Teachers of young children are struggling, too
New Haven, Conn.: Re “Dire threat to N.Y. kids” (May 19): Amid the rising cost of living, it’s no secret that many New Yorkers are struggling to make ends meet. The proposed federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP would make matters far worse and seriously harm the health and wellbeing of millions of children, families and working people.
Without these programs, more children will experience food insecurity and go without visits to the doctor or vital medications. Family child care educators, who care for our youngest children and keep New York City’s economy running, will also suffer.
Family child care educators not only support working parents who utilize Medicaid and SNAP, they also rely on these programs themselves. Due to low wages, more than half of child care educators across the state qualify for programs like Medicaid and SNAP, which are essential to survive and keep their businesses running. In a city as expensive as New York, cutting these lifelines would push more educators out of the workforce and deepen the already unsustainable child care crisis, leaving even more families without options.
From paying for groceries out of pocket or offering flexible hours for parents working nontraditional hours, family child care educators go above and beyond to support working families. We need our elected leaders to do the same. Congress must protect Medicaid and SNAP — for children, for families and for the educators who care for them. Jessica Sager, CEO, All Our Kin
Empty seats
Scarborough, N.Y.: I can’t understand why the NYC Department of Education needs to spend $400 million to hire more teachers to bring its class size down to the legally mandated 20 to 22 students. With an absentee rate of 35%, I imagine there are tumbleweeds blowing across most public school classrooms. Thomas F. Comiskey
We’re all different
Hamden, Conn.: The op-ed “Humans are not equal in all things” (May 27) by J.T. Barbarese has no point. Anecdotes about how particular Little League players’ development made them change sports don’t apply to all. The support voiced for “leagues for trans athletes only” is ridiculous. Trans people are about 1% of the population and differ widely among ourselves! Peter (“Petra”) Gardella
No easy outs
Ridgewood, N.J.: Presidential pardons should be eliminated. If you do the crime, you do the time. Pardons make a mockery of the justice system. It is nothing more than a political process undermining the rule of law. Ed Houlihan
Sympathetic status?
Plainview, L.I.: In regards to Joe Biden’s diagnosis of prostate cancer, I would like to know if this is another coverup by the Democrats and the Biden family. Is this another way to feel sorry for him because how could you prosecute him when he is going through so much? I am sure he will not be prosecuted because of his condition and will be cleared of any charges, and right after that I am sure he will have a miraculous recovery from his cancer. I hope this is printed, because the Daily News is one-sided. Frank Mauceri
Dishonorably discharged
Manhattan: The young men and women who worked hard to earn their graduation from the distinguished West Point Military Academy were harangued for more than an hour with an angry political campaign speech by President Trump, which included mindless digressions into subjects such as trophy wives. Then, even further breaking an honored tradition, their commander in chief split for his N.J. golf course without staying to honor the graduates as they were being awarded their well-earned diplomas. Just imagine the outcry if Biden walked out, dishonoring the graduates like that! Lynn Caporale
Definition of deranged
Fort Courage, Ariz.: Voicer Tom Saracco, based on his response to my letter in which he attempts to denigrate Daily News readers by referring to anyone opposing the insanity of the first few months of the Trump regime as suffering from TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome), does not seem to comprehend the definition of the word “derangement,” since Saracco projects Trump’s obvious deranged mental capacity onto normal, intelligent, stable-minded people who enjoy the Daily News. “Derangement” in medical terms is a serious medical disorder where the afflicted individual suffers from delusion, unsoundness, instability, irrationality, rage and senile dementia. The aforementioned definition of “derangement” appropriately describes our 47th president as witnessed and confirmed, once again, over the Memorial Day weekend by his incoherent, unhinged, sophomoric speeches at West Point and Arlington National Cemetery, delivered in a posthaste manner due to his fear of being late for teeing off at his New Jersey golf club. Morgan O’Rourke
Suggested comeback
Medford, L.I.: Bruce Springsteen is keeping up his verbal assault on the Trump administration overseas, and it looks like he’ll continue it for the remaining 10 shows of what he calls “The Land of Hope and Dreams Tour.” As Trump wrote in “The Art of the Deal”: “The press thrives on confrontations.” Trump has a powerful knockout punch he could land on Springsteen that could easily stop him in his tracks. Bruce’s nightly message through Europe is: “The majority of our elected representatives have utterly failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit and rogue government,” and that we are “living in dangerous times.” Trump can easily argue that with the Biden administration opening the border to millions of illegal migrants and miscreants with the Democratic Party doing nothing about it, Bruce is illustrating a perfect description of Democrats. Eugene R. Dunn
Well said
Mahopac, N.Y.: Bravo to Voicer Bob Pascarella for his ode to our flag. Jim Holdridge
Fly the flag
Bellerose: I was involved in the Memorial Day Parade as Grand Knight of St. Anastasia Knights of Columbus Council 5911. We had an interfaith prayer service at St. Anastasia Parish and after the service in the courtyard, taps were played and we raised the American flag. I had spoken to a number of veterans who said they have the only American flag flying on their block in their neighborhoods. I have the only one on my block in Glen Oaks Village. So very said. I served my country during the Vietnam era as a sailor in the U.S. Navy and now am a member of American Legion Post 103, Catholic War Veterans and Auxiliary Post 1979. At our members meeting, the American flag is part of all of our meetings. Our flag honors all those who have given the last measure of devotion to our nation. Frederick Robert Bedell Jr.
Persistent danger
Bronx: Miguel Jiraud should get the same due process everyone’s entitled to. It appears that he’s the one who savagely beat Diana Agudelo. But this raises the question of why he was free in the first place. When sentencing offenders, our justice system only accounts for the offense and not the nature of it. So Jiraud was released from prison after serving time for beating and choking a woman unconscious before he raped her. This was treated no differently than a run-of-the-mill rape that only involved forced sex. It never occurred that Jiraud’s actions were so savage that he should have been put away for life. But then again, murderers’ life sentences often don’t mean life. Lashawn Duffie murdered Surgery Ramirez by tying her up and setting her on fire. He could be out in 40 years. Perhaps the Legislature needs to pass a “life means life” bill. Richard Warren
Late in print
Briarwood: I purchased the Sports Final edition of Saturday’s paper and was beyond disappointed. There were four articles about the Knicks and not one about Friday night’s game, and there was not even the box score of the game. In addition, both the Yankees and Mets played Friday night and there were no reports or box scores for either game. How can you sell this as the Sports Final edition? I have been noticing for at least the past two years that if any of the local teams play a game on a Friday or Saturday night, the next day’s Sports Final edition does not have any reporting of the game. Can’t the beat writers meet the deadline? Cliff Mitchell
