Didn’t vote? Don’t complain
I offer the following as a private citizen.
Here are the voting results for the Saugerties School District for the last two years (2013 and 2014):
According to the Ulster County Board of Elections, in 2013 there were 12,732 registered voters in the district. Out of this total, 2,023 people voted in the 2013 school elections. That means 10,709 people did not bother to vote.
According to the Ulster County Board of Elections, in 2014 there were 13,048 registered voters in the district. Out of this total, 1,971 people voted in the 2014 school elections. That means 11,077 people did not bother to vote.
For the 10,709 and 11,077 people who chose not to vote, please do not complain about school taxes if you haven’t taken the time to come out and vote!
George Heidcamp
Saugerties
George Heidcamp is president of the Saugerties Board of Education
Quoteable riposte
Regarding Donna Greco’s letter to the editor of last week, she does her cause great harm with her name calling. The best response to her is a series of quotes.
“A man’s heart determines his speech. A good man’s speech reveals the rich treasures within him. An evil-hearted man is filled with venom, and his speech reveals it.”–Bible, “Matthew” 12:34-35
“If you can’t answer a man’s argument, all is not lost; you can still call him vile names.” –attributed to Elbert Hubbard (1859–1915), American editor, publisher, and author who died in the sinking of the Lusitania.
“Sometimes the only way you can feel good about yourself is by making someone else look bad.” –Homer Simpson in episode six of the second season, “Dead Putting Society.”
“If the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail.” –Abraham Maslow (1908–1970), American psychologist, “The Psychology of Science” [1966]
“Rancor is an outpouring of a feeling of inferiority.”–José Ortega y Gasset (1883–1955), Spanish philosopher, “Meditations on Quixote” [1911]
“Abuse is the weapon of the vulgar.” –Samuel Griswold Goodrich (1793–1860), American publisher and children’s books under the pseudonym of Peter Parley. Attributed in Maturin M. Ballou “Edge-Tools of Speech” [1899 ed.].
And the final quote where we find out the far right is now embracing the tactics of communism:
“Once you’ve told a lie or slandered someone, be sure to repeat it as often as possible until it becomes true. ‘Members and front organizations must continually embarrass, discredit and degrade our critics. When obstructionists become too irritating, label them as fascist or Nazi […] The association will, after enough repetition, become “fact” in the public mind.’ ”–Communist Party, Moscow Central Committee, [1943], as quoted in Article 25 of the “Leftwing Liberal Handbook.”
Beth Murphy
Saugerties
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