Posted: Monday, October 16, 2006 7:00 pm
I believe the federal grant given to study the endangered Salt Creek tiger beetle is a great idea. Don’t get me wrong. I want to feed the poor and hungry too, but the beetle issue is separate.
People complain that this grant is putting the needs of bugs before the needs of people, but it’s simply not true. It is in our best interest to prevent problems rather than “fix” a habitat after we’ve destroyed it.
Nature relies on a delicate balance of predators and prey to function properly, and this beetle is no exception. How will Nebraska farmers feed anyone if we knowingly ignore this balance and destroy the environment to fit our desires at the moment?
This is certainly not a matter of survival of the fittest. There is a huge difference between natural selection (when an animal dies off due to genetic inadequacies) and artificial selection (when humans knowingly or unknowingly cause the demise of a species without regard to its genetic traits).
This beetle is clearly a case of the latter. If we’re lucky, natural selection will work on weeding out those humans not interested in nurturing their own habitat.
But if anyone is still upset, I’ll send you a check for the mere $0.0016 that came out of your pocket as one of the 295 million Americans whose tax dollars paid for this federal grant. Personally, I’m much more concerned about a $1.9 billion wall on the Mexican border that won’t stop anyone, but maybe that’s just me.
April Jorgensen, Lincoln
Vote for new leadership
The recent Foley scandal highlights what I see as a major problem of our times, of the current administration and of Congress. Few seem willing to take responsibility and to react appropriately to major problems.
Becoming a congressional page is an amazing opportunity for young people to understand and get involved with our government. Congressman Mark Foley is an unfortunate and sick person, not for his sexual orientation, but because he attempted to take advantage of these children.
Having the Republicans stand up, point every which way and then say that it is the Democrats’ fault (when the source of information was actually a Republican!) is outrageous. They bring up issues of deplorable past transgressions in Congress and the White House.
The Republicans act like the bank robber who was caught stealing $50,000 from a bank. He tells the police, “You shouldn’t arrest me! That guy over there stole $100,000.”
I wonder why no one is working to solve the problem. Why isn’t our compassionately conservative president directing the Justice Department to work with Congress to develop ways to protect pages from abuse? Why isn’t Congress setting up an oversight and ombudsman system to teach pages about what is OK and what is not and where to go, with full immunity, to ask for help?
Especially now, this country needs competent leadership. It needs leaders who are willing to be accountable for what they do and what they don’t do. We need to remember that as we watch campaign mudslinging. We need to remember that when we vote.
Art Zygielbaum, Lincoln
Drag racing in the blood
I want to encourage city and county officials to welcome a drag strip to our area with open arms.
I am a wife, mother and nurse, and my family is all about the drag racer, starting at my husband Roger to my 9- and 10-year-old kids. We have enjoyed many weekends together at Scribner watching our ’55 Chevy race down the track at speeds that can’t be done anywhere else.
My 10-year-old son has plans to race his first car against his classmates already, and where will he do this? Probably on the streets of Lincoln behind our backs if he can’t find a place to do it legally. I don’t want that to happen.
Some people have Husker football in their blood, and some people have drag racing in their blood. Let’s support Greg Sanford and his plans to build a drag strip for everyone of all ages to enjoy.
Jeanette Strahm, Lincoln
Tired of rubber stamps
Why is Congressman Jeff Fortenberry supporting House Speaker Dennis Hastert? Hastert could have prevented the Mark Foley scandal if he had taken action instead of covering up the problem.
It seems that party politics takes priority. I’m tired of this rubber-stamp Republican behavior.
Anna Silliman, Crete
Grateful to Sen. Nelson
As the Senate race draws to a close, I will ask Nebraskans to remember Sen. Ben Nelson’s advocacy for people with disabilities. Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, Nebraska’s only free-standing rehabilitation hospital, has served the rehabilitative needs of Nebraskans with specialty programs in spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, pediatrics and complex medical care. Recent federal budget cuts have left hundreds of thousands of individuals throughout the country, including Nebraska, without access to medical and physical rehabilitation.
In an attempt to preserve rehabilitation in the state of Nebraska, Sen. Nelson was called upon to help ensure that Nebraskans did not lose access to medical rehabilitation programs such as Madonna’s. During meetings with him, it was clear that Sen. Nelson understood this threat. He has committed his help and worked tirelessly to champion a national effort which resulted in legislation delaying the implementation of these harmful regulations.
Without Sen. Nelson working on our behalf, Madonna would be facing a dismal economic future, but more importantly, Nebraskans would be denied access to rehabilitative care, and the quality of health care in the state of Nebraska would be greatly diminished.
I want to publicly thank Sen. Nelson and his staff for all of their support for medical rehabilitation and work on behalf of all Nebraskans.
Paul A. Dongilli, Jr., Lincoln
Executive vice president, chief operations officer, Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital