LETTERS: Insult to injury: pleading for 9/11 aid
Insult to injury: pleading for 9/11 aid
It is sickening to know that all of us educated, taxpaying, hardworking Americans must take time from our busy lives to walk the halls of Congress to beg and plead for health benefits for all of those first responders to the 9/11 brutal attacks .
I doubt the members of Congress who opposed the benefits had a loved one who was rescued or whose remains were being sought. It's incomprehensible how our government immediately steps up and sends millions of dollars to other countries that have suffered natural disasters. The fact that the first responders and their widows must plead for even a penny is despicable.
Jeanine Furco
Seeking justice for unjust enrichment
Towns and school districts in Nassau are being unjustly enriched by annual over payments by taxpayers as a result of the county's broken assessment system or the county's "mistake" .
The taxpayer who conferred the benefit is entitled to and receives restitution in the form of a refund. In this case, the party that made the mistake, the county, has to pay the taxpayer.
If you go to the bank to deposit $100 and the teller mistakenly credits your account $1,000, will the teller have to pay the bank $900 when the error is discovered? Of course not. The bank will simply debit your account, and rightly so. The teller got no benefit from the transaction. In the end, everyone is made whole. But that's not how it works in Nassau. In the end, the taxpayer is even, the town or school district is way ahead and the county is $100 million in debt.
The county executive, in seeking to rectify this situation, is simply asking the other entities to pay back money that they would not have received if the system were working properly. Instead they're literally laughing all the way to the bank.
Kevin Lowry
Editor's note: The writer is an attorney.
Beware government that has no bounds
Regarding "Apartment law needs no fixing" : Clearly the Court of Appeals ruling states that the Town of Huntington has completely ignored the rule of law by creating an "administrative tribunal" outside of the Unified Court System of New York State.
Just as a property owner must obey the laws regarding ownership and limit property use, so should the town obey the laws set by a superior body that limit the power of the town government.
The power granted the town by state government should not be abused or expanded simply because the town council feels like doing it. We should be afraid of any town government that is not willing to limit its power based on state law, and as Huntington did here, create its own illegal court, issue its own search warrants and adjudicate its own complaints.
Alan Talman
Go to the polls, people
The trouble with apathy is that by the time you realize that you care, it may be past the point of no return.
The victory of multiple tea party candidates in Tuesday's primary can be attributed to the passion of the fanatics, which brings out a disproportionate percentage of voters of that persuasion, and the apathy of the mass of the electorate, minimizing the electability of the more rational and mainstream candidate .
The primary results should be a wake-up call to the majority of Americans. If we want a radical minority to determine our leaders, keep on letting their smaller numbers win by staying home on election day.
It's time to deny the naysayers the controlling voice in our government in November by voting en masse for the candidates whose agenda is progress, not self interest, racism and greed.
Ruth Karter
Vow to repay respect
As a U.S.-born Muslim American, I am comforted by the open-mindedness of many fellow Americans amid all the fury over the "Ground Zero mosque" and "Burn a Quran Day." Instead of singling me out or defaming my faith, neighbors, colleagues and strangers have reassured me that they do not consider me unpatriotic or nonpeaceful.
My allegiance to my faith has been respected, if not encouraged. I vow to repay these American sentiments by speaking out against religious terrorism, violence and persecution and to remind fellow Muslim Americans of the true peaceful teachings of Islam. And I will never forget the just behavior of Americans during these trying times.
Rizwan Alladin
Editor's note: The writer is senior vice president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's youth organization, Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya, headquartered in Silver Spring, Md.
Forgiveness, if it fits Newsday's agenda
In response to "Mad as hell, but then what?" : Voters are angry at the established career politicians (mostly Democrats) and Newsday's editorial board is calling Carl Paladino a "flawed messenger" because of some offensive e-mails and remarks?
When the messenger is a conservative, limited government voice, Newsday sets a very high standard of morality. President Barack Obama made insensitive remarks about the Special Olympics, and you could write a book on Vice President Joe Biden's gaffes. These guys can be forgiven if it fits your agenda.
Now on to Albany, where you state a "corrupt political culture festers." Candidates like Paladino are just the type of leader New York needs.
Philip J. Cuff
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 15: LI's top basketball players On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra and Matt Lindsay take a look top boys and girls basketball players on Long Island.
