In OPINION

Nick LaLota’s Town Hall: Filtered Questions, Limited Answers, and Growing Concerns

March 20, 2026 In OPINION 4 Mins Read

Real Talk. Real People. Real Impact. While others talk, we are asking what matters.

There is something about a Nick LaLota town hall conducted over the phone that already feels filtered. There is no room, no crowd, no raised hands, and no real-time accountability. Instead, there is a voice, an operator, and a promise that questions will be taken from constituents.

What Actually Happened

During the recent Nick LaLota town hall, constituents were told that questions would not be cherry-picked. However, the structure of the call suggested otherwise. Participants were required to submit their questions through an operator, who then decided which questions would be asked. This process creates a level of control that is not present in traditional, in-person town halls.

Delays and Priorities

One of the most noticeable aspects of the Nick LaLota town hall was the delay before the discussion truly began. The call appeared to wait until thousands of participants had joined, suggesting that the number of listeners was a priority. By the time the conversation gained momentum, the available time for meaningful engagement had already been reduced.

Time and Cost Concerns

At one point during the Nick LaLota town hall, a comment was made about the cost associated with extending the call. This raised an important question about priorities. If this format replaces in-person town halls, then time should be allocated to ensure that as many constituent questions as possible are addressed, regardless of cost.

The Question That Was Not Asked

A key concern during the Nick LaLota town hall was that certain questions were not addressed at all. One such question focused on votes against federal spending bills that included funding for housing and environmental programs. This question directly relates to issues affecting Long Island residents, including housing affordability and water quality.

Local Impact on the East End

The issues raised but not addressed during the Nick LaLota town hall are not abstract policy debates. Housing affordability continues to be a pressing concern, workforce housing remains limited, and environmental issues, including water quality, are ongoing challenges. These are real problems that require direct and transparent responses.

Government Shutdown Reality

The Nick LaLota town hall also included a discussion about government shutdowns and their impact. Workers from the Transportation Security Administration continue to report to work during shutdowns, often without immediate pay. This creates financial strain and uncertainty for thousands of essential workers.

Statements on Shutdowns

During the Nick LaLota town hall, the Congressman stated that shutting down the government is short-sighted and harmful, particularly for TSA employees. This statement reflects a widely recognized reality, as shutdowns disrupt lives and services without producing consistent long-term policy outcomes.

Assigning Blame

The Nick LaLota town hall also included the assertion that Democrats are responsible for government shutdowns. However, shutdowns typically occur when multiple branches of government fail to reach an agreement. Responsibility is shared across parties and institutions, making the situation more complex than a single point of blame.

The ICE Discussion

Another topic raised during the Nick LaLota town hall involved immigration enforcement. It was stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues operating during shutdowns. While this is partially accurate, ICE benefits from different funding structures, while agencies such as TSA experience more immediate financial impacts.

The Epstein Files Exchange

A more serious moment during the Nick LaLota town hall occurred when a constituent asked about the Epstein files. The Congressman expressed support for transparency, accountability, and the protection of victims. He emphasized that anyone involved in wrongdoing should be held accountable, while also ensuring that victims are not retraumatized.

Transparency and Accountability

The response to the Epstein question during the Nick LaLota town hall demonstrated that when substantive questions are asked, substantive answers can follow. However, this also highlights the importance of ensuring that all relevant questions are allowed to be addressed.

The Bigger Picture

The overall structure of the Nick LaLota town hall raises broader concerns about access and accountability. When questions are filtered and time is limited, the conversation becomes controlled. This limits the ability of constituents to engage directly on issues that matter most to their communities.

Real Talk

The Nick LaLota town hall format makes it difficult to reconcile claims of transparency with a system that screens questions. Waiting for thousands of participants to join, while limiting the number of questions answered, creates a disconnect between access and engagement.

Final Thought

The Nick LaLota town hall included a statement that compromise is necessary in government. While that may be true, meaningful compromise begins with open and honest dialogue. Dialogue, in turn, requires listening to constituents without filtering or limitation.

Real Talk. Real People. Real Impact.

👉 If your question was not asked during the Nick LaLota town hall, what would you have wanted to say?

In EDITORIAL

The Power That Comes with Being a Politician

May 27, 2025 In EDITORIAL 3 Mins Read

Is It More Addictive Than Doing the Right Thing?

Real talk. Real people. Real consequences. Politics is supposed to be about service, not self-preservation. A politician is meant to be a protector and an advocate for the public. They are trusted to speak up, stand firm, and use their position to create meaningful change for their constituents. That is the responsibility. So why does power so often become the goal?

Power Was Meant to Serve People, Not Egos

Most politicians do not enter public life intending to betray public trust. Many step into office wanting to help, to fix broken systems, and to be a voice for their community.

But power has a way of changing priorities.

Over time, the position becomes status. The title becomes identity. The focus quietly shifts from serving the people to protecting the seat.

This is where public service begins to erode.

Follow the Money

If you want to understand political behavior, do not just listen to speeches. Follow the money.

Campaign donations, lobbyists, special interests, and political favors all influence decisions. Too often, choices are shaped by who funds a campaign instead of who lives with the consequences.

When money leads, political accountability weakens. Real people pay the price.

When Power Starts Feeding on Itself

Power does not always stop at influence. Sometimes, power feeds on itself.

Control becomes addictive. Authority turns into entitlement. Transparency fades. Ethical shortcuts begin to feel justified.

This is how fraud, manipulation, and corruption in government take hold. It rarely happens overnight. It happens slowly, quietly, and often behind closed doors.

Public trust erodes in the process.

Would You Do Anything to Stay in Office

This is the question many avoid asking.

Is power so intoxicating that a politician would say anything to keep their position? Would they ignore facts, silence critics, or refuse to step aside even when doing so would clearly serve their constituents better?

Sometimes the most responsible decision is knowing when to walk away. That choice requires humility, courage, and a willingness to put people before power.

Doing the Right Thing Comes at a Cost

Integrity in politics is rarely rewarded in the short term.

Doing the right thing can mean losing donors, losing party support, or losing reelection. But it also builds something far more valuable than influence. It builds trust.

Leadership and integrity are not measured by how long someone holds office. They are measured by how power is used and whether it is surrendered when necessary.

The Public Has a Role to Play

This is not only a political problem. It is a cultural one.

We often reward charisma over character and sound bites over substance. If we want better leaders, we must demand accountability, transparency, and honesty.

Real people deserve real leadership.

Final Thoughts

Power in politics is not inherently harmful. Unchecked power is.

When holding office becomes more important than serving the public, democracy weakens. When power is protected at all costs, trust disappears.

A politician’s role is to serve the people. It is not to rule them.

When the answer stops being the people, it is time to question whether power has become more addictive than doing the right thing.

Real talk. Real people. This is what leadership should look like.

In Health

The Beginning of the Beginning

February 22, 2021 In Health 2 Mins Read

We are now at the beginning of the beginning for addressing the virus. I have a slightly contrarian view of our new national approach to combating the Covid-19 pandemic through the vaccination strategy. Conventional wisdom indicates that we vaccinate the people most at risk in our society to prevent needless death and suffering in the vulnerable cohorts; elderly, infirm and people with co-morbidities.

While I understand this approach and the scientific data that supports these
interventions, I would ask the question, what happens to the young who are at risk for Covid-19 infection and those infected who will suffer unknown impacts to their health status going into the future?

I am of the age and health designation that I will be one of the first to get the opportunity for vaccination. I have a vested interest. My wife, who is younger, will fall into the category of being next in line but she may have a co-morbidity that will make her eligible for earlier vaccination. I am concerned for her health. I have two daughters in their twenties that will be the last to receive the Covid-19 vaccination. I worry for their health and futures. I raise the question; is the risk for delaying vaccination to our young too great, to the overall well being of the country and world at large? What will happen if we inherit a world of sick young people who will impact our healthcare capacities for a disproportionately longer period of time if they were to be infected, survive but develop chronic illnesses secondary to the disease? What happens to our workforce? What happens to our economy?

I would hope that we will have an approach that addresses this conundrum in public health safety and future impacts on the economic viability of a world with sick young people needing health resources for a long time and not being able to work due to illness, reducing tax dollars into our national coffers, further impacting our country’s future ability to serve our population. We need more Covid-19 vaccines now and a wider distribution to a more varied base of recipients without age considerations. We must save our future by saving our young.

In Mental Wellness

The Lesson of Thalidomide, for Covid19, Look Before You Leap

May 25, 2020 In Mental Wellness 5 Mins Read

The Lesson of Thalidomide for Covid19, Look Before You Leap – My youngest daughter will say in the most excruciating terms that I am old, especially when I am trying to make a point based on some ancient piece of information that I remember to support an argument I am trying to win. She calls me ‘Lesson Plan Dad.’ It’s not a term of endearment. I usually go off and shake my head because she will sometimes ignore me or dismiss me from existence. But a funny thing happened as she was going out recently, she whispered to me before I had a chance to ‘advise her’ about following Covid19 precautions, “don’t worry Dad, I remember everything you said I had to do to remain safe. I hear your voice all the time.” This pleased me to no end because, 20 years after the death of my own Mother, I still hear her ‘voice’ warning me and giving me good advice. I’m sure some of you have that same experience.

The proverb, ‘Look before you leap’ has been a form of advice that has been given for centuries. This proverb was first noted in a 1380 manuscript and then captured in a collection of English proverbs by John Heywood in 1546; describes unintended actions and reactions that can lead to untoward results. The first use of this term in America is associated with a failure in diplomacy in the late 1600’s that occurred in New England during the time of the colonists and a war that caused significant damage of property and loss of life for both the Native Americans and many colonists who had previously coexisted uneasily (King Philip’s War). As defined, both sides in this tragic circumstance did not take-into-account all the consequences of their actions and could not avert the turmoil which befell them all.

In 1957 West Germany, a medication that was hailed a wonder drug and was marketed as a treatment for, nervousness, anxiety and morning sickness and distributed over the counter (OTC), turned into a nightmare for the German people. Many side effects of this medication included horrendous birth defects in the guise of malformation of the limbs, still born babies, tumor development and many other conditions. This medication was named Thalidomide. This drug was prevented from being introduced to the American market by a pharmacist, Frances Kelsey at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), because of her concerns for the safety of our population. Because of the horrific birth defects noted in the so called ‘Thalidomide Babies,’ greater constraints and regulatory oversight of medications before their use in the public space has become one of the hallmarks of our American medical and pharmaceutical model. Appropriate oversight by the FDA has saved lives. We are looking before we leap!

During these dangerous times, in the Age of Covid19, our well-founded fear and concern for the lives lost and the lives at risk could have the effect of eroding the lessons of the past when it comes to the manufacture and distribution of a vaccine before the necessary due diligence has been implemented. I understand this rush for a cure, but I am reminded and informed about the possible consequences of not performing the work needed to safeguard ourselves from a malady of our own making. There is a reason why there isn’t a Corona vaccine in the world’s arsenal, its hard to create. Mutagenesis (DNA mutations that are engineered secondary to induction by an external factor) and Carcinogenesis (the result of agents capable of developing malignant tumors by inducing cellular changes) are the untoward effects that can result from the introduction of an external, uncontrolled factor into the population. I am not a fear monger, nor am I a scientist, microbiologist or anything remotely approaching an expert in the field on immunology or virology. I am a nurse by profession with a healthy appreciation for the rule of unintended consequences.

Let’s do this by the book! I am informed by the ethical boundaries of not experimenting on animals and conducting animal studies but in this most hazardous of times, please employ ethicists to conclude if utilizing an animal for determining if generational impacts can be averted in the human hosts who will be the final recipients of any vaccine that is developed can be averted. I am not a ‘Night of the Living Un-Dead Roach Avengers’ kind of guy but take a look at our oceans and see the harm we have done by introducing plastics to that environment and see the fish that have plastics in their systems that we are eating now. You get my point. There are potential downstream repercussions to our actions that must be considered and explored. For our children’s sakes, let’s not muck this up any worse than it already is by allowing political expedience to be determinative for the science that is necessary to figure this out and arrive at the best course of action to take.

Yes, this is Lesson Plan Dad saying, we better LOOK BEFORE WE LEAP!!!

In OPINION

A TOWN OF BANDITS

April 8, 2020 In OPINION 3 Mins Read

A Town of Bandits: Tombstone never looked like this. Wyatt Earp would have gone crazy. The line in front of King Kullen in Bridgehampton, NY and countless other supermarkets in the country are full of people wearing masks, bandanas of every color and stripe, waiting on line (6 feet apart) to swipe that Lysol spray. They are on line (6 feet apart) to get that last roll of toilet tissue in aisle 9, on the left behind the Bounty. “I refuse to use the Bounty to wipe my As…….. Too rough on the butt, but plenty absorbent!”

The Bandits are on the loose! From Montauk to Flatbush, from Sag Harbor to Bed-Stuy, the Bandits are everywhere. Who would have thought? You can’t tell the good guys from the bad. “Oh look at that bad desperado over there in the shadows, leaning over to the side, with that slow purposeful walk; slight glint in their eye. They are heading right toward me. I’m getting scared now. Of course they have a mask on, hiding their face. What am I to do? Nowhere to run or hide. Here they come, reaching in their pocket, taking out a…. set of glasses…. oh she’s smiling….it’s Grandma. Damn I feel foolish now. I guess I’ll just have to trust my neighbors more”. There are some bad people in the world but overwhelmingly good people are around us. Just look at the heroes in every Hospital, Nursing Home and providing Home Care services. The GOOD GUYS are fighting the good fight and will win this war!

We are all Bandits now. No time to look at each other with jaundice eye. Our plight is the same. Social distancing in an age of disease with imposing names, SARS, Corona Virus, Covid-19 or as it is known in the inner city….”The ‘Rona.” We are ALL IN THIS TOGETHER! We are all Bandits now, faced with the same circumstance, forcing us apart but bringing us together like never before.

I was taken aback the other day when I was getting ready to order door front service from a local store in Southampton in an effort to support a local business. I witnessed multiple people going into the store, opening the closed door with their bare hands; no gloves on, no masks on (hey businesses, leave your doors open when possible to prevent the spread of virus on door handles). I left the store not ordering anything knowing that it was a risk. EVERYONE has to take this seriously, accept their responsibility for each other’s health; this is about life and death.

Photo credit: Cindy Warne (made by Cindy Warne)

To all my fellow Bandits, please continue to wear your masks, wear your gloves, wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands! Let’s #flattenthecurve. Practice social distancing, keep in touch with the elderly shut-ins, call a friend, ZOOM videoconference with the proper safety and privacy features enabled to stay connected.

We continue to pray for your safe travels!

WE CAN DO THIS!!!

TOGETHER