This video compiled and produced by Michael Ferrara is a tribute to three veteran friends of his, lifelong residents from his home town of Corona, Queens. This is a special tribute to the Greatest Generation on Veterans Day, November 11, 2019. We must never forget the service and sacrifice of our veterans, especially the great patriotic veterans in this video, one of whom, Tony who is celebrating his 100th birthday.
Help to keep Elizabeth’s voice strong!
Mitt Romney is a disgrace to the Republican Party. We don’t need genteel, collegial Republicans to complain about President Trump’s “unpresidential” behavior in the White House. Romney is emerging as the ringleader of the insane Republican resistance, now jumping into the impeachment witch-hunt. “The American people chose a barbarian for president because they knew only a barbarian could drain the Washington swamp,” wrote Miranda Devine in the New York Post (10/7/19).
A letter writer sarcastically thanks Romney for four more unwanted years of Obama, and asks that he show some guts and switch parties. “The GOP doesn’t need his kind,” he writes. Mitt Romney may be an accomplished business manager and venture capitalist, but he’s not a fighter nor is he the right person to take on the Democrat Party, which is now run by radical anti-Semitic socialists. Classic Liberalism is dead and this is no longer your father’s Democrat Party.
The new Republican fighter is emerging, in the mold of our great leader, President Trump. Freedom and democracy has never been won with passive dialogues of peace and serenity, but with the steel spines and iron fisted resolve of great men and women of our nation, who have fought bravely against the enemies of America and our liberties. In 1776, these Patriots stood up to fight for Liberty against the lack of representation in England, and secured our freedom and independence from the British Crown. Union soldiers fought and died for our equality, dignity, and unity as fellow countrymen and human beings. The Greatest Generation overcome their material comforts and left their families to wage war overseas against totalitarianism, fascism, and tyranny. Here in NYC, the brave men and women of law enforcement sacrifice their comforts and their lives every day for the safety and security of every New Yorker. Victorious on every battlefield, from the mean streets of New York City to every remote corner of the globe, these patriots make America the great shining light of freedom, democracy and prosperity for the world as we are today.
We are the Republican fighters for liberty, justice and our America. There is no room for complacency, compromise, or ulterior motives in pursuit of this just and noble cause. Our values and our way of life as Americans are in peril. We need to fight purely because we realize we are on a sacred mission to defend our great country, our freedoms, our traditional values, and our Constitution and Bill of Rights, here in our local communities, right here in Queens, NY.
Now that we are under attack from the highly organized and bankrolled socialist left, we are making history as Republican Patriots challenging the political establishment and the radical left, to build a great new Republican organization of the people, not with bullets, but with ballots, proxies, and votes!
We will organize, recruit Republicans, and build a great GOP organization where every County Committee (Election District) seat is filled in every Assembly District in Queens. This is our battle. It’s the battle against our greatest enemies of all, which are apathy, inertia, and pessimism, where everyone’s voice counts in this fight, and every vote makes a difference. We are also fighting against the naysayers who declare, “it can’t be done, because it’s never been done before.”
History is made by the doers and the activists, not the naysayers and pessimists. It’s those who try and fail, and get up again and try one more time. We have to continue to go out and talk to the people, face to face, door to door, person to person, block by block, Election District by Election District, Assembly District by Assembly District. We need to meet and befriend our busy Republican neighbors and sincerely ask them to get involved to the extent that they can, and join our noble cause. Whether they become Republican County Committee leaders, or campaign volunteers, or attend our club meetings, and our glorious annual Lincoln Dinner, or merely donate much needed money, all their contributions to our movement are greatly appreciated.
Let us inform the voters of all parties, whether Democrat, Independence Party, or “Blank,” that Republicans share their values, and we all need to stand united against our leftist enemies. Inform them that the so-called moderate Democrats are in the Party of yesteryear, and their political leaders have lost their backbone, running scared in compromise with the left.
We need to speak up and debunk the widely held myths that all Republicans are wealthy upper class 1%-ers, white stuffed shirts, men’s clubbers, and racists. Rather, we share the same values and the promise of the American Dream with all our fellow hard-working American citizens of every race and ethnicity. We need to talk to the people, knock on doors, and win hearts and minds. Make our case to them and urge them to vote and register as Republicans. That’s the path to victory, to change our GOP organization, win elections, and change our government.
We need to bust the myths, and expose the bias and lies of the leftist fake news media and the long-standing indoctrination that we are the bad guys. Yes, that goes for the local Queens weekly newspapers, most of which are owned by leftwing corporate conglomerates. We need to educate the voters that we are not anti-immigrant, nor are we racists. Rather, we Republicans are members of all races, colors, creeds and we hail from all national origins, united as Americans first under our U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, who support legal immigration. We are not anti-labor union. Many of us are union workers, and we too desire better wages and working conditions for hard-working law-abiding American citizens, toiling every day to make life for their family’s future generations better than the last. Many unions oppose the Green New Deal and giving up their individual health plans for a Medicare for All program, and some supported Amazon’s headquarters in Queens. Not one union endorsed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Labor unions are our natural allies. Republicans are not in favor of dismantling Social Security or the social safety net programs. Rather we stand against out-of-control government spending that has wasted $ trillions on such catastrophes as the War on Poverty, and the billions of squandered tax dollars on NYC’s failed mental health plan, ThriveNYC, the disastrous Renewal School Program, and the list goes on and on.
It starts now. November 5th is the day of the General Election. We have to get out and vote and vote Republican, and bring our friends and neighbors to the polls and to our Republican club meetings, as we build our Party.
By Phil Orenstein, President
Queens Village Republican Club
The October 3rd General Club Meeting was our annual Columbus Day Dinner held at Nancy’s restaurant. The Queens County Republican Party Reorganization was scheduled for the same night, so our club president and several officers and members could not be present.
By Robert Golomb
Editor’s Note: This column, as syndicated columnist’s Bob Golomb’s previous piece published on these pages two weeks ago prove, the leftist Democrats cause as many terrible problems in Suffolk County as they do everywhere else in America, including right here in Queens. Please share this column with your friends in Suffolk County and urge them to vote for John M. Kennedy for County Executive and, if they live in the 2nd Legislative District, to vote for Linda Kabot.
Most of Long Island’s political media have reported primarily on the battle in this year’s November 5th election for Suffolk County Executive waging between Republican challenger, County Comptroller John M. Kennedy (whom I interviewed for a column that appeared on these pages 2 weeks ago), and Democrat incumbent Steve Bellone (with whose campaign staff I have been at the time of this writing unsuccessfully attempting to schedule an interview for a column).
This media attention reflects the importance to the county’s 1.5 million residents of the position of Suffolk County Executive, whose authority as the county’s highest elected official includes proposing, seeking legislative approval and enacting the annual budget, managing the county’s dozens of departments and agencies and representing Suffolk’s interests in its financial and legal dealings with the federal and state governments.
So far less covered by the media, but collectively of equal importance to the County Executive race, are this fall’s contests between Democrats and Republicans for the 18 seats of the Suffolk County Legislature. Co-equal to the County Executive, the Suffolk County Legislature is responsible for approving or disapproving the county head’s proposed budget, serving as the official governmental watchdog to prevent wasteful spending, levying taxes and setting county policies, most notably those affecting public health and public safety.
For the 24 elections held since the Suffolk County Legislator was first established in January 1970 (for 200 years prior a “Board of Supervisors” served as the county’s statutory body), political contests for the 2- year term seats on this legislative branch have been known to be fiercely fought. However, this year’s contest, the 25th in the county’s history, has been said by several political insiders with whom I have been in contact to be the most harshly fought of any in recent memory.
According to several of these same sources, the most intensely fought of all 18 seats (11 currently held by Democrats and 7 by the GOP) has been the battle between the Republican challenger Linda Kabot and 2 term Democrat incumbent Bridget Fleming in Suffolk County Legislative District (LD) 2, the county’s 2nd largest geographical district, which spans the entire South Fork of Suffolk, comprising the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, Shelter Island, East Moriches, and portions of the Town of Brookhaven.
However, when I interviewed Kabot in Suffolk County last week, I thought, at first, that my usually reliable sources had misled me. To my surprise, rather than beginning the interview with a strong rebuke of Fleming, Kabot told me that she and her opponent share the same views on several important local environmental issues. Citing their agreement on proposals to upgrade septic systems, create sewer districts in downtown village areas and develop storm abatement systems in low lying areas of East Suffolk, Kabot stated, “Both Ms. Fleming and I agree that these programs are vital to protecting the environment and safeguarding our communities from potential natural disasters.”
However, Kabot, 52, who has in the past served a combined 14 years in the executive and legislative branches of the Southampton municipality, including 6 years as a councilwoman and 2 years as town supervisor, just moments later made it clear to me that beyond their areas of agreement on these environmental programs, she and Fleming hold polar opposite positions on all other key issues.
“Other than our shared support of several environmental programs, I have extremely strong disagreements with Ms. Fleming concerning every major issue affecting the people of Suffolk”, stated Kabot, the married mother of 3 young adult sons.
The main area of their disagreement pointed to by Kabot relates to the county’s $2 billion accumulated debt, and its interconnected almost $900 million operating deficit. To pay off the interests on that debt and to fund government operational services, Kabot stated, the county under Bellone’s stewardship and with the approval of Democratic legislators, including Fleming for the past 4 years, has raised property taxes by 22% while increasing by $100 million the fees that residents pay to the county for such matters as recording their mortgages, purchasing burglar alarms, registering their vehicles, and for camping, fishing and holding group events at public parks.
“Mr. Bellone’s
across the board tax increases, which were rubber stamped into law by Ms.
Fleming and her Democrat colleagues in the legislature, have hit our middle-class
residents the hardest… This just proves Mr. Bellone’s and Ms. Fleming’s claim
to be ‘protecting the taxpayer’ is an outright lie”, stated Kabot.
“Ms. Fleming and her fellow Democrats in the legislature”, Kabot continued, “have also voted in favor of Bellone’s budget deficits which have led to Suffolk County Bond ratings being downgraded seven times, now standing at a dismal Baa 2 rating, just one level above junk bond status.”
True to what I had originally expected, Kabot’s criticism of Fleming became more acerbic. Noting a recent report issued by New York State Comptroller, which, comparing Suffolk to the other 61 counties in NYS, described it as the state’s financially “most stressed county”, Kabot added, “this is just further proof that Mr. Bellone and legislators like Ms. Fleming have brought the county to the financial breaking point.”
Kabot, who has worked closely with Kennedy throughout the campaign, told me that if he and she are both elected, they, along with other Republican and some moderate Democratic lawmakers, will introduce policies and establish guidelines to restore the county’s financial viability.
The first item on their agenda, she stated, will be to repeal a law, supported by Bellone and Fleming, which currently requires the county to use funds acquired from its casinos to be directed to pay for the public financing of political campaigns.
“Taxpayers should not be forced to help finance any candidate’s political campaign. Casino revenues should be directed into the general fund and be used to help pay off our huge debt”, said Kabot.
The next item on Kennedy’s and her agenda, Kabot said, will be to conduct a formal review of the dozens of the county’s executive departments and agencies, which, she contended, have increased significantly in number under Bellone, adding to the county’s debt without providing any tangible benefit to the public.
“This overblown bureaucracy created by Bellone and his rubber stamp legislators, such as Ms. Fleming, provides no benefits to our overtaxed citizens”, Kabot charged. “To reduce spending, the entire budget will be carefully reviewed {if she and Kennedy are elected} department by department. We will be focused on such reforms as combining agencies that perform redundant jobs and reducing the number of departments in the county’s executive branch.”
The final financial item we discussed, while budget related, touched upon an issue connected to a bitter national debate concerning the rights of illegal immigrants. Kabot noted that Fleming favors wide- ranging entitlements for the thousands of illegal immigrants living in Suffolk. Referring to Fleming’s support for the county’s paying for their health care services, college tuition and legal aid, Kabot stated, “As a child of parents who came here as legal immigrants, I am committed to assisting people who came to America through legal means. However, I view the status of legal and illegal immigrants to be totally different…. We have funneled millions of dollars from our $700 million public assistance programs to pay for services for illegals. That money must be redirected to help pay off our enormous deficit.”
Our discussion of her and Fleming’s opposing views on illegal immigrants did not end there. Kabot attacked her opponent for her highly controversial vote against a resolution presented to the Legislature on February 7th, 2019. The resolution (which was passed with the vote of every legislator other than Fleming) called for the county to accept $ 65,000 in federal funding related to the Suffolk County’s Police Department’s (SCPD) participation in the “ICE EL DORADO TASK FORCE” (IEDTF) program.
Comprised, among other law enforcement agencies, of Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agents and SCPD detectives, IEDTF was primarily formed, Kabot noted, to target criminal gangs made- up of illegal immigrants, including the notorious MS-13.
“Fleming’s vote against receiving federal money directed to aid law enforcement- which she tellingly defends by saying she was opposed to ICE’s participation in the task force- proves that she is indifferent to the safety concerns of every person living or even visiting Suffolk County”, stated Kabot.
Come the late evening of November 5th, we will learn whether or not the voters of Suffolk County share that depiction of Ms. Fleming.
Robert Golomb is a nationally and internationally published columnist. Mail him at MrBob347@aol.com and follow him on Twitter@RobertGolomb
By Hemant Shah
It has been more than 38 years since I first set my foot on American Soil. I remember it was my first flight in February 1981 when I arrived at JFK. As it was my first flight, the journey was long and I was carrying with me a bundle of mixed emotions. I still recall my Dad and Mom trying hard to hide their tears when they came to see me off at Mumbai Airport. As I am writing this, I am literally pulled back in retrospect, down the memory lane.
All I had with me was a few dollars and an “American Dream”. I wanted to be something and I was certain that one day, I would achieve my dream. Right outside JFK, I, witnessed a big sign by the then President Ronald Reagan which said “The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted, it belongs to the brave”. These words were very energetic and inspirational. I knew that there was no further looking back but to move forward.
Struggles ensued and one by one I, along with my wife’s support, resolved them. The day our son graduated with a degree in Medicine, we thanked God and our country for making our dream come true. I am sure every legal immigrant who arrives on American Soil carries the American Dream.
In February 2011 the day I was awarded “Businessman of the Year Award” at the annual Lincoln Dinner, was another step, I consider to be a part of the American Dream. It was the stepping stone in my relationship with the Queens Village Republican Club and Phil Orenstein in particular. I realized that I was a Republican. All Republican values were inscribed in me such as being conservative, free market capitalism, deregulation, limited government, and traditional values.
As far as my understanding goes, mostly all legal immigrants arriving from the South Asian corridor, carry not only similar conservative values but have strong traditional values as well. It is imperative for each one of them to introspect, realize and recognize these values.
Let us all together and Republicans in particular resolve that we will not leave any stone unturned in supporting our great President Donald Trump, and making America great again. God Bless America.
Hemant Shah is past President of Jain Center of America, and has been a Realtor since 1986. He currently serves as 2nd Vice President of Queens Village Republican Club, Executive VP of Floral Park Bellerose Indian Merchants Association, and President of Jain Senior Group, Inc.
By Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Grand Knight of St. Anastasia Knights of Columbus Council #5911
November 5th is Election Day, and is a time for all registered voters to get out and vote for a better community. In the last General Election the voter turn out was low. Well in my opinion I find that to be a total disgrace. We live in a free country and we have the right to chose who can better represents us. When we don’t vote the possibility exist that wrong candidate gets elected who doesn’t represents our vital interest.
We need representatives who want to serve the people and are truly concerned with what we the people hold most dear. There are many issues that should concern us and they are: taxes, education, homelessness, affordable housing, health care, crime, and transportation. The issues are endless and need to be address by our elected representatives who hopefully have workable solutions.
When we don’t vote we have no right to complain how bad things are. Added to that when we don’t vote, the quality of life decreases. We all need to express a desire for better communities. To my fellow citizens please get out and vote on election day because it is very important. So wake up and smell the coffee and get out and vote !
TFP was formed to resist, in the realm of ideas, the liberal, socialist and communist trends of the times and proudly affirm the positive values of tradition, family and private property.
Melania and I wish all Jewish people a blessed
Yom Kippur.
Known as the “Sabbath of Sabbaths,” Yom Kippur is the holiest of days in the
Jewish faith and the culmination of the High Holy Days. Through teshuva, tefilla, and tzedakah, Jews on Yom Kippur reach
toward God to reunite and seek spiritual closeness to our Creator. As the
day’s services conclude, the final great blast of the shofar signals the end of
the Day of Atonement and a strengthening and renewal of the spiritual bond with
God.
On this day, as Jews around the world stand in front of the open ark, facing
the holy Torah and asking God’s forgiveness, Melania and I pray that He may
seal you in the Book of Life for the coming year and grant His people a year of
sweetness and plenty.
