Readers sound off on the Durham report, single-use plastic and migrants in the military

Fishkill, N.Y.: It was another bad week for conspiracy theorists, as the much-anticipated Durham report blew up in their faces. The report concluded that the FBI did not generate a politically motivated investigation to “get” Trump over his ties to Russia. In short, Trump’s whining about a “deep state” conspiracy to get him was diversionary nonsense. If only Trump’s conspiracy-loving gang could ever be humbled by facts, the Durham report should have added to their embarrassment.

The first of Trump’s forays into the dark world of conspiracy theories was his launching the birther conspiracy against Barack Obama. Trump claimed without evidence that Obama was not U.S.-born and claimed to send investigators to Hawaii to check on his birth record. He sent none. Remember the Korbach Commission? Trump established this to find 3 million illegal immigrants who he said voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. This was to explain why he lost that election’s popular vote by that number. After six months, it found zero evidence of voter fraud. Sound familiar?

Trump’s stolen election conspiracy followed to explain his loss in 2020. He lost all 62 federal and state court cases about voter fraud, as the courts concluded there was none. So did four recounts in two states and Trump’s own attorney general, who concluded after intensive national investigations that Trump’s fraud claims were “all bulls–t.” Then came Trump’s own investigators, the Berkeley Research Group and Simpatico Software Systems, which found no evidence of fraud. Remember the Cyber Ninjas who spent months recounting votes in Arizona? At Republican and taxpayer expense, they found that Biden had won Arizona by even more votes! Embarrassing? It should have been! Gerald Browne

Manhattan: The editorial claiming that there was no FBI conspiracy regarding the Trump/Russia case (“Russia, Russia, Russia was real,” May 16) was misleading. A close reading of the report found that there was no predicate for an investigation. FBI personnel, despite lack of evidence, kept looking for something — anything — to fan the flames of collusion. Director James Comey was also obsessed. The application for FISA Court approval of surveillance was aggressively pursued by top management at the FBI and deeply flawed. The FBI’s role in maintaining the fiction of Trump and Russian collusion was egregious. That suggests to me that the report did not absolve the FBI of blame. Lee Levin

Auburndale: To Voicer Bob Pascarella: If you actually believe that Donald Trump was powerless to stop the 2020 election from being stolen from him while he was the sitting president, how can you put any faith in him to do a better job next time now that he is a private citizen? Cathi Venis

Wellfleet, Mass.: Considering that the national debt spiked $7.8 trillion during Donald Trump’s presidency, him giving advice about what to do about that debt is like a quack doctor doing your brain surgery. Mike Rice

Brooklyn: So, Gov. Ron DeSantis wants Florida to be an all-Republican state. Let’s see: book banning and burning; schools can only teach white history, but not critical race theory or diversity; ban abortion but not assault rifles; can’t oppose government legislation or face severe retribution; and severely limit, if not eliminate, minority voting rights. Forget becoming a Republican state — Florida is turning into the first Nazi state of America. Four years of an orange-faced fool was bad enough. Four years of a wannabe Hitler would be catastrophic! Say no to Adolf DeSantis! Kevin Hanley

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Great Neck, L.I.: Today is National Waitress Day. Your restaurant waitress is on her feet all day long. She has to take and deliver meal orders, follow up to make sure your meal is up to expectations, your coffee, tea or water glass is refilled, box any leftovers you want to take home and prepare the check — all with a smile and friendly disposition. On this day, why not show your appreciation and honor your favorite waitress? Leave a 25% tip against the total bill, including taxes. Remember that they usually have to share the tips with the busboys. Drop off some flowers, a box of candy or some cookies as well. Larry Penner

Brooklyn: As a die-hard Knick fan for the past 30 years, I want to thank the players and the coaching staff for their efforts in this year’s playoff run. There’s always room for improvement and hopefully the team’s president, Leon Rose, can make some off-season acquisitions that will help us get to the finals for 2024. R.J. Barrett is young and talented and has the potential to be a damn good player someday, so I wouldn’t involve him in any trade package. Remember Danilo Gallinari and Zack Randolph? If Mitchell Robinson plans on staying with the organization, it would be nice if he would work on his free-throw shooting and develop a jump shot, during the off season. Ronald L. Badger

Brooklyn: Regarding “Gov’s ratings take a hit” (May 17) on the state budget, what always gets lost in such pieces is that there is still legislation on the line. Plastic should absolutely be a consideration when calculating the negatives of fossil fuel reliance: The material keeps us dependent. Currently, 40% of plastic production goes into making single-use items that clog our landfills, pollute our air by being burned upstate or leak into our land and water. We end up literally paying for this: New York City spends $429 million annually to send its waste to be incinerated or buried. Similarly, our 1982 Bottle Bill must be expanded to cover wine, liquor and the plethora of non-carbonated beverages on offer 40 years on. Expanding this law would save New York municipalities $70.9 million yearly by diverting their waste. Our state legislators need to pass the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Act and the Bigger Better Bottle Bill. Akiko Ichikawa

Brooklyn: I was reading the column from S.E. Cupp about parental consent for abortion (“Why are Dems following GOP abortion extremism?” May 18). She makes a strong point but my question is why did the parent refuse her request? Why is she forced to have the baby? That part was never answered. Bruce Mercadante

Manhattan: Re the MTA’s costly plan to make transit gates into prison barriers (“MTA eying new gates to block fare-beaters, who cost system $285M in ‘22,” May 18): The “marginal cost” of carrying a passenger is virtually zero. Why spend a fortune to extract the fare from riders with limited resources? The level of hatred focused on transit passengers is over the wall! George Haikalis

West Hempstead, L.I.: To Voicer Richie Nagan: Meir Kahane was not a terrorist. He didn’t plant bombs. He stood up for Jews being attacked, mostly by people of color. Was he considered extreme? Yes he was, by many. But as Barry Goldwater said, extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Kahane espoused the truth that nobody stands up for Jews but Jews. We Jews defend most minorities but it is rarely reciprocated. Kahane’s “conviction” in Israel was a political persecution brought about by U.S. pressure. The Arabs, who actually espouse murder, are allowed to serve in the Knesset, and our government speaks and deals with them while refusing to speak to Israeli ministers who are called extreme but do not espouse murder and genocide. Devorah Halberstam’s son was killed by the same real terrorism that killed Kahane. Samuel Mark

Manhattan: All branches of our military have a significant troop deficit. At the same time, we have an influx of refugees, many of whom are skilled, educated, English-speaking able-bodied men and women. They have shown great fortitude, tenacity and courage to come to our country, qualities that we expect of our troops. And they truly understand that freedom and democracy is worth fighting for, more so than our millennials and Gen Z’ers seem to. If these migrant refugees make a two-year commitment to military service, then we should grant them the citizenship that they seek. The military will offer them training, housing, health care and the leg up that they need, while also fulfilling our troop requirements — a win-win. Vincent Novak