Why should every citizen of Nebraska support LB963, the Heineman/Friend bill to restrict state benefits to illegal immigrants?

It has nothing to do with race, religion, gender, or age, but has a great deal to do with the impact to the Nebraska economy. Estimates from 2006 reveal that Nebraska taxpayers were burdened with annual costs of about $126 million because of illegal aliens residing in our state. This estimate was based solely on expenditures for education, emergency medical care and incarceration.

Business and ethnic advocacy groups now propose amnesty legislation and guest worker policies that would increase illegal immigration. If such legislation was enacted, the projected cost to Nebraska taxpayers for these same programs would rise to $213 million per year in 2010, only two years from now. An estimate of the state's illegal alien population as of 2007 is about 45,000. The Pew Hispanic Center estimates the illegal alien population of our state between 35,000 and 55,000 as of 2005. As citizens of the US and Nebraska, why should these costs be passed on to us? We cannot afford to let illegals be rewarded for breaking our laws and raising our taxes.

Theodore Roosevelt wrote: "In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birth place, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in every fact an American, and nothing but an AmericanThere can be no divided allegiance here."

America is a great country and it deserves to be respected. We all need to stand up and fight this invasion together today. Tomorrow may be too late! Contact your state senator and ask them to vote yes, take a stand, and enact LB963.

Les Case

211 Wedgewood Dr.

Obama and the Pledge of Allegiance

Jordan Schlief wrote an interesting letter regarding smear tactics in the Democratic primary campaign process, and he made some valid points. However, I must take exception with one of them.

I saw a video of a Democratic gathering of candidates in which Barack Obama did not pay any attention during recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Hillary Clinton had her hand over her heart, and some third important person on stage there did likewise, but Obama had his hands at his sides, didn't recite anything and appeared to be spacing off woolgathering while others recited the Pledge.

As far as the church of which Obama is a member, it appears to me that its principles are much more attuned to Negritude than to Christianity. Much like Schlief in the previous letter, I would urge you to look up Trinity United Church of Christ on the Internet and judge for yourself.

Byron W. Myers III

803 S. Kimball St.

Palmer leaders don't discriminate

I beg your pardon, Nancy Stephens, owner of Life Quest.

The Palmer community leaders do not discriminate, and Palmer does not have a public library in a separate building. Palmer has a school media center housed in the Palmer public school building.

As a resident of the Palmer area, I have been wondering if you have programs and activities for your clients to help them?

Marjorie Rudolf

Palmer