Readers of your June 28 editorial regarding Gov. Dave Heineman's letter to members of the NSEA ("Teacher pay letter was meddlesome") might think you'd prefer to stifle teacher pay in Nebraska.

I hope that, instead, it is a simple case of lack of understanding of the issue.

Nebraska is ranked 45th in the nation in average salary for teachers. That ranking comes from data provided by all 50 states' departments of education. Nebraska is dead last in starting salaries when compared to nearby states.

That leads our very best young people to teach in other states, or to take jobs in other professions. If we fail to lure our best and brightest into the teaching profession, what does that say about how we feel about our children and our state's future? As a retired Lincoln Public Schools teacher and a member of the NSEA-Retired Board of Directors, I want Nebraska to continue to provide the best teachers for our children.

A quality education costs money, but it's money well spent.

Heineman is right to make certain that every penny in state aid is spent wisely. Kudos to the governor for bringing some light to bear on an important issue and for wanting to put money for education where it will do the most good.

Shame on the Journal Star for citing a dubious Web site to bolster a flawed argument.

Pat Etherton, Lincoln

Facts on cap-and-trade

The day after the U.S. House passed landmark legislation on a cap-and-trade bill that could become the largest tax increase in the history of our country, the LJS opted to run this story on Page 3A June 27 and instead placed details of Michael Jackson's death on the front page.

This bill could cause the price of energy to rise for the average family of four by $1,870 per year by 2020 and by $6,800 by 2035. This is on top of newly mandated CAFE standards on vehicles of 35 miles per gallon (which will make cars less safe and more expensive) and a proposed health care package that will surely be an unfunded entitlement program like Social Security and Medicare have become.

This cap-and-trade bill will cause electricity rates to "necessarily skyrocket" as then-candidate Barack Obama stated last year while on the campaign trail. In the midst of the greatest recession in decades, we keep doing exactly the opposite of what we should be doing, and that is cutting taxes and removing government interference with the private sector.

Spain has already tried this green jobs idea, and their unemployment rate is now at 17.5 percent. If you think it is bad here now, then double the misery and you will see what Spain is enjoying.

The United States has limited the drilling here at home, and this bill wants to transition us away from an oil-based economy, which will continue to make us more dependent on foreign oil sources.

This century will most likely not be the century of America as we continue to cripple ourselves from within.

Joel Kirby, Lincoln

Decision applauded

At a recent press conference, President Barack Obama along with Chairman Max Baucus of the Senate Finance Committee and Barry Rand, CEO of AARP, announced an exciting commitment from the pharmaceutical industry to give $80 billion in discounts over the next 10 years to help those seniors on Medicare Part D who fall into the coverage gap known as the "doughnut hole." Community Health Charities of Nebraska applauds the pharmaceutical industry for taking this historic step, which will help lead our nation down the road to health-care reform.

With our leaders in Washington, AARP and the pharmaceutical industry working together, the seniors on Medicare Part D who are affected by the coverage gap - about 26 percent of enrollees - soon won't have to worry about getting the medicine they need.

Currently, eight of 10 seniors are satisfied with their Part D plans. This announcement will only further increase the appreciation for the pharmaceutical industries' commitment.

Michelle Grossman, president and CEO, Community Health Charities of Nebraska

President needs blessing

Roger Yant's diatribe against Barack Obama ("Keep saying NO," letter, June 29) cannot go unchallenged.

Considering the spoiled frat boy's part-time, crony-facilitated, AWOL-tinged "service" to his country and Dick Cheney's five draft-dodging deferments, Yant's calling President Barack Obama a "coward" is audacious beyond belief. Sacrificing others at the altar of greed is cowardice.

Our country does have tremendous debt - begun by the profligate policies of the previous administration. And what about George W. Bush's paying for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan off-budget? That bit of legerdemain placed our country in debt up to the "eyeballs."

Obama did not apologize "for our glorious past." He is attempting to fess up to our inglorious present. Unlike his predecessor, he has the courage to admit to our country's wrongdoing, even though they were not his blunders. And I'm sure Yant's, "We are not perfect …" concession is of great comfort to Natives whom we virtually eradicated and African-Americans whom we enslaved.

I do believe that we could all benefit from God's blessings, but I would stop short of telling God who is deserving of such blessings.

Yant thinks that Lee Terry, Adrian Smith and Jeff Fortenberry are the anointed triad who are preventing Obama from doing all sorts of evil. According to Yant, Obama is determined to take our country to the gates of perdition.

If so, is not the president the one in need of God's blessings and guidance?

Larry McClung, Lincoln

Think of the future

The recent Local View by Stuart Long, "Competition for remaining oil will be fierce," was very informative and a very realistic article. Seemingly we Americans and likely most people worldwide are oblivious to what we as mankind are doing to our nonrenewable natural resources.

I know this sounds like a pessimistic point of view, but what will the people of this planet do after all the crude oil reserves are gone, natural gas reserves are gone, coal reserves are gone and most other nonrenewable natural resources are gone?

I believe that someday this scenario will come to pass. I believe there will be social and economic upheaval the likes of which we cannot imagine.

Walter L. Goossen, Henderson