Clouded thinking on marijuana
Christiana, Pa.: Legalization of recreational marijuana use is being advocated by lunatics or liars. That’s my conclusion as a former director of a residential ministry for drug and alcohol addicted men, who also headed up a special counseling project for a few years to a group of addicted men in Lancaster Prison. Practically to a man, the testimony was that they started on marijuana before moving onto years of harder drugs.
Anyone with experience knows this to be the case almost across the board in the drug scene. The public officials and so-called “experts” who are pushing for legalization of marijuana should be totally disqualified as being ignorant or dishonest. Talk of an “evolution” in thinking on the matter is more evidence of the moral decadence of America. There’s no solving the opioid epidemic when we refuse to deal with the root causes of addiction and allow unqualified people to make public policy and moral decisions about things they know little about. Frank Testa
Puff on this
Flushing: Thank you, Gov. Cuomo. Because of you, Amazon is coming to New York. Now we will all be able to get those $150,000-a-year jobs. Then we will be able to afford recreational marijuana. You didn’t say whether we would be able to smoke it in our $3,500-a-month apartment or if we must observe the no-smoking rules we now have. Evelyn Zorovich
Bargaining
Glendale: If the President is asking for $5.6 billion for his wall, I suggest the Democrats offer $560 million since we all know that once it’s finished the President will sue the contractors who build it and force them to settle for 10 cents on the dollar. John Scatturo
Build the wall
Bronx: I see no choice other than to build the wall. It won’t do much good, but Trump would love to shut the government down again and get the small government he wants, with no food stamps and so on. People would suffer. Give him what he wants. Then point out that people still sneak into the U.S.A. Sharan Porper
Take that, Super Bowl
Westwood, N.J.: As Feb. 15 approaches, I think I may have a solution for funding the border wall: Sell the individual sections to corporations and let them put their logos on them. One thousand panels at $5 million each and boom: 5 billion bucks! Forever advertising, for a mere $5 million; what a deal. I’m sure Target, Starbucks, etc. would be all in and buy a few in each state. Okay? Problem solved. Now, keep the damn government open! Anthony J. Cappiello
Look up
West Islip, L.I.: Pay attention, Republicans. We are so focused on what’s going on in Washington that nobody is watching the Democrats in Albany, who are committing bloody murders and trying to pass some other very, very scary bills. Carmel Harrigan
Opportunism knocks
Fort Lee: The sky is not falling, but fate is attacking — and the Catholic Church, with all its scandals, is easy prey for a vulture politician like Gov. Cuomo. The First Amendment was meant to protect religion against vulture politicians. Cuomo is playing to a segment of the population that hates the Catholic Church, not over scandals but the moral code they believe in. Now some people might think I am a pig for having such views, but you see, that is not possible, for I am kosher. Gary Schwartz
Amen
Hardwick, N.J.: Kudos to Voicers Robert M. Hoatspon, Mike Burns and Kevin Carroll for their comments about Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s regarding the scandal of the Roman Catholic Church. I couldn’t have said it better. Jean Hayes
Bad judge-ment
Staten Island: Judge Ruth Shillingford is a disgrace, pure and simple. She should not be a judge, period (“Cops rip judge,” Jan. 24). Detective Dalsh Veve was nearly killed in the line of duty by Justin Murrell. Veve has brain damage and is in a wheelchair. Murrell has 11 arrests as well as parole violations, yet Shillingford feels he should be treated like a child. Murrell will be out in less than four years, putting law enforcement officers and the public in harm’s way. Had the victim been a judge instead of a police officer, would Shillingford have been so lenient? I doubt it. Tom Lyons
Lead the way
South Amboy, N.J.: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is going to have to rein in her freshman fledglings. This is the United States Congress, not an audition for “America’s Got Talent,” or lack thereof! Barbara Bird
Remember the people
Yonkers: What we have in Congress since Trump became President is totally ridiculous: Democrats against Republicans, with Trump in the middle. Petty arguments with each other, and the American people be damned. As someone once said: “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” The job of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, is to serve the American people by working out their differences and coming to compromises. They’re not doing this. They’re too busy looking out for their own interests. Francisco Matos
Studying pays
Levittown, L.I.: Voicer Jamaal Bowman needs to check facts — like that Asian and Indian cultures have their children excel starting in preschool. They study, tutor and practice for exams and music, and earn excellent grades and opportunities. Black and Latino students have a chance at these grades if they apply the same principles. Academic performance is earned, not a given right. Education will increase opportunities. Darlene Antonick
Price of free
Glendale: I heard Tuesday morning that New York State has a budget deficit. With the free stuff such as tuition assistance for illegal aliens being handed out, this is no surprise. For all those who voted for the politicians who are implementing this agenda: Thanks a lot. When taxes go up (and they will), you have no one to blame but yourselves. Thomas Murawski
Let her speak
Nutley, N.J.: To Voicer Catherine Lo Curto: America is a country that gives every citizen the right to free speech. So for you to say Hillary Clinton should shut up is absurd. Oh, another thing: You wrote: “No one wanted you or believed in you.” Clinton received three million more votes than Donald Trump. Try to get the facts right, and try to be more charitable. Elaine Bucino
Keller error
Ridgefield, Conn.: The amount of misinformation printed in your paper is unbelievable. “Fake News” or sloppy reporting? After months and months of noticing such misinformation, I just had to write. Re “How The News Covered the News: Week of Jan. 28 – Feb 3”: Helen Keller was not born blind and deaf. At 19 months old, Keller contracted an unknown illness described by doctors as “an acute congestion of the stomach and the brain,” which might have been scarlet fever or meningitis. The illness left her both deaf and blind. I gather no one on your staff read Miss Keller’s autobiography or even watched the heartfelt movie “The Miracle Worker.” Give either one a go and learn about this magnificent woman who overcame such adversity in her life. Karen Pickering
