Readers’ Column for the week of February 16, 2025

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

 

If you are struggling with drinking, AA is always available to help. Call the AA Hotline in Tioga County, N.Y. at 1-800-307-4285.

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Is your organization looking for volunteers? I have about four to eight hours a week to donate my time but am having a hard time finding out who needs help. If you do, please respond here in the Pennysaver with your organization name, contact information, and what kind of help you need. Thank you!

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I would like to know if anybody knows whether the discount store in Waverly has relocated or moved to a different location. I also would like to know how many other places there are to take my deposits. Please respond in this column.

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Two points to ponder about New York State management. One, congestion pricing has reduced the number of cars into Lower Manhattan. It was put in place to raise money for the MTA. If there are fewer cars going into Manhattan, how is the MTA raising money? Two, Hochul’s tax on utilities for the green climate hoax has resulted in Con Ed asking to raise its rates. If they step to the side, you’ll see NYSEG and the others waiting in line. I’m getting closer to the exit sign.

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To think that ANY mere mortal knows the mind of God is the worst form of blasphemy.

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Have you noticed all the empty buildings around? Businesses that supplied income and revenue to Owego, such as Sanmina, the bank on 5th Avenue, and now Grand Union, shortly, and the other storefronts around town. We DON’T NEED more beer and wine establishments, restaurants, coffee shops, or antique stores. We NEED REAL employment! How can we patronize the businesses we have if we have no extra money to spend? We need a scaled-down version of Target, Wal-Mart, or even Boscov’s.

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If anybody found a wallet in Sweeney’s parking lot on Jan. 24, could you please call (607) 205-7003? I think that’s where I lost it.

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What is going on in this area? Lots of restaurants and stores are going out of business. Pretty soon it will be a ghost town. What we need in Owego is a store like Jamesway was, a nice department store so the seniors don’t have to travel to Vestal for a variety of things. What’s going on at Aldi’s? And now Grand Union is closing on March 1 as well. I don’t understand what’s happening. 

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Is there anyone out there that repairs stair climbers? Call (607) 642-3403. Thank you. 

 

I would like to encourage any cat lovers who can, to donate funds to Gail Ginger of Gail’s Tails in this paper. Gail works very hard rescuing cats, providing all their veterinary care, and finding them great homes. They’re treated with lots of TLC. No one cares more about their welfare. If you would like to donate or adopt, call Gail at (607) 689-3033. 

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I was out this weekend, and I lost my wallet. If found, please bring it to Dunkin and ask for Ashley or call my dad at (607) 972-8011. 

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I’d like to thank the Town of Owego Highway Department for the great job that they’re doing. I really appreciate all their work. Thank you. 

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What is going on in Owego and environs lately? Major businesses are closing: Walgreens, Scoville, now Grand Union. Sidewalks in the Village have been dangerous for years. (Spray painting the dangerous spots is not a solution.) Numerous obvious code and zoning violations are ignored. The homeless shift from place to place with no real solution. We are rapidly losing any reason for people to visit, plus significant tax revenue; our quality of life is deteriorating. It’s becoming an increasingly poor value to live here. Something better change, or we’re going to be “dust in the wind.” After we survived the flood and COVID, what a shame!

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I am housebound and I am looking for someone to clean my driveway. If interested, please call (607) 565-7245.

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My name is Dan Burgess. In 1975, on Feb. 15, I was in a fatal car crash that took two of my friends, Brad Moon and Donnie Rosengrant. It’s going to be 50 years, I want the Family and Friends to know I have not forgotten and never will. Miss you, Dan.

 

National Political Viewpoints

Imagine not only your home but your entire neighborhood, or city being destroyed. Then some developer says, “I want to build here, and I’m not going to pay; it’s worthless, all the buildings are gone. Go away now. I’m taking over.”

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Elon Musk spent $277 million to help get Donald Trump elected. Since Election Day, he has become $154 billion richer. Not a bad return on investment. Additionally, he has gained control of the Treasury Department, the General Services Administration, the Office of Personnel Management, and USAID. All this without ever being elected to any government position or vetted by Congress. He also lacks security clearance. People aren’t frightened by one individual holding this much power? Would they tolerate it with anyone other than Trump?

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Is there anyone else out there who is receiving calls from the RNC using the same area code 771 but different numbers, and NO ONE IS ON THE LINE, and they don’t leave a message? I have received 17 calls since Jan. 16.

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“In an era where Trump is single-handedly dismantling decades of diversity, equity, and inclusion that generations of women, people of color, and queer people have fought for, the Super Bowl felt like a microcosm of a larger problem. Not only does it feel like Trump and his ilk want Swift out of football, it’s like they want to return our entire country to a time when they were in control, had all the power, and could say whatever they wanted without repercussions. And if it seems scary online, it’s even more chilling when you’re forced to confront it face to face.” “Why Taylor Swift Getting Booed at the Super Bowl was Even More Chilling Than You Think” — Stephanie McNeal. Glamour. Feb. 10, 2025

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“Two decades ago, Bush’s Republican Party chose to topple the far-off regime of Saddam Hussein. It’s worth taking a second to reflect that, only a short political lifetime later, the government that Trump’s G.O.P. has chosen to go after is our own.” —Susan B. Glasser on efforts to sabotage the federal government

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The PRESIDENT, who was ELECTED by a MAJORITY (no matter how narrow) is trying to actually do the things he promised when running (ahem). Instead of “reaching across the aisle” and at least, if not helping, staying out of it, the Dems are blocking him at every turn; even on “common sense issues.” They are like a bunch of two year olds having a tantrum because they aren’t getting their way, even if it is something good for them. They evidently care more about power than the needs of the American people; in the mix, they are probably trying to avoid the fact that there are things they should have taken care of and dropped the ball (taking care of the situation in North Carolina should come before sending condoms for a third world country). Disgusting; even stooping to inciting protests (how hypocritical); just proving how dysfunctional they are.

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While Democrat voters are bashing Trump, Vance, Musk, etc., keep in mind, your precious Biden, Harris, Pelosi, Schumer (and Hochul) did their fair share of mudslinging – and are still at it!

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I voted for President Trump. I’m not “un-American,” “deplorable,” “garbage,” or a “lemming!” Democrats had their “deplorable” way for four years and failed miserably. Now it’s time for the millions upon millions of true Americans to be heard!

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Well, Southern Tier – Global Warming! What a joke!

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Nobody in America can do without. Global inflation has affected the world. Egg prices should be the least of your worries. Republicans don’t have egg money, but I bet they have beer money. They also believe that bird flu is a hoax and that supply has nothing to do with the issue. If you don’t like the price of eggs, don’t buy them. Otherwise, build a coop, buy chickens, and tend to them.

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Where is Trump going to get the money to pay for the trip home of the USAID workers?   The pause is going to cost a lot of money. There is no instruction for the food shipment in transit. How much will it cost to handle that? How does that save money? This seems really poorly thought out. Where is Trump going to get the money to send troops to Panama, Greenland, and Gaza? What about the Tariff counteroffensive from China, what if they stop exporting minerals for electric batteries? Trump looks like a straw strong man.

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I just have a couple of questions for the Republican Americans out there. Who is going to pay for all these buyouts that Trump and Elon are offering? If Trump can turn Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East,” who is going to pay for that? How have your grocery store visits been lately? Got enough eggs? Oh, and I almost forgot, aren’t you a little worried about your Social Security and Medicare, not to mention veterans’ benefits?

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If you rely on Medicare and Social Security for the majority of your healthcare and retirement income, you need to be very concerned about Elon Musk having access to all of your information. He and Trump are billionaires and don’t need health insurance or Social Security, so they don’t understand that most Americans pay into those systems for all of their working lives and we need that money to survive in retirement. Trump promised that those programs were safe, but he lied. I think we can all agree that there is plenty of waste in government spending, but we pay income taxes for Medicare and Social Security, and that is not where the cuts should come from.

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Trump wants to reduce the size of the Federal Government. Great, dissolve the Federal government, eliminate all Federal Taxes, and return the power to the states, who can clearly manage better than the Federal Government has. If states want to form state to state agreements in certain areas, it will be more efficient. Outlaw lobbies and special interest groups from influencing the state representatives who are supposed to represent “we the people.” We were warned by our Founding Fathers about Political Parties, and we ignored them. We now have a toxic two-party system representing the wealthy, big businesses, religious groups, special interest groups, and the excessive military, which we were warned about by Eisenhower. Are you enjoying the chaos Trump is creating? Land grabs, ignoring the Constitution, breaking laws, giving President Musk, a non-US unelected individual, so much power, freezing government employees out of the offices and computers, and access to your personal information.

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I did not know we voted for Elon Musk last November. I only have one thing to say to all you MAGA voters! Hook, line, and sinker!

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I saw that someone in the readers’ column last week was complaining about the Trump flag, and they were saying that they were traumatized from the first week of his administration. Well, like it or not, he is the president, so you’ll have to deal with it.

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Most of the Jan. 6 peaceful protesters were grandmas, grandpas, and colorful characters like Chewbacca man, whose worst defensive weapons were the horns on his head. To say these were armed insurrectionists is pure blather. To say that President Trump encouraged insurrection is pure insanity since Trump wanted to send in troops but he was turned down by the Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi. You Democrats should be traumatized. You have turned up the crime in our major cities, and you have opened our borders to criminals. President Trump has done more in a few days than the Biden and Obama administrations have done in 12 years. Go Trump!

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This is to the individual who is nauseated by things that Donald Trump is doing and wants people to take down their Trump flags. Well, I’m sorry, I will not take down my Trump flag. I have been flying them high and proud for many years, and I am so glad he is our president. He is closing our borders and removing illegals, especially the most dangerous ones. Donald Trump comes in, and he is making things happen. You should not be nauseated; you should be happy, you should be joyful. I am, and I will not take down my Trump flag. He is going to make this country much better than Joe Biden ever has. Joe Biden did nothing but destroy this country, and that’s it!

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I love how all these doctors who botched COVID and lied to us about it are now giving advice and criticizing RFK Junior. Well, it couldn’t be any worse than anything you guys did, because you didn’t have a clue and you were wrong about everything; distancing, masks, and the list goes on. You were wrong.

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Poor Chucky Schumer, the price of his beer and his avocados is rising. Well, he didn’t say anything about it when he was helping Biden waste all his money keeping the industrial military conflicts going. He ought to lose everything except the shirt on his back, just like a lot of people have done in the hurricanes, and the fires in California.

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Want to know why egg prices are so high? Well, it’s because of Dr. Fauci, remember that name? Funded gain of function Chinese experiments, which, in turn, led to bird flu, and that, in turn, led to the killing of whole herds of chickens. The stuff will soon hit the fan, and DOGE information about the waste and spending in the US government will be monumental. Stay tuned.

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The Trump “Pocalypse” is here and thriving. Get used to it, Democrats. Quit money laundering like your former leader and go back to your office and work hard once again. You just got “dodged.” The Democrat politicians and a few rhinos have been robbing us blind for decades. And remember, no Social Security tax for seniors is coming soon. America will be greater than ever, and America First will be once again. 

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I see Secretary Duffy is dismantling Biden’s green agenda. Thank God somebody’s going to put the brakes on that crap! Now if they could get rid of that bozo out there in California and the woman in New York, that would be a perfect start. It’s sickening! People, pull the plug on that stupid nonsense and take it to Al Gore, dump it in his yard. They’ll keep putting the scare tactic on you, how they’re claiming it is bad. Thank God, Trump administration, you’re going to put it in that trash. 

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I’m so sick and tired of hearing Trump say America first. Everything he’s doing appears to be Russia first. 

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Trump said he didn’t know anything about Project 25. What a liar! Look at all the stuff he’s starting to do coming right out of the Player 25 Project Playbook. So, believe what you want. When your Medicare and Medicaid, and Social Security are affected, I’ll bet you’ll finally pull your heads out of your butt. Buyer’s remorse, I got it. 

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What the heck is going on in this country? Musk has emerged from under his rock and brought a group of his minions with him to take over our country. They have gained access to our federal government. They are trolling our personal information, which seems so funny because we’ve always been warned about not giving out our Social Security numbers and any private information. But we don’t need to worry, they have it all. Our senators are shut out of federal offices. Security clearances mean nothing to Musk because he abuses drugs, cannot get a high-level clearance, and that means nothing. Trump is his puppet. Trump is too busy pounding his chest, talking about taking over Panama, the Panama Canal, Canada, Greenland, and Gaza. What about helping Americans, Donald?  

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Taking over Gaza is ethnic cleansing, pure and simple, much like we did to the Native Americans. If he would like to have other countries take them in, what about the good old USA? Ohh, that’s right, they’re Muslims. We don’t want them. Instead now he’s advocating migrations of white people and those are the words that were used from South Africa because they’ve been poorly treated. Ohh. Let’s not forget Musk is from South Africa. By the way, who will plant the crops and pick the crops? Maybe the white South Africans? Trump couldn’t care less about the people in Gaza. This is a land grab, he and Netanyahu, the corrupt leader are rubbing their hands over this. Don’t be fooled. 

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During Trump’s presidential campaign, he wailed about the criminal migrants in our nation and that he was going to deport them. Guess what? He is rounding them up and giving them a ticket and releasing them back into the community, just like Joe Biden did. Trump released 1,500 violent felons who attacked the Capital. He also released one of the biggest online drug dealers ever, all in just three weeks! Feeling safer yet? 

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When are Democrats going to admit that USAID is nothing but a scam and a way to launder money for yourself and pay yourself back? Will you ever admit it? Because the jig is up and the jig is up on a lot of these phony federal bureaucracies that you set up. God bless Elon Musk and Donald Trump. 

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The readers’ column has turned into a trash Trump column with political opinions. Look, if you don’t like the guy, then so be it. 

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Did you hear the latest news from Elon Musk last week? Guess what? FEMA spent $59 million, that’s for one week, to house illegal immigrants in New York City luxury hotels. How about taking that $59 million and spending it on hurricane-ravaged USA southern states? Go DOGE and President Trump!