Parental Gifts: DISABILITY & DEATH - ON WHEELS!

GET THESE OFF OUR STREETS -- AND AWAY FROM YOUR KIDS!

Our Successful SABMA Efforts Protect Community

I am pleased to report that our concerted and relentless efforts to have Mini-Bikes (a.k.a. "Pocket Rockets" or "Crotch Rockets") outlawed here in NYC have finally been successful. Praise God!

Last Tuesday on Sept. 28th, the full City Council unanimously banned both their sale and use by the votes of 51-0. Last week it also breezed through their transportation committee* 8-0.

St. Anthony's Bread Mission Apostolate has been lobbying against these contraptions for the past year through our letter writing campaigns to our NYC legislators, monthly meetings with our Community Board, the local Police Community Council and conferences with our local City Councilmen. This writer had spoken out against them often and as recently as on Sept. 14th and 21st at local community meetings.

* The Department of Consumer Affairs testified AGAINST the legislation in that committee. It's reported that the Mayor might veto this new legislation to preserve the economic business which he fears will move to NJ or Long Island. If he does then we will bring the full brunt of our SABMA Covenant Community efforts against his campaign for re-election. We also oppose his efforts to have NYC underwrite a new sports stadium in mid-town Manhattan. We will continue to do so until he reopens those NYC fire-houses which he closed.

However, through protest rallies, community prayer and other pressure, SABMA was SUCCESSFUL last year in getting him to reprieve our local Engine 293 in Queens from the budget cutting ax. Two out of eight were saved and kept open through our community efforts. (At times like this, I'm thankful that our mission apostolate still has not received it's 501 (c) (3) exemption from the federal government. So let them try to intimidate us into silence.)

These brightly colored motorized scooters (which are very small versions of motorcycles - SEE PHOTO ABOVE) are the latest fad among kids and young people. Fitted with either a gas or electric engine, they have a wheel diameter of eight inches, a total unit height of only 18 inches from the ground, weigh only 45 lbs. and most reach speeds of up to 40 MPH. Some versions of the mini-motorcycle can hit speeds up to 70 MPH. (There are also smaller versions, called micro-pocket rockets.) They are made in China and are sold everywhere dirt cheap at between $200. - $500. bucks.

Since they cannot be legally or technically classified, they are not registered with the Dept. of Motor Vehicles. And since they are considered "TOYS", they are not fitted with any safety equipment like brake lights, tail lights, turn signals, head lights or reflectors. Riders -- who are typically too young to drive a car -- rarely wear helmets and have had no driver and/or safety training. Dare-devil kids and youths often ride with other kids on their backs while racing their "choppers" up and down city streets through red lights and stop signs.

I almost hit several of them with my vehicle since they are not visible at night and ride low -- below the level of car hoods and mirrors. The ONLY warning I had was the roar they make when approaching and passing. Our other consternation was that they were assembling into "motorcycle" packs of about a dozen kids (between 8-15 years old) and constantly drag racing up and down the street at all hours of the day and night spewing raucous noise and pollution. Most of those stunt drivers scorned my warnings and were oblivious to oncoming traffic. That was the crux of my umbrage and concern which went from being a quality of life issue to a matter of life and death.

Sadly, when I approached the parent(s) of these young children (to educate, inform and warn them), I was either rebuffed with apathy, resentment - or met with hostility. Very few of them gave their kids helmets or training with the bikes they bought them. Last month, on August 19th, a 19-year-old local youth in Kew Gardens, Queens was killed speeding on one when he hit a pot hole. He was thrown from the vehicle and died when he suffered a skull fracture and brain lacerations after landing on his unprotected head. Adults who also drive them have to squat on the seat since they are so low.

This new legislation will impose fines of $500. on operators who will also be issued a traffic ticket. The bikes will be confiscated! (Their use is also banned on private property.) Any NYC vendor who sells, rents, or leases these mini-bikes will be fined $1,000, imprisoned for 15 days or both.

The ban will not affect those mo-peds, go-peds (skateboards with motors in the back and T-shaped steering bars up front) or electric scooters that run at speeds below 15 MPH. Also exempted (at this time) are the two-wheeled, stand-up, self-balancing Segway Human Transporters and other devices used to assist disabled persons. A bill currently before the state Assembly would amend New York State vehicle and traffic law to define motorized scooters and regulate their operation on public roadways.
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DISCLAIMER: - "Pocket Rockets" are NOT to be confused with sex toys, skis, sports cars, 9 mm semi-automatic pistols, video games, poker games, pocket PCs, PDAs, hand-held computers, microrocketry technology or that punk rock group, etc. with this same name.

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US Traitor SMEARED a Hero - Her Dad

Brethren -- This is to help frame the context of the first of the Presidential Election debates tomorrow night. We have heard from the Swift Boat veterans and both candidates, et al on this much disputed and historic issue. I will now turn this athenaeum over to a young lady, Carol Crowley, who intimately recalls John Kerry's hurtful comments from 33 years ago regarding those he served with in Viet Nam. She recollected them last week on 09/20/04 for the Atlantic Journal-Constitution. Her comments follow BELOW mine.

As you listen to Sen. Kerry's harangues tomorrow night, be aware that his photo has a special place of "honor" at the War Crimes Museum in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). It hangs high in a room dedicated to the anti-war activists who helped the Vietnamese Communists win the Vietnam War and is comparable to the painting of the British Prime Minister and "peacenik" Neville Chamberlain found hanging in a place of honor in Hitler's mountain-top "Eagle's Nest" in 1945. Its prominent placement there clearly recognizes John Kerry's contributions to their Communist victory. Indeed, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Now since the former Capt. John Kerry raised the issue of their military service FIRST from more than three decades ago (all four months there - including his month of training, but excepting his magical mystical tour "Christmas in Cambodia") then he should answer these unanswered questions about his own record. Before last week, Kerry had a one-track/one-issue-mind (Viet Nam...) anyway. Therefore, he should also tell us...

WHY did he NOT report his alleged "Genghis Khan" war crimes while yet in uniform as all military commanders are required to do? It's a federal crime not to! Since he as a Naval officer personally and admittedly committed "atrocities" and "genocide" (his statement to the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in 1971: "massacred, burned villages, raped, mutilated, tortured, etc.") in Vietnam then those "war crimes" would be punishable by law in this country.

WHY is he now trying to hold up his medals to our faces after he publicly trashed them (literally) on TV.

WHY did John Kerry's official website allude to three hostile military actions (rocket attacks, woundings, etc.) upon his Swiftboat -- which he took credit for -- PRIOR to the time he even embarked upon or took command of that boat on 1/30/69?

WHY did he immediately remove those fabrications (firefights and missions he never participated in) from his web site when the Boston Globe asked him about them?

WHY are his self-professed yet alarmingly conflicted claims of being both a war hero and war criminal in Viet Nam contrasted by the 22 statements of his 23 living Naval officer peers?

And I also wonder: where is his radical buddy "Hanoi Jane" (Fonda) now -- whom he often supported and hung out with in anti-American rallies during and after Viet Nam? Would that admitted socialist still call him a "baby killer" today? And would he accept her endorsement?

Both turncoats claim that their activities did not violate the definition of TREASON given in Article III, Section 3, of the US Constitution. I'd still argue that since they both gave "Aid & Comfort" to our enemies and TORMENT to our US troops. And given the opportunity, I'd spit into his face too -- just as I did into hers * when I was an 18-year-old college freshman back in 1972.

* At the Rutgers Univ. Student Center where during her speech with Tom Hayden, Fonda, then age 34, insulted our much younger wheel-chair bound veterans -- lined up in the first row holding placards against her movement -- as "baby-killers who had their balls shot off needlessly for Nixon". (I shared the GOP ticket with him, etc. and had served as Pres. Richard M. Nixon's Essex County Youth Campaign Chairman that year.) I spat into her face as she passed me exiting in haste. These were some of my give-aways in my later political campaigns. (I was elected to county/municipal office for 17 consecutive years until I resigned upon my ordination to the diaconate.)

Jane Fonda was quoted in the Detroit Free Press of November 22, 1970 as having told a student audience at Michigan State University; "I would think that if you understood what communism was you would hope, you would pray on your knees, that we would someday become communists."

In April, 1972 Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden (later her ex) and others traveled to North Vietnam to give their support to the North Vietnamese's Government. There she posed for photos with enemy troops atop their tanks while holding their guns. She also applauded an NVA anti-aircraft gun crew. Those guns were used to shoot down American planes and contributed to the deaths of American Airmen.

From there, she also made radio broadcasts (tapes of which were incessantly played to our POWs) urging U.S. airmen to stop bombing North Vietnam and told our US servicemen stationed on aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin that the bombs they were loading into planes were illegal and that using the bombs "makes one a war criminal." When she returned to the United States, she advised the news media that all of the American Prisoners of War were being well treated and were not being tortured.

As the American POWs returned home in 1973, they spoke out about the inhumane treatment and torture they had suffered as prisoners of war. Their stories directly contradicted Jane Fonda's earlier statements of 1972. Some of the American POWs such as Senator John McCain, a former Presidential candidate, stated that he was tortured by his guards for refusing to meet with Jane Fonda and her group. Jane Fonda, in her response to these new allegations, referred to the returning POWs as being "hypocrites and liars."

The Wall Street Journal (on August 3, 1995) published an interview with Bui Tin who served on the General Staff of the North Vietnam Army and received the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975. During the interview Mr. Tin was asked if the American antiwar movement was important to Hanoi's victory. Mr. Tin responded, "It was essential to our strategy" referring to the war being fought on two fronts, the Vietnam battlefield and back home in America through the antiwar movement on college campuses and in the city streets. He further stated the North Vietnamese leadership listened to the American evening news broadcasts "to follow the growth of the American antiwar movement."

Visits to Hanoi made by persons such as Jane Fonda, former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and various church ministers "gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of battlefield reverses." Mr. Tin surmised that "America lost because of its democracy; through dissent and protest it lost the ability to mobilize a will to win." From 1969 until the end of the war, over 20,000 American soldiers gave their lives in Viet Nam.

In 1975, after the fall of the South Vietnam Government, Jane Fonda returned to Hanoi with her newborn son Troy for a celebration in her honor for the work she had done for North Vietnam. During the celebration, her son was christened after a Viet Cong hero, Nguyen Van Troi. Troi had attempted to assassinate Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara while on his visit to South Vietnam in 1963. The South Vietnam Government executed Troi for this attempted assassination.

The Vietnam Memorial Wall contains the names of 25,493 American soldiers who served their Country and paid the ultimate price for freedom who were under the age of 21.

"Kerry Smeared a Hero -- My Dad"

Many of you believe dirty politics is the motivation of Vietnam veterans speaking out in opposition to John Kerry. Let me tell you the real motivation.

In the movie "We Were Soldiers," the story about the battle of the la Drang Valley in Viet Nam in 1965, a young Sergeant, Jack Earl Gell, cried as he died, "Tell my wife I love her . . ." and my family relived the death of my dad. He told my mother in letters that he and those he served with believed they were doing the right thing, fighting to help a sovereign nation defend its freedom.

Before the movie was filmed, I heard my father's dying words from retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and journalist Joe Galloway, who were with him in the Valley of Death. I met Mel Gibson, who played Col. Moore in the movie, showing him family pictures and letters to help him learn the essence of these young men serving their country in a difficult time. Gibson said my father was a true hero.

I remember when the movie was released witnessing the healing of men and family members who clung to this story with a new pride after decades of being vilified. Finally, they talked about it. Finally, many were proud to be Vietnam veterans.

And then Kerry was nominated as a presidential candidate.

I don't blame Kerry for my father's death, and I don't much care if he shamelessly chased after medals.

But I do care that when he returned from Vietnam he gave aid and comfort to the enemy while our soldiers were still dying.

I care that he smeared my father and a generation of our armed forces with false charges of war crimes while posing himself as a hero.

I care that Kerry's false charges encouraged our enemy who was pressuring our POWs in inhumane ways to confess to imaginary war crimes.

I care that he went to Paris to meet with the Viet Cong in 1970 while still an officer in the Navy Reserve, returning to publicly advocate for their position and against America's position.

This isn't about politics. It's about honor and betrayal and protecting our country. And for me it is deeply personal, as it is for countless vets. Thirty-nine years later, my mother still cries on Nov 14. Thirty-nine years later, we miss my father every day. Thirty-nine years later, Kerry poses as a hero.

As children of Vietnam veterans, many of us feel an unwelcome emotional strain as the arguments about what really happened in Vietnam are tugged back and forth, often by people who were not there. We deeply resent the suggestion that our fathers were war criminals as that theme inevitably seeps into the argument.

We are educated and grown. We have children of our own, some in the service. We know in our heart and soul the scars of war that will never go away. But we are not weak, and we will not be silent. I will stand with the Vietnam veterans who speak out, and the voice of my father will be heard through me. As long as I have breath and Kerry seeks the Office of President, I will speak out against him. Others like me are too many to count.

While we are dismissed as dirty politics, the truth is we would be doing the very same things if Kerry were a Republican. President Bush has never had anything to do with our opposition to Kerry, and if the president makes a personal appeal to us to stop, we cannot and will not do so, because there are some things that can never be forgiven, can never be forgotten.

John Kerry is one of those things. -- Carol Crowley

Why The American Flag Is Folded 13 Times

Have you ever wondered why the Flag of the United States of America is folded 13 times when it is lowered or when it is folded and handed to the next of kin at the burial of a veteran?

Here is the meaning of each of those folds:

The first fold of our Flag is a symbol of life.

The second fold is a symbol of our belief in eternal life.

The third fold is made in honor and remembrance of the Veterans departing our ranks who gave a portion of their lives for the defense of our Country to attain peace throughout the world.

The fourth fold represents our weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in time of war for His divine guidance.

The fifth fold is a tribute to our Country, for in the words of Stephen Decatur, "Our Country, in dealing with other countries may she always be right; but it is still our Country, right or wrong."

The sixth fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that we pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The seventh fold is a tribute to our Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that we protect our Country and our Flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of our Republic.

The eighth fold is a tribute to the one who entered into the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day; and to honor the mother, for whom it flies on Mother's Day.

The ninth fold is a tribute to womanhood; for it has been through their faith, their love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this Country great has been molded.

The tenth fold is a tribute to the father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of our Country since they were first born.

The eleventh fold, in the eyes of a Hebrew citizen, represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon, and glorifies in their eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob.

The twelfth fold, in the eyes of a Christian citizen, represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in their eyes, God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.

When the Flag is completely folded the stars are uppermost, reminding us of our Nation's motto, "In God We Trust."

After the Flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the Soldiers who served under General George Washington, and the Sailors and Marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones, who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for us the rights, privileges and freedoms we enjoy today.

The next time you see a Flag ceremony honoring someone that has served our Country, either in the Armed Forces or in our civilian services such as the Police Force or Fire Department, keep in mind all the important reasons behind each and every movement. They have paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us by honoring our Flag and our Country.

GOD BLESS AMERICA & ALL WHO SACRIFICED FOR HER!

GREASED PRIEST IS HOLY ROLLER (uses blessed vegetable oil as car fuel)

QUES: What's silver, goes 70 mph and smells like a Fry Daddy in Lent?
ANS: In Jefferson City, Missouri, it could be Father Tom Alber's car.

Just as gas prices started going through the roof, Father Alber accepted a new assignment requiring extensive travel. Covering for sick or vacationing priests and celebrating Spanish-language Masses in far-flung parishes meant he was driving, on average, about 200 miles each weekend.

"Add the meetings ... and a trip home once in a while and I was spending $200 a month on gasoline," said the priest, who is in residence at Immaculate Conception Parish in Jefferson City, Missouri

The cost and his own curiosity led him to investigate affordable alternative fuels. Before long, he was looking into the renewable resource technology offered by the diesel engine.

The priest did a lot of research and then bought a 1978 car "with only 384,000 miles" and a diesel engine that seemed to suit his needs.

For fuel, he was given 250 gallons of vegetable oil from Father Joe Hoi after a parish fish fry in Owensville...

....and it still gets him wherever he needs to go... I'm sure his mileage and economy puts my SUV to shame. But it must be a dirty daily chore filtering out the burnt food residue from waste veggie oil (WVO). Also, fast food joints add a lot of salt to their fryers. I'd worry about oil viscosity during winter. So get a pre-heater and don't ruin your fuel injectors.

And watch out for the state revenuers, Padre. They often hunt down people who do this just for the unpaid road tax(s) already added to our gasoline prices. They are more interested in getting our money than energy conservation and the environment.

Biodiesel seems like a viable alternative to me, especially since gas prices will increase another five cents per gallon this week (because of the hurricanes). However, I'd guess this means that we'll soon be paying higher prices for vegetable oil too.

MORAL: Catholic horses

THERE'S A MORAL TO THIS "JOKE" BELOW:

One day while he was at the track betting on the ponies and nearly losing his shirt, Mitch noticed a priest who stepped out onto the track and blessed the forehead of one of the horses lining up for the 4th race.

Lo and behold, that horse - a very long shot - won the race. Mitch was most interested to see what the priest did the next race.

Sure enough, he watched the priest step out onto the track as the 5th race horses lined up, and place a blessing on the forehead of one of the horses.

Mitch made a beeline for the window and placed a small bet on the horse.

Again, even though it was another long shot, the horse the priest had blessed won the race.

Mitch collected his winnings and anxiously waited to see which horse the priest bestowed his blessing on for the 6th race.

The priest showed, blessed a horse, Mitch bet on it, and it won!

Mitch was elated! As the day went on, the priest continued blessing one of the horses, and it always came in first. Mitch began to pull in some serious money, and by the last race, he knew his wildest dreams were going to come true. He made a quick stop at the ATM, withdrew his savings and awaited the priest's blessing that would tell him which horse to bet on.

True to his pattern, the priest stepped out onto the track before the last race and blessed the forehead, eyes, ears and hooves of one of the horses.

Mitch bet every cent, and watched the horse come in dead last.

Mitch was dumbfounded. He made his way to the track and when he found the priest, he demanded, "What happened, Father? All day you blessed horses and they won. The last race, you blessed a horse and he lost. Now I've lost my savings too, thanks to you!!"

The priest nodded wisely and said, "That's the problem with Protestants, you can't tell the difference between a simple blessing and the Last Rites."

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PS: Christians should NOT be gambling -- which is a sin! Yet too many Catholic clergy think nothing of doing this. I attribute this to "good causes" like church BINGO and state lotteries, etc. Thankfully, it's one of the few vices I haven't fallen victim to. Which is why I've NEVER bought even a lottery ticket, lest I should win and become entrapped. (Twelve years ago, this priest was censured and disciplined for REFUSING his Bishop's direct order to participate in "parish gambling.")

Sadly, I just learned that my former Ordinary, Archbishop Thaddeus Condrick of Pennsylvania, recently (Dec. 30, 2003) lost his entire property and real estate at a Sheriff's Auction. He declared bankruptcy under Chapter 11 just before I transferred out. Sadly, our parish chapel, monastery and seminary was also located there. Now they're gone.

I forewarned him of this years ago as he attended BINGO games several times a week (with his poor parishioners no less) and purchased handfuls of state lottery tickets daily. Habitual gambling is an addiction! Addicts need serious help such as what "Gamblers Anonymous" offers. In denial, His Eminence declined it.

What goes around comes around. Don't fall prey, instead...

Pray for them,
-- Steve +