Readers Write for Monday, Jan. 25

Buried at the end of a Jan. 15 article about a new bicycle sharing program in Minneapolis was information that should have come first in these deficit-ridden times for governments: where the money would come from. In the case of this less-than-necessary government program, one of the funding sources strikes me as absolutely preposterous.

Debt-plagued Minneapolis will pay for these bikes partly by taking $1 million from a tobacco-settlement fund. Are you kidding me? What on God's green earth does riding your bicycle have to do with protecting taxpayers from burdens imposed by the high costs of smoking?

It's also interesting how the Minneapolis City Council can come up with such a creative way to fund its communal bicycles so quickly after laying off a bunch of cops. Priorities and fiscal restraint are apparently no match for its utopian determinism. And to think, this is the same group of folks who point at conservatives like me when their budget is in shambles. Easier that than saying no to the powerful urban bicycle lobby, I suppose.

I'll remember this when the city pitches me its tired plea for more of my constituents' hard-earned money in the next legislative session. They don't like to reward reckless spending and misplaced priorities, and neither do I.

REP. MARK BUESGENS, R-JORDAN

Republican gubernatorial candidate Marty Seifert put on his political science cap to teach lessons following the election of Scott Brown to the vacated Massachusetts Senate seat ("Voters, fed up, draw a line in the sand," Jan. 22). He asserts that the election is a rejection of the Obama agenda and Democratic rule.

Perhaps, but what did Seifert learn about listening to the people when he went from majority whip in 2006 to minority leader that same year? What did he learn in 2008 when as minority leader his caucus lost seats and, at the national level, the Republicans lost the U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota, the presidency and became a tiny minority of 40 in the U.S. Senate?

Seifert taught political science for four years in high school before becoming a professional politician. If these are the civics lessons he intends to teach should he return to the classroom, I fear for his students.

JEFF KOLNICK, ST. PAUL

The Jan. 21 Supreme Court ruling that gave corporations and labor unions an unlimited right to campaign spending is not the "end of the world" for democracy -- it's a call for all of us to stiffen our backbones and get behind and fight for whichever we favor of the remedies being suggested: a "Stand by Your Ad" requirement, a constitutional amendment, a requirement that stockholders and union members have to vote before an expenditure is made, etc.

It does no good to simply commiserate on what we think is a fallacious finding of the court -- now's the time to fight back and do it right! We simply cannot have our election process intimidated and influenced by a flood of corporate and union cash.

GUNN ERICKSON, OAKDALE

The Supreme Court ruled campaign spending is free speech and should be applied uniformly. An individual cannot deduct political contributions when paying taxes. To be consistent, businesses should not be able to consider campaign spending as a business expense. Let's be consistent.

ROBERT LOSCHEIDER,

GRAND RAPIDS, MINN.

Enough already! As professor emeritus and former chair of the Music Department, I respectfully request that the reported conflict at Northwestern College cease ("An identity crisis for a Christian college," Jan. 21).

Mistakes have been made, admitted to, apologized for, accepted, and lessons have been learned. While President Alan Cureton and chief protagonist Dallas Jenkins may have disagreements concerning complex theological issues, the charge of "theological drift" has not been proven, or even detected, by an independent three-person panel.

KENNETH FENTON, BROOKLYN PARK

A Jan. 21 letter writer had a great idea about traveling without packing clothes in order to save on checked baggage. She said this would save baggage fees, save fuel, save time at the airport, eliminate lost luggage and stimulate the economy by purchasing clothes at the destination.

My wife added one more step to this idea: Donate all the purchased clothes at the destination location to a homeless shelter before returning. This helps others, and eliminates baggage, providing the same benefits for the return trip.