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An Open Letter to Village Trustee Zito Congratulations! You staged a spirited campaign, and you
won. I, along with so many others, am excited that you will be representing
us on the Village Board. But I ask
myself why you won. Your own efforts
certainly had an impact, but what set you apart from your opponent, given
that the campaign platforms appeared to be quite similar? The logical
outcome, given the Republican party's monopoly on local elections for
decades, if other factors were equal, would have predicted your defeat. You wouldn't have drawn the Republican vote
necessary to secure your victory, it would have been easier for Republicans
to simply 'keep it in the family' by voting for your opponent. Of course, that
would have meant a continuation of the status quo, so maybe that's the
issue. If change was the major factor,
we're left to ask, 'Change from what? To what'? And how can your service be
of most benefit to the community? Since you will
probably find yourself in the minority position on many issues, your best
service might be as an independent inspector of the workings of village
government. Your financial service
background attests to your capability to inspect the village finances. You
may provide independent corroboration that the government is functioning
efficiently and openly, or be able to alert us if it is not. You have the
opportunity to become a new two-way conduit of information between your
constituents and the Board. And you will be able to speak to those in our
community who have been skeptical of its processes. That, in itself,
would be an important service to the community, as the goal of every trustee
on the Village Board should be to provide the citizens of the Village with a
transparent and open government. You can foster a new spirit of bipartisan
cooperation and dialog, encouraging the participation by all residents of the
So my charge to
you becomes clear: Speak for us - and speak to us. Learn everything you can, and share, so
that we all may know and contribute to our common well-being. Let us know of the Board's successes as
well as the challenges they face. And you must let us know of any obstacles
you face, so we can assist you in overcoming them. Above all,
don't give up your day job. Your
community leadership has made Pawling a better place for everyone, so please
stay with it. Don't give up. Solicit
help where necessary, we didn't support you in the election just to turn our
backs on you now that you're on the Board. So good luck
and remember, the people of the Thomas Rose  Dear Speaker
Pelosi, It is my understanding, from an interview conducted
with Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz, that you would
prefer that the Democrats in Congress spend no time impeaching, trying,
convicting, and removing from office, Vice President Richard B. Cheney (nor
President George W. Bush, for that matter). You would prefer, instead, that
they focus on obtaining a bigger majority in the House and a Democrat in the
White House in the 2008 elections. I would remind you, Madame Speaker, that
the 2008 elections are still twelve months away, and the expiration of their
terms of office another two-and-a-half months beyond that. That is more than
enough time for them to start a war of choice with Both
of these men have claimed extraordinary, almost plenary, Executive powers
found nowhere in the Constitution. They claim that the President has this
"inherent authority" in his role as Commander-in-Chief during
wartime (an excuse to always keep this country in a state of war, in case you
hadn't noticed). The problem, Madame Speaker, is that they are making this
up. No such authority exists anywhere in the Constitution. What does exist in
the Constitution are the following: Article
I, Section 8: The
Congress shall have Power... Clause
14: To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval
Forces; Clause
16: To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for
governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United
States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the
Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the
discipline prescribed by Congress; Clause
18: To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into
Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this
Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or
Officer thereof. Clearly
it is the Congress that decides how our military, including its
Commander-in-Chief, will conduct themselves. Nowhere in Article II does it
state that the President, acting as Commander-in-Chief or otherwise, during
wartime or in peace, has the authority to do whatever he wants with the
military. The authority he has comes from the Congress, and it comes with a
trust, a trust that he won't abuse that authority. Yet, time after time,
President Bush has done just that. He has even gone so far as to lie to
Congress about a terrorist threat against the Congress in order to get them
to grant him more unconstitutional authority to spy on Americans. And for no
reason or rationale I can understand, you want to keep trusting that he won't
overstep his authority one more time. You want to trust that he won't lead
this country toward an unstoppable war with You
and your party have let the President and Vice President define
just how far his "inherent authority" goes. And based on their many
public statements, they believe that this authority includes taking us to war
pre-emptively against another nation. They cannot
claim that declaring war falls within the President's constitutional
authority to determine foreign policy, for declaring war is a power
exclusively granted to the Congress. You know that President Bush has been
listening to neo-con war hawks like Norman Podhoretz,
William Kristol, and Sen
Joe Lieberman. All of these men have publicly advocated that we go to war
against Madame
Speaker, the ONLY way to ensure that President Bush and Vice President Cheney
will not lie this country into another war of choice is if they are no longer
in a position to do so. They are not going to stop themselves. The
American people are counting on you
to do that. You have the authority. You have the capability. You have the
responsibility. Impeach them both for ignoring their oaths of office. To do
otherwise is to ignore your own oath. How many good men and women of our
Armed Forces and innocent Iranian civilians alike will have to die because
you put loyalty to your political party ahead of loyalty to your
Constitution?
To
the Editor: I have
been told that in order to succeed in Pawling, I must become a registered
Republican, that no one who is a Democrat will ever be elected, that if I were
to try to go into business here I would find all doors shut to me unless and
until I changed my party affiliation. I cannot believe that – my father, who
spent 30 years in the military, beginning in the Pacific Theater during WWII
and ending off the coast of Even
when he applied for a job with the FBI after his retirement from the Navy,
and was told that he would not get the job because I had been going to too
many meetings (SDS, SNCC, Peace and Freedom Movement, et al), he was proud of
my involvement, my passion for truth and justice – this is what he worked
for, so that I could find my own truth, and fight for it. Today
I’m still trying to find what is true and honest in my world, and fighting
for it. For me, this truth and honesty is embodied in the Democratic Party, a
group of passionate, caring people who want the best for this country, and
believe that only through a legitimate two-party system can there be
meaningful progress. We will take back our legitimate place in this town,
this county and this country, and we will begin now, with meaningful dialogue
and frank discussion. I refuse to bow to the nay-sayers who tell me it can’t be done – we can, and
we will, take up our cause, we are all part of “We the People” – all
the people, not just the Republicans, who live and work in Pawling.
We need to show that we are not afraid, and we will not be bullied or cowed by
those who have held the reins of power for so long that they think it is
their birthright. We will be part of the process, and Pawling will be better
for it. SLR, To the Editor, Karl Rove and the National Republican Party are up
to their old tricks again. I should say "old trick", since it's
basically the same one trick they have used over and over again, the same
one-trick-playbook that failed Rove in 2006: twisting the facts in a nasty
way. We're more than a year away from the 2008 Congressional election, but
the GOP is already launching robo-calls in Well, Karl, let's look at the facts. The fact is
that Congressman Hall voted for a budget resolution that provides for tax
cuts for middle class families through Alternative Minimum Tax relief and
creates a budget surplus in the years ahead. Now, we know how much Karl Rove
and President Bush hate tax cuts for the middle class, but the fact is, that's one of the many things the budget resolution
does. Congressman Hall also co-sponsored the Small Business Tax Relief Act of
2007, to cut taxes for small businesses. That's right: cut. Of course, Karl and his robot-callers don't want
to talk about They also don't want to tell you about how
Congressman Hall has fought for flood relief for New Yorkers, has secured
$400,000 in funding for a senior center in Kent (funding that Sue Kelly said
she's provide, and didn't), got a $1.4 million DOT grant for Stewart Airport,
and has fought tirelessly to ensure verifiable safety - or shutdown - at
Indian Point. If you look at the facts - or just look around
our district - you can see how hard our new Congressman is working for all
members of NY's 19th. Even the ones who may not like him. Because that's his
job. Karl Rove's job is to twist facts and sling mud. And I think we're all
getting tired of Karl Rove doing his job. Sincerely, John Plummer Each person living in the The
following lists ways to reduce your carbon footprint: 1.
Replace
light bulbs with full spectrum fluorescent bulbs 2.
Shut
off your computer when not in use 3.
Unplug
little–used appliances 4.
Lower
your heat and conserve hot water 5.
No
unnecessary car trips (carpool or bike when you can) 6.
Reuse
and recycle plastic bags 7.
Cut
down on use of paper products 8.
Carry
a large tote bag in your car for small 9.
Don’t
use air conditioning until necessary 10. Lower blinds and shades in the
morning in 11. Run water in sink or glass when
washing or 12. Run dishwasher and washing
machines only when 13. Install low flow showers It is estimated that each of us
can Submitted by: It
is vitally important to all of us that we hear from you on your concerns, locally
and otherwise. Many of our letters
will be displayed here. Please send
letters to Editor@PawlingDems.org |
On This Page An Open Letter to Village Trustee Zito An Open Letter to Nancy Pelosi It’s a
Two Party System! The Views expressed on this
page represent the opinions of our contributors, and are not necessarily
those of the Pawling Town Democratic Committee |
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