Innocent or guilty, Mayor Adams can’t run NYC
Stamford, Conn.: Your guest opinion piece “Adams should take a leave of absence” (op-ed, Oct. 9) proposes the wrong solution for NYC. Arnold Kriss seems to be suggesting that an acquittal of the pending criminal charges against Mayor Adams renders him fit to return to office. That is a bar too low.
The test for a criminal conviction is proof beyond a reasonable doubt. An acquittal is hardly sufficient to lance the cancer that has metastasized throughout the upper echelons of the Adams administration. With four federal criminal investigations pending, a multi-count federal indictment against Adams and six senior official resignations to date, the current administration has been irreparably hobbled and can never again credibly serve the best interests of NYC.
Yes, Adams is entitled to all of the constitutional protections under the criminal laws, including the presumption of innocence, due process and a fair trial. But that has nothing to do with the mayor’s ability to continue running the most important city in America. Whether or not Adams is a convicted felon should not be the test for fitness.
The catastrophic implosion of Adams’ administration over the past several weeks can not be undone. The rot in City Hall clearly runs deep and it’s absolutely clear that the mayor has to go, not temporarily to allow this pall to continue hanging over the city, but permanently so that the city can begin to heal under the leadership of an entirely new administration. That’s what the people of NYC deserve, and nothing less. Peter Janoff
Mass exodus
Woodside: Something is not right in NYC government. Everyone is leaving or corrupt. Too many people are going. All these people can’t be bad. So, it is probably the accuser who is bad. Let’s expand this to see what secrets the accuser is hiding. Richard Tobiassen
About that ‘Yom’
Manhattan: Dear Lord, you know I think You are the genius of all geniuses. I mean, I wrote a chapter in my book all about the brilliance of Your imagination and ingenuity called “The Perfect System,” for God’s sake! Oops, wrong choice of words there, sorry. But I do have one complaint: Why is it that the one day of the year we Jews are told to fast in the name of atonement for our sins is called “Yom Kippur”? Put Yourself in our shoes, Lord. Here we are endlessly counting the hours ’til our next meal and all we keep hearing all day is, “Yum,” “Yum,” Yum”! Hmm — ya know, now that I think about it, maybe that is kinda brilliant after all. Gary Stein
Tricky time zones
Manhattan: To Voicer Jim O’Neill: Yes, youngsters may have to stay up late to watch the end of a game or miss the final innings. However, starting games earlier only solves part of the problem. There’s an entire West Coast that also wants to watch playoff baseball and live in a time zone three hours earlier than us. A game starting at 5 p.m. Eastern would be airing at 2 p.m. in the West, when those West Coast youngsters are still in school and their parents remain at work. Even an 8 p.m. Eastern start time kicks off at 5 p.m. out west, with many folks still commuting home. Having grown up out west, I speak from experience. By the time you get home, do your homework and eat dinner, that early game is over. If East Coast kids have to stay up a little late so West Coast kids can see Aaron Judge or Francisco Lindor, it’s a small sacrifice. Bob Glasscock
Dispose with care
Stockholm, N.J.: To Voicer Gina Ottrando: We don’t have any idea how the New York Post wound up on your lawn, but to get rid of it, take a doggy bag, put your hand in it and scoop up the paper. Be careful not to shake it or some of the crap might fall out and get on you. Walk it over to the garbage and gently drop it in. Wash your hands with bleach, scrubbing really hard. Hope this helps. Nat Saraceni
How, exactly?
Newton, N.J.: Voicer W.J. Van Sickle, in his response to my letter about the pullout from Afghanistan, claims that President Biden didn’t follow “it,” referring to the terms Donald Trump negotiated. As with most Republicans, he makes accusations without providing evidence. So, my conclusion is that Van Sickle doesn’t have any. Michael Schnackenberg
Set the stage
Boynton Beach, Fla.: When Voicer W.J. Van Sickle defended Trump by declaring that Biden did not follow the former president’s Afghanistan withdrawal plan, he forgot to mention that the terrorists who murdered our Marine Corps heroes during the withdrawal were most likely among the 5,000 Afghanistan terrorists released from prison by Trump in December 2020. Perhaps Trump could have used his influence with his friends in the Taliban, the ones he originally invited to Camp David to meet with him during the anniversary week of 9/11 in 2020, to mitigate any violence during our withdrawal, like any true American patriot — which Trump is not — would have done. If anyone truly believes Trump could have pulled off an error-free withdrawal or organized any other major undertaking — the COVID-19 response, for example — without the effort devolving into complete chaos, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. William T. Bredin
Transactional tests?
Redondo Beach, Calif.: Trump potentially saved Vladimir Putin’s life with COVID-19 test kits. What did Trump, the great negotiator, get in return? John Chevedden
Unfulfilled promises
Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Barack Obama is worried about Black men not turning out in numbers for Kamala Harris. Well, maybe they wised up and realized they’re having a hard time in this economy like everyone else. Where is the “promised land” that their so-called saviors promised them? Do they finally get it? No one political party will pave the road with gold for them. They need to look at what was done for them by each party, Republicans or Democrats, and vote accordingly. They need to stop believing the guy selling snake oil. They need to look at facts. Right now, the Democrats are offering what they should have offered from the beginning. The Democrats say vote for change. Yeah — vote Republican. Brenda Hodgkiss
Primate prisoners
Norfolk, Va.: If you’re flying on Ethiopian Airlines, you might be surprised to learn who could be flying with you: monkeys — scared, stressed and possibly sick with contagious diseases, including Ebola-like viruses, tuberculosis, salmonella and a bacteria so deadly that it’s classified as a potential bioterrorism weapon. PETA learned that Ethiopian Airlines has gone back on its assurance that shipping animals was against its policy and is now one of the few remaining airlines that participates in the gruesome primate trade. It has shipped thousands of endangered monkeys around the world for use in cruel experiments. The terrified animals are torn from their homes or bred in warehouses and packed into tiny shipping crates for hours-long journeys. They’re eventually trucked to laboratories, where they’re deprived of food and water, mutilated, poisoned, immobilized in restraint devices, infected with painful and deadly diseases, psychologically tormented, used in other excruciating experiments and ultimately killed. Lindsay Pollard-Post, senior writer, PETA
Hateful and heartless
Bronx: To Voicer John Francis Fox: I have to tell a quick story about meeting Benjamin Netanyahu many years ago. In 1986, I was a sales rep for the publisher of his book, “Terrorism: How the West Can Win.” During a sales conference at a Midtown hotel near Grand Central, he gave an abhorrent speech about Palestinians. Afterwards, I was obliged to shake his hand. If I didn’t, I probably would’ve been in trouble. I looked him in the eye as he clutched my hand, and I knew right then and there that he was a monster. It was an “aha” moment when it dawned on me that America was on the wrong side of this longstanding conflict. As I see current reports of the horrendous casualties in Gaza and now Lebanon, I often get flashbacks of those cold, bloodless eyes. Nick Smith
