In a recent letter to the editor titled "Obama is seen here, but not seen there," the writer says Obama was at Charleston, S.C., for the funerals of the nine church-shooting victims, but not at the funeral for the young lady shot by an undocumented immigrant in San Francisco. Now, I'm sure that this writer realizes, that on the average there are 50 Americans murdered every day in our country.

I hope most people are smart enough to realize that this writer is trying to insinuate that Obama went to Charleston, S.C., because the nine victims were black. And that he did not go to San Francisco because the victim was white. Right-wingers are very clever on how they disguise and spread their hateful agendas.

Let's think about the reasons for these two tragedies: 1. Conservative "hate talk" radio that incites these right-wing extremist such as Dylann Roof and Timothy McVeigh; 2. The GOP and the NRA for not doing anything to help keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

The writer then goes on to say this is the leadership we now have in a decaying America. I would like to tell the writer there is nothing wrong with the leadership in our country. The only thing that is decaying is the rotten Conservative agenda.

Paul Costello
Newburgh

Some of you may be wondering why we are giving $150 billion and removing sanctions from Iran, the chief exporter of terrorism, when our stated policy is not to even recognize those who deal in terror. It may puzzle you that we are promising to protect them from their enemies when their official position is "Death to America."

Have you ever heard of Valerie Jarrett? Valerie Jarrett is the White House Advisor. This does not mean that she is in charge of the linens in the West Wing. It is more correct to say she is in charge of Obama. Valerie Jarrett was born in Iran. The Obamas have worked for her since the Chicago days when she hired Michelle and began promoting Barack.

Barack Obama himself attended Muslim schools in his formative years while living in Indonesia. We do not know how seriously he does or does not take the Koran which he knows quite well. But we do know that the Reverend Wright, whose church he joined, had to assure him that belonging to the church would not interfere with his Muslim beliefs.

We cannot help but see that he is not sympathetic to the Christian religion. He offers no comfort or solace to the families of Christians who have been murdered by Islamic terrorists, and when confronted with these facts, brings up the Crusades and the Inquisition. He will not use the words "Islamic terrorists" or admit that there is any connection between Islam and all the groups who do dastardly deeds in its name.

The deal with Iran will allow Iran to have nuclear weapons, in spite of their "Death to America" stance which they broadcast even as the deal is being made. The United States military is now pledged to protect Iran. We are to rely on our ability to convince Iran not to use the weapons we are making it possible for them to build and deliver.

Obama claims that the Muslim religion is one of peace and is tolerant of all other religions when the religion itself claims that it is the duty of Muslims to make Islam the only religion in the world — to rid of world of "infidels." Surprisingly, interviews with "moderate" Muslims confirms this attitude. More and more, he promotes only Muslim holidays while claiming that other religions and their creeds are divisive.

If Obama wished to bring about the Caliphate, that is, a world-wide religious Muslim state, he would be acting, in every way, just as he is.

Hank Harwood
Montela

Improving and upgrading New York's electric transmission grid will bolster the state's critical energy infrastructure, increase the availability of power from clean energy sources, ensure system reliability and provide long-term economic benefits.

The current power grid infrastructure is up to 80 years old in some areas and is in desperate need of modernization. Upgrading the grid will replace aging infrastructure and relieve system bottlenecks, ensuring New Yorkers have access to affordable power, including renewable sources, from across the state.

Power grid upgrades also mean increased economic opportunities for New York. Not only would improvements help relieve system congestion that has raised energy prices by $8.5 billion in lower New York and the Hudson Valley during the past decade, this major private sector investment proposed for our state can create thousands of jobs and generate more than $1 billion in economic activity, putting our neighbors to work and boosting local businesses.

Regulatory proceedings are under way in New York state to examine the need for electric transmission improvements, and several proposals are under consideration. These proposed upgrades will improve power flows while respecting nearby communities and property owners by staying within and potentially improving the appearance of existing utility corridors.

Residents and businesses rely on power that is clean, reliable and affordable in order to grow our economy and protect our environment. Upgrading our energy infrastructure is critical to ensuring New York remains an economic leader and continues to offer residents a high quality of life, long into the future.

I am proud to have recently joined a coalition of elected officials, business, labor and community members who are coming together to ask the New York State Public Service Commission to move forward with transmission development.

Laurence P. Gottlieb,
President and CEO
Hudson Valley Econ. Development Corp.
New Windsor

Our media loves to moralize over the Greeks. According to the favored scenario, it was excessive spending on social services and pensions that brought the country down. Greece has universal health care, free higher education and a livable pension program for retirees, all benefits the average U.S. worker lacks. No wonder they are bankrupt, or so the story goes.

The problem with this analysis is that it is wrong. The Greeks are in debt because of excessive military spending, not because they provided their citizens with adequate social services. Since joining the European Union in 1982, Greece has spent twice as much as any other member on military hardware. It is not pensions causing the financial problems; it is the hundreds of Leopard tanks, Mistral warships, Mirage fighters, F-16 jets and even submarines that Germany, France and especially the U.S. sold Greece over the last several decades.

Worries about Turkey were certainly part of this unsustainable military buildup. But so was pressure from Germany, France and the U.S. to keep up the spending spree. Then there was the bribery, with millions of dollars from foreign weapons makers going to Greek government officials.

Why is none of this mentioned in our media? Perhaps because America, too, has eviscerated its social services to spend trillions on unnecessary bombers, submarines, nuclear weapons and wars in the Middle East. As the mouthpiece for our military-industrial complex, our media sees only one solution: profits for weapons makers and austerity for the working class.

Fred Nagel
Rhinebeck

The recent controversial decision by a sharply divided (5-4) Supreme Court to concoct a constitutional "right" to homosexual "marriage" won't be the last word on the subject. The ideologically based, politically biased decision, which basically puts heterophobic homosexuals on the same level as normal heterosexuals, so flies in the face of reason that it will eventually be overturned by more intelligent, less biased judges.

Thinking people have known for centuries that homosexual activity is immoral and a bad legal precedent. The ancient and primitive Greek and Roman societies once valued homosexual activity, but people ultimately wised up and deprecated it. Plato, for example, wisely and logically opposed it as unethical. Some Supreme Court Justices should be as wise as Plato on this subject.

As female minds in male bodies and male minds in female bodies are sure signs that something went wrong somewhere (in nature and/or nurture), so homosexual minds in heterosexual bodies are also sure signs of mind/body mismatches, are sure signs of disorders. To put obvious disorders like homosexuality on a par with normal heterosexuality is clearly absurd. To equate homosexual "marriage" with heterosexual marriage is nonsensical.

Someday in the future people will look back at this regressive, inane decision and wonder "What were they thinking?" (or IF they were thinking). In the meantime, it's up to decent ethical people to work to overturn it. Let's get started.

Wayne Lela
Downers Grove, IL

The New Paltz Town Board's and supervisor's references to the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency being likened to the Mafia is so far from the truth as to be ridiculous. The truth is that in 1984 when then-assemblyman Maurice Hinchey convinced the state Legislature to authorize the UCRRA as a public authority it was because the Mafia families out of New York City were controlling Ulster County's solid-waste hauling and disposal industry (see Hinchey's 1984 report "Organized Crime's Involvement in the Waste Hauling Industry"). At that time, yes, the Mafia controlled, and was moving in the direction of making millions on the backs of the taxpayers of Ulster County, establishing illegal dumps, allowing roadside dumping, minimizing recycling, disregarding the needs for composting and generally not complying with state Department of Environmental Conservation regulations. The world of waste management was out of control and destined to create a very unhealthy, but highly profitable, industry for guess who? The Mafia. Thank God for Hinchey for seeing this for what it was, and having the foresight and good judgment to create the UCRRA Public Authority run by five unpaid dedicated citizens appointed by the Ulster County Legislature. Those of us who learn nothing from history are destined to repeat its mistakes.

Charles Landi, UCCRA board member
Kingston

New York State is a first-class state with a third-rate government. Its legislative output this session amounted to schlock, the kind of knock-off goods hawked by shady sidewalk vendors and sold too dear for the junk it is.

"Get your honest-to-goodness real Chanel bag here." Really?

There was no real property tax relief, certainly no reform of the horrendous chaotic school tax and no attempt to curb mandates or take Medicaid off the property tax (New York State is unique in still shifting a big chunk of this burden).

Local governments and schools will continue to groan under state mandates that effectively avoid state responsibility, tax exemptions to favorite corporations (not you, small business!) and tax-draining religious bloc holdings will grow.

Giant real estate interests will continue to enjoy favored big-donor status, and you will continue to plan your retirement anywhere but here — what a waste of our beautiful state.

These politicos who are ruining New York State do not rise to the level of evil — they're punks and small-time crooks (most of us could have scored bigger graft in the 20 or so years some of these guys have been on the take). But they are petty thieves in numbers that are cumulatively devastating.

Some are quite charming, even if "ethically challenged." Though a couple of politicos — and you have to give Bill de Blasio credit for finally yelling "ouch" after being repeatedly stabbed in the back (and front) — are really nasty guys, motivated by spite and venom.

And we are not alone in the shabby treatment we suffer from our "public servants."

New York City and its millions of hardworking people who fuel the state's economic engine are disdained and imperiously denied sensible, important legislation for no good reason except as an abuse of power by the junk brokers in Albany.

The media is even lending credence to state government's disgraceful lack of ethics by creating bogus categories of governance as if they had some equivalence or legitimacy "mission" motivated to describe New York City. And mayor's mojo, as opposed to "transactional" politics to describe Albany. What a load of bull crap!

Albany's typical "transaction" is to horse-trade favors and tax breaks in return for jobs for cronies and payola for the legislators. Do not dignify how the state government operates by giving it a high falutin' name.

"Transactional" my ass!

So what makes it all go away? We do. We do not vote — given half the chance — for an incumbent; and no, we don't worry that if our legislator — who has been in his/her gerrymandered leather seat for the last 25 years while all this "transactional" schlock was going down — is unseated, the sky will fall. The sky has already fallen, kiddo.

Of course, if instead of the expensive postcards from your public servants taking "credit" (the gall) for all the junk legislation this year, you get an apology, an acknowledgement, a mea culpa from your legislator that the mess isn't all the fault of the other guy, the other party, the other legislative house but that he/she has been asleep at the switch while the state was driven off the rails, then it might be feasible to reward the candor and the promise to do better.

Failing that unlikely event, you must finally throw them out. You saw the perp walks. You counted the expensive legislative overtime. You saw the amazing attempt to justify the lack of any semblance of decency — "Preet Bharara ate our homework." You saw the lack of any real ethics legislation. You witnessed the whole sordid operation.

And of course you heard the lies about the big deal property tax relief they scored for you.

Well, don't spend that $135 — coming maybe in 2016 — "tax relief" all in one place, sucker. You'll need it for the increase on your bill to compensate for the exemptions for the big boys, or a reassessment, or what you will pay under the so-called cap that isn't really a cap on your bill no matter what the schlock merchants claim.

So tell me, even absent an abject apology, you're really going to vote for that guy/gal again? Really?

Fifty shades of dumb.

Gioia Shebae
Gardiner