Readers Write (March 5): Accountability, labor rules, diversity and STEM fields, bike rentals and helmets

D.J. Tice's Feb. 26 column ("Dayton is a case study in lost ideals") made several important points about the effects of politicians being less than honest while looking at Gov. Mark Dayton, but then finished the article by slamming President Trump for much larger violations.

In the letters to the editor the same day, one reader wrote about how the media, in his opinion, is less than honest in its reporting.

The success of a democracy depends on trust in public officials. We cannot have trust in public officials without a reasonably accurate shared understanding of the facts. People who say that they do not trust either the politicians or the media are really saying that this democracy is not working for them. When enough people say this at the same time, we all lose our democracy and our rights.

The time for saying that you don't trust the media or the politicians is coming to an end, because the consequences of distrust are reaching a breaking point. People now need to make a choice: Take action to clean up the mess and restore trust, or accept that they lost the democracy and accept the next, less tolerant, form of government.

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I was reading Tice's column and got to the jump, with the headline "How we got from integrity to today's shamelessness," and it all made sense as Tice focused on Dayton's about-face from his time as state auditor to his current reaction as governor to the stadium suites situation. Interesting contrast, I noted.

Then I got to the last three paragraphs, and all of a sudden Tice exploded with a diatribe about President Trump! Did he mix up two different columns? Did the paper put the wrong headline on page one and page three? How did he get from Dayton and the stadium suites issue in Minnesota to President Trump? If you don't like Trump, fine, write about that. But don't use four long columns about Dayton to be the lengthy introduction to blast Trump with your closing paragraphs.

Tice is my favorite Star Tribune opinion writer. He gets it right far more often than he gets it wrong. "Dayton is a case study in lost ideals" is a case in point. The horrors of the Trump White House are so "yuge" that they tend to crowd out everything else, but if we want to understand how we got to Trump, we need to look at political dysfunction that has simmered in the background for decades — in this case the not-so-soft cynicism of low expectations. I remain optimistic that the country will survive the Trump presidency. If we do, I hope we'll learn a few lessons, and not simply return to politics as (pre-Trump) usual.

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Tice might have been more effective in achieving accountability for public employees if he had clearly named the culpable parties more than once. The unholy axis of the DFL Party and the public unions is what has made it acceptable for public employees to steal from the taxpayers. Say it clearly and loudly. And if Dayton used to be honest and he "changed," what did he change to? Say it!

But will it even matter? Here is a party that thinks Donna Brazile, who was found undermining democracy by giving debate questions to Hillary Clinton, was a great choice for interim DNC party chair. On what grounds do Democrats complain about the possible involvement of Russian President Vladimir Putin in our national election when they had a known cheater at the head of their party? Are you kidding? If any evidence ever emerges of Putin influencing the election, Republicans should follow the DNC lead and name Putin chairman of the party.

The Feb. 26 editorial regarding state and city labor rules missed the mark in referencing the intense business-labor battle at the Legislature 25 years ago.

The Workers' Compensation Reinsurance Association (WCRA) was enacted in 1979, not to bring down costs but to resolve a systemwide reinsurance availability crisis that threatened the viability of the entire market.

The business-labor advisory council does today effectively serve as the control valve on system changes. This is vastly superior to the legislative "Work Comp" wars of the 1970s and '80s. But the system stability was achieved by the 1992 and 1995 landmark reforms.

The writer is president of the Insurance Federation of Minnesota.

I was excited to see the Feb. 26 photo presentation "These kids have got it down to a science," highlighting the technology event at the Works Museum. The Works Museum is a wonderful, inviting place to expose kids to a number of different hands on activities, exciting their interest in future STEM-related careers (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). What disappointed me greatly was the lack of gender diversity in the photos used in the print presentation. Were there no girls at the event? None at all? STEM-related industries are predicted to add 1.7 million jobs in the coming years, yet the vast majority will be filled by men. The data tell us that one reason for the continued low numbers of women in this industry is lack of role models and culture. There is a clear disconnect between the capabilities needed in STEM and the message we send to invite a more gender diverse workforce to participate. The media have an important role in sending that message. Look for the girls. They are there, unfortunately, they are still hard to find.

I was thrilled to read the Feb. 26 article regarding the partnership of HCMC and Nice Ride Minnesota in hopes of improving both the physical and emotional health of people with mental health illnesses. However, lacking in the article — and in most all the articles and publicity about Nice Ride — was the mention of using helmets and their lack of availability at rental sites. Surely there must be a way to have a low-cost approach to encourage the use of helmets among all riders. There are clear-cut concerns about reusing helmets and the potential for the transfer of skin and hair diseases, but there must be some innovator somewhere out there who can come up with a disposable helmet liner. The more people ride, the more accidents will occur.