Now
Fair
46°
High
40°
Low
22°
Full Forecast

Jobs

Cars

Homes

Rentals

Alerts

Subscribe
Home > Opinion > Letters
Bookmark Us   •   Make Us Your Homepage

Letters, 10/9: Stem cell research promising

Comments 26 comment(s)  
E-mail Story E-mail Story
Print Story Print Story
Share  Share
Text Size: 
Tools Sponsor

Thursday, Oct 09, 2008 - 12:52:34 am CDT

Upon reading the letter from Paul Prososki (Oct. 4), we feel compelled to respond. Embryonic stem cell research is important to us because of our son’s diabetes.

Paul Prososki says NU Board of Regents candidate Earl Scudder’s billboard stating his support for “life-saving research” must mean he supports embryonic stem cell research. Mr. Prososki is right. But his letter goes on to state misinformation regarding this important research. We would like to clarify what this research means to millions of Americans who suffer from many debilitating diseases. He claims that adult stem cells hold the answer for the future of curing diseases.

We know that promising results have been achieved in using human embryonic stem cells (derived from embryos contributed to research after being left over from in-vitro fertilization) for Alzheimer’s, ALS, diabetes, Parkinson’s and spinal cord injuries in rodents. David Crouse, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and executive associate dean for graduate studies at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, says “the simple fact is that there is NO evidence that adult stem cells (or umbilical cord stem cells) have ever been used successfully to treat Parkinson’s and diabetes or any similar difficult human disease/injury situations (ALS, Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injury, etc.).”

Because both candidates for president have promised to remove President Bush’s 2001 restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, 400 stem cell lines developed since 2001 could become eligible for federal funding in 2009. Our concern in this regent’s election is that if retiring pro-embryonic stem cell research Regent Charles Wilson’s successor doesn’t share his views (which Earl Scudder does), the board’s current 4-4 division would be tilted 5-3 against embryonic stem cell research, potentially creating a severe disadvantage for Nebraska’s scientists and UNMC.

Steve and Jan Leeper, Lincoln

Praise for stability act

The global financial markets have been teetering on the edge of collapse for weeks. While it will take many months for the world’s system of credit to correct itself, we are fortunate that Congress passed H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. This timely legislation gives the Department of Treasury authority to purchase the troubled assets that are clogging the system.

The rescue plan is critically important in order to begin restoring market stability and to increase credit availability for employers and families. Nebraska families rely on healthy credit markets to pay for their homes, cars and education, and small businesses rely on them to pay their associates. Without immediate government action, access to this funding was in severe jeopardy.

Sens. Chuck Hagel and Ben Nelson and Congressman Lee Terry deserve our praise for voting for H.R. 1424. Supporting the rescue plan was the best decision to make for Nebraskans.

Jeff Noordhoek, president, Nelnet

Harding missing meetings

I am appalled at the board meeting attendance record of Mary Harding, who is running for re-election to the Nebraska Public Power District Board of Directors.

The NPPD Board normally meets two days each month plus an occasional special meeting. My review of the NPPD Board meeting minutes from its Web site reveals that of 21 total meetings from December 2007 through August 2008,  Mary Harding was absent nine times and late to a couple of other meetings. She would also have missed an equivalent number of important committee meetings.

Attendance and participation in board meetings, in my opinion, is vitally important for a director. Missing meetings is a disservice to constituents because it is not possible without attending board and committee meetings to stay abreast of all the complex issues facing a diverse electric utility like NPPD and to properly be a part of the decision-making process.

In my 30 years as the CEO of Norris Public Power, I never missed any board meetings, and the 12 board members were all present in excess of 95 percent of the time.

Glen Schmieding, Lincoln

Pro-lifer against Haar

I read “Haar offers auto, home tax cut” Sept. 22 with interest. I was president of Lincoln Right to Life while Ken Haar was on the City Council.

During that time, he voted to send more than $74,000 of city budget funds to Planned Parenthood of Lincoln. Pro-lifers showed up at the city budget hearings many years in a row to oppose giving tax dollars to an entity that eventually opened its own abortion facility in Lincoln.

The Planned Parenthood abortion facility has taken the lives of more than 7,000 unborn children since 1995. To cap it off, Haar is married to Chris Funk, director of Planned Parenthood. We don’t need Haar in the Legislature; I fear he would propose more state funds to Planned Parenthood.

Sandy Danek, Lincoln


$1 Sunday Delivery - Subscribe Today!
Letters > Back to Top of Story

Post Your Comment

Standards and Rules
All posts to JournalStar.com are subject to our Terms and Standards.
Your posted comment will appear after it has been approved.
Frequently asked questions about story commenting.
(optional)
   
Hide Comments Hide Comments   Newest First Newest First  
Brent wrote on October 9, 2008 7:39 am:
" I am very disappointed in the passing of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act and the people from Nebraska voted for it. I see no reason for our tax money being used to purchase "Bad" debt. If consumers would rid themselves of their "buy it now mentality" and delay self pleasures like having a new car or a house they can't afford we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. I understand some debt is considered "necessary" but in most of the situations it comes down to living outside of our means as consumers, and bank loan officers handing out money to people that they shouldn't. "

 stignob wrote on October 9, 2008 7:47 am:
" Mr. Noordhoek this is a patch on a tube that will blow again, not even slime filling will do the trick. You can't fix a credit crunch with more credit. The market has to correct itself the natural way not govt. intrusion which seems to be very popular with people here in America. The economy is suppose to go in a recession once in a while you can't grow yr. end and yr out it's the nature of the beast. "

 Bob wrote on October 9, 2008 8:16 am:
" Without the bailout bill we'd be heading for disaster. Did you people ever take economics 101? If it's such a bad idea don't you find it odd that so many other countries are taking similar actions??? "

 C wrote on October 9, 2008 8:18 am:
" I agree 100% with MR. Noordhoek, to all those who apposed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. I would like to know your reasoning behind it. While simple minded economics would say that we let the system fail and rebuild its self, that would be a horrible decision. We would plunge ourselves into a depression like we have never seen as businesses today rely on credit more than ever. Sometimes we Nebraskans act like we live in a vaccum separate from the rest of the US and World and that what happens on Wall Street and the east and west coast does not affect us. While as of right now this crisis has not greatly affected the Midwest, if we go into a depression you can sure bet that we will feel it just as much as anyone else. Many of us get on our "high horse" and say let them fale, "it is their own fault", but what happens when the business you work for can't keep their credit and you lose your job. What will you do then? We have to look at this situation as the complex issue it is. The economy today is inter-dependent, meaning that it is like a house of cards and the banking system is part of the cards on the base. If they start to shake and fall you can bet the rest is coming down. And while you may think the business you work for is strong, what happens when your customers can't get any credit to purchase your goods, a currently stable business could even fail.

While this legislation seems unfair, and in my mind it most definetly is, it is also absolutely necessary. The only thing that needed to be added is the ability to recoup the millions of dollars paid to the CEO's of these company's that caused this mess and failed. "

 do you think wrote on October 9, 2008 8:26 am:
" Mr Noorhoeck's company will be a huge direct benificiary of this bailout?
Learn the facts then decide for yourselves. "

 Bill Lumbergh wrote on October 9, 2008 8:41 am:
" Bob, if it's Econ 101, why did we hear so many 'experts' openly say that there is no way to tell if the bailout would even help and how much? It's just another classic case of throwing money at the problem. Also, the people doing the throwing are the ones who caused this problem. Does it not make sense to you why people are so skeptical? "

 JohnK wrote on October 9, 2008 8:54 am:
" Keep voting solely because of abortion. The Republicans need you. of course, they will never, ever ban it or make it illegal, because then what would they use to get voters out for them on election day? Good for you to share your beliefs but if you think that voting for one person over another is better because of their views on abortion you are being used. period. "

 NU Supporter wrote on October 9, 2008 10:12 am:
" Thank you Jan and Stan--Finally someone gets it. ESC research is about that--RESEARCH. It's about academic freedom and moving forward. ESC research is in its infancy and there is a long way to go, but we won't know where it will go if we don't continue the research and if we don't allow scientists to freely expolore all possibilies. For NU to be on the cutting edge of research (and therefore draw top scientists, students, and $ to the state) we need to support academic freedom. "

 Tara wrote on October 9, 2008 10:14 am:
" In Lincoln, abortion is 3% of PP's services provided. 97% of the services they provide are not abortions. If they allocate funding accordingly, $71,780 of that money provided birth control, STD screening and treatment, mammograms, and other vital services to low income women and men. Hopefully investment in the other 97% of the services PP provides will decrease the number of abortions overall. I can't believe someone would determine their vote based on less than $3k of the state's budget. "

 Bob wrote on October 9, 2008 10:29 am:
" Bill Lumbergh, my point wasn't that it's guaranteed to succeed but rather, doing nothing was in fact very likely disaster. From what I've read and what I believe I know about economics, action was necessary, however, nobody can predict the future and we all have an opinion... Regards... "

 peb wrote on October 9, 2008 10:29 am:
" Get real Lincoln Right to Life!

Since only 3% of services done by Planned Parenthood here in Lincoln are abortions, that means only $2,220 was possibily involved in abortions.

How about viewing the positive side of this: How many abortions did that $74,000 prevent? How can people be so narrow-minded? "

 Ugh wrote on October 9, 2008 11:07 am:
" One issue voters. Ugh. "

 Jack wrote on October 9, 2008 11:27 am:
" Ms. Danek's letter was the funniest I've read all day!! "

 Unreal wrote on October 9, 2008 11:38 am:
" So if we're against Planned Parenthood, our tax money goes to it regardless??? This is wrong!! And anybody on the NPPD board that missed
nearly half the meetings needs to be kicked out. And we wonder what is
wrong with our coutry??? If I had a job and went to work half the time
I'd be fired PDQ!! The public needs to start standing up for what is
right and DEMAND action!! "

 Julie Schmit-Albin wrote on October 9, 2008 11:53 am:
" Tara & Peb: Taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood results in a fungibility of funding; freeing up some of their need to fundraise for their abortion advocacy. You assume that only three percent of $74K in city budget funds went to abortion services and advocacy during a time when they were prepping to open a new abortion facility in 1995. Perhaps the City should be asked if there were reports made back from PP to the City as to how the public dollars were used. Six fiscal years from 1991 to 1997 resulted in the Lincoln City Council approving funds to PP. The first year was for $10K, the next for $12,175 and each subsequent year was $13K. The point of Sandy's letter is Haar is talking about tax cuts while he voted for six years of public funding to a controversial entity in our city. With his marital ties to PP, what's to convince taxpayers that he won't be advocating for state tax dollars to PP, beyond what they already get? "

 Jennifer wrote on October 9, 2008 12:29 pm:
" Thank you for a great letter, Sandy. My opinion about Ken totally changed when I heard about his ties to and support of PP. And no, I am not 'narrow minded' as other posters like to suggest - I am a person who cannot stand the thought of children being murdered because that is exactly what abortion is, regardless of your reason for doing it. "

 Curious wrote on October 9, 2008 12:44 pm:
" Since we have a lot of facts and figures posted today, can anybody tell me how much local or state funding is used for the care of state wards, and the juvenile system. How about Aid to Dependant Children, WIC, etc? "

 rac wrote on October 9, 2008 12:54 pm:
" I really don't care about the abortion issue (I think it's wrong, but I don't have a dog in that fight), but my "one-issue voter" stance is: taxes. Mr. Haar's record on the Lincoln City Council was very pro-property tax, and we can look forward to that if we elect him again. Not for me. "

 Bill Lumbergh wrote on October 9, 2008 1:11 pm:
" Bob, my point was is it really worth $700 billion? Is it worth nationalizing our mortgage & banking structure to solve? The fifth tennent in the 'Communist Mannifesto' summarized is "Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly" is how to control the masses. And now with talk about the gov't taking over some banks. We lost a lot of liberty in this debacle. Is that really worth it? Considering nobody knows for sure how much it will help, if at all. "

 CS wrote on October 9, 2008 1:41 pm:
" Well, Jennifer, for those of you that feel a bundle of cells is a child, I suppose that view makes sense to you. To many other people that vote,however, there are other issues to consider besides arguing the difference between biology and religous doctrine. The human body, collectively, spontaneously aborts tens of thousands of pregnancies in the US alone every year mostly without the mother knowing it. Potentially every mother in the US has had an abortion at some point. Now, can we move on to real issues? "

 L wrote on October 9, 2008 6:06 pm:
" Wow, thanks Sandy. I think it's wonderful that Mr. Haar "would propose more funds to Planned Parenthood". It's a great organization that provides a VARIETY of important health services to women who might not otherwise have access to them. I appreciate knowing that there are still politicians in Nebraska willing to do more for those who need real healthcare resources and not just beatific platitudes. I might not have known about Mr. Haar's support had it not been for your letter. "

 fin wrote on October 10, 2008 8:17 am:
" If a dog conceves, it is a puppy. If an elephant conceves it is a calf!
If a woman conceves it's a blob of cells??? Planned Parenthood is a provider to the SEX industry. Those who feel the intence need to protect promiscuity and imorality will always find the verbage for their deceptive ways. PRO CHOICE is the right to kill another life to satisfy a selfish desire. "

 TO TARA wrote on October 10, 2008 11:52 am:
" Tara, please cite your source for your information, I would be curious to see it. Also if Planned Parenthood has already been in existence for so long, and abortiosns have only increased in Lincoln, what makes you think that these government funds will help decrease abortions? "

 To Brent wrote on October 10, 2008 1:21 pm:
" When we bought our 100 year old house my husband and I were both working the economy was better. Our property taxes were reasonable, gas and food was affordable for us and insurance was also lower. Since then I have become disabled from an uncontrollable disease, Lancaster county has raised the value of our house $60,000 and the economy has gone to pot. Now we struggle to make it month to month. We do not have new cars or a fancy house. So brent and all the others that look down your noses at people like us that are struggling stop for one second and think about the fact that some thing cannot be planned for. "

 peb wrote on October 10, 2008 2:43 pm:
" When reading the Planned Parenthood Nebraska - Council Bluffs 2007 Annual Report, it listed 2.6% percent of its services were abortions and the actual number of abortions performed as 1,650 divided between Lincoln, Omaha and Council Bluffs. Planned Parenthood Nebraska-Council Bluffs has a website and their annual report is there for anyone who wants to read it. Here is the link. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ppncb/images/Nebraska-Council-Bluffs/07_Annual_Report(1).swf "

 Selfish wrote on October 13, 2008 4:01 pm:
" I'll tell you what's selfish - a complete stranger who knows nothing about me or my life working overtime to force me to bring a child into this world. Whether or not I choose to continue a pregnancy is none of your business! (For the record, when I was 26, alone and pregnant, I chose to have, keep and raise the baby. She's now almost 13 years old and the love of my life. And I have always taken care of my daughter 100% by myself--no child support, no welfare.) My point is, while I would not choose abortion for myself, it's not up to perfect strangers to make that decision for me or anyone else. "

Ads by Yahoo!