Letters to the Editor 2-2-17

Take action to combat this fresh hell

We are descending to a lower level of hell on Earth than that to which Cheney/Bush lowered us, with the Trump crowd of wealthy bullies in command. The destroyers of America in total control — Congress, president and Supreme Court. That can only be described as hell. We are now in the exact state that Republican President Eisenhower warned must not happen: control by corporations and the military (and all their political puppets).It is going to go faster and worse than ever before.

Millions of Republicans who are not wrong-wing extremists are going to discover very soon they have made a huge mistake — they are contributors to the destruction of America and the creation of the Degenerate Banana Republic. You voted for increased pollution of air, water and land — the wiping out of environmental protection laws; the right of the horrible oil and gas industries to destroy any area they wish for whatever they want.

You voted for hundreds of bad things that will be done to diminish and destroy ethical and morally decent behavior, so the “common people” (not wealthy or powerful) can be kicked around in so many ways: wreck Social Security and Medicare and other programs that people need, stop millions from voting (it is already going on), the forcing of conformity and the damaging of independent minds that don’t follow their orders.

The Trump mob must be stopped as fast as possible by fighting in every way: Support the organizations that spend every nickel possible to stop environmental wreckage. The NRDC, Food and Water Watch, Earth Justice, Public Citizen are some of the best that actually get things done and win their wars often.

But it must be done fast and continuously, because one of the worst plans these power monsters have is to take all possible actions to get rid of judges who dare to decide rightly about these cases on illegal and unethical actions, not just federal judges but state also. Nothing will stop them from trying to do whatever they feel threatens their plans. They will replace them with the type who will do their duty, that is, genuflect to the Koch brothers and their horrible crowd that are in control of this country.

It is so sad. Bernie Sanders would have been the only real hope for America, but of course, that was impossible to happen. As he would suggest, ignore the multitudes of lies and nonsense you will get on TV and in the major newspapers, and read some that will tell the real situation, and the hell that will be going on: the Hightower Lowdown, the Progressive, the Nation and other publications (all recommended by Bernie.)

No, Republicans, I am not insane. This is the way things are. If there is much hope of cutting these power bullies back, I’m not aware of it. But if you have any optimism in you, then get into the fight to stop everything bad that is possible — Now! 

Roger W. Coleman

Sharon

The unemployment lesson for today

Is there any correlation between political party change in incumbency in the White House and change in the U.S. unemployment rate — for better or for worse? Recent history suggests there may be.

Under Republican President George H.W. Bush, the unemployment rate rose from 5.4 percent to 7.3 percent. Under Democratic President Bill Clinton, the unemployment rate fell from 7.3 to 4.2 percent (a record). Under Republican President George W. Bush, the unemployment rate rose from 4.2 to a disastrous 7.9 percent (the “Great Recession”). Recovery came from Democratic President Barack Obama, under whose administration the unemployment rate fell from 7.9 to 4.7 percent, a near record, which he now bequeaths to Republican President Donald Trump in 2017.

Is there a learning point here? Could it be that Republican policies of deregulation and tax breaks for the more wealthy among us don’t really solve the unemployment problem? Or could it be that Democratic policies of spending on social programs and infrastructure development that benefit everyone actually contribute more effectively to fuller employment of all Americans?

So today, will the GOP and President Trump take advantage of the 4.7 percent legacy bequeathed to them from Barack Obama, and will they pursue Democratic policies of social and economic stimulus, or will their promises of “greatness” and “change” turn out to be “more of the same,” with financial elitism and oligarchy trumping democracy and the working man? 

Tony Piel

Sharon

Climate change is not a hoax

The year just ended was the hottest on record, smashing the record set in 2015, which smashed the record set in 2014.  It’s the peak of winter here, and already most of our weather in 2017 has been similar to mid-March or April. Arctic sea ice is disappearing at breathtaking rates, as are glaciers all over the world. Gigantic pieces of the Antarctic ice shelf are breaking off. Extreme weather events have indeed increased in recent decades, flooding coastal areas with growing frequency, for example, and turning much of the American West into a tinderbox. 

But that’s all right, says John Mauer (Letters, Jan. 26), because warmer temperatures mean “greater food production” and “more livable land.” I would like to see his evidence for this sweeping claim. I would like to know how he can ignore entire communities in the north that have had to relocate to continue to find suitable living conditions, or the islands and coastal areas that have disappeared. Or the people who have lost their lives in hurricanes, droughts, floods, and tornadoes. 

Moreover, Mr. Mauer reassures us that human-caused climate change from carbon emissions is “not the dominant effect.” Evidently, it “appears to be due to changes in ocean currents.” For giggles, I Googled “do ocean currents cause global warming?” and every article I found talked about how ocean currents are affected by global warming, not the other way around. But Mr. Mauer’s claim is that climate science is a “hoax,” not the product of peer-reviewed scientific research. He ignores the quite compelling evidence that temperatures have dramatically increased in lockstep with CO₂ production.

So, here’s my question: Who are you going to believe? A physicist who, like every other climate change denier, doesn’t accept the consensus of the vast majority of the scientific community? Or actual climate scientists? 

Fred Baumgarten

Sharon

We need 

Social Security

Social Security must be saved

It’s so good for so many.

“I agree,” says Uncle Sam.

But how and still behave?

All those retired.

All those maimed.

Have life insurance on us

So expenses can be defrayed.

Gavin Egerton

North Canaan

Do not despair: resist

As I watch the saga unfurl

Images of a despot swirl

Completely at a loss for words

This period is for the birds

America has always healed

The Constitution is our shield

Despair is not the answer now

Resist strongly, we must vow

Michael C. Kahler

Lakeville

Reply on Lime Rock Park

Ms. Austell, of Kent, living some 20 miles from the track, seems unaware of its realities (letter to the editor, Jan. 19).

Noise: Ms. Austell does not seem to comprehend the noise and traffic which the track generates. Unmufflered racing is thunderous. Mufflered racing is loud. It would blot out services at Trinity Church and render impossible the conduct of concerts at Music Mountain and normal life in the track’s surroundings. So, we should add racing on Sundays to the noise of the other six days?

History: During the past 57 years, the track has entered by formal agreement into multiple “Consent Decrees” in the Litchfield Court. Each one of these agreements confirmed the fact of no Sunday racing. The track now seeks, unilaterally, to renounce and invalidate the agreements it made.

Numbers: By its lawsuit against the Town of Salisbury, the track seeks to invalidate the Regulations of the Salisbury P&Z, which incorporate the current Litchfield Court’s injunction, reached by agreement. These regulations were adopted after a crowded public hearing (not “a few people”) held in the fall of 2015. Many of those who favored adoption of the regulations wore red sashes; there was a sea of red. With such overwhelming town support, the P&Z adopted the regulations. 

Nor is it “a few people” who would suffer from the track’s expansion. It is hundreds of people who live in the track’s noise zone, the congregation of Trinity Church, the huge audience of Music Mountain, those who wish to visit the cemetery across the street on Sunday, and the whole town, which is paying to defend against the track’s lawsuit.

Duration: Nor are we talking about a “few hours” of noise and traffic on a “handful of days.” In its court filings, the track has sought: (1) Two four-day events of unmufflered racing running from Thursday morning to Sunday evening, some 35 hours in all; (2) Twenty Sundays of mufflered racing from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.  That adds up to 22 Sundays obliterating peace and quiet.

Benefits: Part-time residents own 32 percent of the residential properties in Salisbury, but these properties account for 41 percent of the dollar value of our 2015 Grand List, $460,613,000 in all. The people who own these properties came here for peace and quiet, and they can just as easily leave. Moreover, with a “Track Town” reputation, we cannot expect any more to move to our town. So:  hello to a diminished Grand List and higher taxes, goodbye to the income from construction and maintenance of second homes we now enjoy, goodbye to a big chunk of our real estate market, retail sales and restaurant income. 

These are “benefits”?

Since Ms. Austell is such a strong supporter of the track, perhaps she would like to see it move to Kent. 

Stuyvesant K. Bearns

Lakeville

Speak Out and Be Heard

When replacing the truth with “alternative facts” is being lauded by government officials, citizens from every political party must come together to protect and defend the country we love.

As a disenfranchised Republican who has never been politically active, I am appalled by what is happening almost hourly. I’ve come to believe President Trump enjoys pushing us farther and farther apart. But what’s really shocking is that the speaker of the house, senate majority leader and most of Congress are letting it happen.

I can’t understand why they are turning a blind eye to the facts: The Constitution is the law of the land; a divided country is weaker not stronger; disclosing conflicts of interest is standard operating procedure in public and private sectors; President Trump lost the popular vote; three million people rallied the next day in protest and are continuing to do so daily; this presidential election had the lowest voter turnout in 20 years.

I was in the NYC Women’s March and have shared stories and photographs with people who participated across the country. The most remarkable thing to me about these rallies was the similarities. In every city from coast to coast, every demographic group you can imagine was represented; families and individuals of every color and gender showed up to voice their disapproval of President Trump’s political style, hatred, Russian connections, lying and self-aggrandizement. It was truly extraordinary how uniform the handmade signs were; chants traveled from city to city through videos friends texted each other. 

My favorite sign was:

“We CAN no longer accept the things we cannot change;

  We CAN change the things we cannot accept.” 

Nancy Hegy Martin

Sharon

Please, rethink ‘skepticism on global warming’

This is in response to John Mauer’s letter of Jan. 26, “Skepticism on global warming.” Rachel Carson is a hero of mine, and I have just finished rereading “Silent Spring” … again.

In my opinion, this book and her others: “The Sea Around Us” and “The Edge of the Sea,” should be required reading for young and old alike. Recalling the use of pesticides after World War II, her book helped to bring about the banning of the indiscriminate use of DDT and began a worldwide environmental movement that helped to change laws affecting the land we inhabit, the air we breathe and the water we drink.

I recommend www.rachelcarsoncouncil.org for those who would like to know more about what is happening currently, and a truly amazing documentary  from PBS,  https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/rachel-carson/. Both can help us understand the value of closely observing the changing climate.

Rachel Carson, as Al Gore said, “… met with considerable resistance from those who were profiting from pollution.”

The profiteers are at work today in full force. I am not skeptical of this! 

Judith Gott

Salisbury

The Trump nightmare turns to reality

As the election campaign unfolded over the past year, I never thought that the ideas put forth by candidate Trump would ever come to fruition. I had arguments with my wife, Zeina, about Trump, assuring her that even if he won, he would not do all the things he was saying. I contended that he spent most of his life being a New York liberal, and he was using the extreme-right views he was espousing during the campaign to trick people into electing him. I really believed this, and I thought I was doing the right thing to counter Zeina’s fears, because she felt quite vulnerable as a new immigrant to the U.S. from the Middle East: She is Lebanese with part Syrian ethnicity. Of course, she freaked out when Trump won (I did too), but I continued to tell her that he would never do all the misguided things he talked about. After his first week in office, I was proven wrong. The nightmare started turning into reality.

Zeina is currently visiting her aging mother in Lebanon while I am in Lakeville, and it is disconcerting that Trump’s directive originally prohibited U.S. permanent residents (green card holders like her) from neighboring Middle East countries from reentering the U.S. It would take the stroke of a pen by Trump to reinstate this and start including Lebanon on the “bad” country list. So tonight I sit alone wondering how our life would change if my wife were not allowed to return. Simply put, I would have no choice but to leave the U.S., the country I love and in which I have spent my entire life since birth. I never dreamed of the possibility of such a choice, and I hope it doesn’t come to this.

I also wonder about Salisbury’s own Syrian refugee family, the Al Ghanems, who have recently been a subject in this newspaper. They are very aware of the new Trump government’s sentiments, and they are wondering whether they will be kicked out of the U.S. It is horrible that they feel this way, just as their children have started blending into our community and the American culture and getting their first opportunity for an education as students at Salisbury Central School. The Al Ghanems underwent two years of vetting before being allowed to come to the U.S. How much more vetting is enough for Syrian refugees like them? There is no logic.

I honestly don’t know how were are going to get through these next four years. I am now back to protesting on the streets as I did on Jan. 21 in New York City and in 1970 in Washington D.C. during the Vietnam War. I was on the right side of history in 1970, and I am confident that I am on the right side of history now. I will protest to the end until the Trump government is defeated. 

Lloyd Baroody

Lakeville

Tax Aide volunteers needed

Every tax season for the past 20 years, AARP Tax Aide and Salisbury Senior Services have teamed up to offer free tax preparation and filing services to area residents who are in need. In recent years, our two-person team has averaged a little over 100 returns per year. Unfortunately, due to family circumstances, one o f our preparers will not be with us this year. This leaves our small operation short.

AARP Tax Aide requires that there be two certified tax counselors on duty any time the site is open. AARP has been working hard to help us find a counselor willing to come to Lakeville, but has had no success to date. Thus we are in need of volunteers who can cover a total of about eight hours per week. These hours are flexible and will be set to meet our volunteer’s needs.

If you have done, or do your own taxes, have owned a house, have had dependents, have interest and/or dividend income, have run your own business, we can teach you how to use our software to file tax returns. You must become IRS certified before preparing returns, but we will help you throughout the certification process. It is not as hard as you might think.

Of all the volunteer opportunities I have, this is one of the most fulfilling. The people we help are truly thankful for your service. Most would simply be lost in the paperwork without it. So if you are interested in serving your neighbors, please call me at 860-435-5191. Without another volunteer, we will not be able to open. 

Mike Beck

Salisbury Senior Services

Salisbury

More damage than presented in LJ Wilkinson reporting

The Lakeville Journal article entitled “FBI arrests Wilkinson for investment fraud scheme” (Jan. 26) largely quotes the press release issued by the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois, and the indictment of Mr. Wilkinson by the grand jury dated Jan. 17, 2017.

While the press release, indictment and the Journal article emphasize the magnitude of Mr. Wilkinson’s alleged offenses and that his victims included “friends, acquaintances and former colleagues,” these narrations fail to mention that his immediate family were substantial investors as well and that his ex-wife, his sister and former in-laws also claim they have been severely damaged by the financial misdeeds of which he is accused.

Suffice it to say, I believe the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office are very much aware of this reality.

In full disclosure, I am representing Mr. Wilkinson’s former father-in-law in this case. 

William V. Grickis

Attorney at Law

Lakeville

Go to reliable sources on climate change

I am a citizen with no special expertise in climate science, but when looking  for answers on the enormous issues that surround climate change, I am going  to rely on climate scientists, not physicists. Since 97 percent of the  world’s climate scientists agree on the fundamentals of the  situation — that the climate is warming at an ever-increasing rate due  primarily to the presence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere — I will take my stand with them.

To wait to take action endangers the web of life on this  Earth in many different and converging ways, and we cannot wait to see if  every model is going to be spot on before taking wide-reaching steps to avert  the worst. I choose to think that the national science academies of 80  different countries who agree on the gravity of climate change are a more  reliable source than Mr. Mauer. 

Susannah Wood

Norfolk