Letters, 9/29: Where was outrage then?

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I am saddened and angered by the Senate passing a GOP resolution to repudiate the MoveOn.org ad against Gen. David Petraeus. 

Where was the outrage when delegates to the 2004 Republican National Convention wore Band-Aids with purple hearts on them? 

Where was the outrage at the right comparing a disabled veteran, Democratic Sen. Max Cleland, to a terrorist in 2002? 

Where was the outrage when this president’s response to attacks on U.S. troops was “Bring them on!”? 

We would be foolish not to question what this administration and those who work for them are telling us. Since it has been shown over and over again that they have fudged the facts, have been less than honest, have not been completely candid — oh, come on, we’ve been lied to. 

Or, as Bush would say: “Fool me once, shame on, umm, me. Fool me; won’t get fooled again.”

Beverly Enyeart, Lincoln

Hypocritical on tolerance

It’s time to end the faux holier-than-thou attitudes of Ernie Chambers and Neal Obermeyer. Both rail against discrimination toward homosexuals and minorities, yet they hypocritically display similar intolerance toward churchgoers specifically and repeatedly.

Believers sometimes betray their religion and object of worship through their oxymoronic actions, but to group all churchgoers with right-wing firebrands such as Fred Phelps and Pat Robertson is far too simplistic. And assigning the blame for such extremists to God is nothing short of blasphemy.

Certainly a cartoon depicting the prophet Muhammad acknowledging all his followers as terrorists and warmongers would never get printed, and for good reason.

However, trash like Obermeyer’s cartoon gets circulated frequently. And the attempt by Chambers to “sue” God for whatever purposes embarrasses this state. This is the real world, not fanciful television shows like “Ally McBeal” or “Boston Legal.”

Jesus said those without sin may cast the first stone in condemning others. Fortunately, no one — not churchgoers, religious extremists, nor Messrs. Chambers and Obermeyer — belongs to this category.

Jared Gibson, Lincoln

Keep the fair where it is

I am a senior citizen and have been going to the State Fair every year since I was a baby, with the exception of two years that I was in the service and five years that I had moved out of state. I have always enjoyed the fair and think that it should stay right where it is.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman should not have a voice or vote in the matter, as he has a conflict of interest. The ground the fair is on is state ground and not university ground. Perlman should resign from the Fair Board.

The university already has stretched east to 21st and Holdrege streets. If Perlman wants to connect the two campuses, let him go on down Holdrege Street another mile and he will be there. Leave the State Fair where it is.

Dale Van Dusen, Lincoln

Education, guaranteed

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke thinks Americans need to continually learn and grow, enhancing their educations well into their careers.

Bravo! Now, let’s publicly fund that. Unfortunately, the focus on education is subsidizing higher education for undergraduates at increasingly expensive institutions. What we end up with is a lot of debt-ridden graduates in their 20s and 30s.

Instead, what we need is a guarantee that classes any person — at any age — takes are priced at community college rates and will be paid for, so long as the student passes the class.

Let’s let the high-priced colleges go their own way, and create lifelong learning programs that America can afford in the long run. 

Scott Wesely, Lincoln