Letters, 6/11: Give diesel a spin

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I read with great interest an article, “Goal of ‘hypermilers’ … “ in the May 30 LJS. Some hybrid car owners described how to save gas by utilizing various techniques, some of them interesting but other simply dangerous such as coasting in neutral or following semis too closely. In general, those techniques advocate extremely slow driving and sluggish acceleration, completely taking any fun out of driving.

I am all for energy conservation but also for practicality. Media makes us believe that hybrid vehicles are the only ones that get a good fuel mileage. There is however an alternative that works much better than hybrid and utilizes an established, reliable technology called diesel.

Diesel-powered cars can actually get a better mileage on highway then gas-electric hybrids. My VW Jetta returns about 50 mpg on highway and 45 mpg in city with plenty of acceleration, speed and braking to keep up with traffic.

With low sulfur diesel fuel now available throughout U.S., several car manufacturers are planning to launch clean diesel-powered passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks. I would encourage everyone to give diesel a consideration when purchasing  a new or used vehicle. You will have lots of fun driving while reducing fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emission.

Witold Lehmann, Lincoln

No health care problem

Reading David Broder’s op-ed on health care (June 3), I was both interested and frustrated. Interested — because he described the growing interest in refocusing attention on preventive care. Frustrated — because in the last line of his article, he states that we must do something “to end the shame of America’s broken health care system.”

Wow. Here we have the finest medical care in the world — the best doctors, nurses, surgeons and other specialists, working in state-of-the-art facilities across the nation — and we have a combination of public (Medicare) and private insurance to pay for it, thereby avoiding the national health care programs of Canada and Europe that are bankrupt, inefficient and inept. And those unable to pay can not be denied medical care because they cannot pay. 

But to journalists like Broder, it is a given that our system is broken. The proof? Apparently the “fact” that 46 million Americans are uninsured. I can’t verify that figure but it’s used so often that it is accepted as gospel.

So, has anyone ever studied those 46 million men, women and children to determine why they are uninsured? Focusing only on adults, can we suppose that a huge number of them could afford insurance but choose not to buy it because their car payments, mortgage payments and credit card and other debts are too high?

So, our uninsured problem really comes down to the unemployed, the underemployed and the genuine poor — plus a bunch of deadbeats, people who lobby today for government help because they were/are stupid and think it is the taxpayers’ fault. 

We don’t have a health care problem. We have a personal responsibility problem. Maybe Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and the Revs. Jackson and Sharpton should focus on the real problem rather than the imagined one! That would be nice for a change!

Joseph W. Johnson Jr., Lincoln

A refreshing voice

It was a pleasure to see Amy Goodman’s column “CBS News silences general dissent over Bush’s war plan” (LJS, June 1).

I hope to see more columns by Goodman in the Journal Star. I believe her recent column, in which she noted that there are few peace advocates ever interviewed as “experts” on matters of war, is a thought-provoking point of view. It is important to include at least two sides in every debate. Certainly by printing Goodman’s column, you are bringing a voice to your newspaper which will set forth views shared by many, though not often printed in the mainstream press.

Sara Dodder Furr, Lincoln

Filtering not the issue

I read with dismay the news item about the break-in at the Yutan Public Library. According to that story (LJS, June 5) young boys broke into the library for the purpose of viewing porn on the library public access Internet computers.

Equally appalling was the response from the local law enforcement officer. According to the report, he stated that in his mind, the break-ins underscore the need for pornography-blocking filters on the library’s four public-use computers.

The problem in this instance is the boys’ behavior, not the lack of filters on the computers. If someone breaks into my home and steals a valuable silver sitting on my dining room table, the problem is not that I have the silver on the table; the problem is the break-in!

The issue of filtering Internet access in a public library is multi-faceted, and I only hope that a decision to do so is not made based on this incident. It should be a thoughtfully considered decision made by the library board, made with full knowledge of the scope, implications and outcomes of filtering for the community as a whole.

Kit Keller, Lincoln

What do they know?Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi all voted against the legislation providing funding to the troops. Do any of the three have children, spouses, brothers or sisters serving in the military? Have any of them served in the military? The closest to the military, I believe, is Hillary, who married a draft dodger. At least he got a letter from his draft board, if that counts as “military.” 

It appears that these staunch patriots and honorable political leaders are using our wonderful military members as pawns in this political charade of funding questions to further their own careers. Contrast their explanations for their votes to the observations of former Sen. Bob Kerrey, a Democrat, who was right on the mark when he wrote in the “Wall Street Journal” (May 22, 2007) that the U.S. must not appear weak in Iraq or we will pay a terrible price. That price would be unleashed terrorism in its most elemental forms. 

As he pointed out, it’s not an accident that the targets of terrorism in Iraq are the very people who would have been instrumental in supporting the development of democracy in Iraq — “teachers, aid workers, private contractors, police officers and those who cooperate with the Iraqi government.” 

Americans would do well to heed this war veteran’s reasoned admonishment when they consider the comments of our honorable Senators Obama, Clinton and Pelosi. This unholy trinity in the Senate knows nothing about war except how to use it as a means of political gain for them.

Dennis Boettcher, Lincoln

Midges are a menace  

What’s it gonna take to take care of the midge problem in Capitol Beach. This is the third year in a row that my family is unable to enjoy the great outdoors. Pool parties, outdoor graduation parties, BBQs and birthdays must be enjoyed indoors or somewhere else this summer once again. The midges seem even worse than ever!

I believe the lake residents that belong to the Capitol Beach Association should take more action and responsibility for this area problem. Even local restaurants along West O St. are complaining that the midge population is becoming a more serious problem, invading drive-through windows, etc.

My children want to play outdoors and I’d like to work in my gardens, but unless we are donning face masks and goggles we are bound to get midges in our eyes, mouth and nose. It is impossible to breath outdoors without inhaling a few midges.

What gives? When is the problem going to be taken care of?

Julie A Brekke, Lincoln