Robert Hornak demonstrates, in his “Politics Aside” column of December 29, 2011, his lack of knowledge of both history and of the consequences of “fracking,” all the while making a blatant and undeserved attack on those opposed to the practice of the latter.
While misusing a quote, i.e.: “We have nothing to fear but fear itself”, he attributes it, wrongly, to Theodore Roosevelt. The actual statement was, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” and it was made by Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first inaugural address.
Hornak should, if he wishes to try to pass himself off as a responsible journalist, do several things. They are, in no particular order:
A) Not use the awful term “Nazis” in connection with anyone except the terrible perpetrators of the Holocaust that caused suffering and cost so many people their lives;
B) Get his Roosevelts straight and not try to quote from history without making at least some small effort to get it right;
C) Learn a bit more about the process of Hydraulic Fracturing and the terrible effects it has, not only on drinking water, but upon the Earth itself.
When he has done those three things, and only then, should he have the temerity to even think about putting his words into print and to consider himself as being worth the ink that is wasted on him.
Stuart Hersh
Douglaston
