Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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For anyone who doubted that one person could make a dent in Minneapolis crime, consider U.S. Attorney Andy Luger's recent accomplishment ("Raids latest in crackdown on crime," front page, Aug. 20). Luger's clear vision and understanding of how to achieve it has begun to make Minneapolis — and Rochester — safer. Imagine rallying your staff and 100 officers to arrest 25 people in Minneapolis and 10 in Rochester in one week. Brilliant. Even better? Taking 32 killing machines off the streets.

Thanks for assessing Minneapolis crime, then quickly taking action. Thank you, Andy, for bringing these groups together. Then, thanks to all for working long — and dangerous — hours to help make Minneapolis safer. Finally, thank you for giving hope to Minneapolis residents who were ready to move. Kudos to you all. Can't wait for more such operations.

Meanwhile, to criminals: Now might be a good time to consider a career change. Try something that improves the quality of life for you, your families, your neighbors, your friends and all. I sincerely wish you luck.

Marjorie Simon, Minneapolis

WHAT ABOUT …

Trump's swan song

An Aug. 20 letter writer argues that former President Donald Trump should be treated the same as Hillary Clinton, whom then-FBI Director James Comey concluded was "extremely careless" in using a private server for official emails but did not act with criminal intent. The writer believes Clinton was exonerated based on her status, providing a precedent for exonerating Trump based on his status as well.

I'd suggest that setting up a private server to host emails upon taking office is different from physically moving boxes and boxes of government documents to Mar-a-Lago upon leaving office, then stowing them in a private room later secured with a padlock. The latter physical action seems to me to be substantial evidence of intent rather than just carelessness. I am reminded of how former Texas Gov. Ann Richards once called out a devious opponent who "accidentally killed a trumpeter swan" and then "accidentally buried the trumpeter swan." Trump's actions in moving documents to Mar-a-Lago could be considered careless, but they certainly were not unintentional.

Bill Kaemmerer, Edina

'TRACKING KEYSTROKES'

No wonder people quit

Why does our society have such a high incidence of mental illness? Part of the puzzle is the workplace squeezing the last drop of energy and creativity out of their employees to increase productivity. More and more productivity to line the pockets of CEO's and their shareholders. Tracking keystrokes ("Is the boss counting keystrokes?" Aug. 19) is the last straw and is utterly ridiculous. No wonder people are leaving the labor market in troves.

Add it to the problem of staying in touch with your computer so you can make decisions and contacts while you are on vacation. Are you really on vacation? Vacations are meant to vacate whatever you are doing. It relaxes and clears the mind. Vacations actually draw you back to work eager to complete unfinished tasks or enthusiasm to pursue a new project.

Do employees like to be monitored every minute of the day? I can tell you the answer is a resounding "No." Why are they already trying ways to circumvent this nonsense? They are bellowing for their individualism, creativity, space, pace of work and sanity. Where are the days when the employer hired somebody with the confidence that the employee would produce without electronic tracking devices? In my 60 years in the labor market I can say that I have never been monitored for work performance but that every day I gave my best.

Richard Wagner, Long Prairie, Minn.

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I've heard of this practice before but assumed it was reserved for people in jobs like data processing. Learning that it's being used for chaplains in health care settings and therapists working in drug treatment facilities was absolutely appalling, and I believe this must not be tolerated at all. To think of the micromanagement of those supporting people who are vulnerable is something I can't even understand — it seems like ill and dying humans have now been reduced to "productivity points" and, although the article doesn't say explicitly, money.

Aside from being completely unethical, this practice shows the inability of upper managers to understand what their employees do, and laziness in learning how to evaluate their work. The lack of trust these companies have in their employees delivering these essentially unmeasurable services will only erode the vital relationships people rely on in times of need, further breaking down the already thin layer of social supports communities are hanging onto.

Carrie Chillman, Richfield

I'M KAREN

And I say: Live a little

I just read a reader's letter about the "verbal abuse, humiliation, cruel, and disrespectful snickering" by those using the name Karen (Readers Write, Aug. 21). My name is Karen, and I personally find the use of my name hilarious!

I don't really understand the choice, but there is no way a generalization can be made by a using any random name. I know I don't fit into the present stereotype, and those who know me would agree — and that's all that matters. In fact, I find enjoyment proving I am not a "Karen."

Bottom line: We are no longer able to laugh at ourselves. We take everything too seriously, and something as silly as this becomes an angry source of contention. Maybe it's about self-esteem, or maybe it's just about an angry society that looks for issues to debate and get fired up about. It's a little thing, but perhaps indicative of other, much more pressing and serious issues we now have?

Karen Fishman, Watertown, S.D.

'5 BEST THINGS WE ATE'

You shouldn't have

It took us a while to catch on, but now we get that the Star Tribune's "The 5 best things our food writers ate in the Twin Cities this week" feature is a clever satire on food choices that contribute to Type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke and many cancers. Kudos to the staff members who week after week find examples of fat-, salt- and sugar-laden dishes.

How fun! In a state where obesity is a primary cause of illness and premature death as well as sky-high health care costs, food choices like chicken fried ribs drizzled with honey, preceded by cheese dip and Ritz crackers, or a cheddarwurst served on a robust hoagie with fried onions, bacon and barbecue sauce leave us all in stitches. And you gotta love poking fun at actually cooking with the joke that "waiting for everything to heat up was a bit of a slog."

Ish to the natural deliciousness of August produce. There's nothing funny about fresh peaches or berries or beautiful tomatoes or farmers market sweet corn. The big belly laughs come when even a sensible portion of ice cream is beefed up with malted milk balls!

Phil Deering, Minneapolis