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Readers Write for Tuesday, July 28

July 28, 2009 at 1:39AM

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty greeted reporters before speaking at a Republican Party of Arkansas fund-raising dinner in Little Rock, Ark., on June 26. (Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

HE'S OFF AND RUNNING

So is Palin, but not on the taxpayers' time

Your July 26 front page declared that our still-governor, Tim Pawlenty, has in the past several weeks trekked to Arkansas, Washington, D.C., Nashville, Aspen, Colo., and the Middle East, and next will go to San Diego and Puerto Rico. He's apparently "pre-running" for a greater public office while neglecting the one he now holds.

It appears that Sarah Palin (of whom I am not a fan) had the conscience, or at least the decency, to quit the job for which she had responsibility before searching for another.

DE DRAKENBERG, WILLMAR, MINN.

Health care legislation

Please, Congress, slow down and read it

When U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., chair of the House Judiciary Committee, appeared at the National Press Club last week, he stated something that is quite enraging, yet mostly unreported: "What good is it to read the bill if it is 1,000 pages long and you don't have two days and two lawyers to find what it means after you've read the bill?"

U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., previously admitted the same about the cap and trade energy bill. His committee wrote this very long bill, but he had not read it!

Other rank-and-file members of our Congress had not read the stimulus bill or the cap and trade bill, yet they were passed, and the same may happen to the health care bill.

Congress, please take whatever time is necessary to read, debate and understand before voting. It seems the least you could do for your constituents. Don't hurry; act wisely.

JACK SJOQUIST, BLOOMINGTON

•••

Congress is trying to enact a health care plan that the people don't want. When asked if his family would be in the plan, President Obama ignored the question.

Members of Congress have exempted themselves from the plan. If it isn't good enough for them, why is it good for the rest of us?

PATRICK FINLEY, EDINA

LIGHT RAIL AT THE U OF M

First, do no harm to the research community

In following the discussion on the environmental impact of the light-rail line on the research community at the University of Minnesota, I can sympathize with the university folks.

The instruments of concern and their associated facilities are worth millions of dollars each. They are, often mounted on shock absorbing platforms (rather large systems) designed for the prevailing levels of ground vibration. Locations are often selected based on the electromagnetic interference levels and ground vibrations at the available sites. To move or rearrange these facilities is not that easy. And, often, the university hasn't paid for these initial installations but rather they are generally funded by federal agencies for research purposes.

For the university to fund the mitigations for these 80 labs is asking too much. We are not talking about an inconvenience here but about serious impact on the quality of work these researchers can do. All they want is to know that the light-rail installation will be engineered to minimize the impact on these labs. Let's work with these folks to keep our first-class research community operating with full resources.

HARALD ERIKSEN, BROOKLYN PARK

NOT EVEN A HEADLINE

The equivocal QB

shall remain nameless

As a longtime Vikings fan and NFL fan, I usually read whatever is in the paper regarding the Vikings. But please, do not write one more word about Brett Favre until he signs a contract. Enough already.

ANDY CARANICAS, ST. PAUL

STEROIDS AND STATS

Let's make distinctions among baseball players

Harmon Killebrew was quoted on your July 23 front page as saying, "Nobody is really doing anything to address what steroids did to the game." This problem in baseball results from steroid players being listed with genuine athletes.

Statisticians in baseball have a great propensity for delineating the sport in minute detail, and it would take very little effort to establish a separate column for steroid users inasmuch as the group of 103 steroid players was established by the Baseball Commission in 2003.

NORMAN HOLEN, RICHFIELD

Loyal to the constitution

New Honduran leader, but don't call it a coup

Most articles your paper has printed on the supposed coup in Honduras have been lacking in facts; the July 25 Associated Press story on Honduras' ex-president, Manuel Zelaya, was misleading at best.

Zelaya attempted to change the Honduran constitution so he could eliminate presidential term limits. The Supreme Court and Congress repeatedly told him the constitution did not allow his illegal actions. Article 239 states that any president who seeks to amend the constitution and extend his term is automatically disqualified and no longer president. He persisted and distributed ballots printed in Venezuela that would allow him additional terms. The Honduran Supreme Court instructed the military to arrest Zelaya.

It must be noted that the government of Honduras has not changed. The governing party and the Supreme Court remain the same. They all support Roberto Micheletti, provisional president, appointed by the National Congress in accordance with their constitution. He also has the popular support of most of the Honduran citizens. This could hardly be called a coup.

President Obama wrongly supports Zelaya. He should follow his own advice that he recently expounded concerning the elections in Iran, where he did not wish the United States to appear to be "meddling." The worst thing he could do is support sanctions on this poor country that is simply following its constitution's rule of law. If he must meddle, he should clearly support Micheletti.

TOM MADER, CIRCLE PINES