In "Heard Around Our Towns... In Ulster County –" the news that Chris Gibson has announced that he will not be running for re-election to Congress, garnered a "hmmm...?" It deserves more.

When Chris Gibson first ran in 2010 he announced that he planned to "self-impose term limits." His honoring of this pledge is a principled stand, which is rare among the current ruling elite (of both parties.) Whether he runs for higher office or not, his seat is opened to a truly competitive primary and general election. This is the core of our democracy.

A permanent ruling class is the most serious threat to our way of government. With the majority of congressional seats being 'safe,' an incumbent can usually serve as long as he or she chooses. This thwarts the notion of representative government. Once in Washington it is lobbyists, not constituents, whose voices are reflected in laws (or the absence of laws.)

A striking example of how Chris Gibson's bold independence plays out can be seen in the recent election of John Boehner as Speaker of the House — next, after the vice-president, in line for the presidency. He was opposed by approximately two-thirds of the Republican rank and file. Were we truly represented, he would have been soundly defeated. But fear and Washington politics held the day.

Chris Gibson was one of only 25 Republicans to vote against Boehner — the only one from New York State to do so.

Bob Prener
Grahamsville

I want to thank my fellow citizens of New York for their unyielding efforts to have fracking banned. This is a victory that truly attests to the power of grassroots organizing. As Sandra Steingraber wrote, "Let there be no mistake. Science alone did not a statewide ban make. The slingshot that brought down the gas industry Goliath was made of two elements: good data and powerful organizing. Of and by us. Everyone who wrote a letter. Everyone who held a sign. Everyone who marched, rallied, testified, made phone calls, and circulated petitions. Everyone who broke a gas lease. Every community that passed a local ban or moratorium ... It all mattered."

Jess Mullen
Kingston

Anzac Day, marking the landing of Australia/New Zealand troops in Gallipoli in 1915, is a major holiday in Australia, sort of a combination Memorial Day and Veterans Day. The classic book on that history is The Anzacs, by the historian Patsy Adams-Smith, who reviewed thousands of World War I letters, diaries and documents to produce her award-winning book.

In the beginning, men clamored to sign up for the war. The author wrote: "They had fallen for one of the most ancient and dangerous of human illusions — the belief in the possibility of a short, decisive war."

Australia was soon to lose her innocence. Her young men, after sometimes rowdy times in Egypt, grew up overnight fighting in trench warfare at Gallipoli, where they, and their Turkish opponents, were mowed down by the thousands.

The illusion of a short war did not end with World War I. In our nation we have Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Our leaders proved no more prescient than Great Britain's in 1914.

In 1914, and in 1939, one day people were going about their ordinary lives, the next day they were in a war. Despite the obvious warning signs, most were oblivious until the actual fighting began.

We appear today to be in events leading to war. It began with the overthrow of Ukraine's government, leading to civil war there and economic conflict between Russia and the West. A recent warning sign was Russia's currency dropping dramatically in value in one day. Squeezing a nation economically is a form of war and can lead to the shooting kind.

Oliver Stone's new movie "U.S. Coup in Ukraine" provides a different view of events there. Before we get into a war over Ukraine, remember the lesson learned by the Anzacs — the folks sending you to war often don't get it right.

Frank Stoppenbach
Red Hook

It is the second anniversary of Cuomo's midnight raid on the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens under the pretext of protecting children from madmen who go on killing sprees. The stated intent by Cuomo and his oath-breaking friends in the state Senate and Assembly was to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and mass murderers. Unfortunately, the NY SAFE Act does little or nothing to actually keep guns out of the hands of the drug addicts and mentally unstable people who might snap and go on a killing spree. As written, it is designed to punish, control, and tax law-abiding citizens by making it difficult for us to buy and sell firearms, put restrictions on guns we can own, how many bullets we an put in them, impose unnecessary red tape and outrageous fees (taxes) on gun owners, and create a database of legal gun owners. All for no good purpose.

Common sense tell us that criminals don't purchase guns legally and could care less about restrictions. The mentally unstable who should be listed in a background check database will not be reported and listed because "it is an invasion of their privacy." Yet, it is OK to invade the privacy of sane, law-abiding citizens. Why?

Bottom line is, for the good of all concerned, the NY SAFE Act must be repealed, and the Senate and Assembly should write a whole new law creating a background check database that contains only the names of convicted felons, drug addicts, and mentally unstable people who could become violent and be a threat to themselves and others.

The pistol permit law as it existed prior to January 2013 should be left alone.

Law-abiding citizens whose name does not appear on any proposed criminal background check list should be permitted to buy, sell, and possess all the guns they want without the government keeping any record of who they are or what they own.

They should also write a law that states that any office holder or public servant who violates their oath of office must be removed from office and barred from ever holding public office again.

Attilio A. Contini
Bloomington

Dear Friends and Neighbors, now that the news of Duane Roe Jr.'s physical attack against me has been published in the press, I wish to make the following statement:

As cartoonist and satirist I have lampooned and criticized any number of local politicians and public figures. Our society protects my right to free speech — as it also protects artists, writers, the editorial boards of media outlets, and regular people who have their letters to the editor published. We have this right even if what we say is unpleasant to some, or even abhorrent to many. I have drawn Duane Roe Jr. and been critical of him. He is a former Mamakating town supervisor, former chairman of the Republican party in Mamakating, and was publicly involved as an agent for controversial developer Shalom Lamm in Lamm's early attempts to take over the village of Bloomingburg. He is a public figure. I am shocked by Roe's physical attack against me.

I have not been alone over the past several years. There are others in our community braver than I, who continue to speak their minds and advocate publicly for justice and the rule of law in Bloomingburg despite inaction on the part of law enforcement and many elected officials to, among other things, prosecute and or denounce both election fraud and acts intimidation by a private security force. I want to remind everyone, particularly those involved in Town of Mamakating politics and Lamm's Village of Bloomingburg development project, that we live in a civil society where we are all diminished when money buys favors and also prevents people from asserting their rights in court. What's more, this is a society, unlike many, that has no tolerance for physical intimidation and violence directed at those who speak their minds.

Andy Weil
Spring Glen

The weekly "Congressional roll call" reported on what and how U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, voted in our name to support the first priorities of the Republican Party in control of Congress.

Readers, is the following legislation what you voted and hoped for in November?

Permit the Keystone pipeline that forcibly takes away people's private land so Canada and oil companies can profit selling oil to Asia.

Refuse to require Keystone pipeline to pay into the Spill Liability Trust Fund ($8 a barrel).

Jeopardize the funding for disabled Americans in the Social Security program.

Authorize yet another Benghazi panel without budget restrictions or time limits.

Repeal the law for employee health insurance with at least 30 hours per week to make it 40 hours, millions lose health coverage, adds $53 billion to the federal deficit.

Defeat a Democratic bid to prevent diminishing health coverage for veterans, protections against gender bias, and denials due to pre-existing conditions.

Make a new method that enables fudging facts for bills so tax cuts for the wealthy appear to improve the economy, when history has shown the opposite.

Weaken the Volker Rule that prevents taxpayer bailouts of big banks' high risk deals.

This is just the first week. Do the above harm or improve your life and lives of your fellow Americans? If not, let it be known.

Checko Miller
Rosendale

We wish to apologize to the victims of the Paris massacre, to the millions of people who turned out for the huge demonstration on January 11, and to lovers of peace around the world, for our government's failure to send a high-ranking official to participate in this monumental expression of grief and solidarity. Our absence at that event is incomprehensible and was an insult to the victims and their supporters.

All we can say is that, while our government shirked its responsibility, the American people stand with you in support of the victims, their families, and the ideals of freedom of expression.

Marie and Ellis Lader
Hurley

Following the tragic events unfolding in Paris and elsewhere, we at Religion Without Borders extend our heartfelt sympathy to victims of religious extremism of all stripes.

Moreover, we adamantly reject the deeds of those who pervert religion and hypocritically carry out violence in its name.

As an interfaith organization with a mission to create unity and dialogue, Religion Without Borders believes that terrible acts of religious extremism obscure the crucial role that religion plays in the healthy functioning of societies. For billions, it is religious faith and a sense of the sacred that creates bonds of love, compassion and understanding.

When fundamentalists hijack religion for their own twisted ideological purposes, we too easily lose sight of the truths that are at the foundations of great spiritual practices like Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, the Bahai Faith, Christianity and Islam. These faiths, and many others, similarly advocate altruism, peaceable dialogue and sacred community.

When "religion" is used to justify indefensible acts of terror, oppression and bloodshed, we must call to mind the indispensable role that religion has played in the bonding of hearts and in organizing countless communities of goodwill.

Rather than allowing our thoughts and discourse to be poisoned by the selfish hypocrisy of a few, let us commit ourselves to dialogue that opens the borders between religious faiths. In a globalized world, in which people of various faiths live side-by-side, there is no alternative.

A future without interfaith strife can only be created through sincere dialogue and an undying commitment to the ideals of justice and love that are found at the heart of every great religion.

Amminadab Munyaneza,
Executive Director
Religions Without Borders
Schenectady

On behalf of the Ellenville Central School District's staff and Board of Education, I want to extend our deepest gratitude to the community for the overwhelming support and passage of the 2014 Capital Project.

On December 16, by a vote of 399 to 66, district voters approved the referendum, a true testament to our community's dedication to our students and commitment to providing a safe, efficient, and nurturing place for them to learn.

We will work diligently to make certain that every penny is spent wisely and effectively. The new roofs, heating system upgrade, modern fire alarm system, cafeteria upgrades and other renovations will help ensure that our schools last long into the future.

I look forward to providing updates on the projects as we meet with architects, engineers and construction professionals and as the work progresses.

Lisa A. Wiles,
Superintendent of Schools
Ellenville Central School District