Netlets for Thursday, May 8

To the writers some weeks back who were so concerned why in the world Sen. Dick Day, R-Owatonna, was studying the illegal crossings of non-U.S. nationals into Arizona 2,000 miles away, this recent arrest of 15 non-U.S. nationals crammed into a single minivan speeding in the metro area ("Minivan on I-35 had heavy load," May 1) is one of many pieces to the answer.

We are told that these occupants believed they were coming to perform construction jobs. Yet was it not only a few days before that hundreds of the thousands of unemployed Minnesota construction workers rallied at the Minnesota Legislature to encourage passing proposed state financial assistance for construction Phase 2 of the Mall of America, perhaps creating 7,000 new jobs? Should we not first solve problems for local unemployed instead of falling for the spokesperson's familiar misleading statement that they were only coming to perform jobs that American nationals will not do?. That is an insult to every Minnesota construction worker.

I hope there is an investigation to learn if any local contractor was intending to employ these persons, triggering these people to mistakenly think there was a crying need for more construction workers. If so, that contractor is the real source of the problem and the business license should be permanently revoked.

ED THODE, PLYMOUTH

I appreciated Amelia Rawls' column ("The best, the bright, the not so nice," May 2). I too went to an Ivy League school. I am troubled by the sense of entitlement that is encouraged in this environment.

I was trained to believe in this idea of the "best and brightest" from a young age; reality has purged me of this. It is an accident of fortune to attend a prestigious college; I have met countless people who have intellectual gifts equal to or surpassing those of the people I went to school with, who are at community or state colleges or have not finished their educations. They are without exception nicer and more genuine people that those who have bought into the myth of the best and brightest.

We have a responsibility, as members of a democracy, to reject the notion that a certain kind of education marks one as a superior human being. Anyone fortunate enough to be attending an Ivy League or similar college should always be aware that there are hundreds of thousands of people with just as much talent, and should always be grateful and humbled by their good fortune in life. What's more, you don't need a prestige education to be happy and successful.

A hats-off to columnist Katherine Kersten for pointing out how just low U.S. citizens are actually taxed ("Trip overseas offers a fresh perspective on 'nanny state,' " April 30), and on a comparative basis, why Americans should stop whining about having to pay for what they enjoy.

Besides having the fourth-lowest overall tax rate of the industrialized nations, the U.S. average of state plus federal gasoline tax is 39 cents (per latest posted Federal Highway Administration figures), or 12 percent of the current cost at the pump (now 15 percent for us poor Minnesotans, with our collapsing and closed bridges and extra weather damage costs). She did forget to mention that the percent of our gasoline price made up of taxes has dropped an astonishing 70 percent since January 2001, so the glass is really more than half full. I guess we are really a long way off from that dreaded nanny state, based on Kersten's information.

DAVE PAULSON, MINNETONKA

As a person who grew up in a "nanny state," I'd like to point out to Katherine Kersten that I know plenty of people in the United Kingdom who complain incessantly about their welfare system and high taxes. Just watch the gulps of disbelief, though, when I give them the breakdown of my family's monthly expenses here in the United States, including co-payments for health insurance and student loan repayments.

Mr. and Mrs. Guesthouse in Scotland obviously have no appreciation for the safety net that likely made it easier for them to take on the risk of running their own business. But I am glad for Katherine Kersten that she managed to find like-minded folks on her trip.

Let's see the hands of all the people who are NOT running for Congress who have had tax problems caused by a third party . . . hmmm, quite a few.

LARRY LEIGHTON, ALEXANDRIA, MINN.

As part of our Minnesota 150th anniversary celebration the Office of Secretary of State has brought a rare, original printing of the Declaration of Independence to the Minnesota History Center from May 6 to 18. Monday, May 12 has been declared "Defenders of Democracy Day," a special time for veterans, active duty, guard, and reserve military personnel and families.

I am very happy to see that a copy of this important document will be part of the celebration of Minnesota's 150th year as a state.

Having a special day to honor veterans, current military and their families during this showing is appropriate and good. But I think we should not limit recognition of "Defenders of Democracy" to those in the military.

Through the years many of these persons have not received the kind of attention that would make it easy to name them. But each community in our state could be asked to review its history, to look for the ways ordinary and extraordinary persons have defended and promoted these principles.

The power and strength of these documents lies in the awareness and commitment of all of us to what they declare, and in our willingness to work to keep these principles central to our common life.

This does not detract from the appreciation we have for those who serve and have served in the military but emphasizes the community and responsibility we share.