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Letters, 11/17: Hope for no further disaster

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Monday, Nov 17, 2008 - 12:08:36 am CST

Seemingly, the awful tragedy, that of the manufactured war with Iraq by the Bush administration, along with a multitude of assaults to the precious assets of this great nation, appear to have, with time, caused some of the population to forget these devastating occurrences.

Having gone into a litany of prayer directed at the president-elect (and to future events not yet in his attempted power to control), Gail Skinner (letter, Nov. 7) seems oblivious to eight years of wreckage left to the successor.

I suggest offering a petition to the Almighty wherein a restraint of divine order be placed on the current occupant of the White House so as not to plunge us, in these short months remaining, into yet further disaster.

Ed Roth, Lincoln

White, Winslow were lucky

Perhaps, in some sense, Joseph White and Thomas Winslow should feel lucky they only spent 19 years in prison. Imagine if they had received the death penalty! Oops!

Joe Skorupa, Lincoln

Clearing up misconceptions

I was pleased to see the Local View column about United Way Lincoln/Lancaster County in the Nov. 10 Journal Star. The article outlined the urgent need we have in our community during these challenging economic times. The folks who were scraping by without public assistance before now have no choice but to seek assistance from the wonderful charities in our community that provide food, shelter and crisis assistance. The purpose of United Way of Lincoln/Lancaster County is to provide funding for these critical agencies.

As a volunteer for United Way, I would like to correct some of the misconceptions out there. One statement was that United Way supports killing unborn children. This is absolutely untrue. United Way does not provide funding to Planned Parenthood or any abortion clinic. United Way staff also do not have high salaries and conduct heavy handed solicitations. The truth of the matter is that United Way administrative costs are 12.8 percent locally, a rate far below that allowed by Better Business Bureau charitable giving standards.

The key to United Way’s efficiency is the strong volunteer commitment. Volunteers such as myself participate in fund raising, fund distribution, running corporate and employee campaigns through the generous businesses in our community, and contacting local individuals for personal donations. We are unpaid volunteers, so none of the donation money ends up paying for the volunteer labor. And we do not knowingly participate in any heavy-handed solicitations. We ask politely if the person or business can help, and if they say yes, we’re thrilled, and if they say no, we certainly understand.

It is my sincere hope that the people in our wonderful community who are able to help will lend a helping hand to those less fortunate. If it is via a direct donation to your favorite charity, I thank you for your generosity. If people want to give but are not sure which charity to give to and/or would like to do their giving as one-stop shop, I hope they consider giving to United Way.

Paula Gustafson, Lincoln

Now opportunity, challenge

When all the sounds of campaigning have been stilled;

When all the votes have been counted;

When all the campaign signs have been collected;

When all the projections have become yesterday’s news;

When the winners have been declared, even though the analysts will have found new data to mine;

Then the work of democracy begins: To create a “more perfect union,” to establish justice and provide justice for all, to ensure fairness in all domestic and international dealings, to promote the general welfare by providing for a livable wage for all;

And ensuring a public education that results in an informed participating citizenship with skills that enhance the common good;

To seek peace through justice rather than through violence while providing for the common defense;

And thus embody the hope and promise of democracy.

Every day and in every way, in all that we do and in all that we say as a nation.

This I believe is the opportunity and challenge we have before us as citizens of the United States of America.

Howard R. Bailey, Lincoln

McCain went above, beyond

I would like to congratulate John McCain on the speech he gave election night. Not only did he congratulate Barack Obama on his victory, but he also asked his supporters to help him unify this country and support Obama.

More remarkable is that when his crowd booed Obama, he immediately stopped them along with the chant, “We want you,” and “John McCain.” This was a commendable speech because he went above and beyond.

Even though I supported Obama, McCain has gained my respect.

Hoyt F. Kraeger, Avoca

Reconsider area site

I recently attended the Metallica concert in Omaha. We were on the interstate at 5:30 p.m. for a 7:30 show. We didn’t get to our seats until after 8 p.m.! The exit to the Qwest Center was only a mile or so from the building, but we waited in traffic for more than an hour to park and again to leave.

I can only hope the Lincoln officials know something I don’t know when it comes to the proposed Pershing replacement. Have you ever seen traffic on a football Saturday at Ninth and O? Traffic is backed up for miles.

How in the world will building an arena in a landlocked floodplain in which you may have to move railroad tracks and raise the ground level just to put it near existing restaurants and hotels succeed if people can’t get to the arena and back home? I’m all for building it, but the site is absurd.

Let’s do it right, because I’m not encouraged to attend another Qwest event.

Build it at North 27th Street and Interstate 80! There’s nothing there but empty fields. It accesses the interstate to navigate around the city as well as 27th Street, and there’s plenty of room for expansion, parking, restaurants, hotels and entertainment.

If you build it, they will come. If you build it downtown, they will come and never be able to leave.

Brett Otte, Lincoln


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Cole wrote on November 17, 2008 5:49 am:
" Brett makes a good point. But we should look for a silver lining here. That was 30 peaceful minutes in the car during which you didn't have to listen to that ear-deafening, suicide-inducing, valueless noise. "

 Cut out the middle man wrote on November 17, 2008 6:36 am:
" The United Way is a middle man who skims off money for their efforts and gives less than what was given to the target charities. Go online, search for top rated charities (where the highest % of your dollar reaches the people in need) and contribute. We don't need these charity brokers. "

 The Messiah wrote on November 17, 2008 6:42 am:
" ED,
It's easy to forget all those devastating occurences as they never really happened, it's all in the mind of the beholder.
And as for petitioning the almighty, I suggest that you beg forgiveness for the left's total lack of respect for the almighty, and your crusade to diminish his relevance. "

 Julia wrote on November 17, 2008 6:56 am:
" Well said, Brett. Remember the air show, when people waited for hours to be able to leave? Lincoln does not know how to do large public gatherings, except for football. "

 Zoomie wrote on November 17, 2008 7:06 am:
" Hoyt, I agree, McCain was extremely gracious in defeat, and I was also glad to see him stop the booing of his supporters when the new President-Elect's name was mentioned. My problem, however, was why it took defeat to get McCain to end his sleazy campaigning and return to the classy candidate he was back in 2000. And I couldn't forget the fact that the crowd was booing and yelling insults at and about Obama only because McCain (and even more so, Palin) had actively encouraged such conduct for several months. I also found myself contrasting the crowd behavior in Grant Park a little latter, when Obama praised his opponent and named John McCain, and the audience cheered and applauded McCain! I guess if there's one thing we can take away from the two events, it was that while both candidates were classy at the end, only the Democratic audience matched their candidate's classy finish! "

 Ripper wrote on November 17, 2008 7:52 am:
" Zoomie, you have such a contrite and short memory-constrast the Kerry and Gore post election scenes with McCain's and Bushes-contrast Clinton's after his two wins, constrast Bush Senior with the Democratic loss that year-your point is not valid in anything other than the winner's camp is always more courteous than the losers camp. You need to stop looking back and start looking forward. "

 Gary wrote on November 17, 2008 8:44 am:
" Brett, you're naive to think you could have made it to the concert on time with that sort of planning. Maybe the solution has more to do with trying to lessen the numbers of automobiles than providing the infrastructure for them all. "

 New Start wrote on November 17, 2008 8:56 am:
" Interesting comment from zoomie, my candidate did not win the election but I did not vote either main party ticket. I would wonder why you find it difficult to be a good and gracious winner instead still spouting your sour grapes rhetoric. Join us in looking forward and making whatever the future holds for us. "

 dfb wrote on November 17, 2008 8:57 am:
" You're right Ed. Let's build the new arena out on 27th & I 80 and back up traffic in both directions with people getting to and from the arena.

I take it you've never been out to that area before and after a football game because trying to navigate that area is a nightmare with traffic backed up and slowed in both directions.

I don't foresee that big of a problem with the new site because there aren't going to be 80,000 fans trying to get to or from it at any time. You only have problems when you wait until the last minute to get to somewhere.

BTW, that open area out by 27th & I 80, that is also in a flood plain and in a protected wetland area and would have only one road leading to 27th st and to the interstate. The downtown site offers more exit routes along with restaraunts & hotels close by to while away the time afterwards. "

 LC wrote on November 17, 2008 9:05 am:
" Well said "middle man"! I have avoided the charity brokers for decades. United Way, et al, are nothing but entities who make a business out of sending your money where you could send it yourself, but taking out operational costs first. If they were really that altruistic they would operate on a purely voluntary basis with no salaries or overhead to diminish your donations. Pick a charity, any charity,and send your check straight to it. Now that's efficiency. "

 JT wrote on November 17, 2008 9:16 am:
" Hoyt, I agree. If Sen. McCain would have run his whole campaign with the same spirit as his concession speech it would have been a much closer race.

As far as the arena site goes, new development is best built in existing development. Big cities are trending away from putting a stadium "out by the interstate." Look at all the downtown ballparks/stadiums like Denver, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, OKC, KC... "

 Its a trap wrote on November 17, 2008 9:38 am:
" Brett says,"If you build it downtown, they will come and never be able to leave".

That's why the Haymarket owners want it downtown instead of out in the boonies. It's all about their wallets, not what's best for Lincoln and its citizens. "

 LC wrote on November 17, 2008 10:09 am:
" To clarify my previous post: United Way's online tax disclosure shows total annual functional expenses of $56 million on the national level, $1.07 million in Lancaster County. This includes "management, campaign, marketing and communications". Volunteers help but cannot make this an efficient way to contribute to charity. "

 Nina wrote on November 17, 2008 10:21 am:
" Three excellent letters today - the chagrin of Joe's letter is felt by many observers, Howard's letter mirrors my thoughts exactly, and I agree with Hoyt that we saw the real John McCain during his concession speech. If he had stayed true to himself instead of following the tactics his so-called experts recommended during the election, he would have received many more votes, I feel. But we're ready to move ahead with "Yes, we can," America. By the way, Obama's slogan is a spinoff of an earlier one of "we can do it." That's Rosie the Riveter's slogan from WW II - the young woman showing her muscle in taking over what needed to be done to save her country. But it arouses the same action as is needed today. "

 Luke wrote on November 17, 2008 11:36 am:
" Hoyt - It is simply staggering how many people use the word "democracy" with the implication that the United States is - or should be - one. Are government schools so bad that they cannot even teach what type of government we have? For the millionth time, we are a Constitutional Republic. "Democracy" equals "mob rule." "Mob rule" equals "no individual rights." Of course, so many of you champions of democracy have no regard for individual rights, so you probably think that democracy is a good thing. "

 Luke wrote on November 17, 2008 11:38 am:
" I meant to say "Howard," not "Hoyt" in my previous post. "

 Ya but wrote on November 17, 2008 11:59 am:
" Brett, not building in the Haymarket would not help make the current
owners richer!!! This is why the "good ole boys" and their rich friends
will spend the poor struggling peoples last dime so they can get rich and
brag brag brag how they spent millions & millions of taxpayers dollars to
raise the area from a flood plane to a fabulous entity that will fill
their pockets!!!! You know, the people that are already making their bucks
off the taxpayers and visitors sitting on their tush daily trying to
figure out how else they can create their wealth off of you!!! "

 And Zoomie wrote on November 17, 2008 12:45 pm:
" While I agree with you about mccain and his speech, I have to go one step further with some others. It's about being gracious when winning and losing. I equate this statement with husker football. Remember a few years ago when someone came into lincoln and beat the fabulous huskers once in awhile? The fans cheered the opposing team with their win. Skip ahead a few years when the huskers are losing. Now the fans boo their own team and throw things and spit at opposing teams. Really Gracious fans during a losing season. Ya know its all in winning. "

 Roger wrote on November 17, 2008 12:49 pm:
" If you build it, they will come. If you build it downtown, they will come and never be able to leave".

I think that's the idea, Brett "

 OK wrote on November 17, 2008 12:51 pm:
" Brett, I see you want to build the arena on a swamp instead of solid ground. Do you realize how much more it will cost to build in a swamp? I hope you have some deep pockets because I sure don't. Besides, the traffic in and out of the 27th & I 80 area would be like you experienced in Omaha and not better. All you have to do is look at that intersection when there is a home football game. Everyone wants to enter and leave Lincoln via that exit and it backs traffic up something horrible. "

 Greg wrote on November 17, 2008 1:10 pm:
" To Brett's point, the Haymarket is a bad idea for an arena. I would propose that the management of the Lancaster Event Center have done a tremendous job with their facility in the short time it has existed. I think it would be great to let them develop their arena instead. It is accessible to I-80 from Rt. 6 and there is plenty of land there, too. "

 O_Really Factor wrote on November 17, 2008 1:28 pm:
" Say Ed, add an addendum to your petition to the Almighty thanking the Bush Administration for ensuring an attack like that which occurred on Sept. 11, 2001 has not been repeated nor has there been an attack anywhere in America itself under the Bush Administration's watch. "

 Rosary wrote on November 17, 2008 1:35 pm:
" Have you ever seen groups of people praying the rosary? It's non stop rattling off of prayer at a rapid pace.

To answer the Messiah's post, if thats not petitioning the Almighty, I don't know what is.

Jim Morrison said "You cannot petition the Lord with prayer". Most of the Catholics I know, think otherwise. "

 Yes Really Factor wrote on November 17, 2008 2:01 pm:
" Say Ed, add an addendum to your petition to the Almighty, also thanking the Clinton Administration, for ensuring an attack like that which occurred in March 1993, had not been repeated under the watchful eye of Clinton, nor had there been another attack anywhere in America itself under the Clinton Administration's watch. "

 60 Minutes wrote on November 17, 2008 2:18 pm:
" Last night on 60 Minutes, Obama said the economy "could be worse." During the campaign, it was "the worst economy since the great depression." How about the worst economy since Carter? Flip Flopper! "

 Bad Economy wrote on November 17, 2008 2:43 pm:
" If you're going to compare bad economies, what about the economy under Reagan? That was worse than Carter's until now. "

 o really wrote on November 17, 2008 3:11 pm:
" Prior to Sept 2001 there hadn't been an attack on US soil since Dec 7 1941, how many administrations claimed credit for that? GW needs something to hold up as a job well done. "

 Sue F. wrote on November 17, 2008 3:36 pm:
" Nice try re the 60 minutes interview. When President-Elect Obama was asked about the bail out not working as hoped he said we have to look at what could have happened without it. That could have been worse. I love it when statements are taken out of context. "

 120 minutes and 120 IQ wrote on November 17, 2008 3:41 pm:
" Worst economy since the great depression. Fine. Could be worse? Sure it can always be worse. How in God's name is that flip flopping? "

 re Bad Economy wrote on November 17, 2008 4:47 pm:
" Wherever you heard that from, quit listening to it. Wherever you read that, quit reading it. If you learned that in school, complain to the school board. You couldn't be more wrong. "

 JohnR wrote on November 17, 2008 5:07 pm:
" Oh Really - uhh, hate to break it to you but there were TWO terrorist attacks in the US under the Bush Admin. 9/11, of course, everyone knows. But how quickly conservatives have forgotten that in November 2001 we suffered a string of terrorist attacks via anthrax in mail, which killed several people and which targetted Congress and the press! Seems like people are trying so desparately trying to make Bush the Great Protector they want to erase the 2nd terrorist attack (and we never caught that terrorist, either)!

Think about it, conservatives...Bill Clinton had the 1st WTC attack just 2 months into his Admin. So he basically went 94 months attack free. There was no additional such attack in the US during his administration, plus the perps were identified, tracked, caught and tried (and without a Patriot Act). By comparison, when Bush leaves office it'll be 82 months since the terrorist attacks of November 2001 attack free, and the perp identified in one was never caught (reportedly living in a villa in Pakistan) while the perp(s) in the 2nd attack was never even identified, much less caught...Frankly, I find the guy's record embarassing! "

 To Brett wrote on November 17, 2008 6:59 pm:
" The problem is in the location - the problem is everyone like you that thinks that they need to pull up their car to the event's front door. Have any of you ever been to a Cubs game or a Red Sox game? Parking is virtually non-existant. How do they do it? Public transportation. There are plenty of easily accessible parking facilities around Lincoln (or Omaha) that would support a shuttle system. Park easily, ride a bus to the event, ride the bus back to the parking lot, and away you go. Simple answer. Also, you might consider a solution that includes just a small bit of walking. Think outside the box - the solution is not that complicated. "

 Brett wrote on November 17, 2008 8:26 pm:
" We actually have been to a Cubs game every year for a decade and use the $50 to get easy out parking at the McDonald's or across the street. Riding the tram sucked! It takes over an hour to ride from the burbs & costs just as much money when 4 people are paying $10 for a round-trip tram ticket. Guess what? The trams stop at midnight! We'd rather split a $50 parking pass in Chicago.

Last I checked there is no bus system in Lincoln. We've been dismantling it for years. We pay $40 for the tram system for our football tickets and it's a good deal. The city doesn't offer it for other events & what about our concert at Qwest?! It was over at 11pm. Last time I checked the buses don't run at that time of night.

We cannot expect EVERYONE to use a bus when there isn't one and I don't expect anyone to park at the front door either. We were 2 blocks away at Qwest. Needless to say we arrived at the exit 90 min before the concert at 7:30 and yet it still took 2 hrs to get in our seats and we were only 1.5 miles away.

We can build roads and exits if we build it North of Lincoln. "

 Matt wrote on November 17, 2008 9:59 pm:
" Brett,

You drove to near downtown Omaha at roughly rush hour!! What would you expect?? Omaha is a major city. Its downtown is much much more robust than Lincoln's. There is nothing wrong with the Qwest's situation. Its just a function of being smack dab in the middle of a metroplex of about 900,000 people. "

 Steve wrote on November 18, 2008 3:31 am:
" Brett, I left Lincoln at 6pm and walked up to the Qwest door at 7pm. Not sure what route you took (probably I-75, which led to a road where an accident had occured), but I had no traffic backed up on my route (I-480). Parked for free and had a 5 minute walk to Qwest. "

 STF wrote on November 18, 2008 7:35 am:
" I agree with Brett. Of course he was in traffic at roughly rush hour? Do you expect people to leave in the morning to go to a concert at night? The concert was at 7:30. "

 Wow wrote on November 18, 2008 7:56 am:
" Brett,

You were only 1.5 miles away and drove and waited in traffic for 2 hours? Why didn't you walk? I would have. You could have walked there in about 30 minutes and saved gas, parking fees and all the headaches of setting in traffic!

You say we can build roads and exits to ease traffic around I 80, can't we do that in the downtown area? Besides, it would be extremely costly and difficult to build where you propose, all that land is a federally protected wetland, a swamp in other words.

No, if we are going to build one, it is best to build it where it is proposed. "

 Hey JohnR wrote on November 18, 2008 8:14 am:
" You're forgetting about the embassy attacks and the USS Cole, under Clinton. "

 BOB to the United Way wrote on November 18, 2008 8:38 am:
" I have "given" exactly $1.00 to the United Way in the last 13 years, and it wasn't even my $1.00. You're probably right Paula, The United Way probably doesn't "knowingly" participate in any heavy handed solicitations. But the corporate campaigns lead exactly to that. I don't know what the corporations get out of having 100% employee participation in donating to the United Way...publicity? a plaque? I have had 4 different employers in my life and every one of them wanted/strongly suggested/demanded a donation of some kind. My wife and I contribute to our main charities Church & St. Judie's, we also donate through group efforts to the various organizations around Lincoln...Food Bank, Matt Talbot's, etc...Directly. We feel we contribute our share. So when my past employers have demanded a donation so they can have 100% participation, it pretty much soured me on giving to the United Way. Don't get me wrong I think the United Way provides a great service. The money brought in to local services wouldn't be near what it is without it...even with their 12% cut. But I won't be strong-armed into contributing and if I can cut out the middleman, its more for those who truly need it. Oh, and that $1.00 13 years ago...that was from my office manager, he got an atta-boy for having 100% contribution in his office, I got put on the "Not a Team Player" list. "

 george wrote on November 18, 2008 7:01 pm:
" dear dfb: for your information, the haymarket area has a hard time handling the traffic it currently has. Just where are all these entrances and exits you mention? Do you own property in the area? "

 Hop wrote on November 18, 2008 10:39 pm:
" Messiah - You say "It's easy to forget all those devastating occurences as they never really happened, it's all in the mind of the beholder."
So the lies that lead to the "manufactured war in Iraq" never really happened?
The thousands of Americans who died there because of those lies. That didn't happen?
The tens or hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have died because of the lies?
How about the sanctioned torture of prisoners, that is a fabrication?
The hugely profitable, yet corrupt no bid war contracts for most favored corporations like Halliburton?
The mismanagement of the rescue and rebuilding efforts during and after the Katrina disaster?
Spying on Americans and the undermining of individual rights?
The failure to find Bin Laden and bring him to justice?
That is a heck of a lot of devastation in the mind of this beholder. "

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