CNN's daily poll is asking if Mayor Bloomberg was correct inviting the stars of the Soprano's to march in the Columbus Day Parade.

IT IS AN UNFAIR POLL!!!!!  It is NOT New York's Parade, any more than the St. Patrick Day's Parade is New York's Parade!! 

Columbus Day is an Italian Day of Pride!!!!  Italian Americans (The Columbus Citizens Foundation) took out the PERMIT for the Parade, and they should get to choose 
who marches in the or NOT!!!!!!!

At the CNN Web site, and of those current 40,000+ voting, it is more than 2 to 1 
that he was correct inviting the Soprano's to participate in the parade.!!!!?????

We need OUR voices to be heard. Just go to www.cnn.com and scroll down the home page.  Poll is at almost thevery  bottom right hand corner. 

No letter to write. Just make a choice of "NO", and click the vote button!!!!! 

If you are up to writing a letter to Mayor Bloomberg, it can be brief, and polite:
at << crmrepl@crm.nyc.gov >> or 
<<http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html>>

See the Notice below by the Board of Governors of the Columbus Citizens 
Foundation, the organizers and producers of the Parade for the past 58 years.

Please notice that the Columbus Day Parade is the most inclusive Parade in New York City, with participation ENCOURAGED by over 35 distinct ethnic groups who join us in celebrating the immigrant spirit that made this country great. 

Also notice that the Columbus Citizens Foundation have a long history of respecting the sensitivities of others as evidenced by our complete re-routing of the 2000 Parade to avoid disturbing Yom Kippur services at Temple Emmanuel on Fifth Avenue.

Further, Think of it as inviting Amos and Andy to march in a Kwanzaa parade.  
It is WRONG!  WRONG!!!  WRONG!!!!!
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NOTICE:

The Board of Governors of the Columbus Citizens Foundation wish to once again reiterate its policy that participation by anyone associated with this highly-offensive program has no place in a celebration of Italian-American pride and heritage.

As a Foundation dedicated to perpetuating the culture, traditions and  positive contributions of Italian-Americans to our country, we are deeply offended by this program’s extremely negative and ugly stereotyping of our people.

MAYOR’S ACTIONS INEXPLICABLE

Our Foundation prides itself on producing the most inclusive Parade in New 
York City with participation by over 35 distinct ethnic groups who join us in 
celebrating the immigrant spirit that made this country great. In fact, we 
have a long history of respecting the sensitivities of others as evidenced by 
our complete re-routing of the 2000 Parade to avoid disturbing Yom Kippur 
services at Temple Emmanuel on Fifth Avenue.

There is simply no place in a celebration of ethnic pride and heritage for 
the public display and promotion of a program that glorifies violence, 
debases women, and portrays Italian-Americans in the worst possible light. 

Participation by any group or individuals who represent the worst in human 
nature and dignity is totally contrary to the goals of the Parade. For these 
reasons, we find the Mayor’s actions inexplicable.
 

THE COLUMBUS CITIZENS FOUNDATION’S MISSION

The Foundation’s mission is to preserve and enhance of Italian-American 
culture, traditions and values. We are a charitable organization that has in 
the last twelve months alone donated $1 million to the victims of the 
September 11th tragedy and another $1.5 million in scholarship aid to 
deserving students. 

Over the years, we have extended our philanthropic efforts outside of our 
community by donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Marine Corps 
Scholarship Fund for the children of Gulf War combatants, assistance for 
victims of the Turkish Earthquake and a host of other charitable endeavors.
 

LEGAL REMEDIES BEING CONSIDERED

We are presently attempting to reach out to the Mayor, a man whom we respect 
as an individual and as a proponent of anti-defamation causes for all 
ethnicities. We are calling upon him to reconsider any invitation, which may 
have been extended without our knowledge and against our wishes. We are 
deeply concerned that our right to stage the Parade within the dictates of 
our Mission Statement is being compromised by the Mayor’s actions.

We call on members of all ethnicities to support our right to ban these 
negative stereotypes from the celebration of our Italian heritage. While we 
are attempting to engage the Mayor on this issue, we are fully prepared to 
take any course of action necessary to preserve our right to determine the 
content and tone of the Columbus Day Parade.

Spokesman: 
Lawrence E. Auriana
President, Columbus Citizens Foundation
(212) 922-2999
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ACCENTUATE the Positive, ELIMINATE the Negative!!!!

Speaking out with One Voice against Negative Stereotyping 

Italian-American One Voice Coalition is a national network of activists enabling the Italian American community to act as one united voice when dealing with defamation, discrimination and negative stereotyping.

Member organizations provide a liaison with the IA One Voice Coalition to disseminate information to the Italian American community and protest with one voice against each outrage against our heritage, culture and character. 

Italian American One Voice - Who We Are 

Web Site:

Italian American One Voice Coalition 
http://www.italianamericanonevoice.org/iaindex.html