40
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APR. 22-28, 2022 BXR
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Photo by (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
BY TONY SALIMBENE
Hope everyone had a wonderful
Easter!Remember, our next
regular post meeting is April 24
at American Turners NY — 10:30
a.m. coffee and donuts, 11 a.m.
meeting and noon for a complementary
lunch with cash bar.
Our May meeting will feature
nominations for post officer positions.
Please consider joining
in on this time honored tradition
since 1927.Another Remember’
for May! Armed Forces Day.
There are activities throughout
the city. Quiz question, which
day is it?If anyone knows of any
member or a member of their
family who have passed or suffer
from chronic illness, please
let me know the particulars so I
can send them a caring note from
us.Get with the commander for
the schedule to cheer on the Korony
Post TNLL baseball team.
Remember Ukraine.Until Next
Time: “An eye for an eye will
make the whole world blind.”
-Gandhi
BY FRANK VERNUCCIO
On April 19, 1775, the tide of
human history changed forever.
A small group of British American
colonists, disturbed that
their rights were being slowly
but surely eroded, heroically
gathered at Lexington and Concord
to oppose oppression. They
had gathered personal arms and
whatever else they could gather,
to stand against the mightiest
military force on the planet. They
faced odds even greater than
those endured by courageous
Ukrainians today.
The National Archives describes
what happened: “On the
evening of April 18, 1775, the British
authorities, acting on information
that a supply of ammunition
for the local militia was
being stored in Concord, sent
British regular troops from Boston
to confiscate the arms. Skirmishes
on April 19 occurred in
several places, most notably on
Lexington town green and afterwards
at Old North Bridge spanning
the Concord River in Concord.
The incidents are referred
to as the Lexington Alarm and
the Battle of Concord…”
Despite the seemingly impossible
obstacles, the patriots went
on to victory.
It is deeply disturbing that
many in the nation resulting
from their success have political
philosophies that fit in more with
King George III than those men
who would eventually work with
George Washington in the ensuing
Revolutionary War.
This is evident in numerous
ways.
To start with, the very ability
of citizens to own weaponry as a
means of self-protection, (which
allowed those farmers at Lexington
and Concord to defend themselves
against the Redcoats), from
both potential tyranny and from
crime, is under constant attack
from those who seek to disarm the
American population. As crime
escalates to barbaric levels in
cities such as New York and Chicago,
local leaders in those municipalities,
despite their reduced
support for adequate police funding,
endorse the continuation of
laws that effectively dismantle
Second Amendment rights of
their constituents. Rather than
overturn irrationally lenient
policies allowing criminals to
escape punishment, they allege
that the mere existence of guns is
a problem. They ignore the reality
that a substantial portion of
crime is committed using fists,
knives and other means against
innocent people, many elderly or
female, who are being deprived of
the right of self-protection.
The underlying principle behind
the American Revolution
that began on that April day so
long ago was that individuals
had inherent rights that came not
from government but from God
(or, if one prefers a different term,
nature.)
That concept of “inherent
rights” is what elevates the American
concept of rights above all
others. The U.S. Constitution and
the Bill of Rights were designed
to enshrine the concept that the
citizenry, not the government, is
sovereign. It limits the powers of
government, not the freedoms of
the people.
But bit by bit, that basic, foundational
concept is being eroded.
No less a person than a United
States Supreme Court justice
has expressed a lack of respect
for the central principle behind
the entire structure of American
government and law. During
the confirmation hearings of
Obama Supreme Court nominee
Elena Kagan, Sen. Tom Coburn
had a testy exchange in which he
pushed her to state her belief in
fundamental rights. She evaded
answering.
Evan that most emblematic
of American rights, freedom of
speech, is under constant assault.
Social media tyrants seek to censor
non-leftist ideas. Universities
silence moderate and conservative
voices. Sen. Schumer (D-NY)
actually introduced legislation to
limit the First Amendment’s application
to some political speech.
(The measure was, fortunately,
defeated.)
Some elected officials are not
shy about their goals. Rep. Ted
Lieu (D-Calif.) boldly announced
that he would “love to be able to
regulate the content of speech”
He particularly spoke about restricting
Fox News. Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortex (D-NY)
threatened Donald Trump Jr.,
with a subpoena merely for questioning
her economic views.
To many “progressives” in the
year 2022, the concepts motivating
the courageous patriots who
stood up to an increasingly authoritarian
government are foreign
and diametrically opposed
to their core beliefs — 247 years
ago, they would have sided with
George III and not those heroes at
Lexington and Concord.
CIVIC CENTER
Community Action Civic
Association
BY MARY JANE MUSANO
Our next meeting will be on
April 26 at 7:30 at the First Lutheran
Church on Baisley and
Hollywood avenues. We will
have an update on the Bruckner
upzoning proposal. This
upzoning has the potential to
change life as we know it for
all residents of our community.
We must fight back, be involved
and attend all meetings.
We will have letters to sign to
voting parties and it is crucial
that you sign so that your voice
can be heard. We must unite
against forces that seek to destroy
us.
We will have a guest speaker,
Jill Cornell, from the Office of
Emergency Management. She
will speak about ways to be
safe in an emergency situation.
Our community has been hard
hit with flooding during hurricanes
and there are resources
available to keep us safe in this
and other kinds of emergency
situations. It’s always better to
have the information before an
emergency occurs.
We will also have two guest
speakers from Ridgewood Savings
Bank. With prices rising,
we need to know how to
best save the money we have.
Ridgewood has great CD and
savings account rates. They
are also very community
friendly. They have spoken at
our meetings in the past and
always bring information that
is helpful.
We will have some giveaways
so come join us for some
fun and bring your neighbors
with you. The coffee will be
perking!
CIVIC CENTER
Waterbury-LaSalle
Association
CIVIC CENTER
Korony Post 253