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I found a certain amount of irony and hypocrisy in the front-page article in the Christmas Eve edition of the Minnesota Star Tribune, “37 of 40 U.S. death row inmates spared.” I am not here to debate whether the death sentence is a justifiable consequence for criminals who commit horrific crimes. That is a subject of significant ethical, moral and legal debate. What I did find troubling was the statement, “Some pleas also invoked Biden’s Catholic faith.”
It is well known that President Joe Biden’s stance on abortion has evolved over time. Early in his career following the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which established a constitutional right to abortion, Biden, a practicing Catholic, expressed reservations. He believed the court’s ruling was too expansive and he supported measures that allowed states to overturn Roe. Fast-forward to his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden fully embraced a pro-choice platform and ensured that there was federal funding for abortion services. In fact, in July 2022 he signed an executive order aimed at safeguarding access to reproductive health care services, including abortion and contraception.
So, in essence, he has spared people guilty of serious crimes from the death penalty but continues to support abortion and terminating a pregnancy and an innocent baby before the fetus can survive outside the womb. I don’t believe these actions are congruent in the Catholic religion.
Tim Rubash, Apple Valley
GAETZ ETHICS REPORT
The DOJ is also culpable
I woke up early on Friday, and as one of those people who deliberately avoided cable and network news after the election and is not a user of social media, I decided to read about the House Ethics Committee report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz. And lo and behold, there were multiple letters in the Strib Voices section that day that commented on the report, with all three writers commenting on Rep. Michelle Fischbach’s cowardice in voting to keep the report private (Readers Write, Dec. 27).
After reading about Gaetz’s “exploits” — all seemingly well documented in the report — I came to the conclusion that this cowardice extended to the Department of Justice by refusing to indict this guy back in 2020. After reading the report and its conclusions, it seemed pretty clear to me that charges could have been brought, even notwithstanding the character of the potential witnesses. Aside from the appalling conduct of Gaetz and his “bros,” his behavior in blocking, ignoring and obfuscating the committee was all par for the course in the last eight years.