Readers sound off on official hypocrisy, Ohio’s train crash and George Santos’s future

Bronx: It’s time to finally grow up and stop acting as childish as McDonald Rump. So Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder talks about the Chinese spy balloon. If we spy on other nations (Edward Snowden revealed we even spy on 100% of our friends and allies, yikes) then we cannot complain one iota about China, Russia or anyone spying on us.

Even children are more mature, as they understand basic fairness and brazen hypocrisy. Even Rump was more mature than the press and the Dem/GOP machine: He famously asked why Russia interfering in our elections is that bad when our CIA has been doing it for 50 years in other nations.

It’s the same with all our law enforcement: macho meathead hypocrites. Do as I say, not as I do — Stalinism 101. Power corrupts. That should be on our money and on our license plates! Step one is nanny cams on every one of them. No more qualified immunity for cops and no more absolute immunity for judges. You only give immunity to criminals, remember? Either a judge broke the law or they did not. That’s the metric we use in America.

And for heaven’s sake, you can’t keep having the police investigate themselves and then be prosecuted by fellow law enforcers and district attorneys. That’s why we have never weeded out all the bad cops. They investigate themselves. That’s unconstitutional! And we’ve seen that it only increases police misconduct!

The jury is in: This system is not just, and every day you keep doing this stuff, you turn the world against you. Is there not one adult in charge? Jaclyn Grimm

St. Louis: The White House has put a major damper on our intuitions to make other-worldly beings the culprit for worldly flying objects the U.S. shot down. “No indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters amid chuckles. A Chinese spy balloon in South Carolina and some UFOs in Michigan, Canada and Alaska. We don’t yet know what they were doing or what they mean, but we would’ve liked to think they’d be flown by green guys with big eyes. We wanted scales and antennae, not surveillance equipment and unknown debris — the White House and reality are banes to our imagination. G.F. Fuller

Colonia, N.J.: Here’s how to fix lawless cities: Bring back capital punishment — a life for a life; bring back stop-and-frisk, it works; reopen mental hospitals and institutions, they’re needed; Put criminals in prison and keep them there, no early release; build bigger jails and prisons; send repeat offenders who are arrested dozens of time to prison for a minimum of five years. They can’t be rehabilitated. Tom Nolan Sr.

Forest Hills: Once again, we are experiencing more shootings. There is only one real problem and one real solution. The problem is that the people who are against gun management vote. Those who are for any kind of gun management (not control) don’t. Stew Frimer

Delray Beach, Fla.: The recent train derailment in Ohio brings to mind many questions about how it was not handled properly. Of course, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg waited 10 days to address it. What is his problem? Can this guy do anything correctly? Our wonderful EPA said the famous words that were echoed more than 20 years ago after the collapse of the Twin Towers: Tests have shown that the air is safe to breathe. Are you kidding me? You have the audacity to say this once again after many responders are still suffering the effects of the 9/11 lies? That agency is a disgrace and only proves they constantly lie to the American people. Manny Agostini

Clearwater, Fla.: It is way too early to know what effect the toxic train derailment in Palestine, Ohio will have on human life. But if pets and wildlife are already getting sick and dying just days after the derailment, the outlook is definitely murky. It may take years for some of the effects to surface. All of those people who worked hard and invested their money in a home may lose everything. Instead of sending more money to aid Ukraine after already sending billions, let us help everyone displaced in Ohio, U.S.A. America first! JoAnn Lee Frank

Glen Oaks: It’s hard to get the truth out about the economic and health benefits of a gas transition when the gas industry runs an organized and well-funded greenwashing campaign (“You’ll still be cooking with gas, gov’s team insists at hearing,” Feb. 15). They’re deliberately scaring New Yorkers to support their own profits. Consumers pay for the gas infrastructure they’re so desperately trying to protect, and incur enormous utility debt from high fuel prices. This year, huge new federal subsidies will become available for electrifying homes to add to the federal and state assistance already available. The more electric appliances, heat pumps included, the cheaper they will get. The state needs a massive public information campaign to set the record straight that the All-Electric Building Act and the transition from gas use will result in lower energy costs. The bigger Gov. Hochul’s commitment to expediting cheap offshore wind to power New York City, the better. Kanwaldeep K. Sekhon

Bayside: Another dead whale washing up in New Jersey, another day of promoting wind power by Gov. Phil Murphy and Gov. Hochul, two clueless leaders. How these idiots get elected is beyond me. They sell their souls to big corporations for donations and don’t give a damn about the environment. Vote out the idiots. We need leaders, not professional politicians that never worked a day in their lives. Timothy Collins

Manhattan: To Voicer Jen Lynch, who claims the chancellor of the Department of Education is always a former educator: Do the names Joel Klein and Cathie Black ring a bell? Nadine Lubka

Kearny, N.J.: Recently, I saw an interview with Mike Pence. He refuses to hold Donald Trump responsible for his behavior and says the Trump-Pence regime was good for the American people! This is a man who, like an ostrich, has his head buried in the sand. Sickening. Joseph F. Catrambone

Park Ridge, N.J.: While Hollywood seems to be willing to take a chance on just about anything in the news to make a movie, I don’t think one about George Santos will ever happen. I don’t think there would be enough interest — most people just want him to go away. And with his mastery of manipulation and talent for twisting the truth, it might be, in a way, too similar to another picture, not in the storyline but simply in its title. I mean, with his great ability to be untruthful, what else could they call it but “The Lying King”? Steve Ostlund

Manhattan: Once again, there are calls for George Santos to resign. He will not willingly resign and for good reason: While he’s sitting around his congressional office, he is earning $174,000 a year. That’s likely more money than he’s ever earned absent fraud. He also gets a taxpayer-funded budget of more than $1.3 million to pay salaries for staff, travel and miscellaneous expenses. Currently, he’s not actively involved in any committee work, and a local NYC paper reported that his staff has locked the front door of his local Queens office, so he’s not doing much work on constituent services. So no, Santos won’t resign. He’s got a cushy job. There are several investigations being conducted which may lead to indictments, but the wheels of justice turn slowly. In the meantime, he’s not going anywhere. We should probably just get used to him. Ilene Shifrin

Whitestone: No matter what your religion or God you believe in, live your life like you want to be treated. Don’t have hate in your mind or heart and you will always be special to God. He has your back. Bless you all. Sally DeFelice