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Legal fees could have gone to pensioners
As chairman of the SCPRA (St. Clare’s Pension Recovery Alliance), I have tried to answer as many questions as I can.
But when I can’t answer the question, I usually confer with our attorneys. Every single one of these attorneys are pro bono.
So that means that we, the pensioners, have never paid one single penny to these attorneys. And yet they’re working feverishly, every single day to help us recover our very well-deserved pension that was stolen from us.
My question here is how much money has the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and the Saint Clare’s corporation been paying out to their attorneys all these years?
While the St. Clare’s pensioners themselves have been being assisted by AARP legal aid in their volunteerism of other attorneys, the church and St. Clare’s are paying excessive fees to their lawyers. It seems to me that money should have been going to the pensioners and they wouldn’t be dragging this out, going on five years.
Maybe that’s an illusion, but to me it makes perfect sense because it’s shameful for these attorneys to be charging the outrageous amounts for hourly fees that they do when we have been going without our pension and therefore affecting our mortgage, rents, groceries, gas for cars and medical bill issues.
What has happened to these people that they have lost their morals and ethics?
Mary Hartshorne
Ballston Lake
Waste from fusion would be dangerous
Because of my involvement in fusion energy research for over 50 years, I read with interest The Gazette column of Dec. 17, (“Fusion energy is starting to look real”) which appeared in Bloomberg Opinion.
The column’s assertion that a fusion reactor would produce “no dangerous waste” is incorrect. In fact, a fusion reactor would produce large amounts of “dangerous waste,” as noted below.
The fuel in a fusion reactor would be a mixture of the hydrogen isotopes, deuterium and tritium. Deuterium is a stable isotope, but tritium is radioactive.
Very large amounts of tritium would be required to fuel a fusion reactor.
Handing and containing the tritium would present a serious technological and environmental challenge. Tritium is also present in water-cooled fission reactors, but the amount of tritium in a fusion reactor will be thousands of times greater than in a fission reactor.
The products of fusion reactions are helium and neutrons. Helium is benign, but neutrons are not.
The neutrons will interact with the structural components of the reactor and produce radioactive byproducts.
These byproducts will have to be isolated and stored in a manner similar to that which we use to deal with the radioactive byproducts from fission reactors.
The radioactive byproducts from fusion will not involve the very long-lived radioactive species derived from uranium and plutonium in fission reactors, but they still will have to be isolated and contained.
Thus, fusion reactors would not be free of dangerous waste and would require the handling and containment of large amounts of radioactive species.
Don Steiner
Schenectady
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Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion, Opinion, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady
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I voted for Biden/Harris (Train wreck) and as a small/minority owned business (as federally classified) there is nothing positive I can draw upon to think my vote was the right one.
My workers and I are getting out stripped by inflation on every pay check. That is after we as managers gave the largest Cost of living adjustment since I have been in charge of our US operations.
On the worker side everyone is paying more for fuel, groceries, home heating, etc. On the business side our clients have shelved projects due to higher interest rates, we are paying drastically more for diesel fuel, for equivalent financing, for health insurance for our employees. Our ongoing projects in TX, AZ and CA have been broken into (job trailers and tool sheds) at an unprecedented rate by individuals coming across the border. So if we can’t admit our borders and that system is broken we just aren’t being honest with ourselves.
Personally my 401k is 1/2 the value as it was in 2020 as I’m sure everyone that has a private 401k is.
I would suggest that you all read articles in the WSJ when it comes to global inflation and true inflation. While the US economy is around 7.7-8.1% true inflation Europe & Asia is 3.7-4.1%.
Yesterday or the day before you pointed to accomplishments – sure getting back into Paris Accord was great, bi-partisan pork and spend bills?? For whatever reason the liberals or progressives thinks that funding these “green” projects will drive the bus. If they make no economic sense they will result in a net zero impact on cleaning our environment.
Clean Energy – wind, solar, nuclear. Google what a lithium strip mine site looks like & tell me that is good for mother earth. Review the wild life that is killed by wind turbines and solar arrays. Our electric vehicles and hybrids are still pulling the vast majority of their charge from fossil generated power – because instead of a slow plodding plan we had to rush into forcing closure and shutdown, thus driving up heating costs and energy across the globe. Unemployment numbers as we all know are false flags – people falling off don’t get counted, ppl working multiple jobs skew numbers down.
Yes – the Republicans as witnessed over the last 8 days are a train wreck as a party, and since 2015 or 2016 they have been lead by crazy politicians. The over turning of Roe V Wade is not acceptable (while I do think that fired up the democratic base and allowed the holding of the Senate).The attack on our Democracy was horrific and should never be tolerated. Again, no one would have gained this absolute power if there were term limits in place.
Another thing that has happened which Mr Musk has uncovered was the FBI and President Biden’s sons laptop. The US has been meddling in foreign elections since the 1950’s – propaganda, causing coups, etc. The Twitter information or things that weren’t allowed to go public shows me that our highest law enforcement arm management is not acting impartial. This is unacceptable. Again – because of the lack of term limits we can see how senior officials can become corrupt.
Finally we are looking at US Senators and US congress people that entered office with little to no generational wealth and paid six figures and are retiring worth 9 figures.
I can be honest with myself because I am not drinking any Republican or Democrat Kool Aid. These politicians are bad – we have created a system that perpetuates returning incumbents back to offices to enrich themselves, create programs to try an strengthen their base and we as taxpayers just keep footing the bill.
Term limits are the answer.
Mr Vendetti calm yourself fortunately the sky is not falling and our democracy is firmly in place. I TOO VOTED for Biden Harris and would do it again in a minute watching the crapshow congressional election of a speaker this past week confirms what a bullet we dodged throwing that loser damsel Donnie out. As to inflation European inflation rates are closer to 10 % but since we are in the US I wish them Luck and will not work myself into a hysterical state over that tragedy .Fortunately my private 401k has not plummeted as far as yours has. Challenges face all generations we as a resilient nation will prevail. GOD HAS TRULY BLESSED America smile dude try to find something positive in your otherwise miserable life have a great day.
Well sadly you keep calling it a democracy we are a constitutional republic. So before you start calling out people know what our country is to begin with.
the so called crap show you seen with the speaker vote is refreshing to see that the new republican representatives are pushing out the old guard corrupt politics. This is not the first it has happened and hopefully not the last. As some entrenched politicians are the cause of our woes. They been able to circumvent due process through committees and push through whatever agenda they want. So the debate is good thing and not rubber stamping the turtle Mitch or the witch Pelosi. Maybe now they will follow the proper process for bills becoming law. Maybe this will remove the special interest money. The speakers party in the past win or lose they still push self enrichment polices for their own pockets and the laundered money trickles through the ranks of congress. How do you think the congressional and senators gain their wealth. The push through omnibus last minute spending. They push our country further into debate. They bring ridiculous spending bills hours before a vote and force / bribe members to vote without any time to read or debate the crap they stuff into the spending bill. Remember Obama shovel ready trillion dollar infrastructure budget passed, how about the affordable care act /Obama care. Pelosi came out and said let’s just pass it and then we’ll see what is in it. This is the issue with our government and you calling it a democracy.
A democracy is like 7 wolves and 1 sheep in the room deciding what they are going to have for dinner. The sheep people the citizens. This is not the only time in history there was a drawn out debate.
At the conclusion of the longest and most contentious Speaker election in House history, the House elected Representative Nathaniel Banks of Massachusetts as its presiding officer for the 34th Congress (1855–1857). Sectional conflict over slavery and a rising anti-immigrant mood in the nation contributed to a poisoned and deteriorating political climate. As a sign of the factionalism then existing in the House, more than 21 individuals initially vied for the Speaker’s post when the Members first gathered in December, 1855. After two months and 133 ballots, the House finally chose Representative Banks by a vote of 103 to 100 over Representative William Aiken of South Carolina. Banks, a member of both the nativist American (or “Know-Nothing”) Party and the Free Soil Party, served a term as Speaker before Democrats won control of the chamber in the 35th Congress (1857–1859). Banks retired from the House to serve as governor of Massachusetts.
“Sadly” you often sound like the guy at the end of the bar at 2:30am, proclaiming himself a constitutional scholar before he relieves himself in the corner.
For the record, not that you care: we’re a constitutional republic run as a democracy. And everyone can see you all have a problem with the word “democracy”.
1. Passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package to increase investment in the national network of bridges and roads, airports, public transport and national broadband internet, as well as waterways and energy systems.
2. Helped get more than 500 million life-saving COVID-19 vaccinations in the arms of Americans through the American Rescue Plan.
3. Stopped a 30-year streak of federal inaction on gun violence by signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that created enhanced background checks, closed the “boyfriend” loophole and provided funds for youth mental health.
4. Made a $369 billion investment in climate change, the largest in American history, through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
5. Ended the longest war in American history by pulling the troops out of Afghanistan.
6. Provided $10,000 to $20,000 in college debt relief to Americans with loans who make under $125,000 a year.
7. Cut child poverty in half through the American Rescue Plan.
8. Capped prescription drug prices at $2,000 per year for seniors on Medicare through the Inflation Reduction Act.
9. Passed the COVID-19 relief deal that provided payments of up to $1,400 to many struggling U.S. citizens while supporting renters and increasing unemployment benefits.
10. Achieved historically low unemployment rates after the pandemic caused them to skyrocket.
11. Imposed a 15% minimum corporate tax on some of the largest corporations in the country, ensuring that they pay their fair share, as part of the historic Inflation Reduction Act.
12. Recommitted America to the global fight against climate change by rejoining the Paris Agreement.
13. Strengthened the NATO alliance in support of Ukraine after the Russian invasion by endorsing the inclusion of world military powers Sweden and Finland.
14. Authorized the assassination of the Al Qaeda terrorist Ayman al-Zawahiri, who became head of the organization after the death of Osama bin Laden.
15. Gave Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices through the Inflation Reduction Act while also reducing government health spending.
16. Held Vladimir Putin accountable for his invasion of Ukraine by imposing stiff economic sanctions.
17. Boosted the budget of the Internal Revenue Service by nearly $80 billion to reduce tax evasion and increase revenue.
18. Created more jobs in one year (6.6 million) than any other president in U.S. history.
19. Reduced healthcare premiums under the Affordable Care Act by $800 a year as part of the American Rescue Plan.
20. Signed the PACT Act to address service members’ exposure to burn pits and other toxins.
21. Signed the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen American manufacturing and innovation.
22. Reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act through 2027.
23. Halted all federal executions after the previous administration reinstated them after a 17-year freeze.
The above are all accomplishments of the Biden administration. I assume you voted for Biden because he supported the Democratic platform which included the above accomplishments. Why then, do you say, “I voted for Biden/Harris (Train wreck) and as a small/minority owned business (as federally classified) there is nothing positive I can draw upon to think my vote was the right one.”
The above comment is addressed to Joe Vendetti.
Thank you Mr Santo excellent fact filled summary liars got to bray and he is lol
Anyone who has lost 50% of their investments over the past two years must have made some incredibly poor choices. We need to say it over and over again, inflation is an international problem and we are handling it much better than most countries. We have a growing number of jobs and a historically high rate of employment. We are rebuilding our infrastructure and there are many investment opportunities available to grow your nest egg. Get a good adviser in a a major brokerage. I have done very well following the advice of Charles Schwab.
Joe have you forgotten the repeated devastation of the environment by various oil spills, fracking, coal mining, oil exploration etc? Are you old enough to remember the Exon Valdez spill? There is no comparison between environmental damage done by the development and use of fossil fuels and clean renewable energy sources.
Jesus Christ could tell these Trump loyalists that Biden is doing a great job and they wouldn’t believe him. They would still spew false equivalencies to satisfy that their devotion to Trump is warranted. There are only a few brain cells separating Mr. Bill 🤡 Mr. Brandon 🤡 and Mr. Vendetti ….They all spew the same nonsense just in different ways.
Regarding what Joe Vendetti posted:
“What is the government definition of a small business?
It defines small business by firm revenue (ranging from $1 million to over $40 million) and by employment (from 100 to over 1,500 employees)”
If that’s a small business what do you call a one man barber shop or a ma and pa grocery store? During the trump years my business had 18/20 employees, and we paid a lesser proportionate amount of corporate taxes than under Obama. We put more money in our pockets as a business. Do greedy employers “trickle down” this money to the employees? No, I doubt it!
I didn’t vote for trump, never would , and have absolutely no regrets for not voting for him. For me, It’s about so many more things that are far more important than my corporate profits, starting with democracy and equality.
Apparently who ever manages your 401K does a poor job.
The year opening price for the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 2020 was 28,868.8. The opening for 2023 was 33,241.71. I’ve made money in the past three years.
“Our ongoing projects in TX, AZ and CA have been broken into (job trailers and tool sheds) at an unprecedented rate by individuals coming across the border.”
You’re sure of this? We’re they apprehend, brought to trial and convicted?
Theft, Is an inherent problem on all construction sites. I’ve had a $7,500 floor sander, and entire pallets of wood stolen from construction sites in Clifton Park.
A long way for migrants to walk, or perhaps they were bussed to Clifton Park by Abbott.
“The US has been meddling in foreign elections since the 1950’s”, which means what, it’s ok for Vladimir Putin to help put trump in office?
Rah, Rah, Musk, Bidens laptop. You’re a hard-core Republican Joe.
BTW, I’m all for term limits.
Joe Venditti writes an opinon that is filled with his personal experiences. Anthony Santo makes a counter point and you have debate, cool. Then you have insecure Christophe Stalka making his lame insult that Joe’s life is miserable. It sounds to me Joe has a good career going thats facing challenges in this economic climate. That in no way means his life is miserable. Whats miserable is Christophe and his daily bs, grow up little guy and join the debate. Your little yapping insults are lame and bring absolutely nothing to the table. If you think thats not fact, go back and read this daily forum for 7 days and tell me if Im wrong.
Christophe’s first comments:
Saturday -Big billy such a sad obsession LIARS gotta start the braying.
Friday – Let’s go brandies your outrage at every aspect of your apparently miserable existence is pitiful perhaps Hunter biden will make an appearance today to perk you up in the meantime you have another day of LYING bray on lying donkey boy. Most of us are thankful for what we have been blessed with Lie on. Thank God for Biden Ana NATO!
Thursday – Let’s go brandies hyped up on the special coffee creamer already mommy let Brandy stay up late watching the Mccarthy crap show so now a day filled with stomping his maryjanes and whining about Hunter whom i think he has secret crush on Brandy the crap show continues today Biden called it an embarrassment you braying liars embarass yourselves dailyy once a LIAR always a LIAR.
Wednesday – Let’s go brandies starting the day off with another set of whoppers what’s the price of that special coffee creamer today dude? try to keep the LIES down DONKEY LIAR no one believes the crap you make up daily toddle off to your coffee klatch. Have a special day
Tuesday -Mr Davis while yesterday’s commentary on the opinion page may have given you the impression LYING is acceptable it isn’t. A quick simpleton search shows France has contributed over 1 billion in aid to Ukraine. What does it buy us a better world of free people as to ms. Griner She’s free I wish her the best and yes i hope she makes millions I’m pretty sure she will do great things with it rather than spread lies calm your self sir the US people support Ukraine and freedom have a blessed day with your mud balls
Most of the time when someone jumps on the liar name calling bandwagon, they themselves are lying. In this particular case you have a grown man who hides his insecurities with constant insults. He doesnt have the intellectual ability to debate anything so he resorts to name calling, which he thinks levels the playing field. In reality, it makes u look like a complete moron and only accepted by his tribe of liberals. Do better Christophe, show the world you actually know something and maybe then you can join the big boys club. Maybe your mentor can tudor you for a small fee or do it pro bono.
There were two great comments today from Joe Vendetti and Let’sgoBrandon, the only problem I had was Joe saying that the last eight days were a train wreck for Republicans. We watched democracy in action. This is what a constitutional republic is, we do everything in front of the American people and let them see for them selves. What those 20 holdouts did was force Kevin McCarthy to change things that were put in place by Nancy Pelosi, and her 3000 page bills. They will vote on term limits, they will vote on making the economy and our spending so that America becomes financially independent again. And here we have the blind mice donkey clowns like Santos, posting all of these copy and paste Joe Biden talking points that ante either absolute lies or are actually hurting the people that pay the bills, the taxpayer. Unbelievable, now we can let the attacks continue on us moderates.
Come on Tony, realize all of the great accomplishments of the Biden administration, that you so accurately noted are meaningless. They’re are all negated because he has a slight speech impediment.
Lets see if he’ll pull the profound “Bray on” comment out of his front pocket. Countdown – 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5.
Exactly Steven, I don’t expect it to happen, I have been telling him the same thing under his last two names before this one. This is what he does, it’s the only thing he knows; he’s the cheerleader for everything wrong with America. I happen to love America and I think that last week with the speaker of the house election was the best thing that has happened in Congress in at least a decade.
Lou. I would bet that if I posted those same accomplishments and the President was a Republican, Anthony would be chiseling every single item word by word. Thats how it works, you tear down the other side no matter if the policy is good or not. If our guy’s not in charge then its a failed policy. Politics in the year 2023.
Lou/Chris/Guy/Anthony – I have never called you a liar, questioned your intelligence just being honest from my perspective. I’ve found that people that have to result to this type of attack in communication lack self confidence.
We are allowed to have differences in opinions without it spiraling into name calling and insults.
As a COO of a $57 million business that employs over 425 workers I think I have a different opinion from retired school teachers, other retirees, etc.
I’ll put my responses after.
1. Passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package to increase investment in the national network of bridges and roads, airports, public transport and national broadband internet, as well as waterways and energy systems. (I’m interested to see where, when, etc any shovels hit the ground because since this impacts my business I’ve seen no RFP for old bridge demolition, road improvements, etc)
2. Helped get more than 500 million life-saving COVID-19 vaccinations in the arms of Americans through the American Rescue Plan. (Maybe I’m wrong but wasn’t this started in prior administration)
3. Stopped a 30-year streak of federal inaction on gun violence by signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that created enhanced background checks, closed the “boyfriend” loophole and provided funds for youth mental health. (Yes and I can see how well this is working – gun violence up across the US)
4. Made a $369 billion investment in climate change, the largest in American history, through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. (Again what this actually is – I will have to wait and see)
5. Ended the longest war in American history by pulling the troops out of Afghanistan. (True – wasn’t a pretty exit that has left many in that region unhappy but definitely thought this was necessary)
6. Provided $10,000 to $20,000 in college debt relief to Americans with loans who make under $125,000 a year. (This never occurred- it was talked about and got a group of voters fired up but was never inacted)
7. Cut child poverty in half through the American Rescue Plan. (No results that are measurable)
8. Capped prescription drug prices at $2,000 per year for seniors on Medicare through the Inflation Reduction Act. (True and very popular)
9. Passed the COVID-19 relief deal that provided payments of up to $1,400 to many struggling U.S. citizens while supporting renters and increasing unemployment benefits. (Ridiculous inflation balloon)
10. Achieved historically low unemployment rates after the pandemic caused them to skyrocket. (No impact ful when inflation is where it js)
11. Imposed a 15% minimum corporate tax on some of the largest corporations in the country, ensuring that they pay their fair share, as part of the historic Inflation Reduction Act. (Hurts more the. Help)
12. Recommitted America to the global fight against climate change by rejoining the Paris Agreement. (true and good)
13. Strengthened the NATO alliance in support of Ukraine after the Russian invasion by endorsing the inclusion of world military powers Sweden and Finland. (True & Good)
14. Authorized the assassination of the Al Qaeda terrorist Ayman al-Zawahiri, who became head of the organization after the death of Osama bin Laden. (True and Good)
15. Gave Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices through the Inflation Reduction Act while also reducing government health spending. – no idead
16. Held Vladimir Putin accountable for his invasion of Ukraine by imposing stiff economic sanctions. (Isn’t working as oligarchs found ways around sanctions)
17. Boosted the budget of the Internal Revenue Service by nearly $80 billion to reduce tax evasion and increase revenue. (Maybe this will work)
18. Created more jobs in one year (6.6 million) than any other president in U.S. history. (Not true)
19. Reduced healthcare premiums under the Affordable Care Act by $800 a year as part of the American Rescue Plan.
20. Signed the PACT Act to address service members’ exposure to burn pits and other toxins.
21. Signed the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen American manufacturing and innovation.
22. Reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act through 2027.
23. Halted all federal executions after the previous administration reinstated them after a 17-year freeze.
despite the constant braying Ill agree Biden is doing a great job great progress. if watching fools attack each other for a week is something good in your eyes so be it but thats not democracy in action in my opinion. And Ill go with Santos list Im no CFO but if your losing 50 % of you IRA in 2 years youre getting real bad advice. lie on braying donkey
Sorry – accidentally hit done –
18. Created more jobs in one year (6.6 million) than any other president in U.S. history. (Not true as these were bounce back jobs that were already in place)
19. Reduced healthcare premiums under the Affordable Care Act by $800 a year as part of the American Rescue Plan. (True and Good)
20. Signed the PACT Act to address service members’ exposure to burn pits and other toxins (True and good).
21. Signed the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen American manufacturing and innovation. (True and Good)
22. Reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act through 2027. (Wasn’t this already done – reauthorizing it does what)
23. Halted all federal executions after the previous administration reinstated them after a 17-year freeze. ( why would we want this halted?)
Steven Flynn:
“Most of the time when someone jumps on the liar name calling bandwagon, they themselves are lying.”
So let’s talk about donald trump, OK? Oops
You’ll go with Santo’s list, why? Did u research it or is it because Anthony wrote it so it must be true? If its the latter then I hope you’re not an investment banker handling other ppl’s money.
Joseph Vendetti
January 8th, 2023
Lou/Chris/Guy/Anthony – I have never called you a liar, questioned your intelligence just being honest from my perspective. I’ve found that people that have to result to this type of attack in communication lack self confidence.
As a typical Republican you’re doing a great job of twisting things and implying things that are not.
I did not call you a liar, I did not question your intelligence. It is you have insulted me by implying I lack self confidence, because I “attack”ed you, when I did no such thing. I don’t agree with what you said, I posted my “prospective” and apparently you didn’t like it, and therefore felt it necessary to insult me.
What about Donald Trump Lou? Tell us again for the 100th time. Is that the best you can do? Surely a man of your age can come up with something other than Donald Trump, maybe not. It’s almost like the default card when you’re being called out is Donald Trump.
And Lou, talking about twisting things. Here’s what Joe said “Lou/Chris/Guy/Anthony – I have never called you a liar, questioned your intelligence just being honest from my perspective. I’ve found that people that have to result to this type of attack in communication lack self confidence.”
Where in that does he say Lou Restifo lacks self confidence? If u actually read it the reference was “in general” Nice try Lou.
Mr restifo I tend to go with a person’s history if every other post is a lie like the herd does I’m with Mr Bob give me Santos list anytime. If I can call you a liar based on fact you know youre a liar bray on little stevie save your feigned outraged for some one who might give a crap or stop lying dudes
Steven Flynn:
“Most of the time when someone jumps on the liar name calling bandwagon, they themselves are lying.” So let’s talk about donald trump, OK? Oops
Steven Flynn
January 8th, 2023
What about Donald Trump Lou? Tell us again for the 100th time. Is that the best you can do? Surely a man of your age can come up with something other than Donald Trump, maybe not. It’s almost like the default card when you’re being called out is Donald Trump.
No Steve, he’s not the “default card”, he announced his candidacy for president in 2024. That is very relevant to this forum and world events. He’s is in every day politics as we speak. He is continually lying so why are you afraid to comment on it? I’ll tell you why, because you have TDS – Trump Devotion Stupidity.
And if you’re actually serious about the following comment, I can only shake my head.
Apparently you don’t understand what an implication is.
Steven Flynn
January 8th, 2023
And Lou, talking about twisting things. Here’s what Joe said “Lou/Chris/Guy/Anthony – I have never called you a liar, questioned your intelligence just being honest from my perspective. I’ve found that people that have to result to this type of attack in communication lack self confidence.”
Where in that does he say Lou Restifo lacks self confidence? If u actually read it the reference was “in general” Nice try Lou.
Additionally you have comprehension issues, because as I previously said, I didn’t Attack Joe, call him a liar or question his intelligence. My name should never have been in his post. Got it?
Thanks to Messrs. Vendetti and Santo for providing some sane, substantive and seasoned counterpoints. My observation is that one’s skeptical excesses is balanced by the other’s glossing. But both are thought provoking and intelligent.
~~~
I’d like to also put in a plug for Farheed Zakaria’s opening statement today for his show “GPS” on the failure of populist movements around the world, including here in the US. It’s not the first time he’s spoken out on this but it is an updated version and worth the five minutes.
No, i dont have it angry man.
I never called Joe Vendetti a liar. I enjoyed reading his take on the accomplishments I listed and agree with Chuck that this is what we should be doing. I do want to remind Joe that he said “there is nothing positive I can draw upon to think my vote was the right one.” He agrees that some of the items on the list are accomplishments of the Biden administration, so he had not thought through that statement before he posted it. I’ll respond to some of his comments on the items in the list:
1) Build Back Better is funding projects all over the country including our area.
2) The vaccine was developed during the Trump administration by medical scientists and researchers but Biden set up the infrastructure to actually deliver the vaccine to doctors, pharmacies etc. and ultimately to the American people. That is the job of the executive branch.
3) There is much more to do. Biden has tried to renew the ban on assault rivals or at least make sales to those under 21 illegal but Republicans and Democrats controlled by the gun lobby prevented this and other measures.
6) He did this by executive order and the judicial branch said he lacked the authority. Congress, due to Republican opposition, never managed to pass the necessary legislation.
9) This helped stimulate the economy and keep people housed and fed.
10) Most people with a job would disagree.
11) There are too many corporate loopholes. This helps close the budget gap and keep taxes lower for the rest of us. It is,in a word, fair.
15) Look into Joe. Prior to this Medicare had to pay whatever the Big Pharma demanded. Why? Because they have a powerful lobby. Now, with Medicare the biggest drug purchases, we should see prices more in line with those in the rest of the world, much lower.
16) It is working. Many of the Oligarchs have their assets in foreign countries frozen and unavailable. They don’t like that.
18) I’ll give you that one: Biden cited the raw number of jobs created which was bigger than any previous year for which data is available. The percentage increase in 2021 did not set a record. Since 1940, the percentage increase seen in 2021 was exceeded 10 times.
21) The VAWA was set to expire. This package of programs to help victims of violence needed to be renewed to continue.
23) I’ll let the families of innocent victims of the death penalty speak to that. It is, of course, an opinion however, I found this on Wickipedia, “A variety of individuals are claimed to have been innocent victims of the death penalty. Newly available DNA evidence has allowed the exoneration and release of more than 20 death-row inmates since 1992 in the United States, but DNA evidence is available in only a fraction of capital cases.” In addition, by modern standards, I see it as “cruel” and therefore contrary to the 8th amendment.
Steve, why don’t you follow Joe’s example and post about your views and positions on current events rather than limiting yourself to ad hominem attacks? It is actually far more productive and enjoyable. I
You are very wrong in this post Steve. Why you make the assumption you do about me, is a mystery. “Lou, I would bet that if I posted those same accomplishments and the President was a Republican, Anthony would be chiseling every single item word by word.”
My views are generally progressive. I have consistently called for higher taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations, elimination of deductions, gun control legislation, programs to help those in need, the right for Medicare to bargain with Big Pharm for drug prices, strong support for aid to Ukraine and actions against Russia, international cooperation to mitigate climate change etc. Have I not? I would support any administration working toward these goals.
Tony, he has difficulty grasping the concept that you speak and vote on your individual, independent principle beliefs, not just falling in line with any one particular party.
Anthony:
Good point(s). The administration does have successes as all Administrations do. I wasn’t saying I would rather have President Trump – that ship had sailed & sunk.
If the FBI hadn’t subverted stories, laptop, etc about President Biden son maybe it would be Michael Bloomberg in office instead of Biden.
I am very frustrated by constantly trying to blame others for mistakes. President Bidens press secretary- we inherited a mess at the border???
1.) if that were true – why wait 2 years and 2.6 million migrants to filter into this country and 497 million fentanyl tablets???
2.) He appointed VP Harris to head up the attack or plan and nothing has happened instead of more waves of ppl.
Take some responsibility for higher fuel prices. Heard more excuses covid, putin, oil companies – come on – just do better – no one wants to step up and say we erred but will do better. It would be refreshing.
Finally – this student loan thing in inherently unfair. Its unfair to people that just paid their loans off, its unfair to entrepreneurs who started businesses without college but did it on credit cards, its unfair to trade school participants. Plus, where will it end? In 2022? 2023? 2024? What group will be the chosen group to get student loans paid off?
Lou, another common mistaken belief is that the two parties are the same. Actually, they hold very different views on almost all the important social, environmental, and economic issues confronting us. Of course, I align with Democrats but certainly not with Joe Manchin or Kristin Sinema. On most of the issues I am left of the Democratic center, aligned more closely with Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren than with “Blue Dog” Democrats. I think Democrats generally think more for themselves than Republicans and are willing to criticize their own. That is why it is a “Big Tent” party. They don’t fall in line behind demagogues like Joe McCarthy or Donald Trump. How else can one explain the inability of the MAGA posters to admit Trump is lying when he says the election was rigged against him? How else can one explain the Democratic rejection of Al Franken for a minor sexual offense that happened before he was elected and was part of a bad joke while the Republicans cling to Trump whose sexual transgressions make Franken’s seem like nothing?
Perhaps, someday, the Republican party will once again be the party of men like Eisenhower, George Will, Adam Kinzinger, Liz Cheney, John McCain, John Kasich, Christine Whitman, Carla Fiorina, and Colin Powell. But, don’t hold your breath. Trump’s control over the base of the party is resulting in support from Republicans who can’t stand him but are unwilling to speak out against him because of the impact it would have on their careers.
Joe, From NBS News (12/9/22) on the Biden administration’s attempt for better border control:
“As the Biden administration braces for the record number of migrants crossing the southern border daily to rise still more when Covid restrictions end this month, the Department of Homeland Security wants more than $3 billion from Congress to fight the surge, money Republicans may not be willing to approve.
Three senior DHS officials familiar with the planning say DHS sent a request for billions to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. A source familiar with the matter said the White House has now asked Congress for more than $3 billion. The money comes on top of the president’s budget requests as part of a fiscal year 2023 technical assistance package.
Republicans have been reluctant to approve additional funding for the Democratic administration’s border efforts, saying they want the border secured before more money is spent.
In a statement, a White House spokesperson said, “If Republicans in Congress are serious about border security, they would ensure that the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security have the resources they need to secure our border and build a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system.”
In addition, the senate Republicans are using the filibuster to prevent any debate on a comprehensive approach to border control and immigration.
I believe there should be taxpayer funded education through graduate school. Some people can’t go to college for financial reasons; that is a terrible waste of human resources. Developing everyone’s full potential would boost the economy more than anything else I can think of. Of course, private colleges and universities would be an alternative.
I do agree that cancelling student loans now presents thorny problems. Why should those who can easily make the payments get off scot-free? How is this fair to potential college students who chose not to go to college because they didn’t want to take on the debt? And I agree, it seems unfair to those who borrowed money under government programs for other reasons. I must add however, that payroll protection loans were forgiven and many outspoken officials against forgiving student loans, Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene among them, are against any form of student loan forgiveness. Perhaps we could simply forgive the interest and thus lower the monthly payments and/or the time needed to pay the loan back. I still believe that those under a certain income level should have the loan totally forgiven.
Just want to add: as someone who paid off >$76,000 in student loans (with some difficulty, but on my own), I have no problem with others having their loans forgiven. I wish there’d been an internet when I was in high school but that was a gleam in DARPA’s eye then. Such is life. My parents probably wish there had been calculators.
I can say the student loan system is a very unfair system that has very little interest in creating productive citizens. For and example: My understanding is that a student loan will stick to you even through bankruptcy when other kinds of consumer debt can be discharged. Lucky student loan lenders.
And if not enough with the current crop of Rebublicans, we have DeSantis in the wings. Literately staining at the bit to announce. He announces almost every day here on small local “conservative” issues he is going to fix. Schools are big. Start young to be a “conservative” there are so many old white guys and gals with comfortable retirements (thanks to unions and the democrats) from the mid west and north east it plays very well.
FL2015, maybe one of his most egregious political blunders will be actually yanking Disney’s protected status, all because they don’t hate the gays the way he does. He’s been quite open about that.
Say what you will about Disneyworld’s status in Florida, there aren’t any corporate entities there that bring in as much revenue. Great idea to treat them like a 7-11 franchise.
i wonder if any first hand advice was provided last week In a scene reminiscent of the violent Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, in the U.S., supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed their Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace Sunday in the capital city of Brasilia.
I ask all on here to read the LTE at the top. Stop whining about this and that who’s not truthful, my 401 went down, inflation , price of gas, wa, wa. Who would want to be in those peoples position? That was a issue when we left NY in 2015 and they are still being screwed over. Where is the church? Where are the politicians? Gazette, get the politicians and church officials on record as to why this can’t be fixed.
Bob, fascists are fascists, whether in America or Brazil, Germany or Italy, 2020’s or 1930’s. We set a terrible example for fascists in every country of the world on 1/6/21.
I believe we all need to scale down our energy consumption and waste but while transitioning consider this:
“Which is worse lithium mining or oil drilling?
Mineral mining certainly creates local adverse environmental impacts, but overall, drilling and refining and transporting oil are worse. Lithium mining can have significant adverse environmental impacts, but there are potential solutions to these problems. Nov 2, 2022
Is lithium mining worse than coal mining?
As with all mining, there are concerns about lithium mines, but some experts overstate the potential environmental cost while neglecting to mention a big advantage: mining for lithium is much cleaner than mining for coal. Lithium is also much more efficient.” Yale Climate Connections
Let’s be clear about who’s most worked up about lithium production: the grease and lubrication industry, who happen to be closely tied to the oil industry, or course. These kinds of corporate dinosaurs (no pun intended) who dominate our culture and our finances are feeling the heat of what a mass migration to more sustainable, cleaner sources of energy would mean for them. And well they should.
If they want to continue to exist and thrive they could be transitioning away from fossil fuels but they don’t tend to think much outside their corporate bubbles. That’ll be a shame for them and we’ll see once again that they’re still not “the smartest guys in the room”.