Readers Write for Friday, Jan. 29

"A day late and a dollar short" was all Rep. Michele Bachmann could come up with in her shallow analysis of President Obama's State of the Union speech.

My immigrant mother, with her fifth-grade education, cautioned me to avoid meaningless clichés. But, since this might be the only figure of speech the congresswoman understands, how about the starting point, "eight years late and $8 trillion short"?

CLIFF ERICKSON, MINNETONKA

•••

The next time Rep. John Kline gives advice to someone to be less partisan, he should start with himself. He and the rest of his Republican colleagues in Congress have opposed even their own proposals anytime the president agreed to them, just to make sure no credit could go to an opponent they want to fail.

Rep. Kline should start putting country over party.

LEN SCHAKEL, LAKELAND

As a taxpayer and citizen of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, I see this as a perfect example of how the system is broken. When will our elected officials finally have the courage to address and fix this obvious oversight in sentencing guidelines? When did punishments for killing someone turn into the equivalent of shoplifting and growing pot the equivalent of a double homicide?

CHRIS LEIN, MINNEAPOLIS

The story of John Edwards confessing to the paternity of Rielle Hunter's child reeks at many levels (Star Tribune, Jan. 22). Why do so many women seek fame and fortune by getting involved with successful married men, thus wrecking marriages and families? These cases are a major blow to our much-proclaimed family values in America.

JERILYN SHEARER, GLENCOE, MINN.

Regarding the Jan. 25 Star Tribune article "Moment belongs to New Orleans," thanks for the kind words about our city and team. However, the statements "[i]n the city leveled by Hurricane Katrina" and "nearly wiped off the map by Hurricane Katrina," need some correcting. The incompetence of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leveled our city. It was its poorly designed and constructed levees that failed after the storm that nearly wiped us off the map.

It's the two-minute warning, and we're running out of time. But there's still plenty of time for a real game-changer.

Soon, thousands of our most vulnerable citizens lose the safety-net health care available through General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC). Thanks to Gov. Tim Pawlenty's leadership, a large percentage will automatically be enrolled in MinnesotaCare -- which replaces part of their coverage.

Most GAMC recipients live well below federal poverty guidelines earning less than $7,500 a year. Of those, nearly 30 percent are homeless, 60 percent live with chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, heart disease, severe mental illness or chemical dependency.

The combination of no insurance options, multiple chronic conditions and no treatment equals a socioeconomic impact felt throughout our community:

• Soaring medical costs from delays in treatment and increased ER visits.

Greater Twin Cities United Way recognizes the weak economy and the challenges to achieve a sustained recovery. As leaders representing all community sectors, we extend our hands to help policymakers develop an affordable solution to sustain GAMC through June 2011 while allowing them time to completely overhaul and implement the new program by July 2011.

We urge the governor and policymakers to seek a bipartisan solution to the GAMC crisis. We must make decisions to restructure GAMC so it provides more effective care at reduced cost to Minnesota taxpayers. Otherwise we all lose.