Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Andrew Cuomo does the Cardinal's bidding

and closes Nassau OTB only on Roman Catholic Palm Sunday and Roman Catholic Easter Sunday.   NY Const. Art 1, Sec. 3
Surely the Cardinal does not need Andrew Cuomo's help in seeing that the faithful do not patronize Nassau OTB on holy days and that infidels, aetheists, and other believers must be free to do as they wish.
The Cardinal has not objected to NY Lottery Tickets being sold every day of the year. Let's hope he givens Andrew Cuomo some guidance on the role of the State when tracks are running all across the US that some bettors want to bet.



Dolan Warns the Governor on Abortion

Says Archdiocese Opposition to Abortion Will Be 'Vociferous'

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has framed his push for a women's equality bill that includes abortion rights legislation in personal terms, arguing in TV ads that "my daughters, Cara, Mariah and Michaela, and every New York woman, deserve nothing less."
But on Tuesday, the archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, personalized the issue in a different way for Mr. Cuomo, a Roman Catholic with liberal views on abortion, same-sex marriage and other cultural issues.
[image] Associated Press
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Asked on an Albany-area radio show how Mr. Cuomo could protect abortion rights and remain in good standing with the Catholic church, Cardinal Dolan said, "I don't mind telling you that's one of the things the governor and I talk about."
"Look, he and I have very grave differences, and [abortion] is one of them," Cardinal Dolan told host Fred Dicker on "Live from the State Capitol!" adding later: "That's something that I talk turkey with him about."
Cardinal Dolan also warned that Mr. Cuomo would face a "vociferous" and "rigorous" opposition from the archdiocese on the push to line up state abortion rights with federal standards.
An archdiocese spokesman, Joseph Zwilling, later said that the cardinal had been referring to discussing the general topic of abortion with Mr. Cuomo, not specifically to the question of his standing in the church.
Globe Photos/Zuma Press
Cardinal Timothy Dolan
Mr. Cuomo on Tuesday said he hadn't heard the cardinal's comments. "The archbishop has mentioned his opposition to the choice law multiple times," he said. "The Catholic church has made their opposition to choice known for many, many, many, many years. So there is nothing new to that. We have agreed to disagree, respectfully, and that's where we are."
Mr. Zwilling said there isn't a formal definition on what it means to be a Catholic in good standing.
The cardinal's comments, however, highlighted the fine line Mr. Cuomo walks as he presses for abortion rights and other liberal issues amid talk of a presidential run in 2016. Cardinal Dolan is perhaps America's most powerful Catholic official, leading the U.S. Conference of Bishops and taking on President Barack Obama over the federal health-care overhaul's contraception requirements.
Mr. Cuomo has said he is a practicing Catholic, yet some of his political and personal stances are at odds with the church's. He fought to pass same-sex marriage legislation in 2011, for example, and he is divorced and living with his girlfriend, celebrity chef Sandra Lee.
The dual personal and political nature of the abortion debate is a familiar one for the Cuomo family. The governor's father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, famously defended the legality of abortion rights and continued to do so even when the then-archbishop of New York, Cardinal John O'Connor, wrote that Roman Catholic politicians who support such measures could be "at risk of excommunication."
Other Catholic politicians, including Secretary of State John Kerry and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, have faced calls for the denial of communion after having argued in favor of abortion rights.
Cardinal Dolan was more restrained about Mr. Cuomo, saying he gets along with him. He added: "God willing, Albany's going to come through and not capitulate to what I think would be a tragic pro-abortion extension."
The bill Mr. Cuomo is pressing would allow abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy to protect a woman's health. State law currently allows abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy only if the pregnant woman's life is at risk. That law isn't enforced, because federal court rulings supercede it. Mr. Cuomo wants the change in case Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, has identified the abortion bill as one of his top priorities during a legislative session that ends in late June, but the matter has proved politically challenging.
While he has vocal support from women's groups such as NARAL Pro-Choice New York, he has faced opposition not only from the Catholic church but also from legislative leaders such as state Senate Majority Co-leader Dean Skelos, a Long Island Republican who has called the proposal "unnecessary."
A power-sharing arrangement in the Senate means a bill can't be introduced without the approval of both Mr. Skelos and co-leader Jeffrey Klein, a Bronx Democrat who leads a conference of four so-called independent Democrats. Asked whether Mr. Klein would push for a vote, a spokesman, Eric Soufer, said only that "every [conference] member wholeheartedly supports all 10 points of the governor's women's equality agenda."
Write to Erica Orden at erica.orden@wsj.com
A version of this article appeared May 15, 2013, on page A17 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Dolan Warns The Governor On Abortion.




HI-
Thanks for the help. The item’s below. I’d be happy to mail you a copy, if you give me a mailing address.

Claude Solnik
(631) 913-4244
Long Island Business News
2150 Smithtown Ave.
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-7348 

Home > LI Confidential > Stop scratching on holidays

Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012



Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.


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