A few weeks back I read a letter about garage sales. I have to agree the leftover signs are a real eyesore. There is no reason for our police or housing or health departments to waste taxpayers money doing such mundane duties as cleaning up after people who break the law.

I recently obtained a permit for my own garage sale. It is clearly stated on the back: You shall not post any sign on any public property or utility poles. Let’s stop using ignorance as an excuse. It’s similar to parking in a no parking zone and getting a ticket for it.

I’ve watched people discard their fast food litter in the street. Where has our pride gone? Are we going to watch our town turn into a giant trash can?

A solution to the signs is to require removal within 48 hours after the sale or fines will be levied. It takes about a half-hour to go remove the signs and keep our town neat.

Sharon Kievit

Clifton

Obama facts

There is so much friction going on between Democrats and Republicans as to who would be the best person to fill the office of the presidency of the United States of America.

The Obama supporters criticize McCain unjustly and do not look into some serious facts about Obama and his association with numerous radicals of the far left.

Consider this fact which I quote from the "Phyllis Schlafly Report, Vol. 42, No. 2 dated September 2008: "Obama sought out relationships with the socialist-radical Saul Alinsky, the unapologetic bomb-thrower Bill Ayers and his Weather Underground associate Bernadine Dohrn, the communist poet Frank Marshall Davis, left-wing Muslim-supporting politicians in Kenya, the corrupt political fixer Tony Rezko and the black-liberation-theology Rev. Jeremiah Wright who preaches hate America and accuses the U.S. of creating AIDS virus to kill blacks."

Is this the man you want to see in the White House? Is his wife, Michele, the one you want to see as First Lady who has been quoted as saying that "Barack’s campaign was ‘the first time’ she was ‘really proud of my country’?" By the way, guess who Obama would call upon for adivce? If you said his wife and his aging grandmother you are right on.

Not only is Obama a strong abortion advocate, he has gone so far as to vote against a law to ban partial-birth abortion and against the born-alive infant protection act. Is this the man we want to run our country? This issue is not about a woman’s choice to do what she wants with her body; this is a God-given commandment "Thou shalt not kill."

Now as bad as all these facts are, consider this: Obama is not interested in immigrants learning the English language. He would rather that your child speak Spanish. In a poll it was determined that 83 percent of Americans favor legislation to make English our official language. Thirty states have already legislated English as the official language with 10 more considering doing the same.

Regarding Spanish, Americans are even annoyed when they make a telephone call and are told to Press 1 for English or 2 for Espanol. Why? How about the Polish people, Slovaks, Hungarians, Italians, Germans, etc.? Why? Because they had to learn English! As for grievances, I’m annoyed that I have a thick telephone directory to handle containing listings one-half in English and the other half Spanish. I have nothing against Spanish per se; I even took it as a second language in high school over Latin or German, but I do take issue with it being imposed on me everywhere I turn. Please, give me a telephone directory, English only, then the print could be larger and easier to read.

Back to Obama, he is so against making English our official language that he voted against it on "four Senate roll-call votes."

I believe I have presented information in this letter which to this date I have not seen or heard anywhere else and believe that this letter provides facts which has not and probably will not be heard in the presidential debates. The facts in Schlafly’s report come from a book, "The Obama Nation" by Jerome Corsi who has footnoted thousands of facts.

Open your eyes people – look at the facts!

Helen Nikovits

Clifton

Don’t lower drinking age

Recently, more than 100 college presidents from across the country have joined John McCardell’s Amethyst Initiative and are calling on lawmakers to begin a discussion on lowering the drinking age.

This suggested direction is misguided and goes against all of the science we have on addressing the problem of underage drinking. The 21 Minimum Drinking Age law is the most studied public health law ever. According to articles in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine and the Journal on Studies on Alcohol, CDC and others have studied more than 50 peer-reviewed studies of states and countries that have lowered their drinking age, have found conclusively, that a minimum drinking age of 21 has decreased fatalities by 16 percent and have saved nearly 25,000 lives since 1984.

Research has shown that the brain continues to develop into the early 20s and underage drinking, especially heavy drinking, affects memory and reasoning. Additionally, the multitude ripple effects of underage drinking, including sexual assaults, homicides, suicides, and unintentional injuries, are in the hundreds of thousands each year on college campuses. Also, we know the earlier youth drink the more likely they will become dependent and drive drunk later in life.

The job of reducing underage drinking and saving lives is a hard job but if colleges and other communities follow the science and policies that have worked, together we can make positive change. Some of these prevention efforts include: Enforce the 21 drinking age law; Uphold responsible alcohol policies; Hold those over 21 accountable for providing to minors; and work with high school parents, middle school parents and leaders to educate youth on the drinking age before college, so this problem is dealt with before students arrive on college and university.

The Passaic County Childhood Drinking (CD) Coalition is working to solve the problem of underage drinking using the strategies that do work. The Passaic County Council is the lead agency of the Coalition, which is chaired by Mayor Randy George of North Haledon. The CD Coalition meets quarterly and welcomes any interested persons to join the Coalition’s efforts to reduce underage drinking. Please call 973-473-3366, ext. 105 for more information.

Father Alan Savitt

Executive Director

Passaic County Council
on Alcoholism and Drug
Abuse Prevention Inc.

What’s the real story?

In the Sept. 27 edition of the Herald News there was an article titled "Schools Unveil Fiber Optic Network." I quote the first line from this article "$1 million system will aid teachers, parents."

Will the Clifton taxpayers ever learn the true value of this fiber optic deal? Before the election, the Clifton taxpayers, the mayor and council were told the Clifton Board of Education was locked into a $1 million fiber optic contract regardless of whether voters approved the budget or not. After the budget failed, the Clifton BOE announced they would be now only leasing the equipment at a cost of $500,000 for the lease over the next 5 years (or $100,000 in the 2008/2009 budget). More appalling was that the BOE now said that we had all heard wrong (including the Herald News and the Clifton Journal who wrote stories about the $1 million fiber optic contract) and this contract was only for $500,000 not $1 million.

Now several months later, this supposed contract is back up to a $1 million! What’s $500,000 among friends? This is the Board that claims to be open and transparent, but time after time, it has been shown to be selectively hiding the truth from Clifton taxpayers. The time has to come for the Clifton BOE to come clean – their only path is complete honesty.

I quote another line from this Sept. 27 article, "The new fiber optic network will save the district $100,000 over the next five years." So we the Clifton taxpayer spent $1 million or $500,000 (whichever it is) to save $100,000 over 5 years (or $20,000 per year). Where did this $500,000 or $1 million or $100,000 come from? So what if the Clifton taxpayers told the BOE by the defeat of the budget that we don’t have the money. But once again, the BOE has spit in the face of the Clifton taxpayer and has said we will do what and when we want regardless of what the taxpayer says. This is just another example of how fiscally irresponsible this Clifton BOE is.

If the Clifton BOE is looking for a bailout from the Clifton taxpayer they can forget it! As we the Clifton taxpayer struggles to put food on our tables, gas in our cars, pay these outrageous sewer fees, pay our ever increasing taxes and pay our monthly mortgages, we have a BOE that continues to spend money like a drunken sailor (need we forget the 290 Brighton Road project which is well over $3 million over budget). We the Clifton taxpayer will have our say in April 2009! The Clifton taxpayer will not forget this overspending BOE in April 2009!

Mary Sadrakula

Clifton

Weep for America

It must break the heart of every true American to see what is happening to our great country. Without a doubt, both political parties have failed the American people and our Constitution. However, our country has been under the watch of Republicans and the Bush Administration for the last eight years, and what they have done to destroy our country is the worse that I have seen in my 64 years.

Over 4,000 soldiers have died for Bush’s lies about Iraq being involved in 9/11. Gas, food, and energy prices are at an all time high. The separation of church and state is being threatened. More American jobs have been shipped overseas than ever before; our health care and education systems have not kept pace with America’s needs; and an election is coming up that once again leaves us with only the choice of voting for the lesser of two evils.

John ‘McSlime’ has put getting elected president before country and chose as his running mate Sarah ‘Appaling,’ who is a Pentecostal nitwit that believes she can speak in tongues; that our present wars are at God’s request; and is under investigation in her state.

He chose a woman not because he believes in women, but because he wanted to shore up the religious right’s base in order to become president. In using this appalling woman he has insulted all women. Now our banking institutions are failing, and John McCain voted for the very banking laws that led to this crisis. In addition, his economic advisor, Phil Gramm, wrote the law which 53 Republicans voted for; and if elected ‘McSlime’ will put Gramm in as our Treasury Secretary. Politics has always been a gutter game, but the Republicans have brought it to a new low.

I weep for America. I weep for my children and their children. I do believe that America is truly lost, that our government can never be repaired, and that there are more people like (Joseph) Sidor, (Frank) Warholic, (John) Nick, (Frederick) Rembis and religious right nuts; who cannot see the forest for the trees and will vote over and over again for the likes of (George) Bush, McCain and Palin. They will be putting their party before their country, each banging their partisan nails into the coffin of a dying America. I am not optimistic and I do not believe in justice. I feel deep down in my heart that in less than two months, more of the same evil that we have endured for the last eight years will be upon us.

If there is a God somewhere out there capable of controlling our destiny, it didn't help us in 2000 or 2004, and it will not help us now.

Beverly Wardell

Clifton

Obama is clueless

Barack Obama’s ignorance of the war on terror never ceases to amaze me. Obama claims that "poverty and economic factors breed terrorism." Obama is unaware of the fact that a lot of these terrorists are successful scholars, scientists, physicists, chemists, and engineers.

Obama wants to put "libraries, Internet cafes and English language classes" in Muslim capitals. One of the many things terrorists use as justification for their attacks is the spread of western culture and information into Muslim countries.

If they’re not too keen on having a McDonald’s sitting in the middle of Tehran, what makes Obama think that a coffeehouse with American books and modem will work in Riyadh?

This is a man who couldn’t organize Chicago and recently saw the Southside suffer a higher murder rate this summer than Baghdad. Where are the Internet cafes on the Southside? This guy is ignorant and dangerous.

John McCain must be elected.

Note: No terrorists attacks on American soil in seven years. Thank you (George) Bush. God bless you. God bless our troops, their families and remember freedom is not free.

Joseph Sidor

Clifton

Back to 1929

It looks like the grandmasters of the greatest Ponzi game in the world stumbled before attaining the greatest prize of all, the privatization of Social Security. Throughout all this chaotic turmoil on Wall Street this week not one so-called expert had the courage for Social Security money to bail out this latest scam.

Today, the grandmasters of Wall Street are poised to receive their greatest bonanza ever, $740 billion, from the poor, less intelligent, less educated, blue collar, gun-toting churchgoer.

Right at this moment a good one came to mind. Napoleon was once asked if there was any one good reason for religion and he replied, "Yes, it keeps the poor people from killing the rich people." First commandment – children.

I certainly hope those Wall Street Ponzi grandmasters studied ancient history at Harvard, especially the French Revolution era.

Children – let me, a silent expert, make a prediction. Welcome back to 1929. We are going down and this $740 billion largess will shortly find its way to foreign shores, to no avail.

We will be ready for the Ponzi grandmasters this time with a new president; a new Congress and a new third party for our two present parties are failures. Greed has corrupted them all.

Children – I can guarantee you as we struggle to the conclusion of this epic struggle – not one super patriot, all 535 of them lounging on the shores of the Potomac plus our ever watchful, know it all commander in chief will ever mention the privatization of Social Security in their lifetime. Ever in their lifetime.

Finally, let me make the day for all our Wall Street Ponzi grandmasters – this time we are ready for you.

I would say that while serving in Tokyo about 1952 – the U.S. military changed the color of scrip from pink to blue or vice versa and every GI had 30 days to exchange their old scrip up to $100 then the old scrip became useless – toilet paper.

So, Wall Street grandmasters this is the fate that awaits you with all your offshore ill-gotten gains if you fail.

So like they say in my old Air Force – get flying! Make me a believer in the magic of Wall Street.

Walt Jankowski

Clifton

Funny business

Mary Sadrakula’s letter was astounding. It takes little effort to find buyers of used computer in bulk lots. The demand for them worldwide is not being met. Questions have to be asked:

n Is there a policy on the disposition of capital equipment?

n Is it normal for the Board to allow the scrapping of equipment and materials without assessing the salvage value?

n Who made the decision to scrap the 450 computers? Surely it was not the IS director whoever he or she might be and whatever the title. Such a decision would not be left to a department head, although the department head could be the scapegoat? Understand that if the decision was made by default, someone in the upper levels of the administration was negligent.

n What safeguards are in place to ensure the proper use of inventory, including its disposition?

n When we upgraded the computers, did we upgrade the printers as well? If so, were the old ones scrapped?

This might happen in the private sector, but the common practice is to give employees, schools and eleemosynary organizations first refusal, usually in that order.

It is possible that many city residents might wish to acquire a used computer.

The excuse may be that the computers contained sensitive information, but all files can be removed with two or three keystrokes in each location.

Here’s a thought! Given that the citizenry paid for the computers, how about giving them away through a raffle if there are more people interested than there are computers? Another thought might be to make them available to students who do not have access to a computer at home. With the first choice, the district might hold classes to teach citizens how to use e-mail, how to search for information, how to maintain records, and how to pay bills on line. What a gift that would be. With the second choice, we might make them available to students in conterminous districts. Perhaps a study center might have been set up at the Boys & Girls’ Club with several of them.

There needs to be an accounting. Who received the computers? Did the city pick them up? If not, was there a cost associated with their removal? Were they scraped or were they sold? Did employees take them home? The latter represents less of a problem but might be.

Will there be an investigation? Perhaps not, but there needs to be some surety that it is simply the result of negligence and involves no criminality. If not, this Board should forget about coming to taxpayers for bonding for anything. This district has to reestablish its legitimacy and credibility in the minds of taxpayers.

Bert Nelson

Clifton

Put them in jail

Those involved in the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debacle are to be jailed, fined and stripped of their wealth, for the devastation of America’s economic foundations and the destruction of its citizenry’s financial structure and well being!

The Greatest Story Never Told is how the Democrat Party is to blame for America’s economic woes and not the mantra of blame (George) Bush and his administration as Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have proselytized. The Democratic Party has opposed legislation that would have prevented the Fannie and Mac debacle. It is to be noted that presidential candidate John McCain proposed this legislation, but was obstructed by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton’s administration and Chris Dodd who all received millions from Mac and Mae executives.

For malfeasance in office and the betrayal of the public trust, the following people should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law: Obama, Clinton, Dodd, Jamie Gorelick, Reid, Pelosi, Franklin Raines, Chuck Schumer, James Johnson, corporate executives Barney Frank and others. Where are the Congressional investigations about all of this? There won’t be any, because the Democrat Congress will not call for any.

America’s public is to be blamed for the Mac and Mae mess for they have voted into office those involved, year after year. You can bet your financial status on it that the same bunch of corrupt politicians will again be elected into office to safeguard their golden parachutes to "safeguard the public’s trust," with their "golden tongues." It’s sickening.

Frank Warholic

Towaco

Facts behind letter

To my American citizen friends who read the Clifton Journal, I must say this Paul Furlong who often writes in his left wing babble is bonkers! I've been reading his more recent attacks on me, and the current administration. The current administration, who has been protecting the American people from further terrorist attacks, both from up front and from behind the scenes for the last 7 years plus!

Furlong questions my source of information about Joe Biden's lack of character, facts that are open to public access, facts that describe Biden as a pathological liar with an amazing skill to put his foot in his mouth such as the recent statement saying "that on Oct. 28, 1929, when the stock market crashed, FDR went on the television to explain to the American people as to what was happening;" not only is Biden a liar, he's also very stupid. A fifth grader knows better! (Herbert) Hoover was president and there was no TV at that time!

It was also on a couple of News Magazine TV shows, the story of Biden's first wife's and daughter's tragic death and showed how Biden has been lying about the facts either for more sympathy or for the jolt of putting another one over on the public by being a pathological liar!

Furlong, as he states, appreciates the other Dalton's misguided columns , such as the one calling for the demise of NATO, a purely juvenile thought and brainless idea! Well birds of a feather flock together as in the case of these two dodos, that proves that they're not extinct!

Robert Dalton

Passaic Park