BY JOE MONDELLO
Hello Sam Young members,
family and friends, I hope life
is getting back to normal for
you all. No, I don’t mean COVID
normal, I mean “normal,”
normal.
Children fi nally going
back to school; house getting
back into shape after Ida paid
a visit; going back to work;
and start hitting the gym. But
enough rain already. Now,
let’s hope the weather starts to
cooperates a bit for the rest of
the season.
Talk about season, it’s
time for football season. Let’s
see how many players kneel
this season. We get that the
“kneeling message” is for the
cause, but how about we now
start respecting the fl ag. It is
a shame that America’s pastime
is used for political statements.
I say there is a place
and time for everything. Show
the men and women who are
returning home some respect
and stand for them. Hey, they
kneeled down for you in the
sand while fi ghting for your
freedom.
Our doors are open on Sunday
for you to watch your favorite
NFL team play. Half
time snacks will be provided.
Now for some important
Post news: We will be holding
our fi rst Post meeting of the
year on Saturday, Sept. 18 at 1
p.m. This will be a joint meeting
between the Post, SAL and
Boosters members. We have
much to discuss and much for
you to know. Donuts and coffee
will be served. Also on Saturday
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,34 SEPT. 17-23, 2021 BTR
night, Sept. 18 around
7:30 p.m. we will host “Movies
Under the Stars and Stripes.”
Join us for “In the Heights.”
This is a free family evening
event for the community. Did I
mention it is shown on a large
outdoor 15-foot screen?
As a Veteran organization
we proudly serve the community.
The Marine Corps
League held their meeting
last Friday night. Thought
I’d tell you that. It’s been
switched to the second Friday
of the month. Guess it’s
never too early to start talking
about the 620 Halloween
bash. More details to come.
Bronx VA is kicking off free
fl u shots. Just walk in on Saturday.
In closing, refresh your
knowledge of the American
Legion by visiting www.Legion.
org. It’s not your pappy’s
veteran group anymore.
BY FRANK VERNUCCIO
America is in the midst of
a dramatic attempted alteration
to the balance of power
between Washington and the
states, as well as the federal
government and individual
citizens. The national government
will have extraordinary
power to determine your property
rights, transportation options,
purchasing choices and
even how you vote.
Some of the moves have
been made using the pandemic
as an excuse. Florida Gov. Ron
DeSantis has accused Biden of
constructing a “biomedical security
state.”
In addition to the pandemic,
environmental extremism
is an excuse used by Progressive
authoritarians.
The Green New Deal, a key
effort by Leftist Democrats,
would substantially place almost
every activity under
Washington’s purview. Matthew
Harwood, writing for
Reason, warns that “… we
should … pay close attention
to the plan’s authoritarian
impulses… If proponents of
the Green New Deal are serious
— and there’s no reason to
doubt them — then they’re proposing
… a militaristic America
where Uncle Sam’s heavy
hand intervenes in all aspects
of life, curtailing individual
freedom in pursuit of their collectivist
goals…They want the
power to regiment a society of
nearly 330 million people in
pursuit of a pipe dream they
liken to a war for survival.”
The Progressive power
grab, aside from the particulars
of imposing heavyhanded
measures, is openly
and clearly unconstitutional.
It colludes with social media
giants to limit the First
Amendment rights of those
it disagrees with and argues
against the Second, Ninth
and 10th amendments Those
amendments that serve as the
ultimate safeguard against the
amassing of power in Washington.
The Second Amendments
allows citizens the right
to self defense. The Ninth and
10th amendments are clear
and unambiguous: those powers
not specifi cally given to
the federal government are
reserved to the people and the
states.
Once these moves have
been made, the safety valve of
having the ability to vote authoritarian
miscreants out of
offi ce will not be available. A
move is afoot to unlawfully impose
federal will on how elections
are conducted, a power
that Constitutionally rests
with the states. The misleadingly
named “For the People
Act” is an overtly partisan bill
that amounts to a clear federal
takeover of state election laws,
stripping away vital anti-fraud
measures that states have established.
It would, as Sen. Wicker
(R-Mississippi) stresses, ban
voter ID requirements, which
are popular nationwide and
have passed in most states, including
Democrat-run states
like Connecticut and Rhode
Island. It would force states to
allow “ballot harvesting,” an
illicit practice whereby party
operatives can deliver stacks
of ballots to the polls without
supervision. It would also require
states to allow Election
Day registration and universal
mail-in voting. Americans
are coming out against this
bill when they learn what it
actually does. A recent poll
showed that 83% of Americans
are concerned about ballot
harvesting, 81% are concerned
about Election Day
registration without photo ID,
and 71% are concerned about
universal mail-in voting.
Making these moves all the
more disturbing is the reality
that the citizenry isn’t even
aware of who is actually making
the decisions at the White
House — the elected president
or the extremist fringes of
the Democrat Party. The New
York Post Editorial Board recently
observed “America is
now being ruled not by President
Joe Biden but a small,
radical minority that couldn’t
care less about the US Constitution.
Biden made that clear
when he caved to the Squad
… and pushed his Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
to ban evictions once
again — knowing full well he
was likely breaking the law
and violating his oath of offi
ce.”
Biden himself has noted
that the move is constitutionally
questionable, though that
didn’t stop him of approving it.
CIVIC CENTER
Community Action
Civic Association
CIVIC CENTER
Samuel Young
Post 620
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From Councilman Mark Gjonaj
BY MARK GJONAJ
My constituent services
team and I kicked this week
off by joining the children of
District 13, at PS 12, PS 14,
PS 105, PS 108 and PS 175,
for their fi rst day of school
— dispensing hand sanitizer
and child-sized masks.
I wish them all a successful
and safe academic year.
The summer saw a return,
albeit altered, to a lot
of the usual pre-COVID district
fare. We held our annual
summer concert series,
putting the full music spectrum
of the Bronx on display
for district residents.
But now summer is over,
and this last weekend — as
we progress to the halfway
mark of September — we put
on an amazing afternoon
of fun and culinary delight
with a Chowder Festival, in
cooperation with the City
Island Chamber of Commerce.
Congratulations to
the winners. The fall season
with Team Gjonaj will be
one to remember, with many
more events and offerings in
store. Stay tuned to our social
media for news and updates.
The weekend also took
on a somber and contemplative
note — we, myself and
other community leaders,
gathered at Jacobi Hospital
to remember the lives lost
on 9/11. From its 20th anniversary
onwards, may we
never forget the lives lost,
the heroics of our fi rst responders
and the indelible
impact it has had on our city
and country ever since. As
the city faces another challenge
in COVID-19, which
has tested us physically, socially
and economically, let
us remember the lessons
of unity and rebuilding
gleaned from 9/11.
For questions, concerns
or assistance from my constituent
services team,
please do not hesitate to
contact my district offi ce at
either MGjonaj@council.
nyc.gov or at (718) 931-1721.
Thank you and stay safe, it’s
an honor to serve the great
east Bronx.
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