Bill is a bailout for
abortion industry
Neither alone, nor in the
minority, I am insulted by
President Obama’s brazen
attack on the unborn as he
tries to ram through a decidedly
unpopular health care
bill that provides government
funding of abortion.
Poll after poll shows that
Americans _ upwards of 72
percent _ are against the
current bill, yet Congress is
insistent, almost obsessed,
on trying to pass health care
reform laden with abortion
activist initiatives, oblivious
to the will of the people.
Abortion is not health
care, as the abortion industry
and President Obama,
Nancy Pelosi and Harry
Reid would like Americans
to believe, and it should
not be mandated under any
health insurance plan, especially
one that Americans
will be forced to subsidize.
The proposed health care
bill amounts to a “bailout”
for the abortion industry,
which is glutted with profits
already, and will result in
the largest expansion of
abortion since Roe v. Wade.
Since Roe v. Wade, 52 million
American lives have
been ended by abortion.
Tell Congress to vote no
on any health care bill that
does not include specific
language to explicitly exclude
abortion from any
health care legislation.
And should your senator or
representative glibly ignore
your imperative, reserve an
emphatic no for him or her
at the next congressional
election.
Patrick A. Burdick
Oneonta
Groups look out for
owners, communities
Bob Rosen’s recent letter
envisions landowner leaders
sipping Mai Tais in the
Caribbean with gas tycoons,
Wall Street bankers, politicians
aligned with the industry,
and large land barons.
Protected from financial
inability by coalition leases,
they chortle as they think of
the vast wasteland they left
behind.
I don’t know what Lex
Luthor alternate universe
Bob lives in, but here’s the
real story. There are 35
coalitions with 800,000 acres
pledged in eight counties of
the Southern Tier. Leaders
of these coalitions, with
their steering committees,
got off their duffs to educate
and organize their friends
and neighbors who were
being sold generic leases
by drilling companies. They
then hired lawyers who
created leases protective
of individual rights and the
community as a whole.
For instance, the Unatego
association’s lease is 36
pages long. Even beyond
state law, the lease provides
penalties for environmental
violations. The “protection
from financial inability” that
Bob refers to is $2 million in
general liability insurance,
enhanced by a $10 million
umbrella policy, for each
landowner. This insurance is
purchased by the driller and
is readily available. Why?
Actuarial history indicates
minimal risk.
Yes, Bob, coalition members
hope to make money.
They will spend and/or
bank it locally (although
the Caribbean does sound
tempting this time of year).
The industry, directly and
indirectly, will create goodpaying
jobs. It will pay local,
state and federal taxes. It
will lead to greater energy
independence. It can be the
transitional fuel to what
might be a hydrocarbon-free
future.
The doomsday scenario the
anti-drillers paint for New
York is a hoax. With minimal
risk and a little geological
luck, New York just might
be able to drill itself out of
its hole.
Dave Parker
Worcester
Dick Downey
Otego
DOWNEY is with the Unatego Area
Landowners Association. Parker is
with the Worcester Area Landowners
Gas Lease Coalition.
