A one-note administration

To the editor:

Regarding your courageous editorial in the October 5 issue of The River Reporter, “We want our freedom back,” the rationale for all the draconian laws, from the PATRIOT Act to the Military Commissions Act, is always “terrorism.” The Bush-Cheney administration’s only response to the real or imagined threat of terrorism is force—military force or forceful detention.

In the “Lilac Book of Peace: Axioms & Quotes,” recently published by The Peace Academy @ Liberty, two quotations are apposite. David Cross said, “You cannot win a war on terrorism. It’s like having a war on jealousy.” As poignant, Enrique Baron Crespo said, “The war on terror is in the head. You don’t win it with tanks.”

The use of military force without addressing poverty and injustice only increases the likelihood of terror. The example of Iraq is only too instructive. If the United States (pardon, coalition forces) promptly restored the infrastructure (electricity, water, sewage, telephone, public transportation, schools and health care), reduced unemployment from 70 to seven percent and did not “detain” thousands of Iraqi innocent citizens, the Iraqi resistance would not have grown to its present size, foreign terrorists would have been kept out and sectarian violence would have been minimal.

As the folk song asks at the end of each stanza, “When will they ever learn?

If you want your rights restored, vote Democratic

To the editor:

As noted in your editorial of October 5, “We want our freedom back,” at the end of September Congress passed a bill, the Military Commissions Act, which states that anyone accused as an “enemy combatant” can be imprisoned under military jurisdiction, not allowed to defend themselves as guaranteed in the Constitution, and held indefinitely. We must vote in enough Democratic candidates across the nation to win, at the very least, the House of Representatives in order to start reversing and protecting ourselves from this draconian legislation.

If your congressional Democrats need support to win, please support them. If you know they will win, please support Democrats who have a chance to win in other areas of the country. Check out MoveOn.org or TrueMajority.com to find names of candidates.

A potential disaster

To the editor:

I truly believe that the political agenda of liberal Democrats is dangerous. If they win in November at a national and state level, this is what we may see happen in our country:

Intelligent Design will be considered religion instead of science and it will be expelled from our public schools. There will be fervent push to make homosexual marriage and possibly polygamy legal in every state. Traditional marriage and family values will be disregarded as narrow-minded and prejudiced, while new experimental social and educational programs are implemented in their place. Taxes will be increased to fund these experimental and radical new social programs.

Liberal Democratic judges will be appointed who will interpret the laws in their party’s best interest, not in our country ‘s best interest. These misguided liberals will allow abortion as a Constitutional freedom, rather than what it really is: the murder of an unborn baby boy or girl.

Persecution of evangelical Christians will increase, and our society will lose its Christian heritage, including removal of textbook accounts of our nation’s Christian history and of all public references to God, such as in our Pledge of Allegiance and “In God We Trust” on our money.

Conservative TV and radio talk shows will be railroaded off the air. “Hate crime” laws will outlaw people from verbally disagreeing with particular political agendas, our freedom to bring grievances to our government will be stifled, and our freedom of speech and religion will be lost. Flag burning and Internet porn will be encouraged as freedom of speech.

Total amnesty for all illegal immigrants will proceed. Terrorists and detainees from other countries will be given equal or even greater rights than those granted to U.S. citizens by the Constitution. Our military will be pulled out of Iraq ASAP, leaving it in a shambles and at risk for hostile take over by a worse regime.

A pro-life vote

To the editor:

The Santorum-Casey race is heating up. It is heartening to know that Bob Casey is pro-life. After all, his father, Robert P. Casey, Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995, was solidly pro-life, and paid a heavy price for his position in both the 1992 and 1996 Democratic conventions. He was silenced. He worried that the Democratic party was becoming “little more than an auxiliary” of the abortion industry. Indeed, our own Governor Rendell’s budget includes $5 million for “family planning,” which includes abortion.

So, Bob Casey can be and is pro-life—a “chip off the old block,” but he will be unable to change the position of his party, committed to Roe vs. Wade and responsible for the deaths of millions of unborn babies.

My vote is with Santorum. His pro-life record is impeccable.

Stop the knee-jerk voting

To the editor:

As a born and raised Catholic for the last 46 years, and a voter since age 18, I’ve had a lot of experience watching both the local and national political situations, and I am appalled at the lack of intestinal fortitude of my neighbors and friends, and the one-mindedness a large number possess in voting straight party or casting votes on one issue only.

If our country were truly “pro-life,” it would follow the principles given to man on Mount Ararat and follow the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill” to the letter—meaning no capital punishment, no abortion and no legalized war. According to the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist traditions, among others, killing of any kind condemns the soul to eternal punishment.

To the voters of the area, I realize that this is a “hardball” interpretation of the 10 laws, or commandments, of the major religions. But if you are going to vote in November, please take a close look at the people currently in office, and those running for office, and make your decisions based on what they’ve done, not just the slogans being chanted to grab your vote.

Senator Santorum and Representative Sherwood, on the Pennsylvania side of the border, went along with the will of the administration and voted to send our troops into a situation where they are being killed daily. Is that truly “pro-life” as they profess, or are they following their political instincts rather than their religious beliefs?

Both have also voted to take jobs away from our local economies, cut monies needed from our elderly (Social Security) and our schools, and still support tax cuts for the wealthy, while supporting policies to keep our poor poorer (no raise in minimum wages).

Our founding fathers wrote the Constitution to keep church and state separate, not intertwined. Since Eisenhower folded and put “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, this country has been going downhill politically, having lost the focus with which it was created.

Please vote for the person, and not the party, this November. It’s time that the people started controlling the government, not the government controlling the people.

Paul J. Cooper, Jr.

Recycled electronics: good to know about

To the editor:

Thank you for the article “Cashing in on electronic trash” that appeared in the October 12-18 issue of The River Reporter. It was very interesting to read how parts from discarded electronic equipment can be reused or recycled without adding to our landfills. We are fortunate to have Advanced Recovery Industries in the Tri-State area. I live in Pike County, and look forward to the collection day planned for next June. Thanks again for running this article.

Better uses for our money

To the editor:

Regarding Liberty’s Munson Diner, I think there are much better uses for the grant money allocated to the Village of Liberty than bailing out a group of individuals who thought they might make some easy money. Let the village take that grant money and do something constructive for the poor people of the village by giving them some nutritious food, or helping them with their prescriptions, or with their upcoming heating bills.

It seems to me that the best place for the illustrious Munson Diner, which is now sitting like a cheese box on a raft on Lake Street, should be back in Manhattan, NY.

Time to cut down on tax exemptions

To the editor:

A short time ago, the Sullivan County Manager announced a three percent tax increase. Why are we allowing more tax-exempt organizations to buy up our county and removing those properties from the tax roles? Why, if we do allow these purchases, are we not limiting the tax exemption to only the house of worship and the “footprint” it is on, not the entire property including private homes, bungalows, cottages, stores and acres of vacant land? The most recent example is the Raleigh Hotel, representing over $100,000 in tax dollars to both the Town of Fallsburg and Sullivan County.

Why should the Boy Scouts enjoy the use and pleasures of the vast land holdings this exemption affords, while we, who pay for it, are not permitted the same pleasures?

The second-home residents, who make up a large portion of the Sullivan County tax base and who support our county, must pay 100 percent of their taxes with no benefit of the “STAR” exemption. Yet tax-exempt properties enjoy 100 percent tax relief for the same part-time status and less-than-active community interest and participation.

The year-round local taxpayers can no longer afford to carry the tax burden of the county by ourselves.

Fourth grade looking for research help

To the editor:

Our fourth-grade class is currently studying the regions of the United States. We are learning about each state and its environment, landforms, and special places of interest. We are asking for your help. We would like people to send us postcards that show us what your state is like. This would give us the opportunity to get a first-hand look at your state and help us to become aware of the great country we live in. If you would like to write a note on back, we would appreciate it.

We want to take this opportunity in advance to thank you for helping us make learning a fun and rewarding experience. We appreciate your help.

The mailing address is:

341 N. Emery Ave.