LETTERS: Getting back to work, Justice Stevens and more

Put people to work burying electric wires

To help the unemployment situation, I recommend that all states with above-ground electric cables take on the task of burying those wires that are now subject to hurricanes, ice storms and other dangers. Stimulus money and unemployment money could be used, and a wide variety of jobs would be created: factory workers to produce plastic pipe to carry the wiring, machinery operators to dig trenches, laborers to lay wires and patch roads, electricians, surveyors, etc.

Charles Byrne

East Islip

. . . Or try this sign of our tax dollars at work

I just returned from the Merrick dump and was duly impressed by the heightened security there. Right after I turned in, I passed a worker sitting in a shed who simply waved me on. Next was a stern code enforcement officer who took a complete inventory of my trash. He then sent me to a third man, who checked my license and again took an inventory of my trash. Since I had both metal and nonmetal, I had to go to two different bins, each of which was manned by a worker making sure I was disposing of my trash correctly.

But the best part is that they would not accept building material, which means that next week a special pickup truck carrying three sanitation workers will be collecting a couple of 3-foot pieces of lumber from my house. If town dumps throughout the country followed this methodology, we could eliminate unemployment by July.

Rich Marman

East Meadow

If this is 'moderate,' what's liberal?

Newsday's editorial "Justice Stevens' legacy" was completely off the mark. From property rights to gun rights to the rights of the unborn, Justice John Paul Stevens was a consistent foe of liberty and continued the Supreme Court's revisionist attitude against our Constitution. If Stevens is a "moderate, compassionate and fair" justice, I shudder to think what sort of person President Barack Obama would have to nominate to be judged a liberal.

Damian Geminder

Amityville

Let's support parks, not boycott them

The protests over the proposed parks closings proved we value our parks system. Perhaps if we took the same energy a boycott of the parks would require , and instead applied it to support them, it would stave off future attempts at service cuts based on numbers (or lack) of users.

Don't sit back; getting your money-saving Empire Passports and the numerous hiking/activity permits available at your state and county parks are excellent ways to stand up and be counted.

Rita Trapani

East Islip