Boycott broadcasters who aid attacks on speech
Elmira, N.Y.: As the government continues its cancel culture, there may be a few things people can do. Let’s start with ABC, which has taken Jimmy Kimmel off the air. If you find you can live without it, ESPN is its biggest moneymaker. Fortunately, it’s also an opt-in channel. Disney is exactly the same.
If people would do a mass cancellation, I believe they would change their tune in a heartbeat. Since money and greed seem to be all they understand, this would be a devastating blow to ABC. It’s hard to estimate how many millions they would lose, but I can guarantee it would be an incredibly high number. I would love to see people do the same to Paramount and Peacock. It’s a shame, but hitting them in the wallet seems to be the only way to make them understand the importance of the First Amendment. You know, the only amendment that has allowed them to make all this money all these years.
President Trump has done all that he can do to destroy this country. It’s impossible to change the opinion of the MAGA crowd, which only consists of the greedy and the ignorant. They’re well-noted for voting against their best interests.
Since I see a blue landslide come the midterms, living without these channels is a small price to pay, especially when you consider all the men and women who gave their all to defend this amendment and their fellow amendments that made this country the greatest nation in the world. Mike George
Elevated racists
Valley Stream, L.I.: White supremacists have sure come a long way. Fifty years ago, they had to wear white sheets and hide their faces when they spouted their hateful rhetoric. Now the people who say the exact same things get the Presidential Medal of Freedom or sit in the Oval Office. Meanwhile, those who call them out on it get fired from their jobs by cowardly employers or corporations. The horror. Allan Canino
Cancel champions
Hicksville, L.I.: While I have always been against canceling people, especially on TV where you can just change the channel, I find it ironic that people on the left are freaking out about Jimmy Kimmel when it was your side that invented it. Roseanne Barr, Gina Carano and Tucker Carlson are just a few of the many conservatives who had their careers derailed for saying much less than Kimmel. He blatantly lied about Charlie Kirk, stating that his killer was MAGA. He was not, and instead of correcting his vile and disgusting lie, he reportedly was going to double down. Kimmel constantly insults half of his possible viewers and his ratings have tanked, especially with the 18-49 demographic. He’s bad for business and not funny, not even when he spent most of his career degrading women. Good riddance. John Gelormino
Sanctimony & sacrilege
Staten Island: I just read that Jean Smart was “horrified” by Kimmel’s suspension and wondered, “What is happening to our country?” (“Fallon cancels appearance at fest after Kimmel pulled off air,” Sept. 19). I stopped watching her show “Hacks” when I saw an episode that horrified me. She was receiving the Body of Christ when her daughter shoved it into her mouth. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This is the most sacred part of our Catholic Mass and they were making a joke of it. When you can make a mockery of our religion on national television and then win an Emmy, I also have to ask what is happening to our country. Phyllis O’Callaghan
Worse than the Luftwaffe
Toronto: Great thinkers can make their points without unnecessarily insulting worthy individuals or groups. Kirk’s alleged hesitation in flying with Black pilots cited by Leonard Greene (“Kirk’s death is tragic, but he did say some awful things,” Sept. 14) is a case in point. It is possible to debate affirmative action without making unfounded, negative comments about specific groups. I doubt that World War II German fighter pilots would have had less respect for the flying and fighting skills of the pilots in planes with red tails if they had known they were Black. It’s possible that Nazi pilots had a more accurate opinion of Black aviators’ skills than Kirk had. Bruce Couchman
Undeserved opprobrium
Brooklyn: I see that Voicer Ray Hackinson compared Trump to a dodo bird. Why did he find it necessary to insult the dodo bird? Dennis Burge
Resentment of riches
Cincinnati: Pope Leo has criticized the $1-trillion income Elon Musk could earn if certain parameters are met. Musk is our most inventive industrialist, and that is the source of his riches. Perhaps he can figure out a way to get a camel through the eye of a needle and really give Pope Leo fits. Paul Bloustein
Repeal the rule
Binghamton, N.Y.: There’s lots of drama in the news lately, but can we please talk about climate for a hot minute? There are important policies heading to the finish line in New York that folks need to know about. One is the repeal of the 100-foot rule. Did you know that some of your utility bill every month subsidizes any new gas hookup within 100 feet of a gas main? The developer or homeowner doesn’t pay for it — you do. Repealing it would reduce New York ratepayers’ burden by roughly $200 million a year. We need to stop rewarding utilities that profit from the expensive buildout of fossil fuel infrastructure. We are transitioning to renewable energy and electrification, and the only thing we should be extending is the reach of renewable power, not the number of gas lines. Len Luka
Delayed service
Manhattan: On Friday, walking on Third Ave. and 88th St., a lady and I spotted a very old lady obviously having mental and spacial issues. What luck that there were four traffic cops and two cars right there. Believe it or not, they had no idea what to do or who to call, or even understand the situation until I asked them if I should call 911. This went on for about half an hour. Eventually, officers came around, and after making a lot of walkie-talkie calls and demands on that sweet old lady, they figured out where she lived. They thanked us and took her home or to the hospital. This eye-opening event scared me deeply. Uniformed cops don’t have to be social workers to spot this kind of situation and know what to do. This is uniforms 101! Get your act together! Suzy Sandor
Take it back
Rochester, N.Y.: Tell Gov. Hochul that she should rescind her endorsement of the communist, socialist Zohran Mamdani for mayor of NYC. Does she want to totally destroy the city? Companies will leave — maybe even Wall Street! People will leave in droves! If Mamdani becomes mayor, I will start a movement to give NYC to New Jersey for free! Gov. Hochul, please remove your head from your own rear end! I say this in love to save you from destroying your life. Vince Ferraccioli
Carnival of cruelty
Riverhead, L.I.: Re “PBR brings bull riding, Western vibes to UBS Arena as N.Y. Mavericks host event” (Sept. 16): Bovines are some of nature’s most peaceful herbivores, but rodeos abuse these gentle giants in a bloodsport that regularly denies them food and water to weaken them ahead of competitions and forces them to buck out of sheer terror. The federal Animal Welfare Act offers no protection to animals used for rodeos. Bulls often suffer deep internal organ bruising, hemorrhaging, bone fractures, ripped tendons and torn ligaments and muscles. It’s too late to help the bulls suffering at UBS Arena right now, but it’s not too late for bulls scheduled to be terrorized at Madison Square Garden next January. Intro 1255 is poised to prohibit calf roping and the use of electric prods and flank straps in connection with rodeos. Call your City Council members today to ask for their support. Juliana Di Leonardo
Too small to do
Rego Park: Every Saturday on the TV Q&A page, you publish an extra crossword, which is great. The crossword square is 2.5-by-2.5 square inches and contains about 275 clues. Those who attempt it must possess both a magnifying glass and a microscopic hand. Can you please enlarge it? Richard D’Cruz