Readers sound off on Albany pay hike, Trump Jr. and the Serpent

Woodside: Re “State pols vote ‘yes’ on getting $32K pay bump” (Dec. 23): Looking at the bleak economic indicators on the Main Street for the affordability of daily groceries and basic necessities across the nation, I am astounded by the humongous salary hike New York state lawmakers have awarded themselves making them the highest paid legislators in the nation.

In my opinion, a dizzying raise of $32,000 — which is 29% of their current salary of $110,000 — cannot be justified in any way, especially when the average folks are struggling to catch up with the galloping inflation to just put food on the table even after factoring a cost of living adjustment (COLA) while elected representatives have clinched a Wall Street-style salary raise nonchalantly.

As a voter and a taxpayer I think this disproportionate and inequitable wage increase for state lawmakers is a slap in the face of every hardworking New Yorker who’s still struggling to make both ends meet and is living paycheck to paycheck. In fact, the salary increase should have been capped at 8.7%, the COLA adjustment being done by the Social Security Administration nationwide beginning January 2023. I hope Gov. Hochul vetoes this unjustified and self-approved salary hike by the state legislators. Atul M. Karnik

Greenwood Lake, N.Y.: While I think we should help Ukraine, I don’t think we should be giving them 12 times the amount of military aid that the top European donor is giving them. This is a European problem and they should be doing more if they are that concerned. We have enough financial problems here at home and should take care of our own borders first. While it’s nice that everybody is worried about the possibility of WWIII, you would think the European nations would show a little more concern than they are and put their money where their mouths are. Joe Fioramonti

Manhattan: Revenge has been a key factor in starting and continuing wars throughout history. The Ukraine war is no exception. The only way out of this is a negotiated settlement. Where is the UN? I am sure everyone realizes that this war is a one-way street where Russia can bomb and invade Ukraine but Ukraine can’t bomb and invade Russia. There just has to be a negotiated settlement before Ukraine is bombed off the map. The focus should be on rebuilding Ukraine, not on its destruction. Leonard Smoke

Halifax, Nova Scotia: I read with great interest your item (“Don Jr.’s Zelenskyy/nude Hunter Biden tweet nixed,” Dec. 23) noting that Twitter took down a phony image of the president’s son standing naked next to the Ukrainian president. The eldest son of the former host of “The Apprentice” referred to Zelenskyy as an “international welfare queen.” If there’s anything that offends DJTJ, it is a man who refuses to submit to Vladimir Putin, does not support himself financially and must entirely depend upon others for his income. If only everyone could be a self-made man like Jr.! Scott Baker

Old Tappan, N.J.: So, DJTJ, You’re the big brave man tweeting to mock President Zelenskyy, calling him a welfare queen? You’re just like your father, a lying, cheating thief and treasonous coward. Instead of tweeting about Zelenskyy, why not challenge him to a real fight, tough guy? If you have a problem with him, I’m sure he would be happy to “discuss” it with you. You’re the same age and size. Although he is more jacked than you because he is a real man leading his country in a war (that your father helped facilitate by denying Ukraine support that would have made Putin stop and think). Why not back your words up with actions? Because you know he would smoke your butt and make you cry and beg like a baby to please stop! Speaking of welfare queens, how much money has daddy had to give you so far? Carl Graves

Cincinnati: Donald Trump’s three-ring circus of megalomania, mendacity and mindlessness has added a fourth ring: monotony. He is now the national bore, a tedious and very loud distraction of unremitting and tiresome victimhood. Was there fraud in the 2020 presidential election of such magnitude that Trump was the actual winner? We haven’t seen the proof. Was the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story a political manipulation intended to favor President Biden? Yes. Is that reprehensible? Yes. Should those who conspired with Twitter in the suppression be called out publicly? Yes. But Trump should be leery of putting the culprits in a figurative stockade lest sentiment resounds in their favor. Paul Bloustein

Lackawaxen, Pa.: Voicer and grinch Gregory J. Topliff offers one of his periodic rants, this time about the Democrats’ identifying the existence of rich and poor in America and suggesting some meliorative effort to reduce inequality. From the perspective of his Marine and law enforcement background, this does not sit well with the Voicer because the Constitution was imbued by our ancestors with a set of values that, by inference, include preference for a particular economic system. For this reason, Topliff “went to Vietnam to prevent the communists from taking over the world” (his reading of the Constitution also empowering us to decide what values others should possess). Now the Democrats are tearing down all of Trump’s accomplishments. Of course, Trump’s opinion of Topliff and his fellow GIs reportedly is that they are “suckers” and “losers.” John A. MacKinnon

Manhattan: Yes, Voicer Gregory J. Topliff, we are a people divided — thanks to the great rust-haired one. You say this is the fault of the Democrats? Perhaps you might like to bring flowers and candy to the fat dingleberry in jail when he is convicted of sedition and crimes committed while in office. He divided the American people against each other, never bringing anyone together! Meanwhile, merry Christmas, putz! Tony Warren

Oceanside, L.I.: Robert De Niro’s home is broken into (“De Niro meets the Grinch,” Dec. 20). Aha, now that an elite home has been breached, maybe — just maybe — some action will be taken on this no-bail malarky that has been a bane to all citizens, especially the non-elite. Subway riders, dog walkers and strollers need protection from these cretins who prey upon unsuspecting citizens. We need the safety we had before this non-president took over and this uncaring governor took office. Only God can help us now. God bless America. John F. Rossano

Manhattan: To stop the theft of mailboxes nationwide, the USPS can kick the crime right smack dab in the middle, and here’s how: Place outgoing mailboxes in every nationwide apartment building, store and office building and get them off all the streets. Let us make it harder for the common thief to steal street mailboxes, and place cameras facing them. Helen Murphy

Brooklyn: To Voicer Jaime Geiger: “Dixie governors” are tired of paying for Democrats’ fiascos. If Mayor Adams wants a billion dollars, how much should El Paso and other similar towns get? Democrats need to learn accountability, responsibility and rationality. Michael Castagna

Staten Island: The French serial killer known as the Serpent is released from prison in Nepal. The reason for his release is heart disease and good behavior. Why release him? The families of the victims no longer have their loved ones. Should the general public have sympathy for this killer? Or any murderer? Maybe the so-called Serpent should thank the Nepali officials for his release. This government should reevaluate its laws. In my opinion, I don’t believe this would happen, let’s say, in Russia. I don’t understand. I was to believe that prison is punishment for all sorts of crimes. I learn something new each and every day. Jeffrey Van Pelt