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Up on the Board: NSA spying on allies, Hempstead school cheating, Nassau PBA threats
Photo credit: Howard Schnapp | Nassau County PBA president James Carver. (April 30, 2012)
The editorial board is unsurprised by revelations by notorious former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that the NSA has been spying on its allies, including Germany and the European Union. “Grow up,” says board member Alvin Bessent. “Of course allies spy on each other.”
We’re outraged by reports that the Hempstead school district has been routinely changing some students’ failing final grades to passing. The board is pleased that someone in the school came forward to blow the whistle on this discouraging practice.
And the board thinks the Nassau police union should back off efforts to bring the “strictest of sanctions” against the attorney who left an internal report where it could be found. The report detailed a near-fatal confrontation between two off-duty police officers and a taxi driver. Demanding the sanctions is making people angry at police, as is the suit to stop Police Chief Thomas Dale from disciplining cops. This is bad for both the department and the public perception of the department.
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We note that the college loan interest rate doubled today to 6.8 percent. We’ll be watching to see whether Congress acts to lower it again within the next month’s window.
To voice an opinion on any of the above, please fill in a comment in the section below, or email letters@newsday.com.
Up on the Board is the editorial board's blog about what we just discussed at our weekday morning meeting. These meetings are where we talk about the news of the day and hash out our positions for the opinion sections of Newsday, Newsday Westchester and amNew York.
