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Letters, 5/23: An explanation, please

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Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 12:23:05 am CDT

Once again gasoline prices are skyrocketing, and once again at the beginning of the vacation season. We are told that supply and demand causes the price hike.

Why is it, as opposed to the oil industry raising their prices in anticipation to high demand, grocery stores welcome vacation time and holidays by having sales and lowering prices for picnic staples? This is the kind of supply and demand which makes sense to me!

Why is it that, even though there are different brands of gasoline, and I am assuming different refineries for each, all the stations show pretty much the same increase?

Since oil companies keep listing high profits, it is difficult to understand the price hikes at the drop of a hat and seemingly for no reasons.

Robert Ponte, Lincoln

Judge makes bad call

With all due respect, the judge was just plain wrong with the “not guilty” verdict regarding Shane Tilley. This sends out a message to all of our hundreds of kids that it is OK to do illegal drugs, get real high and then go commit a crime. You won’t be held accountable for your actions.

Of course Shane was insane at that moment. Of course his dad didn’t “know” him that morning. He was higher than a kite, but he choose to be that way. He took all those pills to get a high. He choose to alter his mind for a period of time. That’s just it. It was just for a period of time. He is not insane. He was just high and should be held accountable for his actions. He took a life and we will never see Andy Lubben again.

This is just so disturbing to me. Andy Lubben was a wonderful person. He would do anything for anyone and always offered to do so. That is why he was there with Shane that morning. I believe Andy was there to try and take care of his “friend.” Andy and my son went to Shane’s house not two months earlier to spend Christmas with him because they didn’t want him to be alone.

This whole case has just been so disturbing. Now the judge is sending Shane to the Regional Center where he has already been and found competent. Now what? A little counseling and send him on his way? What about the Lubbens and their son? Is there any justice in Lincoln, Nebraska? What has this world come to?

Tammy Curry, Lincoln

Big buses are overkill

The city of Lincoln’s public transportation system needs a serious look at by the mayor and those involved in trying to balance the city budget. Nine million dollars is spent every year for public transportation; only $1.3 million is generated by the users.

Break those numbers down, it comes to $28,754 spent every day, and only $4,153 brought in, based on 313 days used in a year. It is probably worse than the numbers already given, since the recent fuel cost increases. Does the city try to find the least expensive source for fuel for those huge city buses?

Am I the only one who has observed that these buses are almost always empty or only two passengers riding between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.? Having these huge city buses that are fuel inefficient to haul two people around is like a pharmacy using a 5-ton truck to deliver a couple prescriptions to a resident.

You do not need a sledge hammer to kill a gnat. No one in business would have the equipment and example listed above for that sole purpose. The city would do a lot better if it was run like a business.

A solution would be smaller buses and less frequent scheduled trips. People would adapt if there were fewer trips made with these buses. Two examples already exist to prove that: airline flights and train rides. You miss your scheduled departure, you miss your trip.

The only time I have seen these buses full are for the six or seven home NU football games. And we do not even need these huge buses for that. The city could lease school buses from Lincoln Public Schools for those six or seven days. The school buses hold more passengers, and the LPS system is always looking for more money.

Herb Welter, Lincoln

Let’s just ban everyone

I feel compelled to reply to Benjamin Kruse’s letter, “Single, male, homeless,” (LJS, May 16).

He wishes to remove transients from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln union area, and perhaps the campus itself, I am not sure which. His reason for wanting this is puzzling. He states, “some of these transients are sex offenders and some have violent criminal backgrounds.” My question is this: How do you know that?, and which ones have the violent/sexual backgrounds?

I don’t know if there is or is not a vagrancy problem on campus. But I do know that trying to remove a group of people because some of them may be trouble is wrong. If we searched the enrollment records and employee list of UNL, we would certainly find that “some of these (students and staff) are sex offenders and some have violent criminal backgrounds.” Perhaps we should close the university. Otherwise, we cannot ensure that the downtown is a “family-friendly area, where families can shop …”

For that matter, more than a couple of Lincolnites have violent criminal backgrounds (including sexual offenders). Maybe we should disband the city.

Our only alternative is to treat people as individuals, and deal with the troublemakers on an individual, case-by-case basis. It is not a perfect system, but it does give the police and courts something to do with their time.

And, by the way — isn’t everyone who resides in a dormitory legally a transient, because they do not have permanent, year-round residency?

Joe Gores, Lincoln

Opinion versus fact

Lincoln East student Dan Cramer complains that his history teacher, Michael Baker, downgraded his paper for arguing that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (letter, May 15). Well, duh! Of course his teacher downgraded his paper. There’s no credible evidence that Iraq had WMDs, or active programs to develop them, since the country was forced to relinquish them in the early- to mid-1990s.

Cramer can wish that Iraq had WMDs. He can hope that some day there will be proof that Iraq had WMDs after all. But in the meantime, he can’t ignore the substantial evidence that Iraq didn’t have any WMDs when we attacked it.

As I tell my students, everyone is entitled to his own opinions, but no one is entitled to his own facts. If citizens won’t acknowledge the facts, democracy, which requires informed citizens, won’t work.

John Gruhl, Lincoln


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Brett wrote on May 23, 2007 12:58 am:
" The oil companies are publicly traded. They only make about 10% or less in net profit each year. Sure they make $500 million in profit, but that's for making $5 billion in sales. Since when is turning a 10% profit a bad thing? I bet every business owner would be happy supporting the american way and providing good jobs and making a little on the side. 10% is not wrong nor exorbitant. Get over it. They have to pay to get oil from elsewhere and there's a ton of infrastructure as well. The markets (we the people) have traders in futures markets (anyone who owns a mutual fund should understand this) that dictate the price going up & down every single day. "

 Say again? wrote on May 23, 2007 6:02 am:
" "Saddam (Hussein) must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas or biological weapons" - Bill Clinton, December 16, 1998. http://www.cnn.com/US/9812/16/clinton.iraq.speech/ Same article: "Their mission is to attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors," So what did Clinton know, when did he know it, and what did he do about it? He attacked Iraq and ordered "regime change". "The best way to end that threat once and for all is with a new Iraqi government -- a government ready to live in peace with its neighbors, a government that respects the rights of its people," What a short memory we all seem to have, since there is a Republican in the White House. "

 Doug wrote on May 23, 2007 6:19 am:
" Robert, why not write your Senator or Congressman and ask them why there hasn't been a refinery built in the US in the last 30 years. While waiting for your response, maybe you can google the word "Economics" and try to learn a thing or two about supply and demand principles. "

 Locke wrote on May 23, 2007 6:32 am:
" I wouldn't be so hard on student Cramer. As we all know, the state of "facts" can change over time. Depending on when the paper was written, the existence of WMDs could have been a "fact" or at least under dispute. Remember, many people, both Republicans and Democrats, believed that WMDs existed prior to the conflict and during the initial period of the conflict. We may not want to criticize Cramer even if Baker was prescient. In fact, if the paper was written in one of the earlier periods, Cramer could credibly complain that Baker was being unfair. "

 Zoomie wrote on May 23, 2007 7:03 am:
" Not only have no new oil refineries been built in 30 years (and NOT because environmental groups have opposed them, FYI), but in fact hundreds have been closed! Why? Because 30 years ago there were literally dozens of oil companies in America, from small Mom-and-Pop firms to the major corporations, and that included dozens of refining firms. Over the last 30 years, the six major oil firms bought them all up, closed most of them down. They now have a choke-hold control on the entire US economy, and the evidence is there is at least some collusion to keep oil prices high, even when the world's supply of oil is relatively plentiful. That said, high gas prices are literally the only way to force Americans off our dependence on foreign oil (and feeding funding to Islamicists). Europeans learned this long ago, taxing gas so much it costs $7-10 per gallon -- and has for years! But in exchange they've built excellent, fast and efficient public transportation systems in cities, nations, and across Western Europe, and have developed cars that routinely get 30-50 mpg (I myself drove a car in the UK more than 20yrs ago that averaged 35mpg, with an automatic transmission...why couldn't we find such cars in the much-vaunted U.S. until recently?). Unfortunately, in the US we generally lack the ability to move corporate owned politicians to invest in infrastructure any longer (the GOP having given government programs a bad name), so all this increase will go to setting record profits every quarter while hurting the poor and middle class only. "

 A gentleman's career wrote on May 23, 2007 7:50 am:
" There would be no reason to be "hard" on Dan Cramer except for the fact that he called for the firing of Michael Baker based on Mr. Baker telling him that he needed to "check his sources" regarding his contention that Iraq's having WMDs was justification for the war. Bush's own Iraq Survey Group issued a preliminary report in March, 2003 that Iraq didn't have any WMDs nor any program to produce them since the end of the Gulf War in 1991 (the degraded and dismantled old shells that Sen. Rick Santorum later claimed, in a desperate 11th hour campaign attempt were WMDs, were said not to be by the Pentagon, Bush's Iraq Survey Group, arms inspector David Kay, and Pres. Bush himself). The Bush Administration's arms inspector David Kaye confirmed the lack of WMDs in his January, 2004 report. And, finally, the final report of Bush's Iraq Survey Group in October, 2004 confirmed the findings of its earlier preliminary report, and even the President himself accepted the report and conceded there were no WMDs. Mr. Cramer is still a student, which means that at no time that he wrote the paper would he have had solid empirical grounds to claim that because Iraq had WMDs we were right to be at war. Professor Gruhl's point is apt. How nice that he teaches at a university where pushing students to provide empirical evidence is still expected, not Lincoln Public Schools where you're fired for such efforts (and to add insult to injury the boss who did the firing is then promoted). It's one thing for Dan Cramer to have an opinion, but stripping a man of his career and reputation for endeavoring to do his job is not warranted and whether Mr. Baker was fired for that or for showing an award-winning video depicting the realities of war to high school students who will soon be voting and facing recruiting efforts, the whole thing is a travesty and he should be reinstated. "

 Late O'Day wrote on May 23, 2007 7:56 am:
" Let's give it a bit of context, compare and contrast. Unlike George Bush, President Clinton worked within the international community with real coalitions and UN support. Unlike Bush, President Clinton brought other key Mideast countries into the decision to the effect that they essentially told Hussein "You're on your own." President Clinton was targeting their capacity to build WMDs, unlike Bush and his toadies who cherry-picked and lied about the evidence (eg: "We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."--Rummy Rumsfeld). Unlike Bush, Clinton listened to the inspectors (who never said they found -- merely that they couldn't ascertain one way or the other). And, yes ... Clinton supported regime change -- but change from WITHIN, not a US-imposed puppet government dooming Iraq to endless civil war. Oh, and by the way, YOUR people CRITICIZED Clinton for the 4-day bombing campaign that gutted Iraq's capabilities. You pseudo-patriots were obsessed at that time with obstructing and hounding a LEGITIMATELY elected president who held a 70+ percent popularity rating throughout the entire hearing (oh, and this was when Newt was having sex with his subordinate, Callista Bisek.). 70+ percent! That's 2.5 x Bush's current approval rating. "

 case wrote on May 23, 2007 8:22 am:
" Oil companies and insurance companies are legalized mafia. If gas is so expensive why don't more people slow down. Driving slower does save gas and saves lives! Slow down and take your vacation right here in Nebraska. "

 selectstandards wrote on May 23, 2007 8:33 am:
" "....30 years ago there were literally dozens of oil companies and by inference refineries. None have been built and not because of objections..." Go to the EPA and review the Select Standards Measure enacted under Jimmy Carter. The bar was set then. Oh yeah the Select Standards Measure was driven by the environmental lobby. I also remember 30 years ago when we had gas lines and outages. Whoops that would seem to be supply and demand working-no actually it was Saudia Arabia being made at us and reducing the production in OPEC by 40%. If you honestly think that a relative comparison between Europe and the US in automotive use is relevant then there is no dialogue to be undertaken. The cars you spoke of in Europe would not pass our safety requirements. I could list the reasons (study undertaken by the European Community when discussing the EU and its effect on Transportation where they concluded that it was best to continue investing in Mass transit as opposed to allowing more personal ownership of vehicles-that smacks a little of the upper-lower class struggle and the relative distances of travel-how long does it take to get from London to Paris versus how long does it take to get from Washington DC to New York City). In a study undertaken by the Economic Commission under Reagan ( a pro-market guy) it was determined that there was little correlation between actualy supply and demand in the petroleum industry (Circa 1987). But somehow we always manage to either twist the facts to make this a Right Wing (GOP-Conservative Christian) or Left Wing (LiberalDEM) thing when in fact it is a contrived shortage. And for those of you who believe that futures buyers effect the price of gasoline then look at the Wall Street Journal's spot market analysis and reveal to the rest of us ignorant people how a bid up of futures of 20 cents can cause gas to rise 38 cents over a two month period and a bid down of 36 cents only causes gas to drop 4 cents over the same period. "

 Josh wrote on May 23, 2007 8:50 am:
" I think Robert makes a good point - when was the last time a gas station had a sale? Buy one gallon, get the second free! That would be a nice change...... "

 Cat wrote on May 23, 2007 9:10 am:
" Grocery stores put picnic items on sale in the hopes that while you're buying hot dogs and buns, you'll also decide you need that six pack of beer (not on sale), some of those shrimp (not on sale), and so on. It's called a loss leader. You accept a loss on certain items, in the reasonable anticipation that you'll sell more of other things. (The hot dogs may be on sale that week...but is the relish?) "

 Jody P. wrote on May 23, 2007 9:26 am:
" Adding my two cents to a comment above, it was Bill Clinton and the U.N. that forced Iraq to give up their WMD, and without an invasion! Bush apologists can't comprehend that before you invade to "disarm Saddam", you'd better have hard evidence that he actually has WMD. You don't invade simply because you "believe" he has WMD, but because you know he has WMD. And this is where the lies began. In order to convince the world, the Bushies began their famous cherry-picking operation. For example, they used the dubious info from that goofy drunk codenamed "Curveball". The Germans had told us he was unreliable, but that didn't stop the Bushies from citing Curveball's supposed mobile weapons labs in Powell's U.N. speech. The Germans actually laughed at Powell's speech, saying it was the "same old garbage". Unlike the Bushies, their leaders had the mature judgement not to jump to wild conclusions. And now that Bush and his supporters have been shown to be the fools many of us knew they were, they show their complete lack of integrity by trying to blame the Iraq invasion on everyone but themselves. "

 Chris wrote on May 23, 2007 9:36 am:
" Students are transients because they don't have a permanent year-round residency? What about students who rent an appartment for 9 months? Also transeints? Your argument is nonsense and I got dumber reading it! "

 Locke wrote on May 23, 2007 9:53 am:
" First, using "a gentleman's career" timeline, a student still in high school could have been in high school prior to the issuance of the final report. There are such things as "super seniors". Second, we need to be careful with our own "facts" about the "retirement" of Mr. Baker. We do not know exactly why he was let go. It could have been the showing of the movie, it could have been his refusal to talk on the same day, or it could have been something else. Since neither side is talking, suggesting that Mr. Baker should not be allowed to teach is as irresponsible as suggesting that he should be allowed to teach. I think we should reserve judgements and outlandish statements until we have more information. Sadly, this information may not be forthcoming. "

 Come on... wrote on May 23, 2007 9:57 am:
" For those using the international community as there center of arguement. In which yead did Saddam and Iraq comply with UN resolution 1441?. (Res 1441 was passed by the UNITED NATIONS allowing full access to UN weapons inspectors) Hint: They never complied! Several times they were kicked out and were never allowed in to sensitive aread until months after whey wished to. This gave Saddam time to hide\dismantle\REMOVE and trnasport the WMD's. "

 Chris wrote on May 23, 2007 9:58 am:
" John Gruhl makes a factual incorrect statement by staying Iraq never had Weapons of Mass Destruction of WMD. The LSJ editorial staff was irresponsible in not clarifying this. WMD are defined as either radiological, chemical, or biological weaponry. Saddam Hussein's regime used chemical weapons against Iraqi Kurds in the late 1980s. This was well documented by the media at the time. Its disgraceful that anyone would overlook this great human tragedy. And I hope Gruhl is not overlooking this to merely further a political agenda. Part of the conditions for the cease fire for the first Gulf War, was that Hussein demonstrate to the international community that he no longer had the capacity to produce WMD. Hussein did not fully do this and it was this pretext that President Bush and President Clinton before him supported the U.S. policy of regime change in Iraq. However today most experts believe that by the time we invaded Iraq, Hussein had no WMD capacity. Yet there are still some weapons componets that have not been accounted for to this day. Part of our struggle with national dialog on Iraq is for many on both sides to distort history. But we should never forget those Kurds who lost their lives at the hand of Hussein. "

 Average Fox Viewer wrote on May 23, 2007 10:28 am:
" Well, if Saddam and his Sons wouldn't have flown their B-17s into Pearl Harbor we wouldn't have had to bring Jesus to them. It's also a fact that Clinton helped Saddam hide their Nukular weapons on the moon. "

 No Spin Zone wrote on May 23, 2007 10:32 am:
" Hussein was forced to abandon his WMD program..What Bush Sr and Clinton had were "Contigency Plans" not knee-jerk New World Order schemes. I doubt Bush Jr even knows what "Contigency" means. He has certainly demonstrated he doesn't know what "Plan" means. "

 Enron wrote on May 23, 2007 10:54 am:
" Thanks for the politically correct answer. These oil companies are engaged in the worst form of political and profitable collusion. By manipulating refinery capacities and setting prices between them. They can charge what they want and have you speel out their talking points. Pay attention! "

 JP wrote on May 23, 2007 11:34 am:
" Bush I "dismantled" the WMD program as part of the cease fire in the Gulf War. The UN was to be allowed to send in weapons inspectors with unlimited access to ascertain that these programs were in fact disabled. The Clinton administration beleived they were WMDs in Iraq. Both Hillary and Bill Clinton beleived that Iraq still had WMDs after 9/11. You may think the Bush administration lied or fabricated or misled intelligence on Iraq and other terroists countries, but there is no proof of it. France and Germany both were knowingly giving Saddam kickback money in the UN's oil for food program. Where do you think that money went to? What do you think it was for? Pretty sure if you are getting money illegally, it is going to used for something you need to keep secret. "

 ah wrote on May 23, 2007 12:04 pm:
" I am sickened that a murderer will soon be on our streets - and outraged that a judge could absolve him of all responsibiltiy because he took too much cold medicine. Someone please tell me the logic in that decision - isn't that setting terrible precedent? Regarding transients in the student union - I used to work there and encountered more than one who were drunk drunk drunk and belligerent. "

 Don wrote on May 23, 2007 12:12 pm:
" One of the big reasons for high gas prices are taxes from the city, state and federal gov't levels. They are getting rich off of these taxes. They don't have to produce it or anything. All they have to do is raise the taxes. "

 Jody P. wrote on May 23, 2007 12:19 pm:
" A commenter above accuses Mr. Gruhl of saying Saddam NEVER had WMD. But on my computer screen, it looks to me like Mr. Gruhl said Iraq "..didn’t have any WMDs when we attacked it." Like I posted a few days ago, it is very unnerving to debate people who can't distinguish between past and present tenses of verbs. "

 jem wrote on May 23, 2007 12:29 pm:
" I would agree that Lincoln's public transit system needs a serious look - but it needs an increase in services, not a decrease! As it is, StarTran serves ONLY those who commute for a 9-5 job - it doesn't run past about 6pm downtown, and stops earlier in most other parts of the city. I wanted very much to use the buses when I lived on West A, but the "West A express" runs maybe 4 or 5 times a day... as a student, this was entirely useless for me! I now live in western Mass., where the public buses around the 5 colleges (total population, only around 60K - students and nonstudents) run from 6am to about 3am. These buses are always packed. I was able to sell my car and I get around really well on such a great transportation system, thanks to the useful schedule. If StarTran ever ran a useful schedule, I and many many others would have been able to get rid of our cars and make use (read: PAY FOR) of our city's transit system. Blame scheduling, route planning and Lincoln's stubborn insistence on driving even 2 blocks - not the size of the buses. "

 Steve wrote on May 23, 2007 12:31 pm:
" Why does refinery and supply enter in? Where have you seen a gas station closed due to lack of supply or long lines? We are being ripped off. Enron did it, Exxon is doing it. Oh, and on the food for oil kickbacks, can you say "Condie Rice". "

 NL wrote on May 23, 2007 12:32 pm:
" No student should be intimidated by his teacher because of his opinions. Daniel Cramer stated "This one semester I had with him was one of the worst because of the intimidation he forced on the students who voiced their opinions about supporting Bush and the war. I supported the war and very much support it now, and whenever we would share news, I would share news about the war, the good news that he would never share, and he would criticize me and poke fun at my opinions.". This could be a reason Mr Baker was asked to retire, he was bullying anyone who did not share his opinion. And please Mr Gruhl, you are doing the same with the phrase "Well duh!". As a teacher this is not acceptable behavior to belittle a student because he shares a difference of opinions. Be careful, someone may ask you to resign also with your attitude and bullying! "

 Dan wrote on May 23, 2007 12:58 pm:
" I just love all of these conspiracy theories. Bush swindles the entire world into believing that Iraq had WMD, but nobody has come forward and say that Bush made me lie. Out of all of the people that would have had to be involved in this size of conspiracy, no one had come forward. Bush would have had to of swinded the entire Senate 98 to 2 into believing that Iraq had WMD, says a lot for our Senate. Bush and Chaney must be the smartest people in the world to pull off a conspiracy like that on the entire world. Al Qaeda is in Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Yemen, Egypt, and the Philippines. But out of the entire Middle East the only country that Al Qaeda is not in is Iraq. Give me a break. On the price of gas at least it not as high as that $9 a gallon pop you get in the gas station or that $40 a gallon Starbucks coffee or even that $8 a gallon water bottle. "

 Jon wrote on May 23, 2007 1:06 pm:
" I agree with Herb Welter. When I moved here I was told kids walk to school. So I kept saying, everytime I saw a bus, why is there a bus and one 2 kids on it!! There is one answer why property taxes are out of control. In my former city I never saw a bus that wasn't full. For Joe Gores, when the city treats so of its citizens who are the "IN GROUP" with all their personal desires, & the rest of the citizens, just pay your taxes and shut up, where do you thing these UNL kids learn to want to disband who they think are violent & sex offenders. All this important stuff is interesting in light of the Newsweek article. Out of 1,253 top public schools in the nation, NONE LISTED WERE IN NEBRASKA - ZERO - ZILCH!!! Yet look at 5th highest taxed state. What an education Nebraska kids are getting from those highly intelligent Nebraska college educated teachers!!!!! "

 Love It wrote on May 23, 2007 1:14 pm:
" What a bunch of socialist commentary! I would think I was reading a blog about Cuba, or Tibet, or Chechnya if I didn't know better. This is America, land of the free, home of the brave. You don't like something? Change it! Change yourself! Get active and be the change you want to be! Quit complaining about rising prices. Quit blaming the government for all your problems. Quit WHINING! Do you all have something against capitalism and freedom? Have you enjoyed living free and having whatever opinion you want and being as active as you'd like to be in politics? Is this so wrong to spread this ideology to other countries? Perhaps you really don't agree with the Constitution. Get busy being an activist, get busy voting, and QUIT COMPLAINING!!! "

 Gas Tax Irrelevant in 2007 wrote on May 23, 2007 1:15 pm:
" That is just a tired old Dittohead comment. Of course they dont produce it or anything. The gas taxes are per gallon not a percentage. The gas taxes have not raised at all during the obscene increase in gas at the pump. "

 Timmy wrote on May 23, 2007 1:17 pm:
" Yes, and over the past weeks since Mr. Baker's forced retirement there has been a preponderance of evidence from students past and present, and of varying ideological leanings, who refuted Mr. Cramer's story of intimidation. Combined with his demonstrated sensitivity about being pushed toward empiricism it suggests the possibility, if not likelihood, that the issue was as much about him as it was Mr. Baker. Anybody who has managed, or taught, has encountered employees or students who interpret things quite differently than do the vast majority of others under one's charge. Such misunderstandings are no reason for anybody's reputation to be sullied in a public forum, much less a basis to suggest a manager or teacher deserves to be fired. I suspect Prof. Gruhl understands the difference between employing a provocative phrase to arouse public attention in a letter to the editor and comments to a student. And, he probably also understands that distributive justice would suggest that if Dan Cramer is seeking to inflict damage upon a reputation and a career, the gloves have already been taken off. And, please, can we stop this nonsense that no student should feel intimidated for his opinion? In the university I attended I was continually intimidated by the brilliance of my professors to the point that I often hesitated to state my opinion (unless I had substantial evidence to back it up). The same was true with the two best teachers I had back in high school. They couldn't help but be intimidating to an ill-educated guy like myself. A student like Mr. Cramer with a passionate opinion lacking evidence to back it up should expect to be challenged, and if he is not the teacher is failing. Locke's points regarding the mystery of this case due to the silence on both sides is quite apt. However, the fact that Mr. Baker's silence was apparently imposed through threat of forfeiting his retirement is still disturbing. "

 Mindless Robot wrote on May 23, 2007 1:17 pm:
" Yeah, Gas isn't as expensive as Gold either so we should be happy!!!! "Al Qaeda is in Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Yemen, Egypt, and the Philippines. But out of the entire Middle East the only country that Al Qaeda is not in is Iraq." Yes, you got it right. "

 It goes to Cheney wrote on May 23, 2007 1:26 pm:
" The increase in gas prices can be traced by a "B line" to Dick Cheney's thick heavy pockets. "

 Hey Jon... wrote on May 23, 2007 2:27 pm:
" There's a simple reason why "Out of 1,253 top public schools in the nation, NONE LISTED WERE IN NEBRASKA - ZERO - ZILCH!!!"... You should probably investigate further before you make an assumption concerning the quality of the education (and educators) in Nebraska, "What an education Nebraska kids are getting from those highly intelligent Nebraska college educated teachers!!!!!" What you will find is that these rankings are due to national standardized test figures... Nebraska has been a leader in advocating locally controlled testing and not any one national test as the "end all, be all" measure. Because of this, yes, Nebraska is not represented on the list... That in no way however can be a measure of the quality of education! fyi - "The Newsweek article" as you stated, is a vague reference at best... please thoroughly cite your source else assume people will call it into question... "

 WHAT??????? wrote on May 23, 2007 2:51 pm:
" Where are all of the leftist freaks crying that Nebraska is creating a bunch of mindless robots and that we are bound to standardized testing. Nebraska chooses to break from the mold and now we accused of NOT CARING ABOUT TESTING. You can't have it both ways. Which way is it? "

 Fed up wrote on May 23, 2007 3:02 pm:
" If all parents would talk to their kids, sit down for dinner with their kids, help them with homework, save their appointments for days off and vacations for summer break, not lie for them to avoid disciplinary action, spent more time with them AND expected them to be students rather than athletes, then schools nationwide could be more effective. Don't undermind the hard work and high goals that teachers and adminstrators set for your kids. Thank you teachers for your hard work! "

 Okie wrote on May 23, 2007 6:28 pm:
" I'm assuming Mr. Gruhl is a teacher because he discusses his students. However, I have to question his professionalism and maturity when an educator writes, "Well, Duh!" in a letter to the editor. "

 jerry wrote on May 23, 2007 8:15 pm:
" Sounds like all the write ins here work for the oil companys. 3.2Billion in profits per quarter is well over 10%. Explain why only 600K gallons comes out of iraq with halliburton at the controls, VP Cheney involved? "

 Huh wrote on May 23, 2007 9:31 pm:
" Its so interesting, all these comments (typical Nebraskans) have all the answers,know it all, seen all the memos, phone & etc calls that went over Bush's desk, and yet they aren't president?? And the wonderful education information is interesting, since many high school graduates have had to take some high school courses in college that they should have had in high school. And after all this college education, the kids leave the state, the state is on the "do not touch" list for business & industry coming in. Yeh, Nebraska is DIFFERENT all right. Wonderful education, no jobs, low pay, highest taxes, slapped in the face, ALL my classmates years before me and after me left the state. Your in another state and they ask where you came from, and you tell them, and they laugh and say, "oh the tax me state!" That different education must be why the taxes are so high, they don't know how to add so they just take everybodys money!!!! "

 Dan Cramer wrote on May 23, 2007 10:43 pm:
" I think you all just dont understand my point in writing that letter, it was all educational and nothing to do with politics. He intimidated me, and it wasnt me being scared just because he was so knowledgeable but it was because he made us read the communist manufesto and he said for us not to use our district books about US history but a book written by Howard Zinn, a prounounced communist. I was intimidated because of the feeling in that class by the teacher AND my peers that Bush was an idiot and they all hated the war and if you didnt agree with that, then you shouldnt talk or you will be made fun of. I think many of you are taking this way too political, Mr. Gruhl, you and all those other liberal teachers out there saying "WELL DUH" to us supporters should look how you are subconciously teaching us... "

 NL wrote on May 23, 2007 10:56 pm:
" A good teacher should be able to get his point across without intimidation. Timmy, you said yourself that you hesitated to state your opinion (key word, OPINION). Least we create another Virginia Tech, what's wrong with teaching, not intimidating? "

 Shawn wrote on May 24, 2007 7:39 am:
" Dans parents are probably typical nebraska republicans, meaning he was raised to feel (and therefore cry) pressured and criticized every time anyone suggests something he doesn't like. I can't believe more of us havn't come to realize this. I've been in Nebraska long enough to get used to it. "

 WTF wrote on May 24, 2007 9:54 am:
" Dan is glad Baker was fired because he was made to read the Communist Manifesto. Nothing political about it at all. All I can say is that Dan needs to grow up a little bit. Get outside of Nebraska and see that there are actually people with different opinions. There are teachers that challenge students to actually think for themselves instead of repeating everything that mommy and daddy believe in. What is wrong with reading the Communist Manifesto? Anyone halfway intelligent that has read the book will agree that there are interesting points brought up in Marx's and Engle's writing. But then again, if you follow the thinking of a lot of Nebraskans reading that book makes you a "pinko commie." Oh and whatever you do don't let a gay person accidentally bump into you, you might catch the "gay disease." "

 Timmy wrote on May 24, 2007 11:00 am:
" To be fair, my point was that sometimes I was intimidated just by sake of being around people who, unlike most of the people I grew up with who just threw around their opinions with all of the abandon of Wild Thing in Major League (I know it's a stretch for a metaphor, but it's baseball season and I'm counting on the persuasive powers of Charlie Sheen), my best teachers and professors in the social sciences and the humanities backed their opinions with credible evidence, and pushed their students to do the same. At first, that was intimidating. But, in the long run, that was the real and lasting education of those courses. I'm not blessed with the kind of memory that recalls a lot of facts from those courses, but the methodology they taught and modeled has had an enormous and lasting impact. And, just to be clear, some of those folks were very conservative. I recall a conservative Univ. of Virginia law school graduate who used to tear students to shreds. But, by the end of the semester most of us rose to the challenge and began taking delight in bringing evidence to back our views. Opinions are fine for casual discussions, but if we are really educating we have to insist on evidence. That, in itself, can be intimidating. But, if you've ever suffered through a class where a teacher or professor just allows students to throw opinions around with no evidence, you know what a frustrating waste of time those experiences can be. For me the most significant thing is the number of former students who proclaim that Mr. Baker was the only teacher they had who really taught them how to for me to see LPS remove that kind of life-changing teacher from the system. I'm sure it appears that I'm making much too much of this, and I guess if this story didn't make me think of the handful of Baker types I was lucky enough to run into during my school days I wouldn't be. But, when I stop and think that my best teachers would likely be fired in what appears to be the current climate of LPS, it concerns me. "

 Julie wrote on May 24, 2007 2:05 pm:
" Dan, you might be very afraid to find out that-- gasp!-- that you will have numerous experiences in the future with people whose opinion you do not agree with! College professors (get ready to lose your mind... they tend to be on the liberal side), bosses, co-workers... you're never going to work anywhere or with anyone who agrees with you 100%. Instead of complaining, learn how to deal with these differences and let your anger go! "

 Dan Cramer wrote on May 24, 2007 4:23 pm:
" It is not about disagreeing with me its about him not teaching US HISTORY. not communist history, we not once read the constitution or declaration of independence but instead the communist manifesto. If you guys would just see that it is not about politics but about how we shouldnt have a teach in PUBLIC schools straying from the curriculum and teaching whatever the heck he wants, and just leave it at that. "

 Jamie wrote on May 25, 2007 9:19 am:
" Comment on gasoline: I thought it was hilarious when the local news said yesterday, "Good News! Gas prices are down....." Yeah, by ONE CENT! That's not good news, it only adds fuel to my fire about the ridiculous gas costs. Not to mention it made the news lady sound like an idiot by starting it with "Good News!" If I didn't have to go home over lunch every day I'd be on a bike! But for some of us, cars are a necessity, as sad as it is. "

 tasha wrote on May 25, 2007 3:35 pm:
" andy and i were amazing friends since we were born. i love him with all my heart, but i know andy and i know that he wants people to start forgiving shane. Shane regrets ever taking those pills and he regrets hurting and killing someone that was so amazing. but what is done has been done. making shane sit in jail for the rest of his life isnt going to bring andy back. Shane lives with his actions and he will until the day he dies. I used to be the same person always saying shane should get life but look at his point of view. i know shane and i know the kind of person he is. hes not the type to just kill someone when hes sober. Of course i miss andy with everything i have and i think about him everyday but i know that shane thinks and feels the same way everyone does! in a letter that shane wrote to me it said " i have his picture next to me and sometimes i cry at night knowing i took someone so wonderful away from the people that love him and that he loves. this truely was an accident and i never meant to hurt andy. he was my best friend and i hate myself and i will until i die." "

 HPSJ wrote on May 28, 2007 9:40 pm:
" I agree with Herb Welter's assessment of the public transportation issue in Lincoln. However, I don't believe that sex offenders should be allowed on the bus. I do think that Nebraska teacher should ride the bus more often. Also, do Nebraskans know the difference between crocodiles and alligators? Neither are allowed to ride the bus! This is the problem...duh! "

 rebekah shultz wrote on May 29, 2007 9:07 am:
" I was very disturbed after reading an article in the Newspaper concerning a man chasing a nine-year on her way to school, in the proximity of our neighborhood. I believe that it was very wise of you to publish this type of story so that parents are aware of predictors in their neighborhood. Usually we allow our daughter to walk around the corner to the bus stop with our friend’s daughter who is ten years old. I never use to worry about her a walking around the corner since I knew there would be other parents waiting for them to arrive. My daughter comes first place in my life, and I will do everything to ensure her safety. I was very happy to see Paul Canny, the principal of Prescott Elementary (my Daughter’s school), make sure to send a letter out to all parents describing what had happened. I am so grateful we have our schools and media working to keep our children safe. So thank you for letting the public know what is going on so we as parents can better care for our children. God Bless, Rebekah Shultz "

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