It’s hard to mourn an indifferent bureaucracy Woodmere, L.I.: When I hear people criticize Elon Musk for waving his chainsaw and taking a sledgehammer to federal agencies, I understand their point. There are so many critical jobs — if people actually do their jobs. In late 2024, my dad ended up in the hospital and was sent to rehab afterwards. At 86, his health is deteriorating and he had to be transitioned into long-term nursing care. He and my mom (89) are recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI). In early January, my mom received a letter from the Social Security Administration informing her that her benefits were discontinued. I took her to the Social Security office in Rockaway. We were told to come back in a month and returned on Feb. 14. We were assured that all documentation was in order and her benefits would be restored. Fast-forward to March 14. Nothing happened, so I drove my mom to the office. A gentleman said that since she and my dad were not living together, they had to reapply for benefits. Both need to be interviewed at the same time on April 10. Mom’s bank balance is $0. She has no idea when she will see the next check. She doesn’t understand why people who are there to help are so rudely indifferent. She will be 90 soon and doesn’t need much, but will she be kicked out of her apartment? The supervisor seemed to see their error, apologized and said she will sort things out. Time will show, but I am not holding my breath. What happened to our public servants? When I walked out of the office, I was cheering Elon and his chainsaw! Julia Golbin Got it done Yonkers: For those of us who prayed for the safe return of U.S. astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wiltmore, our prayers have been answered. And the press continues to hide the fact that Musk offered to engineer the safe return of the astronauts last year, however, the malevolent Joe Biden denied him only because the Musk brand had ties to Trump. It is astounding to think that the president of the United States would rather leave our astronauts stranded in space than allow Trump to get any credit for this successful space odyssey. It is another chapter in the Biden legacy in which history will brand him as America’s worst president. Nicholas Maffei Knowledge is power Mahopac, N.Y.: “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” — Thomas Jefferson. Jim Holdridge Security threat Aiken, S.C.: There is something seriously wrong with Federal Judge James E. Boasberg ordering the Trump administration to bring the deported Tren de Aragua criminals back to our country. As a former law enforcement officer, I can’t for the life of me understand why the judge wants criminals back in our country. More to the point, the judge appears to ignore the danger these miscreants bring to our nation. If a normal citizen pulled that stunt, they would be considered to be colluding with an enemy committing an act of sedition to undermine the Trump administration. I heard talk that the judge should be impeached, but in my opinion, he should be charged as an enemy of the state for giving an unlawful order that put we the people in danger. Gregory J. Topliff Personal digs Long Beach, L.I.: In a perfect world, the Trump administration would have turned around mid-flight like Judge Boasberg wanted. Trump should have let all the criminals stay in Boasberg’s personal house and neighborhood. He would never make such a foolish ruling again. Rob Ryan Rescue record Jersey City: Let me get this straight. A low-level French lawmaker has the chutzpah to claim that the United States should return the Statue of Liberty to France. Let’s see: We helped the French out twice, in places such as Belleau Wood and Normandy. We bailed out the French in Vietnam. And over the years, we’ve helped out the French financially. The way I see it, given all that we’ve done to help France, maybe if France shows a bit of gratitude and behaves itself, the United States just might give France the privilege of becoming a state of the union. Kamala Patel Reciprocal rescues Manhattan: Yes, America helped rescue France during the Second World War. But Trump should be reminded that without France, America would not have won its independence from Great Britain. Michael Barnhart Uncharacteristically low Manhattan: How inept can one country get? Israel successfully decimated Gaza, obliterated any possibility of Hamas invading Israel again and a ceasefire was accomplished. Once it was over, Israel had every right to continue hostilities. Now the people of Gaza are spread out throughout the ruins, living in bombed-out buildings and ramshackle tent encampments. Hamas is living amongst them. So, how come after having every right to start bombing again, was Israel only able to kill 400 Gazans? With them out in the open and no more schools or hospitals for Hamas to hide in, it should have been like shooting fish in a barrel. Of the 400, how many were Hamas? We know there were 130 or so children and women. For letting the ceasefire lapse, you should have been able to wipe out at least 10,000. Come on, guys, you have the official label of war criminals to live up to. Steven Davies Not welcome Palm Coast, Fla.: Eva Kalikoff, Sarah Kerson and Adam Jaffe (“Jews must fight the Mahmoud Khalil case,” op-ed, March 18) should have been on the plane with Mahmoud Khalil. I bet their parents are proud of them. Douglas Weinberg Waves of attack Bronx: To Voicer Robert Weissbard: Friendly fire is accidental. The bombing of the USS Liberty was deliberate. W. Twirley Basic right Manhattan: Re “Toss this ballot case” (editorial, March 17): I represent Jim Walden in the case your editorial baselessly disparages. His principal message is that NYC needs independent leadership, and he is simply trying to express that through the Independence Party. That’s his right under the First Amendment. It is disappointing that The News missed that point. You urge the court to dismiss the case because “Walden should have sued the state, not the state and city BOEs. And he should have sued under a First Amendment claim.” But Walden could not sue New York because the 11th Amendment to the Constitution bars suits against a state in federal court. Walden sued the proper defendants — the ones responsible for enforcing this unconstitutional law. His case is explicitly based on the First Amendment, which bars the government from prohibiting him from using the word “Independence” in the name of his political organization. You should correct the record. John R. Cuti Reform the SVU Manhattan: NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has brought high energy and a welcome emphasis on reform to her early weeks on the job. In “Higher rape stats are due to better reporting” (op-ed, March 18) co-authored with Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence Commissioner Saloni Sethi, she discusses steps the NYPD has taken to facilitate reporting of sexual assault, such as allowing reports to be taken in the city’s Family Justice Centers. This legitimately positive development should not obscure the magnitude of reforms still needed to the Special Victims Unit, which remains severely understaffed, undertrained and burdened with inexperienced investigators. Tisch has the potential to be a transformative leader for the SVU if she is willing to make changes on a scale to match the severity of SVU’s problems. NYC survivors and their advocates are rooting wholeheartedly for her to rise to the challenge. Jane Manning, director, Women’s Equal Justice Surfer detectors Flushing: Nowadays, all cars come equipped with rearview camera technology. My car also warns me when someone starts passing my rear when backing up. I’m sure similar tech can be added to subway cars to alert conductors when someone is above the cars. Ditto for buses. For trains, perhaps a good place to install this low-tech system would be on above-ground lines like the No. 7 train. Ben Jordon ...read more read less