Readers’ Column for the week of November 17, 2019

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. 

Looking for someone to shovel in Apalachin. We have health problems and are unable to do it. Call 625-3449.

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I see where the town of Berkshire code enforcement is really cleaning up their junk car issue. Newark Valley and Spencer ought to get together with Berkshire to see how Berkshire solved their junk car issue. 

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To the person calling a few weeks ago about their neighbor burning garbage and plastic on Catlin Hill Road, this should be reported to DEC. I’ve brought similar matters to their attention and they have been very helpful and responsive.

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Maybe if we didn’t have so many people driving around Owego in DPW vehicles getting six miles to a gallon doing absolutely nothing, we wouldn’t have the highest sewer rates in the entire U.S.A. 

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Black Friday bowling is coming up soon. Free pizza, free bowling and free soda for all school age children sponsored by the VFW. Hope to see you there!

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Okay, once again, check out the Orpheum Theatre in Chatham, Massachusetts. It’s a lovely theater and we could have the same thing here. 

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To the reader last week who labeled me a moron for my anti leaf blower comment. I can only hope that your neighbor buys one. Walk a mile in my moccasins. I rest my case.

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To the caller who wanted to know about the town of Owego animal control officer; good luck, he never returns calls, gives people the runaround and fails to get rid of noise complaints. 

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Well call me a moron! What does that leaf blower comment mean? I’ve read it three times and it makes no sense. Don’t waste space in this column with comments that don’t make any sense. 

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There was a very nice article in your paper on veterans. I had a grandson who served in Afghanistan. He came home and he was a single father, he had a job and was raising his boy alone. He had problems, now we know that it was PTSD. He went to the VA and was given a packet of pills, two days later he hung himself. Is there a group out there or does someone know about a group that has experienced this with other veterans? 

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I think the upcoming lighting of the way is a spectacular event for the past few years in Owego. I would only hope and pray they would light the lights on the bridge, the courthouse square, river row, Main Street and North Avenue. There are 34 lights out. Please light those for the lighting of the way.

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In addition to banning leaf blowers, I’d also like to see them drop them in a form of a question format. Just give us the answer and be done with it. There, how’s that for a slow news week.

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It still looks like all the money in New York is going to the welfare rats for a bigger cell phone, maybe a little better food stamp project or something. The road between Owego and Candor looks like a goat herder’s road. 

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A perspective: The Owego Apalachin Central School District’s (OACSD’s) New York State teachers and employees pension costs are significant and a somewhat variable budget item. For four of the last five years, pension costs have declined. Being these savings are cumulative, OACSD should have had a $1,038,000 savings for the current school year. This is equivalent to a 6.3 percent increase in property taxes; yet the OACSD Board of Education required the addition of the maximum allowable property tax increase of 3.8 percent. This is equivalent to a 10.1 percent property tax increase. The rule is that year-to-year savings are simply back-filled to fund the most excessive salaries in the Southern Tier. New York State funding does not cover waste; you and the students pay 100 percent.

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I am wondering if anyone knows of someone who raises Siamese cats; if so, please call (607) 625-3190.

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I know this is going to sound picky, but this IS an opinion column. Please stop referring to Santa as arriving in a “horse drawn carriage”. Check the definition of “carriage” – this is more of a wagon or farm cart. Of course, Owego could be Different and Classy and have a Victorian Santa (to emphasize our historic – as in HOM – shopping district as opposed to a tacky, failing mall) arrive in the actual beautiful white carriage I have seen in use for weddings. Just sayin’.

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When working, if I didn’t do my job or called in too often, I would expect to be fired. It CERTAINLY didn’t have anything to do with loyalty!

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I have to agree with the person who cannot make any contact with NYSEG. I am in the same boat by getting a call about once a week and the caller says that they are NYSEG and they owe me money and all I have to do is push “1”. I have called several times to report it and have never connected with a live person. The Public Service Commission (PSC) has never allowed us to be sold to IBERDROLA. The long time NYSEG stockowners, including me, got socked with a huge long terminal capital gains tax for the feds and N.Y.S.

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To Village of Owego residents who chose not to be a customer of the electric supplier the Village signed on with: beware of recent scam robocalls from this company. The latest will have no company name in the caller ID, but the number is (606) 702-8524. The message is – “This is an apology call from your utility. You were overcharged by a third party supplier. You will be receiving a rebate, plus a 30 percent discount on your electric and gas bill. Press 1 now to receive your rebate.” This is a SCAM by this new electric company to get you to an agent who will try to convince you to join up. Good luck to those of you with this supplier already – such underhanded, desperate tactics are despicable, misleading and a disgraceful way to do business, in my opinion.

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Is it legal for a bar or restaurant to charge you a fee for using a credit card? I had this happen to me in Owego. There was no sign to let me know before they rang up the charges. Doesn’t seem right to me.

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I just got my second call in two days with no ID. They just started by telling me that my security had been breached and I should …  I hung up. I hope others will too.

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Anyone who would like an artificial Christmas tree, please leave your phone number in next week’s column. I will call the first number and continue until someone takes it.

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We people in the Halstead development are very fortunate to receive the Pennysaver each week for FREE. The lady who delivers it if very faithful, so let’s try to remember her with a token of appreciation during the holidays. Thanks neighbors, and thanks Pennysaver.

National Political Viewpoints

I don’t understand how you republican senators continuously defend Trump. How can you defend the indefensible? I guess it’s true what they say, you can’t reason with drunks, children, or republicans.

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The phony whistleblower has been outed by his democrat friends. He is Eric Ciaramella. He was a registered democrat. He worked with John Brennan, and he served in the Obama administration. He worked and traveled with guess who? Joe Biden! He worked directly under James Clapper. Wow, what a surprise! He was fired from the NSC in 2017 for leaks and then he went to the CIA. He worked with DNC operative Alexandra Chalupa in creating the Trump/Russia collusion hoax. That’s who the whistleblower is. 

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Follow the news. How many Trumpsters are surprised that President Trump has to repay $2 million to the charities he stole from? He acknowledged fraud for personal use from stealing from the charities. What a guy!

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Trump insults Ted Cruz and his wife and yet Teddy sucks right up to him. Mr. President insults the hell out of Sessions, yet Jeff Sessions has got his nose right up President Trump’s butt. These aren’t men. These are what you call republicans. 

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Follow the news. If you’re looking to see the President of the United States, look for a draft dodger, look for a guy who ran a fake university, look for a guy who ran a charity who stole from veterans, look for a guy whose closest advisors are in jail and what do you find? Mr. Trump, hero to the Republican Party. Give me a break!

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Trump and his illegal activities had to pay back $2 million to charity and I am so happy they finally caught him and he had to pay. He deserved boos, and the lock him up chant at the Washington Bills game. Lock him up, lock him up with the rest of his cronies; and it’s coming pretty soon thank God!

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I ask you, where did all the democrat losers and refugees from the local hemp farm come from in the last Pennysaver? It appears the Pennysaver needs to clean house on its censor. The best president of all time, Donald J. Trump, will beat these witless losers like a drum in 2020. The economy is great! Jobs are abundant, the military is rebuilt, our wounded veteran care has improved dramatically and the deadbeat democrat dimwits are squealing like stuck pigs. All is right in the good ole U.S.A. Go Trump! 

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Has anyone noticed the alien spacecraft hovering over Owego in the early hours, probably from 5:30 to 6:15 in the morning? It appears to be stationed over the Lockheed Martin plant. I’m wondering if maybe it’s sucking specified information out of computers to transfer to Russia for the Dems. 

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The disgusting, devious, divisive, democrats impeach Trump coup is a big joke. Joe Biden’s own video shows quid pro quo. Trump should have asked the Ukrainians to investigate the crooked Biden’s. That is obvious to all. The dumb uninformed democrat voters don’t even know what an impeachable offense is. The senate will never support this illegal case. Trump will win big in 2020; then it will be his turn to investigate the real crooks like the Biden’s, Clinton’s, Obama’s, Comey’s, Brennan’s, Clapper’s and the rest of the traitors formally in power. Go Trump!

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Trump said he was treated very badly in New York. Well boohoo for him. People are glad he is leaving New York State. Now maybe he can shoot someone down there and get away with it in Florida. Let him go there because maybe he’ll add another 10,000 lies down there. They can have him, the shebang! Go Trump, go! Yea!

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In your column last week someone described the Republican Party as hammer and sympathizers. Well they were spot on. You people who voted Trump, you don’t even realize you’re supporting a communist sympathizer. Putin’s got Trump in his pocket. You guys can stick your head in the sand, you can ignore it, and you are the party of a hammer and sickle. At one time you people used to be the most patriotic, most religious. Now you’re just a joke. Vote democrat.

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Well it’s been about four weeks already and I asked the readers if they could come up with any legitimate reason our illustrious Governor Cuomo went to Puerto Rico or Israel. No answers yet! Please, vote for any republican governor. Vote republican!

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Are you Trump supporters serious about getting involved in the civil war if your president is impeached? How stupid are you people? Do you know what war is? Well, no wonder they call it the Republican Party, the party of stupidity. They definitely are the stupid party. Vote democrat!

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The booing shown to our great president tells me two things – total disrespect and a very small amount of the American people showing their stupidity. 

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Well tell me it ain’t so. Hillary is considering another run for the presidency, and Eric Holder is also throwing his hat into the ring. These people need to realize the American people don’t want to hear from them. They have nothing to offer the American people, as no other democrat does as well. Trump 2020 in a landslide, wait and see.

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When Senator Ratcliffe asked the so-called witnesses, is there anything in the Ukrainian document to warrant impeachment of our great President Trump, the witnesses pretended to be crickets. This is a dimwit democrat hoax and a travesty of justice. Pelosi and Schiff look like the morons they are.

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Well the 3-ring circus is now being televised. I watched some of it waiting for Adam Schiff to pull his famous rabbit out of his hat, but his two key witnesses did more good for President Trump. Those two admitted to not even knowing Mr. Trump. Yeah, I’ll say Adam Schiff sure pulled a rabbit out of his top hat, but it appears the rabbit was not alive. The democrats need to give it up already. They started with Russia, Russia, Russia and found nothing. Now they’ve moved to the Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine and are finding nothing. I wonder what country is next. Give it up already!

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What’s the deal with Jeff Sessions? If someone insulted and called me Mr. Magoo, I certainly would not come crawling back. Is having a position with administration that important.  

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“Not to put too fine a point on it, but Anonymous can bite me. I have no intention of shelling out a dime to read about how someone almost ran into the burning house to save the baby, or about how someone almost gave up their seat in the lifeboat when the great ship went down, or about how someone almost dove into a freezing river to save a busload of nuns, or, for that matter, about how someone almost decided not to be a part of the most monstrous executive administration since the (un) death of Vlad The Impaler. I am not interested in someone’s heartfelt account of their near-collision with actual integrity. I decline to be fascinated by the tale of how someone nearly ran into courage on the street but had to catch a bus instead. Like I said, Anonymous can anonymously bite me.” Charles Pierce from Esquire commenting on the latest book about the Trump administration.

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Please read this and then try to explain why the impeachment underway is unconstitutional and / or illegal, and being improperly conducted. Constitution of the United States; Article 2 Section 4; “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Article I Section 2; “The House of Representatives – shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.” Article I Section 5; “Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings.”

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As a retired person living on a planned for modest fixed income retirement in 2009, this is my reality. Earnings during my working years funded a modest 401(k), a “3 legged stool retirement investment account; an investment that came with a regulation that at the age of 70 you must take mandatory distribution on the fund balance. In 2010 the investment account at that time was experiencing minimum to zero earnings, and at one point leading up to 2016 was losing accrued earnings. With a mandatory distribution stipulation, the account didn’t look as though it would last the planned 15 years, until the summer of 2017. The account not only has recovered ALL prior earnings lost, it continues to grow and post earnings even though it simultaneously pays out a minimum mandatory distribution, planned to augment my retirement income without affecting principal. Thank you Donald Trump.

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Trump – a draft dodger! What kind of patriot is he? He was supposed to decrease the number of troops in the Middle East, in fact there are now more! Who is protecting the oil fields in Syria – U.S. troops, it used to be the Kurds, but Trump abandoned them. Now we have troops in Saudi Arabia; why are we paying for that? Your tax dollars are at work for Saudi Arabia. Now, we have more troops in Iraq. Trump is incompetent and a liar.

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The full-year deficit for 2019 is estimated to come in at $984 billion. Trump inherited a deficit of $585 billion from Obama when he took office in January 2017. Barack Obama inherited $1.4 trillion in 2009 from Bush following the financial crisis, a number Obama slashed by more than half. Republicans are consistent, Reagan gave tax breaks to the rich and the deficit ballooned, Bush reduced taxes and the deficit ballooned. It’s the trickle down theory. At one time Republicans cared about deficits. Now they just can’t wait to use the deficit as an excuse to cut social security and Medicare. 

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Why is it when Mr. Trump goes to rallies he doesn’t address issues? It’s mostly a spear campaign. He throws the democrats under the bus and bullies others. He never talks about Medicare, infrastructure, immigration, or even the wall anymore. I am not sure what, as a president, he has to offer the public. 

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Just to comment on last week’s column, the economy and stock market are in fairly good shape. It’s not all due to Mr. Trump. He walked into a good economy. That being said, many think money rules the country. There’s honesty, integrity, and truthfulness that the country needs now. We are a divided nation. Mr. Trump wanted to bring the troops home and leave our allies until he realized there was oil. Now he will sacrifice lives to line more pockets.  We need to ask ourselves, what do we want? What is important to Americans? What is the price being paid with Mr. Trump in office? Our maker will not ask to see our bank accounts; we will be judged on what difference we made.

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A reader last week thought it was such a disgrace to have the president being booed. Where would they have learned such a thing? 

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Greta Thunberg, the teenager who confronted the U.N. climate organization, was in fact raised by nut job, wild-eyed climate change activists and was indoctrinated from a very young age. She’s kind of over the edge when it comes to man-made climate change. Her story and testimony is not necessarily entirely truthful. A grain of salt, as they say.

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Democrats love to talk about Trump’s bone spurs keeping him out of Viet Nam. Here’s a simple question that no Democrat will answer. Why is Trump a draft dodger but you defend to the death “The Coward In Chief” William Jefferson Clinton? He ran from the same war and is as big a coward as Trump. I would also like to know why my fellow Viet Nam vets have the same double standard. A coward is a coward.

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Thirty years ago, Nov. 9, we tore down the Berlin Wall and escaped the utopian socialist prison of East Germany. First, we invaded the West German supermarkets and emptied the shelves of bananas, oranges, meat, toilet paper, etc. We tried to arrest the secret police (State Security Service) and apparatchik (Communist Party Elite) for crimes against humanity. We put the nightmare of Socialist E. Germany into the garbage heap of history. No monuments exist to Socialism, only for the lives destroyed. 

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What is wrong with the Democrats who are sore losers from the get go. As soon as President Trump announced he was running for the Presidency they all thought it was a joke, and once it was announced that he won they talked about impeachment before he was even sworn in. This is so sad that this is what they are getting paid for. They are not focusing on healthcare, infrastructure, and illegal immigrants coming into our country and doing it the right way. They should be grateful that unemployment numbers are down, the stock market is up, and that our Veterans are getting the much needed help that wasn’t there for them before. This impeachment is a sham. They have secret meetings and won’t let “we the people” see what is going on. They weren’t expecting the President to release the phone conversation to the public, which put them in a tailspin. The phone conversation was a clean conversation. Think of our men and women who have served and lost their lives and the men and women who are still serving to protect us so we don’t turn into a socialist country, which would be very bad. We the people would no longer have our own rights. It would be dictated to us. We older folks who have worked our butts off to live a good life and provide for our children will no longer have that under the socialists. No wonder the younger generation thinks that socialism is great; you get everything free and don’t have to work for it. No thanks, I would rather work for what I have and be proud to know that I worked hard for everything I have. God Bless America!