Letters to the Editor Sunday, Nov. 8 – The Daily Gazette

Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion

Holidays loom for St. Clares pensioners. We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it isLife is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you. Pope Francis.As I sit watching the blue moon, I am thinking about this quote and how it applies to the difficult months we have endured due to the coronavirus, limitations on socializing with family, the political bashings, opinionated journalism and horrific bullying.With that being said, life is difficult right now.I was one of over 1,100 employees of St. Clares Hospital that lost my pension. Our goal as healthcare workers made lives better.I have comforted patients and their families. I have produced images that enabled doctors to properly diagnose a patients illness and broken bones. I have assisted in the Operating Room with radiographic images ensuring surgical precision.Now as the holidays are quickly approaching, our money worries are compounded.Many of the pensioners had to give up their homes; abandon retirement dreams, have increasing credit card debt to cover essentials, home repairs and medical expenses; and have drastically curtailed their spending.Many have returned to the workforce to survive.I keep hoping and praying that the Albany Diocese, Catholic Church and New York state find a resolution to our lost pension.We are not asking for anything more than what is due us for service to the Schenectady and surrounding area. Because in the words of Pope Francis: We are born to help each other.Cynthia OBryanEsperance

Reporting in publics interest not a crime

Journalistic publications, including WikiLeaks, exist to tell the people the truth even when the government tries to spin it or hide it.Confronting uncomfortable truths is necessary in a democracy; for this reason, I am deeply concerned with the U.S. governments prosecution of Julian Assange.It is already hard enough to get the truth to the public. Sometimes it takes brave whistleblowers willing to leak secrets, knowing they are putting their careers and freedom on the line.Soon, however, the journalists who help reveal these secrets might be targets of prosecution.If Assange is extradited to the United States to face 175 years in prison for journalism, it would set a dangerous legal precedent that could impact press freedom around the world.If reporting in the public interest becomes a crime simply because the government declares something a secret, we fall deeper into our worst authoritarian tendencies.Elyse GilbertFort Plain

Thanks to all who made voting so easy

I want to share my experience voting on Election Day.I live in Ballston Spa a few blocks from the mid-village county office building, one of the three Saratoga County early voting sites.Each day over the last two weeks through Sunday there were lines of early voters standing in the parking lot, on the sidewalk to Low Street, and often down Low almost to Front Street.They stood buttoned up in coats to keep warm in the autumn chill, they stood under umbrellas when it rained, and they appeared patient and friendly toward their socially distant nearby neighbors.I was determined to vote on Election Day.I admit to experiencing anxiety, given the number of early voters and their determination.In addition to these observations, there was the steady drumbeat of the news media shrilling about the imagined impediments to voting all over the country.Election Day, I went to my polling place, Eagle Matt Lee Firehouse about two blocks from the county office building. I parked, walked in the front door, went to my areas registration desk and signed in on the poll workers electronic pad with the stylus provided.I was handed a ballot to fill out.When I finished, I took my ballot to the voting machine that accepted it.In about 10 minutes, I checked in, voted, had my signature and ballot digitized and walked out.Thank you to everyone who made my voting convenient, easy and a pleasure to complete.Forman PhillipsBallston Spa

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Letters to the Editor Sunday, Nov. 8 - The Daily Gazette