Why Elijah Cummings mattered

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Peters Township, Pa.: Decent, honorable, dedicated, hard-working, patriotic, passionate and compassionate, a man of the people, a tireless and powerful fighter for the downtrodden and for those who have suffered discrimination, a statesman: these are the words that properly characterize the late Elijah Cummings, whose sudden and untimely passing has shocked and saddened those of us who believe in traditional American values.

Cummings could have used his prominent position to amass vast wealth and he could have lived a lavish lifestyle in a posh, gated community. He eschewed such trappings of power, instead choosing to live among his constituents in the inner city of his beloved Baltimore.

Cummings’ dogged pursuit of justice and his willingness to call out wrongdoing earned him the enmity of the president, a badge of honor. Let the nation come together for at least a brief moment to mourn the passing of a giant of the legislative branch, a man whose big shoes can never be filled.

Oren Spiegler

Irreplaceable

Monroe, N.J.: I mourn the passing of Rep. Elijah Cummings with such a heavy heart. I will miss the voice of his convictions; his passion for freedoms and equality for all. His close friendship with those who had opposing views were his testament to fairness and collegiality. His public speaking was energizing without insults, vulgarities and exaggerations. Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer people who stand for their convictions, and more and more who speak to their own electoral possibilities. We lost a moral compass who guided us to stand for our true American values.

Katherine A. Moloney

She/He/Ze/They

Highland, NY.: Oct. 16 was International Pronouns Day, a day meant to educate and inform on the importance of respecting preferred pronouns. It holds great relevance here in New York given the recent bravery of Emilia Decaudin, the State Democratic Committee’s youngest and openly transgender member, for bringing a measure to the floor that is inclusive to those within the trans and nonbinary community who may wish to become involved in local and state politics. The passing of this measure also gives reason to applaud the committee, but I want to give special recognition to Denis Slattery’s reporting and proper use of

Decaudin’s pronouns. Reporters play an important role in challenging the social systems currently in place and make us, the readers, better equipped to properly communicate with our nonbinary and trans neighbors, friends and loved ones.

Amanda Michelle Gordon

True America

Ridgewood: Re “Ferry ripped after barring Muslim fams” (Oct. 17): The city owes them an apology. I have ridden the New York City ferries since I was a child, over 70 years ago. In that time, I have seen all manner of dress and heard many different languages and accents. The unbridled fear of the ferry workers probably will cost the city thousands of dollars. It is our differences that make Americans one, not our similarities.

Peter J. Peirano

Bad dudes

Rockaway Park: This article is not only disturbing, it is just outrageous (“Midtown mob bash,” Oct. 16). Thank goodness John Sullivan survived with only bruises. It is outrageous that all nine of these low-life, sick bullies had nothing else to do with their time. Clearly, their goal was to hurt an innocent person for no other reason than that is who they are and all the while they are dancing and making sounds. It is so disturbing to even think that there are such sick and demented people that have nothing else to do but cause harm on other decent people. I pray that they are all caught, go to jail and stay there for a long, long time because that is where each and every one of them belong. They do not belong on the streets or with society. God bless you, Mr. Sullivan.

Connie Scalice

A mess

Manhattan: With all the fuss about Trump trying to use Ukraine to get dirt on an opponent, why is no one pointing out that, in the process, he was selling out 42 million people to live under Putin? Richard Helfer

Words of warning

Brooklyn: While your Oct. 17 story, “Rudy pals aided by Jewish bigs,” is a legitimate news item, we strenuously object to the headline. By lumping these far right Orthodox groups under the banner “Jewish” in your header, the article becomes food for furthering antiSemitism. The groups in your article were far-right-wing activists who do not represent in any way mainstream Jews. Please be careful. In this era of growing anti-Semitism, many people will latch onto headlines such as this without even reading your story to say, “Oh, of course, it’s the Jews again.”

Rita and Ed Cheney

Money bags

Brooklyn: It’s time for the GOP to follow the money trail. Trump has never done anything that didn’t derive profit for his empire. It’s obvious that Trump gave Turkey free rein to massacre the Kurds by conveniently moving American troops out of the way. How much was the payoff? Also he obviously has booked the G7 summit at his own Trump National Doral golf club because by the time that comes up, he will no longer be the president he has pretended to be. Clare Butts

Lunatic-in-Chief

Rockaway Beach: At times, they had to keep King George III in a straitjacket. In governing, facts must be faced and acted upon, regardless of party affiliation, for the good of the people.

Maureen McNelis

Crash course

Norwalk, Conn.: Dear Voicer Jonathan Mix: Sadly they don’t give civics classes anymore. The people vote for their representatives. The representatives are empowered

AP to raise impeachment — as the Constitution states. They examine the evidence, decide whether its compelling enough to take to trial, and then act as the prosecution, with the Senate as the jury. No elected official is above the law — especially not the president.

Stefanie Pont

A critique

Belle Harbor: Dennis Young gives a well-reasoned and presented take on LeBron’s possible motives for his statements about Hong Kong, and gives an interesting analysis of them (“LeBron James’ only concern in China v. NBA is LeBron James,” Oct. 15). He couldn’t, however resist a snarky jab at the United States (and by implication, Trump’s policies). What he refers to as “illegal concentration camps” are neither illegal nor concentration camps: They are detention centers for people who are here illegally, and for which there would be no need if we had a secure border. The million Uighurs held in Chinese re-education camps are Chinese citizens who only wish to maintain their way of life. Someone as smart as Young thinks he is should know the difference. Bobby Nelsen