The Public Pulse, September 7

I want my country back, too

Tell a lie long and loud enough, and pretty soon, people start to believe it.

Conservatives Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh, along with the Tea Party and Fox News, say some people are demanding to get their country back. That would be a worthy cause if America had wandered off or been stolen. But it hasn’t.

Who do they want it back from? Perhaps, from our legitimately elected president.

Well, I want my country back, too. But I want it back from the conservatives — the people who by snotty innuendo, wink-wink hints and flat-out lies have stolen it from me while simultaneously sliming the man America elected president.

Their slick lies accuse him of not being an American and being a secret Muslim, a racist, a Nazi, a socialist and a communist. That’s a bilious pile of lies and contradictions, but they begin to stick when they’re repeated long enough and loud enough.

In the 1800s, we had the Know-Nothings, a vicious anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic group. Now we have the Know-It-Alls viciously feeding lies to their believers, who gobble them up like free doughnuts.

Yes, I want my country back, to be saved from all this lying claptrap.

Katie Kelly, Omaha

Learning the meaning of victory

Based on President Barack Obama’s Aug. 31 Oval Office speech on Iraq, he has trouble using the word “victory.” History has shown that if we can’t declare victory after ending combat operations in a war, at some point our enemy will — a la Vietnam.

The best hope now for the Iraqi people is for the American electorate to soundly defeat President Obama’s domestic and foreign policy agendas in November, giving pause to America’s adversaries in Iraq and the Middle East who are looking to take advantage of a weak president. These adversaries know that weak presidents are always succeeded by strong presidents, like when Ronald Reagan succeeded Jimmy Carter.

Victory will be on display after the November elections, however, when Republicans celebrate the 2010 midterm landslide.

Oh yeah, the other word not in President Obama’s vernacular is “prosperity.”

Jeff Jorgensen, Treynor, Iowa

Other places to spend our money

Regarding 56,000 commuters upon whom the City of Omaha will levy a wheel fee to raise $2.8 million annually, let our voices be heard with our money.

Evidently, Omaha never appreciated how much we spend. We already contribute to the city through meals, gasoline, entertainment and shopping. Those purchases add up to about $500 to $750 per commuter, or $28 million to $42 million in annual sales.

Perhaps the loss of tax revenue from those purchases would show our city officials how much their petty actions will cost them and help them appreciate how much we already pay for our use of their streets.

Those spending dollars could be transferred to the cities, towns and counties that commuters reside in. I’m sure they will appreciate our support. Sarpy County offers similar opportunities for my family to spend our money without sacrificing quantity or quality of goods and services purchased.

You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.

Richard Krystof, Springfield, Neb.

A union contract is the answer

Regarding R.A. Williamson’s Aug. 27 letter, I don’t doubt the difficulties of being a nurse. Many people work in industries and jobs that are difficult, messy and dangerous.

I’m glad she wants respect and proper consideration for the difficult work she does, but she misses a point. Abiding by contracts negotiated in good faith with the best information at hand is the way business is done in America. Period.

A union contract would provide her with answers to questions about vacation time, retirement accounts or who pays for insurance. As a union electrician, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Foster Weyand, Omaha

Unions could improve business

Why don’t unions act like any organization that wants to gain market share and increase profits? Is there fear of competition?

Competition demands that people sell not their weaknesses but their strengths (talent, work ethic and expertise).

Customers don’t typically buy the cheapest products that are offered but the best value they can find. When we live by this type of trade, it is the best product and performance that win.

Unions could offer customers (businesses) the best product (labor) with great quality and service at reasonable prices and could strengthen both labor and business. They could spend union dues on training, educating and promoting union services, instead of striking, picketing and donating to politicians.

There seems to be a “you owe me” approach. When businesses legitimately reject this, union bosses call in those political favors to force business to comply, creating a hostile environment.

No business would last long if all it did was put its product on the market and say to potential customers, “Pay more for our product, or we’ll call in the guns of government and force you to comply.”

Michael McLaughlin, Omaha

Allow development around park

College World Series Inc. must have veto power over development near the new downtown Omaha baseball stadium.

A battle over land at 15th and Cuming Streets is the first over what kind of atmosphere will surround the College World Series when it moves to TD Ameritrade Park next year.

The City of Omaha knew the NCAA wanted a “clean zone” near the baseball championship when Omaha signed a 25-year agreement. But are we going to have to take off our shoes to attend a game at TD Ameritrade?

The park shouldn’t exist just to suit the needs of the NCAA. It has to provide an impetus for great development. Rules need to be set that developers can work with.

Ricky Fulton, Omaha

Pelini restoring Husker identity

Husker coach Bo Pelini’s attitude is OK with me. He isn’t acting like a child. He wants the best from his coaches and players.

He’s creating an identity at the University of Nebraska again — one that we had in the past but lost. He’s not rude to reporters. He’s just blunt.

Andrew Gamble, North Platte, Neb.

« Columns

Share