Readers’ Column for the week of August 8, 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.

 

This is for the person sitting in Lowe’s parking lot watching the ‘sheep’ still walking around wearing masks. First of all, the pandemic is still out there and people have the CHOICE whether or not to wear a mask. ALSO, there are people like myself who have autoimmune diseases and are more likely to get sick, and we are protecting ourselves. THEN, just maybe I have TB and am protecting YOU by wearing a mask.

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I am responding to the person who last week said, “If you refuse to get the vaccine and you become ill, you have no right to receive medical services.” If we follow this rule of not providing health care for those whose illnesses are preventable, we could markedly shrink the health care system, which is now overburdened with people who have chronic illnesses as a result of their Standard American Diet (SAD). Genetics may load the gun, but what you eat pulls the trigger. Personal choice does spill over into societal cost.

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For decades our OACSD Board of Education’s choice for the teachers’ union contract negotiations has been limited to Russian or Caspian caviar, whichever is more expensive. Outside their box are many more nourishing choices “for the children”. The OACSD teachers’ union is a much bigger tent than just the 130 teachers. That is why OACSD has both the highest paid teachers and staff. This year, unless the BOE acts proactively, OACSD’s 1st place gap over 2nd place will only widen. Never a penny of property tax increase will be “for the children”. The numbers are at www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/pmf/ and worse than simple ranking presents. This NYS Education Department information has been provided annually to the BOE and ignored since 2013.  

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Who did we elect for Lieutenant Governor?

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Anyone want to take a guess on how many of the folks that blame Cuomo for nursing home deaths are also claiming they won’t get the vaccine because it’s either just the flu or a hoax?

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For the better part of a decade, the OACSD Board of Education and Superintendent Russell blamed our children for poor academic performance. This despite being the highest paid in the Southern Tier East. The metric used to support this excuse was the number of children on the subsidized and free lunch program. The BOE pushed enrollment and signed up 42% of all students. So much poverty! The NYS average is 48%. Vestal’s high academic performance was attributed to their superior demographics, income, education, two parent families, etc. As of 2020 OACSD demographics exceed Vestal! We can and should be Broome-Tioga’s highest academic performer. New York media, like Business First, uses the percentage of students on the free lunch program and high teacher pay to rank school districts. The higher your teacher pay, the higher ranking. Such algorithms are nonsense. COVID is over, now teachers and staff can get back on course to academic excellence, via in classroom teaching. “Its for the children.” Is the free lunch program intended to teach reliance on free stuff and entitlements and/or act as an excuse for those who fail to educate?

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Million-dollar New York Teachers union Boss, Randi Weingarten, stated, “We’re going to try” to reopen schools this fall. Dear Boss, you are not the boss, we the people and taxpayers are, and we’ll tell you when schools will open. Aren’t you satisfied with all the so-called COVID relief money you’ve received?

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Curious. Has anyone actually seen any of the mysterious and secretive housekeeping police that sneak into your house and then hold you up to ridicule for perceived shortcomings?

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For people that are bothered by the Dirt Bike noise in one of the developments in the Town of Owego on almost a daily basis, you might want to attend the Town Hall meeting on Aug. 9 at 6:30 p.m. I feel the more people we can have, the better chance we have at getting an ordinance or law passed making it illegal to ride a dirt bike in a residential neighborhood.

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To the nice lady who picked up our tab last evening, thank you! Bless you for your kind thoughtful heart. Hope we can return the favor one day.

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People that are considered to be poor by our government statistics, depend on how the money they make is spent. That is the critical part. How much do they waste? 

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To anybody who is not vaccinated against the COVID virus; you are the ones hurting the economy and the country. You are the ones that are getting the virus and are affecting the entire world. You must feel you are impressive. The Delta Variant is no more contagious than chicken pox. 

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Some of these comments are just so ridiculous! So, someone is suggesting no hospital service if unvaccinated. Are you saying no hospital service if you smoke and get cancer, or if you get diabetes from too many Twinkies? Please clarify for me; I think that’s what you are saying.

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So now if you are vaccinated you have to wear a mask as you are still able to transmit the disease. Did I hear that right? I believe I did because every time I pick up my newspaper or turn on the TV somebody has tested positive for COVID and has been vaccinated. I’m so glad I did not take that vaccine. 

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It’s good to know there are high schools getting more involved with the trade program. This way the kids can remain in their home schools without leaving for half of the school day.

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If we want to improve the unemployment situation and get the help wanted signs out of small business windows we need to do two things. First, all small businesses need to close every Sunday in honor of the Lord’s Day. Second, we need to bring back paper applications for those of us that are not computer or high-tech savvy. Those two things, which I believe in my opinion, would improve the unemployment situation. 

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Here’s a challenge for you, before there was a God what did we have here? Was there nothing here? Did God create everything? 

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Cuomo should be in prison for those nursing home deaths. 

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This is regarding the person who called in last week about the vaccine and stated that they were happy to be unvaccinated. I think there is a lot of misinformation in your statement. First of all, the vaccine was not thrown together in record time. If you were at all aware and followed the news, the MNRA vaccination process has been 20 years in the making. It only had been updated for the current vaccine. As far as thinking the government is forcing you to put poison into your system; the government makes laws for public safety and decent people in civilized society show respect and care for fellow human beings, even if it’s not the law. I care enough about other people that I, myself, got vaccinated. 

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Pesticides are killing our soil and gardens. They harm worms, beetles and thousands of other vital subterranean species. They make the soil vital to the plants.

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It would be best to cook fish and meat below 200 degrees but for a longer period of time. Above 200 degrees, water boils off and makes them dry. 

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It’s sad that there are those who allow politics to control their lives when it comes to their health and not taking the vaccine. When you or a loved one gets sick and possibly hooked up to a ventilator that you may never get off of, will the government be around to provide for your family when you no longer can? It’s time to stop calling this pandemic a hoax and take it seriously. It’s not going away until those who are able to get vaccinated do so.

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I don’t care how contagious the Delta virus is. Miniscule amounts of people are being hospitalized and dying. So get over it democrats and stop fear mongering and trying to use this to your political advantage again. It’s over. The virus is never going away. It’s under control, wear your mask and stay home. True Americans are done with it, period!

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I’m calling about the removal of the steps leading into the front of the county office building on Main Street. Apparently there are no plans to replace them, which will look weird since that was the main entrance. I beseech the county to replace them, as they were to preserve this historic structure where thousands and thousands of Tioga County residents were educated. If that is not possible, perhaps an artist could be engaged to paint a 3D optical illusion on the wall to fool passersby into thinking the steps are still there. 

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A tattered flag that hangs on a building on Day Hollow Road needs to be removed or replaced. It dishonors America.

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I’m from Newark Valley and I’m hoping someone can answer this question. They had a woman arrested tonight for throwing a dog in the river and trespassing and other things. The D.A. wouldn’t even charge her for animal cruelty. It was horrible. I’d like an answer on that. If anyone has any information let me know.

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Responding to the comment last week; there may be a lot of jobs, but they don’t pay the bills. Seriously? Every fast food place is hiring above $19 an hour.

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In response to last week’s comment about those that “refuse to get the vaccine” and how they “have no right to call emergency services, the doctor or the hospital to burden these people with their inactions” and how “we shouldn’t take care of those who refuse to take care of themselves”. A few questions do come to mind. Does this also include the people that “refuse” to take care of themselves through proper diet and exercise and become obese, create self-inflicted Type 2 Diabetes and then go on disability? Should they lose their right to receive proper medical care? Does this include the people that “refuse” to quit smoking, drinking and drugs, creating all types of cancers and overdoses? Are they also included in the group that “we shouldn’t take care of” because they “refuse to take care of themselves?” There are all sorts of federal programs, many corrupt for that matter, for those that “refuse to take care of themselves” in this country that are continually funded by the working individuals that actually contribute to society. “Part about being American is that we all work together,” of which I totally agree, the key word being WORK. For those that have accepted the vaccine and feel safer because of it and to those that “refuse” the vaccine at this time, we all have the same rights. The only thing that appears to differ, and at times to a large degree, is our personal definition of what “taking care of ourselves” truly means.

National Political Viewpoints

I see the Trump supporters are using the same tactics as their dear leader. Deflect and evade. Instead of taking responsibility for their inaction getting vaccinated, they deflect to the immigrants coming over the border. Get a grip! Thirty-nine percent of those not getting the shot are republicans. What a way to gut Trump’s chances in 2024. Get sick, foolishness. I have heard all of the excuses and it doesn’t bother me to see people getting sick and dying of their own accord. You just cannot fix stupid.

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Amazing! The people that have refused to believe the harassment claims against Trump are now after Cuomo’s head for the harassment claims against him. Amazing! Hypocrisy at its finest.

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A real quandary now; many posters claim Biden hasn’t a clue and is doing everything wrong. But he has called for Cuomo’s resignation. So does that mean Cuomo should not resign or that Biden has a clue and is sometimes right? How will this resolve in certain minds? It’s a real quandary.

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Newsflash! It has been suggested that Biden, Harris, Pelosi and Schumer wear 26 masks all the time so none of us would have to hear any more of their lies.

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So China is hosting an Afghan Taliban at wonderful feasting tables in China. You won’t hear this from the fake news, but Afghanistan is very rich in oil and copper. Guess Joe and Hunter will be brokering more deals with China in the near future.

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I just read where Biden wants the states to pay everybody $100 to get the vaccination. Well, if that isn’t wrong it is dead wrong. Why should we pay people to protect themselves? Let them get the virus.

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All you liberal sheep; the new virus is like getting the flu. Get over it! If you want to wear a mask, wear a mask. People with a brain aren’t going to wear a mask. Actually, it’s good if you wear a mask because you’re probably a democrat and who wants to hear the lies and bull that comes out of your mouth. Keep them on forever.

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Don’t you people get so sick and tired of hearing these republicans complain about wearing a mask because it takes away their freedoms? Well, they didn’t seem to have any problem when Trump was trying to take away their right to protest. He wanted to turn the army loose on the protestors. That’s our god given right in our constitution. Apparently if it’s a republican rule you can do whatever you want to do, but any other time everything is free if you are a republican. 

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I think I did see unifier Joe driving that 18-wheeler. He was headed to the local landfill with a truckload of Hunter’s so-called half a million-dollar artwork. Finally, it’s being delivered to where it belongs. 

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The airline jets put out enormous amounts of pollution; so that raises the question, will the New York Jets football team be forced to change the name of their team in order to be politically correct? After all, they are contributing to climate change, wouldn’t you say? 

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My opinion is that the QAnon is very dangerous and spreads lies about COVID and so many other things. Get the QAnon out of Washington. It’s bad stuff! 

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I see in the news today that Biden is cutting down on legal immigrants. That’s LEGAL immigrants, as he opens the borders to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens with COVID into our country. What is wrong with you people that support this man? 

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I just have to ask, what is wrong with you republicans that you cannot tell the difference between right and wrong anymore? What is wrong with you?

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My question to Biden voters is simple. How will Joe respond to Russian cyber-attacks, China’s threats against Taiwan and Hong Kong, Iran’s uranium enrichment and Taliban imminent takeover of Afghanistan? I believe crickets. Joe’s financial dealings with foreign entities have compromised the United States in dealing with security threats.

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Newsflash! Message to chief Biden, shut down the open borders! 150,000 illegals per month, the real numbers probably double that, are crossing our border and bringing in the Delta Variant and many other diseases. Get ready for another variant and COVID will probably go on forever. Republicans better do something and launch all kinds of legal action against Biden for not protecting the American people. Biden and whoever is pulling his strings are traitors to our peace and tranquility and safety. 

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We are told, and the evidence is obvious, that the whole world has contaminated the lakes, oceans and the air we breathe. Is this a surprise? Most of the pollution is from businesses and other obvious sources that do not want to clean up and our federal and state governments are paid off to let them do this. As Ronald Reagan said, “The government is not the solution, they are the problem.” Is this what we pay our government workers to do? Do we hire senators and congressmen to do this or are they just there to become millionaires? 

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Does anybody still believe the democrats and their global warming? 

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Another one of Biden’s doings is letting all of the migrant people in, and guess what? Who is going to pay for the shots? We are. Can’t give medical care for the people of this country, so there we are paying the price for another foolish thing he’s doing.

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Fox News is suing My Pillow CEO, Mike Lindell, and now he won’t advertise with them. I guess wearing a religious cross outside of his shirt collar didn’t help him much. He also stated that Trump would be president on Aug. 13. What a joke that is! I’m so happy I never bought one of his pillows.

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Trump kills me and he is killing you too, fools. We are living in uncertain difficult times. The horseman has been released.