Biden inherited Trump’s failures
In response to Vince Alescio’s April 24 letter, (“Even Trump would be better than Biden”), please consider first whether a president inherits a country on the upswing or in the hole.
Obama inherited an economy hanging over a cliff and dug us out.
Trump inherited a stable, growing economy and a 50-year low of illegal immigration at the border.
Biden inherited:
• the pandemic with sick, dying citizens from ten months of disinformation and lies, with no plan of vaccine distribution.
• a crashed economy.
• a politically divided America from misinformation, lies, and “alternative facts.”
• billions of damage from climate change which millions of Americans don’t even believe is real.
• severe racial and social clashes.
• hollowed out U.S. agencies, positions, and Institutions.
• damaged relations with foreign allies.
• an insurrection orchestrated by our own president and members of Congress.
We are coming out a global pandemic, which has a lot to do with gas prices and inflation.
Now Putin’s war and China’s continued shutdowns have kept us from further recovery.
I’m not saying Biden doesn’t deserve criticism; just be fair about all these serious issues he’s dealing with every day, and consider his accomplishments so far: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/01/19/fast-facts-record-firsts-in-president-bidens-first-year/
But his main goal is to stand up for democracies over authoritarianism.
What could be more important than saving our own constitutional republic?
Shame on Mr. Alescio for claiming that Trump would be better — the one to this very day trying to tear it down.
Joanna DeSilva
Scotia
Why dodge hearing on water meters?
I find it insulting to the residents here in Rotterdam that the town board voted down a resolution to hold a public hearing on their water meter plan at their last meeting, and all three of the new members that were just elected last November were the ones that voted no.
With all the unanswered questions about the town’s water meter plan, a public hearing is exactly what we needed.
This is a big issue here in our town that will now likely cost us millions of dollars and add a new tax here in Rotterdam. At the very least we deserve this opportunity to have our voices heard.
Instead, we are all still waiting for answers, gathering little bits of information from the news and talk around town.
At this point, residents should be asking themselves, why would these town representatives vote against a public hearing?
David Kruk
Rotterdam
Headed for a major crash over climate
Bringing a vehicle to a stop from 55 mph takes time. Just how much time depends on several factors, including wheel traction (rubber wheels, steel wheels, etc.) and condition of the surface on which it is traveling (dry pavement, wet pavement, steel rails, etc.). But the most important factor is the weight of the vehicle.
An average car weighs a little more than a ton; a loaded tractor-trailer truck weighs about 40 tons; and a loaded freight train comes in around 4,000 tons. In an emergency, it takes about six seconds to stop a car traveling at 55 mph. It takes about nine seconds to stop a loaded tractor-trailer truck at the same speed. But by the time you get to the 4,000 tons of a loaded freight train, it takes 25 times as long to come to an emergency stop, or about 2.5 minutes.
The Earth’s atmosphere weighs about 5,500,000,000,000,000 tons and we are adding about 40,000,000,000 tons of CO2 to it each year. We have not yet succeeded in slowing down our rate of adding CO2 to the atmosphere at all. In fact, we have been adding more and more CO2 each year.
In effect, we are stomping on the accelerator of a vehicle now weighing over five quadrillion tons! How long will it take us to start putting on the brakes? How long can this go on before we kill ourselves in a huge crash?
Dave Furman
Niskayuna
Tomisman best for Nisky school board
My thoughts when I first heard that Judy Tomisman was running for Niskayuna school board was, “Wow, how awesome for the school district and she would be awesome in that role!” I first met Judy when I was a teenager and then reunited with her at Eastern Parkway United Methodist Church while leading a youth group together.
Judy grew up in a home that was committed to helping others and being involved in the community.
Judy and her husband raised four children in the district, and she has been involved in several community organizations such as Niskayuna High School PTO, Niskayuna Youth Football and Cheer, Niskayuna Community Action Organization and Niskayuna Community Foundation, just to name a few.
With 30 years of love and commitment to the Niskayuna Community, Judy will be a dedicated member of the Board of Education. She has the ability and experience to advocate for the voices of the students, parents and staff. Judy dedicates herself to any endeavor she pursues and will be committed to this role and to making sure the school community is one of safety, equity and excellence. Get out and vote!
Tymesia Nabors
Schenectady
Changes could affect emergency calling
We manage a low-income senior housing project located in Burnt Hills.
We have a major concern that has been brought full-focus to our attention that will potentially have a very serious issue for any institution that has a 911 alarm monitoring service or if you have a POTS — or plain old telephone system connected via copper phone lines.
In decades, I have never known it to go down where one could not get dial tone — that is with copper landlines. This will all change if Verizon Direct has its way and only fiber is available for one’s phone service.
A question needs to be asked and hasn’t been satisfactorily answered yet to my knowledge. What if power is knocked out regionally and your 911 alarm system doesn’t alert, as there is no power to the system?
Battery backups last eight hours, but we have easily had outages that last over 24 hours. What happens to remote areas? If power and cell towers are knocked out, do you send smoke signals? Your alarm system is worth nothing with no power — no call to 911. I have lost Spectrum phone service during a power outage.
So the question needs to be answered. If Verizon chops off support for copper phone lines, will you be able during an emergency event be even able to call your child or 911, because you can on a POTS line. This is a very untenable issue that definitely needs to be re-examined.
Kristine Collie
Saratoga Springs
Expect more damage from border policies
President Biden reportedly may lift Donald Trump’s last remaining border restriction next month.
I don’t think so. I don’t think it’s going to happen.
There are a long list of Democrats who are having second thoughts about lifting Title 42.
They know that a million-migrant surge would destroy them in the November elections. When all Republicans and so many Democrats oppose a new surge, you know the president faces yet another crisis of his own making.
I’m inclined to say, so what? The migrants are on their way. They’re not going to turn back. They’ve paid their money to the cartels. And it’s the Democrats who encouraged them. Now they realize what they’ve done.
I hope they stop screaming racism at anyone who opposed an open border. I hope they stop ignoring the fentanyl that floods across the border, killing hundreds of thousands of their constituents.
I hope they take another look at sanctuary cities and states. And I hope they understand the damage they have done to the sovereignty of our country.
You won’t hear much about this. The rest of the media shows very little interest. Of course, they don’t. Remember kids in cages? Border agents ‘whipping’ migrants? All unfounded emotional ranting.
Look what the left and their media helpers have done: millions of undocumented immigrants, a flood of drugs and the occasional terrorist!
Chaos. Regardless of Title 42, the damage has been done, and more damage is on the way.
Domenico Dicaprio
Voorheesville
Want more info on cardiac machine
While I was sorry to hear that a giant in scientific endeavors and innovative businesses has died, I was appreciative of your tribute to Carl Rosner (“A survivor, then a pioneer”) in the April 24 Gazette.
I had no idea of his near death experiences as a child in Nazi Germany. When I heard him speak at the Schenectady Public Library years ago, I felt sure that the heart evaluation system CardioMag was promoting would become standard in hospitals and with cardiologists.
I thought it vastly improved from what was happening to me and others in need of cardiac evaluations.
Look at what the business website claims for the evaluative technique: “These unique sensors are placed an inch above the patient’s chest when they are lying down.
We then measure the heart’s electrical activity in real time. By examining the data automatically with sophisticated software that determines if the signals are normal or if there are any abnormal signals, this is an indication of abnormal heart function, including blockages, insufficient blood flow, and many other issues.”
Please give readers an updated report on this amazing but seemingly neglected means of noninvasive yet highly accurate patient care.
Betty Pieper
Scotia
Right responds to rational arguments
In his April 21 letter to the editor (“Still waiting for the right to respond,”) Paul Sator wonders why those “on the right” never respond to his liberal assertions.
Perhaps it is the deep and personal insults he hurls, in lieu of rational arguments.
To his claims:
1) The vast majority of abortion opposition is motivated by protection of the little, helpless person whose life is terminated by the procedure. The key question: At what point does a fetus become a human being and deserve the protections accorded thereof?
2) There is a gap between “persecution” of transgender people and wanting to let children grow past the age of 8 without being conditioned on this issue; or allowing medical professionals to perform permanently damaging treatments on children.
3) Why should Sean Hannity be water-boarded? Because he defended the practice? Should anyone who defends imprisonment of violent felons be put in prison?
4) I won’t defend the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But unlike Russia in Ukraine, the United States did not intentionally slaughter non-combatants. Outrage at the slaughter in Ukraine is not hypocritical.
Norman Perazzo
Glenville
Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion
