Nebraska Agri-Business Association

When I was with you back in August of 2001, I mentioned that in New Mexico I served on the board of the New Mexico Agricultural-Chemical and Plant Food Association, and have, I hope, some appreciation of the work you do. I also truly appreciate your interest in your support of the work conducted at the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Thank you for that! Your support, always critical, becomes even more so in such difficult, difficult economic times as our state finds itself in today. Nearly $4 million dollars was permanently slashed from the IANR budget in three rounds of budget cuts between October 2001 and August 2002, a result of Nebraska's continuing revenue shortfalls. At the same time, our frustrated IANR constituents make it clear that nearly $4 million of need did not disappear with our funding. Now more cuts are expected in this legislative session.

Agriculture Builders of Nebraska, Inc.

There’s a story that a construction foreman one day noticed one of his workers pushing his wheelbarrow upside down around the work site. “Hey,” the foreman shouted, “turn that thing right side up!” The man with the wheelbarrow looked at him in surprise. “Don’t be silly,” he said. “Every time I do that, they put bricks in it!” I think of that story sometimes, in the midst of these difficult economic times, as our states, its people, and its university, in turn, wrestle with budge cuts. Wouldn’t it be great if we all could just turn our wheelbarrows over and say, “No thanks, no more brick! No more heavy loads to haul!”

CASNR Fall Faculty Meeting

I am so pleased to have this opportunity to speak with you today. There is something about the beginning of a semester that always strikes me as hopeful and exciting, and it is a treat to share in hopeful times just as we have shared in the very difficult economic times the Institute, the university, and our state have experienced in the past two years. We have dealt with budget crises and made some tremendously difficult decisions that are felt personally, as well as professionally. We know it often seems that "bad news" grabs the headlines, yet a tremendous number of good things have happened in the past year, as well, thanks to the talent, enthusiasm, and the professionalism of our faculty, staff, and students.

An Ardent Flame: Witness to Distant Suffering, Human Rights and Unworthy Victims in the Coverage by The New York Times and Two Journals of the Religious Left of the 1980s Civil Wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua

Scholars have investigated witness to distant suffering (WTDS) almost entirely in visual media. This study examines it in print. This form of reporting will be examined in two publications of the religious left as contrasted with the New York Times. The thesis is that, more than any technology, WTDS consists of the journalist’s moral commitment and narrative skills and the audience’s analytical resources and trust. In the religious journals, liberation theology provides the moral commitment, the writers and editors the narrative skills and trust and the special vision of the newly empowered poor the analytical foundation. In bearing witness to those who have suffered state or guerilla terrorism in El Salvador and Nicaragua during the 1980s, we will investigate a distinction between “worthy” and “unworthy victims.” This last issue has a special ethical and political significance. Media witnessing to the suffering of strangers can help them become known, and so “worthy.” It can help them, and their plight and cause, become better recognized. This is the power of the media.