Honor labor’s gains & look to work that remains
Hallandale Beach, Fla.: For more than a century, Labor Day has honored the achievements of the labor movement and American workers. It recognizes the many vital contributions that workers have made to our economy and our way of life.
The labor movement secured better wages, reasonable hours and safer working conditions for all Americans. The movement’s tireless efforts put an end to child labor and built the American middle class. The ingenuity and productivity of the American worker is what makes us the most innovative country in the world, with the strongest economy.
Labor Day is a time to celebrate working Americans, the backbone of our economy, and to remember the labor activists who fought for the many rights and protections we enjoy and deserve. We just continue their legacy and recommit ourselves to fight for fair wages, responsible workplace protections and secure retirements to provide a prosperous future for all.
This Labor Day, as we recognize all the good that the labor movement and American workers have done for this country, we must acknowledge the work yet to be done. Women still only receive a fraction of the salary men earn in the same position. Workers earning minimum wage still struggle to support themselves and their families. And the top earners of the country still receive the majority of the country’s wealth. I will continue supporting workers across the country because together, we can make a difference. Paul Bacon
Tasteful feature
Staten Island: What happened to the food lady column by Kaitlyn Rosati every Thursday? Please bring her back, she was excellent. Marie Mandia
Switch the script
Staten Island: I was watching a news program and a guest who was answering a question about the Minneapolis shootings also had to state that high-power guns must not be able to be obtained. To this individual, I say knock off the anti-gun sermon and let’s get a solution to this problem. Jeffrey Van Pelt
No sanctuary
Bellerose: Evil has lifted its ugly head with the shooting in Minneapolis at Annunciation Catholic Church and school. Seventeen children were shot and two killed, with three adults shot — a total of 20. The children were between the ages of 8 and 10 and involved in prayers in church. The killer died by suicide. These assaults and murders I find to be most egregious and nefarious actions of, in my opinion, a mentally ill individual. Are not America’s children supposed to be safe in church and in school? As Grand Knight of St. Anastasia Knights of Columbus Council #5911, I offer my heartfelt prayers to those who were shot and killed, and to their parents and families. Frederick Robert Bedell Jr.
Keep praying
Bronx: My heart goes out to the children and adults killed or injured in the horrific, senseless mass shooting in Minneapolis. Some are giving up on thought and prayer; this only applies to politicians who indifferently use this mantra with no intention of stopping the proliferation of guns of mass destruction. For those who question why God permits such suffering, the answer is that if we could understand God, wouldn’t we be on the same level of His Divinity? Yes, God can prevent man’s actions, even could have prevented His Son dying on the cross. Lastly, God’s existence is infinite. His intervention can never be an afterthought. Continue thoughts and prayers because He will always hear them. Let His will be done! Gilbert M. Lane
A better beef
Manhattan: Beef! It ain’t what’s for dinner anymore. That’s the popular response to the tripling of beef prices in the past 15 years. The underlying reasons are severe droughts in the cattle producing states of Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas, aggravated by the 50% tariff imposed by President Trump on imports of Brazilian beef. Ironically, the droughts are connected to global warming caused in part by methane emissions from cattle. The rising price is expected to reduce consumption of beef, as well as the associated disastrous impacts on our personal health and the health of our planet. But there is still hope for folks who “have to have” their steak. A number of startup companies are developing healthy, eco-friendly, convenient, tasty and reasonably priced steaks from animal cells and plants. They should appear on our supermarket shelves within a couple of years. Nico Young
Tying his hands
Medford, L.I.: It boils my blood when I read that a federal appeals panel has ruled 7-4 that Trump’s sweeping global tariffs are illegal. Whose side are these seven judges on? Surely not the best interests of the American people. We’re currently $37 trillion in debt, something many economists have called an “existential threat” to the future of our country. The president has implemented a long-overdue tariff system designed to generate revenue and/or bring foreign companies back into the U.S. This is a form of combating this existential threat, but these judges slam the brakes on it, denying us the opportunity to save ourselves. This is tantamount to going whitewater rafting down a raging river, but the instructor says you’re not allowed to use your paddles to help navigate. Luana Dunn
Not to be trusted
Jamaica: Democratic Minority Leaders Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer should not make any deals with the Republicans. The reason for this is that any agreement they come up with, the president will call the Republicans and tell them not to agree or to shoot it down. The Republicans are in the president’s pocket and they do whatever he says. They gave up their power in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Shame on them! God bless the United States of America! Charlene Black
Safety last
Clearwater, Fla.: The handwriting is on the wall. Both Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson hate Trump more than they love the city of Chicago. Instead of putting the lives of Chicagoans and the safety and welfare of the city first, Pritzker and Johnson are adamantly rejecting the presence of the National Guard just because Trump is offering them a common-sense solution to end the violence and save lives. They are not putting vulnerable Chicagoans first. And their actions are nothing but pure, unadulterated belligerence. They still don’t get it. Or maybe they just don’t want to admit why Trump was elected. He puts America and the precious lives of Americans first. JoAnn Lee Frank
Equal funding
Brooklyn: Voicer Richard Barsanti shares my desire for publicly funded elections. Instead of eternally trying to overturn Citizens United, I propose a federal election fund. All donations, corporate or individual, would go into it, and on a given date be equally distributed to all qualified candidates for all federal elected positions (Senate, House and president). No other donations would be allowed. If contributions dried up, the media would have to step up and educate the electorate. In the meantime, our elected officials could actually govern instead of spending most of their time fundraising. Ilsa Ruthen
War’s toll
West Hempstead, L.I.: Amazing how you weed out all pro-Israel letters and the same ignorant, rabid nonsense is spread across your paper that has become a part of Al Jazeera. Israel is not guilty of genocide, neither the actual definition nor the intent required. As in all wars, when civilians live near enemy military sites deliberately placed there, the civilians die. If Israel wanted to kill the Gazans, they could have done it in less than six months. Samuel J. Mark
Hard-hearted
Manhattan: In response to my letter in which I challenged him to justify what Israel is doing to the people of Gaza, Voicer Robert J. Katz fails to come close to the task. First, he tells me to read someone else’s letter for an answer. No, Mr. Katz, I do not need anyone else to tell me what I see with my own eyes. Then he basically says things aren’t really as bad as most of the world sees it, and he offers his rebuke of the claims of starvation by observing that there are still some fat ladies left in Gaza. That is as callous and ignorant an answer as I could have ever imagined. Steven Davies
