vol 4 no 19 dec 10 2009.indd

Transcription

VOL. IV NO. XIX
Westchester’s Most Influential Weekly
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2009
Andy Shows His
True Self In Defeat:
This Week...
See The Advocate
page 5
Northern Westchester: p2
Does Westchester Have
The Budget It Deserves?
In Our Opinion, p4:
When Revision Replaces
Accountability
World Traveler, p8:
The Traveler’s Trek In Nepal
File Photo
westchesterguardianonline.com
Arrogant And Vindictive
Feds Fill Void Left By DiFiore In
Underage Sexual Enticement Prosecutions
See page 3
PAGE 2
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
Catherine Wilson, Bureau Chief
On Monday evening, November 30, 2009, County Legislators held a public hearing on
the County Budget to allow local
taxpayers to voice their opinions
on government spending. Sadly,
however, the majority of speakers
at the sparsely attended hearing
were members of special interest
groups urging the Legislators attending to continue funding their
programs. Some of those groups
were well organized, bringing
along their supporters armed with
banners and even children for visual impact for the television cameras.
One of the groups, Community Capital Resources (CCR), advocated for additional funds for
affordable housing in Westchester County noting it has received
funding since 1989. The speaker
did not address the judgment filed
against the County for its fail-
The Advocate:
Does Westchester Have
The Budget It Deserves?
ure to provide affordable housing
and what part, if any, their agency
played in these proceedings.
CCR noted it provides other
services for County residents for
the funding it receives, including
offering financial workshops for
over 200 individuals in the County,
even though the County’s local libraries, Westchester Community
College, and even the County itself
already offers similar workshops
and programs.
The County actually has a web
site www.westchestergov.com/managingmoney that helps people
make “wise spending choices”. So
why is the County paying for the
CCR to offer financial seminars
when this information is already
provided online by the County itself? The speaker did not address
what duplication, if any, their programs had with those already offered by other agencies and Coun-
ty government.
Pace Women’s Justice Center
followed and advocated for the
continuance of the Elder Abuse
Legal Services program. The
program’s director noted that the
average cost to assist a client was
approximately $700 each. Despite
the growing elder population,
and their vulnerability to abuse,
the County has eliminated funding for this program entirely in
2010! Pace showed up in force
with four lawyers to advocate for
their programs.
The lawyers worked in tandem to support each other’s programs. A representative from the
Westchester Women’s Agenda also
spoke, noting that one of the attorneys from the Pace Women’s Center had already spoken for them on
their behalf. However, this speaker asked for the County to provide
continued funding to a variety of
agencies in the area, without noting which agencies were receiving
these funds, how much they were
receiving, how well these agencies
performed in the past, and if these
agencies are duplicating the efforts
of other County programs.
But the largest special interest group was a consortium of day
care centers and parents seeking
child care subsidies. The parents
were all objecting to the County’s
proposed increase for subsidized
parents to contribute an additional 10% to child care costs in 2010.
Every parent, and multiple day
care center directors and providers, spoke out vehemently against
this increase, yet not one of them
acknowledged that the subsidies
were being set back to previous
levels!
In 2005, parents were expected to contribute 25% of their gross
Continued on pg. 18
Index
“A Kick In The Teeth To County Taxpayers” .................................................................5
Classified ......................................................................................................... 26
Community Calendar ..........................................................................22, 23
The Court Report:
Feds Fill Void Left By DiFiore............................................................................ 3, 6, 7
Horoscope: Shimmering Stars, Dec. 10 - 16 ...........................................16, 17
In Our Opinion:
When Revision Replaces Accountability .......................................................................4
Jeff Deskovic:
A Post-Thanksgiving Thought, Part 1 ...................................................... 20, 21
Living Latino In Westchester:
Thanksgiving Reprise............................................................................................. 10
Northern Westchester:
Does Westchester Have The Budget It Deserves? ................................... 2, 18, 19
Our Readers Respond: ..........................................................................4, 12
The World Traveler:
Manaslu: Ghorka to Baluwa - Account Of Columnist’s Recent Trek ...................8, 9
This Week in History: Dec. 10 - 16 .......................................................24, 25
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PAGE 3
Preet Bharara
United States Attorney
Southern District of New York
Federal Prosecutors More Engaged Under
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara In Prosecuting
Underage Sexual Enticement In Westchester
Loan Officer Pleads Guilty To Attempting To Entice
A 15-Year-Old Girl For Sexual Activity
PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern
District of New York, announced that LUIS ANTONIO REBUTTI, 43,
pleaded guilty before United States District Judge CATHY SEIBEL in
White Plains federal court to a charge of using the internet to attempt
to entice, induce, and persuade an undercover officer posing as a 15year-old girl to meet REBUTTI for the purpose of engaging in sexual
activity.
According to the Information and statements made during REBUTTI’s guilty plea:
In early January 2009, REBUTTI, using instant messaging, contacted an America Online profile maintained by an undercover detective with the Westchester County Police Department. In the profile,
the detective posed as a 15-year-oldgirl. Over the course of several
weeks, the defendant communicated, using instant messaging and
emails, with the detective. During those communications, REBUTTI
attempted to persuade, induce, and entice the undercover detective
to engage in sexual activity with him. REBUTTI told the detective to
pretend that she was 18 years old, instead of 15. On January 20, 2009,
the defendant went to the Eldorado Diner on the border of Elmsford
and Tarrytown, New York, to meet the 15-year-old girl for the purposes of engaging in sexual activity with her, and was arrested.
REBUTTI is charged with one count of enticement of a minor to
engage in sexual activity and faces of a maximum sentence of life in
prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months in prison.
He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge SEIBEL on March 12, 2010.
Mr. BHARARA praised the investigative work of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and the Westchester County Department of
Public Safety.
Assistant United States Attorneys SARAH R. KRISSOFF and
MARCIA S. COHEN are in charge of the prosecution.
Continued on page 6
PAGE THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
In Our Opinion...
L
When Revision Replaces Accountability
ast week we went to lunch with a public figure here in Westchester who will go unnamed. It goes without saying, notwithstanding,
whatever feelings of friendship or comfort might exist between a journalist and a high-profile public figure, each is likely to have some employment-related objective when agreeing to take significant time out
of their day to meet.
A newspaper reporter is generally receptive to some tidbit, some inside
information that hasn’t as yet been shared with other media, something
that might never come out in a formal press conference or interview,
but might be revealed in the casual setting of lunch at a local bar & grill.
Beyond that possibility, We were really not in a fishing mode.
Our companion, however, had clearly brought his rod and reel and, having obviously recently suffered some unececssary and inappropriate embarrassment or exposure, was seeking reassurance with respect to our
intentions. Nevertheless, that matter managed to get cleared up in very
generic terms and references, even before we reached the restaurant.
That aspect, having been quickly dispatched, the banter over lunch was,
for the most part, of the Memory Lane variety, and the whole experience seemed to move along rapidly. In fact, We were moved to inquire
whether our guest needed to get back to the office quickly, but we were
assured that there was no particular rush.
Still, there was a sense he had better things to do. In the drive back to
his office where We had left our car, conversation was more lively as
he took the lead, particularly with respect to an individual with whom
we each had had extensive experience and exposure though decidedly
different in nature. Our lunch guest proceeded to review a tragic matter that occurred the better part of a decade ago, the facts of which, he
acknowledged as he opened the conversation, we were “never going to
agree upon.”
His description of events was so at odds with what years of investigation, interviews, and research had revealed, not to mention the more
positive light being cast upon his own, and his associates’, involvement
that We were reminded, upon later reflection, of what many people
have a tendency to do as they grow older.
There is often a tendency by such persons as they recount events in
which they had a very real duty to, and should have played a more
positive and/or constructive role in other peoples’ lives, to somehow
remember it as though they did what they should have done, but had
neither the capacity nor gumption to do. As with the particular matter
at issue, failure by one individual to properly discharge their duty often
denies closure to many.
Our Readers Respond...
Spanocrat Going To County Board Of Elections
Dear Editor:
One of Andrew Spano’s top commissioners is headed to the
Westchester County Board of Elections.
Human Resources Commissioner Paula Redd Zeman is
about to be hired as a high-level assistant to Commissioner
Reginald LaFayette.
The deal was arranged by long-time Spano friend and Rye
Town Democratic Chairman Gary Stracuzzi who also works at the
Election Board and has been friends with Zeman for over 20 years.
Stracuzzi also got Republican Board of Elections Carolee Sunderland, a former Rye Town resident, to agree to the hiring because it
also creates a new position for the Republicans at the Board.
Zeman’s current salary is $155,000. It is assumed that the
new salary at the Board will be in the $125,000 range.
Since Spano has already presented his 2010 Proposed Westchester County Budget to the County Board of Legislators, the
only way to put money in the budget is to have the Legislators
do it in the additional add-ons that is scheduled to happen this
Monday. LaFayette and Stracuzzi have made a deal with Yonkers Democratic Chairman and County Legislator Ken Jenkins
that if he gets this done they will support him for Chair of the
Board of Legislators.
I hope you do a search on Zeman regarding the civil rights
lawsuit that the County settled against her by her former secretary.
A Concerned County Employee And Taxpayer
Reader’s Reasonable Intelligent
Response To Health Care Reform
Dear Editor:
The mandate called “health care reform” under preparation
does not alleviate the reasons why we need health care reform.
Those reasons include that health insurance premiums are too
costly, managed care limits care options, and vitally needed care
is still not covered enough. The plan under preparation leaves
those problems intact while creating new perceived medical
“needs” for healthy people. Despite our real need for health care
reform, it is the main reason it’s become a major issue “activism”
by powerful entities, such as zillionaires with social engineering
goals and pharmaceutical corporations.
The main change will be that almost everybody will be required to buy health insurance. This can limit treatment options,
raise costs, and create (at least perceived) new medical obligations for even people who already have health insurance. Our
current “no insurance” option motivates insurance companies
to attract customers by covering more treatments and doctors. Deprived of the “no insurance” option, we will be captive
consumers, and insurers will be able to get away with further
limiting choices. True, we’ll still have freedom to decide which
insurer to pay a monthly tribute. But with many industries, the
products of the easy-to-know-about companies, disregarding
rhetoric, are very similar; cannot we expect the same from the
health insurance industry?
Furthermore, with Congress considering health insurance
“affordable” if it takes up as much as 18 percent of one’s income,
Continued on pg. 12
PAGE Republican County Legislator George Oros
Declares Spano’s Last-Minute Contracts
“A Kick In The Teeth To County Taxpayers”
Last Monday afternoon, retiring Republican County Legislator, Minority Leader George
Oros, held a press conference at
his law office in White Plains to
blast outgoing County Executive Andy Spano for what Oros
called “A 2010 Budget filled
with land mines and rewards
for Spano’s campaign contributors, especially law firms.” He
told reporters, “Republicans
are calling for a moratorium.”
Oros commented paranthetically,
“I’d love to see the budget that would
be there if Spano had won.” He went
on, “We must bring State, County
and Municipal people together. We
can achieve real economies of scale.
People just can’t take it anymore.”
Oros stressed that, for years, he
had called for “reform of the Board
of Acquisition and Contract,” but
that, on November 24, “the A&C
Agenda included a handful of multimillion dollar, multi-year contracts.”
The so-called “11th Hour Contracts” include:
• $2.7 million to various law
firms, all of which have been big
contributors to Spano’s campaigns
to perform of counsel legal services;
• $12 million for Westhab to operate homeless shelters;
• $4 million for security systems
integration at the County Jail;
• $900,000 for a fence at Rye
Playland.
The Board of Acquisition and
Contract consists of three members,
the County Executive, and his appointed Commissioner of Public
submitted before Election Day, as well
as the use of zero-based budgeting.”
Under zero-based budgeting,
every proposed expense, every purchase, every position in County Government, is re-evaluated in terms of
developments since the prior budget
to determine whether the position,
the purchase, etc., is still justified
and necessary going forward or, if,
for whatever reason, that expense
may need to be increased or possibly
cut back, or eliminated altogether.
Under such budgeting practices, the
tendency to fund unneeded positions and expenses is greatly reduced,
and duplication of services and
acquisition of unnecessary materials and leased space are more easily
identified and eliminated.
Oros went on to say, “Spano is
frustrating the will and the sentiment of the taxpayers with $30-40
million of 11th hour expenses. We
should put those items on hold and
give the new administration a change.
He owes it to the voters, but he really
doesn’t care what they think.”
As if to confirm George Oros’
assertions, on Wednesday, just 24
Photo: Richard Blassberg
hours after the press conference, the
A reporter for the local daily newspaper looks on as George Oros speaks to the media
Guardian received a “Letter to the
Works, as well as the elected Chairman stating, “This is not the way a county Editor” from a County Government
of the Board of Legislators. In effect, executive who has served 12 years employee (see page four, “Spanocrat
Going to County Board of Elections.”)
the County Executive, through his ap- should go out the door.”
We were gratified that the readpointee, retains the power to pass any
Oros went on, “Voters spoke
contract or long-term lease by his con- loud and clear in the last election that er had adopted the title ‘Spanocrat’,
trol of two out of three votes.
they were tired of business-as-usual coined by The Advocate several years
Oros told reporters, “The Spa- in Westchester County government. ago to describe those party insiders
no Administration wants to tie Mr. It’s time for Mr. Spano to step aside whose attachment for financial selfAstorino’s hands and make it much and let a breath of fresh air come in.” enrichment, to Andy Spano and
harder to achieve the goals the overAsked if he was, in fact, still push- Company was much more compelwhelming majority of voters chose ing for A&C reforms, Oros said he ling than their commitment to Demhim to accomplish.” He went further, would “like to see the County Budget ocratic principles and practices. n
The Court Report, continued from page 3
Connecticut Man Charged In White Plains
Federal Court For Enticement Of A Minor
PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern
District of New York, JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (“FBI”), and THOMAS BELFIORE, the Commissioner
of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, announced
that ALFRED DOTY, 54, of Monroe, Connecticut, was arrested on
charges of enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity.
According to a Complaint filed yesterday in White Plains federal
court:
From October 20, to December 1, 2009, DOTY had numerous
instant message exchanges and telephone conversations with undercover law enforcement officers from the Westchester County Police
Department posing as a 15-year-old girl. During the recorded telephone conversations and instant message exchanges, DOTY and the
undercover law enforcement officers discussed meeting to engage in
sexual activity. DOTY was arrested yesterday morning in Elmsford,
New York, as he was driving to meet up with the undercover officer.
DOTY was presented in White Plains federal court before United
States Magistrate Judge PAUL E. DAVISON Tuesday afternoon, Dec.
1st. He was detained pending a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Dec.
2nd at 2:30 p.m. If convicted, DOTY faces a mandatory minimum of
10 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment.
Mr. BHARARA praised the efforts and assistance of the FBI and
the Westchester County Department of Public Safety.
Assistant United States Attorney KATHRYN M. MARTIN is in
charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint against the defendant are
merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless
and until proven guilty.
PAGE Analysis: Given that her predecessor, Jeanine Pirro, in a period of 53 months,
until leaving office, prosecuted approximately 110 Underaged Sexual Enticement
cases, the overwhelming majority of which involved Internet contact, the Office
under Janet DiFiore has prosecuted remarkably few over almost as long a period.
In light of that fact, it would appear that the United States Attorney’s Office,
under the leadership of Preet Bharara, has stepped up to the plate to fill the void.
Manaslu: Gorkha to Baluwa
After one day of pinching
myself, incredulous that I was in
Kathmandu, much less going on
a trek, and three days of checking out the palace and temple
wonders of Kathmandu, Patan
and Bhakhtapur**, it was time to
rendezvous with our guide, cook,
and seven porters. Why so many
for just Kevin and I? Because that
includes the tents and supplies for
all of us for nineteen days. Though
we would later kick it up a notch
and reduce the trek to sixteen days
eventually, we were only able to
get fresh vegetables up to perhaps
10,000 feet, and had our porters
cut a chicken on two occasions,
each time shared amongst eleven
of us.
It’s a five-hour bus ride to the
now large town of Gorkha, west
out of Kathmandu. My antennae
were up for what had and hadn’t
changed. The grungy bus stands
with their disgusting ‘bathrooms’
hadn’t improved, and the funky
but decent food stops along the
way still provide a tasty meal of
rice and vegetables for a dollar or
two. Seeing Nepalis on cell phones
was bizarre; from no phones to
cells seemingly overnight. Most
cannot afford cell phones yet, unlike most of the rest of Asia, as
Nepal is still a very poor country.
Signs of increased wealth, such as
more folks wearing better footwear
the rug rats with our Nepali, asking for their shoes or something
for a possible trade, to which they
had no problem laughing.
  
Feeling grateful that the legs
We didn’t waste time gowere handling it all early on was
ing steep. I had imagined three
encouraging. But not seeing
or four early days of gradual inmost of our porters catching up
clines that my legs could adjust to
after nearly an hour break was
as they had on the
Annapurna trek,
but no luck. The
climb out of Gorkha was enough to
snap me out of
that, though most
of the third and
fourth hours were
quite level and
scenic. Then another few hours
of even steeper
hiking lay ahead,
with a stop by a
schoolhouse for a
typical sweet milk
tea (think chai,
not. The cook should have been
tea; chiya in Nepali).
with us, if not in front, preparing
The kids came running out
to feed the team, but no sign of
using the few sentences they
him. We soldiered on a few more
thought they knew in English; it
hours before resting once more
was either “This is a pen”, “Give
in an apple and orange orchard.
me your pen.” or the combined
The small oranges (suntala) were
version, “This is a give me your
fairly sour yet, but refreshing and
pen!” Evidently, they learned that
cheap. We considered setting up
asking for money or “chocolate”
our tents on a terraced field re(any candy) was discouraged, but
cently cleared of its crop of milsomething to promote literacy
let, but decided instead to move
was just fine. We would disarm
on a bit to a nearby bhyanjang, or
ridge saddle where a small village
was. Deepak, our leader, had a lot
in common with the character
Constant in the hilarious spoof of
mountain expeditions I referred
to last time, ‘The Ascent of Rum
Doodle’, mostly a comedy of errors and egos.
You see, it turned out that
Cookie, our cook as we dubbed
him, and most of the team had
gone the right way, down to the
than before, when it was either
none or flip flops for most, counts
as something.
river from Gorkha. * We had gone
at least three hours out of our way,
mostly uphill. Deepak, our guide,
went silent with embarrassment,
and the porters that had followed us blamed Cookie for their
hunger. Fortunately, Kevin and I
laughed it all off, found a lodge
for shelter and refreshment after
a long, unplanned
first day. A fifth of
Black Label was
in tow along with
our other essentials.
We also licked
our wounds with
some local millet-based rakhsi,
an often pleasant
distilled
drink,
while munching
on sukhrati, dried
yak or water buffalo meat, then
fried up with onions, tomatoes and spices…very
tasty. After that and dinner, we
were ready to sleep not in our
tents, but in a room upstairs. Ex-
cept in a few
first-class hotels
in Kathmandu,
homes and other buildings are
never heated.
One
sad
truth about Nepal is that there
are few that
wouldn’t leave
this week if given the chance.
However,
in
the case of the
parents of a twenty-something
daughter who married a sixtysomething Frenchman, there was
sadness, as they didn’t expect to
see her for a long time, if ever, not
to mention the age difference. Yet,
di Khola (river), giving back a
few thousand feet we had picked
up the day before. We stopped in
a sunny and pleasant river village a few hours later, and before
too long our group began to coalesce. After a bit of blame gaming, we started back north up the
river. Fortunately for our legs,
this would be a fairly level hike
by Nepal standards. We stopped
for the morning meal at a chautara, just over a steel suspension
footbridge. ‘Chautaras’ are found
occasionally along the way, and
are simply resting places that provide shade by a large peepal tree,
and usually have low stone walls
around them for the porters to
put down their loads. (This tree
is a fig species, also known as The
Sacred Fig (Ficus religiosa), or Bo
tree, as this is the tree Siddhartha
Gautama did his thing under).
just couldn’t do pancakes justice.
Chapattis (flat unleavened breads)
with peanut butter weren’t bad either. Hot water in powdered milk
made Nescafe or hot chocolate an
alternative to tea.
We were
now off to reunite not only
with Cookie
and the other
porters, but
also with the
poor guy who
had to bring
sleeping bags
for us from
Kathmandu
and had to
march douthey see no choice when given the ble-quick to catch up with us. We
chance to marry off a daughter to had been told to bring liners for
a foreigner. On the other hand, it the bags only, but this was later
A few more hours and we
is not a common occurrence as it denied, even though we heard it
found ourselves at another rivis with other nations.
in English and Nepali.
We were up by six the next
I tried to forget that we were erside village,
morning, establishing our routine heading downhill to the Dharau- Baluwa, where
we would stay
of tea and a
in our tents
pan of water
for the first
heated
on
time,
right
our kerosene
next
to
the
stove to take
river itself. We
a cat bath
ran right into
with
(the
a dhaan naach
only kind of
in
the village
bathing for
itself, ‘dhaan’
the next 3
being the rice
weeks). Oatin the field just being harvested
meal
was
then, and ‘naach’ meaning dance.
my favorite,
Troupes would come into a vilas
Cookie
PAGE lage and put on a slow and graceful dance to modest percussion
that would go on for hours. Villagers would make a collection
of money, food and beer for the
gang, with locals free to join in
on the dancing of course.
If I had known what kind
of day lay ahead, I may well
have decided to change course
completely…(to be continued)
*Trek teams of this size can
easily stretch out at least a mile
from leader to slowest porter
within the first hour.
**These were the three independent kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley before Prithvy Narayan Shah, who marched out of
Gorkha with his army to do so,
unified them in 1769. The Gurkha soldiers of Nepal derive their
name
from
this
former
fortress town.
The valley became named
after the most
powerful of
the three ancient
kingdoms.
Travel Quote
of the Week
“You cannot travel within and
stand still without.”
~James Lane Allen
PAGE 10
Ioanna N. Burgos
Thanksgiving Reprise
Although Latinos come from
many different ethnic backgrounds,
religions, and races, they share common values and beliefs, especially the
importance of family and religion. In
Latino families, typically, everyone
feels a responsibility to each other.
This sense of responsibility extends
not just to parents, children, and siblings, but also to grandparents, aunts,
uncles, and cousins, and godparents.
Latino heritage includes a long-held
tradition of living with extended family. Many children live at home until
they are married. Grandparents often
live with children and grandchildren;
and aunts, uncles, and cousins are
frequent visitors.
Children are at the center of Latino families, and everyone in the family is expected to contribute to raising them. Latinos tend to bring their
children everywhere with them. They
don’t have to worry about babysitters
because children are always welcome
at parties and get togethers.
Growing up Hispanic in the
United States is unique compared
to any other experience throughout
the Latin American world. It is a
complex, full experience in that you
find yourself learning and respecting your roots and identity with the
freedom to participate in the many
different celebrations throughout
the other communities. Though, for
the most part, we do not adopt these
holidays as our own, we do share in
some of the festivities.
Thanksgiving, though not a traditionally celebrated holiday in Latin America, is celebrated by many
Hispanics living in the United States,
sometimes for several generations.
For the most part, some immigrants do not celebrate Thanksgiving, partly, I believe, because they
do not quite understand what the
Holiday is about, and partly because
they are still holding onto their
own individual customs from their
homeland. Once time has passed
and the migrant learns more about
what the holiday signifies, they seem
more open to celebrating it in a very
unique and ethnic way. Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks for surviving another year and to recognize
the generosity we have shared with
each other throughout the year.
For those who are citizens of
this great country, it’s a time to give
back to humanity what their ancestors received from the First Nations
People; thanked by those whose
forefathers were newcomers and
for those who are the newcomers, if
only in acknowledgement of their
continued generosity and struggles.
It is a time for those of us who are
newcomers to show our gratitude to
those who have made it possible to
come to a new country and begin a
fruitful new life with those we love;
for all the money and time donated
by people who simply cared enough
to show it, we can stop on these days,
fix a meal that we enjoy and share
with family and friends.
As the candles are lit, and music
is playing and we are all laughing and
celebrating, we may look around us
and see how good life is compared to
the many who have less than we. On
that first Thanksgiving day, surely the
Euro settlers had less to be thankful
for than we do today. Our lives are
blessed in countries that are great
enough to still care about the few
stragglers who enter our borders
without means. We, by tradition, are
still gracious enough to show compassion, generosity and true affection
to those who would otherwise perish
in the cold days of immigration.
For that greatness, our true heritage on this day, let us each one celebrate and embrace each other, not by
learning recipes, but by learning ingredients. The idea is that when you
have two nations of peole who fall
in love with each other, as my family
did with each other, you do not wish
to take away from them their traditions, but you do love sharing in their
joy. You learn to appreciate them and
what they have to offer, and as a family you blend and the focus comes off
the holiday and goes right where it
belongs, giving thanks for all that we
have in this new country. It is important, at the same time, to understand
that for the most part Hispanics usually celebrate Thanksgiving because
we like to eat, get together with family and have fun. We, within our own
tradition, have many days in which
we give thanks for our good lives,
as well as for the fact that traditionally it is not a part of our culture nor
heritage. It is in the Euro settlers’ history and it is in their tradition, yet, as
many good Hispanics will tell you,
any party is a good party as long as
we are invited to celebrate.
I feel that as time goes by and Hispanics become more accepted into the
mainstream on a personal level, they
will adopt these holidays and make
them their new traditions. My family
came to this country and made it truly
their homeland. Holidays took on a
completely new life in our family.
There was the Thanksgiving
turkey with stuffing, but the stuffing was seasoned with green pepper,
adobo, chorizo and sometimes made
of cornbread and tortillas. The turkey
was marinated in sour oranges and
garlic some years and butter-basted
in others, which is why you never
knew what kind of turkey was going
to come out of that oven when the ladies of so many nations got together.
Like the year we did not have turkey
at all, but decided to cook seafood like
paella or prepare a roast pig. There
were mashed potatoes but they were
seasoned differently with garlic and
green onions and sometimes seved
like mangu, boiled, mashed and them
drizzled with olive oil and adobo.
The variety of breads was also
amazing. There was corn bread in
several presentations, pan cubano,
biscuits and dinner rolls. Salads
were also so varied it would be a
long list indeed. So these holidays
do not belong to Hispanics, but I believe these holidays were set aside to
give thanks with those who helped
the original settlers to survive their
first year in this vast wilderness. Yet
another holiday, we can relax and
give thanks for all those who have
helped Hispanic migration but there
are more that support out of kindness and generosity towards helping
the new comers find a home in their
new country . Saludos! ■
PAGE 11
PRESS RELEASE
Pension System Should Not Let Employees Retire,
Unretire The Next Day And Get Both Paychecks
The New York State Legislature could save significant
dollars without hurting people by eliminating some abuses.
One abuse that currently takes place
around the state --the ability of employees to retire, unretire and then
collect their full salary in their OLD
job and to receive retirement pay at
the same time.
Pensions are offered to valuable
government employees to help retirees lead a comfortable life after they
retire. The pension system was not
designed to help employees boost
their pay while they still are employed. A recent article in
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The Westchester Guardian
lohud.com pointed out that State Supreme Court Justice
Orazio Bellantoni recently filed retirement papers with the
state pension system and then unretired. He will be able to
collect a combined salary and pension of about $220,000 a
year. He is not alone. There are at least six other Judges in
Westchester County who are doing the same thing. Other
employees at the local, county and state levels also are taking advantage of the loophole in the law.
The pension system should require state employees to
make a choice: retirement or pension. The money saved
from this reform could be used to help the state get out of
their financial mess.
Paul Feiner
Greenburgh Town Supervisor
LOVETT & BELLANTONI, LLP
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
Criminal Defense • Sexual Harassment • Trial Counsel
Race/Ethnic Discrimination • Defamation Actions • Labor Law
Personal Injury • Civil Rights Litigation • Commercial Litigation
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PAGE 12
Readers Respond, continued from page 4
may not many employers who currently charge their employees considerably less for health insurance
feel they have no choice but to raise
the charges to that level?
What about a public option?
That would be helpful only if it gave
clients a larger choice of doctors
and treatments and charged them
less money than private insurers. It
would be valuable only if, in addition to standard treatments, it also
covered care that private companies
might reject for being too “luddite”,
too “religious right,” or “not gold
star.” Without higher premiums.
Health and vitality are too important for guidance by profit motives. Mandated monthly tributes to
private companies are like taxes for
stadiums with seats too expensive for
most people. But the government is
under as much pressure for “fiscal responsibility”, and it is courted by the
same pharmaceutical corporations
and social engineers, as private companies. Would a public program end
up with about the restrictions and
costs-to-consumers as private plans?
A good point of the proposal
under Congress’ consideration is
that it requires insurance companies
to accept people with “pre-existing
conditions.” But does it also require
them to cover the full range of lifeaffirming options for such people?
Since Massachusetts compelled
health insurance, the number of doctor appointments has exploded. But
how much of the increase comes from
people who already had insurance
and now are responding to new pressure? Freed from competing against
the no insurance option, cannot insurers threaten to raise premiums
and/or cut coverage for people who
do not go to the doctor regularly and
take all the “recommended” drugs,
lotions, x-rays, and injections?
Catherine Wilson’s recent article
noted that this is already official policy for many people in West Virginia.
How many healthy people now submitting to “health maintenance” medicine were maintaining their health
as well, or better, with alternate or no
care? Meanwhile, are people who really vitally do need medical treatment
more confident they will get it and get
it with more financial security?
Still, we should not be too hard
on insurance companies and doctors. Do not many feel they have no
choice but to be middlemen between
the public and the powerful medical
technology corporations?
Under compulsory health insurance, would it be harder to choose
treatments that lost the competition for
the label “gold star”? Will it be harder
to opt out of marijuana, aspirin, psychotropic drugs, caesarean sections,
growth hormones, thalidomide, and
microchip implants? Will it be harder
to choose diagnosis by sonograms instead of x-rays, limb operations with
local instead of general anesthesia, and
broken bone stabilizing by external cast
instead of internal rods?
“Well, if you want old-fashioned,
‘socialist’ or ‘religious right’ treatments, pay higher premiums, go by
supplemental insurance, or save for
treatments on your own” might be
the order. But with basic premiums
so high, how will people be able to
afford to do so?
Still, why do many critics of the
plan under preparation call it “socialism”? It requires people to make
hefty payments to private companies.
Even a government plan might seek
to load people with drugs that profit
private companies. The plan might
serve the worst of socialism, but it
also serves the worst of capitalism.
Calling the new healthcare
mandates “needed reform” will be a
sham if they set in stone the trends
causing the problems. They will be
reform only if they counter or allow
alternates to these trends.
Instead, people should be allowed to choose any doctor and hospital they want (including across state
lines), choose any treatment or health
maintenance practices they believe
in (taking a doctor’s advice into consideration, but acting independently),
and afford it comfortably.
Whether insurance is public or
private is not important, what it covers is. And there should be a cap on the
percent of one’s income spent on health
insurance plus other income devourers,
such as income taxes and housing.
Jeanette Wolfburg, Mt. Kisco
Reader Not A Big Fan Of Mr.
Obama Or His Healthcare Plan
Dear Editor: As an American patriot and
taxpayer I am most opposed to any
Health-Care Reform Bill. Members
of Congress possess, at taxpayer expense, the finest lifetime health care
program in the world but expect
Americans to accept an expensive,
faulted, and flawed, single payer
health care plan managed by bureaucrats with no expectation of privacy.
The US Postal Service and Banks are
financially strapped, Social Security
and Medicare are broke, we owe trillions of dollars to foreign countries,
and it will take several generations
to pay down the national debt. I have
no confidence in Mr. Obama, his administration, and many members of
Congress who have yet to be honest
and truthful to the Nation’s people.
Mr. Obama promised transparency and accountability yet decisions that effect every citizen in the
country are made by a few, in secret,
behind closed doors. He pledged on
9-9-08, “a comprehensive strategy,
more troops, and equipment to Afghanistan” yet he allows our troops
to die while he ponders a tactic. His
“bailouts” failed, the stimulus a bust,
unemployment exceeds 10%, and
there has been massive spending,
waste and fraud by the government.
Mr. Obama’s only success has been
“cash for convicts”. It is time to stop
the hypocrisy, name calling, blaming
others, manipulating the facts/truth,
and take responsibility for one’s own
actions or lack of them.
I would ask our senators to honor the principles, values, morals and
integrity upon which this nation was
founded, to act responsibly, to listen
to the people of the country and not
favor a universal healthcare bill unless they themselves commit to being included in the same program
they propose for every American.
Edwin P. Heideman
We invite our readers’ comments. Letters should be no more than 500 words in length,
and may be edited for length and clarity.
Please email your letters to editor@Westchester Guardian.com. For verification purposes we ask you include your address and a daytime phone number.
PAGE 13
Mount Vernon’s Shotspotter System Leads
To No Arrests; Wastes Taxpayer Money
By Damon K. Jones
Blackwatch has been informed that there was another homicide in
Mt. Vernon, New York last week. This makes nine homicides for the year
and 23 since Mount Vernon Mayor Clinton Young has been in office.
Now that Commissioner David Chong has skipped town and left the
Mount Vernon Police Department in shambles, maybe the mayor should
have taken into consideration the advice from
those who told him to relieve Chong of his duties 23 homicides ago. How many more lives
are we to lose as a community before a comprehensive plan comes out of City Hall?
We were told that Shotspotter saves lives.
How can you save a life when you respond and
the victim is dead? What was not reported by
the media was the MVPD received 911 calls
on the gunshots also. We have said before, the
Shotspotter system leads to NO arrests.
The $1.5 million of taxpayer money that Former Comm. David Chong
was used to purchase the equipment and the
$300 thousand to operate and maintain it would have been better spent
by utilizing better training, hiring more officers, purchasing new body
armor for officers, building trust in the communities, and fixing the car-cams that have
been inoperable and installing computers in
Mt. Vernon’s fleet of squad cars.
As citizens, we can’t fall for political
smokescreens when it comes to the safety
of our communities. For Mayor Young and
County Legislator Lyndon Williams to think
this gunshot detection technology will actuLegislator Lyndon Williams ally prevent crime, they are betting on a long
shot themselves; and, since its installation, it hasn’t.
According to the National Institute of Justice, police response times
to technology-generated reports of gunfire were compared to response
times to citizen-generated reports both before
and during the test period. For the most part,
there was little difference between response
times to technology-generated reports of
gunfire during the test period and response
times to citizen-generated reports before the
test period. However, the mean response time
to citizen-generated reports of gunfire during
the test period (about 30 minutes) was about
30 percent less than the mean response time
Mayor Clinton Young
to technology-generated reports (about 45 minutes).
Nevertheless, the overall mean response time during the test period
(to the technology- and citizen-generated reports combined) was about
41minutes, just 2 minutes longer than the mean response time before
the test period (to citizen-generated reports only). Researchers concluded that using the technology did not change in any substantial way the
speed with which the police responded to reports of gunfire.
First, the police department may not have a rapid response policy,
or the resources to implement such a policy.
Second, if the tool is inaccurate, police resources may be wasted by
dispatching units to false alarms.
Third, a police department committed to community policing may prefer to focus its resources on preventive measures, rather than on rapid response measures. Regardless of the amount of taxpayers’ money they spent
for gadgets and toys. Nothing is better than good old fashioned community
policing, something that has not been implemented in Mt. Vernon.
The writer is the President of the Westchester Chapter of the National Black Police Association
PAGE 14
PAGE 15
PAGE 16
Shelley Ackerman
Dec. 10 - 16
New Moon In Sagittarius As Mars Grinds To A Halt
Chanukah Begins; Mercury Enters Pre-Retrograde Shadow Degrees
By Shelley Ackerman
Thank Heavens for Small Favors
Whether it’s the economic crisis,
the banking/credit/housing crisis,
battle for affordable health care, the
surge of soldiers headed to Afghanistan, or the overall uncertainty that’s
permeating everything, the energy
out there has been rough and nearly
everyone is on edge. These are lifechanging times, and the growing
pains are a lot to handle.
And though the unforgiving
‘square’ (90 degree aspect) between
planetary tough guys Saturn and
Pluto trumps and colors most everything else that’s occurring planet-wise these days (and through
much of 2010), we do get a bit of
a sunny reprieve this week, by way
of the Sun/Mars alliance and the
Sagittarius New Moon that jives
well with Jupiter and Neptune. It’s
a cooperative feel-good ‘at least we
can all agree on this’ moment that
should be noted and savored by all.
Hey, What About Afghanistan?
Nearly 50 years ago, upon leaving office, our 34th Commander in
Chief, President Eisenhower, warned
America of the dangers of the growing “military-industrial complex”
also known as the “iron triangle” between government, the armed forces,
and the industrial support needed
from commercial enterprises.
War and the military are big
business.
And just as ‘Big Pharma’ (the
pharmaceutical industry), the insurance industry, the tobacco industry,
and the banking industry have powerful lobbies, so does the military. And
maybe theirs is most powerful of all.
As I watched President Obama
make his case for sending more troops
to Afghanistan, I was painfully aware
of Mars (the planet of war) in Leo
about to ‘station’ retrograde on his
7th house cusp, the part of the chart
that speaks of ‘open enemies’. Mars is
slowing down and will be retrograde
from December 19th through March
10th, the exact time we’re scheduled to
advance in Afghanistan.
Basic astrology tells us that Mars
retrograde is no time to start or escalate a military initiative. It’s a time
to retreat and reflect. This is so crazy
(so much for the rumors that Obama
has an astrologer on board) but even
more significant is the symbolism of
our 44th president being backed into
a corner. I am sure that this escalation is not something he wants or
believes in and I’m convinced that
he had little choice in the matter.
The cacophony of voices pro and
(mostly) con on the surge has dominated the news cycle, with Thomas
Friedman, Ralph Nader, and countless others strongly opposing. Ohio
congressman Dennis Kucinich bemoaned the obvious fact of how this
escalation will siphon funds away
from desperately needed programs
here in the US. He hit the nail on the
head when he said, “joblessness is a
weapon of mass destruction.”
In his December 2, 2009 New
York Times op-ed entitled “Johnson, Gorbachev, Obama”, Pulitzer
Prize winning journalist Nicholas
D. Kristoff offered a well-thought
out and historically compelling
piece listing the many reasons why
this escalation is a grave error. He
concluded with:
“Over time, education has been
the single greatest force to stabilize
societies. It’s no magic bullet but it
reduces birth rates, raises living standards and subdues civil conflict and
terrorism. That’s why as a candidate,
Mr. Obama proposed a $2 billion
global education fund- a promise he
seems to have forgot. “My hunch is
that if Mr. Obama wants success in
Afghanistan, he would be far better
off with 30,000 more schools than
with 30,000 more troops. Instead,
he’s embarking on a buildup that
will become an albatross on his presidency.”
Forecasts
Aries (March 21-April 19): Every
so often, there’s a golden moment,
a state of grace as it were, in which
several factions of your life align joyfully and harmoniously. But blissful
peak experiences such as these are at
best, fleeting, and it’s unrealistic to
expect a state of euphoria to last forever. And so my dear ram, if there’s
something or someone you’ve had
your eye on, or if there’s something
you must do to further yourself, now
is the time. Stake your claim, go for
it, and strike while the iron is hot!
You aren’t alone in this, the support
of your peeps is a shoe-in.
Taurus (April 20-May 20): Hassles
with your family over shared property and/or and other intricate financials may be smoothed out and
resolved once and for all, that is, if
all parties are willing to bend a little
(and that includes you). The New
Moon in your moneyed 8th house
favors and supports career moves, so
be available for all social and profes-
sional gatherings. If asked to serve
on a board or a committee, say “yes”,
you’re due for some positive payback, but you must be present and
visible in order to collect.
Gemini (May 21-June 21): The December 10th alignment of Mars and
the Sun in your chatty 3rd and 7th
houses sets the stage for an inspired
and meaningful but potentially heated
exchange between a significant other
and your siblings (or neighbors) that
could, (with excess alcohol), escalate
into a scene in which too much is
revealed. Enjoy the banter but know
when to stop. And besides, you need
to save your emotional energy and
ready yourself for the delightfully romantic New Moon on the 16th. Love
is definitely in the air but don’t blow
your job for it.
Cancer (June 22-July 22): HolidaySchmoliday, your money houses are
all fired up and rarin’ to go, so if the
opportunity presents itself to pick
up extra hours, an additional job, or
to turn what you already have going
into something bigger and better,
carpe diem (seize the day) baby. The
New Moon in your 6th house of day
to day activities reinforces the likelihood of an ‘uplifting’ change in your
routine. If you’re not happy with the
way your bank or investment company is behaving (or if their philosophy doesn’t jive with yours) start
shopping around.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): The party
animal in you has earned the right
to flex his (or her) muscles and to
show off just a tad while skillfully
mixing business with pleasure. But
don’t stay too long at any one affair.
Pace yourself so that you can make
the most of the Dec 16th ebullient
New Moon energy. This lunation
takes place in your fun-loving and
creative 5th house, you know. Take
the full day to reflect, skip the holiday cheer and head home with the
intention of channeling all you’ve
got into breaking through to a level
you never thought you’d reach.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Sometimes we simply need to go forward
without grasping everything that’s
bubbling inside us beneath the surface. And as uncomfortable as that
can be, it’s best to not force an understanding before its time. You may
be distracted in the months ahead,
but it’s nothing you can’t handle. In
the meantime, the December 16th
New Moon will help you to get your
home and family life in sync with
your work life. If a partner blows
off some steam unexpectedly, don’t
waste your energy reacting to it.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): Not to
alarm you, but your procrastination
has reached an almost dangerous
level. So if you’d like to avert the regret that comes of missed opportunities, make a list of everything you
need to get done, shut the phone and
computer and just get it done. The
Sun/Mars alignment on the 10th
and the New Moon on the 16th and
the days in between are primo for
refining proposals and projects that
should be sent off before the holidays. Just do it.
Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): The December 10 alliance between the Sun
and Mars in your money and career
houses should bring favorable reviews from the top brass and a bonus (or something that resembles
a reward) for a job well done. The
New Moon in your 2nd house of income on the 16th paves the way for a
broadening of your prospects while
lining up nicely with both family
and real estate concerns. Don’t mess
things up by celebrating too much,
or by putting yourself in harm’s way
in a seedy hangout with questionable characters. It’s just not worth it.
There’ll be plenty of time in 2010 to
pull the stops out and throw caution
to the wind.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The
New Moon in your 11th house of
community, progress, and vision
for the future is just what the doctor
ordered as your present conditions
have gotten beyond stale of late. And
though the likely focus for all of this
‘new’ energy is on and about what
others (i.e. your friends) are doing
or are getting ready to do, it has a
ripple effect. Oddly enough, though
you feel wasted, out of the loop, half
dead, and even invisible at times,
YOU’RE the driving force and inspiration behind the upcoming quickening in your world.
PAGE 17
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20): Maintaining your originality and/or being
a contrarian is all well and good so
long as you don’t cut off your nose to
spite your face. Keep that on a postit as the New Moon in your highprofile career-centric10th house
approaches. If you stay out of your
own way, you’re in line for some big
news, guaranteed to up the ante for
you professionally. If you have the
urge to submerge (in water), more
than usual, there’s nothing wrong.
You’ve been ‘processing’ tons of fear
for the collective and may need to
wash those worries away. ■
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
If you find yourself bursting at the
seams with happiness for no apparent reason, there’s nothing wrong
with you, so don’t touch that dial.
When there’s a rebirth and a renewal
of faith in what’s possible, why question it? The natural state is to be joyful, and this week you get a taste of
just how wonderful you are at the
core. So contrary to what Ebeneezer
Scrooge said to himself on Christmas morning, you DO have the
right to be this happy. Now go out
there and spread the wealth.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan 19): If
you had your druthers, you’d push
all of this crazy holiday nonsense
out of the way, and fast forward to
the third week in January so that you
could get some work done with no
interruptions. But no one has that
kind of ‘calendar clout’, and truth
be told, the aspects are so tense
that there’d be little to no real peace
- even in an ashram. But the relentlessness of the moment is precisely
what always catapults you into one
or more of those Herculean achievements of yours. Use this time to prepare. Eclipse Season is but a couple
of weeks away and the times, they
are a changin’.
Sagittarius New Moon
Dec. 16, 2009, 7:02pm EDT
New York, N.Y.
Solarfire Chart courtesy of Astrolabe
This Week’s Planets
(Times are EDT):
Dec 10: Moon in Libra, Sun trine Mars @ 8:18 pm
Dec 11: Moon V/C @ 12:45 pm, enters Scorpio @ 11:31 pm
Dec 13: Moon V/C @ 8:18 pm
Dec 14: Moon enters Sagittarius @ 7:25 am, Sun Square Uranus @ 10:28
am, Sun sextile Jupiter @ 7:17 pm
Dec 15: Sun sextile Neptune @ 7:17 pm
Dec 16: New Moon & Moon V/C @ 7:02 am, enters Capricorn @ 5:32 pm
Moon V/C- a time to disconnect, best for spiritual not earthly pursuits
PAGE 18
County Budget, continued from page 2
work when dealing with daycare
issues but never explained why
income over the poverty level to- their programs?
his corporation did not provide
wards child care costs. In 2006,
The way the child care sub- daycare for their employees and
that was reduced to 20% and, in sidy program is structured, the why this would be the County’s re2007, it was reduced again to 15%. higher income parents in West- sponsibility instead. Nor did he
That income level applies regard- chester end up in far worse shape explain why the Child Care Counless of the number of children economically than their poverty cil sought and received a waiver
in the household. Yet not one of level peers thanks to the County’s from the New York State Office
the parents admitted that all the current calculations for aid. And of Children and Family Services
County was asking them to do was yet the subsidized parents, instead from pursuing child support for
to return to previous years’ levels. of being grateful for the subsidies the care subsidy program – the
According to the Department they receive, complained that they current subsidies are NOT offset
of Social Services, as of April 2007, were being asked to return to the by any child support that may be
the maximum a qualified fam- previous subsidy levels.
owed for the subsidized children!
ily earning $32,000 per year is reIn order
quired to spend on child care, re- to qualify for
gardless of the number of children a child care
in the family, is $185.38 a month. subsidy, the
That $185.38 total monthly cost County simapplies whether the family has one ply requires
child in day care or six.
that
the
Quality child care locally can parent(s) be
cost $400 per week, per child. So “programmata qualified family in the County’s ically eligible,
program is receiving a total an- f i n a n c i a l l y
nual subsidy worth over $18,575 eligible, and
PER CHILD, TAX FREE, under must use an
the current County guidelines. eligible proAdding the subsidy to the family’s vider. Absent
earnings, they would now have from the apover $50,000 of almost tax-free in- plication information is a require- As a result, Westchester County
come and would probably qualify ment to show proof of citizenship taxpayers could actually be profor an additional $3,000 - $4,000 to obtain these subsidies. Even viding tax dollars to subsidize
(estimated) Earned Income Credit from just a basic audit perspec- child care for deadbeat parents.
(EIC) to boot.
tive, the County should never isOne advocate for the child care
However, the County does sue funds to anyone without first subsidies spoke of how the mediNOT adjust for the value of their verifying their social security in- an income for a single mother in
subsidy, or add in any potential formation to assure that no one is Westchester County was less than
EIC payments, when considering “double-dipping” from programs.
$30,000. She used this isolated
who to offer the subsidies to, nor
Considering how the Coun- “statistic” to state that there were
does the County limit the num- ty ran afoul of other federally- “obviously a lot of people in Westber of children who may be sub- sponsored grants recently, the chester County that need help”.
sidized.
controls for all County programs However, she never noted if those
Compare the above scenario should now be tightened, includ- mothers had low incomes because
to a working family with one child, ing verification checks and audits they work part-time or how many
earning $75,000, who would have for compliance. No one should of them have other income sources,
to finance the $20,800 of annual be receiving any funds from the such as child support, family trusts,
child care costs themselves, plus County until their identity and or investments. Such skewed stapay taxes on their earnings, leaving legal residence is confirmed.
tistics, without supporting details,
them with a maximum of $40,000
A board member for the Child are not an “obvious” indication of
to live on, or nearly $15,000 Care Council of Westchester ad- anything by themselves.
LESS than the subsidized family! dressed the Legislature appealing
The speakers in favor of mainDoesn’t anyone in the County do for his grandson’s need for day taining the high child care subsithese basic calculations when de- care and of his fellow co-workers dies had their strategies down pat.
termining who should qualify for struggles to concentrate on their They signed up to speak individu-
ally, noy as a group, to maximize
the amount of attention they received from the Legislators. The
Mount Kisco Day Care Center
brought several children to speak
to the Legislators to ask them to expand after-school services beyond
first grade. They were followed by
a single mother who spoke of the
importance of child care so that she
could work and then by another
mother who spoke of being able to
go to school to advance her career.
A single mother from Open Door
day care in Peekskill advocated for
continued subsidized services for
the young children in her day care
center.
Several immigrants spoke
haltingly of their need to receive
day care subsidies from the County, cradling their young children
in their arms for effect. Another
mother from a day care center in
Ossining noted that they helped
her son to learn how to walk and
asked for continued funds for such
help. A mother from the Mount
Kisco day care center spoke of how
she would not be able to afford to
work without child care subsidies. She noted the center gave
her child “an opening to education
and learning” but made no mention of exactly what learning, if
any, her child received at this center and if that learning was developed in tandem with public school
standards so that a child from this
center would indeed benefit from
the learning at the center and not
be hindered by it when starting
school.
A representative from the
County’s “Invest in Kids” program
of the “Early Step Forward” program alleged that the “taxpayer
in Westchester County reaps the
benefits going forward” of these
programs without noting what
those benefits were or what the
savings to the taxpayers, if any, are
as a result of their programs. She
claimed that there are an increasing number of children in day care
with problems alleging that these
programs provide support to these
children and “enable children to
be successful” again without specifically noting exactly how many
children her agency had enabled
to be successful and how her agency would quantify “success”.
Yet another
single mother
from
Mount
Kisco Day Care
Center
spoke
of her need for
subsidies,
followed by a program director
for the center
who spoke of
the difference
between regulated care and nonregulated care.
She noted that the subsidies “truly
make a difference in the lives of
these families”. She was followed
by the Executive Director of the
Ossining Children’s Center who
reiterated the same claims. He
noted that “as parents take lower
paying jobs, we are seeing more
and more applications for subsidized child care” without noting
exactly how many subsidies were
being requested and the average
amount of each.
This director noted that other
day care providers were declaring
bankruptcy without noting which
ones. He noted that “what is lost in
early childhood as a result of poor
quality care can never be regained”
without offering supporting evidence for this allegation. He also
did not note what adverse impact
the home life of these children had
on their development and if the
day care centers could
overcome such detriments.
A female immigrant voiced her concerns for a local child
care center; a resident
of New Castle at the
Mount Kisco Child
Care Center spoke of
stay with him out of harm’s way to
which he replied “no” and promptly sat down directly in front of me,
hoisting his preschooler in his arms
to block my view even further. This
reporter couldn’t help but wonder
exactly what “lessons” that Center
was “teaching” since manners and
respect for others’ property didn’t
seem to be one! This reporter also
couldn’t help but wonder why our
local tax dollars are going to a parent with such a lack of manners
and respect for those of us who are
funding his subsidies.
The day care centers had over
50 parents in the small audience
who held signs throughout and the
speakers repeatedly enticed their
supporters to wave their signs and
placards. The Legislators allowed
the parents with the young chilIronically, while the parents dren to speak first, which, while
were taking turns at the podium allowing them to leave early so the
with their children, other parents young children could go to bed,
sat in the back waving banners, also allowed them the opportunity
blocking the view of other attend- to get prime television time.
The child care supporters
ees, while a few of their children
ran around unchecked. This reporter deliberately sat at the far end
of a row, at least eight seats away
from the nearest group of parents
and children, so I could take notes
and photos undisturbed.
One child insisted on coming
over and climbing over the seats,
in danger of falling, and too close
to my equipment for comfort. After the fourth such invasion, I
asked this child to “please go back
$
$
to your parents”, at which point
her father, a speaker from the
Mount Kisco Day Care Center, approached and demanded to know
“if I had a problem?”
I explained I simply asked her to
the need for all children to have
such an option. She claimed, “The
lessons that we teach our children
at this age are extraordinarily important” without noting what lessons are taught in the child care
centers.
PAGE 19
spoke for a full 75 minutes, from
7:00 p.m. until 8:15 p.m., or for
more than half of the entire hearing. When all of the day care subsidies supporters finally cleared
the room, it was remarkably noticeable how few individuals were
left to have their opinions and
voices heard.
Out of the three hearings the
Board of Legislators are holding
to discuss the exhorbitant County
budget, one of those hearings, the
Northern Westchester review in
Cross River, was almost entirely
about one subject alone.
But whose fault is that?
The next hearing is scheduled
for Thursday, December 10 at 7pm
at the Michaelian County Building,
148 Martine Avenue, White Plains.
For those residents who are truly
fed up with the high level of taxes
and the waste in government, this
is your last chance to be heard.
The budget can be viewed online
at the county website www.westchestergov.com. n
Direct Hard Money Lender
14% Interest
1-yr. Bridge Loans
20k - 1 million
Secured by Real Estate
Immediate Answer
Closing In 7 Days
Call: G. Morales
914-632-1243
M-F 10am-6pm
PAGE 20
A Post-Thanksgiving Thought
Part 1
As an anti-wrongful conviction advocate, I do my best to
keep up with current events in
the field. That information includes exonerations, developments, discoveries, and updates
with respect to the causes of
wrongful convictions, efforts
to obtain legislative changes to
make the system more accurate,
information about the death
penalty, and sometimes even
wrongful conviction cases that
are still in progress, such as my
recent article questioning the
Fernando Bermudez conviction
prior to its being dismissed. In
addition to receiving Google
Alerts on wrongful convictions
and exonerations, I also look
over various relevant websites,
subscribe to blogs, and receive
list services.
A day prior to Thanksgiving,
I received an email blast from
Equal Justice USA. Equal Justice USA, is “a 501(c)3 organization that mobilizes and educates ordinary citizens around
issues of crime and punishment
in the U.S. Our work brings
into public focus the racial, economic, and political biases that
permeate our legal system. By
transforming our culture of
vengeance and violence, we
build support for an alternative
public policy that is both effec-
tive and humane.”
The email had a variety of
information pertaining to the
death penalty. But, amongst
the important information that
was included, this one particular item really reached out and
grabbed my attention, no doubt
due to my background as an exoneree:
“Speaking of meat, before I
wrap up this note, I would like to
take a moment to acknowledge
our beloved Turkey Day. Yes, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we
have many reasons to be thankful. In the last 12 months, nine
people were exonerated from
death row. One of them spent
his last 23 Thanksgivings sitting
on the row. I am thankful that
at least these nine were able to
prove their innocence in time
and escaped their unjust fate.”
The Cases
The Death Penalty Information Center is one of the leading authorities involved with
the death penalty around the
world, and its tabulations have,
according to them, “been favorably reviewed by Justices of the
U.S. Supreme Court and other
federal courts, as well as by
many public officials around the
country.” The original list of cases that they compiled of exonerated prisoners from death row
was published as “a Staff Report
of the House Subcommittee on
Civil and Constitutional Rights”,
pursuant to a Congressional request to them asking them to
identify the risks of executing
innocent people.
The criteria that they use
for the word “exoneration” is
“the defendants must have been
convicted, sentenced to death
and subsequently either a) their
conviction was overturned
AND i) they were acquitted at
re-trial or ii) all charges were
dropped b) they were given an
absolute pardon by the governor based on new evidence of
innocence.” The following cases
are taken from their website:
“1) Nathson Fields, Illinois Conviction: 1986, Acquitted: 2009 Nathson Fields, 55,
and a co-defendant were sentenced to death for the 1984
murders of two rival gang members. The original trial, however,
was marred by corruption, as
the judge in the case, Circuit
Judge Thomas Maloney, accepted a $10,000 bribe during
the trial.
Thomas Maloney, who died
in 2008, was ultimately convicted and spent 13 years in prison
for fixing murder trials. As a
result, Fields and co-defendant
Earl Hawkins were granted new
trials in 1998. Hawkins, who
had admitted to killing 15 to 20
people, testified against Fields
in exchange for a lesser sentence. However, at Fields’ retrial,
Judge Vincent Gaughan found
Hawkins “incredible,” saying
that “If someone has such disregard for human life, what regard will he have for his oath?”
2) Paul House
Tennessee
Conviction:
1986,
Charges
Dismissed:
2009
The state of Tennessee dropped
all charges against House, who
was charged with the 1985 murder of Carolyn Muncey. The state
alleged kidnapping or rape as aggravating factors, and House was
sentenced to death. Biological evidence from the victim’s clothes
used against him at trial was later
found through DNA testing to
belong to Muncey’s husband.
In House v. Bell, the U.S. Supreme Court considered new
DNA testing and questions
about the victim’s blood stains
on House’s clothes. In 2006, the
Court held that no reasonable
juror would have found House
guilty based on this new evidence,
thus entitling him to raise constitutional issues that then led to a
reversal of his conviction.
The case was remanded to
the District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, where
Judge Harry Mattice vacated
House’s conviction and sentence, but allowed Tennessee to
pursue a new trial against him. In 2008, a Tennessee judge ordered House released from
prison, pending a new trial. The state dismissed all charges
on May 12, 2009 while expressing reservations about House’s
complete innocence.
3) Daniel Wade Moore, Alabama Conviction: 2002, Acquitted: 2009. Daniel Wade Moore
was acquitted of all charges by
a jury in Alabama on May 14. Moore was originally found
guilty of the murder and sexual assault of Karen Tipton in
2002. The judge overruled the
jury’s recommendation of a life
sentence and instead sentenced
him to death in January 2003,
calling the murder one of the
worst ever in the county.
A new trial was ordered in
2003 because of evidence withheld by the prosecution. A second trial in 2008 ended in a mistrial with the jury deadlocked at
8-4 for acquittal. Judge Glenn
Thompson, who originally sentenced Moore to death, ordered
a retrial upon discovery that
the prosecution had withheld
important evidence.
‘Orders were entered in any
capital case, that whatever the
state has, whatever the prosecutor has, whatever the investigation has they should
provide that to the defendant,’
said Judge Thompson. The evidence missing was a 256-page
F.B.I. report. ‘The prosecution,
Mr. Valeska specifically, looked
me in the eye and said, quote,
there ain’t no such thing as an
F.B.I. report.’ Well, there probably wasn’t a report, but there
were 256 pages of information
collected by Decatur police officers that were sent to the F.B.I.,”
said Judge Thompson.
According to Judge Thompson, Assistant Attorney General Don Valeska later came to
him confessing there was withheld information. ‘Mr. Valeska
came forward with the information after the conviction,’
said Judge Thompson. ‘Clearly,
the only remedy was to grant
him a new trial and I did,’ he
said. ‘It frustrated and angered
me that he would be willing to
lie to the court,’ he continued. Meanwhile, the Alabama Court
of Criminal Appeals ordered
Judge Thompson to stand down
from the trial and continued to
let Valeska prosecute Moore. Upon hearing the jury’s not
guilty verdict, Judge Thompson responded, ‘I felt like it was
the only conclusion that a jury
could reach if they actually followed the law.’ Thompson also
said that the problems with
the prosecution withholding
evidence continued throughout the 10 years of the case. Just
days before the current trial
started, the prosecution called
the defense saying they had just
found new evidence from the
victim’s home computer
4) Ronald Kitchen, Illinois
Conviction: 1988, Charges Dismissed: 2009 On July 7, 2009
Ronald Kitchen was exonerated and released from Illinois
[State] prison after spending
twenty-one years, including
thirteen on death row. His death
sentence had been commuted
to life without parole by former
Illinois Governor George Ryan
in 2003 as part of a blanket
clemency grant.
Kitchen and a co-defendant
were found guilty of the murders of two women and three
children in 1988. His conviction was based primarily on a
confession he gave to detectives
under the command of discredited former Police Commander
Jon Burge after hours of beating
and threats by police. Prosecutors also relied on the testimony
of a friend of the defendants
who was in prison for burglary.
This witness later recanted
his testimony, and the prosecutors withheld from the defense
that they released this witness
from prison early in return
for his testimony. The Chicago
Sun-Times reported that ‘Illinois Assistant Attorney General
Richard Schwind told Criminal
Court Judge Paul Biebel that after an exhaustive review of both
cases, the office determined it
could not ‘sustain its burden of
proof.’’ The Attorney General’s
office further said, ‘In this case
it became extraordinarily clear
that justice required the release
of these two men.’
Herman Lindsey, Florida
Conviction: 2006, Acquitted: 2009.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Florida rendered
a judgment of acquittal for Herman Lindsey who was convicted
in 2006 of the murder of the clerk
at the Big Dollar Pawn Shop, a
murder that happened 12 years earlier.
Since his conviction,
Lindsey has been
on Florida’s death
row. The Court held
that the evidence in
the case was not suf-
PAGE 21
ficient to convict Lindsey. They
noted that the case was based
completely on circumstantial evidence and that a special standard
of review applies.
‘[T]he State failed to produce
any evidence in this case placing
Lindsey at the scene of the crime at
the time of the murder. . . .Indeed,
we find that the evidence here is
equally consistent with a reasonable hypothesis of innocence.’
The Court also found that
the trial court had erred in denying Lindsey’s motion for a
judgment of acquittal at the
conclusion of the presentation
of evidence. Three of the justices
concurred with the Court, but
went further and stated that the
State’s line of questioning of the
defendant during the penalty
phase improperly exceeded the
permitted scope of cross-examination. ‘The prosecution‘s comments were not only improper,
but were also prejudicial and
made with the apparent goal of
inflaming the jury.’
These Justices found that the
inflammatory statements made
during
cross-examination
would have affected the jury’s
decision to impose the death
penalty. Ron Ishoy, a spokesman for the Broward County
State Attorney’s Office, said the
prosecution would not appeal
the unanimous decision. n
PAGE 22
ongoing:
through aug. 15, 2010
• Traveling The Silk Road: Ancient
Pathway To The Modern World.
This exhibition showcases the goods,
cultures, and technologies from four
representative cities: Xi’an, Turfan,
Samarkand, and ancient Baghdad.
Visitors can watch live silkworms
spinning cocoons; wander through a
replica of a night market; encounter
life-sized camel models; explore the
ancient skills of papermaking and
metalwork; and track the “stars” using a working model of an Arab astrolabe. Children can collect special
stamps in Silk Road “passports” issued at the exhibition entrance. Sunday afternoons guests will be treated
to live performances. The American
Museum of Natural History, Central
Park West & 79th St., Manhattan. For
info visit www.amnh.org.
this week:
sat., dec 12
• Environmental Literacy Series:
Winter Trees. This series of Saturday
morning programs is for adults and
mature children who want to learn
about the natural world around
them. Come for one or the whole
series. Free. 10am, Cranberry Lake
Preserve, Old Orchard St., North
White Plains. Info: 914.428.1005.
• Hudson River Audubon Society Holiday Luncheon. Listen to
“Pirates On The Hudson”, true and
fascinating stories about pirates on
the Hudson River and their connection to Henry Hudson. Presented
by Kimberly Flook, the historic site
manager of Philipse Manor Hall.
Free. Lenoir Preserve, Dudley St.,
Yonkers. Info: 914.968.5851.
Events for publication in our calendar are free and open to all.
Listings must be submitted at least two (2) weeks in advance.
Email listings to: [email protected], att: John.
For info call 914.328.3096.
• Holiday Candle-Making. Making
candles is not only fun but they make
wonderful gifts. Come and join us as
we make beautiful holiday candles.
Free. 1pm, Lenoir Preserve, Dudley
St., Yonkers. Info: 914.968.5851.
• Holiday Decorations From Nature.
Create beautiful decorations from
natural materials. Free/$4 parking with county pass, $8 without.
1-3pm, Trailside Nature Museum,
Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Rts.
35 & 121 South, Cross River. Info:
914.864.7322
• Starway To Heaven. Join the
Westchester Amateur Astronomers
in the Meadow parking lot for stargazing through telescopes. Weather
permitting/cloud date Dec. 19. Free.
Trailside Nature Museum, Ward
Pound Ridge Reservation, Rts. 35
& 121 South, Cross River. Info:
914.864.7322.
sat. & sun., dec. 12 & 13
• Christmas On The Farm. Sip
mulled cider, sample holiday goodies, listen to carolers and enjoy a
tour of the farm by lantern. Free. 57pm both days, Muscoot Farm, Rt.
100, Somers. Info: 914.864.7282.
sat, dec. 12 & 29
• Botanical Art Show. On display
will be works in graphite, colored
pencil and watercolors inspired by
the gardens and trees of Lasdon.
Free. 1-3pm, Lasdon Park, Arboretum & Veterans Memorial, Rt. 35,
Somers. Info: 914.864.7268.
Pillows For Puppies
The seventh annual Pillows For Puppies donation drive, supporting
local animal shelters, is underway through January 15, 2010. Clean,
new or used, pillows, blankets and towels may be shipped, delivered
or dropped off at Fivecat Studio, 48 Wheeler Ave., 2nd floor, in Pleasantville. Donations will be accepted on behalf of the Elmsford Animal
Shelter, Hi-Tor Animal Care Center, and the SPCA of Westchester.
Info: 914.747.1177
at the Trove Compass desk. Register
by phone or in person. Free. 4:30pm,
White Plains Public Library, 100
Martine Ave., White Plains. Info/
registration: 914.422.1476.
wed., dec. 16
mon., dec. 14
• Let It Snow Story and Craft. Ages
7 and up. Hear a story and design
your own snowflake. Free, registration req’d. 4pm, Story Room, Grinton I. Will Library, 1500 Central
Park Ave., Yonkers. Info/register:
914.337.1500 x306.
tues., dec. 15
• Act It Out. This three-session Drama Workshop includes theater games
and script-reading for children in
grades 3-6. A group performance
will be held at the end of the last session, dec. 15, at 5pm. Registration is
required and sign-up sheets will be
• Downtown Music at Grace’s Noonday Getaway Series presents Hodie,
Hodie. Back by popular demand, the
women of Angelica offer a program of
both old and new Christmas music.
Free. 12:10-12:40pm, Grace Church,
Mamaroneck Ave. @ Main St., White
Plains. Info: 914.949.0384.
up and coming
fri., dec. 18
• WII Fun Fridays For Teens. Join
in the Wii Fun Friday games. Dance
Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero
on the big screen! For grades 6 and
up. Free. 4pm, The Trove’s Galaxy
Holiday Closings At New Rochelle Libraries
The New Rochelle Public Library and the Huguenot Children’s Library
will close on Thurs., Dec. 24th at 12 noon for Christmas Eve and Thurs.,
Dec. 31st at 1pm for New Year’s Eve.
Both libraries will be closed Fri., Dec. 25th for Christmas and Fri., Jan.
1st for New Year’s Day.
Westchester Concert Singers’ Winter
Concert Will Focus on Children in Need
• The Westchester Concert Singers, under the direction of Maestro
Mark Bailey, Music Director, will hold its concert in the chapel at
Maryknoll, 55 Ryder Rd., Ossining on January 17, 2010. Featured on
the program will be the Foundling Hospital Anthem by Handel and
an assortment of motets by Mendelssohn. The baroque-trained soloists, both community and professional musicians, will be accompanied
by an orchestral ensemble. The concert, now in its 55th season, is, in
part, for the benefit of the Sunshine Children’s Home & Rehabilitation
Center in Ossining (formerly St. Mary’s). The concert will begin at 4pm.
For more information visit www.WestchesterConcertSingers.org or call
914.484.1625.
Christmas Tree Sale
The North White Plains Fire Company is hosting a Christmas tree sale
as a fundraising event at the firehouse, located at 621 North Broadway,
North White Plains. The sale, held Thursdays to Sundays, continues
until Sun., Dec. 20 unless sold out. There will be free parking. The
hours will are Thurs. & Fri. - 4-8pm; Sat. & Sun. 9am-9pm
For further information please call 914.949.3575 or email ncsfd1@
optonline.com
Hall, White Plains Public Library,
100 Martine Ave., White Plains.
Info: 914.422.1480.
sun., dec. 20
• Holiday Organ Concert. There
will be a recital by Dr. Jan Piet Knijff
which will feature classical music
on the historic 1833 pipe organ, in-
cluding traditional carols and seasonal favorites. Refreshments will
be served. Arrive at 1pm for a talk
about the development of Christmas
holiday traditions in America. Free.
2pm, St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site, 897 South Columbus Ave.,
Mt. Vernon. Info: 914.667.4116.
homework help
• Grinton I. Will Library, 1500 Central Park Ave., Yonkers; Children’s
Dept. Grades 1-6. Monday -Wednesday when school is in session. Free.
4-6:30pm. Info: 914.337.1500 x306.
• New Rochelle Public Library, One Library Plaza, New Rochelle; Children’s Room. Grades 1-6. Monday - Thursday when school is in session.
Free. 3-4:30pm. Info: 914.632.7878.
• Mamaroneck Public Library, 102 Mamaroneck Ave., Mamaroneck.
Grades 1-6. Monday & Thursday only, when school is in session. Free.
3:30-6pm. Info: 914.698.1250.
• White Plains Public Library, 100 Martine Ave., White Plains; The Trove.
Grades 1-6. Monday - Thursday when school is in session. Free. Mon &
Wed, 4-7pm; Tues. & Thurs. 4-6pm. Info: 914.422.1476.
Around The County
Croton-on-Hudson: Van Cortlandt Manor - 18th and 19th century estate
known for elegant antique furnishings and gardens. Was home of the Van
Cortlandt family. Tours, special events and demonstrations. Hrs: 10am-5pm
daily (except Tues.), April-Dec. 10am-5pm Sat. & Sun., Jan.-March. Admission.
South Riverside Ave. (just off Rt. 9). 914.631.8200.
Ossining Historical Museum - 19th and 20th century decorative arts, costumes and Indian artifacts, as well as a Victorian dollhouse. The program features permanent and rotating exhibits. Hrs: 2-4pm Mon., Wed., Fri. and by
app’t. Donation. 196 Croton Ave. 914.941.0001.
Peekskill: Peekskill Museum - Clothing from the 18th through 20th century,
furnishings, decorative arts, tools and products from local foundries. Hrs: 24pm Sat., Sun. and holidays, March through Dec. and by app’t. Donation. 124
Union Ave. 914.737.6130.
Sleepy Hollow: Philipsburg Manor, Upper Mills - Early 18th century farm
owned by the Philipse family; includes a fully furnished Dutch-style manor
house, barn and a restored gristmill, gardens, reception center, gift shop and
orientation film. Special events throughout the year. 10am-5pm daily AprilDec.; 10am-5pm Sat. & Sun., Jan.-March. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and
New Year’s Day. Admission. Route 9. 914.631.8200.
Tarrytown: Sunnyside - 1835 Romantic/Dutch Colonial Revival-style estate
once occupied by author Washington Irving. Tours, an orientation film, demonstrations, special events, gift shop. 10am–5pm daily, April – Dec.. Admission.
West Sunnyside Lane. 914.631.8200.
Yonkers: Hudson River Museum - A cultural complex which displays changing exhibitions from its permanent collection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American art. The Museum combines elements of art, history and science.
The modern wing houses The Red Grooms Gift Shop and the Museum Cafe.
Weekly Sun. Family Programs and workshops for families, bi-weekly Seniors
and the Arts programs, tours by appt. and many special events. Hrs: May-Sep.:
Wed.-Sun. 12-5pm, Fri. 12-9pm. Admission. 914.963.4550.
PAGE 23
PAGE 24
This Week In History: Dec. 10 - 16
By John Leo Tufts, Jr.
The World’s Most Powerful Battleship Is Commissioned
Dec. 16, 1941 – The battleship Yamato, the first of two of the largest battleships
ever built by any naval power, was quietly commissioned into active service with
the Imperial Japanese
Navy at Kure Naval
Arsenal in Japan. The
72,000-ton battleship,
intended as the first of
four proposed behemoths
designed to give Japan naval superiority in the Pacific against the U.S. Navy, was
armed with 18.1” guns, the largest naval guns ever mounted on a man-of-war.
With these weapons she could easily outgun any adversary on the open sea
while being out of range of the enemy’s guns. She was also equipped with armor
plating capable of withstanding hits from similar size shells. At the time of her
commissioning, however, the face of naval warfare was changing; aircraft were
quickly replacing the battleship as the deciding factor in naval battles. Yamato was
sunk April 7, 1945 by U.S. carrier aircraft while heading to Okinawa to bolster the
island’s defenses against American invasion.
Dec. 10
1941 - Three days following the attack
on Pearl Harbor Japan landed over 4,000
troops in the Philippine Islands while
aircraft knocked out British opposition
with the sinking of the battleship Prince
of Wales and the battlecruiser Repulse.
More than 700 Special Naval Landing
Forces also came ashore on Guam, in
the Marianas Islands, and captured
the outpost in 25 minutes. Guam was
recaptured by U.S. forces in the summer
of 1944, and the Philippines the following
fall.
Dec 11
1936 - Britain’s King Edward VIII
became the first English monarch
to voluntarily abdicate the throne
following government, public and
religious condemnation for his marriage
to American divorcee Wallis Warfield
Simpson. Mrs. Simpson’s obtaining
of a preliminary decree of divorce
from her husband, Ernest Simpson,
an English-American businessman,
precipitated a major scandal, and the
Church of England, as well as many
British politicians, found the idea of a
twice-divorced American woman as a
prospective English Queen unacceptable.
Edward had become king in January
1936 following the death of his father,
King George V, and was scheduled to be
coronated in May 1937. The day after his
abdication, Dec. 12, his younger brother,
the Duke of York, was proclaimed King
George VI.
1941 - Germany declared war on the
United States, officially bringing America
into the European conflict. Two days
earlier the Japanese Ambassador in
Berlin went to German Foreign Minister
von Ribbentrop to secure a formal
declaration of war against America from
the Germans. Von Ribbentrop stalled;
under the terms of the Tripartite Pact
signed by Japan, Germany, and Italy
in September 1940, Germany could
come to Japan’s aid provided she was
attacked by the United States. Since
the opposite had happened, Germany
was under no obligation to agree to the
Japanese request. Ribbentrop also feared
that the addition of the United States
as an antagonist would overwhelm the
German war effort. Since the U.S. Navy
had already begun attacking Germany’s
U-boats Adolph Hitler believed the
United States would declare war on
Germany first. Wanting to be the first
to declare war, at 3:30pm, Dec. 11, the
German Charge D’Affaires handed the
American Secretary of State a copy of
Germany’s war declaration.
1946 – In an effort to help provide
relief and support to children living
in countries devastated by the Second
World War, the General Assembly
of the United Nations voted to
establish UNICEF, the United Nations
International Children’s Emergency
Fund. Once the food and medical crises
passed, UNICEF continued as a relief
organization for children of troubled
nations. The Convention On The
Rights of the Child, drafted during the
1980s, became the most widely ratified
human rights treaty in history after its
introduction to the General Assembly in
1989, and UNICEF continues to play a
key role in ensuring its enforcement.
Dec 12
1901 - Italian physicist Guglielmo
Marconi sent the first radio transmission
across the Atlantic Ocean, The message,
simply the Morse code signal for the
letter “s”, traveled from Poldhu in
Cornwall, England to Newfoundland, a
distance of 2,000 miles. Marconi, born
in Bologna, Italy in 1874, had studied
physics, and became interested in the
transmission of radio waves after hearing
of experiments conducted German
physicist Heinrich Hertz. Marconi began
his own experiments in 1894, and sent
a radio signal a distance of 1.5 miles.
In 1896 he formed a wireless telegraph
company, and was sending transmissions
more than 10 miles. In 1899 he
succeeded in sending a transmission
across the English Channel. That year, he
also equipped two U.S. ships to report to
New York newspapers on the progress
of the America’s Cup yacht race. For the
next 30 years continued to play a leading
role in radio discoveries and innovations.
In 1909 he was jointly awarded the Nobel
Prize in physics with German radio
innovator Ferdinand Braun.
1917 - Father Edward J. Flanagan, a
31-year-old Irish priest, opened a home
for troubled and neglected children in
Omaha, Nebraska. Flanagan, who had
previously ran the Workingmen’s Hotel
for disadvantaged workers in Omaha,
believed that mistreated or orphaned
children were at high risk of turning to
delinquency and crime as they got older.
The home, which would become known
as Boys Town, rapidly filled with children
sent by local courts, private citizens, and
some came in off the streets on their own.
By the spring of 1918 the home was full;
Boys Town relocated to a larger building
on the opposite side of city. Following the
move enrollment grew to more than 100
boys. A school was later established that
grew into a grade school, high school and
career vocational center. In 1921 Boys
Town expanded again, this time to a farm
10 miles west of Omaha. The institution,
still in existence, is known as Girls and
Boys Town to reflect its co-ed enrollment.
1937 - The United States gunboat
Panay was sunk by Japanese aircraft
while escorting U.S. evacuees and three
oil barges on the Yangtze River, near
Nanking, China. Following the ship’s
sinking Japanese aircraft machinegunned lifeboats and survivors, killing
two American sailors and a civilian
passenger, and seriously wounding 11
others. The incident set off a major crisis
between Japan and the United States. The
gunboat’s position had been reported
to the Japanese prior to the attack, and
the neutral vessel was clearly marked.
The Japanese maintained the attack was
unintentional, and they agreed to pay
$2 million in reparations. Two neutral
British vessels were also attacked.
Dec 13
1577 - English seaman Francis Drake
departed Plymouth, England with five
ships and 164 men on a mission to raid
Spanish holdings on the North American
Pacific coast as well as explore the Pacific
Ocean. Following his Atlantic crossing
Drake abandoned two of his ships in
South America, taking his remaining
three through the Straits of Magellan.
While transiting the strait one ship was
wrecked and another forced to return to
England, leaving the Golden Hind, Drake’s
flagship, to reach the Pacific. Continuing
up the western coast of South America, he
raiding Spanish settlements and captured
a Spanish treasure ship. He continued
up the western coast of North America,
searching for a possible northeast passage
back to the Atlantic, going as far north
as present-day Washington State before
turning back, pausing near San Francisco
Bay in June 1579 for repairs and to
prepare for the trip across the Pacific.
Drake claimed the territory for Queen
Elizabeth I. He visited several islands
while crossing the Pacific, then rounded
the Cape of Good Hope. Drake returned
to Plymouth, England on Sept. 26, 1580,
becoming the first captain to sail his own
ship all the way around the world. In 1581
Queen Elizabeth I knighted Drake for his
accomplishment. He later played a crucial
role in the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
1862 - General Ambrose Burnside,
commanding the Union’s Army of
the Potomac, led his forces down the
Rappahanock River, intending to
cross at Fredericksburg and continue
south toward the Confederate capital
at Richmond, Virginia. The army was
delayed in crossing the river which
allowed Confederate General Robert
E. Lee to place his troops along Marye’s
Heights, located above Fredericksburg.
Burnside began his attacks and, although
Union artillery was effective, an open
six-hundred-yard field fronting the
Confederate line became a killing ground
for the attacking Union forces. No Union
soldiers reached the Confederate lines,
few even came within 50 yards of it. A
truce was called on Dec. 15 allowing
the Union forces to collect their dead
and wounded. Union forces, following
their retreat, suffered 12,653 killed and
wounded while the Confederate forces
suffered 4,200 losses.
Dec 14
1863 - President Abraham Lincoln
announced a grant of amnesty for Mrs.
Emilie Todd Helm, his wife Mary’s halfsister and the widow of a Confederate
general. The pardon was the first under
Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty
and Reconstruction which had been
announced a week earlier. The plan, a
blueprint for the reintegration of the
South into the Union, allowed for former
Confederates to be granted amnesty if
they took an oath to the United States.
The option was open to all but the highest
officials of the Confederacy. Emilie Todd
Helm was married to Benjamin Helm,
who had been offered a position in the
U.S. Army by Lincoln but opted, instead,
to join the Confederate forces. He was
killed at the Battle of Chickamauga in
September 1863.
Dec 15
1791 - The Bill of Rights, the first 10
amendments to the U.S. Constitution,
became law after being ratified by
Virginia. Originally there were 12
amendments; one of them concerned the
population system of representation and
was not ratified while the second, which
prohibited laws varying the payment
of congressional members from taking
effect until an election intervened, was
finally ratified in 1992. The Bill of Rights
was inspired by the English Bill of Rights
of 1689, and was also modeled after
Virginia’s Declaration of Rights, which
had been drafted by George Mason in
1776. Mason attended the Constitutional
Convention and criticized the final
document as lacking constitutional
protection of basic political rights. He
and other critics agreed to support
the Constitution in exchange for the
assurance that amendments would be
passed immediately.
Dec 16
1773 - A group of Massachusetts
colonists, disguised as Mohawk Indians,
boarded three British ships anchored
in Boston Harbor and dumped 342
chests of tea overboard. The midnight
raid, known as the Boston Tea Party,
protested the enactment of British
PAGE 25
Parliament’s Tea Act of 1773, a bill
designed to save the faltering East India
Company by lowering its tea tax and
granting it a virtual monopoly on the
American tea trade. The law, viewed
by many as another example of British
taxation tyranny, allowed the company
to undercut even tea smuggled into
America by Dutch traders. When the
three ships, Dartmouth, Eleanor and
Beaver, arrived in Boston Harbor, the
colonists had demanded the tea be
returned to England. Massachusetts
Governor Thomas Hutchinson
refused their demand and Samuel
Adams organized the raid with about
60 members of the Sons of Liberty, his
underground resistance group. The
tea dumped overboard was valued at
around $18,000. England responded to
the action with the Coercive Acts which
closed Boston to merchant shipping,
established formal British military rule
in Massachusetts, made British officials
immune to criminal prosecution in
America, and required colonists to house
British troops. The Coercive Acts led
to the creation of the first Continental
Congress which considered a united
American resistance to the British.
1944 - German counterattacks against
Anglo-American forces closing in on
Germany from the west, and the Soviets
from the East, blossomed into the Battle
of the Bulge. Three German armies in
the densely wooded Ardennes region
of Belgium took the Allied forces by
surprise. German troops created a bulge
60 miles deep and 50 miles wide along
the Allied front and, with fog and mist
preventing the unleashing of Allied
air superiority, the Germans’ gamble
seemed to be paying off. The Allies kept
up a fierce resistance even after their
lines of communication had broken
down, buying time for a three-point
counteroffensive led by British General
Bernard Montgomery and American
Generals Omar Bradley and George
Patton. On December 22 the Germans
called for the Americans at Bastogne to
surrender, and they were refused. The
following day the skies cleared, and
airpower came in and inflicted heavy
damage on German tanks and transports.
By December 26 Bastogne was relieved;
a major offensive began at the end of
December. By the end of January 1945
German forces had been pushed back.
Germany’s last major offensive cost them
120,000 men, 1,600 planes and 700 tanks.
Allied forces suffered some 80,000 killed,
wounded or missing in action, all but
5,000 of these being Americans.
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PAGE 26
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Mission Statement
The Westchester Guardian is a weekly newspaper devoted to the unbiased reporting of events and developments that are newsworthy and significant to readers living in, and/or employed in, Westchester County.
The Guardian will strive to report fairly, and objectively, reliable information without favor or compromise. Our
first duty will be to the People’s Right To Know, by the exposure of truth, without fear or hesitation, no
matter where the pursuit may lead, in the finest tradition of Freedom Of The Press.
The Guardian will cover news and events relevant to residents and businesses all over Westchester County. As a weekly, rather than focusing on the immediacy of delivery more associated with daily
journals, we will instead seek to provide the broader, more comprehensive, chronological step-by-step
accounting of events, enlightened with analysis, where appropriate.
From amongst journalism’s classic key-words: who, what, when, where, why, and how, the why and how
will drive our pursuit. We will use our more abundant time, and our resources, to get past the initial ‘spin’ and
‘damage control’ often characteristic of immediate news releases, to reach the very heart of the matter: the truth.
We will take our readers to a point of understanding and insight which cannot be obtained elsewhere.
To succeed, we must recognize from the outset that bigger is not necessarily better. And, furthermore,
we will acknowledge that we cannot be all things to all readers. We must carefully balance the presentation of
relevant, hard-hitting, Westchester news and commentary, with features and columns useful in daily living
and employment in, and around, the county. We must stay trim and flexible if we are to succeed.
PAGE 27
MMA, One Of The Fastest Growing Sports
By Sam Stern
The Westchester
Guardian newspaper
has granted me the opportunity to keep
you current on combat in Westchester
County, and the surrounding areas. My
name is Sam Stern, and I’ll be your host
on this mixed martial arts adventure. We’ll be traveling to the gurus of our area,
like an old Saturday morning Kung Fu
flick, on a quest for knowledge. You’ll
be kept current on the who’s who, what’s
happening, and the rivalries created by
competing schools. Interviews, school
reviews, and secret techniques will be
synonomous with this column. Martial arts has always provided
a primitive weekly escape from the
overworked, highly stressed, Hallmark
holiday, materialistic world we live in. Intense training and martial technique
is that shared common bond that keeps
all martial artists on the level, passing
down knowledge from father to child,
teacher to student, inside schools all
over the country. Many people have heard of Mixed
Martial Arts (MMA), but still don’t
know what it is? In very basic terms
its combining stand-up martial arts
with ground martial arts. It’s when you
delve deeper, and seperate MMA into
its component parts, that you’ll uncover
the truth, as to why mixed martial arts
is one of the fastest growing sports,
produces the most dominant athletes,
and offers diversity to the regular guy or
gal who’s bored of the typical “I pump
up/desperate housewives” gym scene. MMA was popularized in the 1990’s
with the advent of the Ultimate Fighting
Championship (UFC), and legend
Royce Gracie. The age-old question
of which style was most dominant was
now answered, and surprisingly enough
it was a regular-sized, non-threatening
looking Brazilian guy named Royce
Gracie who shocked the world.
The martial arts community got
turned upside down on its head as Royce
choked out, arm-barred, and dominated
larger, more muscular opponents in this
new, raw, no-holds-barred competition. And even though the combative worlds’
eyes had been opened, MMA and the
UFC had an uphill battle against it, just
to be accepted into society.
Rorion Gracie, one of the original
founders of the UFC, and a legendary
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu master, took this new
fight league to where he could, and then
passed the torch to Dana White and Zuffa,
who acquired the juggernaut. Dana
battled through stiff opposition (punk ass
John McCain), state bans, and uneducated
onlookers, to now over a decade later,
almost recognizing what would look to
be the UFC’s own “Manifest Destiny”, by
hoping to sack New York and bring these
fights to the Garden.
The elite athletes, labeled barbarians
by those with untrained eyes, are the finest
craftsman in the land. What don’t they
do? They box, grapple, kick box, wrestle,
lift weights, run, and condition. More
than that, they lay it all on the line, day in
and day out, in the pursuit of perfection,
the love of the crowd, the booty. Great MMA schools are typically
staffed with coaches in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu,
muay thai (or other stand-up striking
styles), boxing, wrestling, strength &
conditioning, and sports performance
coaches. We must, however, take into
account the experience and bloodlines
these coaches descend from. Chuck
Norris was to Karate in the 1970’s
what Chuck Liddell is to MMA in the
2000’s. Fads rise and fall like waves in
the ocean, and amidst all the hype and
malay, you don’t want to get stuck at a
poser academy taking advantage of a
popularized phrase. Right or wrong?
So join me next time as the lineup
is unveiled and we reveal where the
journey begins. Bring your mouthpiece,
your gloves, and your “A” game, as we
open up a can of whoop ass on MMA
in Westchester County and the greater
New York area.
Sam Stern is the owner of Alpha
Combat MMA in Mahopac, New York
(www.alphacombatmma.com), the
founder of Fight Frat, a New York-based
amateur fight league (www.fightfrat.
com), and can be reached at samuel.
[email protected].
PAGE 28

vol 4 no 19 dec 10 2009.indd

Transcription

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