Mitt Romney’s right-hand man

Monroe, N.J.: I’m not a fan of Mitt Romney, but Paul Ryan scares me. At 64, my husband had no insurance and became ill. We are still paying off the doctor bills — because he is one of the people whose jobs disappeared. Now, to make ends meet, he collects Social Security and has a part-time job selling janitorial supplies. I have a 16-month-old grandson, and I wonder what kind of world we are leaving to our children and our children’s children. Cheryl Lerner Beechhurst: The long knives of President Obama’s media Praetorian Guard are going after Mitt Romney for picking the conservative conscience of the House, Rep. Paul Ryan, as his vice presidential running mate. Behind their phony lament lies the fear that Ryan will give Romney a chance to defeat the prince of radical liberalism.

James Hyland

Ryan irony

Bayonne, N.J.: Tea Party followers are against government programs yet scream if anyone dares to touch their Medicare and Social Security. Do they realize that their poster boy, Paul Ryan, wants to eliminate Medicare and destroy Social Security?

Angela Ciccone

Color wars

Limit Lupica

Pros and cons

Envying their green

Westbury, L.I.: To Voicer Suzanne Hayes Kelly: The fact that you included the phrase “rich white guy” twice in your ignorant rant makes you not only racist, but jealous, too. That Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are rich means that they or their ancestors worked very hard to get to the station they are in now. They don’t need to apologize for that. I guess you, like President Obama, would rather take their hardearned money and hand it over to the lazy and uninspired to sit at home and do nothing.

Pete Acevedo Peekskill, N.Y.: I was saddened by Voicer Suzanne Hayes Kelly’s decision to further the racial divide by referring to “rich white guys” in politics. It’s perfectly acceptable to disagree when it comes to matters of governing, but you do a great disservice when you bring color into it.

Annie Becker Portage, Mich.: Mike Lupica is relatively good on sports but terrible on politics (“Tone deaf,” column, Aug. 13). Give him a choice of one or the other. Fire him if he chooses politics.

Jim Woodside Rocky Point, L.I.: Do we want a capitalist or a socialist? Do we want someone who endorses the Constitution or perverts it? Do we want a supporter of Israel or

Battle zone

Excessive force

Bad rap

someone who embraces the Muslim Brotherhood? Do we want a vice presidential candidate who is experienced in budget issues or a vice president who mimics a village idiot? Do we want a man who respects religious beliefs or one who disregards them? Do we want a supporter of the military or not? Do we want a man with traditional American values or one who endorses foreign values? It’s your choice, folks. America is in your hands. Henry Wager

First among equals

Staten Island: To Voicers Lorraine Corbett, Gerard Guarneri and Carmela Paterra: No, President Obama should not bow to any man, no matter what the customs are. He should follow the lead of JFK, who, as a devout Catholic, refused to kiss the Pope’s ring. James Collins Brooklyn: People of New York City, why is it that in a Colorado theater a man who shot 58 people and killed 12 can be taken alive, but in Times Square a pot-smoking man with a knife is shot dead? I understand that, sadly, there have been a lot of attacks on police officers. But can anyone on our fine police force aim for the legs? Or why not use one of those Taser things I see on the Internet so much? Were all those shots necessary? Carnell Carty Kearny, N.J.: A police officer shot a defenseless animal in the head to stop it from defending its human companion (“Shot trying to save his master,” Aug. 14). Couldn’t a stun gun or tranquilizer have been used instead?

Gail E. Batitto Howell, N.J.: The lowlifes and drug dealers who use pit bulls as weapons to protect their own criminal interests are the real reason this dog was shot — because they fed the stereotype of pit bulls as a dangerous breed. This dog was once an American icon because of its strength, determination and courage.

Brandon J. Sirota

Citizens should come first

Brooklyn: It’s amazing that the state can come up with $450,000 for undocumented (read: illegal) immigrants while thousands of young citizens are struggling to find jobs and digging themselves deeper into debt to pay tuition (“Dream aid,” Aug. 14). How generous of the state to use our hard-earned money to add even more competition to the saturated job market. Undocumented immigrants should not receive any benefits until they’ve jumped through the same hoops as legal immigrants. Louise Quinlan

Lawbreaking pays

South Ozone Park: Well, isn’t this a kick in the butt — providing $450,000 in grants to young, illegal immigrants when young American citizens can’t get jobs. Why not help the people who came here through proper channels? Janice Bailey

Flirting with disaster

North Brunswick, N.J.: Re “Taylor-made cash pad!” (Aug. 14): I wonder how long it will take for singer Taylor Swift to go from Camelot cutie to Camelot casualty. Casey Klein

Arms race

Keyser, W.Va.: The letter from Voicer Ron Jackowski was so ridiculous, it inspired me to buy another gun. Eric Williams

Who’s in charge?

Brooklyn: The MTA’s chief financial officer recently proclaimed that transit employees must begin to make sacrifices to help balance the budget. You would think he would know that MTA supervisors, represented by a weak union, have been working for four years under an expired contract — including an outlandish concession that pays new recruits only 80% of the top salary for three years. It’s unconscionable that a supervisor should be forced to earn less than his or her subordinates. How much more embarrassment, mental anguish and financial hardship does the MTA expect us to endure?

Clinton Montgomery

Memory lane

Bronx: Denis Hamill’s column about Curtis Sliwa and stickball rang very true (“Back in the swing,” Aug. 12). When I was a young kid, we played stickball after school. As Sliwa says, we had no video games, air conditioners, flatscreen TVs or or cell phones. We had only each other. And there was only one fat kid on the team. We called him Charlie Meatball. The rest of us were slim because we played all kinds of street games. Those were the good old days. Willie Maldonado

Waste not

Flag on the play

Getty Images Brooklyn: It has been reported that 53% of the country is experiencing some degree of drought. Yet so many city parks keep sprinklers on through the latenight hours. Why? Manuel Pardo

Hit the numbers

Staten Island: Hey, Tim Tebow, I’m a lifelong Jets fan and a big fan of yours. However, you seem to be picking up bad habits from your buddy Mark Sanchez, such as posing in GQ magazine. You also seem to have an aversion to wearing clothes — namely, shirts. Remember that everyone on the football field will be wearing shirts, and you need to throw the football to the guys wearing the same color jersey as you. Good luck. Gwenn Long

Where’s the beef?

Staten Island: I’ve noticed in the past few weeks that you’ve been printing babe shots on page 3. Will you publish photographs of sexy men, too?

Yvonne M. Waterman Queens Village: To Voicer Thomas Murawski, who went on and on about our Olympic medal winners not properly treating the U.S. flag during their victory celebrations in London, and how virtually all the rest of us need to be taught “basic flag etiquette,” I have only three words: Get a life.

Edward Omotoso