Sanctuary Town

In 1995, President Bill Clinton gave the State of the Union address. In it he said in part, “All Americans, not only in the states most heavily affected, but in every place in this country, are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country. The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants. The public service they use impose burdens on our taxpayers. That’s why our administration has moved aggressively to secure our borders more by hiring a record number of new border guards, by deporting twice as many criminal aliens as ever before, by cracking down on illegal hiring, by barring welfare benefits to illegal aliens. In the budget I will present to you we will try to do more to speed the deportation of illegal aliens who are arrested for crimes, to better identify illegal aliens in the workplace as recommended by the commission headed by former Congresswoman Barbara Jordan. We are a nation of immigrants. But we are also a nation of laws. It is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years, and we must do more to stop it.”

In 2001 there was more talk about building a fence to control illegal aliens from entering the United States. But indecision, if not simply inaction, took priority over action. Some of the wall would be built while the drug war against Mexican cartels kept the issue alive. At one point, Hillary Clinton sounded almost “Trumpian” on the issue. In 2005, she said: “I am adamantly against illegal immigrants. ... Clearly, we have to make some tough decisions as a country, and one of them ought to be coming up with a much better entry-and-exit system so that if we’re going to let people in for the work that otherwise would not be done, let’s have a system that keeps track of them.” Finally, in 2006, eleven years later, Congress passed and President Bush signed the bill into law sponsored by New York Representative Peter King to build the wall on the southern portion of our country. That move was supported by and voted for by Hillary Clinton as well as many other Democrats in Congress.

So what’s the point? Simply, President Trump is not saying anything new or anything that hasn’t been said before by his opponent’s side. Yet leaders around the country, state, county and yes, even in the Town of Greenburgh, are saying something else. Some, not all, have leaders who are pronouncing their disagreement or displeasure with President Trump’s message to get a handle on illegal immigration, and are openly touting their defiance towards controlling illegal immigration and the negative effects it has. Going after those who have violated our sovereignty and are committing criminal acts should be welcome by these leaders as it will assist them in bettering our neighborhoods.

At the last Greenburgh Town Board meeting, Mr Feiner and his Town Board passed a resolution announcing their blatant disregard for our federal, state and county immigration laws by stating they are committed to opposing... “...other hateful acts that target or demean persons based on their race, sex, ethnicity, religion, national origin, immigration status...” By openly recognizing that the Town Board equates immigration status as the same as racial prejudice or gender bias, they are demeaning the civil rights that people have fought for years to gain. By including “immigration status” in their resolution, aligning it to known illegal practices such as gender bias, racial bias, and more, they lessen their point because being here illegally is already a violation of the law. It’s like a thief reporting that he’s been robbed of something he stole.

The final paragraph of the Town’s resolution says, “...Town Board reaffirms its commitment to preserving and enhancing the environment to maintain and improve the quality of life for all its residents and for future generations.” This is contradictory. It’s actually just another political side-show by Mr Feiner and his Board for a bit of publicity to afford them the grandstanding to say, “Look what we did. We're not turning in any illegal aliens.” In reality, what they did is say they are openly violating the laws of this country, almost challenging the federal and state immigration services to go after them.

The position with this post is not about President Trump or Democrats versus Republicans. It’s about Mr Feiner and the illegal actions of the Town of Greenburgh. It’s no secret that Greenburgh is a sanctuary Town. Our law enforcement, fire and other Town personnel have related to ABG that directives from the “top” down instruct them to ignore the housing and overcrowding issues. This is unfortunate as our first responders are our first line of defense and can and will see when something is wrong and offer input to make corrections. Overcrowded housing, living in the shadows or in the woods hoping to not be discovered is not good for any of us. Our local economy, the safety issue for the overcrowded single family homes in our neighborhoods, increased crime in our neighborhoods and our overburdened community resources, such as water usage, waste disposal, etc., are many parts of the problem. All of this needs to be corrected. If Mr Feiner and his Town Board won’t do it, and they haven’t for 24-years during his administration, then someone else needs to do it. Only then will we get A Better Greenburgh.

Time Will Tell

So many good candidates started out in this Presidential race. Some had foreign affairs expertise, some had domestic experience but only candidate, Trump, had a business acumen that none of the others enjoyed. Sure, the media went into hyper-drive to find fault with all and any of his deals. They focused on four bankruptcies which may or may not have significance. Regardless, he was the political outsider and not part of the political establishment which the electorate has proven desirable with their votes. 

In the end, one candidate was left standing and finally won a long and contentious campaign. A President Trump was not many people's first (or 2nd or 3rd) choice for the nation's highest office. But many are relieved that making history as the first female president will continue to be reserved for someone of a higher ethical quality and moral competency. It's also sad that someone like Julian Assange was the one to expose much of the information that probably made the case against Clinton and ultimately contributed to her loss. That should have been the media's job but they chose a different direction. Could we ever see a political thriller written like All The President's Men nowadays given the abdication of our press and media to challenge politicians and governmental organizations? It's doubtful.

Many have said some nasty things on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere about both sides. A lot of negative things were said about both candidates by both candidates. Will President Trump follow through with his threat and go after Clinton with her email debacle? It's also doubtful. It was a great one-liner during the debate but reality is usually more tempered. Time will tell.

We are Americans and work best when we stand together. We're hoping our future is bright. Again, time will tell. God bless America!

It’s Simple - Just Vote

There’s been a lot of useless back and forth arguments, name-calling and such about who’s a better candidate for President during this campaign season. We find most people do not want either candidate, neither the historic first female president or the successful billionaire businessman.

Running for County Legislator in 2009 and State Assembly in 2010 was an eye-opening experience, teaching first-hand that the system IS rigged. There IS voter fraud with the archaic petition ballots with candidates on BOTH SIDES using dead voters’ names to qualify a candidate to run for office. No one verifies them. Why? It’s all part of the rigging. Want to change it? Good luck with that. It’s overseen by NYS law and the locals will say their hands are tied and there’s nothing they can do. Of course, there’s really nothing they want to do.

Then there is fraud at the polls. It’s supposedly why we have poll inspectors – to prevent fraudulent voters from voting on behalf of the dead (or at least someone else). Yet the inspectors are impotent to stop the fraud! When someone comes up and gives a name of a person who has (registered and) voted before, but is DEAD, the poll inspector does NOT look at any ID or driver’s license, OR ANYTHING to verify who that person is.

The rigging actually begins with both parties. Depending on whose turn it is to run will dictate who gets any support from the party. It’s up to the new guy to raise his own money. Lose and you’re kicked to the curb. Win, and you’re everybody’s best friend and the respective political party sucks up to you. So, while you may want things to change, the ensconced establishment wants no part of it. In fact, it seems like the power brokers are the ones chanting “Never Trump”.

Clinton has been in the political arena for 30 or so years. Trump for 18 months. Given Clinton’s overweight baggage, it’s inconceivable that she could be qualified for any position. And for those of you voting for her to make history and elect the first woman president, she has already created history of the wrong kind. Your vote should not be about making inconsequential history. It should be with a quality candidate that offers a true vision and an ability to unite. After thirty years, there’s not much of that with Clinton.

So many are disappointed that out of however many millions of New Yorkers and in fact all US citizens there are to choose from, that Clinton and Trump are what our choices have come down to. It’s so sad.

But there’s still more rigging at the top. You see, this time it was Clinton’s turn. In the last election they told her to step aside when Obama ran and dutifully, she did. She played by the party’s rules as she was forced to wait to get the power she craves. Notice how everyone abandoned her when the “new” email stuff was exposed? She went on the attack against FBI Director Comey. Once the FBI said they would not indict, they all came back to her side. She’s toxic! They are only on board if she keeps her nose clean. They’re nothing but fair weathered friends. In reality, they are political whores.

The media is rigged in her favor as well. How can you tell? Well, if you can’t tell, you’re simply not paying attention. Every news cast shows her smiling and waving and hugging people. And they spend about five to ten minutes more air time on her than on Trump. The coverage of Trump is always shorter and showing him saying one blip of a sound byte. They focus on the percentages where one minute he has 4% more than her and they discuss the 4-5% margin of error. When she’s ahead, there’s no mention of any margin of error!

Even better for her are the RINOs who tout “Never Trump”. They are rigging their own candidate to lose in the very election they claim is the most critical of our time. It will have a ripple effect on other candidates in lesser races. But they don’t comprehend how their myopia will have a bigger impact beyond Trump. You never see the Democrats do this. They always stick together. Is it any wonder the Republicans can’t win?

It’s not about the presidency per say, but the 95 appointments to all the courts, not just the Supreme Court, that she’ll get to make and will have lasting and long term impacts on us. It’s about open borders and immigration, destroying her husbands mistresses, enabling her husband to abuse women, Vince Foster, Benghazi, lying under oath, the email/server scandal and much more. We’re holding our noses knowing that the only way to stop Clinton is to vote for Trump – ugh!

“What difference does it make?” Plenty! The Voice Of The Electorate (VOTE) must be heard and the two-sided establishments must be changed. We’re all in for change. How about you?

Discrimination and Prejudice’s Double Standard: More Education is Needed

Two ABG staffers were asked during a lunch break to comment on their discussion about the recent anti-semitic comments made by Fairview Fire Chief Anthony LoGuidice. They questioned if the comments were actually made by the Chief? We said they must have been as the Chief apologized for them. Did we think he was an anti-Semite or for that matter a prejudicial person? “No,” and we were in agreement that his actions over the course of his forty-plus years in public service spoke louder than words. But it doesn’t excuse what happened. Yes, words can hurt. Words can be used to destroy. At this point, we hope they can also be used to heal.

Some of the discussion centered on the philosophical meanings of words as well as the real world actions of discrimination, hate speech and what is considered acceptable or not. We’ve stated before that Mr Feiner is quick to accuse others of racism while he himself was actually found guilty of discrimination against the Fortress Bible Church from Mount Vernon. In fact, he was found guilty on seven counts, including lying under oath, destroying evidence and not being credible. How can we believe anything he says? We can’t. The passage of “let he who cast the first stone…” comes to mind.

It also begs the question of what other forms of derisive, hateful and insulting language might be used throughout our Town government? What of the other departments in the Town, such as the highway department? We already know Mr Feiner and his Town Board condone the use of this offensive language by Town Assessor Edie McCarthy when she used of the “N” word in Town Hall toward another employee as witnessed by employees and Town activist Hal Samis. Mr Samis asked at several Board meetings what they did to address it and never received an answer, solution, apology or even a shrug of the shoulders. Just the blank stare that is so often used when answers are not forthcoming. Where was Mr Feiner’s outrage during that entire episode? There was none! Why is one form of bad behavior acceptable and another is not? We’ve also seen Mr Feiner go out of his way to give a second chance to others, i.e., Alan Hochberg, a convicted felon who has worked for him and maintains an office at Town Hall. When Councilman Ken Jones shouted, “Sit down! Sit the f&^# down!” neither Mr Jones nor Mr Feiner apologized for his foul language of that night! Why is it that whatever Chief LoGuidice offers is not enough? Why the double standard?

According to reports, Fire Department Deputy Chief Howard Reiss confirmed past conversations of Chief LoGuidice’s comments. How has Mr Reiss had been treated by Chief LoGuidice during his tenure on the job? Was he unable to practice his religious beliefs while employed by the fire district? Did the Chief forbid him to observe any Sabbaths or religious functions? Has Reiss ever complained about LoGuidice’s behavior or any anti-Semitism in the Fire Department? Are there others guilty of this behavior as well? If he did, were his concerns addressed or dismissed? Similarly, Reiss claims he’d heard this and we wonder why he said nothing to either a superior, a union representative or commissioner? Isn’t he, as a Jewish firefighter, condoning the behavior and in fact exacerbating it? Its one thing if no one knew this was taking place and another to jump on the bandwagon later while its convenient to do so. We’re not saying he shouldn’t speak up, just questioning why he would wait until now?

We see many examples of discrimination in all sorts of ways each and every day and are expected to tolerate them as politically acceptable or humor and sometimes both. The media seems to have no problem bashing Christianity when it will provide a sensational story, but mass murders at Fort Hood are classified as “workplace violence” as opposed to jihad. You’re recall in Nov. 5, 2009, Muslim Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan murdered 13 people on the base and wounded 30 more while shouting in the name of Allah. How is this rationale a positive or acceptable argument about discrimination? It is not.

Examples abound with a few “passes” of what some choose to interpret as acceptable while others do not enjoy the same luxury. We recall when Vice President Joe Biden mocked Indian accents in a 2012 jobs speech in New Hampshire? Or, when he complained in 2008 on the campaign trail that “you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.” We can certainly keep going with Biden, but his behavior is typically compared to the embarrassing oaf everyone avoids and shrugs off. Another double standard.

How about when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, now a leading 2016 Democratic Presidential contender, repeatedly employed a degrading Southern accent to pander to black voters? She said in a speech, “I ain’t noways tired.” Insulting? Demeaning? Excused. Or that Democrat Bob Beckel made fun of Louisiana GOP governor Bobby Jindal’s State of the Union response by comparing it to a “call-center ad in Mumbai.” Just last week on his Comedy Central show, Stephen Colbert revived his supposedly satirical “Ching-Chong Ding-Dong” skit. Here, he speaks in Pidgin English with a grossly exaggerated Asian accent. The reason he said and did what he did doesn’t matter. “Oh, I ruv tea. It’s so good for you. You so pretty, American girl.” Why are these statements considered acceptable? Humor? Hardly. Why does the media not hold these people to the same standards? When do we draw the line? Because they are said by favored leaders and comedians should not allow them to be conveniently dismissed and ignored.

It also begs the question of when is our disdain for language such as this considered hypersensitivity, when is it a private conversation, and when is it free speech? If it is free speech, our First Amendment rights, or whatever we choose to call it, to what extent should we allow it? Can we, or for that matter should we, even seek to control it? Examples of American Nazi’s protesting throughout our country and their right to not only rally and protest but their “right” to do so in pro-American events, such as Fourth of July parades seem to abound. Similarly, why do we allow anti-war protestors to protest and disrupt families in mourning during military funerals at plots they have purchased, both financially and with lives? When is your freedom of speech a violation of my rights? We don’t need to wait generations for things to change. We can change them now!

In the African American community, racist comments being made amongst each other with the use of the “N” word. Why is it still used and considered acceptable? We know that that language will not be tolerated in the Fire Department and rightfully so. In fact, deceased comedian Richard Prior made it a point to say he would stop using the word because it was wrong for a number of reasons. Good for him – unfortunately, we lost him too soon. To go beyond this one word, when do we stop calling overweight people “Fatso”, or redheads “Red”, or those of Italian decent “Guineas”? Unfortunately, the list is endless. Finally, African American actor Nick Cannon recently put on whiteface makeup and posted pictures of himself saying, “It’s official! I’m white!” claiming he was doing a character impression for his new movie. Doing the opposite of “blackface” as white actors did years ago, which is nowadays considered offensive, doesn’t justify his actions or make it any less prejudicial because he is an African American. If it’s not right for one, its not justifiable for another.  

No rational, thinking person would support hate speech. There are several organizations whose goal is to teach tolerance and acceptance to the ignorant. If you are not willing to accept an apology why should we bother to even do this? We need to get people educated to understand and believe there is a better way. Mr Feiner is always quick to throw stones while living in a glass house. Perhaps Mr Feiner should undergo this same sensitivity training so he can learn how offensive using the “N” word can be? What Chief LoGuidice did in the past was wrong. Mr Feiner asked for an apology and received it. It’s time to work together toward healing. 

We certainly need to ensure this won’t happen again, whether in Town Hall, the fire department’s TV room, on the playground and the entertainment industry or anywhere. We cannot stop in our quest. Education, acceptance and fairness are better than they used to be but we still need more. Lets work together toward eliminating all prejudice and discrimination in our Town and our lives. Only then can we have A Better Greenburgh.