Killing in the name of the immunity granted him
Glendale, Calif.: This Supreme Court must be replaced with another legal body or drastically reformed by Congress when Democrats have a majority. The American people are very angry that our three branches of government have failed them.
Enabled by a decision granting presidential immunity backed by justices he appointed like Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump has deployed planes, missiles and drones to sink 21 small, unarmed boats “suspected” — with no evidence — of drug smuggling (on a whim) in international waters in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. Now he’s moving on Venezuela.
As of this week, at least 87 crew members or passengers have been slaughtered without being allowed due process by American law. Neither the evidence nor the purported legal basis for the strikes has been made public by a president who thinks that he is all-powerful! Leaked details of a secret Justice Department memorandum suggest that the lethal actions are founded solely on Trump’s own determination (whim) and that the U.S. is in a “formal state of armed conflict with ‘narco-terrorist’ drug cartels.” Seriously, haven’t we learned yet that Trump’s incompetence can’t be trusted?
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, “Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune… In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.” No telling how widely Trump is planning to use his license to kill, but we sure can guess! Richard A. French
Action-flick inspiration
Bronx: Just watched “Miami Vice,” the 2006 movie with Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. In the beginning of the movie, drug-running boats from Colombia are blown up in the water while docked. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Mike Yorio
Power passes
Manhattan: What our corrupt Supreme Court doesn’t seem to realize is that the Trump era will end. The expanded powers they have given him and are considering giving him will pass to the next president, who could be a Democrat. While it seems to be taking forever to get rid of the soulless man who now presides in the Oval Office, it will end. Even Trump will die or his term will end and he’ll be gone, despite his hopes for an unprecedented third term, which will never happen. What happens when the tide turns? What happens to cringe-worthy House Speaker Mike Johnson and his followers? What happens to the new Supreme Court rulings? They get passed along. Are Republicans that short-sighted? It seems so. I hope I live long enough to see the tide turn. It might be earlier than we think. Let’s hope. Marcia Epstein
Facts are felt
Bronx: So Trump gave his spiel Wednesday night touting how wonderful the economy is under his administration, giving himself an A+++ rating (maybe a couple more pluses, not sure) for his job performance. Reality check: Unemployment is up, inflation is up, job creation is way down, health insurance premiums are way up, prices are much higher, utilities are up and rents are unchanged, and gas is still averaging $3 a gallon. In the fantasyland that is Trump’s mind, everything is just peachy. However, in the real world, things look pretty dismal. Do not fall for his BS. Trust your eyes and wallet, not the liar in chief. Carol Webb
Pure propaganda
Staten Island: In his speech to the nation, Trump claimed that Joe Biden left him a disaster and he is fixing it. In fact, Biden handed over a good economy that Trump made worse with his tariffs. This speech was a fast-talking infomercial disguised as an address to the nation that could only be believed by his gullible followers. He read word-for-word off a script (obviously written by Stephen Miller) full of lies and statistics he obviously pulled out of his butt. Comical, unhinged, deranged. He even promoted his Trump health care website. Lies and promises he won’t keep. Wake up, America! Michael Rosenkrantz
Numbers don’t lie
Northford, Conn.: Trump continues to lie and con the American people. Under Biden, the economy added around 17 million jobs without one month of losses. Unemployment went from 6.4% to 4.1%. Average hourly wages went up from 15% to 20% over the four years. The stock market S&P 500 rose around 64% total return. Markets have done well under the Democrats. If you don’t believe me, look it up. Don’t believe what Fox News and Trump tell you. Look it up. Alton Eliason
Never accountable
Brooklyn: President Harry S. Truman had a sign on his desk that stated, “The buck stops here.” It meant that he accepted ultimate responsibility and would not pass blame to others. Trump blames anyone and everyone other than himself. It is always Biden’s fault or Barack Obama’s fault or the Democrats’ fault. He needs to put his big boy pants on and stop the childish name-calling, stop the bullying and start acting like a mature and responsible president of all of the United States. Andrea Allen
Too rushed
Staten Island: Utility bills didn’t explode because energy went “green.” They rose because Green New Deal–style policies forced a fast, mandate-driven transition before alternatives were fully ready. Ratepayers ended up paying for new infrastructure, backup power, grid upgrades and early shutdowns of reliable plants. That’s why delivery charges skyrocketed even when usage didn’t. Peter Lutrario
Still waiting
Staten Island: To Voicer Jerry P. Danzig: I share your frustration with the USPS. A Christmas present I ordered for my young nephew shipped from California on Dec. 4 with an arrival date of Dec. 11. On Dec. 9, it arrived in Jersey City and later that day went to Kearney, N.J. Two days later, when it should have been delivered, it arrived in Brooklyn. It sat there for six days before arriving yesterday on Staten Island, a mere zip code away from where I live. I was relieved and thought for sure I would receive the package on Thursday. On Wednesday night, the package left Staten Island for Queens, where it was on Thursday, a full week after its original delivery date. Not only am I worried it won’t get here for Christmas, I’m worried that the box and its contents will be damaged from its unnecessary travels. Joanne Bruccoleri
Standing room only
Kew Gardens: I give a grade of F to the F train. I go from Kew Gardens to 63rd St. and Lexington Ave. every day and back again. I used to take the F express train from Union Turnpike to 63rd and Lex. With the new changes, I take the F to Roosevelt station in Jackson Heights and then switch to the M local to Manhattan. I must wait 30 minutes for the M. The train is packed. No sitting. Going back, it’s the reverse: M local to Jackson Heights, wait for the F or E, then back to Union Turnpike. The trip takes longer and the trains are packed. I’m 80 and it’s hard to stand for more than four hours in packed subway cars every day. The MTA took a bad situation, the F, and turned it into hell. Steven Ross
Environmental surrender
Fresh Meadows: Welcome back, Asthma Alleys. The new State Energy Plan, a great leap backward enthusiastically supported by Gov. Hochul, calls for re-powering noxious peaker gas plants, the source of major respiratory ills in the poor, Black and Latino neighborhoods where they’ve been placed. Major peaker plant Big Allis, aka Ravenswood, previously scheduled for reinvention as a renewable energy hub, will go back to polluting NYCHA’s huge Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City. Bronx and Brooklyn neighborhoods’ health is also on the chopping block. Hochul was wooed by the gas lobby to let them expand their plants and pipelines, which will increase our utility bills, instead of supporting the legally-mandated transition to clean, renewable energy. Granted, Trump and inflation messed with offshore wind, but Trump was told off by the courts and inflation has affected the gas industry as much as offshore. Thanks for worse than nothing, Hochul. Sara Rebecca Storch
A fitting end
Pearl River, N.Y.: Killer Claudio Neves Valente, the Brown University and MIT killer, died as he lived: a coward, all alone in a cold, damp storage shed. There is a God. Robert Brennan
