Obama blamed for Rev. Wright's words

Since when in America are people blamed for something their pastor said? When I was still preaching, I knew that on most Sundays there were people in the pews who disagreed with me, and sometimes they let me know, which led to interesting dialogue.

But it 's the lowest of lows for political bottom feeders to scratch around in Sen. Barack Obama 's pastor 's sermons to try to pin something on Obama.

Over my 40 years in ministry, I frequently addressed social and justice issues. I imagine if anyone sifted through my sermons, they could put various out-of-context snippets together to make me look bad, as they did with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But even if they had, it wouldn 't have reflected on my parishioners or indicated what they believed.

Obama handled it beautifully in his speech. Come on politicos, give us a break!

-- the Rev. Dave Steffenson, Madison, retired United Methodist pastor

Thursday columnist Jonah Goldberg can 't have it both ways. Goldberg likes it that Sen. Barack Obama praises our founding fathers, denounces his pastor 's denigration of our nation and acknowledges the moral legitimacy of the American "immigrant experience. "

What was regrettable, however, was that -- unlike Obama -- Goldberg lacked the good will and courtesy to conclude his analysis without denigrating Obama 's motives and integrity in addressing this topic.

It is unfortunate that Goldberg found it necessary to introduce his pet theme -- the evils of the welfare state -- into this discussion. But since he did, I 'd like to add that the real culprit is corporate culture that is rife with inside dealing and short-term greed.

Yes, Mr. Goldberg -- Washington is dominated by lobbyists and special interests, and economic policies do favor the few over the many. Obama probably feels the same as I do about this, but -- as I said -- Obama was talking about racism.

-- Bill Benedict, Madison danecountyalmanac.blogspot.com

Speech revealed his skills

I don 't think the Rev. Jeremiah Wright 's worst detractors understand what it 's like to be black, and I believe that the brief video snippets we were shown were taken out of context.

What would we think of actor Tommy Kirk if all we had seen of the movie "Old Yeller " was a quick clip of him shooting the dog?

In his speech, Sen. Barack Obama masterfully navigated a potentially dangerous verbal minefield, and proved himself a brilliant diplomat who successfully disarmed tensions on all sides of the issue. I 'd love to see that kind of talent in the White House.

-- Boyd Williamson, Reedsburg Pastors ' job to address sin

I was shocked and dismayed to turn on one of my favorite political talk channels, MSNBC, to find it in a furor because of sermon tapes made by Sen. Barack Obama 's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Those scenes shown on MSNBC were preached in Rev. Wright 's church to his own congregation and, I 'm sure, taken out of context. Inflammatory? Yes, and I 'm sure they were meant to be.

They appeared to be about the sin of racism. It is a pastor 's job to preach about sin. Perhaps Rev. Wright found, after 30 years of preaching, that nice, conversational sermons do not always hold our attention. It appears he brought Obama to Jesus. Should we wonder how many others he brought to Jesus over the course of his career? Who are we to judge someone else 's servant?

Those who wonder why Obama didn 't leave that congregation if he didn 't agree with the sermons have perhaps never been members of a congregation. Those of us who have know how difficult it is to leave a congregation when every member is a "brother or sister in Christ. " We share our griefs, joys and faith.

I am a moderate liberal in a very conservative congregation, and when my beloved pastor says something I don 't agree with, I simply concentrate on the 98 percent I do agree with.

Our pastors still have the right -- even the duty -- to preach as God leads them. If the media belittle one of them, who will be next?

-- Louise Lemke, Madison

Why Sunday segregation?

Sen. Barack Obama 's speech to clarify the issues of racism brought on by the sermons of his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, went a long way to defuse the flash point Wright created.

Obama addressed the extent to which he was aware of his pastor 's capacity to foment racial hostility. He was believable when pointing out the other side of the man who inspired him to be a Christian and whose ideas of hope found their way into his books and speeches. While he condemned the words which were racially divisive, he could not abandon the man he considered a friend.

Obama also said that he had hoped and tried to keep race out of his campaign for the Democratic nomination, but indicated that from now on, racial issues would become a prominent part of the campaign.

Regarding race relations and segregation, he mentioned "the most segregated hour in America occurs every Sunday morning. " This cries for explanation. Why are there so many black churches in this country, regardless of whether one lives in the North or the South? Why do the likes of Louis Farrakhan find it necessary to preach anti-Semitism and make trips to visit Moammar Gadhafi, with Wright reportedly accompanying him on one of those trips?

I wish Obama had given us his ideas on how this "Sunday " segregation should be changed. It 's one thing to point out the problem and another to offer a solution.

-- Ralph Dillon, Middleton

Are we worthy of Obama?

In his recent speech, Sen. Barack Obama did more than talk about Rev. Wright. He had the temerity and tenacity to talk about race, an issue this country has refused to tackle for one generation too many.

Following his speech, I read that the California governor was proposing $5 billion in cuts to their education budget, resulting in the layoff of more than 20,000 teachers in a system with a low graduation rate. Meanwhile, a state legislator talked about immigrants taking money away from other students and why we must fortify our borders and toughen immigration policies.

A recent headline states that hospitals are now requesting credit reports on their patients. For what reason, other than to deny care to those who can least afford it, the poor and, far too often, people of color?

Obama 's speech made me think about these stories in a different light. They are really about race and poverty. Obama suggested that we have a choice. We can come together and say, "Not this time. This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools; this time we want to talk about how the lines in the emergency room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care. "

Listening to the speech, I believed we could really work together to talk about racism and overcome old habits. But when I listen to the media, I begin to think this country is not worthy of Obama 's leadership and may deserve what it gets in November.

-- Salli Martyniak, Waunakee

Appreciate quality child care centers

Leighanne Dockerty 's Thursday guest column praising child care facilities is long overdue.

I am a proud working parent who appreciates the efforts of every single educator at my son 's child care center (Bright From the Start in Platteville).

These people are expected to parent our children. In fact, some parents have higher standards for the provider than they do for themselves. Yet we parents complain when they raise rates by $20 a week.

I would love to see a survey hit your front page highlighting the excellent child care centers that I 'm sure outnumber the facilities with poor histories. Thank you to Bright From the Start and all the other quality centers.

-- Dixie Kraege, Platteville

Wheat price hike offers opportunity

While I 'm sorry to hear the rising cost of wheat is causing rough times for local business, this might be a good opportunity for the approximately one in 200 people in the United States who can 't eat wheat.

They have celiac disease, which, to spare the details, can be thought of as an allergy to wheat. The only treatment is to avoid food that contains wheat, including bread, cakes, cookies, many sauces -- and the list goes on.

Luckily, flour can be made from other grains such as corn and rice, and from potatoes and other foods. With substituted ingredients, many baked foods and treats can be made.

Perhaps these high prices for wheat will encourage businesses to explore other options to the benefit of people like us.

-- Mike Anderson, Madison

Community banks a safe investment

In the wake of the collapse of investment bank Bear Stearns following the subprime mortgage crisis, there 's danger that bank customers may overreact. While investors may rethink risky investments, consumers would be wise to leave their money in their bank savings and checking accounts.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation guarantees coverage of accounts up to $100,000 in the event of a bank failure. However, many consumers may not know that FDIC coverage can exceed $100,000 if a customer owns different types of accounts, such as single, joint, revocable trust or retirement accounts such as IRAs, Keoghs and pension or profit-sharing plans. In addition, federal law provides for coverage up to $250,000 for some retirement accounts.

An individual could attain FDIC coverage levels that exceed $1 million. Not one penny of FDIC-insured deposits has ever been lost.

There is no mortgage lending crisis for Wisconsin 's community banks. Ninety-three percent were profitable in 2007, more than half reported earnings gains, and total bank assets grew 8 percent.

Economic development and job creation is crucial to Wisconsin communities. Banks use deposits to fund loans for development projects that lead to job creation and an improved quality of life in their communities. When consumers deposit money in accounts at banks in their communities, they are supporting their local economies while ensuring the safety of their funds.

-- Daryll Lund, president and CEO, Community Bankers of Wisconsin