Published: October 12, 2009 07:45 am      

Letters to the Editor: October 12, 2009

Where were protests during Bush years?

According to Bill Scutt, "The Tea Party Movement is made of true Americans who believe in the fundamentals of the Constitution." (Obama's associates say a lot about him, The Daily Star, Oct. 3). Which compels me to ask, what did these folks believe in before Barack Obama was elected president?

Former President George W. Bush actively engaged in the willful destruction of our Constitution. His subversive conduct included, but was not limited to: trying to suspend the constitutional Writ of Habeas Corpus; ramming the totalitarian USA Patriot Act through Congress; violating and subverting the Posse Comitatus Act; encouraging unlawful and unreasonable searches and seizures; reinstitution of the infamous "COINTELPRO," a sophisticated vigilante operation run by the FBI aimed at preventing the exercise of First Amendment rights of speech and association; and instituting the totalitarian Total Information Awareness Program, a government project intended to illegally gather as much information as possible about U.S. citizens, including Internet activity, credit card purchase histories, airline ticket purchases, car rentals, medical records, educational transcripts, driver's licenses, utility bills, tax returns, and any other available data.

Former President Bush's attacks on our libertarian heritage are an irrefutable fact. And it's also an irrefutable fact that the "Tea Party Movement" didn't exist during his presidency. That's because the majority of the movement's followers _ these so-called "true Americans" _ are the same people who gave their unquestioning support to "their president," For "you folks in Rio Linda," that would be George Walker Bush.

Walter F. Wouk

Cobleskill

Tom Sears right on need for tort reform

I never thought I would ever say this, but I agree with Tom Sears, where he says that there needs to be some tort reform. I see ads on television by various law firms that seem to almost encourage frivolous legal action. I am aware that in some cases legal action is necessary. I think there should be legislation to put a cap on some lawsuits and somehow set criteria to thwart frivolous action. Too many times doctors and medical facilities will just settle out of court to make it go away, still costing thousands of dollars and more.

Tom is right. The huge dollar amounts that the medical community has to pay for lawyers and such just gets passed on down the line. I don't think it's a liberal or conservative issue, just an issue, plain and simple.

Much more needs to be done to our ailing health care system. For people who don't have it or can't afford it, there needs to be something in place to make it available. Why does an issue that affects everyone have to be so politicized?

Rob Baum

Oneonta

Government not our lifelong parent

Despite that some think it un-American, an open scrutiny of something like Obama's health care plan is quite healthy, and necessary, in a republic.

In fact, this debate brings to mind at least two periods in our history that saw discussion more heated than now. I can't help but think, though, that a wonderful chance for some cultural and political reflection of our past is being missed by having this debate in the context of a certain person's political effort of a particular year.

To elaborate on that thought, I'll mention the inclusion of reproductive rights in Obama's health reform. That term is reflective of just where we've gone culturally, because it's essentially a euphemism for both abortion on demand and free love. For when action is free of moral grounding and self-restraint, the first will be a symptom of the second. Semantics play a major part in getting libertinism accepted as the norm. It's how we've changed politically, that certain libertine behavior is now effectively a legal right. I find it ironic that the people protesting the loudest for Washington to stay out of their personal actions are the first ones to get its help in bailing them out of a pregnancy or STD.

This is but one facet of the overall question of whether it's the federal government's place to be this involved in our daily lives from cradle to grave. From cash for clunkers to reproductive freedoms, I wonder if we can conceive of there actually being a time when it was understood that it wasn't Washington's role to be a lifelong parent. If the Founders meant this to be the character of our government, they wrote the wrong constitution _ or we've unofficially re-written it since.

Robert Olejarz

Sidney

Return Murphy to Otsego board

Now that the primaries are over and political signs are multiplying, local campaigns will soon be shifting into high gear. That being the case, I would remind town of Oneonta voters that Rich Murphy is running for re-election to the Otsego County Board of Representatives and has earned our votes on Election Day.

After several successful years in town government, Rich ran for the county board and has been an active and effective representative there. He has served on a number of important committees: Telecommunications, Solid Waste/Environmental Concerns, Public Works, Negotiations, Administration, and, as chairman, Intra Employee Relations. Rich has been very involved with critical local concerns such as natural gas drilling, attending a number of workshops and informational meetings on drilling and meeting with Congressman Arcuri to discuss the importance of protecting local and county water resources. He promises a detailed review of MOSA and the future implications for the county's solid waste disposal to be completed this fall, and calls for a county budget officer and a better-presented budget process.

Not only does Rich do his "homework," but he is an intelligent, articulate and dedicated representative who makes an effort to work with everyone. We are fortunate to have him working for us, so please vote for Rich Murphy on Nov. 3.

Joan Kollgaard

West Oneonta

Motorcyclists should wear orange

Black jacket, black helmet, black bike on black asphalt. Definitely cool. But visible? Not on your life.

According to the Hurt Motorcycle Study, three-fourths of motorcycle accidents involve a collision with another vehicle, most often a passenger automobile. In two-thirds of these accidents, the car violates the motorcycle right-of-way and causes the accident. Intersections are the most likely place for a motorcycle-car accident. Most frequently, the motorcycle proceeds straight and the automobile makes a left turn in front of it.

Fellow riders, it's just as we suspected _ we are significantly better drivers than the cagers, but we are still getting creamed. The failure to see us until it's too late to avoid a collision is the major cause of these accidents. Seriously, shouldn't we reconsider the black jacket, black helmet, black bike thing, because if you ride, you know there is no such thing as a minor accident on a bike. Less cool and alive beats the alternative.

I wear an orange safety vest over my black jacket. I know, I know, I see the looks, but to save our lives we need to ramp up the visibility.

I think my Mil-spec vest does the job, in a good-looking way, and I can tell you that it has saved my life more than once. When the day-dreaming cager across the intersection getting ready to turn left in front of me suddenly snaps to attention because of the vest, I live to ride another day.

Haven't we all looked up the road, seen that car getting ready to pull out and prayed he's seeing our piddly little headlight in the sunlight because, if not, we're in deep doo-doo? A little orange, my friend, would go a long way to relieve that anxiety.

Ride safe.

S. Hartley

Oneonta