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Brooklyn Daily
To the editor,
I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Joanna DelBuono for writing about the murder of Delbert Belton, the World War II veteran who was wounded in the Battle of Okinawa (“An old man dies, and nobody cares,” Not For Nuthin’, Sept. 6).
This good man was murdered by some black thugs.
At least you and I do care, Joanna. I contacted an officer of the Kings County American Legion about this murder, but it seems that they are more interested in ceremonies and past-commander dinners than using the force of their organization to seek justice for a murdered veteran.
As for the millions of law-abiding people of color, who gave so much to this country since its inception, their silence is deafening. Look at the black-on-black crimes of violence, and except for activist Tony Herbert and a courageous, frequent contributor to this letters’ page named Shanequa Johnson, there is no outrage in that community.
I remember the classic movie, “The Magnificent Seven,” when Eli Wallach led a gang of 40 Mexican bandits who would plunder a local village each harvest for their food and equipment. The villagers hired seven gunfighters, led by Yul Brynner. After losing many of their men to the seven, the bandits turn the tables on them, but instead of killing them, Eli Wallach reasons, “If we kill you, some of your friends up north hear about it and come to give me trouble. One time I robbed a small bank in Texas, and they send a whole army after me. I realize in Texas only Texans can rob banks.”
The modern-day moral of that story, “Only blacks can kill blacks.”
Also in that movie, Eli Wallach states earlier of the humble farmers, “If he (god) did not want them sheared, he would not have made them sheep.” Joanna, perhaps we are surrounded by too many sheep. Ralph Perfetto
Bay Ridge
Mayor ‘De Blah-sio’
To the editor,
God help us, if Bill De-Blah-sio becomes mayor. His TV commercial would make a great skit on “Saturday Night Live.”
He states, “If you live on Park Avenue, you’ve got housekeepers and nannies.Wall Street has hit an all-time high. Mayor Bloomberg only cares about Wall Street. We believe in everyone having a fair shot. We’ve got to change this city.”
Whaaat? Yeah, De-Blah-sio, please change it, but what’ya gonna do about young black males running around with shotguns, killing people for 25 cents in their pockets, or viciously beating and murdering for a cellphone? Vicious rapes and crazy robberies are destroying people and public property in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, East New York, Bushwick, Flatbush, Canarsie, and other black-majority neighborhoods. I wonder what neighborhood Bill and his bi-racial family live in.
You think he is going to address this sick, scary, out-of-control, deep-rooted crime problem plaguing all five boroughs? Or how blacks and Hispanics make up the majority of these sick and vicious criminal acts? Too bad that NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly isn’t running.
Strong leadership is missing from each of the mayoral candidates. They should be focusing on the lawlessness, gang members, and thugs running around the city, scribbling graffiti, and ruining our quality of life. How do these people get away with these criminal acts?
Mayor Bloomberg is a strong leader, coherent and confident. Bill De-Blah-sio is weak. Name withheld upon request
Bensonhurst
No to public advocate
To the editor,
We can no longer afford a big and bloated city government. The city pays a public advocate. This is ridiculous. All elected officials are supposed to be public representatives and advocates.
I advocate that we erase this title and give the salary back to the city taxpayers. Remember, government is our servant, not our master. The city’s gross domestic product is 12 percent of the entire national gross domestic product.
Tax-and-spend will only end if the people stop voting for corrupt politicians. That leaves us with a small list of leaders with integrity.Todd Davis
Marine Park
I love Aldi market
To the editor,
I was just wondering if I’m the only one who does not have a problem with Aldi (“Aldi replaces Pathmark in Sheepshead Bay,” Aug. 5).
In your last two issues, there has been a letter of negativity about the store. I see that it is a type of store without all the typical bells and whistles, and I can understand their methods of keeping their operating costs down, and their use of efficiency. I find what I use on a regular basis is less expensive than, or equal to, other stores.
I have not had a problem with the quality of any items. The location is very convenient, and I am very happy to finally have a store back in our neighborhood.
A. Engel
Sheepshead Bay
Syria mess
To the editor,
Sacre bleu! Francois, the Syrians, they have guns. Ah, non, Pierre. I thought they were brioches or croissants. We surrender! We surrender!
Okay, we’ve got the French on our side. But is that enough? The U.N.? Fuggedaboutit! Rest of Europe? Sorry, summer vacation. Arab league? Yeah, well, sure, we’re all with you, but go ahead and get started. We’ll meet you there.
So, why are we still in? Our national security is at stake? How does Assad gassing his citizens threaten our national security? The truth is it doesn’t. He could kill every last one of his people and it wouldn’t jeopardize our security at all. As human beings, we’d feel awful, but we wouldn’t be any less secure.
The reason we’re involved in the Syria debacle is that President Obama put the credibility of the U.S. on the line by threatening action against the Syrian government, if Assad used poison gas on his people. And now that he’s used gas, here we are. Do we do nothing and have our friends no longer trusting us, and our enemies no longer respecting us, or do we take military action which could end who knows how? Thank you, Mr. President.
If this were a parliamentary democracy, the government could hold a no-confidence vote. President Obama could go back to a seat in parliament. And we would have a new leader who would, hopefully, be more circumspect in his threats and comments. But we are not a parliamentary democracy. And so, the only one who can get us out of this mess is the one who got us into it.
President Obama should do the decent thing and resign. The credibility problem is his, not ours. If the president were to leave, he would take his credibility problem with him and, with a lot of work, his successors could eventually get us back to where we once were, and where we need to be again.
Eight years of “let George do it” and what have we gotten? Bush without the humility.
Mr. President, for the good of the county you say you love, please, get your feet off our desk and go!
Dr. Steve Finger
Marine Park
Limit frisking
To the editor,
I think stop-and-frisk should be limited, not abolished. The NYPD should only stop and frisk with probable cause, not pick certain individuals randomly.
Also, the NYPD, whose officers are sworn to uphold the law and to serve the public trust, should exercise courtesy, professionalism, and respect to the community, control its actions, and not use excessive force unnecessarily.
Stop-and-frisk should be limited and done in a professional manner by all NYPD officers.Shawn Webb
Staten Island
Reel deal
To the editor,
Having seen the documentary “Zipper: The Fast Ride,” I am sorry to see the decline and fall of Coney Island as an amusement park.
Councilman Domenic Recchia (D–Coney Island), who will be term-limited out this year, planned to keep Coney Island as an amusement park for future generations, but building condominiums will weaken its economic growth.
According to the documentary, 1.5 million residents came to Coney Island in 2000. In 2006, tourism increased to 15.6 million. But in 2009, it shrunk to 3.7 million.
Joe Sitt bought much of the land near the Boardwalk, past W. 15th Street, but it sits vacant. I believe if Mr. Sitt had put in a new movie theater, it would have helped stimulate the sluggish economy. People young and old, who want to go to a movie, have to take a bus to Knapp Street or go to Avenue H to the Kent Theater, which is not open every day.
I am glad that the amphitheater proposal did not materialize, but having one or two movie theaters — and less condominiums — would preserve the vitality of the area.Elliott Abosh
Brighton Beach
Keep it local
To the editor,
In these difficult economic times, it is especially important to patronize your local neighborhood businesses.
My wife and I don’t mind occasionally paying a little more to help our local businesses survive. Don’t forget your cook and server at your favorite neighborhood restaurant. We try to tip 20 percent against the total bill, including taxes. If it is an odd amount, we round up to the next dollar. If we can afford to eat out, we can afford an extra dollar tip. When ordering take out, we always leave a dollar or two for the waiter or cook. It is appreciated. Remember these people are our neighbors.
Our local entrepreneurs have continued to create new employment opportunities without the assistance of federally-funded taxpayers’ stimulus dollars. They work long hours, pay taxes, and provide local employment, especially to students during the summer. If we don’t patronize our local community stores and restaurants to shop and eat, they don’t eat either.
Please join me and your neighbors in continuing to support this newspaper. Patronize its advertisers. They provide the necessary revenues to help keep them in business. Let them know you saw their advertisement.
Larry Penner
Great Neck, N.Y.
Unruly schools
To the editor,
Leave it to the Department of Education to come up with a new disciplinary code. We already have counseling for students. We need a system of zero tolerance for any disciplinary infractions. We don’t need the ultra-liberal nonsense of cooperative learning, alternate assessments, and focusing on the total child, when the city school system has become one of disrespect, defiance, and disruption.
Of course, these ideas have been thought up by people who either never taught or were expert at getting out of the classroom. Ask any teacher. You cannot teach without discipline, and that is why so many new teachers leave the system within five years of beginning their careers.
Some of our schools are so bad that the National Guard needs to be called in just to restore order. To complicate matters, many of the Democratic candidates for mayor are calling for no suspensions of unruly pupils. If they would only come in and try teaching for a week or so, I guarantee that they would change their attitudes quickly.Ed Greenspan
Sheepshead Bay
Equine abuse
To the editor,
As a native New Yorker, a veterinarian, and a gay man, I am passionate about our city, and I love so much of what it has to offer. But I have come to despise are the inhumane and corrupt horse carriage industry.
My initial exposure to the abuse of the carriage horses was from the critically acclaimed documentary “Blinders.” After much research, and going with an equine veterinarian to see some of the actual inadequate and hazardous stables these animals were being kept in, I decided to join the crusade to rid the city of this cruel and abusive tourist attraction.
What I came to find was that under Mayor Bloomberg and Council Speaker Quinn, and their associations with the carriage owners and drivers, the horses were going to stay in their horrid conditions and continue working the streets indefinitely. What I would later find out was that Quinn, in all of her time as speaker, had prevented every significant piece of animal welfare legislation from reaching the council floor.
We need to remove the dark clouds hovering over buildings housing imprisoned horses that are forced to mercilessly work in traffic, day in and day out, all in the name of entertainment.
John G. Hynes
Staten Island
The writer is a boardmember of the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association.
Pro-Miley
To the editor,
I give Miley Cyrus mad credit, mad props, and mad respect for her sexy performance at the MTV Music Video Awards.
Madonna and Britney Spears had their time, now let Miley have hers.
If she chooses to share a sensual kiss with a man or a woman — or both — why should I have a problem with that?
So don’t go trying to shove that perpetual, conservative bull about being moral, and what’s respectful, and what’s appropriate down her throat because nine out of 10 times she’s not going to want to hear that.
Just let the woman do her thing, and let her live her life. Period.
Sebastian Casalnova
Bensonhurst