Total animal liberation or bust
Buffalo: Why does the progress being made on ending the carriage trade still feel like such a letdown? It’s because we were promised that the cruel and archaic rides would end altogether. While reducing the number of horses exploited and moving them into the park is a step in the right direction, the fundamental injustice of forcing any horse to live in servitude remains. Dianne O’Connor
Tuckahoe, N.Y. : Our joy at hearing about Ringling’s “early retirement” of elephants was crushed when it was revealed that they will now be used for painful, pointless animal testing instead. Ringling has just found another way to make a buck off these beautiful, intelligent beings whose lives, families and habitats they’ve already destroyed. Shame on Ringling. Do something decent for once in your lives — send them to a real sanctuary where they can live out their lives in peace. Kiley Blackman
Look at yourselves
Surprise, Ariz.: Before the Daily News chastises Sen. Ted Cruz on anything, your paper and New Yorkers in general need to take an unbiased assessment of your city. Behind all the smoke and mirrors and hoopla is another Sodom and Gomorrah where anything that feels good is okay and anything that is good is not okay. There are other cities in the country like New York, such as San Francisco, LA and Chicago. Max E. Newman
Born yesterday
Rego Park: Could someone please explain to me why no Presidential candidate except Donald Trump is taking issue with the fact that Ted Cruz was not born in the U.S.A.? Cruz says it is okay for him to run because one of his parents is an American. That’s not what happened with Barack Obama eight years ago. I guess it is okay for the goose and not for the gander. And, by the way, it has been proven that our President was born in the U.S. Unless of course Hawaii is no longer part off the U.S. and should be notified of such. Beatrice Lemlein
Thinking pink
Jamaica: Just asking, would Gov. Cuomo be so interested in the health of women if his girlfriend had not developed breast cancer? I guess it took hitting home for him to get concerned. Margaret Carbine
On the 12th day of Christmas
Manhattan: To Voicer Lisa A. Britt: Santa’s arrival at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade may indeed begin the commercial, secular Christmas season, but “as any intelligent, knowledgeable person” also knows, after the four Sundays of Advent (which follow Thanksgiving) begin a new church year, the liturgical Christmas season begins on Dec. 25 and runs through Jan. 6, the Feast of the Epiphany — hence the 12 days of Christmas. It just depends which calendar you think is more important to follow. And yes, decorations should stay up until the day after Epiphany. Lynne Henderson
Immigration truths
Circleville, N.Y.: I feel really bad about that poor Mexican girl’s view of Donald Trump that Voicer Lynn Matteo wrote about. What I really feel bad about is that nobody cares enough about her to tell her the truth. Nobody told her the damage illegal immigration does to a country, especially in poor, undereducated communities. Nobody thought of telling her the truth about the thousands upon thousands of minorities drawing legal paychecks as a result of Trump’s business dealings at home and around the world. I feel really bad no one is encouraging her to concentrate on her education and to obey our laws as a pretty damn good path to success in this country. I’m sure there is an army of government agencies just standing by, ready to fill in for the shameful lack of guidance in this little girl’s life. Lawrence Worth
When taxis were safe
Brooklyn: Growing up in Brooklyn in the 1960s and 1970s my mother would always tell me when I was going out to take a cab home “to be safe.” There was never a concern that a driver would attack any young woman, whether she was alone or had been drinking or not. You got into a taxi and told the driver where to go. He didn’t need to ask you how to get there and you always got you home safe. What is different now is the drivers. The majority are foreign-speaking, their English is poor, they don’t know how to get from point A to point B without you directing them and their driving skills leave much to be desired. I also believe that because of their cultures, many of today’s drivers have no regard for single women being out alone, and/or drinking, and have little respect for women in general. We need a solution to the problem so women can once again start to feel safe under any circumstances when needing to take a taxi home. Diane Connors
Uber under all
Long Island City: With its shameless flouting of all sensible public-protecting regulation, Uber makes libertarians, in comparison, seem like fascists. Establishing surge pricing (better known as price gouging) on New Year’s Eve, shows their utter contempt for the public. If Uber is allowed a virtual stranglehold on New York’s transportation business, this merciless worldwide lawbreaker’s urge to surge will become a scourge. Reminder: yellow cab prices stay the same 365 days a year and they’re app-accessible! And wheelchair accessible too, unlike Uber. Bill Lindauer
18 miles of books
Bronx: To Bobby Brody who wrote “Requiem for a bookstore” (Op-Ed, Dec. 28): Try the Strand in Manhattan. They sell all types of books. Plus they offer huge discounts. They are the best. Hal Pfeffer
White makes right
Long Branch, N.J.: If anyone wants to know why there is so little trust in African-American communities nationwide toward the police, look no further than the Oregon standoff. If groups of armed blacks or Latinos took over a government facility, seized government files and destroyed government equipment, they would have been greeted with a heavy police presence, including SWAT teams with tactical vehicles. The armed, white so-called militia has been given a wide berth, with the militants being allowed to leave the building to get supplies, food and water. To date, there doesn’t appear to be a plan in place to retake the building and arrest the occupiers. Lenzy Kelley
Life and a death on the street
Pelham, N.Y.: Voicer Richard Naviasky wrote one of the most impactful letters I have ever seen in this space about the skateboarder killed by the truck. I would say the truck driver feels the same way. None of you will think the same as you did before this, but the invincible feel that the young man had will always be there for the next young person. It once again speaks to the compassion of New Yorkers and the thoughts of what many first responders feel as they perform their everyday job. Great job to all who aided. John Platt
What to call someone
Bronx: Thank you, Whoopi Goldberg for pointing out the ridiculousness of the term “African-American.” I never understood why the white media decided to call black Americans “African-Americans ” just because Jesse Jackson wanted to use this term. They do not call white Americans “European-Americans.” Although most of my ancestry came from Nigeria and Madagascar, I am also the descendant of the slave-owner Guest, who raped my maternal great-great-great-grandmother as well as a descendant of the slave-owner Short, who raped my paternal great-great grandmother. I also have some American Indian (Choctaw) in me as well, and I prefer to be called a black American. Juanita M. Johnson
Matching titles
Mamaroneck, N.Y.: To Voicer Leo Barta: Yes we all know the Yankees have 27 titles to the Mets’ two. But it’s not really fair to compare these two teams because 19 of those titles came before the Mets were even born. So let’s just say it’s 8-2 for now, with an asterisk. Fair enough? Joseph Volpe
Puzzler I
Clark, N.J.: In the Dec. 15 crossword puzzle 37 Down was “Piggy bank coin” — a penny! Only in the land of make-believe. Officially there are no pennies in this country. It is called the one-cent coin. Steve Pfister
Puzzler II
Manhattan: There appeared to be a typo in one of the Jan. 1 clues. The clue to 45 Down was “Pat of an O’Neill title,” instead of “part.” The answer was “Iceman” as in Eugene O’Neill’s play, “The Iceman Cometh.” Harold Carr