VOL. 116 - NO. 29 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, JULY 20, 2012 $.30 A COPY Celebrating Our Anniversary! 117 Years of Continuous Publication One hundred and seventeen ued the tradition as the There were new ways to years ago, an Italian immi- third generation publisher of be learned as well as grant who arrived in Boston the POST-GAZETTE. new institutions. There when he was only 16 years The GAZZETTA, as it was were speculators and ex- old saw the realization of his properly called, was very ploiters to be fought, a fondest dreams, to establish short in financial means “padrone” system needed to an Italian language newspa- but had a large vision, to be destroyed. There were per that would be the genu- give its readers a better churches to be built and ine voice of the increasing and wider understanding above all, immigrants took flow of Italians to the United between two countries. The advantage of America’s free States. The boy was James so-called Italian Colony, or education while learning V. Donnaruma, the newspa- “La Colonia,” had to face a the process of citizenship. per was LA GAZZETTA DEL complexity of problems and We devoted pages and pages MASSACHUSETTS which is the GAZZETTA had to under- to that very mission! now published in English as stand the slow and hard The GAZZETTA became, in the POST-GAZETTE. transition of men who, in a way, a sort of guide, so He remained at the helm most cases, had been en- to speak, the go-between of this well-known publica- gaged in agriculture in the that brought American po- James V. Donnaruma - Founder Caesar L. Donnaruma tion until his demise in 1953 home country. Here, they litical life to the Italian im- Publisher - 1896 to 1953 Publisher - 1953 to 1971 at which time his son, were to work in construc- migrant. Many times our Caesar, took over the reins tion, factories and restau- people were sent unknow- of running the now famous rants, eventually emerging ingly to work in places sub- national weekly newspaper as small storekeepers and ject to a strike and were located in the North End of finally the professionals, therefore exposed to physi- Boston. Caesar was loyally heads of business enter- cal violence on the part of assisted by an ingenious prises and eventually to strikers ... in time, the situ- wife, Phyllis, who assumed become industrial leaders, ation changed as they the role of publisher in heads of state, people to be learned more about the new 1971, as one the nations respected by others. land of opportunity. first Italo-American women If America was to some a The Italian immigrant publishers. Upon Phyllis’ bitter disappointment, to was a hard worker, a thrifty death in October 1990, their more it remained a great ad- daughter, Pamela, contin- venture and excitement. (Continued on Page 14) Saint Rocco’s Annual Procession Phyllis F. Donnaruma Pamela C. Donnaruma Publisher - 1971 to 1990 Publisher - 1990 to Present As we celebrate our anniversary, we would like to thank our advertisers and subscribers for their loyalty throughout the years. We couldn’t have come this far without you! News Briefs by Sal Giarratani What Happened to Just Reporting the News? Recently while listening to Jay Severin on my car radio, I heard him mention an Andrea Mitchell report on MSNBC in which Mitt Romney’s speech was edited into the Twilight Zone. He was talking about one thing and Mitchell turned it into a George H.W. Bush moment at the supermarket scanner (Remember that one when the lamestream media was pushing a guy named Bill Clinton back in ’92?). Selective editing to seemingly deceive an audience is very unbecoming of NBC-TV, isn’t it? Is Obama Pathological? According to President Obama’s 1995 memoir, “Dreams of My Father,” the president claimed his paternal grandpa was imprisoned and tortured by On a hot and humid Sunday, July 15, 2012 as temperatures reached the 90s devotees British colonists in Kenya. Turns out this asser- of Saint Rocco held their annual procession through the streets of Boston’s North tion was a piece of proven fiction. Obama has also End. Accompanying the statue of Saint Rocco and his devotees were Portuguese (Continued on Page 14) dancers, Rancho Folclorico de Peabody accompanied by the Roma Band and Northeast Italian Band. (Photo by Rosario Scabin, Ross Photography) THE POST-GAZETTE SATELLITE OFFICE IS NOW OPEN AT 35 BENNINGTON STREET, EAST BOSTON This office is open on Tuesdays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM and Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PMPM, for the convenience of our East Boston and North Shore clients and contributors Call 617-227-8929 for more information Page 2 POST-GAZETTE, JULY 20, 2012 Res Publica by David Trumbull What Part of “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Don’t You Understand, Mr. President? APHRODISIACS, ETC. Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R., Wisconsin) has introduced legislation, H.R.6097, the Religious Freedom In this day and age we with water it was used to tal organ of an ass into hot Tax Repeal Act, to stop the Obama Administration from often jest about certain aph- cure sores on the head, or oil seven times and then rub taxing religious institutions and employers for choosing to rodisiacs or sexual stimu- to smooth the skin of it over certain relevant follow core tenets of their faith rather than bow to the HHS lants. For some unknown women, and when mixed parts. mandate that violates their conscience rights. reason, discussions of this with vinegar, it cured the The ultimate or “piece de As you know, on January 20, 2012, the U.S. Department nature always seem to cen- itch. These dear ancients resistance” was to reduce of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) reaffirmed a rule ter around the poor little raw finally got around to eating that organ to ash and forcing health care plans to cover sterilization, abortion- oyster. the oyster raw, but they con- consume it in wine (this inducing drugs and contraception. Many religiously- The ancients didn’t mess sumed it chopped, to cure also gave you a good attack affiliated schools, hospitals and social service agencies around with mere child’s chilblains on the feet. of agita). Needless to say, cannot comply with this mandate. Obama’s response is to play, they used the oyster For their aphrodisiacs, the none of this made the poor tax them out of existence. to settle the stomach, re- old timers used the salted donkey very happy. Timid ObamaCare gives the federal government the tools to tax store lost appetite and as a flesh of river snails, or the persons and those with religiously-affiliated schools, hospitals, universities and gentle laxative. When boiled dried and powdered testicles weak stomachs resorted to soup kitchens right out of existence,” said Representative with honey it was used to of a horse and these were a special salve made from Sensenbrenner, who pointed out that the fine for following cure “tenesmus” (the inabil- taken in wine. mouse’s dung. I guess it just your conscience is $100 per employee per day. As ity to urinate). Vapors from Whether by design or by boils down to whatever turns Sensenbrenner explained, “A religious institution that, say, steamed oysters were coincidence, the donkey or you on. has a church and an elementary school beside it that inhaled to help slow down ass did not escape attention The Greek philosopher employs fifty employees total, which include the adminis- running colds. Reduced to during these times because Democritus disapproved of trative and maintenance personnel, ends up being taxed ash and mixed with honey, its right testicle was usually all these shenanigans, and $36,500 per employee per year.” For that church and they were used to relieve worn as a bracelet. Probably claimed that they were school with 50 employees the tax on the right to follow irritation of the tonsils; their most exotic prescrip- mere acts whereby one church teaching would be nearly $2 million per year, every when the ash was mixed tion was to plunge the geni- human being sprang from year. another. The more virile of Boston has Catholic schools that would be forced to close the ancients did claim, if the Obama Administration war on religious freedom is Happy Anniversary however, that it enabled allowed to go forward. Sensenbrenner, who is an Anglican, sluggish athletes to regain pointed out that in his state of Wisconsin there are many & Continued Success! their vitality, cure pains in Lutheran schools as well as Catholic schools that will be the loins, dullness of vision, forced to close if Obama has his way. unsoundness of mind, mel- Sensenbrenner is joined by 56 cosponsors of the CARLO ancholia, snake bites, scor- Religious Freedom Tax Repeal Act. All the sponsors are pion stings and helped to Republicans. Not a single Democrat in Congress has been clear husky voices. Ahem ... willing to oppose the President and stand up in support of BASILE ahem ... ahem ... our First Amendment freedom to practice religion. STATE REPRESENTATIVE NEXT ISSUE: The HHS mandate is just the latest Obama Administra- ST 1 SUFFOLK DISTRICT More Pearls from the Past tion attack on religion. Back in January the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a Lutheran school (Hosanna- Tabor) had a First Amendment religious freedom to choose its own ministers and that the Obama Administration’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s attempt Happy Anniversary to meddle in the church’s employment practices was unconstitutional.