Letters to the editor: Foolishness spurs recall petition
Letter writer: "They object to the health director because they don't like wearing masks. Sounds like a bunch of whining crybabies."
If I understand this correctly, a group of citizens is filing a petition to recall the mayor and some City Council members. These elected officials hired, then later appointed, a health director who required face masks in public areas.
They object to the health director because they don't like wearing masks. Sounds like a bunch of whining crybabies. The lawsuit won't stop the virus, nor will any lawsuit protect their businesses if a customer or a staff member gets COVID-19 because of this. Sounds like a bunch of fools.
Sue Clark, Lincoln
It is time for Lincoln drivers to embrace zipper merging when lanes are being reduced for construction.
Zipper merging is waiting to merge until the lanes come close to the point they absolutely need to merge. At that point everyone takes turns like we learned early in our school years -- first one lane then the other.
If you break it down, you will find you will not be slowed down in getting through the intersection. At the point of a merge, the number of cars going through the construction will be going through at the same rate regardless of whether or not they came from one lane or two. And for many drivers, it will be quicker because there will no longer be the cars that scoot up the disappearing lane and squeeze in in front of the line thus irritating numerous drivers in the long line.
Another positive point is the long line of cars is shorter by half and will have less opportunity to block driveways and intersections in the area that would have been the end of the line if just a single line. It would ease the frustration of people who find the cars going ahead in the open lane.
It would also eliminate anyone trying to exert their will to squeeze in as long as everyone plays well. I would urge the city to change signage from saying “Merge Ahead” to saying “Zipper Merge Ahead.” Let’s all try to make it easier and safer.
Thomas M. Meyer, Lincoln
I do not understand why wearing a mask upsets some people. There are those who are trying to recall Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird for Lincoln’s mask mandate. Why can’t you think of it helping others as well as yourself? I hope she continues until we get a vaccine.
I started wearing a mask the first part of April hoping it would help. Dr. Anthony Fauci was concerned there weren’t enough masks for doctors, nurses, etc., so he didn’t encourage wearing one. That has changed, and it seems we can change also.
The mask allows my husband and me to go into a store and, when everyone else is wearing one, makes it even safer. And, yes, I do not like wearing one; having to fool with glasses and hearing aids makes it even worse. But I will do what needs to be done to protect myself and others.
If I go into a store and see a recall sheet, I will leave and not return and encourage others likewise.
Linda Humphress, Lincoln
In 1971, social psychologist Dr. Irving Janus developed the construct of groupthink. Groupthink is a common problem associated with group decision making, made by homogeneous groups in which members pretty much hold the same values and have similar kinds of life experiences as one another.
In such contexts, group polarization tends to happen pretty quickly. Groupthink can be disastrous when like-minded individuals make decisions that will affect a broader population that is relatively heterogeneous.
In 1992, social psychologist Dr. Matt Motyl found that most counties in the U.S. were relatively evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. From that point on, he found a linear growth to the divisions we see today. We have gone from accepting differences of opinion to outright hostility.
Around 1992 was also when the World Wide Web was created. I became involved in studying how groups of people who worked on a project together interacted and developed opinions of each other. Previous studies had been made where these groups met in person.
I was involved in studies where the group members only met on the web and had little information about each other. At the end of the study, the members were asked to give their opinion on how they felt about the other group members. What I found was that compared to the groups who met in person, those who met only on the web were more prone to rate the others more harshly and to group them by some common factor!
Terry Schoonover, Lincoln
Why is Gov. Pete Ricketts so reluctant to issue a statewide mask mandate?
Nebraska’s rising COVID-19 counts reflect the lack of a mandate in Nebraska along with the 17 other states that lack one. For rural communities, the absence of a state mandate puts business owners in a position that they may have to alienate customers to protect themselves.
For me personally, it puts my elderly parents in danger out in western Nebraska when they attend church and shop in their unprotected community. Governor, please, please do your job and protect the residents of this state.
Sandra K. Sullivan, Lincoln
I find it interesting that Gov. Pete Ricketts would even think about changing Nebraska electoral vote system back to a winner-take-all one.
He should be suggesting all states use this guide, since a few votes in a large city negate the vote of others in a state. Even one vote takes an entire state one way.
Governor, keep Nebraska as is. That way all votes really count.
Dale Fink, Lincoln
I'm not saying I am feeling sorry for Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, but there is something kind of sad to see somebody reach their pinnacle of power and have nowhere left to go but down.
Ricketts' full embrace of Donald Trump puts him out there on a limb for all to see how bad things have become under both elected officials.
For all the things Trump and Ricketts claim this administration has helped and really has not, the worst was ruining Nebraska's agriculture trade market with ill-thought-out tariffs on China. Then Trump bails out farmers and ranchers with billions of government subsidies which he laughably claims is being paid by China.
With Ricketts being term-limited, even with his money, the state GOP doesn't have to run scared of crossing the governor.
The big dog in the governor's office has lost his bite. Whatever happens to Ricketts' political career after 2020, he most likely won't climb this high again.
I'm not going to lose any sleep over that!
Ricky Fulton, Omaha
On Oct. 16, Lincoln Electric System held a public board meeting to move forward on plans to set a public power decarbonization goal. This is the testimony I sent the board in support of their goal:
My name is Madison Whitney, and I am a junior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as well as a member of OurClimate, Sustain UNL and the Coalition of Resilient Nebraskans. I urge LES to set a decarbonization goal of 100% renewable energy use by 2035 for Lincoln.
This conversation is not a hypothetical that can be debated any more and hasn’t been for a while. We are facing the effects of our addiction to fossil fuels and need to act now.
Renewable energy and more sustainable practices are being adopted across the country as we face the negative effects of fossil fuels and attempt to decrease our carbon footprint. I have lived in Lincoln for 18 years and have a lot of pride and love for my city, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to see change where change is needed.
A plan for decarbonization will insure a cleaner and greener Lincoln for our community now and for future generations. Let’s be on the frontier of sustainable energy management and show the rest of the state the most effective and efficient way to mitigate for our future.
As a state, Nebraska has the potential to be a leader in solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy, what’s stopping us?
Madison Whitney, Lincoln
Eight months -- 212 days -- the amount of time residents of nursing homes have been locked down since the COVID-19 crisis began. I understand the concern that initiated the lock down, but eight months of isolation from family is unconscionable and cruel. It is true that the elderly population may be more at risk, but at what point do the residents get to make the decision as to what is risk worthy? Currently, they are alive but certainly not living!
Many residents aren't finding a reason to keep living without the contact of loved ones. Seeing each other through a window just doesn't cut it! No other part of society has to endure this. The employees at nursing homes go home to their families (as they should). However, if an employee tests positive, visitors are no longer allowed at the nursing home for two weeks! The logic of that is beyond any sensibility.
My daughter is an occupational therapist and has seen a decline in the overall mental/physical health of nursing home residents.. Other friends who work with nursing home residents have voiced the same opinion. It should be noted that the staff members observe the distress of the residents daily. How heartbreaking for staff.
I seek your help in allowing nursing home residents the freedom to once again see families and friends safely. Wearing masks and social distancing should allow us to visit safely. Please contact your local senator, governor, and DHHS to express your concern.
Karen Benner, Central City
Regarding the presidential election, the Republicans may be ready for some "Whine and sheesh!"
Bill Nowak, Lincoln
If Nebraska Athletics has $250,000 to throw at a second-tier team to come to Lincoln for essentially a scrimmage with no fans, perhaps they could consider spending that money in grants to local bars and restaurants who are truly at a significant financial loss with the loss of the Wisconsin game.
Robert Bockrath, Lincoln
I mourn the loss of countless senior citizens who have perished due to COVID-19. Managing a public health crisis in a country of more than 300 million people is a huge challenge. However, 50 different state-level approaches to dealing with COVID-19 are costing countless lives – especially the lives of our elderly.
In Nebraska, the State Department of Health reports that out of 646 total deaths, 543 were people 65 and older. The total numbers of elderly victims in North and South Dakota and Kansas are just as high.
A question that has lingered in my mind these past seven months is: “Where is C. Everett Koop when you need him?” President Ronald Reagan had help in combatting the HIV/AIDs virus back in the 1980s. Koop, the U.S. surgeon general, did excellent work in introducing the notion of “safe-sex” practices to an entire generation in order to prevent the spread of a deadly virus that had infected millions.
Koop helped save lives. We need someone like him now. As a member of Generation X, I have been waiting for a federal cabinet-level health care professional (who specializes in infectious diseases) to be given the leeway to lead us through the wilderness that is COVID-19. Could Dr. Anthony Fauci, who served under Koop, be that person and be granted the authority to save our loved ones – especially our beloved senior citizens? A national mandate to wear face coverings could be the virus-prevention practice that saves countless lives in our time.
Rev. Heather E. Brown, Pickrell
I no longer live in Nebraska because I fish and the water gets way too hard in the winter. But I still bleed Husker Red.
I don’t pretend to know about all the financials, etc., that go with the conference affiliations. I worship the ground Tom Osborne walks on and was a supporter of anything he thought best when we got out of the Texas League they called the Big 12.
But the Big Ten has not been good to Nebraska athletics from the start. For a lack of better phrasing, they seem to screw us any chance they can.
Plus, I also want someone smarter than me to explain who made this commissioner God. They should have been playing football in September, and if a team can’t play, we should be able to fill the spot if we want to.
From where I stand, it’s time to get out. Nebraska athletics does not have to be a floor mat to anyone. Bill Moos and his team are doing a great job, even considering they are constantly up against a wall they call the Big Ten.
At the end of the day, it’s a lot easier drive to Central Kansas, Oklahoma or even Waco, Texas, for that matter.
Harv Dougherty, Warsaw, Mo.
Deciding between in-person and remote learning is difficult. As a teacher, I believe that in-person education is superior. It is difficult to bond with someone remotely.
This difficult decision should only be made when all information is presented. Parents are told to screen their children and have the child wear a mask. Teachers are told to provide individual learning materials, opportunities for hand washing and sanitizing, and maintain 3 to 6 feet distance between children.
With more remote learners returning to in-person learning, a 3-foot distance between students doesn’t always happen. Also, children eat breakfast in their classrooms. That means the entire classroom is maskless for at least 15 minutes. All children are given hourly face mask breaks. Once again, class members are without a masks multiple times a day.
We have been told COVID-19 is airborne. Think about the last time you cooked fish or baked something. Did the smell stay in your kitchen or did it wander into the other rooms of your house? Please make the decision regarding in-school or remote learning with as much information as possible.
Patty Allen, Lincoln
