Readers sound off on unconstitutional enforcers, Holocaust remembrance and cold plunges
Dissent can mean invasion, oppression and death
Brick, New Jersey: Once President Trump and his ICE Avengers tire of Minnesota, which blue state will they target next? State sovereignty died with ICE victims in Minneapolis being killed or abused!
Looking at these murders recorded on numerous cell phones from different angles, one might wonder where these agents were trained, if at all, and who were the trainers!? It appears that they are instructed to band together against a single person, perhaps a simple passerby, and then administer capital punishment whenever they wish. No probable cause, no danger to officers. Five or six to one. No liability. What bravado!
Despite eyewitnesses and phone recordings from different angles, the leaders of these ICE and Border Patrol killer gangs, namely Kristi Noem and Trump, denounce the victims as domestic terrorists deserving of death, hail the shooters as dedicated law enforcement officers, and obstruct investigations by local law enforcement. So much for the innocent until proven guilty for the executed person. So much for our inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
These agents are recruited from angry white men, lured by a $50,000 sign-on bonus. Do these criminals also receive a bounty for each person they kill? The only limit to wealth is your ammo count. It’s time to denounce the Department of Homeland Security and its top boss, Trump, who said he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot someone” and “won’t lose a single voter.” Trump is a mass murderer. How many more murders of innocent American citizens and others will be tolerated by Trump’s collaborators, the Republican Party, both elected and civilian? Nicolas Molinari
Refuse official reframing
Sunnyside: The Sunday Daily News cover page said: “Border Patrol says VA worker had gun. » The subtitle of the article was “Department says he ‘approached’ Border Patrol agent with 9mm handgun.” But it was established before Sunday that the video clearly shows Pretti holding a phone before he was shot, not a gun. Please do not support or repeat misinformation intended to protect officers who kill innocent civilians. Michael Boatner
Agents of chaos?
Manhattan: Regarding the question of who this administration is hiring to provide immigration enforcement in our communities, here’s an interesting sentence from a federal website job posting for deportation officers: “The Department of Homeland Security encourages individuals with disabilities to apply, including individuals with severe intellectual, physical, or psychiatric disabilities.” I’m all for fair hiring practices, but what exactly is the plan here? Bruce McClellan
Our own dystopia
Manhattan: Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem’s immediate response to Border Patrol agents’ fatal shooting of Pretti was to blame the victim, evoking George Orwell’s “1984”: “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears.” » Despite widespread video coverage to the contrary, Noem’s lies were echoed vehemently throughout the White House. Sen. Chuck Schumer said he would hold the Democratic caucus together to stop abusive behavior by federal agents, such as roaming around in masked gangs, arresting people at will to meet quotas and kicking down residents’ doors without cause. It’s the least Democrats can do, having failed to block the $170 billion in funding that built the nation’s largest police force. The possibility of a government shutdown following the DHS appropriations vote gives Schumer and Democrats the opportunity to rein in federal agents and also reclaim the ACA’s three-year extension. Susan Fountain
Force reforms
Manhattan: In city after city, peaceful opposition to the federal invasion became widespread as people learned to protect and support their neighbors, and to resist the invasion with their presence and cameras despite the tear gas and pepper spray. Yet it took two more murders for Schumer to have the courage of Minnesotans’ convictions. He’s holding the Democratic caucus together to withhold $64.4 billion in additional funding for DHS until simple, enforceable demands are met: independent investigations of police-involved shootings, a ban on face masks, mandatory body cameras, no roving patrols or arrest quotas, and an end to the made-up “administrative mandate” that federal agents have used to defeat the Fourth Amendment. This is a normal application of Law 101. Danette Lipten
Non-transferable
Brooklyn: Imagine being so power-hungry that you would simply give away a Nobel Peace Prize. Do you have neither shame nor pride, Mrs. María Corina Machado? I would like the committee to take it back, overwrite it and remove your name from the records. June Lowe
Make it official
Flushing: Governor Hochul declared January 27 as a statewide Holocaust Remembrance Day after it was officially signed into law on January 27, 2025. It is up to our mayor to follow suit with an unequivocal citywide proclamation, as several mayors across the country have done. As a 76-year-old Jewish woman, I do not appreciate the mayor’s trivialization of the wounds that will never heal in the minds and spirits of the estimated 16 million Jews remaining on this planet. Does this mayor believe he will appease and patronize the metro area’s nearly 2 million Jews by visiting Holocaust survivors in their homes for a photo op? Mayor Mamdani posted a Holocaust memorial missive on Twitter, revealing his insensitivity to 1.5 million New York seniors who don’t necessarily follow this idiotic tool. I have a message for him: we can’t cheat Yiddishkeit in this city, because we are too old and too smart. That’s why we always say: “Never forget!” » Lisa Flanzraich
Teaching history
Brooklyn: A crucial aspect of International Holocaust Remembrance Day is remembrance, and that requires education. There are too many people in the world of all ages (not just young people) who do not know the horrors of the Holocaust, or who minimize and even mock these horrors. This situation is getting worse. We need to reexamine and even reorganize the way we teach about the Holocaust. If we want to reach people, let’s educate them and work to make sure this doesn’t happen again. We must educate and do it more wisely. This is not an easy task, but it is necessary. Ellen Levitt
Polar divers
Brooklyn: I know the “self-proclaimed King of Coney Island” well. Steve Niese swims at Coney Island year-round and described the great benefits of cold-water diving in a major newspaper article. Steve gets together with a number of us who swim at Coney Island about twice a week. This is the real deal. However, it is an unwritten law that a king must be born in the kingdom he rules. That said, the true king of Coney Island is Gary Atlas, born and raised in Coney, who swam for 15 straight years without missing a day. Steve was born in Wisconsin. I researched and checked with King Neptune. It’s a lot of fun and an honor to dive into the same ocean as these two great athletes. Louie Scarcella
Cruelty of Creatures
Bronxville, NY: Although there is much unrest and ugliness all over the world today, I cannot help but express my dismay after reading the story of the cop who used this innocent raccoon in Rockaway Beach as target practice. The little guy was out there in the freezing cold, probably looking for something to eat (or maybe it was a mom looking for food for her babies). I highly doubt he acted aggressively towards the cop. No doubt he was much more afraid of the cop than the other way around. The officer said he shot the little guy because he was aggressively moving toward a “group of people.” Please tell me where the hell a group of people hanging out at the beach in 20 degree weather would be? Of course, the body camera didn’t show these people – because there weren’t any. Patricia N. Ravel
Public health regime
Norfolk, Virginia: If you’re concerned about the spread of bird flu and want to help end animal suffering and protect the environment, go vegan. Avian flu is spreading like wildfire in animal breeding factories. Why eat meat, eggs or dairy when there are delicious vegan options? When vegan eating becomes more common, fewer animals will be raised for food, reducing the threat of a potentially deadly outbreak and nationwide pandemic. Heather Moore, Vegan Living Expert, PETA Foundation
