Letters to the Editor

America needs to  go in a new direction 

We live in a country gone mad. This realization arrived as I watched CNN’s Wolf Blitzer ask Sen. Rand Paul how can we stop sending weapons to the Saudis in support of the war in Yemen, when it means a loss of revenue and jobs for America?

This was then parroted days later by President Trump in response to the brutal murder of the Washington Post journalist in a Saudi embassy. Reportedly, the man with the bone saw to dismember Jamal Kashioggi was the crown prince’s personal bodyguard.

Wasn’t money and jobs the argument to frack New York?  Forget about the environmental destruction and water pollution. Somehow we’ve managed to scoot by without fracking up New York.

Once, we hid behind the facade of making the world safe for democracy. That was back when we were making saints out of martyrs in El Salvadore. Today, we experience the fallout as we separate as many as 6,000 families at the border. This administration is planning to step up that lovely operation. Must be profitable.

Don’t we have other ideas we can work on? What happened to rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, supporting our public schools, a green new deal? Is Trump’s next big idea to bomb Iran? America the beautiful has turned into America the disgusting.

Deborah Krol

Fultonham

 

Regarding all of those liberals who are having conniption fits because Donald Trump refers to Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas” over her phony claim to be Native American: The so-called entertainer Madonna expressed her desire to blow up the White House — and she clearly meant “with Donald Trump in it.” (She followed that vicious statement with a proclamation that she believes “in love” for those who collect really stupid statements from public figures.)

Johnny Depp and Sean Penn have both spoken openly about an actor coming forth (ala John Wilkes Booth) to kill the president.

Robert DeNiro got up before an audience of Broadway professionals and spouted “F*** Trump” to rounds of applause.

In any other country in the world, the four of these people would probably be in prison. Yet all four are moving freely about and making their millions while the left screams that Donald Trump is taking away our rights.

So, where is the liberal outrage about hateful and violent calls to action? Instead we get liberals’ outrage over a woman whose claims to be a minority were lies and who has been roundly denounced by real Native Americans. And we get charges that the satirical name is “racist.”

Anyone who still fails to see the incredible double standard that liberals and their flacks in the media are using regarding political discourse and is not outraged surely — as the saying goes — is not paying attention.

Michael Nardacci

Albany

 

How can we explain female support for a president whose only reaction to women who assert themselves is to call them foul names? Apparently these women — the political descendants of Phyllis Schafly — really want to live in a male-dominant society. Or perhaps they’re simply too afraid to oppose the men in their lives. Sadly, as Jill Lepore writes in “These Truths,” such male-chauvinist tirades have been a recurrent theme in U.S. history. 

Ted Thompson

Schenectady 

 

Mr. Bill Marincic’s Oct. 16 letter [“Support cops when they admit mistakes”]  is rather confusing.  Yes, we support cops when they do good. But, when they do bad?  Forget it. And, why? Because it seems that the cops all look out for themselves, even when they’re knowingly wrong.

How about gaming the retirement system in one’s last three years of employ?  How about the cops who bring in their unseemly domestic abuse problems to work? Or, when someone is beaten to a pulp in their charge? And, what about all those PBA-sanctioned “overtime” hours that go over the mayor’s budget?

We’ve seen it time and time again, without repercussions. If one does get admonished, you’d never know because from the public safety commissioner on down, their stance is and has been: “no comment.” Wait, we pay for this?  

I found Sara Foss’s honest judgment of our embattled police and its overseers to be right on. Keep up the honest investigative reporting, Sara. They don’t like you in City Hall, I’ve been told, because you unearth dirt most don’t or can’t or won’t. All we want, for those of us who pay for it, is an honest-to-goodness police department — in all dealings. Is that too much to ask for?

Gerald F. Plante

Schenectady

 

Thank you for printing the article listing President Trump’s quotes regarding women. Hopefully his supporters will remove their rose-colored glasses to read it. His comments are so demeaning and cruel they wouldn’t be tolerated in a school or workplace.  The office of the president should set the example of respect and civility toward everyone, everywhere. This man gives none and deserves none. 

Virginia Newton

Glenville

 

It’s important to consider how this election will affect the Capital District and the state for many years to come. Particularly in the state Senate, it comes down to whether we keep our representative government alive with a true checks-and-balances system or go to one-party rule.

In the Senate race for the 49th District, we need a strong leader with common sense, integrity, fights in the face of corruption, isn’t part of the establishment and has a proven track record of yielding positive results regarding some of the toughest issues facing our state. That person is Jim Tedisco.

Jim is an outstanding public servant. He took the lead on real property tax relief for upstate homeowners, the Common Core Parent Refusal Act, Buster’s Bill, Proposition 2, saving taxpayers $13 million by going digital, and most the Safe Water and Infrastructure Action Program. Jim has also been an outspoken advocate for missing and abducted children and for children who are bullied with Jacobe’s Law.

He has always stood up and fought for his constituents.

Independence, effectiveness, experience and leadership are what we need in Albany. That’s why we need to keep Jim Tedisco as senator in the 49th District.

Judy Wagner

Glenville

 

I watch a least four local news shows a day and two network news programs and, of course, read the local papers. I’ve been watching with interest the overblown commercials in the Faso/Delgado match-up. Both adversaries and/or their friends doing commercials are calling each other a liar on a regular, nauseating basis. I now leave my answering machine on 24/7 and don’t pick up, as the many election robo calls in general are getting to be a nuisance.

I wish someone totally unbiased would explain who is twisting which fact. From what I see/hear, Delgado qualifies as a carpetbagger. He was born here, but spent most of his life elsewhere, just as his time spent in ultra-liberal New York City tells me all I want to know about him. Being a foul, big-mouthed rapper is just another reason to disqualify him in my book.

David G DeMarco

Hadley