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.
Letter guidelines:
Hudson Valley One welcomes letters from its readers. Letters should be fewer than 300 words and submitted by noon on Monday. Our policy is to print as many letters to the editor as possible. As with all print publications, available space is determined by ads sold. If there is insufficient space in a given issue, letters will be approved based on established content standards. Points of View will also run at our discretion.
Although Hudson Valley One does not specifically limit the number of letters a reader can submit per month, the publication of letters written by frequent correspondents may be delayed to make room for less-often-heard voices, but they will all appear on our website at hudsonvalleyone.com. All letters should be signed and include the author’s address and telephone number.
Joe Biden, the bully vanquisher
I hope you saw President Biden’s brilliant State of the Union speech two weeks ago, brilliant in its rhetorical strength and brilliant in his physical strength.
Several days later, on March 9 in Georgia, President Biden said this:
“Thursday marked 59 years since hundreds of foot soldiers for justice marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, named after the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, to claim the fundamental right to vote. They were beaten, they were bloody, they were left for dead — but they were unbowed. Our late friend, son of Georgia, John Lewis, was there. What happened? Five months later, we passed the Voting Rights Act [and it was] signed into law.
But in the nearly six decades after that, the same forces are back, led by Donald Trump, taking us back in time, suppressing the vote, subvert [ing] elections. That’s why we have to stand up again. We know what to do” (< https://tinyurl.com/3se5ka6x>).
Also on March 9, aging and decompensating Trump made this important policy statement about paranoia and Cary Grant: “Somebody said [Biden] looks great in a bathing suit, right? And you know, when he was in the sand, having a hard time lifting his foot through the sand, because, you know, sand is heavy, three solid ounces per foot, but sand is a little heavy, and he is sitting in a bathing suit. At 81, do you remember Cary Grant? How good was he, right? I don’t know what happened to movie stars today. We used to have Cary Grant, Glark Gable, and today — I will not say names because we don’t need enemies. I get enough enemies.” And we know why Trump has them. He’s a hatemonger.
In the same speech, the Former Guy ridiculed President Biden’s stutter: “Two nights ago, we all heard Angry Joe’s angry, dark, hate-filled rant of a State of the Union address. Didn’t it bring us together? Inmerz-er-up-th-th. I’m gonna bring the country t-t-t-tuh-gether.” The audience of MAGAs laughed. See < https://tinyurl.com/2hy473cr>. Their laughter brought tears of rage to my eyes. What’s wrong with these people?
At the same link, you can also see President Biden speaking in 2020 to Brayden Harrington, a boy with a stutter: “Don’t let it define you. You’re as smart as hell, now you really are … I know the hardest thing is talkin’ on the telephone. When I stuttered, I used to t-talk-talk talk like-like th-th-this. And it took a lot of practice. But I promise you. I promise you. You can do it. I know you can do it. Don’t let it define you. You’re handsome. You’re smart … And you know when I say I know about bullies. You know about bullies? Y’know, the kids who make fun? It’s gonna change. I promise you.”
Go to the video and look at the expression on Brayden’s face. It brought a different wave of tears to my eyes. It will bring them to yours, too, unless you’re a MAGA bully who’s lost his or her humanity. Will you let the MAGA vote define us and our nation?
Who are you going to vote for, the red-capped bully or the Bully Vanquisher? Who are you going to fight for?
We have to stand up again. Will you stand with me? Joe Biden for president!
William Weinstein
New Paltz
The menu has changed
When you call the Woodstock town offices, you will now hear:
Press #1 for English, and you will hear what you want in English.
Press #2 for Spanish, and you will hear what you want in Spanish.
Press #3 for McKenna, and you will hear what he “thinks” you want to hear.
Press #4 for McKenna to override/abuse our zoning law so you can violate it.
Press #5 for McKenna when town employees need assistance shoveling snow, digging a ditch, or answering a phone.
Press #6 for McKenna’s snow plowing customers who need their driveways cleared.
Howard Harris
Woodstock
Trials of tribal tales
Hardwired to be very tribal, us vs them,
Religion doesn’t want civil; it craves obedience gem.
Politics sow’s seeds of division with its cunning stem,
Brick walls obstruct discourse, nothing to condemn.
We’re taught to choose sides, a chaotic stratagem.
If we could only see unity, we wouldn’t need mayhem.
The tale of the orange toddler so true,
Illustrates a failure of leadership imbued,
Amidst disappointment, we stand in despair,
Hoping for change, for someone fair.
Neil Jarmel
West Hurley
Appropriate definition of “family”
On March 13, we proposed that our village board adopt the following position statement at our next meeting on March 27.
The Village of New Paltz Board of Trustees urges village planning board members and building department staff to recognize that both the U.S. Supreme Court and the New York Court of Appeals disfavor narrowly drawn definitions of “family.”
Courts have held that it is impermissible to discriminate against groups of people living together based on whether or not they are related by blood or marriage. In essence, if a group of people is sharing a kitchen and living space, they should be treated like any other family, provided that safety-related criteria, such as parking limit violations, overcrowding and/or state uniform building and fire code violations do not exist.
Relevant case law concludes that if a municipality does not limit the number of related people living together, they should not hold unrelated people living together to different standards.
The Village of New Paltz Board of Trustees believes that a dwelling unit may be occupied by any “family” including students, or other unrelated renters, provided that they are maintaining a common household. Furthermore, the board of trustees believes that payment terms, or other terms, between landlords and tenants, including whether tenants pay rent as a group or individually, should be handled amongst the independent parties. They may each have preferences or reasons to negotiate different terms to suit their individual needs.
Additionally, we are committed to broader definitions in our code that do not restrict individuals’ autonomy, and we are committed to code enforcement or zoning determinations that prohibit any village staff member from performing privacy-invading or inappropriate work involving the tracking of blood relations, whether individuals have chosen to marry, or other personal choices that have zero impact on the health and safety standards related to housing; such over-reaches are known to disproportionately impact marginalized populations.
The planning board’s mission should emphasize zoning compliance. Building code enforcement officials should focus on public health and safety. We do not want those representing the village to unnecessarily focus on anyone’s ordinary personal business, as long as public safety concerns are not at issue.
The definition of “family” in Village of New Paltz code includes the statement that “In the event of any conflict between this definition and the definition of ‘family’ as it may from time to time be established by New York State statutory or case law, New York State law shall prevail.” The village board does not intend to take any action at this time, but may elect to update its definition of the term ‘family’ in the future should such an update be deemed necessary in order to protect the personal privacy and freedoms of residents.
For additional guidance and history from the NYS Dept of State see: https://dos.ny.gov/legal-memorandum-lu05-definition-family-zoning-law-and-building-codes.
Mayor Tim Rogers
New Paltz
Up for interpretation
A byesexual is someone who has sex and then leaves.
Sparrow
Phoenicia
Presidential primary
Elections matter. Democracy matters. It is time, once again, for our voices to be heard.
Did you know that the presidential primary in New York State is just a short time away?
Yes, we already know who the presidential candidates for both major parties in the US will be. But did you know that there is more than one name on each presidential primary ballot here in New York State? This presidential primary is an important time to show our support, to help our candidate build momentum for this election year.
Election Day for the presidential primary is Tuesday, April 2, at your normal polling place, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The Ulster County Board of Elections (UC BOE) website at https://elections.ulstercountyny.gov/ shares a lot of key information, including:
Early voting for the presidential primary runs from Saturday, March 23, through Saturday, March 30, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Tuesday and Thursday, March 26 and 28, when the hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. For Ulster County residents, no matter you live, you can vote early at the Ulster County Board of Elections, the Saugerties Senior Center, the New Paltz Community Center, or the Ellenville Public Library. Addresses for each location are on the UC BOE website.
The UC BOE website includes sample ballots to know who is running against Joe Biden on the Democratic ballot, and yes, you can even see who is running against that other guy on the other ballot.
I hope you will join me in making your voice be heard and voting either early or on Election Day in this year’s presidential primary, on or before April 2!
Laura Ricci, Democratic Committee Member
Woodstock
STR permit fee increase in Woodstock
You seem to have made a mistake. The short term rental operating permit increase is 900%. This would be an inappropriate and egregious increase.
I am 67 years old, have lived in the home I raised two sons in (they are also currently staying with me) for close to 30 years.
When Airbnb was fairly new, I started renting one of my son’s bedrooms in my living space in order to make some extra money. After awhile, I spent a moderate amount of money to improve a room downstairs so that guests would not be in my living space. Guests cannot cook so I mostly get one or two night bookings.
I only rent the room when I am present in the house and see myself as a representative to visitors. I interact with guests, recommend local businesses, events and activities and communicate a sense of reverence for the beauty and uniqueness intrinsic to this community.
I care deeply about Woodstock and have volunteered over the years for Ulster Literacy, Family of Woodstock and the Woodstock Film Festival (amongst other events and organizations).
Last year I made less than $6,000 in Airbnb income. That nowhere near covers the property and school taxes I pay.
Not all short-term rentals are the same.
Not all STR’s are nuisances.
Not all STR’s are compromising the long-term rental market.
Adah Frank
Woodstock
Where is the fiscal responsibility?
At the last town board meeting ( March 12) our supervisor and certain members of our town board showed they didn’t care about the longtime residents here in Woodstock that were given a sudden increase in their STR registration fee without notice. It is so disrespectful of the folks that have been here and need to STR a room in their home to make ends meet. Unlike the second homeowners and other non-owner STR promoters, these people should be allowed to continue to STR.
Because of the recommendation from two former housing committee members at a December town board meeting, our supervisor raised their permit rate from $50 to $450 without a shred of notice and before the new STR law was even updated with the fee schedule they haven’t even chosen yet.
The zoning revision committee, chaired by Laura Ricci, a town board member, is working on revising the STR law. That seems like a “conflict of interest” to me. A town board member shouldn’t be making the law that she will be voting to pass. Other members are Conor Wenk, Jude Sillato and Ed Sanders. They are tasked with creating a new law and they are still “brainstorming” ideas. So why did the supervisor suddenly raise the rates? Could he have taken the advice of the two former housing committee members?
Councilperson Bennet Ratcliff posed a resolution to rescind the fine amount to $100 at the last town board meeting. The other board members wouldn’t allow it. They completely ignored the request. How is that respectful of our townspeople? Why couldn’t the town board have a discussion about the sudden raise? And why would they ignore the resolution?
Question authority. Question the motive and the disrespectful way our residents are being treated. And ask about the lawsuits that are coming down the pike. Shady Dump lawsuit against the town and police harassment, workplace racism and hostile work environment lawsuits against the town to name a few. We’ve got ethics charges of conflict of interest and procedural conduct.
All this will cost taxpayers more money. And our taxes shouldn’t be used to fight these lawsuits. Where is the “fiscal responsibility?”
Linda Lover
Woodstock
STR operating fee increase
In 2016, to help alleviate school and property tax bills, we applied for and were granted special use and operating permits for an owner-occupied short-term rental (STR) and paid the associated start-up fees. Meanwhile, we have also been paying quarterly fees to the County of Ulster and annual fees to the Town of Woodstock.
On December 29, 2023, Ulster County alerted us to expect a 2% fee increase, effective February 1, 2024. On January 25, 2024, the Daily Freeman published the announcement. Contrastingly, the Town of Woodstock, with no advance notice to its STR operators or the public, increased our annual fees 1025% — equal to the same rate imposed by the City of Kingston for operators of 20+ units! Keep in mind, there is no differentiation between STR rates charged to owners living on- or off-site, nor if an operator charges $100/night or $1000/night.
After joining Woodstock Fair BnB, a group recently formed to contest this drastic fee increase, we came to understand that it was enacted to cover code enforcement costs (e.g., inspections of those legally registered and searches for those not registered) and bring the town’s fee schedule on par with other townships — this is obviously not the case. We also came to learn that the proposed fee schedule increase was just one of 47 resolutions passed as a batch during the January 9, 2024 town board meeting (lasting only 34 minutes), without public discussion.
Last year, to allow existing operations to become legal, another group gathered to request the cap on the number of STR permits in Woodstock be raised. They knew to register with Ulster County, but somehow were unaware of the need to register with Woodstock. The cap was increased, and their permits were granted, leaving other applicants waiting in line to be ignored.
We understand the main mission of town government is to increase revenue and manage expenses. However, we believe financially burdening those who are compliant by registering, for expenses caused by those who have not, is unfair. We can certainly understand the occasional need to increase administrative fees, but not to such a high degree, with no public input or reflection. As Ulster County seems to do, the Town of Woodstock needs to generate press releases when such regulations are being considered, or have already been enacted.
We ask the Woodstock Town Board to revisit their decision on STR fees, invite public input and become more transparent with their actions. If there are any STR permit holders who also feel strongly about this topic and want to learn more about Woodstock Fair BnB, please contact me at woodstockfairbnb@gmail.com.
Thank you!
Laurel Cross
Woodstock
Self defense charade
Regarding the letter to the editor by Mr. Rondavid
Gold, “The perfect plan,” these are my comments: Mr. Gold asserts in his sarcastic styled letter that Israel in response to the very real atrocities it suffered on October 7, is simply “going after” Hamas who did brazenly attack and murder 1,139 Israeli soldiers and civilians.
Mr. Gold then asserts in the plan that Hamas will hide behind Palestinian civilians and the ensuing slaughter will backfire on Israel bringing criticism from the world, paraphrasing the words in his letter. Mr. Gold also asserts unabashedly that anyone who opposes that slaughter is a “Jew hater.” Wow, how could someone get it so wrong. Before I go on I would like to make it very clear that I am not a “Jew hater” as any of my Jewish friends will tell you. I do understand the Jewish plight of having suffered the Holocaust and the psychological trauma that endures for many generations. I also understand the effort to make sure that never happens again, as I have previously stated my grandfather’s entire family was brutally slaughtered and wiped out in the Armenian Genocide along with more than one million other Armenians. That being affirmed, what Mr. Gold and others of his ilk apparently fails to comprehend is that starving and dehydrating 1.5 million Palestinians, mostly women and children, is not “going after” Hamas who has plenty of food and water underground. That and destroying the entire Gaza hospital system where there is no real substantive documentation of Hamas personnel being located, is cementing genocide against the Palestinians who will die slowly from their injuries for lack of medicine and treatment. Also consider that Hamas has no air force so everyone in Gaza are sitting ducks from Israel’s bombs, especially the innocent children. How cruel can people be?
Obviously very cruel with no heart, considering that Israel’s intelligence had the exact Hamas invasion blueprint one year in advance of October 7 and curiously, its top world expert security forces allowed all of this to happen. Neither Mr. Gold, nor any of the other genocide-denier letter writers will address this issue having been brought up by me many times in previous letters. Why not? It’s time to stop the exposed charade of self-defense, end the ongoing cruel-genocidal-murders with a permanent ceasefire now. “Thou shall not murder” 14,000 innocent children Mr. Gold (God-Exodus 20:13)!
Steve Romine
Woodstock
Our lawmakers in New York State must pass Packaging Reduction Bill!
Walking to the Saugerties Lighthouse today, I saw damage done by strong winds and flooding. A storm nearly eroded our beloved path to the end of the peninsula in the Hudson River. On my way back, I picked up two pockets-full of plastics from the river, stranded on the path.
On February 14, the Town of Saugerties passed a resolution in support of two bills presently making their way through the labyrinth of NYS legislature. These bills address the plastic problem. In New York State, 6.8 million tons of packaging waste is produced each year, constituting 40% of the total waste stream. Most of this packaging is sent to landfills, incinerators, or winds up polluting our streets, parks and beaches. It often winds up in rivers like the Hudson and on that path to our lighthouse.
Our state legislators have a responsible solution. The first bill, Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, if passed, would require big companies selling products in New York to cut plastic packaging by 50% over the next 12 years. The bill, introduced by Senator Pete Harckham and Assembly member Deborah Glick, would also address plastic’s human health impacts by phasing out toxic chemicals currently used to package the food and drinks we consume. And it would not allow chemical recycling, the plastic industry’s latest false solution, to count as real recycling. The second bill is an expansion on the state’s Bottle Bill.
It is time to make the polluters pay. In 2022, New York City taxpayers spent $448 million to export the state’s waste to the Finger Lakes and to out-of-state incinerators and landfills. This bill would transfer the cost of managing packaging waste to the companies that create it, rather than the taxpayers.
We need Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to bring this bill to the floor for a vote. We have no time to waste on waste!
Edith Bolt
Saugerties
Gross incompetence in Georgia
For those of you following the case against Trump in Georgia led by DA Fani Willis, the findings by judge Scott McAfee are very weakly watered down. Let’s examine why this is.
Judge McAfee is only 34 years old, with the least amount of experience in the DA’s office, and yet is assigned the biggest case in Georgia’s court history. When promoted to the DA’s complex trial division, his department was headed by … wait for this … none other than Fani Willis! Even though he was randomly selected to be the judge in the Trump case, when this gross conflict of interest quickly manifested itself, why wasn’t he immediately removed and another judge assigned?
Being allowed to continue as the judge and as he listened to all the testimony, it should have been obvious to him that he was witnessing blatant perjury on the part of Willis and her boyfriend, Nathan Wade, Esq. These prevaricators pretended that their amorous relationship didn’t start until AFTER Wade was hired by Willis in 2021. However, a long time friend of Willis, Robin Yeartie, testified that the relationship clearly began in 2019. Another witness also confirmed that the relationship began well before Willis hired Wade. These are clear examples of anyone’s definition of perjury.
Now, if anyone of us was guilty of obvious perjury, we’d be looking at up to five years in prison plus fines according to federal felony statutes. At this point, the very least the judge would legally be obligated to carry out would have been to dismiss BOTH Wade AND Willis as well as her entire staff, and reassign the case to a more competent judge.
I guess the judge thought he’d appease Trump and his followers by dropping six flimsy racketeering charges against Trump and a few other defendants. As an “experienced” DA, Willis probably knew that these charges were ridiculous to begin with. I guess she was just following the lead of her mentor, AG Letitia James of New York, by throwing tons of spaghetti at the wall to see if any of it sticks. In both cases, these judges make sure they keep alive the toxic two-tiered system of political justice, favoring ANYONE trying to nail Trump to the wall.
John N. Butz
Modena
Save our trees from scofflaws!
The current chair of the zoning revision committee and town board member Laura Ricci is pushing for a vote to amend a newly revised scenic overlay law to make exception for homeowners who before 1989 or those who have blatantly ignored the law of cutting or topping off trees for the sole purpose of maintaining a view of the surrounding valleys and mountains. It gives permission for these homeowners to continue the deep pruning that curbs the regrowth of trees that are perceived as blocking their “view.”
Over the years, this law has become controversial due to lack of any form of real enforcement by the building department and by the misrepresentation during the sale of property by various real estate brokers. Yet, amending this law for a privileged few is not the answer. Instead, these people should understand that being a landowner means they have become stewards of their domain; not destroyers.
Why must we look at people’s homes up on the mountainside with abundance of windows which lure birds to their deaths? Why must trees be improperly topped off? It is a fact, that many of the trees in our area are suffering from the stresses of fluctuating temperatures and many invasive insects are quickly decimating our forests. Why must human beings be equally destructive just for a breathtaking view? Additionally, homeowners should feel it is an honor to protect their trees, the homes to many species of birds, and animals, hence, the ultimate home share.
Please get involved and write to the town board. Our town, our forests, our planet needs your help now!
Laurie Felber
Woodstock
Getting up
One nice thing about retirement:
the chance for an energizing afternoon nap.
It’s nice getting up twice in one day!
Patrick Hammer, Jr.
Saugerties
Oh, puleeze!
Fake environmental virtue so deep we are drowning in the swamp. Those of us who are required – forced — to be on Medicare (or be fined) get statements that run six pages and are printed on the thickest paper of ANY mail. Want something done badly, let the government do it!
This flows naturally into the IRA — the Inflation Reduction Act. Which, don’t wait for it — raises inflation by increasing our national debt.
What part of this debt does your kid owe? Divide $34 thousand billion (a billion is only a thousand million) by 100 million, and that the kid’s share. We pay a lot less because most of the kids will pay their whole life and we get out of the contract when we have died.
Your paycheck is sliced and diced like a late night TV commercial … then you get to pay over 8% extra with your sales tax on almost everything you buy. Plus more on gasoline.
Please write our Congressman ‘Landslide’ Pat Ryan at the House in DC and tell him to cut government spending on everything except defense. I am too old to learn Mandarin.
One if by land, two if by sea!
Paul Raymond
New Paltz
Emergency firewood program
I am part of a group that has been providing free firewood to those in need in our area (Catskill Mountains of New York) for the past three years. Both The Guardian and the Chronogram recently wrote articles about our woodsman who has been tireless in chopping, loading, delivering and stacking firewood for vulnerable citizens and families who do not have ample resources to keep themselves warm.
Our woodsman was slated for a busy winter providing firewood until his old ‘97 Ford pickup gave up the ghost and our program came to a screeching halt, with still more requests for help coming in. We have a GoFundMe Campaign going (just search for emergency firewood program), but it is not quite there and winter is not quite over yet. If anyone would like to contribute anything in the way of funds, gas cards or time, we would be most grateful. Donations may also be dropped off at the either the Woodstock Library or the Phoenicia Library. Thank you for your consideration!
Hollie Ferrara
Woodstock
Woodstock STR fee is an improper tax
We write to express our concern over the lack of a proper citizen-inclusive process by our Woodstock Town Board in setting the recent enormous increase in STR host fees by the town.
We object to the failure of our town board:
• To wait for and discuss its own subcommittee’s recommendations regarding the new fee;
• To establish a budgetary document that outlines and justifies how this huge raise targeting STR hosts as a group — so many of us seniors and retirees living on limited incomes — will be used by the town;
• To provide written documentation of the actions above — in a recent FOIL request for documentation, our town supervisor responds that there are “no documents;”
• The lack of engaging local citizens in open discussion on this matter;
• The lack of open public discussion by the town board itself, when this increase was approved, buried in a long list of fees — so obscure that at least one board member did not understand its consequences to small-time STR hosts.
The new STR fees far surpass standard charges for a fire inspection or a business license. We are left to assume that they are to pay for “impacts” on the community. But the NY State Bar Association’s “Guiding Principles” state that the levying of fees by a municipality without proper procedure and transparent budgetary documentation, create “an impermissible tax (disguised as an impact fee).”
New York’s Open Government and FOIL rules state clearly that the public MUST have access to the records of government.
We demand that the town board revoke its actions to raise the local homeowner STR fee. We insist that transparent procedures, judicial reasoning, discussions with the public along with clear budgetary accountability take place before we are charged what is essentially a very substantial tax.
Laura Hinton
Brent Robison
Wendy Klein
Karyn Bevet
Maureen Brady
Martha Hughes
Marta Szabo
Thea Hambright
Karin Bruno
Tony Bruno
Norman Savitt
Julia Jordan
Laurel Cross
Christina Beck
Len Beck
Chris Bailey
Daniel Blumenfeld
Janet Savage-Blumenfeld
Karen Vos
Jory Serota
Mernie Buchanan
Diane Dwyer
Adam Jacobs
Mary Smith
Jim Curtin
Nidhi Adhiya-Huba
John Huba
Woodstock
Recycling-wishcycling
Ulster County generates about 109,000 tons of waste per year. We can do better. Much better.
New York State can reduce the garbage it produces by passing two bills: The Bigger Better Bottle Bill and the less mellifluous sounding Strong Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. Raising the deposit on bottles and cans from five cents to ten cents and discouraging the use of single-use containers can make NY cleaner and safer.
Phone Assembly leader Carl E. Hastie and ask him to back bills A5322 and A6353.
Then do something to help wean yourself from using plastic. Do a Google search for Blueland. Something amazing is happening to cleaning products in NYS.
Irwin Rosenthal
Woodstock
The definition of insanity
When I was a young adult, I was a supporter of Israel. That was, until I read that when Israel invaded Lebanon, I assume to kill terrorists, its soldiers killed 12,000 people. That’s when I had to accept that Israel was no better than other countries.
For years I have read about Israelis humiliating Palestinians trying to enter Israel for their jobs or medical care, stealing their land, jailing them without charges or trials, bulldozing houses and jailing children for throwing rocks. “Good Israelis,” who are most of the population, have ignored these injustices, as “good Germans” ignored the Nazis jailing and murdering Jews, Gypsies, the disabled and political dissidents.
And now most Israelis are polled as thinking that the ongoing genocide of Gazans is fine or not violent enough and humanitarian aid shouldn’t be given to Gazans. It is obvious that decades of killing a few terrorists and many innocent people have not led to peace and security for Israel. As the saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Andi Weiss Bartczak
Gardiner
The unheard whispers of a screen-saturated world
As I reflect on my journey through the labyrinth of human communication, the digital age presents a stark contrast to the world I navigated as a group psychotherapist in a psychiatric hospital. In the crucible of human emotion there, I honed my therapy compass, attuning it to the unspoken language of body language, facial expressions, eye contact, posture and tone of voice. Each gesture, each shift of gaze, was a breadcrumb on the path to understanding the inner worlds of those who sought solace in our sessions.
In this digital era, we find ourselves at a crossroads where the heartbeat of conversation is filtered through screens, and the pulse of human touch becomes a phantom limb. The eloquent dance of nonverbal cues, vital in my therapeutic practice, fades into the background, overshadowed by emoticons and typed words.
While efficient, the digital medium often fails to capture the nuanced choreography of human emotions, leaving a void where the flourish of a hand or the softening of eyes should be.
For those who, like my patients, find solace in the silent language of gestures, the digital world is a foreign landscape, a place where their native tongue of body language is muted. They are like painters without a canvas, dancers without a stage, their stories and insights trapped within, unheard and unseen in a world where typed words and static images reign supreme.
In this screen-saturated world, we lose the subtle interplay of a furrowed brow, the comfort of a reassuring touch and the intimacy of shared space. These elements, integral to my therapeutic practice, add layers of meaning and connection that transcend words, forming the tapestry of human communication.
Yet, I seek to bridge these worlds as a navigator in this new digital age. I strive to infuse my messages with the awareness that each word, each pause and each metaphor carries the weight of a gesture, the warmth of a touch and the sincerity of a glance. My goal is not merely to communicate but to connect, to touch the soul of another with the full spectrum of our human expression.
The digital disconnect presents a profound challenge for those who struggle with the art of writing. It turns the written word into an insurmountable wall that silences voices unable to navigate its complexities. This barrier is not just linguistic; it is a chasm that divides expression and understanding.
Similarly, those without the gift of creative visual expression find themselves adrift in a culture saturated with images, unable to connect in a language that speaks through colors, shapes, and forms. Their world is muted, their stories untold.
This predicament raises poignant questions about the nature of communication and expression. How do we bridge the gap between the richness of human interaction and the limitations of our digital tools? How do we ensure every voice finds its medium, story, and stage? As I ponder these questions, I am reminded that the essence of our communicative soul lies not in the medium but in our relentless pursuit to understand and be understood, to connect and be connected.
Larry Winters
New Paltz
Join the family! 
