Letters, 9/22: Ordinance ignores rights

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I chose to not testify at the council meeting regarding the proposed ordinance on indoor furniture being utilized outside because I have testified in the past and found the process to be very disappointing. Although I succeeded in attaining my goal at that time, I unfortunately have come to realize that it does little good to share public opinion with our elected officials. It appears the City Council and government as a whole has a track record of doing what they want regardless of what the people desire.

I am deeply opposed to the proposed ordinance because the law is simply a matter of litigating taste. As Supreme Court Justice Scalia said in Pope vs. Illinois, “I think we would be better advised to adopt as a legal maxim what has long been the wisdom of mankind: Just as there is no use arguing about taste, there is no use litigating about it. For the law courts to decide ‘what is beauty’ is a novelty even by today’s standards.”

I do not have indoor furniture on my porch, and to be honest, I really would not like it if one of my neighbors had indoor furniture on theirs, but it is their right as a property owner to do so, and it could be just as easily argued that it is their freedom of expression as well.

There are other things I do not like. I do not like white vinyl privacy fences, houses painted in pastel colors, novelty mailboxes that look like fishes or trucks, or flags flying on homes that support college football teams other then the Cornhuskers. I believe that each of these dislikes of mine can be an eyesore and could possibly lower property values as well. But each of these situations also constitutes a freedom of expression and is a right of a property owner.

Regardless of whether one likes indoor furniture outside, homes of a certain color or eclectic mailboxes, none of these things should ever become a matter of law. Beyond the argument that the city has more important problems to worry about at this time, this ordinance will be yet another infringement on our personal freedom and liberty that seems to be synonymous with this city, and more alarming, within our country as a whole.

Rick Tast, Lincoln

Logic doesn’t make sense

The city is proposing to fine me or put me in jail if I bring an indoor chair on my front porch to sit. So when I have a group of musicians over to play music on my front porch and bring the upholstered dining room chairs out so everyone can sit (can’t play in a chair with arms, which include lawn chairs), I face fines and jail time.

Or if I’m not looking and someone brings out the chairs at just the wrong time, as the responsible homeowner or renter, I could face these penalties. Or if my grandchildren show up and we all want to sit on the porch and bring out the extra chairs that are not designed for the outside, I could be punished. And if it’s $200 a chair at six grandchildren, that could be $1,200. If I don’t have the money, I could go to jail.

The city must appoint a public defender if I don’t have the means to provide my own defender, because I could go to jail simply for having my grandchildren over to sit on my porch or driveway or under the shade tree. Of course, that costs the city more money to defend me and jail me, despite the pleas of the local public defender’s office and sheriff’s office not to put jail time sentences on minor ordinances. They can’t keep up with the ones on the books now and can’t afford to provide the needed services.

But what the hay, other cities have passed such an ordinance. Of course, that follows the same logic used by the current big banks now swirling down the toilet who figured that if the other banks could make bad investments, they should be able to also, because the government (that’s you and me, pal) will pick them up. That type of logic (all the other kids are doing it) never worked with my parents, and I fail to see how that logic should work today.

Kerry L. Krause, Lincoln

McCain not the best choice

I wholeheartedly agree with all J. Christopher Blake wrote in his letter Sept. 14.

I listened to the speeches John McCain, Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani gave at the Republican Convention and thought McCain’s was the most tame, which is in itself scary. The other two were just plain mean and deriding.

Needless to say, I will not be voting for this party, although this is one Arizonan who would dearly love to see someone from my native state elected to the White House. But not this time!

The more I see and hear Sarah Palin speak, the more she reminds me of a younger and much prettier Dick Cheney — smug, arrogant, and, to me, perhaps a bit of a loose cannon!

The woman is ambitious beyond belief, and of course I totally understand that’s why she was picked.

Yes, she is smart and can talk, but in no way is she ready to be president in a heartbeat.

I hope people disregard the issue of her beautiful family and hockey mom values. I hope they consider the candidate and just ask themselves if this is someone they can honestly vote for.

David Vasquez, Lincoln

Comment shifts independents

The chairwoman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, Carol Fowler, recently said that “Sarah Palin’s primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.” So much for raising the bar in our political discourse. I want to take this opportunity to thank Fowler. She just brought thousands of independent voters and fence-sitters over to the John McCain/Palin ticket.

Kelly Sieb, Lincoln

Who picked Sarah Palin?

Now that the anticipation and excitement of both presidential conventions are over, we, the voters are left with a very important decision to make — to select the best qualified individual to lead the United States of America for the next four years.

Both candidates and their choices for running mates tried to persuade us to vote for them; sarcasm and rhetorical devices abounded in order to get that vote. Sarah Palin even relied on family members, used as props, to appeal to our emotions and to cause us to examine our own family values, a great technique, perhaps, but rather transparent.

Yet the following question still remains unanswered: Who actually selected Sarah Palin to be John McCain’s running mate? Was it John McCain? I doubt it, because he admits to having met her only once before selecting her.

I am concerned that ultraconservative religious groups chose her. What happened to the separation of church and state?

Palin is but a cheap way to try to get the female vote, an insult to Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Shirley Chisholm, Hillary Clinton, Gloria Steinem and countless other American women who have fought for equal rights.

My God bless America and protect us from those who hide behind the cross to promote bigotry, commit crimes against the environment and engage in wars without due cause. May God protect us from those who rely on deception and coercion to advance their own political agendas.

Jorge G. Samayoa, Lincoln

Palin is not qualified

I am a woman, and Sarah Palin does not resonate with me. I resent the statement by Julie Schmit-Albin (letters, Sept. 14) that because Palin is a “working mom” with a pregnant teenage daughter and a Down’s Syndrome baby that “she will resonate across the board with women.” Not for me and not for countless other women who care about many more issues than whether a woman is pro-life or pro-choice.

The question is — is Sarah Palin qualified to be president of the United States? (Yes, it is a distinct possibility, given McCain’s age and past health issues).

Does Sarah Palin care about people who are struggling to make ends meet? Her remark belittling Barack Obama’s job as a community organizer says no.

Wildlife or the environment? Her administration has sued the Bush administration for declaring the polar bear a threatened species, fearing it would interfere with oil exploration in Alaskan waters. So, no.

Global warming? Nope. Even though 2,500 scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have studied and concluded global warming is influenced by man.

Experience in foreign affairs? Being “next door neighbors” with Russia (Charlie Gibson interview) is not foreign policy experience.

I will admit that Palin seems to have a lot of experience in one area: knowing what God wants (like approving of the Iraq War and the Alaskan pipeline). I guess it’s easy to invoke God when it suits your purposes.

Sarah Palin is not qualified to be the vice president of our country.

Cynthia Fitchett, Lincoln

Highway robbery on I-80

It is hard to fathom why we allow these gas stations on Interstate 80 to allow the deceptive practice of advertising a low price for gasoline on the sign, then when you drive up to the pump (if you didn’t notice the fine print on the sign) paying 30.9 cents more than the one or two pumps that offer the low price.

I stopped in Ogallala for gas and almost missed the “cheap” pumps. It is all coming from the same tank underground. This is highway robbery — the only thing missing is the gun and mask!

It is a matter of time before this is how business is done everywhere in Nebraska if left unchecked.

Dan Showalter, Lincoln