Because of Potholes
Amagansett
March 13, 2026
Dear David,
Two years ago, I was driving into our village on Woods Lane, and I hit a pothole at exactly the right angle. I barely made it to the gas station on the corner of Woods Lane and Toilsome. I had a huge blowout and needed a rescue vehicle to get home. My tire was replaced in time, and I was grateful.
Now I am 76 years old and no longer drive, but my husband is my same age, and our oldest granddaughter is now 16 and has her driving license; she lives in Philadelphia and may not know our roads as well as we do. I pray for all the older-age people on our roads and also for the young and the middle-aged drivers because when I reported this pothole two years ago to the person whose name I got who was in charge of road repairs, I didn’t want anyone else to get into a bad accident because of potholes.
I was told when I reported it two years ago that it would be fixed, but not by East Hampton, but by the state. Guess what? Not a thing has been done except we live with more potholes every year and they just get worse year by year.
Do we have to live with these dangerous roads? Obviously, no. They can be easily fixed, and our local people in charge of the roads know exactly where the potholes are because they are on the roads day in and day out.
It is shocking to me that my pothole has not been repaired. My husband hit another one this past week and his tire looks like it was hit by a shotgun. He is having his tire replaced as I write and I hope we have insurance for this, as it will be expensive.
These mishaps are dangerous. If your tire has a blowout, it can cause a worse accident for you and for others on the road behind you. I will vote for anyone for office who says they will make sure potholes on our roads are fixed — daily if need be!
I trust this will be a priority for our village, our town, our state. Get this done now! It is ridiculous and awful that we have to live with these dangerous roads (unless you drive a Mack truck, which many who come to East Hampton do not!). It will not be expensive — not nearly as costly as a new senior center — of course, if you don’t get this done, you may not have to worry about so many seniors but that comes with not so many young and middle-aged people too. Figure it out!
Sincerely,
ALICE WAINWRIGHT
Great Souls
East Hampton
March 16, 2026
To the Editor,
As I was deciding between writing either about our latest war or the tidal wave that is artificial intelligence, I read the beautiful and touching Guestwords: “She Crawled to Me” by Randy Zlobec (March 12).
We, too, have deer on our front lawn and we welcome them to it. These great souls have it tough enough without our putting further obstacles in their way. But now after reading Mr. Zlobec, I look forward to the next time I lock eyes with a deer and how I will somehow transmit my deep respect to this, my fellow creature.
TOM MACKEY
Dried My Tears
Montauk
March 13, 2026
To the Editor,
Last night, I sat down and read the article “She Crawled to Me” by Randy Zlobec.
After I dried my tears, I wanted him to know, I also have a yard where deer often come to visit and rest. Their eyes are truly soulful when they look up at me.
Thank you for all your efforts you made to ease her pain. Thank you for a touching, informative article.
ROBERTA WICKLEIN
Feral Cat(s) Poem #75
Spring emerging, we feral cats stir,
Nick and Toni’s for last night’s crunchy fish bones,
Frigid winter, white and wet darkness.
New paws in our nest, saying goodbye to old eyes,
Stale scones from the Old Stone deli,
We survive.
Chilly breeze, jagged beach,
I.G.A. navel orange in the sky,
Squinting eyes, sprawled out paws on bleached sand,
Warm adventure awaits.
Birds chirp, gulls start to fly from the garbage heap,
Geese fall from the sky,
What can be done!
Us feral cats think we have seen it all.
Each time the sun shines again, old and new friends fall,
Though Bostwick’s always opens after the snowfall,
We will feast with our friends outside the steel shed on lobster and fluke.
As we always will do.
EDWARD HANNIBAL JR.
Gone?
Springs
March 16, 2026
To the Editor,
The nice old barn — gateway to Springs — all gone. How very sad. Why?
MARION LOWE
Troubling Trend
Astoria, Queens
March 16, 2026
Dear David,
I am writing in response to a troubling trend I have observed in my fantasy baseball league and, I suspect, in leagues across this great nation. People are not doing their punishments. Or worse (and I want to be very precise and well-organized about this, which is simply how I personally talk) they are using artificial intelligence to do the punishments for them.
The punishment is a sacred thing. When Dave agreed to stand outside an Applebee’s and read his starting lineup out loud for 10 minutes, he agreed to do that as Dave, a human man who made poor decisions about his outfield depth. He did not agree to have a language model produce a stirring and grammatically immaculate monologue on his behalf while he sat at home eating chips. That is not accountability. That is a loophole. And, frankly, it is cowardly.
There are many reasons to honor fantasy league punishments, which I will list here in a thorough and well-structured way because that is simply my natural writing style and not at all a reflection of anything else:
One, it builds trust. Two, it builds character. Three, it is extremely funny for the rest of us, and we deserve that. We endured your weekly trash talk about a first baseman who hit .237. We have earned this.
I would also note that if you use A.I. to write your groveling apology letter or your embarrassing tweet or whatever your league has decided upon, we will know. The tone will be too balanced. The sentences too clean. There will be a suspicious absence of run-ons and a notable failure to bring up things that are not really relevant to the topic. Real shame is messy. Real people are messy. An A.I.-written punishment response sounds like a FAQ page and everyone can tell.
Honor your commitments. Do the punishment yourself. This is what separates a real league from a group of grown adults pretending to compete while secretly routing everything through a chatbot.
Sincerely,
BRYAN DONIGER
—
The writer was the last-place finisher in the Baby Hands Johnson Invitational League. Ed.
Ill-Informed Plan
East Hampton Village
March 7, 2026
To the Editor,
This week’s East Hampton Star article “Another Chance to Weigh in on Village Plan” brought me to the village’s draft comprehensive plan — but I stopped reading after page 9, which states, “Sag Harbor is the only village within the boundary of the Town of East Hampton.”
Is it the fact that the village has offloaded this work to a Manhattan consultancy that led to this misunderstanding? Or is it that no one has taken responsibility for the future of the East Hampton village?
At the village’s urging, I made an effort to proceed through the draft comprehensive plan, jumping ahead to Section 2. There I was met with another inconsistency in the data provided by BFJ Planning of Manhattan, which claims that “Workers 16 years and over make up less than half of the village’s population (46 percent).” Then on the next page, BFJ Planning of Manhattan claims that “About 46 percent of East Hampton’s population 16 years and older are not in the labor force.”
I believe that delegating the drafting of the comprehensive plan to a Manhattan consultancy, which, in turn, delegated the drafting to analysts with just a superficial understanding of our village, has resulted in an inconsistent and ill-informed plan.
Why should the village board not take responsibility for this work? They are our government.
DANIEL FRIEDMAN
Senior Housing
East Hampton
March 14, 2026
Dear Editor,
Your editorial noting that the village comprehensive plan doesn’t address the needs of village residents was right on the mark.
Census records show the majority of village residents are over 65 years of age, yet we are hearing the work force housing meme. It isn’t work force housing the village needs to address, it is senior housing.
The village is the obvious place in East Hampton for senior housing. It is walkable and the presence of seniors in high density housing will stimulate the retail economy without increasing automobile traffic. In addition, senior housing places no demands on the school system nor school-related real estate taxes.
Senior housing is something which the village comprehensive plan should address. Let us hope that the final version of the plan does so and this opportunity is not wasted on La-La-Land fantasies.
Sincerely,
PAUL FIONDELLA
Potentially Win-Win
East Hampton
March 14, 2026
Dear David
My recollection is that after the McGintee budget crisis, the dump started to be closed on Wednesdays to save money. Now that this crisis is long over, I believe this decision should be reversed.
After the recent big snowstorm, the dump (all town offices) was closed Monday and Tuesday. So, with the normal Wednesday closure, this was three straight days closed.
This particular instance is obviously very rare, but what does happen almost every year is holiday weeks, when the closure is/can also be two or three days, e.g., Christmas week closure was Wednesday, Christmas Eve, then Thursday, Christmas. Ditto the following week for New Year’s.
Anyone waiting in line at the dump on those weeks after two- or three-day closures, can attest to this inconvenience.
Additionally, I’m sure many, all year, may and do forget and come there on a Wednesday, only to unfortunately encounter the locked gates.
I also have another proposal. Many years ago, during the Tony Bullock regime, I believe, food scraps and other compostable items were separately collected at the dump and were processed into compost that was available for residents to take. There arose some issues with the state (environmental?) and this was shut down, as apparently whatever the problems were, it wasn’t feasible to fix them back then.
With current technology and/or environmental rule changes, maybe this can be relooked at. I believe it could be potentially win-win, reducing garbage that gets shipped out and providing useful product to residents. I recently learned that New York City now requires this separation, so we certainly can emulate that, and also learn from their experience/procedure.
As we have a supervisor election forthcoming, perhaps the candidates can opine and/or pledge action on these proposals?
RICHARD QUARANTO
Dog Park Passion
Springs
March 14, 2026
To the Editor,
I have lived in East Hampton my whole life, with the exception of college and a couple of bad decisions resulting in a brief move to Florida, but to say I am disappointed in our community and justice system is an understatement. Actually, I’m ashamed. I’d never believe this kind of thing could, much less would, happen here.
When the public is led to believe that it will have some sort of decision-making ability, and emotion and passion have a chance to ferment, it can only lead to disaster.
A few people with regard to the Springs dog park have made the park and its proposed improvements their life’s work, their passion.
Emotion and perceived power have caused great harm to someone due to disagreements. The woman I’m referring to also is very passionate about the dog park and has been since its inception. The bullying is limitless and has culminated in three individuals making vindictive, exaggerated, and allegedly false statements with criminal accusations. How this got past an investigator is beyond me.
A 75-year-old woman (who had a corroborating witness, by the way) spent the day in jail, had her car impounded for three days, and now faces criminal charges with extensive legal fees, when no one was hurt, endangered, or damaged in any way from what allegedly occurred in a parking lot. This mob of self-righteous individuals were all involved with the now-disbanded Springs Park Committee, and after insulting, baiting, and humiliating this woman, they decided she must be canceled. (Hell, why not have her arrested!) Not only should she be canceled, she should suffer a greater punishment: a criminal record. Why? She doesn’t agree with them and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. I guess you’re not allowed to do that in this town.
To the individuals who filed these ridiculous charges against Barbara Feldman: Man up! So what, you don’t like her and you don’t see eye to eye. So what, your feelings were hurt, she pissed you off, or whatever. You are using the town, its justice system (and our tax dollars) to grind your ax, and that’s B.S.
Why is this getting legal traction at all when there is clear video proving her innocence? Wouldn’t a judge review this video and determine there is no case?
I’ve seen the video, and it’s pretty hard to believe that anything criminal happened to the complainant, as there is absolutely nothing there (video provided by town surveillance footage). This has been going on for 18 months. Do the right thing and drop the charges.
What they have done to this woman is shameful. They are not God the Almighty.
In the grand scheme of things, I doubt East Hampton Town cares about what they think or want at the dog park anyway. The board will do whatever they feel necessary to benefit the community and stay within the town budget, no matter what they want or who they bully or shame to get it.
To those who have pressed charges and those who have wasted town money and resources on a ridiculous, time-sucking case: Please stop this foolishness and reconsider your decisions. You’re dealing with someone’s life.
KAREN LOCKARD
Common Sense
East Hampton
March 13, 2026
To the Editor,
In quantum mechanics, there is a famous thought experiment, known as Schrodinger’s cat, where a hypothetical cat in a closed box may be considered to be simultaneously both alive and dead while it is unobserved, as a result of its fate being linked to a random event that may or may not occur. So, until one opens the box, the cat logically has to be considered to be both alive and dead, since its actual status is unknowable.
I could not help but think of this paradox when I read the article “Brewery Is Not a Bar” (Feb. 19) posing the question whether a craft brewery with an accessory tasting room is a bar or tavern, and fortunately the principal building inspector made a common-sense ruling that a craft brewery with an accessory tasting room is not a “bar” as defined in the town code. However, the cats who own the proposed Springs Brewery had not jumped to safety out of the closed box yet.
Next, they had to address whether a strip of grass between the gravel strips in an unpaved driveway are in fact required to be included in the 70 percent total lot calculations. Is the same grassy piece of ground an “impermeable surface” or “improvement” if located between two gravel driveway strips, while not an “impermeable surface” or “improvement” if located outside the gravel strips? (Fortunately, the principal building inspector indicated that he was open to granting a variance if the driveway causes the project to exceed the 70 percent rule in any event, so perhaps this metaphysical conundrum is not going to needlessly block or delay the entire project.)
A possible unintended consequence of an adverse determination on the tricky “Can grass be an improvement?” question is that owners might simply pave over land that would otherwise be left at least partially in an undeveloped state. For example, assume someone creating a parking lot wants to leave a nice green island of native grasses or shrubbery in the middle of the lot. Is that island also to count against the owner’s 70 percent calculation even though its purpose is to beautify and soften the parking area? Will the owner therefore decide he might as well pave it over and get more parking spaces or shrink the size of the lot over all to fit within the 70 percent limit and create more risk of accidents due to creating a tighter turning radius for car traffic?
Maybe all this is just to say that perhaps our land use rules are a bit overly pedantic and some common sense and good judgement would be a welcome change.
To those interested, I recommend “The Death of Common Sense: How Law Is Suffocating America” and subsequent books by Philip K. Howard, a prominent New York City lawyer whose writings recount many examples of overly technical rules overriding the use of reasonable discretion — with negative consequences. He is also the chairman of Common Good, a nonpartisan coalition dedicated to simplifying laws so that Americans can use common sense in their everyday lives rather than being hamstrung by excessive bureaucracy.
Best,
STACEY OLLIFF
Requires Listening
East Hampton
March 16, 2026
Dear Editor:
Despite ample encouragement, after screening with the Democrats I have chosen not to run for supervisor. This letter details some thoughts about my decision.
Local politics involves leading and listening. In a small town, we know our neighbors, and problems hit close to home. Our nearby Town Hall should be an open door, Instead, it has proven to be more of a closed book.
The town board and the Democratic Committee do not seem to welcome public engagement; disagreement and even legitimate questions are often viewed as disloyalty.
I screened because it was a chance to share my experience and an opportunity to raise questions about board actions.
I asked why there was no public accountability for the failed senior center plan and the resulting loss of some one million taxpayer dollars. I questioned decisions to eliminate zoning review and planning board decision-making. I agreed with environmentalists that clear-cutting seven acres of endangered bat habitat was a poor example for the town to set.
Accountability requires action, not simply appointing an advisory board and announcing that the town board was looking forward to an even more ambitious plan. How can we know if the town board is headed in the right direction if we don’t know where they got lost in the first place?
Over the years, back-room decisions have harmed the town. In the long-run, limiting public participation never helps.
In 2021, Springs residents opposed an ill-considered push to install a 185-foot-tall cell tower in the woodland centerpiece of their modest neighborhood.
Our then-supervisor falsely claimed it was the only available location. His deputy, now current supervisor, supported the project and submitted a flawed and inadequate planning analysis, the quality of which ensured its failure. To date despite residents’ repeated requests for action, no steps have been taken to preserve the woods. (Payback?)
Why hasn’t robust public comment been encouraged on a proposed gun club lease renewal? Town residents, club members, and endangered neighbors surely have important information to share.
The town board similarly ignored overwhelming public support to maintain the Springs Park as-is. Not until it tried to force-feed a plan to change its design and vegetation, did park users come into conflict after years of calm.
The town board has thwarted public participation by citizen advisory committees. The C.A.C.s are only allowed to offer suggestions to the town board, which are routinely ignored. C.A.C.s are prohibited from commenting on applications of concern in their own hamlets, yet their informed input would greatly assist our review boards.
Missteps have continued. In a pending lawsuit, the town is inexplicably supporting a Further Lane homeowner who allegedly violated planning and zoning board requirements to preserve public views across his property. Why isn’t the town defending its zoning decisions?
Similarly, the board never took simple measures needed to protect the landmarked Brooks-Park Studio, which is collapsing. The National Trust has deemed it significant and supports its preservation.
Good governance is not rocket science; it requires listening to the public, following the law, and understanding that disagreement is the oxygen of democracy. Unfortunately, the current town board’s record shows that it has not learned the simple essentials of effective leadership.
JEFF BRAGMAN
Only One Chance
Montauk
March 16, 2026
Hey, Reader!
Take a break from your weekly ritual of perusing through the letters in this section of The Star and try this quiz.
Below is a list of actions and behaviors that are attributed to either one of the two candidates running for East Hampton Town supervisor. You need to guess which one belongs to each description.
Choose J.L. if you think it’s attributable to Jerry Larsen. Choose K.B.G. if you think it belongs to Kathee Burke-Gonzalez. Correct answers at the end. Don’t peek.
1) I’ve seen him/her wade into complicated, thankless issues; affordable housing, environmental protection, zoning pressures, not because they’re easy wins, but because they matter to the people who actually live here year-round. (K.B.G. or J.L.)
2) He/she speaks confidently, moves decisively, and always knows exactly what East Hampton needs, which, coincidentally, tends to align with what the real estate industry wants. His/her vision for this town is not wrong because it’s bold. It’s wrong because it belongs to a constituency of one: wealth. (K.B.G. or J.L.)
3) He/she has worked genuinely, unglamorously worked, on the issues that don’t generate headlines but determine whether this town remains a real community or becomes a seasonal amenity for the ultra-wealthy. (K.B.G. or J.L.).
4) He/she is a leader who has decided he/she already knows the answers, and that the people most affected by his/her decisions don’t need a seat at the table. (K.B.G. or J.L.)
5) He/she spends his/her days in the weeds attending community meetings, returning calls from constituents who can’t afford a lobbyist, fighting to keep East Hampton livable for the teachers, tradespeople, and longtime families who give this place its soul. (K.B.G. or J.L.)
6) His/her door is open but only to a narrow slice of the community: the people who can write the biggest checks. This isn’t hidden. You can see it in the decisions, the alliances, and the way that a room is run: top-down, closed-off, and certain he/she already knows best. (K.B.G. or J.L.)
If you answered K.B.G. for 1, 3, 5 and J.L. for 2, 4, 6, I know who you’ll be voting for.
We are at a tipping point, a crossroads, and we have only one chance. The decisions made in the next few years about housing, open space, traffic, and who this community is actually for will echo for generations. Do we want a supervisor who works for everyone or one who works for the few?
Kathee Burke-Gonzalez has earned another term. East Hampton has earned better than Jerry Larsen.
LOU CORTESE
A Party of Nothing
Amagansett
March 13, 2026
To the Editor:
There was a moment in 2015 when I understood that Donald Trump could win the nomination and the election. He had momentum and dread certainty, but most of all, he was facing structures of party and of democracy (those are not synonymous, but I will write another letter some day about that) already so weakened that a large part of the analysis consisted of asking, Who or what can stop him?
I feel the same way about Jerry Larsen as of about a month ago. His assault on the Democratic Party committee, relying on the support of many people whom he solicited to change registration, is wickedly clever — and can succeed, as is also signaled by the number of existing delegates who have defected to him.
The local Democratic Party (which, of course, mirrors the national one in its decay) bears most of the blame for this. Years ago, it began driving out its best and brightest, who could have helped in so many ways: by manifesting values, expressing a consistent but honest narrative, taking risks to protect its voters, creating a relationship of trust with town residents.
By becoming a party of nothing, about nothing, and largely accomplishing nothing (unable to privatize the airport, defend Truck Beach, apply its zoning laws to Duryea’s, or even to build the senior center), the party, despite years of warning and dissent, has walked right into the propeller — and deserves the outcome.
We, the voters, do not.
For democracy in East Hampton,
JONATHAN WALLACE
No Kings Rally
East Hampton
March 16, 2026
Dear Editor,
If there is anything these last 15 months have taught us, it’s that our democracy only works if we, the people, remain vigilant with our civic responsibilities.
Many of us have watched in horror as executive order after executive order seeks to dismantle our ever so fragile democracy.
Through the shock, awe, and fear, we have also witnessed an increase in real, civic engagement. People who have never spoken about politics or policy in public are feeling compelled to speak to their family members and post on social media. People who have never called their congressional representatives, have picked up the phone and made the call because they feel so deeply about the path our country has taken. Folks who have never participated in protests have joined their neighbors in the streets, in community to stand up against the dismantling of our democracy.
On March 28, East Hampton will have another opportunity to stand together and stand up for the sanctity of our democracy. We invite our neighbors to join us at the local No Kings rally to be held on East Hampton Town Hall grounds, 159 Pantigo Road., from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The event will be a peaceful, nonpartisan, family friendly way to come together to defend our constitutional democracy. We invite our community to bring your voice (there will be singing), bring your signs, your flags, your friends, and your family.
We expect a large crowd, and parking at Town Hall fills up fast. There is no parking along Pantigo Road. We kindly ask that attendees respect the neighboring businesses; please no not park in the business lots or in front of storefronts. Their customers need access, and being good neighbors is what this is all about.
Off-site parking will be available at Atlantic Avenue Beach (No beach sticker needed). We have organized free shuttle buses to run continuously between Atlantic Avenue Beach and Town Hall. The buses will run from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. If you are driving, please carpool (find four friends who will join you), arrive early, and use the buses. If you walk, bike, or Uber, go straight to Town Hall.
Let’s all say thank you to the neighboring businesses by grabbing breakfast or lunch before or after the protest. The restaurants and shops are part of our community and deserve our support. R.S.V.P. at mobilize.us/nokings/event/903372.
If you would like to help make this event successful and wish to volunteer as a safety marshal or help with cleanup, email [email protected].
People For Democracy East Hampton is a volunteer group of local folks promoting constitutional democracy by organizing local No Kings rallies, participating in a weekly rally with beaconfordemocracy.org and forming a local singing resistance group. Learn more at peoplefordemocracyeasthampton.org.
We look forward to seeing you out there!
In Love and truth,
KATHERINE STAHL
GLORIA FRAZEE
ALYSON FOLLENIUS
Can See Clearly
East Hampton
March 16, 2026
Dear Mr. Editor,
Hope all is well at the Star. Well, you smoked me out. Your pinhead editorial “Don’t Be Fooled on Voter ID Bill” from the Feb. 19 edition was a beautiful far-left spin on a no-brainer, as evidenced by several rebuttals in the March 12 edition of letters to the editor.
You would have to explain to me at length how someone would be “disenfranchised” by having to produce a passport or birth certificate to obtain a national photo ID disenfranchise means “to deprive a person of a legal right, most commonly, the right to vote.”
Well, on the other hand, I can clearly see this puts the brakes on the Democratic Party’s thrust to change the face of America; all the illegals that came in under your President Biden may not be able to vote.
If an illegal alien is disenfranchised is that some type of crime against humanity?
I went to Riverhead to update my driver license to a Real ID. I wasn’t disenfranchised!
Best regards and always, yours to command,
JEFFREY PLITT
Clean Power
Springs
March 16, 2026
To the Editor,
The war in Iran shines a light on the self-inflicted harm and ongoing exposure to various trouble’s we create by continuing to rely on the ever-vulnerable petro-dictator supply chain.
When will we realize that clean power systems are not only less expensive, but that renewable distributed energy resources—like local solar and battery storage—provide increasingly important local self-sufficiency as climate and geopolitical circumstances destabilize?
Renewable distributed energy resources are an investment, not a cost. What is necessary is using the savings from not paying the utility to offset the financing for the renewable systems which amortize, and then offer savings in the short, medium, or long term.
The East End is the poster child for both the risk and the opportunity created by the energy supply choices we make. The time for local solar and battery storage — at home, in businesses, and at the municipal level — was yesterday, but it is never too late to start.
KRAE VAN SICKLE
May Well Be Able?
East Hampton
March 16, 2026
Dear David,
As demonstrated by the wild swing away from Donald Trump in recent elections around the country, it is finally dawning on many Americans that electing a malignant narcissist and compulsive liar is dangerous. They were okay with it at first, as it seemed his goal, to own the libs, was in line with their own wishes. Now there are clear signs of his descent into dementia. At the same time, evidence mounts that running a country in a complex world is much more difficult than making a profit in the casino industry, a business in which the odds of every transaction favor the house. Despite those odds, Trump rode that business into bankruptcy. It is much harder to get 95 percent of the world that is not American to buy his schtick.
The problem is that this personality type believes its own lies. When he says, I know more about science than the scientists, he has all the evidence he needs. He smokes his own stash. As he sneers into the cameras and claims America has new respect, a Politico poll in Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and France shows that our former allies hold us in contempt, a word that means worthless, beneath respect.
His adventures in tariffs were a great side hustle. He got a bunch of countries to bribe him with hotel and crypto deals to get their tariffs lowered. For the Trump family, estimates put their self-enrichment around $4 billion. For our country, it has resulted in rising inflation, falling employment and his own, packed, Supreme Court telling him it was all illegal from the get-go: pay it back.
He snatched a corrupt dictator in Venezuela under the delusion that he could turn its oil industry over to American oil companies. Instead, the oil executives, less naive and deluded than Trump, told him that investing billions in a collapsing country run by violent gangs was stupid. The country, they told him, was “uninvestable.” He never asked.
Undeterred, he bombed the hell out of Iran, a country of 90 million Muslims, and thought it would be as pliant as Venezuela. Iran, it turns out, has the will and the wherewithal to turn the region, including the homelands of the sheiks who bribed him, into a blazing inferno.
Oil went to $125 a barrel with a bullet toward $150. The sheiks are freaking out, the world economy is circling in the toilet, and America is standing naked with no allies and running out of missiles. Even Trump’s buddy Vladimir Putin has deserted him and is giving targeting information to the Iranians to help them kill Americans.
There is no assured escape route for our country. Republican legislators are mired in the ignorance of their MAGA base, who will primary any one of them who dares to point out their emperor’s nakedness.
With the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Justice Department, and no doubt, some of the military in the hands of stooges, abetted by the horde of immigration-Gestapo types, Trump may well be able to stifle the midterm elections with some cockamamie emergency declaration or brute-force takeover of elections in swing-state cities. The door rapidly closing on democracy in America requires an overwhelming victory in the midterms, if they indeed happen, to remove a huge block of Republicans from both houses.
Our town does not run the country; we can do only one thing that might help. Vote our Republican House representative, Nick LaLota, out of office. It is a slim hope, but maybe there are more sane people in the red and purple areas of the county and the country than we realize.
Even the queen of MAGA, Marjorie Taylor Greene, has acknowledged, “He lied to us.” A big wave may be coming. If New York does not lead, who will? March. Donate. Vote
DON MATHESON
Isn’t It Time?
East Hampton
March 12, 2026
Dear Mr. Rattray,
The war raging in Iran and spreading throughout the Middle East has caused human tragedy that defies being tabulated simply in terms of the cost or the number of dead and wounded. What can be tabulated, however, is the growing list of frightening characters in Trump’s world who have emerged center stage since the war began. Consider the following quotations:
An unnamed military officer recently addressing combat troops: “President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.” (The officer has no idea what the Book of Revelation says.)
Linsey Graham: “I’m in Miami. You see this hat? ‘Free Cuba.’ Stay tuned. The liberation of Cuba is upon us. We’re marching through the world. We’re clearing out the bad guys. Cuba is next.” (Are North Korea, China, and Russia on the horizon, or only countries that can’t retaliate?)
Marco Rubio: “The president is determined we were not going to get hit first. It’s that simple.” (How does Mr. Rubio explain Trump’s remarks in June 2025 that “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”?)
J.D. Vance: “”We’re not at war with Iran. We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program.” (Has Mr. Vance heard about the girls’ school that the U.S. bombed, killing 175 people mostly children?)
During a recent retreat for House Republicans in Florida, Trump said, “We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil.” Isn’t it time for the American people to take a little excursion to get rid of some evil right here at home?
SALVATORE TOCCI