Term limits for House speaker

Term limits are the only answer. It was imposed on the office of president because he could get so powerful he could become a monarch. Like the speaker of the House has now become.

John van Acken,

Bellerose  

Agent Orange and my war experience

Agent Orange is one of the greatest tragedies of the Vietnam War [“Schumer: Add 4 Agent Orange maladies,” News, Feb. 20]. Fifty years later, some still quibble over the effects of this vile chemical. The Veteran Affairs official policy on Agent Orange neuropathies is still “Must manifest itself within one year of exposure.” Could you imagine if that was said about asbestos exposure (to which most servicemen then also were exposed).

As a helicopter pilot, I remember those maneuvers over the rice paddies. We would hover over the water and this giant ethereal cloud would rise, enveloping the aircraft. Those minuscule bubbles of water were laden with a dioxin we were breathing in, and being bathed in. To think we relished and enjoyed those moments for the cool, refreshing feeling they provided from the oppressive heat.

I now have hypertension, neuropathy in my legs and hands, and a new sensation creeping up my neck. I have a week of radiation treatment left for thyroid cancer.

Kudos to Sen. Chuck Schumer, and good luck.

As I say, “Vietnam: the war that keeps on killing.”

Timothy S. Dahlen Sr.,

Remsenburg

Also look at gerrymandering

It is interesting to read that the State Senate is finally probing allegations of housing discrimination on Long Island as a result of Newsday’s reporting [“Subpoenas to agents, firms,” News, Feb. 21]. However, as stated in the Sermon on the Mount, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” Who subpoenas the state senators for their plank of blatant gerrymandering?

John Wolf,

Levittown

Students’ request not hot to handle

Regarding the article “Students urge colleges to divest from fossil fuels” [Business, Feb. 20], I understand the students’ desire to help keep the temperatures from rising too quickly, but it is too easy to demand others take action instead of just taking action themselves. A demand was made by Oxford students to divest from their BP and Shell holdings. The financial affairs manager said he could not arrange such a divestment on short notice, but he would be willing to shut off the gas central heating in the college dorms almost immediately. He added that he was being snarky, but his point was that “it is all too easy to request others to do things that carry no personal cost to yourself.” The students replied that it was “inappropriate” to suggest turning off the heat as it would be “dangerous.”

And so our world has become better and more habitable because we use fossil fuels. They will create greenhouse gases, but they will also enable us to create better technologies to help humans (and other creatures) survive our future.

Andrej Brchnel,

East Northport

Editor’s note: The writer is an earth science teacher in Flushing.

Contributions do influence politicians

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren savaged Mike Bloomberg during the Nevada debate for the way he is financing his candidacy [“Bloomberg takes heat,” News, Feb. 20]. Yes, Bloomberg has a big advantage by being rich, but the way elections have been financed the past 30 or more years is corrupt. To run for president, or any other political office, candidates must prostrate themselves before special interest groups. For politicians to say they are not influenced by campaign contributions is a lie. The election process is corrupt, and we see more and more politicians being convicted and driven from office because of the system.

I don’t know whether Bloomberg is the answer, but his method of financing himself is not any more wrong than what other candidates do. The candidate who collects the most money spends more money than the others, often on negative ads. The solution is for politicians to pass laws that limit the amount of money they can collect.

Roger Kaufmann,

East Northport

Now, Dems turn to new gun bills

So Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the state Democratic majority propose a plethora of more gun-control bills that the criminal population will ignore [“Dems have gun laws in their sights,” News, Feb. 17].

Isn’t this the same team that passed the law that releases without bail many criminal defendants charged with “nonviolent” crimes such as stalking, grand larceny, assault as a hate crime, second-degree manslaughter, burglary, criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds, and many drug offenses?

What do they put in the water that Democrats drink? Albert Einstein said: “The difference between genius and stupidity is: Genius has its limits.”  

Richard H. Staudt,

Mount Sinai