A harmful insult to 9/11 victims

Manhattan: Your Dec. 27 editorial “Stop stalling on WTC sick” was spot-on. The failure of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) and the U.S. Department of Labor to properly protect victims and survivors of Sept. 11 is negligent and irresponsible. Ever since my law client NYPD Detective James Zadroga died in 2006 and his autopsy revealed his lungs were coated in carcinogens such as asbestos, ground glass and jet fuel, we have known that exposure to the toxins after 9/11 was deadly. The city and the federal government encouraged people to live, work and shop in lower Manhattan after 9/11 as a show of strength and resolve, even offering monetary incentives to live in the toxic area. Many of these people are now getting sick.

After falsely proclaiming the air safe, the federal government finally admitted that was wrong and created a presumption, through the Victim Compensation Fund, that certain illnesses were linked to time spent in lower Manhattan. Now the entire federal government, and NYCERS, must get on the same page and treat sickened workers the way it treats other victims when it comes to their pensions.

I actually had one NYCERS client whose doctor interrogated him and insinuated he was faking his illness. This is no way to treat 9/11 survivors. We asked them to stand up for us in our country’s time of need. Now it is time for the federal government, as well as NYCERS, to stand up for them. Michael Barasch

They lost

Bronx: Nine years ago, the market crashed and millions of American lost their life savings. Not a single Wall Street CEO was arrested. No surprise, because Congress has the privileged and shady practice of insider trading. If they want to crack down on these crooks, the questionable money they made on this scheme would have to be returned. Trillions were lost in homes, savings and jobs, and little was recovered.

Damian Del Allante

White picket

Bellerose: Hey, whitey, instead of always whining about whether your white lives matter or not, why don’t you just grow yourself a pair and start marching with a White Lives Matter sign?

John Calcarterra

With friends like these

Suffern, N.Y.: Linda Stasi condemns sexual harassment and misogyny, then champions #BlackLivesMatter, a terrorist group allied with radical Islam (“Can a hashtag help #UsToo?” Dec. 17). She champions #ArabSpring, which has spread Islamist women-destroying tyranny. She praises Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who praised radical Islamist and sharia law advocate Linda Sarsour. I want to know how this sickening hypocrite can stand herself. Wallington Simpson

Kristaps, limp away

Brooklyn: Being a die-hard Knick fan, I am sick and tired of Kristaps Porzingis, age 22, getting hurt and not playing. He should look at videos of Willis Reed and Patrick Ewing playing with bandaged knees, broken fingers, etc. Trade him now, while he is still young and of value. Billy Somma

In praise of McAdoo

Manasquan, N.J.: I’m not a football know-it-all, but as an interested follower of the game and fan of the Giants, letting go of Ben McAdoo was just wrong. He looked like he cared, was engaged and was into what he wanted to do. He had that aura of a coach who knew what he wanted to accomplish. Can you really blame this all on him? If anything, they should get rid of preseason football. What a waste. Who cares? Who watches it? Joe Guaimano

Ads out

Howard Beach: I so much agree with Voicer Roscoe Berreta concerning advertising inserts in the Daily News. I, too, find it very annoying picking up these inserts when they fall out. Keep advertising on the pages. No more inserts, please. Jane Flowers

Workingman’s blues

Mount Vernon, N.Y.: There is no reason why low-income, minimum-wage minorities should work under 1840s or 1930s working conditions in the 21st century. They spend hours on the subways and buses round trip, work long hours, six days a week, and often aren’t paid overtime pay. When they get sick, hours are spent in emergency rooms because these workers have no health insurance. The governor, attorney general, senators and members of Congress have to stop these immoral conditions by working with President Trump to protect his “working people.” Charles Roda

Don’t forget the little guy

Mount Sinai, L.I.: Now that the Republican Donor Tax Relief Act has passed, when will the Middle Class Tax Relief Act get some support? Karl Bean

Life after the White House

Long Beach, L.I.: Everybody who can sell a story about their life experience has done so. Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, movie stars. Good luck, Omarosa.

Carol Michelman

Morning’s not the same

Brooklyn: We the people would love to know what happened to Greg Kelly. He and Rosanna used to be the best drinking team in the a.m. Lesha I. Daniels

What a woman wants

Bronx: The saying goes: “When men dress, they dress for themselves. When women dress, they dress for men.” As another saying goes: “She who has the most, shows the most, is the one who gets the most.” Notice if you will that there is not one poor man among those accused of sexual harassment or unwanted attention. Why? They don’t have the millions that these bimbos are seeking. Simply put, they are nothing more than gold diggers.

Robert Adams

Hero vs. zero

Fort Lee, N.J.: Comparing Harvey Weinstein to Christopher Columbus is, in a word, obscene (“Treat Columbus like Weinstein,” Op-Ed, Dec. 15). I mean, who was Weinstein besides being a lowlife predator, a moviemaker. Who was Christopher Columbus? A man of vision and guts. It took a lot to sail across the ocean in 1492. The chance of coming back alive was not good. Indeed, Columbus opened up a new world that led to a new way of thinking. For that alone, he should be honored.

Gary Schwartz

Beyond and back

Brooklyn: So now President Trump wants us to go to the moon and then Mars. We’re all for that, as long as he is on the first flight to Mars. It scares us that the Martians might send him back here, because he would be an illegal alien. God help us all.

Jim and Mary Nelson Brooklyn: Donald Trump is doing a Robin Hood in the opposite direction. Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Trump steals from the poor and gives to the rich. Arthur Mazlin

Predator and prey

Smithtown, L.I.: Here’s the difference between Donald Trump and Roy Moore. Trump goes for cats. Moore goes for kittens. Mary Esposito

Puppet show

Bronx: Donald Trump and White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders remind me of the old ventriloquist comedy act of Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. Every time Trump opens his mouth to say or tweet something, Sanders comes behind him to say what Trump really said or what Trump meant to say. Question: Which one is the ventriloquist and which one is the dummy? Lawrence A. Brown

Wrong guys

Albany: It seems as though treason is afoot, when some in our democracy constantly praise an enemy. Bill Collins

Unhappy returns

Hazlet, N.J.: Why don’t they do to Trump what they did to Capone and get him on his taxes?

Don DeMartino

Let it be

Hardwick, N.J.: Re Timothy Cardinal Dolan’s remarks regarding the Pope’s changing of “The Lord’s Prayer”: I think he should read the Bible again (“Dolan: Word to the Pope,” Dec. 10). Jesus’ words stand, they do not need him or any man changing them. Also, to call the Pope (a man) the holy father is an abomination. There’s one and only one Holy Father, and that is God Almighty. Jean Hayes

Road to recovery

SUSAN WATTS Manhattan: The way for drug overdoses to cease is for people in pain to recover their senses, and embrace nature, loved ones, pets and the miracle of life, and not drug dealers, pill pushers, escape and BS artists. Michael Fandal