Letters to the editor — Thursday, July 2

Let Us Vote for We the People

Now is the time that tries our souls. As we celebrate our Declaration of Independence in 1776, let us commit ourselves to the ideals declared 250 years ago by voting for We the People and our Common Good and by declaring our independence from the current wannabe-king. Let us campaign and vote

FOR the full promise of our Declaration of Independence;

FOR equality and the rights to Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness of all people of all races, colors, faiths, genders, and ethnic origins;

FOR government of the people, by the people, for the people, NOT government of the rich, by the privileged, for the select few;

FOR our communities and the Common Good in our cities, suburbs, and rural countryside, including affordable healthcare, quality schools and colleges, food security, libraries, local police, fire protection, disaster relief, postal service, transportation and communications infrastructure;

FOR the rule of law, freedom of the press, and academic freedom;

FOR fair taxation of all, NOT tax breaks for the rich;

FOR affordable food, housing, and drugs;

FOR health regulations based on science;

FOR peace, NOT capricious wars of choice;

FOR performance of solemn treaty obligations, NOT whimsical repudiation;

FOR professional diplomats and scientists to conduct international negotiations, NOT amateur in-laws and business friends;

FOR legislation prohibiting payouts to convicted criminals from an “anti-weaponization” settlement fund;

FOR sensible tariffs, NOT tariff yo-yo;

FOR ethics and truth, NOT corruption and falsehoods;

FOR intelligent modesty, NOT dumb arrogance;

FOR responsible political parties, NOT personal cults;

FOR developing and regulating AI to be positive and safe for society, NOT a threat to civilization;

FOR humane public administration of detention centers and prisons, NOT private profiteering and cost cutting through inhumane treatment;

FOR legislation to remove presidential immunity from criminal prosecution;

FOR legislation to prohibit portraits of living persons on passports, currency, and securities and to prohibit monuments to and statues and posters of living current and former presidents in any location other than a presidential library;

FOR the integration of legal immigrants into American society, NOT deportation;

FOR prohibitions on members of Congress from trading securities and on government officials from using inside information for personal gain;

FOR legislation to require IRS audit of the tax returns of the president, his immediate family, and their businesses;

FOR a well-trained and fully funded military loyal to the Constitution and the people, not to any individual;

FOR limiting the use of the military to operations outside the country which are authorized by Congress, NOT for using the military for domestic control of the people or interference with elections;

FOR the support of veterans and their families;

FOR funding public radio and television;

FOR public monuments to celebrate our values and ideals, NOT gaudy personal vanity projects;

FOR protecting our natural resources, environment, water, air, and climate;

AND FINALLY, FOR celebrating the ideals in our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and committing to a new birth of freedom to realize those ideals for all people.

We can do it!

G. A. Mudge

Sharon, Conn.

Zoning and data centers

The majority of Americans, regardless of political leaning, are resisting the building of more data centers. These centers require massive amounts of electricity to power the servers, sucking up millions of gallons of water daily to cool them. Facilities operate 24-hours a day and generate a persistent low-frequency buzzing from the cooling units and exhaust from the diesel generators when they are in use.

Towns can use their zoning laws to block the use of large sites from becoming data centers. Zoning should be used to protect schools, hospitals, and environmentally sensitive nature centers, with limited drinking water supplies.

The world’s largest data centers are owned by Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure for cloud computing and AI, Google Cloud for global network, and Meta and Apple for their social platforms. They say they need the data centers to stay ahead of China with AI innovation. Telecommunications providers like AT&T, Verizon and Telehouse also own massive data centers for networking, hosting and cloud services to businesses.

Connecticut has about 50 data centers but no mega-sized centers, located across the state. Wallingford with 10, and Norwich with 16 have the most data centers.

Connecticut’s data centers are heavily regulated by the Connecticut Siting Council, for their location and environmental impacts, but towns can determine whether data centers can be built using their zoning regulations. Some towns like Morris have enacted temporary moratoriums.

Connecticut has a controversial Data Center Tax Incentive Program to attract high-tech investments, giving tax breaks to these companies.

The Tech companies do not need a free ride; they should pay for their electricity costs and pay taxes as all other businesses do. Regulations are needed particularly for the enormous water usage and chemical treatments required for cooling, which can impact local watersheds and well-water.

There is also the problem of constant noise and pollution these cooling systems create.

Lizbeth Piel

Sharon, Conn.