Library Thanks Officials

To The Editor:

I want to publicly thank Governor Andrew Cuomo, the New York state senate and the state Assembly for their incredible support of libraries in this year’s New York state budget.

Libraries across New York state will receive a 3.3 percent increase in general aid. This is the first increase in many years and it will greatly benefit Queens residents in many ways.

Queens Library is a critical provider of free educational opportunities for all ages. These include after-school programs, homework help, free access to the Internet, computer training, and resume and jobseeking workshops, just to name a few.

We are grateful for the leadership and hard work in Albany that made this possible.

Unfortunately, we still face an incredibly difficult challenge ahead with the city budget. To learn more and find out how to help, please go to www.savequeenslibrary.org. Sincerely,

Thomas W. Galante, President and CEO,
Queens Library
89-11 Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica, NY
718-990-0795

U.S. Oil Refineries

To The Editor:

I recently wrote a letter on exported fuels by U.S. oil companies who reap higher prices paid overseas.

Another reason for our high gasoline prices is the closure of U.S. oil refineries and the movement of our oil overseas to foreign refineries. Sunoco is closing two refineries in July, 2012 in Philadelphia and Marcus Hook, P.A. ConocoPhillips announced the closing of two plants in Trainer, P.A and Bayway, N.J. and is closing its facility in Alaska. Hess is closing the third-largest U.S. oil refinery, laying off 2,000 workers and impacting 950 contractors.

The oil companies, with profits of 10s of billions of dollars each year, are closing U.S. refineries due to environmental and other government regulations and union demands. Refineries are being built in Colombia, Mexico and Brazil due to low construction and operating costs. Plus, our government [unintentionally] promotes this construction by providing foreign aid to the countries.

Hopefully, it isn’t too late for our government and the unions to wake up and evaluate the impact of their policies and decisions on the oil refining industry. Otherwise, we will continue to see rising fuel prices that could reach historic highs, including gasoline at or above $5.00 per gallon.

Donald A. Moskowitz
Londonderry, N.H.

Freedom Of Capitalism

To the Editor:

In spite of the bongo banging 99 percenters denouncing the evils of capitalism, (something they have never actually seen in their life), billions are waking up to the empowerment of freedom and capitalism. Russians from the old Soviet Union are amongst the richest people anywhere, and almost everyone is pro-capitalism, especially after living with and surviving the horrors of communism. China is on a free market bent and its people, who are on the capitalist bandwagon, are looking to purchase property in Canada and the United States. These phenomena are the results of the truths enshrined in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Our creator endows us with certain inalienable rights from these documents such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Historical records show that where these rights have been denied there has been despotism, tyranny, oppression, famine and death. It seems that the United States and Western Europe are the two places in the world where there is a growing antipathy for capitalism. The good news is that their inhabitants represent only about 10 percent of the world’s population. This in turn means freedom and capitalism will not die with the collapse of the American economic and political empire. Historians will eventually confirm that the U.S. government, with its unaccountable spending, redistribution of wealth, czars, bailouts, regulations and restrictions, not to mention the Federal Reserve, has become the biggest enemy to freedom and capitalism. One can only hope this will inspire a renaissance and result in a new age of freedom and prosperity.

Ed Konecnik
Flushing, N.Y.

Bridge Accident Disturbing

To The Editor:

It’s sad about the father of three who plunged from the Throgs Neck Bridge and perished while he was painting it with a 15 member work crew, as was recently reported in the Gazette. I hope that investigators keep at it until they determine what caused him to fall.

He was changing or adjusting his harness at the time. If the harness was somehow defective that’s something that should be brought out so that measures can be put in place to safeguard other workers who rely on the harnesses. That also goes for the reportedly “wobbly platform” beneath the bridge that’s used by workers for maintenance and repair.

When the worker fell into Long Island Sound after a 140-foot plunge he was still alive and waved back to coworkers before suddenly disappearing, as was reported. The current must have dragged him under. Only a sweater and hardhat have been recovered as yet.

That’s something for everyone to keep in mind. Currents in large bodies of water like the Sound can be immense, even though it might not seem so from the surface when there aren’t many waves. Signs should be posted to warn people of that and to make it clear that swimming is strictly forbidden, if there aren’t such signs along the shore already. It’s become more of a concern, of late.

Fort Totten sits by the bridge and is home to a new public park. There’s also the stone jetty where many Queens residents come to fish for snappers and bluefish on hot summer days. Though the sun-speckled Sound may look pretty and be cool and refreshing to the touch, it can be deadly.

Ken Klinger
Bayside, NY

The Final Frontier

To the Editor:

In today’s paper I saw the most beautiful sight. The Space Shuttle Enterprise flying piggyback on NASA’s Boeing 747, on route to its final resting place at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum on Manhattan’s West Side. There was another Enterprise in the fictional television series called, Star Trek. William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk, was the voice at the beginning of each show that would say, “Space, the final frontier: these are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise, its five year mission to explore new worlds, to seek new life and new civilizations and to boldly go where no man has gone before.” Now, my question to NASA is, where do we go now? We are a pioneering species and need to discover new frontiers as we did in our past. We need to explore just like Christopher Columbus did 500 years ago and look at what was accomplished. What we did before, we can replicate. Our nation and our world have this mission, and by doing so can bring our world together as one and discover our true destiny.

Frederick R. Bedell Jr.
Glen Oaks Village, N.Y.