To the Editor:
Re “Combative Bondi Grilled Over Epstein Documents” (news article, Feb. 12):
I made the mistake of watching Attorney General Pam Bondi testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. If I was concerned about the state of our union before, now I’m downright depressed.
I’m an independent, tired of the gridlock between the parties. While it is to be expected that Republicans will try to put the best face on a flawed administration, it is frightening to watch the head of our criminal justice system display such wildly sycophantic supplication to our president and unbridled animosity to any and all critics.
Loyalty is one thing. Lack of executive accountability is another. Am I wrong to fear that it heralds the unraveling of our democracy before our very eyes?
John Weaver Lafayette, Calif.
To the Editor:
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s conduct during the congressional hearing on Wednesday was troubling not because of policy disagreement but because of tone. The attorney general represents the rule of law and the dignity of public service. Snide or dismissive remarks directed at sitting members of Congress fall short of that standard.
Disagreement in a democracy is not only inevitable, it is also healthy. But respect for coequal branches of government is essential. When a senior official speaks with condescension or disrespect toward an elected representative, it undermines public confidence in our institutions and lowers the level of civic discourse.
The country deserves serious engagement from its leaders, particularly in formal oversight hearings. Professionalism, restraint and respect are not optional qualities; they are core obligations of high office. Attorney General Bondi would do well to temper her rhetoric and model the seriousness and decorum her position demands.
Felice Kestenbaum Harold L. Kestenbaum Boca Raton, Fla.
‘Freedom From Fear’
To the Editor:
Re “As Immigrants Lie Low, a Stealthy Supply Chain Relieves Hunger” (news article, Feb. 11):
On Jan. 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt stood before a Congress facing a terrifying world war and stated that someday all the fighting and strife would result in “a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.”
And the grand finale of those four freedoms was “freedom from fear.”
How would Roosevelt react, seeing our own government hunt and hound Americans into hiding?
What would he say if he knew that the threats of “those who seek to destroy unity and promote discord in nations still at peace” come not from without, but from within?
This isn’t normal. This isn’t acceptable.
As a nation, we should not need to rely on donations and volunteers to provide for people who could be living freely, but are instead hiding from the threat of our own government!
This article isn’t only about a singularly supportive community. It’s a how-to guide for what the United States must become, now that our government has lost its mind.
Heidi Burke Collegedale, Tenn.
The Inscrutable First Lady
To the Editor:
Re “Melania Trump’s Memoir Was Bad. The Movie Is Worse,” by Carlos Lozada (column, nytimes.com, Feb. 3):
Given Melania Trump’s public inscrutability and remoteness, reflective of an obvious desire to maintain a perpetually enigmatic aura, combined with her extraordinarily opulent lifestyle, it is hardly surprising that the new documentary about her, “Melania,” is both unrevealing and unsatisfying in its attempt to portray her as a compelling and relatable figure.
Though it is certainly her prerogative not to do so, the fact that Mrs. Trump has thus far declined to use her platform as first lady in a more substantive and accessible manner for the benefit of the American people, particularly during these turbulent times, is both regrettable and rather unfathomable.
Mark Godes Chelsea, Mass.
Not Funny
To the Editor:
Re “Humor Too Jewish for Laughs?,” by Jason Zinoman (On Comedy, Feb. 4):
I am the son of Holocaust survivors and grew up with some horrible images and stories about that time. To me and others like me, there is little humor in jokes about Nazis and Hitler.
I find that they blur boundaries between what is funny and what is tragic. For many of us it is also triggering. It is hardly comedy when there is the potential for causing such pain for so many of us.
Stew Frimer Queens
The post Pam Bondi’s Performance Before Congress appeared first on New York Times.
