[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 120 (Thursday, September 4, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MAX FINESTONE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MAURICE D. HINCHEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 3, 2003

  Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
recognize the accomplishments of my friend and constituent Max 
Finestone, who recently celebrated his 81st birthday. I am proud to say 
that Max has remained an active member of his community in Ulster 
County, New York and has dedicated himself to improving this nation and 
the lives of the people who reside in it.
  For the past 60 years, Max has fought for social justice, equal 
opportunity, education, protection of the natural environment, and the 
preservation of individuals' rights of free expression. Nearly 50 years 
ago, Max was called to testify in this building by Senator Joseph 
McCarthy to defend his own rights of free speech, free thought and free 
assembly. He was quite wrongly accused of being un-American. To me, and 
to many others, he represents the finest qualities of an American 
citizen.
  Every day of his adult life before those hearings, and indeed, every 
day since, Max has exemplified the characteristics of true 
citizenship--those very characteristics that make our nation great. He 
was a successful entrepreneur who attended to his customers with the 
utmost integrity. He epitomizes the values of volunteerism and 
activism. He tirelessly contributes considerable effort and time to the 
betterment of his community, advocating for the homeless, feeding the 
hungry, striving for better quality education and affordable health 
care and working for a more peaceful and tolerant world. He has been a 
loving husband to Annette, his wife of 50 years, a proud and devoted 
father to his two daughters, Laura and Lisa, and a doting grandfather 
to Eva and Michael.
  Mr. Speaker, in this day, when so many people question other people's 
motives and when voices of disagreement are dismissed as being 
unpatriotic, we must remember that it is men like Max Finestone, who 
fight diligently every day for the rights with which we have been 
blessed and which we must never take for granted. I ask my colleagues 
in the House to join me today in honoring Max Finestone for his 
commitment to improving the world around him and for his dedication to 
his country.

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