Consider our impact on a place we hold sacred Briarwood: “O Zechariah, We give you Good News of a son, whose name is John, a name We have never given before” (al-Quran 19:7). ” ‘O John, hold on to the Scripture firmly,’ and we gave him wisdom in his youth” (al-Quran 19:12). “And peace be upon him the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the Day he is raised alive” (al-Quran 19:15). The angel Gabriel said: “I am only the messenger of your Lord to give you tidings of a pure son” (al-Quran 19:19). Jesus said: “I am the servant of God. He has given me the Scripture, and made me a prophet. And has made me blessed wherever I may be; and has enjoined on me prayer and charity, so long as I live” (al-Quran 19:30-31). “So Peace is upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the Day I get resurrected alive” (al-Quran 19:33). This is the story of Christmas in the Holy Quran, of Isa (Jesus) in the land of Palestine — tormented today with more than 45,000 innocent Palestinian Arabs (mostly women and children) murdered in total environmental devastation in Gaza by the state of Israel. Genocide. Woe to the United States of America for $20 billion to Israel. But in God we trust. Joseph N. Manago Practice grace Brooklyn: This is supposed to be the time for all people to love their neighbors. We should be charitable and not attack people for honest mistakes. Forget about lawsuits or criticizing people who have different opinions. Heal America, do not divide it. Alan Podhaizer Heartfelt message Manhattan: Happy holidays. You are real and valid and perfect, no matter what you celebrate. I honor and appreciate you. You are beautiful, intelligent and good. I’ll be loving you this season! Keep being you. Love you! Rock on! Eva Tortora Who gets paid? Yonkers: This one has “scam” written all over it. The NYPD’s top cop resigns because he forced a female employee to have sex with him for overtime? Give me a break. Chief Jeffrey Maddrey resigns and gets a big pension; the employee sues and gets a big payday? Sometimes things don’t add up. Was she his mistress/girlfriend? Tom Deering The MTA wins again Milford, Pa.: So, it seems like congestion pricing will begin on Jan. 5 and the MTA will get its windfall. And so it continues that drivers pay for transit services they don’t use and the MTA still has zero accountability. When do we stop feeding this beast and ask for a total and thorough accounting of the billions the MTA gets? I’m sure glad I left the city. Robert K. Greco Horror stories Brooklyn: Gov. Hochul gives a press statement saying crime is down in the subways. This was after a sleeping homeless woman was set on fire by a migrant who even sat on a bench watching her burn to death. Even though he was caught later in the day, people who ride are uneasy, and rightfully so. Despite the mayor or governor giving statements to assure subway riders that crime is on the downtrend, every day there are serious violent crimes being committed, not counting the streets. Being a retired NYC Transit worker, I wouldn’t want to ride either the bus or train, also because of the weak court system that will let violent criminals go without bail, then want to prosecute people who defend themselves against criminals. Day or night, the transit system is like taking a gamble to see whether one becomes a crime statistic. Joseph Comperchio It’s not over Bayside: The National Guard is being deployed in NYC subways to deter crime. One place they won’t be deployed is in our nation’s Capitol, as they were four years ago for the highly questionable installation of President Biden. Democrats, led by Nancy Pelosi, manufactured a riot on Jan. 6, 2021 to justify the military presence, but mainly to ensure that the election results would not be returned to the swing states. I hope a legitimate investigation is conducted into the results of the 2020 election. Margaret Dabraccio On a leash Smithfield, R.I.: In the very recent past, I’ve been accused of elementary school name-calling. It’s been my practice just to call balls and strikes, much like your garden-variety baseball umpire. Jeff Davis led a rebellion to overthrow our unity as a nation, and therefore our system of government as detailed in our Constitution. Donny Bone Spurs did the same on Jan. 6, 2021. The people have chosen the orange version of Davis for another term. I accept it. To most, his acronym on Jan. 20, 2025 will become POTUS. I believe I have a better and more accurate one to try on for size: EMOL. That is, Elon Musk’s Orange Labrador. I believe it’s more appropriate now. The question I have for all of you and the editors of this page: Do you believe the same? Stephen De Falco Overlooked issues Yonkers: Granted, freedom of the press is a sine qua non in a free society. Therefore, kudos to the Daily News for highlighting the overtime and sexual abuses at the highest levels of the NYPD (“The free press & the NYPD,” editorial, Dec. 24). However, one swallow does not make a summer. Sure, the Daily News editors regarded Donald Trump’s claim that the “press is very corrupt” as very offensive. Still, there is no denying that the paper was very derelict in reporting on the border crisis, Biden’s diminishing cognitive capabilities and the Hunter Biden laptop issue. Then, in hindsight, The News generally takes an anti-cop stance. Frank Brady Do the digging Manhattan: Why, oh why do our nation’s newspapers continue to print anything that comes from Trump’s mouth? Is it to confirm that he is insane? He’s handing out ambassadorships with little regard for protocol, including to his convicted criminal in-law. Let’s do real investigative journalism and get him out of office before he drags everything down to his lowlife level. Neil J. Pollicino Irreversible errors Merion Station, Pa.: Trump denounced Biden for commuting 37 death sentences to life without parole. Thirty-five years ago, Trump took out full-page advertisements in various New York newspapers demanding the death penalty for the five teenagers arrested for raping a woman. In a different time and place, it’s highly likely that the Central Park Five would’ve been convicted and legally executed if they hadn’t already been publicly lynched prior to trial. Despite their confessions, they were innocent; DNA exonerated them. Over the last few decades, hundreds have been freed after evidence of false testimony, questionable witness identification, flawed lineups, ineffective assistance of counsel, DNA and/or prosecutors’ withholding exculpatory evidence. Since errors occur, albeit in a minuscule number of cases, it’s incumbent upon the judicial system to eliminate the death penalty to allow the truly innocent to prove their innocence. Paul L. Newman Can’t win Manhattan: Voting is a real sucker’s game. People on Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Income will not get retroactive checks from the IRS that retirees will get. They pay rent like everybody else, bills too. After seeing this, I will never vote again. It doesn’t pay to vote. Well, it’s a sucker’s game and I’m no longer a sucker. Helen M. Murphy Jersey invasion Eureka, Calif.: In his 1897 science fiction novel “The War of the Worlds,” British author H.G. Wells wrote about an advanced, hostile extraterrestrial species from Mars landing the vanguard contingent of their formidable interplanetary invasion force in England, whereas Orson Welles’ infamous 1938 radio adaptation featured the state of New Jersey as the Martian invasion location. Hundreds of unidentified flying objects reportedly the size of sport utility vehicles being called “drones” have been recorded making coordinated maneuvers in the skies over the Garden State, with no reasonable explanations forthcoming. The media continually referring to this swarm as “drones” is problematic because it is unknown what these objects are. They are clearly too large and remain airborne too long to be any conventional commercial drone aircraft. Nor is there any indication of foreign involvement. Where’s Tony Soprano when you need him? He’d get to the bottom of it. Jack Banker