Please, no more war!

To all of our  Senators and Representatives,


War is murder. Military action is murder. We have to stop murdering each other. No more war, please. We don't need to kill Syrians to get Syrians to stop killing Syrians. Neither will it work. And it does not give us higher ground to stand on, if we've killed in the name of the end of killing.

We've stood by for over a year while the government of Syria killed thousands with guns and bombs and knives. By taking action now, we are saying that the killing that occurred before the use of chemicals was just fine.

Killing does not stop killing. Let's be the change we want to see. Please vote against so-called military action. Please encourage your colleagues to vote against it, too. Please tell everyone you speak with to oppose any such thing.

Tom Reingold
New York, NY

New Jersey is rated among the top ten states for cyclists

I read about this on The Patch at the article here. Here is the comment I posted:

I'm glad New Jersey got this designation, because it encourages everyone to keep going in the right direction. I would imagine it is not because conditions are in the top ten but because the legislation and plans are most forward thinking. For example towns and counties are adopting "complete streets" policies, which I hope will lead to better built streets and roads, giving equal access to pedestrians, motorists, cyclists, and wheelchair users.

I co-founded the South Orange Maplewood Bicycle Coalition, which, sadly, is shutting down. Those of us who ran it no longer have the time or energy to continue. We held various activities to encourage cycling and show how we can cycle on the roads we currently have. We advocated to our towns to adopt "complete streets" policies, and we succeeded.

I hope the vision continues to grow. I believe the world will be a better place when we drive motor vehicles less and walk more and cycle more. And it will be necessary, because I predict that fuel prices will reach unimagined levels eventually. We might as well start new habits now. If you think you can't cycle to school or work or the supermarket, please contact me or a local cycling expert or someone at newjerseybikewalk.org. There is a lot of help and encouragement in all kinds of places.

Please support a cycling portion in your schools' physical education program. We should all be in the habit of moving by our own power.