Letters of 2022: Valva trial, Roe, CRT and racism, Pride Month, guns, Ukraine, school mascots, COVID, cyberattacks, Trump, and midterm elections

Oct. 23: It is difficult to read about the Michael Valva trial and the many horrific abuses that his children experienced. It is also difficult to understand how so many teachers, a  psychologist and principal have testified about their awareness of the children’s abuses and hunger and notified Child Protective Services, and the bottom line is that nothing was done.

 — H. Lloyd Miller, Jericho

Nov. 3: What kind of person does to his own children what he did? And why did he fight with his wife to get custody of them if he was going to treat them like that? Why did Child Protective Services not pay more attention to the information from the teachers? How could their personnel conclude after visiting with Michael Valva that everything was OK in their home? This tragedy did not have to happen.

 — Theresa Nastasia, Stewart Manor

Nov. 13: Thank goodness Michael Valva got what he deserved. But why did Thomas Valva fall through the cracks? This monster of a dad had no one else to turn to? Where was his family? Cousins? His brothers in blue? Why didn’t he and his sons go to a shelter and receive three square meals a day? Too many people made the wrong decisions, and the system needs to be drastically revised and improved so this never happens again.

 — Chris Viola-Weiss, Oceanside

Roe overturned

May 8: A leaked document revealed the Supreme Court intends to overturn Roe v. Wade. This is a travesty of justice and an abuse of human rights. Not only is it telling women that they aren’t fit to make their own choices, it’s telling them they don’t matter.

— Elizabeth Aquino, Amityville

May 15: No matter which side you support, you should vehemently oppose Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to fund abortions for women who don’t live in New York. Give us your tired, your poor, your pregnant. New York will pay for everything.

— Kevin Lowry, Oceanside

July 3: Abortion isn’t a right; it is a difficult personal choice. Life is replete with difficult choices, but few carry the long-term consequences attached to abortion. It can bring trauma and remorse associated with preventing and never knowing what could have been. A woman does not need a justice system and legislators adding insult to her injury.

— Ed Weinert, Melville

July 8: A baby is considered a living human when it takes its first breath? Try telling that to parents who see sonograms with a moving fetus. Women have a choice. They can have sex, knowing any birth control may fail, leading to pregnancy.

— Christine Sallah, Bay Shore

July 8: Women are in the throes of a new wave of sexual harassment — overturning Roe. If politicians were so concerned with life, they would have banned automatic weapons.

— Holly Gordon, Bay Shore

Racism, CRT on LI

Jan. 23: It was gratifying to read about teachers with integrity and some students speaking out about the importance of recognizing the effects of racism on American history and today’s society. The ability to critically evaluate data, accept facts and discuss issues rationally are fundamental goals of education. Segregation and racial hatred are a part of our history and who we are today. Those are facts. Teaching reality isn’t divisive — it is essential to a healthy society.

— Cynthia Lovecchio, Remsenburg

Jan. 23: With all the controversy about critical race theory and our nation’s past failings, it is important to put some ideas in perspective. We were established as a nation that allowed slavery. Without that, there would never have been a United States. CRT seeks to demonize white America and contends that racism is built into our present system. I disagree. I have seen great, if belated, strides afforded minorities and particularly Black Americans.

— Nicholas Dallis, Smithtown

Nov. 21: The recent, surreptitious dissemination of antisemitic flyers on Long Island, on car windshields and on driveways, comes at a time when far-right white nationalist extremism in America has reached a fever pitch. The names and images of the purveyors of hate speech and political violence should be posted in the media. Sunlight is needed to help them scatter out of the darkness and shatter their secrecy.

— Andrew Malekoff, Long Beach

Pride Month

June 26: I fail to understand how the Smithtown library board’s decision to remove Pride Month displays from the children’s section is “an act of hate” or an “erasure of LGBTQ people and their families” when the 29 books are still in circulation. The trustees are not foisting the LGBTQ+ agenda on young, impressionable patrons. Pride Month is not equivalent to other “cultural events.”

— Amanda Bonagura, Floral Park

June 26: The removal of Pride-related decor and books was an egregious abuse of power targeting the very minds they are empowered to enrich. A rainbow flag can be innocuous or indicate a place where someone who is just discovering their true selves can feel comfortable.

— Suzanne Wittenberg, Commack

Gun control

May 28: How many children must die so some Americans can feel that their right to own guns is not infringed upon?

— Laura L. Lustbader, Huntington Station

May 29: When a horrific shooting kills children, gun rights advocates say it’s mental illness while others say too many guns. This is not an either/or issue but a both/and issue. Why can’t we limit guns and provide better mental health care?

— Brian Utnick, Rockville Centre

June 19: Why do we always blame the object and not the behavior? Forty years ago, we had plenty of guns but nary a mass shooting. Here’s what’s changed: the internet and social media, electronic devices, erosion of the family unit, isolation, increased use and access to drugs and tolerance of immoral “artistic content” in entertainment. Let’s treat the disease, not just the symptoms.

— Adam Feinberg, Oceanside

July 10: If countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand can ban assault weapons after mass shootings, so must we. These weapons are used on the front lines of the war in Ukraine. They do not belong on the streets of America.

— Linda Strome, Manorville

Sept. 7: Gov. Kathy Hochul insists gun-free zones is a brilliant idea. Does she think criminals and crackpots will obey? Just look at how our city, state and country have been targeted by criminals. When we are being law-abiding people, at our houses of worship, dropping off our kids, riding to work, or enjoying a meal, I only hope there is a “good guy with a gun,” should the need arise.

— Nancy Romano, Massapequa

War in Ukraine

March 1: Russia’s actions against Ukraine are the worst acts of military aggression against an independent nation since the blitzkrieg by Nazi Germany in 1939.

— James P. Kelly, Huntington

March 6: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shown us leadership. He faces Russia’s overwhelming military might, ruled by a war criminal with his finger on the nuclear trigger. And what does he ask for? Anti-tank ammunition, not an evacuation.

— Thomas Atkinson, Hauppauge

March 13: Any rogue nation that has access to nuclear weapons might now visualize gunpoint diplomacy as a viable option. The world’s free nations must show Russia and its allies that this will be met with unwavering resolve and action.

— Michael J. Vicchiarelli, Eastport

April 8: If the UN fails to deal with a member nation that obviously disregards the rights of its neighbors to exist, how can the UN claim to be a “peacekeeping” organization?

— Jerry Reilly, Lindenhurst

April 27: It would be better to have an all-out confrontation now with Russian President Vladimir Putin, rather than wait for him to invade Western Europe country by country.

 — Ernst P.A. Vanamson, Sayville

June 3: We seem to be in the realm of folly. On one page, your newspaper highlights the excitement of the Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach with fighter jets. It is beyond ironic and sad that this critical hardware is what Ukraine needs. I wonder what its people would think about these military displays for entertainment here.

 — Richard Silvers, Lynbrook

School mascots

Nov. 27: I am glad to see the state Department of Education taking action against racist and stereotypical mascots.

— Kathryn Twomey, Port Jefferson Station

Nov. 27: What a disgrace. More woke nonsense over a made-up issue.

— Thomas Haas, Massapequa

Nov. 27: History helps us remember and learn from past mistakes, especially the poor treatment of Native Americans.

— Denise Buss, Medford

Dec. 6: Administrators, ashamed of how we wronged the indigenous people, are trying to erase them from history.

— Jeff Ward, Medford

COVID tests, shots

Jan. 2: I’m on line for a rapid COVID-19 test at a local clinic. I had tried all the drug chains, etc., with no success. Our political candidates promised to crush the virus. Crush it? We can’t even test for it.

— Rich Adrian, Huntington

Jan. 16: I am against vaccine and mask mandates. Kids have been made pawns in a dangerous game. They can’t fight, so their parents must. I am done waiting for the issue to go away.

— Dawn Cluff, Bayville

Aug. 12: Vaccine skeptics should be thankful that social media didn’t exist when they were children and they didn’t have themselves as parents.

— Jeff Fass, Sayville

Cyberattacks

Nov. 15: People should be fired for the way Suffolk County’s information technology personnel handled the county cyberattack. It shows how inept and dysfunctional this political process had been. So many red flags were reported, and they were ignored.

— Douglas Scheim, Commack

Nov. 15: This shows why many don’t trust government. Despite sufficient warning about a “real threat,” the bureaucrats responsible for protecting the network and the politicians we elected to oversee them couldn’t do the right thing. Now, the finger-pointing starts instead of “pink slips” being issued.

— Ed Patterson, Holbrook

Jan. 6 and Trump

Jun 30: I have traveled with my family to Europe, Asia and South America the past 50 years. I am proud to have been born in America. Then came Jan. 6, 2021. I watched with horror and disbelief as the Capitol was assaulted in an attempted coup. It felt even more disturbing than 9/11, carried out by “patriots.”

— William J. Raniolo, East Setauket

July 18: Pay heed to the House’s Jan. 6 committee hearings. This is not a Republican, Democratic or Independent issue. This is an American issue. Truth is important. Without truth, tyranny will prevail. Democracy is fragile.

— Diane McGuire, Northport

July 22: The committee is not investigating anything. It seems to be comprised of haters of former President Donald Trump. I’d say the committee is only looking for a conviction to knock Trump out of the 2024 presidential race.

— Timothy Gallagher, Seaford

Aug. 14: If an executive loses a job and leaves on bad terms (doesn’t acknowledge the successor or support a transition) and is suspected to have absconded with sensitive company papers, that person should expect a knock on the door from the law.

— Joe Innace, East Islip

Aug. 23: Anyone working for or associated with Trump is in peril. The prosecutors have no evidence to prosecute Trump. They go after those who worked for him and find an associate to wear down with legal fees. They make a deal for information. They have “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

— John Fallon, Kings Park

Sept. 7: Remember when Trump incited his followers to chant “lock her up” because Hillary Clinton may have destroyed classified emails? Now, there’s the erasure of Secret Service emails and confiscating classified documents. Many Trump followers now chant “Defund the FBI,” lest their leader gets locked up.

— Ray Boivie, Kings Park

Sept. 27: State Attorney General Letitia James fulfilled her campaign pledge to sue Trump. This is another political stunt.

— Bob Louis, Stony Brook

NY midterm elections

Nov. 20: Most election deniers lost in this midterm election. However, on Long Island, gubernatorial ballots were cast mostly for Rep. Lee Zeldin, who had voted to overturn a legal and fair presidential election in violation of his oath of office.

— Rich DeVito, Long Beach

Dec. 4: Blaming “public safety” for the fall of New York Democrats was a major factor, but the suburbs have been mostly neglected, and those voters are turning against the Democrats. The baby boomer moderate Democrats are upset. Dreamers, felons and money handouts come first while U.S. borders stay wide open.

— Gary Bravstein, Searingtown