18 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, May 19, 2017
READERS WRITE
The importance of donating blood
I
would like to impress on the many the importance of donating blood. I was at the Immaculate Conception in Douglaston on May 2, where many groups were being honored for running blood drives. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio and the New York Blood Center gave praise for Brooklyn and Queens for the 2016 Blood Campaign which accounted for 8,000 donations.
Bishop DiMarzio said,” The donation of blood is a sign of social-consciousness because unless people are willing to donate blood, the health of our communities will not be very well.” I wholeheartedly agree with the Bishop. I’m grand knight of St. Anastasia Knights of Columbus council #5911 and as Chairman with my co-chairman Giuseppe Petruso and fellow members Jo-
seph Stock and Martin Aversa, and with the help of Boy Scout Troop #153 we run two blood drives a year at St. Anastasia parish in Douglaston. Now here is my question, would like to save three lives ? Giving one pint of blood does just that. Our blood drive is on June 4 at St. Anastasia parish in Douglaston located 45-14 245th Street on Sunday at 8:45-2:45 Let me also point out that the need for blood
is constant. Did you know that our local hospitals need more than 2.000 pints a day. You never know when someone you know needs blood or even yourself. So, if you can please give the gift of life, you will be glad that you did. Frederick R. Bedell Jr. Mineola
Trump’s ignorance, broken promises
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n the campaign trail, Donald J. Trump proposed policies, if elected, he would re-work American foreign policies to put America’s interest first beginning with walling our southern border at Mexico’s expense. The Mexican president had a belly laugh and declared zero financial responsibility for the project. So, Mr. Trump promptly reversed the $25 billion cost to the American government; i.e. American taxpayers and in upside down talk declared Mexico will pay up in the future. Trump continues to insist on building the best wall on our 2,000 mile long southern border even though some border land is privately owned; parts run through river water and swampy terrain; ecologists have predicted extinction for animals that won’t be able to migrate across the border to mate and feed according to their biological imperatives. Best of all, the undocumented and the drug dealers will by-pass this great wall and accomplish entry by alternative air and sea routes; so this exquisite building project can serve as a decorative border marker rather than a deterrent to desperados. While campaigning, Mr. Trump promised to re-negotiate NAFTA, our trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, but reversed course in office when he learned of the damage to American interests associated with un-doing NAFTA. He subsequently learned that the Mexican government partners with U.S. border patrols in trying to prevent unsanctioned border crossings and also co-operates with U.S. counter-terrorism agencies. He now understands that the Mexican government has been our good friend
and trading partner. So, the NAFTA project was sent to the back burner and there it remains indefinitely. In the name of America first, Mr. Trump told South Korea to pay the $1 billion cost for our installment of the THAAD missile defense system aimed to deter military action from North Korea. The South Koreans hit the streets en masse to demand of American to stick to its contracted agreement to pay for the system. So, Mr. Trump reversed positions and accepted the $1 billion cost for the THAAD missile installation on South Korean soil. Next move for Mr. Trump was to invite North Korean President Kim to a tete à tete to discuss America’s disapproval of North Korean militarism. Mr. Trump announced his belief that he would be “honored” to meet Mr. Kim in person. Kim declined to reply to Mr. Trump’s warm invitation to a pow-wow. Mr. Trump moved on to President Duterte of the Philippines. He extended his warm invitation to this self-confessed murderer and chief of a murderous campaign of terror with 7,000 and counting Filippinos killed under Duterte’s extra-judicial assassination policy. Mr. Duterte announced he would not waste his time meeting with Mr. Trump. On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump promised to undo the Iran deal of lifting sanctions in return for Iran halting nuclear weapons development under strict international inspections. In office, Mr. Trump discovered that Iran is at war with ISIS as is the United States, so the Iran deal stays in force in order not to antagonize an ally in fight-
ing ISIS. In the America first platform, Mr. Trump denounced China as a currency manipulator and of harming the U.S. economy. He also promised to use his powerful negotiating prowess to strong-arm China into pressuring North Korea to cease and desist nuclear testing and to mitigate its hostility to South Korea. In this negative mind-set on China, Mr. Trump acknowledged the President of Taiwan in a direct telephone call, apparently undoing America’s 70 year oneChina policy. Chinese President Shih met Trump at Mar-el Lago headquarters and explained Chinese fiscal policy; China’s commitment to re-uniting Taiwan to the mainland and revealing China’s minimal influence on North Korean policy. Trump then announced that he has a wonderful opinion of President Shih; China is not a currency manipulator; China is unable to apply meaningful pressure on North Korean policies and yes, there is just one China: Taiwan is a renegade state that, like Hong Kong, will eventually re-unite with the mainland. We all know of Trump’s effusive praise of Russian President Putin that has soured after Mr. Trump discovered Russia’s adversarial behavior in East Ukraine, Crimea, Syria. He just didn’t know about Russian geopolitics until recent days. We also remember how Trump declared NATO obsolete pre-election and how he reversed course and announced our strong involvement in the NATO alliance including the continuation of financial participation at current levels despite his earlier complaint that NATO countries were bilking us and making us pay for
their share in the organization. What about the federal court’s reversal of Trump’s executive order to ban travelers from seven Muslim majority nations on suspicion of hostile intentions towards the United States. Not one of the citizens from the banned countries has committed an act of terror on U.S. soil; in contrast, the Muslim countries whose citizens have committed atrocities such as 9/11 and the 1993 attack on the World Trade Tower were not banned. Saudi Arabian, Kuwaiti, Egyptian citizens were responsible for terror in the U.S., but Mr. Trump apparently was not aware of their national origins, so their home countries were not included in the ban. In any case, a federal judge ruled the ban unconstitutional, so the ban went away. Other issues of concern: the promise to improve American health care system when the American Medical Association denounced his replacement plan as disastrous for at least 30 percent of the country. Trump’s reputed involvement and putative indebtedness to Russian oligarchs as financial partners in Trump’s enterprises has yet to be clarified to American citizens. Just now, we hear that FBI Director Comey got fired as he was in the process of unlayering Trump’s highly questionable connection to Russian money. What about Trump’s tax returns? What is hiding in the figures? What grade are we giving on Trump’s 100th day in office? Will the grade go up or down on his 200th day? Diane Nahas Great Neck
Phillips shows she cares for seniors
A
s a senior who attended one of Sen. Elaine Phillips’ senior scam prevention programs, I wanted to thank her for providing this important service. The program was very informative and featured professionals from the New York State Division of Consumer Protec-
tion and LiveOn NY who offered helpful tips on identifying and avoiding common scams. They patiently answered questions for nearly two hours and listened to real life stories and experiences from many in the group who were targets of scams themselves.
And we received additional information to take home and review,as well as helpful contact numbers for follow-up questions and to report additional concerns. Sen. Phillips even posted a video of the presentation on her website, so that seniors who couldn’t attend could still get
the information. It’s nice to see an elected official going so far to help address an issue that is a real concern for us. Thank you Sen. Phillips for caring about seniors! Peter Gong New Hyde Park