18 The Courier SUN • july 18, 2013 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com editorial letters sun WWW.COURIERSUN.COM 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 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 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 Sales fax: 718-631-3498 website: www.couriersun.com e-mail:editorial@queenscourier.com ads@queenscourier.com queenscourier@queenscourier.com Entire Contents Copyright 2013 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 To find out the answer to last week’s “Identify this place” please visit www.QueensCourier.com Be prepared for storms As the summer of 2013 is progressing, so is the Atlantic hurricane season. We have already had three named storms, fortunately none were major. However, we are now starting to move deeper into the hurricane season and activity in the tropical Atlantic, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico is likely to significantly ramp up. After our region was slammed by Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011 and Sandy in October 2012, everyone must be more prepared than ever to ride out future hurricanes. If the predictions by weather forecasters are accurate, we can expect more violent and destructive storms to strike the east coast. Will this happen this year? Only time will tell. Hopefully it will not occur. Hurricanes are the most awesome display of nature on earth. Their destructive power is truly awesome. John Amato Fresh Meadows Incredulous over election I am really amazed that Eliot Spitzer would think of running for public office. He disgraced the office he held as governor and cheated on his wife by engaging in acts of prostitution, which was purely for his own perverse pleasure. I find this most appalling and not becoming of a person wanting to serve the people. We also have Anthony Weiner who left Congress in disgrace for his despicable social media acts -- and he now wants to be mayor. We need people who are honest and trustworthy and who are true role models for our children to look up to. Eliot Spitzer and Anthony Weiner are most wanting in these areas. If these men manage to get elected the rest of the country I’m afraid will not think of us as “The Big Apple,” but as “Sin City.” Frederick R. Bedell Jr. Glen Oaks Village Snowden: Traitor or Hero? The motivation of a traitor must be revenge or the promise of a better life by the enemy. If you examine Edward Snowden’s case you find none of the motivations mentioned above. Snowden shows only love for his country but distrust of his government. He recognized that what he was paid to do was unconstitutional and not permitted by the 4th Amendment in particular. He, as a patriot, could not live in this contradiction of freedom so he told the American people what their government was doing and that is the secret he exposed. The press and the government keep screaming that he gave secrets to our enemies. If he did tell the enemies many secrets, what were they? Since they are no longer secrets, the government should tell the American people what they were as they would not cause any further damage. But no, all you hear is an embarrassed government saying he told the enemy secrets. Now some people say that although what he was doing is unconstitutional it was good for our country. Benjamin Franklin once said that if you give up freedom for security you end up without freedom and without security. What is the government doing? They are listening in to all phone calls and e-mails and searching for important key words that will allegedly help us avoid acts of terrorism. Short-term it sounds good but long-term it is a road to slavery. What if they decide to use other key words like Catholic, Jew, Italian, Libertarian, Irishman, Democrat or Republican? How about charities, churches or race or any other group they want to persecute? Now can you see why we have the 4th Amendment in our constitution? Our forefathers knew that there might be a downside to what they wrote but the upside greatly outweighed the downside. John Procida More voter choice Give former governor Elliot Spitzer credit. Manhattan Borough President and former mayoral candidate Scott Stringer will have to cancel summer vacation plans. Stringer now has to earn the Democratic Party nomination for NYC Comptroller. Other comptroller candidates, Republican John Burnett and Libertarian Kristin Davis, will not be able to raise the millions of dollars necessary to run a credible campaign to challenge Stringer or Spitzer and offer voters a choice in November. Larry Penner OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN This weekend’s not-guilty verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman showed us that violence is not the answer. In the days following the verdict that acquitted Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, local politicians such as Congressmember Gregory Meeks called on the Justice Department to review this case for civil rights violations and to monitor “stand-yourground” laws. Other leaders, like Senator James Sanders, hosted a panel discussion on the legal aspects of the trial at which community members voiced their reactions and strategized how to move forward. The incident, as Attorney General Eric Holder said, was a “tragic, unnecessary shooting.” But it is also an opportunity to learn. We must begin a discussion in our nation, in our borough and even in our own homes, to “speak honestly about the complicated and emotionally charged issues that this case has raised.” We must seize this opportunity to teach our children – our future leaders – about tolerance and equality so that no parent will ever have to lose another child to tragedy. HALL OF SHAME With election season in full swing, we at The Courier got to thinking . . . how many disgraced politicians has Queens seen over the last 10 years? So in this issue we bring you the “Hall of Shame” – everything from political sex scandals to bribery to even alleged domestic violence. We can only hope that in the future, our elected officials will learn from their peers’ mistakes. DANGEROUS HEAT With the Big Apple baking this week, it is imperative that we do everything we can to stay safe. As Mayor Michael Bloomberg noted, “the weather can be dangerous, especially for those without air conditioning, the elderly and those with chronic health conditions.” There are about 425 cooling centers around the city for those needing relief from the heat. For the locations and hours and for more information on avoiding heat-related illnesses, visit www.nyc.gov or call 3-1-1. And remember to check in on family and friends and neighbors, especially seniors, to make sure they’re okay. Also, heat can be very dangerous for pets, so use some common sense: limit the length of walks, make sure pets have plenty of water and never leave pets alone in parked cars. So be safe and enjoy the summer!
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