"Past Mistakes Cannot be a Millstone that Impedes Economic Development"

[I happened to get a smile out of this nicely homespun writing below, and I wanted to preserve it for just a little while longer, just because — I dunno...  I've plucked it from the comments section immediately following a news article in the (Kingston, NY) Daily Freeman (and edited it lightly).  If you don’t want to click through the whole original article, I can tell you quickly it's just a news story about New Paltz-based FrackAction forming a PAC in order to support incumbent Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY-22).  Hinchey is fending off challenger George Phillips in a close and closing race where the Late Great Hydrofracking Debate seems to be playing a key role.]

Viking1946 wrote on Oct 21, 2010 9:26 AM: 

What a surprise! Sad, that NYS gives more credibility to groups that oppose economic development.

The American spirit is, "Can do."  There was little that could not be safely accomplished with American exceptionalism. Today we have given it over to paranoid whiners that are content with the status quo. Unfortunately for NYS, the status quo is not satisfactory.

While the Liberal Progressives continue to demonize the private sector job creators, both large and small business, I believe the trend is turning.

What is a mystery to me is how a community that benefited so greatly from the jobs in IBM would today categorize it as an evil industry with the dread profit motive. If you believe it was responsible with the environment, look into the pollution associated with both the Kingston and Fishkill plants. The dangers were not known, and dumping chemicals into the ground was the easiest and lowest cost for the disposal. As bad as it was, and the contamination is still present today, it has not been catastrophic. It is being managed.

Accidents, malicious behavior and ignorance cannot be avoided, as long as humans are involved in any enterprise. We need to work with that reality. Specifically, fracking must be performed safely, and I believe that is possible. Past mistakes cannot be a millstone that impedes economic development in NYS. Answers are required, and questions that hang over the project for unlimited timeframes are no longer acceptable. I believe that America still has the exceptionalism that can meet the challenge, if allowed, and with an acceptable profit motive.