Letters to the Editor

Choose to educate yourself

Written by Neil A. Davis Wednesday, 04 November 2009 22:39

Is there something in your life that you enjoy doing most? Chances are you have to make choices in order to pursue it. Whatever your passion—hobby, family or job, most likely it requires setting aside time, money or both.

If you spend all your money on your passion, you will starve to death (unless your passion is eating). If you spend all your time, you’ll find there are only so many hours in a day. Every person makes choices to achieve a balance.

In the past, many couples had the option for the woman to “stay at home.” Today it seems more likely that both partners will need to be wage earners, spending more time on the job in order to keep up. Why is that? What has changed?

You might say, it’s because things cost more now. Again I ask, why is that? Through good times and bad, what is the one thing that seems to be able to grow unfettered?

The answer is (drum roll please)... government. Why does government always need more money and where does it go?

There are literally thousands of groups like ACORN that are sucking the life-blood out of our country. Congress gives them untold billions of dollars each year, funding our own downfall in the name of welfare.

Talk radio, Internet bloggers and television show hosts like Glenn Beck are beginning to look into the cesspool they swim in. Beck may act like a loon, but no commentator is doing a better job of exposing these groups.

In the process we are finding that corruption exists on all levels of the current administration. The problem however, has been building for decades.

I ask you to make one more choice. I believe our lives could be vastly improved by educating ourselves about the corruption and manipulation that is occurring right in front of us, behind our backs. By working together, sharing information and embarrassing our government officials into doing the right thing, it’s possible we could rid ourselves of this scourge.

If you watch television to get your news, you need to know that Fox News is the only viable choice. While they lean to the right, they are the only network that actually “reports” the news, rather than give an opinion piece. All the other networks are part of the problem. They have what Bernie Goldberg wrote about—a slobbering love affair with Barack Obama.

If we weren’t funneling vast amounts of money to antagonists, we might have a little left over for ourselves. Less time spent working to make money, would free up time to spend on our “passions.”

A little time spent teaching our children the difference between right and wrong wouldn’t be a bad thing. We could do a 180 on the road we’re heading down now. Big government is a passion killer.

Our planet needs protecting

Written by Courtnee Walker Saturday, 24 October 2009 02:11

Our planet will end up completely out of natural resources if we don’t start taking better care of it. By cutting down rain forests we’re destroying the cures for illnesses. There won’t be medicine to help the sick and heal wounds.

What does the rain forest have to do with medicine? Make that connection clear. Everything around us has a propose. Destroying natural habitat is causing extinction in the animal population. Even hunting has become a major problem. This is going to make the circle of life out of balance in the food chain.

Littering and dumping waste into the water has made severe weather changes in the past couple of years and caused and large amount of pollution.

Why are so many changes to the earth happening so quickly? This is why we should do more to help save our mother earth.

Video games OK for kids

Written by Lance Miesbauer Thursday, 22 October 2009 19:46

Why should parents let their kids play video games? Well I think that they should always be allowed to play video games.

The video games that kids play help them by keeping them out of trouble and keeping them from roaming the streets. Video games can help kids avoid drinking and drugs. Then sometimes the kids that get into trouble with drugs and alcohol can also get into trouble with vandalism or theft in which they steal something or break or deface property.

When kids drink or do drugs they can also get into really bad accidents like car crashes. Also there is a chance that they will find themselves in a gang or group that they don’t really belong too.

Some people argue that kids become obese from playing video games. They could play the Wii Fit and then work themselves up to the point of when they are tired and then play X-box 360 when they are done. Also you can get educational games for young kids or children.

Because video games are good, kids should be able to play them.

Dress code should be fair

Written by Maurita Olguin Wednesday, 21 October 2009 19:35

Why is some clothing deemed profane and considered inappropriate compared to the revealing clothing which seems to be overlooked?

Every school across the nation has a dress code, and in those schools more than half the students want to wear clothes that conflict with the code. All those schools have problems with people disobeying the rules of dress, but here at my school of Gothenburg High School it seems to be a constant struggle for the code to be enforced correctly. Here at “good old GHS” lately (well ever since I’ve gone to school here) the dress code has not been enforced to its full potential.

I will give an example: in our dress code it is stated “shorts, skirts, or skorts that do not reach mid-thigh or longer will not be permitted,” yet I walk down the schools halls and see many girls wearing shorts and mini skirts that are shorter than mid-thigh.

However, my eighth grade year here I was confronted by the principal who told me that the “hangings” on my pants were not permitted because of the spikes in them. What she did not know is that the spikes were fake and were made out of rubber.

I believe that the dress code needs to be consistently enforced, to not be biased and ultimately to be updated to suit the changes in fashion. What some kids are wearing is being overlooked because of lack of a newer dress code and constant enforcement.

Look for open windows

Written by Karrie Bischoff, 100th Meridian Manufacturing, Inc Cozad Wednesday, 14 October 2009 22:24

When a door closes a window opens, you just have to be willing to look around. I believe that the events with Tenneco and other major outside companies during this downturn should be a wake up call for all of us.

As a small business owner that has fought to stay in Cozad, we have the market potential to grow and create jobs. I know that there are many other existing businesses and entrepreneurs in this area that have potential to create jobs.

We are in the heart of farm country; we make many things grow, so why can’t we grow our own jobs. Economic gardening is happening all over the United States. With our neighbors to the west in Littleton, CO, and Wyoming leading the way with resources and support for their own vs. the extensive and costly recruiting philosophy of economic development.

The survival of our communities will depend on our leaders looking outside the box, to cultivate the opportunities that are in our own backyard. We all need to consider any job created is a success, a foreclosure diverted, a student retained, a consumer salvaged, and a family saved in our community.