatments for those with autism spectrum disorder. Photo from Matthew Lerner
Lerner is examining how well various biological and social factors, both independently and jointly, can predict how teenagers aged 11 to 17, with and without ASD, socially interact outside of a laboratory. In the five-year project, he and his team are also studying how those factors correlate, and which best explain the resulting social behaviors.
They are hoping to use information gleaned by observing the teenagers inside and outside the lab to make precise predictions about how they make friendships.
Depending on the results, the team might be able to develop generalized patterns that can be applied to a large number of people on the spectrum and be used to create more targeted therapies.
“This is an extremely important study that will shed light on the wide variability observed in social function in ASD,” said James McPartland, director of the Yale Developmental Disabilities Clinic. “Presently, little is understood about the biological reasons for these individual differences. Dr. Lerner’s study will help us understand these differences from both behavioral and brain-based perspectives.”
Dozens of the 260 teenagers — 160 with ASD and 100 without — participating in this study are Three Village students. Lerner and his team have also connected with special educators in the area to see how participants are doing outside the lab in a classroom.
He and his team spend a lot of time in the community, at family events and meetings with parents and educators to introduce themselves, share information about their work and to learn what challenges children are experiencing. Because Lerner wants the work he does to matter to parents and community members, he calls them “stakeholders” in his research.
“The most impressive thing about him is how community-minded he is,” President and Executive Director of Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism Association (AHA) Patricia Schissel said. “It is important that he’s not stuck in a lab. He’s excited to get out into the research community.”
Arena said quite a few study participants are from SASI as well — her son included. Besides hosting support groups, the program, which was co-founded by Arena with Stephanie Mendelson, provides resources and runs events and programs for special needs families.
Arena and her son were asked to complete a 500-question survey as part of the screening process, and have committed to 20 weeks of social groups.
What appealed to her about this study is Lerner’s concentration on trying to develop more effective treatments and therapies for ASD as opposed to looking for a cure.
“I always say, unless you’re going to do a lobotomy, [saying there is a cure] is baloney,” she said. “You can calm certain conditions of it down through behavior modification and therapy, but you cannot cure it. There’s no way to reverse how the brain has been formed. My son will have it forever.”
Schissel said Lerner’s study has the potential to change treatment options for those with autism as genome sequencing did for cancer.
Oncologists previously “threw the kitchen sink” at cancer and attacked tumors broadly. Once genome sequencing was developed, doctors could instead more easily treat tumors directly. Such an approach to ASD therapies would be more effective and “waste less time and enormous amounts of money,” she said.
Michael Greenberg, a social worker for outpatient child and adolescent psychiatry at Stony Brook Medicine, agreed that more specific treatments and therapies are more efficient and effective.
“It creates an opportunity to have the odds be the best the first time,” he said. “No one can predict what he’s going to find, but he’s trying to come up with something that can be replicated and benefit people more widely.”
The results from Lerner’s study might also be applicable to children without ASD. He said it is unclear whether the social patterns he and his team might uncover are unique to kids with autism. There is a potential for any treatments that stem from his findings to benefit any kid who struggles socially.
History came alive on the distaff side last Monday night, as Elizabeth Kahn Kaplan talked about the nine first ladies born in New York State. Kaplan, a longtime resident of this area, author and prominent member of the Three Village Historical Society, combined her appreciation for history and art with delicious details from the lives of the nine women to make a delightful and informative evening at the Setauket Neighborhood House.
So who are those women?
Some of them we can tick off readily: Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy, Barbara Bush and Nancy Reagan. Others are shrouded in more distant history. They are the wives of Presidents Monroe, Van Buren, Tyler, Cleveland and Fillmore.
Here is an example of one of Kaplan’s anecdotes about these women. Elizabeth Monroe, born of an aristocratic Loyalist family in 1768, who disregarded the disapproval of her father to go ahead and marry the patriot James Monroe, is generally credited with saving the life of Madame de Lafayette. The wife of the French hero of the American Revolution was incarcerated as a result of her aristocratic heritage during the Reign of Terror and about to be guillotined, as had been her grandmother, mother and sister before her. At the time, Monroe was the ambassador to France, but was unable to officially intercede. Elizabeth Monroe, not bound by diplomatic constraints, acted on her own and publicly went to visit Mme. Lafayette in prison, promising to return each day. Not wanting an appearance of conflict with America, the French authorities released Mme. Lafayette the next day.
When Monroe became president, did the American public appreciate his wife? They did not, as Kaplan reported. She was far too elegant and aristocratic for American tastes.
Tyler’s wife, Julia Gardiner, born on Gardiner’s Island, was known a bit infamously as the “rose of Long Island” and was called “madam presidentress,” the term “first lady” not having been coined until much later. Gardiner was Tyler’s second wife, and she attracted a lot of attention by being the first to marry a sitting president and for being 30 years younger than him. Tyler’s eldest daughter was five years older than her stepmother.
And so the stories unfolded, Kaplan keeping her audience totally engaged for well over an hour. Martin Van Buren, the first president to be born after American independence, and the only president to speak English as a second language, married his childhood sweetheart, Hannah Hoes. She spoke Dutch at home with her husband and was his first cousin once removed. Millard Fillmore married Abigail Powers, a schoolteacher. Both were upstate New Yorkers.
Grover Cleveland, who served two terms, but not consecutively, married Frances Folsom, a woman 22 years younger. A bachelor when he entered office, he married the daughter of a close friend. He had looked after her as executor of his friend, Oscar Folsom’s, estate and simply waited until she was old enough before they married. At 21, Frances was the youngest first lady, and she was well-liked. She is appreciated for having started kindergarten in schools.
The other first ladies are well known to us. Eleanor Roosevelt is credited as the most influential and active first lady in our history. The longest-serving first lady, as wife of four-term president Franklin Roosevelt, she went on to a public life of her own. Jackie Kennedy became an American idol and is known for her cultural efforts and redecorating the White House. Barbara Bush, with her forthright style, her constant loyalty and support of her family, and refusal to dye her hair when her husband became president, was always a more popular figure than he. And Nancy Reagan, Ronald Reagan’s second wife, was a diminutive and elegant first lady whose life was dedicated to protecting her husband after the assassination attempt that wounded him and his press secretary.
They are fascinating women and we can claim them as our own.
Monday, we will finally get to see, on the same stage, the presidential candidates who hate each other, find each other unqualified, and who long ago seem to have taken the gloves off in their smackdown.
Here are just a few of the questions I’d ask the man and woman who would like to be our president:
• People don’t like either of you, including politicians in Washington. Secretary Clinton, how will you bring together Democrats and Republicans, when your war with so many Republicans dates back to your years as first lady? And, Mr. Trump, notable Democrats and Republicans seem to find your style and policies confounding. How much can you really accomplish without the broad-based support of Republicans?
• Mr. Trump, you suggested that Congress shouldn’t consider President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee and they haven’t. What would you do if you were President Obama and the Senate openly ignored your choice for Supreme Court?
• Mrs. Clinton, there’s a frequent line from courtroom dramas like Law & Order that goes something like this: “You said X when the detectives spoke to you and now you’re saying Y. Which is it? Were you lying then or are you lying now?” People don’t trust you. You don’t seem completely forthcoming, even about your pneumonia, until we see pictures of you stumbling into your SUV. How do we know when you’re sharing the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
• Mr. Trump, are you going to release your tax returns? The longer you go without sharing them, the more people wonder if you’re hiding something. You believe your opponent selectively discloses details about herself all the time, but you’re not sharing something most, if not all, candidates have shared. What gives?
• Mr. Trump, you have suggested on a few occasions that advocates of the second amendment might have something to say about Hillary Clinton’s position on gun control. You claim that people misinterpret what you say because you didn’t mean what you said when you wrote it. Your rhetoric, were you to be president, would mean something far different from what it does when you’re tweeting. If you were president, would you tamp down the bluster that people might misinterpret? Do you feel you can and should be able to shoot from the hip, as it were, whenever it suits your interests?
• Neither of you seems ready to say the kinds of things we would hope to teach our children, such as “I’m sorry,” or “I was wrong.” Can each of you name a situation or circumstance in public life when you made a mistake and you recognize that you could and should have done better?
• Okay, turning away from each other, what policy do each of you guarantee wouldn’t change one iota and for which you would be inflexible or unwilling to compromise if either of you became president? Candidates often make promises they can’t keep when they’re elected. Is there anything you will pursue in its current form from your platforms?
• You both must recognize that your own rhetoric has alienated voters and raised concerns among various groups about your ability to lead and act on their behalf. Mrs. Clinton, how would you reconcile with Trump’s “deplorables,” as you put it, and Mr. Trump, how would you represent Muslim-Americans, Americans of Mexican heritage or any of the other people you’ve alienated if you became president?
• This campaign seems steeped in negativity. What is the most positive message each of you can share? How would that positive message make people feel better about the election and, down the road, the prospects for themselves and for this country? Be as specific as possible.
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