Letters to the Editor

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Cuomo exploits crash for publicity

Re Oct. 9 , front page, sub-head: “Cuomo says driver was not properly licensed.”  

Does this mean the governor himself made the calls, checked the records, did all the foot-and-finger work required to make that claim? Or is it that he instantly recognized a major catastrophe and sent his people to find out what happened and why? 

Or could it mean that Gov. Trump — oops, I mean Gov. Cuomo — seeing an event bound to be publicized, rushed to get his name in the mix, and The Gazette obligingly set that name on page one?

Phil Sheehan

Scotia

False memories lead to false allegations

In watching the recent hysteria by many groups regarding the Kavanaugh accusations of sexual abuse/rape without corroborating evidence, I was reminded of the horrible situation the McMartin family went through with the accusation of child sexual abuse at their school without any actual evidence. 

After six years, they were all found not guilty but they forever had the tag of child molesters, all because of false memories induced by poor questioning. I have no doubt that Dr. Ford believes something happened to her, but without corroborating evidence, we have too many situations where people’s memories have been changed or altered to want to destroy the man and his family.

Anthony Reinl

Schenectady 

Republicans aim to cut social programs

The U.S. economy in 2009 was heading for a very deep and prolonged recession. Bush’s tax cuts were extended and spending by the government was sharply increased. The result was a very predictable increase in the deficit. These programs greatly helped the economy recover. 

Trump inherited a moderately growing economy. Trump and the Republicans decided to juice up the economy as if there was a recession. They increased spending and passed tax cuts concentrating on the wealthy. The predictable result was an economy that’s growing at a faster rate. On the down side was an exploding deficit. For fiscal 2018, the projected deficit will be near $1 trillion, which is fiscally irresponsible and leaves the economy vulnerable. 

The tax cuts, which heavily favored the wealthy, increased campaign contributions to the Republican Party. McConnell admitted to this fact at the time. There was a secondary goal that was kept secret. House Speaker Paul Ryan has said many times he wanted to cut Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement programs. Now with the exploding deficit, he and the Republicans have a reason. 

You will hear the Republicans say on the campaign trail they will protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare, but what do they actually mean? We know they have no plans to increase taxes to support these programs. Decreasing benefits would be their only “free market capitalist” solution.

John Dworak

Rotterdam

Where are all these jobs they say exist?

The claim in the New York Times that unemployment is the lowest since 1969 isn’t true. 

Where I work at a store, they’re always cutting hours. Many of the workers are on food stamps because they can’t afford to pay their rent, which is almost $1,000 a month. Some could even be homeless. Everyone is buying everything online now. We still don’t make anything in this country; everything is made in foreign countries. 

The newspaper article never mentioned where these jobs are and what the names of the companies are that are hiring.

Concetta Cannizzaro

Niskayuna

Impressed by home visit from Ostrelich 

At 6 p.m. on the Friday of Labor Day weekend, the doorbell rang. I opened the door, and Michelle Ostrelich, campaigning for state senator, introduced herself. She knew us by name. We were a bit startled. We live in the town of Day. People at the door are a rarity.

Ms. Ostrelich gave no stump speech. She asked us what local issues concerned us. We talked about challenges to the “permit system.” She was knowledgeable about the issues and the uncertainty they created. We chatted about her opponent and her desire to bring openness to the state Legislature. I ranted about “three men in a room.” She didn’t speak in platitudes, but hoped my cynicism was unwarranted. “If we get enough new people in, we can change it.” After a bit, she thanked us for our time, and we returned to dinner preparations, and an adult beverage. 

About a week later, we received a personal hand-printed “thank you” note from her, signed “Michelle.” The memory lingered. A candidate for elected office had come to our door and chatted with us, listening and talking. There had been give and take. There was no stump speech, only a bare minimum handout.

Refreshing? Extraordinary? We’re not sure what to make of our brief time with Ms. Ostrelich, but it was thought provoking and memorable — a candidate for elective office came to our door to talk with us. What a concept. Polite, too. What a concept.

Dave Davidson

Corinth

GOP not serious about sexual assault

Recent events demonstrate that the Republican Party doesn’t take seriously allegations of sexual assault. Consider the following: Brett Kavanaugh’s partisan outburst at the Sept. 27 Senate hearings was unprecedented in the history of Supreme Court nominees. Many observers considered his rant an indication of lack of judicial restraint.

Yet, Donald Trump called Kavanaugh’s performance “powerful, honest, and riveting.” Had Dr. Christine Blasey Ford delivered a similarly partisan and angry performance, Trump would have most likely described her as a “nasty woman” who was under the influence of her menstrual cycle.

During a rally in Mississippi on Oct. 2, Trump mocked the sexual assault testimony of Dr. Ford. The implications of his comments were that when it came to allegations of sexual assault, “young men in America,” not women, were at risk. In this context, it’s noteworthy that on Oct. 5, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to an African man and an Iraqi women for their activism against sexual assault.

The limited FBI investigation released on Oct. 4 found “no evidence to corroborate” Dr. Ford’s allegations. This result should have been expected when one considers the length of time it took to “corroborate” the sexual assault allegations against Larry Nassar, Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein

 Allegations against these men were only confirmed through extensive and lengthy investigations. How could the allegations of sexual assault against Judge Kavanaugh be fairly evaluated in a few days?

In their haste to seat Judge Kavanaugh, Republicans have applied a double standard when it comes to allegations of sexual abuse.

Shame on Trump and his Republican cohorts.

Don Steiner

Niskayuna

Holocaust memorial needed as reminder

The Catholic Church donates land, a Jewish dentist wants a Holocaust memorial, and this plan is ending up in limbo. Opinions in The Gazette expressing opposition are: “Not in my back yard;” use the Saratoga Battlefield. Another says, “It’s too shocking;” Make it easier and more pleasing to accept. The list goes on from there.

My opinions are: Is this needed? Yes. Ask any teenager, or 20- to 30-year old, what the Holocaust was. If not of Jewish faith, some will say, it was some sort of video game. Some countries in the Middle East go so far to preach that the Holocaust never happened and is just Zionist propaganda. This memorial is needed to make sure no one forgets this terrible part of history.

Why at this location? This isn’t a museum; this is a memorial. A memorial should be in plain sight and not put away someplace where people only visit once in a rare while so their conscience can say, “See, we did something good.”

Why so stark, causing shock and awe? This was a horrific time in the history of the world. Millions were put to death for no reason other than being born into a different religion.

No video game, this was murder, on a scale most incomprehensible. Shock and awe is needed to remind people, and to never let it happen again, to any race, religion or creed. However, even now this is happening to minority groups all over the world.

Bob Nicollella

Glenville

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Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion