Opinion

Letters: Show some class

As a retired military non-commissioned officer, it made my blood boil to see the total disrespect for Gen. David Petraeus by a group of CUNY students as he walked down the street after teaching a class (“Message to CUNY: Apologize,” Editorial, Sept. 13).

These spoon-fed, ignorant miscreants have no perception of what respect for a great American officer means.

Perhaps a group of veterans from our military services — American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars or Marine Corps League — could volunteer to escort the general down the street so that his safety could be ensured.

Perhaps appropriate respect would then be meted out and, I’m sure, applauded by many.

Edward Carey
Staten Island

“Quinned” is a term used to describe a major defeat in an election where a candidate who is the likely winner in an election has a major past decision come back and bite them in the butt and they lose because of it (“Quinn Hurt by Mike Link,” Sept. 12).

Tuesday was a proud day in New York’s history, because the voters sent a message to all politicians that when you mess with the will of the people, you will lose their support as well.

I am proud to say that many in the gay and lesbian community voted for Bill de Blasio because we believe that Christine Quinn was self-indulgent and arrogant.

It was not about having the first gay mayor; it is about what is right for the city.

Quinn is not right for any position, let alone mayor.

Saverio Esposito
Ozone Park

The Roman Catholic church is finally considering going back to the concept of married priests (“Chaste Priest Shock, Sept. 12).

The Orthodox Catholic Church allowed clergy to marry from the beginning. The stipulation is they must marry before ordination to the priesthood.

Many Orthodox deacons delay becoming a priest until they decide whether they want to stay celibate or they want to marry and have a family.

This has worked for close to 2,000 years. Don’t forget — St. Peter was married.

Anne Nastu
Bridgeport, Conn.

To this outsider, the 2013 New York City mayoral race looks awfully simple (“The Year of the Overreach,” Bob McManus, PostOpinion, Sept. 11).

If New Yorkers are tired of Mayor Bloomberg, they have good reason. The mayor has practiced his own bit of overreach this year — as well as the 11 other years of his term — with his attempts to micromanage residents’ lives, down to the amount of soda they can buy.

But by fighting for policies such as stop-and-frisk, Bloom­berg has continued the tough-on-crime approach of his predecessor, Rudy Giuliani, enabling the city to continue a now two-decades-long respite from rampant crime.

The race should be a no-brainer. Bill de Blasio represents the least-appealing aspects of micromanaging government of the Bloomberg years and quite likely a return to the crime-ridden years of David Dinkins.

Joe Lhota would lead a government founded more on the better aspects of the Bloomberg years, including lower crime rates and a better economic outlook. Presumably, Lhota’s campaign will highlight those simple differences.

For citizens and tourists alike, let’s hope the voters make the right choice.

John Laraway
Midland, Texas