New source of energy

Dear Editor,

With the rising prices of all forms of energy, it dawned on me that we have two sources of renewable energy that haven't been looked at.

The most promising ones are the waste treatment facility and the feed lots and hog confinement operations.

Both the feedlots and the waste treatment facility have methane gas as a byproduct of the waste. This burns in the same way that natural gas does, and would certainly be renewable every minute of every day of the year. All that's required is some enterprising soul with the money and ability to make it happen.

The second way is a little less dependable, coming about only at election time. If a person could contain all of the hot air that politicians give off during an election year and save it, it would greatly cut down on the chemicals and sand used to keep our streets and highways clear in the winter driving months.

As in the past, they (politicians) flood the air waves and my mail box with their rhetoric about Nebraska common sense, how they are members of one church or another, and how they have shared family values and are pro-life.

Personally, I couldn't care less which church they go to, that's their choice. Common sense, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. I also don't believe that their family values are representative of every other family in the region. If adoption is the caring option, why does it seem that a lot of folks have to go to Korea, China or some other third world country to adopt? Could it be that there is too much red tape to cut through here in the U.S.?

The thing I want to hear them discuss is the way in which they will help the elderly and the working poor who can't afford their medications and doctor visits. Oh, I know, the new drug plan is supposed to be a boon to the elderly, and in a few cases it is. Unfortunately, not everyone will benefit from it, including those who use no drugs and have to have it any way.

Another money-saving aspect of the plan is that if you aren't enrolled in something by May 15, you are penalized 1 percent per month that you delay. Talk about stealing from the poor to give to the rich -- this is a classic example of the Republicans enriching those who keep them in office without the appearance of impropriety.

If someone has a do not pester list which will cut out the unsolicited mail from politicians, would they please let me have it? I can and do hit the mute button when Ricketts & Co. come on the air, and I turn the radio off after the 7 a.m. news. I don't want to listen to Mush Mumbles, either.

Thanks.

Robert A. Yost

McCook