Readers’ Column for the week of February 28, 2021

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

 

I just learned that the Tioga Central School District plans to eliminate the elementary art program and replace it with an “Agriculture” program, with “Art” infused into the program. A certified Agriculture Teacher will teach this program. I think Ag is an important addition to our school, but do NOT think that a certified Ag teacher is a substitute for a qualified Art Teacher. These disciplines are very separate, and one wonders how an Ag teacher is going to teach art to our elementary students. Why can’t we have both? As a parent, I am very concerned that my children are going to lose ground in what is usually an excellent educational program. 

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Attention Spencer Van Etten Voters, the Spencer School District wants to propose a $15 million tax package to pay for repairs and upgrades. After reading the proposal it appears that many items are unnecessary at this time. Please review before you vote. Many Spencer Van Etten voters have fallen on hard times and really don ‘t need this.

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I second the opinion of the gentleman that pointed out that it is counter productive for a society that is so dependent on vaccinations to finally relive it from the COVID-19 pandemic. To show the close up of another injection; as soon as I hear the word I close my eyes because I know what comes next.

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Congratulations and a big THANK YOU TO CVS OWEGO for their well thought out and executed plan for the COVID-19 vaccine. The route was so well marked and the person manning each station was jovial and helpful. A very nice young lady gave me a painless needle on time and it was a pleasant 15-minute wait with other recipients. Thanks again CVS.

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Can someone tell me why Tioga County seems to like wasting taxpayer money? Not only do I see regular pickup trucks plowing, instead of the big trucks that could do the job in one trip. Now I’m seeing the big plow trucks going down the road with a pick up truck behind them. Isn’t that what the big trucks are for is to plow and salt? Why pay two people to do the same job? And I wonder why taxes increased.

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Cuomo did not vote himself a raise. In fact he declined the raise that the legislature scheduled in a law passed in 2019. It‘s really easy to look up.

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Someone is complaining about a train whistle along the tracks by North Avenue? Norfolk Southern is a block away and has many more, but that’s not a problem?

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CNN has banned Chris Cuomo from interviewing Governor Andrew Cuomo because they are brothers. You will have to wait a long time.

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Spring is coming and due to the recent recycling changes in the County, there is a considerable amount of trash building up in the Towns and Villages. Please help control this unsightly problem by reporting the location of any piles of trash, junk vehicles, and any other unhealthy situation to your Town or Village Board. Include photographs if you can.

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Why Cuomo (or any governor) can’t win. People are up in arms because they can’t visit people in nursing homes. Other people are up in arms because nursing home visits are now being allowed. Hated no matter what he does. Have a good day folks.

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The Newark Valley Food Pantry is accepting requests for Easter boxes. The pickup will be March 27 from 10 a.m. to noon, 79 Whig St., Newark Valley. To be put on the list call 642-9971 or 642-3339.

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Two weeks ago my elderly mother was in the checkout line at Tops. She went to pay for her things and didn’t realize she didn’t have enough money. A very nice man behind her paid the difference for her. I would personally like to thank him for what he did; it was very generous. I hope to pay it back to someone someday.

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If there is ever a water break in your area, don’t use your hot water from the heater until the cold water runs clean. Otherwise, you’ll suck in rusty water into your hot water heater. Wait until the cold water is running clean.

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Asking New York State to give the exact details and breakdowns of a person who died in a nursing home or a hospital. Did they go back to the nursing home? Did they come from a hospital? That was a ridiculous request when we were in the middle of a life-threatening crisis. It is no doubt a horrible thing that so many have died; but knowing whether they died in the hospital, from the hospital, or died in the nursing home, from the nursing home makes no sense at all. It’s like saying we have a house fire and they want you to fill out the insurance papers while the house is actively burning and you’re trying to get the fire under control.

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For the people who need a number to call for New York State to sign up for COVID-19 vaccine, the number is 1-833-697-4829. 

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Everybody that’s had a car has experienced, at one time or another, a battery failure. This, I believe, is a deliberate thing by the battery manufacturers and the automobile manufacturers that the battery in your car only lasts for five years. When getting towards five years, start planning on putting a new battery in it. Get a good one with a longer warranty. Second choice would be to take the caps off the battery and see if the plates are exposed, and if they are, then put a little bit of distilled water in there. In other words, in five years the manufacturer wants to give the dealer a little business.

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We had Campville’s half chicken dinner yesterday with beans, salt potatoes, cabbage, salad, rolls, brownie and soda. The Campville Fire Department sold it. They outdid themselves! We were served right in our cars. Great job! Their breakfasts are great too, twice a year. 

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For the person without a computer trying to get scheduled for the COVID vaccination, here are a few hints. The New York State vaccination hotline is 1-833-697-4829. It took me over 30 calls and two weeks to get through, but I finally did. Be patient and keep trying. You are off and on for 10 minutes or more then cut off without notice, but keep trying. As of Feb. 19, CVS, Walgreens and Wegmans were also taking applications, which you fill out before you get accepted to get the vaccination. Good luck.

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Looks like our buddy, Andrew, will have a lot of time to write yet another book. Let me help him with the title, “The Crooked Lies and Wonderful Fall of Andrew.” I don’t think it will be a bestseller, as I don’t think people really care. People just want a republican governor who does what’s best for New Yorkers.

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What do gasoline and sugar share? Both have carbon hydrogen and energy available. A gallon of gasoline weighs about six pounds and a bag of sugar may weigh about five pounds. What happens when energy is released – Carbon dioxide and water, and Greenhouse gases. How much of each? Is the information available in simple terms like pounds and gallons? Some say that electrons released by fossil fuels are “dirty” and those by solar are sparkling clean. Let’s share information and continue the conversation. 

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A reader in last week’s issue categorically states that ocean water freezes at 20 degrees Fahrenheit. It does not. That was precisely the temperature of the ocean water when the Titanic sank.

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This is about last week’s comments about the solar panels and going green. The utility companies are not required to purchase the power from solar companies – that goes to the grid, they can buy off of them if the price is right. With most of these utility companies, solar panels are 20% efficient. Utility companies only look at solar panels’ 20% reliability because of nighttime and snow. The downside of that is that utility companies still need to maintain enough generation to cover the power when the solar and wind isn’t working. I don’t see where we are saving anything by having solar and wind.

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How nice, Bruce Springsteen gets his DWI charge dropped. Rules for me, but not for thee.

 

National Political Viewpoints

Biden always looks angry. I wonder what he looks like when he’s really angry? Do you Democrats ever smile? Do you Democrats ever laugh? I mean laugh, when it’s not at the expense of someone else. ROAR!

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According to the experts, about 9% of the stimulus bill currently being considered by Congress has to do directly with the actual virus pandemic. The rest is pure pork the Socialist Democrats want to push through to do such things as bail out New York, California, and New Jersey for their deficits created by incompetence and mismanagement by their governors. There is money for the “arts and humanities” there, and in my book, if the arts and humanities can’t support themselves, they aren’t needed. I’m thinking we all need to contact our senators and complain!

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“Of course Ted Cruz left for Cancun: when the government fails, it’s party time for libertarian Republicans! Here’s the one question that always stops libertarians dead in their tracks when they come on or call into my radio / TV program to proclaim the wonders of their political ideology: ‘Please name one country, anywhere in the world, any time in the last 7,000 years, where libertarianism has succeeded and produced general peace and prosperity?’ There literally is none. Nowhere. Not a single one. It has never happened. Ever. If it had, that country would be on the tip of every Libertarian’s tongue, the way Democratic Socialists talk about Scandinavia, where the full-on Social Democracy and regulated capitalism experiment has succeeded for generations.” Thom Hartmann Newsletter. Feb. 23, 2021.

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Interesting watching the Socialist Democrats fall all over to solve the “Gun Problem” in this country. I submit that guns aren’t the problem, and that PEOPLE are the problem. Here’s an idea, let’s ban IDIOTS, not GUNS!

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So once again there is so much pork in this latest $1.9 trillion bill they want to pass. When will they just put all things related to COVID in the bill? Pelosi snuck in $112 million for the Silicon Valley subway. They already got $125 million back in 2019 and $100 million in 2020. The subway project will cost $15 billion once completed. Local residents are outraged because it’s eating up a large part of sales tax revenue money that usually goes to roads, bridges, and traffic management. They put in $1 billion for racial justice for farmers, $200 million for library services, and $10 million for American native language and millions again for the arts. The amount of COVID relief in the package is 20%. Why are they still calling the capitol invasion an armed insurrection when there were no guns that got into the capitol? Two people were arrested with guns outside of the capitol.

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The Republican Party is tearing itself apart at the seams. On one side we have Establishment Republicans who want to retain the traditional conservative policies that have been the backbone of the GOP for many years. On the other side, Trump supporters want to reinvent the old GOP and promote the nationalistic conservative ideas and policies of Trump-ism that were championed by our 45th president. Maybe those Trump supporters are on the right track. Maybe the old GOP should be replaced by a new party and renamed the Trump Party, or TP for short. Just think, the TP could wipe the slate clean, flush our country’s problems down the drain, and leave all our troubles behind us. What a relief that would be!

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Can someone, using logic and FACTS supply a reason why anyone in government with a “D” after their name is never held accountable for their actions? Look at the partial list – Cuomo, Hunter Biden and the Biden clan, Hillary and Bill, Newsom, Pelosi, Schumer, Obama, and Maxine Waters. No legal action and they never get the prison time they so richly deserve. I don’t get it.

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Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, made at least $600 million during Donald Trump’s presidency. This is a clear example of influence peddling and profiteering against the public interest. Is there any legal recourse to prevent this type of abuse in the future? The whole Trump administration has been about abusing power, sucking up public money, and being confident that they will get away with it — and they have. I don’t even know what to say about Jared and Ivanka. They are so keen on self-aggrandizement that they’re completely divorced from reality. “What Awaits Trump? Billions of Dollars” — Chauncey DeVega / Salon. Feb. 22, 2021.

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I don’t get it; you Democrats never eat your own! Why are you being mean to Cuomo? You looked the other way when Hillary obstructed justice by hiding 33,000 emails, and destroying data on phones. You looked the other way while Biden extorted the Ukraine government to get them to stop investigating his son. So why aren’t you looking the other way at Cuomo hiding the deaths in the nursing homes? Could it be that Cuomo killed some Democrats? I know you wouldn’t give a damn if he only killed Republicans! ROAR!

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Refreshing to see President Biden respond to Texas with their weather problems. Did anyone notice he didn’t throw any paper towels?

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In response to the person who thought the democrats screwed up again – we won the house, the senate, and the presidency!

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Ya gotta laugh. Somehow this makes sense to someone somewhere. Biden wants to open our southern borders and allow masses in with no COVID-19 virus checks, but WE are all supposed to wear masks (preferably two), practice social distancing, keep schools closed, etc. Could someone, using facts and logic, explain to me how this makes any sense?

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Keystone XL was to have brought Canadian oil to the gulf for shipment overseas. United States refineries can’t process that oil very well. Stopping has no effect on the U.S.

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Congress members took an oath to support and defend the constitution. Saying the pledge every day adds nothing to that.

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Wondering why all those free-market anti-socialist anti-regulation folks in Texas are now demanding that the government fix the problems.

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What a hoot! Governor Newsom in California jumped on board the big control bandwagon when it came to the pandemic. Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida did not. Instead, Governor DeSantis relied on people’s common sense. Statistically, there is no difference in the number of cases, fatalities, etc., but residents of Florida have freedom, California residents do not. Tell you anything? Residents of Florida are happy, residents of California are outraged and are initiating a recall of their governor. Businesses in Florida are doing well; in California they are closing and going bankrupt. The Florida Governor is Republican; California, Democrat.

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Bumbling Biden spent oodles of time condemning the plan President Trump put in place, blathered how he / they had a better plan. Like what you see of that plan? Seems like there is NO plan from where I sit.

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If it’s not bad enough that the Democrats took the House, the Senate and now the Presidency, they are going to put a bill out to “Ban former Presidents who have been impeached twice from being buried at Arlington National Cemetery.” Georgia lawmakers also want to ban Trump from ever visiting the Capitol. They want to ban Trump’s name from any U.S. building, monuments and park benches. They also want to block his Federal Pension, paid staff, and office staff if he is lucky to hold any office in the future. How petty is this? They are trying to wipe all of Trump’s accomplishments he achieved during his four years in office and reverse all the good he did for the country, and for “We The People.”

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To anger a conservative, lie to him. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth. — Patty Roosevelt

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They shut down voting in five states when it didn’t go their way. They shut down Parler when free speech didn’t go their way. They shut down the stock market when it didn’t go their way. Do you get it yet?

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The democrats have many plans to open the border but no plan for opening the schools. As Rush Limbaugh once said, “You make a conservative man by lying to him, you make a liberal man by telling him the truth.” 

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Another disaster in Texas where people are dying from falling, car accidents, nothing to eat, can’t get their oxygen, and freezing temperatures. What does our leader do in Washington? He decides to take a snow day. What a guy, what a leader! Bring back Trump.

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Newsflash! Slow Joe says he wants more money for teachers and schools; $67 billion has already been put out but only, get this, $4 billion has been distributed. The additional $1.9 trillion Biden / Pelosi plan is pure bunkum. It’s all smoke and mirrors. The teacher’s unions are now trying to run this under disease control, and democrat Marxists are willing accomplices. Want to see hyperinflation? Just wait for it. 

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How embarrassing is it to watch Joe Biden speak? He is such a buffoon and an embarrassment for this country. I can’t believe anybody seriously voted for or takes this man seriously. What a joke! 

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Did you see where Senator Ted Cruz of Texas went on vacation to Cancun while Texas was hurting because of the terrible weather? No electricity, no water, little food, frozen pipes, etc. When will the American people realize politicians don’t care about their people? The quicker you realize this, the better off you’ll be. All they care about is getting reelected. They are all the same, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.

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First jolly Joe Biden puts us on pause for 90 days and lets China into our power grid system. Two weeks later, the power system is down. People are freezing, dying without water. Next, he abolishes the Make America First plan. Do you really believe 80 million people voted for him? I don’t.

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All of the people still complaining about Trump have serious mental problems. He’s gone! You should get a life and get over him. It won’t be long and you’ll be complaining about how Biden has screwed you over. Also, how do you like your hero, Cuomo? He should be in prison for killing 10,000 people!

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The men and women who fought for our country did not do it just so we could live under socialism. Think about it.

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Every time you go to the gas pumps you get reminded that Biden is the president. Thank you, Biden voters.

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The only people not being heard by Joe Biden and his administration are those deceased ones that voted for him. 

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Schools are closed, unity is not happening, the fossil fuel industry is being destroyed, open borders are leading to a chaos situation, they are promoting tax dollars for abortion, and believing equality should be dismissed for equity. Biden is the disaster that so many smart Americans predicted. But hang on; we’ve got very rough, frightening roads ahead of us.

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I’m reading some really good comments in this week’s Owego Pennysaver. I think the American people are realizing that Biden is a disaster and hopefully the 2022 election will turn out more republicans so that he can be stopped at every turn. He doesn’t care about America’s legal citizens. He’s more interested in power and votes. Keep those good comments coming! I enjoy reading them, and I’m glad to know that people are realizing and seeing right through Biden and his administration.

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Democrats kill a bill for tuition assistance for children of veterans killed in battle, then approved getting illegal aliens free tuition. Let that sink in.

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Think about this. Fifty million kids being schooled in the homes of gun owners and not one school shooting. I guess it wasn’t the guns after all.

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So, a $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill equals 4% for COVID, 2% for America, 94% for pork, and to support communists, terrorists, and human traffickers. Impeach 46.