Letters to the editor for Monday, Jan. 7

ENDANGERED SPECIES

Safe in a zoo

In the aftermath of the Christmas Day tragedy at the San Francisco Zoo, the Dec. 29 letter of the day asked to "stop the imprisoning of animals in zoos."

In a perfect world, leaving animals to live how and where they choose would be the ideal. Unfortunately, the ever-increasing encroachment of civilization on wilderness areas coupled with the lucrative poaching market make nature's conditions much less than perfect for rare, exotic animals like Amur tigers, giving us record numbers of species on the threatened and endangered lists.

If not for zoos, animals like Tatiana the tiger from San Francisco would not have existed. The aggressive breeding programs of zoos are the last best hope of keeping endangered species, including Asia's big cats, from complete extinction. Having the animals in accessible locations like zoos keeps people aware of diminishing wildlife habitat and species endangerment and hopefully working toward larger solutions to these issues.

THOR CARLSON, ST. PAUL

THE SECOND AMENDMENT

Clearly for individuals

I would like to remind the writer of the Jan. 3 letter "Can't trust high court" of a couple of facts.

First, the Bill of Rights is the section of our Constitution that deals exclusively with individual liberties, not the rights of states or the militia.

Regarding the individual right to bear arms, it is made abundantly clear when James Madison, the Constitution's principal author, wrote in Federalist Papers (No. 46), "The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation ... forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any ..."

Second, the U.S. Supreme Court decision to halt Al Gore's attempted theft of the 2000 election was made on sound principles of equal protection and due process guarantees. Additionally the court's action was subsequently supported by over a dozen national newspapers which continued counting in Florida and determined George W. Bush indeed won in all cases.

BOB MAGINNIS, EDINA

AMERICA'S GROUND BEEF

Make it as safe as milk

Finally some good news: Twenty-year-old Stephanie Smith of Cold Spring regained consciousness after spending more than nine weeks in a drug-induced coma. She contracted the E. coli bacteria after eating Sam's Club hamburger in September and has been at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester ever since.

Had the ground beef consumed by Stephanie been irradiated, she would not have become ill. It is time for the beef industry to routinely irradiate ground beef. The USDA/FDA-approved process is already being used by several visionary companies, including Schwan's, Omaha Steaks and others.

Irradiation will do for ground beef what pasteurization did for milk.

RONALD F. EUSTICE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MINNESOTA BEEF COUNCIL, BLOOMINGTON

Liberties for all

Including unbelievers

Three cheers for Steve Chapman's Jan. 2 column "The religiosity test: Doubters need not apply." I'm a secular humanist and a pretty darn good citizen.

Hearing Mitt Romney's declaration that liberty and religion are inextricably intertwined, I experienced a little shiver of fear (the first time ever upon hearing a stump speech) to think that one day I might not be welcome at the White House and am probably looking for ways to subvert the precious liberties we enjoy.

You can be sure that my energies will be heightened to preserve and enhance those liberties for everyone, no matter what faith or none is declared.

NANCY B. MILLER, MINNEAPOLIS

INSTANT-RUNOFF VOTING

Cilek's odd claims

As an active member of the Minneapolis Better Ballot Campaign, I must respond to Andy Cilek's Dec. 31 letter on instant-runoff voting.

First, for Cilek to deny that he has stated that Minneapolis voters did not understand IRV when they voted for it in the last election is very strange indeed. I attended the Nov. 20 Senate Elections Subcommittee Hearing on Ranked Choice Voting and listened to Cilek's testimony. At that hearing he quoted (actually misquoted) a Minneapolis City Council member as saying, "IRV would confuse a core group of senior citizens -- what a (horrible) thing to do!" This quote, by the way, is also on the website of the Minnesota Voters Alliance, the organization that is suing the city of Minneapolis and various elected officials for moving forward with the voters' wish to use IRV in the next city election. It also says "In summary, IRV is confusing, undemocratic and unconstitutional, and should be opposed by anyone who values citizen-run government."

Second, Cilek has claimed his organization to be nonpartisan, but he had appeared on radio stations representing his organization where he has criticized the Democrats and the Greens and has called Secretary of State Mark Ritchie "sleazy."

Finally, whenever Cilek appears in public or is interviewed, he characterizes IRV as difficult to understand. Having seen him testify at the Nov. 20 Senate Elections Subcommittee Hearing, and seeing how rude his conduct was, I would say that his lack of understanding of Senate rules and decorum would indicate that he will find any election process confusing or hard to understand.

TINA M. WADE, MINNEAPOLIS

ST. LOUIS PARK

Keep it affordable

A Jan. 3 article states that some St. Louis Park leaders see bigger houses as the key to enrollment in our schools. Low- to middle-income homeowners have been the backbone of this community for decades, yet their future is in doubt, simply because there is not enough affordable housing in St. Louis Park.

We love our 1,000- to 1,500-square foot homes and the relatively low impact they have upon global warming. Building bigger may be fashionable and even affordable for some, but is it morally right?

Our city "leaders" need a dose of reality. They need to look at the fact that more homes are going into foreclosure because of the money crunches most people are facing, and that affordable housing is the answer!

MARSHA WOLK AND

Frank Freedman, St. Louis Park