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4 • BABYLON BEACON, September 30,2010 Albany needs more LI voices The loss of former Long Island Legislator Rick Lazio in the GOP primary, as well as that of N.C. District Attor ney Kathleen Rice on the Democratic line for Attorney General, was a blow to Long Island, which has a desper ate need to gamer a greater voice in Albany. There’s no question that as taxpayers and residents from the “en gine that runs New York,” we have been short changed in a lot of areas. The most recent and obvious display o f that came in the form of the recent MTA tax, which was a compound hit to Long Islanders. Every government entity and service, including counties, towns, villages, fire depart ments, school districts, as well as every not-for-profit and religious organization that serves our communities, and our local businesses, big and small, are forced to pay this added tax to fill the coffers of an agency that service primarily New YorkCity and is fiscally irresponsible, ft is the tax that never stops taxing. The votes of two Long Island lawmakers, Democrat Sens. Brian Foley of Blue Point and Craig Johnson of Port Washington, were the key votes in allowing the tax law to pass. They sold out their constituents and instead and bent at the altar of New York City Democrats. And, even after this tax was passed, the MTA continued and continues to falter finanriatty. Long Islanders send baadoadsofmaney to Albany but hare been unable to break A c stranglehold New York Q ty has on the k^jab h a r . Laws continue to be adopted that favor the city o w r the rest of the state. That's why we would have loved to see Lazio and Rice up there. While thafs not to be, I-ong Islanders need to m n iiniietn wnHrtnwamrt d f d n p n g pnlitiral candidates who can make that trip In A lnny and bring a measure r state capitaL The Beacon newspaper invites readers to present their views, ideas and issues. Please submit letters to the editor to us at 65 Deer Park Ave., Babylon NY 11702. Letters should be signed and include a daytime telephone number for verification purposes only. We do not accept personal thank you notes, political endorsements or anonymous letters, but with under some circumstances withhold the-name o f a writer upon request. R e a d e r s ’ V o ic e s : Letters and Commentary In the case o f the NYC Mosque, Bloomberg has it right Dear Editor: Yes, let’s talk about concepts like “rights,” “respon sibilities” and “compassion” as your letter writer Joan Magnuson suggests (Freedom comes with responsibili ties, September 2 Beacon). In the weeks since the Islamophobes’ hysterical, bigot ed and quintessentially un-American campaign against the so-called Ground Zero mosque began, a New York City cab driver has had his throat slashed, upstate New York mosque attendees found themselves taunted and terrorized by gun-toting teenagers and a mosque con struction site in faraway Tennessee was torched. Where is the sense of “compassion,” the notion of free speech “responsibility” among the mosque foes? By opposing this Muslim house of worship, they are inherently, false ly claiming that all Muslims bear guilt for the Septem ber 11 atrocities and consequently whipping up hatred against all Muslims. The Sufi Muslims proposing the mosque within this currently-vacant 13-story building two blocks from Ground Zero also want to install a 500-seat theater, swimming pool, gym, restaurant, child care center and community meeting hall All of it will be open to all downtown city residents regardless of religion, race, etc. That sounds pretty compassionate, generous and quint- essentiaDy American to me. And, as much as I, a progressive Democrat, hate to ad mit it, the one steadfast voice of First Amendment prin ciple and compassion in this whole ugly controversy be long to a billionaire Republican by the name of Michael Bloomberg. While the politician I actually campaigned for, Barack Obama, has been his usual “Profile in Cow ardice” self on this issue (Being kind of for the mosque one day, kind of against the next), Mayor Bloomberg has courageously gone out of his way to publicly defend the rights ofthis right now, very unpopular minority. In one recent television appearance, the Mayor also cheekily noted that1he t Ground Zero site’s supposed sacredness is already blighted Gotham-style by “porno” and “fast- food places.” “It’s a vibrant community. It’s New York,” the Mayor said on a Jon Stewart Show clip. “Islam did not attack the World Trade Center - Al Qaeda did.” Kevin O’Neill, West Babylon What Are They Really Thinking ? Dear Editor: Last week, 31 Democratic Members of Congress signed a letter asking Speaker Pelosi to make a motion not to increase taxes on Americans in 2011. Curiously, no ,one from Long Island signed that letter. Does that mean our Long Island Congressional representatives believe we should pay more taxes to Washington? President Obama claims the USA will have to borrow billions over the next ten years to pay for these tax cuts. I have a better idea. Why not cut down on spending by eliminating Obamacare and vacations to Spain for Mi chelle at taxpayer’s expense? That would be a good start. Dan Martin, Babylon B E A C O N N E W S P A P E R S Postage Paid - Babylon Post Office, Babylon, NY 11702 (USPS0396-8000) Copyright 1999 CJ PUBLISHERS, INC. \THE PAPER THAT WORKS” A combination of newspapers and editions covering Babylon, Lindenhurst, Copiague, Massapequa, Amityvtte, North Babylon, West Babylon. Wyandanch, Deer Park, Dix Hills. Wheatley Heights, West I slip, Brentwood, Brightwaters, Bay Shore, Islip, East islip, Oakdale, SayvHle, E. Patchogue, Patchogue, Bohemia, Holbrook, North Lindenhurst Main Office: 65 Deer Park Ave., Babylon, NY Official Newspaper for the Towns of Babylon & Islip Official Newspaper for the Village of Babylon and Babylon School District • Lindenhurst School District, w e s t Babylon School District - Deer Park School District - North Babylon School District - West Islip School District - Copiague School District - Wyandanch School District H ie Beacon— the paper that works DEADUNES FOR THE NEXT EDITION:: ADVERTISING: 3 P.M. 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