Readers sound off on polarization, Black WWII soldiers and the Bling Bishop

Aiken, S.C.: ’Tis the season to be jolly, as the song goes, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. We are a people divided.

But what is the reason for that? From my perspective as a former Marine and ex-law enforcement officer, it isn’t all about ideology, it’s about our values and playing by the rules our ancestors gave us in the U.S. Constitution. I went to Vietnam to prevent the communists from taking over the world. Their philosophy was to enslave mankind. As we progressed as a human race, we were faced with more despots that needed to be put down or we become their slaves.

Now we have the Democrats’ warped ideology under President Biden. Barack Obama promised to bring us together but did the opposite, pitting the rich against the poor and the haves against the have-nots. Then Biden comes along, not knowing his left from his right, leading the country down a path of destruction.

No longer are our laws being upheld or the people protected. The Democrats, by dint of dirty deeds, have dismantled what former President Trump accomplished that made life pretty good. We are left at the mercy of biased people in the FBI and Department of Justice who abuse their power. The news media has colluded with Democrats and promoted lie after lie with impunity. Our borders are open to disease and terrorists and our safety as a country is under attack.

The difference is obvious: The Democrats have become the despots who would enslave our people. They are the perpetrators of the divide and have to be stopped. Gregory J. Topliff

Staten Island: Nicole “Malfeasance” Malliotakis would have voted against allowing the MS St. Louis to offload her passengers while bemoaning the costs of entering WWII, appeasing Hitler. Disgraceful. Tom McGuire

Garwood, N.J.: On Wednesday evening, we heard Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy address the U.S. Congress. He described the evils of war and what his people have gone through in the past year. He also thanked the American people for our assistance and pleaded for aid to continue. As I started my Thursday, what was the priority of the national and local media? The damn weather! The alarmist weather folks, as usual, were preaching gloom and doom for the next two to three days. Poor Americans might have travel delays and may be late or may not make it to their destination for Christmas. Oh boo-hoo! John Deichmeister

Manhattan: To Voicer Al Musaffi: The Jewish community did participate in the civil rights movement as all Americans should have, but many did not and opposed civil rights for American descendants of U.S. chattel slavery. However, Musaffi and others seem to conveniently forget that legally oppressed ADOS volunteered to join the military in WWII, fighting for the freedom of the Jewish people and to defeat Hitler. ADOS were being legally oppressed by Jim Crow laws as they fought for the freedom of other people. One of those men was my late uncle, who choked back tears when he recalled his time in the U.S. Army and the racism he faced once he returned. He eventually found a job, but he also learned that German POWs had more rights than he did and newly arrived refugees were afforded opportunities that were legally denied to him and ADOS. We can never forget that either. Heyward Johnson Jr.

Delray Beach, Fla.: So the recent release of Mutulu Shakur comes as no great surprise because lately, all the cop killers from decades ago are now free. In this case, they cite his medical condition and say he is no threat to the outside world. But what do you say to the families who lost their loved ones, who never saw the children grow up, missing everything in their lives? You let these animals out of prison because they did their time — their time is to die in prison. You helped murder police officers. This is what you get. I am sure if it were the parole commission members who lost a loved one to murder, it would be a different story. Manny Agostini

Wappingers Falls, N.Y.: I read with great interest the story about this lowlife “Bling Bishop” being busted for extortion, fraud and lying to the FBI. I am not surprised by this, as I have been saying that he is nothing but a crook ever since the story of him being robbed at gunpoint in his church was published months ago. Forgive me, but you can’t tell me that a man of the cloth can obtain such wealth by being totally honest. I was always led to believe and understand that when you became a man of the cloth, you took a vow of poverty. You vowed to help others who were much less fortunate and in need, as Jesus did. I guess Bishop Lamor Whitehead felt that even with his millions, he was much more in need. Stan Siekierski Sr.

Brooklyn: To Voicer Dennis Middlebrooks: Why begrudge the players for getting what the owners are willing to pay? If your employer wanted to triple your salary, would you turn it down because other people are living in poverty? If Mickey Mantle were still playing, do you think he’d turn down $40 million a year and instead be happy with his $100,000 contract? Times change. Stop living in the past. Carol Katz

Glendale: Voicers such as Martin Warren send letters from time to time with their silly comments asking why the Jets and Giants are not called the Hackensack Jets and Giants. First, Martin, I believe both teams are (or were initially) incorporated in New York City. Second, many teams play in a different city than what they are named for. They are named for the major city in that area. If not, the Arlington Cowboys would play the Landover Commanders, then play the Orchard Park Bills. In addition, Martin, the Commanders are looking to get a new stadium in the next few years — would you want them to then change back to the Washington Commanders, or whatever suburb of D.C. they build in? Thomas Murawski

North Babylon, L.I.: The state Climate Action Council’s plan is an exciting step toward the new clean-energy New York the law mandates and that we must achieve for climate justice, improved health and to successfully battle the climate crisis (“State council votes to go big on green,” Dec. 20). But the council was swayed by its three profit-oriented fossil fuel industry members to delay the requirement for all-electric construction from 2024 to 2025. That’s a full year of additional gas hookups. All ratepayers will bear the cost of this additional fossil fuel infrastructure. The state legislature and Gov. Hochul must codify the 2024 deadline and prevent the weakening of our nation-leading climate policy. Alexa Marinos

Redondo Beach, Calif.: I wish my tax preparer would allow me to submit my tax return using the same thinly supported standard for deductions as the ex-president. John Chevedden

Scarsdale, N.Y.: We in New York knew all along that Donald Trump was a publicity-seeking three-card Monte huckster, so this is finally getting through to the rest of the United States. I would tell his avid voting constituents that he has got the cards moving fast, so watch your wallets. Harvey Wielstien

Nyack, N.Y.: I have always been suspicious of Trump’s admiration of Vladimir Putin, the Russian strongman. I never understood his love of beauty pageants. I was forever bewildered by his need to be surrounded by huge golden knobs. Have you seen the collection of NFTs yet? The gayest thing I have ever seen. “Like a man wearing assless chaps sitting in an Eames chair,” as the saying goes. Even being Roy Cohn’s bit on the side pales in comparison. Welcome to the rainbow, Mr. President! Stephen Boyle