Letters to the editor (4/13/22)

Marvelous Woodstock Times archive

Thanks to the Woodstock Public Library and congratulations to the Woodstock Times for the completion of the project to put all past issues from 1972 to 2020 online and searchable. Here’s the link for the interested: http://woodstock.advantage-preservation.com. This is a great service to the community and a testament to the decades of service Ulster Publishing has provided our region. That’s why I’m a proud paid subscriber of the print edition, which is conveniently delivered to my mailbox each week. The history of Woodstock’s last 50 years is captured in this archive, and it makes for fascinating reading and is and will continue to be a priceless resource for researchers.

Speaking of service to the community, Marjory Greenberg-Vaughn made an interesting comment about the response she received when she tried to respond to a local development issue using the Daily Freeman’s comment section: none. That’s been my experience, too. Instead, the Freeman relentlessly pushes an ideological agenda, which over the last two years has included aiding the nonstop terrorizing of the public with alarmist and often-inaccurate reporting about the COVID story.

In contrast, Hudson Valley One publishes everything from its readers – and in print, no less! Do I agree with everything people say? Of course not. That’s not the point of discussion. It’s good that at least one print publication in our region is serious about serving the community.

As it’s turning out, many of the laboriously discredited “conspiracy theories” of the last six months to two years are turning out to be the headlines of today. Throughout this period, Hudson Valley One gave its readers the chance to share their viewpoints and sound the alarm on various news media and government inaccuracies. In contrast, the Freeman, like so many “news” outlets, local and national, maintained a Pravda-like stance that only the government/pharma/Fauci line was acceptable.

Ken McCarthy
Tivoli

Prudent doesn’t mean austerity

I’m still opposed to giving up and being ok with +4% annual property tax increases. I believe we can be both “an education positive community” AND mindful of affordability and the widening gap of economic inequality.

In January 2020, moments before +2 years of unprecedented tailwind of further gap widening, I wrote a letter to this paper where I said New Paltz was unaffordable and offered the following to defend my assertion:

“Our community has become unaffordable. We need to be mindful of how cumulative tax increases impact property owners as well as tenants who pay property taxes indirectly in their rent. State and local officials, including our school’s Superintendent, must take into consideration that an individual’s personal expenses when aggregated with all the different property tax bills drive community affordability. 

During the last two years through 2019, New Paltz school taxes rose 8%. School taxes account for approximately two-thirds of our total property tax bills.

As a general rule, a household should spend no more than 30% of its monthly gross income on housing. Unfortunately, this is largely unrealistic for many in New Paltz. Two of our three Census tracts had median household incomes of $49,031 and $53,864 in 2017. These two Census tracts accounted for more than 67% of New Paltz’s 14,124 population. Additionally, both of these tracts had low response scores so actual incomes may skew even lower. 

Homes in New Paltz commonly sell for $150 to $200 per square foot. Including the cost of borrowing at 3.8% for 30 years, 2019’s property tax rates (school, town, county and village), properties assessed at $350,000 would have to pay $2,935 monthly (or $35,220 annually) for just their mortgage and property taxes.

To have $35,220 available, a household would need a gross salary of at least $45,000, assuming a 26% marginal tax rate. However, much more than $45,000 would be needed to survive and afford things like food, utilities, transportation and health insurance.

Using these recent median household incomes of $49,031 and $53,864 from the Census for 67% of New Paltz’s 14,124 population, it seems clear that most residents simply cannot afford to live here.”

We were unaffordable in 2020 and we’re unaffordable now.

Mayor Tim Rogers
New Paltz

Shame on you

The entire Board of Directors and the executive team of Central Hudson should quit and also be fined for the complete and utter failure of its “transition” to a new billing system. In addition, the contractors for this billing system should not be paid any money!

I just spent an hour on hold waiting to speak to a supervisor because of my incomprehensible bills for the last several months. I was holding for a supervisor after I reached a “customer service rep” who was untrained in handling even the most simple of questions. By the way, I held for about 30 minutes to reach this rep, and she spent about 30 minutes trying to answer questions.

Okay, even the simplest of us utility users can figure out the basics. How about a cheat sheet for your customer reps which explains why bills have what’s called reversals, or what is an NMeterCreditValueStack for which I am being charged?

A neighbor made an excellent suggestion to turn off autopay, which I did. Central Hudson can wait for payment as long as I have to wait to speak to someone who can answer my billing questions.

Please, elected officials and the PSC, hold Central Hudson responsible for this clustermuck of total incompetence. And shame on the Board and its executives!

PS: I was disconnected after holding for one hour. LOL.

Jo Galante Cicale
Saugerties

Respect for all our brothers & sisters

As we enter into the most sacred season for both Jews and Christians, remembering and celebrating God’s steadfast love for His creation and for all people, we remind ourselves of the shared heritage and of the many commonalities of both traditions of faith. And we ask God’s forgiveness for the fact that we have not always acted toward one another in accord with this reality.

We too easily forget that Jesus Christ was a faithful and devout Jewish man and that our Christian faith is grounded in Jewish tradition and spirituality, and so it is a scandal that even some Christians have been guilty of having awful prejudices against their Jewish brothers and sisters, in all times and in all places. Indeed, this is hardly a thing of the past; throughout Europe in the past several years, for example, there have been many terrible instances of antisemitic threats and attacks. And we don’t have to look very far from our own area to come across similar biases and slurs, and even attacks against the Jewish people who share our communities.

And of course, this terrible situation is not only experienced by the Jewish people; these expressions of hate – whether they are subtle or outright, in words or actions – are perpetrated against many, many other groups as well, none of which deserve to be treated that way and all of which deserve to be treated with respect and with love, despite our differences and despite our sometimes very real issues we have to deal with.

So, when Jesus said that we must love our enemies (Matthew 5:44), He wasn’t saying that we have to agree with everything that our enemy says or believes or does; the situation with what is going on in the Ukraine is an easy proof of that. Rather, we have to approach the so-called “enemies” in our own lives in humility and realize that they are just as imperfect and broken as we are. It is only then that a true dialogue can begin, and we can start to eradicate the feelings of hate and superiority and then help one another to survive and to prosper in a world that is difficult enough without malicious feelings getting in the way.

And so, as I prepare for the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter, I remember and I celebrate that God has fulfilled His promises to His people and to His world – a world that He came not to condemn but to save. And I remember and I celebrate that God is continuing His salvation of the world through His people: Jews and Christians and all people of faith, and also people of no formal faith at all, but who are people of goodwill and respect for their neighbor and for the world around them.

Fr. Salvatore Cordaro, OFM, Cap.
New Paltz

Mama said

I’m calling out a shockwave through Hollywood: unf*nbelievable, and I’m sorry people have become soft to comedians being comedians. In my world, “on point or poor words” do not warrant a physical confrontation. And a joke, which may or may not have landed depending on personal taste (a comedic misfiring of sorts that exploded the target upon impact), certainly doesn’t deserve an irresponsible and violent hard slap across the face of anyone. Will Smith’s reaction should be deemed wrong, but was Chris Rock’s initial comment wrong, too? I say no! Rock was paid to be a comedian, and his jokiness or humorous irreverence, for good or bad, comes with that turf.

How did that joke come to be any different than any other joke made by any awards show host in the last 20+ years? They do light roasting of the celebs in the audience; it’s a well-known thing, and something both Will and Jada Smith have known and been a part of for years. Presenting onstage during the last hour of the show, Rock referred to actress Demi Moore’s buzzcut in the 1997 movie GI Jane, and quipped to Jada, “I love you,” further adding “GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.”

It has come out that Rock wasn’t aware of the fact that Jada shaved her head because of alopecia and didn’t understand what was the cause of this violent upset. In my estimation, Rock gave her a compliment. But even if he said something nasty (as all the other hosts did at some point), it still doesn’t warrant violence.

Standup comedy is centered around perceptions of life, stereotypes, life circumstances et cetera. Nothing he said warranted Will Smith escalating the situation to a violent one. Like we saw, he, Smith, even laughed at the jokey comment when it was initially said. Then he flew off the handle at his wife’s glance. An emotional response by Will Smith doesn’t excuse a physically aggressive reaction/assault, which we witnessed. Chris Rock getting slapped hard was not the answer. You do not hit people who are not hitting you or a loved one.

How many years have we tried to teach our children (and to never forget) our mothers’ reminder, “Use your words”? Yes, actor Will Smith needs to be accountable for his actions no matter what provoked him.

There were several other ways to rebuke what is considered poor humor; Will Smith could have shown Chris Rock that his humor crossed the line. Instead, he showed his immaturity. What would have truly made that moment important is if Will walked up there, put his arm around Chris and spoke to the entire audience about how making jokes of someone’s medical condition is hurtful and not okay and took a brave moment to turn the other cheek and suggest for those that don’t know what alopecia is and how it affects men and women to research and help a peer in any way they can. That would have been an important moment; instead, he chose violence to his fellow man instead of coaching him.

Or Smith, if he took issue with the joke, could have spoken with the man backstage in private, not hit or “loudly effn curse” on national television for all the world to see and hear. Bottom line: He lost control. Period.

And on top of this, he then ignored an opportunity upon reflection and on live TV to show contrition for what he did to Rock, never directly apologizing to him. Instead, Smith had the audacity to cry onstage after contemplation of his actions. He brings up God and then references, “The Devil made me do it” to both the TV viewers and his fellow Academy members in attendance. Really? He is responsible for his own behavior! “Love makes you do crazy things” is a deflection of responsibility and his abusive moment.

Lastly, all the people in attendance at the Oscars applauding the childish toxic behavior of Smith were doing nothing more than romanticizing violence, diminishing women and enabling abusers. This too was not acceptable under any circumstance. Again, “Use your words,” right? It can be a full-throated defense; no problem!

If I had a say, it would be: Take Smith’s Oscar away! And then again, take his wife away! Something is off there! Yes, it’s called a “toxic relationship.” The Oscar statue? Repurpose it and give it to Chris Rock. And the award for “best composure ever” goes to: “Chris Rock!”

And to those who still believe that condoning violence under the above circumstance is okay: Making excuses for Smith’s behavior ain’t gonna do it. I hope you find peace.

Neil Jarmel
West Hurley

Growing pressure

Sadly, I can’t find anything Russian to boycott.

Sparrow
Phoenicia

Be a good neighBEAR

The days are getting longer, daffodils are starting to bloom and the black bears in our region are awake and hungry after a long winter without food. As we welcome spring, I’m writing with an important reminder to please manage your trash responsibly in order to protect the health and lives of our local bears and to prevent our roadsides, streams and woods from becoming more polluted by trash.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “A fed bear is a dead bear” – a lesson learned by a group of neighbors here in Woodstock in 2020 when a mother bear who’d developed a taste for the trash left out by several households had to be euthanized after breaking into a house. Her death left her two young cubs to fend for themselves, although one was eventually brought to a wildlife rehabilitator. This tragedy could have been avoided had a handful of residents been more responsible about their garbage.

There are two good ways to be responsible about your trash:

1. Cancel weekly garbage pickup, keep your trash inside and take it directly to the transfer station once a week (or so). In my opinion, this is the best way to deal with your garbage, because your trash can’t get knocked down or blown over, it will not lure bears or raccoons to bad behavior, it is significantly cheaper than paying County Waste or Waste Management for weekly pickup and it also improves the odds that your glass, metal and paper will actually be recycled (plastic recycling is sadly, a myth, so that one is a wash).

2. Purchase a bear-resistant bin to hold your trash at the roadside and keep on using a trash hauler for pickup. Although almost nothing is truly bearproof, the chances are good that as long as your neighbors are still using something ineffective like bungee cord or a sprinkling of ammonia or bleach to deter bears and raccoons, the bears will skip your bear-resistant can and move on to those easier pickings. Here are a few options:

Toter 64-Gallon Can: www.truevalue.com/bear-proof-trash-can-64-gal

Bearicuda’s Stealth Can: www.bearicuda.com/critter-can/stealth-bear-proof-garbage-can.php

Or you can modify your own garbage cans: https://bearwise.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/fl-modify-your-trash-can.pdf

Please note that these bear-resistant garbage bins are expensive, and some haulers (like County Waste) will charge you an additional monthly fee to deal with this harder-to-open bin. As of April 2022, Waste Management does not charge an additional fee for these bins.

Did you know that it’s against the law to leave your garbage out for more than 24 hours? Warnings are issued and fines are levied by the DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation). If you have questions about this, you can contact the DEC officer for your area: www.dec.ny.gov/about/702.html. Here in Woodstock, our DEC officers are Adam Johnson, (845) 587-6397, and Jonathan Walraven, (845) 281-3408.

If you are a homeowner who does short-term rentals of your property (AirBnB, VRBO et cetera), please note that you (not your renters) are responsible for dealing with any trash they create, and that the regulations dictate that you must have trash picked up within 24 hours of putting it outside. Did you submit your trash plan to the Town when you registered? There is enforcement (and likely neighbors who are not thrilled to be living next to a short-term rental and who are keeping a close eye on any mess the garbage cans may produce). You can find those regulations here: https://townwoodstock.digitaltowpath.org:10111/content/Departments/View/1:field=documents;/content/Documents/File/1561.pdf.

Thank you in advance for doing your part to manage your trash responsibly. Here’s to a happy spring with healthy bears and clean roadsides.

Eve Fox
Woodstock

Take the survey

As you may be aware, a Community Preservation Plan (CPP) is currently being developed for the Town of Gardiner. Such a plan will be used to highlight land parcels that have high value in terms of open space, preservation or recreation.

There is a survey underway to obtain the priorities of Gardiner residents, with a deadline of April 24. The survey can be found on the Town of Gardiner website, at the Town Hall or from the Library. If you are a Gardiner resident, please let your views be known by filling out this important survey.

Glenn Gidaly
Gardiner

Twisting in the wind

A family member has recently thrown his hat into the circus ring of the local housing market, so we’ve had a firsthand look at what is going on out there. A quick glance, let alone a deep dive into Zillow will show listings with prices that bring to mind the words “unbelievable,” “absurd,” “looney,” “outrageous.” For some – potential sellers – the word might be “delightful.”

It’s all happening: “handshake” accepted offers suddenly withdrawn, bidding wars, agents’ demands to waive inspections. In this atmosphere, we should pause to ask some troubling questions: Who – or what – is buying the homes in our communities? Are they people who actually want to live here? Are they investors who do not? If so, what are their plans for their properties?

Are the sellers – in many cases our neighbors and friends – aware of who is making an offer and that person’s intentions? Surely they know when the sale is finalized. Many sellers are longtime residents with ties to the community. When they consider offers, do the potential buyers’ likelihood of investing in schools, neighborhoods and volunteer groups figure into their final decisions? In this critical decision, these homeowners’ commitments to the area where they raised families, buried family members and throve no doubt hang heavily.

Real estate agencies might be part of a national group or more locally owned. But many agents certainly live in the communities where they operate. They work for their individual clients’ interests. Do the interests of the community at large have any place in their actions, at all? Does the community at large have any “rights” in this free-market frenzy?

Especially for seniors who might be downsizing, these are difficult times. We know that average Americans are ill-prepared for retirement. Homes are often their greatest asset. Selling might be the smart move…as long as they have someplace to go.

Getting top dollar is the way of the market. Choices are made individually and sometimes shape a collective response. What choices can be made when our values and attachments conflict with forces that seem beyond our control? Are they?

Tom Denton
Highland

Battle of the sexes

 In view of Saint (Hi Neil) Ketanji Brown Jackson’s inability to define what constitutes a person being classified a woman, some have suggested that POTUS Biden was wrong to choose her as his nominee to be the first Black “woman” appointed to the Supreme Court. In any event, the captain and former champion of a women’s college swimming team who has competed against Lia Thomas, a transgendered person, agreed to give her opinion of men who are transitioning to women competing against women in sports. This female swimmer did so with the condition that she remain anonymous.

To the surprise of nearly no one in the Feedback community, Ms. Anonymous Female Swimmer chose a song parody as the vehicle of her opinion-expressing. With this in view, the following song “Just Like a Real Man,” based on Bob Dylan’s hit “Just Like a Woman,” was written by the former anonymous female swimmer, without the approval of Neil Jarmel or Myron Rothberg (nice to hear from you Myron) and their fellow TDS sufferer, Ted Reiss. (It has been reported by neighbors that Ted has, on occasion, been heard singing “Say it loud, I have TDS and I’m proud,” as he jogs through his neighborhood.)

I always feel so much pain

Today I have to race Lia again

Everybody knows that though she wears girls’ clothes

Lia’s real name is Bill, the record shows

At least her folks say so

(Chorus)

She’s built just like a real man (yes, she is)

She swims fast just like a real man (yes, she does)

And she’s strong just like a real man

But she only swims with college girls

(Stanza)

Though Lia’s not my friend

I know I’ll have to swim with her again

And when we’re at a meet

I’ll suffer a defeat

‘Cos I know that I just can’t compete

With a man swimming as a girl

(Chorus)

She’s built just like a real man (​yes, she is)

She swims fast just like a real man (yes, she does)

And she’s strong just like a real man

But she only swims with college girls

(Bridge)

It was clear when she began

That Lia really was a man

Still he swam with girls

And his winning really hurt

But what’s worse is that

It isn’t fair

My heart’s laid bare

Don’t you care that

She just can’t fit

Yes I believe it’s time

For her to quit

And if she swims again

It should be against men

Then she’ll remember

What it was like when

She was Bill and ranked 400^th in the world

(Chorus)

She’s built just like a real man (yes, she is)

She swims fast just like a real man (yes, she does)

And she’s strong just like a real man

But she only swims with college girls

George Civile
Gardiner

Thanks from Montessori of New Paltz

The students, parents and staff of Montessori of New Paltz would like to thank everyone who came by and donated items to our Clothing Drive this year. The turnout was truly amazing: We collected a whopping 605 bags of clothes! We want to thank each and every one of you who contributed.

We’d also like to thank ClothingDriveFundraiser.com for partnering with us for this event. They will be distributing items to families and individuals in need, both locally and abroad, and anything unusable will be recycled.

Additionally, the funds raised from the event go directly to the school’s Kyle Brewer Memorial Scholarship Fund. In 2015, Kyle Brewer tragically passed away at the age of 16. We had the privilege of knowing Kyle as a wonderful, loving older brother to three of our students. In honor of Kyle’s memory, the Kyle Brewer Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in 2015 to provide financial assistance to families and students interested in attending Montessori of New Paltz.

It has always been important to us to provide equal learning opportunities to a multitude of students, regardless of their economic status. One hundred percent of the proceeds to the Kyle Brewer Memorial Scholarship Fund go to children’s education at our school. You can find out more about the school and the scholarship program at www.montessoriofnewpaltz.com. Our deepest gratitude for all of your contributions, and we hope to see you again next year!

Arianne Wack
on behalf of Montessori of New Paltz
New Paltz

Question

This is from a letter, not one of mine, that appeared in a previous edition of Hudson Valley One’s Feedback section: “Can our new Town Board (TB) overcome the stalemate problems that have hindered so many great ideas for Woodstock?” I am guessing the author was referring to the changes to the TB with the addition of Bennet Ratcliff and Maria-Elena Conte. To answer the question, so far it appears they might.

Howard Harris
Woodstock

Addresses & phone numbers

In a previous Letter to the Editor, I included a copy of the letter mailed to the CEO of the NCPSSM addressing a letter submitted previously by another writer from the area. This letter gives the names and addresses, telephone numbers of others I copied.

1. AARP (1-202-434-2402), 601 East St NW, Washington DC 20004

2. NCPSSM (1-800-966-1935), 111 KI Street NE, Suite 700, Washington DC 20002

3. Michelle Hinchey (1-845-331-3810), NY State senator, 721 Suite 150, Kingston NY 12401 or (1-518-455-2350), 198 State St, Legislative Office Bldg., Room 902, Albany NY 12247

4. Kirsten Gillibrand (1-518-431-0120), NY State senator, Leo O’Brien Office Bldg., Room 821, Albany NY 12207 or (1-202-224-6542), 478 Russell Senate, Washington DC 20510

5. Charles Schumer (1-518-431-4070), US senator, Leo O’Brien Office Bldg., Room 827, Albany NY 12207 or (1-202-224-6542), 322 Hart Office Bldg., Washington DC 20510

6. Antonio Delgado (1-202-225-5614), 1007 Longworth HOB, Washington DC 20515; (1-845-443-2930), 256 Clinton Avenue, Kingston NY 12401

Schumer and Gillibrand are our state senators representing us in Washington. Delgado is our representative in Washington.

I contribute to the AARP and the NCPSSM (National Committee for the Preservation of Medicare and Medicaid). I have belonged to both organizations for years. I believe they have my interests regarding Social Security and Medicare more so than the Republican and Democratic parties.

I urge all of you “oldies” drawing benefits to become involved in protecting your benefits – that’s right, your benefits – because if the Republicans gain control of both chambers of Congress, with Trump reelected and with a conservative Supreme Court, a way of life for those of us born post-1930s will see our way of life gone, as we know it now.

Robert LaPolt
New Paltz

War crimes

There is nothing our mainstream media loves better than a war crime – that is, a war crime committed by an enemy of the US. Crimes that can be traced back to our numerous invasions and occupations of other countries don’t count at all.

The years-long genocidal treatment of civilians in Yemen and Palestine is paid for by the United States. The bombs used are from American factories. Without US support, these war crimes would end. The same could have been said for the millions killed in Korea, Vietnam, East Timor, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

The My Lai massacre was one of the few war crimes that the US has ever admitted to. And that was almost covered up by the young Army major ordered to investigate the mass murder. Years later, that same officer, then-secretary of State Colin Powell, would lie to the UN about Iraq’s “weapons of mass destruction.” There is nothing like covering up US war crimes for advancing one’s career in the empire.

The reverse is true for truth-tellers. Those foolish enough to even research US war crimes are hounded, like the current members of the International Criminal Court. The US has branded them “national security threats,” denied them visas and threatened them with other retaliatory actions.

And then there is Julian Assange, who proved that the US committed war crimes in Iraq. For him, no penalty is too great. He will spend his life in jail simply for exposing the empire’s hypocrisy.

Fred Nagel
Rhinebeck

Return to the Dark Ages?

Oh, how my heart goes out to all women today! Soon, the passage of Senate Bill 612 in Oklahoma to restrict abortion under all circumstances except to save a woman’s life.

What with the endless violence, shootings daily, a reincarnation of the barbarian Genghis Khan creating havoc to a country and the world and this archaic, male-dominated law, we are returning to not only the Wild West days, but the Dark Ages.

When will the abuse to women ever end? When will a society begin to examine this deep hatred? I had a counseling service for years. The tears, horror stories, complaints were endless what they had to put up with in the bedroom.

One woman had to endure sex on demand three times a day. Others being forced to have sex when they were having their periods or when sick. Others forced to watch porno films to “hopefully get their wives more in the mood.” We women are not human gym machines. I care not to detail with other such abuses.

With pregnancies occurring under these circumstances, what woman wants to carry a child? With high costs today, pandemic, inflation, who wants to bring a child into the world now?

We are given brains to use. Begin to use it in the bedroom.

There are 58,000 rapes a year in South America, 48,000 a year in India, 13,000 a year in America. Impossible to count the bedroom rapes, seductions et cetera that occur. And governors are allowed to determine whether a woman can have an abortion or not? They kill animals for horns, lambs for veal, deer and lions for sport, yet someone is punished for wanting to be rid of some tissue in the early stages? What hypocrisy!

What if the roles were reversed? What if women had the power to put chastity belts on men, keep the key and have sex only when they wanted? Or, what if we put through laws that every sexual abuse, rape, resulted in castration? I can assure you, there would be an outcry by the men, just as we women cry out to have our bodies left alone to do what we think best for ourselves.

A compromise? Abortions allowed three times up to 16, 18 weeks. Computers keep tabs on these. After three, no longer allowed. Abortion shouldn’t be allowed as a birth-control device. By the third, with proper education and counseling, a woman will have learned to take better care of her body and to say no in the bedroom. As to men, if ever they have any speck of love, decency or respect for the lady they bed, use a condom. Communication is the key between two people – both daily and in the bedroom.

I called governor Kevin Stitt’s office to express my views. The number is (405) 521-2342.

Joyce Benedict
Hyde Park

Holocaust

The war inched further into me last night. When I went to bed, the word Holocaust crawled out of the basement where I store what I don’t want to look at but know I must keep. My sadness, rage and fear of war seeped through the cracks in the sandbag walls I built in Nam in 1969. I’ve added more sandbags every time America started a new war or conflict, supported someone else’s war, ignored a Holocaust or sold weapons to kill to keep our economy alive.

Along with the word Holocaust came a memory from Nam when I helped tear down a ten-by-ten sandbag bunker at the bottom of a guard tower we Marines slept in when not on guard on China Beach. No one slept; mice crawled up our pant legs and nibbled the calluses off our fingers. We killed and lined up over 200 mice and rats on the open beach. As politicians tear down our government’s sandbag walls, I fear that we shall find more rats and mice than anyone in public would ever expect. So, take a careful look at the calluses on your fingers.

I want to believe that the political rats who ran the Vietnam War left me some remnants of my calloused idealism. But instead, I learned that American humanity was like the tarp I saw thrown over barrels of napalm to hide it from reporters, who might take pictures and put them on the cover of Life magazine.

Americans are rightfully pointing at Putin for killing countless innocent Ukrainian civilians. But “In 2002, president George W. Bush effectively ‘unsigned’ the treaty of the International Criminal Court ICC in Rome. He sent a note to the United Nations secretary-general that the US no longer intended to ratify the treaty and did not have any obligations toward it.” Knowing we have killed countless innocent civilians using drones and bombs, we still point our finger at Putin. Clever speechwriters create rhetoric for why the United States can kill civilians and it’s different than when Russia does.

So, what’s left for Americans to do? Some say pray for the holocaust to end in Ukraine. To pray for humanity to come alive in the world we live in today. To pray the blindfolds of power and money over the eyes of our leaders to get torn off and they see the deaths they are ignoring.

Or should we pray for our souls to overcome our fears of others? Always our behaviors toward others show how we genuinely feel towards ourselves. Look at Putin and many of the world’s leaders and politicians. Their self-loathing is evident in how they treat those they govern. Use this insight when you vote for whoever you are willing to die.

The rats in my Nam bunker were only trying to survive and never drew my blood. Today, I am sorry I killed them. When I was in Vietnam, the rats and mice in our government lined up 58,000 dead men and women so that the wealthy would pay for them to get reelected.

Larry Winters
New Paltz

Cold?

Central Hudson is running an ad on TV stating that one reason my electric bill is beginning to feel like another mortgage is that this winter has been cold.  Climate scientists all agree, though it may not have been what they forecast.  While most Americans have only been financially pinched, a lot of Europeans are actually freezing in their homes or paying three times more for heating than just a year ago.      

They abandoned their own development of heating fuel and took an offer they couldn’t refuse from Putin.  Shut down their nukes (the French, being difficult, kept theirs running), did not maintain their oil and natural gas production, and that part of the climate called wind changed, stranding their windmills.  Please see this as a warning for rushing to electrify our trucks and cars (federally sponsored with our tax dollars).  First, build up both our capacity to make more electricity and also rebuild our ancient infrastructure for distributing it.  And figure out, and this is really the European lesson, how to make a lot more electrons without burning coal, oil and natural gas to meet all that extra demand from charging everyone’s new cure for global warming, the EV.  I am not optimistic Washington, DC is up to this challenge!  Just one more thing: neither solar panels nor EV batteries are recyclable.  What a mountain of hazardous waste we have already begun building!

Paul Nathe
New Paltz

Too bad the architect of the worst “ism”–

‘Terrorism” was not swaddled as a baby, now her needs “terrorism” was not swaddled as a baby.  He now needs unconscious sedation.

Mindfulness is not for slakers.  Do your very best to evolve!

The White House sanctions expert was once a child who wailed, “Just you wait ’till daddy comes home. I’m tellin’ on you.”

Gladys Q. Flitchnick
Ulster Park

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY – MARGARET IS OFF THE MARK

What are all the alternative energy sources that are supposed to replace fossil fuel energy?  I’ve found anywhere 4 to 10 different elements.  It is a challenge to find out how many of these have actually been explored, fully tested, and proven to be efficient and reliable sources and, more importantly, a time line by which they will be ready to actually replace fossil fuels.  All the experts seem to be on different pages…….if not on different chapters or even in different books…….when it comes to when we can expect the realities of these alternative sources actually being ready to gradually phase out the use of fossil fuels.

One of the biggest obstacles to this time line problem is the affordability of electric vehicles (EV’s).  Kelley Blue Book has the average cost of an EV at $56,437.00.  Currently, only 3% of the population owns an EV.  Another statistic, right now, shows that only 15% of the U.S. population can actually afford an EV.  Even though there are a number of EV’s under Kelley’s average price, most all of them are subcompacts with pathetic mileage range on a full charge (several under 200 miles)…….two characteristics hardly appealing to anyone who can even afford an EV.

So, with proven and ready energy alternatives and a majority of people owning EV’s not happening for years, if not decades, what is the rush to cripple Americans by prematurely defunding and destroying fossil fuels, right now, instead of waiting until the time comes when alternative energy becomes a ready reality and the majority of Americans are able to own an EV?

Even though Margaret Human is tickled to death with Biden’s executive order on his first day in office to steal our energy independence right out from under us, neither she nor Biden thought far enough ahead to see its effect on the problems we are facing, today.  The only thing on Biden’s mind on that first day was to cancel as many of Trump’s programs and policies as possible without any mature adult thought and analysis, but instead for the sole purpose of showing his and his voter’s venom toward Trump.  Of course, by doing away with our energy independence, he also showed his cowardly sucking up to AOC, Bernie, and the rest of the radicals on the edge of the far left cliff.  Had he not done that, but instead, waited for proven and ready energy alternatives, not only would we still have reasonable gas prices but we also could be helping to supply our European allies with their fossil fuel needs which would be further crippling Russia, at this point in time.

After all, why would we sane Americans have the gall to expect our “leaders” to thoroughly analyze and think ahead, on anything……..e.g, rolling out the red carpet for illegals, illegal felons, and an occasional unvetted terrorist as part of our southern open border catastrophe, rampant crime,  disrespect and abuse of police, law, and order, disastrous and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan, fentanyl-laced drugs pouring into our country killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, etc.?  All Joe could think about after his exhaustive task of signing all those executive orders was where he was going to get a triple decker ice cream cone before his afternoon nap.

John N. Butz
Modena