Metaphorically Speaking
Almost anyone can steer a ship in calm waters; however, only a true leader can do so when the seas are rough.
Howard Harris
Bearsville
Holiday Drive Thanks
I write this letter with overwhelming gratitude to the people in our community for their magnificent response to our holiday drive. Private individuals, businesses and their staffs flooded The Washbourne House and Family Domestic Violence Services with an abundance of gifts, toys, food, and monetary donations. My staff and I feel so encouraged and revitalized knowing we are supported in our work by a close knit community of caring and generous individuals.
As Vince Lombardi once said: “Individual commitment to a group effort is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”
On behalf of all the women and children who participate in our programs, we thank you for sharing with them the wonder of the season. We wish you joy and prosperity for the New Year.
Kathleen Welby-Moretti, Program Director
Kingston
An Animal Communication Workshop
An Animal Communication Workshop presented by Cindy Brody, a nationally respected Animal Communicator and a Woodstocker, will take place on Saturday, January 21 at St. Gregory’s Church on Route 212 from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Cindy Brody is the creator of CinergE, what she describes as an “alternative healing modality that helps us to find out what our dogs are thinking and how they are feeling. Utilizing animal communication and Energy healing, Cindy helps bridge the communication gap between people and animals.”
Check out her site at www.cindybrody.com.
Cindy has volunteered to hold this workshop as a fund raiser for the Woodstock Dog Park. The fee is $35 with all proceeds going to the park. Space is very limited, so call the Woodstock Town Clerk 679 2113 X4 to reserve your space. Participants must bring a photo(s) of their dog with full face that show the dog’s eyes.
Fran Breitkopf
Woodstock
Pantry Volunteers Are Needed And So Are The Shoppers
Someone recently asked me who the most important people in the pantry are. What a question! Everyone is important.
More and more people work in the pantry on scheduled days and times to do specific tasks. There are no “busy work” jobs at the Good Neighbor Food Pantry. Some of us come in when it’s our congregation’s turn. Others of us show up one day and just keep coming because they see a need.
There’s a whole other group of volunteers who toil away at tasks and never set foot in the pantry itself. These people include some of the board members and several people who see needs and they’re working to satisfy them.
Each and every person who volunteers at the pantry is needed and appreciated. No one is asking for recognition or fame. As far as I can tell, everyone is giving 110%.
We’re becoming a family of volunteers and shoppers. We’re getting to know one another as more than acquaintances. Not all of us are compatible. Some of us are finding that there are people in the pantry to love. We’re a safe haven community. Those of us with difficult personal lives come to the pantry where we can be “real”: laugh, cry, scream, be quiet. But, most of all, we can feel needed.
And, where would we be without the shoppers? I sometimes daydream about a better economy where people have jobs, health insurance, enough to eat. What a dream.
Until that happens, the shoppers and their need for better food keeps us going. What would we do without our shoppers? They are the reason that we are finding the pantry and building a community of safety.
And, now, we are finding that the shoppers and volunteers are the same.
Thurmann Greco
Woodstock
Obama: Rule By Regulations
Before the 2010 election cycle was completed, the country was badly divided. President Obama with control of the House and the Senate was forcing through many unpopular Obamanista policies, Obama Care being one of the most controversial.
When the votes were counted, Republicans won a strong majority in the House. Obama no longer had control of the three branches of government. What could he do — move to the center, negotiate with the opposition, or modify some of his most controversial policies. No — Obama decided to Rule by Regulations.
Obama would make appointments to the regulatory agencies of the government, and some would be Recess Appointments without Confirmation of the Senate.
Obama basically was saying — do not worry about the Constitution — I have enough lawyers to secure injunctions and appeals and stays to maintain the status quo beyond the 2012 elections.
Do not worry about the Congress, I will go around them and tie up the system with Executive Orders and Regulations. Do not worry about public opinion, the main stream media is favorable to my administration and we can out spin the opposition.
Obama appointed Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board. Becker was a former SEIU lawyer who had stated that Employers should be stripped of any legally cognizable interest in their employees’ election of representatives. The SEIU spent some $ 60.7 million to elect Obama. It was pay back time. Becker was a Recess Appointment and tried to abolish the right of a worker to have a secret ballot vote for union representation. The effort to adopt the Card Check Ploy went nowhere.
Boeing Aircraft decided to build a plant in South Carolina to assemble its new 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The NLRB told Boeing it could not build a plant in South Carolina because South Carolina is a Right To Work State. Boeing was told it had to build its plant in a closed union shop state. Boeing asked what part of the constitution or some statute gives the NLRB the authority to dictate where a private enterprise company can and cannot build a plant. No response from the NLRB. It is reported that the democratic delegation from South Carolina advised the White House that the loss of 10’s of thousands for jobs in South Carolina would make it very hard for Obama to carry South Carolina in 2012.
There is a new drug on the market for treating breast cancer. It’s name is Avastin. In clinical trials it shrank tumors some 50%.When used in conjunction with chemotherapy women can expect to live twice as long without their disease worsening. It is expensive. Under previous regulations the FDA is not permitted to consider costs when a person is eligible for a medical treatment. BUT in December of 2010 the FDA made a new Regulation and it revoked the approval of Avastin for breast cancer treatment. The cost of Avastin does not fit within the cost containment parameters of Obama Care. Has the area of care rationing begun?
Obama came to Washington in 2008 with the ability to be a transformational president. Many of us worked hard for his election and raised a lot of money for him.
He said the things we wanted to hear. He made the promises for which we were looking. But, after he arrived in Washington he turned out to be just another Chicago politician. What a waste.
H. Clark Bell
Woodstock
For more letters, see print edition.
Join the family! 
