Much Work to Do
East Hampton
November 8, 2021
Dear David,
I am truly thankful for the voters of East Hampton who recognize the leadership and good work of our administration and put their trust in our continued governance. There is much work to do in addressing the pressing issues of climate change, housing affordability, and environmental and economic sustainability. The voters agreed that we are on the right track, and we look forward to continuing our work in tackling these tough issues and keeping East Hampton the place we all want to live.
I am honored and grateful to have the opportunity to continue to serve the community I love as town supervisor.
Best to all,
PETER VAN SCOYOC
East Hampton Town Supervisor
Letter to All
East Hampton
November 8, 2021
To the Editor,
When I was 22 years old and opening Fierro’s Pizza with my parents and my brother, I never imagined what it would grow into and the people I would meet along the way. Despite having two other pizzerias on Long Island, we knew quickly East Hampton was different. The community welcomed us with open arms and immediately became a safe haven for local kids after school and on the weekends. For families after Little League practice, for the smiling faces of the customers we only got to see during summertime who always came back to say hello — you were all my reason to keep going.
After 38 years it is bittersweet to finally walk away from the store that made me the man I am today, gave my family the life they deserved and, most important, the customers who became lifelong friends. My love letter to you all is to make sure you fully understand how much you mean to me. Fierro’s Pizza is nothing without this community and the customers who have brought me so much joy every day I was there.
To all the kids I watched grow up, have children, and some even have grandchildren: The memories are endless and they will continuously make me smile when I think of you. I got to wake up every morning, go to a place I built with my family and look forward to who I would get to see that day. I will never forget one single person who walked through that door and I wish it could go on forever. They say all good things come to an end, but the memories I have made with you all in that store remain constant.
You can’t get rid of me that easy, as I remain a proud resident and hope to continue to serve you all in a new capacity. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for 38 years of service. You served me with so much happiness and for that I am eternally grateful. My last day behind the counter is Saturday, but Fierro’s Pizza will continue to serve this town like it always has. I am passing the pizza peel with great confidence in the team that remains and I wish them as much luck moving forward as we had in the past.
Sincerely,
JOHN FIERRO
Put in My Place
Springs
November 8, 2021
To the Editor,
As The Star has always been gracious to me by publishing me in “Guestwords” (fun, good exposure), I read all the columns last week.
The “Filling in the Gap” piece really made me understand what legitimate, traditional, and professional news sources are up against. What with Instagram and Facebook, etc., now anyone with a smartphone is, apparently, a writer and a journalist.
I had family in town and we went to Sag Harbor. I was never big on family strolls through towns (will that kid hurry up?), so I sought refuge in a bookstore. I knew they wouldn’t carry any of the modest books I wrote over the years (many, but not all, self-published), still, I went through the hubris/passive-aggressive action of asking the personnel if they carried my book. Then I immediately felt bad that I wasted their time searching for my obscure titles and wanted to support the local store. So I picked up the biggest book I could find near the register that happened to be written by one of my favorite authors, David Eggers, and bought it (575 pages).
I sat down on a bench and started reading “The Every” and was put in my place. First, I’m happy to report that David Eggers is alive and well and still master of the craft of writing. And in fairness, any writer would be humbled by his prose and craftsmanship.
Alas, to my point: No, writers are not equal; my book should not have been in that store or reviewed in The Star. Self-publishing has created too much clutter on Amazon and Instagram and Facebook. We need gatekeepers. And, ironically, Eggers’s book pertains to this very subject: the much-needed fight against tech dominance, like Amazon and Google as a news dispensary. Bleak so far, but it may have a happy ending. I’m only on page 300.
JEFF NICHOLS
Things I Hate
Plainview
November 7, 2021
To the Editor,
I don’t know any newspaper that uses its First Amendment right to freedom of the press to support its reader and letter writers’ First Amendment rights to freedom of speech as generously as does The East Hampton Star. Each issue contains numerous pages of letters virtually unlimited in number and length. But just in case The Star accedes to recent requests to “discontinue the publication of hate letters,” I wish to get some of the things I hate expressed within these pages before it may become too late:
I hate: murder, rape, child abuse, elder abuse, bullying, drunk or otherwise reckless driving, the passing of stopped school buses, injustice, intolerance, muggings, hate crimes, anti-Semitism, anti-Asianism, anti-anygroupism, fraud, corruption, racism, Ponzi schemes, wrongful convictions, slaps-on-the-wrist for serious crimes, cheating, dishonesty, evil, hatred, and many other bad things. Plus, some equal time for things I love: heroism, sacrifice, true love, caring, selflessness, public service, honesty, and many other good things.
I’m sure other readers can add many things deservedly worth hating (in a good way).
RICHARD SIEGELMAN
Not for the Better
East Hampton
November 8, 2021
Hello Mr. Editor,
Hope all is well at The Star. I was disappointed to see the blue masking tape still on the Dorade box and the varnish in poor shape. As my Uncle Ed would tell me, the difference between a yacht and a boat is brightwork — brightwork well maintained.
Anyway, back to the battle, good vs. evil. In your Oct. 28 edition there was a letter from Stacey Stowe; her account of the direction of East Hampton was — and is — dead-on-balls accurate. A better, more accurate letter could not be written. Last week there were a few who criticized, but I am going to assume they are from the fast-moving left, absolutely no concern for the future or the past when slow moving was the way.
The reason all these jamokes came out east was for the rural charm. Once it is gone they will move on to another place and devour that too.
This new money that is here now is a cancer. I don’t know how to get rid of it, as it is embraced by local government both village and town. The only guy that may have been able to combat it somewhat was Jeff Bragman. He didn’t make it in, so what does that tell us? We are overrun, which leads me to an article in your rival, Southampton Press, Nov. 4 edition, the View Point by Steve Wick. I implore anyone who has a connection to old East Hampton to read it. Tears will come to your eyes.
I knew Dan king, the Lesters, and the Havenses. They were mountains among men, their way of life stolen through “wholesale transfer” of the East End and local life. The article is titled, “Save What’s Precious Before It’s Gone.” local government needs to realize that money changes everything and not for the better. Who’s with me?
Best regards as always.
Yours to command,
JEFFREY PLITT
Not Legal
East Hampton Village
November 6, 2021
To the Editor,
Last week The Star printed letters from Susan Jackson and Jacqueline Dunphy in reference to the Toilsome Lane brewery stating that the beer tavern had a “legal right” to be there. Their statements are inaccurate. A beer tavern does not have a legal right to be there.
Sadly, it appears as if they did not do their homework before sending their misinformed letters. If they read The Star Oct. 7, “Brewery Battle Is Looming,” they would have seen the following comments from my attorney, Michael G. Walsh Esq.: “A restaurant may be permitted use in a manufacturing district Mr. Walsh said in an interview last week, but the village code says that ‘a restaurant shall not be constructed to include . . . any form of tavern.’ “
“What you have here is clearly a brew pub restaurant,” he said. “The most substantial part of the use is the sale of ale or beer” The Toilsome Lane Brewery is a tavern and is not legal.
If they read that article and still did not understand what it implied then I must assume that they did not read the letter written by Mike and Sandy McManus to The Star on Oct. 21. Ms. Jackson and Ms. Dunphy, please go to easthamptonstar.com and look up the letters to the editor for Oct. 21, “Just Too Dangerous,” and read paragraphs 7, 8, and 9. Then you will clearly see that the information in your letters was false and incorrect and that the brew pub/tavern is not a legal business after all.
Sincerely yours,
MICHAEL AARON
Matko’s Firing
Springs
Nov 8, 2021
Dear David,
It was a shock to read “After Larsen, a LongHouse Divided,” Jennifer Landes’s Oct. 14 account of the LongHouse board’s sudden dismissal of Matko Tomicic as executive director. Matko’s firing has shaken the considerable good will he fostered over the years and in its wake has generated turmoil and confusion, demonstrated by the withdrawal of donor support and the outrage expressed in the many letters to the editor. I want to add my voice to those expressing praise for Matko and bewilderment over the decision.
I have been an admirer of Matko and a supporter of LongHouse for over two decades. As an artist, I have donated my paintings for LongHouse’s annual auction for many years. As an art educator, I served on the LongHouse Education Committee and have taken countless art classes to tour the grounds. I have also encouraged my students to submit their artworks each spring to the LongHouse’s student annual art exhibition and worked with other LongHouse Education Committee members to mount the show and host local families at the reception and awards ceremony.
I had the privilege to witness Matko Tomicic in action as he helped shape the vision of the founder, Jack Lenor Larson, into the world-class sculpture garden and art museum LongHouse is today. Through his dedication, charm, and hard work, Matko forged connections and relationships within the community and beyond. As an ambassador of LongHouse, his welcoming presence was equally extended to all, whether to celebrated artists, international V.I.P.s, or local schoolchildren. The loyalty and respect he showed to his dedicated staff and to the numerous LongHouse volunteers earned him loyalty and respect in return. He was always finding ways to innovate and expand the audience and reputation of LongHouse, even through the challenging times of the Covid pandemic.
I, like so many others in this community, am deeply saddened by Matko’s departure and am upset about how he was treated after so many years of devoted service.
JENNIFER CROSS
No Abstraction
East Hampton
November 8, 2021
Dear Editor,
We used to be a can-do nation. Confronted with a threat, despite our enormous differences, we pulled together for the common good. That’s how we defeated the Axis. We made our sacrifices and won the war. Faced with the horrible disease of polio, we lined up for our shots, and essentially eradicated the disease.
Today, we face a planetary crisis. Climate disaster is no longer an abstraction. Droughts, fires, dying oceans are the clear consequences of human-caused climate warming. “In 2018, the World Bank estimated that three regions (Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia) will generate 143 million more climate migrants by 2050” (Brookings). Droughts in Central America are a significant driver of U.S.-bound migration. Droughts in our own agricultural regions are pushing the costs of feeding our families higher, and will continue to do so. These are just a few of the many disastrous consequences of our failure to address the climate emergency.
I find it hard to imagine how we can face the next generation, our children and grandchildren. What do we say? We didn’t know what we were doing? We didn’t care? While our governments need to urgently confront this problem, we all need to respond as if our families’ lives depended on our actions.
Here’s one simple consideration: our lawn care habits. Right now, the California lawn industry produces more air pollution than all the cars in California. Yes, that’s right, the lawn care industry, with its noisy and polluting, antiquated two-stroke gas engines. There’s a solution, and California is moving on it. It has a two-stroke buy-back program and has passed legislation to ban such equipment by 2024. New York State has similar legislation under consideration. We should contact our representatives and support it. We should also demand that our local governments ban this equipment. It’s not just noisy; it’s a menace to our health and the health of the planet.
Gas leaf blowers are not essential. Reducing atmospheric emissions is essential. We can get by just fine without the noise and pollution. Once fall arrives, I use my battery-powered mower once a week to mulch leaves in place. If you must remove your leaves, use a leaf sweeper once a week and an electric blower for tight spaces. Finally, you might consider helping fireflies and monarchs by letting part of your yard become a native grass and wildflower meadow. A little ingenuity can go a long way. Or are we seriously the “can’t do” nation I fear we have become?
LEONARD GREEN
Answer to No One
Amagansett
November 8, 2021
Dear David,
I have always had great respect for our East Hampton Highway Superintendent Stephen Lynch and the job he has done and for adhering to the law. But after his recent unopposed election, the town has given Mr. Lynch a mandate to lead the Highway Department and answer to no one. I write the following with deep regret — Stephen Lynch is playing with the town zoning code to placate his friend Jim Grimes by allowing Grimes Landscaping to plant on the right of way at 189 Marine Boulevard in Beach Hampton. Large trees were planted six months ago, and the town was alerted when this was being done and nothing happened. Code enforcement was alerted and could do nothing, as Mr. Lynch supported the deal. Now, this past week, all the plantings were surrounded with deer wire and six-feet-tall wooden sticks. No permits exist for this work, only the highway superintendent’s verbal support for the Grimes work done on a right of way, which is town property.
The problem is Lynch’s verbal support of the project, which is a violation of the zoning code laws (#255-11-31, #255-11-38, and #255-1-20). The zoning code is being altered by the Town Highway Department and Mr. Grimes, a deputy trustee who should know better. Does money get you what you want in East Hampton?
Mr. Lynch has refused to call me back on this problem, so my only option is writing this letter to The Star. If anyone else had placed six-foot wooden sticks and deer fencing around a group of large trees in the right of way they would have been issued a violation and ordered to remove them. These plantings have also caused mounds of water to accumulate on Marine Boulevard for weeks after a rain. It has become a mosquito dream area, creating an unsafe condition.
The New York City homeowners of the property are very wealthy, paying $21 million for their relatively new house and have probably paid Mr. Grimes many thousands for the landscaping job. So, friendship and money seem to take the place of the zoning laws and doing what is right for this town.
It is my hope that Highway Superintendent Stephen Lynch changes his stance, adheres to the zoning laws in East Hampton, and removes these plantings, fencing, and sticks at 189 Marine Boulevard. Even if Mr. Lynch’s claim is that the deer fencing and sticks are only there until March, the large plantings are there for good, and what’s around them are considered structures. Not only is it against the law in the right of way, but unsightly for the Beach Hampton neighborhood.
RONA KLOPMAN
More Peaceful Future
Westwood, Mass.
November 8, 2021
Dear David,
I first came to the East End in 1973 while living and working in Manhattan and began to treasure its beauty and (relative) peacefulness. In 1994, I moved to Wainscott full time and built a house in Sagaponack just north of the highway. I will never forget the first aural assault of a helicopter flying low and loud over my house and resolved to do something about it.
Together with Kathy Cunningham, Charles Ehren, and others, I founded Citizens for a Quieter Airport. At that time, the East Hampton Town Board was oblivious to airport noise with one elected official declaring that there weren’t five people in Wainscott who cared about airport noise. We quickly scotched that assertion by obtaining at least 50 to 100 signatures of Wainscott residents, along with thousands from other locales on a petition requesting a fix.
Over the next 14 years I served on several town board-appointed committees addressing airport noise and related matters, until 2017 when I had to resign from the Airport Management Advisory Committee after moving to the Boston area, where I grew up. But I have never lost my love for the East End and continue to follow airport and other local issues.
On a related note, I have been saddened to learn of the death of Zach Cohen and several others whom I counted as friends and who were equally as committed to preserving what is best about the East End.
Reflecting from the remove of Massachusetts, it pains me to read and hear about the toxic divisions among members of the community ranging from those who would shut down the airport and never look back to local residents who rely on the airport as a source of transportation and recreation. From this perspective, allow me to make a few observations:
No one should be subjected to the excessive noise of helicopters and seaplanes powered by fossil fuels. It is a form of torture that would do the Bush 43 administration proud.
There are many local pilots who would gladly do away with those “commercial” flights, especially helicopters, from the New York metropolitan area.
The majority (if not all) of the newly elected town board is highly sympathetic to the airport noise problem but also justifiably cautious because of the failed restrictions that were overturned in federal court a few years ago.
Any future action by the town board to restrict or eliminate air traffic to and from East Hampton Airport, or KHTO, no matter how well intentioned, will be met with lawsuits that will likely cost millions and delay or possibly stymie any palliative action.
The economic arguments against closing the airport are grossly overstated and should not be a determining factor in the town board’s decisions regarding KHTO in light of the likelihood that pent-up demand for East End real estate and seasonal rentals would more than compensate for any losses attributable to helicopter and seaplane commuters, and the resulting increase in certain property values currently depressed by airport noise. Most of the economic benefits of commuter air traffic accrue to nonresidents.
I believe that the impact on Montauk of eliminating helicopter traffic at KHTO is grossly overstated since the extra flight time plus the time to return to East Hampton by car (more than an hour in summer traffic) would likely persuade most travelers to land in Southampton or find another mode of transportation. This hypothesis could easily be verified with a test period next summer.
Pilots are people, too, many of whom are contributing members of the East End community and treasure it as much as any other residents.
For all of these reasons, and more, I believe that the town board should close East Hampton Airport this winter just long enough to satisfy the legal requirements of reopening as a scaled-down facility for the sole use of local pilots and aircraft owners. Under no circumstances should helicopters and seaplanes powered by fossil fuels be permitted to use KHTO except in the case of emergencies, e.g., medical flights and law enforcement. In addition, during the first year of such operation the impact on Montauk airport should be measured in detail and analyzed to help determine future policy.
I wish all of your readers a more peaceful future once the scourge of noisy commuter flights to KHTO has been eliminated. And I trust that the newly elected town board will take prompt, decisive action on this matter.
Sincerely,
PETER A. WADSWORTH
All We Get
Sagaponack
October 12, 2021
To the Editor,
What is the East Hampton Town Board doing? The Federal Aviation Administration’s non-negotiable regulations (ended Sept. 26) were forced on the citizens of the East End of Long Island and on those westward all the way to New York City, a consequence of an earlier board’s surreptitious efforts to have the F.A.A. fund the transformation of the airport into a jetport. The airport has become home to jet planes, seaplanes, helicopters, all burdening Long Island residents with unspeakable noise and pollution.
Years of objection have been hurled, and all we get from the leaders of East Hampton are endless studies and public hearings supposedly representing democracy in action. One would think that the present board would have offered some (token, at least) relief as a gesture of good will. Banning helicopters would be a sign of intent. But we got nothing. Beware the future and endless words from the attorneys of people with too much money (the mother’s milk of politics). I mean, really, who else would complain about a silenced airport?
STEPHEN LEVINE
No Reply
Wainscott
November 5, 2021
Dear Editor:
I emailed the individual members of the town board on Sept. 4 regarding the awful decision to allow the polluters and the disruption they cause to stage “Just Plane Fun Day” on 9/11, of all days. Those who perished and those who are still suffering and dying as a result of that day do not look upon that as fun. I don’t think the board’s mission is to promote aviation. I was astonished that no acknowledgment or reply was ever received.
As the pollution from leaded fuels impacts air quality and ground pollution at the airport has started to increase, as noticed by letters in The Star, other communities also joined in, but they don’t vote here. Approximately 140 pilots are based here in summer and about 40 in the winter. The huge jets are gone, soon to return, and the short runways are permitted. Why is it kept open for 40 pilots?
Lowering the activity doesn’t stop pollution. Is re-envisioning to allow a handful to be catered to over the tens of thousands who are impacted? What about the lobbyists who seem to have more horsepower then the people? Why is a referendum avoided like fleas?
I researched the Clean water Act and came upon a 20-year study from 2010-20 of a similar airport near San Jose, Calif., where 19 schools were in close proximity. Tests were conducted, and 17,000 children suffered “dangerous levels of lead” in their bloodstreams. We have many schools in close proximity and one is on Industrial Road, 150 yards from runway 16-34.
On July 8, I sent individual letters to each town board member, who may not have known about this study. It was to make them aware, as they deliberated on the possible closure of the airport, considering the federally designated sole-source aquifer is underneath the facility. I also mentioned the gun club, with years of lead projectiles. The then-natural resource director was denied testing access? Finally the state is preparing to do soil lead tests. How many tons of lead are there to be affected by acid rain? No reply or acknowledgement.
Since “Let’s go, Brandon” wasn’t in vogue back then, was it just being disrespectful in not sending a two-word reply? Maybe they forget that they are there to serve the constituents who elected them. Ask Terry McAuliffe.
ARTHUR J. FRENCH
Arrested for Nothing
Springs
October 8, 2021
David,
Recently I got a disturbing message from our town board, via lawyer Mark A. Radi, employed at Sokoloff Stern L.L.P. his firm is regularly hired by our town as outside counsel. The missive was a crude, unlawful attempt to muzzle me by violating my First Amendment right to freedom of speech and my right to petition for relief. Prior to receiving the warning I spoke, over the phone, with one member of the board. Find below part of the Aug. 12 message sent to me.
“I understand you have been attempting to speak to town board members about this case. As you know, the town is represented by counsel. Therefore, please refrain from contacting the town about this case and direct any inquiries to me.”
Mr. Radi’s subject is William Cuthbert’s case against the Town of East Hampton and Police Officers Trotta and Johnson. I did not respond to Mr. Radi’s message. My Dad told me long ago, “The best response to a fool is silence.”
In 2014, I was Mr. Cuthbert’s criminal defense attorney. I defended him during his trial in our town criminal justice court. In 2015, I was forced to retire due to several service-connected disabilities incurred fighting in the Vietnam War. Even so, the town board and Mr. Radi are acting as if I am Cuthbert’s attorney.
On Aug. 19, at our very next town board meeting, I appeared with my counsel, James Henry. We were there to protest the board’s unlawful attempt to silence me, also, to apprise them of awful truths about the Cuthbert case, facts that show our town, court, and police in a bad light. Mr. Henry, a well-known civil rights attorney and investigative journalist, addressed our town board. He showed the board they acted unlawfully, in clear violation of my First Amendment rights.
On Aug. 19, before speaking to the board, I handed each member a copy of Mr. Radi’s message to me. Also gave each a copy of my letter to The Star published that morning. The editor titled it “Rigged System.” It is about Mr. Cuthbert’s nightmare odysseys through our state criminal justice system and our federal civil justice system.
I have written, and The Star has published, several letters about Mr. Cuthbert being railroaded through the above systems. I also produced for LTV two “Gung Ho” shows on the same subject. Even so, the facts bear repeating over and over. Why? Because the facts show rigged justice systems that favor police officers over us. I will start with the latest facts.
On Sept. 16, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied Mr. Cuthbert’s pro se (means representing himself) motion requesting the court to reconsider their dismissal of his case. The Supreme Court should be his next move.
Bear this in mind, on July 26, the Court of Appeals dismissed his appeal/case without reading his appellate brief. How do I know this? Because on July 28, I timely filed and served Mr. Cuthbert’s brief. The court’s docket shows the same. I also know Mr. Cuthbert had the assistance of an attorney, the court knows this too, in preparing his appellate brief. Del Atwell, an attorney, assisted Mr. Cuthbert. All for nothing.
On Jan. 13, 2014, the odyssey began when William Cuthbert was arrested, according to P.O. Trotta, for cursing in Trotta’s face. In America, even if Cuthbert did, it is not unlawful under our Constitution.
After Mr. Cuthbert was handcuffed to the rear, he was assaulted by P.O. Trotta and P.O. Johnson, held face down on the ice-covered ground, where P.O. Johnson kneeled on his back. There are many photos of the injuries inflicted. Some taken by an officer, at Mr. Cuthbert’s insistence while being held at police headquarters. These photos are titled “injuries possibly caused while in custody.”
In America, you would think someone in the Suffolk County district attorney’s office would tell P.O. Trotta there is nothing here to prosecute and drop the case. No, instead the D.A.’s office continues the case based on Trotta’s B.S. allegations word for word.
Patrick Gunn, Mr. Cuthbert’s first attorney, moved to dismiss the disorderly conduct offense arguing it was facially and factually insufficient, meaning Mr. Cuthbert was not charged with anything unlawful, also means Mr. Cuthbert was innocent when arrested.
Our town Justice Steven Tekulsky denied Mr. Gunn’s motion to dismiss and set the case over for trial. I came in to try the case. I moved to dismiss several times based on the same arguments Mr. Gunn had made. During one such motion I asked Judge Tekulsky what is the alleged unlawful conduct? He responded, “Yelling and cursing in a loud voice where other people were there to hear it.” In America? Under our laws?
In December 2014, Mr. Cuthbert’s case went before a jury. They found him guilty of cursing in P.O. Trotta’s face. Please keep in mind the offense of disorderly conduct rose or fell on Officer Trotta’s claim that William cursed at him. In America, cursing is not a crime, even at police officers.
After Mr. Cuthbert was sentenced to a conditional discharge, he retained Del Atwell to appeal his conviction. In 2017 a New York State Appellate Court reversed the conviction and dismissed the case. Their decision said the disorderly conduct offense was facially, meaning factually, insufficient. That is exactly what Mr. Gunn and I had argued before Judge Tekulsky in our Town Justice Court. Three years had gone by. In that same year, 2017, Mr. Cuthbert filed a pro se civil rights case against the Town of East Hampton and Town Police Officers Trotta and Johnson in the federal Eastern District of New York.
Our town, as it always does, hired an outside firm, Sokoloff Stern of Carle Place, to represent our town and Town Officers Trotta and Johnson. Mr. A. Radi moved to dismiss Mr. Cuthbert’s case, arguing that Mr. Cuthbert does not have a federal case because he merely beat the charges on a jurisdictional technicality, meaning the State Appellate Court’s decision to reverse and dismiss was a loss, not a win. In 2020 Federal District Court Judge Joanna Seybert agreed with Mr. Radi and dismissed the case. Her decision means that you can be arrested for doing nothing unlawful, you can be prosecuted for doing nothing unlawful, you can be found guilty by a jury of doing nothing unlawful and lose for winning in a state appellate court.
After Judge Seybert’s decision to dismiss, Frederick Oberlander, a well-known federal civil litigator, appeared as pro bono limited counsel for Mr. Cuthbert to argue that Judge Seybert’s decision to dismiss was wrong and that William Cuthbert was actually innocent throughout the case as it wended its way before Judge Tekulsky.
Mr. Oberlander’s arguments fell on deaf ears and minds. Judge Seybert doubled down on her decision to dismiss and said any appeal would not be in good faith. That was downright mean on her part. All of the above happened without Mr. Cuthbert making one appearance before Judge Seybert.
Mr. Cuthbert decided to appeal pro se, Seybert’s decision to dismiss to the United States of America Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. At this point, Del Atwell came forward to assist Mr. Cuthbert in preparing his appellate brief. This is proper and the court knows this. The brief, by court order, was to be filed and served no later than July 30. On July 28 it was timely filed and served by me. I went into Manhattan to serve the court at 40 Foley Square and served a copy by U.S. Postal Service to Sokoloff Stern that same day.
Recently, a new friend lent me his copy of The Sunday Times. In the Book Review section, a book titled, “Presumed Guilty” was reviewed. It is an account of how our Supreme Court of the United States has favored the police over us. Sound familiar? All the wrongs done to Mr. Cuthbert started in our town by our police, wrongs moved along by our court, found guilty of nothing unlawful by our residents.
For certain, our laws have failed Mr. Cuthbert, proof laws alone cannot do justice for those wronged. Why? Because the systems are rigged against them. Means Jim Henry and I are duty-bound to appear again before our town board and request justice for Mr. Cuthbert.
Semper fi,
JOSEPH GIANNINI
Voter Fraud
Montauk
November 5, 2021
Dear David:
I find it very disconcerting that there have been no charges made of voting irregularities or voting fraud by Republican politicians after the recent local, state, and gubernatorial elections. Can it be that voter fraud only occurs when Democrats win elections? Or does the answer lie in the fact that Republicans are much more adept and sly when it comes to registering and getting very white people, dead people, zombies, and mutants to show up and vote at polling stations?
In God, country, apple pie, and my Irish Mom.
Cheers,
BRIAN POPE
No Yesterday
Montauk
November 7, 2021
Dear David,
A little over a week ago, President Biden was asked by a Fox News reporter about said statement regarding $450,000 going to be distributed to families, for each child that was separated from parents. These families entered the United States illegally, broke our laws.
At that time of being questioned by Peter Doocy, Biden stated that was a garbage report, there is no such promise. Three days later Biden raised his voice and his finger in pure anger, stating whether the border crossing was legal, or illegal and you lost your child you deserve some kind of compensation no matter the circumstance. Adding he didn’t know how much the price would be. Keep in mind, no yesterday, yes today, this coming from the president who fell asleep during the climate meeting in Scotland.
No yesterday, yes today. Who is running the country?
Vice President Harris is on her third foreign trip to argue the migrant crisis. She hasn’t visited the parts of our border that are under siege.
Good luck to Durham in his truthful investigation concerning the Russian probe.
In God and country,
BEA DERRICO
Root of All Evil
East Hampton
November 8, 2021
David,
Growing up Jewish in N.Y.C. in the 1940s and ‘50s, there were times where we weren’t sure if we were in Brooklyn or Berlin. Anti-Semitism in the United States was rampant, viscous, and normal. To compensate. my mother told us that we were more beautiful, smarter, sexually exciting, and athletically superior than the other kids. My father told us to watch our backs and be happy that we weren’t Black or brown. We didn’t believe everything my mother said but it sounded pretty great.
So, watching Bill Maher and Caitlin Ferguson trash white “supremacy” and “critical race theory,” I was amazed at how incredibly stupid and obnoxious these bastions of liberal thinking really were. It wasn’t that they didn’t get it, it was that they didn’t want to get it.
So, what’s to get? We are racist to our core and have never not been. Most of the world shares the same level of racism. In Cuba, Japan, and almost everywhere in Europe, racism is alive and well. The difference between us and the rest of the world is that we refuse to accept that it’s true. We hold on to the delusion that we are all created and treated equally.
White supremacy is a sub-phylum of a class system. In Europe and India class is the primary social and economic determinant in the societal pecking order. It is an unquestioned reality everywhere, except in the U.S. What made us different was that we were a classless society, which has a certain amount of truth to it but not close to what we believe it to be.
If we break white “supremacy” down to its essence it means that being “white” is an advantage over being someone of color. But within the “white” category, which was once almost all of the country, there are multiple strata that relegate much of the white population to less than supreme and often downright disadvantaged, or “class,” for lack of a better term.
When race is added to the equation, it provides the less-advantaged whites with someone to look down upon which is the essence of the class system.
So, the problem with discussing white “supremacy” is that the issue was raised by people of color, which requires an instinctual negative reaction that distorts the conversation. The veracity of white “supremacy” is indisputable. The conversation is far more complex than the treatment of the nonwhite population.
The critical race theory issue is much simpler. Since we don’t teach any truth to reality about race in our schools, C.R.T. fills that gap. The fact that it isn’t actually being taught anywhere wouldn’t be an issue except in the U.S. The problem is not what it says but how it’s refined and transmitted — if it ever reaches that point. The problem is not with the idea of C.R.T. but with the failure of our country to deal with our history in an honest, realistic way. In truth, C.R.T. is a small part of the failure to teach truth. It asks us to stop infantilizing our kids because our history is too brutal for them. We disrespect our children and our country.
Fifty percent of U.S. teenagers don’t know who fought in the Civil War, the War of 1812, or World War I. Korean and Mexican wars drop down to 20 percent, and it gets worse. We don’t teach history, civics, social studies. We don’t learn about governance or democracy in school. Consequently, we don’t vote, which is the key to sustaining a class system and not have to beat the crap out of everyone to keep it going.
So white “supremacy” and C.R.T. are the equivalent of Regan’s economic evisceration of the middle class scheme of the past 40 years: denial, fear, and more denial. Our anger is the arrogance of stupid. Our ignorance is the suppression of curiosity. It’s hard to be awake and aware with your head up your butt. So we define “awakedness” as radical drivel instead of the pursuit of knowledge. Knowledge becomes the root of all evil in our American utopia.
NEIL HAUSIG