Netlets: Libya and the Lockerbie bombing

Readers upset about Libyans who apparently gave a hero's welcome to convicted terrorist Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi (Letter of the day, Aug. 24) should remember that Libyans did not elect Moammar Gadhafi, who will shortly celebrate 40 years of absolute dictatorship. It is easy for the Gadhafi regime to "persuade" citizens to show up at the airport, shouting and waving.

A quarter century ago, my husband and I were host family to a Libyan couple doing graduate study at the University of Minnesota. They returned to Libya so the husband could complete his doctoral research, but the Lockerbie bombing closed their country to the West for nearly 20 years. In that time, our friend was unable to return to defend his dissertation, and his academic adviser retired and then died. Through no fault of his own, he lost his Ph.D., and thus his career.

Now, this couple's son is poised to begin graduate study in the United States. It would be a shame if, once again, a tragedy they had no part in destroys these plans.

SUSAN NARAYAN, WHITE BEAR LAKE

Lessons from car rebate program are clear With Cash for Clunkers set to expire in a few hours, let's review what we've learned from the program.

First, while it is not a good long-term idea to borrow from China and give the money away to people in the United States, we did learn that if you give people money they will spend it and boost the economy. That is true stimulus, and it results in job growth, as it has in Michigan this past month. That is why tax cuts work to end recessions better than government program growth. Always have and always will.

Second, cash for clunkers was not "means-tested." Everyone could participate. No arbitrary cap beyond which someone would not get the cash. Fact is, people who are relatively well off spend money too, and that drives demand and grows the economy. Give the tax cut to everyone and watch this economy grow.

JAMES GRANGER, PLYMOUTH

Car dealers should practice gratitude After receiving a very successful government incentive that produced fantastic car sales, the dealers are whining about having to wait for their money. Hey, to me a 90-day turnaround would be just fine. Speak of ungratefulness. Have you ever had to wait for a refund from a car dealer?

RICHARD HARJU, MOUNDS VIEW

It's their message that deserves contempt Katherine Kersten strikes out again ("Left protests too much over the town halls," Aug. 23). No one is saying that critics of health care reform can't speak up. But the ignorant things they say -- and their preening loutishness -- are richly deserving of contempt. A few examples:

• The retiree who, at a town hall meeting sponsored by his representative, loudly insisted that he did not want the government messing around with his Medicare. (Medicare, of course, is a government program.)

• At a town hall sponsored by U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis, R-S.C., citizens were angry about more than just "socialized medicine." One woman asked a question about government-mandated vaccinations. Inglis told her she should find something new to worry about, and the crowd hissed its disapproval--at Inglis!

• At a town hall sponsored by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., a normal-looking woman carrying a picture of Obama doctored to look like Adolf Hitler asked the congressman why he supported the president's "Nazi policy." Frank spoke for many of us when he retorted, "My answer to you is, as I've said before, it is a tribute to the First Amendment that this kind of vile, contemptible nonsense is so freely propagated." He then excused himself on the ground that he had an appointment back on planet Earth (where, by the way, 47 million Americans have no health insurance).

ERIC JORGENSON, MINNEAPOLIS

Legitimate protest? Not at some meetings Katherine Kersten again misses the point. Shouting down a discussion of health care reform is very different from protesting an immoral war where hundreds of thousands have died. It's apples and oranges. Legitimate protest is based on a sincere response to injustice. Shouting lies about Nazis and death panels to prevent discussion is not legitimate protest -- it's a right-wing tactic to suppress democratic debate.

TERRY BURKE, ST. LOUIS PARK

In the last seven years my employer has switched my insurance coverages three times -- from Medica to Health Partners to Preferred One. To give them credit, they have done their best to keep coverages similar, but none of the employees was given a say in that switch. Certainly a few had to change doctors or clinics or pay more out-of-pocket expenses. If my employer were to decide to drop coverage, they would be able to do so. So to critics I ask, where's my choice now?