Dale McFeatters: An update about seeing loved ones off to war

DALE McFEATTERS| Nov 15, 2009 at 02:13 PM

Recently, after my wife and I saw our No. 2 son off to Iraq after his mid-deployment leave, I wrote how airport security has made a shambles of the traditional farewell.

I described how we arrived at the airport early because of the two variables that can delay you -- checking in with the airline and clearing security. We stood clustered at the entrance to the security checkpoint and watched awkwardly as he shuffled back and forth though the maze, too far away to talk to, too close to wave at.

I noted in the column that the way most airports are set up, at least the ones I use most, the best bars, restaurants and shops tend to be on the far side of security, available only to ticketed passengers. I said I would have liked to buy my son a couple of beers.

Following the column's appearance, I received e-mails, including eventually one from the Transportation Security Administration, saying that I was wrong -- that the families of service members can get a pass from the airline ticketing counter allowing them to go through security and accompany their loved one to the gate.

I'm happy to be wrong. But -- perhaps I'm more inattentive than most -- I've never seen a sign or notice to this effect. And no airline agent, checking in a burly young man in camouflage, clearly en route to Iraq, accompanied by his parents, ever suggested, "Let me fix it so you can go to the gate with him."

The information is on the TSA website, but pretty far down, beneath the instructions for a unit checking its weapons and ammunition.

Now that we know this, I urge all the families of arriving and departing members of the military to get passes and go to the gate for decent farewells.

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Editorial: Hang up on effort to expand 'robocalls'

Nov 15, 2009 at 02:04 PM

The art of winning elections is all about aggregating, not aggravating, voters. Political parties, politicians and political action committees may want to keep that in mind while debating the use of recorded "robocalls" -- those annoying, anonymous computerized calls used by some politicians.

If the American Future Fund has its way, Minnesota's ban on the calls, in place since 1987, may be endangered. The conservative political action committee has petitioned the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to override parts of the Minnesota law, as well as those in several other states, on the grounds that it infringes on federal election laws.

Some candidates of both major political parties already use automated phone calls in the state, but by law those calls require a live operator to introduce the message and ask for permission before the recording is played.

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Durenberger criticizes bishops

Nov 15, 2009 at 07:40 PM

DURENBERGER RAPS BISHOPS

Abortion shouldn't be allowed to derail health care reform

Former Minnesota Republican U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger has been a cogent advocate for health care reform since his days in Washington (1978-94). His latest newsletter as head of the National Institute of Health Policy, based at the University of St. Thomas, calls on the Senate to follow the House's lead and pass a comprehensive reform bill this year.

The House's bill, and the version that the Senate will likely send to conference committee, should be seen as important but incomplete steps in a multiyear journey toward better health care for Americans, Durenberger argues. The initial step represented by legislation is mandatory for the journey to continue, he says.

Durenberger, a devout Catholic who grew up near the campus of St. John's University, also had surprisingly sharp words about the role of Catholic bishops in dictating the terms of the House's health care bill.

"How did a national law to prevent insurance companies, whose premium costs are defrayed in part by tax subsidies, from providing medical services related to abortion get to be a higher public priority for all Americans, not just Catholics, than financing access to health care services?" Durenberger asked. "As a Catholic Republican, I am puzzled by the way in which mere mortals can shift the moral priorities of a Church over what, for a 2,000-year-old religion, is a relatively short period of time."

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David Boaz: Obama revs engine of big government

DAVID BOAZ| Nov 15, 2009 at 02:02 PM

Libertarians often warn about the slippery slope of government intervention:

Let the government run the schools, and it may end up teaching your children values that offend you. Let the government have new powers to fight terrorism, and it may use those extraordinary powers in the pursuit of ordinary crimes.

In the Obama era, the slippery slope has gone vertical. Instead of "eventually," the feared extensions of government power come immediately.

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Chicago Tribune: Employers, pay for those sick days

FROM AN EDITORIAL| Nov 15, 2009 at 02:01 PM

Millions of Americans waiting for the H1N1 flu shot are hoping to forestall illness by taking the hand-washing and sneeze-covering precautions recommended by federal authorities and your mom.

Meanwhile, we've all become more alert to the chorus of coughs and sneezes on the typical bus or train. Most of us try to edge away from the afflicted and keep the peace. In a New York subway, however, a coughing woman who didn't cover up sparked a fight, complete with spitting and punching, and one woman dragged another to the ground by her hair, according to news reports. We hope that sort of reaction isn't spreading.

But millions of Americans can avoid the flu if those who are suffering from it will stay home.

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Readers Write for Monday, Nov. 16

Nov 15, 2009 at 01:59 PM

FROM JURY DUTY TO JAIL

Judge's action only erodes faith in the system

A bullying judge vs. a struggling father of five ("Mora man's plea to miss jury duty ends in jail," Nov. 13)!

Doesn't Kanabec County Chief Judge Timothy Bloomquist realize that this sort of thing has the potential to have ripple effects up and down the line in society, affecting how citizens at all levels view the law? This action has the potential to foster less respect for what holds society together, and I don't mean just in empaneling jurists.

ROBERT MCCollister, Edina

•••

There's no cause to celebrate Todd Gilly. He turned his back on a civic obligation -- a small sacrifice to live in a free nation.

Sure, he was candid about his contempt for the judicial process. But he earns no points for telling the truth.

KYLE CHRISTENSEN, FARMINGTON

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Terry Morrow: For one week, no parties -- just ideas

TERRY MORROW| Nov 15, 2009 at 01:58 PM

"Are you a Democrat or Republican?"

While knocking on doors during my first campaign, I was often asked this -- even before issues or ideas came up.

In my classes at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., students and I talk about logical shortcuts people sometimes use to resolve complex questions. Basically, a person focuses upon an either-or question because there's little time for or interest in studying an issue in depth.

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Letter of the day: Don't burden clinics giving H1N1 shots with a new crisis

Nov 15, 2009 at 01:57 PM

DAVID HAUGE, ST. CLOUD

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Editorial: Consumers deserve healthy competition

Nov 14, 2009 at 09:14 PM

Disregard the partisan hype over proposals by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and other Republicans to sell health insurance across state lines. Doing so would not bring the health care system crashing to a halt, as opponents claim. But neither is it the panacea for the nation's health care woes that proponents make it out to be.

The reality is that if sensible precautions are taken, this approach to increase competition between health insurers could play a small but substantive role in controlling consumers' soaring health insurance premium costs. Pawlenty's innovative push for a regional compact of states to make this happen, as well as measures in both the U.S. House and the Senate Finance Committee health bills that could enable it, merit careful consideration.

Consumers are likely to hear more about selling health insurance across state lines as the Senate takes up health reform in the weeks ahead. This was a pillar of the Republicans' failed alternative to the U.S. House health care bill. Advocates for this market-oriented approach will push to strengthen provisions in current legislation; those who dismiss the concept outright haven't taken time to study it.

The "across state lines" moniker is a bit misleading. Out-of-state health insurance companies can already sell coverage in Minnesota and elsewhere -- as long as they comply with each state's regulations. Because these laws are so different -- laws vary wildly in what procedures must be covered, for example -- most states are dominated by a handful or less of insurers. In Minnesota, three insurers have about 85 percent of the fully insured market.

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Letter of the Day: Ambassador to the Vatican should accept Catholic doctrine

Nov 15, 2009 at 09:10 AM

Photo by Associated Press - Ap

Pope Benedict, right, received the letter of credentials from the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Miguel H. Diaz.

President Obama's envoy to the Vatican, Miguel Diaz states: "As a person of faith, I am stunned by any effort that seeks to divide us." ("Abortion debate dogs envoy to Vatican," Nov. 9). However, it is his position of dissent from the teachings of the church that are the source of division. The article states that "Diaz has no public record on abortion," yet his support of a strong abortion rights proponent -- Kathleen Sebelius -- for Health and Human Services secretary speaks volumes to his position on the life issue.

Those Catholics who follow the teachings of the church, and call on other Catholics to do the same, are neither divisive nor mean-spirited. We simply are trying to live our faith in fidelity and expect that other Catholics do the same.

Ambassador Diaz negates this logical principle. Diaz would like to be a respected member of the Catholic community, yet he simultaneously refutes core teachings of the Roman Catholic faith.

ANTHONY P. BARBATO JR., COON RAPIDS

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Readers Write for Sunday, Nov. 15

Nov 15, 2009 at 11:09 AM

ABORTION AND HEALTH CARE

Ending a pregnancy isn't treating a disease

Some of the Star Tribune editorial writers, columnists and cartoonists seem to be concerned that conservatives of both parties have insisted that no government health care money be used to pay for abortions. I disagree with their stance.

Abortion is not health care. Pregnancy is not a disease. How can the deliberate destruction of innocent human life be called health care? It violates the doctor's Hippocratic Oath.

GREG PROM, ST. ANTHONY

•••

President Obama's promise to the American people was that no one would be forced to lose her or his present coverage under health reform. That promise was undermined through political gamesmanship in the form of the Stupak-Pitts amendment on abortion. The amendment violates the spirit of health care reform, which is meant to guarantee quality, affordable health care coverage for all.

In fact, this amendment would create a two-tiered system that would punish women, particularly those with low and middle incomes, the very people this bill is intended to assist.

GERI KATZ, MINNEAPOLIS

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Marriage was broken long before gays wanted in

In her Nov. 15 commentary, Katherine Kersten returns to the same tired arguments as she rails against gay marriage. But her argument does not logically hold water.

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