Pussy’s Pond Cleanup Springs December 20, 2015 To the Editor, The Springs Citizens Advisory Committee would like to thank Steve Lynch and the entire East Hampton Town Highway Department for the much needed cleanup of the Pussy’s Pond Nature Preserve that borders Springs-Fireplace Road. As good as it looks now, it will look even better come spring, when new growth will be able to thrive in an environment free of choking vines and far too many dead trees. That area of Springs-Fireplace Road is the gateway to historic Springs. Springs residents and visitors alike appreciate your efforts. Thank you. LORING BOLGER Chairwoman Personal, Caring Service Amagansett December 21, 2015 Dear David, May I bring to your attention the excellence of the Amagansett Library? Like the entire East Hampton Town system, they provide incredible personal, caring service on every level. I needed a rather obscure book about Dick and Jane, a preschool primer on which I was raised years and years ago. And their dog, Spot, and little sister, Sally. Their world was nothing like the universe I lived in, which more resembled F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Tender Is the Night” characters Dick and Nicole. I wanted to write a piece about the disparity. So, from the Amagansett Library, Evan Harris located my book. She is the children’s librarian. Anne Jones, head of adult reference services, delivered the book with her. Both are librarians. My arthritic knees betrayed me that rainy day, even though I am a little more than across the way from the library. (Better now, thank you.) To complete the Amagansett library picture, the director of the Amagansett Free Library is Cynthia Young. Kudos and gratitude to them all, and happy holidays to you, yours, and the Star staff. A good, healthy New Year. Sincerely, LONA RUBENSTEIN Leaving the Square Amagansett December 21, 2015 Editor: Many people will be upset to learn that three popular stores, Bass, Miankoma, and Crossroads, will be leaving Amagansett Square by the end of January. Bass and Miankoma were informed by the owner of the Square that their leases would not be renewed. For Crossroads, the decision to leave was made by its owner, a friendly young man who sold musical instruments and other items related to music, a very unique store for the East End. As for me, I am not only sad, but very, very angry that Bass and Miankoma will no longer be there to provide us with affordable prices and many product choices. Always when I entered Bass, a member of the staff gave me a friendly greeting, followed by an offer to help. So many people will miss their two-for-one shoe sales. For 16 years I have been a faithful customer of Miankoma, or, as I still refer to it, Starfish, its original title. This charming little shop was a pleasure to behold, with its soothing, beachy wall colors and unique articles of clothing and jewelry so cleverly arranged on shelves and racks. It was obvious that Lorraine, its owner, had an eye for design. Over the years, because of her expert advice, I have bought countless gifts for my daughters, daughters-in-law, and older granddaughters. Never once were any gifts returned, since Lorraine was always up on the latest fashions and trends. I always knew I could find the right gift for any occasion. To say I and countless others will miss this store is an understatement! I wonder what kind of store will replace Miankoma. Will it be high-end like the stores in East Hampton, or will it be one that will offer affordable, interesting products that we all crave so desperately? Each year Christmas advertisements placed in local papers urge us all to buy local. Oh, if only we could! Sincerely, IRENE SCOTT Days Before Christmas Just days before Christmas, my house is a mess, and I’m suffering a bit of pre-Christmas stress.A slim Christmas budget was gone weeks ago. The weather’s prediction: some rain, but no snow.My fine Christmas wreath, once hung on the door, lies coated with cat hair and crushed on the floor.The Christmas tree’s wilting, tinsel’s shredded and worn, And some presents’ wrappings are rumpled and torn.Cards clutter a table, not written, not sent. My energy’s lagging and nearly been spent.The shopping’s not finished, more gifts need wrapping. With so much to do, my interest is sapping. My four cats are restless and scatter debris. It’s time for some wine and a snack-attack spree.As visions of Christmas tasks dance through the haze, “Next year I’ll go somewhere,” I say with a daze.“Just think, no more spending, no presents, no tree! I’ll celebrate Christmas in Aspen. I’ll ski!”“Or perhaps some place warm,” I continue to muse. “Oahu or Maui! A Caribbean cruise!”“Wait, what would I do with my kitties?” I say. “I can’t leave them alone, not on Christmas Day.”So I take a deep breath and count up to ten. Relaxed, I’m ready to dig in again.I hang up the stockings with my usual flair. I’ll fill them tomorrow with candy and care.Soon, at the back door, there comes a loud knocking. My family! My friends! Their surprise is quite shocking!We settle in talking, laughing and drinking I can’t dismiss Christmas. What am I thinking?For, what is a Christmas without excesses: Friends, family, and pets, plus stresses and messes!So here’s to a season of love and good cheer. Merry Christmas to all! And a Happy New Year! DIANNE MORITZ Meaning of Christmas Montauk December 21, 2015 To the Editor, This morning I was up early praying for the inspiration to tell the Christmas story in this letter. At 5 a.m. I turned on the TV to see what was on the Catholic television network EWTN. I knew there would be something about Christmas. I was disappointed to see that I had just missed Bishop Fulton Sheen tell the story of “The True Meaning of Christmas.” Bishop Sheen was one of the greatest communicators of the 20th century. Bishop Sheen stirred the hearts of people of all faiths and of people of no faith. This show might be on YouTube. You can also purchase this program on DVD by calling 800-854-6316. To people of all faiths and people of no faith, please consider listening to Bishop Sheen talk about “The True Meaning of Christmas.” Merry Christmas to all, VINCENT BIONDO Joy of the Season Montauk December 21, 2015 To the Editor, Who isn’t a fan of Christmas? The Christmas message of peace on earth, goodwill toward mankind, be joyful — a savior has come into the world (and will come again) to redeem the people from darkness and death and lead them into light and life (physical, emotional, and spiritual). Even if you don’t believe in the one whom we celebrate, you love the effect it has on the masses. There is more giving, forgiving, good wishes, happy children, parties, uplifting decorations, sales galore, great music, entertainment, and so on. These displays reflect the joy of the season and the longing we have for fellowship, community, peace, and joy. Let’s not forget after the holiday is over that without Christianity founded on the person of Jesus Christ, Christmas as we know it, the spirit of Christmas, would not exist. My hope is that this season will give the masses pause to appreciate, respect, accept, and permit Christians to live out their religion of peace, love, truth (without which there can be no true love), and beauty who is Jesus the Christ. So please don’t be offended when we say, “Merry Christmas.” Joy to the world and peace on earth. All thanks be to God, DOREEN MILLER Seasonal Eddies Patchogue, November 28, 2015 Dear East Hampton Star, Walking by the Hook Mill, someone playing a Weird Al Christmas song on a kazoo. Across the street in an outlet, someone gazing at the seasonal eddies of the plastic resin Madoo. Sincerely, FRED GASREL Right to Access Amagansett December 21, 2015 To the Editor, Don’t forget Georgica 2011! How quickly we forget the most recent challenge of the public’s right to access the beach. Don’t forget the scar on our Georgica Beach after our brush with Hurricane Irene in 2011. The homeowner promptly put up a metal fence around her beachfront property lines. This metal fence at times was in the ocean and didn’t let people traverse the beach by any means. She claimed it was private property. It prevented public access to the beach and looked tacky and terrible. Please don’t let this happen to the beachfront on Napeague. DENNIS MATTIN Has Been Developing Springs December 21, 2015 Dear Editor, The residents of East Hampton, Springs in particular, should know that the Dec. 14 Springs School Board of Education meeting was not “a clinic for intimidation,” as was quoted in both The Star and The Press. It was actually a response to intimidation by the board (some members only; from different terms) and the current superintendent. Perhaps the frustration was palpable to some newcomers to that gathering, but it has been developing for some time now. It is definitely time for the residents of Springs to take stock of what constitutes a major component of their taxes: the Springs School. Firstly, reserve funds are not increasing, as one Springs educator claimed in a letter to the editor and at that meeting. They are being depleted at a rate of more than $1 million per year to close the budget shortfall. Last year, the board sought to blow another $2 million on an ill-conceived parking lot, the job to be gifted to a chum of the new superintendent, Jay Finello. Three years ago, we had a superintendent who was paid for 40 hours a week and worked 80. Now we have one paid for 60 who works 25 — so little that one has to actually ask if he is present on a daily basis. We also have a stack of bills from his architect friend who was allowed to go 500 percent over budget exploring, not the expansion of the school, but moving him and his acquaintances into new office space. The implication that Fran Silipo’s legal action against the Springs School Board and superintendent is “immoral” or “unethical” is nothing short of ironic. The board’s attorneys have to do more than dismiss her case as a point of law based upon an annual appointment. They have to explain what would compel them to demote a highly competent, well-respected, longstanding member of the community and the school from her role. Suffice it to say that she was not the only employee unlawfully mistreated, and school attorneys will be authoring many statements on the school’s behalf. The hiring of Mr. Finello is one of many decisions that was internally conceived, executed, and supported. One need only be present at the end of Monday’s board meeting to observe the nature of their democracy. Respectfully, CHRIS TUCCI On Life Support Springs December 15, 2015 Dear Editor, Having just attended last night’s Springs School Board meeting, I was discouraged to find a shrewd, self-serving superintendent, a promising school board that has disappointed, and a number of staff members who just plain don’t get it. Sadly, my beloved Springs School is on life support. Sincerely, TERRY S. MILLERMuch Greater Damage Sag Harbor December 16, 2015 To the Editor: Amid the widespread fear over the atrocity in San Bernardino, it may be helpful to ask a simple question: How far does one have to drive in order to have the same risk of death in a car crash that each of us has of being killed in a mass shooting in any given year? If you do the math, the answer turns out to be 142 miles. You should be as afraid of driving 142 miles as you are of being caught in a mass shooting. Most of us drive more than that in a week without being terribly afraid. This doesn’t mean that terrorists and gun nuts aren’t a serious problem. They are. It just means that this is not Armageddon. In the meantime, leaders of the Republican Party refuse to recognize the much greater danger of climate change. That may well be Armageddon, especially if Americans elect a Republican president in 2016, who would be sure to cancel all of President Obama’s climate initiatives, including the recent Paris accord. Not all Republicans agree with their leaders, but sooner or later the dissenters within the G.O.P. are going to have to stand up and be counted. Twelve of them in the House of Representatives have already done that. Let’s hope others find the courage to join them, including our own representative. People are ridiculously bad at estimating comparative risks, but playing on our fears the way radical right-wing politicians and talk-radio hosts are doing is no joke. It is a crime against humanity. For those who want to run the numbers themselves, here they are: Traffic deaths per 100 million miles driven (2013): 1.09. This was the latest year given. A five-year average of 2009-2013 is 1.12 deaths per 100 million miles driven. (Which year you pick doesn’t matter much.) Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Fatalities in mass shootings: 462 in Jan. 1 through Dec. 2. Prorated to the end of the year, this will be approximately 500. Source: The New York Times front-page article, Dec. 3. (A mass shooting was defined as one with four or more deaths per incident.) Population of the United States: 322 million in December 2015. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Calculation: Probability of dying in a mass shooting during a one-year period is 500 divided by 322 million, or 0.00000155. The ratio of this number to 1.09 driving deaths is then equal to the ratio of X to 100 million, where X is the number of miles driven to produce the same risk as from a mass shooting. This equation yields the answer of 142 miles. JOHN ANDREWS An Existential Threat Amagansett December 21, 2015 To the Editor: On Dec. 15, the Republican Party sponsored a TV debate by their candidates for president of the U.S.A., which was watched by an audience of many millions of people. It lasted for over four hours. Just days before the debate there was a stunning announcement from Paris that more than 195 nations both large and small had agreed to join together to reduce carbon emissions. Many renowned scientists have declared and warned that climate changes must be controlled, and have said that climate change represents an existential threat to the world. We see the results and consequences all around — flooding, huge mudslides, shortage of food supplies, coastal erosion, droughts, etc., and unless we take action, the planet could become uninhabitable. We owe it to the future generations to accept responsibility. Yet on the debate the moderators for CNN failed to ask one question to the candidates on climate change to judge their opinion as to where they stand on the issue. Only one debater volunteered a comment, and that was to question the validity of the scientists. Shame on CNN, the host of the debate. Does anyone feel safe with the possibility of one of these candidates in the Oval Office? I don’t think so. ROBERT BARRON Climate Will Change East Hampton December 16, 2015 To the Editor: Well, here we go once again. Our atmosphere contains two principal gases that help keep the sun’s energy within the atmosphere for a short time before it is radiated into deep space. This ability to temporarily retain the heat is commonly referred to as the greenhouse effect. A bad description because, unlike the typical greenhouse, there is no barrier between deep space’s vacuum, but there is in a man-made greenhouse between the inside and the open air. Gravity holds the atmosphere. These gases are water vapor, which accounts for 95 percent of the effect, and is in essence all natural. There is nothing we can do to reduce it in any way. The other gas is carbon dioxide, at 3.618 percent. Yes, that is not much, and if we eliminated it indeterminately, we’d all die. Photosynthesis requires an adequate amount to take place effectively. The more there is, the more efficient green plants become at converting the CO2 into carbon for the plants’ structure and releasing the oxygen for everything else to breathe. Now how much of that 3.618 is created by man’s industry? Well, an earth-shattering amount of less than 0.40 percent. Yes, without all industry the CO2 level would drop to 3.218 plus. Wow, would that ever make a difference! Well, actually, it would make no difference whatever. Further, no living thing has ever been harmed by CO2 in the atmosphere in human or geological history, not one, not ever. At the period leading up to the Carboniferous, CO2 was at an estimated 6,000 parts per million. Today it is at 380 to 400 p.p.m., about 1/15 of that period, and now there is some factor that would cause some catastrophic “runaway effect”? That is in direct contradiction of the empirical data. CO2 does not now and never has driven climate on this planet. The driver has been and always will be the sun. Remember that the sun has changing energy cycles, that Saturn and Jupiter have gravitational pull, and that Earth’s inclination varies, so all these affect Earth’s climate more than anything we can do. If geology counts for anything, the evidence is that we are nearing the end of a warm period between major glaciations. The evidence also shows we are very close to the end of this warm period. In about 2,000 years it will cool and the glaciers will be reforming and heading south once again. Unless civilization has advanced more in the next 2,000 years than it has in the last 2,000, humanity will be in a very difficult situation indeed. In the interim, I can sympathize with people who are upset with the changes we all see going on around us. No one likes the beach erosion, or the change in the fisheries, or the disappearance of the pheasants and bobwhite quail, or the overabundance of deer, or the invasion of alien plant life choking some waterways. In the South, there are Japanese plants choking off the native vegetation in large areas. Add clean quartz sand to the Montauk beaches from an off-island source, work with Connecticut to lower nitrogen in our waters, find a variety of eelgrass that can grow here now. Take pressure off the lobster population. Complete the restoration of the Peconic River, the Alewife Brook system, reshape the bottoms of Town, Hook, and Georgica Ponds — all worthy projects that have been considered. However, what is needed is action, and I see not near enough work on achievable goals that will have real results. Climate will change and is in change. There is nothing that we can do or have done that will change it even a little. That is a fact for the foreseeable future, so get used to it. Sincerely, PETER OSBORNE The Best Among Us Sag Harbor December 21, 2015 Dear David, “Once, when I was seeking the advice of Howard Thurman about what needed to be done in the world, he interrupted me and said, ‘Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.’ ” (Author, Gil Bailie, “Humanity at the Crossroads.”) I, too, get excited when I follow this advice. Caption in The New York Times, Dec. 9: “Working Families Endorses Senator Sanders” — the labor-aligned third party that originated in New York and has sought to become a national force, handing him a symbolic boost from the state that twice elected Hillary Clinton to the Senate. Listed here are some of the supporters I would consider the best among us. Dan Cantor, one of the party’s founders, said in an interview that Senator Sanders would help it “build a political revolution that will make the nation we want to see.” Sanders has devoted his career to helping working families. Sanders’s campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, said, “Together they will work to take on the billionaire class and change the rigged economy that is being held up by a corrupt political system. Our past leaders took us to this point where the middle class has all but disappeared, creating a large gap between the rich and poor.” Politicians rarely speak about class warfare and like to point at other countries and blame the poor for being poor. Do we need to look at ourselves? Katrina vanden Heuvel, publisher of The Nation magazine and a prominent liberal activist. Sanders recently raised more money than Clinton despite her super PAC status. Jeb Bush has spent millions from his lucrative super PAC and is starting to fire workers. No more relevant. Hillary wants no competition. She’s so used to being in power. Young generation cannot relate to her. Could be a threat. A place where followers of Sanders could move in. Change can only come from outside. All else has failed. Watching the Republican debate, I would recommend a lie detector for each candidate. At present, there seem to be two kinds of politicians — one group wants to change the world; the other, to build their own empire. Zephyr Teachout challenged Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary last year and gave him a scare. Finally, if you find yourself depressed, try meditation. There are young people all over the world for whom it works. I imagine by now my only hope lies in our young generation. Then there are the walking dead. My wish for them: Come alive. A call to action. In peace it is possible, LARRY DARCEY Never-Never Land East Hampton December 17, 2015 Dear Editor, While watching the Republican candidates for the nomination to run for president I kept hearing and watching fabrication after fabrication, lie after lie, but the straw that broke my back was the call for an immediate increase in military strength. Are these guys kidding? They must be. The United States is ranked first in the world in global position firing power in a ranking of 126 nations. Russia is second, China is third. And this ranking does not include nuclear weaponry, where we are also number one, by eons. Our military budget is over $600 billion, making the rest of the world’s look like penny-ante marbles. It is higher than the next seven spending countries combined. The United States has never cut a fiscal year Pentagon overall budget. That means never, except for the mandated sequester cuts. These Republican idiots just say whatever they think will appease their jerkoff constituents that sounds good at the time. Fact-check it and you find disastrous lie after disastrous lie, some of which actually does great damage to our country, stirs up long-avoided animosities, assists ISIS recruitment, and scares the bejeebers out of the American people while not offering any solutions except for those that are already being done and have been done for some time, which they know full well. Calling for a stronger Navy? Are they kidding? The Navy’s budget is 29 percent of the total budget, or $174 billion. Whew, enough for a large ice cream cone. Our aircraft carrier fleet of 19 carriers dwarfs the 12 in the entire rest of the world combined, and carriers are the most important weapons in any military arsenal because they can bring power to any point in the world quickly. We have more and better aircraft than any other country in the world by so many it is hard to count, all kinds, shapes, and duty areas. Our troops are better trained, better equipped, and more expert in their duties than any other country and morale is sky high, whereas in Russia it has disappeared. All of the foregoing is in spite of sequestering, which, as you know, limited spending for the past several years. I also must be in Never-Never Land with Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, et al., because every action they called for by this “weak president” has already been instituted and is working as they prattle on. Each time they called out for this action or that, a fact check showed that we are already doing it. Maybe when they face that terrible weak person Hillary Clinton they will be able to justify the baloney they spout in these debates and Chris Christie won’t say he will “talk to King Hussein of Jordan face to face.” Hussein, who died in 1999, is very difficult to hold a conversation with. Or Ted Cruz not knowing it takes about one full year of vetting to allow refugees from Syria or Libya or Iraq into the U.S., and they propose 10,000 refugees, not tens of thousands. Then of course Christie, the George Washington Bridge-closer, would first create a no-fly zone where Russian planes already fly, then shoot them down if they fly there. Seventy years and a Cuban missile crisis having avoiding a nuclear Third World War with Russia, and this despicable fathead (literally as well) who never served militarily just sends all our kids to their deaths and injury with those of myriad other countries. I just renewed my passport, but I know the insane policies of these stupid bastards will follow wherever I go. RICHARD P. HIGER
Published 4 years ago
Last updated 4 years ago
Letters to the Editor, Dec. 24, 2015
December 24, 2015