Letters, 10/8: Palin repetitious in debate
Sarah Palin often sounded like a broken record in the Oct. 2 debate. How many times did she repeat the line, “stop the greed and corruption on Wall Street”? She didn’t bother to answer at least half the questions that Gwen Ifill asked and Joe Biden answered.
When it was her turn and she couldn’t fit the question into what she had memorized, she simply ignored it and said something like, “Well, I want to talk about…” and went into the monologue on a subject where she felt safe. And neither Ifill nor Biden stopped her! Why they let her get away with ignoring specific questions, I just don’t know.
Now Republican remarks, such as “She mopped up the floor with Biden,” are being made, and the truth is, all of her “answers” were mouthed replies she had learned under John McCain’s tutelage. And they sounded like it. The real Sarah Palin was shown in all her ignorance in the Katie Couric interview, when Palin tried to answer questions by her own, uninformed, unready for high office, self.
Let’s do some analyzing and discount the folksy, down-home “You betcha” and “darn” vocabulary she used. Look at what she actually said, and more importantly, didn’t say. Other than to praise McCain — and herself, quite often — we didn’t learn much. The things she accused Barack Obama of were quickly and thoroughly disproved by Joe Biden.
OK, she’s cute and has a way with audiences, but that’s not going to play if, God forbid, one day she has to take the oath as president of the United States of America.
Betty Jochmans-O’Connell, Lincoln
Stem cells not the answer
After the NU Board of Regents debate Sept. 22, candidate Earl Scudder said Alzheimer’s disease could be treated with embryonic stem cells. Dr. William Theis, vice president of the research and scientific division of the National Alzheimer’s Association, disagrees with this statement.
The Alzheimer’s Association is the largest nonprofit funding source for Alzheimer’s research in the world outside of the federal government and has funded more than $250 million in grants for scientific studies. Researchers disagree and don’t believe stem cells of any kind will cure Alzheimer’s, because it is a “whole brain” disease, rather than a cellular disorder such as Parkinson’s disease.
While we understand that there is well-intentioned passion on both sides of the stem cell debate, I urge advocates to be careful about the claims made regarding this issue. We want to be especially careful to not give false hope to those presently living and dealing with this disease.
Karen Noel, president/CEO, Alzheimer’s Association Great Plains Chapter
Road closure good for habitat
Regarding the Oct. 1 article on Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center’s request to close part of a nearby road: When established in 1998, Spring Creek contained 640 acres. In 2006, 168 acres were added with the purchase of an adjacent parcel of land. The segment of road in question divides the two pieces of prairie, and its closure would positively affect Spring Creek’s restoration of native habitat.
Some are opposed to the closure, citing grass fires and possible difficulty reaching them. I wonder how many fires have been reported in this area in the past few years?
Lauren Davis, Lincoln
What is ‘living well’ to you?
As reported in the Journal Star on Oct. 3 (“Mayor proposes change to firefighter pensions”), the average pension benefit for a retired Lincoln firefighter is $1,400 per month. City Councilman Ken Svoboda said some people can “live well” on that amount, while others can’t. I guess I don’t know what Ken means by “live well.”
The IRS standard for acceptable living expenses in bankruptcy for a single person over age 65 with a car living in Lancaster County is $2,087 per month. For a retired couple with two cars, the monthly living expenses allowed in bankruptcy court without question is $3,347 per month.
Maybe we should ask Ken where he gets his opinion of what constitutes living well for our retired public servants.
Victor E. Covalt III, Lincoln
When it was her turn and she couldn’t fit the question into what she had memorized, she simply ignored it and said something like, “Well, I want to talk about…” and went into the monologue on a subject where she felt safe. And neither Ifill nor Biden stopped her! Why they let her get away with ignoring specific questions, I just don’t know.
Now Republican remarks, such as “She mopped up the floor with Biden,” are being made, and the truth is, all of her “answers” were mouthed replies she had learned under John McCain’s tutelage. And they sounded like it. The real Sarah Palin was shown in all her ignorance in the Katie Couric interview, when Palin tried to answer questions by her own, uninformed, unready for high office, self.
Let’s do some analyzing and discount the folksy, down-home “You betcha” and “darn” vocabulary she used. Look at what she actually said, and more importantly, didn’t say. Other than to praise McCain — and herself, quite often — we didn’t learn much. The things she accused Barack Obama of were quickly and thoroughly disproved by Joe Biden.
OK, she’s cute and has a way with audiences, but that’s not going to play if, God forbid, one day she has to take the oath as president of the United States of America.
Betty Jochmans-O’Connell, Lincoln
Stem cells not the answer
After the NU Board of Regents debate Sept. 22, candidate Earl Scudder said Alzheimer’s disease could be treated with embryonic stem cells. Dr. William Theis, vice president of the research and scientific division of the National Alzheimer’s Association, disagrees with this statement.
The Alzheimer’s Association is the largest nonprofit funding source for Alzheimer’s research in the world outside of the federal government and has funded more than $250 million in grants for scientific studies. Researchers disagree and don’t believe stem cells of any kind will cure Alzheimer’s, because it is a “whole brain” disease, rather than a cellular disorder such as Parkinson’s disease.
While we understand that there is well-intentioned passion on both sides of the stem cell debate, I urge advocates to be careful about the claims made regarding this issue. We want to be especially careful to not give false hope to those presently living and dealing with this disease.
Karen Noel, president/CEO, Alzheimer’s Association Great Plains Chapter
Road closure good for habitat
Regarding the Oct. 1 article on Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center’s request to close part of a nearby road: When established in 1998, Spring Creek contained 640 acres. In 2006, 168 acres were added with the purchase of an adjacent parcel of land. The segment of road in question divides the two pieces of prairie, and its closure would positively affect Spring Creek’s restoration of native habitat.
Some are opposed to the closure, citing grass fires and possible difficulty reaching them. I wonder how many fires have been reported in this area in the past few years?
Lauren Davis, Lincoln
What is ‘living well’ to you?
As reported in the Journal Star on Oct. 3 (“Mayor proposes change to firefighter pensions”), the average pension benefit for a retired Lincoln firefighter is $1,400 per month. City Councilman Ken Svoboda said some people can “live well” on that amount, while others can’t. I guess I don’t know what Ken means by “live well.”
The IRS standard for acceptable living expenses in bankruptcy for a single person over age 65 with a car living in Lancaster County is $2,087 per month. For a retired couple with two cars, the monthly living expenses allowed in bankruptcy court without question is $3,347 per month.
Maybe we should ask Ken where he gets his opinion of what constitutes living well for our retired public servants.
Victor E. Covalt III, Lincoln
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