For public’s safety, stop at stop signs
Ann Parillo’s comments in her June 16 letter (“Stopping at red lights isn’t optional”) regarding red lights are equally applicable to stop signs.
Apparently, there are a lot of people who believe that if it is an inconvenience to stop, then the rules of the road can be ignored.
There is an intersection in my neighborhood in which stop signs are constantly violated. I have witnessed a near miss between an inattentive child bicyclist and a violator. I myself have experienced two near misses by violators.
Numerous appeals to the local police department for random monitoring have fallen on deaf ears. Some drivers are so inured to stop sign violations that they don’t even slow down.
You must drive defensively at all times.
Marc Duquette
Glenville
Peaceful transfer of power is in jeopardy
A quote from the headline article in the June 13 Daily Gazette (“Enough evidence uncovered to indict Trump?”): “Legal experts have said a Justice Department prosecution of Trump over the riot could set an uneasy precedent in which an administration of one party could more routinely go after the former president of another.”
If we do not prosecute Trump for his efforts to remain illegally in office — including attempts to cajole Georgia Secretary of State Brad Rathensperger into “finding votes” and inciting an attack on the Capitol to interfere with the governmental process of officially counting and certifying the victory of his opponent — a precedent will be set that may forever change our assumption of a peaceful transfer of power following elections.
Which would do more harm to our democratic institutions?
Under our legal system it is difficult to indict a former president. An ex-president innocent of the charges against him should find it easy to stop a contrived prosecution.
However, if we cannot prosecute a former president for crimes he committed while in office, he is above the law and there will be little left but violence to constrain an out-of-control chief executive.
Also, consider this from June 13’s Rolling Stone: “Donald Trump in recent months has been telling confidants that he may launch his 2024 presidential campaign early – he’s considering launching it in Florida to stick it to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
One source said Trump’s motivation is to show the governor ‘who the boss is’ in the modern day G.O.P.”
Anthony J. Santo
Rotterdam
Santabarbara there as a strong partner
I ran for office to serve on the Amsterdam City Council because I was determined to make a difference in our community. I’ve also worked with many community organizations and non-profit organizations over the years, and I know great partners when I see them. I’m proud to say Angelo Santabarbara is one of them.
Anyone who lives in Amsterdam knows that Angelo Santabarbara has always been here to support our community in any way he can. He’s delivered on fully funding our schools, made many of the investments we are now seeing in our roads and bridges, and no one works harder for people with disabilities.
Right through the pandemic, he was there to ensure kids with special needs and people with disabilities were not left behind.
Most importantly, he cares about the people he represents.
Wherever and whenever we see Angelo, he always makes time for us, and he shows up when we need his help. I’m pleased to endorse his re-election for state Assembly this year, and Amsterdam voters should mark their calendars for this year’s primary election on June 28 and go vote to keep Angelo Santabarbara as our representative.
Kelly Quist
Amsterdam
The writer is an Amsterdam City Alderwoman.
Officials undercut Dems in Niskayuna
I am a 10-year Democratic Committee member writing about a disgraceful situation in Niskayuna.
A small group of people, including Town Supervisor Puccioni and state Senate candidate Michelle Osterlich, has initiated primaries against hardworking Niskayuna Democratic Committee members. Some are hiding in the shadows the way they hid behind Niskyfails, a website riddled with rumors and innuendos.
Michelle Osterlich, who was appointed to the County Legislature, has had one failed and a current Senate campaign, is involved in a primary against those committee people who supported her.
The same applies to the Town Supervisor. Can you trust politicians who turn on supporters?
This pathetic chapter demonstrates the challengers do not want inclusiveness.
I am not being primaried, but 21 committee people are, including a wheelchair-bound woman, a senior citizen, a union member and a young woman elected to the Democratic National Convention.
They had a committee member, suffering from an autoimmune disease, removed from the ballot over a technicality. They convinced their neighbors to sign petitions for unknown challengers.
What possessed this crew to go after committee people who have worked for years to elect Democrats? Power! They want minions who can be controlled.
Linda Rizzo
Niskayuna
U.S. needs less of AR-15s and Trump
In my opinion, the AR-15 automatic is a weapon of war and should only be available to the military.
No purchases should be allowed for anyone else, anywhere, at any age.
The NRA couldn’t care less about the tragic deaths of innocent Americans. The almighty dollar is more important to them.
Wake up, Americans, it is past time to elect lawmakers who really care.
Donald Trump was the first, and I hope the last, person to enter politics without even an hour of experience. His four-year reign of terror and misdeeds ended with a violent insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
He is responsible for deaths, serious injuries and destruction to the U.S. Capitol. If he isn’t permanently prevented from holding office again, there goes our democracy forever.
Jane Reisenger
Schenectady
We must take action to save the planet
Lately, Rep. Elise Stefanik has been propounding “Replacement Theory,” which is a load of piffle.
She should spend her energy on supporting the Ukrainians, or encouraging clean energy, since if we don’t mitigate global warming, our other issues are moot.
In a book by Henry Mance, he said, “Human extinction is not a ridiculous concept.
“In 1947, the organization “Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists” created a Doomsday Clock in an attempt to illustrate how close humans were to destroying the world with technologies of our making.
“Humanity was four minutes to midnight in the early 1980s when I (Henry) was born. By 2020, scientists had reduced the time remaining to 100 seconds.”
In his book, “Planetary Overload,” AJ McMichael states that the 20% of the wealthy currently account for 80% of global consumption and waste, and three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions. This is us.
Our country is rich, and though most of us don’t see ourselves as wealthy, we surely are by world standards.
We need to curb our consumerism and waste, and conserve fossil fuels. Because we see it advertised on TV, doesn’t mean we have to buy it.
Perhaps if we weren’t so consumer-oriented, we could save money, and help to save our planet and our lives at the same time.
Jahnn Swanker-Gibson
Johnstown
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Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion
More great letters today on the sad state 45 left us in. While I was riveted by the testimony of Rusty Bowers on Tuesday during the Hearing, I was shocked when he said he would vote for 45 again. Really? After 45 purposely trashed our “divinely inspired” Constitution with a violent attempt to overthrow our Republic where people were killed, willing to sacrifice his own VP’s life and his family, with MAGotts terrorizing his neighborhood and his family–his dying daughter upset in her last days, vulgar sexual messages to his wife, etc. Bill Barr & McConnell said they would vote for him again, too! No matter how bad you may perceive President Biden, his main mission is to save our Constitutional Republic and democracies around the world. As I’ve asked so many times before…what could be more important than that?!
I’d vote for Trump again too.
Jahnn Swanker-Gibson And 500 AD in now Yemen there was such a drought that all crops died and it brought in the Muslim religion. There have been droughts and ice ages throughout history. What will destroy this world is plastic, China and India taking barges with millions of tons of garbage and dumping it in the ocean every year will kill us eons before so called global warming. You do know that the earth does not take a perfect equal path around the sun right? The earth gets closer to the sun and farther away from the sun every so many years. That’s why we have droughts and that’s why we have cold weather some years.
Jane Reisenger Do you know what AR-15 stands for? Armelite 15th model design. You can buy a .223 and it’s the exact same rifle without a pistol grip. A .223 is actually a small caliber rifle that has almost no kick like a 22 caliber round. Education is a great tool.
A .223 FMJ-SC (NATO standard 5.56 mm) round travels at ~3200 fps and can penetrate 1/4″ steel plate at 100 meters with ease. This is a round favored by many who shoot the AR-15 civilian equivalent. A .22 rimfire travels at about a third of the velocity and just bounces off same steel plate. An AR-15 has no kick solely because it has an internal recoil buffer spring in the stock. It allows shooters to stay on target firing multiple rounds (such as in combat). A normal .223 bolt action does not kick much anyway. When a .223 round strikes a human body it tends to tumble around inside creating ghastly wound cavities as it was designed to do. It may create a small hole going in, but it will mess you up inside travelling through the body along a path of least resistance. You obviously have no first-hand experience in such things so perhaps you should educate yourself before telling others to do the same.
Actually I have much much more experience than both of you. and although the 5.56 can be used in a .223 it is a completely different bullet with a totally different load.The cartridge is used by the M16 and M16A1 rifles. The cartridge is intended for use against personnel and unarmored targets. This item is a training standard item used in both training and combat.This cartridge can be fired by the M249 machine gun, but accuracy is degraded; therefore, it should only be used in emergency situations.The M193 cartridge has a bullet with a copper alloy jacket and a lead antimony alloy core. The cartridge is identified by a plain bullet tip.Type Classification: STD – AMCTC 5143. Type Classification Date: 1975.Unit cost: $0.24 (Fiscal Year 2005).Typically, the bullet has best penetration at 150 to 200 yards. There is a tendency for the bullet to yaw and fragment at ranges of 50 to 100 meters.The links give you all the details you need.The following common barriers in urban areas stop a 5.56mm round fired at less than 50 meters:
One thickness of well-packed sandbags.A 2 inch (51 mm) non-reinforced concrete wall.A 55 gallon drum filled with water or sand.A small ammunition can filled with sand.A cinder block filled with sand (block will probably shatter).A plate glass windowpane at a 45° angle (glass fragments may be thrown behind the glass).A brick veneer.A car body (round will penetrate but normally not exit).
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A Florida woman shot and killed a man after he broke into her bedroom while she was asleep and attacked her Tuesday morning, authorities said.
The woman called 911 around 8:45 a.m. from inside her Clearwater home in the 1600 block of Flagler Drive as she struggled against the intruder, Clearwater Police Chief Dan Slaughter told reporters.
Slaughter said the dispatcher heard the scuffle before the woman was able to grab her lawfully purchased gun and fire at least one shot, FOX13 Tampa reported.
How dare she defend herself!
Here we go again quoting one of the most far left magazines in publication as pure unbiased fact, but yet criticizing anyone who uses a far right source of any kind. The hypocricy is absolutely amazing and is typical of liberal ‘thinking’, if you want to call it that. I am concerned over the unhealthy obsession of these letter writers who don’t seem to be able to get over Trump. Where is the criticisim of The Godfather, possibly the worst president of all time including Carter and Obama? After all fair is fair, both are, in my opinion, horrible people. The only difference is Trump is way more intelligent than Joey, of course so is my sneaker, and when Trump was in office there was no war, no crazy expensive fuel, no stock dropping like stones, etc. etc. But whatever, that darn trump.