28 The QUEE NS Courier • MAY 23, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com editorial letters Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Bob Brennan Tonia N. Cimino Amy Amato-Sanchez Nirmal Singh Graziella Zerilli Stephen Reina Ron Torina, Jennifer Decio, Cheryl Gallagher Melisa Chan, Terence Cullen, Cristabelle Tumola Maggie Hayes, Angy Altamirano Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni Cristabelle Tumola Bill Krese Jan DiGeronimo Maria Romero Louise Cavaliere Celeste Alamin Maria Valencia Daphne Fortunate Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Publisher & E ditor Co-Publisher Associate Publisher Editor-In-Chief VP, Events, Web & Social Media Art Director Assistant to Publisher Assistant Art Director Artists Staff Reporters Contributing Reporters Web Editor Editorial Cartoonist Director, Business Developm ent Events Manager Senior Acc ount Executive Classified Manager Controller Office Manager President & CEO Vice President Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 website: www.queenscourier.com e-mail:[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Entire Contents Copyright 2013 by The Queens Courier All letters sent to THE QUEENS COURIER should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S POSITION. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE QUEENS COURIER. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE QUEENS COURIER within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. Schneps Communications assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold The Quens Courier and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. IDENTIFY THIS PLACE To find out the answer to last week’s “Identify this place” please visit www.QueensCourier.com THE QUEENS Perks of office This letter is in response to “What do you think of political corruption in light of the recent scandals?” (Street Talk by Rosa Michaels & Johann Hamilton, May 16). Politicians should tell us how many hours and days actually worked in Albany, detail sources of outside income and amount of time spent practicing law or other jobs, amount of bonuses know as lulus for chairing any legislative committees, amount spent on meals, traveling at taxpayers’ expense, along with a detailed list of all their “pay-for-play” campaign contributions cross cut against member item pork barrel projects and legislation they introduce on behalf of their “benefactors.” Nobody was drafted to run for public office. Everyone knew of both the salary, perks of office and limited work requirements. Members of the state Legislature are lucky to have their part time jobs! There are plenty of out of work New Yorkers who would be more than happy to replace them. They would actually show up for work full time and not constantly complain. Larry Penner Don’t forget our veterans President Abraham Lincoln in his second Inaugural Address said “to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.” These words would be adopted by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in 1959 as its motto. These immortal words are still as powerful today as they were when Lincoln uttered them 148 years ago. As Memorial Day approaches I hope we once again remember the president’s words. Since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq started, 2.2 million troops have been sent overseas. A recent NBC news article said about 34,000 U.S. service members will return home from Afghanistan in the next 12 months. The same article talked about a new report which showed that about half of those troops who served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan struggle to adjust back to American life upon returning home. The reason for this is that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has had difficulty dealing with the increased number of returning troops. I know that Memorial Day is supposed to be a day of remembering for those men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. I can think of no better way to honor those men and women who died in service to our great nation than to care for those who served our nation recently and have returned home. There is no excuse for the fact that about 22 veterans commit suicide every day. There is no excuse for the fact that about 203,000 post 9/11 veterans were unemployed as of February 2013. There is also no excuse for the U.S. Veterans Affairs backlog of nearly 882,023 benefits claims. Did you know that nearly 70 percent of the V.A. backlogged claims are for cases more than 125 days? Our Veterans deserve better. After bravely serving our great nation our Veterans deserve a efficient Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans also deserve a VA that can more efficiently deal with unemployment and suicide. This year as you are enjoying your Memorial Day weekend, remember those brave men and women we have lost while serving our nation. You can also contact your elected officials and tell them to not forget about the veterans returning home. I urge Congress to step in and end the V.A. backlog once and for all. Matthew Silverstein A CRYING SHAME It was supposed to be a night of fun and celebration. Instead it ended – senselessly – in bloodshed. Fourteen-year-old D’aja (Asia) Robinson had just boarded the Q6 bus in Jamaica. She and her friends were reportedly headed to another party. Their Saturday of fun had just begun. But just like that, Robinson’s life was cut short – before it even began. Police say an unidentified suspect pumped at least nine .40-caliber bullets into the bus – fatally striking Robinson in the head. Her death is a crying shame. In the pages of our newspaper we have been taking a closer look at gun violence – and all the efforts to curb it. But it seems we are not doing enough. A teenager is dead, her family shattered. Police say the shooting suspect is a man between 18 and 25 years old, wearing a black sweater with a beige or cream shirt underneath. We have faith that our Police Department – New York’s Finest – will catch whoever is responsible and bring him to justice. But the fact remains – our youth, our future, is being lost to gun violence – on both sides of the barrel. We urge all our elected officials to take action – host more gun buybacks, allocate funding to after school programs. Keep our kids off the streets and keep guns out of their hands. How many more parents are going to have to bury their children before something is done? Step in the right direction KUDOS to the International Society of Saints Cosma and Damiano, all those who organized and all those who walked. This year, the South Queens Juvenile Diabetes Walk-A-Thon to Cure Diabetes raised $70,000 – every penny of which will go directly to juvenile diabetes research. It has been a tough year – Howard Beach and the surrounding communities are still reeling from Sandy. But that didn’t dampen the spirit of giving. Joe De Candia and Joe Mure have been committed to the cause and have been organizing the walk for five years – and have undoubtedly made countless strides toward improving the lives of those afflicted with juvenile diabetes. And they won’t stop, they said, until there’s a cure. “I promise you,” said Mure. “We’re working, we’re taking a step closer to finding a cure and hopefully we’ll be there one day soon.” With that kind of commitment, and with the support of their community, juvenile diabetes will one day be a thing of the past. VISIT QueensCourier.com TELL US WHAT YOU THINK...
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