Letters, 9/29: Remember the women

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I am an American citizen and a woman. On Nov. 4, I will exercise my right to vote for the next president of the United States. My right to vote was not granted by the forefathers that created this great nation. Rather it was won after a courageous 60-year battle fought by women who demanded better and refused to settle. These women are our history, our ancestors. They were ostracized, ridiculed and eventually jailed and tortured because they dared to stand on a public sidewalk in front of the White House demanding the right to vote. Because their blood runs through my veins, my right to vote is sacred. Every woman should feel the same.

Today as a woman in the United States my opportunities are endless, limited only by my own abilities and the desire to succeed. This I owe to the grandmothers and mothers of today who continued the fight through the women’s movements of the ’60s and ’70s. This includes the passage of Roe vs. Wade.

John McCain has stated that Roe vs. Wade should be repealed. His running mate Sarah Palin is against abortion in all forms. Considering that Palin stated it was her 17-year-old pregnant daughter’s “choice” to have her baby, I find her position interesting. If McCain were president, Palin’s own daughter may not have had the right to make any choice. If not for the women before her, would Palin have had the opportunity to be a mayor, a governor or a vice presidential candidate? Would her under-aged daughter be able to live her life as unmarried and pregnant and not be considered immoral and cast out of society?

No governing body, federal or state should have the right to decide what I as a female American citizen can do with my body. As of today, my right to choose is protected. Next year it may not be.

When I cast my ballot in November, I must do it not only with the quality of my life in mind, but also that of my daughters and all women in this country.

Patricia Pierson, Lincoln

Stop buying China products

I am writing about the closing of the Vise-Grip factory in DeWitt.

There is a very simple remedy to this problem of companies moving their factories to China.

The answer is that all people of the United States should stop buying China’s cheap products.

China has fallen to a new low with poisoned baby’s milk.

Believe me, when companies begin losing money because Americans stop buying products, they will come back to this country.

I also practice what I preach. I pick something up, and no matter how much I want it, I put it back down if it is made in China.

Ross Perot tried to tell people about NAFTA, but no one listened.

Doris Davidson, Lincoln

Obama’s talk is cheap

You wouldn’t send a two-year medical student into the operating room to do brain surgery, nor would you let a 10-hour flight student pilot the president’s plane. There is too much emotion and not enough heart and common-sense thinking, especially from the younger people. There is no way you can beat maturity and experience. Also, you are judged by the company you keep.

Talk is cheap, and Barack Obama talks more like a dictator at every showing. I served in World War II and Korea and am willing yet today to die for my country.

Rev. Danny K. Danielson II, Wilber

Nader only true independent

I will vote for Ralph Nader. The Democrats and Republicans are two sides of the same corporate coin.

Only Ralph Nader is talking about prosecuting corporate crime.

The Constitution requires that the president and vice president be impeached. Indeed the president and vice president are the most impeachable war criminals this country has ever known.

Kim Rempe, Lincoln

Brokered, broken and broke

After eight long years, President Bush has left us brokered, broken and broke.

Our jobs and our trade debts are being brokered overseas.

Our foreign diplomacy and military power have been broken by two unending wars.

Our national economic institutions are now broke and on the verge of collapse.

Before he leaves office, I want to thank President Bush for knocking the wind out of America’s future.

Joseph Robert Jochmans, Lincoln

Help for families is out there

People are literally dropping their teenagers off at hospitals and police stations because their children are out of control and disrespectful. I don’t think the general public realizes the trauma children face when they are abandoned. Can you imagine having this done to you? How would you have felt if your parents dropped you off somewhere and said, “Have a good life.” They are basically saying, “I’ve had it with you; you’re a bad kid. Go find some help.” This is so sad.

The intention of this law was great, but people are bending the rules. There is help and there are resources out there to help families who have children with behavioral problems.

Alana Pearson, Craig

Greed against God’s word

A single mom loses her factory job because some CEO somewhere can increase his/her profits by outsourcing production to China. When she asks her government for assistance, it’s called “welfare.” Society tells her she needs to get a job and pull her own weight.

The CEO of an investment bank makes some bad business decisions and bankrupts his company. He asks his government for assistance, and it’s called a “bailout.” He generally walks away from the situation in much better shape than does the single mom, and society says it’s necessary to maintain a stable economy.

In Matthew 20:16, Jesus tells us “the first will be last and the last will be first.” When will we who profess Christianity learn from the one we proclaim as our Lord and Savior? Greed has no place in Christianity. In fact, it generally violates eight of the 10 commandments, if not all 10. It certainly flies in the face of Jesus’ command to love God and neighbor.

As early as Genesis 12, we learn that God blesses so those so blessed will be a blessing. Managing wealth and power is a tremendous responsibility. When those so called use that wealth and power to the detriment of others, it hurts all of God’s creation.

Rev. Chuck Bentjen, Beatrice

Kleeb is true Nebraskan

Scott Kleeb is a breath of fresh air in a smoke-filled room of good ol’ boy politicians. Johanns, our ex-mayor, ex-governor and ex-secretary of Agriculture, fled town before he ever finished any job, leaving a trail of bad decisions in his wake.

Kleeb has a great background in economics, teaches history, operates a ranch and sells beef on the international market. How much more Nebraskan could we ask our next senator to be?

Nebraskans should hitch their wagons to this rising star. That’s why this November, I’m voting for Scott Kleeb.

Virginia Skold, Lincoln

McCain is out of touch

Is this the Great Depression of my generation? The country’s current state of affairs is the worst ever seen by my generation. The rich get richer and the vast majority of us suffer.

This economic meltdown has been years in the making and will not be fixed quickly, but I believe Sen. Barack Obama’s solutions and economic plan will help rebuild our economy and our country in a much more efficient manner than those proposed by Sen. John McCain. As a soon-to-be thirtysomething, I feel McCain’s views are outdated and far removed from those of most middle-class Americans. I do not feel that McCain has the ability to bring the change that is needed to overhaul the American system.

More lobbyists and Big Oil are not what we need right now, especially in rural America. We need change focused on us, the average, middle-class Americans, and that is the change Barack Obama and Joe Biden can bring.

Jodie Gardner-Grandberry, Bellevue