Readers’ Column for the week of January 9, 2022

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.

 

The Owego VFW has new hours and now opens at noon on Monday through Saturday, and is closed on Sunday.

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Where is the logic in reminiscing about stores that no longer exist and noting the stores that subsequently occupied that same space, yet agonizing that the closure of the current store in said space is an economic disaster?

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To all the people who are throwing all their grocery bags in the recycle bin, please save and take them to your local food pantry. Or even put them back in your car and reuse them to save on the landfill. 

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Why do so many people think bail reform created bail, and that before reform no one ever got out on bail? Are we collectively that dense?

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Do masks work? Who should I believe? On one hand the medical community says they work. On the other hand an anonymous person in the reader’s column says they don’t. Difficult choice? I don’t think so. 

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We all need to know what the numbers in Tioga County are for the COVID outbreak and we need to have it on television daily. We need to be informed of this. It’s critical we know and understand these numbers and what we need to do to help defeat it, but we can’t do it if we don’t have the information. Tioga County only does it once a week. We need to do better than that.

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I saw on social media where someone said they have a scumbag landlord. If that’s true, why not get out? I’m amused by your knowledge of the law about tenant squatter’s rights. I wonder if I could hire you in the future if I ever need legal advice?

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I have a request. It was a while back in this column where I read about people doing crimes and going to prison and getting out, and how they paid their debt back to society. They also stated that they never could pay their debt back to society because of how it affects the victims of violent crimes. I would appreciate it if you could run that comment again. That was spot on! It was so true.

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So all the workers at Walmart and other retail stores have been sucking it up for almost two years now, and there have been no big COVID outbreaks among them. So, why are the teachers afraid of going back to the classroom? I don’t blame the teachers; it’s the teacher’s union.

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What’s wrong with this picture? The landlord received no rent money from a squatter and he refuses to leave. The cops can’t do anything about it. Ask any cop and even they will tell you the eviction laws are not right, they are not fair. They will tell you unfortunately it is a civil matter. It’s basically rewarding bad behavior and punishing good. 

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In the last two weeks we have lost two beloved people. Betty White and John Madden, an American icon and loved by everybody. May they rest in peace; they will be sorely missed.

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Kudos to New York State for making it illegal for you to drive a car while talking on a cell phone or when texting. When are the rest of the states going to follow suit and even add in walking while talking on a cell phone and texting? I have seen more people trip over their own feet walking into people or walking into objects while talking or texting on a cell phone. It’s only a matter of time before somebody walks right off the ledge or something like that and really gets hurt. Cell phones should not be used while walking, riding a bike, or driving a vehicle. 

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Has anyone noticed on a clear night, and while looking up into the sky that there seem to be lights the size of stars that are moving all over for hours; they go up and down and sideways? Can anyone tell me what this is? 

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I think a problem we all have is that we believe somebody’s title. A title is only words, it’s not what they know, and it’s not how honest they are. It’s just words, and don’t believe them.

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I’m not proud of a governor who stands up to deliver a public address to New Yorkers. That shows what kind of person she is. Well, that’s why New York people left, because of somebody like her. Thank goodness it’s only a temporary position for her. 

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“Thank you, St. Anthony, for helping me to find my magnetic clip-on sunglasses, it was truly a miracle that I found them!”

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The Village of Newark Valley DPW is getting a new supervisor. My question is this, will there be any changes coming? And if so could they be put in the village newsletter?

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New York State’s government designed the marijuana issue with trickery and confusion. “Opt-in” = NO; “Opt-out” = YES; no vote = you’re stuck with it. Makes one wonder what state mandates lie ahead for those municipalities that opted in, and what they will cost.

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Newark Valley’s mayor and board wimped out on Monday evening, pretending to “listen” to multiple citizens at a public forum. They ended their meeting by NOT VOTING on the marijuana sales and consumption venue issues. This resulted in an automatic “opt-in”. Many speakers on both sides of the issue had valid arguments. But something important was brought up that was missed or ignored by the village; what costly oversight mandates will New York State impose over time that would far outweigh the measly 3% revenue from sales here, which many are salivating over? Had they opted out now, and waited to see how this convoluted state proposal plays out, we could have opted in at a later time. Now we’re stuck with whatever surprises the state has in store for us.

National Political Viewpoints

Biden, Biden, Biden. Drugs, drugs, drugs; so sad for this country.

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Over 150 comparative studies and pieces of evidence on COVID-19 masks and mask mandates have been very clear for 20 months that COVID face masks (blue surgical and cloth masks) are largely ineffective and even very harmful (https://palexander.substack.com/p/over-150-studies-and-pieces-of-evidence). In these statistical studies if you were properly wearing a one time use of a surgical mask of a fit-tested N95 or equivalent, like a KF94 or KN95, the study suggested that the maximum protection is 25 hours and was only achieved when you and the other person both wore a fit-tested N95 or equivalent. Otherwise, unless wearing one of these surgical masks, any of the promoted cloth or “blue” fiber masks, if worn properly, have less than 10% effectiveness. Basically, ‘All Show, No Go’ and worthless. Why Texas and Florida statistics can comparatively match any of the states with hard-core mandates of on mask wearing. Hello New York.

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Folks, do you remember when Biden first came and we were getting the stimulus checks? At the time I said, it seems all is well and good but we are going to pay for it down the road. Well, we are. We are paying for it with high food and gas prices, poorly stocked shelves, and an incompetent administration. Yes sir, we are certainly paying for it.

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Isn’t it amazing that the same people who say the government can’t order them to do something also want the government to order prices down?

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With the entire crisis in this country we are battling that democrats created, you’d think they’d have better things to do than concentrate on Jan. 6. Give me a break. It’s over; nobody cares.

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Hey democrats, stop fear mongering. There is no risk in sending all the kids back to school. Get over it. Follow the science, not your science, the real science. There’s no risk, period! Stop abusing these children!

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How come the new voting laws that the democrats are trying to ram down our throats don’t require a photo ID to vote? Doesn’t that raise any eyebrows with you liberals? It makes it easier to cheat.

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Educate yourself. Look up the word Trumpery. It fits him to a tee.

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“We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently and lawfully to become immigrants in the country.” — Barack Obama, 2005.

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So, Biden voters, please explain to me why the virus is just going through the roof now? This was under control under Trump. Where is Biden’s big plan to shut it down? Not shut the economy but shut the virus. Please explain in this column. I look forward to your response.

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What a terrible display on someone’s shed near the transfer station in Owego. Why? If a never Trumper like myself had put up a sign similar to that one about Mr. Trump, well we never would have heard the end of how mistreated he is. Please consider and then reconsider the message you are sending to young people when you put up a sign such as this one.

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A former UN official says the excessive U.S. military is not for defensive purposes as we have been brainwashed to believe, but purely offensive. We were warned about the U.S. military gaining too much power by Eisenhower, at this point they find the imaginary enemy under every rock; no proof they just make the allegation, anything to justify their existence. The 2022 military budget’s latest increase is another domestic issue that is ignored. The U.S. acts as the world police with over 800 bases in 135 countries. How many countries has the U.S. invaded, bombed or sanctioned since 9/11? How many have attacked the U.S.? None. The puppet government we have is failing and still fighting, and then there is Afghanistan after 20 years.

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A recent article from a Political Science Professor in Canada warned the Canadian government not to be surprised if by 2030 the U.S. were a dictatorship. If Trump’s coup had been successful, the U.S. would already be a dictatorship.

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It’s alarming how seemingly decent people so desire that if their “team” wins, they’ll even accept corruption to achieve that goal. They dismissed the widespread irregularities with the 2020 national election. They condoned FOUR very expensive murder trials against a local car dealer, with only weak circumstantial evidence. (He was eventually acquitted.) They refuse to bring to criminal trial, even with multiple credible victims, a (now former) Liberal Governor accused of sex crimes. Many who cheer hollow victories like these have become reprobate themselves. The soul of our nation is in danger. — Ponytail Scott.

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To all present and future retirees, why haven’t the Democrats reimbursed the Social Security retirement fund they absconded billions from. Now they are giving billions of dollars to people who haven’t contributed a dime, but you aren’t replacing the fund you have been stealing from the Social Security Fund since the early 1970’s. Where is the fairness in that? Plus you have billions of unspent monies out there someplace, so you can use some of it to do the right thing and pay it back. Present and future retirees should be getting $3,500 to $4,500 a month instead of the $1,200 to $1600 they are getting now. WE ALSO WOULD LIKE A LIVING WAGE. Especially, it’s our money we would like back.