This alliance makes us complicit in sociocide
Little Egg Harbor, N.J.: Benjamin Netanyahu is wanted on a war criminal arrest warrant and President Trump is a felon, and that is what we are dealing with by being the ones contributing to the killing of innocent women and children, providing the ammunition enabling Israel to perform the acts of destruction on the Palestinian people.
Palestinians deserve to have a country of their own. They tried to build one, but between Israel and Hamas, they never had a fair chance. As a Roman Catholic, all I am able to do is pray to God that these people get a chance at building a life for the women and children. They have been left to suffer for the unjust power struggle and hate they have had to live under by being controlled by another unfriendly power.
We are complicit in the deaths of more than 40,000 people and the world just watches. Representing the U.S., Trump says to the world that he is going to buy Gaza and make a resort area out of it? What kind of people are we?
Where is the United Nations that sits in the lap of luxury on the East Side of Manhattan, living in luxury apartments, eating in the best restaurants and being scofflaws, parking wherever they please? We are the ones creating a holocaust and asking the rest of the world to accept it because we say so. Where is our conscience? This is not the world I was brought up in. Rose S. Wilson
Overseas spending
Briarwood: Whatever happened to America First? Wouldn’t it be better to continue to reinvest in our own infrastructure rather than in a politically explosive environment such as Gaza? Mary Elizabeth Ellis
Unnecessary overhead
Boynton Beach, Fla.: Note to Elon Musk: Since Congress appears to rubber stamp all of the president’s appointments (no matter how extreme their views), goes along with every one of his cockamamie economic policies and appears to want to take over sovereign countries, who needs Congress? If you are looking for ways to reduce the federal budget, I would suggest you start with eliminating all members of Congress. Eliminating the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Personnel Management and the House and Senate offices (including their operating staffs) would save more than $1.3 billion a year. Andrew LeWinter
Budget black hole
Bronx: Musk says he’s trying to reduce wasteful government spending and inefficiency. Could someone please give him directions to the Pentagon? John Backe
Slasher CEO
Staten Island: Musk took over Twitter and made a complete mess of it. Now he is applying the same wrecking-ball approach to his takeover of the U.S. government. Do we think the results will be any different? Ralph D’Esposito
Rich clique
Darien, Conn.: How come Musk, who nobody voted for, has ownership of my name, address and phone number, along with access codes for the start of a nuclear war, only because he is the world’s richest man? Only money matters when it comes to friends of the felon. Dan Singer
Cleaning house
Howard Beach: Dear President Trump: As most Americans know, you are a fair, honest and true American patriot. We know you have compassion, forgiveness and a good heart toward people who talk down to you and trash what you have said and done. But what is right is right. During the Joe Biden administration, there was misappropriation of our taxpayers’ money equaling billions. Thanks to Musk’s investigation, individuals involved in the misappropriation should be punished for their unlawful actions. I hope you allow the law to seek out and jail some of the leaders to show America that crime doesn’t pay. They should be prosecuted and put in jail. I’m sure other Americans will agree with me. Let’s bring America back as the greatest nation in the world. Nick Di Pasquale
Out on the town
Kew Gardens: I had to laugh at the letters applauding the dismantling of USAID, citing wasteful spending. You know what’s wasteful spending? The millions of dollars it just cost us, as taxpayers, for a sitting president to go to the Super Bowl and leave at halftime, not to mention how much we pay every time he heads off to Mar-a-Lago to play golf. To those who said the USAID money would be better spent here helping victims of natural disasters, I agree. But since this administration wants to eliminate FEMA, that won’t be happening any time soon. This is what you voted for. Anne Cox
Stand and oppose
Flushing: Just over three weeks into this presidency and these spineless Republicans are going to let this childlike buffoon drift this great country into oblivion. I’m all for cutting big government waste if done correctly, but how and what is being done at a cost to the American taxpayer is ridiculous. By the way, I suggest that the hypnotized emoji be the new logo of the Republican Party morons. Democrats, Independents and any hypnotized member of the GOP that can snap out of this guy’s hypnosis, let’s stand up! It’s time to start another impeachment process. Let’s start with Section 4 of the 25th Amendment before it’s too late. H. Manuel DaSilva
Throw in the towel
Staten Island: Memo to Chuck “The Schmuck” Schumer: Retire! Retire! Retire! And take Rep. Maxine “Muddy” Waters with you! Thomas Fraumeni Jr.
Small stats
Bronx: Voicer Jack Cregan pointing out that 89 people lost their lives to illegal immigrants is not the flex he thinks it is. Chuck Shannon
Egg alternatives
Torrance, Calif.: Re “100,000 eggs stolen from Pennsylvania supplier” (Feb 5): This theft cooks up a good headline, but let’s not forget the far worse crime that happens every day in industrial egg operations across the country. The industrial-scale appropriation of eggs from hens confined on factory farms represents one of the largest crimes ever perpetrated against nature. Each of these 100,000 eggs was originally taken from a hen who endured having her beak painfully trimmed, spent her short life packed into a crowded shed and was destined for slaughter when her egg production waned. For each of these hens, a male chick was also ground up alive simply for being born male. Let’s view the current egg crisis as an opportunity to explore cruelty-free alternatives. Modern egg substitutes are readily available and can be used in virtually any recipe. Ben Williamson
Willful hazard
Brooklyn: I read the disturbing story about the Bay Ridge resident who died as a result of a fire, at least partially because two people thought it was OK to park their cars in front of fire hydrants, thus making it harder for the FDNY to fight the fire. As a longtime Bay Ridge resident, I can tell you this is not a rare occurrence. My wife and I regularly walk around the neighborhood and quite often we see cars parked in front of fire hydrants, often directly in front of them to the point where it would be impossible to connect a hose to fight a fire. It is hard for me to understand how anyone could be this stupid and inconsiderate, not to mention reckless. It could well be them or a member of their family who could be the next victim. Jeffrey Meyerson
Decongested
Manhattan: In spite of all the bitter opposition to congestion pricing and the unhappiness at the added cost of driving into lower Manhattan, the proof is in the pudding. Just spend some time now in Midtown — the traffic moves smoothly, gridlock is gone. Incessant honking is no more. Pedestrians maneuvering around cars blocking intersections, no more. Why in the world would any rational person want to return to the traffic hellscape that Midtown was before? Ricardo Zurita
Warmest where?
North Babylon, L.I.: Voicer Richard Barsanti should get a new thermometer. Hottest January? Oh, I guess when the Great South Bay froze over completely and ferry service was suspended, it was because of the warm weather. Alan Stanley