Tossing Boone for another’s chirp? A bad call
Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.: Re “You don’t say!” (April 23): I am an avid Yankees fan, and was very disappointed to watch the beginning of the game Monday afternoon. We rely on umpires to make the most accurate decisions during the game. I understand that Aaron Boone has the tendency to say how he feels about a certain call (especially if he is correct). There was “chirping” from Boone about a call in the beginning of the game and the umpire warned that if he said anything else, he’d be out of the game. The camera was on Boone afterwards, and you can definitely tell that he agreed and kept quiet.
A few seconds later, the umpire ejected him because he heard someone making comments, but it was not Boone. It was a fan in the crowd who uttered some words. Boone had a right to be upset about the call, as did the crowd and the many who watched the game. My father was an umpire for more than 30 years, he had his share of ejecting spectators/coaches due to them questioning his calls, but he would make sure he knew who made the comment. I believe that the spectator in Monday’s game should be held responsible.
I believe this call was over the top and the umpires should check the facts before tossing the team’s manager. I am sure that the majority of those who saw that call would agree with me. Hunter Wendelstedt, even though you have been an umpire for many years, it does not give you the right to toss anyone unless you get the facts straight. Sandy Dunham
Too-long list
Manhattan: Monday’s Daily News included an insert with 70 pages of names of people who have unclaimed funds with “Elevance Health Inc. and affiliated companies.” The pages are alphabetized by first name. Who does that? Could it possibly be that “affiliated companies” don’t really want people to learn they have unclaimed funds? Out of curiosity, I checked for my first name: There are 203 “John” listings. John Guinan
Wealth extraction
Bronx: The average Joe is going to pay a fee for driving in Manhattan below 60th St. When the MTA has amassed $1 billion, it will use it to sell bonds in order to generate $15 billion for its capital plan. Money will then be used to help fund critical projects. Those tax-free bonds are mostly purchased by the ruling class. Al Capone stated it correctly: “Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class.” Virgilio Carballo
Hit the books
Jackson Heights: It’s amazing to watch the protests taking place on college campuses. I have not seen one person of Palestinian descent among the protesters. Putting on a black and white scarf worn by many Palestinian people as a disguise is absurd. And why are these same students not protesting Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine? Stick to studying and let governments do their jobs. Parents of these students need to rein them in. Michael Lawrence
Don’t disrupt
Manhattan: Palestinian supporters have the right to protest in colleges around this country, including NYU and Columbia University, but they don’t have the right to stop Jewish students from getting to their classes. They don’t have the right to stop traffic on bridges and prevent people from getting to where they want to go. Edward Drossman
Fed up
Manhattan: Your anti-Trump pamphlet disguised as a newspaper is a bad joke. Tuesday’s copy hardly mentioned the rabid antisemitism infecting this city like a lethal virus, and your editorial and op-ed pages are oblivious to the outrage perpetrated against the large Jewish community here. You constantly publish Israel-hating letters that are outrageous lies. To sum it up, your paper stinks. So today, I’m canceling my subscription. You’ll be missed like a bad cold. Perry Greenberg
77 years later
Carpinteria, Calif.: England, 1947: In cinema queues and on street corners, one topic dominated the conversation: the murder of two British army sergeants by Irgun paramilitaries in Mandate Palestine. The Irgun, one of several Zionist groups, kidnapped the two sergeants. Two days later, the bodies of the soldiers were discovered amid the trees of a eucalyptus grove near Netanya. They had been hanged and the ground beneath them booby-trapped with a landmine. The U.K.’s Independent, 2024: “Holocaust survivors’ descendants deny Palestine marches are no-go zones for Jewish people: Metropolitan police chief Sir Mark Rowley is facing calls to resign over accusations that London has become a ‘Jew-free zone’ under his leadership.” Matt McLaughlin
Apples to oranges
Malverne, L.I.: After reading “City staff pay gap persists” (April 24), I found it very misleading! The data is conflated, and it is designed to create gender and racial disharmony. I was a city worker for 28 years with the police department. The article is ridiculous. They compare apples to oranges under the guise that they are comparing fruits. In the NYPD, Sanitation Department and FDNY, all members, whether male or female, Black, Asian, Hispanic or Caucasian, are paid the same based on rank and title. It is contractual and there is no disparity. To compare these agencies to other city agencies that do not require the same level of stringent requirements to obtain the job is disingenuous at best. If you were to compare male, female, Black, Hispanic, Asian or Caucasian within each of those less stringent job titles, you would see they, too, are all paid on the same pay scale. David Kalin
Killer’s accomplice
Brooklyn: The district attorney prosecuting Lindy Jones for his association with the killing of NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller should apply the statute titled felony murder. Francisco J. Castillo
Jurisdictional challenge
Terre Haute, Ind.: Alvin Bragg’s prosecutorial jurisdiction applies only to Manhattan. Yet, his office prosecutes a series of state misdemeanors in pursuit of serious federal crimes. Tragically, Donald Trump is egregiously charged by this court to have conspired to use campaign funds for payments relating to a female’s extortion plot. Unceremoniously, the facts surrounding this case are not even connected. What’s more hideous, New York’s statute of limitations have expired on the original underlying misdemeanor counts. Previously, prosecutors from the Southern District of New York, the Federal Election Commission and the DOJ passed on this case. But corrupt elements within the New York judicial system, by mere happenstance, initiated action on this case eight years after the fact in the middle of the 2024 presidential election campaign season. The unfairness of this entire affair shocks the conscience. Earl Beal
Criminal fraud
Hyde Park, N.Y.: To Voicer Nancy Brenner: Attorney General Letitia James is doing her job in prosecuting the orange guy. When a person, any person, claims that their property is high-valued when looking for a loan, and then low-valued when tax time comes, James is not “claiming fraud.” It is fraud! And guess what? It’s a crime, no matter what “all developers” tell you! Twice in your letter you say there are “no victims” in this crime. You and I are the victims because we pay our fair share. He does not. He has “bent the law” for so many years. If you or I tried that, we would certainly have been “persecuted” to the full extent of the law. The orange guy is not above the law. Jack Cregan
Bundle up
Ballston Spa, N.Y.: Hey, Mr. Trump, if you’re so cold in that freezing courtroom, why don’t you wear one of those white puffer coats? Then you would look like a bigass marshmallow. Haha. Daniel Simard
Willful ignorance
Rockaway: To Voicer Douglas Weinberg: In response to your Voice of the People letter stating that President Biden has accomplished nothing in his four years in that office, I only wonder where you will be in line among Trump’s cult following when he passes out the Kool-Aid cocktails if he loses in November. I am not going to mention many of the president’s accomplishments since he was elected. You probably would not believe what he has done in spite of a do-nothing Congress controlled by Republicans. Your statement only shows how uninformed you are, or just biased. Anthony Johnson