Community Confidence East Hampton May 22, 2013 Dear Community Residents: I would like to offer gratitude and congratulations to our community today. On behalf of the administration and the Board of Education of the East Hampton School District, I want to thank everyone who took the time to come out and show their support for our 2013-14 budget, which passed by a large margin. School budget results are often viewed as an indicator of community confidence, and I am grateful to have that confidence from so many of our citizens. Because of you, we will continue our commitment to excellence in education by providing quality educational programs, while concurrently maintaining attention to fiscal responsibility. Schools and their budgets have become increasingly complex. Understanding the jargon of mandates, often referred to by acronyms or short phrases such as Common Core, APPR, AIS, IEPs, ELLs, SLOs, etc., is a challenge. There are more tests than ever. Now we have so-called 2-percent tax levy caps that are actually a different number that is calculated separately for each school district. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we try, in our open budget workshops, to make sense of all of this for you. Please come to the many meetings we schedule on different topics. We look forward to your input. A fond farewell to Alison Anderson, who has put enormous time and effort into her three years on the board. Her commitment to the students of this district is much appreciated. Welcome to Wendy Geehreng, Rich Wilson, and J.P. Foster. I look forward to us working together as we continue to move the district forward. Again, thank you. Sincerely, RICHARD J. BURNS Superintendent of Schools 1,000 Hellebores East Hampton May 14, 2013 Dear Star, How can one consider April as cruel? Cool, yes, but more daffodils bloomed than before, including rare new ones. Nineteen magnolias flowered. This Japanese cherry, early on became a pink cloud. One thousand hellebores in Kreye crayon, A.J.’s park and grass garden renewed. . . . JACK LENOR LARSEN No More Canines East Hampton May 22, 2013 Dear Editor, Finally! I can now enjoy the beach after 6 p.m. without the heaving, snorting, out-of-control canines running wild! No more getting sand kicked in my face, having my sandwiches scarfed, or watching them defecate undetected. I may even start bringing my cat to the beach, keeping her on a leash, of course. DEVIN MAC Tent City Montauk May 27, 2013 Editor: The artists’ tent city on the village green makes it look like somebody took a dump in the center of town. In my opinion, the only thing missing is a carnival geek biting the heads off live chickens. Move it to the ball field, where it belongs. GEORGE WATSON Enlightening Comedy Springs May 25, 2013 Dear David: I read with great amusement Joanne Pilgrim’s article about the town board’s meetings and all the bickering by our duly elected officials. Wanting to watch this enlightening comedy on my computer, I followed the info at the end of the article stating that I could see the meetings online. I did manage to find the East Hampton Town site and was pleased to be able to access videos of meetings (except one is missing, for the meeting of May 14??). However, after looking through the last three videos, I was unable to find the “comic dialogue” that was featured in the article. It may just be lack of computer skill on my part, but this does make me wonder: Do these town board videos get edited before posting? If so, by whom, and what are the criteria? And why is there one missing? For those who want to look for themselves, the site I was on: easthamptontown.iqm2.com/Citizens/calendar.aspx. PEGGY BACKMAN Extreme Positions East Hampton May 25, 2013 Dear Mr. Rattray, At the May 21 town board work session I watched in utter disgust as Jeremy Samuelson, executive director of, and lobbyist for, the Concerned Citizens of Montauk, acted like a two-year-old in the full throes of a temper tantrum. Mr. Samuelson screamed from the audience disrespectful and contemptible accusations leveled at Supervisor Bill Wilkinson. He (unjustifiably) accused Mr. Wilkinson, who is steadfast in his support for saving downtown Montauk from the ravages of erosion, of holding that position only because he has been unduly influenced by campaign contributions. What an odd accusation, I thought at the time, because Supervisor Wilkinson’s campaign contributions are online at the Board of Elections and can be readily accessed by the public. Not so Ms. Overby’s or Mr. Van Scoyoc’s campaign contributions. There isn’t a resident in East Hampton (outside of the Democratic Party inner circle) that knows who or what special interest gave to them, or how much. But that discussion is for another day. Mr. Samuelson’s conduct was so bizarre and his views so extreme, that when he affirmed he was representing C.C.O.M. I wondered if all of the members of that organization were in agreement with his extreme positions, his loathsome conduct, and most important, his slanderous accusations. Is it possible that all of the members of C.C.O.M. are as extreme and irrational as Mr. Samuelson has represented them to be? Supervisor Wilkinson is owed a public apology from Mr. Samuelson and the C.C.O.M. Without such an apology I think the residents of Montauk and East Hampton can rightly conclude that C.C.O.M. is an extremist organization with little integrity for truth and honesty and it has little interest in having a reasoned and rational dialogue on the life-threatening issue of coastal erosion. Our community awaits an apology. Respectfully, CAROLE CAMPOLO A New Career Amagansett May 24, 2013 Dear Editor: Normally I am happy as a lark when this weekend rolls around — tennis has started, my kids are coming, and everything is green. However, a confluence of several factors, a rain forecast for my planned Sunday barbeque combined with reading a story in this week’s Star, has resulted in one unhappy camper. The weather is a trivial gloom-contributor since the forecast is often wrong. I have not given up hope in having my upcoming feast. The other item is not so easy to “digest.” (Pun #1.) A few weeks ago I wrote a letter questioning the preposterous decision by our chief building inspector in okaying a proposal to designate the Dunes, an upscale expensive addiction treatment center, as a “residential unit,” thereby allowing it to be plunked right in the heart of the Northwest Woods area. Well, today’s Star answered my question. First I learned that the same group had applied to set up shop on Shelter Island as a business, not a residence, and was turned down — whereupon they changed their name, applied for approval by the East Hampton chief building inspector as a residence, and got approval. How could that happen? It helps one to understand when we learn that Madeline Narviles, then an East Hampton town attorney, advised the chief inspector that the designation was valid — whereupon, after the approval to locate the facility in Northwest was done, Ms. Narviles quit her job and now works for — you guessed it — the Dunes! The infamous revolving door so prevalent in Albany and Washington has arrived in full force in our town. The last item contributing to my condition began with an amazing, never-to-be-replicated event. On hole 4 of the Sag Harbor Golf Course, I wound up with my ball in the cup, about 210 yards from the tee, after only two strokes — an eagle, two strokes less than par. I am a truly handicapped erratic golfer, but I believe that this rare event marked the beginning of a new career. Last Tuesday, on the same hole, I got a double bogey, two strokes over par, to even up the score. (Pun #2.) Anyway, I am sure to recover and settle down to what looks like a busy, crowded summer in what I think is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Let’s be sure to keep it that way. IRVING HIRSCHBERG One Viable Solution Wainscott May 27, 2013 Dear David, Thank you for your eloquent editorial and Joanne Pilgrim’s comprehensive report, “Mad as Hell and Not Taking Any More,” in last week’s East Hampton Star. “Network” is a great movie. I can relate. Most folks forget I am a pilot. East Hampton Airport was home to my Piper Warrior for 10 years. It’s interesting to note that almost all airport proponents writing letters to you are local pilots, including me. The public should note this bias, even mine. When fellow pilots minimize the magnitude of environmental, quality-of-life problems caused by the sharp increase in noisy, dirty, helicopter and seaplane traffic ferrying selfish, inconsiderate passengers to and from East Hampton Airport, they are simply blowing smoke. They are in denial. They can’t imagine waking up one morning finding the airport closed for good. Regardless of the agreements in place, it only takes determined political will to close the airport. A simple majority vote by the East Hampton Town Board. Perhaps one day local pilots will wake up to a closed airport. Here are the real facts local pilots requested for my assertions: Pilots at Merrill C. Meigs Field Airport in Chicago were also in denial and couldn’t imagine a famous airport like Meigs Field could close, leaving their planes stranded on the tarmac. On March 30, 2003, Mayor Richard M. Daley ordered city crews to bulldoze the runways in the middle of the night. The following morning in a news conference Mayor Daley explained, “To do this any other way would have been needlessly contentious.” A column in The Chicago Tribune said this about Daley, “He ruined Meigs because he wanted to, because he could.” Interestingly, the city paid back the grants. The Federal Aviation Association only fined Chicago $33,000 for closing an airport with a charted instrument approach without the required 30-day notice. (That’s a far cry from the $6.5 million the city of Naples, Fla., paid listening to Peter Kirsch, East Hampton’s aviation attorney, with no results. Special-interest groups sued Chicago. The courts ruled the city was allowed to close the field. In this case, it was the act of one brazen man, perhaps crazy man. It was said the midnight bulldozing of Meigs Field was Mayor Daley’s signature act after 22 years in office. The F.A.A. disregarded its obligations in agreements with 149 regional airports. Why should East Hampton Airport uphold its obligations with the F.A.A.? On March 22, 2013, the F.A.A. informed 149 regional airports it will begin closing contracted air traffic control towers. The transportation secretary called it “difficult choices that we have to make” in total disregard of its obligations in 149 agreements with regional airports. A firestorm ensued, forcing the U.S. Transportation Department to keep the 149 towers open until Sept. 30, 2013. The decision has not been rescinded. East Hampton’s local pilots should know there is a national crisis of airport closures for the same reasons residents in East Hampton, Southampton, Shelter Island, and the North Fork are as mad as hell about East Hampton Airport. In fact, this crisis is top priority for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. So much of a priority that over 1,500 A.O.P.A. members are part of the A.O.P.A. Airport Support Network. The association director, Stacy Swigart, said, “These dedicated A.O.P.A. members serve as the association’s front-line defense against airport closure because they alert A.O.P.A. of any threats, gather local pilot support, and influence local government officials.” The problem is, East Hampton local pilots don’t have a solution. If local pilots downloaded and read A.O.P.A.’s Guide for Airport Advocates, they would know East Hampton Airport is doomed for closure. Local pilots can only fabricate baseless propaganda. Noise abatement is a failed policy all over the country. According to the A.O.P.A., noise is one of the top three causes of airport closures nationally. Is it possible I am doing more to save the airport from closure than local pilots by advocating the elimination of the greatest offender of noise, helicopters? That is one viable solution local pilots refuse to consider. It’s not silly anymore. It’s getting very crazy at East Hampton Town Board meetings. I give credit where credit is due. Supervisor Bill Wilkinson did a miraculous job solving the financial problems of the town. I give him props; however, it appears the financial problems are now dwarfed by the problems at the airport. I am afraid solving the financial problems are no longer his signature act. The supervisor promised after he solved the financial problems he would solve the number-two problem, the airport. I agreed with that approach but he has not engaged to solve the airport problems. Shouting back at the public only further antagonizes the public. This may be the real question: Is the supervisor only a one-trick pony? It’s silly that local pilots support expanding operations of noisy, dirty aircraft ferrying selfish, inconsiderate people to and from East Hampton Airport. It’s not sustainable. It’s silly that local pilots believe the airport can’t be shut down. It happened in Chicago and all over the country. It’s silly that local pilots believe East Hampton Airport can’t close due to town obligations in F.A.A. agreements. Both F.A.A. and municipalities around the country break their agreements with each other with no apparent repercussions. It’s silly that local pilots believe noise abatement will solve the problem. Noise abatement is a failed policy at East Hampton Airport, Naples Airport, Santa Monica Airport, and hundreds of airports around the country. It’s so silly that local pilots offer no solution to East Hampton Airport problems. More of the same will surely cause the airport to close. If it wasn’t so silly, it would be crazy. Sincerely, FRANK DALENE The Pet Surplus East Hampton May 16, 2013 To the Editor: A deplorable choice of words! The Animal Rescue Fund’s ad on page 2 of your May 9 issue says that ARF’s featured pet of the week was “rescued from a kill shelter in Los Angeles.” This gratuitous slur at another animal-care organization is also inaccurate enough to mislead many animal lovers who read The Star. For starters: When an adoptable pet has been removed from abuse in a bad home, from neglect in a boarding situation, from exploitation in a puppy mill, from hand-to-mouth subsistence as a homeless stray, it’s fair to say it’s been “rescued.” But a pet housed in any animal shelter — whether supported by public or private funds or both — has already been rescued. That is what the facility exists for. As reported in the ARF ad, a shelter pet may be transferred to another institution to improve its adoption prospects. In some cases this can indeed rescue a long-resident animal from euthanasia — if the first shelter happens to be large, crowded, and under constant pressure to make room for new admissions. By law, an organization holding a government contract for animal control is required to take in all strays and surrenders. No reputable humane organization wants to perform euthanasia solely for space reasons. Most tax-financed shelters have striven mightily to reduce intake and increase adoptions, and their recent progress has been commendable. (When my book on shelter overpopulation, “The Pet Surplus,” was published, a promotion headline read, “How we can save five million lives a year.” Today, a dozen years later, the estimated annual death toll has dropped closer to three million.) But shelters are still burdened with some long-unadopted residents — older, homelier, less appealing to pet seekers — who linger on and on. On occasion they are, regretfully, put down in order to admit newcomers in urgent need. Understandably, any of these institutions would resent the epithet “kill shelter.” As for the self-styled “no kill” shelter, the Humane Society of the United States has disdained this sanctimonious label flaunted by some groups (wholly supported by private contributions) to enhance their image and fund-raising. Instead, the society calls them “limited admission” shelters. After all, when official shelter policy permits euthanasia only for incurably ill or dangerously aggressive animals, the results are sadly predictable. Unadopted pets stay on for months, even years, in the finite quarters available. And uncounted orphan animals are turned away: no room at the inn! Where do all those rejected applicants go? Who rescues them? SUSAN M. SEIDMAN A Day of Mourning East Hampton May 26, 2013 To the Editor, Unfortunately, Memorial Day has been ignored by too many of us who are the beneficiaries of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. We need to take time to reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day, and be mindful of the sacrifices of the members of our armed forces who have given us the freedoms we enjoy today. You may ask in what ways should we do this. As a nation we do so by visiting memorials, by flying the flag at half staff until noon, by flying the M.I.A./P.O.W. flag, by visiting cemeteries and placing a flag or flowers on veterans’ graves, by just saying thank you and a simple prayer for their service, by pledging to aid the widows, widowers, and orphans of our fallen, and last but not least, by participating in a national moment of remembrance at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day. It is inspiring to learn that people of other nations have been participating in the spirit of our Memorial Day. As an example of this, in a 2001 entry in a U.S. Memorial Day book a citizen of the Netherlands states, “I laid flowers on the grave of a U.S. fighter pilot, who was killed in action in my village in 1945. I also saw schools in my country adopting graves of allied servicemen and keeping them in excellent condition.” I wonder, do any schools in our country adopt veterans’ graves and take care of them? What a wonderful way to inspire and teach our children that freedom has never been free. Personally, I consider Memorial Day a national day of mourning, not a holiday weekend as passed by Congress in the National Holiday Act of 1971. This ct has distracted from the importance of why this day has been set aside to honor our fallen comrades. On March 17, 1989, Senator Inouye of Hawaii introduced a bill to the Senate for the restoration of the traditional day of observance of Memorial Day back to May 30. Senator Inouye, a decorated veteran of World War II, continued to reintroduce this bill in Congress every year, but as of today no action has been taken. Congress simply reads the bill, then it gets referred to a committee and forgotten. Senator Inouye recently passed away this year and I wonder who, if anyone, in Congress will pick up the banner he so nobly advanced? As an alternative to the current designation of Memorial Day and its true day of the 30th of May, Congress could elect to transfer the three-day holiday to the third weekend in May, which is when Armed Forces Day is celebrated. That would be the time we celebrate and thank our armed forces for serving our country and maintaining our freedoms. I believe we need to return the 30th of May to those men and women who have died in service to our nation and who have provided these freedoms and liberties we enjoy today. We need to stand united on this special day of mourning on May 30, with all the wives, children, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and friends who have lost loved ones, and go to these memorials and cemeteries and pay our respects together. Memorial Day therefore is not a holiday or a time for political photo opportunities. It is important to remember that the politicians’ power can be used to start wars, but it is our sons and daughters who have to fight in them and sometimes die in them, as they continue to do so today. God bless our troops, God bless America. TOM BYRNE Past commander American Legion Post 419 and V.F.W. Post 550 A Truly Moving Day Montauk May 26, 2013 Dear Editor: It was windy and cold with little sun. Then marching down Main Street in Montauk came the beautiful sight of American, Gadsden, Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force, and Coast Guard Flags. A wonderful sea of colors. Carrying those flags were veterans and those currently serving in the Coast Guard. Marching along were two nurses from World War II. Once at the Green, we heard patriotic music, addresses by members of our community, and a prayer offered by the Rev. Bill Hoffman of the Community Church. The Boy Scouts were there. Patriot Guards. Visitors and residents of our town. Could have been a scene from a movie. It was a truly moving day in Montauk. Thanks to all who participated and a special thanks to Ken Walles and all those who made this possible. But most of all, thanks to all those who gave their lives to keep us free and to those currently in the armed services and all those who served in the past. May God bless you and may God bless America. Sincerely, PAT FLYNN Problems Have Tripled East Hampton May 26, 2013 To the Editor; When I last wrote to this paper there was but one issue dragging on the president’s agenda and that was his terrible performance concerning the events in Benghazi. The cover-up, the lying, the revelations from brave whistle-blowers as to just how inept, incompetent, and stupid the president and his team were has given fuel to a fire that desperate Democrats had hoped to snuff out. Unfortunately for the president and his cabal his problems have tripled and scandal is rocking this administration. We now know the Obama I.R.S. engaged in profiling and harassment of conservative groups and individual donors to Mitt Romney. We have the people in charge either unaware of what was happening, unwilling to stop what was happening, or giving de facto approval of what was happening. The I.R.S. agent at the heart of the scandal has already taken the Fifth, never a good sign. Obama did fire the acting director, a man who was leaving in a month anyway. Talk about decisive leadership. You would hope that even the most ardent supporter of the Obama regime would take pause at the revelation that Obama’s attorney general, the corrupt Eric Holder, and the F.B.I. have been spying on various news organizations such as The A.P., Fox News, and now that most vaunted of liberal bastions, The New York Times. Presidential hoax-person Jay Carney is working overtime to juggle the multiple unfolding crises and selling his journalistic soul in the process. One has to wonder exactly what the hell is going on over at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? President Obama told us that his failure in Benghazi was a sideshow. Well, now it is starting to look like a three-ring circus, but rather than being the ringmaster Obama is a clown. If you ask him what is going on with his own administration he does not know; he is learning of events as they appear on the news just like you and I. That does not speak very well for the president; maybe he should worry less about taking strokes off his golf game and more about actually governing. It is no surprise then that he has hurried off to Moore, Okla., to use the victims of tragedy as human shields and to wrap himself in a protective cloak. Once more we see the politics of not letting a tragedy go to waste‚ the same way he used the victims of Newtown and Hurricane Sandy. At the rate he is going Barack Obama will need a natural disaster once a month to get through the next three years; another sad testament to just how far the president has fallen. I would like to end on a personal note. We should all be wary of those who would shut down voices opposed to their own. It does not matter if it is the president trying to scare news organizations or a particular angry letter to the local paper; it speaks of intolerance and bigotry when you have some people telling others to shut up. One of the great things about this country is the privileges provided to us all as enshrined in our Bill of Rights, and none more important than the First Amendment. It is a great blessing, and at times a curse. We will never all agree on politics, the weather, and baseball, but I think we can all agree that no one should ever be told to shut up just because they have a different point of view. The day we lose that is the day we lose everything. Sincerely, MICHAEL D. BOUKER Humanity or Insanity? Sag Harbor May 23, 2013 To the Editor, Little boy soldiers all over the land. Who put the guns in their hands? Creatures of God killing one another. What mother would say “Take mine”? What father would disagree? To choose sides would God agree? Maybe the basic question here is humanity or insanity? Or life and death? The choice is ours. A Mother’s Day card, blessed be. . . . In peace, LARRY DARCEY Is It Possible? Amagansett May 25, 2013 To the Editor: Are they telling the truth? Is it really possible that the president only learned of the most recent of three scandals when he read the newspaper? Are his advisers so inept that they failed to keep the president informed at his daily morning briefings? Are we more or less safe under this “We’re not aware” and “I don’t know” administration? The Department of Justice’s Eric Holder’s boss is Obama, and he didn’t brief the president on the third most serious internal security leak in history? Attorney General Holder said he didn’t know about the A.P. wiretaps, though he ordered the hit on Fox News, that is documented. There have been 118 visits to the White House by the Internal Revenue Service commissioner, who reports directly to the president, and who knew for over a year about the I.R.S. scandal. The media knew last year! No one told him he had a problem, a scandal on his hands? If the president isn’t informed on serious security threats, who is? Who is protecting us? What else doesn’t he know? Is the president so focused on entertaining celebrities, campaigning, playing golf, and taking vacations that he cannot keep up to date on attacks that led to American deaths at the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, nor send help (who told the military, standing ready, to stand down?), the wiretaps of over 100 phone lines at news organizations, and now the disgraceful conduct of the I.R.S. in targeting conservative groups with long delays, unreasonable questions (how dare they ask what a group or person prays about), and audits? Systematic targeting of the press and whistle-blowers are infringements on our freedom of speech. Why is the president so disengaged, why was he asleep during the Benghazi attack on Sept. 11, 2012? Abuse of power, and covering his rear end, are the only explanation, because the name of the ship and the ship’s captain of the gunrunning this administration was involved in are known. They obviously didn’t learn their lesson with the furor over the Fast and Furious gunrunning to Mexico. Tragically, in Benghazi, four Americans were killed and many more severely wounded — then told to keep their mouths shut. How can the president govern if not informed on these issues? This man was elected to lead and defend the American people. The number-one job of the president is our security. This “plausible deniability” has got to stop. Is he lying to us? Sure looks like it. If the administration doesn’t care about our military, embassy safety, and our border security, what is he doing and why are we paying him? Why aren’t people being fired for dereliction of duty and ineptitude? LYNDA A.W. EDWARDS The Only Real Problem East Hampton May 26, 2013 To the Editor: From Europe, the vision of the United States is of a pathetic colossus in the midst of a self-destructive rampage of political idiocy. When it takes more than 500 days for the Congress to approve a presidential appointment it renders the Congress, and in this case the Republican opposition, as a bag of crap. Having a president who is insulated and unwilling to massage and manipulate the political process and an opposition whose racism and dislike for the president justifies its willingness to let the country go down the tubes, the country is blocked from solving its only real pressing problem — the economy. In crisis, and we are in the deepest shit since the Depression, anyone who isn’t brain dead suspends ideology in search of a solution. Politicians, as they are wont to do, mindlessly masturbate over issues like gun control, gay marriage, immigration reform, drones, Benghazi, and most of all the deficit — essentially, distractions from dealing with the real problem. Yet, while our economic crisis doesn’t afford us the luxury of political and election posturing, the task of redesigning our economic system is much easier given that the government has nothing else besides this process to focus on. In Europe, in the face of austerity (deficit reduction here), they take to the streets en masse. What they understand, that we don’t, is that deficit reduction does not create economic growth, create jobs, put food on the table. It protects wealth, and they know that wealth is already heavily protected. We have been conned into believing that government spending is the same as personal spending. If we have to tighten our belts, shouldn’t the government? In theory, yes, but in practice not. For the past 12 years the government has been the primary job creator in our system (the private sector bailed on us in the early 2000s). So cutting government means cutting jobs and slowing growth. But not for everyone. While the middle class sees its income dropping between 2 and 4 percent a year, the stock market has risen 33 percent this year. Who benefits? Economic reality: Middle-class Americans now plan for lower income and fewer benefits. We create jobs that pay $10 an hour and supplement them with food stamps. The SNAP program (food stamps) services 52 million people; when will it reach 100 million? We are trending to what Honduras used to be. Rich and poor and no one in between. Four Americans died in Benghazi, 30,000 of malnutrition. What’s the calculus? Between Obama’s tepid stimulus and the Republicans’ simple-minded deficit reduction, we are caught in a political brothel of castrated eunuchs talking about their missing parts. They will never find them, and we will lose our middle class if we don’t hit the streets. NEIL HAUSIG Enough Is Too Much East Hampton May 26, 2013 Dear David, Seems that some simply cannot accept the realities and choose to accept the president’s speeches as fact. I haven’t heard of so many know-nothings reading about the 19th-century political movement that earned the name. Now the Obama administration seems to be trying to capture the title. Ambassador Stevens was not happy with the security in Benghazi. He asked for more help, and got no one. Responsible parties: Secretary Hillary Clinton and, of course, President Obama. Result of this terrorist action? Four dead, no terrorists named or arrested to date. Now Ms. Clinton wants another job at the taxpayers’ expense. Let’s “just say no”! Enough is too much. “Fast and Furious” is/was a gunrunning scheme in which straw-man sales were made, the firearms whisked across the border into Mexico where they were passed on to a Mexican drug cartel. The idea was that somehow or other the cartel members would get arrested. Since the AK-47 lookalikes were tagged or tracked, I cannot see how anything good could have come from it. The government “lost” 1,700 or more firearms, one of which was used in a shootout with American border officers. One was killed. The firearm was one of those bought here and transferred to the cartel. President Obama and Attorney General Holder agree to accept responsibility, but again, no penalty. Of course there is also Mr. Holder’s assault on the First Amendment, trying to criminalize a Fox reporter’s reporting the news. I could go on, but it is all there online if you want details. Yours, PETER OSBORNE
Published 4 years ago
Last updated 4 years ago
Letters to the Editor: 05.30.13
May 29, 2013