I have been reading Michael Benjamin’s columns for several years (“The Real Addiction,” PostOpinion, July 14).
He never ceases to impress with his logic and integrity. However, it is these virtues that have apparently driven him from public life. The irony is there is no place for a person with intelligence and sobriety in government. I admire and respect him for his decision, but New York is poorer as a result.
Politics and entertainment have converged, and the result is neither good government nor satisfying entertainment.
Mark Nahmias, San Tan Valley, Ariz.
History mystery
Stephen Lynch’s piece was interesting, but I personally would not consider Flavius Josephus’ reference to Jesus to have been “contemporary,” any more than the Gospel of Mark, which preceded Josephus’ work by about 20 years and was written about 40 years after Jesus was said to have died (“Searching for the Real Jesus,” PostScript, July 14).
There are no contemporary citations for Jesus and his ministry, which have led some biblical scholars — Rudolf Bultmann and Frank Zindler — to assert that he probably never existed in the first place. Zindler also pointed out that at the time Jesus was said to be born, Nazareth did not appear on Roman maps of Judea and it was not a populated site until many years later.
Dennis Middlebrooks, Brooklyn
Drop the Twinkie
Josh Kosman’s article “Twinkie ‘Killers’” was very informative (July 16).
As a former employee of this once-proud company, I find it refreshing to see coverage pertaining to the roles that hedge-fund investment companies played in the bankruptcy of Hostess Brands.
A majority of the mainstream media has portrayed the bakers’ union as the chief cause of the company’s liquidation. Granted, the strike was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Many of my colleagues were and still are of the opinion that the liquidation was an orchestrated process. Union employees took major cuts in salary to emerge from the first bankruptcy. Management and salaried employees also took major losses.
This is much more than a political or economic issue. It is an issue of social justice. A US Bankruptcy Court judge had an opportunity to deny executives their bonuses; the bonuses were paid.
My request is for social justice from the readers of The Post: Do not buy these new products that are portrayed as American icons. I can’t think of a better way for the working class and union members to deliver a message.
Denis Fenton, Whitestone
NYPD vs. Nazis
What is frightening about this story is not the reference to Nazi Germany, but that it fails to mention a single mayoral candidate in this alleged debate who wants to keep New Yorkers safe from thugs (“Quinn Rips Weiner Over Frisk Fuhrer,” July 18).
In the neighborhoods where stop-and-frisk is necessary and has succeeded in reducing high rates of crime, the residents, shop-owners and superintendents praise stop-and-frisk for keeping them and their property safe. The young men in those areas praise the cops for knowing who the good and bad kids are, and not stopping the good kids.
Pandering to knee-jerk, inappropriate and irrelevant fears of Nazis will not keep New Yorkers safe. Stop-and-frisk — and the authority of cops not being second-guessed by civilian bureaucrats — will.
Joyce Parker, Manhattan