Judge history’s events according to their times
Flushing: On the front page of the N.Y. Post recently was the iconic picture of a sailor kissing a dental assistant on V-J Day in Times Square. For you young people, V-J Day was the day that Japan surrendered in WWII. That explanation may seem unnecessary, but when I see idiots making statements about WWII, I wonder how they think they know anything.
The idiot in this case was a woman who works for the Department of Veterans Affairs. She sent a memo to all the VA hospitals to remove that picture since it is inappropriate behavior because it depicts a nonconsensual act. She has no idea what the significance of that picture is and transports it into today’s thinking. She is as wrong as possible. Fortunately, she was overruled by her superiors.
I was 13 on that day (Aug. 14, 1945) and I remember that it was euphoric. It was a day that meant millions of servicemen would be coming home alive. And yes, the end of killing. And on the home front, the burden of sorrow, fear and shortages was lifted off the backs of all Americans. They were outside their homes greeting each other with happiness and drinks. Four years of hell were finally over. Americans since then have never experienced the feelings we had on that day, as none of the wars since then have been close to the same magnitude.
This was the same thinking that removed the statue of Thomas Jefferson, one of the most important men in American history, from our City Hall: judging the past by the standards of today. John Procida
Judgment day
Manhattan: I can not fathom the terror Vladimir (Devil) Putin experiences anticipating his own demise. However, I can imagine the smile on Alexei Navalny’s face as he stands tall guarding the key to the locked door on Heaven’s Gate. Elaine Young
Sleazy meal
Brooklyn: There is a new item on the restaurant menu. It is called the Trump sandwich: Two slices of white bread, full of baloney, with Russian dressing and a small pickle. Hopefully, that will be on his prison menu. Don Adler
Confession
Charlotte, N.C.: MAGA Republican Voicer Bob Pascarella has to be one of Trump’s biggest fans. That’s the only possible explanation for his idiotic interpretation of President Biden’s State of the Union address. I’m sure Bob truly believes Trump’s inaugural crowd was larger than Barack Obama’s, windmills cause cancer, Trump never even met Stormy Daniels, magnets don’t work in water, ID is required to buy bread, and the promised check from Mexico to pay for the border wall must have been lost in the mail. So, I’ve finally decided to come clean and warn you, Bob: I personally rigged the 2020 election and I plan on doing it again since none of the army of the uneducated can figure out how I did it! Unless they catch me, Bob, you’ll just have to live with Biden for four more years. Ron Turek
Strategically slow
Western Springs, Ill.: By extending the hearing of Donald Trump’s immunity appeal to the week of April 22, the Federalist Society-recommended, Republican-appointed Supreme Court majority stalled the start of Trump’s trial on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. Trump is trying to extend the case beyond the election so that if he wins, his Justice Department would drop the case or he could pardon himself. Contrast this slow motion with the court’s speed in ruling that neither Colorado nor any other state can keep Trump off the Republican primary ballot by deciding that he engaged in insurrection. Indeed, recall the speed of the Republican-majority Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Bush vs. Gore, which installed George W. Bush as president. The Supreme Court can move fast when it wants to. Richard Barsanti
Clearly criminal
Brooklyn: Can anyone explain how anyone can take hundreds of top-secret documents, refuse to return them, and not be arrested? Citizen Trump did just that and more. He had multiple chances to hand them back as Biden and Mike Pence had done. Yet, he was not taken into custody and held there for questioning until his trial came up. Then Trump would have been screaming for his trial to happen ASAP instead of wanting to slow-walk it. There are people sitting in prison cells for doing lesser treasonous acts against the federal government. Had he been convicted, he’d be running for president from jail. This man, if reelected, will absolutely be a security risk for our country, as he has shown an affinity for dictators around the world. Irwin Cantos
Go meatless
Ithaca, N.Y.: Once again, the mayor of Washington, D.C. has proclaimed March 20 MeatOut Day to her 700,000-plus residents. Launched in 1985 by Farm Animal Rights Movement, MeatOut Day has grown into one of the largest annual grassroots educational programs encouraging the end of the use of animals for food. On the first day of spring, we ask people to turn over a new leaf and explore a plant-based diet. While there are other programs encouraging this, MeatOut is unique in that its one goal is to inspire and empower people to leave meat off their plate for just one day. Try the delicious and readily available plant-based foods. It’s one day to shed a light on the plight of animals raised for food. Eric C. Lindstrom
Lost child
Manhattan: It is a terrible thing when a 13-year-old boy is gunned down in the street (” ‘He was not in a gang,’ ” March 5). Only the shooters should bear the blame. Nevertheless, it boggles my mind that the woman who is mourning her poor baby did not know that her child was in a gang or that he had a tattoo, or that at 10:30 p.m. on a school night he was somewhere other than in his room doing his homework or fast asleep. Parents need to get involved in their children’s lives if they want them to learn about the dangers they will face as adults and how to avoid them. Steven Davies
Get mad
Floral Park, L.I.: Everyone should stay out of NYC and never go on the subways until liberal politicians are voted out of office. Do not believe Gov. Hochul or Mayor Adams — they do not care about working people who have to take the subway. Everyone should be so angry watching the recent video of a fight and shooting on a subway train. If you are not angry, you need to examine yourself. Bob Damato
Pols’ problem
Bronx: The increase in violent assaults on subways originates in the lack of vision from City Hall, not 1 Police Plaza. Mayor Adams is not up to the job. He and his top civilian managers are lightweights working in a heavyweight arena. Gene Roman
Reclassify
Manhattan: If the mayor and governor were serious about subway safety, they would have undercover cops ride the rails. But for that to be effective, those arrested would need to be detained and not released. The governor’s plan is to simply prohibit these criminals from entering the subways for three months. They can commit crimes above ground in the meantime. Incarceration as punishment means little to repeat offenders. We need to redefine the meaning of criminal insanity to include sociopaths who are repeat violent offenders. Only then can we permanently institutionalize them to protect New Yorkers. Although this might be costly, I’m sure the congestion pricing money could pay for it. Vincent Novak
Working waterfront
Brooklyn: South Brooklyn residents have been fighting for years for the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to be revived as a working port and industrial site, a solid-paying job supplier and economic engine via the newly developing offshore wind industry. The state Public Service Commission’s effective cancellation of the Empire 1 offshore wind project nearly put paid to those efforts. But Gov. Hochul got the project out for rebid fast, and Empire 1 is back in the game. They’ve just gotten approval to connect directly into New York City’s transmission system, which means hundreds of thousands of New York homes will be getting electricity from clean wind power in the foreseeable future instead of dirty-burning gas. It also means that the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, as an offshore wind hub, will be working waterfront like we used to have, with opportunities for working New Yorkers. Ella Ryan
