Readers Write (Jan. 15): Trump's Cabinet, Minneapolis rental costs, I-94 protests, the birthrate, St. Kate's chapel, Macy's building

Having spent the past 20 years as a practicing physician, researcher and educator, I am keenly aware of and proud of the conflict-of-interest policies put in place by medical institutions, Veterans Affairs hospitals and the State Medical Board. We went from having free lunches and trips sponsored by pharmaceutical companies to not even being able to accept a pen from them. Many layers of checks and balances have been put in to flush out even the most subtle conflicts of interest, and the information is available to the public.

For example, in 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services established the federally mandated Open Payments website, which displays all direct payments and transfers of value received by physicians and institutions eligible to bill Medicare and Medicaid. All research programs I apply to for funding, and medical journals that publish my work, require extensive conflict-of-interest declarations and resolution. I teach our medical students and medical trainees the importance of conflicts of interest when critically appraising medical literature.

In this context, I am shocked at the blatant conflicts of interest that the president-elect and his many nominees for Cabinet and other key positions have. Nominees Tom Price, Rex Tillerson and Rick Perry are examples of this. It's almost as if conflicts of interest are an afterthought, and a side issue the public never hears about, when it should be the first thing to consider even before the nomination.

Further shocking is the protection afforded to the president from not declaring or resolving conflicts of interest. Shouldn't the nation's highest executive be the beacon for others and exemplify highest ethical standards?

Maybe not, and we should brace ourselves for the trickle-down effect and erosion of other ethical standards as the new normal.

The Jan. 8 article "Landlords say values, taxes spur rising rent" indicated that the market value of apartments in Minneapolis had doubled to $7.2 billion since 2012, the result of increased development and higher values. The next paragraph states: "The city … will collect $313.9 million in property tax revenue in 2017 but doesn't track how much of that will come from apartments."

Why? If the city knows the value of apartments, and knows the impact of new development vs. assessed value, knowing the property tax received from apartments seems very knowable. Knowing this would add much to the story on why apartment rents are going up.

The decision by Ramsey County District Judge G. Tony Atwal to drop gross misdemeanor charges against rioters who blocked off Interstate 94 in St. Paul while protesting the Philando Castile shooting is yet another example of left-wing judicial appeasement gone wild ("Riot charges dropped, but Castile protesters reject plea," Jan. 13).

Sixteen police officers were injured during the protest. In Judge Atwal's world, merely being part of a group that is doing criminal and felonious acts does not warrant being prosecuted for crimes committed by the group.

If that logic holds true, then a person who is part of a mob that breaks into a jail and lynches a suspect cannot be charged with the lynching unless the person had their hands on the rope. And a person driving a getaway car for a bank robbery should not be charged with the robbery since he or she was merely part of the group but not inside the bank doing the robbery.

The law-abiding and tolerant citizens of Minnesota deserve accountability when laws are broken, and they have a right to travel on our road system without being blocked off, harassed and threatened by self-serving protesters.

If our court system does not enforce the law and hand out justice, I fear that a future vigilante or angry motorist will take matters into his or her own hands and that many more people may get hurt.

The headline "Can anyone make America mate again?" on a Jan. 8 commentary asks a contrived question to support a predetermined conclusion that "it's hard to deny that the demographic slowdown, should it continue, likely puts a damper on future economic growth."

A rational person could, and should, argue that anything other than a demographic slowdown dooms future economic growth. The question is one of whether, as the associate professor does, one defines "future" as next year or one defines "future" as future generations.

The planet does not have infinite resources of clean air, fresh water and rare metals. Neither do we have infinite budgets for new roads, new schools, new runways, new sewer systems …

Government and industry leaders need to focus on migrating to a future in which automation takes more and more jobs, fewer and fewer people will be necessary, and an increase in population will fuel anger and angst.

Our Lady of Victory Chapel, known as the St. Kate's chapel, is an architectural gem. The Jan. 8 article "The mystery behind St. Kate's chapel" provided good historical background to Sister Antonia McHugh (St. Kate's first president) and the chapel. In the article is a quote — "[t]here are no notes, correspondence, drawings, sketches, photographs or records that provide insight into how Mother Antonia went about replicating St. Trophime's design features — in many cases down to minute specifications" — from author Mary Ann Brenden in a 2016 book.