Letters to the editor for Sunday, March 8

Just because an appropriation is project-specific does not mean that the project is pork. Critics either do not understand this or don't want us to understand the mechanics of effective budgeting.

Some Republicans intentionally misrepresent the proposed rail line connecting Las Vegas and Los Angeles as connecting Las Vegas and Disneyland. That is not only intellectually offensive, but it continues the standard Republican line of mocking and ridiculing any mass-transit project.

Shovel-ready projects are, by their very nature, specific. They're geographically specific, purpose-specific. That does not make them pork! Would President Obama's critics prefer that Congress pass a stimulus package devoid of specifics and assign full authority to anonymous bureaucrats to select and fund projects?

PAUL BARTLETT, ST. PAUL

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Those of us who are feeling the economic crunch can take comfort in this sage advice from none other than Yogi Berra: "If you don't know what to do, then you probably shouldn't do it!"

The musings of the Bard of the Bronx may not have made much sense back then, but they sure do now.

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A March 3 Star Tribune article reported that TCF Bank and CEO Bill Cooper have asked federal regulators to take back some $361.1 million the bank received four months ago as a part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program initiated by the Bush administration. The reason is the constraints being placed on the bank for use of this money.

But TARP was not created for the purpose of imposing restrictions on banks. Rather, it was created to give them the incentive to renegotiate mortgages that keep people in their homes, to make new loans, to finance at-risk homeowners and to loosen internal policies to work with more borrowers.

If TCF simply returns the TARP money, is it still on track to achieve these goals? If so, more power to TCF, and congratulations. But if returning the money means that TCF simply goes back to banking as usual, then it is doing a disservice to our community and to our country.

DAVID F. FISHER, MINNEAPOLIS

The story of Alec Kruger and his dad's murder is one that few Minnesotans will soon forget. But Alec's three friends from Waseca will live this horror for the rest of their lives. It is a shame that 13-year-olds had to go through such a nightmare as losing a close friend so tragically.

Thank you, Jon, for sharing a story from a kid's point of view. You are more than a newspaper reporter. You write from the heart, and that means a lot. It sure got this man's heart.

JIM MCGURK, TAYLORS FALLS

I found your story on Mike Holland to be both engrossing and inspiring ("The defense never rests," March 1). Mike seems like one of the unsung heroes who are fighting the little fight against injustice and indifference in our culture every day.

As a homeless-shelter worker, I've often felt the frustration of my clients' interactions with the justice system and have seen firsthand how overworked public defenders can be. A story like "Nanette's" shows what a difference a caring person like Mike can make in a single person's life even when the system as a whole is resistant to change.

A March 1 story reports that 29 trees, including seven 50-foot white pines, must be removed near the Crystal Airport in response to the Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Why hasn't anyone suggested that the trees be pruned and shortened to comply with the commission's "Obstruction Removal Project?" All 29 can be saved.

GREG NAYMAN, EDINA

Regarding Mitch Pearlstein's March 1 commentary on education funding and specifically his comment that there is "no body of first-class research demonstrating a tie between K-12 budgets and academic achievement," consider this a voice from the trenches.

I am a fourth-grade teacher. After I have taught my class a lesson on long division, I move among my students to work with them to ensure that they understand the process. When I have a class of 30, I just cannot physically reach everyone. Some will go home not understanding; another day is required to ensure mastery of this lesson, and the curriculum is slowed down. A class of 22 is a world of difference -- I can get to all of my kids and hear them say, "Oh, I get it now!"