Readers sound off on Hollywood on strike, perceptions of crime and horse advocates

Northport, L.I.: Where’s the comic relief when we need it most? This writers’ strike is killing us — and now the actors unions are going on strike. Damn that studio-streaming monopoly! From Vladimir Putin’s bloody war crimes in Ukraine to Canada’s suffocating wildfires, and a rogue right-wing Supreme Court selling out our democracy, what uplifts us if Stephen Colbert (our generation’s Mark Twain) can’t do his opening monologue and “Saturday Night Live” is nothing but dead air?

Surely, something funny’s going on. Our indicted ex-Prez Donald Trump claims his golf pants are classified — that’s why he plopped them onto his sloppy piles of top secret documents in Mar-a-Lago. He’s a laugh riot, right? Florida’s fanboy Ron DeSantis does look pretty goofy in his shiny white plastic boots, but is he fun to be with? He needs better material. Imagine Kate McKinnon and Kristen Wiig in a skit together mocking Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for “bitch”-slapping her ex-BFF Rep. Lauren Boebert on the House floor. Those two home-grown fascist females make impeachment sound like a dessert. But that comedy routine will have to wait. And what a missed opportunity for SNL’s James Austin Johnson to parody the racist rants of Alabama’s own Sen. Tommy Tuberville, whose name alone evokes a potato paradise. Alas, that bit’s not to be.

Sadly, nobody’s getting paid to ridicule a once-great Republican Party gone to seed after all the hatred and lies they’ve sowed in our country. They’ve turned American women’s rights into nothing but a bad punchline. We definitely need some laughter to overcome the sorrow. Fox News tries, but unfortunately, their joke is always at our expense. Spencer Rumsey

Astoria: The orange haze that residents saw just a few weeks ago is an alarm bell for New Yorkers and local legislators to back green initiatives that may be introduced in the next legislative session. To truly improve air quality for all residents, and especially those most affected, we will need to do our part to reduce emissions from buildings and vehicles, increase urban vegetation and green spaces, and continue the transition to renewable energy through legislation. Victoria Yin

Ridgewood, N.J.: Re “One at a time for NATO” (editorial, July 12): In the sixth paragraph, you ask: “Do these conditions extend to the territorial integrity of Crimea?” The answer is yes. Crimea has long been recognized as Ukrainian territory. Peter J. Peirano

Cincinnati: The Russian military has acquitted itself poorly since Vladimir Putin launched his criminal invasion, while Ukrainian forces have been stalwart, aided immeasurably by NATO weaponry, the lion’s share from the U.S. Still, the widely ballyhooed spring offensive has stalled and weaponry pipelines are slowing. The Wagner Group demonstrated Putin’s weakness. This is the opportune time to double down on our efforts. F-16 fighters will be late, but other delivery vehicles can be used for cluster bomb units, an anti-personnel weapon that might very well breach Russian defenses. Observing Marquis of Queensberry rules by eschewing cluster munitions while Russians target apartment buildings, schools, maternity wards and community centers is foolhardy in the extreme. Unexploded ordnance can be cleaned up after the Russian onslaught is stilled. Paul Bloustein

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Brooklyn: I just read your July 11 news article “W. Village man gets 1½ yrs. behind bars for raping and beating woman.” Alone, the headline gave me chills. That was before I read how the man said it was “consensual” at the trial, and how the victim said she suffered extreme physical and mental anguish and PTSD to the point of feeling suicidal. One and a half years. Oh, sure, sure. Three and a half years of post-release supervision after that. That oughta give the poor lady peace of mind, knowing he’s still out on the street. No apologies. And they boo-hoo all over the place and wring their hands, asking why crime is so rampant? Methinks the victim received more than a life sentence. Joy E. Goldberg

Valley Stream, L.I.: I can’t understand how someone can be videotaped and shown on TV all over the country shooting and killing people, then appear on the front page of this paper (“Slay charge in gun spree,” July 10) while he is very much alive and in custody instead of hanging from the subway structure right where he committed the murders. Ya can’t make it any clearer that he did it? John Esposito

Brooklyn: Mayor Adams believes that crime is being embellished due to perception. Last week, 87-year old Hamod Ali Saeidi was shot and killed by a scooter shooter (” ‘Loving person, always with a smile,’ ” July 10). His loved ones attended not a perceived funeral, but an actual one. It is sad that Saeidi left his native Yemen, a Third World country strife with violence, only to come to New York City, which, thanks to “progressive” policies, is now a Third World city. David DiBello

Brooklyn: In Thursday’s editorial “Crime time in the big city” you mention the Siena College poll that 61% of residents felt they would be a crime victim. Maybe if every page of your paper wasn’t a story about a shooting, rape or mugging, people’s perception of crime would be completely different. People thought that crime during the great crimefighter Rudy Giuliani’s time in office was low but today, statistics show crime is down 25-40%! I know happy stories don’t sell papers but why doesn’t the Daily News become part of the solution instead of being part of the problem? Harvey Kaplan

Kew Gardens: The mayor is misguided when he blames the media for sensationalizing crimes that he claims drives the fear of New Yorkers. Mr. Mayor, it’s called the Fourth Estate. It is their job to show you, in the words of former Mayor Ed Koch, how you are doing. The mayor would prefer that he be given credit for a one-month, single-digit reduction in the index crimes. People care zip about index crimes. The people’s fear is driven by random crimes that depict the quality of life for a city. They want to ride the trains, unaccosted, from point A to point B. They want to put their child in a car seat without fear of them getting shot by a stray bullet. It is clear that the mayor continues to have no regard for perception. It would be good if he understood a simple premise: If people perceive a situation as real, it will be real in its consequences. Phil Serpico

Morgantown, W.Va.: There have been many letters recently about the Central Park carriage horses. People have differing views on whether humans should use animals for work. It’s a good ongoing discussion. What isn’t good is when opponents of the carriages make things up or impose their emotional view of things on the horses. For example, the conditions (heat and humidity) in which the horses operate were set after extensive testimony by equine veterinarians. But the most demeaning thing is the elitists who think they know better than the drivers about whether driving a horse-drawn carriage or an electric lookalike is a better way to make a living, as if the drivers don’t have minds of their own. They are a hard-working lot, many are recent immigrants and they have selected an honest way to support their families. That is their right and they deserve our support. Craig Sheldon

South Richmond Hill: I am ticked off that so many Voicers seem to miss my point. I am pro-carriage trade and anti-horse racing. I’m just trying to say that if you believe horses were built to run, why are you against horse racing? Isn’t that a contradiction? Horse-carriage driver and owner Voicer Conor McHugh’s letter said it best: The reason tourists (and locals) enjoy riding horse carriages is to experience the clip-clop of horses’ hooves, the smell of the animal, that rhythm of motion and watching the driver handle them. You don’t get that in a horseless carriage. So, horse-carriage trade yes, horse racing no. I hope this time you get what I mean. J. Napoleone