Bronx News Roundup, June 23

Weather: Foggy and 71 degrees at the moment, with scattered thunderstorms predicted.

Story of the Day: Kemba Walker Ready for His NBA Close-up
Soundview native Kemba Walker, who was launched into basketball stardom after leading his UConn Huskies to a national championship this spring, is expected to be a lottery pick in tonight's NBA draft, telling the Hartford Courant that he's "excited, nervous, ready." He could join any of five teams--Charlotte, Detroit, Toronto, Sacramento and Utah. "It's a dream come true no matter where I am selected," Walker told the paper.

"The Bronx, and all of New York City really, will smile knowingly and burst with pride," tonight, the NY Post's Steve Serby writes. Good luck, Kemba!

Quick Hits:

In other news related to talented Bronx athletes: North Riverdale Little Leaguer Sean Gallagher, 9, pitched a perfect, 8-inning game last week. 

Michael Benjamin: "Rand Paul Is An Idiot"

Assemblyman Michael Benjamin is coming down hard on Republican Senate candidate Dr. Rand Paul, of Kentucky, for vague remarks he made recently about whether or not he supports the Civil Rights Act of 1964--the landmark law that outlawed racial segregation.

Identified with the burgeoning conservative "tea party" movement, Paul was on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow show last week when the host asked him if he supports the federal law that bans segregation in schools, the workplace and public facilities--to which Paul gave a less-than-straight answer.

In a press release sent after the show aired, Benjamin had these strong words to say about Paul's politics:

Dr. Rand proposes to "take our country back" by freeing corporations from obeying landmark federal civil rights law and important environmental protection regulations. He would take America back to the days of Jim Crow and Robber Barons.

His rhetoric is eerily reminiscent of the political rants of Adolph Hitler and Herman Gering. Sixty-five years ago this month, America and her Allies defeated the Nazis, liberated Jews, and set the stage for European prosperity. Rand Paul spits on the graves of our honored dead.

I urge the voters of Kentucky to repudiate Dr. Paul for his retrograde and dangerous political rhetoric. I urge them to elect a United States Senator who shares real American values.

Benjamin has made his own headlines recently after announcing he won't be running for re-election in the Assembly this fall, where he's been since 2003, and hinting that he might make a run for Jose E. Serrano's congressional seat instead. 

Tea Party Brewing in the Boogie Down?

Every couple of years, someone steps up to challenge entrenched 11-term Democratic Congressman Eliot Engel, who represents part of Bronx (Riverdale, Norwood, Woodlawn), Westchester and Rockland counties, usually with underwhelming results. 

This year, the first to step up to the plate is Anthony Mele (pictured), 51, a Rockland-based businessman and Army vet who solidly identifies himself as an organizer with the burgeoning and conservative tea party movement that was credited with putting Republican Scott Brown into the vacant Massachusetts senate seat held by the late liberal icon Ted Kennedy.

Unsurprisingly, he's made taxes (the TEA in Tea Party stands for Taxed Enough Already) the singular theme of his campaign.

"Its time to stop the tax madness down in Washington," Mele said in a statement announcing his candidacy. "We don't need government over-spending, over-taxing and over-reaching into our lives." 

In this overwhelmingly Democratic district (so was Kennedy's), Mele is running on the Republican and Conservative ballot lines.

For more on Mele, check out his website.