Letters to the editor for Friday, Jan. 25

I hope that all of the Star Tribune readers are as impressed as I am regarding U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar's ability to keep straight which side of his face he is talking from. We have Jim Oberstar stating that he had "serious concerns with some unfortunate comments" that National Transportation Security Board Chairman Mark Rosenker made in tracing the accident to a design flaw in the bridge, even as the board has made no final determination of its cause.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the same Jim Oberstar who was standing on the Interstate 35W bridge within days of the collapse blaming MnDOT along with no gas tax increases for years for the collapse? These statements of blame were made while there were still bodies that had not yet been recovered.

Something here just doesn't seem right. Why do Oberstar and other liberals continue to get a free pass on this? It's outrageous!

MIKE MCLEAN, RICHFIELD

The proposed high-speed rail line that would haul businesspeople, tourists and gamblers between Minneapolis, Hinckley and Duluth sounds like quite a deal for Minnesota.

A $363 million investment would generate $2 billion in development, according to a study reported on in the Jan. 23 Star Tribune. And, the federal government would pay 70 to 80 percent of the tab. No wonder both Democratic and Republican members of Minnesota's congressional delegation are lining up to support the project.

But wait a minute. Isn't the federal government running a deficit? Maybe the politicians can explain to me why the good taxpayers of Iowa, Wisconsin and 47 other states should pay 70 to 80 percent of the costs of a rail line that would benefit primarily Minnesota.

So the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce wants more funding for transit but doesn't want to pay for it. Big surprise. How is this a change in its position, exactly?

We already have some of the highest transit fares in the country, yet the chamber wants to put even more of the funding responsibility on poor and working-class families. At the same time, it wants to exempt businesses from the cost of a sales-tax increase by eliminating the tax on business inputs.

And a 2020 sunset? What about our transportation needs beyond that?

A referendum? Why do we need a referendum for transit funding but not for a gas tax increase, which is dedicated to roads?

It seems to me that the chamber is just playing the same old game, attempting to dupe the public into thinking it is somehow a leader on this issue.

DAVID GREENE, MINNEAPOLIS

I'm so glad to see Gov. Tim Pawlenty has become a leader in the green revolution. There must be an election on the horizon. Now maybe we can convince him it is in his better interest to support legislation to maintain Minnesota's infrastructure, schools and health care, instead of taking care of only the wealthy of the state.

DAVID W. JOHNSON, MINNEAPOLIS

Is anyone else as fed up with our disingenuous leaders as I am? All you hear about is our need for energy independence and how the only answer is alternative sources. As we sit here, our economy is going to hell and food prices are skyrocketing. Why? Because of the misguided reliance on ethanol which has us turning food into inefficient fuel and a refusal to tap known reserves. The United States has known untapped reserves of over 100 billion barrels. The answer to this issue is a no-brainer.

SCOTT SKEESICK, WHITE BEAR LAKE

First and foremost, the Pohlads never have had anything to with Gophers baseball. If they wish to get involved now, to save his own and possibly public funds, why doesn't Pohlad simply invite the Gophers to play rent-free in the new Twins stadium?

Or Pohlad could build the Gophers a new on-campus ballpark and simply continue to call it Dick Siebert Field. It would be a travesty to omit the name of Dick Siebert from a new U of M ballpark or playing venue -- this Minnesota native and former major leaguer put Gophers baseball on the collegiate baseball map starting with the school's first NCAA championship in 1956. If the U played in the new Twins stadium, a statue and-or plaque of Siebert could be erected in the lobby à la the George Mikan statue in Target Center. You can be sure the Big Ten would be eager to host conference tournaments and the NCAA regional tourneys there. That means rental fees and concession sales for Pohlad.

With the new Twins season approaching, it appears as if Sid is trying to soften Pohlad's highly unfavorable image as Mr. Cheap after letting Torii Hunter and Carlos Silva go and with Johan Santana on the trading block; failing to sign any significant team-bolstering talent in the off-season, not to mention the lingering public displeasure that this Forbes triple-billionaire used hardball extortionist tactics to get us taxpayers to pay for most of his new stadium.

Sid's idea should go the way Charles O. Finley's orange baseballs.