TWINS IN THE PLAYOFFS

Ballclub has set a mighty high standard

After watching the Twins' final regular season game at the Metrodome -- and probably the best regular-season game in the 28 years at the Dome -- I have one comment: Top that, Brett Favre!

JIM PUKAY, RICHFIELD

KEILLOR ON HEALTH CARE

Avoid health care reform? Where does he sign out?

In his Oct. 4 column, Garrison Keillor smugly asserts, "Thirty two percent of the population identifies with the GOP, and if we cut off health care to them, we could probably pay off the deficit in short order."

I will happily bow out of the Democratic plan for "health care reform" if it means I don't have to pay for it. Let those who partake in the Democratic plan pay for it themselves; I'll happily fund my own medical insurance.

I'll also happily drop out of Social Security if it means my employer and I can stop paying 15 percent of my salary into it. I am certain I can make better use of my hard-earned money than the government can.

RYAN ASLESON, BURNSVILLE

BUSY FOOD SHELVES

It's one business that seems to be booming

Nick Coleman's Oct 4 column about the booming business at food shelves was correct: The increase is beyond belief. Even in the western suburbs we have seen a huge demand in need, serving groceries to one family every 15 minutes.

During the last year, more than a third of our clients had never been through our doors; agencies such as ours are the true barometers of the struggling economy. We may never be able to end hunger, but when businesses, food suppliers, donors and communities work together, we can be certain that, when someone is hungry, food is readily available.

Please support your local food shelves and meal programs -- they will make certain that your neighbor is nourished.

CATHY MAES, MINNETONKA;

ICA FOOD SHELF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

the death of pam taschuk

Time to get serious about protecting women

In the Oct. 4 article regarding the murder-suicide of Pam and Allen Taschuk, an official says, "The system broke down."

The system did not break down -- the system does not work!

This woman did everything she could to get protection from her abusive husband, and he was still able to enter her home and kill her. The abuser was allowed to pay a higher bail to avoid having no contact with his wife? What kind of system says you can buy the right to continue to abuse?

It is time to put some teeth in these laws and truly protect battered and abused women.

JANET BERRY, GOLDEN VALLEY

BYE TO DOME BALL

If you can't say anything nice, then shut up

Fifteen yards for piling on! That's the penalty Adam Platt should be assessed for his snotty "Dome never felt like home" piece (Opinion Exchange, Oct. 4).

Yes, it is fashionable to "diss the Dome," especially among those who fancy themselves baseball purists. But if Platt, a season ticket holder, is still craning his neck to see home plate, then he definitely has not done his homework. It took some effort, but our family found seats with excellent sightlines (sections 113 and 114). I'm certain other good seats were available to anyone with an open mind.

My grandchildren have been going to Twins games since they were a month old. We might think twice about bringing infants to an open-air stadium. We may not be purists, but we are pragmatists. The Dome is what it is, and in typical Minnesota-speak, was a "pretty good" place to watch a game.

Platt's piece reminds me of riding to my great-aunt's funeral with my mom and grandma. Grandma continued to complain about her sister until finally my usually quiet mom said, "Ma, she's dead!"

Give it up, Mr. Platt! You don't have the Dome to kick around any more.

CAROL EMMANS, OSSEO

•••

I hope someone is putting together a beautiful scrapbook of all the praises for the new open-air stadiums that we "need" to make life worth living in Minnesota. The "Dome never felt like home" and "Design and planning make the 'The Bank' a winner" would reflect the feelings of our present time.

I am old enough to remember the joy and delight when we trashed the "backward" idea of playing baseball outdoors and built the Metrodome. It was greater than white sliced bread. The sportscasters had big smiles on their faces, reporting that, while it was cold and wet outside, we were all warm, dry and comfortable inside.

Then someone decided that it was time to come full circle, and now we're back where we started.

It is going to be interesting to watch and see how long before we need to rebuild.

BEATRICE E. WESTERBERG, HASTINGS

A WOMAN'S PLACE

Maybe it shouldn't be in a newspaper

I couldn't agree more with Katherine Kersten's Oct. 4 column, "Does greater equality mean less happiness?" I, too, believe that we women should return to those "prisons" of family, marriage and other fundamental obligations.

I assume Kersten has seen the light and is resigning from her Star Tribune column. After all, the name of a proper woman only occurs three times in the paper: upon her birth, upon her marriage to a suitable gentleman and upon her death.

HADDAYR COPLEY-WOODS,

MINNEAPOLIS