Letters to the editor for Friday, Oct. 24

Sarah Palin is giving her $150,000 worth of outfits to charity. It's nice to know she has some plan for helping the poor. Maybe women laid off due to the recession can wear them to job interviews?

JOHN TACINELLI, ROCHESTER

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I am not concerned one bit about how much money the Republican National Committee spent on clothing for Sarah Palin and John McCain using private funds. However, I am concerned about the hundreds of thousands of dollars it will cost us taxpayers under the Democratic-imposed national health care plan to treat Michael Moore's obesity. The last time I checked, quadruple bypass surgeries and dialysis are more expensive than a $500 pair of shoes.

MICHAEL DMOWSKI, EDINA

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Can you imagine what the folks would be saying if Sarah Palin showed up day after day wearing the same $100 J.C. Penney suit? Can the woman do anything that would please the press? I doubt it.

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The RNC bankrolled Sarah Palin $150,000 for her wardrobe. The Hockey Mom is dressing like a mom who owns an NHL hockey team.

PAT PROFT, WAYZATA

The usual dog and pony show on display in Washington has the stated goal of "finding out how the current financial crisis started and who is to be held accountable."

The answer to that question has the same simple answer it always has -- follow the money trail. The reason the "crisis" happened at all is that a relatively few people profited obscenely. Unfortunately, some of the people shouting the loudest for heads to roll are some of the same profiteers -- elected officials who benefited directly from contributions to their campaigns from the organizations or individuals that are having hypocritical fingers pointed at them and government officials entrusted with the financial safety of this nation who looked the other way to satisfy party loyalties.

CRAIG JOHNSON, CHASKA

Regarding her Oct. 22 column "Vulgar mockery of Christians: Is this what we want in a U.S. senator?": Why doesn't Katherine Kersten say what she really means? Let's call for a fatwa on Al Franken!

After all, there must be something terribly wrong with a person who uses tongue-in-cheek humor to make fun of anything that Kersten decides is holy and untouchable. She can get together with Michele Bachmann and the two of them can set up rules for what should be censored, just like in Iran, where the leaders issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie for writing something they didn't like.

Please deliver us from zealots like this! Al Franken earned a living writing comedy. If he becomes a senator, he will earn a living doing that. I believe comedians are more perceptive than most people. They need that sense to write comedy, and I believe that quality would carry over into the political arena.

MICHAEL H. WINER, MINNEAPOLIS

Never having met Katherine Kersten, I have no idea of the strength of her oft-touted beliefs, but I do believe the Christian faith is strong enough to endure a few jokes. Lord knows, our own faith has to put up with more than a few jokers.

DAVE PORTER, MINNEAPOLIS

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Katherine Kersten asked a pertinent question about Al Franken: Do we want as a senator someone who mocks Christians?

What we want in public office are honest men and women who know that the job is a public trust; that they are held accountable for their performance by the public at large; and that they can be pulled from the job if their performance is bad.

Christians as a group, I might add, would rather be slapped many times upon that other cheek than engage in things that show contempt for their fellow man. But they also know who is good for the country and who is not, and they vote.

They are not going to vote for someone who continually slaps them on the other cheek just because he thinks it's funny. That's a message Franken hasn't learned yet.

BRIAN MACDONALD,

MURFREESBORO, TENN.

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JOAN KINDE, COLUMBIA HEIGHTS

My family is currently enrolled in the Minneapolis Public Schools Early Childhood Family Education program, and we will be voting "yes" in support of the Strong Schools, Strong City referendum on Nov. 4.

This early introduction to the public school system has provided access to outstanding educators, community involvement through volunteer opportunities and community connections with other families. If passed, this referendum will ensure that these things continue alongside essential education basics like early-age reading, math and science and up-to-date textbooks and technology.

Research shows that investment in early education yields extraordinary public returns --$8 for every $1 spent. Our own Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis states that "without support during these early years, a child is more likely to drop out of school, receive welfare benefits and commit crime." Why would we, as a community, not want to support our kids from the very beginning and continue that support all the way through high school?