BY JOE MONDELLO
Hello Sam Young Post
family, hope this week’s column
fi nds you well. Question:
Where are all the members
and supporters of this Post?
At one time you could not fi nd
a seat to sit at. Back in the
good old days, large parties
were held in the downstairs
party room with more than
150 members and invited
guests fi lling the tables and
chairs with song and laughter.
Post 620 even catered its
own cooked food and had
their own brand of dishes and
silverware. Many community
programs and veteran services
came out from this Post,
too. Lately, the halls have
been quiet but with a small
handful of members who still
come by to support.
Understandably, for the
past year the pandemic has
kept many members away.
When you’re ready and fi -
nally come back, you will
fi nd a big improvement here
at Sam Young. With outside
table seating, to the newly
renovated bar and a great
jukebox that connects the
two rooms with sound. An
updated game room that has
a newly covered pool table
and dart board. Downstairs
there is a large indoor 15-
foot movie screen-projector
system ready to play Blu-ray
DVDs along with home theater
sound. A BINGO system,
and a stage for the performing
arts. All we need is you.
If coffee or tea is your thing,
come by for a cup.
BRONX TIMES R 42 EPORTER, OCT. 8-14, 2021 BTR
If you have a few friends
who like to play card games,
come by and hang out in one
of the rooms. You see, it’s
not all about cocktails and
beer. We are open Tuesday,
Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
and Sunday.
Give a call to 718-822-8873
before you decide to come if
you’re not sure what time our
doors are open. On Oct. 30, is
the Post annual Halloween
party starting at 7 p.m. All
are invited with a $5 donation
and some grub for the gang.
Prize for best costume. In
closing, we are proud to have
worn the uniform of the U.S.
military and to have served
this country. It gave many of
us a bonding of comradery
and our devotion to mutual
helpfulness.
For God and Country.
BY FRANK VERNUCCIO
The Centers for Disease
Control has recommended reimposing
some COVID restrictions,
even as the Biden administration
wholly ignores a key
reason why the China-originated
pandemic is having a
mild resurgence.
Taken as a whole throughout
the nation, COVID is not appearing
to be returning to the
same level of danger it previously
presented, thanks largely
to the Trump administration’s
vaccine development efforts.
However, the impact of the
Biden White House ignoring
the impact of dramatic numbers
of unvaccinated illegal
immigrants storming across
the southern border is facilitating
an uptick in cases. The policy
of quietly spreading those
people throughout the nation is
worrisome.
Contagious disease problems
from illegal immigration
is not a new phenomenon. The
Southern Medical Association
previously warned that illegal
immigration may expose
Americans to diseases that
have been virtually eradicated,
but are highly contagious.
The Center for Immigration
Studies has emphasized
the work of Peter Edelstein,
M.D., who writing in Psychology
Today in January 2017,
warned that “In the end, it is
hard to completely ignore the
health risks posed by those
whose entry into the country
avoids medical examination
and treatment. Whether you
sit on the ‘build a wall’ end of
the spectrum or the ‘they’re
just seeking a better life’ end,
accepting that treatable major
health risks are freely entering
into our general population is
an unwise strategy, regardless
of your political leaning…”
That caution has been
echoed by the Federation for
American immigration Reform,
which has argued that illegal
immigrants, unlike those
who are legally admitted, undergo
no medical screening to
assure that they are not bearing
contagious diseases. They
are setting a resurgence of contagious
diseases that had been
totally or nearly eradicated by
the U.S. public health system.
Published reports indicate
that 30% of illegal immigrants
in border facilities refused to
take the COVID vaccine. The
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) agency has reported,
notes Axios, that 20,000
illegals have been found to
have the disease in their facility.
Details from ICE facilities
scattered throughout the nation
are worrisome. A few examples:
The Stewart Detention
Center found 871 confi rmed
COVID cases; 563 at the Bluebonnet
Center, 404 at the Aurora
Contact Facility, 609 in
the El Paso Service Processing
Center, 423 in the Otero County
Processing Center, 460 in the
Houston Contract Facility, 471
in the Montgomery Processing
Center, 763 in a New Orleans facility,
493 in Louisiana’s Richwood
Center, 1,634 in La Palma
Correctional facility, 886 in
Karnes, 535 in El Valle, 1,011 in
Port Isabel, 1,169 at the South
Texas Family Residential Facility,
871 in the South Texas
Center, and 471 in San Diego’s
Otay facility.
On July 26, The Border Report
noted that “671 new COVID
19 cases were reported
Monday in Hidalgo County on
South Texas border.”
Republican senators are
calling on the president to address
the humanitarian, national
security, and most recently,
public health crisis on
the southern border. As rates
of COVID-19 rise in Texas communities,
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz
urged the Biden administration
to preserve Title 42 prompt
expulsions of illegal immigrants
to protect the health and
safety of Americans.
Cruz noted that “The Biden
border crisis is getting worse…
We are on pace for over 2 million
people to cross illegally
into this country. We have the
highest level of illegal immigration
in over 20 years. Last
year, we had the lowest rate
of illegal immigration in 45
years.”
Cruz particularly criticized
the Biden administration for
seeking to end Title 42 restrictions,
the Sanitation and Quarantine
measure affecting entry
into the United States of those
with contagious diseases. He
states that “…Joe Biden is now
talking about ending title 42.
Title 42 is the tool that has allowed
us to prevent people with
COVID from being released
into this country.”
Taking the opposite tact,
Cruz has introduced the
SHIELD Act, which would prevent
the release of illegals with
contagious diseases into the
general population.
CIVIC CENTER
Community Action
Civic Association
CIVIC CENTER
Samuel Young
Post 620
Fence separating United States and Mexico Photo courtesy Getty Images
Rebel Girls Hosts Black Girl Magic
Book Event in NYC on Oct. 2
On Oct. 2, the Lit bar was
truly Lit.
Rebel Girls celebrated
Black Girl Magic with a book
tour for “Good Night Stories
For Rebel Girls:100 Real-Life
Tales of Black Girl Magic ” and
one of the stops was at the Lit
Bar in the Bronx.
Lilly Workneh and
Cashawn Thompson, the editors
of the book, are not strangers
to this craft. Lilly Workneh
is an award-winning journalist
and Cashwan Thompson is
the originator of #BlackGirl-
Magic.
People who came to this
event purchased autographed
copies, and also received
drawn portraits of themselves
by Rebel Girls Illustrators,
took photos at the photo station
and enjoyed other activities. ”
Good Night Stories for
Rebel Girls: 100 Real-Life Tales
of Black Girl Magic” was written
by four Black women.
The book was also illustrated
by 60 Black women and
non-binary artists. These
stories of 100 barrier-breaking
Black women from over
30 countries bought together
women from different races,
ethnicities, and religions in
full support.
-Robbie Sequeira
Photo Jewel Webber