Letters, 6/24: Welcome home

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We want to say welcome home to the soldiers from the 1-167th Cavalry of the Nebraska National Guard. We are very proud of the work you did in Iraq. We prayed for your safety and for your families back home. We say thank you for the sacrifices you made on our behalf.

We pray that the transition to civilian life will go smoothly for you. Thank you for your dedication to our country.

Steve and Kathy Hartmann, Seward

Troops make us proud

I am so happy to see additional positive letters regarding the support of our troops as they serve (Mary Riedl, June 12; Sharon K. Phillips, June 17).

Regardless of where one stands politically, the fact is we have men and women willing to put their lives on the line every day — in myriad ways — for something greater than themselves. Let me share a chilling experience with your audience.

One of the organizations I belong to here in Lincoln has chosen to honor our military for our theme this month. As part of a decorating team, I elected to visit the recruiters’ offices for each branch of the service to collect whatever they would share with me (posters, decals, brochures, etc.) to incorporate in our room and table decorating.

The moment I stepped in the door of the first service branch, I felt instantly transported into something much larger and more important than myself, and certainly, much greater than the opposing political views of many. It brought the service of these individuals up-close-and-personal in a way I never expected.

We read the newspapers, we watch the television reports, listen to the speeches; but for a few moments in time, I got a glimpse of their world — and the feelings kept coming as I experienced the pride each branch of the service displayed that day.

From their firm handshakes to their filling my arms with whatever I wanted for material, I had goosebumps. Chilling to the outsider, but something each one of us should experience. I felt such pride that day for our men and women in uniform.

Lincoln has a wonderful opportunity to show that pride as we welcome home our troops. Did I mention honor? Theirs and ours.

Lee Nowak, Lincoln

We need oil

Let us assume for a minute, just to humor Ron Meyer (Local View, LJS, June 16), that most of what he blabbers on about is true. The war is not helping stop terrorism. The war is not promoting freedom in Iraq. The war is guilty of creating illegal detentions and torture. The war has created 2 million refugees. The war is using our soldiers as “gang-like mobsters” to protect American banking and corporate interests. The war is really about controlling oil interests in the Middle East, so we can continue to drive our gas-guzzling SUVs and RVs.

Whoa, wait a minute, don’t trains use oil-based fuel? Don’t trucks use oil-based fuel? Don’t tractors use oil-based fuels? Doesn’t this whole damn country function by the use of oil?

Even if I were to concede that he is correct about the other points (which I don’t), the fact that we might be fighting to protect oil interests to me is a positive thing. Like it or not, the country, hell, the whole world, runs on oil.

To protect our oil interests is to protect our country. I don’t see how anyone could have trouble understanding that.

Jim Harnly, Seward

Pony up for education

After hearing about the 6 percent increase in tuition next year, I didn’t know whether to be relieved or exasperated. Over the past 10 years tuition has risen more than 80 percent.

Originally, Gov. Dave Heineman, a governor who ran on a strong education platform during the 2006 election, offered an embarrassing 1.1 percent increase in the state funding of the university budget the first year and a 2.2 percent increase the next year. This would have undoubtedly led to double-digit increases in tuition and program cuts throughout the university system.

In its wisdom the state Legislature passed a 4 percent increase in the university budget, still below the amount requested by the university.

I find it disappointing that the Nebraska Legislature and the governor decided not to fully fund the university system in a budget year in which there was not only a surplus but also a record breaking $400 million tax break. For the first time in many years, the state had the opportunity to fully fund the university and not burden students with yet another increase in tuition.

It seems as though some of our elected officials do not realize that rising tuition is only one challenge students face in funding their education. The rising costs in university housing, being scammed by textbook companies and the student loan industry are among the many others.

State senators often speak about how to keep Nebraska’s youth in the state. Heineman recently launched a campaign to encourage high school and middle school students to go to college. If our elected officials are truly dedicated to keeping young people in Nebraska they would be wise to start by adequately funding the university and keeping the cost of tuition low.

Adam Morfeld, Lincoln, senator, College of Arts and Sciences, Association of Students of the University of Nebraska

Our take on ethanol

The Journal Star’s staff editorial of June 17, “Look beyond corn-based ethanol,” misleads readers by creating the impression that the Nebraska Ethanol Board and the Clean Fuels Development Coalition oppose cellulosic ethanol production.

During a presentation at a recent Nebraska Ethanol Board meeting, Doug Durante of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition expressed opposition to provisions in a federal bill that would cap ethanol production from corn at 15 billion gallons a year. He noted that such a measure would stifle innovation and investment in ethanol technology.

A recent University of Tennessee study states that the U.S. could produce 18 billion gallons of ethanol from corn, while others in the scientific community conclude the U.S. could produce 20 billion gallons. This increased production capacity would come not from using more corn, but from more efficient use of existing corn supplies, such as converting fiber in corn kernels into ethanol.

A cap on the production of corn ethanol is a bad idea because it discourages increases in efficiency. Producers would not be motivated to squeeze more ethanol from the same amount of corn if Congress enacts artificial limits. Doug Durante’s comments were to that point; he did not state that ethanol from cellulose was unnecessary.

The NEB and CFDC have actively advocated ethanol production from a host of materials, including rice straw, forestry residues and urban waste. CFDC members include companies that are trying to commercialize such techniques, and the NEB and CFDC have championed these innovations for two decades.

Rational public policy calls for balance in the energy arena. With regard to the use of diverse feedstocks for ethanol, this has always been the position of the NEB. But rational public policy must also make sense in the marketplace and should not stifle technological innovations in the production of corn ethanol.

Todd Sneller, administrator, Nebraska Ethanol Board