It’s rational to want to escape impending chaos
Manhattan: To Voicer Peter Altschuler: It is not surprising that many on the losing side of this election are experiencing a traumatized fight-or-flight reaction. Respect for free speech is on the wane with the “Snow White” actress Rachel Zegler social media mean-mobbed by the right, forced to publicly apologize for her understandably emotional reaction to the election results. Consider antisemite Candace Owens calling for her to be locked in a “padded cell” for what the professional provocateur labeled a “psychotic” call to violence when it was a simple, though emotional, expression of dismay at the electoral choices of her fellow Americans.
My old friend recently left for the U.K. She thought a change of scenery might take the sting out of the devastating disappointment she felt in our country. Probably a good idea, “getting out of Dodge,” I quipped. Dodge City, Kan., in the 1870s was a notoriously dangerous and unstable place known for attracting lawless and rambunctious men. It was a dark, wild and wicked place where storied peace officers Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson struggled to maintain order. It became a refrain on the classic television series “Gunsmoke,” where those on the outs were warned to “get out of Dodge.”
A few days into the rogues gallery of cabinet picks of the incoming administration, a Wild West zeitgeist emerges: climate deniers in charge of the EPA, accused sexual assaulters in charge of law enforcement, anti-vaxxers at the helm of health administration, and Ukraine-invasion apologists running border security. These anti-democratic moves, along with the intention to mandate them without Senate vetting, are a frontal assault on the institutions that have evolved to keep the peace. Willa Bernstein
Who?
Ewing, N.J.: I have been a Daily News reader since 1975 and saw the article and photos about celebrities leaving the country because of Donald Trump’s election win in Sunday’s paper (” ‘Have to get out!’ after Don’s win,” Nov. 24). And my mind tells me, “Who cares?” These people are of little concern to many Americans and I didn’t even know some of them. I don’t see the relevance of including them in the paper. Richard Switzer
B-list prospects
Scarsdale, N.Y.: Now that Matt Gaetz has resigned from Congress and given up on being U.S. attorney general, I think we can all agree that he is ready for a spot on “Dancing with the Stars.” Harvey Wielstein
It only gets worse
Orange, Conn.: With the current continued dysfunction of the second coming of Trump’s presidency, it is painfully obvious that as Yogi Berra once said, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” With the bizarre attempts to fill his cabinet positions, damaged goods like RFK Jr., Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem and many other potentials will destroy sensible, responsible functioning of the potential departments. Throw in MAGA sycophants like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tommy Tuberville and the rest of the available Republican clowns and what we now have is a ship of fools! And the captain is Trump. When will this ever stop? Wasn’t his first term enough to give us a window into this next one? Be forewarned: The worst is yet to come. Fred Portoff
Soulless requirement
White Plains, N.Y.: Whenever I applied for a potential job, I always read the job description. If I met most of the requirements, I applied for the position. If I didn’t possess any of the qualifications, I didn’t. Perhaps AI should vet resumes of cabinet candidates. If their resumes do not include relevant experience, their names would not be forwarded to the Senate. Oh, I forgot, loyalty to the president is the only qualification. Never mind. Randi Bernstein Feigenbaum
Backlash
Brooklyn: Re “Amsterdam attacks on Jews a dire sign” (op-ed, Nov. 23): Rochel Leah Bernstein is either a smart person or a naif in the woods. I assume the former. She claims she is “sick with grief over what happened in Amsterdam” and says that the situation has been “astonishingly downplayed” by that city’s mayor. Well, she is easily astonished. Her words are straight out of the Zionist playbook, in which the longtime aggressors play make-believe dumb as to why bad things are happening to them. She should glance at the deplorable record of godawful acts that Zionists have inflicted on Palestinians. But she needn’t worry too much because when Trump takes power, he will give the genocidal Benjamin Netanyahu everything he wants, which will result in massive ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Nick Smith
Clueless move
Point Pleasant, N.J.: What happened to Jacqueline E. Mathews’ TV crossword puzzle? The new writer (Ricky Cruz) is horrible! The clues make little or no sense, not to mention that some have nothing to do with TV. Why does the Daily News always have to fix what ain’t broken? Bring back Jacqueline! Gene Speroni
Better before
Ridgefield Park, N.J.: I totally agree with Voicer Jan Subelka’s letter. The TV Crossword puzzle is one of my favorite daily activities and looked forward to my Daily News to relax and enjoy my crossword. But the puzzles from Ricky Cruz are horrible. The clues are sayings and have nothing to do with TV or movies. Please bring back Mathews’ work. Carmen Rivera
The long game
Manhattan: Three generations of my family have rooted for the Yankees for more than a century. Voicer John E. Deichmeister mistakenly describes their World Series defeat as “choking.” Actually, they performed predictably against their American League rivals and matched their regular-season lack of success against the National League team. The Yankees hit and pitched marginally better than the Dodgers, but they lacked the over-performance that the latter got from Freddie Freeman, a fairly typical result for MLB in a short series. Especially with free agency, baseball dynasties can only be measured by consistency over 162 games, during which team depth wins out. It’s better for the sport but frustrating at the end for the fan cheering for the “best” team. Michele P. Brown
Overtime abuse
Brooklyn: The MTA crying poverty when employees are stealing overtime is a laugh. Close down the fraud. The NYPD lieutenant earning more than $400,000 should have raised alarms. A cancer survivor is supposed to cut back on work hours physically for medical reasons, and she’s increasing her hours. The other officers making hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime sounds like padding the books. In many cases, the boss in charge of okaying the overtime is bribed by employees for more. Employees take extra breaks, work productivity slows down, they rotate leaving early and have coworkers sign or punch each other’s time out. People should be fired in these cases. Where is the accountability? Don Adler
Associated needs
Manhattan: I believe that people of all income levels should be able to live in New York, but the City of Yes does not address the additional services that might be needed, such as schools and playgrounds, if this program is passed. Increased medical services will probably also be needed, so the city should not allow any hospital closings, such as what Mount Sinai is trying to do with Beth Israel. There will probably be an increase in the need for public transportation and there will be more traffic on the streets. None of this is being discussed by politicians, who should be talking about where the money for these services will come from. If more services are not provided, New York might become the City of Disaster. Marcia Goldstein
Homogeneous audience
Manhattan: I wrote to this page over the Independence Day holiday in July. I went with my friend to see the musical “The Outsiders.” I shared my observation that I counted fewer than five non-white people in the audience. On Saturday, I went with my sister, her daughter and her grandson to see “The Book of Mormon.” Again, I found that a huge majority of the audience was white. I find this very interesting, and a bit perplexing and surprising. By the way, both shows are great! Charles Adrian O’Connor
