Readers Write for Tuesday, Sept. 1

Every election it's the same old story. The media complain about ambassadorial appointments of political activists who raise and contribute money to presidential campaigns (front-page article on Sam Kaplan's appointment, Aug. 31). Rarely do we get negative stories about sports devotees who promise massive amounts to build stadiums and then lobby legislators to use tax money to help finance those stadiums.

Other countries want ambassadors who have been politically active and have the ear of the president of the United States and the politically appointed secretary of state. Diplomacy is not just about promoting the interests of a country; it is also about understanding the politics of a country. Who better to understand politics than a politician? After all, politics is the art and science of governance.

In my own experience working internationally, I found the best and most effective representatives of their countries were those who understood politics, not only that of their own countries but of how governments in general worked. Diplomats, bureaucrats and politicians all have their place in government, and all deserve respect, not trashing.

ARVONNE FRASER, MINNEAPOLIS

Your Aug. 28 letter of the day contained so much misinformation and wrongheaded thinking a response is necessary. To say the Stillwater river crossing has not been reexamined in 20 years is laughable.

The Department of Transportation proposed a new bridge between Stillwater and Wisconsin more than 40 years ago. And it has been studied ever since. Why does the letter writer think the cost keeps going up?

If the letter writer wants more study, why doesn't he drive from his Bloomington home and stand in downtown Stillwater any day of the week and then tell me we don't need a new four-lane bridge? And to say after the new bridge is built, "Stillwater would still have a highway running through it with continued traffic snarls" is just nonsense.

BRENT M. JOHNSON, STILLWATER

What do the Jaycee Dugard kidnapping and rapes committed by a convicted rapist and pedophile tell us?

That the authorities ranged from careless to inept when someone continually on their radar screen with a GPS ankle bracelet got scrutiny normally reserved for petty misdemeanor offenders.

That the neighbors ranged from ignorant to apathetic when a registered sex offender constructed a visible campground in his back yard and didn't get involved.

A lot of people let that girl down. A curious parole officer could have asked a few more questions. The neighbors could have been like the neighbors on my cul-de-sac: aware, involved and looking out for each other. A campground in my neighborhood wouldn't have lasted 18 weeks, let alone 18 years.

Opponents of a government option accuse it of being a back-door attempt to bring about single-payer health care. So what if it is?

Are the same people not also proponents of competition? Why not let the government into the competition to see who really is best at managing health insurance? I'm sure we can construct the bill in such a way to ensure the playing field is level. Let people vote with their premiums!

LOIS BRAUN, ST. PAUL

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In an industry notorious for lack of health care benefits, we have lowered our already razor-thin profit margins and instead offered our employees health insurance. And each year, without fail, the premiums have soared, sometimes almost doubling.

CYNTHIA GERDES, PARTNER,

HELL'S KITCHEN, MINNEAPOLIS

My wife and I knew that it would only be a matter of time before someone was seriously injured or killed at the 694-35W interchange. If you try to merge, you are pulling into oncoming traffic; if you yield, as the sign at the top of the ramp directs, you risk getting rear-ended. We now go out of our way to avoid that interchange.

Seems to me the Department of Transportation should rethink what it changed, and try something else.

STEPHEN OVERBY, ANDOVER