Letters to the Editor

PHOTOGRAPHER: Letters to the Editor

Make an effort to help save the planet
On Nov. 26, as I watched NASA’s transmission of the landing of the Insight Mission vehicle on the planet Mars, with rows of NASA personnel clapping as each stage was successfully completed, I could not rid my mind of environmentalist Bill McKibben’s statement in his recent New Yorker article: “In the face of our environmental deterioration [here on Earth], it’s now reasonable to ask whether the human game has begun to falter—perhaps even to play itself out.”
Science has given us the ability to land a vehicle on Mars; science is also telling us the window is almost closed for us to clean up our act here on Earth if we want it to be habitable for our descendants.
Fellow Earth-dwellers, all, please do what you can: Be informed and become engaged in restoring the environment.
Spread the word of this greatest of needs.
Hugh Nevin
Slingerlands

We must help our fellow human beings
I’ve been reading in The Daily Gazette the half page story about the caravan. People began in Honduras walking toward the United States. Many are now in Mexico. It’s a picture of hope, desperate hope, for a better life.
I suppose that this is like other times and places where people have had to migrate. Dangerous.
Governments aren’t always sympathetic or are strongly opposing such movement.
My ancestors came to America by boat a few at a time, without opposition. How fortunate they were. How fortunate we are now for their successful immigration.
I read that the administration is opposed to this immigration. Earlier, it had even separated families. That’s not right.
We’re talking about human beings, children of God, neglected and opposed.
The government, our beneficial government which we love, should find a way for these immigrants and help, even financially. They need a place to live. We’re God’s people. They are God’s people. How dare we not help them.
In the Heritage Foundation’s November 2018 calendar, there’s a picture of a serviceman holding a child in his arms.
The boy and he are both looking up at one of several American flags in two rows. The boy is holding a small American flag in his left hand. A picture of love of country and of developing love of country.
Citizens do love our country. We are greatly blessed.
George W. Thiessen
Glenville

Amazon giveaway will hurt business
Columns in The Daily Gazette by Sara Foss expressing distaste of the New York state give-away to Amazon is distaste upstate New Yorkers feel. Our area has grown homelessness and food banks while getting rid of factories and manufacturing. In New York City, there are even people who appear to be living on the streets, or at least definitely they are begging.
It’s hard to believe that these people, either in New York City or here upstate, will benefit from the state’s giveaway to Amazon. Upstate, will be paying taxes to support this giveaway.
Tough Traveler in Schenectady is a local designer/local manufacturer. We are glad to have Amazon as one of our sales outlets.
But New York state, not Amazon, is damaging our effort to continue to manufacture in New York instead of going to China and other countries offering cheap labor, cheap benefits and lax environmental regulations, as our competitors did years ago.
Also on the New York state giveaway to Amazon, the Mayors’ Conference last week discussed getting taxes on sales made in New York to customers outside New York. We already pay property taxes, local sales taxes and state sales taxes. Now we should pay taxes on our sales to other states? Just add that to our new Amazon taxes.
Nancy Gold
Schenectady