Letters to the Editor - 7-18-24

Need for gun safety and toned-down rhetoric

The attempted assassination of Trump, and the death of at least one innocent victim, again puts the need for robust common sense, gun safety laws in the mandatory-to-accomplish category. Yes, we need to tone down political rhetoric, but for sure that alone will not stop the use of guns for killing.

The facts speak for themselves: As of June 30 of this year alone, a total of 390 people have been killed and 1,216 people wounded in 302 shootings! Gun violence is already the leading cause of death in children. The availability of firearms is an also a significant factor in suicides.

We are unique among nations for tolerating this sort of bloodshed.

Senator Chris Murphy has led the way. Last year Senate Democrats, with the help of 15 Republican Senators,passed the strongest gun safety legislation since the 1990s. It was a critical step but not enough.

Maybe, just maybe, the awareness that this country needs even stronger legislation will now occuracross the political spectrum and be passed into law. Clearly, none of us is immune.

Barbara Maltby

Salisbury

Guess who’s best for CT’s Fifth District

What do these organizations have in common: Morris Affordable Housing, Goshen Affordable Housing Drinking Water System, Danbury Transit Center, Brookfield Emergency Radio System, and Meriden Senior Center? Each got the attention and substantial funds they deserve with help from Congresswoman Jahana Hayes.

What do these places have in common? Fundraising stops at the Republican Town Committee in Thomaston, the “Battle Station” in Farmington, and the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport? Answer: Hayes’ opponent, Aquarion’s George Logan, who dropped by for a photo op, a backslap, and big bucks.

Which kind of representative do you want to elect: an experienced legislator who delivers constituent services and responds to community needs or Logan the lobbyist, who tries to explain why his employer failed to deal with contaminants and then poses for pictures at high-priced fundraisers?

Only once has George Logan avoided the cameras. After telling one audience to shut down their phones and cameras, he admitted he voted for Donald Trump twice and plans to vote for the Republican nominee again in November.

George Logan was a newcomer to the Fifth District when he ran 2 years ago. He’s still a guest in our district, scared to stand by his party’s presidential candidate in public. Let’s show him 5th District hospitality, but not by electing him to the US Congress. I want someone who knows this district and its needs because she grew up here and never left. That’s Congresswoman Jahana Hayes.

Molly Fitzmaurice

Sharon

The scourge of antisemitism

Shortly after the barbaric Hamas attack of Oct. 7, Alan Friedman, Mike Abrams and I formed a bipartisan, interfaith committee that held a “Vigil for Israel, The Hostages and Peace” at the Congregational Church in Salisbury. By the time the vigil occurred in mid-November, episodes of antisemitism had begun to emerge across the country and so the vigil expanded to cover this development.

Since the vigil, antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment have grown far beyond what any of us on the committee could have imagined. There have been appalling attacks on Jewish students on college campuses, attacks on Jewish-owned businesses, random attacks on Jews walking or congregating in our cities, and a vicious attack on Jews in Los Angeles as they attended services at their local synagogue. Recent weeks have witnessed a demonstrator in Union Square shouting that he wished Hitler “were still here”, red paint thrown against the home of the Jewish Director of the Brooklyn Museum and the ransacking of Jewish Representative Brad Schneider’s office in the nation’s capitol. All of this is frighteningly reminiscent of Europe in the 1930’s and poses the gravest threat to our values since World War II.

It is imperative that our political leaders speak out strongly against this growing antisemitism. George Logan, the Republican candidate for Congress for the 5th District, has long stood up for Israel and against antisemitism. This is not a new stance, George has been a vocal supporter of Israel since his days in the Connecticut Senate. George appeared in person at our November vigil and spoke eloquently on the need to combat antisemitism and support Israel in its fight against those who wish to see the State extinguished.

Mr. Logan’s opponent, incumbent Jahana Hayes, has been lukewarm in condemning antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment. Her public statements, like her Congressional votes, have been a mixed bag. While she was quick to condemn Israel when it mistakenly struck a convoy of aid workers — a tragedy for sure, but hardly an unheard of event in the midst of a war — she refused to join with other Congressmen in a letter asking Secretary Blinken to call for the PA to halt it’s “Pay for Slay” program, and she met with the Connecticut chapter of CAIR after the national organization had praised Hamas’ October 7th massacre.

The rise of antisemitism in our country is — to use a much overused word — an existential threat to our values as Americans. The country needs leaders who will speak out forthrightly and unequivocally on this issue. George Logan, a son of immigrants from Jamaica and Guatemala, understands the need to stamp out prejudice against any ethnic or religious group and offers a strong, steady voice against the scourge of antisemitism.

Tom Morrison

Chair, Salisbury Republican Town Committee

Supreme Court got it right on Chevron rule

The recently concluded U.S. Supreme Court session handled some profound decisions. They got it right. Apart from the presidential immunity covering official duties and waiving obstruction of justice offenses without having some direct correlation on an event (think Jan. 6 certification of election results) perhaps the most far reaching decision involved discarding the Chevron Rule.

This 40-year old doctrine allowed deference to governing agencies from court challenges on ambiguous matters. State attorneys general, upon filing complaints, would be successfully challenged by an unelected federal bureaucracy.

Reigning in federal power has long been overdue. One does not have to look very far for specific examples of overreach.

Environmental agencies — they have proposed EV mandates despite insufficient technology. Their attacks on energy production have been constant. A recent local example being the hysteria surrounding the Cricket Valley energy plant. Groups had even set up air monitoring sites at various locations downwind.

Energy department—a rewrite of Title IX protections to include new interpretations of gender and it’s accompanying protections.

And finally—the Department of Justice using it’s bureaucracy to harass describing concerned parents attending school board meetings as “domestic terrorists.” See the infamous Merrick Garland memorandum that was sent to national teachers organization for proof. Now with the abandonment of the Chevron Doctrine these extreme ideas can be challenged judicially. No more unfettered power by way of these big government bureaucrats.

Joe Agli

Kent

Setting record straight on herbicide spraying

I find it somewhat ironic to find myself defending the railroad against the claims made in Riley Klein’s front-page article of July 11. Why ironic? Because I was the member of the Housatonic Herbicide Working Group that provided oral testimony at the Environment Committee’s public hearing supporting the proposed new bill regulating the use of herbicides by the railroad.

That bill was passed and was signed into law by the governor on May 21. It went into effect on July 1 but the changes that are required by the law will not be put into motion until next February when the new so-called “Vegetation Management Plan” is required.

After that, there are also new reporting requirements that will also need to be put into effect in the spring and early summer of 2025.

The most profound impact of the new law requires all railroads to map the geography they pass through in order to identify sensitive wetland areas, rivers, lakes, and public wells… essentially anything that is wet.

Then they have to have a special plan to better protect those particular areas from herbicides that have a risk of getting into water and killing aquatic life from microscopic life at the bottom of the food chain on up to fish.

This is not something that will be easy for the railroad to accomplish, it will take time and will undoubtedly feel like a burden to the railroads. They are going to have a steep learning curve.

It would be nice if the railroad owners could start seeing themselves as the environmental champions they are in providing the lowest carbon-release form of mass transportation we have.

Being an environmental champion as a railroad ought to include understanding that keeping the railbed safe, as is required by federal law, can still be accomplished while minimizing the cost to local agriculture and our precious water.

To wit: the Housatonic Railroad Corporation did nothing this summer that wasn’t business as usual, there was no “sneaking” and the citizens who complained were not fully informed about when to expect changes in the railroad’s procedures.

Anna Timell

Cornwall

In appreciation of Etienne Delessert

Perhaps once or maybe twice, if lucky enough, you are given the opportunity to meet someone truly inspiring who makes an indelible mark on your life. Etienne Delessert, who passed away this past April, was just such a person for me. With his boundless creativity and innovation, he, along with his friends and contemporaries like Maurice Sendak, Milton Glaser, and Eric Carle helped lead the field of illustration for decades. I have never met another person with such dedication, drive and talent.

He was also a thoughtful and warm person who freely offered me his support, advice and friendship over the years. I will miss our long chats about art, literature, politics and a host of other topics, many times accompanied by our wives on warm summer evenings at The Grove.

Etienne has left us a legacy of hundreds of beautiful pieces of art, and even more importantly, his lust for life.

He will be missed.

Christopher Pouler

Lakeville