This week's letters: Roundabout vital for south Lincoln
See highlights from the letters to the editor sent to the Journal Star.
The proposed roundabout is essential to relieving the congestion of traffic flow through the bottlenecks on 14th Street and indirectly, northbound traffic on 27th Street, where the road constricts to two lanes north of Nebraska 2.
I agree: The construction phase will make life difficult for drivers, but it's no different for most projects of any size within the city limits, and a delay will only make things worse as that quadrant of the city continues to grow. Those two streets are the only viable options for north-south traffic in my area.
The project is large and expensive because the problem is large and complex -- "simple" does not apply here. Killing the project and scattering proceeds around other quadrants of the city like pixie dust holds no appeal for me.
Mike Calvert, Lincoln
An open letter to Republicans:
Do you believe that Vladimir Putin is a fine and honest leader of the Russian state?
Do you believe that Putin is correct when he said that Russia did not in any way interfere in our 2016 election, despite the unanimous conclusions of all our intelligence agencies?
Do you believe that our president, who clearly favors Putin, should have one –to-one talks with him, alone, with no aides and no way of finding out what was said?
Do you believe our president should seek dirt on his political opponents from foreign countries, which is clearly against our laws?
If you agree with any of these propositions, or more importantly, remain silent despite your opposition, are you willing to go down in history as one of Putin’s fools?
James C. McClelland, Lincoln
I sit here today feeling sad, sick and disheartened to think adults could act the way they did concerning Charlie Bowlby ("The bullying of Charlie Bowlby," Oct. 6).
I have been a friend of Charlie's for more than 20 years and can't remember a time that he ever did anything to deserve such bullying -- although no one ever deserves to be treated in such a way.
You can't tell me that there aren't many people working in the same area at the state who didn't know what was going on. If you don't speak up about the so-called "men" who did the bullying, then you are just as guilty.
I hope this just maybe sheds some light on what has ended in a tragedy for Charlie.
For those of you who decided you had the right to harass him daily and make his life miserable, I hope you are happy now. I am sure you will find your next victim, as people like you aren't satisfied unless you are hurting others. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Rest in peace, dear Charlie.
Linda Leyden, Lincoln
I'm an Ohio State alum and fan. I had the good fortune to attend the Sept. 28 football game in Lincoln. I was blessed in three ways.
First, Memorial Stadium was the 11th Big Ten venue in which I have watched my Buckeyes play football. (Attending games at all 14 is one of my bucket-list items). Secondly, my Buckeyes won.
Thirdly, and most importantly, Husker fans were the most courteous and friendly I have yet to encounter, and you should be very proud. Thanks to all you Huskers for a most enjoyable experience!
William David Snyder, Holland, Mich.
It’s hardly reassuring to read that Gov. Pete Ricketts and Rep. Don Bacon know little about ethics, less about the Constitution and nothing about federal election law, as their latest statements condemning the current impeachment inquiry reveal (“Ricketts attacks Trump impeachment inquiry,” Oct. 4).
Even a fifth grader who’s taken a civics class knows it’s against the law in a federal election to solicit any form of aid from a foreign entity. Soliciting political “dirt,” as Trump has done, first, by trying to extort the president of Ukraine, and again, most recently and in plain sight on the White House grounds, by asking China to produce the same, appears to constitute a “high crime” necessitating an impeachment inquiry.
Not to conduct such an inquiry would be to “subvert the will of the American people” because that “will” is predicated upon the assurance that only they have the constitutional right to elect their representatives and president in this democratic republic.
In releasing only an edited memorandum and not the exact transcript of the telephone conversation between Trump and Zelensky, and in trying to stop the release of the whistleblower’s complaint, the administration has probably obstructed justice, another “high crime,” and shown the American people evidence of consciousness of guilt.
Trump’s actions are disgraceful and indefensible, and justifications of those actions by Ricketts and Bacon are reason enough to vote them out of office, as well as the other see-no-evil, speak-no-evil complicit Republican members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation.
Liam O. Purdon, Lincoln
It has been suggested by some that the effort by the congressional Democrats to investigate President Trump’s contacts with the president of Ukraine are an attempt to “subvert the will of the American people.”
Perhaps a short civics lesson is in order:
* Point one: The “will of the American people” is expressed at the ballot box.
* Point two: Donald Trump lost the 2016 election by more than 2.8 million votes.
* Point three: Donald Trump is in the White House contrary to the “will of the American people.”
Marshall Lux, Lincoln
As noted in the Journal Star ("Census: Inequality grew in the heartland," Sept. 27), the level of income inequality is the highest it’s been in more than 50 years.
Sadly, this type of inequality also exists in the federal tax code, where the largest tax expenditures disproportionately benefit large corporations. Yet, the code taxes into poverty more than 5 million low-wage workers not raising children at home. And millions of children in low-income families are not eligible for the full Child Tax Credit (CTC).
Congress is considering another tax bill this fall with lots of benefits for businesses. After being ignored in the 2017 tax law, workers and families must not be passed over again.
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and CTC are pro-work, pro-family tax credits for people working in low-wage jobs. Together, they lifted 7.9 million Americans above the poverty line in 2018, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Expanding the EITC and CTC would ensure our tax code supports low-income Americans struggling to make ends meet.
I urge our members of Congress -- Reps. Jeff Fortenberry, Don Bacon and Adrian Smith, along with Sens. Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse -- to uphold the principle that no business tax breaks should be extended or expanded without also expanding the EITC and CTC in the same bill.
Jamy Rentschler, Lincoln
The U.S. is in a remarkably precarious position with respect to Afghanistan and has no good choices. It and its allies attacked Afghanistan a few weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, after the Taliban refused to surrender members of al-Qaeda. After the invasion, Afghanistan was promoted as an example of how the U.S. could create a democracy and improve life in a very troubled part of the world.
Now, 18 years later, the U.S. has been able neither to defeat the Taliban nor to create a stable and competent government in Kabul. Nor is there a capable military force to defend against the advancing Taliban, who already control half of the country and attack daily.
With its democracy-building and vanquishing of al-Qaeda and the Taliban having failed, the U.S. now finds itself between Scylla and Charybdis. Whatever it does, there will be a heavy cost.
That payment will be literal if it decides to retain troops to keep the Taliban from overrunning the Kabul government. The American public and politicians may be weary of paying for their country’s longest war.
If the Americans decide to leave, however, there will be another steep price to pay that must be given serious consideration. If the Taliban reconquer Afghanistan, as they almost inevitably will in such a scenario, there is no avoiding the reality that we can consider ourselves to be back at Sept. 10, 2001, and the status quo ante.
Then Americans must ask the very penetrating question, “What was it all for?”
James Clark, Lincoln
Effective communication access is important in all aspects of Nebraska life. According to the Hearing Loss Association of America, an estimated 20% of Americans have some form of hearing loss, with 1% being deaf.
Husker football games at Memorial Stadium are an important and cherished tradition in Nebraska. Gameday swells the downtown area to the third-largest city in the state. Whether it is cheers for the Huskers or boos for the refs, the stadium noise and commotion can easily overwhelm even people who are hearing trying to understand what is going on.
It is for this reason we applaud Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Moos and the entire athletic department for the recent captioning addition inside Memorial Stadium as part of its gameday experience, enhancing communication access for all.
The athletic department listened to feedback from the deaf and hard of hearing community in addressing these concerns. These positive changes enhance the experience of all fans. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln demonstrates a high standard for all other colleges and universities in Nebraska.
It is our hope that we will continue to see other stadiums and arenas to follow this leap in equality and access for all. Football as well as any other sporting event should be accessible not just to those who may hear, but for all.
John Wyvill, Lincoln
Executive director, Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
George Will ("Best antidote to bad election is better one," Sept. 29) may be correct that the next presidential election must make right the crazy outcome of the last.
But what I can’t figure out is this: how has the heartland of the country been taken in by an underhanded, self-promoting New Yorker?
I am a Nebraska girl. I lived in Arnold, O'Neill and Aurora before moving to Lincoln and graduating from Lincoln East. I participated in Cornhusker Girls State. I worked at the Legislative Research Division of the Nebraska Legislature. I know Nebraskans are call-it-like-you-see-it people.
Marriage took me to Long Island, New York, and then Arlington, Virginia. Time in New York plus Nebraskan sensibility allows me to spot the posturing and preening of a New York charlatan.
Just across the Potomac, I’ve had a front row view of the shenanigans of the current president. He’s a New York brawler. I didn’t think Nebraskans tolerated bullies.
Trump’s election was, in part, a rejection of coastal elites and their disdain for heartland Americans. I get it. Such elites are obnoxious.
The paradox is that we elected one. He won’t own up to it, because he only keeps his job if middle America thinks he is on their side. He isn’t.
America deserves better. When we’ve drawn the bad apple from the barrel, let’s call it what it is and not keep eating it just because that’s what we happened to choose.
Sandra Schrag Busching, Arlington, Va.
Lincoln’s civic leaders have scammed the voters again, with the clever wording of the sales tax increase for street repairs. The ballot issue stated, “Not less than 25% will be used on new construction.”
The new tax started Oct. 1. The new mayor pledged that street repair would be a priority, starting in the spring of 2020. The voters’ priority was to repair the existing streets, not new construction. The deplorable condition of the existing streets is what convinced them to approve a new tax.
But now, Lonnie Burklund, assistant transportation director, has stated ("Drivers single out problem streets," Sept. 29) that repairing existing streets will not happen for maybe two years!
He said the “first projects are unlikely to be arterial streets,” adding, “… We’ll be lucky to incorporate them in 2021.” He continued, “It’s likely that new road construction will be some of the first work.”
It appears that the 25% figure for new construction in 2018 could be closer to 100%. The rough existing roads might have to wait until 2021, or later.
In the end, the city asks the voters for more money to repair the existing roads, but then funnels it elsewhere. Typical.
Brad Carper, Lincoln
The joke goes something like this: Hitler, Alexander the Great and Napoleon gathered in Red Square to watch a Soviet May Day parade.
Hitler states if he’d known the Soviets were so powerful, he’d have never attacked Russia. Alexander says if he’d had such an army, he would have conquered the world. Napoleon muses that if he had a newspaper as obedient as Pravda, no one would have known about Waterloo.
The relevancy? Except for a few news outlets that remain true to their core calling, our media is a propaganda extension of the political ideology prevalent in their boardrooms. Consumed with Trump impeachment mania, the media ignores its obligation to investigate corruption of those they support.
The Speaker of the House announces an impeachment inquiry before she’s armed with facts, and the press uncritically supports her. Facts, don't you know, are inconsequential as it is the allegation that most matters.
Meanwhile, the matter of Hillary Clinton’s unsecured email server she used with the president and others on matters highly classified is ignored. The FBI’s use of intelligence operatives (spies) to gather information on a political campaign, predicated on now proven lies provided by a foreign intelligence operative using Russian supplied intelligence, gets a yawn from the media.
As Jonathan Gruber, the health care architect, reminded us, those in charge count on the stupidity of the American electorate. To that end, the media are doing what it can to promote the electorate’s ignorance. No one is to know about the progressives' Waterloo.
Jerris Cummings, Lincoln
I find myself in rare agreement with Sen. Ernie Chambers. His criticism of Gov. Pete Ricketts' slow-walking of expanded Medicare is warranted.
I believe if the governor had been in favor of it, we would already see it in place. Instead, what we have is obstruction of the will of the people he is supposed to be leading in the hope that the Trump administration of Congress will find a way to kill it before it is implemented here.
It also shows a clear disregard for the well-being of all those folks who could now be seeking medical help at reasonable or low cost to treat threatening diseases or chronic conditions that will be put off for another 12 months. I see no other reason for a delay of another year before we can hold up our heads and say we are taking care of the many people at risk over this hypocritical stall.
It's not as if we had to build a Medicaid agency from scratch. There already was one in place and functioning before the vote to expand it.
Steve Duden, Lincoln
The reaction to California's new law allowing compensation for athletes while participating in college athletics has been typical: "They don't need it. They have a 'free education.' It will lead to professionalism, will create competitive imbalance and will cause all athletes (including women) to be paid," etc. and on and on.
Before you form an opinion, I suggest you read "Indentured -- The Battle to End the Exploitation of College Athletes" by Joe Nocera and Ben Strauss. It's a quick, factual and very informative read, available online or at the library.
Bob Bockrath, Lincoln
I'm not able to speak on behalf of the entire Buckeye Nation, but I can't say enough about the kind, gracious, warm and generous hospitality extended to my group of friends and me during last weekend’s trip to Lincoln for the Nebraska-Ohio State game.
From the moment we landed in Nebraska -- before, during and after the game -- too many Cornhusker fans to count greeted us with a genuinely warm welcome, thanking us for coming.
One gentleman, a Nebraska alumnus now residing in Florida, came up to our table and, out of the blue, laid a $50 bill in the center of the table on Friday evening and said, “I want you to have a great time while you are here.”
Unbelievable! We were blown away by such a kind-hearted gesture.
Perhaps equally impressive was the passion that your fans have for their team, waiting until the very end of a game, in which y’all trailed by a large margin, to continue cheering on the team. Had the tables been turned, I’m not sure that we would ever experience quite the same thing in the Shoe.
In my 43 years as an Ohio State season ticket holder, having traveled to more than 35 away game venues, I can sincerely say that I’ve never experienced anything quite like the fan experience in Lincoln. Our trip to Norman, Oklahoma, three years ago was perhaps the closest, but y’all set the bar at a new standard height.
I only hope that Buckeye Nation will be equally as welcoming the next time y'all travel to Columbus for a game. My friends and I pledge to do our collective part to return your generous hospitality in kind.
Thank you for such a memorable trip, and best of luck to the Huskers for the remainder of your 2019 season.
Go Big Red, and go Bucks!
Rick Harr, Spring, Texas
The Sept. 29 issue of the Journal Star contained an editorial cartoon insinuating that vaping is as unhealthy as cigarettes and that vape businesses are only in it to make a quick buck.
This is simply not true. It is irresponsible to publish such false claims, so I would like to set the record straight.
Cigarettes kill 480,000 people each year. Vaping has helped millions quit smoking cigarettes. In the 12 years vapor products have been on the market, there have been zero deaths solely from vaping nicotine products. Nearly all respiratory illnesses and deaths that the Journal Star and others have reported recently are because of tainted black-market THC cartridges.
This was confirmed by the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, both public health authorities advise those who have used vapor products to continue use and not return to smoking deadly cigarettes. The New England Journal of Medicine found that 84% of those with respiratory illness had used black-market THC vapor products. The journal also acknowledged that some were incapacitated or may not want to admit to using illicit drugs.
Furthermore, the FDA told state officials two weeks ago that lab tests found nothing unusual in nicotine vape products which were collected from sick patients. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner, confirms the illnesses and deaths around the country “do not appear to be from legally sold vapes.” Other state and federal health authorities have stated they are focusing on counterfeit THC substances as the likely cause of these respiratory illnesses.
In 2016, the Royal College of Physicians published research showing that vaping is at least 95% healthier than smoking, delivering nicotine in a much safer, non-carcinogenic way. After all, it is not nicotine that kills people; it is the tar and carcinogens in smoke that kill people. Despite its highly addictive nature, nicotine on its own is relatively harmless – no worse than caffeine, according to the Royal Society for Public Health in the United Kingdom.
Public Health England, the Royal College of Physicians and Cancer Research UK all endorse vaping as an effective smoking cessation aid. So much so, that they have opened vapor stores inside hospitals in England and encourage the public to use vapor products to quit smoking.
A study published in January in the New England Journal of Medicine confirms that vaping is nearly twice as effective at helping smokers quit than all other nicotine replacement therapy products combined; this includes nicotine gum, lozenges and patches, as well as pharmaceutical drugs. The reason is that vaping mimics the physical act of smoking and allows users to taper down the amount of nicotine used gradually until they are able to stop completely.
Although there are two large players in the vape industry, Juul and Phillip Morris, the majority of the market is made up of more than 10,000 small, independent vape shops who sell products from smaller manufacturers or make their own flavored e-liquids. Most entered the vape industry not for the money, but to truly help people stop smoking. Many had either suffered the health effects of smoking themselves or had loved ones that did.
For instance, I watched my grandmother die from lung cancer when I was only 15 years old. And, my father almost died from blood clots and COPD caused by smoking traditional cigarettes. In the six years I’ve been in business, I have been able to help tens of thousands of Nebraskans quit smoking, including my sister and mom.
So, is it about the money? Possibly for Juul and Phillip Morris, but these large corporations make up a very small part of the vape industry, and independent retailers, like me, shouldn’t be judged by their actions. Most of us just want to save lives.
Unfortunately, uninformed cartoons like the one in last Sunday’s paper only scare people into returning to smoking traditional cigarettes, which have killed millions.
