Readers Write (Dec. 17): Mark Trail, job creators, Catholic priesthood, flash-bang use, Vikings stadium

I'm getting tired of the comic strip "Mark Trail."

I've tolerated it in the past because of its absurd camp style, but its continued inaccuracies in the portrayal of wildlife has become offensive. Recently, the strip depicted wolves as hungry, vicious killers, ready to attack anything and everything that moves.

Wolves attacking bears is extremely rare, and the reverse is just as likely. Wolves are far more likely to simply chase an adult bear away, rather than fight.

It's equally distressing to see the bear pictured as an essentially domesticated beast. Lastly, the strip is trite, predictable and worn out.

The strip's originator, Ed Dodd, was interested in educating his readers in the outdoors and wildlife, but it seems that the current writers are more interested in sensationalizing the imagined dark side of otherwise fascinating forest inhabitants.

JERRY HINIKER, GRAND MARAIS, MINN.

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Unfortunately, these myths were perpetuated in the commentary by Minnesota state Sens. Geoff Michel and Ted Lillie ("Let's give our job creators the help they need," Dec. 13).

Jobs are created by demand. American corporations (i.e., rich people) are making enormous profits and are sitting on huge amounts of money rather than creating jobs. Why?

Because the people who would buy their products have been financially disabled. As someone who was once involved in the regulatory process, I can unambiguously state that regulations aren't created by bureaucrats simply to vex rich people.

Regulations are created because rivers catch on fire and bridges fall down, and because there are E. coli outbreaks and financial meltdowns that cause economic depressions.

TOM OBERT, ALEXANDRIA, MINN.

The Catholic Church's position that it cannot ordain women as priests because Jesus only chose men as apostles is out of touch with the times ("Female priests push Catholic boundaries," Dec. 11).

Jesus practiced Judaism and probably didn't choose women as apostles because Jews didn't have female rabbis at the time. Times change, and the Catholic Church should base its decisions on what's good today.

Some branches of Judaism have female rabbis today because they recognized that the role of women has changed drastically throughout the 20th century.

RAY MEIFERT, EDINA

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This same argument could have been made to Jesus as he challenged the "received truth" that the Jewish hierarchy said it possessed. Jesus chose not to go along with that thinking.

He declared that the rigid belief system was adapted for the ages and went beyond the letter of the law. Can we do any less?

Should we not also challenge how the church interprets perceived truths? Indeed, isn't it a manifestation of our faith to question its internal social order?

The ordination of women is about as radical an idea to us as "turning the other cheek" was to those in Jesus' time. If we were called then to be radical, why aren't we now?

The exclusive ordination of men is only a "truth" because we choose to name it as such. It's a belief, and beliefs need to be evaluated continually in the light of justice and mercy.

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Your recent article shed light on the impossible battle police departments across the nation are forced to fight every day against the public they are sworn to protect ("Disquiet builds nationwide over police flash-bang use," Dec. 13).

The article described several incidents involving injured citizens after the use of flash-bang grenades, and the use of other nonlethal devices such as stun guns and pepper spray.

But there's another side -- how the deployment of these devices has saved the lives of the individuals at whom they were directed. Why? Because officers weren't forced to use batons or guns.

While what happened to the victims is tragic, we need to remember that these were accidents. Like any tool used for a job, there is potential for accidents to happen and for people to get injured.

JOHN A. NELSON, EDEN PRAIRIE

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I don't believe professional sports teams should be subsidized by the taxpayers or that taxpayers should pay for a new stadium for the Vikings.

But if we don't take that step, the Vikings will leave and, after much hand-wringing, taxpayers will pay for a new stadium and Minnesota will get an expansion team.

To avoid all of that, an agreement needs to be reached on a new stadium. In the process, though, we need honesty from the Vikings. It seems that some of the money the team is willing to invest won't come from the team's owners.

If the Vikings are valued at a certain amount today and will be valued at a higher amount after the stadium is completed, then the owners should contribute the amount of the increase out of their own pockets.

To that amount we can add the NFL loan and the naming rights to figure out how much still needs to come from the taxpayers.