A Success
East Hampton
March 30, 2026
To the Editor,
The Kendall Madison Foundation Board would like to thank our community for supporting our annual fund-raiser at the Stephen Talkhouse on Friday. We’d like to thank Peter for hosting the event, his staff, D.J. Andy, and, most of all, those who supported the event by selling or buying tickets. Your support helped make the event a success!
Thank you all again,
SHARON A. BACON
Chairperson
Resistance and Resolve
East Hampton
March 30, 2026
Dear Editor,
This past Saturday, “No Kings” day 3.0, more than eight million people took to the streets and sidewalks of cities and neighborhoods across our nation to raise their voices and signs to protest the current administration’s abuses of power.
Across the East End, thousands of our neighbors came out for “No Kings” rallies in Riverhead, Hampton Bays, Southampton, Sag Harbor, Greenport, and East Hampton. In East Hampton alone, the official estimate put the crowd at 1,200, or 1.2 percent of our town’s population. Many more drove past, waving signs and honking in support.
These actions demonstrate resistance and resolve and are designed to galvanize our communities, strengthen networks, and remind us that we are not alone in this fight to preserve and protect our Constitution, our rights, and our bodies.
Saturday accomplished all of the above. It’s a powerful experience when a community comes together to sing, listen to the words of our founders, and show compassion for all our neighbors!
We owe a special thank-you to the Town of East Hampton for its flexibility, as we staged the demonstration on Town Hall grounds. Thank you to Lt. Kenneth Alversa and the East Hampton Town Police Department for working with us to establish and implement a safety plan for the demonstration. Lieutenant Alversa and all the officers could not have been more gracious, kind, and helpful. Our community is lucky to have such a dedicated and professional team of law enforcement officers.
Thank you to Town Councilwoman Cate Rogers for her moving readings of historical texts to remind us that democracy takes work, and to Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez for her support.
There are so many volunteers to thank, including Peter Van Scoyoc, Peter Honerkamp, and John Frazee for managing shuttles and off-site parking. Thank you to Dan Mongan, as our safety lead, and all the yellow-vesties who made the day a success.
A huge thank-you to the fabulous musicians Emily Weitz, Adelaide Mestre, Francine Whitney, and Job Potter for sharing their talent and leading us in song.
Thank you to East Hampton Business Service for all of the rush same-day printing! And to Portable 1 Restrooms for the pristine porta-thrones and great service. Thank you to First Student for the friendly school bus drivers and warm buses! Thank you to Hampton Sound and Music Production for helping us, quite literally, amplify our message!
Last, but not least, thank you to everyone who participated, whether you stood in the 35-degree air, drove by and honked, helped spread the word, or were there in spirit. Together, every action we take helps make the changes we want to see for our country.
We’re inspired to continue bringing people together because democracy is not a spectator sport. It takes continuous observance, participation, and courage. Planning for the next “No Kings” day, fostering new connections with our neighboring communities, and creating a new Singing Resistance East Hampton group is under way.
To lend a hand, give feedback or simply stay connected, email us through PeopleForDemocracyEH.org or follow us on Instagram, @People4Democracy_EH. To join neighbors in a weekly rally, visit BeaconForDemocracy.org
In hope,
KATHERINE STAHL
GLORIA FRAZEE
Homage to the East End
Just driving east
Where the sea eats away at the narrow lands
Its coves and shallow waters
Shellfishing as a way of life
Long-lasting traditions passed down by fathers to sons and daughters
Collecting deer sheds and turkey feathers
The bass bite
Limiting out on fluke, black seabass, and scup
Parking on private property when the owners leave for winter
Friendships that go way back
Faces you know from around town without ever exchanging names
Trucks on the beaches
Sand between our toes
Cobblestones that roll
Waves curling and white capping
Surfing to find freedom
Being a part of nature
Feeling a sense of belonging and purpose
Trying to forget about any problems
Thinking about our families’ futures here
PAUL BROOKE JR.
Never Too Late
East Hampton
March 26, 2026
To the Editor,
The Star is not big enough to contain all the praise and love I could share about my grandparents. Both sets had their share of hardships due to wars or health issues. I loved them so much so that upon waking every morning, I say, “Good morning, Oma and Opa, Grandma and Grandpa.” And I continue by naming all my departed family members and pets. This is how I keep them alive in me. It gives me so much solace, as I miss them so much.
Moreover, thanks to my wonderful son and daughter-in-law, I am now a grandmother myself to two adorable boys, and I appreciate my departed grandparents even more. I hope they are looking down on me from above and realize what wonderful role models they were for me.
Hence, dear Randi Dickson (“Guestwords,” March 26), please know that it is never too late to build a loving relationship. You can keep your grandmother alive within you and build your loving relationship.
PATRICIA ANHOLT HABR
How on Earth?
East Bay, Calif.
March 26, 2026
Dear David,
“Guestwords” this week made me sad. I didn’t have the same experience the writer did, having a meanspirited grandma. But I do know people who did and it affects a child even when they grow up. Obviously, since she is writing about it as an adult. Even though she eloquently states things happened to her grandmother early on to cause her to perhaps behave so unkindly to her granddaughter, it is never an excuse in my book. I’m so sorry the writer had such a non-relationship with her grandmother.
It is one of the greatest gifts to share in a grandchild’s life. They are pure joy and teach us so much, especially how to see life through their eyes — unspoiled and not jaded. They ask us nothing in return but to join in their generosity of spirit and unconditional love. I had such a loving Gram, and I’ll never forget her. I hope I’m regarded as that grandmother to my four amazing grandchildren. They light up my life.
Now, speaking of jaded — “Bless their hardened hearts,” as my Gram would say — what is it with people being so nasty about others? I read comment after comment in my feed on Facebook when it came to an advertisement in another paper for the “No Kings” local protest coming up. Maybe it is this weekend? Anyway, what was said was so degrading to people. I suppose it was meant as humor but it came off as put-downs and I almost could see the anger on the faces of the commenters as I read their awful words. I knew one, sadly.
“Freaking idiots!”
“Why don’t they get their immigrant maids to protest for them, rich a-holes?”
“Nothing better to do I guess, you idiots.”
“Go get a job!”
“Go buy your Depends.”
Wow. Gobsmacked here.
How on earth can we move on from this meshuganah administration with this sentiment coming from the mouths of other Americans? Jeez. It’s like we live in different countries. North and south much?
They seem so annoyed to say the least that anyone dare protest about anything related to or in criticism of this president. To them, he is doing a bang-up job, their idol still. Perception — it’s mind boggling.
Anyway, that’s my three and a half cents for now. I won’t be at the protest, as I’m not in town anymore. Where I am now there will surely be peaceful protests, too. I’ll be spending time with family and friends enjoying stellar weather. My protesting days are over. My pen is my sword.
Still surprised sometimes,
NANCI LAGARENNE
In the Sand
East Hampton
March 30, 2026
Dear David,
I am writing today to publicly thank Pete Topping, our Peconic Baykeeper, for his well-received and much-needed letter to the editor last week regarding the East Hampton Town Trustees members’ refusal to course-correct their initial act of burying hundreds of dead, diseased Canada geese bodies in the sand at Georgica Beach.
As soon as this act became public I reached out by text and email to two East Hampton Town Board councilmen, emailed the East Hampton Town Trustees office on its website after they posted their response release, and also emailed Christopher Gangemi, who wrote the articles about this, initially online and then in the last two weeks’ papers, with hope to find likeminded members of our community to request that the trustees do the right thing and dig up, bag these dead birds, and haul them to a proper facility for incineration. The councilmen said it wasn’t under their jurisdiction, and I never received a response from the trustees or your reporter.
I speak not only for myself but, most important, for everyone I spoke with that this is not only insane but a townwide issue regardless of jurisdiction and Department of Environmental Conservation recommendations, and that the best course of action after the mass burial would be to remove these hazardous and potentially dangerous, diseased carcasses — dangerous not only to our environment but to people, pets, and our wildlife.
There is no excuse, no egos, and no excuse bigger than public safety and our precious environment. The D.E.C. does recommend incinerating, and after hearing from professional experts, it is the most safe and effective means of removal. Time is of the essence while the temperatures haven’t warmed too much, and before people start to populate our beaches, to get this done and course-corrected.
I highly suggest that the other “hundreds” of dead, diseased birds that East Hampton Village buried at its village vehicle and road department yard at the base of Accabonac Road be removed as well and properly incinerated as this yard is located in the Town of East Hampton, not the Village.
No Excuse!
BETSY PETROSKI
Time to Act
East Hampton
March 30, 2026
Dear David,
There are so many things in this world we cannot fix. You would imagine that when there is something staring us in the face that we can fix, we would jump at the opportunity. But no. We have still not banned the use of gas leaf blowers year-round.
The arguments for the transition to electric are compelling: Much of the noise will be eliminated. The air pollution from the greenhouse gases will vanish. Gasoline leaks into the aquifer will disappear altogether. Why do those things matter?
Noise damages the eardrums of all who are close — workers, animals, birds, children — and it disturbs the peace and quiet for the rest of us. Air pollution damages our health. The dangerous air-bound emissions from one hour of leaf blowing with gas is the equivalent of a single car driving 1,100 miles, or 15 cars, for an hour.
Emissions from gas leaf blowers create high levels of formaldehyde, benzene, fine particulate matter, and smog-forming chemicals, which are known to cause dizziness, headaches, asthma attacks, heart and lung disease, cancer and/or dementia, as well as effects on prenatal development. Gasoline leaks into the aquifer that provides the water we drink from.
Nonprofit organizations like Healthy Yards and Quiet Communities provide page after page of science-based evidence about the damage done by gas-powered leaf blowers.
The arguments against transitioning? Money. It costs money to purchase new equipment although by this time landscapers have already invested in electric given the seasonal bans of many East End municipalities and Southampton Village’s year-round ban. By this time, they should also have had experience with lower maintenance cost: no oil. no oil filters. no belts. no carburetors. The town could also step in with rebates.
Power and duration are an old problem but the electric blowers currently on the market now match gas in both power and duration. “The newest generation of electric chargers can last almost two days without a charge.” This from a trade magazine, Lawn & Landscape. More at Consumer Reports. Worth noting: Local landscaping companies like Eco Harmony are committed to electricity and are thriving.
Consequences of not transitioning include significant health risks for the worker, for our children, for our animals, for our environment and for us. How can that not be more important than anything else?
This is the moment when I should resist getting into the argument that we shouldn’t blow leaves at all. We should allow them to rest, providing the insects with cover and lawns with nutrition. That argument is profoundly made and can be found locally at the Perfect Earth and ChangeHampton (which also has powerful arguments for the year-round ban here). The argument that I will make instead is that we need to take one step at a time. Amend the current legislation (signed in 2021) from seasonal to all year round. Update the town’s existing educational brochure with wide distribution. And continue to require annual registrations for professional landscapers and consider incentives for the purchase of electric equipment. When a summons is required, it is the homeowner who should receive it, not the worker.
This transition to electric will spare landscape workers the damage of operating the toxic and painfully loud machines all year round (much higher than our town’s permissible noise level from music). It will offer a respite for the rest of us. It will be good for our creatures and our soil, not to mention our health, our children’s health, the workers’ health — as the air becomes cleaner, and the water healthier.
Additionally, it will be more economical for our landscapers as maintenance costs will be reduced.
It is time for the town to act. Imagine how grateful we would all be for the town to choose clean air, quiet neighborhoods, and a healthier future for everyone who lives and works here.
LENA TABORI
Two Holes?
East Hampton
March 27, 2026
Dear David,
I thank the Highway Department for finally filling the two gigantic, dangerous holes on Two Holes of Water Road.
However, there are approximately 50 holes of various sizes along the road; every day each one grows in size. Did the workers read the road sign that says, “Two Holes of Water Road” and decide that it would be appropriate to just fill two holes?
The road desperately needs repaving. Not only are there numerous holes, but the road is lumpy-bumpy and has been for quite some time. I do not understand why the Town of East Hampton will not repave this road.
JANE ADELMAN
Precious Right
Montauk
March 30, 2026
To the Editor:
First, thank you, David Rattray, for this week’s excellent Mast-Head observations: thorough yet succinct in summarizing the tension between those who live here because we value its natural beauty and the integrity and generosity of most of its permanent residents, and those who seek to exploit and thereby destroy those qualities.
Then, to Jonathan Wallace and anyone who in protest against the admittedly sad choices in our coming primary, plan to “sit this one out.” (Regrettably, I do not know Mr. Wallace, though I consistently admire and value the letters he frequently sends to The Star.)
Throughout my long life — I am 93 — more times than not, probably, I have found myself forced to vote for the “lesser evil,” as colloquially put.
Rarely could I go joyfully to the polls with the conviction that I was choosing an outstanding candidate — the election of 2008 was one such exception. But do not give up your precious right to choose, and later you can work to improve the choices. For there is always a more-dangerous possibility that will triumph should you fail to acknowledge that.
HELEN SEARING
How Much Is Enough?
Springs
March 30, 2026
To the Editor,
I want to preface this letter by saying I am in the business of real estate, and I am not suggesting that all building or transactions on the East End come to a stop. In a world with biophysical limits, where our economic and development models are based on continual growth, the goal here is simply to ask whether we should be examining underlying assumptions — and consider how growth, in various ways, may be working against our community’s long-term well-being.
If for no other reason, the deterioration of the town’s groundwater — our sole source of drinking water — and our surface waters, as reported in the East Hampton Star article “A Grave Picture of East Hampton Waters,” should prompt us to ask: How much is enough?
In the article, Christopher Gobler of Stony Brook University makes clear that development plays a central role. Activity on land affects groundwater, which then flows into our harbors and bays. Nitrogen and bacteria from septic systems and fertilizers are key contributors.
Even relatively low-density areas such as Napeague Harbor and Accabonac Harbor have shown increasing and concerning impairment over time. More intensively developed areas, including Georgica Pond and Wainscott Pond, are among the most degraded. These trends suggest that cumulative impacts from both adjacent and dispersed development are significant.
Water quality is only one indicator. Recent limits on beach permits by Southampton Town affecting Sag Harbor residents are another example of demand for finite resources exceeding capacity. Everyone on the East End understands, and is disrupted in some way, by the strains on the area during peak season.
Yet the common response is almost always to add capacity — more infrastructure, more services, more accommodation — rather than to ask whether continual expansion is the right approach in a place defined by physical limits. The East End is, after all, bounded by water on three sides and dense development to the west.
Some impacts can be mitigated; others are harder to displace. Nitrogen and bacterial loading of groundwater and surface waters are not easily “exported.” Adding capacity as a strategy to manage overload will exacerbate many factors that are at the roots of the problem.
Increasing reliance on importing goods and services, while exporting waste, can subject us to vulnerabilities on fragile supply chains. As geopolitical and climate conditions become less stable, we should seek strategies that make the community more self-reliant and resilient, not less.
This leads to practical questions. How much additional housing capacity should we create, particularly when much of it serves a highly seasonal population?
What are the true drivers of peak demand? For instance, is it short-term rentals, remote businesses, using our housing stock as investments, or increasing home size and occupancy?
Does it make sense to permanently expand infrastructure for a surge that lasts only a few weeks each year, or are there more flexible approaches — transportation options, shared resources, or demand-management strategies — that could reduce pressure while preserving the character of our hamlets?
Are we willing to continue degrading quality of life without confronting the inherent contradiction of continued growth in a very limited area?
Do we need a new vision grounded in quality of life rather than excess?
There is precedent for balancing growth with conservation. The community preservation fund itself benefited from support within the real estate community. That same spirit of stewardship is relevant today.
Ultimately, this is about achieving a balance between development and the limits of the place we live. What will it take to accommodate the people who want to be here and also sustain a healthy environment and community? How can we go beyond declaring we are environmental stewards to taking actions that address how much growth our land, water, and infrastructure can sustain?
KRAE VAN SICKLE
Hard to See
Amagansett
March 29, 2026
To the Editor:
Companion articles by the two Christophers on last week’s front page reveal that both the town and village boards will be discussing Organizacion Latino Americana’s proposed anti-ICE legislation in the month to come. I was unable to find the text of the proposed law on either’s official website, though I did find a link on the Internet to what Minerva Perez of OLA described in a related article as a third and final “pared-down” version.
The final draft of the ordinance, aside from mandating the creation of committees and keeping files of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity, contains only two substantive provisions, that the municipality’s police force may demand that ICE agents identify themselves, and that they are not to “permit a federal agency to enter a nonpublic area of a designated town/village property for the purposes of conducting an immigration enforcement operation” (unless they have a warrant, of course).
The articles in The Star discuss aspects of the proposed law that do not appear in the final draft I saw, for example, a requirement that the village’s Flock license plate reader surveillance cameras “shall not be accessed, queried, or shared” by village staff on behalf of ICE. The final draft says nothing about the Flock cameras.
Even taking the statements in the two articles as correct — assuming that an earlier draft of the law or a revised one is under consideration — it is hard to see how the proposed ordinance would change anything. ICE doesn’t seek any cooperation out here; it just shows up.
Even a provision that the village will not share Flock information would be relatively meaningless, as ICE could obtain information directly from Flock (which also claims it will not cooperate, but who knows) or from a more cooperative police force elsewhere in the country, which could search records originating in East Hampton.
The only way to protect people against Flock would be to pull out the cameras, which First Citizen Jerry Larsen is not offering to do. There is nothing in the ordinance which would prevent ICE from unexpectedly showing up at East Hampton Town Justice Court and arresting undocumented people responding to tickets issued through the village’s Flock enforcement program, for example.
I am skeptical about Mr. Larsen’s bold move to aid endangered nonvoters against the Trump administration. He has no history of protecting the oppressed, but he has oppressed the unprotected, notably the village ambulance volunteers who inadvertently stood between him and monetization of the village ambulance.
I will be watching to see if the ordinance passes, and in what form, and what actions the village actually then takes. If the First Citizen wins the election and becomes town supervisor, I will be highly interested to observe how often he stands up for his poorest constituents once he has consolidated power.
Of course, the town’s efforts aren’t likely to lead anywhere either. Up until now, Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez’s responses on ICE have been bloodless — she literally sounded like a bureaucrat dreaming of becoming an accountant, in stating that there is little the town can do about ICE, we never know when they will show up, etc.
Over the years, the Democratic machine’s main action on existential risks like sea level rise has been to create committees to talk about them, like the coastal resilience assessment plan committee (note the acronym) and the more-recent Latino Advisory Committee bewilderingly chaired by the apparently very non-Latino machine operative Anna Skrenta.
I can’t resist adding that OLA really does not strike me as an activist organization relentlessly speaking truth to power out here, but seems to have been co-opted, aiding local power hierarchies to impersonate, rather than implement, compassionate and moral choices.
In February, Ellie Aghayeva, a Columbia student, was taken from her dorm by ICE agents who had tricked security to let them in. Mayor Mamdani, upon getting word, immediately went to Washington, appealed personally to the president, and got her released. Unfortunately, many of us, including some readers of The Star, can’t see beyond the mayor’s religion and skin color to his honesty and courage.
I can’t remember any prior New York mayor (John Lindsay is the first one I was old enough to observe) with such fortitude and flair acting to protect a constituent. I do not believe that either Ms. Burke-Gonzalez or Mr. Larsen would ever manifest, show up, or act in such a way.
For democracy in East Hampton,
JONATHAN WALLACE
De-Install
East Hampton
March 30, 2026
To the Editor,
I write regarding your recent editorial noting “the highly intrusive Flock network.”
It does not take much imagination to foresee videos of “No Kings” protests — faces and license plates — being put through an artificial intelligence wringer sorted by voting record. Out will pop all the small mistakes of a lifetime noted on a summons to appear — a lawyer’s delight.
Conservatives are rightly concerned about the unintended consequences of the new. Fortunately, we can easily recover from Flock.
De-install it now.
Thanks, Star, for the heads-up.
TOM MACKEY
Act Locally
Springs
March 27, 2026
To the Editor,
I’ve noticed there has been a handful of letters recently about the issue of the potential rollback of New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. As someone who went to Albany to lobby for this law in 2019, I’ve had my own misgivings about how pragmatic it was from the start.
Many don’t realize when this law was originally passed that there were no set targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction or how it would be implemented. There was a two-year period designated to put together a realistic plan that then stretched into four, given the pandemic.
Sadly, despite the extra time to come up with a workable program, the targets eventually set, such as 70 percent of all electricity to be renewably generated by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040, were not practical. A more reasonable approach should probably extend those deadlines by five years.
I’d also suggest shelving the cap-and-trade plan as these tend to be ineffective, usually benefit politically connected patrons, while also unreasonably raising prices for the average citizen.
California, for instance, would be far better off if it just raised its gasoline tax by 50 to 75 cents a gallon, as opposed to the nearly $2 more they pay than most states due to its current cap-and-trade program. Those designated taxes should be used solely to provide incentives for more renewable energy development or credits for businesses and residents to make investment in new and more efficient technology to help speed along the much-needed energy transition.
For those local residents who care about the environment, I’d suggest, as I have multiple times in the past now, that you focus your ire on the local town administration. I’d ask why they have done so little since they proclaimed in 2014 a 100 percent emissions reduction target for at first 2020 and then modified to 2030. The town at least finally paid for (at my behest but with a New York State grant) a sustainability report that admitted a few years ago that the town now produces more emissions than it did over a decade ago.
If people care about action more than rhetoric, then please join me in asking the town to take three steps that would actually lower emissions and have a real impact.
First, finally follow up on a New York Power Authority-sponsored report on solar potential on town-owned buildings and land to at least offset the town administration’s own electric usage. If this had been done while the federal tax credits were available for the previous three years, the town could have likely cut its cost of electricity by half over the long term, creating not only a reduction in emissions but savings for taxpayers, too. This can still be done by working with a solar developer on a power purchase program with perhaps less savings.
Two, finally resolve the 97-acre gun club lease that is more than two years past its deadline. If it still needs to exist, the gun club should not need more than 10 acres to allow only for an indoor facility going forward — hunting with rifles isn’t even allowed in town so it should not be a problem to take that away. Hopefully, it will not take a decade to make a decision about this land that could be put to much better use. The rest of the land should go toward a community solar project that was first proposed over a decade ago as well as for much needed affordable housing and perhaps a new park.
If half this parcel were allocated toward community solar, the town could provide the land for a 10-megawatt community solar project to help with the peak electric demand in the summer; Southampton has already approved and built a six-megawatt project. This step could also provide the town with lease revenue — 100 times what the gun club was paying.
Lastly, it would allow local residents to apply to use this power at a 10 percent discount to regular utility rates, a win-win-win. This was first proposed as far back as 2015 but the town administration refuses to consider this common-sense step that would have multiple benefits.
Third, take a quarter of 1 percent from the current community preservation fund fee (currently 1.75 percent) and allocate this toward a new sustainability fund to be used both by the town and for credits for residents to make much needed upgrades in areas like solar, heat pumps, and electric vehicles.
This is exactly what was done years ago to help with water quality issues in town, and that potential $5 million annually would be much better spent on helping the town and its residents to upgrade its technology and truly reduce emissions. If the recent $56 million spent by the C.P.F. for just one project in Wainscott is any indication, that fund could get by with 25 basis points less.
As someone who spent years lobbying the state to successfully ban fracking and to first pass the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, I’d suggest that environmentalists in our area spend their time lobbying their local representatives to make changes here that make both fiscal and environmental sense. Acting locally is the only way to achieve the difficult goals set out by the act.
BRAD BROOKS
Spending Tax Dollars
East Hampton
March 27, 2026
Dear David,
You can’t make this stuff up. Donald Trump has authorized paying $1 billion to energy giant Total Energies to buy back leases for offshore wind farms off New York and North Carolina. Trump’s interior secretary, Doug Burgum, crowed, “. . . the era of affordable, reliable, and secure energy is here to stay.”
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein replied, “Our state has the offshore wind potential to power millions of homes with renewable American-made energy. It is ludicrous and wasteful to pay off with taxpayer dollars a company willing to spend private dollars to deliver the clean energy we need.”
Economists the world over know that wind and solar are cheaper than fossil fuels. Don’t trust me. I asked Siri.
She answered, “Yes, it is now true, thanks to recent innovations and economies of scale, that wind and solar are cheaper than fossil fuels.”
This has never been more obvious than now, with Trump asking for $200 billion of taxpayer money to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for oil tankers, as the cherry on top of a war already costing $1 billion per day. It has long been obvious that much of our defense budget is spent on the project of keeping oil fields and shipping lanes protected to keep the oil flowing from dangerous and unstable parts of the world.
Fossil fuel fanatics want us to look the other way and not count this as a buried cost to American drivers, paying now for $5 gas. So, the only Trump innovation here is actually spending our tax dollars to thwart a private investor willing to deliver clean, cheap energy.
Tell me, Republicans, about government waste and regulation. Then turn on your TV and watch immigration agents, the most expensive law enforcement force in the country, strolling through clogged airports doing absolutely nothing, at the same time the transportation safety agents are struggling, understaffed and unpaid.
Pogo was right: “I’ve seen the enemy, and it is us.”
DON MATHESON
‘Very, Very Nice’
East Hampton
March 26, 2026
Dear Mr. Rattray,
On March 23 at 7:23 a.m. before the stock market opened, Trump posted in capital letters on his social media platform, “I am pleased to report productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.”
CNBC reported that about 15 minutes before Trump’s announcement there had been a sudden and sharp jump in the S. & P. 500 and oil futures. That morning, the S. & P. 500 surged upward by 240 points, and the price of Brent crude oil dropped from $112 a barrel to $96 a barrel. About $580 million in bets on oil futures was placed just 15 minutes before Trump’s announcement. However, Iran quickly denied having had any conversations with the U.S. The S. & P. then fell 120 points, and the price of Brent crude oil rose to over $100 a barrel.
The Nobel Prize economist Paul Krugman noted that someone with insider knowledge could have sold crude oil futures at their higher price before Trump’s announcement. They then could have bought them back at a lower price immediately after his announcement and before the price started rising when the Iranians denied that any conversations had taken place. Anyone who did, Mr. Krugman wrote, “could have turned a very, very nice, very large profit.”
Was Trump one of them?
SALVATORE TOCCI