Readers sound off on escalating with Iran, opinions in sports and online privacy

This war’s victor may not look familiar

Beechhurst: A recent eye-popping New York Times story claims that behind the late-February joint U.S.-Israeli strikes to decapitate the Iranian state was a stupefying plan to install former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (who had been under house arrest for allegedly having Western ties) back into power in the hopes that the administration could replicate the “Delcy Rodriguez model” onto that malevolent mullahcracy. Ahmadinejad was reportedly injured in the targeted bombing to free him, and he allegedly had a change of heart.

Following the stunning success of Operation Absolute Resolve (Venezuela), 47 may have thought to himself, like Tony Montana, “the world is yours.” But the well-entrenched and nuclear-bomb-obsessed IRGC survived Operation Epic Fury and predictably pulled out its Strait of Hormuz card, hitting ships there. It still possesses that extremely potent card despite the administration’s jiu-jitsu blockade move that has put the economic hurt on the IRGC.

The extended ceasefire impasse, with Iran’s negotiators unwilling to budge, spells an escalation of the conflict wherein either escalation dominance (by the U.S. and Israel) or an escalation trap will ensue. Henry Kissinger’s indelible insight is abundantly apropos here: “The guerrilla wins if he does not lose. The conventional army loses if it does not win.” The U.S. midterm elections calendar and the roiling of global markets are pushing this long-in-the-making conflict to a climax.

Right or might?

Bronx: Does the U.S. have the right to arrest the leader of another country as we’ve done dozens of times, and can we just change a foreign regime at our whim? Or are we just bullying them? Someone please elucidate.

Look in the mirror

Staten Island: Voicer Phil Serpico says that even if we accomplish several goals in Iran, we have to remember that the same brutal and oppressive government remains. I’d like to remind him that the same is true of Iran.

Sayville, L.I.: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is a disgrace to his office. His standard answer to nearly every question posed to him is, “I don’t know anything about that.” A guy in his position with his resources knows less than the average citizen? President Trump has repeatedly said we have totally oh-bliterated (his Trump-speak) the Iranian navy. We’ve totally oh-bliterated their missiles. We’ve totally oh-bliterated their nuclear program. A quadruple total obliteration? Johnson calls it the Iran skirmish. What a useless, feckless, dishonest toad we have as the leader of the House. Now we have MMA fighting on the White House lawn. We are not a serious country anymore, we are a joke — a national grift disguised as a fake reality show.

Manhattan: Does any rational person believe that the current Comrade Trump behavior won’t lead to Dem election success this November? Well, you are wrong. AOC is strumming up postures that will negate Trump’s realities. We will revisit Joe Biden’s non-vetting style. She believes that vetting is an extension of racism. She also has problems with the Constitution. Imagine, two more years of Trump that will be enhanced. Centrist leaders are the way for the Dems to regain power. AOC should be left out along with Trump’s radical right.

Roselle Park, N.J.: My wife says Trump’s bruises and swelling are a sign of heart failure. I had to remind her that you have to have a heart first.

Valhalla, N.Y.: Pat Leonard, are you writing a sports opinion or are you writing a political opinion (“Dart’s Donald misstep makes Harbaugh’s job harder,” May 27)? You criticize Jaxson Dart’s decision to introduce Trump, and somewhat rightfully so, as athletes should try to keep harmony with their teams, and political opinions are not the way to do it. But you made sure you put in your own strong Democratic opinions! Wrong, Pat! Either write about sports or move your column to the opinion page. You hate Trump, we get it! But I don’t want to hear your selfish opinions in a sports article. Another Democratic opinion writer in the Democratic Daily News. I might have to switch newspapers!

Brooklyn: So, Dart thought it was an honor to introduce Trump. Say goodbye to a longtime Giants fan. Lowlife honors lowlife.

Flushing: Some Voicers are angry that Mike Lupica still writes about politics as well as sports, all these years later. He’s only been doing it for 40 years. Great sports writers like Ring Lardner, Heywood Broun and Grantland Rice wrote about both, more contemporary ones like Robert Lipsyte and Dave Zirin also. Get over it. You’re showing your Lupica Derangement Syndrome.

Bronx: Like many New Yorkers, I’m a longtime Knicks fan. As such, I’ve long disapproved of how team owner James Dolan has managed this storied franchise since he took control of it in 1999. Over most of the past 27 years, Dolan has been directly responsible for many bad trades, the hiring of incompetent front office personnel and even the expulsion from Madison Square Garden of fan favorite Charles Oakley, all while the team languished near the bottom of the standings year after year. But I have to admit that for the past five seasons, Dolan has reversed the team’s fortunes by simply picking the right people to manage and coach it, then allowing them to do their jobs unmolested. The Knicks’ recent success and the possibility of a championship this year are perhaps Dolan’s long overdue vindication.

Brooklyn: To Voicer Mark Lane: Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Anacin in forever. How could your wife get a headache with a great hubby like you? Take two Marks Lanes and call in the morning!

Brooklyn: Little attention has been given to a state budget proposal that has rallied opposition from LGBTQ, civil liberties, immigration and reproductive rights activists. It’s pitched as an online safety measure. However, the policy will instead chill free expression and add new layers of surveillance for all internet users. The measure requires digital platforms to verify users’ ages by collecting sensitive personal data, including government IDs or biometric information. At a moment when surveillance technologies are increasingly weaponized against our communities, Albany’s latest proposal should alarm every New Yorker. LGBTQ youth, immigrants and people escaping family violence rely on anonymous access to digital resources to communicate safely. Expanding oversight risks exposing vulnerable young people to rejection, abuse or even homelessness while creating new privacy and security risks for all users. Anonymous and encrypted communication tools exist for a reason, and lawmakers should not undermine them under the guise of child safety.…Read more by Voice of the People