We know better than to descend into demagoguery
Yonkers: There once was a country whose citizens were in total destitution. Their currency was almost valueless. It took shopping bags of money to buy a loaf of bread!
Then a charismatic orator appeared and made speeches to the country’s citizens about regenerating their nation and making it great again. The speechmaker attracted a following, and then adopted the slogan “Make Germany Great Again.”
Today, the U.S. has another charismatic speechmaker, Donald Trump, who has followers with the slogan “Make America Great Again.” They’re referred to as the MAGA movement. I’m not sure when America stopped being a great country, or why. Like all countries, I realize we have our problems, and we always will as long as men and women inhabit our planet — and we will always strive to solve them.
Realistically, are our problems so severe that we’re willing to elect a convicted felon, Donald Trump, to the office of president? He has proven without a doubt that he is incapable of honesty. He’s a prolific liar who can not accept defeat, criticism or facts. His ego is his ultimate concern, not America.
As much as I try to understand MAGA supporters and anyone else who supports the man who claims he will “make America great again,” I can not. I can only fear for America’s future should he become president. Joan Cavalluzzi
No backup
Brooklyn: I hope that President Biden wins in November because what foreign democracy will storm our beaches as we did theirs 80 years ago to save us from the already planned Trumpian destruction of America? Ed Temple
No good choice
Bronx: A blistering article in the Wall Street Journal professionally documents Joe Biden’s mental deterioration; it can’t be ignored, explained away, or propped up. At the same time, Trump and the Republican Party are consumed with revenge politics that will return us to chaos and the further erosion of our democratic values and institutions. What are the odds that both issues — mental deterioration and certain authoritarianism — will reveal themselves so clearly during the first debate that voter pressure will force both parties to pick other candidates? I know; it won’t happen. What are we to do? Michael Yorio
Fits a pattern
Hackensack, N.J.: To Voicer Bill Barrett: You might want to rethink your statement as to who would dare call servicemen “suckers and losers to their face, much less a general.” Four-star Gen. John Kelly confirmed it. I suggest you remove yourself from that delusional information bubble you seemingly live in and understand the nature of the man you claim to support for president. Or do you not recall what he said about war hero John McCain on national TV? Based on that alone, do you seriously think the comments confirmed by Kelly are a stretch? Ken Byrnes
Judged not
Edison, N.J.: Not that I think Lamor Whitehead deserves to be walking around free as a bird, as he might try conning even more people, but something disturbs me. He is being held without bail because he was badmouthing the FBI and the Department of Justice. It seems to me that Cheat-O Jesus is doing the same things, yet he is allowed to continue doing them with no consequences. His girlfriend Aileen Cannon just rejected a gag order requested by Jack Smith to protect his team and FBI agents. This is the actual two-tiered justice system the whiny, crybaby MAGAs are always crowing about, except this is the way it is used — the exact opposite of what they cry about. Thomas Morrison
Forced birth
Providence, R.I.: Re “Witness the actual abortion extremists” (op-ed, June 9) by Timothy Cardinal Dolan: Common sense on pregnancy? / You clearly have a dearth / Thinking you can be “pro-mom” / While making her give birth. Felicia Nimue Ackerman
Stop pushing
Long Island City: Regarding Timothy Dolan’s op-ed: Cardinal, what’s the problem? You won! Abortion is now banned for millions of people. Doctors face decades in prison for doing their job, 10-year-olds are forced to give birth and women are forced to carry stillborn fetuses to term. This is what you wanted! And somehow, it still isn’t good enough for you. No, your new demand is that everyone has to applaud the world you created. It’s hard to imagine why I and many others no longer adhere to your church. Luke J. Cole
Who started it?
Flushing: Kudos to Voicer Mary Caggiano for questioning why people use the phrase “you know” so many times during their conversations. What annoys me is why so many people use the word “like” so many times and then end every other sentence with the word “whatever.” Could your staff research both Mary’s question and mine? I am sure Caggiano would appreciate it as much as I would, and millions of others who are bugged by these expressions. Martin Goldman
Open it up
Howard Beach: The recent backlash at a NYCHA playground on W. 90th St. by residents there is quite a joke. Let us face the facts: You live in public housing that the hard-working people of NYC pay for. You live in a very desirable neighborhood in Manhattan, no less. This is not your park, it is a public park and tax dollars were used to fix it. So, stop complaining. You are getting enough of the services in Manhattan for less than the market rate. Manny Agostini
It’s happening
Brooklyn: The South Brooklyn Marine Terminal’s groundbreaking as a sustainable offshore wind hub should be national news, proof that President Biden is meeting America’s climate goals with clean, cheap, job-creating power (“Construction breaks ground on huge wind turbine factory hub in Brooklyn,” June 11). It’s also proof of the power of determined New Yorkers, the Brooklynites united as Uprose, to bring economic development and good jobs to Sunset Park for marginalized people and for women. Uprose has been working toward this for 10 years. Post-COVID supply chain problems boosted the cost of building the turbines, but the wind itself is free. Over time, those extra pennies we’ll be paying now will turn into significant cost savings as the price of gas service continues to spike. While Donald Trump babbles about turbines and cancer, or whatever his latest shtick is, let’s stick to alternatives to burning oil and gas. Heather Falk
Water charge
Brooklyn: So, NYC property owners may get hit with an 8.5% increase on their water/sewer bills due to a “rental payment” the Adams administration is imposing. And I am wondering why the city has to lease its sewer/water system to the Water Board. Francisco J. Castillo
Official shuffling
Forest Hills: I’m more than a little confused as to why Mayor Adams thought it a fine idea to appoint Louis Molina commissioner of the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services, with control over the hiring and training of 300,000 municipal workers, as well as around a $2 billion budget for 2025 alone and much more crucial line items. To say Molina is supremely unfit for this position is an understatement. You can’t swing a dead cat anywhere in NYC without hitting someone more qualified. Adams had to run from the feds threatening to take control of Rikers Island from NYC when Molina was commissioner there. So of course, Adams then awarded him with a lucrative, invented position as assistant deputy mayor for public safety, and now we have this debacle of yet another unqualified crony hitting my city’s payroll. J.M. Culley
Electoral power
Ridgewood, N.J.: Narendra Modi was reelected for a third term, but in the process he received a taste of democracy — millions of voters who have not benefited from India’s economic success and who have been marginalized by his Hindu nationalism will now be in a position to demand a change in policies. Democracy spoke loud and clear in India on election day. Ed Houlihan
Grammar slam
Manhattan: I still buy the Daily News but I increasingly wonder why. Re “Nix tour, I’m focusing on fam, says Jen amid talk her & Ben may split” (June 1): Her and Ben? Seriously? Grammar, anyone? Shameful. You aren’t even trying anymore. Cheryl Bulbach
