Letters

The Real Reasons

Last week’s full-page editorial assault on President Trump and on Congressman Lee Zeldin for supporting him [“An Uncivil War,” Editorial, December 9] bemoans the state of our political discourse, then proceeds to argue that terms like “dictator” (Trump) and “lickspittle” (Zeldin) are appropriate. Wow, thank goodness the Press is here to calm things down!

The editorial fails to mention that almost all the actual violence is coming from Leftist groups like Antifa, Occupy, Communist front groups and other mobs of left-wing storm troopers. And let’s not forget the Bernie Sanders volunteer who shot five Republican congressman at a softball game — an event that would be mentioned on a daily basis if it happened to Democrat congressmen.

Mr. Trump and his family have been called every vile name imaginable, lied about and savaged by a rabidly incoherent press, accused of treason and a host of other equally ridiculous charges. When Mr. Zeldin labels this behavior, from the press or from the Democrats, as vile, stupid, crazy and disgusting, he is on firm ground.

You portray Mr. Zeldin’s support of the president as if it’s some kind of teenage idol worship. Let’s look at some of the real reasons why Mr. Zeldin, and anyone else capable of being influenced by facts, might support Mr. Trump: a booming economy; across-the-board wage increases; record-low unemployment (especially among African-Americans and Hispanics); energy policies that have made us energy independent, thus no longer prey to manipulation by that cauldron of chaos and corruption known as the Middle East; a record-setting stock market (more than half of all working Americans now own stocks, either directly or through their pension plans).

Here are some more reasons: Thanks to Trump’s unleashing our military from the suicidal shackles placed upon it by the Obama gang, ISIS no longer controls any territory, and over 70,000 of its murdering, child-raping thugs are now dead and can do no more harm; NATO members are now paying their fair share of their own defense; industries declared dead, particularly in the industrial and energy sectors, are coming back strong; the United States will once again be in the vanguard of space exploration, not hitching rides on Russian rockets; trade agreements that actually benefit Americans; etc., etc.

Measured by this record, and compared with the flock of phonies and freaks put forth by the Democrats, Mr. Trump and Mr. Zeldin look like knights in shining armor.

Manny Vilar, Chairman, East Hampton Town Republican Committee

Points of clarification: the word “dictator” never appeared in the editorial, and the piece reported that the adjective had been applied to Mr. Zeldin by a national columnist, but never endorsed it — Ed.

Marching The Line

Regarding “Zeldin Joins GOP Colleagues In Seeking To Overturn Roe v. Wade” [27east, January 10]: Our representative, Lee Zeldin, is hardly representative of this region. His decision to oppose legal abortion is a case in point.

Despite the facts that 7 out of 10 Americans support Roe v. Wade, and that access to safe, legal abortion saves the lives of women, and that access to family planning has already significantly reduced the rate of abortion in this country, Zeldin sticks with the Conservative Right.

The hypocrisy of the Conservative Right in claiming that the “sanctity” of human life is their issue is a totally evangelical stance. Any human life is precious, not just that of a fetus but of sons and daughters who are sacrificed to wars, or to those who are murdered by states that abide the death penalty.

Right now, Mr. Zeldin is just a political hack in lock-step with the Republican Party line.

Abortion should be rare, safe and available.

Linda Slezak, Hampton Bays

No Silver Bullet

On Friday, I attended the “Press Sessions” event on water quality in Southampton. A group of elected officials, environmental professionals and high-profile residents were in attendance and part of the panel.

The main focus of the discussion was the complex issues and solutions surrounding Lake Agawam. Thankfully, there has been action begun by the formation of a conservancy similar to that of the Central Park Conservancy. In addition, this fall, the State Department of Environmental Conservation implemented a temporary pilot program that was able to skim the toxic algae off the surface using a filtration process. The results showed toxins were greatly diminished. However, the panelists all agreed that this is only the beginning.

Journalist Chuck Scarborough, a property owner on the lake and a member of the Lake Agawam Conservancy, spoke of the need to engage not only waterfront property owners but all property owners who own homes within the immediate watershed area. This entails replacement of residential septic systems, along with changes in landscaping practices to control the contaminants going into not just Lake Agawam but all water bodies within the towns and incorporated villages across the East End.

There are many methods that can be implemented in cleaning up the lake, from the continuation of skimming to dredging and filtration. And the evolution of septic technologies is all a part of what has to be done to clean up the water. There is no one solution, there is no silver bullet.

However, going forward, it is vital to expand upon public-private partnerships such as the conservancy to have an open dialogue with other government bodies at the state and local levels, all of which have a part to play.

I am glad to see action being taken. We have begun to move past the idea of head scratching and just talking about the issue, and have started to implement solutions that I hope will be cost effective and achieve results necessary for a clean and healthy environment. We must all work together to get things done.

Joseph R. McLoughlin, Southampton Village

Mr. McLoughlin is a member of the Southampton Village Planning Commission — Ed.