Where’s City?
If ever
there was a need for the alternative media, it is now. Yet City Newspaper — once our oasis in a vast desert — seems to remain silent as major shocks
to our democracy are occurring.
If it weren’t for e-mail, we
wouldn’t know that many thoughtful observers and writers in the international
and even US media are seriously concerned about such potential disasters as:
• Life-threatening blows to
our democratic ways by corporate domination and the USA Patriot Act I and soon
to be II, with such increases in repression of protestors that many speak of
creeping fascism;
• Illegal preemptive wars and
more to come, perhaps in Syria, Iran, Cuba, North Korea — where else?
And the real causes may well
be a global US empire, with the way paved by US domination of the world’s oil
distribution. If this is a democracy, shouldn’t the people have a say?
Corporate globalization
(a.k.a. neoliberalism) is increasing poverty in all the poor nations of the
world (with the push of the US Treasury Department and our dominant US votes in
the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization). But
part of this system means Kodak is down in Rochester-area jobs from over 65,000
to under 22,000, while it builds large factories in China.
Where’s City when we
need you most?
Peter Mott, South Main
Street, Pittsford
Editor Mary Anna Towler’s
response: We’ve written several times about the Bush administration’s
shocking policy of preemption, the tragic error of the war against Iraq, etc.
Our first responsibility, of course, is to cover what’s happening closest to
us. Numerous local challenges demand our attention — the county’s financial
crisis, its particularly heavy impact on our poorest residents, the
difficulties in the City School District, to name three. But we are committed
to speaking out on the national and international issues you mention, and
continue to discuss our coverage of them.
Hard-selling the transit center
Less than a year ago, the president of the US sold the
country on a war with Iraq, justifying it on the basis of data that was
questionable, indicating that the oil would pay for it, and intimating that
anyone who opposed the idea was, in essence, a traitor. Now it is becoming
clear that the data was questionable, that the oil will not pay for it, that we
have a colossal mess on our hands, and that maybe those who questioned it were
right.
It is
not hard to draw a parallel between the Iraq quagmire and the current effort to
force a bus station on the City of Rochester. The data supporting the need for
the station, particularly one as elaborate as Mr. Nojay wants, is questionable.
The oil that is supposed to pay for its operation in this case is the tenants
in the station complex, but it is certainly not clear that this will be
sufficient. Anyone who questions the wisdom of the current approach or dares
suggests an alternative is branded as turning down $30 million, in essence, a
traitor to the city and county.
Let
us not keep making the same mistakes. If a bus station is to be built, let us
make sure that its need is justified by hard data. Let us make sure we know
exactly what it will cost us to operate it once it is built. Let us encourage
as much input as possible and as many alternative proposals as possible and
then come up with a proposal that is economically viable, one that will be a
true asset to the city and that can win broad support.
Robert Keck, Selden Street, Rochester
Conserve energy,prevent blackouts
The recent blackout that turned out the lights from Detroit
to New York City is a wake-up call: Our existing system needs to be updated.
The best way to prevent energy bottlenecks and take pressure off the grid is to
make our homes, businesses, and appliances use less energy, while still meeting
— or, gasp, even reducing — our needs.
Some
conservatives are again calling for opening up the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge — a ridiculous and irrelevant idea, because only 3 percent of US
energy plants even use oil.
And
the Bush Administration just weakened a standard that would have made new air
conditioners nearly 30 percent more efficient. Taking this step alone would
have saved as much energy as is produced by 204 power plants, helping take
pressure off the electricity grid, keeping pollution out of the air, and saving
us all money on our energy bills.
The
solutions are out there that can help us avoid blackouts in the future, cut our
energy bills, and protect the environment, but the Bush Administration is not
putting them to work. Contact your representatives and let them know you want
to see the government pursue and fund positive solutions to this situation.
Leigh M. O’Brien, Line Street, Pittsford
The Bush carnage
Why are we not shouting? Why are we not screaming? Why are
our representatives not talking impeachment?
President
Clinton was impeached for carrying on an illicit sexual affair and lying about it.
George Bush has lied and caused the deaths of thousands of Afghans, Iraqis, and
Americans, and yet no hint of impeachment!
Why
is he allowed to continue to cause all this destruction, chaos, and carnage?
Educational institutions, social services, and veterans hospitals are being
denied funding so that he can fund his Iraqi fiasco at $4 billion per month, as
well as his ridiculous $400 billion tax cut.
He
acts as though he’s playing Monopoly: When you pass “Go,” you get to spend as
much as you want and to cause thousands of “collateral” deaths.
George
W. Bush is breeding terrorism, not conquering it. And all the while, local
organizations are pleading for food and school supplies for poverty-stricken
children, and veterans will soon be deprived of medical facilities needed for
permanent wounds inflicted in defense of GW Bush’s empire.
Don
Franklin, Chelmsford Road, Brighton
Brooks and budgets
Once again “Boss” Steve Minarik’s Republican machine is
trying to put a positive spin on a dire situation. Jack Doyle’s has announced
that the county will end the year with a surplus, thanks to the
misappropriation of tobacco settlement funds.
What’s
going to happen when the tobacco funds are used up? Basic county services are
already being stretched to their limits, and this so called balanced budget is
not being managed or structured adequately to meet Monroe County’s needs. To
manage this mess, the Minarik machine is offering us Maggie Brooks. What is she
offering Monroe County for solutions?
Brooks
has rejected any consideration of metro solutions, erroneously referring to
them as “big government,” but she offers no viable alternative.
Democrat Bill Johnson has the management skill and willingness to make the hard
decisions, with the city continuing to show superior bond ratings to those of
the county.
Rachel M. Boccheciamp, Dove Street,
Rochester
Johnson’s ideas: like a Republican’s
While Bill Johnson campaigns for county executive on good
ideas — like cutting costs by exploring regional solutions — the
Doyle-Brooks-Minarik machine continues to try to instill fear in the hearts of
Rochester’s suburbanites by painting the word “consolidation” as some
dangerous concept.
They
keep threatening that school districts would be dissolved, and that is an
outright lie. Not only has the mayor never proposed such a thing, it couldn’t
legally be done. It’s time Republicans stop their campaign of fear.
Every
municipality in our area is struggling financially. Johnson has studied the
successes of cities like Louisville, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis, all of
which have undertaken some form of consolidation, and he’s ready to discuss the
advantages of pooling our resources. Is that threatening? In reality, this
message even sounds like a “Republican” proposal: It means less
government and fewer expenses for our community. In fact, Maggie Brooks has
basically stolen a lot of Mayor Johnson’s ideas for her campaign because they
just make sense.
Bill
Johnson is by far a more qualified candidate for county executive than Maggie
Brooks. The Rochester area deserves higher-quality discussions in this
campaign. Brooks lacks the substance and leadership that Johnson offers so
graciously to our community.
Joan Clawson, East Street, Honeoye Falls
Campaign comments
From now through October, we’ll publish readers’ comments on
candidates in the November election. Please keep your letters brief, and please
be specific. Include your name, street name, city/town/village, and daytime
telephone number. We’ll edit letters to avoid excessive repetition. Our
address: themail@rochester-citynews.com or The
Mail, City Newspaper, 250 North Goodman Street, Rochester 14607.
This article appears in Sep 17-23, 2003.
