Posted: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 6:00 pm
Removing the exemption from state law that allows minors to consume alcohol at home and church is ridiculous. No one is going to become intoxicated off wine they drink at church.
I am currently under the legal drinking age, and I would like to still be able to choose wine when I take Communion, without receiving judgmental looks from fellow worshippers because I am breaking a law.
Just because some teens take advantage of this exception does not mean the law needs to react with such harsh actions as to take away part of our religious practices. I am sure there are other ways of catching those trying to get out of a ticket.
Gretchen E. Nielsen, Lincoln
Fortenberry out of touch
I want to thank the Lincoln Journal Star for its reporting the votes of Nebraska’s Republican Congressmen Jeff Fortenberry, Lee Terry, and Adrian Smith on the issues so far addressed by the Democratic Party’s “100 Hours” agenda. Too often, the Nebraska media fails to inform voters how we are actually being represented in Washington, D.C.
Still, I believe the Journal Star has a responsibility to go one step further in its coverage. With Fortenberry’s votes against raising the minimum wage, against allowing the federal government to negotiate lower prescription drug prices and against expanded funding for potentially live-saving stem cell research, voters have a right to know why their congressman stands in opposition to the vast majority of the American public.
Our new Congress has brought with it the opportunity for Fortenberry to finally represent the people rather than his party. I fear Fortenberry will only live up to this promise, though, if a vigilant press and an informed public give him no other choice.
If we are to expect accountability from our elected officials, we must start by expecting more from the press and from ourselves. In the future, I hope the Journal Star will do a better job of holding its reporting on Congress to this high standard, no longer giving Fortenberry a free pass without explaining his out-of-touch votes on the issues important to the American people.
Kyle Michaelis, Lincoln
Free speech both ways
Last year ended, and this one began, with Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode Jr. and some national radio talk show hosts using the issue of incoming Congressman Keith Ellison’s indication that he would, in an informal ceremony, use the Koran in taking his oath of office to attack the nation’s immigration and the diversity visas policy.
The use of the Koran is a non-issue in that no religious book is part of the official swearing in and the congressman knew this. He is also most likely aware that for those courts that have not done away with swearing on a holy book, judges have allowed witnesses to swear on the Torah and Koran.
The real issue was summed up by Congressman Goode in the letter he sent to his constituents that stated, “I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped.”
In the United States, we pride ourselves on the right of free speech which allows famous and non-famous people to publicly spew racism and prejudice. However, if we are to remain a free and open society, then such statements must be answered with equal fervor by religious, civic, social and political groups.
Gary Hill, Lincoln