Letters 12/17/2009

Dear Editor,
With Winter here, cleaning one1s car of snow and ice is certainly a chore. As a matter of Safety and Courtesy, please take the extra few minutes to remove accumulated snow and ice from the roof of your vehicle before driving on public roads. A woman was killed last year in New Jersey when her windshield was shattered by a hunk of ice from another vehicle, causing her fatal crash. While New York State does not have a mandatory snow removal law, you are still legally responsible for any accidents or damages caused
by ANYTHING not properly attached to your vehicle that can come off and endanger others. On the practical side, the extra weight of all that snow decreases your gas mileage and increases your fuel expense, so you can save both lives and money by removing it. Please take off your snow hats!
Baker Rorick
Bearsville, NY

Dear Editor,
Your banner photo and caption of NEW BUSINESS! in the Olive Press is sadly misleading. Mountain Business Services merely moved around the corner from a Route 28 stand alone building into the mini-mall at Shokan Square. It is not a new business, and they replaced a family practice physician who apparently couldn't make a business at the site.
In fact, we have steadily been losing businesses and services in our Rt 28 corridor. In that Shokan Square mall there is a beautiful vacant former doll shop and a recently vacated Wine Steward shop. Across Rt 28 there are several vacant stores in the other mini-mall, stores formerly occupied. We have lost both our Black Bear restaurants, the one in Shandaken with its gift shop and the one in West Hurley with its motel.
I am sure the rest of our local businesses are hanging on by a tight margin. We certainly would appreciate the patronage of our local residents as they whiz by on the way to the Hudson Valley Mall and WalMart. Your local papers should make more of an effort to highlight our local businesses, our artists and craftspeople (disclosure: myself among them). I know you do this from time to time, but it should be more of an effort, especially at the holiday season.
For the past year I have been participating in the Central Catskill Collaborative focused on the Route 28 corridor and its issues. I have been urging the creation of a Visitor and Welcome Center in one of the many vacant commercial spaces in our corridor. I wish that ribbon cutting pictured last issue had been for such a center to help direct people to our local attractions, services and businesses.
Robert Selkowitz
Shokan, NY

Dear Editor,
This is in response to Stevan Alburty’s recent letter to the editor of the Phoenicia Times. Mr. Alburty suggests that the farm stand issue in the Town of Shandaken relates to the classic movie “A Man for All Seasons.” He quotes Sir Thomas More’s great speech “When the last law was down and the Devil turned `round on you, where would you hide--the laws all being flat?”
In Mr. Alburty’s view Hanover Farm’s operating outside the law is an attack on the very essence of our legal system. To him it all comes to a belligerent demand on being treated special.
There is a fundamental problem with Mr. Alburty’s view. First he skips over entirely the fact that the existing law is understood by all parties to be antiquated. This is not a particularly rare situation in our country where law books are filled with prohibitions and penalties that reflect an earlier age and are no longer enforced.
The fundamental problem Mr. Alburty doesn’t seem to understand is the arbitrary and vindictive application of the law by the Disclafani administration. There are two farm stands in Shandaken. Only one was asked to pay a $2500 fee for site plan review.
The Disclafani administration proposed a new law that seeks to dictate, item by item, what foods can be sold in a farm stand, the specific dates farm stands in our town are allowed to open and required to close, and most absurdly, the daily hours of operation that will shift according to the set of the sun.
Mr. Alburty views my promise to fight for my right to sell tomatoes as a joke. Offering fresh produce at reasonable prices when it’s convenient to our customers for the past eight years has provided a service to the community and a livelihood for my family for and our fourteen employees. It’s been fun serving the people of our community, but never a joke.
Al Higley, Hanover Farms
Mount Tremper, NY

Dear Editor,
I wanted to address the 12/3/2009 letter that Marian Callaghan Umhey submitted regarding the Ulster County Sheriff’s Employees and their fundraising. It is very important that the public know that this organization does not represent the Patrol Division. The Ulster County Deputy Sheriff’s Police Benevolent Association (UCDSPBA) does not hire out or participate in any telephone solicitations. The members of the PBA, which consist of the men and women who patrol Ulster County realize that these hired telemarketers survive on the public’s donation. The PBA occasionally sends mailings to Ulster County residents asking for support in the many programs that we fund throughout the county. By doing such we receive 100% of your donation and there is no pressured sales pitch. If any resident receives a call from anyone who claims to represent the fundraising efforts of the PBA they are lying and we would like to know. Thank you for your support.
Perry M. Soule, Secretary
Ulster County Deputy Sheriff’s
Police Benevolent Association

Dear Editor,
I recently obtained copies of the Town of Olive's bank accounts via a freedom of information law request. The statements showed that as of September 30, 2009 the Town was holding approximately $2 million in cash, nearly half of the Town's operating budget. About one half of the $2 million balance is atttributable to the capital fund and the other half to the general fund. I am posting JPG images of the key statements on my blog this week. Taxes are paid in January, so the $1 million in operating funds was being held when about 70% of the year had gone by. Note that Town Supervisor Leifeld and his fellow Democrats have increased property taxes by over 6 percent despite ample cash balances. The accounts are mostly held in commercial banks that pay interest below the inflation rate. Hence, the Democrats are taxing you and giving the proceeds to local banks.
You may have missed the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank's statistics on national monetary policy over the past three years (to catch up see http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications). To put Mr. Leifeld's folly into perspective notice that in the past year or so the Fed has tripled the monetary base and since 2006 the money supply has been increasing by 8 percent per year. It is true that these numbers may not correspond to inflation in the short run, but there is a significant risk of them corresponding to it in the long run. More money chasing fewer goods. Those with bank accounts would be hurt.
Right now, the Town of Olive under Mr. Leifeld's direction is effectively paying local banks to hold two million of your dollars because inflation adjusted interest rates are below zero. The situation can get much worse, though. China is holding nearly a trillion dollars in treasury bonds and has been selling the bonds, converting dollars back into yuan. Other countries such as Japan and Saudi Arabia are holding similar amounts. If there is a run on the dollar, there could be hyper-inflation here in the US as foreign bond holdings move into non-dollar denominated assets. No one can predict a thing like that, but there is a risk. Even if that does not occur, it is unlikely that the poorly paid Chinese workers will be able to continue to carry American consumers on their backs. The Chinese were eager for industrialization, and they took large dollar holdings to keep Chinese wages and prices low which they now regret especially because the Bush and Obama administrations have pursued an inflationary, pro-Wall Street policy. No one can sustain ongoing losses in terms of artificially reduced wages as the Chinese have. If there is a run on the dollar, central banks around the world may sell.
Thus, Mr. Leifeld is speculating. He has taken a long dollar position at a time when the dollar faces considerable risk. Those of you who lived through the late 1970s may recall how inflation affected bank accounts. The smart money was in commodities. The Town of Olive's money is in bank accounts. Under inflation, the value of the $2 million could be reduced to $1 million or $500,000. I wonder how Mr. Leifeld's past record in stock, currency and commodity speculation looks. You better pray that he knows what he is doing. I doubt it.
Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.
West Shokan, NY

Dear Editor,
What is happening to the heart of our little community? Recently we lost our librarian.This was all cloaked in great secrecy and no reason was given to the public as to why this happened. I always liked Regina...she was a good librarian with a great sense of hum our and she added a lot to the social environment there. I have no idea of the details of her firing, but, something there does not seem quite right to me. Just recently, I learned that my very dear friend Lea was fired from Sweet Sue's. I was very upset to hear this sad news. I have been a common fixture at Sue's for at least the last five years .Also, I briefly trained to be a part of the wait staff there. I can tell you that Lea often did the work of 10 people.She is one of THE most honorable and hard-working people I know. Not only is she the Queen of multitasking but she was always graceful under fire.She served as waitress, counselor,local headhunter/job finder,mother to all who enter big and small. She knows everyone's name their children's names, how each and everyone of her customer's is doing...have they been ill.?....did they lose their job?.......is their roof leaking?....and ,how can she help? Lea is the face and soul of sweet sue's....in fact, many out-of-towners often assume she is Sue.
There is no legitimate reason as far as I can tell for firing this amazing woman. She has been waiting tables since she was in the womb,for crying out loud, and grew up in the industry 'helping to run her mother's restaurant. Most of the reason any of us locals go into Sue's in the first place is because of Lea. I feel that her firing can only hurt Sue's business and I can't imagine why, especially before the holiday season, she would be let go. Lea works so hard and without complaint for her family, and like many of us up here is struggling to support three people. This move on the part of Sweet Sue's is just plain mean-spirited at best. I for one will not step foot in that restaurant again. Boy, Phoenicia sure is changing and ,in my opinion,not for the better. This makes me very sad. I remember the days when a bunch of us would gather at the library and shoot the breeze....check in with each other , talk about our kids support each other thru hard times.Then we'd meander over to Sue's, say hi to Lea and play with True. These two places in our town were the very heart of our little community to see that change and to have those changes leave you feeling deeply disturbed about the ethics involved is truly unsettling. In a time in our culture where it is rare to see people stand up for one another, I felt it was absolutely necessary, and my moral obligation ,to speak out on behalf of one of the most decent honest and loving people I know. I love you Lea and you will be sorely missed...........keep us posted on where you go next....we'll follow
Lea Kwiecinski
Chichester, NY

Dear Editor,
I am so thankful for my public library, Olive Free Library, as well as the Mid-Hudson Library system. For us, the library is our community center, a place to see friends and neighbors, to make new friends and strengthen our community bond. Its librarians and staff are welcoming, knowledgeable and friendly. Community volunteers add to this strength of the library. Storyhours are about crafts, stories, yoga, music. Here we see parents and kids learning and having fun.Here is a place for our Senior Citizens to remain a active and a vital part of our community. Here is a place that during this recession we can still borrow books, watch movies, engage in group activities, use their computers to get on the internet or bring our own and use the wireless connection, or make photocopies. Here I bring my homeschooled children a few times a week, to learn and explore. For us, the library is our school; our resource for knowledge. When we need more than our own library collection we can borrow from the Mid-Hudson Library system. It can not get much easier than asking for a book and it showing it up. Our library is many things to our community, but mostly it is our heart and needs our care and support so our community stays healthy.
Lolli Edinger
West Shokan, NY

Dear Editor,
(This letter was originally addressed to outgoing Ulster County Legislature Chairman David Donaldson)
I am sad to say that his is the second incident of its kind in the past few months. As you may be aware, near the end of last evening's 2010 budget hearing and vote, a sheriff's deputy, from chambers doorway in full view of the public, rudely and insistently summoned me from my ten-plus years' customary legislative chambers windowseat, to come to him in the hall outside chambers.
This not only interferred with my witnessing the complete goings-on, at a criitical moment, but embarrassed me before the scores of visitors who saw clearly the deputy insistently summon me with an imperative, common finger gesture.
I was sure that a loved one had telephoned the building to inform me of a crisis.
But, no. The deputy said that I was not to sit in my customary perch, well above the otherwise-blocking heads before me, on the windowsill behind the legislators.
I asked, "On whose authority?"
"The legislature," the deputy said.
"Who in the legislature?" I asked.
As he turned his back to me, the deputy said something to the effect, "I can't...or I won't tell you."
To which I reminded him that not only was the "order" a violation of my rights to "peaceably assemble" on public property wherever I reasonably and politely choose, but his refusal to identify the origin(s) approached a violation of my right commonly known as "confronting one's accuser." After which he continued his obstinate silence.
I had missed the critical crux of the goings-on. After a few mintes of trying to return to the game, I decided it was hopeless, and left.
The issue is not my personal motivation to sit where I choose, although I have previously told you, as a friend and Legislature Chair. It is simply that my rights have, once again, been similarly flagrantly violated by an unidentified someone or some persons presuming unwarranted, unjustified presumption of authority in abject contravention of my inherent rights to sit, quietly, where I please in chambers, so long as I do not violate any other person's rights.
I would remind you and him, her or them that a mere, psychological, perhaps claustrophobic, fear, even panic, publically manifested by the presence of someone seated behind them does not give them the right to bar that person or person(s) from that location.
I will expect
(1) to receive within 7 days a written apology from the person or people who directly or indirectly ordered the deputy to demand I sit elsewhere. I doubt that the entire legislature is at fault; and
(2) a public apology in full with, if they wish, an explanation of their reason(s) at the annual meeting, December 16.
Otherwise, I shall have no choice but to take the matter to court in a suit legitimately claiming harrassment, violation of my rights under the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 9th and 10th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, et al.
Allan Wikman
Kingston, NY

Dear Editor,
A few observations from the last Onteora Central School board meeting.
I believe for about the last 6 meetings the Superintendent has spoken to the point of the budget. She has mentioned the potential impact of mid-year cuts and the ARRA "stimulus" moneys ending. But when she mentions some areas that have to be looked at she is attacked for even talking about these things (staff changes or cuts). These are real things that need to be talked about, it is over 73% of the budget.
At the last Dec. 2008 meeting there had been a discussion about sending the board president "Ralph" to the NYSSBA conference on "Passing a Budget,” and Trustee Flayhan was very outspoken about not sending anyone to conferences. So it was voted not to spend the $210 on the conference. This week the NYSSBA conference was approved for 2 Trustees to go at $210 each, and one will be Trustee Flayhan who has always been so against any conference expense "we can get the info.on the web".
Trustee Fletcher mentioned getting mileage for attending UCSBA meetings, he gets a free meal and free education what else is he looking for? He often mentions that he had come to many meeting before he ran for the board, maybe he missed the part that the Trustee does this for "nothing".
The OTA contract looks to be a fair contract agreement but with all the negative spin from the OTA, job action threats we will never know. But I see Trustee Kurnit voted yea, instead of abstaining, from the vote. Not illegal, but is it ethical with the fact that he still has not said he is married to a school teacher in the district.
And the discussion about Don Gottleib’s letter with the OTA agreement numbers. Trustee Flayhan said it should be posted on the web page, but not on the front page, let the people search it out. She did not want take from education on the front page. The last time I checked teachers are pretty close to education in the school. Maybe the fact she was a little too close to OTA, and the letters with our kids names on them. So much for transparency.
More talk about Rt. 28, I guess because the seniors have asked for an open campus. I do believe they have an open campus as long as they don't cross Rt.28. The district and the transportation director spent a lot of time making it a child safety zone, so no child would have to walk along the highway, and the voters approved it. Just say "no".
Some of the great positive things in the district have been the DECA toys telethon.
The soon to open Auditorium, with our winter concerts and the and the January Grand Opening.
The winters sports have started with wins for our basketball and wrestling teams.
Holiday boutiques and winter concerts at the elementary schools.
Stay involved with our district, go to board meetings, support your PTAs, Middle School PTSO, and the High School Parent Alliance.
Rick Wolff
Shokan, NY

Dear Editor,
Lee Wind of Zena's letter in the Woodstock Times of 12/3 proposing a 'metaphorical' violent conflict between Rhinebeck and Woodstock [which I presume to allude to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict] sounds 'sound' until one wonders why Rhinebecker's would actually be tempted to elect such officials [who campaigned to wipe Woodstock off the face of the earth]. Perhaps Wind has been bitten by the same disease that afflicted Rip van Winkle who slept for so many years, missing the actual beginning of the series of events that led to such a 'radical' turn of events.
Apparently Wind missed the 'invasion' of Rhinebeck by 'Stockers' some years ago [possibly hippies or NYC yuppies] who, rather than simply buying a few trinkets or smoking a joint or two and catching a few rays, decided that they wanted to 'own' Rhinebeck and surrounding lands. Again, instead of putting their worldly and well educated minds to thinking of a way to follow the law and come up with ways to peacefully purchase parcels, the Stockers decided that they had the devine right to violently toss out the 'Beckers', men, women and children [while you might think that this kind of self serving rationization indicates that the invaders must have been hippies, who are known to be prone to such self justification, do not jump to too quick a conclusion. Hippies might think they have the devine right, but are generally not that violent, but throw in a few Yuppies, who have been known to use such 'methods' and you might have the correct mix.] and went about systematically and brutally 'cleansing' the area of 'Beckers', all the while pointing to the 'violent' behavior of the Beckers [who were fighting to preserve right to lands that they had held for centuries] as justification for their own violence. The 'Stockers' were happy to keep pointing out the fact that the Beckers had 'stolen' the land from the Indians since that helped them salve their own rationalized 'possition'. Now, after 50 years or so, Wind has woken up and hears the violent blathering of the Beckers and comes to the conclusion expressed in last weeks letter.
I will now add to the fantasy by assuming that Wind is still just a bit sleepy and, even after reading my historical reminder of the origins of the conflict outlined above, kind of does a 'throwing up of the hands' and says something to the effect of "Oh hell, who knows what the various wrongs of the past were? It will never be all sorted out. But that is all 'ancient history' now, so why can't the Beckers just accept the present 'reality' and turn to getting on with building a life for themselves. After all, history is rife with such 'injustices' and rationalizations and smart people eventually just turn to rebuilding and getting on with it."
Sounds [again] sound until Wind, if so inclined, takes a look at the total situation today and realizes that, "Why, I never noticed through my still fuzzy eyes that the Stockers are STILL at it!! Everyday, the Stockers are taking more and more land and 'cleansing' more and more Beckers and it is clear that there is a steady and well thought out plan on the part of the Stockers to continue this by what ever self serving rationalizations and force of arms and trickery they can muster. My God now what is the 'truth'?"
Perhaps I give Wind too much credit, but let me try one more 'fantasy'. Imagine that the Stockers actually held a Community Forum and addressed the question, 'What would be my response if the shoe where on the other foot? Would I not react somewhat the same as the Beckers to such a reality, knowing that, if I don't then I will eventually be pushed completely out of Rhinebeck?". Is it too much to contemplate, Wind, that it is time for the Stockers to get out of the self rationalizing mode [if they really want the conflict to be over] and ask a few truly self serving questions such as "If I want the strife to be over, must I not take into consideration the quite real and human predicament that the Beckers are in and also take a good hard look at the inhuman behavior of some of my fellow Stockers and turn my attention to THEIR part in keeping this situation going?"
I'm in regular contact with friends who are born and raised Israeli residents and I do want to convey to Wind that there is hope that this idea is beginning to take hold. Look around and see if you can find a few Stockers who want to help that kind of sanity to spread.
Jac Conaway
Olivebridge, NY

Dear Editor,
After reading Babette Kiesel's recommendation of computer guy Scott Cameron in the 10/23 issue, I said to myself: "Great. This is just what I need," having multiple computer problems of my own. So I called Scott, left several messages and never heard from him. Disappointed, I went to the next guy. Matt actually answered the phone himself, came to my house the next day, fixed all my computer problems and then some, and was very reasonably priced. He went above and beyond. If you ever need a computer guru, call Matt Schoenfeld (his ad is right under Scott's). He's the best.
Amy Witkus
Olivebridge, NY

Dear Editor,
Just 50 miles south of you, the two Indian Point nuclear reactors continue to operate, as they have since the mid-1970s. Federal regulators will soon decide whether to allow the reactors to operate for another 20 years. Entergy Nuclear, which operates Indian Point, presents the plant as a "clean" way of meeting future energy needs. But is this a true statement, or a slogan?
To produce electricity, Indian Point generates high heat and huge amounts of radioactive chemicals - the same mix in atomic bomb tests. These chemicals are essentially waste products. Much is stored on the site, while some is released into local air and water.
Waste must be stored in deep pools of water that must be constantly cooled. Loss of cooling water would mean a meltdown. The area could not be evacuated safely, and many thousands would suffer from radiation poisoning or cancer. The catastrophic accident at the Chernobyl reactor, and the fact that one of the hijacked planes flew directly over Indian Point on 9/11 are grim reminders of this possibility.
The radioactivity that can't be retained in the plant is emitted into the air. It enters human bodies by breathing and the food chain. Radioactive chemicals cause cancer, and are especially harmful to the fetus, infant, and child. Doses are low, but in 2005, the National Academy of Sciences reported that all exposures are harmful, based on hundreds of scientific studies.
Just last week, a journal article examining U.S. thyroid cancer rates was released. Rockland, Putnam, and Orange counties - all of which border Indian Point - had the highest rates in New York State, and among the highest in the U.S. Aside from radiation exposure, there are no other known causes of thyroid cancer, so Indian Point emissions may be contributing to these high rates.
The decision on what to do with Indian Point's old, corroding reactors should be primarily a public health decision. With 21 million persons living within 50 miles of Indian Point, the stakes are extremely high. Assertions that nuclear reactors are "clean" are just slogans. Less toxic ways to create electricity - clean renewable sources, conservation, and greater efficiency - should be emphasized over dangerous sources like nukes.
Joseph J. Mangano, Exec. Director
Radiation and Public Health Project
New York, NY

Dear Editor,
The Department of Social Services is appealing to the community for donations in order to provide the needy children, families and senior citizens in our community with Christmas/holiday gifts, new toys, new warm clothing (for children, adults and seniors). Gift certificates for teenagers would be greatly appreciated.
Families and/or children can be "adopted" and monetary donations in the form of gift cards to local stores, or VISA gift cards are also greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, this year we are unable to accept checks due to a change in County policy. Gift cards can be sent to the attention of Laura Walzer, Dept. of Social Services, 1091 Development Court, Kingston, NY 12401. For more information, please contact Laura Walzer at 334-5139, Rachel Hunter 334-5352 or Kristy Granger at 334-5298.
At this hectic time of year, we are often so consumed with our own schedules and obligations, that we may overlook those people in our community who may not be as fortunate. In the spirit of giving during this season, we would appreciate any assistance in making this holiday season a special one for all.
Laura Walzer, Rachel Hunter
and Kristy Granger
Children and Adult Services, UCDSS
Kingston, NY
Dear Editor,
Now that Stay In Place has gotten in place, the older people living in beloved rural homes here in Woodstock and the other northern townships of Ulster County now have an ally that can help them stay in those homes. The Stay In Place organization can provide for its members assurance of the availability at a reasonable cost of those services vital to, living here such as snow plowing, home repairs, some transportation and other chores which age and physical status may prevent the doing. For more information call 679-7625.
Those of you watching the Dean Palen-Health Department scenario might be interested to know that the Woodstock Wastewater project was affected by Dean Palen, who then was the County Sanitary Engineer. He frequently would halt the work and require the project engineer to meet with him over some point in which he wished to go over and which, most often, was totally spurious. Job halts cost big bucks.
It is a sad situation but the saddest part is that the County Legislature was so ignorant of the importance of having a qualified person head the health department as to ignore what was going on. It is notable that in the Woodstock Times report on Dean Palen it came out that the workers in the department were doing very good work. The workers include Inspectors, other sanitation department workers and the Public Health Nurses. Public Health Nurses are highly qualified professional people and if they did well without any body at the helm what more might have been accomplished if the department had been headed by a person of vision and ability.
Mescal Hornbeck
Woodstock, NY

Dear Editor,
I read the Phoenicia Times (on-line) on occasion as I have grown up and have some roots in the Shandaken community. I went on the web today (Dec. 7,2009 Pearl Harbor Day) to check the news in the PT and I was amazed to find a letter from a person ( I will refrain from using his name) from Mt. Tremper berating America and its presidents for killing people around the world. The irony of my reading this letter on this momentous day is truly stunning.
I have news for this wayward American who seems to be devoid of any historical recall and that is our countries incursions into foreign lands has for the most part been due to direct aggression to America's people and our way of life. The Tremperite does not seem to recall Pearl Harbor and the Japanese rape of China or the ruthless swath of destruction that the countries of Germany, Italy and Japan reigned upon humanity during World War II. Indeed given a bit more time Germany would have had the Atom bomb and the means to deliver it via the V II rocket.
My Dad and many other Americans participated in the invasion of Normandy. Many loss their lives and others came away wounded and their futures changed forever. All to protect our country and to end the oppression that was being perpetrated on the people of Europe, Asia and indeed threatened our own shores.
Fast forward to current times and the horrific sight of Americans leaping to their death from the Twin Towers because they did not want to burn to death. Who are the thugs who instigated this heinous event against New York, and continue to kill innocent people around the world in the name of their God.
Americans are the bad guys?
Using quotes from Gombrowicz a wealthy Pole who fled to Buenos Aires, South America to wait out World War (while his countryman where being slaughtered ) and who wrote anti-nationalist dogma to make the case of American adventurism in killing is truly disturbing.
Joseph Guglielmetti
Phoenicia, NY

Dear Editor,
An important book in my library is Antonin Artaud: Selected Writings, with an introduction by Susan Sontag, and it was a thrill to know that the translator of these 650 pages, Helen Weaver, is part of our community.
An example of Artaud's writing that has influenced me in my work: "Wither we shall bring all the arts back to one central attitude and necessity, finding an analogy between a gesture made in painting or the theater and a gesture made by lava in a volcanic eruption, or we must stop painting, babbling, writing and doing anything at all." Antonin Artaud, from "An End to Masterpieces," (1933), translated from the French by Helen Weaver.
Robert Jacobson
Mount Tremper, NY

Dear Editor,
I am saddened by our president's decision to escalate the war in Afghanistan. There can be no clear rationale in sending additional troops into that region. It will not stop al-Qaeda to operate effectively in that area. Other nations have tried to do this over the centuries and it has never worked.
War is never the answer in solving mankind's problems. Each war sows the seeds for the next conflict. A further escalation will only increase casualties on both sides, and heart breaking suffering for the families of our brave men and women. There must be a much better way. The Afghan people are not enemies; they are people like us with the same hopes, and longings. They love their country, their families, and their young people. Only when we get God back into our lives will we be able to solve this conflict.
I therefore ask our president to reconsider his decision. The lives of billions of people in the world will be affected by this. This hour calls for prayer for our president, that God may guide him, and show us a way out to peace and cooperation.
Johann Christoph Arnold, Pastor
Woodcrest Community
Rifton, NY

Dear Editor,
t has come to my attention that the Kingston URGENT task force recently "busted" a disabled man. They harassed and trashed the home of Burton Aldrich of Kingston. Took the money he had saved for his bills and December's rent and are trying to prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law allowable for possession and selling of the plant marijuana. As a Kingstonian and an American citizen, I wanted to point out a few important facts concerning the police department's incompetence in choosing what to use their task force for. Kingston is now full of murder. Rape. Grand theft and hardcore drug sales such as crack cocaine. Heroin. Meth. Should our disabled community face jail charges, when they are already terminally ill, and do time for trying to feel better? Be in less pain and live out a happy life choosing a non-pharmaceutical drug (not man-made). I recently moved out of the city of Kingston due to its new-found volatile nature.
Many members of both parties in Congress have confused a public health issue, medical marijuana, with the politics of the War on Drugs. In doing so, they have denied an effective medication to the seriously ill and dying. On June 15, 2005, the House voted 264-161 against a bi-partisan measure, sponsored by Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) and Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) that would have barred the U.S. Department of Justice from targeting patients who use marijuana medicinally in accordance with the laws of their states.
The 161 House votes in favor of the patient-protection provision was the highest total ever recorded in a Congressional floor vote to liberalize marijuana laws. Of those who voted in support of the Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment, 15 were Republicans and 128 were Democrats. The House's only independent congressman also voted in favor of the amendment.
Many Congressional battles are won only after several failed attempts. Please contact your representative now and urge their support for federal medical marijuana legislation.
As to the message we are sending to kids, NORML hopes the message we are sending is that we would not deny any effective medication to the seriously ill and dying. We routinely permit cancer patients to self-administer morphine in cancer wards all across the country; we allow physicians to prescribe amphetamines for weight loss and use cocaine in nose and throat operations. Each of these drugs can be abused on the street, yet no one is suggesting we are sending the wrong message to kids by permitting their medical use.
The most important step you can take is to contact your elected officials at all levels of government - local, state and federal - and let them know you oppose arresting responsible marijuana smokers. As a constituent, you hold special influence over the politicians who represent your district. It is critical you let them know how you feel. Because the marijuana-smoking community remains largely "in the closet" and is all too often invisible politically, our core constituency currently exercises far less political power than our numbers would otherwise suggest. The only way to overcome this handicap is for more of us to take an active role, and routinely contact our elected officials.
A majority of the American public opposes sending marijuana smokers to jail, and three out of four support the medical use of marijuana. Yet many elected officials remain fearful that if they support these reform proposals, they will be perceived as "soft" on crime and drugs and defeated at the next election.
Tell your elected officials that you know the difference between marijuana and more dangerous drugs and between marijuana smoking and violent crime, and that you do not support spending billions of dollars per year incarcerating nonviolent marijuana offenders.
Toni Elise Fairley
Ulster Park, NY

Dear Editor,
Funny thing: In New York Republicans criticize for years Gov. Eliot Spitzer's efforts to discredit Republican State Senate leader Joe Bruno, and when Spitzer cheats, they gloat and howl in a frenzy. But Bruno, Gloater #1, runs a business for years out of his office, and they're nowhere. Imagine if Spitzer and Bruno switched parties! Typical Republican hypocrisy...
J. Andrew Smith
Bloomfield, NJ

Dear Editor,
Some states have laws concerning trees and the what type of tree work can be performed by whom.
I drove down Wall Street in Kingston last week and I saw that the honey locust trees that line the street between John Street and Front Street had a new look. After years of being strangled by holiday lights, the crowns of these trees are now round. I did not notice if the lights had been removed or not. Every branch had been cut to conform into the round, unnatural shape. Some branches were two inches in diameter. Just cut to fit into the roundness. I also had noticed the trees at the front of Kingston Hospital on Broadway. These trees have been topped. Which is defined as an inappropriate pruning technique to reduce tree size. Topping produces weakly attached new growth and leads to extensive columns of decay which can cause trees to fail. If there is a tree ordinance in the city of Kingston, it either does not address these issues or the ordinance is not enforced. Either way, something should be done to stop this type of work that threatens the lives of our trees and the safety of our communities.
As much as I do not care for regulations, a law licensing people who commercially work with trees may prevent this type of pruning work from taking place. There are standards developed by the tree care industry along with the American National Standards Institute that outline what type of pruning, transplanting and planting, support systems, fertilization, lightning protection, protection for construction activities and standards for safe work practices for tree care operations. These standards are not laws but they are the result of many years of experienced arborists meeting to develop the best practices based on their experiences, scientific research and input from arborists around the world. Standards for the tree care industry are voluntary and arborists that care about their clients and their trees take these standards very seriously. If you want the best for your trees, ask your arborist if they follow the ANSI A-300 Standards for Tree Care Operations.
Meanwhile, in Stone Ridge the work has commenced for the "Sidewalk Project." I can't help but notice the orange fences with their "Protected Site" signs that are wrapped around the trunks of trees. What are they protecting? The trunks of the trees? Even elementary school children know that tree roots are integral to the longevity of trees. The absorbing roots, found at the surface throughout the root zone, absorb moisture and along with the moisture nutrients that are attached to water molecules. The structural roots anchor the trees so they are less likely to fall down.
I don't want a world with more regulations. But I do want a world where people have respect for each other and their surroundings.
Peter R. Landau
Northeast Arboricultural Associates
Accord, NY