Reed must help our postal service

Editor, OBSERVER:

Louis DeJoy the current postmaster general is sabotaging our postal service in your 23rd Congressional District of New York. His independent and rogue actions are negatively impacting our constitutional right for a Post Office (Article 1, Section 8). He is not qualified for the position of postmaster master and has conflicts of interest due to his current and past financial investments.

As a resident of the 23rd Congressional District, I am calling on Tom Reed to take swift and immediate action in the following ways:

¯ Investigate whether any of actions by DeJoy have negatively impacted postal service in the 23rd District. Is all equipment properly maintained to meet current and future demand, and timely delivery?

¯ Instruct all postal sites in the 23rd district, in an open letter, to maintain all letter sorting machines and post office boxes in place, and to resist their removal by anyone (governmental or private), and to return to previous mail delivery route schedules without delay.

¯ Send an open letter to DeJoy telling him that you are standing up for the people in the 23rd District and you will not allow him to “go rogue” and negatively impact mail service for your constituents.

¯ Send an open letter to Donald Trump asking him to immediately fire DeJoy immediately, and replace him with a bi-partisan approved postmaster general.

The U.S. Postal Service is a fundamental, non-partisan, democratic institution of which your constituents rely on daily, especially during these difficult times. This is your big chance to show all of your constituents that you have our backs and deserve to be our representative in Congress.

ERIC JAMES,

Ithaca

Neighborly dispute is about us

Editor, OBSERVER:

Oh Canada!

Our home and native land!

True patriot love in all of us command.

So begins the national anthem of our kind neighbors to the north. A land we Americans are no longer welcome in.

Canada is known all over the world for being open and friendly. Stand around looking confused in any Canadian city for a few seconds and someone will offer to help you.

Walk into a bar, ask any question about hockey, and you will immediately have a boatload of friends. Canadians are like that. But in 2016 we started seeing apprehension from many Canadians about travelling to the United States. In a reaction to the American administration’s treatment of immigrants, asylum seekers, and non-binary persons many Canadian schools broke off long-standing relationships with their American counterparts and prohibited travel to the U.S.

Now, with the bungling of the United States management of the COVID-19 virus Americans are no longer permitted to cross the “longest non-militarized border in the world.” Americans who are in Canada are looked upon with disdain and told to go home. That is how bad America has fallen under Trump. We are no longer welcome to vacation in Canada. That “open” border is now closed to Americans.

The last refrain from their national anthem is:

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

They stand on guard against us.

TOM MEARA,

Jamestown

Masks are not perfect in defense

Editor, OBSERVER:

Our leaders are playing a game of one-upping the other in the response to the pandemic. In doing so they are also forgetting simple things while making these decisions at such a time.

Reports have been out that the use of the facemasks that is mandated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo prevents the person from spreading the disease. Just couple days ago a report came out that not only does a mask prevent the spread but it also prevents the person from getting the virus. Anyone knowing how microscopic the virus is in size knows that, that report is problematic.

What the governor does not realize is that by the mask stopping the virus, it also keeps the person from breathing. No COVID-19 in, no COVID-19 out, no oxygen in, no oxygen out. So is it any wonder that the main symptoms are: coughing, shortness of breath, fever, loss of taste and smell.

WILLIAM ERICK,

Brocton