Finest dies after surgery<\/a>,\u201d Oct. 27). Neil S. Friedman<\/p>\nKilling at will<\/p>\n
Swarthmore, Pa.: The Trump administration, via a statement from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has announced that an additional 14 suspected drug smugglers have been killed, the latest batch in the Pacific. Trump and Hegseth now act in the capacity of judge, jury and executioner. Despite lacking even an iota of solid proof of wrongdoing, or any due diligence or legal process, they\u2019re meting out the most severe penalty possible. Of course, like much of what this president does, it\u2019s almost exclusively carried out as a performative act to demonstrate how strong and tough he is. The truth is that the most dangerous flow of illicit drugs into the U.S. is fentanyl manufactured in China and smuggled in through Mexico. These killings demonstrate that Trump has little regard for doing things rightfully or legally, even taking human life. It\u2019s time for the American people and the media to denounce this travesty of justice. Ken Derow<\/p>\n
Huckster\u2019s hideaway<\/p>\n
Edinburgh, Scotland: Who does Trump think is going to defend him in his upgraded paranoia bunker under the vulgar ballroom? Top military leaders have been purged or resigned (embarrassed by Hegseth or worried about orders they may be given?) as boats in international waters are bombed with no reason or purpose. Two U.S. aircraft have just been downed in the South China Sea. Military families are increasingly using food banks during the mad government shutdown. And if he\u2019s not considered just who might want to make the huge sacrifice of being in a confined space with the orange bloater, Trump could contemplate Hitler\u2019s bunker-under-ballroom scenario. How much good did it do him? Amanda Baker<\/p>\n
Space needed?<\/p>\n
Lords Valley, Pa.: Trump tore down part of the White House to put in a big ballroom. Did he buy new pants for the same reason? Leonard Stevenson<\/p>\n
Harm and concern<\/p>\n
Ashburn, Va.: Trump is refusing to negotiate over the current government shutdown, and the eventual chaos will alienate some. Who will be hurt, and does Trump care? 1) Federal workers and contractors, and no, he doesn\u2019t care. He\u2019s firing them anyway. 2) Those relying on federal aid, and no \u2014 Trump figures they\u2019re mostly Democrats anyway. 3) Small community airports and hospitals \u2014 yes and no: Trump is a bit concerned, but he figures rural voters will stick with him for cultural reasons like immigration and killing alleged drug smugglers. 4) White voters living paycheck to paycheck: same. 5) The military: He\u2019s concerned, but he hasn\u2019t yet figured out a way to keep their checks coming. 6) Those concerned about democracy. Trump sees no personal benefit in it. Sure, he\u2019s taking a risk, but he\u2019s a natural risk-taker. He\u2019s good with it, especially since he\u2019s rich and won\u2019t be adversely affected. Mike Barrett<\/p>\n
Divided opposition<\/p>\n
Jamaica: It is truly sad when Democrats agree with the Republicans about the shutdown, which is happening so that Republicans can extend the subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. You can\u2019t trust the Republicans because they are too busy giving up their authority to a person who only cares about himself, not We the People. Those Democrats who can\u2019t hold the line need to be voted out. They are not helping their constituents. God bless America! Charlene Black <\/p>\n
Term-limited<\/p>\n
Jamaica: Before we even start thinking about a third term, let us remember Earl C. Michener, Republican congressman from Michigan, who introduced the bill that eventually became the 22nd Amendment in 1951 to limit the president of the United States to serve only two four-year terms, all because President Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, was elected to a fourth term. A Republican made this a law! The precedent was set! Carol Grant<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t let just anyone install gas appliances Manhattan: For more than 60 years, New York City has required…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,24,55,54,264,56,299],"class_list":{"0":"post-21008","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","11":"tag-new-york-city-news","12":"tag-new-york-county","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-opinion"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}