PAGE A22 • THE VILLAGE TIMES HERALD • JANUARY 17, 2019
Opinion
Letters to the editor
Dear newspaper editor
The swearing-in ceremony for newly elected state Sen. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood) Jan. 12 was a remarkable event here on Long Island. At the most basic level, I was touched by the amount of support for Monica and her accomplishments. She represents a true American success story — coming to this country at age 3 from El Salvador, growing up in a local community to become a school teacher and then its county legislator. This is a remarkable story in and of itself, but now Monica is moving up to represent her larger community as a state senator. Best of all, she is doing things for all the right reasons, to help her fellow community members share in the success of this nation and, like all immigrants before her, help to make this nation a success as well. In our world of seemingly broken government, another significant aspect of the event stands out, even if only relevant for the short two-hour period of the ceremony. The outpouring of support for Monica not only filled the Brentwood High School auditorium, it was a true bipartisan cross section
Editorial
One of the best parts of our job is providing an outlet for readers to express their beliefs and passions on the Letters to the Editor page. Knowing what is on the minds of community members is always valuable to us and to the rest of our readers. This is a platform for releasing passions. That’s why we’re hoping a few readers who called us last week will take pen to paper — or fingers to keyboard — and write us a letter. After the Jan. 10 editorial criticizing the extended government shutdown over a proposed wall on the U.S. and Mexican border, we received a few calls from readers who were unhappy with our opinion. Some went as far as to say they would no longer read our papers. Even though they want to end their relationships with us, we appreciate their calls. We wish they would have taken the time to write a Letter to the Editor, because that’s one of the purposes of the page — for a reader to let the newspaper staff and readers know that they don’t agree with an editorial or even an article. We encourage and appreciate letters from all our readers no matter where they stand, even when it comes to politics. Also, we would love to see more letters from those who voted for and support President Donald Trump (R) as well as those who don’t. We want readers to tell us what they like and don’t like about the president — we appreciate hearing from all sides. We think our readers do too. Speaking of Trump and national issues, many have asked why they don’t see more letters about local topics. When we receive them, we gladly publish them. We would love to hear more about what our readership thinks of political decisions on the town and village levels as well as our local elected officials. These letters to the editor can create much-needed conversations, but a few readers have commented there’s too much back and forth between some individuals in some of our papers. We always do our best to give people an equal opportunity to respond to each other, but some of that back and forth would stop if we received more letters about a wider variety of topics. So, if you’re reading this editorial right now, don’t be shy. We accept letters with opinions about local, state, national and international issues. Whatever is on your mind, we want to hear from you. Take action. Keep in mind that letters are edited for length, libel, style and good taste — the letters page is not a place for foul language or personal battles. Letters should be no longer than 400 words, and we don’t publish anonymous letters. All submissions must include an address and phone number for confirmation. On a side note, here at TBR News Media we go by “The Associated Press Stylebook” to edit our articles, letters and editorials. One reader pointed out in last week’s edition we didn’t refer to Trump as president. But we did. In the first reference we wrote “President Donald Trump (R),” but following AP style, on subsequent references used only his last name. We hope this editorial gets you to write or email, leading to more diverse and productive conversations in the future — waiting to hear from you at rita@tbrnewsmedia.com.
Letters … We welcome your letters. They should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style and good taste. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include a phone number and address for confirmation. Email letters to rita@tbrnewsmedia.com or mail them to The Village Times Herald, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733.
Swearing-in ceremony an example for all
Monica Martinez Photo from Facebook
of society. Yes, Democrats like U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo were there as the keynote speakers to laud the absolute success story on display. But there, too,
were stalwart Long Island Republicans like U.S. Congressman Peter King and Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine, among many others. Long Island’s elected leaders attended to cheer the achievements of one of our own, regardless of tribe or partisan politics. For many it may have gone under the radar, but the “D” and “R” in people’s affiliation took a two-hour break. At least for those few hours on Saturday morning, Long Island political society functioned in a healthy manner. Why can’t our gang in Washington, D.C., get it together as well and open the government so people are not suffering unnecessarily? Let us hope that what was accomplished here can be accomplished in our nation’s capital, and all our elected officials can return to working together for the benefit of the many, not the benefit of the few. Let Monica’s ceremony be a symbol for all of us of what we should be — a nation that celebrates in the accomplishments of all its citizens. Perry Gershon Democratic candidate for NY-1 2018 East Hampton
A personal view of global warming Why is Paris burning? Recently, many thousands of French citizens, wearing the “yellow vests” (gilets jaunes) they are required to carry in their cars, took to the streets of Paris, most notably the Champs-Élysées, to protest the recently imposed tax increase on gasoline, which raised the cost to an astronomical $7 per gallon. What is the reason for this latest burdensome tax? Perhaps not surprisingly, in this city that gave birth to the unwelcome Paris accord, the stated purpose of the tax is to solve the problem of global warming, more fashionably described as climate change, by discouraging the use of fossil fuels. People throughout the world are increasingly becoming aware that global warming is not the fault of industrial civilization, and that it cannot be prevented by the expenditure of large sums of money. The surface temperature of the Earth is determined by literally hundreds of factors, of which the most important is the intensity of the solar
radiation that we receive, which is known to fluctuate from time to time, and is the main cause of global warming and cooling. The most important greenhouse gases are water vapor and clouds, which provide 90 percent of the greenhouse effect, compared to 6 percent from carbon dioxide. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is now around 0.041 percent, up slightly from 0.028 percent at the start of the Industrial Revolution. However, this number is also known to have fluctuated greatly in the past, and there have been times when carbon dioxide levels have been higher, and temperatures have been lower, compared to the present day. The physics of these relationships is extremely complex and is not completely understood. Numerous software models have been generated, which are purported to describe and predict the effects of the myriad of real world factors, including carbon dioxide concentrations, on the
temperature of the Earth. However, these programs always contain convenient fudge factors, which may be manipulated to provide a desired outcome, based on political or other nonobjective agendas. And, as it turns out, one of these desired objectives is the redistribution of wealth, which is the never-ending holy grail of our friends of the socialist persuasion. Thus, we find ourselves afflicted by dual pestilences: Computer models that are tweaked to tell us that increased levels of carbon dioxide will lead to disastrous increases in global warming, and politicians, exemplified by presidents Emmanuel Macron of France and Barack Obama of the United States who tell us that this can be prevented only by enormous levies of new and onerous taxes, which will righteously punish us for our past excesses. Fortunately, the citizens of both countries know better. Lafayette, we are here! George Altemose Setauket
The opinions of columnists and letter writers are their own. They do not speak for the newspaper.