‘No coffee for you’: No way to treat a patient
Manhattan: On a recent evening, I went to the Starbucks inside Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, paid for a coffee and sandwich and sat in the designated seating area. Security told me to leave, as the hospital was private and that Starbucks was only for hospital employees. That is 100% incorrect, and the supervisor for Starbucks disagreed. I refused to leave until I finished my coffee. Four security guards surrounded my seating area and demanded that I leave. I refused.
They called 911. The cops came and politely asked me to leave. I refused. They said they would write me a summons outside and I could go to court to fight how I was treated. I agreed. Once outside, an officer of the 33rd Precinct refused to write the summons, smiled and got into his car.
I am 64 and federally disabled. All my doctors are at the hospital — cardiology, urology, hematology, etc. The experience left me shaking and upset. All I wanted to do was sit and enjoy my coffee and a sandwich. I was bullied, harassed and threatened, and finally, they called 911. Even the cops were clearly embarrassed, hence they lied about the summons.
Two days later, Columbia Presbyterian Hospital telephoned me twice to apologize and to ask questions. They have now escalated the scenario so that I meet with the director of security for all of the hospital’s buildings. I simply wish for the leadership to know that what happened was an absolute disgrace and should never happen again to any member of the public. Adrian Edwards-Smith
Unserious art?
Melbourne, Australia: What is art? A real definition is too broad for the letters to the editor word limit, but it once involved paint or a chisel. Modern art now involves even a banana and then its consumption — a literal consumption in this case. Is this art or a strange method of getting publicity after spending millions on a banana and some sticky tape? Perhaps a better way to spend the money would have been to provide free meals, including a banana each, to the numerous people who need it. Maybe I need to broaden my knowledge of art or get an orange and a nail to create my own. If you have $5 million to sponsor me, thanks — but wake up and give it to charity. Dennis Fitzgerald
Preserve life
Greenwich, Conn.: In his op-ed “America’s history of tolerance and acceptance” (Nov. 28), Rabbi Joshua M. Davidson proclaims that as a liberal Jew, he is in favor of abortion. As a fellow Jew, it saddens me that he seems to forget, disregard or not understand that saving a life is a paramount value of Judaism. The public should know that liberal Jews like Davidson do not speak for all Jews. Natalie Barklow
Threatened Armageddon
Davidson, N.C.: Now that Ukraine is using long-range missiles we provided, Vladimir Putin has once again responded with nuclear threats, which he has been warning Ukraine about for the past few years. This horrific threat has had an effect in Ukraine and among its allies. Putin has specifically cautioned the NATO nations. Since Russia has nuclear weapons and has been aggressive for decades, Western nations seem reluctant to provide enormous weapons that could destroy Russian cities. Significantly, when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Ukraine became independent, Ukraine had nuclear weapons. They denuclearized, which led to the Budapest Memorandum, an agreement that Ukraine, the U.S., U.K. and Russia signed guaranteeing Ukraine’s security. Putin put that aside. Should Russia use a nuclear weapon, the UN General Assembly would need to activate the newly adopted resolution prohibiting their use by invading Russia and ousting Putin. Sorrell Chesin
Shifting power
Beechhurst: I took up Voicer Wayne Bailey’s suggestion to look up Prof. Jeffrey Sachs’ YouTube video re the BRICS geopolitical threat to the dollar’s financial dominance. His main point is that following the demise of the Soviet Union, a hubristic (NATO-expanding) neoconservative foreign policy pursued by Democratic and Republican administrations has failed at fashioning a unipolar new world order rooted in American hegemony. The upshot of his argument is that the days of Pax Americana are over, and that a rational foreign policy would come to grips with the emergent multi-polar world. It’s hard to quarrel with that wise, realpolitik assessment. In this context, Donald Trump’s vow to avoid getting mired in “forever wars” is a welcome sign. However, his recent threat to impose heavy tariffs on the rising BRICS bloc nations would surely imperil world trade and spell more international instability and chaos. The self-described “Tariff Man” ought to think twice about jumping into an economic frying pan. James Hyland
Family favor
Massapequa, L.I.: Once again, by pardoning his son Hunter, Biden has proven that there actually are some folks who are above the law. As long as you’re a Democrat, and more specifically a Biden, you can get away with anything and have no repercussions. Tom Ascher
Further ramifications
Manhattan: The Hunter Biden pardon is horrible. One immediate result will be to embolden Donald Trump in pardoning the Jan. 6 rioters. But even worse, the pardon strengthens the Republican argument that the Biden administration weaponized the Justice Department to favor Biden’s friends and punish his detractors. By pardoning Hunter, President Biden may have just confirmed Kash Patel. John Stout
Precarious prince
Henderson, Nev.: The news that Biden has decided to grant a full pardon to his son Hunter really should not come as a surprise. Biden is the president, and he is also a father. But in his haste to issue Hunter’s pardon, he forgot about the elephant in the room: Prince Harry. The royal must be mad as a wet hen now that Trump has won the 2024 presidential election. If Trump decides to send Harry away, he certainly has enough reason to do so, especially if Harry lied on his visa application. In addition, Trump — who considered Queen Elizabeth a dear friend — was greatly bothered by Harry’s disrespectful treatment of his grandmother. David Tulanian
Self-inflicted
Ballston Spa, N.Y.: To Voicer Lee McDaniel: You hit the nail right on the head! I wonder if those 77 million or so people realize they just flushed their well-being down the toilet. God help us. Daniel Simard
Double standard
Bronx: To Voicer Manny Agostini: You say that the protesters who disrupted the Thanksgiving parade should be charged with felonies so that it will affect them when they apply for a job and prevent them from voting. Yet, you voted for a convicted felon to be president and have no problem with those who disrupted the congressional certification of the 2020 results. You are a Floridiot. W. Twirley
Unhealthy & unhelpful
Manhattan: Since being nominated to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr. has stated that heroin helped him get through high school. What a dangerous announcement! The man is not a role model, doctor or prior leader of any large, complex enterprise. He is not fact-oriented when it comes to vaccines. The man should not head HHS. Frankie Turchiano
Constitutional
Bronx: Voicer Jim Black does a bit of selective reading when he comments on Justice Hugo Black’s majority opinion in Everson vs. Board of Education (1947). He claims that Black exercised his religious bias in holding the Free Exercise Clause valid against the states. In fact, what Black did was recognize that Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) applied to the states as well as the federal government. This process of “incorporation” of the Constitution’s Bill of Rights against state action began in 1925 with Gitlow vs. New York. These cases made Thomas Jefferson’s comments moot. Bruce D. Campbell
Got one
Valley Stream, L.I.: I have been a faithful reader of the Daily News for years and there is hardly a day when I do not do the Wordsearch puzzle. After all this time, I have finally found an error. In the Friday, Nov. 29 edition, the instructions were to find words beginning with “cr.” The very first word to search for was “chrome.” Need I say more? One mistake I caught after all these years is still a pretty good record. Keep up the good work. Jerry Calabria