Medical Care in Montauk Montauk November 16, 2014 Dear David, While we await resolution on Dr. Knott’s departure, I invite you to focus on another issue affecting your medical care. Do Montauk residents wish the availability of year-round, paid, advanced life support during that 40-minute ambulance ride to Southampton Hospital, just as we provide Montauk summer residents from mid-June to mid-October? Outside of this time frame, paid A.L.S. is currently available for only 12 hours (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.). I am the sole A.L.S. provider (advanced emergency medical technician) and member of the Montauk Fire Department certified to render A.L.S. care and try to cover all A.L.S. calls during the non-program hours (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.). On critical medical emergencies (e.g., cardiac, respiratory, diabetic comas, strokes, etc.), the presence of A.L.S. care can determine survival, and more often may impact positively on the patient’s future quality of life. Do Montauk residents want what we provide for our summer residents? If so, familiarize yourselves with the upcoming fire commissioner election, Dec. 9 between 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. at the Montauk Fire House. If you are a registered voter and Montauk resident, you may vote. The cost of this program was detailed in prior commissioners’ meetings — $198,000 for 24/7, 365-day A.L.S. coverage. (I do not receive any of these funds — I am a volunteer and it will remain that way.) This cost translates to an annual tax rate of $33 per year, per household (based upon an assessed home value of $750,000). Do you agree with me that this is a “no-brainer” on how we should proceed? DICK MONAHAN Excellent Servers Montauk November 11, 2014 To the Editor, Have to congratulate the Boy Scout troops on the impeccable job they did at the roast beef dinner. They all were polite-mannered and excellent servers. It’s not that often we dine feeling like a queen and king. Thank you all! ROBERTA and RUDY WICKLEIN Springs School Artists Springs November 14, 2014 Dear Editor, The arts are alive and well at Springs School. I want to acknowledge Chris Kohan at the Victor D’Amico Institute of Art (Art Barge), whose affiliation with the Museum of Modern Art made it possible for the entire fifth-grade class of 65 students to see “Cut-Outs,” the recent Henri Matisse exhibit. The money to pay for this trip was raised at the Mystery Art Show as part of the visiting artists program, which has provided opportunities for students to see great art and work with local artists. In the current school year, the following artists have led classes from kindergarten to eighth grade: Scott Bluedorn, Linda Capello, Kate Rabinowitz, Ramesh Das, Kym Fulmer, David Demers, Liz Joyce (Goat on a Boat Puppet Company), and Rossa Cole, with his recycled birds to appear on the opera set. Paton Miller has taken a leading role in working with the fourth-grade set designers for this year’s opera. We also appreciate the artists who have loaned us their work on display in the school as part of a rotating gallery: Cynthia Loewen and the exhibit of past graduates curated by Carly Haffner — Grant Haffner, Robin Mapes Tomlinson, Kate Castoro Nicolai, Oliver Peterson, and Alexander McCue. Artists interested in participating are invited to contact me. We are planning our second annual Mystery Art Show in May. Sincerely, COLLEEN McGOWAN Coordinator of Visual Arts Springs School Tom Twomey East Hampton November 17, 2014 Dear David, Though Tom Twomey and I started out on opposite sides of issues in town, he was always respectful, professional, and then very caring. There is a great deal I survived because of Tom Twomey’s caring. He was a friend; his wife is a friend. My heart goes out to Judith and the family. Deaths are hard to deal with. Sudden, unexpected, and untimely deaths, as we all know, are overwhelming. Sadly, LONA RUBENSTEIN Any Type Buildings Amagansett November 16, 2014 Dear David, Your editorial about the Home Goods store problem is excellent and should be a reminder to residents that the town dropped the ball in allowing this enormous building. The building is a huge problem for Wainscott, since the main highway that it sits on is the gateway to East Hampton. The building comes too late to deal with its effects on the character of the neighborhood. Since there were no variances needed to put this central business district building on the lot, there should be future zoning code changes. The Home Goods property is not alone, and the town’s zoning code changes should deal with all Wainscott’s central business land. The planning board should look carefully at the sand-mine property before continuing to support removal of the violations on those 71 acres and allowing just any type buildings to be placed there. Many questions need to be answered about the lack of details on the application. A revolving door of businesses does not show any concern by the property owner, John Tintle. The future of Wainscott is at stake, as it is the entranceway to East Hampton and an asset to our town. Sincerely, RONA KLOPMAN Valuable Tool Springs November 17, 2014 Dear Editor, Unenforced law is an invitation to violation! The past neglect of housing laws has resulted in long-established multifamily homes that are unhealthy, unsafe, and overcrowded. The property values in these communities have diminished and so has the quality of life. Our town board has taken a step in the right direction by proposing a valuable tool to code enforcement’s arsenal. That tool is the rental registry. At a recent town meeting in Montauk to discuss and consider the registry, present were a preponderance of landlords and real estate agents. Many of them didn’t understand the law, misinterpreted it, had misconceptions about it, and were apprehensive about any new legislation that might threaten their own interests — no matter that segments of our town are suffering terribly with this housing issue. “Enforce the laws we have and leave us alone,” most of the attendees said. Our assistant town attorney, Mike Sendlenski, suggested that a registry would be helpful as an additional arrow in the quiver of enforcement. It is sad to think that for many, small self-interests outweigh the good that would be accomplished by implementing the rental registry. Admittedly, any new legislation is meaningless without strict enforcement. Again, unenforced law is an invitation to violation! With further consideration, analysis, and compromise the registry could be modified to become more understandable and acceptable. The landlords and brokers may have to give a little for the greater good. Surely, their resistance is not based on a deep-rooted selfishness. We’ll have to see. FRED J. WEINBERG Year-Round Rentals Springs November 11, 2014 Dear David, After hearing all the concerns that people have on the proposed rental registry, it seems to me this is a two-part problem. There are the year-round rentals with absentee landlords and the rentals that occur between Memorial Day and Labor Day. It is the first problem that concerns me. I am in favor of a rental law, because in Springs where I live there are many, many such houses that have multiple people and/or several families living under one roof, a single-family residency. I went to an open house on Flaggy Hole Road only to find that one bedroom was padlocked. That house usually has four large vehicles parked every night in its driveway. How much are the people living in that three-bedroom house paying to that landlord, who is obviously not living there? Did the talk of a rental registry spur the owner to put the house on the market? People who have spoken at the meetings pointed to the Southampton law and said that only 10 percent of those who rent have complied with it. But the key is that the law is on the books and serves as a tool for hefty fines in superior courts in Riverhead. I know they have received $25,000 judgments against such greedy landlords. Don’t we deserve this protection also? The front page of last week’s Star talked about the steady increase in the Springs School population. Doesn’t anyone see the connection between the absentee landlord making piles of money and this increase? And what is the effect of these houses, with bodies jammed into them, on septic systems with multiple toilet-flushings, showers, dishwashers, and washing machines? So the landlords are making money they don’t report to the I.R.S. and harming our sole-source aquifer, as well as increasing our school taxes — and you are against a rental registry? PHYLLIS ITALIANO Rental Laws Springs November 16, 2014 To the Editor: I have found it hard to listen to the chorus of the self-righteous and self-interested persons who think not about our hamlet and not about our town, but only about their bank accounts. Those objecting the loudest to this proposed rental law are the real estate interests, commercial and residential landlords, attorneys, and land speculators — people who are in the business of owning and selling real estate. We have a problem. Did you see the headline in The Star last week? “Enrollment at Springs School Soars. District has 1,100 students in grades pre-K to 12.” For anyone who lives in Springs, this is not headline news. We know this. We pay the taxes and we support this overcrowded school. And we have been warned that the school population has not yet peaked. Based upon population studies we should brace for many more students to come. In Springs, we have been monitoring this situation and questioning why the hamlet’s population has more than tripled in the last 15 years. With the recession we certainly have not had a building boom; new construction has been mainly second-home owners. What we do have are clusters of single-family homes rented by multiple families, and in these homes, rented as boarding houses and/or dormitories, we have multiple families with a multitude of children. This type of living creates unsafe and unhealthy conditions. It strains our school and social services. It strains the septic systems, and it strains us, the taxpayers. The current state of mind in East Hampton seems to be, we don’t have a rental problem, we have an enforcement problem. The same rhetoric one hears from the National Rifle Association. It’s not the guns that are the problem, it’s not the renting that is a problem. It is the lack of law enforcement. This proposed law will help law enforcement enforce some of the existing law and put teeth and substance into new law. This law should help enforcement greatly. When the town ordinances were written we did not have a population of 6,592 and counting in Springs. We did not have a school enrollment of 1,100 students. When the current code ordinances were written we did not have single-family homes rented out like boarding houses. Laws must be written to strengthen our town code, and these laws must deal with today, not yesterday. There is so much fog, fear, smoke, misinformation, and downright honest misunderstanding about this proposed law. We have had two informational meetings about this law and we probably need more. No one is denying anyone the right to rent their property. No one. What is a small fee to the town when you collect the big bucks for your summer East Hampton rental? The fee would be nominal, and by registering and giving necessary information like number of bedrooms, length of rental, number of persons responsible for renting, size of house, name of owner, contact number, it could and would make it easier for code enforcement and the police to enforce laws pertaining to illegal and unlawful renting. This information is pretty much part of the public record already. This proposed law would put the information in one place and make it easily accessible by ordinance enforcement. I might add, if you are following the law you have nothing to worry about. If you are gaming the law you might think twice. There has been so much misinformation and fear expressed. I would like to hear what the police and code enforcement think of the proposed law — they know the conditions on the “street.” Will this law help them enforce what we perceive and know to be violations of single-family home rentals where people are packed in like unhealthy sardines? We in Springs know the situation, and we are paying for it dearly. Illegal long-term renting is driving up taxes, driving down property values, and driving out the middle class. Remember what they said about the smoking ban? All the dire forecasts of killing the restaurant and bar businesses? Not so! If the town could control some of the illegal, outrageously unsafe, long-term renting here, we might be lucky enough to be able to stay and live here. It is time for some community leadership, both in the schools and with our local government, on this issue. BETSY RUTH The Sleeping Pod Amagansett November 10, 2014 Dear David, To complement rentals of private property to strangers, which are, after all, commercial ventures and should be taxed as such, we offer: The East Hampton Town Sleeping Pod for $50 per day, a private, ventilated, twin-size, ergonomic sleeping drawer. Five dollars more will allow access to a W.C., $5 for a nice shower. All sleeping pod residents will receive discounts for involvement in the following: cleaning beaches, walking, never littering, driving electric vehicles, rescuing wildlife, being civil, etc. East Hampton Town Sleeping Pods are mostly only for the slim and short, but it’s a start. All good things, DIANA WALKER As a Consultant Sag Harbor November 14, 2014 Dear David, How can you tell a politician is lying? His lips are moving. He says he has no political gain in mind. He is speaking for a group lobbying against the government he just left, accusing them of “politics.” The above describes ex-Supervisor Wilkinson; the “distinguished gentleman” (U.S. Senate-speak for professional prevaricator). He states, with a presumably straight face, “You can get a consultant to say anything you want,” while speaking as a consultant. I guess it’s a case of, if you don’t believe me, ask me, or, if you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention. All the best, TERRY SULLIVAN Simple: Montauk Montauk November 15, 2014 Editor, Every cloud has a silver lining. What is the logical solution if East Hampton Airport stops the helicopter traffic? Simple: Montauk. Those 1-percenters are just dripping dinero. I can see stretch limos idling outside my place right now. Screw the whining, tree-hugging crybabies on East Lake Drive. What difference does a little noise and more traffic mean as long as it reduces taxes? You wouldn’t let us have the ferry, please give us the helicopters. Yours truly, GEORGE WATSON Money in the Sea Bridgehampton November 8, 2014 I am a Surfrider member and local surfer-beach user. The issue of beach erosion and shore hardening is a battle between the power of the sea and the determination of men and communities to live on the shore. As much as being oceanfront is desirable for economic and aesthetic reasons, a question that cannot be answered is how to secure those beaches. Shore hardening and beach replenishment have been adopted all over the world where there is a threatened beach-side development. From Waikiki to South Florida, the results are quite mixed. Empirically, any hard structure placed on a soft beach results in higher beach erosion. We have had local experience with this at Mecox and Wainscott. The short-term solution that East Hampton Town proposes with the Army Corps of Engineers is a hard structure. Economic interests demand a solution even in the face of contrary facts. Politicians bend to the will of the voters even when it’s not the best choice. The beaches belong to everyone, and potentially destroying them to preserve for a few years a private enterprise is not acting as a good steward of the town’s resources. I hope that the powers-to-be in East Hampton Town will act to revise the plan for Montauk to not adopt a hard structure placed on the shore anywhere in our town. Let’s not throw good money into the sea. JEFFREY VOGEL Surfrider’s Position Montauk November 9, 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’s position on the project. Sincerely, ANNA GUEBLI Montauk Beaches Westhampton November 13, 2014 Dear David, Thank you for your editorial supporting Surfrider Foundation’s position on the Downtown Montauk Army Corps of Engineers proposal. No projects to protect oceanfront structures should jeopardize our public beaches. JOE ALBER Feral Cat Poem #78 like color slides, the calico Halloween days of fall clicked past, one rear-window frame at a time. mornings, light jumped the roof and stole catnaps all afternoon. one eye out for ambush. (In the immortal words of Max Shulman, God never told anyone one to be stupid) ED HANNIBAL Life Safety Issue Amagansett November 12, 2014 To the Editor: There is not an overrun deer population we have to contend with, it’s a life safety issue! Just last week, an elder friend of mine was broadsided by a huge deer near the East Hampton Jewish Center. The impact caused her windshield to shatter, tore her side-view mirror off, and beyond that scared the heck out of her. How many stories like this do we have to hear every day, how many accidents and even deaths? How many almost-miss stories do we share with each other? We are talking about people’s wellbeing here. I have lived on the East End full time for almost 25 years. In these last two months I have had more almost run-ins with deer than in those last 25 years! They are everywhere, and are not just darting across rural roads in the early morning or late evenings. Just today, two deer galloped across Newtown Lane right in front of my car near the East Hampton Middle School. They’re not just running through the woods or grazing on rural farmland. There are herds all over Amagansett darting on every road in the lanes, on Montauk Highway, around the bend, just about anywhere you go. I am really scared. I have a 17-year-old now, driving the roads mornings and evenings, and an elderly father who knows enough to drive only during the day but they’re out flying across the roads then, too. Yes, they are beautiful to view in the farm fields, and who cares if they eat my flowers from the pots on my deck or the landscaping — they’re hungry. The issue is they’re overpopulating, they have no predators, and they are taking over. It’s getting dangerous out there. What is the Town of East Hampton doing? I am told East Hampton Village received a donation toward dealing with the overpopulation but I am not sure what measures they are taking. There has to be some humane way to deal with this ever-growing population. Perhaps feed stations with some form of contraception. Something must be done. I implore our local politicians to come together and discuss this ever-growing danger and take action to protect us. MARY LOWNES Weekend Hunting Springs November 14, 2014 Dear Editor, Your article about the demonstration against Saturday hunting focused on people who are opposed to hunting. I am not opposed to hunting but am opposed to weekend hunting. Many of us take our horses, dogs, bikes, hiking boots, running shoes, and quiet hearts into the woods on weekends. Guns spook horses, scare dogs, and unsettle people. As your other article on tick control indicates, many of us are forced to avoid the woods in summer because of the risks of tick-borne disease. I understand that hunters want more access to the woods, but I think the vast majority of us want to continue to have the peaceful use of the woods on weekends. CAROL GLASSMAN Obvious Use East Hampton November 17, 2014 Dear David: It has been reported that New York State is enjoying a $5 billion surplus stemming from settlements with banks and other financial institutions. The governor is scheduled to negotiate with state lawmakers on how to use this money when they return to Albany in January. One obvious use would be to bury the electric transmission lines. Our local elected officials have all publicly supported this idea, but the governor has turned a deaf ear. I urge all of your readers to contact the offices of State Senator Ken LaValle, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo asking that some of this fund be earmarked for this purpose. Available money and community pressure might turn the tide on this urgent situation. SUE AVEDON Frozen Products East Hampton November 12, 2014 To the Editor, I’ve been hearing this cute ad on the radio for a while. It’s an ad from a family-owned market in Springs. I went there only to find very few hellos and fewer smiles. I ordered French toast, only to find out their French toast, pancakes, and waffles are all frozen products I could have microwaved at home. Are people getting that lazy they can’t do that either? Well, I see why they use the cute ad. They’re trying to get you there that once. ANN COLLINS Voter Participation East Hampton November 13, 2014 Dear Editor, I applaud Neil Hausig’s recent novel suggestion in the Nov. 6 issue of The Star to improve voter participation. His idea to require a minimum percentage of registered voter participation for an election to count is worthy of discussion. He points to the low attendance in midterm elections and proposes voiding the results and leaving the Congressional seats empty without a minimum of 70-percent voter participation. In other words, if you can’t find the time to participate in the process your district or state will not be represented in the Senate or the House. This is certainly thought-provoking since now the electorate will be responsible for the candidate they actually voted for, rather than accepting the candidate they allowed to be voted into office while they were at home in a glazed stupor watching reruns of “The Simpsons.” Hmm — well, maybe not everybody should be voting and “The Simpsons” is a better alternative. An example of pathetically low voter participation on a local level is the school budget. Every year only a few hundred voters participate, so few, in fact, that those who are opposed are disenfranchised. It seems that mostly employees of the school district and their families even bother to show up, so it is no wonder it passes every year; who votes against their job? Mr. Hausig aptly brings up the conundrum of the choice between voting for Bishop and endorsing the status quo with more gridlock, or Zeldin, whom he compares to a “village idiot.” While I would be more polite, I too struggled with this same riddle and was not pleased with the choices, but I went out and made my choice rather than have someone else decide for me. This midterm election was the worst in 72 years, with a voter participation rate of 36.3 percent. This is simply unacceptable, and certainly it deserves at least a discussion of alternatives. Certainly a participation rate of 70 percent in this country for a midterm election will be too high a bar for this nation to hurdle since it can scarcely top 60 percent in a presidential election. Nations with mandatory voting, such as Australia, Belgium, and Chile, hover around 90 percent, others around 80 percent. Among established democracies we are the bottom of the barrel. Such political disengagement is a disgrace, and yet, as is typical of Americans, we all too often take our freedoms and privileges for granted. Under Mr. Hausig’s formula we couldn’t even maintain a presidency or worse yet we might be stuck with whatever sorry soul is in office by default. Imagine four more years of Obama because not enough people showed up. Imagine if Obama takes his ball and goes home and none of the senators and congressmen are able to keep their seats. Imagine if John Lennon was right? Sincerely, JOHN PORTA Human Capital East Hampton November 15, 2014 To the Editor: The denigration of human capital is perhaps the most serious problem we are facing besides climate control. What Ronald Reagan initiated, by intent or idiocy in 1980, has demolished the essential fabric of the U.S. society. The shift from investing in human beings to creating wealth became our economic mantra. The threat to marginalize virtually everyone who isn’t wealthy is real and present and imminent with the Republicans’ ascendance to power. Medicare and the G.I. Bill, two of the most important pieces of legislation in the past 70 years, were the best examples of enhancing human capital and growing the economy and the country for the benefit of everyone. Both bills recognized and rewarded service to the country as a national obligation. They were essential for the nation’s development, and provided enormous benefits for the entire population. The G.I. Bill was essential to creating the middle class, college as an option for everyone, and home ownership as an attainable norm. Medicare. Imagine our country today without Medicare. The trillions of dollars saved, the levels of anxiety and trauma avoided, the time it would take to care for our parents in a private system where making a profit is more important than providing good care. Medicare makes a statement that we recognize our obligations to the generations that preceded us — an understanding that everything that exists in this country was created by someone else. Today, when we look at how are soldiers are treated (“if only they would disappear”), it bears no resemblance to the G.I. Bill. When the Affordable Care Act is introduced there are 50 separate votes to have it rescinded. Both cases highlight how little we care about our human capital. Add in the school loan fiasco, immigration paralysis, and the lowest minimum wage on the planet and it is impossible to think that our government has any belief in promoting the well-being of anyone. Except, of course, the wealthy, who tell us we need to privatize, deregulate, and lower corporate taxes. Why are there no jobs for our children, no organization for our workers, and a school system that is falling apart? Because in the world where accumulating wealth has priority, only the money people are relevant. Is it possible that the lowest common denominator that the Republican Party represents will rise above the ineptness and weakness of the Democrats, or is it simply the political spectrum rotating on its axis of mindless self-flagellation? NEIL HAUSIG Health Care Reform East Hampton November 15, 2014 Dear Editor, For the benefit of those recidivist critics and commentators of the Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare) like Mr. John Porta and others who seem to like only facts of their own design, let’s get this straight. The United States of America urgently, desperately, unquestionably needed universal health care for its population. The U.S. health care system contributes $2.5 trillion, or nearly 18 percent, to the gross domestic product, the highest percentage in the developed world. It is also twice as much per person as any other developed country and the quality of care is the worst among all of the developed countries in the world. Most of the cost comes from the first 10 days and last 10 days of life. A lot of progress has been made on medical procedures that can save premature babies and extend the life of seriously ill elders. However, those innovative procedures are very expensive. Most people don’t pay cash for medical treatment. They pay a co-pay and their insurance pays the balance. So, unlike, say, consumer electronics, people don’t shop price. People don’t shop doctors or diagnostic tests or lab fees, so the costs stay high. For example, the average emergency room visit was $1,265. If you got cancer, the average cost of chemotherapy was $7,000, but could run as high as $30,000. These costs could wipe out your savings or cause you to lose your home. Even worse, many people would have to forgo treatment because they simply couldn’t afford it. Most negative commentators of the new system don’t declare that federal tax policies subsidize the employer-provided group insurance system, which is why more small businesses than ever are opting for employee group coverage and will not drop coverage. Those who don’t have an employer-sponsored plan must purchase individual health insurance, which is expensive and traditionally could deny you coverage if you had a pre-existing disease or condition. You could affiliate yourself with a group, such as AARP or Costco, has lower rates because they have a pool of relatively healthy people. Health care reform is needed for several reasons. First, health care costs are skyrocketing. In 2011, the average cost for a family of four increased 7.3 percent, to $19,393. That’s nearly double the cost just nine years ago. By 2030, payroll taxes will only cover 38 percent of Medicare costs. The rest will contribute to the federal budget deficit. These are facts not emphasized enough in discussions of the A.C.A. They justify the legislation in the first place. Second, health care reform is needed to improve the quality of care, which is the worst in the developed world. Chronic diseases cause 70 percent of all U.S. deaths, and affect 45 percent of all Americans. As the population ages, the incidence of these diseases will grow rapidly. By 2023, cancer and diabetes will increase 50 percent, heart disease will rise 40 percent, hypertension and lung disease will be up by 30 percent, and strokes will occur 25 percent more often. Each year, the cost of treatment totals $1.7 trillion, representing 75 percent of all health care dollars spent. This cost can be lowered through the disease prevention and wellness programs in the health care act. (Source: Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease.) Third, health care reform is needed because 25 percent of Americans have little or no health insurance to cover their costs. Over 101,000 Americans die each year simply because they didn’t have insurance. Not only is this bad for them, it’s also bad for the economy. For example, half of all bankruptcies result from medical costs. Even before becoming president, Barack Obama campaigned to reform health care and make insurance more readily available to those who couldn’t get employer-sponsored insurance. His “public option” sought to expand a Medicare-like program to anyone who needed it. This would lower the government’s cost by including younger, healthier people who paid a modest premium. However, concerns about “socialized medicine” revised the final plan to a state-run health insurance exchange. Furthermore, the final act precludes illegal immigrants from getting government funds to pay for health care insurance. However, it doesn’t require people to prove citizenship before getting health care services and doesn’t provide for enforcement. As early as 2011, it appeared the Affordable Care Act was working. As of May, more than 600,000 new young people became insured, taking advantage of the act’s provision that children up to age 26 could be covered by their parents’ insurance. This increases profits for the insurance companies, which should translate to lower premiums, since the new insureds pay into the system but require fewer health services. In fact, health insurance companies reported record profits for the first quarter of 2011 and in 2014 some had increased their profits massively, one to almost 50 percent, and have joined the Obama administration’s positive outlook for the bill. In addition, there are doctors’ groups, now numbering 15,000 members, who will be appearing at the Republican convention with thousands of signatures protesting continued efforts to repeal the act. Forty-six percent more small businesses than in 2010 offered health care benefits, according to a Kaiser survey. More insured small-business employees, fewer bankruptcies, better credit scores, and higher consumer demand. This allows them to spend more, boosting economic growth. In fact, there were fewer bankruptcies in August 2011 than the prior year. Yes, premiums go up, but that is partly because the policies provide better benefits and coverage for the premium dollar, and they don’t increase nearly as much as heretofore. The new website is working very, very well in giving information about coverage and signing up insureds. Therefore if you criticize Obamacare, as it has been nicknamed, please relate all the facts, not just those that are adverse to the legislation. RICHARD P. HIGER Touched and Honored Plainview November 16, 2014 To the Editor: I just received an advance copy (very advance) of the Nov. 30, 2039, East Hampton Star, and was both touched and honored to read the following paragraph in your “The Way It Was” column: 25 Years Ago, 2014: From The East Hampton Star, November 27, 2014: The Jets, Giants, Knicks, Nets, and Mets all stink; so thank goodness for our East Hampton High School Bonackers boys Class A soccer team winning its first-ever Long Island championship! — Editor’s Note: This was the very first item in Richard Siegelman’s long-running weekly “Short Sports Thoughts” column to appear in The Star, way back on Nov. 27, 2014. We congratulate the silver anniversary of his sports-related wit and wisdom, which has now been The Star’s most popular column for these past 25 years. RICHARD SIEGELMAN Time of Purification Amagansett November 15, 2014 To the Editor: The U.N. recently stated that world civilization has to get off fossil fuels by 2100. By what measure of lunacy? We don’t know if we will have oceans with life in them by then. Will we still have rain forests, elephants, whales, gorillas, or most of our frogs, butterflies, and birds even? Is the collective body of the United Nations working for the planet, or is it a neophyte diplomatic corps that is actually Undermining Nature? The world needs to get off fossil fuels by 2020 and actually get seriously serious by then. The coal extraction in Montana is an exercise in greed and shortsightedness, as is the Keystone-XL pipeline. Both undermine the future, desecrating the atmosphere in wanton biospheric criminality. The native elder who told me this date was not a lackluster businessman interested only in the bottom line. He may not have been a member of the G20 or an investment banker where the sociopaths work at Wall Street. He was only following the precept of living in accordance with the law of nature and nature’s god, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, which his cousins in the east, the Iroquois Confederacy, articulated and made available to the founding fathers of the United States. While civilization may need some time to recalibrate its energy production, we need a Marshall Plan-start now! If one is diagnosed with cancer, one does not wait a generation or more to re-evaluate how one has lived! I was told of the oncoming time of purification in the 1990s by elders in the Southwest, who have no economic impact on society but whose hearts and spirits could soar like eagles and whose lucidity and clairvoyance of vision would be the envy of the modern world’s best minds. The earth changes are upon us, and they are not arbitrary. There is no algorithm for what is happening to the life force. Mercenary greed, like demonic furies, continues to uproot life. The producers of pesticides have eliminated 90 percent of the monarch butterflies in just the last 20 years. Monarch butterflies were the first beings we introduced to our son Lysander in Michoacan when he was 4 months old. The butterfly represented the soul to the ancient Greeks. What indeed are we doing to the soul? One historian who realized how significant the native mind is in relation to the earth was Arnold Toynbee, the preeminent economic historian of the 20th century. He states, “The seers have declared that the maximization of material wealth is not right, and therefore is not a satisfying objective for human beings.” We may not have seers today, but we do have indigenous elders who know that purification has begun. It is time the modern economies of the world, the corporate elite, realize that the thin film of earth that supports life needs salvaging. Our society is literally undermining nature and we need a radical about-face across the entire spectrum of our behavior. Or, as one Navajo elder put it, that may be why Western man studies so much but knows so little. That may be why his civilization has to collapse before he knows what’s happening to it. That may be why he cannot or will not change his ways of life until his ways of life change him. He thinks he can change his life by changing his words. That may be his real forked tongue. “Fear, hydra-headed fear, which is rampant in all of us, is a hangover from lower forms of life. We are straddling two worlds, the one from which we have emerged and the one towards which we are heading. That is the deepest meaning of the word ‘human,’ that we are a link, a bridge, a promise. It is in us that the life process is being carried to fulfillment,” wrote Henry Miller. “We have a tremendous responsibility, and it is the gravity of that which awakens our fears. . . .” Maximum profit, endless growth are the constructs of an economic system and unconscious civilization that sees a few months into the future, not seven generations hence. If 90 mega-corporations are the main culprits for most of the world’s carbon emissions, it is time for a change of priorities, because soon 8 billion people’s lives will be on the line, and about 10 million species already are. That should be a rationale enough for reversing course. CYRIL CHRISTO
Published 4 years ago
Last updated 4 years ago
Letters to the Editor: 11.20.14
November 19, 2014