Readers’ Column for the week of Oct. 5, 2014

You may call the Owego Pennysaver Readers’ Column at (607) 687-2378 24-hours a day, or e-mail comments to readerscolumn@stny.rr.com. We reserve the right to revise or reject any message.

This is to all the idiots that have to use Markham Road, or Markham HIGHWAY as we call it now. There is a 25 mph speed limit sign posted. I don’t expect drivers to have to drive that slowly – but 30 to 35 mph is plenty. Markham HIGHWAY is a “short cut” for everybody now. Everybody has to use it because it saves a whole minute or two. We get tired of seeing the same idiots flying up and down the road, day and night. It’s not impressive. And to think that this used to be a seasonal road that no one ever used.

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It is too bad that President Obama does not say that we should send troops into battle against ISIL. Then House speaker Boehner could say, “No way are we going to send our troops in boots on the ground.” Maybe that is Obama’s strategy?

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About the Doo Doo Drew signs on Blodgett Road. I’m not sure if Drew is a he or a she, but the signs seem to imply that Drew did doo doo where it shouldn’t be done. Maybe Drew is a dog. Just my opinion.

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This will make everyone sleep better. The Department of Homeland Security is going to protect us from Global Warming! Yeah! Just curious, could someone offer a smidgeon of proof of any kind that there is global warming? The old adage, “If you tell a lie often enough, eventually people begin to believe it,” would seem to fit here. I mean climatologists the world over have no proof of ANY warming! New York State had the coldest summer in decades, but don’t let the facts cloud the issue. We’re supposed to just listen, nod our heads, and go along like good little sheep. Sorry, fact, proof, logic. Let’s see it!

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CVS dropping cigarettes does NOT affect our freedoms. Shouldn’t they, as a privately owned business, have the freedom to decide what they will or will not sell? They deserve to be a free business. You, as a smoker, have the freedom to shop at another store. The government is the one who could take away your smoking freedom, as they have done in many public places, and in so doing have protected the freedom of the majority who do not wish to breathe smoke. The government allows you to purchase your cigarettes anywhere there is a business willing to sell them. You are still free. The crowd is not the judge for CVS – they are a private company making their own decisions. That is freedom!

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Republican male legislators are not consumed with “women’s bodies and health issues characteristic of all women”, as a caller commented. Choosing abortion, which I’m assuming the commenter was referring to, is not a health issue for women. To say that abortion is “reproductive health” is a lie. Abortion is not a “health” procedure – it is a death. Wrongful death. Murder. Even the medical professionals can no longer deny that abortion is ending a life. In other circles we call that a crime, certainly not health care. Women are not denied healthcare. Besides, when you choose to become the mother of a dead baby, those same republican legislators make sure you can get mental health counseling for the trauma you have caused yourself by choosing to abort. They care about women, they just happen to care about the baby too.

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I live on a dirt road in Nichols and I would like to know why Leasure Hill Road in Nichols did not get oiled this year. The road is so dusty, cars are covered in dirt and my windows are all dust. Every year the road has been oiled, but this year it was not. Why do we pay taxes to the town of Nichols? If the road cannot be oiled then it needs to be blacktopped. How many roads in Nichols are dirt? This road needs to be oiled every year or paved.

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“Congress is not preparing to defend the people of the United States. It is planning to protect the capital of American speculators and investors. Incidentally, this preparation will benefit the manufacturers of munitions and war machines. Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought! Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder! Strike against preparedness that means death and misery to millions of human beings! Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction! Be heroes in an army of construction!” — Helen Keller at Carnegie Hall, January 5, 1916

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Every week there are comments from good citizens showing how ridiculous this new sewer billing scam is, and how it is devastating many business owners and landlords who have worked hard to invest in this village only to have this slapped on them suddenly. How many of you would tolerate a $1,000 per quarter fine? How many of you would tolerate a sudden $1,000 per quarter deduction from your paycheck with no one to appeal to? This idea has become an embarrassment and laughing stock to the village, and everyone talking about it cannot believe a such a crazy unfair idea could actually be agreed on by a group of educated men, yet even with all the complaints, it seems there is nothing being reconsidered to help the people. One obvious choice they could offer, would be that single units pay the flat rate, and anyone with more than one unit (EDU), have the option to pay the flat rate or photocopy their actual water bill and pay based on that to pay for what they actually use. This is only common sense, but common sense seems rare anymore when politics are involved. I guess a class action suit may be what will be needed to get the bureaucrats to work with the village taxpayers. How many of you would be willing to join the suit? The legal cost if divided would probably be minimal compared to the gouging, and payback savings period short after we again pay based on actual usage gain. Who is ready to take action?

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Start Up NY – “The Commissioner of Taxation and Finance may publicly disclose 1) Names and addresses of businesses receiving tax benefits; 2) Amounts of benefits allowed each business; 3) Net new jobs; 4) Any other information for the commissioner of Economic Development to monitor compliance with program. He may also publicly disclose the income tax wage exclusions business”. He may? No, this is information the public needs to make an informed decision, accept, repeal or replace. Demographics relate to public safety services, social services, educational, health and transportation services. There are more. Are there mandates, guidelines or both related to the provision of these services? Basically, everyone has a vested interest. Provision of this and much more information to the public should not be optional. It should include specifically the effect of each of the six business taxes, especially a comparison of neighboring business property taxes. Report the businesses, benefits, State grants, loans and capital improvements quarterly, publicly, and accurately.

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I would like to remind the public to please be cautious of farmers and equipment when driving the back roads.

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It’s pretty ludicrous and very laughable that any political committee would take an ad out on TV against the opponent based on the fact that he’s guilty of discrimination when every single one of those politicians running have been indicted for far graver offenses on both sides of politics. Why would you even bring it up and plus, take a thing like discrimination and put it up there with fraud and greed? No, they don’t go in the same bucket.

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News flash. Obama’s chief stooge, Eric Holder, will be moving on. Maybe he will go back to his old job of legally representing Muslim extremists just as he did before being Obama’s front man and sweeping under the rug all the Obama scandals. Let’s also all hope and pray Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reed join Holder right after the November elections.

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Their record is obvious. Male republican legislators are just consumed with the social issues of everyone else, especially as they see what women’s health concerns must be in their view and so on. What these privileged men choose to ignore is one issue over which they can do something positive. That is providing food for countless working Americans including veterans and hungry children. The results of their willful republican relentless cuts in funds for food programs is evident everywhere we turn. Why are they this way? Let’s throw the bums out in November.

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Thank you Deputy Mayor, Ann Lockwood, and the newly elected Village of Owego Trustees who are taking the concerns of the village at hand. I have never seen the street sweeper in my area so much in the last six years. Thank you very much! You have repaved the streets and you are taking a concern for the village of Owego residents to make things clean. I thank you very much. Please keep up the good work.

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So now a recent convert to Islam has beheaded a woman in Oklahoma. Will Eric Holder use the justice department to investigate this as a hate crime as he has done several times before? Will nobama call this woman’s family and send administration representatives to her funeral? Don’t hold your breath.

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I fail to see how shutting down the bus service entirely is going to save anyone ultimately in Tioga County any money at all when your state government turns around instead and dictates that the taxpayer money from the state is to be used for cab fare. The cabs are already overrunning Owego. Real nice for the cab company I suppose but paying for people to go door to door in a cab is going to cost a lot more than the bus service ever did. We would have been better served to cut the bus sizes down from gigantic to a van size. Taxpayer money from either the county or the state is still money out of the working person’s pocket.

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A year ago our Nobel Peace Prize winning President wanted to depose Syria’s President Assad and said so. Now we are attacking Assad’s primary enemy, ISIL. Now Corazon is proclaimed to be our most serious enemy and was nobama’s basis for bombing Syria. The reluctant warrior, nobama, has imposed ridiculous military rules of engagement on our forces thereby preventing complete victory all over the Middle East. Now we are engaged in two more no win scenarios. If we are really at war, the President should seek congressional approval. He does not. Guess why?

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I disagree with the caller about the bus company being shut down. What would happen if you’re in town, no vehicle, stranded, and no bus service is running? You’d be up a creek without a paddle and if I found out I’d be laughing. Also, there are many senior citizens who depend on the buses!

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I’m sure most Town of Owego taxpayers have heard of speed bumps. Well, we’ve got a new wrinkle now. There’s speed dips. I don’t know if this came from the DOT or what but it’s a pain!

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I just wanted to note that I saw the street sweeper go down Academy Street again today and swerve around all the cars. Could we please have the street sweeper come down some of the main streets that have no cars parked? We haven’t seen him in years. If we are not going to see him, how would I go about having that taken off of my tax bill?

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I just want to say thank you to those responsible for terminating the bus contract. We’ve had too many empty buses for too long and that would be great money saved. I hope we do not replace them with another bus system.

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Follow the news. Republican clown carnival, forget clown car, a new crop of freshman republicans coming to the house of representatives reviewed in the New York Times have some remarkable priorities. A few are in open opposition to the current house leader John Boehner. Another wants war on his real enemy, Hillary Clinton, also seen as the anti Christ. Another republican sees no problem for having women in politics if it’s in the authority of a husband. Some stated views on race and sexual orientation are part of an ideology to the right of some right wing incumbents. In my opinion, if you value what you have now, then vote republican Tom Reed out of office in November.

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I’m looking for plums, any size, any shape. If anybody has any to get rid of, I am willing to pay, call 657-2635.

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Have you seen the TV ad by the Republican Party attacking an upstate House of Representatives candidate claiming that he wants to reduce pentagon spending? Give me a break. The Wall Street Journal states that $85 billion are budgeted for Afghanistan already including how many bags of cash for known corrupt politicians. Aren’t we leaving Afghanistan? And, it’s $10 million a day to bomb ISIS now, reported to cost about $7 billion a year just for this bombing. Costs are also projected to rise in Iraq. Oh yes, I just put a check in the mail in response to a plea from a local food pantry for funds on behalf of my hungry neighbors. I fought republican politicians for the local food programs throughout this district. Vote Tom Reed out in November!

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Everyone thought Jimmy Carter was a poor president. President Obama makes Carter look like a genius. President Obama will go down as the worst president in history.

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I too can sympathize with the reader who suffered a neck injury while traveling over one of the local railroad crossings in the area. The same thing happened to me when we drove over the railroad tracks on East Front Street. My chiropractor was able to correct the damage to my neck and shoulder but it was painful and costly. We literally creep over these railroad tracks but the damage to our bodies and vehicles are disgusting. Who can we contact in regard to getting these tracks repaired?

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If anyone has information regarding who enforces the trash burning laws in New York State, could you please respond to this column? This time the trash burning idiots are now going to burn carpet and padding and all kinds of stuff to pollute the air that we all need to breathe. Come on, wake up people!