For the Feb. 18 issue.
Pohl is being considerate by not speaking with Herald
To the editor:
The editorial in the Feb. 11 issue of the Herald ("Residents’ right to be informed should prevail") needs to be addressed.
The two comments that I would like to address are your statements stating, "By giving the Herald the silent treatment last week, Twin Rivers officials left residents in the dark about many aspects of a new cable contract" and "It is true that Mr. Pohl and others have a right not to speak with the Herald. But there is a difference between having the right to do something and doing the right thing."
I have made a Herculean effort to like Scott Pohl but have failed miserably. However, I am obliged to say in his defense that Mr. Pohl has treated the editor with deference and respect by simply refusing to speak with him. Mr. Pohl could have treated the editor the same way he does homeowners and board members by completely misleading him.
As an example, I remember about two years ago I made a request of the board to get copies of minutes of January 2000 through March 2000 that appear in our minute books and the same set of minutes that went to the judge’s office in response to the lawsuit from the Committee for a Better Twin Rivers (because I believed that they were not the same, and if I am correct that should be considered a big no-no). But according to Mr. Pohl, the minutes that went to the judge were part of the current litigation, and, therefore, considered privileged and confidential.
There are countless other examples I could write about, I do not think the Herald will allow me about eight full issues to do so.
In an article written by Michael Ross ("Twin Rivers eyes new cable service," Feb. 4), he advised that Jennifer Ward, the administrator, and Joe Molinari, vice president, did not want to comment about the Comcast situation. Mr. Ross and his predecessor, David Pescatore, have observed that Scott does not allow any of the board members to give answers to questions directed to them at board meetings. Scott insists on answering all questions himself.
I feel it is incumbent upon Scott to answer us as to why he went to a Dish Network reseller instead of going directly to the two major satellite dish companies who might have welcomed us with open arms considering the fact that we have 2,759 dwelling units in a very compact area. It is a lot cheaper to wire Twin Rivers than a comparable number of dwelling units in the rest of East Windsor.
I would have thought it would have been incumbent upon the board to take a survey to describe the options available so they could tell us what kind of cable service the residents want and perhaps inform the residents of how this new network is going to put up WiFi antennas without violating our Declaration of Reservations and Restrictions of Easements.
East Windsor
Bush could look to history for a way to finance the war
To the editor:
As the cost of the incursion into Iraq surpasses $300 billion with the expectation that it will reach $500 billion within two years President Bush needs a way to pay for it without raising taxes. Fortunately, there are historical precedents for our commander-in-chief to consider.
Unlike King George III, who taxed his unhappy British citizens to fight insurgents in the American colonies, we can look to another conquering leader who went to war without a declaration: Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
In 1803, Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory to finance his military ventures in Europe and Hispañola. The United States paid only $15 million dollars for more than 800,000 square miles of land. These days, just the state of Louisiana alone would bring billions and billions of dollars. So, why not sell it back to the French? That way, President George XLIII could continue his grand design to spread democracy abroad while stifling it here without bankrupting our children and their children’s children.
People in Louisiana would benefit because the Euro is so much stronger than the dollar; they could see Paris for a fraction of the cost than the rest of us. C’est la vie.
Hightstown