Letter: Sposato obit sustains 'bias'

STwo items in the obituary of Louis F. Sposato [News, Dec. 1] require comment.

The obituary completely mischaracterizes my relationship with Sposato. Subsequent to his retirement as executive leader of the Oyster Bay hamlet, I appointed him vice chairman of the Nassau County Republican Committee. He remained vice chairman for many years, actively providing me with wise counsel and advice.

While your obituary suggests an estrangement that never existed, I am grateful that Sposato and I remained close friends up until his passing and continued in regular contact through his well-deserved retirement in Florida.

The obituary also perpetuates Newsday's none-too-subtle bias against the Republican Party and its leadership. Why, an astute reader may ask, is Republican Chairman Joe Mondello sometimes referenced as the "GOP boss," while his counterpart is consistently described as "Democratic Chairman," or sometimes "Democratic leader" Jay Jacobs?

The answer is simple: The term boss when used in a political context is clearly a pejorative meant to cast the individual in a negative, almost sinister light. Conversely, the terms chairman and leader convey universally positive connotations.

It's a shame this material was included in the obituary of a fine man and a dedicated public servant. Sposato did much good for so many people over the years.

Joseph Mondello, Westbury

Editor's note: The writer is the chairman of the Nassau County Republican Committee.

Iran deal doesn't compare to 1939

Letter writers have sought to compare the current situation in Iran to the Nazi regime in Germany in the 1930s ["Concerned about agreement with Iran," Nov. 27]. This comparison is flawed.

First, in 1939, Germany had invaded sovereign nations and militarily occupied foreign land; Iran has done nothing of the sort.

It would be unsettling and unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, but to put that on the level of the military threat that Nazi Germany presented to the world is laughable. Germany at the time had a military superior to the United States. Are people suggesting that Iran has that kind of power?

Fascists in Europe during the 1920s and 1930s openly used violence to enforce their totalitarian authority, highlighted by mass executions and pogroms that shocked the world. Iran has committed no such atrocities.

The international community's use of diplomacy to bring a peaceful end to this situation does not equal appeasement. The economic sanctions in place against Iran since 2011 are crippling the Iranian economy. Appeasement is the act of giving in to the demands of an aggressor, but this deal is being brokered on our terms, with real penalties already in place.

This situation is not even close to the days of the Munich Conference where Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini dictated the terms -- ask the Czechs and Slovaks about the Sudetenland!

The Middle East is a volatile area of the world and a nuclear Iran would be destabilizing, but let's keep things in perspective.

Mike DiTomasso, Lindenhurst

Opposition to a Walmart world

Columnist Lane Filler writes from extremely limited, unscientific experience to paint a picture of Walmart's unskilled employees to justify their low wages ["Walmart's formula works for workers," Opinion, Nov. 27].

There are, after all, more than 4,000 Walmart stores in the United States. Filler's viewpoint is galling considering that Walmart's chief executive was paid more than $20.7 million in 2012. Without calculating for benefits, that pay translates to approximately 1,105 full-time workers at $9 an hour.

Each store has roughly 280 workers, so 1,105 workers could operate about four stores. On average, Walmart earns $95 million per store each year. Which would have a greater impact on Walmart's bottom line for one year, the chief executive taking a leave of absence? Or the closure of four stores, costing Walmart $380 million in lost revenue?

These "unskilled" workers provide value to this company, more than they are compensated for.

Christopher L. Turpin, Patchogue

There are a few points missing from this column in favor of corporate greed.

Walmart destroyed the economies of hundreds of small towns, leaving people little choice about where to shop or work. By selling clothing, appliances, furniture and electronic goods made outside of the United States, people in manufacturing and sales were put out of work.

Yes, farm hands made lousy pay, but they were often housed and fed by the farmers they worked for. The American taxpayer did not have to subsidize their housing or provide food stamps.

The brief and shining era of what you call "prosperity" in post-war America was really a jump from poverty into middle class. Auto workers, particularly from the South, came from places with no electricity and ended up in two-bedroom bungalows with a color TV. Very nice, but hardly prosperous.

I favor the profit motive, but Walmart executives are living in unfathomable wealth while the gap between the rich and the rest of us has been growing faster and faster since the days of the Reagan administration.

Ann Rita Darcy, Huntington Station