2 weeks Ago
More sham-a-lot than Camelot Canada, Greenland and Panama Canal distractive nonsense now predictably begun, time has come to ask why Americans of sound mind voted for twice-impeached, convicted-felon and adjudicated woman abuser/defamer Donald Trump. Such departure from civic and moral common sense can’t be attributed completely to politics as usual since Trump’s misdeeds are serious legal matters. While Americans often vote against their own economic interests, even that obtuseness doesn’t explain why so many willingly chose droning, meandering, slipshod-thinking Trump, knowing but disregarding the gravity of putting a criminal in the White House.
Another answer must exist, and, luckily, it does, actually hidden in plain sight. Implicit in America’s greatness that Trump wants to restore is celebration of America’s form of government as being that of economic totalitarianism, the same that gave late-19th-century Robber Barons free rein to heap up vast wealth while living as feudal lords in their own fiefdoms. People are also reading.
.. John Cook explains why Jordan Larson left Nebraska volleyball’s staff and when she decided Cajun seafood restaurant chain coming to Gateway Mall in Lincoln 'A great run': John Cook retires after 25 years, Nebraska volleyball hires Dani Busboom Kelly How Nebraska's AD handled John Cook's retirement, hired Dani Busboom Kelly, and kept it secret Longtime Lincoln banker Jay Dunlap, whose family owns Union Bank & Trust, dies Flights canceled for nearly 300 ready to resettle in Nebraska as uncertainty reigns Nebraska selects new concessions provider, expects to double annual revenue Jordan Larson steps down as Nebraska volleyball assistant coach 2 more ethics complaints can proceed in Iowa against ex-LPS superintendent Gausman Nebraska principal found dead amid sexual abuse investigation Nebraska City woman accused of unlawful disposal of aborted human remains 'Panic mode': Nebraska officials scramble to sort out impacts of Trump's funding freeze Lincoln Public Schools to get rid of Lincoln Northeast focus program this fall Nebraska store manager accused of finding winning scratch-off, claiming $300k Tom Osborne recalls debating John Cook about move to the Devaney Sports Center in 2011 Symptomatic of such reactionary restoration is the caste of vassals and their feudal custom and practice.
Fundamental to the latter is exercise of obligation limiting rival loyalties through doing homage, swearing fealty and receiving the fief, land insuring income and wealth. Knowing this, explainable now is the presence of groveling business princes and Republican politicians who’ve made pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring, swear loyalty and receive the promise of their 401(k)s’ continued increase by not being “primaried.” But the joke’s on all aspiring economic totalitarians responsible for putting Lord Donald back in power, for in his new, potentially feudal America, they’ll be the peasants.
Liam O. Purdon, Lincoln City should celebrate railroad grant The recent Lincoln Journal Star story announcing and editorial supporting the city of Lincoln receiving $66.7 million for the 33rd and Cornhusker railroad safety project made my day, week and year .
.. so far.
Living in Northeast Lincoln most of my life, the 33rd and Cornhusker intersection has been a dangerous obstacle to me and other northeast Lincoln residents for far too long. This important project is essential to the future of our city and the safety of our citizens. I was shocked to see Lincoln receive this huge $66.
7 million Railroad Crossing Elimination grant, the largest competitive federal grant in our history. I thank the U.S.
Department of Transportation, Gov. Jim Pillen and the state Department of Transportation, Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Liz Elliot, the director of the Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Department, Executive Director Roger Figard of the Railroad Transportation Safety District and its chair County Commissioner Rick Vest, Councilman James Michael Bowers and BNSF Railway. I know many more people made a big difference in getting this grant and planning this project.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen. I know the project will not begin construction until 2028 and won’t be finished until 2031, but after waiting decades for this project, waiting a few more years will be worth it to make this area safe for everyone who drives through it. Congratulations, Lincoln! This is a very big deal, and we need to celebrate this breakthrough announcement.
Don Wesely, Lincoln, state senator, 1979-1999 mayor, 1999-2003 Change would be blow to democracy I’m urging all Nebraska state senators to vote against changing our electoral votes to winner-take-all. This should be an easy one. You are either a champion of democracy, or you aren’t.
The current system of allocating our votes by district has worked fine for decades and is the one thing that makes our state relevant in presidential elections. Democracy is about giving everyone a voice. To make a change to winner-take-all is an obvious attempt to disenfranchise a large section of our state and undermine the democratic system.
To say we should change because everyone else is doing it is a weak argument made when all other logic fails us! Call this what it is: a blatant attempt to gain an advantage by changing the rules of the game. Nebraska should be showing some leadership and urging other states to allocate by district because giving diverse opinions a voice is what has made America great. Mike Donlan Sr.
, Lincoln MAGA movement hardly Republican Nebraska’s congressional delegation lacks basic leadership abilities. They are followers, unable to think independently and lacking common sense. They seem unable to care less how Trump’s nutty proposals will negatively impact Nebraska citizens.
Nebraska’s delegation has no voice or power in Trump’s administration. They sit on their hands, silent, waiting to do what Trump wants them to do, even if it is illegal or illogical. Nebraska has almost always been a Republican state, but Republicans today are voting for a dead party.
MAGA is the new party. It has no resemblance to the real Republican Party. Larry Potratz, Lincoln What don’t lawmakers get? School choice proponents say we do not understand that school choice is not taking any money away from public schools, yet they do not explain what we do not understand.
They do not explain why they can have $25 million for school vouchers and cannot just increase public school funding by $25 million and end school vouchers as voters demanded in a referendum. They have tried tax credits and direct allocation from general funds. Tax credits are nothing more than giving taxpayers the right to say how their tax dollars are spent to support their political agenda instead of going to general funds and the Legislature deciding how to spend the money.
Using state funds to maintain religious schools is a violation or Article 1-4 of the Nebraska Constitution based on a 1932 court ruling. No matter how you source the money or how many times you move it to a fund with a special name, it is still public money. Money laundering does not change the source of the money.
Kenneth Snyder, Lincoln Lawmakers should fix ‘failing’ schools The continued push in the Legislature for school choice is frustrating and increasingly concerning. There are several arguments being used to promote this push, and all have vulnerabilities that need to be examined. However, the most straightforward example of the nonsense at play is a quote from Christy Armendariz, as reported by the Nebraska Examiner ,regarding LB557 and the proposed funding to students whose option enrollment application has been rejected.
Her focus is on students in “failing schools,” which she said would be defined based on state test score proficiency rates. She went on to say, “Really it’s to give more kids in failing schools some sort of an out.” Perhaps Armendariz doesn’t realize that a big part of the Legislature’s responsibilities is to influence state agencies for the benefit of Nebraskans.
The power to pass laws, allocate funds and oversee operations on behalf of the citizens gives them the ability to strengthen those agencies and is exactly why they were elected. Therefore, the success, failure and oversight of public education is theirs to maintain. It’s time they do their job and put effort into the system, fix problems, add more efficiency and improve the overall education of Nebraska’s children.
Our state is blessed with people who care about our kids and are devoted to providing them an education. The only way our schools can fail is if those tasked with upholding the system refuse to do their job. Lona Meyer, Wakefield Congressional silence telling The start of President Trump’s presidency has been shocking, but if you’re surprised by his actions, you haven’t been paying attention.
Many of his cabinet choices are dangerously unqualified. He’s pardoned violent rioters who beat police and threatened to prosecute people who have done nothing wrong. His roundup of criminal immigrants is snagging hard-working ones who harvest our crops, process our meat, build our roads and start businesses.
The conflicts of interest, blatant grift and constitutional ignorance are embarrassing. Every day brings more hate, vengeance and lawlessness. When Trump was elected, I drafted a letter to our Nebraska congressional delegation asking about mass deportations, Project 2025, tax cuts for the wealthy, press freedom, LGBTQ and reproductive rights, the environment and tariffs.
But when friends told me their correspondence resulted in form letters, I decided to wait and see. Now, their positions are clear — they are toeing the Trump line. Any opposition invites retaliation from a president who has free rein from the court to unlawfully persecute and prosecute those who disagree with him.
But by valuing their reelection above the national interest, our elected leaders are betraying their oaths of office. If Trump’s plans are implemented, I fear we will face higher prices; more corruption, chaos, and cruelty; less global respect; dire health and environmental consequences; and a far more dangerous nation and world. We must hold our elected leaders accountable, and right now, their silence speaks volumes.
Continuing to support this autocrat’s tyranny and lies weakens our nation. They are complicit. Diane K.
Gonzolas, Lincoln Treat teachers the right way I remember during COVID when teachers were doing the unthinkable: trying to teach students remotely. Parents polled stated that a teacher’s job was far harder than their jobs by overwhelming margins, and teacher respect grew overwhelmingly. Now, Sen.
Beau Ballard, acting as a lapdog of Gov. Jim Pillen, wants to restrict contributions to teacher retirement funds to make up for the shortfall in funding that the Legislature was able to create. Aside from the absurd things certain state senators are trying to enact to advance their own individual agendas or those on behalf of the governor, such as advancing Pillen’s ideas about food in Nebraska (i.
e., meat), changing policies to benefit themselves (i.e, property taxes for Pillen’s properties), etc.
, might we return to what is best for the people of Nebraska? Teachers work beyond the contracted work hours, and former Gov. Dave Heineman repeatedly cited his wife being a teacher while he was governor and noted the role teachers have. Additionally, Pillen is a Catholic, and, having been raised a Catholic, there is a definite rule: “Do unto others as you would have done to you.
” Also, in the Catholic Church, actions mean more than words. I wish Gov. Pillen would realize that and know the future education of students through retention and respect of teachers means a lot more than sucking up to a politician in the White House.
Michael R. Geist, Lincoln Voters were clear on vouchers The citizens spoke loud and clear that they do not want tax money spent to allow parents to indoctrinate their kids into their religion at taxpayer expense. If the politicians couldn’t hear that message perhaps we need to get some that will listen.
Bruce Stephens, Lincoln Don’t let Nebraska get bullied I am opposed to LB3 and LR24CA. Changing to a winner-take-all electoral vote system is said to empower Nebraska on the national stage and enable Nebraska to speak with “one voice.” It doesn’t.
Switching to winner-take-all is a sweeping attempt at voter disenfranchisement, discounting over 660,000 Nebraska citizens who reside in Congressional District 2. It is particularly offensive that the authors do not even reside within Congressional District 2, which should be opposed by at least every senator who does. The intrusive bullying driving the winner-take-all campaign is part of a larger strategy to erode voting rights, leading to widespread voter disenfranchisement.
Beginning with the 2021 redistricting, an overt attempt to partition Congressional District 2 with the aim of diluting its ability to be won by “blue” votes. That strategy was thwarted. There followed the constitutional amendment requiring voter ID; the “Opportunity Scholarship” law that was repealed by petition, renamed, again repealed.
Now yet another voucher bill, ignoring the “will of the people.” Then the limit on the number of bills a senator could introduce. This year came the rule change taking away “present not voting.
” In the wings is another giant step backward with the attempt to restrict vote-by-mail, eliminate online and mail registration and impose arbitrary hurdles to early voting. Please, honored senators, show Nebraskans that the unicameral retains its own autonomy and is not to be bullied by current or former governors, the Nebraska GOP, the RNC or the president. Mike Powers, Palmyra Public education can unite I can remember my brother, an almost 30-year-old college graduate who was drafted in the late 1960s, telling about riding the bus to boot camp with a bunch of youths he felt so little kinship with that he didn’t even want to sit with them.
By the time they finished basic they were comrades. Today we don’t have that enforced common ground. What we do have is the public school system.
Some people have tried very hard for a long time now to destroy that remaining leveling influence. The current effort to override 57% of the voters and transfer funding from already stretched public schools to private schools is the latest attempt. America today is torn enough by lack of common ground.
Let’s put our money and efforts into improving public education, not weakening it! Dan Howell, Lincoln Now is the time for answers Biden, Democrat leadership and the talking heads of the Democrat propaganda machine were all talking in December about how, by pardoning his family, Trump would be admitting that they had committed crimes. Hunter Biden was convicted of a crime. Joe Biden said he wouldn’t give Hunter a pardon.
Hunter was guilty but Joe pardoned Hunter. Biden gave pardons to his family, Jan. 6 committee members, politicians and Dr.
Anthony Fauci. According to Biden, Democrat leadership and talking heads, all agree that a preemptive pardon is proof of being guilty of crime! Citizens don’t know what crimes were committed. The House has been gathering evidence about Biden family bribery.
The House should subpoena Hunter and the Biden family and put them under oath. Since they would be under oath and it isn’t possible to charge them with any prior crimes, they would be required to answer all questions truthfully. A lie could result in prosecution for perjury.
The Senate should subpoena members of the Jan. 6 committee and put them under oath to see what lies and hearsay testimony they included in their report. Citizens need to know why the “evidence” and “testimony” were lost and not sent to the National Archives where it belongs.
If Liz Cheney tampered with witnesses for the committee, because she has been pardoned, she has to tell the truth or commit perjury, which she could be prosecuted for. Fauci was Trump’s principal COVID adviser. What misinformation and lies did Fauci tell Trump to make his administration look incompetent? Citizens need to know! Richard Pullman, Hallam The voting solution is so simple Most Nebraskans probably don’t realize that 80% of all U.
S. voters currently have no reason to vote in a presidential election. Their vote has no effect on the outcome.
Yet, in the most recent presidential election, both parties campaigned in Nebraska for that possible tie-breaking electoral vote. We were not a flyover state. Voters in our legislative districts have a political voice.
Republican state senators and our governor shouldn’t kowtow to the non-resident political activist Charlie Kirk over doing what they know is right for all Nebraskans. This bill is not about unity, nor principles — it’s about money, power and greed! I fear this bill will pass, based on the makeup of our supposedly nonpartisan Legislature, as it’s a continuation of the far-right onslaught to desecrate the rights of voters. If this bill passes, there is absolutely no reason for a non-Republican voter to vote in a presidential election for decades.
It will be one of the great thefts in Nebraska political history. Every voter should be aware that Republicans do not respect the right of each and every Nebraskan to vote their choice. This bill allows them to change your choice, particularly in the 2nd District.
There is a simple solution, and it doesn’t require a constitutional amendment either. Our governor and Legislature should commit to joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Pact. As all Nebraskans would say, it’s just common sense.
If all 50 governors are chosen by popular vote; why not the president? Majority governs. It would then be one-person-one vote, and your vote would have equal value to that of a Florida or Michigan voter. Imagine you having the deciding vote in a tied presidential popular vote election.
It can’t get any better than that! Ron Cunningham, Lincoln A study in polar opposites Were any others struck by the polar opposite styles of leadership we were confronted with on the front page of the Jan. 30 Journal Star, as John Cook retired, and President Trump blamed others for things he knows little about? Sincerity is for losers. Don’t miss an opportunity to blame and distance yourself from tragedy.
Bill Brown, Lincoln.
