TheLCN Letters to the Editor features opinion pieces submitted The Livingston County News (the LCN) by readers and community members, offering diverse perspectives on local and national issues.
But, casting a ballot is not enough. As Theodore Roosevelt wrote in his autobiography, “A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.” A vote cast by a low-information voter, or by someone voting strictly along party lines, could very well be as dangerous as a bullet, fired toward the heart of our community and our nation.
Not sure where your polling site is, how early voting works, or whether your registration is current? Genesee Valley Indivisible is hosting a free, nonpartisan Vote Early Fair on Saturday, October 17, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. at Geneseo Gateway Park.
It was discouraging to hear Bruce Blakeman, current Republican candidate for governor, talk about bringing fracking to New York state while he was in Avon.
Cases of fraud involving any form of mail-in ballots are very rare. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, found less than 300 cases of proven “fraudulent use of absentee ballots” from 1982 to 2025. This equates to a percentage less than 0.00043%!
After the smoke from Canada’s wild fires drifted over a number of north and central states in the United States, Trump and his Republicans criticized Canada’s handling of the problem. This is a scurrilous way to treat our closest ally and neighbor.
All presidents test the limits of their power. Trump, however, has assumed more powers for himself than any other president. And this overreach has not helped America. Rather it has hurt the poor and middle class as well as undermining our standing in the world community.
As anyone old enough to remember the Watergate scandal knows, Richard “I am not a crook” Nixon has long been thought of as the quintessential example of presidential corruption.
Not any more.
Walton Transporting parked two large semis along the road, effectively blocking the sidewalk and making our lawful assembly invisible to passing traffic.
There is a direct correlation between the increase in the National Debt and the Republican drive to REDUCE taxes on the very wealthy.
President Reagan, for example, slashed the tax rate on the highest wage-earners from 70% to 28%. Consequently, the National Debt nearly tripled. In his first term in office, Trump reduced the tax rate on the very rich from 39.6% to 35%. He increased the National Debt by $7.8 Trillion.
It just keeps getting worse.
For next year’s budget, President Trump wants 40% more for the Department of War. Presently our military budget already EXCEEDS the military spending of the next NINE highest spending countries COMBINED! That includes Russia and China, by the way. Is there anyone except Trump and his sycophants who can justify such an obscene increase?
