Readers sound off on Iran war opposition, slaughterhouse rules and crossword size

Against this war, or just the president?

Cincinnati: Democracies are loathe to initiate kinetic conflict and can always find a welcome ear for dangerous passivity from international and domestic peaceniks, irrespective of history’s many lessons. As George Santayana noted, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

We all know the past, yet some anticipate a different ending even though the theocratic deceivers in firm control of Iran were never reluctant to tell us of their plans. Some presidents fell for their deceptions, Barack Obama and Joe Biden providing pallets of cash, and the latter employing Nancy Reagan’s warning to first-time drug users to “just say no” as his go-to foreign policy with the Iranian existential nuclear menace. The Trump administration studied the issue, provided a long runway for negotiations and, when the latter failed, pulled a reluctant trigger. But because President Trump is a more proximate danger to Democrats and their “amen” media chorus here at home — a Nazi, a fascist and all-around evil authoritarian, we are told by political antagonists ad infinitum — he is a greater threat than bomb-seeking theocrats who are determined to hobble us.

Foreign policy disputes used to stop at the water’s edge when a president exercised commander-in-chief authority, but this is Trump Time, and Democratic resistance to appropriate policy is just one more example of Trump Derangement Syndrome.

For us and them

Bronx: I ask myself why Americans and other Western nations that believe in freedom and democracy are so opposed to our attempt to prevent a nuclear holocaust, which is the goal of the current government running Iran. Are we supposed to wait for another Pearl Harbor and be caught off guard and have millions dead? Our president and our Secretary of War Pete Hegseth understand all that’s going on and are doing what’s best for the American people. The people of Iran hate their rulers and are being slaughtered by the thousands for protesting against the barbarians in power. Let us be their heroes and give the people what they crave. After that happens, the country should go back to being called Persia, its original name.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: The Iranian embassy responded to Trump’s depiction of himself as a “doctor” by creating an AI image of Jesus tossing him into hell. Hell is no joking matter. It’s the place of unforgiven sinners. The Bible describes it as a “lake of fire” into which people will be thrown but not burned up (Rev. 21:8). Jesus said that people go there because they rejected what He did to keep them out of it. The life-saving message could not have been more loving and compassionate than the one from Jesus Himself: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Nobody is sent to hell because of their sins, but for rejecting the one who died for them. Jesus will forgive the worst sins imaginable if accompanied with repentance.

Denver: Trump’s recent controversial photo has sparked accusations of disrespecting Jesus. He claimed that he was not portraying Jesus but rather a physician attending to a sick, bedridden person. This raises the question: How can Trump consider himself a healer while also accepting donations from Big Tobacco, an industry responsible for nearly 500,000 American deaths each year? Pope Leo should remind Trump that his silence on tobacco issues indirectly supports the deaths of 8 million people worldwide annually, most of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds. From a theological perspective, this intentional neglect of such lives aligns more with the concept of the Antichrist than with the compassion of Christ.

As I see it

Tamarac, Fla.: Voicer Stanley McKie responded to my letter regarding the presidential qualifications of Kamala Harris by calling me a bigot. What he doesn’t know is that I am the least bigoted person he will ever meet. I can’t answer for Trump, Harris or anyone else’s background or qualifications, nor does it matter to me what color or religion a person is. But as a voter, it’s my right to choose the best person qualified. It’s about ability, not bigotry, Mr. McKie.

Staten Island: To Voicer Tom Scott: People illegally in this country who work do in fact pay taxes. I know this because I knew someone who came into the country illegally and paid taxes. However, he would not be able to collect Social Security.

Manhattan: To Voicer Tom Scott: Thank undocumented immigrants for Social Security and Medicare, services they pay for with their tax dollars but can’t receive. Undocumented immigrants had been paying $60 billion annually in federal taxes alone until the Department of Homeland Security strong-armed the IRS into illegally revealing private information about taxpayers, including their immigration status. All those immigrant taxpayers who’d been reassured of privacy by the IRS are now at risk of being sent to concentration camps, and I don’t use that word lightly. Tax revenue will plummet as earners move to under-the-table work. Too bad for citizens. Meanwhile, immigrant-protecting New York For All is still up for debate in Albany. During the Bicentennial, we were still celebrating ourselves as a nation of immigrants.

Manhattan: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed an increase in slaughter-line speeds for poultry and pork plants, claiming it will result in more stable and efficient food supply. The truth is that increasing line speeds will benefit the bottom lines of large agribusiness while animals, workers and consumers suffer for it. Increasing speed means workers have less time to ensure that animals are stunned before slaughter, risking them being dismembered or drowned while conscious. The USDA’s records show that workers already struggle to keep up with current line speeds, leading to additional animal suffering. Inspectors will have less time to evaluate animals for disease, contamination or other defects, posing a major threat to consumer health. Forcing slaughterhouse workers to move quicker will lead to an unnecessary increase in the risk of on-the-job injuries. I urge the USDA to recognize the dangerous impacts of their proposal and reconsider extreme-speed slaughter.

Brooklyn: Recently, the way you changed the crossword page has made it difficult to read. There are also times when there were large amounts of dead space on other pages, causing articles to be squashed. Doesn’t anyone look at the layout before it goes to print?

Monroe Township, N.J.: Your readers have been screaming for you to enlarge the crossword puzzle clues for ages with no response — so now you enlarge the Sudoku and Jumble to double their size? Who asked you to do that? What gives?…Read more by Voice of the People