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People’s Column

All views contribute in democracy Editor, OBSERVER: A recent writer (Oct. 1) shared thoughts and opinions, one opinion being that it “would be wise for the President to allow Politico, CNN, and MS NOW to maintain access to the White House.” The unabashed logic behind his opinion: a future Democratic President might bar Fox News from the White House. There’s certainly no “woke” sniveling here about the Constitution or the First Amendment; no wasted words about the free press as a “leg in the stool” of democracy. No, the thinking seems to be that if we hit them ...

‘Cheap stunt’ with execution plans

Editor, OBSERVER: Self-proclaimed "Secretary of War" Pete Hegseth's announcement of plans to livestream the military execution of Nidal Hassan by firing squad on Dec. 3 is a cheap stunt to provoke outraged attention to his ongoing macho posturing, since there are legal obstacles, despite Trump's personal endorsement, to carrying out such a disgusting spectacle. In addition to presidential approval, military executions require appellate review before they can occur. This has yet to happen and is unlikely to be concluded by Dec. 3, according to John Mills, an attorney who works with ...

People’s column

Lack of answers in water commentary Editor, OBSERVER: Trustee Paul Wandel's recent commentary (Oct. 3-4) provides a notable case study in the deployment of self-aggrandizing trite platitudes within localized political discourse. By attempting to map the individual, athletic variables of marathon endurance onto the institutional, financial, and legal complexities of a multi-million dollar municipal water infrastructure project, the text constructs a fundamentally flawed parallel. This reliance on recycled idiomatic tropes — “such as crossing the finish line” — functions ...

Officials need to find solutions

Editor, OBSERVER: Assemblyman Andrew Molitor in his most recent bemoaning of state government, “New York Just Keeps Losing,” uses Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s July report, “Taxpayer Migration Dashboard” to claim the wealthiest New Yorkers continue to move out of state. Additional analysis, by fiscalpolicy.org notes the counterevidence, the dashboard provides, of decreasing migration rates, across the board, since the pandemic. Migration, because of increasing taxes does not undercut the revenue gains achieved from the increase in rates. Molitor continues to cite past ...

People’s Column

Editor, OBSERVER: Are we being spoon-fed information about Big Tech's grab at north county's rich resources? Artificial intelligence requires massive power for data computing. Big Tech targets abundant land and water. It prefers a community that doesn’t ask inconvenient questions. First battery storage, then data centers — now a nuclear reactor proposed right here in Dunkirk. These things certainly appear to align with Big Tech. Is it fair or ethical to conceal the big picture from us, in hopes of avoiding protest? Several weeks ago, Vince DeJoy, Dunkirk’s Planning and ...

People’s Column

Editor, OBSERVER: Greetings from the Empire State Passengers Association (ESPA)! We work across New York State for more and better passenger rail — and we have a great plan to accomplish this goal. More and better passenger rail across our state will have profound economic, environmental, and social/equity benefits for every kind of New Yorker. Each year we host a statewide passenger rail education and policy conference -- this year, the event will be in downtown Rochester on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Here's more information about the event, and a connection to our full-info ...