Readers Write (Oct. 23): Minneapolis' 3rd Avenue, defining 'socialism,' Washington politics, mammogram guidelines, the Amish in Lanesboro, school lunches, hacking

Biking through downtown Minneapolis has forever been a challenge. This should come as a surprise considering the city's numerous bike-friendly accolades. However, this may change as the city and the mayor push a proposal to transform 3rd Avenue into a critical north-south connection for people bicycling and walking ("City shifts plan from Avenue of the Arts to green link," Oct. 20). This route would offer a safe and comfortable corridor connecting cyclists and pedestrians to their great city, while improving air quality and adding green space. Cheers to the city leaders who are advocating for a more sustainable and inviting downtown! These are the kind of investments that make a city safer, greener and economically stronger.

The writer is chair of the Sierra Club Land Use and Transportation Committee.

An Oct. 22 letter writer is mistaken about "democratic socialism." Any services provided by the public, through government, are indeed "socialized," as opposed to services provided by the free market. While a completely socialized economy would mean public control of all of the means of production (the classic Marxist-Leninist goal), most prosperous democracies do combine a fair amount of socialized services with predominantly capitalist economies; this is what "democratic socialism" generally means. Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia are good examples, but so is Germany, arguably the most productive capitalist economy in the world, and one that treats its citizens much better than the U.S. does. But FDR's New Deal (which arguably saved U.S. capitalism during the Depression) and its most famous legacy, Social Security, were "democratic socialism," as was LBJ's Medicare. We have probably the least amount of such benefits among prosperous democracies, which is too bad. Germany and Scandinavia have higher standards of living.

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There seems to be a debate among readers over what constitutes socialism. Here's mine: When the taxpayers subsidize you, that's capitalism. When they subsidize your neighbor, that's socialism.

Watching the Benghazi hearings, it is easy to see the anger and disrespect shown by the Republicans screaming questions. The partisan attack allows the interrogator to pontificate a stance for several minutes before ending with a question that the person really doesn't want answered. These hacks don't want information; they posture, bully, interrupt and yell, as if that will help change the facts. I can only hope the shoe is on the other foot some day. This farce, costing millions to stage, is the only hope they have of electing a Republican from their weak field.

No wonder it's so hard to find a speaker of the House.

Am I hearing correctly that U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan is saying he does not want the job as speaker of the House, but would accept it provided there would be no motion to vacate the chair — i.e., remove him?

Does anyone believe the board of directors of a company would hire a CEO who agreed to take the job, provided the board promised not to fire him?

Good grief!

If I had been following the American Cancer Society's new guidelines for breast exams recommending "later, fewer" mammograms, I would most likely be in a very different place than I am today. In the spring of 2014, I was 68 years old. I went to Piper Breast Center for my annual mammogram. Bilateral breast cancer was detected. It was not palpable in either breast. In June 2014, I had surgery followed by radiation.

I am cancer-free today. Had I been following the new guidelines, I would not have had a mammogram until 2015, meaning the cancer could have been growing for another year. An Oct. 21 article suggests that the new guidelines "have the potential to create a lot of confusion among women and primary care providers." The guidelines also could have the potential to cause a lot more serious outcomes than confusion.

This was a ghastly discovery. My husband and I loved Lanesboro so much that in 2008 we purchased a home there, and we made Lanesboro our primary residence in 2012. We initially came for the arts, the theater, the bike trails, the trout streams and the natural beauty of this little valley town in the midst of southeastern Minnesota's bluff country. We stay because of community, and an important part of our community is our Amish friends. Our story is not unlike dozens of other residents and visitors who have embraced the ambience of this region.

Lanesboro is known for its can-do resourcefulness, and when Plan A does not work, we craft a Plan B that will. We understand cultural differences and deeply value all that the Amish contribute to our community. I am thus hopeful our community will figure out a way to invite the Amish to participate in the local farmers market while respecting their long-standing customs.

After reading "Unpaid school lunch? Expect debt collector" (Oct. 21), I have to question the motivations behind both the article and the Anoka-Hennepin School District decisionmakers involved. If there are around 38,000 kids per day for 180 school days per year, the $160,000 in unpaid school lunches works out to about 2.3 cents per kid per day. Even less if you also count breakfast. If you fund the school lunch programs by overall enrollment, this amounts to little more than a rounding error.

So why is it an issue? Because we collectively refuse to fund much more than the bare minimum, any improvements to the system have to be fought for tooth-and-nail. It also shows that the schools are being forced to look for any cash they can to stay afloat. We insist that lunches be healthier, but can't afford to pay any more for them, and the kids and their parents are the ones who get squeezed.

Oliver, eat your heart out.