Democrats can do better than Sanders

This country has had enough of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Sanders, with his ”I’m sick and tired” campaign, wants to take private insurance away from millions of people, including many senior citizens who are comfortable with their insurance choice. He then wants to pander to the youth for votes by promising free college for all.

And remember his teammate AOC, who along with others sabotaged Amazon’s plans to bring thousands of jobs to New York City, which she represents.

Democrats need to do something bold. They need to run the most qualified, formidable, brightest and respected candidates from their party. If they want to win and lead our country, they should show courage and nominate Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) for president and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for vice president. Both are winners in every aspect.

Jeffrey Myles Klein,

Centereach 

Dilemma over plastic bags

Several months ago, I acquired some cloth bags. I brought them into supermarkets, and filled them at my checkout.

After about a month of using and liking them, I was running out of plastic bags for my kitchen garbage, and I realized that there is no viable alternative for plastic bags for garbage. Paper is the only other choice, but with wet kitchen garbage they break and leak, and there is the rub. The problem isn’t plastic bags for transporting items from the market to the home, it is that there is nothing else to transport garbage to the collection trucks and to the dump. What is needed is a product that is biodegradable, inexpensive and water resistant. The article “The end of the plastic bag” [Business, Feb. 16] mentioned “bamboo, cotton, hemp and jute.” Can any of them be viable for garbage?

It is hard to believe that a company like DuPont has not thought about this. I have contacted DuPont, and I am awaiting an answer.

Fred Harber,

Great Neck 

Dems should fix ideas on Medicare

I found the Democratic debate in Las Vegas very disturbing. The evening was spent criticizing each other [“Bloomberg takes heat,” News, Feb. 20]. They should attack President Donald Trump and what he has done to this country. They should just tell us how they will solve all of the problems facing Americans.

The talk of Medicare for All is unreasonable. Many people don’t realize that those of us on Medicare pay $144 every month for health care. Doesn’t sound like much, but that’s for one person. What about a family of four, who is covered only 80%. Medicare Advantage plans cost nothing, but you get what you pay for.

The candidates don’t insist that people have insurance or otherwise be penalized. People who don’t have insurance use emergency rooms for sore throats or earaches, and we all pay for that. And something must be done about the high cost of medical drugs.

Christine Parker,

Middle Island 

Bloomberg’s past dooms his future

Does America really need another misogynistic billionaire in the Oval Office [“Bloomberg knows he knows best,” Opinion, Feb. 19]? Besides being an arrogant plutocrat with a track record of misguided policies, former Mayor Mike Bloomberg has a long history of demeaning women in the workplace.

A few years back, I watched in disbelief as he excoriated a female reporter for asking what he deemed to be “a stupid question” regarding a protest by Italian-American activists over a Japanese artist’s exhibit in Columbus Circle. This exchange occurred after Bloomberg’s security personnel had attempted to intimidate the peaceful protesters.

Moreover, Bloomberg’s martinet-like style of management alienated many minorities, helped exacerbate homelessness and triggered a city payroll scandal.

And his belated apology for the stop-and-frisk policy, which former U.S. District Court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin ruled was unconstitutional, is political opportunism masquerading as contrition.

When it comes to presidential timber, Bloomberg is no profile in courage.

Rosario A. Iaconis,

Mineola

Editor’s note: The writer is an adjunct professor in the Social Sciences Department at Suffolk County Community College.

Likely Trump will pardon Stone

It looks like Roger Stone’s name will soon be added to the lengthy list of people that President Donald Trump has pardoned recently [“Stone gets 40 months,” News, Feb. 21].

For all of Trump’s talk about being tough on crime, apparently to him white-collar crime doesn’t count. Especially if the accused are his friends. To hear Trump tell it, all of his associates who have been investigated have suffered greatly and have been treated very unfairly. But there is one thing that Trump fails to acknowledge. Many of these people have been found guilty of their crimes by a jury of their peers.

Rich Poggio,

Miller Place