Readers Write (March 16): Bullies, economy, special ed, taxes, guns, immigration, Keystone XL, conclave

George Will apparently is clueless about what's been happening in Anoka County ("Watch where you're pointing that Pop-Tart," March 10). He seems to think that the state's antibullying legislation is about 7-year-olds who make their Pop-Tarts into the shape of guns and 5-year-olds with bubble guns. He owes an apology to the parents of children who have died as a result of bullying, and to the Legislature for trivializing this important work.

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They call each other names, pick fights, provoke, intimidate and bully one other constantly. I'm talking about our legislators, who then have the audacity to write antibullying legislation for Minnesota's schoolchildren. These days, the real children are at the State Capitol, where the motto seems to be, "Do as I say, not as I do."

I must have just awakened from a long winter's nap. Obviously, Mitt Romney must have won last November's presidential election. The stock market has already hit an all-time high. The housing recovery is firmly underway. Nearly a million new homes may be built this year. U.S. auto sales in February showed the fourth straight month of seasonally adjusted sales above 15 million vehicles for the first time since 2008. Even the unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest level since December 2008. It's amazing how fast a strong leader can create jobs can turn our economy around.

The letter writer who suggests that special education not be offered to "kids who are so disabled they can't learn" is sadly ignorant (Readers Write, March 10). The vast majority of special education students do learn and, with proper support, become productive members of society. The notion that we're spending a lot of money in public schools trying to educate the uneducable is false. To get to the root of the problem in funding requires only a brief look at the federal government, home of the unfunded mandate.

You can bet your bottom dollar that the people who oppose increasing taxes on the rich will be the same ones against raising the minimum wage ("Most want tax hike only on wealthy," March 3).

I wish that gun owners would help lead America to a safer future. But first some will have to face their fears that the government wants to take their guns away. No one wants to take the guns they use for hunting or self-defense. I say to gun owners: Acquire a gun for every family member, for every hunting purpose, for every building that you own, for every perceived threat. Then come help America reduce gun violence. We cannot save America without you.

The root of the immigration problem is both a failure of neighboring country economies to supply adequate employment, and the desire for cheap labor by U.S. employers. It's in our interest to assist with more rapid economic development in neighboring countries. It is also in our long-term interest to recognize that children of low-wage immigrant workers have no desire to pursue the jobs of their parents, leading to an endless cycle of hiring new low-wage immigrants to replace the previous generation. It's time to pay adequately for difficult work, and to provide and strongly enforce the use of a reliable worker-status verification system for employers. We will pay more for fruits and vegetables, but less for services for families with no health care or retirement savings.

Catholic Cardinals put their vote for pope on paper and in a disguised handwriting. After votes are tallied, white or black smoke spews from a chimney. Congress should try this. That way they can vote for the changes they're willing to accept across the aisle anonymously and without fear of party punishment.