Readers Write for Sunday, Oct. 11

After watching the Twins' final regular season game at the Metrodome -- and probably the best regular-season game in the 28 years at the Dome -- I have one comment: Top that, Brett Favre!

JIM PUKAY, RICHFIELD

In his Oct. 4 column, Garrison Keillor smugly asserts, "Thirty two percent of the population identifies with the GOP, and if we cut off health care to them, we could probably pay off the deficit in short order."

I will happily bow out of the Democratic plan for "health care reform" if it means I don't have to pay for it. Let those who partake in the Democratic plan pay for it themselves; I'll happily fund my own medical insurance.

I'll also happily drop out of Social Security if it means my employer and I can stop paying 15 percent of my salary into it. I am certain I can make better use of my hard-earned money than the government can.

RYAN ASLESON, BURNSVILLE

Nick Coleman's Oct 4 column about the booming business at food shelves was correct: The increase is beyond belief. Even in the western suburbs we have seen a huge demand in need, serving groceries to one family every 15 minutes.

Please support your local food shelves and meal programs -- they will make certain that your neighbor is nourished.

CATHY MAES, MINNETONKA;

ICA FOOD SHELF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

In the Oct. 4 article regarding the murder-suicide of Pam and Allen Taschuk, an official says, "The system broke down."

The system did not break down -- the system does not work!

It is time to put some teeth in these laws and truly protect battered and abused women.

JANET BERRY, GOLDEN VALLEY

Fifteen yards for piling on! That's the penalty Adam Platt should be assessed for his snotty "Dome never felt like home" piece (Opinion Exchange, Oct. 4).

Yes, it is fashionable to "diss the Dome," especially among those who fancy themselves baseball purists. But if Platt, a season ticket holder, is still craning his neck to see home plate, then he definitely has not done his homework. It took some effort, but our family found seats with excellent sightlines (sections 113 and 114). I'm certain other good seats were available to anyone with an open mind.

My grandchildren have been going to Twins games since they were a month old. We might think twice about bringing infants to an open-air stadium. We may not be purists, but we are pragmatists. The Dome is what it is, and in typical Minnesota-speak, was a "pretty good" place to watch a game.

Give it up, Mr. Platt! You don't have the Dome to kick around any more.

CAROL EMMANS, OSSEO

•••

I hope someone is putting together a beautiful scrapbook of all the praises for the new open-air stadiums that we "need" to make life worth living in Minnesota. The "Dome never felt like home" and "Design and planning make the 'The Bank' a winner" would reflect the feelings of our present time.

I am old enough to remember the joy and delight when we trashed the "backward" idea of playing baseball outdoors and built the Metrodome. It was greater than white sliced bread. The sportscasters had big smiles on their faces, reporting that, while it was cold and wet outside, we were all warm, dry and comfortable inside.

It is going to be interesting to watch and see how long before we need to rebuild.

BEATRICE E. WESTERBERG, HASTINGS

I couldn't agree more with Katherine Kersten's Oct. 4 column, "Does greater equality mean less happiness?" I, too, believe that we women should return to those "prisons" of family, marriage and other fundamental obligations.

I assume Kersten has seen the light and is resigning from her Star Tribune column. After all, the name of a proper woman only occurs three times in the paper: upon her birth, upon her marriage to a suitable gentleman and upon her death.

HADDAYR COPLEY-WOODS,