To the Editor, Well it’s Feb.1 and since all the holiday treats are finally devoured, I am starting my New Year resolutions…again. This time in two columns: Col. A and Col. B. Column B is the usual…healthy diet, lose weight and exercise more, (which I will start over again several times). Column A is for adamant. I will do this. First: Purchase American-made products so our economy can grow for our citizens. Second: Patronize only celebrities (T.V., film, music, sports, etc.) with moral codes in their lives (not drug users, alcoholics, or those being promiscuous) and uphold their marriage vows (not just for 72 days). Third: I will fight Obamacare in every way. It is wrong to use my hard- earned money to pay or to force anyone to participate in procedures, including sterilization, abortion and mercy killing and is against our right to religious freedom. Government cannot force us to go against our faith. America the beautiful, not America the despicable. RITA TICE Cape May

To The Editor: I read with interest, the story about the shows that will be coming to the Cape May Convention Hall. I have been following the saga of the hall construction for the past several years and am both shocked and saddened at the final product. It seemed that nobody was willing to stand up and make a decision, so they held a seemingly-endless string of meetings to "throw out ideas," then put together a building incorporating all the ideas that don't really mesh. There are a few questions I would love the City of Cape May to explain about this new building, questions they have conveniently avoided as of late. First, the building is expected to generate revenue through its rental for weddings, however, the kitchen is roughly the size of the men's rest room (the designs are on the city's own website) and will be non-functional upon opening. Last I heard from the city, they weren't even including commercial appliances in the kitchen, rendering it useless. Plus, by city ordinance, no alcohol is allowed on city property. Finally, there is only one set of rest rooms, accessible to both the convention hall guests and the beach going public. Does the city really expect people to hold weddings with lukewarm food brought in and reheated, no alcohol and guests in formal wear mingling with people in dripping bathing suits? Next, since the convention hall will be unfurnished, do they really expect wedding parties or any other convention groups to bring in everything from tablecloths, plates, glasses, silverware, napkins, etc? Third, musical groups and theatre groups are being booked for the hall and it's touted as having seating for 970 patrons...but there is no stage. The plans call for a stage, but the city has not yet explained why a stage is not included in the building plans and why the hall is being promoted for a wall of windows in the back, facing the sea. You can't have both and clearly, the building designs show a wall of windows from floor to near the ceiling. Look at the pictures on the city's own website. Where will the groups be performing, and if it's a small temporary stage, how will the people beyond the third row see anything other than the back of the heads of those in front? If it will be a high temporary stage, how will that look from the outside of the hall (wall of windows)? Next, what exactly are the rental costs of the building for local non-profit groups like the Jazz Festival and the Singer Songwriter Festival? Not round-about approximations, but the actual rental cost. The numbers I have heard floated to the groups are insane and I would like the city to go on record with the actual number. Last, will there be roller skating in the new convention hall? Unofficially, I have been told “absolutely not.” It was explained to me that the hall would be rented to groups during the season, meaning, the building would be theirs. Also, no skate rentals would be purchased and they “didn't want the new floors ruined by roller skates.” I bring up these questions because there is still time to address them before the hall opens. The design they chose is abysmal and it's a shame that the original large hall that Cape May voters chose in the election referendum was dismissed by current city leaders. However, it's halfway built and there's no use fighting a lost cause. This Bed, Bath & Beyond-looking building will be opened on Memorial Day and I sincerely hope the city addresses the five questions I posed, before that day. BEN MILLER Cape May

To The Editor: Was that a hint of sarcasm in Art Hall’s Feb. 1 column’s headline, “Big, Bad Corporations And Poverty?” Hall’s hardcore right wing allegiances at all costs, are nothing new. But the extent he goes to in contorting the facts, while obnoxiously ignoring the truth, is really scary. Not surprisingly, the publisher gives a pass to financial corporate giants, whose reckless wheeling and dealing with the people’s investments bankrupted our economy in 2008, bilking millions out of their homes, jobs and savings. In his seemingly never ending quest to fit his square notions of truth and justice into the round hole of reality, Hall doesn’t even mention Wall Street’s crimes that unquestionably is contributing to America’s rising poverty rate. Never mind that the same sort of gambling with people’s lives apparently persists today, we just learned, at the quasi-federal agency Freddie Mac, whose cutesy, catchy name belies something more sinister. Maybe it’s the blatant criminal obstructionism by the Republican party in the House that has Hall all bent of shape. The Conservatives’ stonewalling in Congress speaks volumes about the once purported “Moral Majority” party. What’s he have to say about those crooks who would rather pillage the people’s financial assistance in these desperate times, before they would consider raising taxes a percentage point on billionaires? Sure, entitlement programs – like everything else – needs some belt tightening. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore the powerful corporate lobby that too easily manipulates our alleged Washington representatives, on both sides of the political aisles – even in the White House. Take a gander at the headlines: Foreclosure Fraud, Illegal Payday Loans, Mortgage Loan Fraud, Freddie Bets Against Homeowners, Obstructing Refinancing and Illegal Insider Trading. Yeah, government needs to cut back its spending. But, enough already with the fear-mongering about “big government.” That’s largely a red herring. In fact, so much of the alarmist rhetoric out there is an attempt to mask the rampant deceit in Washington. That’s why the Occupy movement is so important. But this isn’t about bashing folks who work on Wall Street or the average stock market investor. It’s about reeling in the unprecedented crooked monopoly of big money in this country. Hall seems to be forever puzzling over “How did we get in this mess?” or “How do we get out of this mess?” in his columns. But here we are three-and-a- half years into this mess, and he still apparently doesn’t have a clue. Unfortunately, he broaches the subject of the poor as if they were all beggars that begrudgingly must be helped “where possible,” those poor pathetic souls. He writes: “Where there is an opportunity for them, and they don’t take it, our obligation to them ends.” What does that mean, exactly? That seems to imply that virtually anyone who needs help these days is a freeloading opportunist not to trusted. And that’s a direct slap in the face to the thousands of folks in Cape May County who have lost their homes to foreclosure or their jobs to downsizing. Finally, Hall concludes that there simply is no solution to poverty, and attempts to bolster that statement with a quote from Jesus Christ: “The poor will always be with you.” Here, the publisher treads on dangerous ground. It’s almost as if he were implying that Jesus Christ – who came to save all souls – would understand if we just threw up our hands and stopped trying to help our fellow man. KEVIN MCKINNEY Cape May

To The Editor: On behalf of all Holy Redeemer HomeCare and Hospice employees in New Jersey, we would like to salute the members of the South Jersey community for their generous donations to local organizations this holiday season. Coats, shoes, Christmas gifts and warm clothing were collected and donated to families in need at the Atlantic City Rescue Mission. In addition, toiletries and lap blankets were collected for area nursing home residents and hospice patients. Audio books were provided to Jewish Family Service, while toys and games were gathered for children and teens attending Gilda’s Club cancer support groups at NoogieLand. I would also like to mention that many Holy Redeemer employees participated in this drive by making personal donations and taking up a collection of items throughout the local community. In these difficult economic times, charities needs are now greater than ever. Holy Redeemer graciously extends its thanks to South Jersey for its support and efforts to help make this outreach possible and share warmth and goodwill with neighbors. BOB HEINEMAN Swainton (ED. NOTE Heineman is senor vice president and co-chief administrative officer of Holy Redeemer Home Care and Hospice).

To The Editor: At the Sea Isle City Council meeting Tues., Dec. 27, we proposed an alternative which we thought was the ideal location and property for the Welcome Center…the Jersey Title Company on West Jersey Avenue visible from JFK Boulevard. It has all the amenities, which they are planning on building in front of the community center. The building is 1,750 square feet, which is 100 square feet larger; very little would be needed for renovations. It has two larger conference rooms, counter space for the beach tag office, kitchen area, two bathrooms and four or five office spaces as well as storage areas. The building is two doors from the old firehouse and would be a very easy and inexpensive move for office personnel located at the firehouse and could be available within one month. The title company property would have parking available on JFK Boulevard and New Jersey Avenue, access to public restrooms (ADA) and with four real estate offices all in walking distance it would be one stop — pick up the rental keys and stop for informa-tion and beach tags. Also, it would be a closer loca-tion for the beach taggers to get their assignment and walk to the beach and not have that long walk to and from Park Road. We asked the mayor and council to inspect the property, but all of council declined. Only one mem-ber, Councilman McHale did come and agreed that the property had possibilities. The mayor seemed very interested and in fact called and made an ap-pointment to view the property. However due to sickness he cancelled. The city could save the tax-payers $553,394 and gain an additional 100 square feet. We had two meetings with the mayor in his office. A petition was signed by over 200 concerned citi-zens and over 100 letters addressed to the mayor were presented Dec. 23 at 11 a.m. At this meeting we asked to have him intervene and reconsider the project. We made numerous calls to his office to resched-ule the previous meeting which was cancelled and never received a call back. We strongly feel this project would be hazardous to the community. There are four restaurants, fishing fleet, amusement rides, Methodist Church and vari-ous community activities all in this area. Putting a building in front of a building is only asking for more of a traffic problem already in a congested area. DOROTHY AND EILEEN FEAN Sea Isle City

To The Editor: In an interview for the Today Show early in his administration, Barack Obama addressed issues important to Americans. They included turning the economy around, closing Guantanamo Bay and not using our tax dollars to rebuild Afghanistan. As the 2012 presidential election approaches, none of those results have been achieved. Watch that interview by searching the web for "I will be held accountable." For the upcoming election, another statement from the same interview is relevant. “Look, I’m at the start of my administration. One nice thing about the situation I find myself in is that I will be held accountable. I’ve got four years…a year from now, I think, people are going to see that we are starting to make some progress. There’s still going to be some pain out there. If I don’t have this done in three years, then I‘m going to be a one-term president." What did happen in Obama's first term? The national debt skyrocketed. High unemployment exists because of a weak economy. Our tax dollars are rebuilding Afghanistan, not America. The bipartisanship he promised in order to improve the way Washington, D.C. works never happened. The way Washington works did change; it got less productive, less civil. Americans elected Obama based on promises of "Hope and Change." He was never required to explain the specifics of that change. The hope we learned later was based on his goal to recreate America. He tried to take our country, one built on the promise that education, hard work and obeying the law means individual freedom and opportunity into a government-dependent and dominated society. He wants to take money from those who have been successful and have helped others realize America's dream and give that money to the federal government to create dependence and the loss of freedoms and the opportunity for growth and advancement for all Americans. Barack Obama is not an evil person, but he is not a person qualified to lead America. His vision is to create a country that can only end up like Greece and other countries on the brink of financial and societal disaster. He does not believe in, nor want American exceptionalism. Rather, he wants to see America changed to a weak and humbled nation and not what she is, the world leader that reaches out to help others who also seek individual freedoms and opportunity. Instead of standing by his statement that his first term results should determine if he deserves a second term, Obama will use class warfare and resentment under the guise of "Equality and Fairness" as the buzzwords for his re-election. This time, understand what he is really saying, what he wants to do. Don't let it happen. Instead, vote to bring back America's greatness as a law-abiding nation where we all share American pride and a strong economy that provides freedom, dignity and opportunity through jobs for all Americans. KATHLEEN DYNAN Cold Spring