Letters to the Editor for April 20th

O’Doul an Anti-Semite?

To the Editor,

I have a complaint about one of your writers “Danny O’Doul.” His articles have a tone and context of thinly veiled anti-Semitism i.e. The “Chometz” article of the April 6-19, 2012 issue.

All of his articles aimed at the Jews in this neighborhood are extremely offensive and should never have been published. He is covering his anti-Semitic ideas with humor although I find nothing funny about it.

Tell him if the tone of his articles doesn’t change by the end of the April I will report him and you to the N.Y.S. attorney general’s office and the Nassau Executive, Ed Mangano.

Janet Glassner
Woodmere

Editor’s Reply:  Mr. O’Doul has been accused of many things – poor taste, vulgarity, obesity and even being a coffee schnorrer, but anti-Semitism? The article you mention is a tongue-in-cheek interview about pre-Passover preparations which while pushing the boundaries of good taste, does not meet the litmus test of anti-Semitism. This is also as good a time as any to inform you and our readers that “Danny O’Doul” is a nom de plume for a very Jewish Five Towns resident who more often than not is accused of being “too Jewish.”

As Posted on Facebook

Inwood Redistricted

In our March 23rd issue we reported that Inwood had been removed from New York’s 4th Congressional District as part of redistricting and shifted into a Queens district. Below are comments from readers about that issue:

Jan Dudley:
“What are we from Inwood supposed to feel when after living here 43 years after my marriage we are now considered a non-entity with no feelings? After paying Nassau taxes for all these years I am devastated. That our children will have to go to NYC schools which are not rated well and have all sorts of problems. What happens to the over 100 years of fire support to our other communities and the men and women who have given their time and efforts to support the community. What happens to the health and aid for all the seniors.
Why are we considered as lower in socio-cultural as being in a minority area compared to the other four towns. I have seen many different ethnic groups living in the other five towns. In fact to say that about us is awful.

Those Judges did not consider the northern part of Nassau. What about North Hempstead? Or Valley Stream Area? They have all the same mixture of ethnicities we do. I know quite a few college grads that have come from the Lawrence district. There are also athletes and scholars. I am sorry to say but if this goes through and we become Queens, I foresee many leaving this town and you will find that you have lost more constituents.

I am sorry that this has come to pass. All the politicians and committeemen that have worked to keep the county working and improving through the years including parents and grandparents in this family must be turning over in their graves at this development. I hope this will be re-considered.

In reply to above:

Susan Cramer  Long Beach:
“That is terrible! How can “they” just move a place from one county into another?”

Dorothy Murray:
“wow joey did you see this? This is a friggin travesty.”

In reply to above:

Henry Castagnaro:
“For sure and they’ve been redistricted too.”

More Comments on “Americare”

Our March 30th issue carried an editorial on health care reform called “Try Americare,” which generated a lot of comments online. Since our last issue some more debate on the proposed initiative has come forth. One reader writes:

“Talk about stealth agendas, you say that “To bring the cost of healthcare down, Congress needs to enact Tort Reform, imposing caps on malpractice lawsuit awards so as to lower the cost of malpractice insurance for doctors and hospitals and lower the cost of endless litigation.”

Here’s where the money spent on healthcare goes in pictorial terms:http://www.annals.org/content/142/10/847/F2.large.jpg

Lawsuits might fall under Other, but are not a significant cost driver in any way shape or form.

In fact “researchers note that doctors and other healthcare providers are rewarded for merely treating patients rather than curing them and that patients insured through employer group policies have incentives to go to the absolute best HCPs rather than the most cost-effective ones.”

So please fly the Tort Reform flag elsewhere, it’s a red herring that stinks on ice.”

In reply another reader commented:

“Interesting pie chart. Who created it? Based upon what data? Me, I am all for holding Hospitals as the culprit… I spent an HOUR AND A HALF in an emergency room and was charged $6,800, all for them to do a urinalysis and tell me that the funny pain in my middle and frequent vomiting (every 25 minutes or so) was a kidney stone… but I digress. Where did this come from and who has an axe to grind that created it?”