Letters to the Editor: Saluting Tim Gannon

Ulster County, N.Y.

Saluting Tim Gannon

I worked for Times-Review in the early 2000s with a desk across from Tim Gannon. We both covered Riverhead. Tim was the eyes and ears of the East End on a weekly basis. He brought news to life with truthful, honest reporting. His quick sense of humor brought a very welcome laugh when needed most. Congratulations and bravo, Tim! Enjoy your next chapter.

Carolyn Thorenz

Greenport

Kudos to Kevin

My mom recently passed away. The past few years, my brother and I worked to keep our mom in her home as long as possible. This was her wish. 

There were many sacrifices made, and there were occasional challenges. You work through those, and become grateful for those involved in particular processes, who make your life a bit easier.

[Southold Town Tax Assessor] Kevin Webster is one of those folks. He was especially helpful in making our lives a bit easier when it came to handling mom’s taxes and the forms required for her Senior Citizen Exemption every year. 

With everything we had to handle, when it came to mom’s taxes, I never worried about anything because I knew I could rely on Kevin to help us. He went out of his way every year, and I never took that for granted. I have personally thanked Kevin on many occasions  but I wanted to publicly thank him  for everything. My mom was fond of him, and she too, appreciated him. The residents of Southold are very fortunate to have someone like Kevin serving them. He is dedicated, committed and, equally important in this day and age, compassionate. 

Kevin, thanks again. You are truly appreciated. 

Jim and Jack Harrison and families

Mattituck

How dare they?

I did not vote for U.S. Rep. [Nick] Lalota in November, nor did I vote for Donald Trump. But enough people did, and I accept both as my elected representatives.

We all knew what Mr. Trump’s agenda would reflect from day one. We knew that it would involve revenge and retribution.. We knew he would hire loyalists who supported his agendas around immigration, inflation and the social issues he felt had worked against him in the past.

So the fact is that what we have is on “us,” or at least the “us” who voted for him. I trust the American people to address that in four years.

But how dare Republican representatives allow this president to usurp their constitutionally given role (see Article One, in case they missed it), and their sworn commitment to support their constituents?

How dare they sit there and allow an unelected billionaire to assume their role and allow their fellow citizens to lose their rights, their freedoms and their privacy?

Have Republican representatives no decency? If they don’t care about us, don’t they care about their responsibilities, their roles, the jobs they fought for?

If someone were usurping my role, especially if it were constitutionally granted, I wouldn’t just take it. I would grow a backbone and say “no.”

And if, in the next election, representatives face revenge-driven competition, they will at least be able to sleep knowing they had represented their constituents as respectfully as possible.

Betsy Frank 

Laurel

Proud reader

As a Suffolk Times reader, I am impressed with the coverage of my beloved North Fork. I enjoy reading local news stories, from town government updates to high school sports and the weekly calendar of local events, which keeps me busy and engaged in this fantastic community.

In these very concerning political times, I turn to this local source and am continually impressed with the opportunity for readers to express their opinions. Reading the carefully drafted and well-written letters from my fellow North Fork residents, I learned about specific areas of concern and actions I must take to stop the takeover of our democracy. Just to be clear, President Trump campaigned on his intention to lower prices, lower inflation and end the wars in Gaza and the Ukraine. Prices are up, inflation is rising, the stock market is in turmoil and the wars continue despite his ludicrous proposals of turning Gaza into a beachfront resort and essentially turning Ukraine over to Russia.

Having contacted Congressman [Nick] LaLota’s office repeatedly by phone and email, I am dismayed at his lack of response. Was he not elected to represent all of the people in his constituency? We must hold Mr. LaLota responsible for his lack of action in standing up to an authoritarian president. When’s the Town Hall meeting? Why can’t he face us? What’s he afraid/ashamed of?

In addition, I wish to thank The Suffolk Times for explaining the selection of letters for the “Your View” section. It is reassuring that my fellow North Forkers share in my concern.

Mary Korpi 

Cutchogue

Recognize the problem 

Alexander Fraser Tytler is credited with saying, “A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.” 

 Our government’s loose fiscal policies, going back about 40 years, puts our Democracy on the  cliff. The present administration and Congress are working towards preventing that fall. Do you realize Congress’ failure (both parties) to secure sustainable annual budgets but rather pass “continuing resolution” hurts us all?

Can you continuously spend more than you earn? What happens if you cannot pay an obligation? We all know we must balance our books.

The Government Accounting Office has reported that fraud and waste in government spending amounts to between $236 billion and $521 billion dollars per year. Congress (both parties), through their methods, has failed to weed out this graft for years!

It is refreshing what Musk and DOGE have found so far. It is a disgusting use of taxpayer money. This is what happens when the “Power of the Purse” goes unchecked. Congress allocates money then states it all must be used. Why? 

A good comptroller holds back payment and makes sure he/she is getting the most for the least in accordance with the law and reason.

 Until our Congress puts petty partisan politics aside and compromise on a less equals more philosophy in the allocation of funds, we will never balance our spending. That will be our demise!

Bob Bittner 

Cutchogue 

A different take

I have some issues with “We the people” (“Your View, Feb. 20). I agree that we do have a right to know how our money is spent, but DOGE is not doing that. As shown in The New York Times and other media, their lists of what they have done and the monies supposedly saved are not accurate. And all the information on the DOGE website has always been publicly available for anyone interested. So, nothing new here.

If the administration was truly interested in waste and abuse, they would not have fired all the Inspectors General whose job this is. DOGE has not discovered any fraud, just money spent on programs [Elon] Musk and the Trump administration don’t like, i.e., food for the hungry, AIDs prevention, etc. I am also a taxpayer, and I like spending some of my taxes helping others.

Yes, no one elected Dr. [Anthony] Fauci, but he made recommendations, not policy; the administration (Trump) made the policies. Musk, on the other hand, makes policy and, unless I missed an election, he wasn’t elected.

Yes, the national debt is $36 trillion, but the Republican administration is looking to cut the budget for one reason: the approximately $4 trillion tax cut, which will largely go to the wealthy and dramatically increase the debt. 

About the Roman Empire:  It did not end because of debt. There were many reasons —  changes in climate, disease, invasions from the East, etc. But even with these problems, the empire in the west lasted 500 years and in the east 1,000 more. Not a bad run. As an aside, in 212 CE, Emperor Caracalla gave Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire. Wish we could.

Gary Cormorau

Southold

Mind your Mother

We recently witnessed a week of record low tides in Peconic Bay. Perhaps we need to realize that Mother Nature will do as she pleases and that passing the blame for her actions is not constructive. The saying “Don’t mess with Mother Nature” has been around long before climate change was discovered.

Bob Guarriello 

Orient

Showcasing a rich history

A heartfelt thank you to the North Fork Arts Center for offering our community such a rich and varied mix of films, talks and art exhibitions honoring Black History Month. I especially loved “Daughters of Judah: a Multigenerational Story of Slavery and Freedom on the East End.” It felt so good listening to the beautiful storytelling of a Sylvester Manor family by historian Donnamarie Barnes, together with a packed audience of multiple ages, backgrounds and religions. 

Founder Tony Spiridakis said it well, telling us he is realizing a dream of an inclusive cultural arts center where we can all feel part of our multifaceted American experience. 

I found the comments by historian Jennifer Morgan especially inspirational, agreeing with her that why make just one month Black History month? Just as including women into our American story adds to our sense of wholeness, so too, does including the names, lives and contributions of our American Black founding families.

Mary Morgan 

East Marion

Less silence, please

Anti-bullying programs are in most of our schools, so I’m confident that even young kids are capable of understanding the value of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Both serve the purpose of reducing conflict. Since NATO’s creation in 1949 we’ve had 14 U.S. presidents. The seven Democrats and six Republicans have been strong supporters of NATO. But not this current one.

The King of Chaos in the White House isn’t fond of facts. He told us Ukraine “should have never started” the war with Russia. Putin has devastated every aspect of Ukrainian life: homes, hospitals, schools, businesses, historic buildings. They’ve abducted about 20,000 Ukrainian children, who are subjected to indoctrination, including being forbidden to speak their language. That calls to mind stories of my husband’s grandmother as a child living in Poland under harsh Russian control. Forbidden to speak Polish, they only dared to do so in a whisper.

A few Republicans have recently commented publicly. Among them, Sen. Roger Wicker said: “There are good guys and bad guys in this war, and the Russians are the bad guys.” Sen. Susan Collins said: “We must remember that the instigator of this war was Russia. It was President Putin who launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine.”

Kids are better off when there are consequences for the behavior of bullies. So are we. Leonardo DaVinci, known more for his famous paintings than his politics, said, “Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.”

A sad reality: Through their silence, most Republicans, including our congressman, Nick LaLota, appear to have chosen to side with Putin, a bully and murderous dictator. We don’t have to empower them with our own silence.

Mary Ellen Tomaszewski 

Cutchogue

Goodbye to our allies

If you inquire of AI how many countries joined the United States in its war in Afghanistan, this is the answer you get: “The United States was part of a large coalition in Afghanistan. During the initial invasion in 2001, countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia, Italy and New Zealand joined the United States. Over the years, the coalition expanded to include 51 countries as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and later the Resolute Support Mission1.”

Donald Trump has now informed all of these former allies that they can no longer rely on the United States if and when they need us.

What else is there to know about Mr. Trump and the sycophantic Republican politicians who enthusiastically support him? That’s something to think about when Mr. LaLota runs again in the midterms.

Michael Levy 

Jamesport

USAID

This letter was also sent to Congressman Nick LaLota: I’m deeply upset about the apparent decimation of the U.S. Agency for International Development. It has saved millions of lives around the world, displaying for the world the very best our great country can offer. The Pepfar program alone, started by President George W. Bush, has spared over 25 million lives from HIV AIDS. Many others have been saved from malaria, tuberculosis and ebola, among other diseases because of this agency. It also has staved off starvation and famine. The entire program costs less than a penny on each dollar we spend. And if it disappears in Africa and Asia, China and Russia will be only too happy. Apparently food is rotting in the ports now. Could you use your influence to save this vital program, of which all of us in the U.S. should be extremely proud?

The Rev. Ben Bortin 

Mattituck

USAID funding

The administration’s move to defund the U.S. Agency for International Development risks both a humanitarian catastrophe in some of the poorest places in the world and grave damage to American national security for a minuscule reduction in the federal budget.

USAID programs have saved millions of lives, helping to achieve, to take one example, a 70% decline in malaria-related deaths among children in sub-Saharan Africa from 2000 to 2015. It is immoral for the richest country on earth to cease this assistance in the face of so much needless death and suffering. Apart from simple human compassion, the sudden cessation of this aid will contribute to instability in this part of the world, endangering America’s reputation and interests.

It is essential that Congress restore this funding and resist the reckless, thoughtless assault on government programs led by Elon Musk. We call on Rep. Nick LaLota to support the Protect U.S. National Security Act and withhold approval of any federal budget that does not fully restore USAID as an independent agency.

Jerome Adler and Beth Lebowitz 

Cutchogue

Chaotic firings

I’m all for eliminating waste, fraud and abuse, and for making government work more efficiently and effectively. However, I’m also all for truth, thinking through decisions and rationally allocating resources. The firing of federal government workers has been done so thoughtlessly, so recklessly, that no one should believe claims that waste, fraud and abuse are being targeted. Nothing about what is happening is targeted, as proven by the scrambling to rehire nuclear weapons experts, bird flu experts and National Parks employees. There’s also a lot of collateral damage to fired workers’ families. Relatedly, how was firing one person and forcing the closure of Sag Harbor’s Elizabeth A. Morton National Wildlife Refuge on Saturdays reducing waste, fraud or abuse?

Nearly as bad as the indiscriminate firing has been the lying about money. Far fewer “savings” have been found than claimed, sometimes by an order of magnitude. Another lie relates to Medicaid. The president has said he wants to protect Medicaid from cuts, and he says he supports the House of Representatives’ budget, which includes big cuts to Medicaid. Protect or slash Medicaid; which does President Trump mean — and which is the lie?

Now there’s talk of mailing us all $5,000. Like during lockdowns, the checks could really help people (me included) and stimulate the economy. But please understand, it would be new spending, not a “savings dividend”; the math doesn’t add up. Worse, the firings are looking ever swampier: Space X employees are replacing fired FAA people.

I know many who voted for President Trump, and love some of them. They voted for radical change, like I did when I voted for Bernie. They didn’t vote for reckless destruction and deeper corruption. I hope the president realizes that and corrects course, starting by ditching Elon Musk.

Abigail Field