THE SENATE RECOUNT

The candidates best seen and not heard

To Norm Coleman and Al Franken: Shut. Up.

During the recount process, you and your campaigns need to shut up and stop whining. I voted for one of you two bozos, and I won't say which. We the voting public are so sick and tired of you and your lawyers. Go away until the recount is done.

MARK MILLER, LAKEVILLE

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I have a question for Sen. Norm Coleman -- who seems to be convinced that the entire recount is a Democratic plot, headed by the DFL secretary of state, to deprive him of his victory.

What will he do if he wins? Can he possibly accept the results? Of course not! He will have to refuse to serve. After such a tainted process, he will have to do the honorable Republican thing and resign.

FRED E. HAHN, GOLDEN VALLEY

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The instructions for voting really are confusing: "FILL IN THE OVAL." I am not sure that I want anyone who cannot follow that simple instruction having any say in who is my senator.

DENNY PRESTON, COON RAPIDS

prop 8 passes

Churches have no role in making policy

It's sadly ironic that the same election that gave America its first black president is the same election that denied equal treatment for gays and lesbians in three states. A Nov. 16 Star Tribune article mentioned that representatives from "Join the Impact," who organized several rallies across the United States, including one in Minneapolis, asked protesters to refrain from targeting faith groups that supported the marriage ban.

But it seems to me that that's exactly who should be targeted. It's shameful, but not surprising, that churches and faith groups continue to use their influence and money for efforts that deny civil liberties and equal treatment for certain minority groups. Progress and religion have been incompatible throughout history, and it's not healthy for our naturally progressive democracy to be so easily influenced by religions that follow archaic dogma.

The "divine" dogma that faith organizations and religious institutions follow often prevents women from leadership roles in their respective institutions. The Mormon Church, which funneled millions of dollars to the Proposition 8 campaign in California, claimed that black people had the "mark of Cain" and denied black families full membership until just 20 years ago.

If we simply ignore religious arguments we are left with no rational reason to deny the right of federally recognized marriages to same-sex couples. It is no accident that our Founding Fathers made absolutely no mention of God in the Constitution, and we need to remember that our secular Constitution is our country's sacred document that evolves and guides our democratic policies. Not the Book of Mormon, not the Torah, not the Koran and not the Bible.

ERIC JAYNE, APPLE VALLEY

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Proposition 8 was the nastiest and the cruelest act of pointless vandalism since Saddam Hussein's days of torching oil wells. The Mormon Church and its allies poured millions of dollars into a campaign of lies and demonization. These bullies should enjoy whatever thrill they got by mass-divorcing tens of thousands of gay couples, because young voters overwhelmingly rejected this act of bizarre sadism, and it won't stand for long.

ALEKS HINDIN, ST. LOUIS PARK

the detroit bailout

Retirees should be asked to aid the effort

It seems that a portion of the money the automakers are asking for is needed to pay retired auto workers' benefits. With the losses many of us have seen in our own 401(k) plans, I think that the UAW retirees should have to take on perhaps a slightly larger insurance copay or reduction in their pensions. That only seems fair in light of the fact that those of us paying to bail out the automakers will probably have to work well into our 70s before we can consider retiring.

MIKE PATROW, BIGFORK, MINN.

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Question: Should we have bailed out the buggy whip industry?

RICHARD D. ANDERSEN, NEW BRIGHTON