Carmelo belongs on the Coast
Beachwood, N.J.: As a decadeslong Knicks fan, I’m rooting for Carmelo Anthony to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers (“Melo on the market,” June 23). Melo’s move to opt for free agency indicates he is either not interested in staying in New York or using other teams’ interest to hike his already outrageous salary. The New York championship teams of the 1970s put their egos aside. Superstars like Walt (Clyde) Frazier and Earl (The Pearl) Monroe were perfectly willing to reduce their shots and increase their assists for the overall good of the team. Bill Bradley’s movement without the ball, Dave DeBusschere’s rebounding and Willis Reed’s heroics during his injury were all examples of the kind of unselfishness evidenced by Chicago’s Joakim Noah. Anthony absolutely would not fit into the Bulls’ team defensive scheme. He would, however, be right at home in L.A., where superstars are idolized for their star quality rather than their ability. It would be fascinating to see how well he and Kobe Bryant could share the ball. Helen E. Fitzsimmons
Pocket protectors
Far Rockaway: Your editorial asking whether populist politics or economics and the law will determine if rents increase (“The rent is due,” June 23) makes crystal-clear whose interests the Daily News represents. If economics determines whether rents go up, how does the lack of raises for workers factor into the equation — which it certainly must? If you think the dollar raise that you called for in your campaign for airport workers will cover it, you’re not living in the real world. The News has become a mouthpiece for the rich and powerful in New York City, but I rarely see them buying your paper.
Chris Pettaway
Left vs. left
College Point: It is always fun to watch two progressives fall out (“An unholy alliance,” Op-Ed, June 22). Wayne Barrett condemns Mayor de Blasio for siding with the teachers union against charter schools. Barrett is wrong on two counts. One: The first objective of any true progressive is to increase the power of the state. A minor consideration such as education is unimportant in the grand scheme. Two: While charter schools are a good stopgap, they can never overcome the fact that they are run by the government. A voucher system would allow parents to decide which schools and teachers pass or fail. Robert Joyce
Poor little rich girl
Brooklyn: I never realized how broke Hillary and Bill were when they left the White House — dead broke, according to her (“Hil: A few mil for me & Bill ain’t ‘well off,’ ” June 23). Poor Chelsea was only a young girl. Why didn’t they apply for food stamps or other types of public assistance? I guess it was just pride. Glad to see they are doing a little better now.
Emma Stellabotte
Bill’s bull
Brooklyn: I find Bill Maher’s comments really sad on many levels (“Real slime with Maher,” June 19). Working horses are bred for the jobs they do, both in stature and temperament. More than 34,000 people so far have signed the Daily News’ petition and agree NYC should be proud of these magnificent horses.
Alison Clarke Southeast Regional Director New York State Horse Council
Chill, Bill
Bayside: Voicer Scott Daly reads the quotes from Bill Maher and asks where he was wrong. Let me count the ways: Only three people died in the Boston Marathon attack, so Maher sees that as nothing more than a car accident. And he says steering planes into buildings was not cowardly, as if the terrorists would have merited a ticker-tape parade if they had survived. Words of wisdom from a no-talent comic. Jack Cohen
Swan song
Bay Shore, L.I.: If the state Department of Environmental Conservation wants to eradicate mute swans because they are not native to New York, will they also eradicate horses, which also are not native? They could order all horses shipped back to Spain. At least that would end the carriagehorse debate. Linda Garramone
Kimsanity
Kew Gardens: I totally agree with Voicer Lorraine Brennan. Kim Kardashian is as far from a saint as you can possibly get. How can the Daily News even print such trash? Barbara Miller
What the doctor ordered
Bronx: I read the article about Dr. Oz (“Doc’s crock,” June 18) and want to set the record straight. Garcinia cambogia does work! I used pure garcinia cambogia last year and lost 9 pounds in less than two weeks. I didn’t like your headline. It was very demeaning.
Carol Thompson
A preventable tragedy
Brooklyn: The tragic murder of Timothy Crump and the resulting consequences for the young boy Noel Estevez were completely avoidable. If someone in the Bronx school they attended had noticed and taken action, none of this would have happened. Fourteen-year-old Noel and his mother reported the constant bullying and were ignored. He stayed home for three months, trying to avoid constant beatings. How could this go unnoticed by school authorities? Now, one boy is being buried and another charged as an adult for murder.
Elissa Maldonado
Sense before fence
Bronx: I have lived in the Bronx all my life, and, as far back as I can remember, kids and adults have drowned in the Bronx River (“Teen dies after kin rescue try,” June 23). Do you really think that putting a fence around the river will stop people from jumping in for a swim? The only thing that will stop them is a little common sense. Cindi C. Williams
Offense taken
Brooklyn: So, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has canceled the federal trademark of the Washington Redskins. Here are a few more suggestions to cancel: 1) The trademark of the Los Angeles Angels. I’m surprised the atheists haven’t created an uproar over this. 2) The trademark of the New York Yankees. I’m surprised Southerners haven’t created an uproar over this. 3) The trademark for Cracker Jack. I’m surprised white people haven’t created an uproar over this. These three examples I gave will never happen. I just wanted to point out how ridiculously thin-skinned this country is becoming.
Peter Reinert
Corps values
Staten Island: A young man who would go on to give his life for his country wasn’t allowed to wear wear his Marine Corps uniform at his high-school graduation (“Proud of uniform,” June 22)? What the hell is going on in America? Politically correct is another term for totally ignorant.
Lee Heydolph
Witch hunting
Flushing: While I am no fan of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and his anti-labor policies, the Obama administration’s selective targeting of him is part of a disturbing trend (“GOP star named in $ scandal,” June 20). It comes on the heels of the arrest of NYC’s only Republican congressman, the toppling of the city’s GOP leaders for an alleged scheme with a state senator and the prosecution of the right wing’s answer to Michael Moore, antiObama filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza. Couple this with the IRS targeting conservative groups and the NSA’s mining of data, and you have a witches’ brew that only Sen. Joe McCarthy could be comfortable with. Sean Choi
Tale of the tape
Beachwood, N.J.: I finally feel like the whole country is not crazy after reading Voicer Gilbert M. Lane’s comparison of Obama vs. Bush. President Obama accomplished all of that while having to fight Congress and the haters every step of the way. Thank you, Mr. Lane, for some interesting statistics. Linda A. Jones
U.S. against them
Bayonne: Isolationists sure love their lifestyle without giving much thought as to how it’s maintained. Those desert rats running around the Middle East with black rags on their faces want to kill you and your babies. And they wanted to do that long before either of the Bushes was President, because they hate Israel and connect it to us. Who’s going to defend you, Canada?
Anthony Esposito
An imperfect union
Fair Lawn, N.J.: Many right-wing people and politicians say we have lost respect as a nation because of President Obama and his policies. No, the reason we lose respect is right-wing policies that allow people to carry guns anytime and anywhere they wish. Denying people affordable health care. Unequal justice for the poor and minorities. And executions. No country is perfect, and it’s time that superpatriots realize the U.S.A. is not perfect, either.
Barry Rudd