Death of James Zadroga

Former New York City detective, James Zadroga, died January 5th at the age of thirty-four with little attention given by the media. The report just released by the medical examiner's office in Ocean County, N.J., states that his death was related with a "reasonable degree of medical certainty" to the contaminants in the air at ground zero following the Trade Center collapse. Mr Zadroga was a non-smoker and had no lung ailments. However, he had worked 450 hours on clean-up at ground zero during the period immediately following the attack on 9/11/2001 by followers of Osama bin Laden. A few days after the attack, an Environmental Protection Agency preliminary finding that the air at ground zero was not safe to breathe was refuted by then Secretary of the EPA, Christie Whitman. Shortly afterwards, businessess like the stock market were allowed to reopen. One might ask if the Bush administration let profitability trump workplace safety. More than 7,300 people who worked at the trade center recovery site - police officers, firefighters and constructions workers - have joined in a class-action suit seeking damages from their employers. According to David E. Worby, their lawyer, about 40 of them have already died. So, as Mr Bush has cut the budget every year of the very agencies that carry out workplace inspections and enforcement, our representatives, Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, and Jim Saxton, R-3rd, have voted for legislation that places America's workers in greater danger of accidents and long term health risks. For example, two of their votes allow an increase in the levels of coal dust in mines and chromium used in steel manufacturing. Fine coal dust in suspension is highly volatile and exposure to it and chromium for long periods increase the probability of fatal lung and blood disorders. While we are stuck with Mr Bush until 2008, come November we can replace Messrs LoBiondo and Saxton with people who better represent our interests in Washington.

NICK REINA

Buena Vista Twp.

Bankruptcy Law Doesn't Protect Families

Thanks to the Bush administration and with the help of Congressman Frank LoBiondo, under the new bankruptcy law big American corporations (United Airlines, Delphi and many others) filing under Chapter 11 are allowed to renegotiate their union contracts and even throw them out. Worse, these corporations are allowed to dump their pension obligations. There is no safety net for the average American family. By the way, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. mandated by Congress in 1974 is running its own multibillion-dollar deficit and counting. One thing is obvious; Mr. LoBiondo and the Bush administration don't have the interest of American families in their heart. They can talk family values all they want, but their actions speak volumes. The administration and Mr. LoBiondo want to do away with defined pensions, as we know them. They want American families to join 401(k) plans while making the federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour.

HIPOLITO LAGARES

Vineland

Letter published in The Daily Journal, April 28, 2006

Lose LoBiondo in November

Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, who betrayed a promise not to serve another term in office, is again asking the people of the 2nd District to vote for him. I think not. It's about time he be ousted from power. We desperately need fresh, ethical leadership in Congress.LoBiondo has supported and funded a trillion-dollar real war in Iraq based on bogus weapons of mass destruction. The war has killed thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of innocent civilians. With no end in sight, this war has not cultivated democracy, but has spread terror, pain, suffering and turmoil throughout the Middle East and the entire world.LoBiondo has also voted time and time again for hundreds of billions of dollars of tax cuts to the super rich and at the same time has voted to cut billions of dollars of health-care funding for senior citizens. And while racking up trillion-dollar deficits with tax cuts and war spending, he has mostly ignored the average, everyday concerns of the citizens of the 2nd District and the American people.His lack of real concern about the issues and his complicity with President Bush on the war in Iraq should be a good enough reason for us all to guarantee him a clear vote of no confidence in November.

MARK LOVETT

Mays Landing

Letter published in Press of Atlantic City, April 26, 2006

Now, LoBiondo Questions War

Regarding the April 19 article, “LoBiondo finds improvements, worries in Iraqi, Afghan tour”:Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, reports that his latest trip to Afghanistan and Iraq was a “mixed bag.” He now admits that President Bush's administration has made some errors, such as disbanding the Iraqi army and not providing for an alternate way for them to feed their families. That decision was made three years ago by Paul Bremer, then chief of the Coalition Provisional Authority, and obviously supported by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and President Bush. Suddenly, LoBiondo is questioning that decision?His constituents would like to know when he will “not only ask the right questions but make the right challenges to these policies,” as he is quoted saying in the article. Where was his curiosity and gumption when Bush was diverting millions from the chase for Osama bin Laden so that we could prepare for a war of choice in Iraq?LoBiondo's recent statements would be more laudable if one did not know that he is up for re-election this year and that Bush's approval rating is 36 percent and that the public no longer sees the Republican Party as the party to keep Americans safe. Why else the change of heart in distancing himself from a president he has supported so steadfastly since 2001?

NICK REINA

Buena Vista Twp.

Letter published in Press of Atlantic City, April 26, 2006

Featured Article on Activist Brian Moore

Local activist Brian Moore doesn't believe in the war in Iraq, but he actually does like one thing about President George Bush."He's not a real popular guy right now. But in some ways, I do owe him some credit," the city resident said. "He got me so angry, I had to go out and do something."Moore will be holding his third peace demonstration Saturday from 6 to 7 p.m. to protest U.S. involvement in Iraq."Hopefully, we can bring our soldiers home soon," he said.He also held a demonstration last month for civil rights.This one will be moved from in front of the courthouse to the intersection of Broad and Pearl streets across from the state office building."I think we'll have more people see us there," he said.A crowd of about 15 people has come to every vigil so far, and Moore is happy to see that a lot of the crowd is always newcomers.The reaction from drivers and people walking by has always remained positive, he added."Out of 50 or 60 cars, I get maybe one or two people who use inappropriate gestures," he said.He has seen steady support grow for him, saying getting 129 votes in this week's school board elections proved that.It was strange because he withdrew from the race three weeks ago.He had to drop out for personal reasons, but said he plans on running again next year.

Friday, April 21, 2006

By COLLEEN P. DUNN, Staff Writer

BRIDGETON NEWS

Retired Generals on Target

Bravo to all the retired generals who are coming out against the immoral war in Iraq. This is a war concocted on lies and more lies by President Bush and his administration. Never mind that Saddam Hussein was a tyrant. There are many tyrants around the globe; does that give our country a license to take them out? I don't think so.These retired generals see this war for what it is, a big fiasco with no plans by the administration on how to get out of it.The president is dreaming about victory. If anything, this war is creating more terrorists and more enemies. The cost to the American people is in the billions. The cost in human lives is an outrage. Many of our young finest are dying, and many more are returning home with all kind of injuries, both physical and psychological.I hope all Americans follow the generals in demanding accountability from our president and our spineless Congress.

HIPOLITO LARGARES

Vineland

Letter published in AC Press, April 21, 2006

LoBiondo and the Middle East

According to a Press article on April 19, Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd district, reports that his latest trip to Afghanistan and Iraq was a "mixed bag." He says that things are getting better although there are still some negatives and now admits that President Bush's adminstration has made some errors. Such as disbanding the Iraqi army and not providing for an alternate way for them to feed their families. That decision was made three years ago by Paul Bremer, the then Coalition Provisional Authority chief, and obviously supported by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and President Bush. Suddenly, Mr LoBiondo is questioning that decision. Many of his constituents would like to know why he will "not only ask the the right questions but make the right challenges to these policies." Where was his curiosity and gumption to ask Mr Bush why he was diverting $700 million from the chase for bin Laden in Afghanistan and disengaging our troops in the mountains of Tora Bora so that we could prepare for a war of choice against Saddam Hussein? Mr LoBiondo has voted for the war in Iraq beginning with the first Bush emergency appropriation request of $87 billion and continuing to the most recent one of $90 billion. To date, we have spent approximately $275 billion and President Bush himself sees our occupation extending into the next presidency. A reasonable person would have questioned why make war aqainst Iraq when it presented no imminent threat, why we failed to form a true coalition that included some Arab nations, why the number of troops was only 150,000 when 500,000 were deployed during Gulf War I, why Halliburton and other favored companies were granted no-bid contracts, and why Mr LoBiondo voted against investigating possible fraud by those same companies. It is ironic that when the previous president, a Democrat, wanted to bomb the Serbs who were carrying out a policy of "ethnic cleansing" against Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo, Mr LoBiondo voted against our involvement. Mr LoBiondo's recent statements would be more laudable if one did not know that he is up for reelection this year and that Mr Bush's approval rating is 36%, Congress' approval is 23%, and that the public no longer sees the Republican party as the party to keep Americans safe. Why else the change of heart in distancing himself from a president he has supported so steadfastly since 2001?

NICK REINA

Buena Vista Townshp

Bush Admission Has Veteran Angry

President Bush has admitted that he declassified parts of an intelligence report in an effort to rebut critics of the Iraq war. “I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information,” Bush said on Sept. 30, 2003. “If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it and we'll take the appropriate action.”I'm a disabled veteran who fought for our freedoms. I'm very angry at Bush for lying to me and other American citizens.

JOSEPH GABISCH

Egg Harbor Township

Interior Department Betrays Trust

Interior Secretary Gale Norton is retiring just as the Jack Abramoff scandal is implicating officials of her department. She was one of President Bush's most controversial appointments, having previously lobbied for oil, gas, mining and logging interests. As secretary of the Interior Department she has colluded with industry to advance her “Wise Use” doctrine, which eliminates all environment regulations that restrict economic development.She revamped the Park Service so that its mission is not preservation, but commercially sponsored recreation. The Bureau of Land Management has been ordered to allow logging of old-growth forests. In New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming, oil and gas companies are developing massive new fields with virtually no review. Is it any wonder that the Department of the Interior is now known as the “big box store” of the oil, gas, mining, timber and coal industries? President Bush's new nominee, Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, is a man equally well known for his animosity to protecting public lands. Why are this president's appointments so often antagonistic to the departments they are placed in charge of? The mission of the Department of the Interior is to protect public land, not give it away. And if our congressional representatives won't speak out to protect our interests and demand accountability, then they should be replaced by others who will.

KAREN PADMORE

Cape May Court House

Letter published in Press of Atlantic City, April 1, 2006