Joey Vento: Assimilation warrior
On Tuesday, I gave you the sad news about the passing of Joey Vento. My column below pays tribute to a true American patriot and assimilation warrior.
Via Philly blogger Tania Gale, here are details for Vento’s funeral tomorrow if you happen to be in the area:
All are invited to pay their final respects to Joey on Saturday, August 27 from 9-11:45 AM at the Cathederal of Saints Peter and Paul, 18th and the Parkway, Philadelphia, PA.
A Mass of Christian Burial will immediately follow the viewing at 12 Noon. Longtime Vento friend and vocal supporter, WPHT TalkShow Host Dom Giordano, has been invited to give a eulogy.
In addition to his entrepreneurship and political activism, Vento was also a passionate philanthropist who raised money for the needy and families of slain police officers. He touched more people than he’ll ever know. In Key West, Florida, Pat Croce’s Rum Barrel restaurant is holding a cheesesteak fund-raiser in Vento’s honor. The details for those in Florida:
On Thursday, August 25, through Friday, August 26, The Rum Barrel will donate 50 percent of proceeds from sales of our signature Philly cheesesteaks to Joey’s foundation, which donated generously to the American Cancer Society and Philadelphia policemen killed in the line of duty.
“We don’t have that many great personalities in Philly and Joey Vento was one of them. He was larger than life and he was giving. The Earth literally shook the day Joey passed,” said Rum Barrel owner Pat Croce, referring to the earthquake that also rocked the East Coast Tuesday.
Joey was the kind of man, who after 9/11, held a 3-day fundraising marathon and raised $120,000, who often tracked down and sent checks to unemployed families or terminally ill children after reading about them in the newspaper. This is what we honor this week.
“I read story after story about the hundreds of thousands of dollars Joey Vento raised and donated out of his own pocket, many times anonymously, to complete strangers in need,” said Rum Barrel General Manager JC Picco. “It’s a privilege to honor a man who helped so many.”
The Philly cheesesteaks are available at The Rum Barrel’s restaurant and via the Key West Food-To-Go delivery service by calling (305) 292-7862 to order.
God bless Joey Vento and his family!
***
Joey Vento, assimilation warrior
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2011
Blunt. Brash. Bold. Politically incorrect. Unapologetically patriotic. Philadelphia cheese-steak king Joey Vento was all that and a side of freedom fries. The 71-year-old owner of Geno’s Steaks died of a heart attack this week, but he reignited a national debate over radical multiculturalism that will burn for years to come.
Five years ago, Vento garnered national headlines when a local newspaper profiled his outspoken views on customers who couldn’t speak English. He hung a sign in his order window that read: “This is America. When ordering, speak English.” Though he never turned anyone away, the grandson of Italian immigrants informed hungry patrons that he reserved the “right to refuse service” to those he couldn’t understand.
No menus in 10 different languages. No dumbed-down pictographs for the idiocracy. The choice at Geno’s is simple: Sink or swim. Learn English or eat somewhere else. “If you can’t tell me what you want, I can’t serve you,” Vento told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “It’s up to you. If you can’t read, if you can’t say the word ‘cheese,’ how can I communicate with you — and why should I have to bend? I got a business to run.”
Vento’s refusal to coddle triggered a tsunami of complaints from self-appointed civil rights leaders. The ululations of the aggrieved resounded from sea to whining sea.
For exercising his constitutionally protected free speech, both the Philadelphia City Council and Philadelphia Human Relations Commission launched political inquisitions against Vento. Yes, it really happened in the home of Independence Hall. Members of the government bodies demanded that Vento remove his bald eagle-adorned sign and threatened to revoke his business license. After 21 months of investigation, a marathon seven-hour hearing and hysterical testimony likening his innocuous 4-inch-by-9-inch sign to “Jim Crow laws,” he was cleared of discrimination charges.
Plainspoken as ever, Vento understood full well why the multi-culti mob wanted to gag him: “I say what everybody’s thinking but is afraid to say.”
As a fellow Philly-born loudmouth, I cheered Vento on for years during his battles with the anti-assimilationists. He weathered the same old slings, arrows and accusations of being a “racist,” “xenophobe,” “nativist” and immigrant-basher — despite the fact that generations of assimilated immigrants and naturalized Americans agree with him. The vast majority of Americans support English as the official language of the United States. Latino parents in California revolted against “bilingual education” mandates that stuck their kids in Spanish-only classes.
Generations of successful immigrant families in America know English is the language of success, not the language of oppression. Yet, politicians in both parties have pandered ceaselessly to the language-Balkanizers.
The Clinton administration gave us Executive Order 13166, effectively requiring all government agencies to provide translations into any language on demand. Rather than rescind the order, the Bush administration went after localities and forced them to provide foreign language materials. In 2004, the Bush administration ordered Harris County, Texas, to provide all voter registration and election information and supplies, including the voting machine ballot, in Vietnamese, as well as English and Spanish.
Under the Obama administration, the Department of Justice threatened to cut off federal funding to the state of Oklahoma over a state constitutional amendment proposal to designate English as its official language. The Obama DOJ also has ordered my home state of Colorado to protect the interests of “language minority populations” by funding free translators for any foreigners — legal or illegal — who sue in civil cases here. In the same vein, the Philadelphia Human Rights Commission that tried to silence Vento distributes pamphlets asking “Are you a victim of discrimination?” in seven languages.
“Progressive” politicians pandering for votes treat non-English speakers as hopeless victims of white hegemony, instead of beneficiaries of the American dream. By contrast, small-business man Joey Vento promoted a common culture, a common tongue and common sense. We need more assimilation warriors like him to challenge the infantilizing Babel Lobby.
***
Previous:
Joey Vento, R.I.P.
Joey Vento takes on the cowards
A win for Geno’s
“This is America. When ordering, speak English.”
The attack on Geno’s
Geno’s says: Speak English
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
GOP Texas primary fight: Desperate Dewhurst slimes conservative challenger Ted Cruz
May 25, 2012 07:31 PM by Michelle Malkin
7 CommentsConservative consumers: Stand your ground
April 25, 2012 04:22 AM by Michelle Malkin
183 CommentsFast and Furious showdown: Holder/Obama defend bloody culture of contempt; Update: Fortress Holder, Stonewall City; vid clips added, Dems advise, “Don’t answer”
February 2, 2012 09:16 AM by Michelle Malkin
158 CommentsObama and Jan Brewer Have Words on Airport Tarmac; Update: Brewer Book Sales Skyrocket
January 25, 2012 09:54 PM by Doug Powers
165 CommentsGingrich channels open-borders SEIU; Rubio rebukes; Update:Newt retreats
January 25, 2012 10:56 AM by Michelle Malkin
155 CommentsObama heads to Disney World to push looser visa policies
January 17, 2012 01:14 PM by Michelle Malkin
95 CommentsObama’s “Razist” Lobbyist Moves Up
January 13, 2012 06:29 AM by Michelle Malkin
233 CommentsThe Year in Obama Scandals — and Scandal Deniers
December 28, 2011 12:04 PM by Michelle Malkin
122 Comments“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
December 25, 2011 03:26 AM by Michelle Malkin
75 Comments
Categories: Immigration,Worthy Causes



JustOneMinute
» Patterico And The Brett Kimberlin Gang
Babalu Blog
» U.S. Manned Space Flight in The 21st Century
Villainous Company
» Must Read Post of the Day. Possibly, the Year












Ironic, isn’t it?
Perfect example of a patriot who stands his ground and wins. Doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do, not only when it is convenient or when there is a good chance of getting caught doing otherwise, is what integrity is all about. Stand your ground and fight for your principles. Compromising over right vs wrong is surrendering.
The man was a hero. Joey Vento did more for the world than any of these bureacratic @#$@$s could ever do in 20 lifetimes.
I wonder if God asked why this man was so hostile to the children of God?
You know, those people who come from different countries.
You people do understand that those brown people are children of God don’t you?
Oh, I forgot. They are not children of the god you people pray to – my bad.
And yet once again you have proven exactly who the racsist bigot is…you. You are so obsessed with the color of ones skin, whereas we see people for the character (gee I seem to remeber Dr. Martin Luther King saying something very similiar to that). Get lost you bigot America does not need your hate.
It is amazing how anyone could speak so much about something they know nothing about.
On August 26th, 2011 at 12:00 pm, Ilovemyfingers said:
It must be a living hell being you. Being told what to say 24/7, not having even the most rudimentary of thoughts for yourself. Existing at a base level of just craving and even that is only for Fatty Fast Food, Flannel and Man/Boy diapers. You lead a very sad and disgusting life.
This is the way you win. You obey the law and you fight like hell.
I wonder if God asked why
this man wasyou are so hostile to the children of God?You know, those people who
come from different countries.live in this country.You
peopledo understand thatthose brownwhite people are children of God don’t you?Oh, I forgot.
TheyWe are not children of the god you people pray to – my bad.Iloveplayingwithmyerectorset said:
Again, I don’t accept the premise of your argument – you are assuming that God will judge him merely on the running of his business, rather than the philanthropic works he did anonymously as pointed out by MM.
Besides, those same “brown people” may have been the ones who flew planes into the WTC on 9/11. And before you get your diapers into a knot, remember that you were the one who brought up race in the first place.
(Shaking head) You never learn, do you?
Never let your mouth write a check that your butt can’t cash.
Now be quiet and go away – the grownups are talking now.
Regards,
Peter H.
He wasn’t being hostile. You just don’t recognize tough love when you see it. This man was full of love for those he knew and those he didn’t know. He was helping those who couldn’t speak the langage, not enabling them.
I don’t know about y’all here, but I am sick to death of #4 comments on my faith and actions. It is almost a daily slam it seems!
L
MM said:
No… never! ( Cheering from sidelines ) No… never!
Joey V. said:
Well ya’ know, that is asking a lot? If teenage sailors can learn Please, thank you and “may I have another beer?” from the Chaplain’s handy dandy pamphlet on their way down the gang plank on various ports of call..?
Yes it is. The troll provides nothing, but is allowed to spew it’s hate and accusations towards Conservatives on a daily basis without any consequences at all.
Another thread ruined. IMLC is not the problem. It’s the 100 responses that follow. Could we give it a rest please?
First, Ms Malkin, I have to disagree. You are not a “loudmouth”. I’m a loudmouth. You have a resume of training and accomplishment, and your opinions are always backed by hard fact.
Now, (stepping into loudmouth mode), at risk of being called “racist” again, I want to point out the flaw in the civil rights laws, as demonstrated by the persecution of Joey Vento.
As an individual, even as a business owner, it is Joey’s right to discriminate as he sees fit. IMLO (in my loudmouth opinion), the 1964 Civil Rights Act, insofar as it outlaws discrimination by non-governmental entities, violates people’s rights of association, in a way closed-shop States do.
The government should never discriminate between its citizens. The 14th Amendment deals with that. The excesses of the era prior to the civil rights movement were all empowered by codifying discrimination in law.
But, if I run a restaurant, and I refuse service to a “class” of customer by any criteria I choose (say I don’t like redheads or people with pimples), I am instantly creating a business opportunity for someone willing to cater to the people I won’t. And I’m denying myself the profits to be had by serving that class of customer.
However, there are times when discrimination should be exercised as a right. Such as the supper club which refused to admit patrons with small children. The children proved disruptive to their target clientele, and actually cost them potential customers. Meanwhile, there’s a fast food join just down the road, I’m sure.
The point being, Joey Vento had the right to discriminate between customers whom he could serve in a reasonable amount of time and in a reasonable way, and customers who were costing him sales (and possibly inventory) because he could not understand their orders.
This is a business decision, not a bigoted decision. All that situations like Joey Vento’s demonstrates to me is that we need a serious overhaul of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (and subsequent, related legislation).
Dear Pasadena Phil:
Silence = complicity.
Regards,
Peter H.
Truesoldier said:
How did we end up talking about Chris Matthews?
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Regards,
Peter H.
Hiraghm said:
Same goes for when you take your wife to an upscale place and they insist on your wearing a TIE! In those rare instances where you may have forgotten, the management is usually only too happy to provide you a ‘loaner’ so as to conform.
Now… if you simply -refuse- then that’s a different matter! ( So the ‘loaner’ is PINK!? ) Serves you right. IMLO
RIP Joey Vento.
Does anyone know how much the government spends to provide translation services and forms, supplies, etc. in languages other than English?
ILMC – God created all of us. We become children of God when we receive Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, by acknowledging that God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for all of our sins, and that Jesus was raised from the dead and lives today. We then as believers should be making an effort to obey God.
Are you a child of God?
Matthew 5:9 – Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Sorry Pasanda Phil. I usually don’t bother to respond to ILMC anymore, but when it attacks God or believers, I feel the need to do so.
s/b Pasadena. And I even used preview before I submitted!
I disagree. You are complicit in sabotaging Michelle’s blog.
ILMC’s comments are not worth responding to. The vast majority of people who read blogs don’t read the comments and the vast majority of those who do read the comments don’t post any. Something to remember for those who feel compelled to “police” the threads. What may be entertaining to a small handful of us who comment is tedious to those who don’t. We are merely a small part of the audience.
Besides, you guys make it so easy for ILMC with your predictable responses. You’re like trained seals. It clutters up the threads and makes them unreadable.
Every blog has a few ILMCs. Ignore him/her/it.
Regards,
Well said Peter H.!
Kudo’s Michelle. Well played. The strange thing about this, is that if you passed along an anonymous questionnaire to 10 million people from all walks of life, you would get an amazingly large percentage (I would guess 80%-90%) calling out this politically correct insanity. Therefore, it is foisted upon us by slimy politicians from both parties who dont have the spine to stand up to the PC police as the brave Mr. Vento did. The American people are fed up with all of it; yet a slim minority gets it their way because of scumbag pols who pander their souls (and America) away.
Instead of being a culture looking to succeed, we have cultivated a subset of society to have a number of excuses for embracing laziness and loving it. I won’t call it failure because to fail one must at least try to succeed. These loafer are happy being parasites or they would not continue to believe the liberal dribble. Joey was a voice for the truth.
RIP Joey.
Off topic
From John Bernard at Big Peace – unbelieveable…
Here’s the vote
160 tools actually voted against it including 18 Republicans. I’d like to know the story behind this. I had to drill down to find the actual vote on the amendment, but this is for real. Big Peace took the story down, I think because the vote citation link was bad. Should be up shortly.
What truly makes my head explode over this is why, in God’s name, would ANYONE vote against allowing our military to have weapons and the ability to use them in a war zone??? This is utter madness, and WHY would ANYONE deny them that right? This needs some explanation, if there is a rational one. I see that most of those opposing the right of self-defense for our military are dems, and it is true most of them are crazy…but what of the republicans? What is their excuse?? Is insantity now contagious?
PLEASE IGNORE THE TROLL!
Ah, as I was counting how many responses there were, I see Phil has made this request as well.
God Bless this guy.
I work in the hotel/ food service industry and as such, I’m in close contact with a lot of immigrants who don’t speak much English (and as far as their legal status goes….well, wink wink, nudge, nudge…).
I’ve started putting my foot down when the busbuys and Mexican servers speak to each other in Spanish when they’re in front of the guests. It’s rude to speak a foreign language in mixed company.
I used to work with a lot of Dutch people. They were very proud of their country but they worked very hard to speak always in English. I was impressed with their culture, so I learned a lot of Dutch– I was semi-fluent after a while– they helped me learn. Some of them went back to the Netherlands after their internships were done. A few years ago, they came back to visit– and we all went out for a night on the town. There were about ten of us–I was the only American, the rest were Dutch. What amazed me though was their manners– even though I could comprehend a little Dutch, they ALL SPOKE ENGLISH ALL NIGHT LONG just for MY sake– because it would have been rude for them to speak Dutch even with ONE non-(fluent) Dutch speaker in their presence.
This is the USA. Speak English. It’s not “optional”.
With this group I expect soon Weaponeers to have to have Environmental Impact Studies performed for the Ordnance/Target pairing they do during interdiction planning.
“There’s a nest of an endangerd rodent too close to the target area for you to use that size bomb. Use a smaller size and make the approach from another angle so that debris will not harm the little buggers.”
H.R. 1540: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
House Vote #354
I have distilled out the NO votes and Paul Ryan and Ander Crenshaw were in there. If anyone wants the complete list I can send it to Michelle.
Where’s my fish?
I really liked Joey Vento. I wish more of our politicians felt the way Joey did about our country. He never shied away from telling it like it was;
“Speak English, ya frick-in’ moron!”
“Get outta he-ah, ya commie bastud!”
I love patriots who wear their patriotism on their sleeves. RIP, Joey!
Could there have been some pork in that bill that made it hard to vote for it? That is the only explanation I can come up with. Perhaps they added some off-the-wall provision that was just plain crazy! Wouldn’t be the first time.
We’ve always known that Ilovemystinkytaint was a Godless liberal, and a racist, but I find it satisfying, when he/she/it confirms our cognizance at least once a day.
Conservative pols do, and probably a good many donkeys. They are just too spineless to say it.
I like olive oil and garlic with my sardines and kippers. Orp. orp.
That’s why it seems odd. The easiest thing may be to call Ryan’s office.
You’ve come up with another superb label, Michelle. I suspect that Joey would have liked it.
The tower the lobby’s been building will topple without any need of assistance from an almighty power. The golden calf has decreed that the tower must be weatherized for energy efficiency, but the structure is out of balance since most of the work that’s being done is on the left side. Darn those stratospheric, hurricane-force headwinds.
*Great column as usual Michelle; Tony was a true patriot, no doubt.
*If bjc ran all the government agencies at all levels, the phone message would be simple:
**Press 1 for English.
**Press 2 for deportation.
Give ‘em hell up there in heaven, Joey!
I think I asked this the other day: Were people ordering a cheese steak in a foreign language? How did it grow to be a problem there?
I’d like to see one of these self-anointed liberal superiors go to Pyongyang and “demand” Kim Jong Il speak to them in tender loving peacenik Liberalspeak.
The cool thing is these birth defects would never come back!
P-Phil said:
If that is the case, I apologize – but I haven’t seen Michelle calling me on the carpet for my comments.
If/when she does, I will desist. But until then – who exactly put you in charge of the thought police?
If responding to the troll is cluttering up the thread, might I suggest that we formally designate someone the Official Troll Responder and let that person say something once, then we forget it?
Please. Consider the enormity of your statement.
Regards,
Peter H.
Oh what sad news it was to hear. I live 11-12 hrs from Phila, and have suggested to my wife several times we drive out for a Geno’s. We just don’t get around to it.
Next time any of you get there, check out all of the police patches they have collected and displayed. Then make sure you gaze at the photos of Daniel Faulkner.
RIP Joey Vento
Whatever it is, we will be told that it is such a small amount that it makes no difference in federal and state budgets and cutting it won’t help with the spending problems we have at both levels.
Of course, they never acknowledge that there are thousands of such examples of wasteful spending that add up to real money.
This is one of the dirty little tricks from our esteemed legislators that really ticks me off.
They use bills that are important or have wide support to do one of two things; slip in less popular riders or add some wacky BS that force Republicans to vote against it so that they can use that no vote as a bludgeon against them.
Michelle,
Thanks for the link to my post on the details of Joey Vento’s funeral. Unfortunately, due to a broken ankle I will not be able to attend the funeral mass.
To all the liberals who know nothing about Joey Vento and to those who respect him, I share with you a video I shot the day of his date with the kangaroo court aka Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations.The video is 8 minutes long and well worth your time. Let Joey’s own words convince you of his dedication to raise up people.
http://youtu.be/pP-xxiID0u0
You can view my entire post on his trial here:
http://midnightbluesays.com/2007/12/video-from-joey-ventos-day-in-court.html
Exactly! And if Ryan voted against it, you can bet that is what happened. He wouldn’t vote against a good bill! The guy has too much common sense.
There is usually a reason for these things, but we have to dig for it.
The Panderer in Cheif said yesterday about earthquake protections.
Visit “ready.gov” to get the info or visit “listo.gov”. Listo is the Spanish word for ready. We have to do both and announce both? What about the Vietnamese? Will they just be unprepared and die? Obama doesn’t care about the Vietnamese. Racist!
Right on, right_on. Me too.
I don’t like people that are wishy-washy or feel political correctness should trump love and duty to country.
Thanks Joey for being an unapologetic voice for ONE America. You will be missed greatly sir.
after all this talk, the food was great
And here in Denver, at traffic court the Spanish speakers go first, always. You know, so our taxpayer-funded translators don’t have to work overtime.
skye (comment #50),
Just checked out your links. It must have been pretty cool to meet and talk with Joey. He seemed to be anything but boring—or silent.
Sorry that you’re missing the funeral because of your injury.
Remind us of where your lying fits morality.
Typical leftiwingwackoism….disagree with them, the government punishes you.
Also, I have a saying.
Either we come together or we fall apart.
Assimilation, one common culture, one common language, means we come together.
And then there’s this letter to the editor in today’s paper.
Some people just don’t get it.
RIP Joey, a true American Patriot.
Here’s my response to that letter.
If they dare publish it, I’ll probably be burned at the stake for heresy.
Nice. RIP Joey.