" There are two main heroes in the battle for Ukraine" Letter to the editor Hal Chorny

There are two main heroes in the battle for Ukraine. Zelenskyy is widely praised for his valor and determination to keep Ukraine a democracy and free of Russian domination. The other hero is Joe Biden. He rescued NATO from Trump’s undermining. Biden led NATO to make plans to support Ukraine in the event of a Russian invasion and now we see that NATO is a major player in the war. The Soviet assault is stalemated and Russia is slipping into an economic depression.  Republicans care about nothing but winning elections, supporting their ambitions with endless criticism of Biden. We are fortunate that Biden is a match for Putin and a fitting partner for Zelenskyy.

Publishing history:

Hudson Valley One 3/22/22

" Night lights kill" letter to the editor Doris Chorny

We are aware that moths are fatally attracted to light, though no one understands just why. Moths can literally burn themselves out as they careen around an artificial light or die by zooming onto a bulb. What we’re less aware of is that most moths dine on the nectar of nocturnal flowers. If these flowers are illuminated by artificial light, 62% less feeding occurs. These lights also make it harder for them to find a mate, but easier for birds, spiders and ants to find a meal of moths.

We should care about the size of the moth population because we care about the size of our bird population. A typical baby bird consumes 30-40 meals a day and caterpillars are the most nutritious and easily consumed meal for nestlings. If we decimate the moth population, we decimate the caterpillar population and we impact the life cycle of birds.

For the sake of your security use yellow, motion detector lights that focus light downward instead. They now can be solar generated so don’t require electricity. You’ll be securing many little, but important lives at the same time.

Publishing history:

Hudson Valley One 3/16/22

"A big change to traditional Medicare is coming" Letter to the editor Maggie Veve

 I am writing about a change to traditional Medicare I am concerned about.

Millions of us seniors and Medicare beneficiaries are quietly being enrolled into a pilot program called “Realizing Equity Access in Community Health (REACH),” run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which contracts with third-party middlemen. This is occurring without our full knowledge or consent. If left unchecked, the REACH program could radically transform traditional Medicare within a few years, without input from us and without any Congressional oversight.

Developed by the previous administration and moving forward in the administration, the Medicare REACH program allows commercial insurers and other for-profit companies to “manage” care for seniors enrolled in Traditional (fee-for-service) Medicare. Instead of paying doctors and hospitals directly for seniors’ care, Medicare gives these middlemen a monthly payment to cover a defined portion of each senior’s medical expenses. REACH investor entities are then allowed to keep what they don’t pay for in health services, a dangerous financial incentive to restrict and ration seniors’ care. While Traditional Medicare requires 98 percent of its budget to be spent on patient care, REACH requires only 60 percent, thereby allowing up to 40 percent of their budget for their own profit and overhead.  Dr. Susan Rogers, a retired internal medicine doctor and president of the 24,000-member Physicians for a National Health Program said, “this establishes a dangerous incentive to ration and restrict seniors’ care; if left unchecked, REACH will hand Traditional Medicare to Wall Street investors, without input from seniors, doctors, or even Congress.”

When I learned about this program, I called fellow Medicare recipients and they had not heard about this. One who checked if it affected them already told me their doctor was now part of this “network.” That seemed harmless enough but then learned that she would not be able to choose other doctors out of the network, like I can with Traditional Medicare.  After reading more, I called our Congressman in January and learned that at that point in time, the staff hadn’t heard about it. I have since contacted our US Senators and the Biden administration and haven’t received any indication that they know about the REACH program concerns. Consequently, I am turning to the public to learn about this program.  Do some research (see the Physicians for a National Health Program/pnhp.org) and talk with your neighbor.  At my end I, with fellow seniors from Ulster Activists and Indivisible Ulster are providing a forum to learn about REACH at Elting Memorial Library in New Paltz on Sunday, March 20 at 2 p.m. Join us to learn more about this program and what you can do to maintain your Traditional Medicare.

Publishing history:

Hudson Valley One 3/16/22

" Where is the CARE in health care?" Letter to the editor Kathryn Adorney

I am increasingly disturbed by the quality of health care in this country. A friend in Los Vegas had a total hysterectomy to treat uterine cancer. She was out the same day – and in the ER the next day. Same-day care can be great, but with a health care system that provides no home care, who is going to witness and document the recovery process? And this is just one outcome of a health care system geared toward minimal care…and maximum profit.

Publishing history:

Hudson Valley One 3/16/22

"Public accountability" Letter to the editor Irwin Sperber

The disclosures presented by the president of Friends of the Shawangunks call for independent hearings at the Town and County level. Voters and taxpayers in Gardiner should pay especially close attention to John Hayes’ letter to the editor, “Public trust,” in Hudson Valley One, 2/23/22, pp. 23-24. His account of how laws and ordinances are being evaded in the construction of a “glamping” facility in Gardiner serves the cause of good government and sound environmental policy. Favoritism and cronyism in allowing a large-scale “glamping” operation to go forward without the required construction and environmental permits cannot be tolerated. Even if only some of these disclosures were true, their further investigation by appropriate law enforcement agencies would seem to be in order.

In allowing the regulations to be waived, the responsible public official (in Gardiner’s case, Town Supervisor Majestic) may well have the best of intentions. When any public official or regulatory agency allows a developer to proceed without the necessary permits for problematic land use, any halfway competent corporate attorney can readily invoke this legal and administrative precedent to justify other development projects (for a Walmart, a hookah bar, a casino, a dynamite factory or anything else) to go forward as well. It may well be the case that the developer is a good neighbor, a good friend, a generous campaign donor or an exemplary member of the community. And we can speculate about what might have led to this favoritism: Possible factors might include the official’s good intentions, indecisiveness, poor judgment, old-fashioned cronyism, an infatuation with tourism, sheer madness or some combination thereof.

Some years ago, an environmental attorney characterized a similar scenario, which has become evident in the Catskills during the rapid rise of property values, as “land anarchy.” But another characterization of it can be offered that is more graphic and, I fear, more realistic. This trend toward the relaxation (or suspension or waiver) of requirements for construction permits is slowly but surely going to transform Gardiner and other towns and hamlets in the Catskills into stark versions of Paramus. If public officials really cherish the pipe dreams underlying this dystopia, they might wish to consider relocating there. Unless this trend is called to a halt, Route 44/55 will take on the features of New Jersey’s Route 17, with glamping grounds and monuments to extinct species complementing the shopping malls, lit-up billboards and auto dealerships on both sides of the road.

Some Town supervisors, Planning Boards, town consultants and attorneys, mayors and other champions of “progress” seem to be enthralled by massive development projects. These projects are usually heralded as recreational stopovers, tourist bonanzas, environmental enhancements, job creators or, more gratuitously, as guarantees of new property tax revenue. Whatever the good or bad intentions of the cheerleaders for such projects, their long-term consequences of economic harm and ecological degradation are not what most voters have in mind when they go to the polls. We can only hope that Gardiner’s elected and appointed officials are prepared to address the problem at hand; if not, it will be up to the voters to hold them accountable.

Publication history:

Hudson Valley One /9/22

"Delgado Supports Gateway Act for Community Colleges" Letter to the editor Tom Denton

As a community college teacher for nearly 40 years, I’ve been able to witness the inspiring life journeys of many students. Most haven’t come from privileged backgrounds. Many have had to work, full or part time, throughout their college years. Many of those students have also had to juggle family responsibilities with their studies.

The aspirations of these community college students have varied. Some used their early years as a jumpstart to eventual transfer to a four-year school. Others re-tooled their maturity, leaving aimless high school years behind to discover what hard work and focus could earn them. Some had ambitions for professional careers; some wanted training for skilled technical jobs or an upgrade of their existing skills.

Community colleges are a place where small but profound miracles can and do happen — small only when looked at individually, but with great impact on society collectively.

President Biden’s hope to establish free community colleges didn’t happen. But our nation has recognized their importance, as has our congressman, Antonio Delgado. He joined Rep. Alma Adams to reintroduce legislation to strengthen the nation’s commitment to students in community college with the Gateway to Careers Act. Delgado recognizes that students with many external challenges have better chances to succeed in school when they have access to supportive systems such as child care, transportation and medical assistance. Furthermore, colleges that receive grants from the legislation would provide career counseling and establish relationships with workforce partners to enhance job opportunities for students. The Gateway Act acknowledges that the technical education segment of community colleges needs greater support. Thanks go to Congressman Delgado and other public servants for working to close the gaps in our system.

Publishing history:

Oneonta Daily Star      3/4/22

" We do not want Medicare privatized" Letter to the editor Hal Chorny

Seniors are in danger of losing traditional Medicare. They will be put into an inferior system called REACH, which enriches investors and costs the government more.

Medicare allows free access to physicians of your choice with no need for justification. If you are sick, you get care. The new plan limits the choice of physicians and one must convince a middleman that care is necessary. The government organization trying to take down traditional Medicare is The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) and they are quietly spreading this business plan across the country. By 2030, traditional Medicare will be gone without your consent. You will receive a letter appearing harmless, but all the rules will have changed.

Medicare permits 2% for overhead and there is no profit. REACH allows 40% for overhead and profits. Investors are rushing to join these cash cows. Profits will be increased by limiting care or by substituting cheaper treatments. Patient care will suffer and big business will make big profits. There are now five REACH type organizations operating in NY State. Tell your Congressman, Senators and President Biden that you want this so-called pilot project stopped. They need to hear from us that we do not want Medicare privatized and our health made secondary to business profits.

Publishing history

HV1       3/3/22

"" Another “legitimate political discourse?”" Letter to the editor Misha Harnick

Hitler’s takeover of Sudetenland in 1938 presaged the start of WWII.  Russian crushing of the Hungarian revolution in 1956 was very violent and deadly, and resulted in hundreds of thousands emigrating. Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 to annihilate the “socialism with human face” movement was totally unanticipated.  We woke up in early hours and heard much too many planes…later, there was a Russian tank parked in the courtyard of the Charles University.  The invasion resulted in 20 years of “age of darkness” with cultural, intellectual and political devastation. . (I did not live through THAT; I emigrated in 1969 to the USA)   But there was no killing and no buildings were bombarded. Was Brezhnev more “civilized” than the current paranoid maniac?

Putin is a hypocritical barbarian: he wants to protect the “wayward” Ukraine from the West and bring it back to the “motherland”, yet he goes on a killing spree, and he is destroying most of the country. World opinion matters to him not, because, to his deranged mind, he is doing the right thing. 
What evil will happen where next?  Where will this lead the world?

publishing history

HV1      3/3/22