Eight years ago, I would have voted for John McCain had George Bush’s dirty tricks not stolen the GOP nomination from him. Apparently, McCain decided if you can’t beat ’em, copy ’em. McCain has sold his soul to win the White House. He will say anything and do anything to get to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

I’ve been following presidential elections since 1960, and I’ve never witnessed a more dishonest campaign than the one McCain is conducting. And that’s saying something considering I’ve seen three campaigns by Richard Nixon and four by the two Bushes.

If the dishonesty wasn’t bad enough, McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin is an insult to the American people. Especially women. She is completely unqualified to be a heartbeat away from a 72-year-old cancer survivor president. Her and the “first dude’s” dirty laundry is piling up higher than her hairdo. Forget Bill Ayers and Rev. Jeremiah Wright. What about Joe Voglar of the Alaska Independence Party and the witchcraft pastor?

Fortunately, we have a choice. As disappointed as I’ve been in McCain, I’ve been that impressed by Barack Obama. That he’s been able to keep his cool after wave upon wave of dishonest attacks against his character and his proposals is reason alone to believe he has the temperament needed to occupy the Oval Office. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a smart president after eight years of W.? And wasn’t it refreshing to see a U.S. political leader speaking in Europe and seeing American flags waving that weren’t on fire?

Rick Wigington, Lincoln

Pray for persecuted in India

I wish to bring to the kind notice of your readers the unpleasant situation of Christians being persecuted in some parts of India, my country, by some Hindu fanatics and thus to request their prayers for peace in the affected areas.

As a priest from the Diocese of Dindigul, South India, I am very much pained to read through various sources about the persecutions being meted to the Christians of the state of Orissa, central India. The recent troubles against the Christian communities let loose following the Aug. 23 murder of a Hindu leader, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, likely by Maoist extremists.

Hindu mobs started attacking Christian centers in Kandhamal, the district where the slain leader was based; now the violence has spread throughout Orissa and in many parts outside of this state. The torture and horror experienced by the Indian Christians because of the recent violent persecutions is something heartbreaking and soul-stirring.

I, along with the priests and religious of India working in America and the Indian Christian communities living here, are deeply grieved over this tragedy and express our sense of sympathy and solidarity and our prayers to all the Christian brothers and sisters who underwent/are undergoing the experiences of “tortured for Christ” in the Indian soil.

Rev. M. Peter Amaladoss, McCook

What’s in a name

There are people who are opposed to a candidate because his middle name is “Hussein.” Apparently, they equate the name with Arabs and equate Arabs with Islamist extremists or terrorists.

Yet most of the people who have given their lives in the war against Islamist extremism have names like Hussein, Abdul and Ahmed. They are our brave Iraqi and Afghan allies fighting alongside America’s own heroes. Moreover, one of our strongest allies in the Middle East was King Hussein, ruler of Jordan for more than 40 years.

If people really want to vote against a candidate because of his name, they can. But they should think about the fact that it is also the name of one of our staunchest allies and of many soldiers who have fought and died protecting us from terrorists.

Otto B. Schultz, Lincoln

Johanns more of the same

As I read the continued coverage about the Senate race in the Journal Star, I realize more and more that Mike Johanns in a Senate seat would be a nightmare for Nebraska.

Here’s a man so dedicated to the President Bush/Karl Rove party line that he spent thousands of dollars of taxpayer funds to do their political bidding. And what’s more, when candidate Scott Kleeb called him out on this wrongdoing in the last debate, Johanns wouldn’t even apologize for it.

This is not a man I want running my state. The politics of Bush have ruined this economy and have put cronyism and greed over honesty and service. Johanns has proved time and again that he’ll only give us more of the same.

For Nebraska’s future, I’ll be voting for Scott Kleeb on Nov. 4.

David C. Madden, Lincoln

Immigration study is flawed

On Oct. 15, the Lincoln Journal Star printed an article about a study produced by the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The study is supposed to be an assessment of contributions Nebraska immigrants make to the state economy. The conclusion is that the immigrants’ contribution is $1.6 billion annually. Because of it, according to the article, “the state’s leadership must reject paralyzing anti-immigrant … rhetoric.”

The study has a problem. It does not distinguish between immigrants and illegal immigrants, lumping both groups together. This is wrong. Legal immigrants are mostly educated (often from American universities) and are working in good-paying jobs. They pay taxes and respect American laws.

Illegal immigrants often do not pay taxes, or pay taxes on fraudulent or stolen Social Security numbers. All of this produces harm to the victims of such theft, and to the whole society (I doubt that the cost of this is accounted for in the mentioned study).

The health care, education of their children and other social services are subsidized by American citizens and legal immigrants. Legal immigrants contribute; illegal aliens take out from society. Therefore, to lump both groups together is nonsense.

The study also says immigrants add $1.6 billion to the state economy, but if we would lose those people, it would cost us $13.5 billion. This doesn’t add up. The study is flawed and deceiving. It fits into the pattern of many similar studies.

Dimitrij Krynsky, Lincoln