Peaceful protest is still a sacred right

Manhattan: Sometimes I think the Daily News intentionally tries to rile things up. You published an op-ed that can only be described as delusional. Author Stan Steinreich (“Will Netanyahu’s visit be Mamdani’s Jan. 6?” Aug. 4) begins his attempt to sow discord by lying about Mayor Mamdani. Although the mayor has repeatedly stated that he won’t attempt to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu when he comes to NYC, Steinreich makes it appear as if Mamdani’s still calling for it. He intentionally distorts the call for peaceful protests against Netanyahu by saying the mayor has called for “civil unrest.”

Steinreich then throws gas on the fire he ignited by equating a call for peaceful protest with the attempted insurrection by right-wing zealots on Jan. 6, 2021. Finally, he slanders the leaders of a protest that is yet to happen by inferring that the leaders of the potential protest are irresponsible people.

As a frequent contributor to Voice of the People, I’m appreciative of The News for publishing opinions on all sides of an issue. However, this opinion is wrong on the facts, an unwarranted attack on the mayor and a thinly veiled attempt to sow discord in the streets. Comparing Mamdani’s call for peaceful protests with President Trump’s call for his supporters to storm the Capitol is disingenuous at best and deliberately provocative. The News is irresponsible when it publishes junk like that.

Steven Fromewick

Nuclear blessing

Staten Island: Since the start of the war in Iran by Trump five months ago, his main issue was they can’t have a nuclear weapon. Last month, while negotiating a treaty with Saudi Arabia, he said it can have limited nuclear weapons! First he accepted a jet from Qatar, then Saudi Arabia can have nuclear weapons. Did he forget who supplied money to Osama Bin Laden who attacked us on 9/11? Wasn’t Trump in New York when it happened? This hits me personally because my brother, Rescue 5 firefighter Allan Tarasiewicz, was killed that day saving people when the North Tower fell on him, all because of Bin Laden and money from Saudi Arabia. Have people already forgotten 25 years ago? Especially Republicans and Trump! I haven’t, and will never forget.

Mark Tarasiewicz

Big secrets

Bronx: Whatever Trump is fiercely hiding from public view in the Epstein files must be really terrible. The yellow occupier/destroyer of the White House doesn’t usually care about hiding from public scrutiny his wrongdoings or his enrichment because he knows that his fellow MAGAs in Congress and the Supreme Court will lie and tie the Constitution up in knots for him. To hide the Epstein papers and diaries, Trump has been willing to make war with Iran, risking many lives, our economy, our arms supply and the consequences of the next election for his fellow MAGAs in government. His friendship with Jeffrey Epstein must’ve really been something to hide, especially with November only three months away and his power maybe coming to an end.

Rose Mary Lancaster

Questionable character

Edgewater, N.J.: Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno recently wrote about his former son-in-law, a U.S. representative from Ohio, “If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them. He should not serve in the House of Representatives.” Obviously, the senator sees himself possessing the required character (despite his outrageously profane language in the hallowed halls of Congress during his GOP’s shameful assault on Anthony Fauci last week). Yet, to sustain that, shouldn’t he issue similar alarm about our deceitful president, already convicted of fraud and found liable for sexual abuse?

Jay K. Egelberg

Red Scare redux

Flanders, L.I.: The communists are coming! The clarion call from Ted Cruz/Thom Tillis, resurrecting the Red Scare before the midterms. But the commies have been championed before the likes of Mamdani or Abdul El-Sayed arrived — by the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Trump literally rolled out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin. In 2018, he revealed that he and Kim Jong Un, communist dictator of North Korea, “fell in love.” Clearly, a modern-day Sen. Joe McCarthy would have a field day with our president. If tacit support of these dictators isn’t enough to show which side of the “red menace” philosophy our administration caters to, let’s look back at JD Vance’s attempt to bolster Hungary’s Viktor Orban’s failed election bid, a man credited with championing “illiberal democracy.” The real communists are getting all the support Trump can give them. Vote carefully, while you still can.

Charlie Benkov

High-tech tool

Manhattan: Artificial intelligence is an amazing thing. I edit photos with it all the time. I add hair and makeup to selfies, diamond coats to shirts. It’s an amazing tool to change something in any photo or video. I use Meta, Google Gemini, Grok and ChatGPT. My favorite is Grok. You can create the best images.

Eva Julietta Tortora

Stick it to ’em

Brooklyn: Thank God that somebody from the City Council’s office decided to bring back the neon green stickers to place on cars that don’t move for our streets to be cleaned. Car owners, wake up and smell the coffee. You will be ticketed and the neon green sticker will be placed on your car window. Shame on you!

Charlie Pisano

Pay them their worth

Manhattan: New York depends on EMTs and paramedics to respond to cardiac arrests, overdoses, strokes, respiratory distress, trauma and other life-threatening emergencies. Yet, they’re paid wages that make it difficult to remain in jobs the city depends on. As a former executive director of New York City EMS, I know that low pay affects more than morale. It drives attrition, vacancies, overtime and instability. That directly affects ambulance availability and response times. The latest official FDNY data show that end-to-end ambulance response time to life-threatening medical emergencies reached 12 minutes and 5 seconds in the first four months of FY2026, up from 11 minutes and 21 seconds the prior year. During the same period, ambulance in-service hours fell by 390 hours per day — the equivalent of about 16 fewer 24-hour ambulances citywide. The city must stabilize EMS through pay parity and expand staffing in proportion to workload.

James T. Kerr

Far too young

Hallandale Beach, Fla.: Sad news from the online community. TikTok creator Sydney Towle has passed away at 26 after a long health journey. Her courage and positivity inspired many people around the world. Sending love and condolences to her family, friends and everyone whose life she touched.

Paul Bacon

Invasion of privacy

Brooklyn: Optimum just came out with new rules for subscribers. The company must be allowed to access any equipment that’s using the internet, including computers. This is a major violation of my privacy. For the government to do this, they’d need a search warrant. But if you use Optimum, they won’t need one. Do you want them going through all your data and equipment? I don’t.

Greg Ahl