Frangipane a leader who cares

To the editor:

George Hathaway’s letter of October 16 would lead readers to believe that the resume and affiliations of Democratic Candidate Denise Frangipane will prevent her from serving the town of Bethel honorably and effectively. As a Bethel Democrat and someone who knows Denise personally, I feel compelled to respond with a few facts.

Denise is a founding member of Bethel First, whose mission includes the revitalization of the Town of Bethel. Bethel First has successfully collaborated with other organizations to bring grants into Bethel, create parks and reclaim forgotten spaces. We all see and benefit from the success of this group.

Denise is on the Board of the Delaware Highlands Conservancy, an organization that helps interested and willing property owners to preserve their family lands. This organization does not create policy.

Denise is not a member of Keep Bethel Rural or Preserve Smallwood Country Life. However, she did work with representatives from these groups to form the network “Bethel Now” which successfully organized and educated citizens about the planning process and worked effectively with town leaders. It was the collective work and advocacy of Denise and others, including town board members, that moved Bethel ahead to creating better planning and zoning.

Denise does work for the Gerry Foundation and is married to Sullivan County Planning Commissioner Dr. William Pammer. Neither of these presents a conflict. Denise is a consummate professional and a person of impeccable integrity. She is capable of making her own decisions as I trust is the same for Mr. Yeomans who is employed by Woodstone Development at the Chapin Estate and Mrs. Simpson whose husband serves on the Town of Bethel Planning Board.

As a Bethel voter, I look at Denise Frangipane and I see a true leader who cares about her community, is able to work with diverse groups, and is interested in listening and learning. I will give her this year to bring her skills to the board. I encourage you to do the same.

Hazen introduces herself

To the editor:

I have had the privilege to meet so many Bethel residents during my campaign. I would like to thank-you for your support and words of encouragement. For those of you who I have not met, I would like to tell you a little about myself and why I am the right choice for the Bethel town board.

My background of 35 years as vice president at the trading desk of a global brokerage firm is proof of my ability to make sound and well thought out business decisions. After retiring, I came to Bethel and built a home and commercial building from the ground up. I established, with a partner, two corporations and a successful business, Gaetano’s Café, for nine years in Mongaup Valley. As a business owner I was a member of several organizations that helped promote and retain businesses in our town and county. As a resident and taxpayer, I have the same concerns as you and face the same issues such as taxes, traffic, development, population growth, the environment and essential services.

Redevelopment and development must be well planned and abide by the laws of this community. Retirement affords me the time to devote to the current and future issues facing our town without being pressured and to attend all necessary meetings. I will be a team player with our town supervisor, town board and planning board. I do not serve any special interest groups. I am an independent thinker and not afraid to make tough decisions that are in the best interest of the people.

Allowing me the opportunity to serve the Bethel residents would be an honor. Vote Margaret I. Hazen Row 11B.

Get the facts

To the editor:

This election year has played a powerful role in every aspect of people’s lives. Working as a manager with the McCain/Palin campaign for Pike County, I have seen all types of people coming to our headquarters—Republicans, Democrats, Independents, local business owners, etc. I am very proud of those residents who choose to visit us at headquarters to get additional information on the candidates. With the biased nature of the media, it has become difficult for people to get the facts of the campaign.

I am an adult who has returned to college and am appalled at the bias of even the college professors. As an example, my communication professor, whose job it is to work with students on communication factors for interviewing and speaking with people, etc. has spent eight weeks creating classroom-biased Democratic debates on key issues of the election. Week 1 was on a “survey” for those choosing to vote. Week 2 was on stem cell research, Week 3 on the alternative energy, etc. I have another professor from whom I have received 12 essay papers with grades no less than an A-. Last week, I turned in an

opinion paper on my point of view on Obama being president and got a “D.” Needless to say, I found out the hard way that my professor was a Democrat. I actually got a chuckle out of it.

My point is only that I encourage people to do their homework before the election. Stop by and visit our headquarters next to Milford Chrysler Dealership on Route 209 in Milford. If you are unable to get to the polls, call the headquarters at 570/832-1756 to arrange for a driver to pick you up or have an absentee ballot mailed to your home. Please don’t give up your right to vote.

Time for something different

To the editor:

As the voters of Northeastern Pennsylvania decide which candidates to support in this election, I want to remind everyone which party has always stood for average men and women: the Democratic Party. This party has always fought for working men and women, small businesses, family farmers and senior citizens. This is the party that gave us Social Security and Medicare. In sharp contrast, the Republican Party represents the interests of the wealthy, corporations and special interests.

In the last two years, Democrats have had a majority in Congress. In that time, they have passed legislation to rebuild our economy, strengthen our national security, care for our veterans, reduce the cost of student loans, increase the minimum wage and help America’s children and families. Spending for veterans’ health care was increased and the GI bill was expanded to include members of the guard and reserves, as well as veterans who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Democratic members of Congress also attempted other means of improving the lives of ordinary citizens; for example, they tried to expand the program that provides health insurance for needy children. However, these efforts were blocked by Presidential vetoes.

The last time, we had a Democrat in the White House, we had a budget surplus and a strong economy. Incomes increased for everyone, not just the rich. For the last eight years, we’ve had a Republican in the White House and, for six of those years, a Republican–controlled Congress. The results are a faltering economy, runaway spending, record deficits and debt, high-level corruption and a nation that is overstretched and weakened in the world.

America cannot afford more of the same from Republicans. We need a President and a Congress that will stand up for the little guys. That is why I am proud to support Barack Obama and Chris Carney.

Republican hunter for Obama

To the editor:

I am a life-long Republican and a hunter. I am voting for Obama. I have heard a lot of talk lately about Obama taking guns away from us.

That is just plain wrong. Here is what Obama said on September 5, 2008: “I believe in the Second Amendment, and if you are a law-abiding gun owner, you have nothing to fear from an Obama administration... The bottom line is this. If you’ve got a rifle, you’ve got a shotgun, you’ve got a gun in your house, I’m not taking it away.”

Here is what the American Hunters and Shooters Association said: “Senator Obama will be a strong and authentic voice for America’s hunters and shooters and it is with great pleasure that we endorse his candidacy.”

The information from the Obama campaign says that he supports the individual right to bear arms, and he will stand against the confiscation of legally acquired firearms.

Correcting statistics

To the editor:

I was brought up short by Julius Litman’s letter in last week’s issue, which quoted a 66 percent 10-year survival rate for Stage II melanomas, and noted that John McCain had been diagnosed with this eight years ago. “This leaves a 34 percent chance McCain may die of melanoma in the next two years.”

The trouble with this logic is most of the 34 percent of patients, who will die within 10 years, die within the first eight years. If we assume the deaths are equally distributed among the 10 years, 3.4 percent will die each year. After eight years, 72.8 percent will be still alive and 6.8 will be destined to die in the next two years. Six point eight is nine percent of 72.8, not 34 percent. In reality, the deaths are more likely to occur earlier, 22 of the 34 percent die in the first five years. Taking this into account, the chances are more like four percent.

And even this estimate is silly, because it considers only one factor. Looking at John McCain’s age and overall health, he has about a 75 percent chance of living through two full terms, eight years, should people be foolish enough to elect him and assuming his decisions as President don’t kill everyone. There are plenty of reasons not to vote for John McCain, possibly including his health, but most of them are that the other guy is a great candidate, not that John McCain is a terrible one. Vote for the smart guy with ideas, energy, honesty and leadership; not against the cancer survivor.

We need a seasoned captain

To the editor:

More than spoken words is the content of a candidate’s record. Following are three reasons I’ll vote for McCain.

The basic civil rights issue of abortion strikes the heart of millions of the most innocent human lives in America, cutting across gender, race, etc. The McCain ticket offers a voice to the voiceless. Years ago, the McCains adopted a baby with a birth deformity.

McCain has a congressional record of bipartisanship voting competitive with any. His rival has a partisan voting record competitive with any.

Count on McCain to keep his word on campaign finance reform, thus reducing the subsequent political favor pressures that follow political candidates. “Big-moneyed special interests who help political campaigns expect big favors in return.” (See JohnMcCain.com.) McCain’s rival may have the devil to pay for breaking his original campaign financing promise, which was to use the public campaign fund and agree to more limited private donor dollars.

American needs a seasoned captain to lead us through troubled seas.

McCain is proven beyond words.

Trouble understanding

To the editor:

Gee, we’re so tremendously lucky to have Nancy Pelosi to inform us dumb Catholics what our church really means. Now, we must welcome a “practicing Catholic grandmother” who has trouble understanding what “Thou shalt not kill” means. She flays Bishop Martino, then accuses him of damaging “hundreds of thousands of children” while serenely overlooking the 51 million children killed since 1973 by abortion. Her final appeal to solve “real-life” problems is in itself a problem: you can’t solve anything if you’re dead.

The best way to reduce abortion

To the editor:

The abortion issue is tearing apart the hearts of many Catholic voters. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2007 issued an important document for Catholics, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States,” that may provide a helpful guide.

The bishops warn us that we must not support policies or laws that are “intrinsically evil,” for example, abortion, war, torture, genocide and racism. They state a Catholic cannot vote for a candidate if the “voter’s intent” is to support that intrinsically evil position. But they also say, “There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons.”

They go on: “Decisions should take into account a candidate’s commitments, character, integrity and ability to influence a given issue. In the end, this is a decision to be made by each Catholic guided by a conscience formed by Catholic moral teaching.”

Pope Benedict XVI in 2004 (then a Cardinal) wrote, “When a Catholic does not share a candidate’s stand in favor of abortion and/or euthanasia, but votes for that candidate for other reasons, it is considered remote material cooperation, which can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reasons.”

Under President Clinton, abortions decreased by 30 percent because of the health and economic supports that were put in place so women could have their children and take care of them. Barack Obama offered leadership so the Democratic platform would include adoption as an alternative to abortion for the first time. His goal is to stop abortions by working together to teach our kids responsibility and self-respect, to prevent unintended pregnancies and offer strong support to women so that abortions will not be needed, not because they will be criminalized.

There are voices loudly shouting that they know the only way. But, I believe there are many who are following their conscience and will quietly vote for Obama because he will do the most to help solve the cause of this “intrinsic evil.”

The perfect candidate

To the editor:

I have been thinking quite a bit about the, shall we say, energetic discussion held at St. John the Evangelist Church on Sunday regarding “Faithful Citizenship” and the serious obligations being placed upon Catholic voters to vote in adherence to Catholic doctrine.

The notion that a Catholic could in good conscience vote for Barack Obama was quite thoroughly rejected by a number of speakers, including most notably Bishop Marino himself, who paid a surprise visit to the forum. Obama’s positions regarding abortion, apparently, do not conform sufficiently to church teachings, and he is thus disqualified from consideration by those who wish to be considered good and faithful Catholics.

But I can’t help but be struck by the fact that was pointed out by one of the speakers, namely that both Obama and McCain are in opposition to church doctrine re: both the death penalty and stem cell research, and McCain disagrees with the church’s position on the Iraq War. It seems quite obvious to me that a Catholic who is concerned with following all of the church’s instructions—and I’m sure that Bishop Marino has no use for “cafeteria Catholics,” those who pick and choose—would have no choice but to abstain from voting for either candidate.

Or perhaps a Catholic could vote for a suitably acceptable third-party candidate (I understand Alan Keyes is still running?), or, lacking one, one might have to resort to writing in the name of someone with inarguably impeccable opinions... say, one’s bishop. Actually, now that I think about it, that would seem to be the only really safe and sin-free route for a Catholic to pursue, and somehow I feel certain that Bishop Marino would enthusiastically accept the job.

McCain for President

To the editor:

I’ve listened long and hard to all sides and aspects of the Presidential race. I feel I’ve educated myself enough to make an intelligent decision on Nov. 4.

John McCain has a long history of experience that is not marred by a lifetime of disreputable associations as Obama has, i.e. Rev. Wright, ACORN, Tony Rezko, Bill Ayers (and others). Barack Obama was elected senator in Illinois, spent only two years there, voting "present" 130 times, has been campaigning for 20 months (no experience there), and has done almost nothing for the poor voters in Illinois who elected him. Chicago alone has the highest death rate in the country this year: 400 murders in 10 months. Obama needs to stay in Illinois, build a great record of leadership, and come back to us in eight years when he can truly claim to have a record to run on. We deserve more than a nice-looking, well-spoken, charismatic man in the White house.

John McCain favors adoption over abortion.

I have listened to many people (Democrats and Republicans) who have actually had conversations with Sarah Palin and believe her to be a strong, bright, independent candidate. A heartbeat away? Sure, and I believe she can hit the ground running if need be. What worries me is the prospect of Joe Biden being a heartbeat away from the presidency. Now that’s a scary thought.

I want energy reform, less government, more jobs in the U.S., economic stability, health care considerations, less taxes, continued support for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for a strong Homeland Security force for the protection of all of us in the United States. John McCain is our man, we need him right now to step into the job on day one ready to protect, defend and support all of us. John McCain’s integrity and ability is beyond question.

I’ve made up my mind. The choice is clear this year. John McCain for President.

The mortgage crisis revisited

To the editor:

It seems to me that the moment we are in distills a great truth. For over a century socialists have argued that their policies would bring the poor up financially whereas capitalists have argued that those policies would only bring the rich down.

A brief history of the federal government’s involvement in the mortgage industry, please. The Federal Housing Administration was created in 1934. Up until then most mortgages were short, with a balloon payment after 7 or so years. Default was commonplace, so banks were hesitant to lend. The FHA guaranteed mortgages against default so capital began to flow, houses were built, jobs and homeowners created. Fannie Mae was set up in 1938 to purchase FHA mortgages.

Congress became more heavily involved when charges of discrimination were made in the 1970s, and it passed the Community Re-Investment Act in 1977. This required banks to do business in poor neighborhoods as well as middle and upper-income sections. The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, passed in 1975, made a bank’s lending practices a matter of public record.

A sense of justice is an important impetus in our society. But one has to wonder, was the bar already being bent, lowered, by banks forced to adhere to these new congressional mandates? Even so, community groups were advocating for still more, and by the 1990s, legislators began pressuring the federal government to lower its standards for home mortgages.

We tried to re-engineer society (i.e. broaden home ownership) with an artificial contstruct. Remember the old question, if a tree falls and no one is there to hear it does it make a sound? Well, yes it does because the laws of physics are the same everywhere regardless of an observer. So too economics. The old tried and true lending standards went out the window. No longer was it necessary to have a good credit score or a down payment that would make the monthly payments affordable, even a steady job. And the banks that bought into the new standard i.e. no standard, were given preferred treatment by Fannie Mae. This was all fine until the defaults started.

So the bar finally broke and I’d say most of us are poorer for it. They say capitalism is what happens when government leaves people alone. Also, capitalism is driven by greed. So let’s regulate, but not in ways that limit the economy’s efficiency. Let’s not assume that we can change the laws of economics to suit our purpose. And one more thing: capitalism helps more people, more. Wealth in the hands of ingenious men (i.e. I know a better way of producing that product) creates jobs, which in turn gives people the wherewithal to become home owners. Welcome to the middle class.

Where are we headed?

To the editor:

What have we done to ourselves? Once proud, independent, envied and respected the world over, we have become an outcast in the eyes of many.

America has decayed economically, socially and morally. We may very well go by the way of the once Almighty Roman Empire.

America was hailed by Kennedy as “The New Frontier,” by Johnson as “The Great Society” and by Reagan as “The Shining Beacon on the Hill.” Now we are none of these things.

The American people have become distressed by the ongoing and unnecessary war in Iraq, the ineffectiveness of politicians, particularly by the unproductive and worst Congress and President in history, the runaway, uncontrolled financial institutions and the unimaginable greed and corruption of Wall Street executives. The absurdity of multi-million dollar salaries, bonuses and golden parachutes is beyond my comprehension and they all saw our current situation coming like a freight train and did nothing to stop it. You and I, the common-sense working middle class, are now paying for it.

Some of us are to blame. Many have lived way beyond their means with purchases of homes they knew they could not afford, luxury cars they could not afford, a lavish lifestyle they could not afford and maxed out credit cards they knew they could never pay.

I am proud to be an American and appreciate the good America offers. However, I fear the worst is yet to come. America is weak financially, politically, socially, and yes, militarily. We no longer control our own destiny.

We now have two presidential candidates, one inexperienced and with a silver tongue, the other a tired old man, neither with a positive agenda or the ability to restore our country or our position in the world. The odds are long—let’s hope and pray for the best.

On behalf of Barryville United Methodist Church (UMC), I would like to send a very public ‘”Thank You” to the Greater Barryville Chamber of Commerce (GBCC) for all their support at this year’s Pumpkin Fest. Thanks to you, we raised $3,050 for the continued rebuilding of our church basement, which housed our fellowship hall, kitchen and Sunday School room and was destroyed two years ago during the flood of 2006. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the people who donated money that day and to the GBCC for their matching $1,500 donation. Special appreciation is extended to chamber president Jimmy Akt for his time, equipment and help with some of the repair work. We look forward to the completion of the basement and to its use by the community in whatever ways God shows us. For we know He works all things to good…