The Public Pulse, January 25

Confident nuclear plant is safe

I am sadly disappointed at some of the questions asked at the Jan. 19 nuclear regulatory meeting that discussed the increased inspection at the Omaha Public Power District's Fort Calhoun station.

As a former nuclear worker having worked at four different nuclear sites, including Fort Calhoun and other power plants, I found Fort Calhoun to be one of the more safely run and managed plants. The staff at the plant are very knowledgeable and have the safety of the plant and the public as their primary concern.

Humans are not infallible, and perfection all of the time is not achievable. I have every confidence that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the OPPD staff will correct the mistakes and safety issues.

They will ensure that before the plant is brought back online, it is 100 percent safe.

Daniel E. Burns, Omaha

Christian mission is to help poor

Did I miss something? When did the Catholic Church switch from being a religious organization to a for-profit corporation?

Omaha's past two archbishops have been more CFOs than Christian leaders. One closed a high school in an area where it provided a safe alternative to the drug and gang culture of public schools. Its finances were running in the red, but that cost spread across the archdiocese would have been minimal.

Now, a number of elementary Catholic schools could close because they are not making a profit in areas that most need them. Couldn't the costs be evenly spread across the archdiocese to keep these schools open? The alternative is losing a generation of potential Catholics and disenfranchising the poor.

Catholic Church leaders need to ask, "What would Jesus do?" Nothing I've ever learned in church said that the rich should be taken care of first and what's left should be used to help the poor.

Dave Teer, Omaha

Consolidate Catholic churches?

Money speaks volumes in everything, not just politics. Parishes in east Omaha are considered "inner-city" and not the money-making machines of parishes farther west.

It is to be noted that the "inner-city" parishes are being subsidized by their richer western neighbors. Maybe the "inner-city" students could be bused west? How diverse.

Jo Anne Greene, Omaha

Firefighters act honorably now

David Nabity's Jan. 17 Midlands Voices essay challenged honorable firefighters to rise up and assume leadership roles within their ranks. My firefighter brothers, sisters and I have already accepted his challenge.

With honor, we'll continue to stand up for fair living wages for working-class, blue-collar Americans of all occupations.

We'll continue to honorably tell Mr. Nabity and others that the solution isn't to bring unions down. The solution is for the upper 1 percent to share the wealth with the other 99 percent of Americans by bringing well-paying jobs and workplace democracy back to the majority of Americans.

While Mr. Nabity focuses on the bottom line and his profit margins, we honorably devote ourselves wholeheartedly to a humanitarian-based vocation that places us at the bedsides of the ill and dying, the bloody and soiled, as well as in harm's way in the burning homes of people of all races, religions and socioeconomic strata.

Without bias, we compassionately and passionately serve all with equal devotion, and we are willing to die from exposure to their diseases or from fire in their homes.

Thus, we have answered the call to conduct ourselves with honor.

Dave Keber, Omaha

Omaha firefighter

Can't deal with hostile nations

After reading Kate Hughes' Jan. 21 letter, I am completely astounded. Her statement that she couldn't understand why the United States refuses to allow Iran and Iraq to obtain nuclear weapons is the personification of dangerous naiveté at best.

Iran is responsible for killing American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. It props up the Assad regime in Syria, which has killed an estimated 5,000 of its own citizens.

Her logic is that countries such as Pakistan have nuclear weapons, so that justifies Iran also having nuclear weapons.

The liberal mind-set on this subject is that we can reason with these people if we just talk to them. It is common sense that we can't negotiate with lunatics.

This is why it's dangerous when liberals are in charge of national defense. Wrong-headed thinking on this subject and others is the norm with liberals, not the exception.

Mark W. Clark, Omaha

Paying for necessary home care

It's predicted that 70 percent of all Americans 65 and older will need some form of long-term care. The Genworth Cost of Care Survey found that in 2011 the median annual rate for a room in a private nursing home was $77,745 — which an AARP study pointed out was about 241 percent of the average annual household income of older adults.

As a result, long-term care isn't affordable for most people for very long.

A Jan. 6 news story on wages of in-home care workers indicated that increases in salary and overtime will make home care unaffordable and, therefore, inaccessible to many. An estimated 40 percent of in-home care workers receive government assistance, including Medicaid and food stamps.

We all should worry about having affordable long-term care that is accessible to all who need it, but do we have to do it by keeping wages low for people who care for some of our most vulnerable populations in settings with minimal oversight?

Rosalee Yeaworth, Omaha

Retired dean, College of Nursing

University of Nebraska Medical Center

GOP fears Kerrey's Senate run

It doesn't surprise me that Republicans are so frightened at the prospect of having Bob Kerrey run for U.S. Senate that they already are campaigning against him. He's what Americans across the nation have been asking for: an honest, thoughtful leader.

One of my friends was a financial genius whom Kerrey asked to help with the state finances when Kerrey was governor, even though my friend was a Republican.

When a daughter of another friend lost her leg in an auto accident, I asked the financial man if he would ask Kerrey to visit her, since Kerrey had lost a leg in combat.

Kerrey told my friend he had already been to see the girl three times. Some politicians would have found a way to let the news media know about this. Kerrey did not. That tells me something.

Dave Degroff, Omaha

Don't label group by actions of 1

When an individual labels an entire group of people with a negative trait, that is — by definition — prejudice. If that group is an ethnic one, it's called racism. I assume most people would agree that those who do such things show their own ignorance and intolerance.

Rick Madej's Jan. 21 letter said, "(Dave) Nabity is a good Republican and, as such, a hypocrite." I have no problem if Mr. Madej wants to say that he thinks Mr. Nabity is a hypocrite. I don't know either of them and, therefore, cannot dispute his opinion.

But when he labels all good Republicans as hypocrites, Mr. Madej displays his own ignorance and intolerance. I guess, in Mr. Madej's view, Abraham Lincoln was a hypocrite.

Tom Buglewicz, Omaha

Presidential choice is easy

Regarding the battle between Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, evangelical Christians apparently have a dilemma.

Each candidate carries baggage. But why do evangelicals have such a difficult time believing President Barack Obama is a believer? Here's a man who believes all human beings should have access to at least some health care and that sick people with pre-existing conditions shouldn't be turned down by powerful insurance companies.

Then we have Gingrich, who has been an adulterer and is clearly in politics for power. And there's Romney, who has thought little of amassing wealth on the backs of his fellow human beings.

The choice doesn't seem so difficult.

Scott Sutton, Omaha

Let voters decide on robocalls

Liberals and conservatives in the Nebraska Legislature are missing the point in their disagreement about how to change the regulation of robocalls.

They'd serve their constituents better by placing the issue on the ballot. A "yes" vote would allow robocalls, and a "no" vote would prohibit them.

Taxpayers are the ones inconvenienced. Most people don't want their lives disturbed by these meddlesome and disgusting calls and would likely vote down an initiative to allow them, just as the latest robocall bill was stymied on the floor of the Legislature.

Barbara Sawatzki, Omaha

Information waiting after polio

As Michael Kelly pointed out in his Jan. 22 column, polio survivors have actively contributed to the strength of Nebraska's communities since the days of the epidemic.

Many are surprised to learn that nearly a million polio survivors live in the United States today and are dealing with post-polio. With up to 60 percent of them at risk for Post-Polio Syndrome, it seems important to note that help is available.

Post-Polio Health International is the polio survivor's most extensive and reliable information source. For information on personal assistance, go to the organization's website at post-polio.org or call (314) 534-0475.

Nancy Baldwin Carter, Omaha

Help is key to grateful customer

I thank Cory, an employee at the Hy-Vee store at 132nd Street and West Dodge Road, who unlocked my car for me after I accidently locked it with my purse and keys inside. I really appreciated his kindness and help. It's a pleasure to shop where people are so friendly and helpful.

Eunice Conti, Omaha

« Columnists

Share