The Public Pulse, October 23

No excuse for abusing disabled

An Oct. 18 news story reported that some of the staff at the Beatrice State Developmental Center were charged with abusing and making fun of the residents with developmental disabilities there.

It is wrong to be mean to residents at the Beatrice State Developmental Center. The staff doesn't have to make fun of them or hit them. They can find other ways to work with them if they are behaving badly.

When I was 6 years old, the doctor told my parents they should put me in the Beatrice State Developmental Center. I had to stay there until I was in my 30s, and I did not like it. Some staff were mean and made fun of me, too.

I think it is best to close the center down. Then people wouldn't get beat up. How would anyone like to get beat up?

Judy Waggle, Kearney, Neb.

Bond is essential for oil pipeline

Having a bond in place for any event of failure should be one plausible requirement for allowing construction of the underground TransCanada Keystone XL oil pipeline to proceed through Nebraska.

There is no known way to absolutely protect the Ogallala Aquifer from a catastrophic oil spill. Failure of such a pipeline could happen. Nebraska residents should have a proper, enforceable assurance requirement in place prior to construction of the pipeline.

The builder and owner of the pipeline must be held legally liable. The public should not bear the risk or cost in the future. Anything else is not good business.

Jerome Streight, La Vista

Encourage close sources of oil

An Oct. 13 Money story reported that lower prices at the gasoline pump should result in some savings at the grocery store. But the price of gasoline rose 27 cents per gallon in the first week of October.

Service station managers say they have no reason for the sharp increase in gasoline prices. After 30 years in the petroleum and pipeline business, I wonder if it is politics or the hedge-fund speculators who are the culprits.

One can really see the value of the Keystone XL oil pipeline crossing Nebraska and bringing our neighboring country's oil closer to our service stations. Hopefully, that might eliminate people who have no business determining our gasoline prices.

Ralph H. Bauman, Springfield, Neb.

Many dedicated OPS educators

Based on low student test scores, Gov. Dave Heineman had a lot of negative things to say about Omaha Public Schools in an Oct. 9 Midlands Voices piece.

I wonder how many OPS schools he has visited. Has he ever been a teacher, principal or superintendent?

Perhaps the governor can get OPS some state aid to make the changes he seems to think are needed. Some teachers teach to the test and let other things go so their schools will look good statistically.

I am tired of the blanket condemnation of OPS, its superintendent and employees. There are a lot of good, caring people in OPS who work hard every day to provide a high quality of education to our children and grandchildren.

Rida Knutzen, Cedar Bluffs, Neb.

Time to update flood regulations

I believe Missouri River flooding can and should be prevented. I'm convinced that using the instructions in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' master manual is a lame excuse for allowing the extent of flooding this year. A study that followed the flood is using the same lame excuse: What can you do after the problem already exists?

I'm convinced the corps' manual is wrong and should be rewritten with an entirely different set of priorities. The real action in flood prevention should occur in the fall, not in the spring when it is too late.

The dams at Fort Peck, Garrison and Oahe were built for flood protection. They were not built for recreation or to provide water for a longer barge season. If those reservoirs had been adequately lowered in the fall of 2010, they should have been able to handle most of the problem from excessive precipitation.

I've heard the arguments about the economic losses to the recreation industry and the loss of a month or two of barge traffic north of Kansas City, Mo. But I doubt if the losses to those industries for 25 to 50 years would amount to the losses from just one flood, like that in 2011.

John A. Haslam, Fremont, Neb.

Urging vote on judge nominees

An Oct. 19 editorial aptly concluded that the U.S. Senate "needs to end the backlog on federal judicial appointments" and approve Nebraska Supreme Court Judge John Gerrard's nomination as a U.S. district judge "so he can take his position in a timely fashion."

Indeed, a letter by the president of the American Bar Association to Senate leaders stressed that the federal bench vacancy rate continues to hover around 10 percent — right where it has been for the past 24 months.

As the editorial noted, Gerrard has the strong endorsement of both of Nebraska's U.S. senators, Republican Mike Johanns and Democrat Ben Nelson. They could urge the Senate, as the ABA letter urged, to allow votes this month on Gerrard and more than 20 other nominees who were advanced from the Judiciary Committee by bipartisan voice vote.

Glenn Sugameli, Washington, D.C.

Editor's note: The writer has headed the Judging the Environment project on judicial nominations since 2001.

Blame careless, not all smokers

An Oct. 19 news story reported that eight fires in the Omaha area have been caused by careless smoking this month. These irresponsible people should be held accountable for the damage they've caused.

While these fires are devastating, hundreds of other fires, caused by other means, occur. This opens the door for Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, an anti-smoking coalition based in Berkeley, Calif., to demand that all apartment buildings be made anti-smoking.

Should these apartments be made candle-free, barbecue-free, cooking-oil-free and appliance-free? Make people who are responsible for these fires accountable, but those of us who take care to extinguish our smoking materials should not be penalized.

All fires, regardless of the cause, are largely caused by careless people. Zero in on them.

Frieda Dryden, Blair, Neb.

It's best to start with the basics

What we learn at a young age, we never forget. I sure didn't think my mother was right when she had me learn my multiplication tables in the first grade. She would have me do them frontward and backward, recite the ones I had learned earlier and then do them again before I went to bed.

Technology is great today, but if the power goes off in a store, the clerks often can't figure out the correct change to give back.

We also had to learn how to write our name in cursive. There is nothing wrong with printing, but look at some signatures today. We had sessions for writing and holding our pen or pencil correctly — not too lightly or grabbing it too tightly. The teacher would correct us.

In reading, I learned phonics and sounding out words. Learning technology isn't easy, but I never did forget the basics. I thank my mother for that.

Delores Ludwick, Omaha

Here's the winning GOP ticket

Herman Cain's sudden appeal as a Republican presidential candidate can possibly be traced to the fact that he is not a politician. He's a businessman, and any businessman worth his pay solves problems.

Mr. Cain has done wonders with Coca-Cola, Pillsbury, Burger King and Godfather's Pizza, in a similar fashion that businessman Lee Iacocca gave us the 1965 Ford Mustang and saved Chrysler.

Cain and Iacocca for 2012. Now, there's a ticket.

Michael W. Roberts, Omaha

Be good sports or just stay home

I started attending Husker football games 77 years ago. I graduated from UNL during World War II, when we had some very weak teams. But there was never any booing at football games.

My two daughters and I were appalled to hear booing at the Nebraska-Ohio State game on Oct. 8. It is so juvenile, embarrassing and unsportsmanlike. Those fans should have just stayed home.

Ann J. Walters, Council Bluffs

How to direct traffic with a flair

I'd like to compliment the two Omaha police officers who directed traffic in the middle of the intersection of 108th Street and West Maple Road during evening rush hour on Oct. 11. The traffic lights were malfunctioning.

The only disappointment was that their arm and hand motions showed no imagination. There were no dance, gymnastic or rhythmic moves like some traffic officers do in other cities. Next time, show them Omaha has talent, too.

James F. Cowan, Omaha

Money talks, anyone can vote

Kudos to Creighton University professor Stephen C. Sieberson for his Oct. 17 Midlands Voices piece, "Here's an idea (wink, wink): Let only millionaires vote."

Years ago, a similar idea was advocated by oil tycoon and conservative extremist H.L. Hunt in his book, "Alpaca." He said that those who pay the most taxes should have the most votes.

Hunt's version of utopia may be today's reality. Consider the gigantic influence of the billionaire Koch brothers on our political system in general and the Republican Party in particular. No other citizens come close to the access, influence and power they have.

This quote has been attributed to Louis D. Brandeis, former justice of the U.S. Supreme Court: "We can have democracy in this country, or we can have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both."

Steven J. Riekes, Omaha

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