Terror-related stories started increasing before the 9/11 anniversary. A minor telephone tax is eliminated. Gas prices are down (plausible excuses conveniently provided).

So, after the city pays Talent Plus at least $180,000 to find an interim fire chief and identify and unleash talent within the department, what happens next? Will Talent Plus be contracted indefinitely to screen and interview all new city fire department employees (at the cost of $30,000 a month)? Will it stop there, or will the city contract for assessment and hiring in other departments as well? Is it not the job of the city’s personnel department to effectively hire people that are qualified for the job and motivated to perform it within ethical boundaries?

It is also quite interesting that the city would choose to contract with Talent Plus. After all, there are other human resource firms in Lincoln and the state of Nebraska that I am sure would do this assessment and reworking for a lower fee. Were other companies even allowed to bid for this contract?

If people remember, a few years ago, Talent Plus was able to bypass city ordinances and angry residents to build the huge glass monstrosity that sits at 67th and Pioneers.

And with an ex-assistant police chief on their payroll, the timing of this whole deal smells kind of fishy. After all, haven’t there been problems between the city and Lincoln Fire and Rescue for quite some time?

It’s often pointed out that there is little difference between the major parties, and that intellectual honesty is equally rare in politicians of both parties.

For the coming election, though, there is an important consideration based on party: Do we want a Congress that will automatically support the Bush administration as it scurries to justify its past and its “stay the course” philosophy?

Misleading of the American people about the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent results and strategy (or lack thereof). Tax system changes designed to provide more money for people who don’t need it. The Medicare drug benefit system so complicated that almost no one understands it, outside of the insurance and drug companies that benefit from it. Attacks on civil liberties. Pooh-poohing the best scientific advice on global warming, pollution, “Plan B,” and stem-cell research. The idea that Bush is a great president and Rumsfeld is a great secretary of defense.

Democratic candidates for Congress aren’t necessarily more honorable than the rubber-stamp Republicans, but at least they don’t have the constraint of being blindly loyal to the Bush policies and actions.

I totally agree with what Nate Odgaard said about standing up for what you believe in (letter, Aug. 30). As an aspiring gay rights activist, I couldn’t agree more with that statement. However, my belief systems are completely contrasting with his. I certainly don’t willfully believe or follow the neo-conservative Christian right because of their scare tactics they use to shove their “fire and brimstone” agenda down the average American’s throat.

If he was a true follower of God’s words and Jesus’ teachings, then he would understand that it is OK to question or doubt what is said to be set in stone. I believe that was what Copernicus did when he found out that the sun was the center of our solar system instead of the earth? And what about when Columbus sailed over to the “new world” but was scoffed at because the preconceived notion was that the world was flat? Also didn’t Darwin do the same thing when he pondered about evolution?

Apparently, we live in a black-and-white world where you either: A) share the exact same gender, sexual orientation, experiences, education, faith and upbringing as the one and only Nate Odgaard, or B) are “wrong.” If ignorance is bliss, Odgaard’s reached nirvana.

I can agree, though, that certain traditional values are being “challenged, ignored and tossed aside.” So why aren’t we putting gays back into closets, women back into petticoats, or children back into coal mines?

By Odgaard’s reckoning, we should be especially angry at our nation’s founders for challenging tradition, risking their lives in the pursuit of such selfish things as liberty, justice, an end to state-sponsored religion, etc.

Sadly for Odgaard, the highly traditional British could not get their plumbing fixtures in order and lost, allowing all us “wrong” Americans a place in the sun.

As your local Harley-Davidson dealer, I was keenly interested in the letter of Aug. 30 regarding the noise pollution caused by unmuffled Harleys. I share those concerns. Neither Frontier Harley-Davidson, which I own, nor Harley-Davidson Motor Co. support or encourage the installation and use of so-called straight pipes on our product, and their installation and operation are indeed illegal, as the writer points out. I would further note that, contrary to common perception, straight pipes do not enhance performance, but in fact diminish it.

Unfortunately, we seem to live in a time of reduced consideration for our neighbors that often manifests itself through unrestricted noise, be it from motorcycles, cars, trucks, leaf blowers, boomboxes, TV commercials and the like. Why, just recently I read in your paper that a Lincoln resident allegedly accosted his elderly neighbor because she was mowing her lawn at 8 p.m. Nerves are indeed getting raw.

My only cautionary notes are these: It is difficult if not impossible to legislate courtesy. It is also unfair and ineffective to single out motorcycles as the only troublesome source, or Harleys as the only problematic brand of motorcycles.

Personally, I find the high-pitched whine of a wound-up import bike (or a leaf blower, for that matter) to be like fingernails on a chalkboard, compared to the deep, sonorous rumble of a properly-muffled American-made V-Twin motorcycle. But I admit I could be a bit biased in that regard.

I know I speak for Frontier Harley-Davidson’s employees and customers when I say that we endeavor to be a good corporate citizen and responsible neighbors as we go about enjoying the sport of motorcycling. The minority of riders who do not share that commitment are best addressed through example, persuasion and education, and we and Harley-Davidson Motor Co. remain committed to that effort.

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