EDITORIAL
RETIRE ‘DEFUND’
SLOGAN FOR GOOD
The great journalist Edward R. Murrow once remarked,
“Our major obligation is not to mistake
slogans for solutions.” That credo is true both in
journalism and in real life.
President Joe Biden seemed to echo those sentiments
during his much-anticipated meeting last week with Mayor
Eric Adams, Governor Kathy Hochul and other important
New York officials looking to tackle the city’s gun violence
problem.
In his opening remarks, the president referenced the
“defund the police” chant that had been shouted among protesters
during the George Floyd protests just two summers
ago, and became something of an anthem for progressives
looking to change law enforcement.
While Republicans have weaponized the slogan “defund
the police” to make Democrats look soft on crime,
Biden was having none of that Thursday, offering the full
support of his administration to the NYPD and to New York
City in the battle to stop gun crime.
“The answer is not to defund the police; it’s to give you
the tools, the training and the funding to be partners, to be
protectors, and the community needs you,” Biden said.
That statement should mark the end of the “defund the
police” movement for good.
On its face, the slogan was ill-conceived, because it fostered
something wholly impossible — abolishing policing
— rather than a genuine call for more investment in communities,
as many of its supporters had intended.
As we’ve said, the city needs the NYPD to protect and
serve the public to the best of their ability. It needs good cops
who can rebuild the strained relationship with the communities
they serve, and it needs them to root out those who
propagate the gun violence that injures and kills too many
people, young and old, every day.
The January 2022 crime numbers, announced after
Biden’s NYPD meeting, prove their necessity: a 38.5% rise
in major crimes, an astonishing jump. Shootings were up
31.6% for the month, two of which resulted in the deaths of
two police officers.
We can’t afford to sacrifice police for community resources,
and vice versa. The state of our city requires a
stronger police presence equipped with all the tools needed
— both in policing and prosecuting — to stop the violence,
reverse the crime spike and get the criminals locked up.
Moderate Democrats like President Biden, Mayor Adams
and Governor Hochul realize this and they’ve demonstrated
a commitment to make New York safer than it is
At last, they’ve provided real solutions to our gun violence
problem — not just talk.
HOW TO REACH US
today.
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.12 COM | FEB. 11 - FEB. 17, 2022
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with the Attorney General Merrick Garland, New York City
Mayor Eric Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul about gun violence and how to address it.
Photo by Leah Millis/REUTERS
LUNAR NEW YEAR IS HERE!
PUBLISHER
Brian Rice
EDITOR
Zach Gewelb
V.P. OF ADVERTISING
Ralph D’onofrio
CIRCULATION
Robert Palacios
CLASSIFIED
Classified Director:
Celeste Alamin
Classified Sales
Manager:
Eugena Pechenaya
EDITORIAL STAFF
Reporters: Bill Parry, Angelica
Acevedo, Carlotta Mohamed,
Jenna Bagcal, Julia Moro
Copy Editor: Katrina Medoff
Contributing Writers/Columnists:
Tammy Scileppi
ART & PRODUCTION
Production Manager:
Deborah Cusick
Art Director: Nirmal Singh
Layout: Zach Gewelb
ADVERTISING
Senior Account Executive:
Kathy Wenk
Account Executives:
David Strauss
Sherri Rossi
MAIL: 45-17 Marathon Parkway, Little Neck, NY 11362
PHONE: Display Advertising: (718) 260-4537
Editorial: (718) 260-4549
WEBSITE: Visit www.qns.com
E-MAIL: Editorial: timesledgernews@schnepsmedia.com
Display Advertising: brice@schnepsmedia.com
Classified: classified@schnepsmedia.com
TO SUBSCRIBE: Call (718) 260-2515
The Lunar New Year is a time for renewal for
our Asian brothers and sisters. It is also a
time for all of us to take stock in our lives and
that is to respect and love one another.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been
more than 900,000 deaths across the nation. There are
those who have placed the blame for this pandemic on
our Asian population. This bias-hatred is just wrong.
As Grand Knight of St. Anastasia Knights of Columbus
Council #5911 in Douglaston, I am truly appalled
at the reported terrible rise in hate crimes
against Asians and Asian Americans.
We need to think in terms that we are all brothers
and sisters and that our creator, created us all to love
and to respect one another. We are all members of the
same human race.
Furthermore, I think that we all need to get involved
in our communities to help one another, especially
when one of our Asians brothers and sisters are
being abused and hurt.
Please show acts of kindness and as such demonstrate
to our Asian brothers and sisters that they are
truly loved.
Finally, as the old cliche goes, “When you see something,
say something.”
Remember also, evil thrives when good people do
nothing.
And to my Asian neighbors and residents of New
York, have a happy Lunar New Year!
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Bellerose
/www.qns.com
link
link
link
/www.qns.com
link
link
link
