Readers Write for Friday, May 1

President Obama said that he would heed the advice of health officials, to whom blocking the border "would be akin to closing the barn door after the horses are out." So that must mean that no more horses are in the barn. Have health officials checked the barn for certain?

I think that not closing the borders is an open invitation for more infected people to cross into the United States.

MIKE MCLean, Richfield

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Why close a school if there is one student ill who might or does have swine flu? Common sense tells us why. Our federal administration says it is too late to close the border with Mexico or any monitoring because it would not help. Who is kidding us? If one person or 100 people get in, how many U.S. citizens are exposed? From one to many, history tell us that.

If our government officials cannot apply the math to this challenge, how can they do their math on all the other challenges that face them?

AL GOLDSTEIN, ST. LOUIS PARK

A national Centers for Disease Control, stockpiles of government-purchased flu medicine -- just more examples of hated, socialistic, nanny, welfare state, big government. I suppose they will be giving the flu shots free, too -- stifling the individual freedom, responsibility and entrepreneurial basis of truly American behavior and a free economy.

RICHARD PATTEN, MINNEAPOLIS

The lights went on for the first time at TCF bank stadium. It's like turning on the headlights on the profit train.

Playing at the Metrodome cost the University of Minnesota millions of dollars of revenue. Those folks out there complaining about spending money on a new stadium might want to look at what this investment will bring long term for the U. Fact is, the stadium does not need to be sold out to be incredibly profitable and, by golly, it is currently sold out and there are people spending big bucks for premium products offered. The U is progressive and smart with this venture and will prove the complainers wrong!

JAY FEICHTINGER, SAVAGE

Northrop's location near Minnehaha Creek, Lake Nokomis and Lake Hiawatha provides students an excellent and free laboratory to study science in the real world. The principal, Kathleen Alvig, won the 2008 Science and Math Elementary School Principal of the Year award given by a partnership between the Science Museum of Minnesota and the Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association. She raises money through grants and donations to pay for the science curriculum, materials and staff. The teachers and staff are also excellent.

The Spanish Native Language Literacy program is also popular and successful at the school, even though it is K-2 rather than K-5. Parents of NLL students as well as other parents very much want to keep the program at Northrop.

Does closing schools that are successful, racially and socioeconomically diverse, and full make sense in a plan to increase academic rigor and promote equity? Are we enslaved by our strategic plan so that we have to do something just to do something, even if it is not a good decision for the success of the school district and won't necessarily save money? Or can we look at actual schools and situations and adapt our plan when it makes the most sense? If we can't adapt this plan to keep successful schools open, then we need to come up with a new plan.

BARBARA YANISH, MINNEAPOLIS

If the Democrats get a filibuster-proof majority in the U.S. Senate, here's what we will soon have:

If you think I am making this stuff up, listen to what Michele Bachmann, Glen Beck, Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh are saying.

BOB RAGSALE, PRINCETON, MINN.

Cheers to John Olson for his April 28 commentary on the five buckets of race ("Who are you, really?"). Categorically they make no sense. They compare apples to oranges mixing a variety of geographical factors, color, and the fact that Columbus got lost and thought he made it to India.

I've always wondered why I was "White." My parents and grandparents are indigenous to Wisconsin. I'd love a bucket named "Cheese Head." In terms of skin color, MAC cosmetics says I'm Studio Fix Fluid NW25.

When I know I won't get in trouble, I enter my race as "Cheese Head" or "Wisconsin American." For the census, however, I'll probably play the game and enter "White" because I'd rather spend $500 on something else -- maybe more MAC cosmetics or a nice atlas so I can be prepared for the next round of buckets.