Readers sound off on American officials' duplicity, a CUNY education and causes of incarceration

Source: Daily News

Edinburgh, Scotland: Listening to the early news on the BBC World Service, I was surprised my radio didn't spontaneously implode. The report featured a U.S. diplomat working under Secretary of State Tony Blinken calling for calm in war-torn Sudan. Part of his plea was for parties to stop sending arms to the suffering nation where famine -- among all the usual atrocities that go with long-term conflict -- is imminent.

It is a situation that is all too familiar these days, where it is the civilian population that suffers so cruelly -- the ones we euphemistically call "collateral damage."

Like any sentient being, my first powerful brain smack was, of course: Can this be the same country that is arming Benjamin Netanyahu? The same country that failed to call for a ceasefire in Gaza when it might have made a difference to Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages? The same country that greenlighted the killing of, to date, more than 36,000 people in the tiny strip of Gaza, including more than 14,500 children?

On Friday, the United Nations added Israel's army to the list of militaries globally that are committing violations against children.

Along with chucking in a bit of aid on the side, this sickening duplicity, hypocrisy and deliberate moral fraudulence surely makes America, at the very least, the world's number one Jekyll and Hyde nation, with Britain, as usual, bringing up the rear. Amanda Baker

Bronx: I am usually too poetic and long-winded to have my letters published by the tabloids, so I was truly inspired when I read a succinct rendering of the warmongering, bogus President Biden's disingenuous truth by Voicer John Woodmaska. His thoughts mirror mine, documenting the power-prejudice presidency of Number 46, who projects top-tier humane values but executes death and destruction. We may recall Biden as a Barry Goldwater supporter in his youth who was directed to infiltrate the Democratic Party, but be that fiction or fact, what we clearly have is someone who has infiltrated the calculated clubs of benevolent boogiemen. History will prove this right, even if the current-day voters are blinded by the convoluted messaging and mischievous patriotic music that finance fear and promise atrocities abroad and at home. Dale Benjamin Drakeford

Manhattan: Voicer John Woodmaska calls President Biden a "punk," supposedly for causing Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine, and for backing Netanyahu's "turkey shoot" against innocent Gazan civilians and attacking an Iranian "diplomatic compound" in Syria. Putin unlawfully annexed Crimea five years before Biden took office. His continued territory grab in an aggressive war against Ukraine is in furtherance of his sick dream to establish a czarist territorial expansion and has nothing to do with that country's application for NATO membership. Netanyahu is not engaging in some turkey shoot against innocent civilians. Israel is fighting a real existential war on all fronts against fundamentalist Islamic jihadists controlled by America's sworn enemy, the brutal, ayatollah-led Iranian regime. And Israel is fighting a war it neither wanted nor expected after the savage Oct. 7 attack by the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror organizations. Ephraim Savitt

Manhattan: Reading any of your many articles about the Bronx-Westchester County congressional race, it is clear that you write to disparage Rep. Jamaal Bowman. In the most recent anti-Bowman article ("Chips may fall against Bowman," June 10), you repeat the lies put forth by the opponent's campaign or PAC. You do not focus on his support for a ceasefire in Gaza, but rather focus on disingenuous accusations about his voting record. Your bias does an enormous disservice to Daily News readers who are looking for facts. Lee Levin

Manhattan: Gov. Hochul pulled the plug on the long-established congestion pricing plan to clean up Midtown pollution and fund the MTA, she says, on advice she was given by people she talked to in diners. I wish she'd balanced the diner chats with visits to the neighborhoods where the people who rely on the transit system to get to work, school and doctors' appointments actually live. Like former N.J. Gov. Chris Christie, who rejected federal funding to replace the aging train tunnels under the Hudson River, risking a transit crisis and tristate economic meltdown, Hochul -- unless she reverses her sudden reversal -- will forever be associated with subway signal problems, lack of transit access for the disabled and delayed new rail cars. Laurie Aron

Brooklyn: To Voicer Virgilio Carballo: While odd/even plate number rotation sounds great, what about the hundreds, if not thousands, who have paid for custom plates that have no numbers? What about a family with two cars, one odd and one even, so they just swap cars weekly? There are too many ways to get around it. That makes the logic not work. Randy Contello

Mohegan Lake, N.Y.: I was glad to see Voicer and CUNY Chancellor Felix V. Matos Rodriguez's letter and agree that additional resources should be focused on the CUNY system, which I consider a jewel of NYC. Both of my sons attended CUNY colleges, with my oldest graduating last year and my youngest entering his sophomore year this fall. They both feel they've received excellent educations that prepared them for the workforce and didn't bankrupt our family. I always encourage people to consider CUNY colleges for higher education. I hope NYC increases its funding for CUNY instead of building another college that will be out of reach financially for many NYC residents. Alison Echevarria

West Barnstable, Mass.: I am writing to express my deep disappointment and frustration with Mayor Adams's leadership. Despite his promises, the city continues to suffer from his misguided policies and self-serving antics. Adams' focus on his public image and social life is a stark contrast to the real issues facing New York City. His housing overhaul is a giveaway to developers, not a solution to the housing crisis. His approach to governance is autocratic and dismissive of community input. The ongoing feud with the City Council and the FBI investigation into his campaign finance irregularities are just the latest examples of his poor leadership. His prioritization of luxury development over affordable housing and community needs is a slap in the face to working-class New Yorkers. It's time for Adams to put the needs of the city and its residents first. They honestly deserve a leader who will listen, respond and lead with transparency and accountability. Ronald Beaty

Bellerose Village: I see that Marjorie Taylor Greene compared Donald Trump to Jesus at Trump's Nevada rally. There's a reason she's not anywhere near being on his list for vice president: because even he knows she's bat-crap crazy! Peter O'Connor

Massapequa, L.I.: To Voicer Marilyn Rodriguez: It's time to take the rose-colored glasses off! The American people are fed up with the liberal lunacy that is destroying this country. The progressive movement has done nothing but given the criminals a free hand to rob, kill and destroy our cities. Free speech is no longer allowed -- if you disagree with left-wing policies, you're open to investigation and indictment by the government. Key evidence gets suppressed and dismissed as Russian collusion (laptop). Millions of unvetted, illegal migrants have invaded our country while our president sat by idly. You wonder why so many people are supporting Trump? Michael Greaney

Fairfield, Conn.: The surest sign that the United States is now a bona fide banana republic is if a convicted felon gets elected president of the United States. Bob Bodo

Smithtown, L.I.: Jeremy Kohomban and the organization he runs have found the solution to the Rikers Island situation ("How to slow the flow of people to Rikers Island," op-ed, June 11). His commission has determined the reasons for incarceration, which include policing, criminalization and, of course, systemic racism. His solution is to provide everything that honest people work for free of charge to those who don't. Never make this about personal responsibility or systemic family structure failures. That's too tough an issue to challenge. Andrew Ross