Readers Write (Feb. 14): Defining pornography, Southwest LRT, government pay, global threats, the cigarette tax

The difference between reading an erotic book and looking at erotic photographs and films is that a book doesn't require the exploitation of vulnerable young women and men; it's just a fantasy shared between the author and the reader, no harm done ("Calling a spade a spade: It's fifty shades of porn," Feb. 13). I think many women are uncomfortable with live models playing out sexual fantasies because we tend to empathize with the subjects. I personally can't help wondering: "Does she have a mother? Children? A job? Does that hurt? Did he know this was going to be on the Internet for everybody to see? Is she high, scared, being manipulated by her boyfriend?" Grabbing a bodice-ripper off the bookshelf at the grocery store has a lot fewer social implications and can be enjoyed in peace.

The Feb. 12 editorial says a compromise should be reached on Southwest light rail but doesn't suggest what it might be (outside of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board outright capitulating to the Metropolitan Council — which isn't a compromise at all).

So what might an authentic compromise look like? One was proposed long ago: Minneapolis would take the Southwest LRT if the adjacent freight train were rerouted elsewhere. But that compromise was rejected, and that is how we find ourselves in the current mess. In all fairness and good faith, Minneapolis cannot be expected to compromise endlessly.

It is time to rethink this portion of the Southwest light-rail route. Can we find a way to run it away from the lakes and through populated areas of the city where it will actually serve Minneapolis residents?

The writer is a spokeswoman for the Lakes and Parks Alliance of Minneapolis, which has sued for block the Southwest LRT project.

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When railroad rights of way become available, they make priceless assets for future transportation projects. Southwest LRT probably could not be built if Hennepin County's railroad right of way from downtown Minneapolis to Hopkins were not available. No further land acquisitions will be needed for the transit line, and it cost the taxpayers just $5.5 million back in 1984. Replicating that right of way in today's market would cost many times that much.

The Feb. 12 letter writer who wrote about "quit rates" in assessing public-sector vs. private-sector pay overlooked a key word — "comparable." There is no doubt government salaries for top executives are not in step with comparable jobs in the private sector. All we have to do is look at the outrageous CEO and VP compensation in many corporations.

And government employees don't quit or resign as often as private employees partly because more government workers belong to unions. Union contracts typically protect employee rights. That can be even more important than pay, especially when one considers the dictatorial and unchecked political decisions of many private employers. Besides, government wages are not "too high," as the reader claims. Average government pay might exceed average private pay, but that's because more government jobs require college degrees.

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The Feb. 12 letter explained that private-sector quit rates are generally three times higher than government quit rates, but didn't go on to say why. I would suggest that pensions, which are rarely available in the private sector today, and good health care benefits may be the answers. While private-sector pensions are generally fixed when the pension starts, Minnesota pensions continue to increase at 2.5 percent yearly. And since pensions are based on the last several years of one's salary, the large increases that Gov. Mark Dayton proposes create a substantial benefit to the recipients and a growing liability to the taxpayers.

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Unilaterally raising commissioner salaries by $800,000 only adds to Dayton's recent somewhat bizarre behaviors, including threatening to defund the Minneapolis parks system the next two years over delaying Southwest light rail.

It might be a tossup whether the commissioner salary increases will stick in their current form, but you can bet that state Sen. Tom Bakk won't be getting a Dayton-approved pay raise anytime soon!

A Feb. 13 letter writer questioned an earlier letter writer's "what if" debate regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions currently playing out between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and President Obama and characterized it as a rhetorical scare tactic designed to replace reason with fear.

Well, let's examine the facts. Senior Iranian officials have publicly stated that wiping Israel off the map is a major goal. Iran has published photos of its newly designed ICBM capabilities and is involved in the production of nuclear materials capable of producing a nuclear weapon. The country is one of the world's leading petroleum producers but claims that its nuclear capability is intended primarily for internal energy production. Finally, Iran directly supports anti-Israel organizations that the United States and its European allies classify as terrorist organizations.

Seems to me a reasonable "what if" question.