Grumman drums, cartoons, Supreme Court term limits, election campaigns, focus groups, showing respect

Let’s see subpoenas for Grumman info

So government officials have decided to call on the state Department of Health to conduct an expanded health study about the chemical drums buried beneath the former Grumman dumping ground at Bethpage Community Park [“Health study sought after drums found,” News, Aug. 11].

Am I the only one wondering why I haven’t read why subpoenas have not been issued by the authorities concerned for information pertaining to Grumman’s burying these drums and where else they should be looking for more, who ordered it, and so on?

— Richard Polsley, Lake Ronkonkoma

For this new and expanded health study to be conclusive, medical records of former Grumman employees must be included.

— Chris Viola-Weiss, Oceanside

Partisan cartoons aren’t fair if false

While I recognize Newsday’s duty to present balanced political viewpoints on its opinion pages, that is no excuse for printing political cartoons on Saturdays that range into the realm of partisan misinformation. Consider two examples from the Aug. 10 cartoons [Cartoon Roundup, Opinion]:

One cartoon shows President Jose Biden saying, “There, I cured it” after burying the U.S. economy in a grave. Yet, by any objective measure — low unemployment, high gross domestic product, corporate profits, a resilient stock market reaching record heights, and inflation that has been brought under control — the economy is anything but dead. It is arguably the world’s best economy.

Another cartoon, supposedly representing “Tim Walz military decorations,” shows medals labeled “hooey,” “baloney,” “Pinocchio” and “cluck,” which is attached to a chicken. This cartoon is a despicable insult to a man who served in the National Guard for 24 years and left with the rank of sergeant major.

Why not present a cartoon showing all the medals earned by former President Donald Trump, who did not serve his country in the military?

— Edmund Fountaine, Oakdale

Biden suggests term limits — now?

How ironic and brazen is this?

President Joe Biden, a man who will soon exit the political stage and who was a U.S. senator for 36 years, with no term limits as a member of Congress, wants to have an 18-year term limit on Supreme Court judges [“Keeping the court near the center,” Editorial, Aug. 4].

— Peter Dooley, Massapequa

Limit amount of time for campaigns

Former President Donald Trump has basically been campaigning for the past two years. It is revealing that Vice President Kamala Harris has put together a formidable campaign with about 100 days left before the Nov. 5 election [“ ‘Joyful warriors,’ VP says,” News, Aug. 8].

In other countries, campaigning is limited to a finite amount of time. I think the Democrats’ putting a Harris campaign together practically overnight teaches us that we need to let our elected officials concentrate on issues and somehow limit the wasted time that perpetual campaigning creates.

Let’s set a limit about how long candidates can campaign.

— Lou Nigro, Greenport

We need more details about focus groups

Most focus group articles or videos involve a small number of people who are chosen by some undisclosed method [“LI’s Young Voters: What matters to us,” News, Aug. 10].

Their views are amplified in an article seen by many other voters. This is not a scientific study reflecting prevailing attitudes. Readers won’t know what this is, other than 30 persons, randomly — or not randomly — chosen, who were given a platform to expound their informed or uninformed viewpoints.

A better approach would be to choose a larger number of interviewees. That would increase the likelihood of being representative of the population.

Pre-testing the interviewees to reveal their knowledge of basic facts would determine if they know about the topics in question.

Readers should be provided the group’s test results along with their opinions so we can see if their views are based on a foundation of misinformation or actual knowledge.

Otherwise, we have no idea if they are informed opinions or if they are representative.

— Gerry Dantone, Coram

The writer is coordinator for the Center for Inquiry, Long Island.

Showing respect on LI is a two-way street

Lack of respect goes both ways [“Many drivers’ lack of respect daunting,” Letters, Aug. 7]. Many motorcycle riders are just as dangerous and reckless as car drivers. Riders weave in and out of traffic, speed and straddle lanes in heavy traffic.

Some bicycle riders are no better. They ride on the wrong side, in traffic lanes, and blow past stop signs and traffic lights. So don’t just blame drivers.

— Nick Ziino, Ridge