We must maximize our compassion
Recently, submerged in the devastating news of the snowstorm’s impact on the residents of Buffalo and the surrounding area, we learned of the extreme acts of kindness extended to so many of those crippled by the storm who were trying to survive.
Help them. Do what you can. Invite strangers into your home for shelter, heat, and food.
Compassion is a defining characteristic of humans, along with curiosity and creativity. We survive and thrive as communities by extending compassion to our neighbors.
Gov. Abbott of Texas bused 139 asylum seekers from Texas to Washington, D.C. on a freezing Christmas Eve and dropped them outside Vice President Harris’s residence, all without winter clothing. An act of compassion? An act of political retribution?
Gov. Abbott deserves respect for his fortitude and dedication after a horrific accident at the age of 26 when, while out running, a tree fell on him and left him paralyzed in his legs.
I’ll assume many people over the years have given him help and compassion as he deals with his disability. But does shipping families with young children without winter clothing into freezing temperatures of a major storm acknowledge in any way the help he has received over many years?
Why must so many politicians minimize the role of compassion?
Don Cooper
Amsterdam
Get early screening for cervical cancer
We have the ability to get rid of cervical cancer.
January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. Every year in New York, 2,800 people are diagnosed with cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) including cervical cancer.
Did you know cervical cancer can be prevented with regular screening and the cancer prevention HPV vaccination?
The Cancer Prevention in Action Program (CPiA) would like to share important facts about how to prevent cervical cancer and make it a thing of the past.
Cervical cancer screening tests can find the cells that lead to cancer so they can be removed before cancer grows. Regular screening is recommended from age 21 to 65.
CPiA helps employers adopt paid time off policies for cancer screening and educates employees on the importance of getting screened and prioritizing workforce health. CPiA educates health care providers, community organizations, parents, and young adults about the benefits of the cancer prevention HPV vaccine.
The HPV vaccine prevents 90% of HPV-related cancers including cervical cancer. The vaccine is given to boys and girls starting at age 11 or 12 but can be started as early as age 9.
It has been proven to provide safe and long-lasting protection with over 15 years of monitoring and research.
Regular screening and HPV vaccination can reduce, possibly end, cervical cancer. To learn more about how the CPiA Program can help you, call 518-770-6815 or visit www.takeactionagainstcancer.com.
Victoria Pickett
Amsterdam
The writer is a Community Health Educator at Cancer Prevention in Action of Fulton, Montgomery & Schenectady Counties.
Country will pay for McCarthy deals
After blaming Trump for the Jan. 6 insurrection, Kevin McCarthy recanted and went down to Mar-a-Lago and begged his forgiveness.
In exchange for selling his soul, he got a check that bounced. The Trump radical minority brought our government to a standstill.
For fourteen votes McCarthy couldn’t get elected Speaker of the House. By promising unthinkable concessions, he finally got the necessary votes to make him Speaker. Now the chickens have come home to roost.
As “mayor of crazy town,” he will now face the impact of his concessions. He will be kept on a short leash by having given any GOP congressman the power to call for a new speaker election at any time.
Agreeing to have radical members serve on key committees further weakens his power to govern.
The Speaker of the House will control the direction the GOP majority takes in leading the country. Currently, that agenda appears to be one of chaos, not governing.
Charles Rielly
Altamont
Why was report on Santos fraud ignored?
The Republican party’s “red wave” turned out to be a trickle, but it was enough for the GOP to gain control of the House.
The AP reported that the margin was “razor-thin.” Actually, the GOP won by only five points.
Four downstate Democratic candidates lost to GOP opponents, one of whom, George Santos, won election by fraud.
The Democrats in NY3 didn’t do their opposition research. The New York Times uncovered discrepancies in Santos’ resume. Yet the report was ignored. Why?
Wally Truesdell
Gloversville
GOP still living in their world of denial
Here we are, two years after the worst attack on our Capitol in history by our own citizens, several Capitol police died in connection with the riot and over 150 security police were seriously injured, including four officers who died by suicide in the following days.
Last week, to remember those who died and were injured defending the Capitol that day, a ceremony was held on the steps.
Names were read and a two-minute moment of silence and remembrance was held. There was only one Republican there.
It can’t be defended by saying they were busy trying to get McCarthy elected Speaker. It was held in the morning, and many officials were there and able to vote later in the early afternoon.
It speaks volumes that Republicans are still living in a world of division that they try to deny.
The Capitol security men and women were protecting all elected officials that day. It’s truly an embarrassment and so unpatriotic that this mindset continues in the GOP.
And, after 15 ballots for Speaker, McCarthy thanks Donald Trump. Really?
Mary Baker
Perth