Focus on message calling for equality
Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion No man who asked for and received five draft deferments should question the patriotic values of any other person. We know how that person truly feels about defending America. When his name was called, he headed for the hills. I’m talking about Chicken Stuff Trump. I served three years in the U.S. Army and don’t regret those three years, nor do I expect a pat on the back. I was glad to do it then and am glad that I did it now.The pledge to the flag ends with, “liberty and justice for all.” Not just rich people, not just white people, not just men, but all. I believe that America is the greatest societal concept in history. But we haven’t perfected that concept.Any person who feels that they are not included in “all” is being disrespected by the greater populace that ignores his pleas, and he shouldn’t be faulted for pointing out his exclusion. If, and when, that discussion is held, it shouldn’t be led by someone who didn’t answer when his country called and kept not answering four more times.Some have questioned the platform of protest. I’m reminded of the old sales adage, “He who has a thing to sell and goes and whispers in a well, will not make as many dollars as he who climbs a tree and hollers.” The NFL is a damn big tree. The problem is that the message wasn’t well received, so it was twisted by someone who has excelled at getting out of doing the right thing.I don’t pretend to know how to resolve nor lessen prejudice. But pretending it doesn’t exist will not get us closer to perfecting our country.Frank ElflandCharltonMore from The Daily Gazette:EDITORIAL: Beware of voter intimidationPolice: Schenectady woman tried to take car in Clifton Park hours after arrest, release in prior the…EDITORIAL: Find a way to get family members into nursing homesEDITORIAL: Urgent: Today is the last day to complete the censusEDITORIAL: Thruway tax unfair to working motorists
We’d like to thank our friends and neighbors in the city of Schenectady and the surrounding towns of Niskayuna, Glenville, Scotia and Rotterdam for their support on May 12 with our 26th annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Your generosity was overwhelming. You can take pride in knowing that a local shelter or food pantry will be able to provide essentials to local families in need over the coming months due to your contributions, which topped 40,000 pounds.This annual food drive involves thousands of letter carriers across the country and has grown to be the nation’s largest one-day food drive. Last year’s collection of 75 million pounds of food nationwide means that, with your help, we’ve provided approximately 1.6 billion pounds of food for needy families since this program began. Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion Hunger in America isn’t isolated to one region or ZIP code. Some 42 million Americans live daily not knowing where their next meal may come from. Thirteen million children and more than 5 million seniors face hunger each day. Our letter carriers take great pride in distributing your contributions to resouces right in our local community, and the rest of our postal family support and applaud their efforts.But their success is only possible with the support of local residents recognizing the need and pitching in with donations. It’s inspiring to witness our local communities and the Schenectady postal employees working together to combat hunger. Thank you and have a wonder summer.John R. ReillyWilliam B. CooSchenectadyThe writers are, respectively, postmaster and president of NALC Branch 358, AFL-CIO.More from The Daily Gazette:Schenectady High School senior class leaders look to salvage sense of normalcySchenectady’s Lucas Rodriguez forging his own path in dance, theater, musicSchenectady police reform sessions pivot to onlineMotorcyclist injured in Thursday afternoon Schenectady crashEDITORIAL: Thruway tax unfair to working motorists
Kudos to Tom Williams’s May 19 letter which, in one concise paragraph, boiled down what is so very wrong with the Trump administration and its wannabe dictator. Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion With apologies to feline fanciers, you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting Trump or someone associated with him who a) has Russian connections; b) is enriching him/herself at the expense of the American taxpayers; and c) is supremely unqualified for whatever position he/she holds. Like dirty air and water? Pruitt’s your man. Ryan (“drill, baby, drill”) Zinke is another. Mick (“consumers don’t need no protection”) Mulvaney is yet another. The list is endless. They. Don’t. Care.Trump, known for his mean-spirited name-calling, deserves one of his own. Let’s call him “Drop’em, Spanky” (Thanks, Stormy). Lincoln had his team of rivals; Spanky has his team of toadies. If you don’t agree with Spanky, you’re fired, hence the yes men/women surrounding Spanky. That includes Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan and most of the Republican Congress — men and women who are complicit in their refusal to challenge this guy. New normal? There’s nothing even remotely normal about Spanky or this administration.Spanky swore to uphold the U.S. Constitution, a document he’s probably never even read. He has no understanding of the rule of law, no respect for the office of the presidency, and finally, absolutely no idea how to govern. He has mistaken the bully pulpit for bullying. The answer to all this corruption is vote in November. It won’t solve all the problems, but it’s a start.Cynthia SwansonNiskayunaMore from The Daily Gazette:EDITORIAL: Beware of voter intimidationPuccioni’s two goals help Niskayuna boys’ soccer top Shaker, remain perfectEDITORIAL: Thruway tax unfair to working motoristsFoss: Should main downtown branch of the Schenectady County Public Library reopen?Niskayuna girls’ cross country wins over Bethlehem
More from The Daily Gazette:Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s press conference for Sunday, Oct. 18EDITORIAL: Urgent: Today is the last day to complete the censusEDITORIAL: Thruway tax unfair to working motoristsEDITORIAL: Find a way to get family members into nursing homesEDITORIAL: Beware of voter intimidation Categories: Letters to the Editor, OpinionGrateful for bus law to make kids saferDuring the 2019 legislative session, lawmakers took vital steps to make sure that our school children will be safe when they are getting on and off of school buses by enacting “The School Bus Camera Safety Act.”The legislation authorizes the mounting of cameras on school bus “stop” signs that are extended when buses stop to pick up or drop off school children.In Niskayuna, for example, the school district is now authorized to enter into agreements with the municipalities that share the district’s geographical borders to operate and monitor the bus cameras.The State Association for Pupil Transportation estimates that motorists pass stopped buses up to 50,000 time per day in New York. Yes, 50,000 times per day.While the fine for driving around a stopped school bus when the stop arm is out and the red lights are flashing is $250, prior to the passage of this law, drivers could only be ticketed by a police officer who witnessed the illegal maneuver. Now a videotaped image is sufficient to impose the fine.The safety of our children is paramount, and I applaud our lawmakers for taking these steps to further enhance their safety and make drivers more mindful of stopped school buses and the children moving to and from them.Rosemarie Perez JaquithNiskayunaMainstream media all in against TrumpMueller was a bust, Kavanaugh number two as well. So the Democrats desperately needed a diversion because the attorney general’s and inspector general’s office were on the verge of releasing damning reports on the origins of the Russia hoax and the Clinton’s bought-and-paid-for Steele Dossier.The so-called “whistleblower complaint” (which looks like a partisan smear orchestrated by Schiff and his cronies) was totally embraced by the mainstream media: CBS, NBC, ABC and especially CNN and MSNBC.Many years ago, things were much different. Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, John Chancellor and other greats from that era would check facts and sources before going on air.They were basically neutral and would let the facts drive the story. Not so today. All of these news outlets start out biased against Trump and get worse from there. Any alleged wrongdoing against Democrats is ignored or pooh-poohed, while any alleged wrongdoing against Republicans merits wall-to-wall coverage.There were many Obama scandals such as Uraniumgate, Fast and Furious, IRS, air traffic control, spying on American Citizens and others that the mainstream news media absolutely refused to cover. And when they did, they did so in a superficial manner.Hilariously, they dismiss the latest Biden scandal as debunked. Really? By who? Biden?The Gazette’s coverage suffers, because of its tie-ins with the New York Times and The Washington Post. It wasn’t that long ago that this newspaper called itself “The Independent Voice of the Capital Region.” My, how times have changed.Ken TrumanAlbany
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To access this article REGISTER NOWWould you like print copies, app and digital replica access too? SUBSCRIBE for as little as £5 per week. Would you like to read more?Register for free to finish this article.Sign up now for the following benefits:Four FREE articles of your choice per monthBreaking news, comment and analysis from industry experts as it happensChoose from our portfolio of email newsletters
To access this article REGISTER NOWWould you like print copies, app and digital replica access too? SUBSCRIBE for as little as £5 per week. Would you like to read more?Register for free to finish this article.Sign up now for the following benefits:Four FREE articles of your choice per monthBreaking news, comment and analysis from industry experts as it happensChoose from our portfolio of email newsletters