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.
Capitalism vs. Socialism is not the real issue in the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination debate; neither is the notion that a mythical “free market” exists which is being threatened by government “intrusion.” These are just dishonest distractions from the bare bones truth that our political system and economy are being consumed by a small cartel of very wealthy individuals, large corporations and Wall Street banks. History demonstrates that capitalist economies are prone to periodic disruptions – not all of which could or can be anticipated or easily managed. As we saw in 2008, economic chaos in one country can be easily spread worldwide. The problem with the American brand of capitalism is that the rule makers who control it are unduly influenced by powerful interests to specifically favor their interests. In other words, our economy is rigged. There can be no “free market” without government. Government makes and enforces the rules of the game. It is not the size of government that matters most. In Scandinavia or the U.S.A., rules determine how the free market functions. The wrong rules can destroy market forces and ultimately cause economic inequality and insecurity – such as we have today. A totally free market without sensible governing rules obeys no law except that of the jungle.
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I’d just like to say I agree with the fellow who complained about cigarette butts. It’s awful! I’d also like to comment about people who walk their dogs without picking up what the dogs leave behind. Shopping carts too, people just don’t have any respect for others and where they live. Let’s stop with the shopping carts, dog poop and cigarette butts.
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How can people vote for someone like Hillary Clinton? She has a lot of trouble telling the truth. She lied about Benghazi. She also said she got she got off a plane one time in the Middle East and said militants were shooting at her. That all turned out to be a big fib. Also, Vincent Foster’s death should be looked into again. Foster was working for the Clinton’s at the time of his death.
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If you feel sad and lonely, go to the Owego dog park. Everyone is smiling, even the people, great adventure for you and your dog!
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If you get a phone call saying the IRS is suing you, hang up. It is a scam! If the IRS is taking you to court they would send you a letter.
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Regarding the person who called in about other readers’ disparaging remarks, what about the new OES? You are obviously an intelligent person if you use the word disparaging. Have you thought where FEMA, the New York State Disaster Relief funds come from? Yes, they do indeed come from Federal and State taxes. Where did you think the money came from? Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, a money tree on the State Capital lawn? What is paid out to us needs to be replaced for the next disaster, several of which have already occurred. Did you know of Hurricane Sandy and its devastation in our state, not to mention people needing help all over the country? The population of Owego after the flood has dropped. People with some common sense are just wondering why we need a larger school. As far as energy saving goes, we’ll see. The increase in energy costs, the increase in square footage, the increase to the larger initial price for the so called energy saving materials will offset any savings we might see as local property taxpayers. The old school was solidly built. Most of us in the village got some mops and clorox, cleaned up the mud, got a new breaker panel box and we’re in business in a few months. I guess we should have written Santa Claus for a brand new large house too. Anything larger, additionally, is going to cost more to maintain to include cleaning, painting, etc.
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WWI was supposed to be the war to end all wars. It’s too bad we haven’t learned our lesson since then.
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We, at the ACT dinner, would like to thank Don Corson and the Pantry Pigs for their generous donation. They are always so good to us. We were able to have a chicken barbecue due to all the chicken they brought and Park Terrace Methodist Church prepared it. We’ve had chicken for other dishes and they donated a pig once. I cannot say enough about this wonderful man and the Pantry Pigs.
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Last week I put in the Pennysaver, good job paving crew. I should have said it was the Town of Owego paving crew up on Cornell Hollow Road. They did an excellent job!
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Wouldn’t it be nice to see a restaurant like the old Deep Well or a Beeman’s at the old Tony’s restaurant on 17C. It would be great I think.
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Follow the news. There’s one thing that Republican Presidential candidate Ben Carson has not lied about yet. His initials are in fact B.C., not B.S., which is what he has been peddling lately.
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Could somebody tell what telephone number to call about a constantly barking dog or if there is something that can be done about it? Please let me know through the Pennysaver.
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I’m looking for Shannon’s mom or dad. They live in Richford. I have some stuff for them. If they could give me a call at 972-8011 any time.
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Hi! I’m a neutered shorthaired tiger cat, eight years old, who needs an inside home. My humans are moving to Ithaca and I can’t go. My name is Bijou, have back claws only and I love to sit and be pet. Please adopt me, call (607) 642-8131.
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Republican tax cuts. The GOP candidates for the President of the United States are offering the most outrageous tax cut plans in history! If you listen carefully to what these buffoons are proposing, the Federal Government will have no intake of money to pay for social security, to pay for Medicare, to pay for defense, to pay for rebuilding the infrastructure, to pay for anything! There is no free lunch. If all the taxes are cut the millionaires will still continue to get the gravy, you will still continue to get that end of the stick.
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I’m calling because I’d like to know what we are doing in the village, actually in Tioga County to get ready for the next flood. We’ve had two major hurricanes hit the United States and I have not seen any evacuation plans. I have not seen anything that tells me what to do in case of an emergency. There is nothing to tell us. I’m wondering what we are going to do. What is the plan? Does anyone have a plan? What are we doing to prepare for the next flood? I know what I’m doing for my family but what are we doing as a community? I don’t feel we are doing enough.
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If you watched the Fox news presidential candidate debate you saw serious questions of national interest discussed by intelligent people. This is the diametrical opposite of the debate hosted by the communist news-broadcasting corporation. Thank you Fox news!
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To the person looking for the doghouse, I have a better idea for keeping your dog warm this winter. Bring him / her inside with you! Dogs are social, pack animals. Being tied outside to a doghouse is a sad existence for a dog. It is lonely and cruel. Why have a dog, if you are not going to let it be a part of your family?
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To the person in last week’s Pennysaver that stated that the Republican candidates were whooped by the moderators in the debate on MSNBC, did you watch the same debate I did? Beginning with Ted Cruz, then all got on board, they whooped the behinds of those “moderators”, and they should. Nothing but gotcha questions and snarky remarks. Let’s see some REAL courage. Let’s see the Progressive Liberals do a debate on Fox News with the moderators being Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin. Let’s see Hillary have to actually answer something other than cotton-ball questions for a change. Let’s see Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley have to actually face some tough, pointed questioning, instead of the fawning, lap-dog nonsense they normally get.
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There is a scam going around that us locals should be aware of. A lady with a very threatening voice says that this is the IRS and we are filing a lawsuit against you and you MUST call (508) 588-7216 immediately. DON’T CALL IT. IT IS A SCAM!
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Why are the people who have made all these dire predictions regarding man-made climate change not happy when their prediction doesn’t come to fruition? Kind of makes you wonder doesn’t it? Is it because their prediction DOESN’T come true that upsets them? I mean Al Gore predicted in 2014 that the Arctic ice cap would be gone and that the sea would rise, none of which has happened, yet he’s not a happy camper. Wouldn’t you think he’d be happy that none of the misery and destruction he predicted has happened?
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I love this column and can’t wait to read it each week. So, I am wondering if there are still licensed hairdressers who make house calls for those who are shut in? I’m particularly interested in foil highlighting. If you know of anyone who does this with their own equipment, please call Annemarie at 621-8825.
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Regarding Benghazi, Hillary Clinton did know what was going on and troops were NOT sent to their aide. She informed her daughter by email two days after the attack that it was a terrorist act and not a video. However, days after Susan Rice was still professing it was a video. She did Hillary and Obama’s lying for them. Now Hillary is acting like miss Innocent and “what difference at this point does it make” says she! The people that were killed all belonged to someone and they need to know and get justice! To all who love Hillary, she is a liar from Vince Foster until now, so if you want to uphold all of her wrong doings, you are as bad as she is! Also, she does not deserve to be the Commander in Chief because she is another Obama in disguise!
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Hillary Clinton’s book “Hard Choices” reveals a bias towards militarism that reminds us of her earlier political days as a staunch supporter of presidential candidate and far-right Republican Barry Goldwater. Goldwater, as you might remember, favored repealing the Civil Rights Act, re-segregating the nation, and an aggressive military stance in international relations. But voters should also take a long, hard look at her economic policies. In a recent Bloomberg article, “My Plan to Prevent the Next Crash,” Clinton blames the Republicans for the economic suffering of the middle class. There is no doubt the GOP has been zealous in its quest to unleash Wall Street greed. However, it was Bill Clinton who co-brokered and signed the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 – which betrayed FDR’s legacy of New Deal banking reform. And it was Clinton who blocked regulation of trillions of dollars of risky mortgage debt securities prior to the 2008 economic crash. Could it be only coincidental that Hillary Clinton’s Senate career was generously supported by Wall Street? And would you expect Wall Street to support a presidential candidate like Elizabeth Warren who has championed the cause of millions of women impoverished by the Clinton’s banking chums, or any Democratic candidate who wants to reinstate laws to protect the public from the predatory practices of the banking bandits? Fat chance.
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On Wednesday, Nov. 4, a young man lost control of his vehicle on Stanton Hill Road in Nichols and took out my mailbox. This man stopped at a stop sign immediately after, conversing with a female companion regarding the damage on his vehicle. I spent $60, plus time on replacing the damaged post and box. If this man would have stopped to report the incident, I would have just been glad they were okay. However, they failed to stop. Out of respect, I would ask if this young man is someone you know bring him to my residence, just to apologize. Lesson learned. Damage is on passenger head light area. I have pieces to match up.
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All these cars parked on McMaster Street Is ridiculous. Something needs to be done.
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There was an award of a Quilt of Valor to a Korean War Veteran recently. Unfortunately, his name was misspelled in a local paper. His name is TOM VASSIL. Lest we forget!
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Last week in this column there were several comments about the new Owego Elementary School and the other new buildings. The people writing these comments are very misinformed. These new buildings are certainly NOT free. Where do you think FEMA and New York State gets their money from? It is from us, the taxpayers. The OES building is almost twice as big as the old building and you think that it is not going to cost any more money than the old school to heat, clean and maintain? You must live in dreamland and must believe all of Dr Russell’s talking points. The OES is way larger than this community needs. It was built for 770 students when there are only approximately 500 students in that school and enrollment is going down. It sure is a waste of taxpayer money. They should have built something much more practical and reasonable that will not burden the taxpayers for years and years.
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At a time when many Americans are struggling to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads, according to Judicial Watch, the combined spending for first class air fare for the Bidens and the Nobamas amounts to $57 million. Yeah, we need more of that, which is exactly what Hillary has in mind!
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In regards to the Owego Fire Department pushing for a Village Fire District, this seems like a prudent move. The Fire Department is afraid that it will be put out of business. Either the Village will dissolve; or, for financial reasons, the Village Board will force a fire service consolidation with the Town of Owego Fire District. For those who think this can’t happen, look at Port Henry, N.Y., which was a Village much like Owego. In just six months, Port Henry went from being a village to being part of the Town of Moriah. This happened in spite of the Port Henry Village Board’s opposition. In June 2015, citizens petitioned for a referendum. On Oct. 27, by a close vote, the Village voters approved dissolution. With the dissolution the 130-year-old Port Henry Fire Department was dismantled and fire and EMS protection is now provided by the Town of Moriah Fire District from outside the Village boundaries. If you want to keep fire and EMS responding from inside the Owego Village limits, you should support formation of a Village fire district at the public hearing on Nov. 23.
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Free 27-inch Toshiba color television that is not a flat screen. It is very heavy and large, and has no A-V plugs. Call 258-0009.
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Does anyone wonder why there is such an outcry about fast food workers needing to make $15 an hour? Why aren’t people protesting the fact that most of the teachers aides, nursery school aides, and mental health workers in residential facilities don’t make anywhere near $15 an hour. Is it because most of these aides and workers are female and there are more males working at fast food restaurants? Is this what our priority is as a nation? Is fast food more important than the welfare of our children and the vulnerable mentally ill population?
