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OPINION
OCTOBER 12, 2007

OUR VIEW

For an eighth consecutive year Edgewater residents will not have the opportunity to see their council candidates debate the issues important to them. Mayoral candidates Valory Bardinas and Nancy Merse, the incumbent, will also not debate this year. The Independent candidates ask their opponents to participate in a debate every election season. The last debate occurred in 1999. One was slated to occur in 2001, but the Democratic candidates walked out of the forum. The Republican candidates did not show up at the debate. For the past five years, the independents say, neither Democrats nor Republicans have responded to the independents request for a debate. This situation shouldnt happen. A debate between candidates should occur, especially in a

Debate should occur

municipality as politically charged as Edgewater. Debates are an important source of information for voters, especially at the local level. A neutral party, such as the League of Women Voters, moderates them. They are often well attended and give some residents the only chance to meet their candidates in person and ask them questions directly. Some candidates win or lose an election based on how well they debate. In many cases, the decisions municipal officials make have more of an impact on residents lives than the decisions state or federal officials make. The candidates, especially the current borough officials, owe it to residents to be as honest and forthright as they can be when it comes to letting people know how they feel about issues affecting their livelihood. Democratic officials and previ-

ous candidates have said they have no desire to have a debate based on the independents supposed uncivil behavior during public meetings. Mayor Nancy Merse said that debating the independents wouldnt be worth our while. Theyre too nasty. Wed just be wasting our time. This isnt a valid reason to decline the independents offer. Regardless of how a candidate may act, Merse and her running mates owe residents the opportunity to have their candidates debate in order to give them a clear picture of their platform as it relates to their lives. All the candidates owe it to themselves, their opponents, and the residents to act in a dignified, civil manner, so voters may be as informed as they can be when they go to the polls Nov. 6.

Sun, family, and food make for a great vacation

Ive come to the conclusion that my husband and I are just lucky. We packed for our cruise to Nova Scotia with warm clothes. We had everything but a dog sled. Of course we had the option of peeling off layers if we had a warm day. We left the dock in New York City at 9 p.m. on Friday, sailed all day Saturday and awoke at 8 a.m., Sunday, as the ship pulled into the harbor in Halifax. Out on our balcony we realized that it was actually warm. It went up to 83 degrees as we scrambled for our warm weather shirts. Wow, I said. This is great. We took a tour of New Scotland and the famous Peggys Cove where the tourists outnumber the 40 residents by far. We watched the surf crash against the massive rocks and soaked up some warm sunshine. Halifax features beautiful parks and families were out enjoying the weather. We departed at 5 p.m., headed for Bar Harbor, Maine. We enjoyed the same weather there. From the top of Cadillac Mountain we could see the horizon and what looked like 100 small islands off the coast. From that height, our ship resembled a toy boat in a bathtub. In an in we reveled in a traditional lobster feast. First, of course, we were served a bowl of chowder, then a beautiful lobster, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, mussels, clams and all the trimmings. Those who could still eat another bite enjoyed blueberry

THE FLIP SIDE

JEAN SHEPHERD
pie a la mode. I couldnt do it. I pictured the crew having to carry me off the tender. At 5 p.m. we sailed to Boston for a day and a half. Friends and my sister and her husband who live on Cape Cod drove in to visit. Since Boston was our old college town, we knew our way around. Our last port was Newport, Rhode Island, my home state. We enjoyed a clam lunch and more sun. Believe it or not, the whole week was one sunny brilliant sky. I should mention that our time on the ship was so luxurious that one morning I decided to play a little game. Happily, I lost. We opted for the breakfast buffet, which consisted of every known breakfast food in the Western Hemisphere. On this day, I would try to pick out what I wanted and scurry to a table before a crewmember could politely take my tray and follow me around. He would then put the plate on the table and step over to the coffee urns. There is a real possibility that eventually the whole crew will be stuck with permanent smiles that have to be surgically removed. For now, though, I thank them all.

YOUR VIEW

Vick is just sorry Activist suspects he was caught something in air

TO THE EDITOR: Regarding Jay Granats Forgiveness is Important article that you published a few weeks ago. The last lines of his article stated that [Michael] Vick will be deserving of forgiveness when he emerges from prison and he should be given the opportunity to reclaim his life. While I do agree that forgiveness a very important quality for people to have, I do not agree that every horrific act should be forgiven. Should we forgive the Nazis for killing 6 million people, torturing hundreds of thousands more and tearing families apart? Would Mr. Granat be so quick to forgive Micheal Vick if he electrocuted, drowned, and suffocated members of his family, or his pets? In my opinion, Michael Vick is a vicious man who would have had no remorse in torturing these dogs and continued what he was doing if he was not caught. TO THE EDITOR: There was something qualitatively different at our recent Wednesday vigil at the National Guard Armory. Something was in the air. There was more and louder-than-ever honking and shouting of support from cars, vans, motorcycles, buses, and even tanker trucks. There were more passersby than ever waving, giving thumbs up or making peace signs with their hands. Since four motorists were ticketed while honking in support of our gigantic Memorial Week vigil we stopped carrying Honk For Peace signs. Isnt it ironic that the honking of support has increased and rose to all heights Sept.12. Members of Military Families Speak Out Bergen County (MFSO), veterans, and area residents at the vigil were stuck by this dramatic show of support and thought together about why. Its not just data, not just numbers, its personal for families of our troops and the Iraqi people who have died. MFSO members Sharyn Weintraub Celeste and Al Zappalas son Edgewater Army Sgt. Sherwood Baker died

on a mission to look for WMDs, months after inspectors announced that there were none. MFSO member, Kimberly Geonnettis son, 20-year-old, Pfc. David Bentz, died June 20 and his grandfather, ill from cancer, stopped eating and died a week later. The suffering of all of the families is so deep. Many thousands of troops and Iraqi people are suffering traumatic brain injuries, amputations, burns, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depleted uranium poisoning (leading to deformities in babies), and more. We didnt hear of the failure to provide medical and mental health treatment to the Iraqi people or our troops. Military Families Speak Out, Bergen County, is a founder and now a co-sponsor of the Wednesday vigil in Teaneck, along with Teaneck Peace and Justice Coalition and Veterans for Peace, Chapter 21 NJ. MFSO, a national organization with more than 3,600 members whose loved ones are serving in the military, wants all troops out of Iraq now. See www.mfsobergencounty .org for more information. Paula Rogovin Military Families Speak Out, Bergen County Teaneck

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