Readers write for April 26, 2010

Thank you for the informative and vital story concerning the Three Rivers Parks District and its strategy for dealing with the emerald ash borer ("The best defense is a strong offense," April 22).

Kudos to the farsighted foresters and arborists for evaluating the pertinent information about the invasive pest and taking prompt action.

Sad to say, our state government still has no comprehensive strategy to effectively deal with the pest in our rural landscape. In fact, the management recommendations in place today barely mention the destructive pest. Forestry professionals believe the insect will inevitably wreak havoc on our state's ash trees.

If thinking people knew a swarm of locusts was going to be here in a week, I believe they do everything in their power to salvage whatever wheat was in the field.

Similarly, we have a wave of insects, albeit slower-moving than the locust, getting ready to kill millions of ash trees. Some would call it prudent to get a jump-start at utilizing some of the wood.

The borer gradually girdles and kills ash trees of all sizes. While individual trees can be protected, there is no viable salvation for our forest stands. A gradual thinning and regeneration of these trees, beginning immediately, will mitigate the destructive punch the insect will blow under the current strategy.

It is a tough sell to private landowners, however, when the state government is in fumble mode.

Regarding the caseloads of public defenders ("Stressed public defenders file grievance," April 13): The situation is not only unethical but unconstitutional.

While I do not work directly with the court system, I have been exposed to it indirectly as a social worker for the past five years. The vast majority of individuals in the court system probably would say that their public defender has not really done anything for them.

I do not blame the public defenders for this. I interned at a public defenders office, and know they work very hard and want to see the justice system work. However, their caseloads are twice the level recommended by the American Bar Association.

The U.S. Constitution guarantees individuals the right to a speedy trial, and to know and understand what they are being charged with, as well as understanding the consequences of a plea bargain or trial outcomes. It seems that most individuals are getting the opportunity to have 10 to 15 minutes to figure out what they are being charged with and how they should respond.

This is a significant deviation from what our forefathers intended.

In 1968, as a naive first-time voter, I voted for Richard Nixon, believing he would quickly end the Vietnam war. He did not.

In 2008, as a well-seasoned voter and with fingers crossed, I voted for Barack Obama, hoping he would not escalate operations in Afghanistan and instead would find a way to end the war. That is not happening.

I read about the U.S. retreat ("U.S. troops finally leave deadly outpost in Afghanistan's 'Valley of Death'," April 15). If the most powerful armed forces in the world could not subdue this valley, they certainly cannot win in the whole of Afghanistan. A suggestion for President Obama and Gen. Stanley McChrystal: Keep packing it in, valley after valley, until you're on the way home, where you are missed.

BARB HILLMER, BURNSVILLE

My class at the Blake School has recently been learning about genocide, and the events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo caught my attention.

If people are educated about what is happening, they will be tempted to act and to plead with the United Nations to do something about this situation, such as supplying more troops to help children who are being used as soldiers.

AARON WATCHMAKER, HOPKINS

The conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate at an alarming rate. The violence and the destructiveness experienced by both the people of Israel and Palestine is unacceptable.

Unfortunately, the United States continues to come up short of taking real action to put an end to the occupation and oppression of Palestinians. After the recent American vow to halt Israel building settlements in East Jerusalem, the response from Israel should be a big eye-opener for all of us. This action taken by Israel should make us all question how much of a bilateral relationship there really is between Israel and the United States. It seems that Israel will do what it wants to do, with or without our consent.

If there is going to be any real action to bring about peace, there needs to be more than simply peace talks and negotiations between the United States, Israel and Palestine.

Instead of trying to engage in peace talks that have so far done no good, the U.S. needs to stop providing financial support for Israel's continuing oppression of the Palestinian people. By taking this step, America will engage in real action to stop Israel's occupation of Palestine and move closer to bringing about a just peace.