Letters to the Editor: 10.06.16

Fire Prevention

East Hampton

September 30, 2016

Dear Mr. Rattray:

This year National Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 9 to Oct. 15. The theme is “Don’t Wait, Check the Date.” Replace smoke alarms every 10 years. Why has national Fire Prevention Week focused on smoke alarms three years in a row? Because survey data shows that the public has many misconceptions about smoke alarms, which may put them at increased risk in the event of a home fire. For example, only a small percentage of people know how old their smoke alarms are, or how often they need to be replaced.

As a result of those and related findings, we’re addressing smoke alarm replacement this year with a focus on these key messages:

• Smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years.

• Make sure you know how old all the smoke alarms are in your home.

• To find out how old a smoke alarm is, look at the date of manufacture on the back of the alarm; the alarm should be replaced 10 years from that date.

• Three out of five home fire deaths in 2009-2013 were caused by fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

• Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in reported home fires in half.

• In fires considered large enough to activate the smoke alarm, hardwired alarms operated 94 percent of the time, while battery-powered alarms operated 80 percent of the time.

• When smoke alarms fail to operate, it is usually because batteries are missing, disconnected, or dead.

• An ionization smoke alarm is generally more responsive to flaming fires and a photoelectric smoke alarm is generally more responsive to smoldering fires. For the best protection, or where extra time is needed to awaken or assist others, both types of alarms, or combination ionization and photoelectric are recommended.

Sincerely yours, 

DAVID BROWNE

Chief Fire Marshal 

October Evening

East Hampton

October 3, 2016

Dear David, 

Imagine driving with friends on a raining October evening, going to the very, very end of the Island and deep down into the Montauk Library auditorium (designed acoustically) to listen to a seasoned pianist, Alexander Wu, playing 90 minutes of glorious George Gershwin music! Ain’t living out here grand!

NAOMI SALZ

Peace and Good Will 

Springs

October 2, 2016

Dear Mr. Rattray:

I would like to thank St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and especially its rector, for the wonderful and moving Feast of St. Francis and the community pet blessing. I had never attended such an event, although I have had a pet all my life from the age of 5 (I am 65). I was moved to tears by the music, the words spoken, and the love present in the church. I was amazed at the fact that all the animals were calm and quiet. They must have felt what I did, i.e., that we were all safe, in a place where our differences, that day, were not an issue. We were all there for one reason! To experience love, peace, and good will to all. Why is it that animals teach us so much when we least expect it?

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. God bless all of those who organized the event.

PATRICIA HABR

Debt of Gratitude

East Hampton

October 2, 2016

David,

As a member of the executive committee of Guild Hall, I write this note to recognize the work over the past 17 years by Ruth Appelhof as director. She was very instrumental in galvanizing the board and staff into an amazing team and gave this community its outstanding cultural center. She was also responsible for overseeing the beautiful renovation of the theater and museum, creating the background for the wonderful programs she was so instrumental in bringing to East Hampton. All of us in the community owe a great debt of gratitude to Ruth Appelhof.

CHERYL MINIKES

The Belle Years

Springs

October 3, 2016

Dear David,

I could have written a letter lamenting the current presidential election, which is what my normal self would do, if it were not for a column written by Jack Graves last week in The Star, “Growin’ With O’en.” 

What a delightful and clever column. As a blond-Lab owner, I identify and associate with his sentiments. Jack, with his former pup, the famous Henry, who fetched tennis balls on the library lawn every afternoon, was a senior pup when I started to bring my youngster, Belle, to the library for a four-hour snooze in the car and village walk at 3 p.m. four days a week. 

Belle loved coming to work at the library. She was a car dog, a road runner, and, above all else, loved doing her life with me. She wasn’t much of a retriever — and she never took to the water — but her enthusiasm for life was ever present!

Belle was not an easy Lab. We tried the Animal Rescue Fund training with other pups that O’en is enrolled in, and we got kicked out of the circle for bad chasing and barking behavior. We did get a diploma, however. 

Ms. B. was so strong, she was able to pull me down when we trained or attempted to take walks. Belle had some preconceived ideas that just were not compatible with my lifestyle. She wanted to drive the car and run the show. She was wild on a leash and born with the hungry Lab gene, always ready to run to the next garbage can, eat roadkill, or worse. 

The Graveses have Matty Posnick; I had and have Nikki Wood. And let me tell you, training a pup is as much of a learning experience for the owner as it is for the dog! I learned a lot about both of us, and that mutual understanding formed the bond that connects us today.

Good luck, Mary and Jack and O’en. 

There is nothing in this world like Lab Love. They are family. They are smart like elephants. They are funny. They are beautiful animals. Some are strong willed, and some are mush-balls. For me, the Belle years have been really really good years. Belle is now the senior, and O’en is the youngster, and I wish all good things to both pup and owners.  

And I must say I feel a whole lot better writing this letter about O’en and Belle than discussing the latest current events — and Belle is snoozing at my feet waiting for our next activity of the morning and all is well at my place.

Sincerely,

BETSY RUTH

Strategic Retreat

Montauk

October 3, 2016

Dear David,

Concerned Citizens of Montauk’s public forum on Saturday, “The Future of Downtown Montauk,” featured a diverse five-member panel and spirited discussion on the options before us — and the participation of over 90 Montauk residents. 

To all who participated, many thanks, including to our panelists: Paul Monte, president of the Montauk Chamber of Commerce; East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell; David Rattray, editor of The East Hampton Star; Jen Garvey, co-director of the Stony Brook center for Clean Water Technology, and Colleen Henn, representing the Eastern Long Island Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. Recognizing that a long-term vision for Montauk requires a comprehensive plan for Montauk’s coastal resiliency, it was gratifying to note that there is broad agreement from the environmental community, elected leaders from the federal, state, and local levels, and the business community that a sand-only beach nourishment project, accompanied by a strategic retreat plan, is a smart, combined approach that will make our community a regional and national leader in climate adaptation among coastal communities. 

The process by which we get to a comprehensive long-term plan has begun, and the Town of East Hampton, through its recent planning efforts, has provided the framework for the community’s involvement. The hamlet planning process in Montauk was a good start and in the next few weeks will be supplemented by the Coastal Assessment and Resiliency, or CARP, planning work, a fully funded public planning effort built around maximizing participation and achieving the goal of providing answers to the tough questions that surround the issue of managed retreat from vulnerable coastal areas.

We look forward to and encourage public leadership at both the local and county level and the active and ongoing participation of the Montauk community to build our future together. 

JEREMY SAMUELSON

President

Concerned Citizens of Montauk

Man-Made Hoax

Montauk

October 3, 2016

To the Editor:

To all the good people of East Hampton Town and beyond. I was at the meeting on Saturday Oct. 1 at the Montauk School, discussing ways to figure out how to stop the ocean from doing what it does. That panel was made up of people who are perpetuating the hoax of man-made global warming. Back in the year 2009 messages were stolen from the climate research unit of the university of East Anglia, England. This is the headquarters for what is referred to as Global Warming Research. 

The messages that were stolen were correspondence between British and American researchers engaged in fraudulent reporting of data to favor their own climate change agenda. These scientists lied about the global warming so they would continue to get money to fund their research. I have no faith that these people will do what is right for the people of East Hampton, and most especially Montauk. 

VINCENT BIONDO

Elevated Requirements

Montauk

October 2, 2016

Dear Editor, 

In last Saturday’s Concerned Citizens of Montauk forum on “The Future of Downtown Montauk,” a number of concepts, including beach replenishment and property relocation, were put forth in response to the threat of rising sea water levels. These concepts are both long  term and hard to quantify in terms of impact and projected costs.

There is, however, a possible short-term measure that can address the increasing danger of water intrusion in such areas as downtown Montauk, Ditch Plain, and Montauk Harbor — a revised town building code that would require new commercial and residential construction to meet minimum elevations associated with a catastrophic storm event.

As an example: When the new Montauk Fish Dock building was erected in 2012 to replace the original building lost in the May 2012 fire, the concrete footings for the replacement structure were purposely set two feet higher than the old buildings’, thereby compensating for a storm surge in Montauk Harbor. In addition, the new building was constructed with a “flow through” design, meaning that in the event of elevated water levels, seawater could move through the structure without damaging framing and supports in place. Had these precautions not been adopted, the new building may not have survived the tides associated with Hurricane Sandy.

Compliance with elevated structure requirements will not be inexpensive, and such amenities as underground parking and residential basements in harbor overlay districts and coastal flood zones will be prohibited. Yet this is an immediate response to an imminent danger, and one that can be enacted and monitored by local authorities.

Sincerely, 

PERRY DURYEA III

Community That Works

Montauk

October 1, 2016

Dear David,

Summers tend to put me in flat-out au pair lady mode, so, it’s understandable that I lose a little touch with my civic duties until the rhythm and ease of fall descends after Labor Day. 

This week’s Sabbath was especially rewarding, as I managed to attend the future of Montauk meeting after an uplifting women’s service put together by Cantor Debra Stein and then go home to relax with my Star and a glass of wine. Okay, I’m all over the lot. Bear with me as reflection is the coin of the realm entering the Days of Awe. 

I first want to remark on that meeting in the Montauk gym: civil; intelligent, factual, respectful, productive! The panel represented the players we need. The audience consisted of the usual suspects — a sample of Montauk homeowners, retirees, and business owners. We should all make allowance for, and add consideration of, young working families, who must juggle jobs and children and holding it together as the season wanes. 

I love that we talked of a 10-to-20-year time frame, because I optimistically think I might still be around that long. I am so moved to be part of a community that works together like this. That’s probably why I went home and read The Star, instead of more dismal reports about the tenor of our national election. 

That brings me to my second topic: your story about the overcrowding in the Springs School. I remember when one class size in Montauk hit 25 and people were ready to bring in trailers, rather than wait for the expansion to be completed. Montauk, Amagansett, and Springs all pay substantial tuition to send our children to East Hampton High School. The former two hamlets are struggling to keep teachers on board as our class sizes shrink to 11 or even 6 students in some grades. 

With that tuition and transportation model in place for the high school, couldn’t something be done to relieve the problems in Springs? Their children deserve at least some of the advantages that Montauk and Amagansett children get from robust facilities and small class sizes. There is certainly enough wiggle room to import a few students when we start with a class size of 11. I have no idea how this might come about. I guess I’m talking about “busing,” but hey, it’s not even a half-hour if we swing past your house! 

That’s it — just stirring the pot. How nice to have the time and a receptive outlet like The Star. I wish you and all my neighbors a season of peace, health, good fortune, and much sweetness. 

SIMA FREIERMAN

Conflict of Interest

Springs

October 2, 2016

Dear David,

Last week’s front-page story about the teachers at the Springs School makes it clear that they are doing the best they can with what they are given. However, the teachers and students do not have what they need. 

Over a year ago, the Springs School’s appointed facilities committee delivered a set of recommendations for needed additions, renovations, and reconfigurations (instead of what an engineer “volunteered” as a plan) that could have been implemented by now. The school board did not go forward with these recommendations. Instead, they hired this engineer, BBS, that is now being paid to develop his plan (again), and he will receive a commission based on how large a plan he can develop. This is crazy. In March we are supposed to vote for a referendum that will be far beyond what is needed, and instead of what is wanted by this engineering firm. This is a clear conflict of interest, and not in the interest of the students, the teachers, or the Springs community. 

SUSAN HARDER

Grandiose Expansion

Springs

October 2, 2016

Dear David: 

As you may be aware, Springs School is bursting at the seams with 780 students. We pay tuition to the high school for another 300 students. I agree that improvements to our school must be made.

Two years ago, a facilities committee made up of Springs residents, parents, and teachers recommended immediate repair to the Springs School building that should be addressed ASAP for the health and safety of our community’s children. The suggestions included:

• Replacing old windows with new energy-efficient windows that in the long run will save thousands of dollars in heating costs.

• Providing a low-cost parking area that is not paved, but reinforced with natural, well-drained materials.

• Three to four modular classrooms that are needed immediately to reduce dangerous overcrowding.

However, the board is ignoring the facilities committee sensible report. 

Instead, they have hired BBS, an UpIsland architectural firm, which has submitted a grandiose expansion with a projected cost of up to $35 million! The plan includes 16 more classrooms, a library, another gymnasium, and more.

Yet recent projections of student population show a decline in students after this large expansion would be built. 

As a caring community of small homes that has consistently supported the school budget, many are concerned that the UpIsland architectural firm has over-reached and our taxpayers will vote down this huge expansion in the March referendum. It should be noted that the firm gets 5 percent of the final cost to our taxpayers, so for them — the bigger, the better.

The school board should agree now to put up the much needed, more affordable short-term plan for a vote, so no more time is wasted on chasing a grandiose expansion that would cost each Springs homeowner an additional $400 per year in property taxes!

Sincerely,

DEBRA FOSTER

P.S. This is the same majority on the school board who hired the current superintendent for $2,000 a day! Do you believe it?

Noise Pollution

East Hampton

October 3, 2016

To the Editor,

Once again I’m writing not only on behalf of myself but by request as well, and for the first time the request came from my parents, who were present at the events that prompted this letter. 

Before I continue, I just want to again praise the village police for their help in reducing noise pollution. In this respect, the events of Saturday and Sunday night on June 24 and 25 were surprising and even shocking. 

There were a lot of weddings that day and night — my parents and I had attended one earlier in the afternoon. It was with some consternation that another wedding being held very nearby began playing extremely loud music through an over-cranked audio system shortly after we returned home. It was so loud that I could sit in a room as far away in my house as I could get from the source and still hear it as if the stereo were in the same room with me playing at a normal level. Within 45 minutes or so, the constant “Thump! Thump!” of the bass was enough to give me a bad headache. The music was loud enough to interfere with the sound on my television, which was already turned to 70 — uncomfortably loud for my hearing. It was like trying to watch television while someone in the same room was listening to loud music. And again, this was the room where the music from the party was least audible. 

I called the village police to ask that the music be turned down to a tolerable level — which I thought was a reasonable request and one covered by noise-pollution regulations. I was told that they were allowed to play the music as loud as they liked until 11 p.m. 

I asked if they could please make a request that they voluntarily turn the music down and take pity on a neighbor, but I was given a very cold rebuke. Around 7:30, the music was actually turned up even louder, and my headache turned into a migraine. I called the police again, begging them to please ask that the music be turned down for pity’s sake. Again, I was told they could do nothing. 

Eleven came and went, and the music continued to play at the same level as at 7:30. At this point it was keeping my mother awake and my hard-of-hearing father could even hear it and was annoyed. 

I called the village police again and pointed out that it was now an hour past the cut-off time for the music. I also explained, truthfully, that the three of us had to be awake to leave at 6 the next morning and both drivers needed to get to sleep. 

In the past, when I have made such requests, the music has been stopped. Completely. This time, however, though it was turned down considerably, there was still a “Thump! Thump!” reverberating in our house, which was inescapable for my sensitive ears. At 1:30 a.m., still unable to get to sleep, I called the police again. 

The officer they sent over said that the noise was well within permissible limits for voices. I pointed out that it was the thumping bass that was keeping me awake but he was unsympathetic and even curt. This took me aback because up until now, the village police had been exceptionally sympathetic to my over-sensitive ears, especially seeing as the source of the noise was practically next door to us. 

I never got to sleep that night, and my mother wound up taking on the exhausting drive to the city all on her own having got only a few hours sleep herself. I also spent the night fighting off a nasty migraine. 

Of all the surprises of that night I think the most frustrating was the discovery that there is no decibel limit for such parties. This is difficult to believe because, according to my brother-in-law, who is a sound engineer and knows about these things, there are federal limits on decibel levels for workplaces, including parties and weddings. 

Regardless, loud music of this kind is incredibly intrusive and ought to be covered under privacy laws. In addition, this party was so loud, I can’t believe that my family was the only one bothered by the noise. Personally, I’m against amplification systems being used in residential neighborhoods specifically because of their intrusive nature and because it’s so easy to abuse them. 

Personally, I find parties with music half as loud as this was so uncomfortable that I will actually leave if they refuse to turn the music down. How are you supposed to converse with anyone if you have to scream to be heard? And any doctor will tell you that such loud music is detrimental to the ears. Personally, I think that the proliferation of ear buds and earphone use in the last 20 years or so has cost people so much of their hearing that they have no idea they are being painfully loud around others. For medical reasons, I gave up using such things years ago.

My point is this: The village has made a big point about wanting to improve quality of life issues. If this is the case, how about putting a decibel cap on evening music so it can be tolerated by neighbors who would rather watch television and a ban on music with a heavy bass after 11 p.m.? There is plenty of popular dance music where the bass is not carried by loud drums or a drum-machine and, thus, would not carry the insidious thumping, which makes it impossible for people like myself with sensitive ears to sleep. 

Please note that I’m not asking for an end to parties or even to keep people from enjoying themselves after 11 p.m. But what I am asking for is neighborly courtesy and understanding. What may sound like a whisper to one person can be a loud scream to another. 

We all have to live in this place together, and some of us may have a very real need to get to sleep at a reasonable hour, even on a weekend. I know because I used to have a job which forced me to get up at 5 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings. 

Finally, I want to point out that the noise from this party was exceptionally loud — the loudest that I have ever experienced — and there have been a lot of loud parties on our street over the years. If it had just been a matter of people laughing and talking, I would never have felt the need to call the police at all.

As always, thanks for reading. 

Sincerely,

MATT, MARGARET, and 

SHELDON HARNICK

Should Be Embraced

Montauk

October 1, 2016

Mr. David Rattray;

I am writing to you because I am outraged that the zoning board of appeals would even consider not allowing paddleboards to operate (Paddle Diva, specifically) out of a marina.

If people on paddleboards out in the water can get pulled over by the Coast Guard for not wearing a life vest, then how can paddleboards not be considered a vessel by the zoning board of appeals? The Coast Guard says they are vessels. Is the Z.B.A. above the Coast Guard?

If the Z.B.A. decides paddleboards are not allowed in marinas then they have to get rid of kayaks, Sunfish, and any other small vessels operating out of marinas all over the East End. 

Paddleboards are not listed in our current codes because they are a new type of vessel. Our current (old) codes are not helping the people of East Hampton. They are hurting them. The codes are not growing and changing with the times. Times change. So should our codes.

Paddleboards and Paddle Diva should be embraced by the Z.B.A. Paddle Diva encourages learning about and respect for our local waters! Paddle Diva cares about our environment. A paddleboard leaves no carbon footprint!

How can the Z.B.A. go after small local businesses that cause no harm to people or the environment? How can the Z.B.A. go against the Coast Guard?

So many articles in The Star this week are saying “Change laws.” All this in hindsight. Why not have some foresight with Paddle Diva and realize it is a healthy endeavor that will only help the neighborhood and community. 

I am a small-business owner in Montauk. I have watched Montauk change for the worse over the last six years. Finally, this summer, only after much outcry from the community, did Montauk start to get its old character back. For the Z.B.A. to go against a paddleboard business is taking away more local flavor of this community. The East End is about being in and enjoying the outdoors. Please do not let the Z.B.A. remove paddleboarding from marinas!

PERI ALLEN

Town Overboard

New York City

October 3, 2016

Dear Mr. Rattray:

It has been brought to my attention by our friend Gina Bradley, founder of Paddle Diva, the paddleboard instructional school established in East Hampton in 2009, that paddleboard classes can no longer take place at any of the town marinas.

Why on earth (or sea) would the building inspector’s office, or any of East Hampton’s departments for that matter, want to eliminate paddleboarding lessons from their most logical place of entry into the water?

As you are well aware, the Coast Guard in 2012 classified stand-up paddleboards as vessels, subject to the regulations required of other vessels (i.e., life jackets, etc.). One definition of a vessel, from the Sea Talk Nautical Dictionary, is “any craft that is capable of floating and moving on the water.” We are not talking about blood vessels here; we are not talking about decorative urns where the ashes of your beloved grandfather may be kept on the mantel. We are talking about vessels that float and move upon the water: paddleboards.

Paddle Diva has been at the forefront of a water sports movement in this country that has taught literally thousands of women, girls, and male primates how to paddle safely and enjoy the health benefits of one of the most environmentally benign sports anywhere. The town should recognize the value of this nautical enterprise and not respond to the petty complaints of one or two neighbors who object to seeing paddleboarders in the marina simply because, uh, who knows why?

If the community decided, “Okay, no more 2,000-horsepower cigarette boats in our marinas because of water and noise pollution, and we don’t like those people with their tight tank shirts and aviator glasses and coolers filled with lime-flavored light beer,” fine. But paddleboard lessons? Banned? Town overboard!

Now let’s move on to international affairs if we may, Mr. Rattray. Please make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened before takeoff.

Mary and I recently returned from a lovely 10-day vacation to Lisbon, Madrid, and Mallorca. Sadly, I got sick to my stomach on day five, in Madrid, and was burdened with a reckless digestive tract for 79 hours. But I digress.

In both countries we learned from our cabdrivers that there is not a great deal of love among many of the peoples of these nations, in spite of the fact that Spain is the only country on Portugal’s borders, to the north and east (on the west and south is the Atlantic Ocean). Is it because of historical events, a consequence of wars and conquering? Probably. Cultural and economic differences? Maybe. Portugal’s unemployment rate hovers near 13 percent. Spain’s is closer to 22 percent. There is despair for the future of the economy and the ability of the government (any government) to help solve the problems of the country.

The driver who took us to the airport in Lisbon said he would never speak Spanish to a Spanish passenger — even though he understood it clearly. He would speak Portuguese, or English, or shrug his shoulders and pretend to not understand. It’s a much longer discussion, but I found this incredibly illuminating, seeing an analogy for our own country, where we share a common language, yet seem unable (unwilling?) to understand one another when we speak, when we “discuss” the issues, the politicians, the solutions to our problems.

Forgive me for hinting at a political discussion, Mr. Rattray. I meant no harm. So I’ll leave you (for now) with this little vignette: We were watching a local news broadcast on our hotel TV in Madrid. Mary teaches Spanish and speaks it fluently, so she understood everything. I speak only English, so I’m the dunce staring at a screensaver thousands of miles from home. 

Then the local weather forecast came on, and a lovely young woman, gesturing broadly at a map. Rain was coming. The big map, of course, showed Spain and Portugal, because together they form a tight geographical bloc, inextricable from each other. But the rain shower graphic on the screen only covered Spain — as if Portugal’s weather would somehow be sunny! Just across the border! 

Red States. Blue States. I was glad to get home. Good to find our way back to the United States. Where we could probably work harder on bridging our “language” differences.

Stomach’s better, thanks.

LYLE GREENFIELD 

Clear-Cut 20 Acres

Wainscott

October 3, 2016

Dear David:

Let me see if I have this right.

We live in East Hampton, where our town board is usually elected on a platform of environmental protection and its planning, and zoning board appointments reflect that same view.

This year a proposal to clear roughly 4.5 acres of pine barrens for an eight-foot-wide walking trail “fitness park” to be used by East Hampton residents and taxpayers was nixed by the natural resources and planning directors as being a bad thing for the environment.

Yet these same natural resources and planning directors just rubber-stamped a town board initiative to clear-cut 20 acres in the very same area so that out-of-town helicopter, jet, and seaplane operators could make instrument landings at night and in foggy weather? 

Helicopters, seaplanes, and jets taking off and landing, spewing poisonous waste above our sole-source acquirer: good.

People walking on it: not so much.

Reality check, please!

Regards,

TOM MacNIVEN

The Noisy Airplanes

East Hampton

September 23, 2016

To the Editor:

Matt Norklun wrote a decent letter about the airport. He’s a pilot and as such makes a very good case for the airport’s remaining an asset to the Town of East Hampton. I somewhat agree with him and agree that for folks like him the airport is terrific. It is needed to travel at a very reasonable price to wherever he wants to go. Uses like that are not the reason that I am not a fan of the airport. 

I am in the village and directly under the flight path, I guess. It is the approach of the noisy jets and helicopters that come in to land. The noise is very annoying at the times when those who can afford to do so travel by jets from wherever to East Hampton: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It is only those noisy airplanes I find fault with.

I presume that the plane used by Mr. Norklun is a small, comparatively quiet craft. My neighbor from Pennsylvania owns such a plane, and I have no argument with these two pilots and others like them whose planes are nowhere as annoyingly loud. In fact, we need those planes. More power to them.

TOM FRIEDMAN

Fractious Year

Montauk

October 2, 2016

Dear David:

Perhaps in this fractious election year we can agree on a few things that might improve life in these United States. 1. Term limits on our senators and representatives would allow them to promote what they think is best for their constituents and the country instead of thinking about being re-elected. Yes, I know we can vote the bums out, but we rarely do. 2. A constitutional amendment to permit a super majority in Congress along with the president to override Supreme Court decisions. 3. Require every voter to prove every election that they are eligible to vote. 4. English as the national language, consequently if you can’t read English well enough to understand the issues you can’t vote. 

All this is possible through a constitutional convention as prescribed in our Constitution. How do our elected officials feel about this and why do they feel that way?

DANIEL A. BRIGANTI 

Ability to Change

East Hampton

October 2, 2016

To the Editor,

The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible. Knowledge is the past, wisdom is the future. I think two things are infinite — the universe and human stupidity. We will see about the universe.

Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain, but it takes character and self- control to be understanding and forgiving. Don’t let go of your fear, conquer it. Our dreams are not a waste of time. Dreams are realities in waiting; In dreams we plant the seeds of our future.

I realize our backgrounds may influence who we are, but we are responsible for who we become. It’s not where you live, but how we live that’s important. Just like the seasons of the year, we do have the ability to change. Raindrops are most likely the bravest thing from God, because they are never afraid of falling.

Today everything is possible for yesterday is gone. What you do each day is so very important. Because you are paying for it with a day of your life. So therefore what you accomplish must be worthwhile for the price is very high. 

  Intelligence is a skill in extracting meaning from everyday experience. Just remember the pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow. Every challenge is an opportunity for growth.

Our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but how we react to what happens: not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates amazing results.

Fear is our greatest enemy and hope is our greatest weapon against this mindset called racism. The doors we open and close each and every day decide the lives we live. The distance between success and failure can only be measured by one’s desire. The greatest motivational act one person can do for another is listen.

Black lives matter. White lives matter. Cop lives matter. All lives matter. Stop the division.                                          

TOM BYRNE                                          

 

Own Best Interests

East Hampton

September 22, 2016

Dear David,

I really can’t understand how some voters work against their own best interests. If a candidate proposes lowering the tax rate for the very wealthy — and not the middle class — you know that means that you and I, working folks, will be picking up the shortfall and we will be paying, percentage-wise, more taxes than millionaires. Nor do we have the convenient tax exemptions that the top 10 percent use to lower or eliminate completely their tax liabilities.

If a candidate wants free tuition in public colleges and the other side says not only “No!” but also wants to raise the interest rate on college loans, why would any working man or woman chose an option that was designed to keep them and their children from getting a better education and ultimately a better job?

If every American could have “Medicare for all” and Social Security, why vote for a candidate who would deny them that right? 

Lee Zeldin advocates and votes to give even more profit and power to his backers, who are representative not of our larger community but of that small cadre of elitists who use him to further their self-interests. 

This election is not just about Lee Zeldin, Donald Trump, Anna Thorne-Holst, or Hillary Clinton. It is really about which party and candidate will represent and work for the best interests of the middle working class and others who can hardly get by. 

Why do the Tea Party participants vote for a Zeldin when they have a chance to vote for Anna Throne-Holst, whose record of service to all members of our community, and certainly for working folks, is beyond compare and especially so as compared to Mr. Zeldin’s? Why would any except the top 10 percent — who Mr. Zeldin actually works for — vote for him? I truly don’t understand.

But then again who knows? Maybe working folks will wake up and say, “We have had enough. Let’s vote for a party and candidate who truly works for us.” 

Maybe we should listen to the younger voters who are pleading for change and who critically demand that their interests, needs, and future be put on the agenda of those we elect to govern us. Like the song says, “When will we ever learn?” Hopefully, now, when we still can vote our own best interests by voting for Anna Throne-Holst and Hillary Clinton.

Look past the posturing, the fantasy, the fearmongering, the racism, and the bizarre, self-promoting false god, who at the very best or worst promises to get the trains running on time. 

LARRY SMITH

Only Bernie

East Hampton

October 3, 2016

Dear David,

During the Democratic primaries I was impressed to see the number of young people who turned out for Bernie. Impressed by their dedication, their work ethic, and their youth. They seemed intelligent, altruistic, and mature beyond their years. There was no one to compare them with except for my generation in the 1960s. We were young and a lot crazier but equally as passionate. Working in a political primary can’t be measured against civil rights and antiwar activism because a lot of blood was spilled and a lot of people got bruised and most couldn’t go home to mommy and daddy for protection. Yet, what strikes me are the similarities between the two generations. Most of my generation bailed on political activism and became normal, indolent, semiconscious politically. Of our radical, somewhat outrageous generation, only Bernie remains in the system. One senator out of a hundred. Not a great percentage.

This group of Bernie people seem to be in lockstep with my group. We didn’t whine as much, and we were way less spoiled. Their early success with Bernie gave them the idea that politics has a short-haul component. That because they (we) almost won, they can go back to their pre-Bernie lives and indulge themselves. They are appalled by Hillary, but compared to what?

I voted for every Democrat since 1961 and except for Obama I couldn’t really stomach any of them. But alternatively Nixon, Reagan, and Bush were far more odious and scary. But Bernie was a prince. Not perfect but princely. He got the system without selling his soul and he understood that if you are not part of the solution you are the problem. And America’s problem is that our democracy often sucks because that’s what we deserve. The system only works when people vote and when only 60 percent turn out to vote it malfunctions.

 Our democracy is an incremental system of small steps and long periods without evidence of any movement. Frustration built in, always automatic. There is no room for instant gratification and self-indulgence in the long haul and there is no long haul if one’s needs overwhelm the necessary patience and foresight.

Politics can be one of the lowest forms of human interaction. The challenge we have is to participate and to humanize. Donald Trump and his Republican cohorts exist as they are today because my generation bailed 50 years ago. We sold out our futures and the future of the country. 

So the test for the Bernie supporters will be Hillary. What can be squeezed out of her, and what part of Bernie’s platform she will be obligated to adopt. What Trump will do to the table if he manages to sneak in? What will be the long-term repercussions of the lunatic fringe’s ascension to power? How will they impact the rest of their lives by participating in the system or disappearing like most of my generation did? The future for young people is in their hands. They need to engage and lead. The vote they cast isn’t for Hillary. It’s for themselves.

NEIL HAUSIG

Sexism Reigns

Springs

October 3, 2016

Dear David,

Can you imagine a woman sniffling, interrupting, unprepared, not smiling, married three times, children with three different men, lying, rude to the moderator, defending her record on racist- based lawsuits, fat shaming, questioning the other candidate’s stamina, etc. Imagine a woman being up there acting like that!

Ahh, the other “ism.” Sexism reigns.

Sincerely,

PHYLLIS ITALIANO

Trump Is Right

Sag Harbor

October 1, 2016

Dear Editor,

I am responding to Mr. Sidney B. Silverman, since he missed the key point I made in my letter to you and, instead, he chose to make a core dump on why he dislikes Trump and makes many statements that cannot be backed up with facts. The key point I made was responding to Clinton’s comments on Trump’s supporters being deplorable.

Unfortunately, as much as I would like to refute all his comments, your paper does not have the space for my response. I can say that both candidates have some baggage, but Hillary Clinton has done so much damage to our country and continues to get away with lies and unlawful behavior, that I find her despicable as a candidate for the president of the United States.

Trump, on the other hand, is an outsider and will shake up Washington, D.C., and hopefully the corruption that exists in our government, as well as the direction Democrats are taking the country toward socialism. The best examples that mirrors the state of how badly Democrats have mismanaged and corrupted America are the cities of Detroit, Chicago, and Baltimore, to name a few.

Clinton never disputes the sad state of affairs in these cities. Trump, on the other hand, wants to fix the mismanagement and corruption of these cities, and much more.

Trump is right.

THOMAS R. METZ

Everyday Feelings

Hampton Bays

October 3, 2016

To the Editor,

Well, the “great debate” of all time has come and gone. With all this hoopla, the media hype. I thought it was good. I wish Mr. Trump had been more informative on Mrs. Clinton’s bloodstained misdeeds.

Certainly the “low” information voters don’t get treated to all of the Clinton shenanigans, as was observed by the bias Lester Holt portrayed. I have been watching Fox News (Channel 26) for years.

Periodically, I turn on another channel to see their take on the news. I don’t keep the 2, 4, 7 channels on long, because I don’t find them fair or informative.

Certainly, if Mrs. Clinton is elected it’s going to be more same-establishment policy. She would agree to Barack Hussein Obamacare, with the I.R.S. going after those to pay a penalty (tax) because we don’t want or need it. So who is the Nazi (fuhrer) here?

Mr. Trump, on the other hand, is talking everyday people’s feelings, about the trouble our country is in. I feel as president he would be more transparent about the “change” Barack Hussein Obama promised his disciples.

Again, I thank you for letting me vent.

Yours truly,

JOHN PAGAC