Long Beach's Dunia Sibomana hugs his coach and adoptive father,...

Long Beach's Dunia Sibomana hugs his coach and adoptive father, Miguel Rodriguez, after winning the Division 1, 102-pound state wrestling championship on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y. Credit: Newsday/William Perlman

An uplifting story that we all needed

Talk about tugging at your heartstrings. Sunday’s Newsday addressed some terrible local news ["Grumman polluted air, too, suit claims," News, Feb. 27] and some heartbreakingly horrible international news ["Fierce struggle in Ukraine," News], as well.

Before I got through the first five pages, I was already sad, angry and in disbelief. However, as I always peek at the back cover before I read the entire newspaper, I found everyone’s newest hero joyfully celebrating his state wrestling title with his father ["Uplifting!" Sports].

My tears of sadness quickly turned to tears of sheer joy. After following his story, I’m convinced that Long Beach eighth-grader Dunia Sibomana should be on a poster to inspire everyone to find the strength to overcome the most difficult challenges, and to persevere through the most life-changing obstacles.

This, too, is my prayer for the people defending their Ukrainian democracy.

— Marc Comerchero, Commack

Merit should be the high court qualifier

I withhold an opinion on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court pending hearings, although her scant time on a federal appeals court makes me wonder whether she needs more seasoning ["Biden offers a historic top court pick," News, Feb.26].

Of greater concern is that then-presidential candidate Joe Biden made a pledge to appoint a Black woman. By implication, this was equally a pledge not to appoint a Black male or an Asian, Indian, Hispanic, white, et al., male or female.

Long Beach's Dunia Sibomana hugs his dad Miguel Rodriguez and...

Long Beach's Dunia Sibomana hugs his dad Miguel Rodriguez and his coach after defeating Chenango Forks' Ryan Ferrara in 102 pound Division 1 final of the 2022 NYSPHSAA wrestling championships on Saturday at the MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.

Identity politics is contributing to the disunity in our country and having frightening consequences, including, I believe, the horrendous attacks on Asian Americans. While political calculation inevitably enters into a Supreme Court nomination, race, religion and gender should never be factors.

I was once bothered by talk of a "Jewish seat" on the Court, believing that it also meant no more than one Jew at a time. Fortunately, that barrier gave way, but, assuming Jackson’s confirmation, I wonder if Black females will be fairly considered before the next nomination.

The standard should be merit. "Inclusion" should never be token "exclusion." As Chief Justice John Roberts sagely stated: "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race."

— Richard Epstein, West Babylon

Long Beach's Dunia Sibomana celebrates the win with his coaches...

Long Beach's Dunia Sibomana celebrates the win with his coaches as he wrestles Chenango Forks Ryan Ferrara in 102 pound Division 1 final of the 2022 NYSPHSAA wrestling championships on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams, Jr.

Redistricting another way to affect voting

Anyone who argues that elections aren’t rigged should understand how gerrymandering aka redistricting works ["Dems try to level the playing field," Letters, Feb. 4].

It’s a partisan gimmick to keep the ruling party in power, a

prime example of a broken two-party undemocratic system that’s an actual voter suppression issue.

— Bill Mozer, Glen Head

‘Godfather’ saga took big toll on this group

Over the past 50 years, any time that Italian Americans protested "The Godfather" saga as defamation and a distortion of our culture, we were told, "Well, ya gotta admit there’s a Mafia" [" ‘The Godfather’ turns 50," FanFare, Feb. 27].

Well, ya gotta admit "The Godfather" spawned half a century (and counting) of ethnic-defaming movies and TV series based on stereotyped characters and warped portrayals of Italian culture.

Ya gotta admit that "The Godfather" saga has no positive Italian characters to "balance" the thieves and murderers.

Ya gotta admit no other ethnic or religious group in this country would allow such Hollywood treatment of its culture for entertainment of the masses or would allow two or three generations of its children to be raised with an unrelenting fictional criminal image of their roots.

Ya gotta admit that "The Godfather" transformed ethnic defamation into an art form and that the news media magnify real Italian American criminals beyond their importance.

— John Mancini, Floral Park

The writer is executive director of the Italic Institute of America.

Still, I have gratitude for Grumman

The stories about Grumman’s dastardly cause of pollution ring hollow to me ["Grumman polluted air, too, suit claims," News, Feb. 27].

I can remember the start of World War II when American planes were being shot out of the sky by the Japanese. When Grumman Hellcats and Avengers appeared, the story changed rapidly. These fighters and torpedo bombers, manufactured in Bethpage, were a major reason for the ultimate victory in the Pacific.

Sorry, but this 91-year-old says thank God for Grumman.

— John G. Aicher, Southold

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