Readers write for Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010

With all the vitriolic language regarding Joel Maturi's hiring of football coach Jerry Kill ("In for the Kill," Dec. 6) being hurled about with such force on the pages of this newspaper (and in cyberspace), I think a little perspective is in order. Can we all agree that a hiring decision, especially one at a Division I school like Minnesota where the expectation of success is exceedingly high, is far more complex and nuanced than Joel gets credit for? It is logical to assume that Joel has access to information that none of the "experts" out there are privy to, so who are we to judge a decision that we don't fully understand? Making high-profile decisions with far-reaching consequences takes a special kind of courage. If the pundits are truly interested in the success of Minnesota athletics, then let's stop the self-handicapping squabbling and show a unified front of support.

Let's also not forget to ground this situation in a larger reality. Perhaps all the self-righteous posturing about the state of the U's athletics has blinded us to the fact that the economic conditions in this country have left many individuals struggling. Homeless shelters in Minneapolis are turning away more people than ever, a scary concept with the impending arrival of winter. When viewed from this context, a football hiring decision becomes laughably trivial.

As a fifth-year track and field student-athlete at the U, I can personally vouch that Joel has the overall well-being of the athletes at heart. When athletes look back upon their formative years in college, they won't remember their win-loss record or how many All-American certificates they own. They will, however, remember the lessons of honesty, integrity, competency and willpower that the athletic department at the U demands of them. It's sad that this is too often forgotten in all the discourse on athletics.

MIKE TORCHIA, MINNEAPOLIS

• • •

It is beyond me why the U would give the guy a five-year contract. Seems that they never learn.

R. DANIELS, ROSEMOUNT

I do not know much about new Gophers football coach Jerry Kill. But I say give him a chance. A short, heavy-set, bald guy with glasses who played linebacker at some obscure school in southwest Kansas must have something going for him.

I've had enough of "snake oil" salesmen, and maybe parents of good Minnesota high school recruits have, too.

BOB JENTGES, NORTH MANKATO, MINN.

I volunteered as a Tom Emmer poll challenger in the recent Hennepin County recount, naively assuming I would be working to ensure integrity in the attempt to ensure one voter-one vote ("Emmer drops 2,600 challenges," Dec. 5).

I was disappointed to learn I was expected to challenge all stray marks, including write-ins on either side of the ballot and any missing judge's initials on the top of the ballot. I was continually told "We need more challenges." On day three, I was told to even challenge the use of blue ink. Over the course of two and a half days I challenged 65 ballots. All my challenges were declared frivolous. Out of some 6,000 ballots, I saw only two Dayton votes that looked suspicious.

Politics is a dirty business. I feel soiled.

DAN DECKER, GOLDEN VALLEY

• • •

Here's a message for Tony Sutton, Tony Trimble, Eric Magnuson and their ilk from a Hennepin County election judge who spent five days examining ballots and witnessing countless, brainless "challenges." The judges' role was to measure "voter intent." It was not to measure voter intelligence. Clearly, many voters didn't follow instructions given to them on election night. That's not the issue. Whom they want as governor is.

A classic example of a frivolous challenge is one against a voter who carefully filled in the oval for a particular candidate. The voter then drew a rectangle around the name of that candidate and the running mate. The same voter did the same thing for at least one other office on the ballot. Granted, the rectangles could be interpreted as "identifying marks" that would allow carefully placed dishonest judges to confirm the voter's secret code had been followed, and now everybody involved in the plot could be paid.

JIM BARTOS, BROOKLYN PARK

• • •

I had the opportunity this week to directly observe the lengths to which the Emmer campaign will go in its desperate attempt to win. During the recount I witnessed Emmer operatives harass one of their own observers who apparently hadn't met the "quota" of challenges. She was conscientiously doing her job, but wasn't meeting their goal of challenging anything and everything.

Not content to direct their aggression against Democrats, the GOP seems willing to bully their own to win at any cost.

JUDI SATEREN, Minneapolis

I would give away my car to have those lives back. The criminals are not going to act responsibly, so it's overdue that the police begin to behave responsibly. Innocent lives continue to be taken or maimed as a result of high-speed police chases. I don't want to have to write another of these letters again, as I do every time these tragedies occur.