Gjonaj letters & comments
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR OCTOBER 16-22, 2020 13
BY COUNCILMAN
MARK GJONAJ
Even as the weather starts
to get colder as we enter into
the fall, my offi ce continues
to be present for its constituents
as it provides necessities
like PPE, school supplies
and food. This week and
the past few weeks, I have
hosted with the much-appreciated
help of the AAOH,
food distribution events that
have drawn encouragingly
many constituents.
Earlier this week, I delivered
over 300 food boxes to
families and seniors from
Buttrick Avenue to Bruckner
Boulevard, Middletown
Road and City Island. In a
week prior, I held a giveaway
in front of my district offi ce,
where my staff and volunteers
gave prepackaged boxes
of all sort of tasty and nutritious
delights to constituents
in need. That same week, my
offi ce also distributed food
boxes in excess of 400 to the
area of Boston Road, Astor
Avenue, Brady Court and
Neil Avenue. In just a few
weeks, my offi ce has delivered
over a thousand food
boxes to constituents, giving
them great meals and relief
from what would be another
fi nancial burden on their
families. Over the course of
this pandemic, beginning
in mid-March, I am proud to
say that my offi ce has been
responsible for the donation
of several thousand items
of food.
I fully intend to keep the
food giveaway events coming
through the duration
of the pandemic, even as
the seasons change and the
weather gets even colder.
Guaranteeing the health
and proper nutrition of my
constituents is a top priority
amidst all the turmoil of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
If you want to make an
inquiry about my offi ce’s latest
scheduled food giveaway
event or have any related
question or comment, my offi
ce can be reached by phone
at 718-931-1721, at email at
MGjonaj@council.nyc.gov,
or in-person at 1478 Williamsbridge
Rd., although
social distancing and health
restrictions apply.
Read more: bxtimes.com.
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
Letters to the editor are welcome from all readers. They should be addressed
care of this newspaper to Laura Guerriero, Publisher, the Bronx Times Reporter,
3604 E. Tremont Ave., Bronx, NY 10465, or e-mail to bronxtimes@cnglocal.com.
All letters, including those submitted via e-mail, MUST be signed and with a
verifi able address and telephone number included.
Note that the address and telephone number will NOT be published and the
name will be published or withheld upon request.
No unsigned letters can be accepted for publication. The editor reserves the
right to edit all submissions.
To the BTR editor,
I was compelled to reread my
letter which you so graciously
published in the Oct. 2-8, 2020
edition of your paper, fearful
that age had addled my brain
— thereby causing severe memory
loss — and turned me into a
(somewhat) younger version of
Joe Biden. Much to my relief, but
not my surprise, I found that the
content of my writing was as I remembered.
Should have known
from the fi rst that the claims of
what I wrote had to be erroneous,
given the source of those claims.
Nowhere in that aforementioned
letter did I write that “leftist
organizations are more prone
to the violent tactics that have increasingly
been a feature in our
politics, ‘proving’ that I am better
informed than the FBI leadership
which has clearly indicated
that the nation faces a graver
threat from right wing (sic.) extremists.”
It is impossible for me
to have reacted to anything generated
by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation as no such data/citation/
reference has recently appeared
in your paper. Truth is, I
will always defer to the criminal
statistics — taken in proper context
— assembled by this nation’s
chief domestic-crime investigative
body, especially now that
James Comey is removed from
the directorship and can no longer
focus the Bureau on aiding in
the attempted removal of a dulyelected
president. As anyone
with a reading comprehension
beyond a 3 year old knows, I specifi
cally addressed the actions of
two organizations — Antifa and
Black Lives Matter — which are
responsible for the mass violence
taking place over the last several
months all across the United
States, principally in Democratic
Party-controlled inner-cities.
(At least until a nationwide poll
showed that an overwhelming
majority of law-abiding Americans
were making this violence
their number one campaign issue
and, thus, had them leaning
toward voting for President
Trump in next month’s election.
Since that poll, the violence has
largely ceased. And yet we are
asked to believe that neither of
the two groups are part of any
coordinated effort on the part
of a specifi c political party desperate
to regain the presidency
and national Senate while retaining
the bicameral House of
Representatives). Only a diabolical
mind trained to ignore what
is plainly written and twist the
same into what was NOT written
could ever level such a charge
as seen in this paragraph’s
fi rst sentence.
Nor in my letter did I write
that I am an individual who “also
believes that using the military
to suppress dissent is appropriate…”
That being said, the Posse
Comitatus Act of 1878, though
greatly limiting, does permit the
national government to use federal
troops to enforce domestic
policies in the United States under
certain (extreme) conditions.
The deployment of military personnel
to uphold civil law under
any circumstance is NOT unconstitutional.
If United States
military forces are ever used in
civilian matters, such must be
done so only after the most deliberate
of consideration and discussion
on the issue has taken
place amongst our state and federal
offi cials, and where no other
means to preserve the civil society
can be found. Had any of the
Democratic governors whose
states were victims of Antifa’s/
BLM’s “peaceful” protests made
the request, President Trump
certainly could have used the
National Guard to quell the violence
and restore order (and he
still can, provided such a request
is made).
As far as re-education camps
are concerned, such were the
trademark of Mao’s Cultural
Revolution — akin to Uncle Joe
Stalin’s Gulags where people
dangerous to the state (Stalin)
went to disappear, and to the
World War Two executive-order
internment camps in this country
used to imprison, without
any due process, American citizens
PERCEIVED as threats to
the nation. Such Marxist institutions,
which remain favored
by the radical-left thought police
that has zero tolerance for any
type of public dissent from their
political philosophy/governing
rule, are an absolute anathema
to those of us who hold the Declaration
of Independence, the
U.S. Constitution, and the Bill
of Rights in highest regard. Reeducation
camps have no place
anywhere in the world, least of
all the United States of America
(though some would argue that
this is what our public schools
have become).
While the past three to four
weeks have proved an interesting
— and perhaps educational
— exercise, it is time for this
citizen to take a break from letter
writing. Unlike some who
may be retired with a nice public
pension/benefi ts plan and
plenty of spare time to write in
every week, this individual has
more…crucial tasks to perform
to ensure that government can
continue its redistribution of the
wealth generated by the private
sector. Given what has appeared
in the “Letters and Comments”
section of your paper over the
last month I feel confi dent that
those who have followed along
are immediately capable of responding
correctly to this variation
on an old pun: “When can
you tell that a Marxist is lying?”
Answer: When he or she pens a
letter to the editor of the “Bronx
Times Reporter” (or any other
newspaper for that matter).
Respectfully,
Michael A. Chmieloski
P.S. I must point out that
nothing further was said about
President Trump claiming neo-
Nazis are “very fi ne people.” The
reason for this is simple: baldface
lies are indefensible on any
level, period.
Dear editor,
Wow! So much misinformation
requiring correction
in last week’s edition of the
BTR! The resident ultra-conservative
columnist falsely
claimed that Democratic
politicians endorse violence
against their Republican
peers. If that were true, why
aren’t these alleged provocateurs
facing charges from the
completely politicized DOJ
of Barr and Trump? Heavens
to Betsy, could this claim be
untrue? Right-wing “militia”
members were plotting to kidnap
the Democratic governor
of Michigan, bringing added
credence to the DHS position
that such groups constitute
the “most persistent and lethal
threat” to the nation.
However, the columnist is,
amazingly, worried about
those he calls leftists. Why?
Because they do not share his
stunted world view.
Additionally, a Trumpist
(or Trumpet?) contributor
posited that the Republicans
were defending the Constitution
by obstructing, in every
way possible, the investigation
and impeachment trial
of the popular vote loser now
residing in the White House.
Sure, and two plus two equals
fi ve. Servile Republican lawmakers
have turned a blind
eye to the chaos, graft and
mismanagement that are the
hallmarks of the Trump presidency,
as thousands die needlessly
because their supposed
leader spurns science, our allies
view us as undependable
and our enemies fl ex their
muscles, no longer fearing a
vigorous or coherent U.S. response.
But hey, appointing
conservative judges makes it
all worthwhile!
– Pasqual Pelosi
Gjonaj supplies
food and PPE
/bxtimes.com
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