Readers sound off on Donald Sutherland, religious texts in schools and pausing congestion pricing

A humble star who shone his light on his team

Manhattan: To Voicer Susan Stark: In addition to being an iconic film star, it should be mentioned that Canadian Donald Sutherland was also a baseball fanatic who meticulously followed his beloved Montreal Expos when the club was still in the National League.

As an established Hollywood star living in California, Sutherland would travel with the Expos when the club made their western swing to see his beloved ball club play the S.F. Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.

While playing in the minor leagues in the Braves organization, my manager was Jim Fanning, who eventually became the field manager of the Montreal Expos. I stayed in touch with Fanning by phone for many decades until his death in 2015. When Sutherland’s name came up, it was clear that Fanning had great respect and affection for him. He considered him a friend and called him a modest man who never flaunted his well-deserved celebrity! Sutherland never tried to become “part of the club,” as many publicity-seeking celebrities do.

Sutherland made his mark in Hollywood, but to those long-suffering Expos fans, he will also be remembered as a Canadian who became the club’s biggest booster! If there is to be another iteration of the Montreal Expos in the distant future, there should be a place on the ramparts of Olympic Stadium to honor the legacy of Sutherland. Gerard Rosenthal

Hard line

Haverstraw, N.Y.: In response to Rich Baum’s misguided article on asylum seekers (“Asylum seekers will aid NYC’s economic recovery,” op-ed, June 23), I couldn’t disagree more. Every one of these migrants should be deported immediately. They broke the law the second they snuck across our sovereign border. Let’s hope the new president will end President Biden’s border fiasco. Scott Jones

Desperate decision

Staten Island: I can totally understand the anger and frustration with the volume of immigrants coming into the country. However, I also can’t help but think about those who decide to take the risk along with the uncertainty that comes with that journey. I cannot fathom the idea, as a parent and grandparent, of carrying my child and minimal belongings on foot into a foreign country. How sad and desperate it is for those who think that is the best — and in many cases, the only — option available for a better life. May they find peace and kindness along the way. Gina Ottrando

Lost in translation

Bronx: When Republican Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana signed legislation making it mandatory for all public and private schools in his state to post the Ten Commandments in a prominent place in every classroom, he used a version of the commandments that appears in a Bible used by Protestants. He muttered something about the commandments dating back to Moses. Does he think the Ten Commandments on the tablets Moses received from God were written in English? Surely, for as long as this completely unconstitutional law remains on the books in Louisiana, the commandments should be written in Hebrew, as they appear in the Torah, the Five Books of Moses that comprise the first part of the Old Testament. Miriam Levine Helbok

Just teach

Brooklyn: As a former high school teacher and a retired attorney, I resist the government of Louisiana making the display of the Ten Commandments mandatory. However, the school system could have prepared a suggested curriculum packet on teaching of religious documents as literature. Working with teachers, it could have put together a high school unit on this. In New York, this has long been allowed. The time is right for this “ecumenical” awakening. In an NYC high school, I taught some Old Testament, New Testament and the Koran. Some students objected and I explained that these documents would not be studied for religious proselytizing purposes but for their poetry, the difficulty of translation, some history and archeological findings. In some settings, I would use these documents in the study of early law around the world. This approach opens the student’s mind to the wider world and to tolerance of the “other.” Educate, do not force-feed. Dianne Stillman

Messy city

Queens Village: How many times do I read or hear about rat-infested areas in NYC? Did it ever occur to people that maybe NYC people are just slobs? That they have to throw away their garbage on the street? We’ve all seen it where people just don’t care about keeping their city clean. They throw candy, cigarette wrappers and the newest addition, vapes, on the ground as if it’s going to fly away and just disappear! No, it winds up on my property as well as others. So exercise your body and bend down to pick up either yours or someone else’s litter and dispose of it properly. Joan Silaco

Asked for it

Boynton Beach, Fla.: The hypocrisy in Alan Dershowitz’s op-ed (“Can Trump get a reversal before the election?,” June 23) is blatant. Often, lawyers argue their positions by telling only partial truth. While he proposes that the New York State legal system accelerate the appeals process for Donald Trump’s conviction because of the impending election, he totally ignores the fact that Trump has used every avenue to delay his federal trials in Florida and Washington, D.C., and the state trial in Georgia. Certainly, Trump would want voters to have results in these cases at the same time, no? Andrew LeWinter

Unresolved arguments

Bronx: While it may be true that the electorate will not be able to hear a jury’s verdict on the documents case, it will also not hear whether or not those 34 convictions or the fraud findings in New York stand up to appeal. I’ll bet there won’t be any editorials lamenting that. Chuck Shannon

Spread it out

Tenafly, N.J.: I support Gov. Hochul’s decision to delay congestion pricing in order to consider different and more equitable approaches to funding. I have been commuting to work in NYC for more than 30 years, and congestion exists everywhere within the five boroughs, not just below 60th St. in Manhattan. It is blatantly unfair to penalize the people and businesses below 60th St. while other areas that will also benefit from transit improvements make a lesser or no contribution. Rather than a draconian $15 daily charge, there should be lower charges throughout the entire city, perhaps the cost of a subway ride, so that everybody participates in funding improvements that everyone enjoys for the greater good. It’s time for creative thinking, not finger-pointing and political posturing. Tracy Nieporent

Blocked progress

Manhattan: Gov. Hochul’s last-minute turnaround on congestion pricing blindsided the MTA and millions of New Yorkers who count on functioning trains and buses. Pulling promised funds for much-needed improvements will devastate public transit. Hochul claims she will find the money elsewhere, but she has no plan to do so. Perhaps she thinks we won’t notice. And her broken promises harm more than the MTA. Congestion pricing would mean cleaner air and less noise and gridlock. An ambulance could race to the hospital instead of sitting in traffic. In May, the average Midtown taxi speed was 4.5 mph — slightly faster than walking. Does Hochul think we’ll accept ever-increasing delays, train derailments, dirty air, noise and gridlock? Gov. Hochul, reinstate congestion pricing and let’s get moving! Lisa Harrison

Bilking proposal

Orange, Conn.: The more I read about the impact on the average commuter, city visitor, delivery worker, restaurant and business owner, the realization is that this is nothing more than a Rube Goldberg money-grab by the MTA and state to cover up years of inefficiency, incompetence and laziness in their corporate structure. And the pompous city officials are do-nothing phonies looking to cash in on the scam as well as on free press coverage to make them look like they accomplished something. The free-ride neglect of non-paying riders on buses and the subway system is draining income and should be enough cause for mass firing of incompetent management. Fear of social retribution should be a non-starter. Tell it like it is. State-of-the-art entrance gates should have been in place years ago, and security presence on buses would have been deterrence enough to keep out the non-paying punks, scammers, gangsters and thugs. Fred Portoff