Readers sound off on what Jan. 6 portends, Madonna’s tardiness and the Harvard prez resignation

Will our democracy reach a quarter-millennium?

Manhattan: Just like the life-changing terrorist attacks of 9/11, no sane, civil and conscious American can ever un-feel or minimize the equally horrific, ungodly terrorist insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.

Totally unbelievable as this once would have been, that demonic treachery was clearly led by America’s fiercest mis-leader, Donald Trump, who offers no public policies other than the traumatizing negativities of grift, greed, distortion, hate, destruction, ignorance and regressive oppression. His attempted coup continues in that spoiled miscreant’s schemes and those of his corrupted, complicit GOP and grossly misguided cult.

At this pivotal anniversary of that infamy, I again pose this question to all citizens in the voice of the future itself, if America will even still have one after this crucial Election Day, November 2024: What did you personally do during the GOP war against democracy? Will you be able to honorably respond to all your children, now and in generations to come, that at the least, you were one of the urgently needed millions to do the ultimate single, bottom-line action that could save our imperiled democracy — the ones who would reignite its horizon simply by necessarily, actively voting bright blue all the way?

After all these scores of decades, will America the free still see and be the uplifting, candled light of its soon-approaching 250th birthday? Or will it have become that extinguished, washed-away cake that got left out in the downcast rains of MAGA? Phil Vanaria

Partial adjudicators

Massapequa, L.I.: Donald Trump is going to the U.S. Supreme Court to get his name on the Colorado primary ballot. I think that Justice Clarence Thomas as well as the three justices nominated by Hump — sorry, I mean Trump — should recuse themselves. It would be the honorable thing to do. Ron Boehning

Presidential precedent

Bronx: By virtue of Donald Trump, there are three defenses Mayor Adams can use to defy rules regarding housing violations or tax law: 1. As mayor, he can think away any existing requirements that apply to him; 2. As long as he’s in City Hall, he has blanket immunity from all crimes and misdeeds he commits; and 3. Since he’s running for office again, no one can touch him. I rest my case. Fred Smith

Distracting discourse

Annapolis, Md.: To Voicer Susan Burgos: The camera shots of Taylor Swift during Chiefs games don’t bother me as much as Jim Nantz and Tony Romo’s never-ending fawning over Patrick Mahomes. They’re supposed to be neutral commentators and instead present themselves as gushing fanboys. Many would say Mahomes is the NFL’s golden boy already based on his seemingly preferential treatment by officials. We don’t need the adulation symphony as well. Damien Scott

Late show

Holliswood: If this is Madonna’s last concert tour, I say good riddance. Isn’t a concert ticket like a contract? People who bought these tickets way back last January for her Dec. 13 show at the Barclays Center made plans. They have expectations that a performer will be punctual when the ticket lists an 8:30 p.m. show time. Dinner reservations are made beforehand. So are any child care issues, elderly parent care issues, pet care issues, you get the idea. In addition, people have to go to work in the morning. I’ve been going to concerts since 1979. The expectation is the performer shows up as scheduled and plays for two to three hours. Opening the doors at 7:30 p.m. with a show time listed as 8:30 p.m. and not hitting the stage until 11 p.m. is disgraceful. Madonna took a spit on all her fans. I want my money back. Any good class action lawsuit attorneys out there? Gregory W. Chupa

Obstructed

Fresh Meadows: NYC should have never allowed vendors to set up on the Brooklyn Bridge in the beginning because it became out of control. Years ago, I used to walk to work on Wall Street over the bridge from the Fort Greene area. There might have been one or two vendors at the foot of the bridge on the Manhattan side. It was a great walk on a nice day, but it turned into a flea market. I feel sorry for the vendors having to move their hustle somewhere else, but enough is enough. Gregory Coston

Officer offense

Bronx: Funny how the Daily News has no problem labeling Officer Andy Urrutia as “New York’s dumbest” (Jan. 4) once he is a member of the NYPD. Urrutia has one year of service and was hired after the department lowered the entrance standards in an attempt to grow its ranks. I doubt you would question a candidate Urrutia’s or a recruit Urrutia’s intelligence. Interesting how easy it is to cast aspersions once that uniform is worn. Joe Schulok

Light language

Kew Gardens Hills: Almost three months after the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN and MSNBC continue to refer to Hamas as a “militant group.” Perhaps these networks would care to explain exactly what atrocities Hamas must commit to be promoted to a “terrorist group.” Barry Koppel

Smeared

Seattle: There is a false understanding the public is getting from media coverage of Dr. Claudine Gay: that she plagiarized so she had to resign. This is false and it’s being worsened by her being compared to President Biden, who has done actual misconduct and gotten away with it. Responsible media outlets should consistently clarify the matter so their readers aren’t misled into the false conclusion. In reality, Gay had to resign as Harvard president because of pressure from a few very rich white donors because she didn’t give in to their demands to enforce a #whitetearsveto on BIPOC students on campus — not because of misconduct, since the investigation found no actual misconduct. Arsalan Bukhari

ACLU, where are you?

Brooklyn: It is my understanding that persons admitted into the U.S., especially those seeking asylum status, are granted the same civil liberty protections that all U.S. citizens enjoy. With that understood, why are you allowing Mayor Adams to restrict a migrant’s travel within our 50 U.S. states by regulating where and when they can arrive in NYC and further imposing notification regulations that do not apply to U.S. citizens? This is an illegal action that restricts the civil liberties of migrant asylum seekers and I ask you to act like the American Civil Liberties Union that your title self proclaims. Ron Slawinski

Co-equal branches

Boynton Beach, Fla.: To Voicer Phil Antico: To the best of my knowledge, Congress is the legislative body responsible for enacting legislation. The president, a member of the executive branch of government, is responsible for approving legislation initiated and passed by Congress. As such, I am sure we can count on the current Republican-led Congress to initiate and pass appropriate legislation to deal with the border crisis. Hopefully, the Republican brain trust in Congress, led by Mensa candidates like Jim Jordan and James Comer, will eventually resolve the Biden family crimes of Hunter Biden’s laptop and his repayment of the $4,000 loan from his dad to buy a truck. Congress has its priorities, Mr. Antico, and thankfully, our Republican leaders there are intelligent enough to know that the laptop and the loan are more urgent crises than illegal immigration. Don’t you agree? William T. Bredin

Capitalists reign

Garwood, N.J.: I wake up on New Year’s Day, turn on the news and I’m pleased to see that quite a few states have increased their minimum wage effective Jan. 1. No more than five minutes after that story ended, the next story announced that many major retailers and manufacturers would be increasing their prices or laying off a portion of their workforce due to the wage increases. So, while most Americans were pleased that labor unions across America, i.e. UPS and the UAW, won better contracts for their memberships, corporate America is now making sure that none of it comes out of its profits. This proves once again that Big Business does not care one iota about us common folks. And if the feds finally manage to increase the corporate income tax, corporations will just pass that along to us as well. I give up! John E. Deichmeister