Boys Soccer Champions East Hampton November 10, 2014 Dear Editor, As they leave to represent us in the New York State Final Four, I want to publicly express my admiration for the East Hampton High School boys soccer team. After seasons of enduring racist comments and threats from both the players and parents of other teams on Long Island, they went on to win their first-ever Long Island championship. I am so proud of the way the current team and past teams have handled themselves. I congratulate them and their parents, and I thank the E.H.H.S. administration for their support of our boys when they needed to know their community was behind them. JOYCE McFADDEN Nichol’s Restaurant East Hampton November 4, 2014 Dear Editor: For those of us who loved to go to Nichol’s restaurant, it was very disappointing to see that it has closed. Just in case I didn’t tell Ziggy and staff how much we enjoyed going there, please know we really miss you. We met friends there very often and felt comfortable and welcome every time. Best wishes to you and hope to see you very soon. LINDA and GENE KAYE Halloween Candy Montauk November 5, 2014 Dear Dave: My wife and I would like to thank the ladies of the Montauk School PTA for their donations of candy to the residents of the Camp Hero neighborhood. They have been bringing candy to us for years, and it is certainly appreciated. This year, with good weather and Halloween falling on a Friday, my wife counted 178 trick-or-treaters. From all of us at Camp Hero, a big thank-you. Sincerely, ED ORR Meals’s Meals Springs November 5, 2014 Dear Editor, May I express my deep gratitude and thanks for Meals on Wheels. What a blessing, seven days a week. Thanks to my two angels, Wendy and Gretchen. Lunch includes a pint of milk and a thick sandwich from Dreesen’s with cheese and meat and always a surprise goody like a brownie or pudding or, best of all, a doughnut — sugar, plain, or coated. Dinners are also a constant surprise: meat, veggies, and potatoes. Only have to wash four pieces of cutlery and no dishes. Who could ask for anything more at 92 years of age? Sincerely, BOB ULLMAN A Heartless Act East Hampton November 10, 2014 To the Editor, Sometime between Oct. 24 and Nov. 2 someone vandalized our son’s headstone. I had put a plastic Jack-o’-lantern on his grave with a big rock in it so it wouldn’t blow away. The next time we visited his grave, we noticed the Jack-o’-lantern was gone and a very callous person smashed the picture of our son, which is on the headstone. Guess the rock came in handy. His picture has weathered the last 39 years, till now. Who could commit such a heartless act? If you see a plastic, faded Jack-o’-lantern with a handle on it kicking around your house, then you know who the vandal is. Sincerely, SHARON and HENRY LESTER A Blood-Red Sun Sag Harbor November 10, 2014 To the Editor: Toward the end of World War II, my brother was called to serve in the German Army. We said our goodbyes in early 1944 and received letters from him thereafter, until we received his letter dated Jan. 10, 1945. And then we waited — many weeks, until we received word that he was missing. That was then, and now, so many years later, through contact with another missing soldier’s family on the Internet, came our first clue where our Reinhold may be buried. Reinhold Stoll’s name is included in the cemetery register in Pulawy, Poland, where thousands of German, Polish, Czech, and Russian soldiers lost their lives in fierce fighting. And so, at the beginning of October, I traveled with members of my family to that faraway place to see for ourselves. We had obtained a map of the area where the fighting took place, and that was our first stop. The battlefield was situated in the marshy lowlands around the river Vistula. But the fighting took place in January, in snow and ice and freezing temperatures. As we stood there in the early evening, we tried to picture that tragic scene so many years ago, imagining the fighting, the sounds of guns and detonations, the cries of the wounded and the moaning of the dying. Low in the sky, the huge, red setting sun set the sky ablaze. That sunset will forever be seared in my heart and soul, for never before have I seen such a fiery blood-red departure of the sun. I could imagine the soldiers on the eve of battle sharing such a foreshadowing sunset, their destiny inescapable. If only the sun could change the course of the future. If only it could display the gruesome pictures of the wars that it has seen. And so, having stood at the edge of a battlefield and imagined the brutal fighting that claimed so many lives of soldiers from many nations — parents, children, siblings — 70 years after my own brother was declared missing in action, this Veterans Day has special meaning for me. My loving thoughts will always be with those of my family who gave their lives, my good brother Reinhold, 1945; my dear son-in-law Ted, 1974, and my beloved grandson Jordan, 2008. LILLY STOLL HAERTER Montauk Book Fair Montauk November 4, 2014 To the Editor: You would think that someone who purports to read as much as implied by last week’s author of “Guestwords,” Dan Marsh, would have read the rest of the letter written by Sally Krusch, president of the Friends of the Montauk Library. The letter was written as an explanation of why, despite the honest efforts of many volunteers, the Fourth of July fair was not a feasible proposition in its past proportions. Big is not always better. I believe in either a letter or subsequent information, Ms. Krusch outlined other ways in which the Friends planned to continue its more than 30-year effort to raise funds for the Montauk Library so that volunteer help could be more easily expected and deployed. How unfair, one-sided, and snarky to insinuate that Friends is anything other than grateful for the massive help the community has given to Friends. (Also, “Krushchev” as a reference point for pronunciation of her name? Really?) As a volunteer at the fair, I can tell you from up close that July is a difficult time for a community that relies on the summer months for employment, and only so much can be expected or given. And that things like fences, tables, signage just cost more each year, not less. And that working “conditions” can be either gale-force winds or blazing sunshine. How one-sided and smug your outlook, Mr. Marsh (pronounced as “harsh”?). You might instead have lauded Friends’ years of success, and complimented the organization on its fund-raising. You might even have volunteered. Sincerely, PAT LUKASZEWSKA ‘Massive’ Increase Amagansett November 10, 2014 David: There is no basis for the recent statement by the chairman of the East Hampton Republican Committee, Tom Knobel, that this year’s proposed town budget relies on “massive increases” in fee-based income. Looking at the facts shows that the predicted total nontax revenue increase is 4.5 percent, three-quarters of which is directly attributed to proposed increases in landing and fuel fees. The board felt that the airport should pay for itself, and not, as is now the case, increase our property taxes. It is interesting to note that last year, the Wilkinson board increased landing fees without an objection from his colleagues. The bottom line is that when one removes the airport revenue from the total town budget, the remaining nontax revenue increase is slightly over 1 percent, hardly what one could call “massive.” One of the key reasons that the town overwhelmingly voted for Larry Cantwell last November was that we knew he had over 30 years of experience in managing municipal finances and consistently delivering balanced budgets. An early indicator of his fiscal responsibility was his reappointing as budget officer Len Bernard, politics be damned. A further positive factor was that the New York State comptroller, after thoroughly reviewing the town’s preliminary budget, issued a report that found its revenue and expenditure estimates reasonable. I believe we need to intelligently review, discuss, and, if justified, modify the proposed budget. What it doesn’t need is to make unsubstantiated charges. I for one have confidence in the supervisor, the town finance team, and the independent finding of the state comptroller. IRVING HIRSCHBERG Trip to Germany Amagansett November 9, 2014 Dear David, The town board has authorized a trip to Germany for the natural resources energy expert John Botos. The Ecologic Institute and Hunt Green L.L.C. have offered the town a free opportunity to join a contingent of energy professionals to explore Germany’s energy-transition programs. Germany and New York face similar challenges in providing safe and reliable sources of electricity, while building out renewable energy and addressing the problem of climate change. The German foreign office is paying for all travel and expenses and John is representing the Town of East Hampton. Our town board and the energy and sustainability committee, supported by the board liaison Councilwoman Sylvia Overby, is really serious in exploring their claim to making energy changes for the town by 2020 and is to be commended for their follow-through. We look forward to hearing the report from John when he returns from Germany at the end of November. Sincerely, RONA KLOPMAN Had a Holiday East Hampton November 5, 2014 To the Editor: I hope that all of the town employees who had a holiday on Tuesday, Nov. 4, actually spent some of that time voting. TOM FRIEDMAN Sea Level and Storms Amagansett November 7, 2014 Dear David, Thank you for your editorial “Save the Structures, but Lose the Beach” (Oct. 22) supporting Surfrider Foundation’s position on the downtown Montauk beach stabilization project. I agree with the editorial and the subsequent letters to the editor. The ocean beach with its soft sands, gentle slope, and vegetation welcomes beachgoers and wildlife, and holds critical value to the economy of Montauk and the quality of life of its residents. The ocean beach is a dynamic environment, constantly morphing in cycles, but as you and Surfrider have noted, there are two factors in the coastal dynamic that have more influence today on the shape of the shore than in centuries past: accelerated sea level rise and increased frequency of storm events. Due to sea-level rise, the high-water line is moving inland and upland, and all coastal features and habitats, from the intertidal zone to the dunes to the wetlands, are shifting inland to maintain their elevation relative to sea level. In more scientific terms, the habitats are re-establishing in areas that have the geomorphological, hydrological, and micro-climatic conditions to support them and their characteristic vegetation. If we wish to keep people safe and sustain our natural resources, our buildings need to migrate as well. A wise next step for the township is to immediately commence a long-term planning process for downtown Montauk that responds to sea-level rise and severe weather projections, removes structures from the water’s edge, builds off of the town’s local waterfront revitalization plan, and considers new downtown master plans that expand the local economy in locations that can sustain long-term growth. A buyout program to compensate owners of at-risk coastal structures could be financed by a series of bonds, special taxes, or financial incentives. Those structures could be replaced by a restored dune system, situated farther inland than the primary dune today, which could protect the downtown from flooding and sustain coastal ecosystem processes and their associated economic benefits for decades to come. RACHEL GRUZEN Our Public Beaches Montauk November 10, 2014 Dear David, Thank you for your editorial supporting Surfrider Foundation’s position on the Downtown Montauk Army Corps of Engineers proposal. I agree with your position and Surfrider Foundation’s position on the project. Protecting our public beaches should be a priority over protecting private structures that were built on the primary dune. Both short-term and long-term projects to protect oceanfront structures should not jeopardize our public beach. Thank you, BRIAN M. JONES Home in Jeopardy Amagansett November 10, 2014 To the Editor, Your editorial regarding the move of my home of 39 years at Lazy Point has left me extremely dismayed. As you know, the East Hampton Town Trustees must vote on this decision. That vote will likely have taken place by the time my response to the editorial is published. Unfortunately, this does not afford me the opportunity to publicly clear the damaging words the editorial expressed or share the information that has been key to the trustee decision that was omitted in the editorial. I have asked for permission to move my home because of severe erosion to the shoreline in front of it. While sea-level rise due to climate change is certainly concerning for all waterfront homes, the jeopardy my home faces is due to the dredging of the west channel of Napeague Harbor. In the years I have been there, the shoreline has diminished over 125 feet as the channel continues to migrate southerly. There is no beach left. I have been reassured repeatedly that the east channel would be reopened. The east inlet was the natural channel to Napeague Harbor. This would have remedied the shoreline erosion issue, yet this has not occurred and the west channel is now wider than ever. Due to repeated dredging of the west inlet, the east channel is now completely closed. The waterway comes directly toward my house at a terrible velocity, ravaging the shoreline. It has undercut my attempts at erosion control. My home is far more vulnerable now. In October, an estimated 23,000 cubic yards of sand and rock was dredged from directly in front of my home once again. An additional 50 feet was cut off the end of Hicks Island, which had served as a barrier in northeast winds. With the exception of a small amount of sand that is to be placed off the road end just east of my home, none of the dredge material will be used to replenish the shoreline in front of my house. The last permit for the dredging of the west channel approved another maintenance dredging of the west inlet in the future. I opposed the dredging project, as did the trustees. I requested a public hearing. I sent emails and letters, made calls, and had appointments with most of the governmental agencies involved regarding this. The specific erosion to the shoreline in front of my home was documented in the Peconic Estuary Study on the Napeague Inlets as being caused by the dredging of the west inlet. None of this was considered in your editorial. There was no mention of a waterway being constructed that was likely to migrate through my home in the near future. This situation is man-made. This is not caused by climate change. In addition, the move I am requesting moves my home away from danger in a VE zone (Coastal High Hazard Area), which is 3 to 4 feet in elevation, to a much higher ground in the AE zone at a safer 10 to 12-foot elevation. This is considerably higher and it is far away from the channel. In fact, the lot is so much higher than my present location that there will be no need for pilings, and it will nestle in without drastically altering the visual characteristic of the community. It is on a lot that the trustees leased in the past and was occupied by a house. It is already partially cleared where the house was located. There is no view of the water from the roadway there, and no one uses this lot for beach access. By moving my home out of its present location, and letting the lot revert back to its original state, the trustees will have a unique opportunity for more open access to the beach, which can be enjoyed by all residents. Since it is located next to the parking area, it will be easy to utilize. Currently, the channel has migrated so close to the shore that access is difficult most of the time and impossible when tide is high. I love my home. I hope and pray that the vote to move my home out of the danger goes through. Omitting important facts is not appropriate or fair and may potentially cause false judgments. A well-informed editorial providing accurate information is essential for a town to make informed decisions. In the future, you may wish to interview the parties involved or at least research the facts. Sincerely, SUSAN PARSONS KNOBEL Cautiously Review Springs November 10, 2014 Dear David, One reason that the community preservation fund law may be reviewed next year at the state level is the need by some of the towns to the west to have the law’s end date extended from 2030 to 2040. These towns’ preservation programs have not been as successful as ours. But East Hampton’s program has been so successful that it is reasonable to ask whether it should remain in its present form. If we continue having $25 million a year to spend on purchases, what will there be to buy from now until 2030 or until 2040, and what side effects will all the purchases cause? However, as you implied in last week’s editorial, any new use that is far removed from existing ones increases the likelihood of misuse, or at least of confusion of purpose. Currently, the law is based entirely on buying rights in real property from willing sellers. These rights include purchases of land or development rights for open space and recreation (but not for recreational buildings), farms, and historic properties. The C.P.F. cannot be used to purchase beaches and waterfront property through condemnation or for the wastewater and water-quality improvements that you mentioned. One place to look for money for these other projects is the New York State Environmental Fund. This fund has three separate accounts for open space, parks, recreation, and historic properties, and solid waste. This state fund allows purchases by eminent domain as a last resort and invests in some forms of waste management and other water-quality purchases. The state is set to receive a substantial one-time settlement in its lawsuit against several banks for fraudulent mortgage practices. There is currently a proposal to place a chunk of that money in the state’s open space account. But East Hampton can afford any open space purchase on its own, especially given the option in the C.P.F. to borrow money. So, at least for East Hampton, it makes more sense for the state to use the money to help us pay for the projects that cannot be funded by the C.P.F. These could include portions of the needed waste-treatment upgrade projects or potential beach purchases in Montauk, Napeague, and Amagansett, where the portion from the dune to mean high tide is owned privately. We should be willing to cautiously review the C.P.F. program. For example, the success of the program has reduced the supply of houses while raising the value of the remaining ones. This has had the unintended consequence of making housing less affordable. Whether the C.P.F. should be allowed to buy land for affordable housing is a needed discussion. Also, many of the rules of how we can use land and buildings (especially historic structures) are overly strict and need revision through changes in the law. However, the C.P.F. should not be treated as the golden goose that funds all needs. Changes must be considered carefully and, I believe, must always be based in purchasing rights in real property. Any dramatic change that is deemed necessary should have its own law and be voted on separately. If we can find the money needed for the other projects elsewhere, the discussion on changes to the C.P.F. law can remain reasoned and focused. ZACHARY COHEN Wealth of Wainscott Wainscott November 10, 2014 Dear David, I am writing in response to Diana Walker’s Oct. 17 ad hominem attack in which she accuses me of a “fortress attitude” in her process of defending the construction of low-income housing projects in Wainscott. The gist of her feckless argument centers around the fact that these projects will come to the 43rd-richest ZIP code in the U.S., and that the 20 or so additional schoolchildren will not burden the existing small Wainscott School. Further, Ms. Walker truly delights in the fact that the property taxes in Wainscott indeed will be raised from very low to low. Ms. Walker’s underlying desire to “tax the so-called rich” should have nothing to do with the attendant problems of adding additional housing to our small community and beloved Wainscott School. For Ms. Walker’s edification, I am not rich, nor are many of my neighbors, who live on the north side of Route 27 in Wainscott. The blessing of low taxes in Wainscott is not for someone like her or anyone else to disrupt. It is one of the main reasons why I purchased my house here almost 30 years ago. Any attempt to remove this tax blessing so that the so-called wealth of Wainscott’s denizens can be redistributed to the poor in the form of increased real estate taxes will only serve to suppress real estate values in Wainscott. I respectfully ask Ms. Walker to keep her socialist hand out of my pocket by not impugning Wainscott for its low property taxes. By the way, I will pass on Ms. Walker’s gracious invitation to bake me a cake should I sell my home and depart Wainscott for good, for if this cake is anything like her position, it will be half-baked as well. LOUIS A. PICCOLO Landmark Concept Amagansett November 5, 2014 Dear David, This rental registry stuff? Nothing less than a profound landmark concept for our town, as was the introduction of beach parking permits in the late ’60s. To my mind, one more qualitative change for East Hampton. LONA RUBINSTEIN Bad-Renter Prevention Amagansett October 31, 2014 Dear David, There are residents of East Hampton Town whose panties are in a bundle over the proposed rental registry legislation. To smooth the tsuris, I offer the Bad Renter Prevention Lease. 1. Renter must pay all and every fee, projected fine, etc., along with rent, of course. This is not unconstitutional, as long as the landlord pockets the cash. 2. Children, only if they can be borne aloft in one of those marsupial sling things. 3. No pets, perhaps a fish. 4. No flushing, as it stresses the septic systems and there is a perfectly suitable new public bathroom in Amagansett. 5. No playing Barbra Streisand or Judy Garland! 6. No tenants whose name ends in a vowel, and some consonants are suspect. 7. Absolutely no baymen, artisans, aquatic personnel, teachers, or, God knows, reporters. 8. If any of the terms of the Bad Renter Prevention Lease are deviated from, the renter will appear in Justice Court with the East Hampton Town Board, where they can duke it out. All good things, DIANA WALKER Leave E.P.A. Out East Hampton November 10, 2014 To the Editor: Your Nov. 6 edition has a front-page article, “Homing in On Noise.” The seventh paragraph contains wording as follows: “The Federal Aviation Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency assess the degree of noise disturbance by averaging daytime and nighttime noise over a year, Mr. Young said.” The implication one gets from this article is that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an active participant in the matter of the Town of East Hampton’s noise control at its airport. This is absolutely not the case. Further, and according to [the town consultant] Henry Young, E.P.A. is not only not actively involved in this matter, but has no statutory authority over such matters. Mr. Young was good enough to return my call to him today and we agree on these facts. For those who are unsure of E.P.A.’s role or lack of one in noise matters, the E.P.A. website at epa.gov/noise should be consulted. Specifically, “in 1981, the administration concluded that noise issues were best handled at the state and local level.” It is clear from my conversation with Mr. Young that any references he was making to E.P.A. were to a pre-1981 noise abatement calculation paradigm. Mr. Peter Kirsch, the town’s expert attorney on this matter, also returned my call. He also affirmed that E.P.A. is not involved in this particular matter. So please let us leave E.P.A. out of this, and let us remember that what is being referred to as being E.P.A. is a 43-plus-year-old piece of science. What I think the reasonable person can conclude from this is that E.P.A. made a smart decision in 1981 in handing these matters over to local government. At least in the case of East Hampton, it appears that two of the people they have hired are very responsive, always a good sign. In times of taxpayer unrest over government spending it is unwise for federal agencies to “get out of their lane” when there is no authority to act. It is worse when the media insinuates as such. I hope The Star understands this in its future coverage of this matter. Between the Town of East Hampton and the F.A.A., the federal agency with authority in this matter, the issue appears to be getting a very thorough and accurate review. Hopefully, future reporting will be as accurate. Respectfully, PAUL A. GIARDINA Chief, Radiation and Indoor Air Office, E.P.A. Region 2 Ought to Be Closed Wainscott November 10, 2014 Dear David, As the recently shared study of airport noise confirms the obvious — that East Hampton Airport is an unnatural disaster — what is the benefit of restrictions, sanctions, measures, curfews, etc.? The airport is not an economic plus, as it is not even self-sustaining, and it impacts negatively on thousands and thousands of people and properties Islandwide. Nor is it anything but an environmental horror — though local officials seem to not count air pollution as air pollution, for some unknown reason. If one were to look at the airport objectively in terms of its value to East Hampton and our region, one could only conclude that it ought to be closed. BARRY RAEBECK Scattershot East Hampton November 9, 2014 Dear David, On Sunday, I went down to walk on Atlantic Beach, but was stopped in my tracks by a man shooting a gun at the beach entrance, near the water’s edge. That’s right. Live rounds, scattershot one after another, piercing the silence, beauty, and tranquillity, not to mention all sense of physical safety. Shotgun shots ringing opposite the parking area, on a beach where adults, children, and pets walk, exercise, and play. I turned back and left the beach, stunned by a sense of violation. Someone had called Marine Patrol, and an officer sat inside his vehicle nearby, observing the shooter. But there was nothing more he could do. Because shooting a shotgun on the beach midday on a weekend is absolutely legal in East Hampton. How is this possible? This shooter was enjoying his sport of choice. But surely more secluded areas should be designated for use of deadly weapons and live ammunition. One person’s sport need not infringe on the enjoyment of everyone else on the beach. Given the damage gun violence is doing to communities all over this nation, we require more stringent gun regulation in East Hampton. The danger is far too great to do otherwise. Sincerely, PAULINE YEATS A Baby Deer East Hampton November 7, 2014 To the Editor: Just an unusual event. A baby deer just walked into our little garage while my husband was in there. It wasn’t afraid, and didn’t appear hurt, just hung out, then walked out, around the entire house, under our backyard deck, and then went back into the garage! I called Wildlife Rescue and sent them pictures. The deer looked a little hunchbacked, but was munching on my lawn and walking okay. We knew not to touch it or scare it. She said since it was late and the local volunteer had already rescued three deer that day, could I wait until tomorrow, and if the deer was still hanging around, call them and they’d send someone to check it out. I said fine. I also posted it all on my Facebook page and sent information to our little community’s email group. But eventually, the deer just wandered off through the backyards, along the creek. Our house is adjoining a nature preserve. We’re on Hand’s Creek, across from the Boys Harbor Nature Preserve, and our backyards are part of a deer “run” (path), so we’re used to lots of deer in our neighborhood. Hope the little critter is okay and found the rest of the family. TRINA SULLIVAN Party Loyalty Springs November 10, 2014 To the Editor: Two things stand out in Brad Loewen’s lengthy letters criticizing me for choosing Lee Zeldin over Tim Bishop. First, Mr. Loewen admits that Tim Bishop did almost nothing for fishermen and their families during his 12 years in Congress. Yet he supported Mr. Bishop for re-election, so it would seem that party loyalty mattered more to Mr. Loewen than any lack of performance. Second, Mr. Loewen states that Mr. Zeldin will be no different in office than Mr. Bishop. I’m betting Mr. Zeldin will be better for all the residents of the First Congressional District, not just fishermen. Sincerely, REG CORNELIA Done It Again Sag Harbor November 10, 2014 To the Editor: Remember Bush v. Gore? They’ve done it again by Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, allowing undisclosed, tainted money from the fat cats to buy elections under the guise of free speech. Their secret money lets them run scurrilous attack ads with impunity. Tim Bishop was ahead until the last week, when Zeldin flooded the airwaves with a torrent of money. The Supreme Court’s raping of the Voter Rights Act allowed Republican governors to pass restrictions that were clearly aimed at poor and minority voters. The number of voters impacted by the new restrictions exceeded the margin of victory in close races for Senate and governor in North Carolina, Kansas, Virginia, and Florida, according to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice. The Supreme Court has a vital role to uphold the laws that protect the less affluent in our society. Its rulings for big money and voter suppression have clearly violated this duty. ED JABLONSKY Health Care Costs East Hampton November 9, 2014 Dear Editor, It seems that our top 10 president has been thoroughly spanked by the electorate, and even his own party members who were up for election avoided his support like Ebola by distancing themselves from any association with his failed policies. As some party faithful weep and are busy hanging crepe for this resounding repudiation of their presidential idol, I am eagerly waiting for the next shoe to drop. Two weeks ago Obama’s administration presented a new and improved version of healthcare.gov where people can purchase their Obamacare health plans. This latest version, administration officials say, will simplify the purchasing process and help customers to understand the plans they will be buying. Now we all remember how well version 1.0 went, so what can we expect from this latest reincarnation? Sticker shock! What is conveniently missing from this recently revised version of the online Affordable Care Act portal is the cost of the insurance premiums; pricing won’t be available until the second week in November. Surprised, anyone? How convenient for our transparent and eponymous leader of the health care revolution. This strategy was designed to shield the incumbents who voted in favor and were up for re-election. Apparently it didn’t help. The premiums in many states that have already been announced have increased significantly, and if this holds true throughout, you can expect backlash and many angry citizens whose health care is even less affordable and who have already lost the doctors they were told they could keep. By delaying open enrollment until after the election, a full 45 days after it began last year, healthcare.gov failures will not have been fresh on the voters’ minds — a testament of government’s political efficiency and duplicity. Health care cost for the business community is certain to skyrocket, and equally duplicitous is the delay of the employer mandate until January 2015, also after the midterm elections, even though the original bill states this mandate was to go into effect Jan. 1. Apparently it didn’t help either. Administrative action by the president has rewritten the law 24 times and it still is not fully implemented. Clearly this is a law in need of a fix. It would be a marvelous thing if our new Congress could actually work together on workable solutions to this seriously flawed piece of legislation, but I am not hopeful. The spirit of the law was and still is noble, it is the details. To name only a few, its reimbursement rates to doctors are insultingly low, the bill lacks tort reform, and the employer mandate needs serious reconsideration. As it stands now, it is neither affordable nor conducive to job creation, and is unduly burdensome monetarily and administratively to the health care providers. Many doctors are refusing to see patients who have purchased their insurance on the A.C.A. exchanges. With this new electoral mandate, I hold out only very faint hope that the G.O.P. will offer constructive alternatives to the direction this nation is heading and not just simply define themselves as the party of opposition. Conciliation, respect, and compromise need to extend on both sides of the aisle. Another issue of great concern to the citizenry is the flood of illegal aliens across our borders. Should the president decide to rule by fiat with an executive order to reset the amnesty clock on immigration, with no provision to secure our borders first, then he will have permanently poisoned the well in the court of the public trust and rendered his lame duck last two years in office a total disgrace. He will likely go down among the top 10 worst presidents of all time. Sincerely, JOHN PORTA Rude America East Hampton November 10, 2014 Dear Editor, I submit this letter not in the spirit of a sore loser, although I am, but because these things need to be said to the American people, all of them. The thoughts and content that follow embody what every American should think and know about the office of the president of the United States and its present occupant. Some of the thoughts and facts set forth herein appeared in Senior Living, written by a Canadian, William Thomson. There was a time not so long ago when Americans, regardless of their political stripes, rallied ’round their president. Once elected, the man who won the White House was no longer viewed as a Republican or Democrat, but the president of the United States. The oath of office was taken, the wagons were circled around the country’s borders, and it was America versus the rest of the world, with the president of all the people at the helm. Suddenly, to the surprise of no one familiar with American racial politics, President Barack Obama, with the potential to become an exceptional president, has become the glaring exception to that unwritten patriotic rule. Four days before Obama’s inauguration, before he officially took charge of the American government, Rush Limbaugh boasted publicly that he hoped the president would fail. Of course, when the president fails, the country flounders. Wishing harm upon your country in order to further your own narrow political views is selfish, sinister, and a tad treasonous as well. Subsequently, during his State of the Union address, which is pretty much a pep rally for America, an unknown Congressional representative from South Carolina, later identified as Joe Wilson, stopped the show when he called the president of the United States a liar. The president showed great restraint in ignoring this unprecedented insult and carried on with his speech. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was so stunned by the slur, she forgot to jump to her feet while clapping wildly, 30 or 40 times, after that. Last spring, President Obama took his wife, Michelle, to see a play in New York City and Republicans attacked him over the cost of security for the excursion. The president can’t take his wife out to dinner and a show without being scrutinized by the political opposition? As history has proven, a president in a theater without adequate security is a tragically bad idea. (Remember: “Apart from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”) Local critics, like Bea Derrico, in East Hampton, were quick to use golf and other personal timeouts as weapons of criticism of the president. Just an example of the petty put-down of their own president. At some point, the treatment of President Obama went from offensive to ugly, and then to downright dangerous. The health care debate, which looked more like extreme fighting in a mud pit than a national dialogue, revealed a very vulgar side of America. Obama’s face appeared on protest signs, white-faced and blood-mouthed in a satanic clown image. In other tasteless portrayals, people who disagreed with his position distorted his face to look like Hitler, complete with mustache and swastika. Odd that burning the flag makes Americans crazy, but depicting the president as a clown and a maniacal fascist is accepted as part of the new rude America. Maligning the image of the leader of the free world is one thing; putting the president’s life in peril is quite another. More than once, men with guns were videotaped at the health care rallies where the president spoke. Again, history shows that letting men with guns get within range of a president has not served America well. And still the “birthers,” like Donald Trump, are out there claiming Barack Obama was not born in the United States, although public documentation proves otherwise. Hawaii is definitely part of the United States — but the Panama Canal Zone, where his electoral opponent Senator John McCain was born? Nobody’s sure. Last month, a 44-year-old woman in Buffalo was quite taken by President Obama when she met him in a chicken-wing restaurant called Duff’s. Did she say something about a pleasure and an honor to meet the man, or utter encouraging words for the difficult job he is doing? No. Quote: “You’re a hottie with a smokin’ little body.” Lady, that was the president of the United States you were addressing, not one of the Jonas Brothers! He’s your president, for goodness sakes, not the guy driving the Zamboni at “Monster Trucks on Ice.” Maybe next it’ll be Take Your President to a Topless Bar Day. In President Barack Obama, Americans have a charismatic leader with a good and honest heart. Unlike his predecessor, he’s a very intelligent leader. And unlike that president’s predecessor, he’s a highly moral man. In President Obama, Americans have the real deal, the whole package, and a leader who citizens of almost every country around the world look to with great envy. Given the opportunity, any country in the world would trade their leader — hell, most of their leaders -— for Obama in a heartbeat. What America has in Obama is a head of state with vitality and insight and youth. America, you know not what you have. The man is being challenged unfairly, characterized with vulgarity, and treated with the kind of deep disrespect to which no previous president was subjected. It’s like, the day after electing the first black man to be president, thereby electrifying the world with hope and joy, Americans sobered up and decided the bad old days were better. Now, with the midterm election results, we see an affirmation of that fact and that Americans have a short-term memory loss. Perhaps the elevation of the Republican Party to a position of control of two-thirds of the government will point up the necessity of a President Obama and his patience in diplomacy in world affairs, as well as his continued steering of the country to the economic success he has had so far. We’ll see! RICHARD P. HIGER May All Be Well Springs November 10, 2014 Dear David, It’s over. Let’s put aside the nastiness, the war on all, the petty and the large mudslinging, and let’s get the United States of America on the right track. Let’s pass all the good things for this country, and jobs, jobs, jobs for all, and may our economy grow as to what it should be, and may all be well. In God and country, BEA DERRICO Back to Life Southold November 1, 2014 Dear Editor, I was told by a young man that a group of doctors exhumed the body of Humphrey Bogart and would try to bring him back to life. Is there any truth to this? I heard it already happened. I am recovering from a major hip operation and it is hard for me to pick up The East Hampton Star. Could you send me the issues? Nice to write you again. ANITA FAGAN New Way of Being Amagansett November 1, 2014 To the Editor: “Confraternity of the living sun, make the embers of financial and industrial internationalism pale upon the hearth of the earth,” wrote D.H. Lawrence about a century ago. This prophetic cry of concern came about 100 years ago from one of the great prophets of the English language. What would he say about globalization and its obscene malpractices today? Whether it is the fading embers of a capitalist system that favors the very wealthy and the corporate elitism that has highjacked democracy, people, and the environment in favor of profits, he would be outraged by the greed that is running humanity into the ground. “It’s no good waiting for the slow accumulation of circumstance to break the pot. That’s what men are doing today. They know the pot’s got to break. They know civilization has got to smash sooner or later. So they say, let it. But let me live my life first! Which is all very well, but it’s a coward’s attitude.” We need a global change of vision while we still have a semblance of normalcy. Recently, groups like Citibank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank, and others have pulled out of funding the coal port that would have ransacked the Great Barrier Reef. It is a decision the children of midcentury will thank us for. We still have not yet realized the imponderable effects of climate change on the Reef and the Amazon and the planet as a whole. This decision to pull out is a vote for sanity, but the larger battle looms to stop undermining the earth, especially those who dredge the ocean floors and those who still believe in oil. The scramble for Arctic oil, where our son once saw the Inuit on an ice-free coast at age 11 months, is a case in point. Few can fathom that the changes upon us come from the top of the world. The Russians have staked out a territory for oil prospecting instead of the conversion of their economy to the sun. In America, our fracking ventures are causing earthquakes and poisoning the groundwater. The recent decision to drill for oil on the East Coast of the U.S. is a criminal one, not just for the whale corridors but the ocean as a whole. Will fish still swim in the seas 100 years from now? Both countries have renewed ancient rivalries and the environment is convulsed in the middle. In China, a backward model of industrial progress has decimated an entire country’s ecology. A new way of being would entail what D.H. Lawrence called “a new germ.” We need a new way of living on the earth. “We have to struggle down to the heart of things, where the everlasting flame is and kindle ourselves another beam of light.” It may sound romantic, but it is actually visionary. In one year twice as much energy can be gathered from the sun as will ever be obtained from oil, natural gas, and uranium combined. Yes, the conversion process will take some time, but it has to start or else it will be imposed on us from much more powerful forces than humanity has at its disposal. “We have lost the Cosmos” wrote D.H. Lawrence. It may sound like the rantings of a disillusioned poet who would have been ill adapted to the wirings of this absurdist phase of so-called civilization. He would have been called out of touch. In one of his writings he prophesied that our tall skyscrapers would fall “like thistledown.” He also knew that this phase of humanity was an “interregnum.” What comes next is anyone’s guess, but it cannot be based on mere profits. “The sun is to us what we take from it. And if we are puny, it is because we take punily from the superb sun. Man is great according as his relation to the living universe is vast and vital.” If there is anything we need to inherit from our ancestors it is their wisdom. Few can match Lawrence in his passionate cry for a renewed world. We need a new connection to the earth and our energy system today if we want a planet with life on it by the end of this century. “Man’s life consists in a connection with all things in the universe. Whoever can establish, or initiate, a new connection between mankind and the circumambient universe is, in his own degree, a saviour.” We have iPhones today, and many lit their lights in a frenzy worldwide after the inventor passed away. But the reality is we did not change our relationship to the life force of the earth one bit. We are too seduced by our “gadget gods,” as another prophet, W.H. Auden, once put it. We need a greater relationship than with our own kind, and even that is hauntingly strained. We need a new relationship to life and its fast-fading species, indeed with the universe itself, or we will have no relationship at all. CYRIL CHRISTO
Published 4 years ago
Last updated 4 years ago
Letters to the Editor: 11.13.14
November 12, 2014