The views and opinions expressed in our letters section are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Hudson Valley One. You can submit a letter to the editor here.
Enough already
Kathy Simpson’s letter states that it is “not unusual for administrators of color to be isolated, subject to microaggressions, held to a much higher standard than their white counterparts and forced out of their positions.” She goes on to call our school district racist, even while acknowledging the sad fact that the “lack of diversity is a national issue.” So basically, I guess all organizations and companies and school districts without the right number of minority employees are or must be racist!
What are the specific microaggressions and examples of forced isolation she generalized about? Who are the NPCSD staff being forced out because of their race, or “microaggressions,” and where are some examples of keeping incompetent white administrators in their jobs instead of highly competent administrators of color?
Does each department at SUNY New Paltz have racial balance? Is the New Paltz Volunteer Fire Department racist due to a lack of ethnic diversity? Are our local hospitals racist because they are not diverse enough in all their professional fields of surgery? I haven’t seen Black bartenders in our many local restaurants; is that a hint of racism?
Once again, accusations and allegations are easy to throw out. Accusations, using generic “woke” catchwords, rather than specific examples with dates and incidents et cetera, are being touted as evidence of racism against the School District.
The old saying, “If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth,” kinda fits here and really is a type of bullying and like crying wolf. It is as annoying as are the maniacal Trumpists with their “Big Lie” and false conspiracy-based “replacement” bleatings!
Vigilance and advocacy for enhancing diversity are important, but so is an understanding that qualifications and the reality of the job market must be factored in. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t cite historical racism as a foundation for many of our communities’ problems today without recognizing the ramifications and results of historical racism. Redlining, the “savage inequalities” of our school funding, the historical lack of opportunities and discrimination that many, if not most, people of color suffered under for decades are a few examples. The net result of historical inequities is the factual reality that there are often less highly qualified Blacks in the professional labor pool! It certainly can be pointed out that historical racism contributed to this unfair disparity, but calling out organizations – in particular, school districts – as racist, because they either lack qualified applicants or because of staff turnover, is wrong.
A fact is a fact. One cannot cite the gross inequities of the past and not acknowledge the causes and effects of an unequal and horrible past.
I have worked in three different kinds of large bureaucracies and saw firsthand the negative results of promoting or hiring based on gender, race, veteran status, disability et cetera and not seeking the best-qualified. In many cases, the objectives were worthy and needed (diversity), but unfortunately, from my professional observation, the results were poor and not fair to the person hired and to the organization, staff and the people served by these organizations. In their worthy and well-meaning anxiousness toward diversifying staff and the need to fill positions quickly, often, from my extensive experience, underqualified and less-skilled people were hired simply to fill an EEO statistical need! I am a firm believer in Affirmative Action and, if all things are equal, organizations should make every attempt to hire for diversity.
New Paltz, like many “liberal” communities, would do backflips to have a significant number of qualified, experienced minority jobseekers. The fact that the pool of applicants is limited should not merit an accusation of racism, and minority staff turnover is not an indicator of a racist school board or community.
Ron Stonitsch
New Paltz
Affordable housing in Woodstock
We must determine exactly how many people are in our targeted population of persons needing affordable housing. Once that is determined, where do we already have affordable housing in our area, and wherein lies the problem of needing more affordable long-term rentals?
As I ponder the problem, it looks as if Airbnbs are a major source of the lack of affordable housing in Woodstock. How much of Woodstock’s housing stock has been turned into Airbnbs?
A possible solution would be to give present homeowners incentives to provide long-term rentals to those in need, rather than to run Airbnbs. Perhaps homeowners could be given some tax relief or help with converting their home into a proper rental space. They would also need some protections as they become landlords.
We must also define what affordable long-term housing means. We need an exact rent above which we would not deem it as affordable.
House-sharing is another solution that keeps money in our community for homeowners and can provide housing to those in need. This would help negate the need for development throughout Woodstock, which is not in keeping with the character of our village and also deleterious to the environment.
These are just a couple of solutions.
Lisa Jobson
Lake Hill
Roe v. Wade
The “liberty” provision of the due process clause of the 14th Amendment serves as the basis for the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, as well as the Court’s other decisions in Griswold, Lawrence, Obergefell and Loving v. Virginia, and the same rationale on which the court relied in Dobbs in overturning Roe v. Wade logically has equal application to the other four cases.
In his concurring opinion, justice Clarence Thomas made that same point in suggesting that the Court’s decision in Griswold approving birth control, Lawrence invalidating state law prohibiting homosexual sex and Obergefell permitting same-sex marriage should be reexamined in light of the Court’s decision in Dobbs. He significantly failed to include Loving v. Virginia, invalidating state laws prohibiting interracial marriage – no doubt because his marriage to Ginni would have been illegal had it taken place in any of the several Southern states prior to the 1967 court decision in Loving.
When Thomas was appointed by George H. W. Bush in 1991, Mr. Bush, at the time, made the hyperbolic statement that Thomas was “the best-qualified man at this time.” Although he clearly was not that, he has become, over time and thanks to Donald Trump and the Federalist Society, the controlling force on the Court and one of the most powerful people in the country. What a tragedy!
Joshua N. Koplovitz
Woodstock
New Paltz needs a Denny’s or Perkins
It would be nice to replace that eyesore Genesis building that is seen as you come in off the Thruway with a nice family restaurant like Denny’s or Perkins. It would be down by the hotels and not right in the Village. I think we owe that to the many tourists and families of college students.
Tom Losee
New Paltz
Great job, J6 Committee
“Truth is powerful, and it prevails.” – Sojourner Truth
“Agree with us or die” is a popular slogan among:
(a) Anti-abortionists
(b) “Stop the Steal” Trumpists
(c) The Taliban
(d) All of the above
The former Georgia election worker Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mom, Ruby Freeman, captivated a nation at a recent televised January 6 hearing. It was a very moving testimony from someone who only wanted to do her job and help people.
When watching the testimony of Ms. Moss and her mother, Lady Ruby, live on TV, my heart broke as both recounted how their lives were destroyed by the soulless mendacity of Trump and his despicable supporters. The harassment of her, her mother and her grandmother is one way the GQP is trying to take over the country, since so many honest election officials have been made afraid and have quit. It was very difficult to hear their stories. What heroes they were when speaking truth to power. I just can’t believe this is the world we live in anymore.
The more I listened, the more outraged I became. These testimonies were incredibly chilling and moving. Truth, dignity, honor and service. Their integrity shines bright. “Americans” are the ones that do the right thing when our country is in jeopardy, regardless of party. We need more Americans! Brava and prayers for both these ladies.
We must never forget that Trump embarked on a smear campaign after he lost and touted footage as indisputable evidence of voter fraud, and MAGA World started harassing the hell out of them (“The coon c—s should be locked up for voter fraud!”).
The lie was debunked as feverish nonsense the instant it came up in late 2020, but it has spent nearly two years haunting Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman. Election workers being bullied into retirement is exactly what these anti-America unpatriotic Americans want. They want honest people gone so they can cheat to win if need be. We can’t let them get away with that.
Poll workers do not run for public office. They are expected to remain anonymous and not become the target of vengeful mobs and smear campaigns. I think that was a pretty reasonable expectation.
How does anyone with more than one functioning brain cell not see right through this guy? He is loyal to himself, and that is it. “No one and nothing else.” He’d throw his own mother, grandmother and kids under the bus in a heartbeat, for any slight or for any gain, at any time.
Bottom line: Testimony like the above by election workers is horrifying and heartbreaking. To those of us who actually realize that the vote was legitimate (Big Lie = BS), there was no “2,000 mules” vote-rigging by Democrats, and that numerous investigations – official or otherwise – have uncovered nothing to back up “Cheetolini’s” insane accusations.
I mean, if he runs a 2024 campaign and overthrows the government, they’ll (GOP) be glad to be on his side…until they don’t lick his boot the right way, and he condemns them to the fires of Hell.
If current AG Garland doesn’t prosecute Trump, my God – it’s unimaginable. And to think people thought Hillary Clinton would be worse than Trump? Didn’t have to be this way; sad that it is now. Our founding fathers didn’t anticipate this level of insanity!
Trump is a sadistic fascist and so are his supporters. This is what his vision of America looks like. Trump and his elected Republican enablers, plus his constituency of Brown Shirt-like thugs, are a clear and present danger to American democracy in real time, as well as in future elections.
Neil Jarmel
West Hurley
Time travel
With each Supreme Court decision, our nation regresses 20 years; right now, I reckon we’re at 1908.
Sparrow
Phoenicia
Toward reversing misogyny
Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned by the Supreme Court, the outrage is everywhere. We expect a summer with lots of angry protests. Hopefully, things will stay peaceful, but I would not bet on that. What a mess. Soon I will speak of the Roe v. Wade decision, and the incredible failings of our Supreme Court. But today I will focus on one thing: misogyny – “the dislike of, contempt for or ingrained prejudice against women.” That is the definition of misogyny. And that is what you see, time and time again, in our country. But why? Why are men so angry at women? It’s a fair question.
There are too many psychological possibilities to come up with one ironclad reason. But we definitely know that many men are angry at women. We know that males are stronger physically than most females. So, men can use their strength to overpower and act out their contempt for women. Physical domination is one place to point the finger. But why the constant desire to keep women from being fully respected as equals to men? Why the desire to hurt, rape and even kill women? It’s an ongoing mystery and an unacceptable tragedy.
But now new laws are being written to force women to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term, even, unbelievably, when it is from rape or incest. However, irrational as these new laws will be, we now must work toward shifting the bulk of attention away from women as victims and focus the attention right on the perpetrators of these crimes. Men, who are the perpetrators, must suffer as well, and be held more responsible than they currently are.
A very small percentage of men are convicted and actually go to jail for rape or incest. On the other hand, there are millions of women every year who are damaged for life, physically and emotionally, from the painful effects of rape and incest. It’s totally unfair. It’s totally wrong. But is it totally hopeless?
No! The best way to stop crime is to make the perpetrator think twice before they decide to commit that crime. Burglars avoid breaking into homes that have big dogs. They’d rather invade a house where there is no chance of being mauled by an angry animal.
So, I strongly encourage us to start working hard toward passing laws that, in addition to enforcing jail time for convicted sex offenders, have them be sentenced to castration. Maybe, just maybe, they will be more reluctant to commit such a heinous crime, knowing they could be forced to have such an unwanted surgery if convicted. In addition, those men must be forced to take on responsibility for any newborn. Monthly financial assistance for the next 18 years with more jail time, if they waver on their responsibility. This is serious, and we must be finally done with the old concept that “Boys will be boys.” It’s way past time for this call to action.
Our nation will never balance out the years of deep damage that women have had to endure. But we must do our best to fix what is broken in our society. The politicians and courts must be pressured to create laws that hold the perpetrators accountable. If women will have to deal with the indignity of bringing an unwanted pregnancy to term, after enduring the horrific act of rape or incest, then real justice will only be served when the perpetrators of those crimes endure the indignity of castration.
Marty Klein
Kingston
Good news for bugs!
Many Northeastern states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland and Vermont) passed tough restrictions on the sale of neonics (neonicotinoids). Now New York is positioned to be the first to drastically curb Big Ag’s use of neonic-treated seeds. Most conventional corn and half of conventional soybean seeds are coated with neonics. Since merely five percent of the chemical is absorbed into the plants, the rest contaminates our soil, water and other plants. It stays around for years.
Like lead and mercury, neonics are a neurotoxin and there’s no known level of safe exposure. Please register your support for banning this bee, bird and other pollinator killer at nrdc.org/savebees.
Remember, every third bite you eat is thanks to a bee! Help save them.
Doris Chorny
Wallkill
What planet does our Court live on?
It is with shock and grave disappointment learning that Roe v. Wade was overturned that I write. Whatever happened to the Spirit of the Law?
Our prisons are loaded with criminals. Just how many would have been avoided if a woman could have had the means to abort an unwanted pregnancy, rather than bringing a child into a dysfunctional family situation?
Our welfare system is stretched, with thousands upon thousands of immigrants into our country to produce more children. We barely feed one in six of our own. Homelessness is increasing everywhere. Fifty-six million abortions are performed worldwide every four years. Can you tell me how we can feed, house 56,000,000 more humans on this planet every four years, if not for abortions? Famine exists in India, Africa, Afghanistan now! It is predicted by historians we are not far from this plight. And Roe v. Wade reversed at these times? “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-15)
Seventy-six percent of women in the world are raising children themselves. Do they want more kids? Of course not. Cost of care while they work? At $15,000 a year? I cry for all my sisters. Herbs, potions have existed since recorded times, used for abortions. Honestly, despite all of them, I don’t see a marked decrease of humans on the planet. Where is the Spirit of the Law?
This reversal is a crime. This overturned law will push thousands back to the burden of raising children alone, being on welfare, eating inferior food, living alone in deplorable circumstances, denied higher education. There is a pervasive dislike/hatred for women by men: 48,000 rapes yearly in India, 56,000 in South America, 15,000 here. This reversal has shown me that in the highest court of the land it exists. Where is compassion? Spirit of the Law?
Famed scientist Nikola Tesla claimed in the mid-1800s that women have a different mindset, that in the future it is they who will heal the lands/people. The Founder of the Baha’i faith asserted it is women who are spiritually inclined, women who promote, instill the values to develop sound, ethical children, women to be educated, not men.
In William E. Henley’s famous poem “Invictus,” the last two lines:
I am the master of my fate;
I am captain of my soul.
Women have a right to be captains of their souls, which this ruling has curtailed. Like millions, I am utterly disappointed and shocked at this reversal.
Joyce Benedict
Hyde Park
Balanced Budget Amendment
I received a printout June 27 from the National Committee for the Preservation of Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM). I will quote from this article. There is a movement in Congress, mainly GOP, in passing a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) if both chambers of Congress go Republican in the midterm elections in November of this year.
According to the article, it is a threat that never goes away. It has been defeated in the past, but due to the Supreme Court becoming conservative, along with a possible Republican/Conservative GOP Party, this is a distinct threat and will most assuredly open the door for Donald Trump to run again for POTUS. If that happens, FDR’s New Deal programs will come under attack and eventually be eliminated.
With a Balanced Budget Amendment, this amendment could impose constitutionally required cuts on Social Security and Medicare amendments and threaten our future benefits – those benefits that we have paid into for all of our working years! This amendment would revise the US Constitution to potentially lower Social Security and Medicare benefits to reduce out-of-control deficits. And with these deficits continuing to mount, Social Security and Medicare could be subject to dramatic cuts for the foreseeable future. These deficits accrued in large part by decades of reckless tax policies that favor the rich and threaten seniors’ retirement benefits.
According to this article, the BBA is a horrible idea that will hurt millions of older Americans and their families.
Social Security is totally self-funded through 2034 and in no way contributes to the federal budget deficit, whereas the unpaid-for Trump/GOP tax cuts that mainly benefited the wealthy contributed $2 trillion to the federal deficit. It is not just Trump’s tax cuts. G. W. Bush and other GOP presidents have done the same thing.
It all goes back to the 1930s, when the Republicans, out of frustration with Hoover and the Great Depression, voted FDR in. From that point on, the Republicans have hated the liberal entrance of the federal government into the everyday lives of the people. I have consistently written about this for the last six years, beginning with Trump’s entrance into the Oval Office.
If one understands the background to this fight between the GOP and Democrats, one can understand the GOP drive to extricate themselves from this liberal state that they voted in! The final count of the 74th Congress in 1935 for the Social Security Act was the House: 87percent, the Senate: 81 percent. Of the Republicans, 77 voted for it, there were six No votes and 12 not voting. From that time on to the present, the Republicans have hated this act and other New Deal programs. There have been unremitting attacks upon this benefit state – the benefit state that we older citizens, veterans, Americans have paid into all of our working lives.
I urge all senior citizens to not vote for any politician, regardless of party, unless one knows what their stance is on this all-important item. My own personal opinion: I don’t believe for one second that Donald Trump had and has any empathy for benefits for any citizen, period. Contribute money to the AARP and the NCPSSM. These two organizations have our interests at heart, more so than any “tap-dancing” politician. More to be said about this.
Robert LaPolt
New Paltz
Annoying lies by George Civile
Mr. Civile is allowed to have his opinions and his questionable facts, but HV1 should not publish his outright lies. I am referring to his song attributions, such as: “Not surprisingly, Joe, a big fan of the late Sammy Davis, Jr., wrote a parody…” (6/8/22) and “To this end, Barack wrote and recorded the following song…” (6/22/22).
It is plagiarism when you claim someone else’s work as your own. What is it when you attribute your work to someone else? I call it a lie, and I have been annoyed by this for some time, even though I know it’s supposed to be a “joke.” Please do not allow it.
Kathleen Wise
New Paltz
Farewell to Kevin
I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Honorable Mr. Cahill for his dedication to the people of the 103rd Assembly District over the past 30-plus years. For the bulk of my adult life, Kevin has been a genuine resource and “go-to” guy in projects of local interest that have significantly benefited the region. His opponent, and now my challenger, Ms. Shrestha, represents a movement. Kevin represented the people.
I hope to build on the significant legacy Kevin leaves within the District to build a coalition of sanity, mutual respect and competence, which will allow families, retirees and our youth to live and thrive here in the Hudson Valley. As my campaign now begins in earnest, I look forward to meeting with constituents on both sides of the aisle to build on the solid foundation of tolerance, acceptance and community investment that Kevin championed for so many years on our behalf. More to follow.
Patrick Sheehan
103rd AD candidate
Conservative/Republican
Solar climate benefits not bogus
In a June 29 Letter to the Editor of this paper titled “Bogus climate savers,” Mr. Nathe makes several assertions that are not factual. The first is that all solar panels are made in China and they are made in coal-powered factories, and that this somehow negates the benefit they claim to afford. First, according to a piece from IBISWorld, updated January 31, 2022, the manufacturing of solar panels in the US is a $3.8 billion business. The market grew 8.5 percent in 2022, and since 2017, a whopping 35.9 percent. The online service Energysage.com lists nine US companies (updated for 2020) and 15 more that use some imported components. By the way, many foreign manufacturers are from countries other than China, such as Canada and Malaysia.
As to the other assertion that the production of solar panels produces carbon, Mr. Nathe has a point. Solar factories, even in the US, use power generated from fossil fuels, perhaps even coal. A glaring exception to this is the Tesla Gigafactory in New York, which, in addition to being the biggest building in the world, will be net-zero – i.e., entirely powered by renewable resources, mostly solar.
But let’s ignore that for the moment. The real question posed by Mr. Nathe’s letter is: What is the carbon footprint of solar power?
Fortunately, this was answered for us by Cool Effect, Inc. in their 2021 document (www.cooleffect.org/solar-carbon-footprint). Their analysis concludes it will take a solar panel manufactured by a carbon-producing factory (not Tesla) about three years for the carbon saved to offset the carbon produced in its creation. For the duration of its life after that, another 17 years or so, it will be completely carbon-neutral. In other words, even if Mr. Nathe’s initial assertions were correct, the environmental benefit from installing solar far outweighs the environmental cost.
William Barr and Pamela Ross
Saugerties
Calling shotgun
Going down a YouTube hole is the ultimate sign that the party is dead. The subtext of a YouTube hole is, “We ran out of stuff to talk about.” And everyone’s putting on things they’ve already seen, obviously, and they’re sitting there waiting for you to laugh at it – though they’re usually the one who laughs the hardest, just to stand by their choice.
But what everyone’s thinking is what video to play next and how to outdo your video. They’re like, “Oooooh, I got a good one after this!” Saying it out loud like they’re calling shotgun. And there’s no end in sight; that’s the worst part. The person throwing the party must muster the courage to saying something that usually starts “Welp…”
Smith Hearth
Olivebridge
Supreme Court anti-abortion decision
As a Catholic, I’ve been told that God gives us the option to choose right or wrong. The majority of the Supreme Court has taken away God’s right to choose for women. What’s next? Eliminating the opportunity to vote?
Robert Brunet
New Paltz
The blame game
The following parody is inspired by Apocalypse Now. Readers should imagine Vladimir Putin, dressed in black, as Brando, delivering a parody of Colonel Kurtz’s monologue in a dimmed light, to POTUS Biden (Willard) – not on “horror,” but “inflation.”
“I’ve seen inflation – inflation that you’ve also seen – and I know the current inflation in your country is causing much pain. Every time you are questioned about it, unlike Harry Truman who said, ‘The buck stops here,’ you blame me and refer to it as ‘Putin’s inflation.’ You have no right to do that. You had a right to place sanctions on Russia and send military aid to Ukraine; you had a right to do that. But you have no right to blame me for your inflation.
“It’s impossible for words to describe what is required to convince those you’ve told ‘It’s Putin’s fault’ that I’m not to blame. The truth is this: Inflation, the demand-pull kind that presently exists in your country, has a cause: too much money chasing too few goods. If you desire to find real solutions to your problems and safeguard your democratic republic, the truth is your friend. However, If you do not desire solutions or such government, then truth is your enemy. It is an enemy to be feared. It is truly an enemy.
“I remember when you ran in 2020 – it seems a thousand years ago. You gained support for your nomination because you polled better than any other candidate against Trump, despite your tales of Corn Pop and poor debate performances. And when it was established that you won, I purged the FSB and SVR – not because I was disappointed, but because those intelligence agencies predicted that, despite our efforts to defeat him, Trump would win in a landslide. So, when my chief of staff, Sergei Ivanov, announced your victory, I was relieved and cheered the good fortunes of Mother Russia.
“And then a trusted aide came into the room, and she was crying. She said we should wait before we danced the Kalinka and drank Stolichnaya vodka, because Trump and the Republicans were contesting the election, claiming it was impossible for anyone to get over 10 million votes more than Obama ever had and yet lose to someone like Joe Biden. And I remember…I…I…I cried…I wept like some babushka; I wanted to ride bare-chested on my stallion. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. And I want to remember it. I never want to forget that moment. I never want to forget.
“And when you were inaugurated after the so-called “insurrection,” it was like I was shot – like I was shot with an arrow that brings clarity, right through my heart. I thought, ‘My God, the genius of changing election laws because of a pandemic and claiming the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation and getting 51 former high-ranking American intelligence officers to support that canard and then censoring the story on your own Pravda-like media outlets to snatch, as you say, victory from defeat – the genius to do that: perfect, genuine, complete, diabolic in its motivation.’
“And then I realized that America’s political corruption was worse than I even thought possible, because your party colluded with the media to defeat Trump by deliberately and openly changing election laws and undermining a credible news story with lies and propaganda. Those who did this were not monsters: They were politicians, trained intelligence officers and journalists – people who fought with their minds and pens and voices, who had families, who had the capacity to say, ‘We support election integrity,’ and yet did that.
“If Trump had the support of some of those people, his troubles with Pelosi would have ended very quickly. Fortunately for me, modern American politics requires successful candidates and parties to have politically biased ‘journalists’ and partisan government bureaucrats and officials as supporters who, though perceived as moral and nonpartisan, are willing to spread biased views by lying – with passion, without regret – about those they oppose in order to deceive the uninformed, without evaluating and judging their actions by any objective, consistent moral standards. Yes, without judging, because such evaluating and judging exposes treachery and can stop presidents of the United States from acting like Third World dictators or Russian autocrats and keep them from blaming the ruler of a foreign country, and not their own incompetence and feckless policies, for inflation.”
George Civile
Gardiner
Wake up
How many people with 20-20 vision can’t see the facts? Is it because they do not want to believe the facts, as presented or is it they just have their heads buried in the sand.
Howard Harris
Woodstock
Longevity
City squirrels live to see their grand grand children.
Ze’ev Willy Neumann
Saugerties
Commentary on life
Okay, you 48 million out there travelin’ on this American birthday. Just remember your carbon footprint and no matter how far you go, you’ll still be you.
Personally, to be quite honest, I have found inner peace ever since I switched to whipped cream cheese.
Dial your doc, get a warning, “$50 no-show fee,” or if you’re feeling sick, go to your computer, enter patient portal. Lie down and relax, your doc is on vacation.
The “less-than-useless” have shaken our foundation and “heat waves are no joke.” Look for those pop-up storms, sometimes you can find a rainbow. Go for it!
Myrna Hilton
Ulster Park
Global hunger
All over the world people are, and will increasingly this winter, go hungry. Food shortages right now are caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the blockade of Ukrainian ports, and the failure of America to switch from using corn to make ethanol, which is blended with gasoline from crude oil. Those acres of corn for cars should be planted with corn for human and animal consumption. War is cruel, but great leadership would’ve provided much more land this summer to replace the world’s reduced farm harvest.
I sure would like to see more acres of corn growing here in the Hudson Valley. New Paltz converted land that the Lenape planted for food into a drive-in paved exercise trail. It is very popular. Why don’t our actions match up with our green sermons?
Paul Nathe
New Paltz
Missing information leads to misunderstanding
Alan Weber’s response to me of 6-29-22 was based upon critical missing information in his letter of a few weeks earlier wherein he stated that he was the “white father of a black son.” I think it’s safe to assume that most all readers would have gleaned from his comment, as did I, that having a black son meant that his son was totally black. Had he filled in the missing blanks by stating that “I am the white biological father of a biracial son,” we would not be exchanging letters like this.
It is not that uncommon for white people to adopt black babies. And, facts and statistics show that black men, as well as whites and others, have deserted a woman after impregnating her. If she cannot afford to raise the child and is against murdering her unborn child, she will put it up for adoption. Based upon my believing that Alan adopted his son from his unfortunate shaky start in life, my last paragraph was clearly meant as a compliment to Alan, as I’m sure most readers also presumed. It is a mystery to me that Alan didn’t consider my comment a compliment, as another possibility in my letter, instead of instantly taking it as an insult.
Alan’s other assumptions of racism are exactly that — assumptions. I certainly am not against interracial or intercultural marriages because such relationships should always be born out of love and not confined to love relationships solely within each race or culture. Racism would be to restrict such love relationships only between people within the same race or culture.
Another piece of important information that Alan only brought to lighten in his letter of 6-29-22 was the reason behind why he only referred to his son as his “black son,” which was that his biracial son chooses to identify only as a black man. This is something else that a reader would not have been aware of based upon the quick and general reference by Alan as only having “a black son.”
And, in his final incorrect assumption, when Alan hypothetically accepted my comment that there could have been another black father involved in my scenario, I based my premise of an absentee father, again, on the facts and statistics involving absentee black fathers. I’ve seen several BLACK guests on TV news shows stating that absentee fathers in the black community is a significant cause for black men having no male role models and therefore, sadly, getting involved in crime, drugs and gangs. Also, as Alan wrongly surmised, I made no mention of a connection between absentee fathers being or not being in a marital relationship. Finally, Alan asserted that my assumed absentee black father didn’t provide “education, empathy and support” to his son. A black father who doesn’t stick around for the birth of his child, offers no financial or emotional support and plays no role in the upbringing of his child is basically incapable of or unwilling in providing “education, empathy and support” for his child.
Clearly, my intent was not to insult Alan. I WILL apologize for the obvious misunderstanding due to a lack of clarity resulting from missing key information. Had I had all the needed information right from the start I, of course, would never have made my comments that Alan took as an insult.
John N. Butz
Modena
Join the family! 
