Editor, Times-Union: The Town of Winona Lake apparently has complained to Ameriwaste because they have been kind enough to pick up more than two cans of trash from each residence during heavy-use times like Memorial Day, etc.
The Town of Winona Lake told them this nicety is not to be done anymore without putting green stickers alerting the taxpayers to the fact Ameriwaste is not allowed to pick up any extra trash. This is apparently a money-making project for the town as people must now go to them and buy tickets to stick on any extra trash cans over two.
If Ameriwaste was kind enough to usually pick up the extra trash, Winona Lake, why hassle them? Personally, our family has a summer cottage and we are only here about four months of the year. We pay taxes and all other utility bills throughout the whole year without needing any trash pick-up eight months of the year. Who are you representing if not your citizens? Why did you break something that wasn't broken?
Dorothy Volkers, via e-mail
Winona Lake
Dumbed Down
Editor, Times-Union: The nail-biting suspense is over. The best person has prevailed in the highly contested race. More voters exercised their rights than in the previous election. In the week before America honors its fallen war heroes, Taylor Hicks has been elected our new American Idol. All is well with the world.
By all appearances the corporate-owned media has completed the dumbing down of America. The public's attention has been successfully diverted to the latest happenings of Brad and Angelina, Tom and Katie or some other insignificant character of the moment.
It's time to watch the news, now. I hope they don't clutter it up with tiresome drivel from Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan. I don't want to hear anymore about rising gas prices, corporate corruption, political scandals, uninsured healthcare, outsourcing, immigration, or the continuing assault on the constitution.
I wonder how much money "The Da Vinci Code" has made so far?
Janet Collins Etna Green
Supports Gay Marriage
Editor, Times-Union: I've just finished reading Brenda Ganshorn's letter stating her opposition to gay marriage. She upholds this is an institution limited to two people of the opposite sex. That is her opinion and she is welcome to it. I have mine though and I don't believe I am in the minority despite her claims.
Being a long-time divorcee and "straight" person - if I need that distinction - I think I know what I am talking about when I say that straight people botch the sanctity of marriage to no end. Why wouldn't any gay person be deserving of the same opportunity to marriage? They love like anybody else does. Are anti-gay people afraid to see "gays" succeed in what "straight" people have not?
Long-time reader, former Warsaw resident
Sarah Lowe, via e-mail Chelmsford, Mass.
Network Neutrality
Editor, Times-Union: Right now, the telephone and cable companies in control of Internet access are trying to use their enormous political muscle to dramatically change the Internet. They are in the process of trying to monopolize the hardware infrastructure. I urge you after a little research to write our Senators and Congressmen and urge them to support HR 5417, The Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006.
Without network neutrality legislation, the Internet is likely to become a two-tiered system - where those who can pay a tax to have access to consumers will have access to a fast lane and the rest will crawl along in the slow lane. As Internet consumers, if we don't act to protect ourselves we will become held hostage.
Ted Carter, via e-mail Leesburg
Processes
Editor, Times-Union: Re: David Kolbe Mr. Kolbe's liberal spew suggests that since Great Britain failed to colonize Mesopotamia the current administration has learned nothing from mistakes in history. He fails to mention colonization was and remains a process.
The anatomy of a process allows for procedural adjustments. This process incorporated in nature is tasked with the responsibility of bringing law and order to the land of Ali Babba. What law? The rule of law which benefits the rule of money.
Since corporate bondage is rampant in the Middle East, corporate freedom has made a number of procedural adjustments in the 80-plus years since colonization. So many that Middle Eastern regional scholars suggest today's process in no way resembles colonization.
Ali Babba (the political elite of rogue nations) have no policies benefiting corporations. They don't feel that they need any since Ali Babba owns his corporations. Such bondage is the foundation of his treasure chest. This is Ali Babba's foundation power base, the privilege of which is the distribution rights to all corporate profits.
Our political leaders will consider policies which favor corporations in spite of Mr. Kolbe's insistence that the current administration reconsider those policies.
Someone's world is worth creating. It is not Ali Babba's. We must recreate his from the foundation up.
Steven R Frantz Warsaw
Phone Books
Editor, Times-Union: I don't know who hired the ones to deliver the phone books but I think they could have done much better.
Whoever it was went down the road flinging the books willy nilly toward the yards.
Mine went into the crack - yes, I still had it at that time. But on April 27 and 28 "they" came and filled in part of it - sowed grass seed and covered it with straw. They still haven't been back to finish the other half to the west.
And they have never fixed my neighbor's, Frank and Darlene Federico at Hill Lake Resort.
Their property is a mess. When I asked the young man who seemed to be in charge of repair about the other half of my property, he said that there was a woman over there and he pointed to the northwest that was complaining.
It seems that unless you make an issue over the way they left things, they don't bother to make it right.
I've been thinking there must be quite a few of us.
Perhaps we should get together and hire a lawyer, and starting with Verizon, go right down the line and take them all to court.
Or perhaps if we all wrote to the CEO of Verizon - at Verizon North Inc., 1095 Avenue of the Americas, New York City, N.Y., 10036-6704, or call 212-395-2121, Chairman of the Board and CEO Lawrence T. Babbio or CFO/Vice President Larwence R. Whitman, maybe we could get things taken care of.
