The views and opinions expressed in our letters section are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Hudson Valley One. Submit a letter to the editor at deb@hudsonvalleyone.com.
Letter guidelines:
Hudson Valley One welcomes letters from its readers. Letters should be fewer than 300 words and submitted by noon on Monday. Our policy is to print as many letters to the editor as possible. As with all print publications, available space is determined by ads sold. If there is insufficient space in a given issue, letters will be approved based on established content standards. Points of View will also run at our discretion.
Although Hudson Valley One does not specifically limit the number of letters a reader can submit per month, the publication of letters written by frequent correspondents may be delayed to make room for less-often-heard voices, but they will all appear on our website at hudsonvalleyone.com. All letters should be signed and include the author’s address and telephone number.
Hurley highway garage update
As an update on this matter, the Town of Hurley has recently declared a negative declaration on the SEQRA process for the proposed highway garage project in the West Hurley town park on Dug Hill Road. This was done without any cultural resources survey, or indigenous consultation having been conducted, as federal law requires.
As federal funds are required for the project, federally recognized Native American tribal preservationists must be contacted for consultation on potential impacts to their ancestral homelands. Was this done? When Woodstock proposed the cell tower in California Quarry 20 years ago, eight letters went out to federally recognized Native American tribes in NYS, requesting consultations. It’s not known if any were sent out in regards to the Hurley highway garage project. A Park Alienation amendment from the state legislature is still required by law for the project site to be approved, as it is currently designated parklands not appropriate or available for industrial development.
In this paper’s very pages, town officials have already previously publicly acknowledged the presence of significant cultural resources. State representatives have been contacted and made aware of the situation and have vowed to look into the matter on behalf of their constituents in the Town of Hurley. We have confidence in their consideration of this matter and in taking the appropriate steps to protect this important indigenous site on public parkland.
Glenn Kreisberg
West Hurley
Democrats together
During these highly volatile times, it’s important to remember the significance of unity within our Democratic community.
The Democratic party has always championed the ideals of inclusivity, justice and progress. Yet, the current damaging, political, Trump-led landscape is threatening daily our country’s commitment to these values. It is incumbent upon Democrats to unite, not only to support our candidates and policies, but also to fortify the very essence and values of our democracy.
Unity does not mean we must all think alike. Democrats are a highly diverse group, bringing a vast range of perspectives and experiences that enhance our collective vision. Embracing this diversity is essential as we strive toward protecting Medicaid, Social Security, the First Amendment, marginalized populations, our environment, our courts, to name just a few. Let’s focus on the pressing concerns we share and the principles that bind, rather than the differences that splinter, creating a wedge between us.
Let’s support and encourage all party members to engage in open conversations, listen actively and compassionately to one another and cultivate an atmosphere of respect and collaboration.
Democrats working together will amplify individual voices and become a formidable force for ongoing positive change. It is only through unified strength that we can effectively advocate for the issues most important to our communities, while upholding our democratic ideals.
Let us commit to unite as a cohesive Ulster County Democratic family, ready to face challenges ahead with fearless resilience and togetherness.
William Wheeler Murray
New Paltz
Great expectations
Over the years, I would listen to what candidates for the Woodstock Town Board had to say and their answers to various questions. Not knowing many of them personally, but based upon their reputations, I would vote for them, expecting the best. Instead, what I got, among other issues, was the shady dump fiasco, problems regarding the noise and short- term rental regulations, the destruction of the Big and Little Deep, the constant violations of our zoning law and lack of vision from those elected officials.
Finally, there is a candidate who has a vision for our future and who has a vast knowledge of, not only our zoning law, but also the proper procedures involved in how to get things done properly. That candidate I know personally and respect. Marcel Nagele.
Howard Harris
Woodstock
Shoddy “journalism”
Your recent article accusing a City of Kingston official concerning the fake letter about the Pike canopies was shoddy “journalism” at its worse. There is still ZERO evidence about the source of that letter. The current administration behaved properly in sending it to an appropriate state agency which verified it was bogus. There was been NO information of how it came to be in city files, and Mayor Noble indicated it could go back to a prior administration. It could have been mailed in by anyone. You owe Kingston civil servants an apology.
David Carroll
New Paltz
Echoes of a broken record
“In the glow of TV screens, where shadows dance, a figure looms, a vaudeville chance, 90 minutes wrapped in hollow sound, a king without a crown, his lies unbound. An echo of applause, like thunder’s roar, yet every word feels like a scripted chore, a sales pitch dressed in familiar schemes, as reason dims beneath the weight of dreams. He struts and preens, a jester’s facade, while truth lies hidden, bruised and flawed, a broken record spins on endless repeat, and his voice turns bitter and sparks retreat. To pull the curtain back on this narrative, imagine his bullshit that rattles the sky, truth takes flight, all replaced with falsehoods — oh my!”
It was 90-plus, minutes of bad moments: Oh, please. An “opportunity to hear Trump firsthand”? We’ve heard him every single day firsthand, closer to nine years now, at least. This was scripted, and an obvious sales pitch that any intelligent person would tune out. The broken record is the response of this fraud and his knee-jerk defenders like HV1 letter-writer John Butts who doesn’t care, even though his boy Trump is an amoral, unqualified demagogue who is tearing this country apart for his own financial gain and endangering all our lives.
It was a stupid overlong campaign speech that could have been gleaned from anyone of his campaign rallies with perhaps his biggest audience ever. The real Trump is not the one corralled by the mostly measured words he laboriously recited from the teleprompter. The real Trump is the obnoxious ignoramus who strokes his enormous ego with his daily tweets. I looked up “megalomania” on Wikipedia and was directed to “narcissistic personality disorder.” Everything in Trump’s world is extreme, absolute, unnuanced and superlative. Worst ever. Best in the world. “Like nothing that has ever been seen before.” Over and over. It’s juvenile. It’s narcissistic. It’s exhausting.
The Democrats missed using their most effective real time reaction. Laughter. Imagine Trump’s ridiculous nonsense getting the reaction deserved: raucous, derisive guffaws. Loud laughing from the 230 or so Democrats right in his face. It would be like a comedy club and Trump would be the lunatic stand up. America is trapped in a burning Tesla and Vladimir Putin oversees the fire department headed by his two fire marshals, President Tesla and his sidekick Trummpkopf. MAGA remains a rallying cry for bleaching out the stains of color. And Trump remains a dangerous sham.
Neil Jarmel
West Hurley
David Wallis will serve Woodstock well
In a recent letter to HV1 our batty bard of Woodstock, Michael Mulvey, contended that because David Wallis worked as deputy editor at the New York Observer, (which Jared Kushner owned) this proved that he’s a Trump supporter. Pure and utter nonsense.
When the Observer lost credibility as an unbiased publication circa 2016, the staffers, one by one, abandoned ship; Wallis left for a new job at the progressive newspaper, The Forward. Next, according to his resume, he helped lead the Economic Hardship Reporting Project (an award-winning nonprofit newsroom founded by the heralded labor writer, Barbara Ehrenreich).
But even a quick glance at his contributions to The Observer reveal stories highly critical of Trump and his cronies. For instance, in his post-election interview with Anthony Romero, the head of the ACLU, Wallis asked the Trump administration’s pre-eminent legal adversary: “Do you expect Donald Trump to undermine civil liberties in this country? And which of his campaign promises should particularly chill Americans?” (Which is not exactly a question posed by a Trum-pet.)
https://observer.com/2016/12/aclu-anthony-romero-interview-trump-obama/
I could go on past nauseum … Instead, I’d counter the tenor of Mulvey’s remarks by pointing out that Wallis’ journalistic skills — far from being a detriment to the job of town supervisor — would be an attribute. Because, after eight years of bait-and-switch, a clear-eyed ability to analyze a problem, hunt for innovative solutions and stand by one — will serve Woodstock well.
Tad Wise
Woodstock
Quite the spectacle
Shakespeare didn’t wear glasses because they hadn’t been invented yet.
Sparrow
Phoenicia
Open letter to the White House
I’m confused. Are we at war with Venezuela now? And if the lack of criminal record proves that someone is a terrorist or member of a gang, should I turn myself in to the local police or should I go to the FBI or other federal police agency. Maybe the VA police next time I’m there for treatment of my service connected disability? Please let me know. These are important questions.
Mauriac Cunningham
Saugerties
I pray for America
It’s mind-numbing to contemplate how many destructive actions Trump Inc. has been able to wreak and how many lives it’s managed to wreck in just two short months. I don’t know if we’re quite a totalitarian state yet, but I imagine this is close, and getting closer by the day, to what it feels like to live in one.
I’m not America’s greatest cheerleader. Our country’s professed values have too often in our history been given mere lip service. But those values are not afforded even that respect by these billionaire oligarchs, or by their 1,500 pardoned insurrectionists — multiplied by multitudes no doubt ready to answer the dog whistle to defend their masters.
Every news story I read feels like an obituary — yours and mine. The king and his ghouls are digging a grave for America as we’ve known it, and throwing more of us into that grave each day. Concepts like compassion, rule of law, checks and balances — out the window, tossed onto our limp bodies. There’s true evil afoot; not the meek but the murderous have inherited the earth, and mean to disinherit the less fortunate. In a telling gesture, on March 1 Trump decreed English America’s official language, preferably his accent-free, fractured, hyperbolic, lie-filled version of it.
I must put my faith in the resilience and activism of the millions of people of goodwill and courage in this country; in courts and in judges, whom I pray do not buckle under to the many threats they and their families are receiving for bucking the king; in well-intentioned NGOs and other institutions; in Christ-affirming clerics; in Democratic leadership, so far muted; in there being at least a handful of brave, conscience-stricken Republican senators and representatives, mayors and governors; in disenchanted MAGAites and billionaires and evangelicals. I pray for protests. I pray for uprisings. I pray for resistance.
I pray for America.
Tom Cherwin
Saugerties
Henry W. DuBois bike/pedestrian path nearing completion
We are making significant progress towards finalizing the Henry W. DuBois/Empire State Trail bike/pedestrian path. As noted by my predecessor, supervisor Neil Bettez, “[Henry W. Dubois] is the longest on-road section of the Empire State Rail Trail between Kingston and New York City.” When the State of New York chose a narrow, residential village/town road as the connection between the Ulster County portion of the Route 299 Empire State Trail and the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, it created a complex project to both design and construct. It has required extra vigilance to assure every design and engineering issue has been addressed before we assume management responsibility from the state.
As we’ve seen, what appeared a fairly innocuous detail among the hundreds on the dozens of design drawings turned out to be a major issue in real life — a pinch point that was just tight enough by two feet to prevent the snowplow/sand truck from getting through. That problem is very close now to being resolved: Central Hudson has installed a new pole that is three feet further back from the path, and the two users of the wires on the original pole have 30 days each to transfer their wires to the new pole. At that time the old pole can finally be removed and the pinch point will be an issue no more.
As for the finalization of the project as a whole, I have been in weekly touch with NYS DOT, the major source of the project funds and requirements, to schedule their final inspection. Special thanks to highway superintendent Chris Marx for personally identifying numerous engineering and design problems and ways to safely and cost-effectively address them. Once DOT has completed their inspection and handed the project over, and the old pole has been removed, the “under construction” barriers and signs can come down and the HWD bike/pedestrian path will officially be open.
It’s been a long time coming. Henry W. DuBois Drive was designated as part of the Empire State Rail Trail in 2017. Like all of you, I want to get this project finished and open for use. It will be a safe and enjoyable way to walk and cycle along this major east/west New Paltz roadway.
Amanda Gotto, Supervisor
Town of New Paltz
Here’s to healthy kids on a healthy planet
Canada is threatening to pull the plug on electricity to the US. Central Hudson wants an increase in its rates. The Earth is still warming. The ice caps are still melting. The oceans keep rising. Once again the previous year was the warmest on record. NASA keeps warning of irreversible catastrophic climate change tipping points. Irreversible!
With all of this hanging over our children’s future, perhaps it’s time for the New Paltz School Board to make the small but important gesture of investing in solar panels, not only for moral and good citizenship reasons, but because it will also save money and it’s just plain practical.
There’s a lot of instability in our land, with the possibility of large-scale increases in the cost of electricity. The best way to insulate the district from these fluctuations is for it to create its own electricity. Invest in the solar collectors now, at possibly the lowest price they will ever be and the sunshine is free for the next 25 to 30 years. I urge the school board to take a good hard look at the economic projections of renewable solar energy vs. the estimates of a future reliance on fossil fuels.
In a bond issue vote in December voters in the New Paltz School District rejected Preposition 2, which featured extensive upgrades to the physical education facilities. A scaled-down version of Proposition 2, with needed athletic upgrades, minus the controversial artificial turf and combined with an investment in solar panels could be a win/win. This would appeal to the many community members who appreciate the importance of physical education and athletics in a well-rounded curriculum, as well as the environmental concerns of so many of the district’s citizenry. Both groups of constituents spoke passionately at the district’s bond issue presentations and there are many who are also passionate about both the upgrades to our physical education facilities and upgrades to our renewable energy facilities.
Here’s to healthy kids on a healthy planet!
Jim O’Dowd
New Paltz
A letter of clarification
This is written in response to the misinformation provided by Kassirer, Nagel, Romine and their ilk in their letters to the editor.
Here are some facts to address their misinformation.
1. Beginning with Israel’s birth in 1948, its neighbors have violently opposed the Jewish state, forcing it to defend itself continuously for 75+ years. Its fiercest enemies are the terrorist state Iran and its proxies Hamas and Hezbollah.
2. Israel is fighting Hamas which has pledged to make Palestine free for Muslims only “from the river to the sea,” clearly meaning the “genocide” of Jews.
3. Jews are the indigenous people of the land of Israel; they are not a colonial state. Israel does not practice apartheid and has no laws or policies separating or limiting the rights of any of its citizens — including two million Arab-Israeli citizens.
4. Israel does not commit war crimes, i.e. hostage taking, torture, acts of terrorism, rape and intentional targeting of civilians compared with what Hamas did in its October 7 massacre.
4. Israel has continually warned Palestinians to vacate areas where its military will be in active pursuit of Hamas. On the other hand, Hamas places its fighters in dense residential areas or in tunnels beneath them, endangering their fellow Palestinians as they use them as “Human Shields.” Interestingly, the Palestinian population in and around Israel has gone from about 700,000 when Israel was founded in 1948, to approximately seven million today.
Perhaps Romine, et al, should rail against a real example of genocide, i.e. what is happening in Sudan right now.
Susan Puretz
Saugerties
Can we do this, together?
Today, when too many of the worst kind of men are on top in this country, where are the good guys willing and able to deprogram the hostile, unfeeling, power trips slashing humanity? We women need you men alongside us – together — to speak up strongly and compassionately for a shared caring and to stand with the best of us for our communal integrity and honesty. Today’s heartbreakingly high suicide rates and isolation, felt by so many young men, reflects their understandable questioning — what do they count for any more?
The painful irony is, we women’s long-fought-for autonomy and increased independence is reversing many of the old, customary patriarchal, roles. The ongoing, traditionally dominant priorities of power and control and profit-over-people — and planet — continues its inevitable toll on us all. If our demand upon our outdated energy and extractive systems do not adapt, will we survive as an ‘intelligent’ species?
Recognizing these reactionary factors fueling the manosphere election victory is so vital for tackling the extreme misogyny now monopolizing Washington. And, which is accelerating the ongoing conditioning so severely harming our life source, Mother Nature. For some context, understanding the innate (mammalian) fear of female by male, has, over millennia, very naturally led to men’s need to keep denying the uncanny and necessary power of women.
Today, with an aim for no blame, it is for us all — especially of course, for our children — not to deny but to accept and appreciate the major cultural shift that is asked for to help us secure the future of all life on this, our forsaken planet Earth. If we are to survive — together — as an ‘intelligent’ species, this is surely a testing time. So, what about this for a unifying thought which might help us evolve beyond all the disembodied AI? What about a conscious and intentional — and perhaps humbling? — defining of ourselves, less by the binary differences of our contrasting anatomy, and more about our common humanity?
Jude Asphar
Woodstock
We welcome village budget questions
Please join us at the public hearing for the tentative budget of the Village of New Paltz for FY 25-26. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. starting March 26 and we anticipate keeping it open until the evening of April 9.
We are planning for this to be our tenth year in a row without a property tax rate increase. For years in the village, we have maintained a prudent unassigned fund balance of approximately 20% to 24% of the expenses in our general fund and plan to again for FY 25-26. General fund expenses of $4.357 million, would mean a fund balance of approximately $915,000 for unanticipated “rainy days” like unknown, unbudgeted, or unpredictable events; such as a catastrophic road failure.
To review the tentative budget: https://tinyurl.com/VNPFY26budget
We welcome all questions before or during the budget’s public hearing. Here are questions we have received so far:
Q: “Do accounting rules allow moving surpluses in water/sewer to general?”
A: Yes, we cannot move a surplus to another fund. For example, any surplus of funds at the close of the fiscal year for water may only roll directly back to the water fund balance, as it is a restricted fund.
Q: “There are relatively modest transfers from the water and sewer funds to the general fund — are these to reimburse expenses in general that are related to administering water and sewer service?”
A: Yes, transfers of $53,000 (G: sewer) and $57,000 (F: water) to A represent administrative costs to the general fund offsetting associated with water/sewer billings, final reads, late notices, collections/deposits. Meter reading issues and multiply other items associated with water/sewer. We budget for this admin work annually.
Q: “My (next) question relates to the transfers out of the capital fund to the general fund. These have grown from $34 K in 22-23 to $200K in 24-25 and are proposed to increase to $300K in 25-26.”
A: The transfer into F of $34,087 (23/24 budget) from H represented closing the completed capital project at the water filtration plant. These unexpended funds went back to the water fund and were used to pay down the debt created by the water filtration plant upgrade.
The transfer into A of $200,000 (24/25 budget) from H represented unexpended funds from the town and village shared fire station capital project. It was used to offset the fire station’s town and village shared debt.
The transfer into A&F of $575,000 (25/26 budget) from H represents unexpended funds from two different capital projects (A: $300k fire station + F: $275k DEP water projects). Again, used to pay down debt for the respective projects.
Q: “Working in the city after the financial crisis we learned that it was a big no-no to use the capital budget (proceeds of borrowing) for operating expenses, except in well-documented cases of direct support to specific capital projects (engineers filling out timecards, that sort of thing). Does that rule apply to the village as well?”
A: Yes, the Village of New Paltz is in compliance with all GASB requirements, policies and procedures; as our annual audits reflect.
Q: “Last, and not necessarily pertinent to this year’s budget process, the column for 23-24 shows there was a transfer to the capital budget of $900,000, but I could find no balancing amount(s) transferred out of the other funds that year.”
A: The $900,000 (H5031) represents bond anticipation note (BAN) principal redemption. The expenditure is recorded in the respective funds (A9730.6 & F9730.6). This practice is in accordance with GASB and is the proper way to reflect the paydown of a BAN payable in the capital fund.
Mayor Tim Rogers
New Paltz
Democratic “leaders” continue their ignorance
Tom Cherwin’s concern about how the Democrats must now restore the scales of justice are absurd and unfounded. In reality, it’s a Trump goal and necessity to do just that — “restore the scales of justice in America.” To achieve this, he must get rid of the biased cancerous elements responsible for the severe judicial imbalance championed by the Biden/Harris sideshow. The Democrats are calling for this “needed” process accusing the Republicans of “weaponizing our judicial system and agencies.” Isn’t that a rich characterization, considering that’s exactly what the Democrats orchestrated for the past four years against Republicans/conservatives?
Democratic Michigan Senator, Elissa Slotkin, gave her rebuttal to Trump’s congressional speech a couple weeks ago. Of course, her partisan job was to attack Trump, Musk, DOGE and others. Yet, not too long after her rebuttal, she did a complete 180, suddenly contradicting herself by saying that the Democrats needed to stop bashing Trump but, instead, come up with a solid game plan to meet the needs and concerns of the people … you remember, the same people who the Harris campaign totally ignored and turned a deaf ear towards when putting all their eggs in the “abortion and climate change” basket resulting, of course, in the predictable election shellacking the Democrats experienced.
Continuing their “deaf ear campaign,” we now have AOC and Bernie Sanders going on their “fighting oligarchy” tour. Just what their voters are looking for to address their concerns and fears! Recent reports actually suggest that AOC is a serious challenger to be a Democratic “leader” who will replace good ‘ol Chuckie Schumer. She’s ticked off at Schumer for supporting the prevention of a government shutdown — an event AOC would have been very happy with. Just what the Democratic voters are looking for in new leadership, a continuing “resistance game plan” headed by an over-the-hill 83 year old and a 35 year old whose strongest talents are that of a bartender.
I’ll finish off by calling out jackass judge James Boasberg, head of the district court in Washington, DC and an Obama appointee to push a liberal agenda in the swamp. What a surprise! He would rather stand up for and defend illegal animal criminals from quick and appropriate deportation rather than protecting the citizens of the U.S. who count on him and others like him to ensure their safety and well being. I think it’s a safe bet that if any of these heinous crimes by illegals were perpetrated against any females in his family or circle of friends, this mindless judge would clearly be singing a different tune!
John N. Butz
Modena
As Tonto famously said: White man speak with forked tongue!
Nothing has changed, but we find ourselves here once again. Last year, Saugerties residents were invited to volunteer to “celebrate Earth Day” by cleaning streets of waste. Last year, I sent my letter, a revised copy of which I have included below. As I said, nothing has changed and we find ourselves still fighting to save the largest green space Saugerties has. Winston Farm holds the future of our community, the future of the celebrating Earth Day.
Celebrating Earth Day? Earth Day must be celebrated every day. Our only home is being destroyed faster than any tree can grow. Indeed, our town’s roads need to be rid of the garbage that accumulates. Yes, volunteers are needed. Yes, fellow residents care about our environment and the beauty it affords us all.
As I read this request, the Winston Farm development horror came immediately to mind once again. Such incredible hypocrisy! Asking for help tidying our roads and then supporting a development that clearly is going to fill our home town with destruction of hundreds of trees, the wildlife that depends upon it, acres of open land and potentially irreparable destruction to our aquifer, bring likely thousands of cars/buses/trucks, most of which will spew their vile exhaust for all to inhale and so much more. And garbage? If our roads are considered litter-filled now, just take a moment to envision the tons that will be accumulating.
The “Saugerties Green & Clean” and the “Greening of Saugerties” — those words are empty words at best and absolute deception at worst. Those who propose such an anti-Earth Day development should be called what they really are: Greedy, flagrant destroyers of our Earth! And those who promote and support this — this destruction will be your legacy. I cannot think of a word strong enough. Uninformed of the reality that, if allowed, they and the rest of us will reap.
Marjory Greenberg-Vaughn
Saugerties
With hope and thanks
As we slowly move into springtime, always recognize signs of new possibilities in nature, in relationships and in community. Gardens will reappear, animals that we haven’t seen in some time will return, and issues needing attention may be addressed. Despite the many challenges that we are reminded of each day, with determination/courage/ vision, each one of us can help to create a world in which every person and the natural world are nourished. Take the time to recognize and acknowledge the unnoticed, encourage learning between the generations and stand up for those who might be marginalized without support.
Let me send a reminder to store firearms securely — locked, unloaded, away from ammo and children — especially if you or someone you know is having a tough time emotionally. If you identify someone or yourself as a serious threat to one’s life, don’t hesitate to call 988 (the suicide prevention hotline). When you notice that the world doesn’t listen to someone, be the person who does.
Thank you to the concerned residents of Woodstock who have been championing: source tracing of PFAS contamination of the town’s water; the cleanup of contamination in Shady; respectful and responsible resolution of issues within the Woodstock police department; and the need for Woodstock to provide a healthy and safe location for those affected by harsh weather. It is imperative that our community ensures an atmosphere where any resident or group of residents can express their concerns for individuals or groups within the town. Opinions may vary on how to remediate shortcomings and disagreements can occur. But, with humility and keeping an eye on a desired outcome, constructive dialogue can hopefully take place. With the political season a reality, I urge the public to restrain from making questionable assertions about candidates with whom they disagree. Remove the plank from your own eye before looking for the splinter in someone else’s eye. Let us grow peacefully into this glorious springtime.
Terence Lover
Woodstock
Counting coins, losing souls
Is it just me, or have we poured enough treasure into war machines to educate every child born in the next half-century? Sometimes, when it’s late and the quiet presses in, I sit in the blue shadows of my porch and think about it. War spending. Education. Hungry people. Things we could’ve fixed but never did. The past feels like a riddle written on the backs of my eyelids. And sleep, well, sleep doesn’t offer answers anymore.
Tonight, as my eyes drift skyward, a sleek fighter jet breaks open the quiet, slicing clouds like a silver knife. The roar trails behind, shaking memories loose, leaving me wondering if its cost could have fed all the starving mouths I’ve never met. Do you ever notice how the jet engines scream? Like they’re angry at something — maybe at us — for turning iron and fire into tools of endless repetition, generation after generation. It’s almost as if we expect different answers when we ask the same bloody questions.
It’s funny how politicians talk about change yet dance around war like it’s some drunk uncle at Thanksgiving, embarrassing but untouchable. But why does nobody running for president call it out as the beast it is — this global problem as looming and urgent as the earth burning beneath our feet? War, climate. Two monsters are wearing different masks but are haunting the same dreams. And yet, silence.
I shift uneasily, feeling the creak of old wood beneath me, the porch groaning softly like a companion who shares my discomfort. I rub my knuckles raw — gestures sometimes give meaning to words. A finger pointed to the sky, a hand clasped in prayer or regret. Mine are clenched now, fists holding nothing but questions too big for one night.
In my Marine days, young and arrogant, I believed the story sold to us — that war was a duty, a necessity, even something noble. The passage of time hasn’t erased those scenes; they’re burned in my mind like shadows after a sudden bright light, stark and impossible to ignore. The trouble with fighting dragons is that you eventually start to resemble them. Maybe we’re so deep into wars, past and present, that we’ve forgotten how to live any other way.
When was the last time you heard a politician offer a vision beyond flags and fear? What about seeds and schools instead of shells and smoke? I’m asking, but the silence stretches like an unanswered letter addressed to no one and everyone at once.
So, I sit here under this quiet, moonlit sky, weaving threads between yesterday and today. My history whispers its lessons; my heart insists on doubt. I know only one truth clearly: the cost of all this machinery — these wars we barely speak about — could have transformed hunger into hope, ignorance into knowledge and fear into respect.
It’s almost dawn, and the fighter jet has faded away, leaving the clouds scattered, uncertain, and quiet once more. And I can’t help but wonder — will tomorrow bring the same silence, or might someone finally speak to the heart of it all? Or am I, once again, just talking to myself?
Larry Winters
New Paltz
Hoorah for New York … health!
With the frightening cancel-culture aimed at human rights from the federal government, I am glad I reside in New York State and have representatives who actually listen to their constituents. The future of our health care looks bleaker every week, and with corporate greed in charge and the likes of RFK Jr. and Mehmet Oz making decisions that will further limit access to health care for millions of people, Americans will be dying from preventable conditions and going into medical debt even more that in the past.
It is a crucial time to support and enact the New York Health Act (NYHA). It has been carefully researched and crafted to save both the state and individual consumers huge costs, while improving access to quality to all who reside in NY State. Imagine no premiums, no co-pays, no deductibles and having coverage for dental, optical, hearing aids in addition to your choice of primary or specialty doctors. The NYHA plan will be funded by a new payroll tax, and overall costs will be reduced by eliminating the huge profits insurance companies “earn.” Learn more by visiting Campaign for NY Health (nyhcampaign.org) or Physicians for a National Health Plan (phnpnymetro.org) . Then call and write your state Senator and Assembly member asking them to co-sponsor and promote the NYHA (S3425/A1466). It is urgent, before we lose more of the (previous) benefits of being Americans.
Sherrill Silver
New Paltz
Chuck avoids a shutdown
Chuck Schumer, our N.Y. Senator and the U.S. Senate democratic minority leader just voted yes on a bill avoiding a government shutdown, a bill that gave away billions in funding to crucial services. It also gave Trump more power, including the power to bypass Congress to fund new military programs — how soon will Trump leverage this unprecedented power. Billions were cut from Medicaid, our underfunded hospitals will soon be closing. As Project 2025 matures, citizens will realize their rights have been stolen, and as our Trump-tinkered economy fails, widespread protests will be our only recourse. Trump will use our own troops against us, a tactic used by dictators across the world. Chuck, your idea of waiting til Trump’s approval rating hits 40% to fight back is pathetic — it’s handing out teaspoons to bail out the Titanic! Democrats must show Americans their project 2028: a plan to strip billionaires and corporations of the power to buy politicians, returning electoral power to the American people. A plan that creates universal healthcare PERIOD, that doesn’t listen to the insurance company lobbyists over people in need. Cutting the price on ten prescription drugs is a band-aid on a leg amputation. People can’t afford their healthcare, and even if they can, insurance companies have the power to decline payment for any legitimate ailment. Democrats helped create this system. Stop arguing and incorporate all transformative ideas and get the best communicators out in red and blue communities, to sell new ideas, voter by voter. Trump is going to fail in winning long-term support of voters. His policies will not improve our lives. But Democrats have lost the trust of the American people — too many band-aids and no real solutions. We had control of the House, Senate and presidency and didn’t create meaningful change. The Dems have lost American’s trust. We’ve been complicit in giving our power to the monied interests. And Chuck, you just did it again.
Robert Wallace
Saugerties
How much longer?
I know I’m not alone. Every day feels like a new assault from this administration. Some days, it’s been multiple assaults. The speed of wanton destruction takes my breath away. The other day, I was forwarded a copy of a letter from the New York State Library Association explaining the impact of a new executive order signed by our president-for-now Trump that eliminates funding from The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The IMLS is the only federal agency dedicated to funding and supporting our nation’s libraries. The funding this agency provides represents only .0003% of the federal budget. But each year, there are more than 1.2 billion visits made to school, public, academic and special libraries. Having free access to information, regardless of who you are — or who you voted for — is what democracy looks like. But for how much longer? This is the question that keeps me up at night. How about you?
Charlotte Adamis
Kingston
Conclave
Spring fever, getting zero sleep,
I go out after 1 into the garden,
just sit, reflecting. I dream two
curious bluebirds watch a third
fly to and from a birdbath a fourth
time. I wake here at 5 to birdsong:
six looking up at me in wonder.
Nearly 7, my wee-hour friends gone.
Now a conclave of 8 cardinals chirp
as if saying: none come here before 9.
Patrick Hammer, Jr.
Saugerties
COUP d’etat
We the people — the American people — are in the middle and the muddle in the midst and in the fist of a full blowing many sided and many cited Coup d’etat. Many people will say that I am over-reacting and exaggerating. But I am doing no such thing. This is what Trump is doing because he knows that the American people are not ready currently for a military coup.
And Trump himself, is not yet ready, has not finished his preparations for a military coup. Even though he has already replaced the joint chief of staff of the armed forces and removed three judge advocate generals (JAGS), he knows he cannot yet count on the loyalty of the military. So, he is seeking to build a private army to support him — the former Black Water firm that murdered Iraqi citizens in Bagdad during the Iraqi War.
In the meantime, he and his cabinet are defying the courts and judges, fusing and refusing their orders and judgements and calling for the end of judges in the lower courts so that Elon Musk can continue to dismantle the American government with his chainsaw approach.
Trump cannot be believed when he states that he will improve our lives. In the past, he proclaimed that he would “drain the swamp.” Instead, he has swamped the drain. It all comes down to this: is the power of the American people strong enough to stop the people in power from taking over the government in a Coup d’etat? Are the American people prepared to go beyond endless discussions, beyond talk, talk, talk “by any means possible’ to preventing and re-inventing a Coup d’etat.
Bruce Grund
Kingston
Who does he think he is?
How does this square with democracy? The richest man in the world decides that USAID should not provide critical support for the poorest people in the world. He boasts about putting USAID in the wood chipper. He spent $290 million to support Trump in 2024. Are our elections for sale? He and his DOGE team fired over 24,000 federal employees with almost no notice. (But multiple judges noticed that he had questionable authority to fire them and ordered them reinstated.) Despite his companies having government contracts worth at least $6.3 billion in 2024 alone, he has not completed government forms requiring him to disclose his financial interests. Just maybe there are some conflicts of interest? He and his DOGE team have sought your personal information from confidential government files. Your social security number, your income history, your bank account information and much more. Who does he think he is? Who do you think he is?
Kathy Gordon
Saugerties
Join the family! 
