Letters to the Editor Saturday, Aug. 6 – The Daily Gazette

Why not lower road under train bridge?

Regarding the Glenridge Road bridge. They may have considered this solution — Why not dig out a foot of the road, thus increasing the underpass height by a foot without touching the bridge.
Dan Ertel
Niskayuna

Biden’s failures are hurting the country

The Biden administration is failing the American public.
The rapid abandonment of Afghanistan leaving billions in high tech military equipment to the Taliban and thousands of American and Afghan soldiers was a disgrace.
Failure to enforce immigration laws and protect the southern border allowing millions of people to illegally flow into the country is wrong. It’s an insult to the millions that legally immigrate yearly. Worse, this policy enriches the drug cartels, enslaves children and women, and floods the nation with drugs. We’re told that fentanyl is killing tens of thousands a year — a death rate worse than most wars. Apparently, the administration doesn’t care, for unknown reasons.
The administration’s energy policy stopped construction of a component to the Keystone pipeline from Canada that would have eliminated the “oil trains,” and restricted or stopped further development of oil and natural gas resources.
Using the Strategic Petroleum Reserves is not a solution. It’s an attempt to appease the public with lower energy prices before the November election and negligently impacts national security.
Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and Democratic Rep. Paul Tonko should have stopped the administration from employing such bad policies.
But they didn’t, they supported them and hurt everyone. These people need to be replaced in the upcoming elections.
Russ Wege
Glenville

Stefanik working to empower women

Rep. Elise Stefanik is a strong advocate for the pro-life movement and is actively coming up with moderate solutions that counter radical abortion-on-demand ideologies.
I think it is extremely important to consider that while Elise understands the value of life, she also believes in exceptions, including for rape, incest, and life of the mother.
The congresswoman signed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of Dobbs v. Jackson to uphold the constitutionality of abortion restrictions, but certainly does not support an abortion ban.
Furthermore, Elise is promoting two solutions to provide easier access to contraception for adult women.
First, Elise cosponsored the Allowing Greater Access to Safe and Effective Contraception Act, which would help young women gain access to FDA-approved birth control pills over the counter.
Second, Elise cosponsored the Access to Safe Contraception Act of 2022, legislation that prohibits any state from banning FDA approved contraception as long as it maintains state regulation of the practice of medicine and pharmacy.
Overall, Elise is working to empower women by expanding birth control access and improving maternal health care while also respecting the right the unborn have to life.
Ashleigh King
Middle Grove

Reasons for BLM mural removal flawed

In his July 24 letter (“BLM mural poor use of taxpayers’ dollars”) to The Gazette, Norman Miller of Princetown defended the Schenectady City Republican Committee’s call to remove the Black Lives Matter (BLM) mural in front of City Hall. He needs to make a better argument.
Mr. Miller reasons that since the BLM Foundation’s not-for-profit status has been revoked in some states for its lack of financial transparency and failure to make 2020 tax filings, BLM should not be rewarded by having taxpayer money used to promote it.
But he conflates the BLM movement with the Foundation. Mr. Miller’s argument is akin to denigrating the conservative ideals of Republicans simply because their party was taken over by a lying opportunistic con man.
Mr. Miller also says, “Many people…consider BLM a terrorist organization,” using the same nonspecific language that our former president used to smear people.
Who are these “many” and what is their rationale? If I believe that Black lives matter just as much as White lives and wear a button or carry a sign to that effect, does that make me a terrorist?
Lastly, Mr. Miller argues that since BLM is a political movement, taxpayer money should not be used for the mural because, he asks, “Is the city going to pay for some GOP-backed organization to paint their cause on the opposite street?”
His implication is that only Democrats support BLM and that Republicans do not. Is he saying that Republicans believe Black lives do not matter as much as White lives?
Jerry Jasinski
Niskayuna

Matt Castelli is best to replace Stefanik

Matt Castelli is the right choice to represent NY-21 and is the best candidate to defeat extremist Elise Stefanik. Matt’s experience as a CIA officer and director of counter-terrorism gives him the right credentials to take on extremists in Washington and abroad.
Someone who will put country over party is what Fulton County deserves. Matt Castelli supports expanding access to medical care, investing in infrastructure while reducing costs for working families and securing our nation.
Upstate New York needs someone who will stand up for our needs or we will never again thrive.
Elise Stefanik has lost touch with the working families of NY-21 and increasingly looks out for her own self-interests instead of ours.
On August 23, vote for Matt Castelli to take on Elise Stefanik. NY-21 deserves someone who will fight for the needs of upstate New York families. Early voting starts Aug. 13 at the Gloversville Rec Center (24 3rd Ave.), and the Democratic primary is Aug. 23. Vote Matt Castelli for Congress.
Greg Niforos
Gloversville

Stefanik advocates for Fort Drum, upstate

Fort Drum recently broke ground on a railhead project to expedite the rapid deployment of troops, vehicles, and equipment from the base.
This groundbreaking was a major victory for Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21), who has advocated on behalf of the project for years. Rep. Stefanik has secured over $27 million to complete the Fort Drum Railhead Project and enhance the 10th Mountain Divisions combat readiness. The groundbreaking couldn’t have come at a better time. Our military must have quick deployment capabilities to take on any unforeseen threats we may experience in the future.
This is not only an improvement to upstate New York, but rather an improvement to our overall national security.
Congresswoman Stefanik will continue advocating for the Fort Drum community and our nation’s service members.
Elise is the leading advocate in Congress for Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division, and she is proud to have worked to deliver this critical funding to improve the readiness of the 10th Mountain Division, the most deployed Army division since 9/11.
Coral Boehlke
Cambridge

Plenty of sources for temperature data

Timothy Connolly’s July 31 letter (“Beware propaganda machine for climate”) claims that there are only 4,500 temperature stations around the world and claims that these are insufficient to calculate global temperature.
He did not provide a source for this false information. He needs to find reliable sources with verifiable information so that he does not make mistakes that mislead readers, and The Gazette should fact-check before publishing incorrect information.
Here are two examples of easily located, verifiable information about the number of temperature stations in the United States and around the world that are used in temperature change analyses.
There are nearly 15,000 stations in the United States alone that are used in calculating temperature change within the United States (https://www.climate.gov/maps-data/climate-data-primer/how-do-we-observe-todays-climate): 11,700 Cooperative Observer (COOP) weather stations; 122 National Weather Service (NWS) Offices; 840 automated stations at airports, maintained by the Federal Aviation Association (FAA); 900+ Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS); and, 1,100 additional Automated Weather Observing Stations (AWOS).
Different scientific organizations may use different numbers of total global temperature stations.
Here is one example from Climate.NASA.gov: “Over the past 140 years, we’ve literally gone from making some temperature measurements by hand to using sophisticated satellite technology.
Today’s temperature data comes from many sources, including more than 32,000 land weather stations, weather balloons, radar, ships and buoys, satellites and volunteer weather watchers.”
Mimi Katz
Schenectady

Fed up with Trump and his sleazy cronies

Sleazy (defined in Webster’s dictionary as vulgar, dishonest, corrupt and low quality) is the word that comes to mind whenever I think of Trump and his cohorts.
A short list includes Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, Kellyanne (“alternate facts”) Conway and Paul Manafort.
Michael Flynn is a disgrace to the uniform he once wore. As a three-star Army general, he was director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from July 2012 to August 2014.  Flynn was forced to retire from the army when his two-year term was not renewed by Obama. He became a campaign adviser to Trump.
Flynn only lasted 22 days in the job because he lied to Vice President Pence about having talked with the Russians. This information came from the Mueller investigation. Trump fired him.
Trump Attorney General William Barr drastically redacted Mueller’s report so a lot of this was unknown to many. Paul Manafort was a lawyer, lobbyist and longtime Republican campaign consultant. He was Trump’s campaign manager for a few months.
Also as a result of the Mueller investigation, he was convicted of bank and tax fraud and later pleaded guilty to witness tampering.
I hope that the day will come when the world does not have to see, read or hear anything about Donald J. Trump.
Jane Reisenger
Schenectady

Ostrelich will bring positive change

People in mental health crises should not have to face the police, it criminalizes their illness, and puts their lives at risk.
They are 16 times more likely to be killed during a police encounter than others.
Last year, Schenectady came up with a solution to this problem when county legislator Michelle Ostrelich led the successful effort to create a mental health triage system by helping create a partnership for existing area service providers including Unified Communications Center (UCC), Schenectady Police Department and Northern Rivers Family Services.
As a result of this creative solution, residents in distress are now triaged to mental health professionals through specific protocols that 911 dispatchers use.
Michelle Ostrelich has shown what compassionate competent leadership looks like.
She did not wait for New York state for a solution; she chose action. As a long-term resident of the district that she is seeking to represent, and as an energetic representative who is in touch with her constituents’ needs, she knows how to streamline community resources by building partnerships.
If elected to New York State Senate 44th District, her leadership will benefit her constituents who need a true advocate and a proven effective change maker in the Senate.
Aliya Saeed
Niskayuna

Christians must deal with impact of ruling

Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned and access to contraceptives is under scrutiny, I have questions about the consequences, especially in states strictly limiting reproductive rights.
Eighteen years of foster child support is expensive and entails the burden of providing for emotional and mental health care in lieu of family love and guidance. Sadly, the majority of foster children, like shelter animals, never find a forever home.
Please describe what provisions are being made to prepare and maintain the foster care system, already under stress, for the influx of children. Who will pay for it?
Will the pro-life movement, claiming the moral high ground, step up by contributing sustaining funds and accept parental obligations?
What will the impact be on recruiting and retaining employees, college students and military personnel for example?
How will mainstream Christian denominations be affected by the legal imposition of Christian beliefs upon all women and members of other faiths? They are already struggling with declining memberships and a failure to engage younger generations. A predominance of gray hair is the kiss of death.
I believe adding restrictive reproductive choices in accordance with Christian dogma to the abuse of indigenous peoples and children, among other revelations, may poison the well of Christianity beyond recovery in the eyes of many who will decide the future.
The emotional religious focus on short-term gains without pragmatic consideration of long-term losses will haunt the nation and the Christian presence in America for years to come. Is it too late?
Mark Rahn
Scotia

With the Holy Spirit also comes freedom

In the United States, the major party that is friendlier to freedom than the other one has fumbled the ball.
As a result, unless some major miracle happens, by five years, 60 months from now, we in the United States will no longer have freedom.
The freedom-friendly party was doing well. But then, to get more votes, it began trying to please religion.
At first, this paid off. The extra votes gave the party many more victories.
However, this had one very bad effect at the start. Where the Holy Spirit is, there is freedom.
This also means that where there is no freedom, there is no Holy Spirit. Religion does not like the Holy Spirit, because of his connection to you know who.
To get rid of the Holy Spirit, religion gets rid of freedom. Because of this, the party’s religious stands reduce freedom instead of increasing it.
Recently, reality-denying stands have been added to the other ones. These new stands are turning many voters against the party.
As a result, again, unless some major miracle happens, the freedom-friendly party will lose big in the 2022, 2024 and 2026 elections.
By this date in 2027, freedom in the United States of America will be gone.
Joel Nelson
Schenectady

Stop manipulating historic perspectives

In his July 28 letter to The Gazette, (“Would Jefferson support Jan. 6?”) George Brougham wonders what Thomas Jefferson would have said about the events of Jan. 6.
As a former student of Mr. Brougham, I am disappointed to see that he avoids making his point himself, leaving the reader to infer that Jefferson would have fully supported an unconstitutional and tyrannical move by a sitting president to preserve power.
Is Mr. Brougham suggesting that Shay’s Rebellion — started by farmers in response to repressive tax collection from the state government of Massachusetts in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War — is equivalent to an attempt by supporters of a sitting president (and allegedly the president himself) to undermine the democratic process? Surely not.
More to the point, what would Jefferson think about Americans living 200 years in the future relying on his opinion for future events?
Thankfully, we don’t need to wonder. Reflecting on the young nation following the War of 1812, he wrote “[Some men] ascribe to the men of the preceding age a wisdom more than human and suppose what they did to be beyond amendment.”
He continued: “We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy, as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.”
Put differently, long-dead political philosophers have no right to commentary on current events.
Time to stop manipulating historical figures’ opinions regarding historical moments to fit modern concerns.
Jared Iacolucci
Ballston Spa

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Election Letters

The deadline for letters related to the August 23, 2022, primaries is 5 p.m. Friday, August 12, 2022.
Election-related letters are limited to 200 words.
Letters from candidates are not accepted, nor are letters that are part of a coordinated writing campaign.

Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion