Letters to the Editor
SOUTHOLD
The bigger picture
I normally do not write letters to the editor since I work for the Town of Southold and feel I should keep my opinions to myself.
I may complain to my friends about things and then move on, but this time I can’t let it go. The town has received more phone calls than I could count complaining about LIPA, evacuation plans, the noise from generators, brush piled on their lawn, etc. People, get real.
The whole East Coast experienced a major weather event. It’s not all about you. I know, you lost your electricity, but you still have a roof over your head.
Yeah, you can’t watch your favorite TV show, but at least you have your friends and family. Spend some time talking with and listening to them. You might learn something from them.
Have we become such a selfish society, expecting instant gratification, that we can’t survive some inconvenience for a few days? We were given plenty of warning that a hurricane was headed our way. There was ample of time to prepare.
Let this time be a lesson for future events. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best and learn to cope.
Linda Cooper
SOUTHOLD
An honest mistake
When the quake hit I thought it was another helicopter going over.
Bob Gazza
SOUTHOLD
We’re hit hardest
My wife and I have owned an 1867 Victorian house on Main Bayview for over 30 years and are used to regular power outages lasting seconds to minutes and the longer ones lasting days, such as after Hurricane Bob in 1991 and now after Irene.
What is striking about the current LIPA outage maps and listing of affected customers (see lipower.org) is the heavy impact on Southold and within Southold village.
It’s time to get to the facts about the state of the LIPA infrastructure in Southold.
I suspect that it’s not good.
John Richardson
RIVERHEAD
Vicious and divisive
I’m always amazed, and often appalled, by the truly vicious, divisive and visceral attack letters by ill-informed and mean-spirited “citizens” who usually hate Obama and/or any Progressive.
This past week‘s assault that appeared in The Suffolk Times must rank among the meanest.
George Dengel and his ilk have no idea of whom they speak when they attack Art Tillman. Mr. Tillman is not simply defined as the Democratic chairman of Southold to the people who know him. He’s a dedicated father, innovative teacher, community activist and moral human being whose knowledge of Medicare and this nation’s health care system likely exceeds that of most Suffolk Times readers due to his personal family experiences.
I taught with him and also observed his unbelievably dedicated caring for his severely disabled wife for more than 30 years. To attack a widower at the exact time of his wife’s death (as reported in The Suffolk Times’ obituary notices last week) is more than vile, crass, unfeeling and despicable.
Mr. Dengel’s mean-spirited ignorance is the exact reason, in fact the impetus, for my activism against the unreasonable political atmosphere created since Mr. Obama’s election. The hatred and vitriol I hear daily on TV, at social gatherings, on the Internet and in society in general has convinced me that there may no longer be a middle road or compromise position.
I grew up in a household that held to the old Republican conservative values, but was mature enough to recognize that progress came through compromise. No one can receive everything they want.
The appalling nature of the current Republican intransigence and outright rejection of meaningful dialogue brings to me to a new reverence of my conservative Republican parents. They knew what representative government required and understood the give and take of the democratic process, a procedure that Mr. Obama has attempted to follow in the face of unprecedented obduracy.
Mr. Dengel’s letter is symptomatic of the perverse mind-set that has overwhelmed the Republican Party, whose current nihilism hopefully will crash and burn. Long live the Art Tillmans, the educators and the Progressives. Let’s hear a cheer for the believers in science, fact-checking and the value of helping our fellow human beings on this planet.
So when the “ObamaCARES” health plan becomes fully activated, I sincerely hope that Mr. Dengel will be cured of his chronic grouchitis and Grinch-induced know-nothing small-mindedness syndrome. Maybe then there will be hope restored in America.
Elizabeth Weiss
PECONIC
Rights need exercise
Sept. 13 is another day we can exercise one of our inalienable rights.
Although to some it is merely a primary election, it’s still a day we can use the most valuable tool we have: our vote.
America’s founding generation was unique in stating all mankind has a right to pursue happiness, to bear the fruits of their labors and those rights cannot be assigned or revoked by anyone, they are in fact, inalienable.
They also said governments may be instated among men to secure these rights, but only by the consent of the governed.
That founding generation was composed of men who were not politicians, but concerned citizens who braved criticism from their neighbors. They assembled in what might be called our first governing body, the Constitutional Convention.
They thought it so unique that when they submitted the Declaration, even before ratification, they called for joyous celebrations and illuminations.
What was true in 1774 remains true today. We are a people culturally rooted in fierce individualism and a strong desire to earn our own station in life.
While those who now govern us have become politicians, and some of us are still criticized, we all still need to exercise our inalienable right.
I urge everyone to vote. We need to exercise our rights to maintain one nation, by the people, for the people, of the people.
Be brave, vote, then celebrate. It’s your inalienable right.
Joel Reitman
MATTITUCK
Pay now or pay later
As a member of the town’s Conservation Advisory Council I have to ask, can our infrastructure take it?
Climate change, changing weather conditions, rising sea levels are reflections of emerging patterns forcing us to answer some serious, difficult regional questions.
Do we want to invest in infrastructure to meet these new types of dilemmas and the damage they may cause? Or do we want to realistically consider relocating these critical assets to higher ground?
As we are becoming more aware, we are now facing unprecedented weather systems that will threaten road safety, public health, transportation of much of our infrastructure. The implications are becoming apparent.
Realistically we either invest now or pay a much higher cost later.
Jack McGreevy
GREENPORT
Nice job, guys
Congratulations to the entire Greenport Village crew for their outstanding recovery work during and after the hurricane.
Gene and Mary Yourch
PECONIC
Many helping hands
Thank you to the EMTs and Southold Fire Department volunteers who responded and took such wonderful care of my husband and 11-year-old son after my husband suffered a seizure on Cedar Beach on August 17.
I would also like to thank those individuals on the beach who called 911 and stayed with my son until help arrived.
I will remain ever grateful to you all.
Amy Burns
BOHEMIA
A vote for Rudy
I recently read a letter to the editor attacking the credibility and competency of Judge Rudolph Bruer, which was unsettling.
I am a trial lawyer. I served as an attorney for the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) office of the U.S. Army for 5 years. I served as a Suffolk County prosecutor for 13 years, during which I appeared before Judge Bruer. I have conducted over 100 trials and hearings throughout Long Island.
Judge Bruer is a competent judge who presides over the Southold Justice Court with a gentle firmness. Whether overseeing the settlement of a case or presiding over a trial, Judge Bruer is knowledgeable, fair and impartial.
The people of the Town of Southold are fortunate to have a judge with good moral character, integrity and the judicial presence that Judge Bruer brings to the bench.
Donald Mates
