Viewsday
Analysis, discussion and opinions by members of Newsday's editorial board.
Bessent: IRS owes answers for targeting conservative groups
Photo credit: iStock
IRS officials owe the nation more than a canned apology. It must provide honest answers about who is responsible for letting politics creep into it process.
The agency made a chilling admission Friday, acknowledging that the tax collectors singled out conservative political groups for unfair scrutiny between 2010 and 2012. An agency with privileged access to the intimate details of our financial...
Read more »Bessent: Record black voter turnout is the perfect response to voter suppression efforts
Photo credit: AP
In a priceless comeuppance for Republicans who tried to suppress the Democratic vote in the 2012 election, black voters, who are overwhelmingly Democrats, turned out at a rate that surpassed that of whites for the first time on record.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau 66.2 percent of eligible blacks voted, compared to 64.1 percent of eligible non-Hispanic whites.
And among all racial...
Read more »Up on the Board: Readers' mail, veterans services, non-citizens voting
Letters to the editor this week are focusing on the DREAM Act and other immigration reform, congressional hearings on the Benghazi attacks, and the upcoming school budget votes (Tuesday, May 21). Stay tuned for these readers’ letters in the newspaper and online.
For editorials, we’re still looking at Suffolk County jails for Sunday. With a large new facility in Yaphank, what happens to the...
Read more »McKinstry: As work starts on Tappan Zee Bridge, the real question is tolls
Photo credit: Faye Murman
As the barges arrive and work trestles are built on the Hudson River, it's clear the $3.9-billion replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge means jobs.
But just how many remains to be seen. Will it be as many as 45,000, as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said, or just enough to scrape together a softball team? Maybe we should split the difference?
A recent four-page state report concluded that the...
Read more »Cartoon: BenGhazi for President

Mark Wilson is a New York political cartoonist and illustrator who lives in the Adirondacks. He publishes under the pen name Marquil.
MORE CARTOONS: Mark Wilson's cartoon gallery
Up on the Board: Benghazi cover-up and Suffolk County jails
Photo credit: AP
The editorial board had a long discussion today about what’s coming out of Congressional hearings about the Benghazi, Libya, attack last Sept. 11, where four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed.
At first, we wondered if we have anything new to say. In past editorials, we've condemned efforts by the Obama administration to cover its mistakes, and we’ve supported the 29...
Read more »Up on the Board: Nassau Community president search, veterans benefits delays
Photo credit: Barry Sloan
The editorial board thinks Nassau Community College should start over in its search for a new president. At this time, we’re planning to advocate for that in tomorrow’s paper.
We’re also keeping an eye on revelations from federal prosecutors, who have names of additional elected officials secretly tape-recorded by former Queens state Sen. Shirley Huntley, a Democrat. Huntley is due to be sentenced...
Read more »McKinstry: Board of Elections doesn't enforce New York's campaign finance laws
Photo credit: AP
When it comes politicians breaking the rules, it’s much worse than you think.
And I'm not talking about the seemingly endless parade of perp walks or corruption charges levied against state lawmakers in recent years.
It’s about New York’s campaign finance system – and the state Board of Elections mostly nonexistent enforcement of the laws.
There were 103,805 violations of New York’s...
Read more »Cartoon: Prison gangs of New York

Mark Wilson is a New York political cartoonist and illustrator who lives in the Adirondacks. He publishes under the pen name Marquil.
MORE CARTOONS: Mark Wilson's cartoon gallery
Up on the Board: Sexual assault in the military, and drunken bus drivers
Photo credit: Barry Sloan
The editorial board is appalled that the head of the Air Force’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office has been arrested … on a charge of sexual battery. Meanwhile, sexual assault in the military is increasing. What’s needed is a change of culture. Would it help to have more women in the chain of command? Or have top brass lose their jobs when an incident like this happens? NY Sen. Kirsten...
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