Massacre coincides with casino opening
A bit of history: During King William’s war, on Feb. 8, 1690, a large group of French soldiers and their Indian allies came down from Canada and attacked the village of Schenectady. They killed 60 residents and approximately 60 more were taken captive. Twenty Mohawk Indians were spared to show the quarrel was with the English.
A bit of irony. It has been announced that on Feb. 8, 2017, the (Mohawk) Rivers casino will have its grand opening here in Schenectady.
A bit of nervousness. It is possible this date (Feb. 8) may have additional adverse effects on our community?
James Kirby
Schenectady
Colleges should play at each other’s arena
I have been a local college athletic director at Schenectady County Community College for the past 29 years and I have an easy solution for my colleagues John D’Argenio at Siena and Mark Benson at UAlbany about what they should do when the current contract expires between them in 2017 — continue this great local rivalry home-and-home. It is as simple as that.
Play twice a year — once at the Times Union Center downtown and once at the SEFCU arena on the UAlbany campus. The atmosphere for Sunday’s game at the SEFCU was electric — you can’t beat an on-campus game.
It reminded me of the great atmosphere Siena had years ago playing on campus at the ARC. That atmosphere has been lost now that Siena plays downtown, but is understandable since Siena’s fan base has outgrown that wonderful on-campus site. Why is Siena playing Arkansas Pine Bluff and UAlbany playing Division 3 SUNY Oneonta? Set aside one date each year to play at your place — that can easily be done. Duke and UNC do it. Cameron Indoor only holds about 10,000 for basketball and the UNC Dean Center holds over 23,000. UNC is not asking Duke to play at their place three times to Duke’s one at Cameron, and Siena shouldn’t be asking UAlbany to do the same. What’s fair is fair. It is time for Siena to see that if this great rivalry is to continue, then home-and-home is the solution.
That way, everyone will be happy and the real winners will be the great local hoop fans of the Capital District — including myself. Go Saints and go Danes.
David M. Gonzalez
Schenectady
Electoral College not reflective of real vote
I’m a firm believer that the Electoral College system needs to go. It disenfranchises the majority of voters. In New York, for example, anyone whose vote didn’t go for Clinton saw their vote not matter, as there was never a chance New York’s electoral votes were going anywhere else but to Clinton.
Unless you’re in a swing state, the Electoral College tally is predetermined. Technically, it’s still a democratic process, but realistically, the die is cast long before the candidates are finalized. That needs to end. My vote needs to count, and the only way to do that is nationally, not regionally.
That said, don’t be so sure that the popular vote is entirely accurate as counted under the Electoral College system. My vote for a third party candidate is commonly called “throwing away my vote.” Nevermind the fallacy of that. I may have considered voting for Trump if I didn’t already know where the electoral votes were going.
Alternatively, although I voted, many who decided not to vote for Hillary stayed home. And many people voted for Hillary simply because they knew she was going to take New York and didn’t want to “waste” their vote.
Bottom line is that votes were cast (or abstained) in a variety of ways that possibly, or likely, would have been cast otherwise if there was no Electoral College. The same goes in any non-swing state, regardless of which side of the aisle it falls.
If you’re a Clinton supporter, you can take a moral victory in a majority of the popular vote. But the reality is that the tally would be different if the Electoral College system weren’t in place.
Additionally, I was dismayed to see your Nov. 22 editorial comic of Trump and his kids playing with the nuclear button. Only a buffoon would believe he’s going to nuke the world, and any political cartoonist who panders to that silliness should never be printed. Make fun of real faults, but don’t pander to the unwashed masses.
Pete Gipp
Princetown
Never Trump still has important role to play
Anyone who thinks that President Obama’s gracious behavior toward Donald Trump signals the end of the “Never Trump Movement” needs to be quickly disabused of this notion.
Those of us who are acquainted with Trump’s history as a cutthroat, bigoted businessman who degraded women, and who listened to his malicious, contemptuous comments toward Sen. McCain, a Gold Star family, women, Muslims, immigrants, the disabled, et. al, not to mention our foreign allies, have too much respect for the ideals of this country to roll over and accept this demagogue as our leader.
Frankly, many of us recognize Hillary Clinton was a flawed candidate despite her superior qualifications. And both major parties have paid little attention in recent years to many needy folks in our Rust Belt, making them vulnerable to the phony promises of a charlatan. Shame on us.
Nonetheless, I am saddened that so many fellow Americans were willing to overlook the moral and ethical bankruptcy of Trump’s character, not to mention his lack of qualifications, and offer him to the rest of the world as our leader.
As somebody who experienced the Civil Rights movement of the ’60s and the anti-Vietnam War movement, I understand the power of people committed to a righteous cause. Much of what was accomplished in both endeavors came as a result of organized grassroots political activism, where relentless protests, marches and legislative lobbying were the order of the day.
As New York Times columnist Paul Krugman reminded us on Friday [Nov. 18], elections determine who gets the power, not who offers the truth. This, then, I see as the role of the Never Trump Movement.
We shall serve as a vigorous and aggressive loyal opposition committed to blocking Trump’s agenda on immigration, health care, women, the Supreme Court and other initiatives we consider in conflict with the American ideals and to support him when we believe he is embracing those ideals.
Robert K. Corliss
Schenectady
Agree that patients must be listened to
Bravo to Lisa McHeard of Schenectady for her Nov. 25 letter, “Listen to family of Alzheimer’s patient.”
My thoughts and my heart go out to her. I’ve been there and done that. The medical community needs to learn to listen to the patients’ families.
Be adamant, Lisa McHeard. Good luck.
Edward Wilson
Altamont
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Categories: Letters to the Editor
