Polish American Journal Feature

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New Political Action Committee Launched

CHICAGO — (PRWEB) Arie Zweig and Lucas Fuksa have announced the launch of the Polish American Leadership Political Action Committee (PAL-PAC), a new organization that is reaching out to unite American Polonia.

PAL-PAC is a political organization formed for the purposes of addressing social, civic and business matters relating to the Polish American community by educating its constituents, raising awareness of issues, and identifying and electing leaders to represent its interests.

According to PAL-PAC President Fuksa, the Polish American community has a strong voice, and it is the organization’s goal to make sure this voice is heard. By teaching people to respect their heritage, promote their values, and form a cohesive front, PAL-PAC hopes to gain leverage and political influence.

By encouraging its members to become more involved in the political sphere, Zweig, PAL-PAC’s Chairman, hopes that the organization will garner more representation of those who support the Polish American community’s interest in elected positions at all levels of government. The organization also will offer its members guidance and education on social issues affecting the Polish American community, and will provide direction on how to address these issues through the most effective political channels.

PAL-PAC aims to represent a large number of socially and politically interested citizens. The organization looks to particularly engage younger generations by showing them the direct link between community leadership and the overall quality of life in their neighborhoods. PAL-PAC strives to support the community by influencing action and establishing close relationships with local, state and federal politicians.

To learn more about PAL-PAC, get involved and gain access to the benefits the organization offers, visit www.pal-pac.org.

Visa Waiver Legislation
Rolls into Immigration Reform

BUFFALO, N.Y.— Leaders in the Polish American community responded positively to U.S. Senator Charles Schumer’s announcement on Buffalo’s East Side April 1 that, as part of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, he will prioritize including the “JOLT” Act – Jobs Originated Through Launching Travel.

The JOLT Act, according to Schumer, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act regarding the visa waiver program to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Secretary of State, to designate program countries, like Poland; (2) adjust the criteria for visa refusal rates to permit entry into the program if a country has a low visa overstay rate, which Poland does; (3) set a maximum three percent visa overstay rate for program countries, which Poland would likely not exceed; and (4) revise probationary status and program termination provisions.

It also directs the Comptroller General to review the Secretary of Homeland Security’s methods for tracking aliens entering and exiting the United States and for detecting visa overstays. These revisions, according to a statement from Schumer, would likely lead to Poland’s admission into the Visa Waiver Program.

Pinkowski Receives
Orchard Lake 2013 Fidelitas Medal

ORCHARD LAKE, Mich. — Edward G. Pinkowski of Cooper City, Fla., is the 2013 Fidelitas Medal recipient of the Orchard Lake Schools. He was recognized for his work in preserving and recording Polish American history.

Pinkowski’s research played pivotal roles in connection with two American Revolutionary heroes: Tadeusz Kościuszko and Kazimierz Pułaski. He was instrumental in identifying and preserving Kościuszko’s last known residence in the United States, at Third and Pine Streets in Philadelphia, which became a National Park Service Memorial and museum site. In 1996, he identified the burial vault of Kazimierz Pułaski under Monterrey Square in Savannah.

The Fidelitas recipient’s other colonial research involved Anthony Sadowski, a Polish-born trader instrumental in trade with Indians during the Pennsylvania colonial period. He also wrote about Leon Jastremski, a Louisiana Confederate military officer who later was a politician, businessman, and editor in the Pelican State. His “Poles in America Foundation” (www.poles.org) seeks to foster knowledge and research into Polish contributions to American history.

Pinkowski, born in Holyoke, Mass. in 1916, served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He is married and the father of two sons.

The Fidelitas Medal is awarded annually by the Orchard Lake Schools in recognition of service to God and country. It was conferred during the Ambassadors’ Ball in Birmingham, Mich., April 13.

Also at the April 13 ceremony, the Orchard Lake Schools formally conferred its 2012 Fidelitas Medal posthumously on Richard R. Cosby (Kossobudzki). Cosby, born in Poland in 1925, took part in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising (pseudonym “Ryś). Interned in a camp in Dresden, he escaped and made his way to U.S. Army forces. Eventually emigrating to America, he was a civil engineer involved in such public projects as the Connecticut interstate highway system, the Niagara Power Plant, and work on such important Washington buildings as the Library of Congress, the Dirksen Senate Office Building, the National Gallery of Art, and the Canadian Embassy. His extraordinary life was documented by his daughter, CBS Inside Edition correspondent Rita Cosby, in her book, Quiet Hero.

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