Don’t miss a nightly performance of free speech
Ann Arbor, Mich.: Jimmy Kimmel may be the bravest person in America right now. Despite real risks to his livelihood — and his and his family’s safety — he shows up night after night and says exactly what he thinks about our president, his administration and the weak Democratic and Republican Congress members who’ve enabled his behavior and actions. He does all this landing sharp, poignant blows while keeping us laughing at a time in American history when it’s hard to crack a smile.
If you’re not watching his nightly monologues, you’re missing a living, breathing definition of speaking truth to power. Call a reporter “piggy”? Kimmel throws it right back at you, Donald. He’s there spotlighting President Trump’s historically low and sinking approval numbers. He does it with humor, but there’s nothing soft or evasive about what he’s saying. How many people would have the guts to do that on national television, night after night? In an era when criticism of powerful figures can bring a torrent of online harassment, threats and political retaliation, most people in public life choose silence or safe, vague statements. Kimmel chooses the opposite. He leans into the First Amendment and uses his platform relentlessly.
Anyone who believes in the Constitution and believes America can again become the country it aspires to be owes Kimmel a debt of gratitude. He’s helping us laugh through a shameful period in American history, but he’s doing more than telling jokes. He is living the First Amendment and reminding us that the path back to a better America runs straight through the willingness to call out lies, cruelty, and corruption. Steven M. Stein
Gift us your absence
Glasgow, Scotland: Watching the news on the telly here, seeing your president celebrating Christmas at Mar-a-Lago, sitting at a table with his wife and father-in-law, I can bloody well say that I have never seen a more miserable-looking person on Christmas Eve than him. My advice to Trump is that making other people happy can alleviate whatever misery afflicts you. Nothing could do more to achieve the happiness of billions of people across the globe than hearing the news that you have resigned the office of the American presidency. Joseph Kay
The joke landed
Staten Island: To Voicer Ralph D’Esposito: From one Staten Islander to another, thanks for starting my day with a hearty laugh! We all need laughter to make it through these times. I give you an A+, written in red pencil (one of two Santa brought me). Lynn Holly Fodor
Special agendas
Elmhurst: At the risk of being called all sorts of vile names, I would like to point out what I consider to be at the root of the political logjam in our body politic. Whenever a candidate of a special interest group is elected into office, their entire agenda revolves around their special interest, and the essence of a political question is no longer about what’s for the good of all. It’s about maintaining their office through the agency of their political interest. That is how idiots like Ilhan Omar, AOC and Tim Walz gain and keep power. Omar and Walz are liars, and every time AOC opens her mouth, she subtracts from the sum total of human knowledge. Is it any wonder the country is in the mess that it is? James League
Another gut-punch
Yonkers: It has been quite an off-season for the Mets fans. It started with the dump of its core players, including Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Diaz, and now we learn that the wife of Mets star Francisco Lindor is a member of the socialist incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani’s inaugural committee. Come to think of it, Mamdani and Lindor share the same fake smile. We have also learned that Katia Reguero Lindor is an outspoken advocate for illegal migrants. Certainly a long way removed from the days of Tom and Nancy Seaver. Nicholas Maffei
Irrelevant input
Brooklyn: Randy Mastro’s op-ed (“How Zohran Mamdani can succeed as mayor,” Dec. 28) is nothing short of laughable. Mastro’s grandstanding act of resignation in the waning days of the ill-reputed Mayor Adams administration should have given the Daily News pause in allowing the deputy mayor any voice on what matters to New Yorkers. Good riddance to anyone closely tied to Adams and Mastro. We are soon finally rid of them both — and better off. Angelo Cucuzza
Save our swim spot
Bronx: Dear Mayor-elect Mamdani: They are planning to raze the Haffen Pool in the Bronx, supposedly to build a new pool. I don’t believe for one nanosecond that they will build a new pool. Can you stop the destruction of a beautiful pool? They are also planning to raze other pools in NYC’s pool system, but I don’t know which ones. I’m sure other swimmers would appreciate if you stop that, too. Sharan Porper
Struck by conscience
Manhattan: Thank you for your story “Elon slams Mamdani FDNY pick” (Dec. 28) and including the quote about Pete Hegseth. Since Elon Musk claims to be concerned about people dying, wouldn’t this be a good time to revisit the horrific results of his destruction of USAID? Lynn Caporale
Service spurned
Sunnyside: Now that a new year is upon us, I think we should all take some time to show gratitude to the police officers who go out on patrol and endanger their lives for us every day. The first person who needs to do this is Judge April Newbauer, who gave a slap-on-the-wrist sentence to Shaborn Banks, one of the people who assaulted NYPD Lt. Richard Mack (“Judge biased vs. cops, says Finest hurt in protest,” Dec. 23). I think it’s disgraceful that a dedicated officer like Mack should be treated so disrespectfully by an out-of-control sociopath and a biased and incompetent judge. John Francis Fox
Some light advice
Bayside: During the last snowstorm in NYC, I took a break from social media and my phone. I did some easy exercises at home. I have limited mobility, and light movements really helped. During my morning exercises, I learned chair yoga. Crossing arms and legs differently helps the right and left brain. I felt like I had more energy and my mobility was better. In life, people talk a lot. I would say, take 1-10% of advice of information that is that “aha” moment, and I use the benefits. It’s usually free and helpful. Gayle Dorsky
Incorrect correction
Levittown, L.I.: I read Voicer Martin Selbt’s letter “correcting” the quizmasters at “Jeopardy!” Apparently, “what every schoolboy knows” is not accurate history. His biggest error? Assuming “transcontinental” is the name of a railroad company and not a description of the route. In 1869, the “Golden Spike” ceremony celebrated the completion of a transcontinental route linking two rail companies, the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad. The Gadsden Purchase involved acquiring land so that the Southern Pacific Railroad could complete a southern transcontinental route. The “Jeopardy!” contestant’s response was correct. Robin Cohen Davidson
End of an era
Brooklyn: Let’s bid farewell to the MetroCard. Although imperfect, it did its job, helping us commute since 1994. I remember the special MetroCards for the Stanley Cup-winning Rangers, in memory of David Bowie and other occasions. My husband and I still have a few handy MetroCard holders, too. Although no one liked seeing the “insufficient fare” message appear, and they were slippery little things, they were a part of everyone’s lives for quite some time. Now they join tokens in the nostalgia section. Ellen Levitt
Where’s the money going?
Manhattan: Pardon my impertinence, but would anyone mind telling me to whom all these animals the ASPCA parades before us endlessly, with empty bowls behind decrepit wooden posts and barbed wire enclosures, belong? Precisely how will the public’s funds help animals that clearly belong to others? Why aren’t those people brought up on charges of cruelty, neglect or endangering the health and wellbeing of an animal? Since when has throwing money at a problem, ad infinitum ad nauseam, ever solved it? Simply asking. Aydin Torun
