September 2008 Archives

I am a registered independent voter and I have a loyalty to neither side in this election. I am, however, totally appalled at the new low to which campaign tactics seemed to have sunk. Specifically, I am referring to the email smear campaign that appears to have been mounted by the McCain camp.

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The Government At Washington is apparently planning to spend a trillion dollars - which they will extract from we the taxpayers - to "bail out" financial firms whose executives are drawing $10M salaries for directing programs to sell mortgages to people who can't afford them. No-No-No. When Joe's Muffler Shop makes bad business decisions does the Government bail him out?

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A recent report found that investing money in clean energy solutions to global warming could net more than 86,300 jobs in Pennsylvania alone and would put Pennsylvania on track to reducing our contributions to global warming.

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Since the beginning of this century, the Bush administration has endorsed hands-off laissez-faire economics with a smirk and a disdain for the victims who got destroyed in the process. It is "the survival of the fittest" they declared.

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Where does Sen. Obama get off being such an elitist? He condescendingly accused Pennsylvanians of being angry and clinging to our religion and our guns. What is wrong with clinging to God and exercising our second amendment rights? He continually belittles Sarah Palin for her mayoral work in a small community in Alaska.Her mayoral and gubernatorial experience far exceed his as a community organizer and senator whose record does not match his rhetoric. Small wonder why many blue collar workers cannot relate to him. Coming from a working class family, Palin identifies with us in our daily struggles. Her achievements earned her an 80% approval rating in Alaska, making her the most popular governor in America.

In his column about false information being spread concerning the presidential election Leonard Pitts left out at least one very important lie. That is Barack Obama's position on The Second Amendment to The Constitution of The United States. He has consistently voted, and has frequently stated that he opposes both the ability to own (keep) some of the most common and useful firearms available to law-abiding citizens, and their ability to carry (bare) them for the protection of themselves and society. Yet he says he supports the "individual right", and makes statements Like, "I wont take your guns". Before the recent Supreme Court ruling concerning the D.C. gun ban was announced he stated that the ban was constitutional. That law banned all handguns and required that long guns be made unavailable in an emergency.

How apropos! On page 22 of this Sunday's Baltimore Sun, there is an ad for the upcoming Steinway piano factory event sale. "Over 100 new and used factory direct, family of Steinway pianos under one roof..."

I hope the South Eastern School District's Board of School Directors saw the ad. We wouldn't want them to miss the opportunity to save the taxpayers some money if they insist on proceeding with the district's proposed purchase of a $97,000 Steinway grand piano. Being responsible stewards of the taxpayers' money is their fiduciary obligation, after all.

David Mohan
Stewartstown

John McCain wants the women's vote. Let's look at where he stands on women's issues.

Do you remember the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007? This piece of legislation was written to avoid future cases of pay discrimination against women as in the Lilly Ledbetter vs. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. case.

"How is that art?" Following the article were a number of quotes from random citizens, most of which questioned whether these pictured displays should be considered art. The very last quote in the series gave me quite a chuckle.

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It appears that I must have slept through a wind storm last night. I noticed that my McCain for President sign had blown away as well as a nearby friend's. The Obama and DePasquale signs must be better constructed because they are still standing firm across on my neighbor's house across the street.

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I was thrilled to see Jeff Koons finally appear as a head-liner to your front page last week. For the past few years I have taught my elementary students that this world-class artist was born only 10 minutes from where they live. They appreciate the joy and precision of his work, but can't understand why no one else has ever told them about our York County Gem.

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I feel compelled to write about the LACK OF PERFORMANCE of the State Police for the 2nd time in the 2 years I have lived here. The first was a commentary on the lack of enforcement on our highways. This time it relates to the lack of traffic control AS A RESULT OF AN ACCIDENT WHICH WAS PROBABLY DUE TO SPEED....(back to the lack of enforcement AGAIN!!) which occurred when a truck crashed on I-83 Saturday afternoon Sept. 20th.. spilling egg-whites, apparently around noon.

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I am so upset by the tainted milk fed to babies and children in China. A company that has no regard for their babies or children in their country - to use a substance just to enhance the protein. This is the same mentality that allowed lead to be used in paint for toys for children in our country - the United States. What are these companies doing?

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It seems we have more to fear than terrorism instigated by islamic fundamentalists. We now have to fear from the economic terrorism of the investment banks that have been sinking on Wall Street as their elaborate Ponzi scheme goes bust. And now the taxpayers are supposed to bail out these criminals and let them go about their business in the form of a blank check for 700 billion or more dollars.

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The media have mistakenly compared Barack Obama to Jesus Christ, revealing our national disgraceful ignorance of the Bible.

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I wish John McCain were still the John McCain of old, rather than an old John McCain.

I'd settle for the McCain of even ten years ago, not because McCain is too old, but because he hasn't been a real maverick for at least a decade. Instead, he's become increasingly conservative, especially since 2000 when his less than Republican policies cost him the GOP nomination to George W. Bush. Now, McCain has all but sold his soul to the right over the last year to win the party's nomination.

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I am writing in regards to John Zeigler's Sept. 2 letter about single mothers. I actually had to read the letter twice, because I found it hard to believe that much hatred could be contained in so few words.

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The political party that resents welfare mothers is a lot kinder to welfare tycoons. So why are Republicans called the party of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich?

J. Edward Muhlbach
Shrewsbury Township

The last night of the fair was a great time to go. The neon lights looked great from the Western entrance. Entree was free at that time of the night, as was parking. When the economy is better these two items would not mean so much, but the savings were good for my little son Judah who enjoyed fishing for toys. The snacks were very reasonable.

One other fair I enjoyed was the highland festival in Jakarta. Any reason why York with a British origin fair could not have competition like Saber Toss etc.? I always enjoy the fowl area as well as pigs, being from Dover.

Andrew Stube
Dover

Cemeteries are places of peace, honor and reflection where families visit gravesites and remember their loves ones. Often the setting is quiet and nearly deserted, affording privacy as people pay their respects. And the setting makes cemeteries a perfect target for theft.

Police arrested a young couple last year in New Castle for stealing 300 flag holders from veterans' graves at a cemetery. The cemetery paid $30 each to replace all of the flag holders (at a total cost of $9,000), while the couple barely received $1 for each holder sold for scrap metal.

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Thorns to the York Daily Record for criticizing the Southeastern School Board's willingness to hear a presentation about the purchase of a new piano. The piano in question will actually SAVE the taxpayers money over the long haul. How do I know? I asked the right person. You could say I "interviewed" the people who have the relevant information, did a little "research" before I wrote this letter - maybe you could call it an "article." Like a newspaper might do if it was more interested in finding out the "facts" rather than bashing school officials trying to do their job.

Janet Winters
Stewartstown

Congressman Todd Platts supports privatizing Social Security. That's the wrong position to take on such an important issue. Imagine if Social Security were tied to the fluctuations of a volatile stock market! Can you imagine the anxiety caused to millions of seniors worrying how much their monthly check would shrink because the Dow Jones dropped 300 points in a week?

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8 Simple rules for the elections:

1. Please don't bring God into your political argument. Your God may not be the next person's God, Allah, Jehovah, Jesus.. or they may be, Pagan, Agnostic, Quaker etc. I seem to remember something about separation of church and state?

2. No talking about abortion. The law is, that it is legal. It is NOT a political issue, it is a MEDICAL issue. If you don't want to have one.. Don't ! (Please feel free to try to change the law, that is your right!)

3. No talking about Gay marriage. Don't tell us what God wants (See #1). Again, this is a personal issue, not a political issue.

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You printed a lead article in your paper about churches dressing down. This is a serious reflection of our increasing disrespect for the house of God, regardless of denomination.

In recent years, large companies experimented with dressing down, such as casual Fridays, but found a decrease in production, a decrease in product quality, as well as a decline in self-respect. In churches we also seem to have a declining respect for God to the point where we are becoming more like social clubs than dynamic places of worship before an awesome, almighty God, the Creator and sustainer of the entire universe.

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Once again I find myself writing to wake-up the electorate over electric rates.

On Sept. 9, Governor Rendall was testifying in front of the legislature encouraging them to vote for HB 2200 and 2201 which are suppose to help electric consumers control the electric rate increase that's forthcoming. Showing his political muscle he said that if the legislature doesn't pass these two bills he will sign legislation to re-regulate the electricity generators and protect the consumer. All of a sudden "we have a friend in Pennsylvania" - lol (that's "lot's of laughs" in internet speak). In the next breath the governor is telling the legislators that the electricity generators, without spending a penny, are going to increase their earnings 40-50% when deregulation goes into effect. Some friend.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Jessica M. Buck for her "Celebrate the Successes of Bush Administration." It is about time someone came out with some words of praise for a president who, in my opinion, has been great - in many ways. It is disgraceful what so many people have been saying about Pres. Bush, bashing him from every side. What ever happened to respect? He is the president of the United States!

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Change Sarah Palin's gender and nothing else, and there is no way McCain would have chosen a Palin for his VP pick. His party wouldn't have stood for it.

He would not choose a man who was a small time governor in Alaska and then governor of a beautiful, but low populated state for less than two years.

The electorate, that is in love with Palin, has got to remove the blinders caused by this reckless, impulsive infatuation, and look at this choice as VP for what it is, opportunistic. He put a woman on the ticket to attract women. That's something McCain has always excelled at; attracting women, regardless of his marital status, while demeaning them with tasteless jokes.

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John McCain chose first term governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, as his Vice Presidential running mate.

Governor Palin thinks creationism should be taught in Public Schools. Did we not go through this ordeal with the Dover School District?

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Is ours a lunatic society or what? We are paying more per gallon for gasoline than at anytime in history. Everybody is complaining. Fingers are pointing.

But take a drive on the interstate from York to Harrisburg or from York to Baltimore and keep your cruise control at the legal limit of 65 mph or 55mph. You will overtake very few vehicles. 90% of the traffic will fly by on your left at speeds of 70 mph or 80 mph, ignoring the fact that each 10 mph reduction in speed saves more gasoline.

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If the elite politicians and press can beat up this hockey mom with high sticking, slashing, and checking her against the boards, it would not surprise me if they end up being politically iced with these tactics.

This hockey mom has more focus, common sense and earthiness than 90% of the members of the senate and the house.

One thing is certain, she represents a "refreshing change".

Ron Ross
Spry

From the plains of central PA, a battle ground unknown since Gettysburg, I have several questions for Governor Palin and Senator McCain, just one mother to another:

Who is taking care of the baby? Why was he even in that noisy arena, especially so late at night? Why did your daughter not immediately chose to get married when she knew she was pregnant? The media commented that you said it was 'her choice.' What were her choices and does that mean you are now pro-choice? and last, Would you please comment on the effectiveness of "Just Saying NO?" What exactly IS your platform on family values?

For Senator McCain: Are we destined to repeat Kent State still wondering why we were in Vietnam anyway? Were the mothers wrong who helped their sons stay out of that war? (Many people who lived through that decade remember a different side.) Why are we really in Iraq? Is taking my metal nailfile at the airport really for national security?

Martin Giesselbach has responded to my op-ed to say that I am wrong about storing energy from wind and solar power. The issue is that without storage, these renewable energy sources are of limited value since they are intermittent. He points to pumped storage which has been available for a long time. I'm well aware of pumped storage and its benefits. In my article I was working with a word limit and had to omit various details.

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I went to the York Fair last night and it was terrible. What happened to all the attractions? It only looked like the fair was half full of vendors. I have been going to the fair for over 50 years and this year it was a disgrace to the city of York and the York Fair.

Memorial Hall was like a ghost town, that used to be packed every year. The aisles of the fair were jam packed with fun and exciting things, not this year. It was boring. The only truth to the fair this year is Food Row where all the vendors were back and the food tasted delicious.

I always go to the fair two or three times while it is here, let me tell you once was enough for me. I've lived here all my life and it keeps getting worse than better unless you are rich and can live in those new condos near the ballpark. But back to the fair, It was a waste of time, there must have been 50 police officers walking around the fair hanging around the young people. The fair was a farce.

KATHY BEAVERSON
HELLAM TOWNSHIP

I watched the Democratic and Republican conventions on Television for as long as I could stand it.

It is now my understanding that you must be a prisoner of war to be qualified to be President of the United States.The speakers at the Republican convention said nothing about their friends in Washington or how they left this great country turn into a terrible, horrible mess for the people. Dubya's name was not mentioned because his performance ratings are lower than whales' excrement. Congress and the Senate are even lower than that.

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McCain says change is coming. Yet I saw him arm and arm with President Bush and I heard him praise his administration. Well, we all know he has voted with him....what is it, 90% of the time?

In July 2004 McCain described Vice President Cheney as one of the best vice presidents ever and he said he would consider him for a post in his administration, should he win the election.

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I think it an absolute outrage that anyone with a record as politically and socially warped as Sarah Palin's should be considered for the office of Vice President of our nation. The election of the McCain/Palin ticket would do irreparable damage to our domestic and international relations, and we'd very quickly become the laughing stock of the world. However, Sarah Palin might fit in well in Dover.

Joe Mangum
Spring Garden Township

The front page of your paper this morning (Sept. 5) was a disgraceful exercise in partisan journalism. On the night after the Republican National Convention -- an event that drew all sorts of attention between Senator John McCain's speech, VP pick Sarah Palin's address, and hurricane Gustav -- your front page consists of a tiny blurb about McCain and a gigantic photo of Obama whose headline, in a font larger than anything else on the page, reads, "In the spotlight," though almost nothing was done to deserve the coverage.

Readers are privy to this type of shenanigan. You are doing a disservice to your country because of such immature behavior and, frankly, terrible journalism. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Leave the ignorant liberal pandering to Argento.

Alex Kocman
Manchester

The facts about Sarah are, she has very little experience in government, she wants to teach creationism in public schools, she does not believe that humans contribute to global warming, she has close ties to big oil, her inauguration was even supported by BP, she also does not support abortion in the case of rape or incest, she also did support the Bridge to Nowhere saying that Alaska should take advantage of earmarks, Palin also sought support from the Alaska Independence Party who advocate for a vote on secession from the union and finally Palin said that the war in Iraq is God's task.

Stan Brenner
West Manchester Township

I am writing in response to John Ziegler's letter that appeared in the Daily Record on Tuesday 9/2/08. Mr. Ziegler has cast all the problems of fatherhood on women. That we choose to be single mothers. We do not want the fathers of our children in their lives and in to many cases that we choose to support ourselves and our children on far less money than our children's fathers make.

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One of the many things that I love about America is that everyone can have and
express their own opinions. We are allowed to disagree with one another. However, there are times when we must agree to disagree while finding common ground so that we can work together towards a shared goal. Senator Obama is the first politician that I have heard who applies this to the issue of abortion.

Well it's back to school time in Red Lion and it's great to see the new school year is starting out the same way last year ended. I have two children in the Red Lion High School and already today, on the first day back, neither of them were able to purchase a lunch.

I know, the school is going thru growing pains and construction problems but the policy of the entire school eating lunch at the same time just doesn't work. The idea sounds really good: students who need help can go to a teacher during the lunch break and seek out assistance after eating their lunch. They also can sit with their friends since eveyone eats at the same time.

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Greg Colburn of Hanover says Todd Platts was "lying" when he said that "no oil was spilled" by oil rigs during Hurricane Katrina since "some "17,653 barrels of oil from platforms, rigs and pipelines" were spilled from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Platts was wrong, but I'm sorry to say that Mr. Colburn's overall conclusion is faulty. Did Platts know he was wrong? He was quite possibly repeating similar statements by others such as Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal who said there were "no major spills."

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Well, we now know John McCain's choice for VP is Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. While I have been critical of our Republican Congressman, Todd Platts, I have been a McCain supporter. But this decision is extremely disappointing, especially when he had other Governors like Bobby Jindal of Louisiana to choose.

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As a Conservative and a woman, I couldn't be happier with John McCain's choice for running mate. By his choice, he has proven to me that he is a true Conservative.

Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska is everything a Conservative could ask for. Number one in my book is that she's pro-life and pro-family. Governor Palin is an example for all women, including and especially those women who have welcomed 'special needs' children into their lives and families. Her fifth child has Down's Syndrome.

She's proven that she can handle many of the demands of holding a high political position. She's shown she can take on corruption, save the tax payers money, support the military, and be every bit as strong or stronger in the roles of wife, mother and Conservative leader.

Go Sarah Go!

Christina Stoner
Dillsburg

Maybe Jim Ogden should take his own advice and "know the whole energy story."

In Mr. Ogden's article he points out that both wind and solar power are not available at a steady 24/7 schedule. This is true.

He omits to point out that specific kinds of Hydro power plants, so called pumped storage facilities have been, and are being built around the nation to act as storage facilities.

An example here in in PA is the installation at Muddy Run, just google "Muddy Run Pumped Storage PA" (click here).

Although no "golden bullet" and total solution for all energy issues, Pumped storage- and Hydro Power facilities in general should not be left out of the energy equasion.

For full disclosure I would like to inform you I am a full time employee of Voith-Siemens, a York PA based manufacturer of Hydro Power Plants.

Martijn Giesselbach
York

Some people are concerned with Barack Obama's relative lack of experience in Washington. However, unlike Bush/McCain, Barack isn't running to continue Washington's focus on making corporations richer. Barack wants to make government work for working people. Barack's political persona was honed by his work as a community organizer. I too worked as an organizer and I can testify that organizing is the best experience one can have, if one wants to change America.

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Kudos to Adam Richman! He hit the nail on the head with his editorial article 'New' Deal, but just as rotten (8/31/08). It was refreshing to read a piece by a person with the intellectual fortitude to look past Mr. Obama's charisma, rhetoric, and cheesecake smile and directly into the man's soul. What he found was the soul of a collectivist. Mr. Richman named Mr. Obama for what he truly is - a reincarnation of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a New Deal style politician, a man who is advocating greater government intervention and more regulations as a cure for America's economic woes.

If this unknown mixture of pollutants was within a mile of Joyce Eastons preciuos "Forest Lakes" with any chance of contaminating her water and air she would be singing a different tune!!!WE know that sludge has made many of us sick, ruined our quality of life and property. Why is it that the 1 farmer spreading sludge doesn't spread it around where he lives(which is next to Forest Lakes)? Maybe he should take it from our neighboorhood to his residence so he and more of this township could experience what we have, including Joyce Easton???

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As most Americans know, John McCain would be the oldest first term President in America's history if he should manage to prevail in November. For that reason, his age and health have come under some scrutiny. McCain has had some history of health issues and yet he has not released his full medical file. That has raised concern among many voters who wonder if he's hiding something. Will he be up to the job - physically and mentally - for a full term?

For that reason, I find his selection of a Vice President particularly troublesome. One would think that he'd want to reassure the public that should his health fail, we'd have a capable person just a heart beat away. Instead, he has selected someone as politically inexperienced as he could find. Two years as governor of one of the least populated states in the union!? That sure does not give me comfort.

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The Vice Presidential picks are finally over! The media has been going crazy speculating who they may be. But now everybody knows that they are Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin. Maybe the media will now speculate what the VP is going to do. Regardless of what the media says, what does the Constitution say the VP is supposed to do?

The Constitution says the VP is the President of the Senate. This job includes promoting or hindering legislature, deciding the outcome of spoken votes, and recognizing Senators who wish to speak. However, by tradition, the VP does not usually do this job, except in the case of a tie. Ironically, if the VP swears to uphold and support the Constitution, he or she should fulfill this job.

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As a family law attorney, let me share my perspective on denial of temporary PFAs. Until we start handing out a "crystal ball" to judges when they are sworn into office, we should not expect our jurists to be able to "see the future." Until we as parents and communities stop exposing our children to violence, we should not be quick to criticize our judges who are inundated with these cases.

I've been inside Judge Thompson's courtroom many times over the past ten years. His intentions and judgments are very good, but he cannot see the future and he cannot solve the problem of violence in society himself. He is doing his best under the PFA law to address the violence in our society. Are we doing our best to raise our children, and lift our communities, out of violence?

Attorney Dann Johns
York

Is the ACT 72 Tax Rebate program a joke on the tax payers?

Was my current school tax bill a sneaky sham? I am not laughing at either. I read an article in a February 2008 edition of the paper outlining all the "approved" tax millage rates - right on the front page. The rates printed were supposedly approved by York County Govt. and ALL the school districts. I cut that tax rate table out and saved it.

When I received my tax bill during the first week of July, I noticed the "discounted" appraisal of my home value - thereby reducing my tax. Yipee! A small savings but hey, that's great! Then I noticed a rate of 18.34 that did not coincide with the rate I had noted in February of 17.2.

After some research, I found new information online. According to this document, the tax rates were revised on June 30, 2008. Most all of the York county school districts (except the Northern ones) had increased their millage rates!

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