Truly AmazingEast HamptonMarch 26, 2018Dear Editor,This past Saturday I was privileged enough to join my daughter, Naomi Blowe, and a busload of her schoolmates from East Hampton High School on a trip to Washington, D.C., to take part in March for Our Lives. What an extraordinary experience indeed. I couldn’t be more impressed by and proud of our local youth participants as well as the students that came from all over our nation to make their voices heard. While the sheer size of the event should make politicians on Capitol Hill take notice, what is really spectacular is the maturity, determination, and sincerity that were portrayed by each student speaker and all those who stood in the crowd. The messages and stories of these brave young men and women were powerful and uplifting —and horrifying. Through the pain and trauma and emotion each young voice still remained poised. The demonstration was peaceful. The support for one another among the crowd was palpable. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a generation of conquerors! To every adult reading this letter, support our youth. While they are incredible and resourceful, they still deserve and need our support and guidance. Encourage all those of voting age or approaching voting age to get registered and vote. Change is in the air and, as many signs indicated on Saturday, we need ballots, not bullets. To our youth, I am inspired and encouraged by you. You are truly amazing.I would be remiss if I did not say a special thank-you to our local student organizers, Sutton Lynch and Cate Wicker, who did a phenomenal job making sure that every aspect of our trip was covered. Great job to both of you! Thank you to the accompanying adults, Jeff Lynch and Stephanie Reinboth-Lynch, Tim and Courtney Garneau, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, and Dana Chittavong.It was a pleasure to walk beside each and every one of you and to be a part of a movement that promotes security, love, and learning in our schools and communities rather than fear, hatred, and violence.With warmest sincerity,LINDA BLOWESpecial OlympicsSpringsMarch 28, 2018Dear Dave,The Springs School Special Olympics coaches, athletes, and their families would like to extend a huge thank-you to the Kiwanis Club of East Hampton for providing lunch for our event at Bowl Long Island at Patchogue this month! This day is special for everyone involved and having lunch provided for us makes it that much better. Your continued generosity to both our community and our students does not go unnoticed. Thank you for all you do!Very sincerely,WHITNEY REIDLINGERSpecial Olympics TeamLove and SupportEast HamptonMarch 26, 2018Dear Editor:I am sorry I haven’t gotten around to saying this sooner, but I just wanted to say thank you. As my chemo is coming to an end and my transplant is quickly approaching, I just want to say thank you for supporting me throughout this journey. Thank you to my friends, my family, and everyone in between. I am so grateful to have everyone of you by my side through all of this.When I found out in August that I had two rare blood diseases, I was relieved: Finally, they had found out what was wrong with me! I called my friends and family and told them, and I wasn’t worried in the slightest bit that everything wouldn’t turn out the way it was supposed to. Since then I have gone through the motions of just that: Everything is going to be okay!Since August, I have realized a lot in my life already and I know I am going to still be learning more throughout the next couple months, but I feel I was given this challenge to help me become a better person and recognize the things that really matter in life.I’ve seen this community come together before, but I never thought it would be for me. The amount of love and support I have gotten from Montauk to New York City and beyond have been the most overwhelming part of this whole journey. I can’t explain how much this all means to me, and how much I appreciate all of it.Throughout the last couple months, there have been good and bad days, but throughout it all, I have had the best support system anyone could ever ask for, and I am so thankful for that. I know going into the transplant I am loved, supported, and I am going to be healthy in the end and that’s what is most important to me. I can’t thank each of you enough for everything you have done for me.To my family: I knew we were close, but this just brought new meaning to it. I am so grateful for each of you. Thank you for keeping me smiling throughout this whole thing and for the daily reminders of how loved I am. I love you all so much.I hope you all know I am going to beat this and I’m planning on being back on Truck Beach before the summer is over, but please know a huge part of that is because of all of you. I will never be able to thank you enough times to express how much all of this means to me! Thank you!Best,JESSICA GREENENature TrailEast HamptonMarch 30, 2018Dear David:It is my hope that this letter will be read by all the well-meaning people who visit, and love, our East Hampton Village Nature Trail.Today, Good Friday, we finally experienced temperatures in the 50s, and, as expected, people flocked to the Nature Trail to “feed the ducks.” During the course of a quarter of an hour, two young girls brought bagels, two or three families brought bread and supermarket cereal, and when I arrived there was a huge (like 10-gallon-huge) bag of popcorn left on the benches and strewn all over the ground. Whoever it is that believes a gigantic bag of popcorn is a good thing for the Nature Trail is dead wrong. The ducks and the geese cannot digest it. It attracts the creatures that are not our favorites, and it does not sink, it floats on top of the water looking pathetic because it does not belong there. It’s much worse than the bagels and bread, which are not so great either. But I’ve accepted that ducks seem to thrive no matter what we throw at them.We all love the Nature Trail and are thankful to the village which monitors and keeps it, the Ladies Village Improvement Society and the Garden Club, who maintain its natural wildness, and the L.V.I.S. Nature Trail committee that feeds the ducks when no one else wants to in the freezing cold, the rain, and the snow.Please be aware of how lucky we are to have this 24-acre gem in the heart of our already exceptional village and treat it, and our beloved ducks and geese, with care.Welcome spring,DIANNE BENSONSpiritual EventsAmagansettMarch 26, 2018Dear David,I am always touched attending faith gatherings. I love the rituals and the stories. I love the music and song and dance, when it is present. I love dressing up. On the other hand I am not always happy with faith-based seating arrangement, particularly those meant for the rear ends of yesteryear.Over the years I have been witness to a gamut of spiritual events: The time when a friend hosting a Voodoo ceremony, requiring 22 separate herbs, was stuffed by his vendor with all parsley; the time when the visiting dance troupe did not inform the Very Rev. Dr. Arthur Lee that the Virgin Mary would be topless; the time that at a bedside vigil a Buddhist priest requested that I produce “rosemary.” I raced out to the corner market. I came upon a lovely looking hospice nurse at the door: “Oh, Miss Walker, I’m sorry I’m late but I had to fit this call in. My name is Rosemary.”With faith toward all good things, DIANA WALKERUnending Love East HamptonMarch 26, 2018Dear Editor,I read with some interest “Timeless Traditions,” submitted by W. Kevin Eggers in letters to the editor on March 22. Though somewhat entertaining, Mr. Eggers’s attempts to connect the Easter Bunny, egg hunts, and the actual egg itself to the true meaning of Easter failed miserably. Saying that the Saxon Goddess of spring and fertility found a rabbit to be sacred or how an egg-laying hare named Osterhase in Germany, or perhaps it was the Roman egg-laying rabbit, actually represents the events of Holy Week and the Resurrection of Christ is really stretching it!Last Sunday, the March 18th St. Luke’s Christian Education program presented a wonderful Passion Pageant, an event that brought the true story of Easter to not only the children of St. Luke’s but to all our parishioners and guests alike. “Walk with Jesus” is a multisensory presentation that allows one to follow Jesus from his arrival into Jerusalem to his resurrection on Easter Sunday.The children did a fabulous job re-enacting the events of Holy Week. There were disciples sitting at the table of the Last Supper, soldiers in the garden of Gethsemane, and, yes, a rock tomb with a stone rolled away! Over all, the portrayal of true events, emphasizing the fact that Christ died on the cross for the forgiveness of all our sins and to ensure our life everlasting in the kingdom of God, was both educational and meaningful for the children attending our Christian Education program. Sorry if Mr. Eggers missed it.So you see, Mr. Eggers, it was not the Very Rev. Denis Brunelle’s decision to cancel the Easter egg hunt (which, by the way, has not been a tradition of St. Luke’s for over 100 years) but a decision of Christian Education. I, as director of the program, and our teaching staff wanted to bring a more meaningful Easter experience to the children, one that did not include plastic eggs and baskets filled to the brim with candy, but one that would be more meaningful and memorable. We decided to present the “Walk with Jesus” program to Mr. Brunelle. He agreed and supported our efforts to bring the program to our children and parishioners. However, please don’t despair! The children will not be forgotten on Easter Sunday. Though there is no Easter egg hunt, “Mr. Grow Up Fast” and Ebenezer Scrooge are not on high alert and heading our way! Christian Education and Mr. Brunelle have plans to ensure that there will be an abundance of smiles and memories to be made on Easter Sunday at St. Luke’s — memories that will fill young hearts with joy and understanding that Easter is not only about a bunny, candy, and eggs, but, most important, about Jesus Christ, his sacrifice, and his unending love for each and every one of us. Our wish for all who celebrate, a joyous Easter!COLLEEN MCNALLYSTONEMETZ Director, Christian EducationLike the SunSagaponackMarch 31, 2018Dear Editor,It was a beautiful dark night with a sea of stars overhead and I was moving along with all the nocturnal creatures when suddenly we were stunned and could no longer see because Main Street in Montauk was lit up like the sun. A fleet of lamps was burning bright like a landing zone for extraterrestrials. We ran for our lives. Please turn the lights off.Sincerely,JEREMY GROSVENORChanged His MindMontaukApril 1, 2018To the Editor:At the March 20 East Hampton Town Board work session, several Montauk residents, including surfers, testified against paving over the sand and dirt parking lot at Ditch Plain Beach. The residents urged the board to let the lot remain natural and to save the vegetation surrounding it. I found the testimony inspiring. Our society seems to be in love with asphalt, paving everything in sight. It’s a tribute to Montauk that it has residents who speak out in defense of nature. I also was impressed by board member Jeffrey Bragman’s response to the parking lot testimony. He had previously voted against the need for an environmental impact study, but after heaing the residents speak, he changed his mind. He said he had made a mistake and that an impact study is needed. It’s not often that one hears an official change his or her mind on the basis of public input. His response was an example of democracy in action.BILL CRAINSave the BeachNoyacMarch 27, 2018 Dear Mr. Rattray,In my recent letter to the editor (“Wrongheaded Decision,” published in the March 15 issue of The East Hampton Star), I was mistaken in my assumption that the Army Corps was sticking to its earlier original decision to leave Montauk out of the Fire Island to Montauk plan. This is apparently no longer the case. It was originally thought that the “seawall” erected there to protect the motels would be the last of the Army Corps’ attempt to save the beach. Instead, in the face of recent storms, that seawall just worsened the erosion now seen on that beach (March 8, front page photo of The Star) and exposed the geodesic bags. I learned from Kevin McAllister of Defend H2O (at his recent presentation at the East Hampton Library on Saturday, March 24) that there has been an attempt on the part of the East Hampton Town Board to remedy this situation and come up with some kind of compromise, which might indeed save the beach there. I applaud such effort and apologize especially to Peter Van Scoyoc, leading the charge, and wish him the best of luck. The only way to get our beach back in Montauk is to move the motels off the natural dune upon which they were built, remove all 13,000-plus geodesic bags placed in front of them, and let nature take its course over time to rebuild the natural dune. That way, at least, we would have a better chance of there being a beach for our grandchildren or at least our great-grandchildren to enjoy, such as the one we so loved prior to November 2015.Sincerely,HEIDI RAINTake a TourSpringsApril 2, 2018Dear David,I will get right to the point. The new buildings replacing teardowns throughout our town are too big! There is no quicker way to destroy the special historical character and scenic beauty of East Hampton than oversize structures and large parking lots looming over our roadsides.Let’s take a tour because the views say it all. Start at our gateway in Wainscott and the monster 17,530-square-foot Home Goods store. Drive into the parking lot and notice the 100-car parking lot — one of the largest in town.Let’s move on to the entrance of Springs on Three Mile Harbor Road where a quiet, small-lot neighborhood called “Hollywood” used to house Damark’s Deli. After demolishing that local deli, a two-story monstrosity catering business looms over what was a neighborhood business zone and a nearby trailer park. Worse, the building sits just two inches above our drinking water and could add more pollution to Three Mile harbor. Heading north, onto Old Stone Highway, another quiet residential neighborhood could be invaded by a 50-to-60-foot-tall cell tower attached to the little wooden church built in the 1800s that is surrounded by wetlands. How would you like to live in your retirement home off a secluded dirt road and learn that a cell tower might be built right next to your small lot?There’s more. We are headed to the Montauk Lighthouse. Yep, do you believe it? The East Hampton Town Planning Board has allowed antennas on the designated national historic site built when George Washington was our president! As a local person asked me, “Who is letting this happen?”The town special permit standards are clear on these important environmental and economic impacts. A site plan standard that must be met in order to receive an approval reads: “A proposed use will be compatible with its surroundings and with the character of the neighborhood and of the community in general, particularly with regard to visibility, scale, and overall appearance.”There is some good news. The current hamlet/commercial study is looking for clear requirements to our zoning code that could specifically ensure our comprehensive plan standards.A concerned group of us are meeting to recommend regulations that will definitely protect our healthy drinking water, not allow a structure that is two inches to groundwater (unbelievable), protects wetlands, harbors and bays, historical and scenic views, and character of our neighborhoods. If you want to learn more, ask questions or offer recommendations, we can be reached at debbrodie@optonline.net.Sincerely alarmed, DEBRA FOSTER ‘Voc Tech’SpringsMarch 25, 2018Dear Mr. Rattray,I read with interest your article “School Builds a Conduit to Trades” in last week’s East Hampton Star. What went unreported in the article was the bond issue that the East Hampton Union Free School District has proposed to purchase the property needed and construct a bus maintenance and vocational training facility. On May 15, the school district will vote on an $8.9-million bond to fund this project: $2.3 million for the land purchase and $6.6 million for the vocational training facility.Apparently, the purchase of the land for the bus depot that was debated last year was just the tip of the iceberg! When it was considered, it may have not received the attention it deserved because at that time most of the cost was to be covered by private contributions.I am a big supporter of vocational training and apprenticeships for many of our young people. But vocational training should be integrated into the existing school facilities to the greatest extent possible. Busing off the “voc tech” kids every afternoon across town is bad for the school community and suggests second-class status for these kids. As well, the East Hampton school facilities have been underutilized. The East Hampton Press reported recently that John Marshall’s student population is declining by about 25 students each year (almost 20 percent over the last five years). Most of the other hamlets are seeing declines as well. Are there no opportunities to have vocational training in the existing facilities? The East Hampton School District depends on other hamlets to fill the high school. About 35 percent of the kids in the East Hampton High School come from Springs, and if we include the other hamlets, more than half the students come from outside the East Hampton School District. With them come substantial funds but no voice in this decision.This is a facility that will serve the entire town’s high school students. Wouldn’t it be fairer to have a townwide referendum on this project? Even a non-binding referendum by the sending districts would at least be a step toward respecting the voices of the districts that send the majority of students to East Hampton High School.Sincerely,JOHN R. POTTERPropaganda CampaignSpringsApril 2, 2018Dear David,On March 6 more than 800 residents of Springs participated in a referendum to authorize a $23 million bond and reserve fund expenditure for a major school expansion and renovation. Just under 60 percent voted “Yes.” After the votes had been cast I started to wonder, and worry, whether the outcome had been predetermined by a slick “Big Lie” propaganda campaign.Our school administrators made PowerPoint presentations on Feb. 8 and 12 to inform the public about the pertinent facts. Superintendent Debra Winter reported that “the school was originally built for around 340 students” and that “current enrollment at Springs is 736 students.” Ms. Winter further explained that this “capacity” calculation was based on the school presently having a total of 66,950 square feet of available space and that the State Education Department calls for 200 square feet per student, which is their recommendation. Principal Eric Casale chimed in, “Regarding educational space needs per State Education Department guidelines, the building was built for a certain amount and we have double that now.” And, the school’s website proclaimed, “The building was built to hold 350 to 400 students.”Your Feb. 15 and March 1 editorials heavily relied upon this “fact” as the basis for urging voters to approve the expansion plan. You concluded the school “is at present several hundred kids [sic] above its capacity of roughly 350 students.” Another local paper’s editorial expressed this “fact” another way: “The school population would have to plummet by half to land at the number of students that the building was designed to accommodate.” The critical “fact” of extraordinary overcrowding was universally proclaimed by school administrators and editorial writers alike. Was the outcome of the referendum ever really in doubt?But what if the voters were hoodwinked? What if this assertion of “fact” had merely been fake news? What if the outcome of the vote was skewed by a knowing, or unwitting, falsehood? What if the mind-boggling claim that the Springs School is overflowing with students in a number that is double its state-rated capacity was mere hyperbolic rhetoric? While it is often said that figures don’t lie, any rational, skeptical person must also worry about the corollary to that proposition. Since I was stupefied, I started to look for the answer to my questions. Here is what I have found, so far.For many years, when determining the extent of eligibility for instructional facility building aid, the State Education Department used a methodology that involved the calculation of state-rated capacity. That terminology has now been changed to “Building Aid Units.” The purpose of building aid is to ensure suitable and adequate facilities to accommodate the students and programs of a district. Computing building aid units is a complicated process and there are various valid methods that can be utilized.According to the July 2004 bulletin titled “State Building Aid for Public School Districts and BOCES,” one valid method is to use the square foot method. It allows building aid up to a predetermined, statewide average- square-foot allowance per pupil for different kinds of buildings. The gross square foot area of the existing building(s) is divided by various square foot per pupil allowances depending on the grades that are housed in a school. For a school that houses kindergarten through ninth grade (the category most similar to the student population of the Springs School), the appropriate allowance is 100 square foot/pupil! This number also includes the space associated with special education. So, did the administration materially mislead the voters by calculating our school’s state-rated capacity using the figure of 200 square foot/pupil instead of the correct statewide average square foot allowance of 100 square foot/pupil?Being ever so careful not to jump to any rash or erroneous conclusion, I issued a Freedom of Information Law request on March 13. I requested any document that would provide specific reference to any official educational facilities planning guideline promulgated by the State Education Department adopting a formal guideline recommending 200 square feet of gross area for each student enrolled in a K-8 school similar to the Springs School. The district clerk subsequently informed me that by April 13 I would be provided with a response that will grant or deny my request in whole or in part. I guess I will have to wait, but not so patiently.DAVID BUDACoyote CaperSpringsApril 2, 2018Dear David,We have a New York State budget, and budget week certainly lived up to its hype, and all I can say for a veteran governmental affairs person like myself is “wow.”Aside from the usual give and take that drives the public, the legislators, the lobbyists, and the press mad, there suddenly appeared the “budget coyote.” Yes, a coyote was discovered chilling out on the capital plaza near the state museum. The media went crazy; the Legislature became mezmerized, the coyote got a Twitter following @budgetcoyote, and the governor, not to be outdone, sprang to action by having the State Department of Environmental Conservation respond before gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon could move in and get the coyote’s endorsement. Fortunately for the coyote, it was a budget season, and the D.E.C. captured the wily fellow and released him into the wild. Where was the roadrunner when you needed him!No sooner did the coyote caper get over then there was a state police response to the Senate chamber. It appears that Daily News Albany reporter Ken Lovett did the unthinkable and used his cellphone in such an aggressive manner that the state police had to respond and make the arrest and swoop the perp into the bowels of the capital. The press, exhausted from chasing down the coyote, now found themselves in a new footrace to get the scoop on one of their own. The capital went wild, every lobbyist, citizen, and schoolkid with a cellphone was ducking for cover looking over their shoulder wondering if they will be next. Talk about palace intrigue.But have no fear, Governor Cuomo to the rescue, and no sooner was the coyote sprung so too would be Ken Lovett!Yes, Governor Andrew Cuomo walked down to the capital complex state police station to secure Lovett’s release, the governor said. “Well, he has been known to be a threat to public safety on a number of times. But nothing trumps the freedom of the press, and I wanted to make sure that he had a good counsel, and that’s why I offered my services on a pro-bono basis, and it just does my heart good to be able to say, ‘I freed Ken Lovett.’ ” To be fair, the state police work for the governor in an indirect way, so Cynthia Nixon never really had a shot at that one. But I wonder who The Daily News will endorse in the Democratic primary for governor. Just saying.Then on Friday, with the Passover deadline looming, there was a snag. To best describe it in the spirit of the N.C.A.A. basketball semifinal games this weekend, an old friend who was around during Perry Duryea’s tenure as speaker of the Assembly gave me his best, Jim Nantz’s play by play of what was going on in the capital.“Like an empty western street before the gunfight at ‘High Noon,’ the halls of the New York State capital were mostly empty Friday afternoon. A few wandering lobbyists blowing through the halls like tumbleweeds, the occasional staffer hurrying to an appointment with their desk, and some bored press grazing on doughnuts and stale coffee while they wait for the action. Senator Felder versus the Assembly ‘mano a mano.’ The world awaits the winner!”Despite the above and a last-minute snag — there always is a snag — the 2018 New York State budget was completed and signed into law.MANNY VILARA Use TaxWainscottMarch 31, 2018Dear Editor:“Hold on to your wallet!” Assemblyman Thiele remarked. Wake up, people! Once again, New York State slaps vehicle owners with a sneak use tax that goes unnoticed when renewing registrations. Collected by the Department of Motor Vehicles and distributed. It especially hits us harder here on Long Island. Based upon weight, 3,500 pounds or less it is $30; 3,501 pounds and it doubles; 4,950 pounds it is $90.50 for two years.It is known as a use tax to fund the Metropolitan Transportation Agency, the agency that is near bankrupt, raising fees but not cutting costs. In Albany County it is $10 or $20 depending on weight. Referred to as the Metropolitan Transportation district tax. Suffolk County pays $3.5 million annually, half of what New York City pays. The state bailout, which includes the Long Island Rail Road, our five trains a day wonder.This surcharge in the M.T.A. region was part of the overall deficit reduction plan. There is also an additional supplemental charge of $50 and $1 every six months. Don’t forget the sales tax; ours is the highest. Now tell that to everyone who depends on vehicles. Whoa baby. Remember on Election Day!Yours trulyARTHUR J. FRENCHDeceptionEast Hampton March 27, 2018Dear Editor,The coming April Fool’s Day reminds us how the meat, egg, and dairy industries play us for fools every day. The meat industry has developed a whole dictionary designed to fool unwary consumers. The flesh of pigs is called “pork” or “bacon” to fool viewers of “Charlotte’s Web” into eating it. Killing of stunned animals for food is labeled “humane.” And, cesspools of pig waste that spill into our drinking water supplies during hurricanes are named “lagoons.”The egg-laying industry is arguing with the United States Department of Agriculture whether chickens laying organic eggs should have access to the outdoors. But few seem to care that, for each hen that lays eggs, a male chick was ground up alive or suffocated in a plastic garbage bag, because it doesn’t. Or that laying hens themselves get to live less than one-tenth of their natural lives. A number of states have also enacted “gag” laws that criminalize exposés of factory farm and slaughterhouse atrocities.The meat, dairy, and egg industry’s fooling days may be counted. Many of us are seeing through the deception and replacing animal meat with milk, cheese, and ice cream, and kinder, healthier, and eco-friendly nut and grain-based products available in every supermarket.Sincerely,ELIJAH HANNESBURGChance to RunSag HarborMarch 29, 2018Dear David,Thank you very much for your coverage of Perry Gershon and David Pechefsky, two personable candidates for the chance to run as Democrats against Representative Lee Zeldin for this congressional district. I look forward to similar coverage of Vivian Viloria-Fisher, who is in my view the most likely Democratic candidate to win the race again Zeldin. She has similarly progressive views to Gershon and Pechefsky and is articulate and passionate about presenting them. In addition she was elected three times to the Suffolk County Legislature. She has long firsthand experience of the basic issues that concern First District voters — of both parties — and addresses them effectively as well as eloquently. She has taught in western Suffolk public schools for 30 years. And, it should be noted she is a woman in 2018.This congressional election is the most important I can remember in my long life. I thank The East Hampton Star for covering it in depth.Sincerely,CAROL WILLIAMS We ElectEast HamptonApril 2, 2018Dear David,After the presidential election I wrote a letter about my T-shirt, which said “We deserve the people we elect.” Now, I am sure that no one deserves the slug we elected. STEPHEN GROSSMANSubversiveEast HamptonApril 1, 2018Dear David,The House on Un-American Activities Committee was formed around 1935 to root out subversive groups that were trying to undermine United States democracy. It seems time to bring it back and take a serious look at the National Rifle Association. Subversive should be defined as a process of trying to influence behavior through misinformation and deception. The old H.U.A.C. investigations were into groups with alternative ideas that were different from our government’s. Different perceptions of the same issue are basically the norm. The N.R.A. falls under a different category of subversive but clearly fits the definition.The N.R.A. is essentially an agent for the gun industry and its primary goal is to advocate for the dissemination of guns. To reach this goal it has fabricated an alternative reality that is based on lies and deception. Utilizing the Second Amendment as the primary tool in its narrative it has disseminated the belief that 1) the Second Amendment is under attack and if this attack is successful the attackers, whoever they are, will then 2) begin attacking the other rights enumerated in the Constitution. 3) People will lose their rights to own guns and to protect their homes and eventually their rights to free speech, etc. 4) There is a moral and political conflict between gun owners and everyone else.Under this narrative any gun controls from age limits, registration, waiting periods, or not permitting certain military-style weapons are a threat to the Second Amendment and to gun rights (even though most N.R.A. members support significant gun controls). The so-called conflict between gun owners and non-gun owners means that there is no possible resolution of the problem of mass killings if guns are part of the equation. Translating to, “If you own guns you cannot be for some regulations.”Even in our consumption driven universe we cannot always have absolutely everything we want. If someone has rifles, pistols, and tons of shooting and hunting paraphernalia why would they need AR-15s, hand grenades, tanks, drones, etc. Gun ownership has always been a part of our culture. We are never going to war against our government, and if we did it would be an outright massacre.But the N.R.A. says otherwise. Its gun consumption mania is just sickness, but its protect yourself against the government is treasonous. (The United States has over 300 million guns, 50 percent of which are owned by 10 percent of the population.)So, virtually everything out of the N.R.A. is a lie. It’s only about making money and corrupting politicians to do it. It’s about undermining the government and the American people. Its actions demonstrate a perverse disrespect for the American people. Perversion in politics is nothing new to our system, but self-righteous perversion is a class unto itself.How does one define subversive? N.R.A.NEIL HAUSIG Carnal Cavalcades East HamptonMarch 23, 2018To the editor,This has the potential of a promising award-winning, engaging “comedy of errors” but disheartening because the actors are officials elected to severe and protect, but instead are burning taxpayers’ money wasting precocious government governing time, and all this is playing out on hallowed grounds, the capital. The zealous ulterior-motivated muckraking by the knights of righteousness is currently transpiring under the guise of cleansing Presidents Trump’s alleged heap of sexual transgressions, blindsided to related facts, precedents, to be learned from to avoid costly embarrassing and humiliating blunders. Backtrack a short time to our number 42 president’s carnal cavalcades, starting in 1969 with Miss Eileen Wellstone, through 12 detailed descriptive, documented episodes (Google “full list of Bill Clinton sexual assault allegations”), culminating with the sordid episode of Monica Lewinsky. His last interludes occurring not in hotels or remote berths but at “home base” in our revered White House Oval Office. Stained — any better word for desecration? Conclusion: He got away with it, eluded free and clear, emboldened, evolving into a financial wizard, highest speaking rates for an ex-president, an illustrious politician, his protective wife awarded a cabinet post, both taking advantage and superstructuring a lucrative foundation, raising approximately $2 billion, his latest assessed personal value at $80 millions. Shortly thereafter she had the commendable chutzpah to run for the presidency again, he swishing along with the obvious scheme intend to return as “associate president.” Almost succeeding: 2.9 million-plus popular votes but short approximately 68 electoral. Laudable for a castigated 21st century Romeo.Emerge our number 45 president’s “backcourtships,” starting in 1970. Jessica leads through approximately 15 episodes known as of this time, again depicted and documented (Google “Donald Trump sexual assault allegations”), culminated in the current transpiring teasing, tantalizing exercises of the unstoppable Stormy Daniels. Any dissimilarity, diversity from president no. 42 indecorous behavior? Not in the harshness of misconduct or in several cases of criminality. Not here but in taste of personal caliber of victims. Considerable diversity: no. 45’s prey were (are) more colorful, some exotic, several national and international pageants winners. No. 45 ahead, a sure winner. So why the rehashing, stirring up, these old romances? It is very apparent that these bogus processes render adverse unanticipated results inverse to sought verdicts. The personas of the accused seem to emerge rather enhanced, invigorated, with surging support — surprise — shown and proved by no. 42 president’s precedents. Now alert president no. 45 is nearing the end of his pilgrimage and his plane is due to land shortly with the obvious similar baggage and his typical entertaining anecdotes. So, America, are you (we) ready willing and able to participate and engage in or resist and combat the potentially approaching upheavals?A. Repeal amendment no 22 and prepare for unlimited presidential terms, possible life terms, a trend that is gaining internationally. B. Reconsider duration of terms of senators, congresspersons, possible option of presidential terminations, firing. C. Revoke Congress’s option right to override a presidential veto. D. Mandate constitutionally the death penalty for specific crimes. E. Invoke, wake up the sleeping dragon, Article Five amendment, convene, restructure, the constitution or beyond. Are you? We?EDWARD A. WAGSCHAL
Published 5 years ago
Last updated 5 years ago
Letters to the Editor: 04.05.18
April 4, 2018