When Kristi tells you who she is, believe her
Forked River, N.J.: After puppy-killer South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s political career is in the doghouse, she is now calling her own words “fake news” (“South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem defends executing 14-month-old dog in gravel pit,” April 26).
Noem bragged in her new book about shooting her puppy called Cricket, claiming she was “worthless” and an “untrainable” puppy. She went on “Hannity” on Fox News Wednesday night in a failed attempt at damage control, which failed miserably. She changed her story about shooting her dog yet again, this time telling people that she had a Cujo on her hands. She got this puppy so she could hunt birds, but after Cricket went after some chickens, she shot her in the face.
The last I checked, chickens are birds. Not to mention that any animal rescue group would have taken Cricket to a good home. There was no need to kill her. Here is a novel idea: Hire a dog trainer if you want your puppy to be trained.
She also shot her goat because he smelled like a goat. Sounds more like a death camp than a farm to me. Kristi, don’t fret just because you flushed your career down the toilet. I’m sure there are many dog meat farms in places like Vietnam and South Korea that are always looking for bloodthirsty employees. They would love your resumé and it will feel just like home for you. Jim Hughes
Vote-suck
Bayside: Re “Whose voters like RFK Jr. more? It’s very clear” (column, April 3): S.E. Cupp, thank you! You said it all. Just what I’ve been saying! RFK will take votes away from President Biden because he’s a Kennedy. Too bad most of the Kennedy believers are dead! Theresa Polese
Bad news
Brooklyn: I can’t understand why all these people would want to vote for Donald Trump. Look at all the damage he has done and is still doing. I agree with John Bolton and Mark Esper that he is a threat to democracy. Maria Santiago
Fraud flip
White Rock, British Columbia: Why could there not have been consequential voter fraud committed in Donald Trump’s favor? His supporters conveniently ignore this possibility. The actual hard proof of this fraud? Basically, the same as that for Trump’s side: Nada. Some people, likely Democratic voters, simply find it unfathomable that so many Americans had voted for him both times — especially in 2020 after experiencing his first-term mayhem. They have no real evidence to back up their claim, except for the fact that Hillary lost in 2016, with Donald garnering as much as 70 million or so votes — results they find possible only through consequential electoral fraud committed in Trump’s favor. It’s absurd, but then that’s the point, isn’t it? That, and to never underestimate the poor-loser emotional mindset. Frank Sterle Jr.
Felt reality
Oceanside, L.I.: Re “Biden, winning by the numbers” (March 7): You insult the readers by believing that Donald Trump is stirring the fear and malaise the country is feeling. You continue with the Democratic mantra of it’s not what you see and feel, but what we tell you. You can bring out all the stats you want, but I will go by the gut feelings and wits of my fellow New Yorkers. I welcome the increased police presence on the subways, but the presence has to be for a reason. We are playing a N.Y. lottery of who is next. In this game, no one wants to win. The concern is not about protecting the law-abiding citizen but the criminals who have a resumé of crime, aided and abetted by no-bail laws. The cost of groceries, gas, insurance and daily living is another gut punch. We are living this. Numbers can’t hide reality. Tony Giametta
BDS blitz
Brooklyn: Harry Siegel is absolutely correct (“Campus protesters’ Gaza cause is no Vietnam War,” column, April 28). The university protests aren’t about the current war in Gaza. It’s about pressuring the universities to divest from Israel and pressuring the country to cease aid to Israel. These efforts and demonstrations, although on a smaller scale, long predated the Gaza war and will continue long after the war is done. And by the way, Columbia students have elected as student body president for the next academic year an Israeli woman who has spoken up in support of Israel and against antisemitism. These are the real Columbia students. Howard Berglas
Recommended reading
New Rochelle, N.Y.: Everyone associated with higher learning — from administrators to faculty to students (from Ph.D. candidates to wait-listed high school seniors and parents) — should read S.E. Cupp’s “Violent campus protests are not about freedom” (column, May 2) to understand the purposes, places and pitfalls of protesting. Richard Rodrigue
Imperial boomerang
Brooklyn: The recent campus protests should concern every American, but not for the reasons many Americans seem to be concerned. The students’ message is easy to dismiss if you only look at their clashes with police and outside agitators, ignoring that their entirely peaceful encampments were set upon by people looking to stifle said message. Students and faculty were met with force — goaded into physical resistance that can then be classified as violence and delegitimized. This is a tactic long employed by Israeli soldiers and security forces against Palestinians demonstrating against violations of their rights, which they learned from British colonial forces who preceded them. Be advised: Many of the police departments deploying nightclubs, rubber bullets and handcuffs to suppress our own young citizens have programs that for years have been sending officers to Israel for training. We are seeing the lessons in squashing dissent that they brought back. Stuart Manning
Anti-American
Brooklyn: The fact that Republicans want to crush the anti-war protests on college campuses but let the Jan. 6 insurrectionists go free tells you everything you need to know about their priorities, doesn’t it? Patriots, the Republicans are not! Joe Ferra
National heroes
Bellerose: National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6 and ends on May 12. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are 2.8 million registered nurses. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, our nurses have been through a lot. Quite a few of them have gotten sick and some have died. In 2020-2021, these nurses were called true heroes. I would agree. I was operated on at North Shore Hospital in Manhasset, L.I., for aggressive prostate cancer. In the recovery room, I was attended to by the most caring and concerned nurses. In the next three years, I had three more operations. I am now 75 and still alive and well. We have dedicated nurses who go the extra mile for their patients. So, let me praise all these wonderful nurses who do what they do for the health of our nation. Frederick R. Bedell Jr.
No home team?
Hartsdale, N.Y.: There I am on Sunday morning, waiting for the puck to drop for round 2, Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and there’s nothing in New York’s Hometown Newspaper about the N.Y. Rangers. I’m not surprised, just disappointed that all season long all we got from you were little blips from uninterested Associated Press reporters. Monday through Saturday you put out a 48-page edition, and the Sunday edition was 72 pages. There used to be a beat writer for each of the three local teams. Yet another reason why you are no longer “New York’s Hometown Newspaper”! Fred Feinberg
Write ’em up
Hillsdale, N.Y.: I totally agree with Voicer Jacquelyn Bonomo’s sidewalk safety issues referring to speeding bikes and motorized scooters using sidewalks as roadways, which is illegal and dangerous to pedestrians. These bikes use corner cutouts to enter one sidewalk while exiting another, creating a danger to everyone. Bikes that use streets instead of sidewalks cause other dangerous conditions by blowing through red lights and stop signs, creating a dangerous condition to pedestrians crossing on the green light. The only method to control this is to issue a two-part serial-numbered ticket. Hand one part to the rider and have the other attached to the bike, instructing the rider to pick up the confiscated bike at a disclosed location and bring in part two of the ticket with a $100 fine in order to recover their bike or scooter. Are politicians asleep at the wheel? Phil Antico
