Fishkill, N.Y.: It was another bad week for conspiracy theorists, as the much-anticipated Durham report blew up in their faces. The report concluded that the FBI did not generate a politically motivated investigation to “get” Trump over his ties to Russia. In short, Trump’s whining about a “deep state” conspiracy to get him was diversionary nonsense. If only Trump’s conspiracy-loving gang could ever be humbled by facts, the Durham report should have added to their embarrassment.
Staten Island: Republican politicians often say guns in America should be more readily available to the average citizen for them to defend themselves against mass shooters. The GOP and its supporters claim that if a teacher or administrator, a clerk in a supermarket or even a pastor at church had a gun, the shooter may not have succeeded in killing as many people as he or she did. I’m still waiting to see that happen in sufficient numbers.
Douglaston: Here we go again. Just when I thought we were safe, the Sunday Crossword II puzzle is at it again. I didn’t write in on March 12, when a puzzle was very frustrating. I was hoping it was a fluke. Last week, on March 19, after taking great pleasure in being able to decipher all of the answers to a pretty tricky puzzle, I took it as a sign of better things to come. Instead, it was an omen.
Belle Harbor: So the mayor’s chief technology officer, Matt Fraser, somehow qualified for the very difficult-to-get NYPD pistol permit (“Adams aide with cop guards also packs a pistol,” Oct. 22). Applicants must prove that their work is dangerous enough to require special protection or have some other extraordinary reason to get the coveted concealed carry permit.
Beverly Hills, Calif.: Here is a letter my father wrote about Memorial Day and those who died serving this great country. My dad, George V. Hill Sr., served and never forgot those many heroes. He died in 2007, seven months after he wrote this: