Southeast Nebraska speaks up: Letters to the editor for the week of Aug. 7, 2026
Our weekly round-up of letters published in the Lincoln Journal Star.
- Updated
It seems like in past times, truth/facts were valued components of voting and debates were a requirement. The necessity for those campaign elements has greatly diminished. Today, I feel many accept manipulated misinformation without questioning its validity. News is being strategically controlled for messaging purposes. We are being intentionally distracted by extreme chaos to keep us from finding our common ground. Only our votes can stop this erosion of our democracy. It's not easy. Political ads and social media are abundant. Money controls the marketed message (often, not the candidate's). It's not easy to objectively evaluate candidates. A key source for evaluating a candidate is having live debates on issues (not opponents). Debates should be a must!
"We the people" can be the problem if we don't seek truth and facts about candidates running for election. We need to inform and remind ourselves of their current and past actions. Do their actions follow their words? Search candidates online for their voting record, vetoes, executive orders and actions. See who is supporting them financially (this can be an indicator of who they'll be representing). Click on nonpartisan or independent websites for information.
- Updated
When thousands of Nebraskans lose SNAP or Medicaid, some politicians call it "good news." I don't understand what's good about it.
Hunger doesn't disappear because someone loses SNAP. Illness doesn't disappear because someone loses Medicaid. The need remains. The bill is simply handed to someone else.
- Updated
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will vote on its 2027 mountain lion recommendations on Aug. 14.
Only eight and 11 lions remain in two of the hunting regions following last season's hunt. Nonetheless, the commission is considering keeping both regions open to hunting.
- Updated
Gov. Jim Pillen has said on numerous occasions, as have other politicians, that our government should be run like a business. This is plain silly. Business and government serve two totally different purposes and receive their revenue from totally different sources.
Business’ goal is to return a profit to the owner and, in the case of corporations, its shareholders.
- Updated
I read "Houses are no longer the best place for your money" by Allison Schrader and I couldn't disagree more. She fails to realize that if you don't buy a house, you have to pay rent! Most people don't have $500,000 cash to buy a house so let's say you buy a $250,000 house, put $25,000 down and borrow the rest for 30 years at a fixed rate. If you did that in 1995, your house would be paid off now and worth $2 million. Had you invested the $25,000 in the stock market you'd only have $400,000 and you'd still be paying rent! And while your rent may have been a little cheaper for the first few years, it would have been far higher than your fixed mortgage payments for most of the 30 years.
Rob Schardt, York
- Updated
To all who had a part in bringing us the fine production of "Annie" at Pinewood Bowl, you deserve thunderous applause. To the sponsors, the set designers, the directors, the sound folks and the incredible actors (and parents) who gave of their time and impressive talents through days of blistering heat, you did well. Enjoyed it very much. And to think that this community production has brought us so many other shows year after year — just amazing.
I'm sure I speak for thousands who have wanted to say this, but didn't know a way: Thanks so much. You're awesome.
- Updated
Good job to LES for its latest clean energy investment: a 3 MW/12 MWh battery storage system. This project is carbon-free, American-made, and the most cost-effective storage option LES identified. It strengthens Lincoln's resilience by supporting the downtown microgrid. If a major outage or other emergency occurs, it will restore power to downtown more quickly, improving reliability for critical services.
LES also deserves credit for pursuing what was, at the time, the largest battery installation in Nebraska and for deploying an innovative zinc-bromide technology. Unlike many battery chemistries, zinc-bromide systems are inexpensive, nonflammable and use nontoxic materials. Choosing an emerging technology like this reflects a willingness to evaluate new solutions rather than relying only on familiar approaches.
- Updated
By mid-July, smoke from Canadian wildfires was making Chicago’s air quality the worst in the world. At the same time, Texas flooding had created a major disaster. In the West, as the climate warms and dries, experts expect Lake Powell, a vital water storage reservoir, to remain largely depleted for the foreseeable future.
Recently, scientists have reported once again, but with greater certainty and precision, extreme weather has a cause that we can do something about. Extreme weather — storms, heat, drought, heavy rainfall can be attributed to greenhouse gases from burning coal, oil and gas.
- Updated
Rep. Mike Flood’s actions in Congress are a calamity for our climate and the environment. His disastrous vote for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act dismantled crucial investments in renewable energy and pollution reduction and gave $18 billion in new and expanded tax breaks to the oil industry.
Rather than reckoning with the scientific consensus of human-caused climate change, Flood spews propaganda about “climate alarmism” while wildfires burn out of control and heat indexes break new records in Nebraska, the nation and abroad.
- Updated
I am doubtful that data centers could be good for Nebraska, but Gov. Pillen's latest move could help. On July 23, he backed Trump's Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which, to me, is a federal endorsement of Nebraska's executive orders and laws ensuring ratepayers don't pay for grid expansion driven by huge data centers.
As an example of how huge, the proposed Tenaska/Google data center alone would use three times the energy the entire city of Lincoln draws at peak summer usage. That could adversely increase the cost of methane gas as Tenaska would buy from the same suppliers as our public utilities.
- Updated
Democrats may have made a strategic mistake in how aggressively they responded to Austin Ahlman’s independent campaign for Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District.
Much of the criticism centered on whether his campaign was authentic, why he entered the race when he did, and whether he would siphon votes from the Democratic nominee. Some critics also argued that an openly gay man in a same-sex marriage could never build meaningful support in the small towns and rural communities that make up much of the district.
- Updated
Poor Mike Flood! Like a sane and reasonable person, he co-sponsored a bill that would grant short-term visas to desperately needed agricultural workers — a win for farmers, consumers, and workers alike. But alas, he forgot that in the current climate of permanent anti-immigrant hysteria it’s not permissible to be a sane and reasonable person, so he felt obligated to withdraw his support for a bill he’d already signed on to.
Poor Mike Flood, I say, because it must be very difficult to respect yourself when you’re so easily jerked around by outside forces. But really, I’m not sure I feel all that sorry for him: spinelessness is a choice, right? Thankfully, voters get a choice too: My hope is that in November, Flood will see that the voice of the voters is louder than any right-wing echo chamber.
- Updated
July here was hot, but nothing we haven't seen before. July in Chicago and Detroit brought very bad air quality from forest fires. Texas saw deadly flash floods after a 1,000-year rainfall event — the second in two years for an event with a 0.1% chance of occurring in any single year. There were the heat and fire emergencies in France and Spain, in areas that consider wildfires rare.
These events should not be understood as a "new normal", says climate scientist Michael Mann. Instead, we are "moving to a more extreme conditions as long as we continue to warm the planet with carbon pollution."
- Updated
I find it despicable that an incumbent U.S. senator would use lies, conspiracy theories and fear-mongering as his best pitch to get reelected. Sen. Pete Ricketts' commercials are disgusting. He is the incumbent. He should have no need to vilify an unproven opponent.
Then again, unrelenting support of the current corrupt administration and taking monies from retirees may not get him reelected either. Mr. Ricketts, you're a U.S. senator. Act like it.
More like this...
It seems like in past times, truth/facts were valued components of voting and debates were a requirement. The necessity for those campaign elements has greatly diminished. Today, I feel many accept manipulated misinformation without questioning its validity. News is being strategically controlled for messaging purposes. We are being intentionally distracted by extreme chaos to keep us from finding our common ground. Only our votes can stop this erosion of our democracy. It's not easy. Political ads and social media are abundant. Money controls the marketed message (often, not the candidate's). It's not easy to objectively evaluate candidates. A key source for evaluating a candidate is having live debates on issues (not opponents). Debates should be a must!
"We the people" can be the problem if we don't seek truth and facts about candidates running for election. We need to inform and remind ourselves of their current and past actions. Do their actions follow their words? Search candidates online for their voting record, vetoes, executive orders and actions. See who is supporting them financially (this can be an indicator of who they'll be representing). Click on nonpartisan or independent websites for information.
When thousands of Nebraskans lose SNAP or Medicaid, some politicians call it "good news." I don't understand what's good about it.
Hunger doesn't disappear because someone loses SNAP. Illness doesn't disappear because someone loses Medicaid. The need remains. The bill is simply handed to someone else.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will vote on its 2027 mountain lion recommendations on Aug. 14.
Only eight and 11 lions remain in two of the hunting regions following last season's hunt. Nonetheless, the commission is considering keeping both regions open to hunting.
Gov. Jim Pillen has said on numerous occasions, as have other politicians, that our government should be run like a business. This is plain silly. Business and government serve two totally different purposes and receive their revenue from totally different sources.
Business’ goal is to return a profit to the owner and, in the case of corporations, its shareholders.
I read "Houses are no longer the best place for your money" by Allison Schrader and I couldn't disagree more. She fails to realize that if you don't buy a house, you have to pay rent! Most people don't have $500,000 cash to buy a house so let's say you buy a $250,000 house, put $25,000 down and borrow the rest for 30 years at a fixed rate. If you did that in 1995, your house would be paid off now and worth $2 million. Had you invested the $25,000 in the stock market you'd only have $400,000 and you'd still be paying rent! And while your rent may have been a little cheaper for the first few years, it would have been far higher than your fixed mortgage payments for most of the 30 years.
Rob Schardt, York
To all who had a part in bringing us the fine production of "Annie" at Pinewood Bowl, you deserve thunderous applause. To the sponsors, the set designers, the directors, the sound folks and the incredible actors (and parents) who gave of their time and impressive talents through days of blistering heat, you did well. Enjoyed it very much. And to think that this community production has brought us so many other shows year after year — just amazing.
I'm sure I speak for thousands who have wanted to say this, but didn't know a way: Thanks so much. You're awesome.
Good job to LES for its latest clean energy investment: a 3 MW/12 MWh battery storage system. This project is carbon-free, American-made, and the most cost-effective storage option LES identified. It strengthens Lincoln's resilience by supporting the downtown microgrid. If a major outage or other emergency occurs, it will restore power to downtown more quickly, improving reliability for critical services.
LES also deserves credit for pursuing what was, at the time, the largest battery installation in Nebraska and for deploying an innovative zinc-bromide technology. Unlike many battery chemistries, zinc-bromide systems are inexpensive, nonflammable and use nontoxic materials. Choosing an emerging technology like this reflects a willingness to evaluate new solutions rather than relying only on familiar approaches.
By mid-July, smoke from Canadian wildfires was making Chicago’s air quality the worst in the world. At the same time, Texas flooding had created a major disaster. In the West, as the climate warms and dries, experts expect Lake Powell, a vital water storage reservoir, to remain largely depleted for the foreseeable future.
Recently, scientists have reported once again, but with greater certainty and precision, extreme weather has a cause that we can do something about. Extreme weather — storms, heat, drought, heavy rainfall can be attributed to greenhouse gases from burning coal, oil and gas.
Rep. Mike Flood’s actions in Congress are a calamity for our climate and the environment. His disastrous vote for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act dismantled crucial investments in renewable energy and pollution reduction and gave $18 billion in new and expanded tax breaks to the oil industry.
Rather than reckoning with the scientific consensus of human-caused climate change, Flood spews propaganda about “climate alarmism” while wildfires burn out of control and heat indexes break new records in Nebraska, the nation and abroad.
I am doubtful that data centers could be good for Nebraska, but Gov. Pillen's latest move could help. On July 23, he backed Trump's Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which, to me, is a federal endorsement of Nebraska's executive orders and laws ensuring ratepayers don't pay for grid expansion driven by huge data centers.
As an example of how huge, the proposed Tenaska/Google data center alone would use three times the energy the entire city of Lincoln draws at peak summer usage. That could adversely increase the cost of methane gas as Tenaska would buy from the same suppliers as our public utilities.
Democrats may have made a strategic mistake in how aggressively they responded to Austin Ahlman’s independent campaign for Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District.
Much of the criticism centered on whether his campaign was authentic, why he entered the race when he did, and whether he would siphon votes from the Democratic nominee. Some critics also argued that an openly gay man in a same-sex marriage could never build meaningful support in the small towns and rural communities that make up much of the district.
Poor Mike Flood! Like a sane and reasonable person, he co-sponsored a bill that would grant short-term visas to desperately needed agricultural workers — a win for farmers, consumers, and workers alike. But alas, he forgot that in the current climate of permanent anti-immigrant hysteria it’s not permissible to be a sane and reasonable person, so he felt obligated to withdraw his support for a bill he’d already signed on to.
Poor Mike Flood, I say, because it must be very difficult to respect yourself when you’re so easily jerked around by outside forces. But really, I’m not sure I feel all that sorry for him: spinelessness is a choice, right? Thankfully, voters get a choice too: My hope is that in November, Flood will see that the voice of the voters is louder than any right-wing echo chamber.
July here was hot, but nothing we haven't seen before. July in Chicago and Detroit brought very bad air quality from forest fires. Texas saw deadly flash floods after a 1,000-year rainfall event — the second in two years for an event with a 0.1% chance of occurring in any single year. There were the heat and fire emergencies in France and Spain, in areas that consider wildfires rare.
These events should not be understood as a "new normal", says climate scientist Michael Mann. Instead, we are "moving to a more extreme conditions as long as we continue to warm the planet with carbon pollution."
I find it despicable that an incumbent U.S. senator would use lies, conspiracy theories and fear-mongering as his best pitch to get reelected. Sen. Pete Ricketts' commercials are disgusting. He is the incumbent. He should have no need to vilify an unproven opponent.
Then again, unrelenting support of the current corrupt administration and taking monies from retirees may not get him reelected either. Mr. Ricketts, you're a U.S. senator. Act like it.
More like this...
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