Readers Write (Aug. 28): Michele Bachmann, health care, George Will, Kim Kardashian

It used to be that a newspaper published news driven by fact and not opinion or bias.

An Aug. 21 front-page story about Michele Bachmann contained commentary that served to disparage her as a person and, especially, as a political candidate ("Bachmann's low-key IRS role belied ambitions"). This is the approach generally taken by leftist media when it comes to stories on conservative candidates everywhere.

The Star Tribune's take on Bachmann's experience as an IRS attorney is surprise that she did not have any "big" cases during her short, four-year tenure. Well, anyone in a new organization with newly acquired skills and knowledge normally takes some time to get experience and confidence to take on "big" cases.

The writer also was critical of Bachmann's "deeply held religious values" and her legal training at Oral Roberts University, which "mixed biblical values with legal principles."

We know that media members don't like Christianity no matter how our country was founded or the fact that three-fourths of our citizens are Christian. Demonization by the left continues.

ROGER SHIPP, EDEN PRAIRIE

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I look forward to more commentary from Lewis lauding the fact that 53 percent of Americans support gay marriage (May 2011 Associated Press poll) or that 62 percent of Americans support raising taxes on the rich to reduce the budget deficit (August 2011 CNN poll) or that 62 percent of Americans prefer a universal health insurance program over the current employer-based system (October 2010 ABC/Washington Post poll).

The media's current focus on the rantings of angry Tea Party activists has drowned out the majority opinion on these issues. I can't wait for Lewis to take it upon himself to shine a spotlight on these silent-majority issues as well.

DEAN E. CARLSON, MINNEAPOLIS

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Lewis contends that most political analysts don't understand what's driving the success of Tea Party conservatives such as Bachmann.

Examples would include spending trillions of dollars to kill tens of thousands of innocent people in foreign wars (while refusing to pay taxes that would adequately fund these overwhelmingly opposed operations), dictating moral values for citizens (while assailing the oppression of a Big Brother-type big government), and fighting against spending on government programs to help the needy and less fortunate among us (though Jesus Christ taught that our foremost obligation is to help and support the needy).

GORDON GILBERT, EAGAN

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The Aug. 21 editorial rightly pointed to the need for increased and ongoing scrutiny of Minnesota's HMOs as we shift thousands of people into their care over the next year ("Keep eye on health care experiment").

One of the best ways to ensure that these plans are being held accountable and that our state dollars are actually being spent on health care would be to place a limit on how much money HMOs are allowed to keep in their financial reserves.

Now that lawmakers and the governor have had a little more time to think about what they will do next session to improve our health care system, they should be thinking seriously about placing a cap on HMO reserves. It's one of the smartest ways to hold HMOs accountable and to deliver the highest possible quality of care to the people of our state.

ANN BUTKOWSKI, MINNEAPOLIS

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George Will's Aug. 21 column reminded me why I so despise the man's writing. He starts out ostensibly to write a column praising New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Fair enough. Yet he cannot refrain from taking pot shots at Woodrow Wilson, one of the greatest presidents of the 20th century.

The only correlation was that both governed New Jersey. He, of all columnists, had the guts to say that Wilson was [too] pious. I suppose he preferred the crook Warren G. Harding, who succeeded Wilson. As it turned out, Wilson had nothing else to do with the essay. It was all about Christie. Of course, Will managed to toss in a zinger about President Obama at the end.

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On Page 2 of the Aug. 21 edition, the Star Tribune reported that "Stepfather Bruce Jenner walked [Kim] Kardashian, 30, down the aisle, wearing and ivory custom-designed Vera Wang gown."

After seeing photos of the wedding, it appears that Kim was wearing a gown similar to the one that the newspaper described Bruce as wearing.

NORRIS DICKENSON, BURNSVILLE

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These are questions the Opinion Pages will ponder as we approach the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. We welcome reader contributions via the methods listed below.