Trump and military, LIRR tickets, violence of hate, reading scores

Modern wars need all our soldiers

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump appear to be caught in a time warp [“President calls for using cities as ‘training ground,’ ” Nation, Oct. 1]. We have learned from the war in Ukraine that wars aren’t going to be won with pushups and clean-shaven soldiers. Nor will they be won with battleships in the Pacific Ocean.

It’s clear that war in our modern time is and will be cyber warfare, drone warfare, space warfare, and in the future perhaps artificial intelligence warfare. The military tasks ahead of us will require all kinds of technology-savvy soldiers.

We will need all of our people, including females, LGBTQ people, and yes, maybe some people who aren’t in tiptop shape to win these future military conflicts. I’m hopeful that the generals at this unnecessary and wasteful meeting understand the needs of our modern military.

— Glenn Aldridge, Garden City

Has Donald Trump outlined his blueprint to end our democracy? Connect the dots, but this is not a child’s game:

Pete Hegseth announced the military will “unleash overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy. We also don’t fight with stupid rules of engagement.”

Trump proposed to the U.S. military leadership that the American cities run by radical left Democrats should be the “training grounds” for the armed forces to combat the “invasion from within.”

Who is the enemy? In 2024, Trump called Democrats the “enemy within” and more dangerous than U.S. foreign adversaries. Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Trump said to “beat the hell” out of “radical left lunatics.”

So, is Trump preparing a military occupation of cities? Will 2025 have been the last time America saw a peaceful transfer of power? We must not ignore his words. His rhetoric and emerging strategy could be laying the groundwork for the death of democracy. These are sad and scary thoughts, but connect the dots.

— Gerry Ring, Old Bethpage

Tickets should have no expiration date

Here’s a practical solution to the Long Island Rail Road’s self-created ticket “issue” [“MTA pulls back changes,” News, Sept. 27]. Make tickets valid from the moment of purchase. If it absolutely must include an expiration date — which it doesn’t need — set it to 10 years.

Once a customer buys a ticket, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has received the money. What happens after that is the rider’s responsibility, not the MTA’s.

When and how people choose to use a ticket is their own business. The MTA’s unnecessary activation and expiration policies are internal problems it invented, and now the MTA is pushing the burden onto riders to work around them.

— Jay Eric, Glen Cove

I probably sound a bit cynical, but I would be fairly certain that the MTA had this fallback plan in place all along.

And perhaps even another as a last resort. It seems to be a common practice today to throw out the worst-case scenario, wait for the pushback, then act like you are being understanding and appear to come up with a better proposal.

— Michael Lefkowitz, East Meadow

Rhetoric of hate fuels a growing U.S. risk

I am resigned to believe that we have a new epidemic “Second victim of Dallas ICE shooting dies,” Nation, Oct. 1]. The most severe mass shooting suspects usually seem to be the same, young males who possess a penchant for heroic delusions and are constantly exposed to political content.

The symptoms always seem to be the same.

While there are multiple probable sources of infection, the prime candidate is apocalyptic rhetoric. It is both reasonable and expected that President Donald Trump will receive criticism, should he spend time devising fiery posts describing one’s political opponents as an evil that must be purged and their supporters reeducated.

The violence isn’t the disease; it is in of itself a symptom of a more widespread illness. The cure should be obvious: Stop inciting hatred, but those who do that don’t seem all that interested in stopping.

— Mackenzie Hudson, Southold

Schools should be going back to basics

I am a retired New York City Department of Education reading teacher/staff developer who has supported back-to-basics reading instruction for over 50 years [“Back to basics to boost reading,” Editorial, Sept. 25]. Unfortunately, different methodologies have been implemented over the decades, and they have yielded below-grade reading proficiency in students.

Perhaps now and going forward, a strong focus will be placed on phonics and science-based reading instruction along with reading comprehension beginning in elementary schools.

— Marsha Feldman, Syosset