PAT BUCHANAN News & Opinion 10,000 miles away, islets that few Americans can find on a map, why should we get into it? And, truth be told, the answers of our elites are unconvincing. One explanation for America’s turning away from these wars is that we see no vital interest in these conflicts—from Syria to Crimea, Afghanistan to Iraq, the South China Sea to the Senkaku Islands. Moreover, the prime motivator of a half-century of sacrifice in a Cold War that cost us trillions and 90,000 dead in Korea and Vietnam—the belief we were leading the forces of light in a struggle against the forces of darkness that ruled the Sino-Soviet Empire—is gone. The great ideological struggle of the 20th century between totalitarianism and freedom, communism and capitalism, militant atheism and Christianity is over. The Communist empire collapsed. Only the remnants remain in backwaters like Cuba. Marxism- Leninism as an ideology guiding great powers is a dead faith. The Communist party may rule China, but state capitalism has produced Chinese billionaires who do not wave around Little Red Books. Lenin’s remains may lie in Red Square, and Mao’s in Tiananmen Square, but these are tourist sites, not shrines to secular saviors who remain objects of worship. The one region where religion or ideology drives men to fight and die to create a world based on the tenets of the faith is in the Islamic world. Yet, as CIA Director Richard Helms observed, the three nations that had adopted Islamist ideology—the Afghanistan of the Taliban, the Ayatollah’s Iran and Sudan—all became failed states. Yet, when the faith or ideology of a civilization or nation dies, something must replace it. And around the world what peoples and regimes seem to be turning to is nationalism. Vladimir Putin has taken back Crimea and declared himself the protector of Russians in the former republics of the Soviet Union. China’s claims against Japan in the East China Sea are rooted in 19thcentury maps and 21st-century nationalism, propelled by a hatred born of Japan’s brutality in the conquest of China from 1931 to 1945. Japan’s response is not to reassert the divinity of the emperor. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is invoking nationalism, seeking to break out from under the pacifist constitution imposed after World War II. America, too, seems to be searching for a substitute for anticommunism, to justify global commitments that seem to have less and less to do with vital national interests. TIMES, THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014 • 4 COPYRIGHT 2013 RIDGEWOOD TIMES PRINTING & PUBLISHING CO., INC. Since 1908 Published Every Thursday By RIDGEWOOD TIMES PRINTING & PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC. General Publication Office: P.O. Box 863299 Ridgewood, N.Y. 11386-0299 60-71 Woodbine St., Ridgewood, N.Y. 11385 Periodicals Postage Paid At Flushing, N.Y. 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Elmhurst, Woodside, Sunnyside, Astoria, Long Island City, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach, Richmond Hill, Rego Park, Forest Hills, Woodhaven, Elmhurst, And Kew Gardens. Reaching The Brooklyn Homes Of Ridgewood, Bushwick, Cypress Hills, East Williamsburg And Williamsburg. COMPOSITION RESPONSIBILITY: Accuracy in receiving ads over the telephone cannot be guaranteed. This newspaper is responsible for only one incorrect insertion and only for that portion of the ad in which the error appears. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to make sure copy does not contravene the Consumer Protection Law or any other requirement. The End Of Ideology? On our TV talk shows and op-ed pages, and in our think tanks here, there is rising alarm over events abroad. And President Obama is widely blamed for the perceived decline in worldwide respect for the United States. Yet, still, one hears no clamor from Middle America for “Action This Day!” to alter the perception that America is in retreat. If a single sentence could express the seeming indifference of the silent majority of Americans to what is going on abroad, it might be the simple question: “Why is this our problem?” If a Russian or Ukrainian flag flies over Simferopol, why should that be of such concern to us that we send U.S. warships, guns or troops? If Japan and China fight over islets -SEE BUCHANAN ON PG. 56- EDITORIAL Elected officials from the president of the United States to the local mayor like to mark their first 100 days in office with a gathering of the faithful and big pat on the back for not being run out of town on a rail. Mayor Bill de Blasio used his opportunity to re-enforce his campaign speeches which included a broad social welfare plan for the City of New York and its residents. He came into a brutal winter season and snow removal can make or break any newly elected mayor, But, he was ably assisted by long-time sanitation commissioner John Doherty who served for 16 years under two other mayors. The complaints are always there where snow is concerned, but by and large the city functioned. And this is what the taxpayers of this city want. They want the city to function. They want the subways to run on time and safely so those who need them to get to work or to school can count on getting to their destination on time. The same goes for the buses. Waiting on street corners in the pouring rain, or driving snow or tar-melting heat for a bus that never seems to arrive, is unacceptable. While many of those in the seats of power like to think they can make New York City into some sort of European city with bicycles as an alternate means of transportation, the reality is–it just doesn’t work. This city was originally designed for horse drawn carriages. Cars can barely function as they compete with taxis, buses, bicycles and pedestrians. The newly-created bike lanes are a disaster and extremely dangerous. There are structural realities in this city. Gas lines and water mains are slowly dying of old age. More than 160 bridges are over 100 years old and many are structurally deficient. Public hospitals buildings are 57 years old, on average, and 531 out of 2,600 public housing towers were built prior to 1950. City streets are a patchwork of pothole repairs that last a while, then split open again and again. And the list of infrastructure deterioration goes on and on. When questioned about these basic infrastructure problems after last month’s gas explosion in East Harlem, the mayor claimed that this was not the time to address those issues. So when is the right time? Let’s hope the mayor doesn’t use the lack of funding trickling down from Washington to New York City as an excuse not to address the maintenance that is absolutely necessary to keep this city running. Social programs like pre-K for all four-year-olds is great and while taxing the rich didn’t quite work out for the new mayor, the program is going full speed ahead thanks to the money found by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (who also pulled the charter schools out of the line of fire). Mayor de Blasio wants to zero in with his progressive agenda that he claims will reduce inequality and restore opportunity. But right now everybody is quite equal with the city crumbling under their feet. Doomed Maspeth UPS Drivers Get Jobs Back Union, Courier Forge Agreement by Robert Pozarycki United Parcel Service (UPS) delivered a pardon last Wednesday night, Apr. 9, to 250 drivers at its Maspeth facility which the company planned to ax over a job action earlier this year. On its website, Teamsters Local 804—which represents the drivers— announced that UPS rescinded the terminations following “a 10-hour marathon bargaining session.” The company initially moved to fire the workers last month after workers held a wildcat strike in February in support of a fellow driver, Jairo Reyes, whom UPS terminated a year short of retirement. The wildcat strike lasted 90 minutes, but weeks later, UPS issued notices of termination to its participants, meaning the company could fire them at any time regardless of terms outlined in the collective bargaining agreement. Teamsters Local 804 joined Public Advocate Letitia James and other elected officials in rallies outside the Maspeth shipping facility and on the steps of City Hall demanding that the courier stop the terminations. In the meantime, 25 union UPS workers lost their jobs, including one driver, Domenick DeDomenico, who recently returned to work after a long recovery from severe injuries he sustained in an accident. Reyes, DeDomenico and the other drivers who had lost, or were about to lose, their jobs were reinstated last Wednesday night. UPS and the union reportedly agreed to reduce the terminations to 10 day suspensions; the union also agreed to compensate UPS for monetary damages. “UPS agreed to work with Local 804 to improve labor-management relations at the company and to handle disciplinary disputes more expeditiously under the new grievance procedure,” according to Teamsters Local 804’s announcement. “We are grateful for the enormous outpouring of support from UPS customers, progressive elected officials and the public. It was that support that saved the jobs of the 250 drivers.” James and other elected officials cheered the agreement in statements received by the Times Newsweekly last week. “We have sent a clear message to corporate America that firing workers en masse for minor workplace disagreements is unacceptable,” the public advocate said. “This is a victory for working-class New Yorkers who form the backbone of our great city.” “This marks a huge victory, not just for the 250 UPS workers who now have their jobs back, but for the entire organized labor movement and working families across New York City,” added City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley. “We are very pleased that UPS and Teamsters Local 804 were able to come to an agreement that allows all 250 workers at its Maspeth facility to keep their jobs,” Representatives Joe Crowley and Grace Meng said in a joint statement. “Last week, we relayed our serious concerns in a letter to UPS and advocated for a solution to ensure these workers not lose their jobs. We’re glad they took our concerns into account and heeded that request.” What’s your opinion? Send an Letter To The Editor to info@timesnewsweekly.com
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