Readers comment on debate rules, bad cold cuts and psychological factors

Provoking Donald Trump does not mean beating him

Boynton Beach, Florida: Kudos to Voicer Eugene R. Dunn for what I believe to be an accurate analysis of the presidential debate that goes against the grain and claims Donald Trump is the clear winner. Dunn, like most people, including Trump, views the debates as an intellectual boxing match. And with Kamala Harris repeatedly lying as effortlessly as she breathes, it was clear she was determined to “fight dirty” all night!

During the 1997 heavyweight championship fight between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, Tyson was not happy with his chances of winning and bit Holyfield on the ear. The legendary, no-nonsense referee Mills Lane quickly assessed the situation and immediately deducted two points from Tyson, along with a stern warning.

When the fight resumed, Tyson took the first opportunity to bite Holyfield on the other ear. Lane confronted Tyson, said “Bulls-t!” to his face and then disqualified him, which ended the fight and disappointed everyone. But it was the right decision.

In a sane world where lying is not rewarded, Harris should have been warned not to lie first, and then disqualified within the first 20 minutes for persisting in her intellectual dishonesty. As Lane said after the fight, without remorse, of his decision to quit, Tyson “did not come to fight.” Nor did Harris, who represents Biden’s abysmal record as president and whose only chance of victory, as Dunn suggested, was to taunt Trump with the vile C-word. I give Trump all the credit in the world for not falling for the bait! Ed Dignan

Lack of judgment

Queens Village: Trump shouldn’t worry about Taylor Swift’s election for president. Ninety percent of her songs are about choosing the wrong person. Frank Barnett

Red, white and blue

Plainview, LI: To Voicer Mike Rice: You are wrong when you say Trump wears a blue suit, white shirt and red tie because our flag is red, white and blue and represents America. Frank Mauceri

Out of step

Belvidere, NJ: Subject: “Pope finds both candidates are ‘pro-life,’ calls for choosing ‘lesser evil’” (September 14): Pope Francis advises American Catholic voters to decide which is the lesser evil: “killing children,” i.e. abortion (Kamala Harris), or “throwing away migrants” (Donald Trump). Heterodox Pope Francis is confused. He is shirking his Catholic duty by letting Catholics choose which controversy is more or less evil: abortion or immigration. Orthodox Catholic bishops have already told us that abortion is the greatest evil heading into the upcoming presidential election. The U.S. Catholic bishops have voted (225 to 11) in a guide for Catholic voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election: “The threat of abortion remains the top priority.” Pope Francis, it is time to resign. Daniel Arthur Pryor

NIMBY immigration

Hicksville, LI: Speaker Robert Rundbaken reminds me of Baghdad Bob, who assured the Iraqi people that everything was OK while American tanks rolled up behind him. From 2016 to 2020, there were an average of 450,000 apprehensions at the southern border each year. Under President Biden, that number is 1.5 million. Either you got your numbers from the Department of Homeland Security or you’re just making something up. That number does not include refugees or Cuban, Venezuelan, Haitian and Nicaraguan migrants, who fall into a different category. People like me have no problem with immigration, but putting 20,000 Haitians in an already troubled city of 60,000 is irresponsible. This administration has proven that it doesn’t care about the American people. If we start dumping them in pristine, wealthy neighborhoods like we did on Martha’s Vineyard, I guarantee you it will stop. The response of these caring liberals has proven who you really are. Johannes Gelormino

Warnings ignored

Plainview, LI: Subject: “Deadly listeria outbreak leads to Boar’s Head plant closure” (September 14): I wonder what percentage of the idiots who still buy and eat Boar’s Head cold cuts despite learning that the company allowed gross, unsanitary “fly and mold conditions” at its Virginia plant for at least a year or two will vote for Donald Trump for president. Richard Siegelman

Double booked

Briarwood: Last Sunday, the Jets and Giants were scheduled to play at 1 p.m., while the Mets and Yankees were scheduled to play at 1:30 p.m. Am I the only one who thinks this schedule sucks? Mary Elizabeth Ellis

No music to our ears

Yonkers: I completely agree with Eddie Trunks’ tweet at the top of the Sports page on September 9th about the choice of NFL halftime entertainment – it’s pathetic. In my opinion, replacing real music with incomprehensible noise is also gross and just plain sad. Instead of growing the fan base, this stupid move will alienate a large portion of fans. Maybe we can even do without the commercials! Mark Bloom

Cancelled costs

Manhattan: How many gadgets and gizmos will the government buy to improve the subway experience? Be Our Guest Saturday writers Albert Fox Cahn and Juliana Weber (“The Decentralization of Subway Scanners,” September 14 commentary) have laid bare all the expensive nonsense. Who cares about the store when rip-off artists are making their offers? Make the subway free. Think of the money saved — cops and courts won’t have to waste time on fare dodgers. And, oh yeah, the tourism industry will love it. Neil J. Pollicino

Affordable for whom?

Brooklyn: I have lived in Windsor Terrace for 37 years, so I don’t understand what neighborhood the author of “An Arrow pointing to housing” (editorial, Sept. 14) lives in. No building in this neighborhood is taller than six stories, so on this very small lot, two 13-story towers will top the neighborhood. And the author thinks he lives near Gowanus? Only if he has a car and drives 20 minutes. The proposed towers are market-rate apartments. When we were charging $1,850 a month for an apartment in our two-family house, the building next door, which has been relocated countless times, was $4,500. We don’t need two towers full of market-rate apartments. We need places that teachers and nurses can afford. The rich already own Manhattan. Let’s try to preserve Brooklyn for the middle class. Barbara Barran

Unaccompanied minor

Brooklyn: Your September 14 article, “Police Search for Attempted Rape of Teen,” failed to address one important detail: Why is a 13-year-old on the street at 3:40 a.m.? Where are her parents or guardians? This is a situation where the City Council for Children and Youth needs to step in. Unbelievable! Glenn Brown

Urgent

Manhattan: Slavery was 200 years ago. The reparations bill is yet another despicable attempt by the New York City Council to win the black vote. Why don’t we focus on current issues plaguing New Yorkers, such as the lack of lawyers to represent the middle class in housing court? The average lawyer charges thousands of dollars. Funding for litigants has been cut. Cecilia K. Gullas

Support restrictions

Huntington, LI: The welfare state encourages bad choices. Far too many unmarried young women choose to have children they cannot afford. This is a major cause of child poverty, but is not mentioned in “NY can ease child poverty” (opinion article, Sept. 15). The best way to fight child poverty is to prevent it. This requires changes in the welfare system. The Personal Responsibility Act, passed by the House in March 1995, included two provisions that were later removed from welfare reform legislation: 1) prohibiting unmarried minor parents from receiving financial assistance and 2) prohibiting states from increasing financial benefits when a new baby is born in a family already on the Social Security rolls (family cap). Congress should adopt these provisions in any overhaul of the welfare system. This will do more to reduce child poverty than an expansion of the child tax credit. Tom Sarco

Pop psychology

Rockaway Beach: People are starting to self-diagnose their socioemotional issues on social media. There are countless misleading TikToks attempting to explain psychological and emotional disorders by people who aren’t qualified to do so. As someone who suffers from ADHD, this worries me. In my information algorithm, I scroll through post after post from content creators depicting people who can’t sit still or keep their mouths shut. In reality, most ADHD sufferers simply can’t focus on something they find uninteresting. Peter Polizzi