This is not what the Founders wanted

FWhen our forefathers wrote the Constitution, they never anticipated political parties. Their idea was that states would elect representatives from a group of qualified individuals who would reflect the concerns of their state and the federal government. They thought that a room full of intelligent people could solve any problem. They did not anticipate hundreds of new laws as their Constitution limited the size and scope of the federal government. As a matter of fact, they considered the job of a senator or representative to be part time.

That dream ended within a few years, as groups of men created political parties. Now we no longer have individual thought, because political parties represent group thought. With elections come thousands of jobs. The giving out of these jobs makes the party leaders very powerful and so the first interest of the party is to win elections. The main problem for the people is that the parties are more interested in the parties than the problems of the people.

Our forefathers are turning over in their graves.

Fear this president

Scarborough, N.Y.: The Trump administration’s failed attempts to dump illegal aliens on the streets of sanctuary cities seals it: Donald Trump is not the president of the United States of America. He is the president of only his base — a minority group that is enthralled with his policies motivated by hate, fear and anger. If he is re-elected, dark days are ahead.

C’mon, Chuck

Brooklyn: I can’t believe that Silent Chuck Schumer has let three freshmen in Congress speak for the whole Democratic Party. This is also the first time I haven’t heard or seen Schumer in the papers or on the news in over one week. How can a supposed leader of the Democratic Party keep quiet, especially in this town? Just because you got re-elected, and probably will not run again, doesn’t mean you can slack off, Charlie. It’s sad to see you go from a moderate Democrat, who was fair and reasonable, to this.

Do no harm

Manhattan: George Gresham and Kenneth Raske are right to say emissions from large buildings must be urgently addressed as climate change worsens (“Hospitals in the Council’s crosshairs,” Op-Ed, April 9). They are wrong to say hospitals should get a pass in meeting the aggressive goals that the City Council wants to mandate. The fragile health care institutions they advocate for will be made only more fragile in the wake of major storms, heat waves and increased tropical infections. It is important that our hospitals lead the way in cutting waste and conserving energy. Raske is a powerful lobbyist for the hospital industry, and of course hospitals don’t want to be bothered to make improvements that no one will see, but they need to.

Unnatural gas

Brooklyn: Natural gas is not “abundant, affordable, safe and clean” (“New York needs natural gas, Gov. Cuomo,” Op-Ed, April 10). Leaked methane is 86 times as powerful a greenhouse gas in the short term as carbon dioxide. Scientists now know that methane leaks all the time — and as much as 11%. When as little as 3.2% leaks, it’s as bad for the climate as burning coal. And building — not blocking — the pipeline is what would raise electricity rates. National Grid will pass the costs of the $1 billion pipeline along to ratepayers while extracting profits.

Train in vain

Bronx: Here’s a scam the MTA runs that leads to turnstile jumping: If the MetroCard machines are not taking bills, which is more than 50% of the time, the booth has a minimum $5.50 price. Therefore, you cannot purchase a one-way ride. This is criminal. It’s bad enough the trains get worse every day and, thanks to the mayor, Mr. Do-Nothing, we are accosted by more and more mentally ill people every day. Enough already.

First things first

Bronx: As a 62-year-old African-American man, I agree with Voicer Ora Reed. Perhaps a truth and reconciliation committee is needed before any type of reparations are implemented. The committee can discuss the terrible social, economic and psychological legacy of slavery. The public, including African Americans themselves, need to be further enlightened and educated in this regard. I recount the horror stories told to me by one set of greatgrandparents whose parents where slaves. Things too horrible for the public to grasp. Unhealed trauma carried down through the generations. Finally, what good are reparations unless the entrenched institutionalized racism is eliminated first?

In the line of fire

Central Islip, L.I.: We all know that the “Between the Lines” comic strip stinks. I have even offered to do a better strip! But on April 12, they went too far. Everyone knows what “OMFG” and “WTF” mean. This is inappropriate for any comic strip and the cartoonist and idiot who approved it should be fired!

Over the line

Brooklyn: What is going on? I read “Between the Lines” on April 12. Enough is enough! Can we please get back to clean fun? There is no place for this type of humor in a family newspaper. Please don’t make me stop buying/ reading the best paper around.

Blame where due

Bronx: To Voicer Colleen Passafiume: What are you talking about? The senior female officer showed up after the fact. Eric Garner was already on the ground handcuffed. She couldn’t have seen the non-lethal takedown. EMS was on the scene, which is more qualified than she is in medical treatment. The female supervisor did nothing wrong.

Facts are facts

Manhattan: Errol Louis quotes Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza as saying the SHSAT “has not been certified” nor “verified”, and is “neither valid nor reliable…” (“No excuse for segregation,” column, April 11). But the SHSAT has been “validated” by Metis Associates in 2013 and a Hunter College researcher in 2017.

Shot of love

Flushing: Mayor de Blasio is doing the right thing by cracking down on unvaccinated children in New York. It made me furious to watch the young Hasidic mother on

ISTOCK TV last week defending her right not to vaccinate her children. I am also Orthodox (Modern), and thank G-d we have vaccines. I can remember when I was a child in Chicago, our house was quarantined because my sister had caught some “catchy” illness (I don’t remember what it was called) through no fault of my parents. We never dreamed of protesting that. While I believe in freedom of choice, I would never choose to do something that might hurt others, especially without checking out that it was really beneficial. Does she realize that these crazy unfounded ideas are hurting her fellow Jews by also promoting anti-Semitism? Years ago, they said Jews brought the bubonic plague, which was not true, but this calamity is true and could definitely have been prevented.

Ban the ads

Manhattan: I’d wager that an examination of the profit and loss statements from the major drug companies would reveal that their biggest expense is not research and development but is TV advertising. Seniors often go to a doctor asking for a drug they saw (constantly) advertised on TV. We should go back to the days when those ads were prohibited and it was the doctor who made that decision. The cost of drugs in this country is a disgrace, while the pharmaceutical industry is quite profitable and their stockholders very happy.