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28 The Courier sun • JUly 3, 2014 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com editorial letters HAIL TO THE REDSKINS Did it ever occur to many that some of us, given the Hollywood turnaround toward Native Americans as no longer savages to be slaughtered remorselessly, see the Washington Redskins’ logo and its nickname as an homage to the American Indians, their bravery as underdogs, and their fierceness in defending what was rightly theirs to begin with? If it was determined that the name and logo were selected based on prejudice and hatred toward Native Americans, then definitely have them removed and changed, otherwise let’s get real! It would appear, in too many cases these days that political correctness has run amuck! Dave Shlakman Howard Beach LEAVE FIREWORKS TO THE PROFESSIONALS The Fourth of July brings potential fun celebrations and relaxing time spent with family and friends. Many people look forward to seeing colorful firework displays. These are handled by professionals and supervised by the fire department for safety. Unfortunately, tragedy can strike when individuals set off firecrackers. One summer, I was in the ICU after open heart surgery. A boy who was playing with fireworks with his friends blew off his hand and was in the ICU in serious pain. I still hear his screams in my sleep. Please, enjoy the holiday but leave the fireworks to professionals. I also urge people who are too tired or who want to enjoy alcoholic beverages not to drive. I hope this can save someone from sadness this holiday. Safely enjoy! Debbie Vogel Rego Park, NY READ TO PREVENT SUMMER LEARNING LOSS While school ends this week for NYC public school students, learning should never end. Students – and their parents – should step up and prevent learning loss this summer. The National Summer Learning Association reports that most students fall more than two months behind in math over the summer. And, mounting evidence shows that the summer break widens the achievement gaps between high- and low-income students. My advice: turn summer learning loss into summer gain. How? Read, read, read. Make writing fun. Exercise and partake in sports this summer. Explore new neighborhoods. Experience the arts. And, designate days to unplug from TVs and the Internet. Summer should be a time to live and to learn. Rhea Wong Executive Director, Breakthrough New York CUOMO FAILED KIDS Gov. Andrew Cuomo let down New York’s schoolchildren by abandoning the education tax credit, even after he promised to pass it this session. The education tax credit provides an incentive to private citizens to make donations to public and independent schools and is widely supported by large majorities in both houses of the legislature, all but the most extreme elements of the Democratic Party. Alternative schools like charters and parochial schools can succeed where traditional public schools fail, and they deserve our support. I speak from my experience as a founder and former chair of both SUNY’s Charter School Committee and the Student Sponsor Partners organization, which supports and mentors inner-city high school students in parochial schools. Prior to the start of this year’s legislative session, Andrew Cuomo made a personal pledge to New York’s independent school leaders, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan, that he would personally fight for the education tax credit this year. As the session closes, Andrew Cuomo has abandoned his pledge and betrayed New York’s children. Cuomo is apparently so afraid of teachers unions and Democratic Party and Working Families Party radicals that he has turned his back on schools that have proved to be an effective first rung on the ladder of upward social mobility. Cuomo’s cowardice just made it more difficult for these schools, and the children they serve, to succeed. Ed Cox Chairman, New York Republican State Committee sun WWW.COURIERSUN.COM Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua A. Schneps Bob Brennan William J. Gorta Amy Amato-Sanchez Nirmal Singh Graziella Zerilli Stephen Reina Ron Torina, Jennifer Decio, Cheryl Gallagher Liam La Guerre, Cristabelle Tumola Angy Altamirano, Katrina Medoff, Eric Jankiewicz Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni Cristabelle Tumola Demetra Plagakis Warren Susman 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 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 Sales fax: 718-631-3498 website: www.couriersun.com e-mail:editorial@queenscourier.com ads@queenscourier.com queenscourier@queenscourier.com Entire Contents Copyright 2014 by The Courier Sun All letters sent to THE COURIER SUN 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. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE COURIER SUN. 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 COURIER SUN within five days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. VIctoria Media Services 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 Courier SUN 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 Go to www.queenscourier.com and search “Identify This Place” to find out where this is INDEPENDENCE DAY This is the big one. The Fourth of July. Independence Day. Not only the date that marks the birth of our nation, but the date that marks the birth of a juggernaut for independence and personal liberty throughout the world. For America is about more than this splendid country in which we live. It is more than the wealth and power and prestige we have earned. It more than the mountains and prairies and amber waves of grain. More even than the skyscrapers and the monuments and the columned seats of power. America is about an idea. An unprecedented idea that people, given liberty to choose their destiny, will not only govern themselves, but show the world how it’s done. No doubt, this country has flaws. It was founded giving voice to an equality that took nearly a century and a civil war to approach – and we’re not there yet. There have been excesses by the government and intolerance from the people. But none of that detracts from the magnificence of this country, one where people turn their backs on their homelands to start new lives here, one where people risk their lives crossing a desert to share in the dream we call America. This country is the envy of the world, not because we as a nation are rich and powerful, but because our rights – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (along with those in the Bill of Rights) – are guaranteed in writing, in case law and in the hearts and minds of all Americans. The Fourth of July is more than fireworks, more than barbecues, more than a declaration signed in 1776. It is instead a living idea about the ideal way to live, an idea that adapts and grows and gets better and stronger. Enjoy the fireworks and barbecues. Take a minute to read the Declaration of Independence. But more importantly, reflect on America, what it means and where it’s going. Then help it get there. Happy Fourth, everyone. AND SPEAKING OF FREEDOM… We are happy to acknowledge the recent Supreme Court decision that prevents police scrolling through a prisoner’s cell phone without a warrant. These days, a smartphone can reveal everything there is to know about its owner – certainly far more than the government needs to know in almost every case. If police believe there is evidence on the phone, they can apply for a warrant, a routine procedure that happens all the time, every day. And, police are always allowed to search for and to seize evidence in an emergency. But barring either a warrant or an emergency, we feel better knowing the government can’t just scroll through someone’s phone when that person has been arrested on any charge. We support the police and their zeal to enforce the law. But we like to see personal freedom and privacy protected as well.


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