Letters to the Editor: LaLota again

LaLota again

The current 1st District member of Congress ignores the people he calls hard-working average Long Islanders.

He touts raising the cap on property tax credits and eliminating taxes on tips as his gift to working families in Southold and across New York State.

Meanwhile, the federal government spends money on a war, seizing foreign oil tankers, bombing small boats, adding a new East Wing to the people’s house, even an arch — and now the slush fund of almost $2 billion dollars to people who attacked the police and defaced the Capitol of the United States.

Here in Southold, as everywhere else, I presume, the price of a gallon of gasoline is moving toward the six-dollar mark. Our trips to the local grocery store become an adventure as inflation rises to over 3%.
We squeezed more cash from the ATM than we did last month or year, while our 1st District congressman sits by and takes a Memorial Day break instead of getting a hold on the federal purse strings — the sole purpose of his role as an elected official.

Meanwhile, he silently approves of the cost of an unending war, the removal of a leader of a South American country, the devastation of small outboard-equipped boats, and a slush fund to pay those who attacked the police on Jan. 6, 2001.

And now the Department of Justice just deleted history. They erased from their website the news about the criminal cases related to the events of Jan. 6, calling it “partisan propaganda” (Newsday, May 24, 2026, page A22).

History is being erased by our federal government, money is being spent to pay those who attack police, funds are used for an arch and a ballroom, while people need relief from higher prices. Where is our congressman? Who will you vote for?

Joel Reitman

Orient

Dinosaur defense spending

Dear Republicans, Democrats, Liberals, Conservatives, Fascists and Commie Pinkos:

The idea that our national defense strategy urgently requires new factories to build last year’s weapons is unwise and wasteful. Are we also going to restock the military inventory of bridles, saddles and horse blankets? Last year’s giant missiles, “boots on the ground,” and social media clips of destroyed targets may be exciting, but they are remnants of the past. With proper leadership, it’s clear that national defense must adapt to present conflicts.

The next attacks on us will be hospitals, urban blackouts, hijacked dam controls and runaway railway signals. The new attacks can come from anywhere in the world. Our enemies will target the deferred maintenance and upgrades that pervade our national infrastructure. The attackers will be difficult to locate. They cannot be bombed out of existence.

Just a reminder, the San Francisco light rail system still operates on three 5.25-inch floppy discs that must be loaded every day. Upgrades to their system will be completed in 2033. In Suffolk County, we suffered our own ransomware attack a few years back. What if the attackers did not want money, but rather chose to compromise medical equipment at Stony Brook Medical Center? What has been done to protect us?

It ain’t sexy, but defense spending must go to protect our infrastructure.

Douglas Gray

Mattituck

When will it end?

When will Nick Lalota and the other Republicans in Congress put an end to Trump’s insanity? He has been destroying our country since he started his second term.

He doesn’t want us to see his tax returns because he has probably been cheating for years. Now he wants all of us taxpayers to give almost $2 billion to the Jan, 6 insurrectionists who injured and killed Capitol police, damaged the Capitol and terrorized members of Congress! He already pardoned them. He wants them to be even more grateful to him and to be his private militia who would do anything for him and further destroy our country at his command.

This is not a Trump Derangement Syndrome comment. All Americans — Republicans, Democrats and Independents — should be appalled at how Trump wants to spend our hard-earned money (ballroom, arch, reflecting pool, Kennedy Center) while reducing federal departments and programs. His next target is to destroy Medicare.

Nick Lalota and the Republicans in Congress need to stop shirking their responsibility to the people of this country and stand up to Trump. Where is the rule of law? No one is above the law, but the Republicans look the other way when it comes to Trump. Why?

Mr. Lalota and the Republicans in Congress need to be ethical, follow their oaths to the Constitution and work for the people of this country. We all need to contact our representatives and make our voices heard.

Margaret Rutkowski