To the editor,
I find it appalling and offensive that you would publish a story without the full facts (“ ‘Sicko’ priest honor,” Mill-Marine Courier, Jan. 5).
Why is it not mentioned that Msgr. Thomas Brady also suffers from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease? It’s a huge part of the story! In fact, it’s the basis of the story. His nephew, who was interviewed by Channel 2 News, clearly said his uncle has not been well mentally.
Before you report such a story, it’s a good idea to get all the facts and not report only half of them. I am certainly not saying, if true, that it’s justified, of course it isn’t. However, having a mental illness (again, if true) is a huge factor that certainly should’ve been mentioned in this story.
I feel awful for the children allegedly involved — along with their families. No child should ever suffer any form of abuse under any circumstances. I pray the children involved are safe, healthy, and well. If help is needed for the alleged victims, and the alleged accuser, I hope and pray all involved get the attention necessary to heal.
One would think if the monsignor had a history of this — given his 50 plus years of service — that it sure as hell would’ve come out by now. Common sense can only dictate that Msgr. Brady is not mentally stable.
If the accusations are correct — and I pray they aren’t — then I believe that his illnesses that took over, and not the man. The monsignor is well loved, and respected by many people in various communities from all walks of life.
It amazes me what the media can do to an already horribly sad story. Your headline speaks volumes about your own knowledge and credibility with no regard about how it makes a person’s family feel seeing that in print. With the word “sicko,” you’ve already pretty much formed the public’s opinion — and that’s immoral and unfair.
Name withheld
‘Paleswhine’
To the editor,
Even though you’re a neighborhood paper, you should get your facts straight if you want to be taken seriously!
In the profile about Linda Sarsour (“Twelve To Watch in 2012,” Jan. 5) you state, “the Brooklynite, whose parents come from Palestine.” Where is “Palestine?” Not on any map I’ve seen. You write it as if it exists. It goes to show that if you state a lie long enough, it becomes “fact.”
You must mean Israel! “Palestinians” haven’t accepted this yet and they don’t want to because they don’t want peace! This has been their propaganda since their late leader, Yasser Arafat (who was Egyptian by the way), made it his mantra.
Sarsour’s parents are probably Israeli Arabs — nothing wrong with that. She has hinted at running for office. That’s all we need, another unapologetic propagandist who denies the right of Israel to exist.
Marilyn Feinberg
Marine Park
Trash can-troversy
To the editor,
Is the Sanitation Department kidding (“Golden rules: City admits Marty brought back bins,” Dec. 22)?
It’s giving out tickets for uncovered garbage pails? Did anyone ever see what happens to garbage pail covers after a pick-up? Are they placed back on top of the pail? Ha-ha-ha!
The pails are thrown about and usually wind up in the street to be run over by passing cars. If we were authorized to give out tickets for this wanton act, the city would rack up millions! Give me a break!
Toni Melino
Homecrest
…
To the editor,
The nephew whose aunt received a summons for an uncovered, overspilling garbage can, although she didn’t own one, must understand that intrinsic integrity is like pregnancy — it demonstrably exists or doesn’t (“No ‘can’ do,” Letters to the Editor, Dec. 22).
He and a growing chorus of politicians are calling for cameras to confirm alleged offenses — bad idea! An unscrupulous agent could simply create the “crime scene.” I remember a case of an agent caught on video smashing fluorescent tubes near a store on Bay Parkway and issuing the owner a summons for broken glass. I also remember the case of the agent who ticketed a widow for litter in her “alley” when her house didn’t have one!
Were those agents ever punished — or even identified? Intrinsic integrity demands diligent supervision of all agents.
It’s also a bad idea because then Mayor Bloomberg would install a computerized photographic system with soaring costs. Also, forget about notarized affidavits from neighbors. A few years ago, recycling enforcement agents from the Department of Sanitation would scrutinize curbside cans like forensic pathologists ferreting out clues in a crime case, and when a homeowner tried to hide his can, he was admonished by the agent who accused him of trying to hide the “evidence.”
Joseph McCoppin
Sheepshead Bay
iScammers
To the editor,
Let me get this straight — a stranger comes up to you on the street, says he bought an iPhone at an Apple store the day before, but now needs money to pay for his daughter’s Christmas dinner, and he offers it to you for $20 (“Entrapment or business as usual?” Jan. 5).
The least he could have bought it for at the Apple store is $199 — the high-end version could be as much as $650 — and he was going to sell it to you for $20?
The lesson here is that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Diane Hunt
Bay Ridge
Class-less UFT
To the editor
Teacher evaluations based on standardized test scores is something the United Federation of Teachers should be fighting against. Not all children are good test-takers!
Principals make sure that senior teachers — or those pedagogues they don’t like — get the most difficult classes. That way, when the scores aren’t good, this will be their excuse for getting rid of the teacher.
Instead of concentrating on student discipline and restoring the 600-school concept for chronically unruly students, we have to fight these nonsensical issues.
Why does the schools chancellor refuse to lower class sizes? Why are excessed teachers, many of whom taught for 15 years or longer, relegated to substitute status? Put these duly licensed, satisfactory teachers back into the classroom where they belong so that we may lower burgeoning class sizes.
How can principals from the so-called Leadership Academy evaluate teachers to begin with when they themselves never taught? When principals find fault with a teacher’s methodology, they should go into the classroom and give demonstration lessons.
Ed Greenspan
Sheepshead Bay
GOP-hers
To the editor,
Republicans are going nuts over the notice that President Obama wants to reduce funding to the Pentagon by $1 trillion over the next few years. They believe that this will weaken our military and make us look weak around the world.
Allow me to remind everyone that a recent audit of the Pentagon found that billions of dollars were wasted, and still more not accounted for. The reduction in funding is an excellent idea — it gets finances under control.
This kind of reasoning is badly needed in Washington, and it’s about time someone is standing up on the issue of fiscal responsibility in government.
Ronald Cohen
Sheepshead Bay
Age matters
To the editor,
In your article, “Old John Lindsay campaign ad found” (Jan. 5), you state that Lindsay “was the youngest mayor in New York City’s history.” The youngest mayor was John Purroy Mitchell, who was elected like Lindsay on a fusion ticket in 1913, and took office in January 1914 at age 34.
He served one term and was defeated in 1917 by Democrat John F. Hylan — for whom Hylan Boulevard on Staten Island is named. Mitchell volunteered for service in World War 1 and died in an airplane training accident in 1918.
Mitchell Field airbase on Long Island is named in his honor. It later became a shopping mall.
Lawrence Stelter
Bay Ridge
‘99-percenters’
To the editor,
I don’t know what the Obama family’s Hawaiian vacation cost, but it’s downright mean spirited to compare it to the vacations of former Presidents Bush and Clinton (“Opulent Obamas,” Letters to the Editor, Dec. 29).
To describe the First Lady in such a manner only shows how narrow minded and despicable some people’s thoughts are.
Reality check! President Obama and the First Lady are definitely in step with the 99 percent of us who just want our fair share.
Bertha Husband
Sheepshead Bay
