Readers Write (Sept. 24): Police-involved shootings, CNN, President Obama, distracted driving, Friday night lights, taking a knee

We put men on the moon over 40 years ago.

We talk with wireless devices to anyone in the world.

We have genetically modified crops.

We are on the verge of traveling in cars that drive themselves. You get the idea.

Can we not invent or develop a weapon that immediately incapacitates a person with great accuracy from up to 25 feet away?

Not a Taser shooting some wires, not a paintball gun, but a device that instantly shuts a person down. Effective every time it is used.

This would save police lives and it would save citizen lives. And maybe the news every day would not be about another "innocent" person being killed by the police.

CNN is advertising its presidential debate. The cable network is spending money with competing networks and media to hype the ratings for its broadcast, itself a sponsored moneymaking program. The ads feature clips of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump trading barbs, not policy points. Clearly, CNN believes the show must be sold as spectacle — a sporting event or a roast — not a civics exercise.

Bernie Sanders missed the point about money in politics. The problem isn't bribery. It is commerce itself, the kind of commerce that impoverishes the people intellectually, spiritually and materially. We no longer have a democracy. America is only an economy with citizens clinging desperately to the sides.

Mark Warner, Minneapolis

Do you remember when Barack Obama ran for president on his platform of "hope and change"? It was a wonderful vision for the future, and he followed through right after he was elected with his "apology tour" to Muslim nations and his appointment of many African-Americans to important positions throughout the government. He also spoke of a brighter future for African-Americans and better race relations in America. His appointment of African-Americans to important positions throughout the government led us to hope. Although Obama did little to cause change in his first term, we remained with hope for his second term. Now, race relations in America are terrible and our relationships with Muslim nations are hardly safe and good. We must elect a new president who will again promise hope and change. However, it must be a person who will cause hope to be realized with change. Which candidate is best suited to do this?

Bill Halling, Edina

President Obama has yet to hit the airways to try to calm the racial strife that is taking over many of our cities. Instead, he is busily traveling the country as a surrogate for Hillary Clinton, admonishing African-American groups that they must get out and vote for her to preserve his legacy by continuing his programs and policies.

Doesn't he understand that his legacy is being defined right now on the streets of cities like Charlotte, N.C., and Tulsa, Okla.?

Ronald Haskvitz, St. Louis Park

I was pleased to read the leading letter to the editor on Sept. 21 ("Ban cellphones behind the wheel," Readers Write), supporting the Star Tribune editorial on Sept. 17 ("Get tougher on distracted driving"). Now another letter writer said that some cellphone use while driving is legitimate (Readers Write, Sept. 23). "Many cellphones are used for work on the road, and the professionals who do so safely should not be lumped with the average dodo."

I wonder if this writer wrote this seriously. Why is it safe for a professional with a high-paying job to use his cellphone, rather than a "dodo" checking his Facebook page? They are both distracted. This writer wrote that some "have to push a single button to accept orders while on the job."

We read so many articles about people being killed by distracted driving. It doesn't matter if it seems legitimate to that driver or if someone is checking or sending a text.

It's all distracted driving.

No one should be holding a cellphone and driving.

Please, state representatives and senators, pass laws that are comparable to other states with high penalties. For example, in California, it is against the law for all users to use hand-held devices. It is against the law for drivers under 18 to use hands-free cellphones. The first fine is $76. The second fine is $190. It is against the law for all drivers to text. A true life-or-death emergency is an exception, and even then, drivers should try to pull over and stop driving.

Please, drivers. Stop using your cellphones while driving. No job, text, call, etc., is worth more than the lives that may be lost.

I'm keenly disappointed that the Star Tribune has neglected to recognize the accomplishments of Minnesota's 2016 Paralympic athletes. Rose Hollermann (Elysian, women's wheelchair basketball) and Ian Lynch (Brooklyn Park, men's wheelchair basketball) both brought home gold medals from Rio. Chuck Aoki (Minneapolis, wheelchair rugby) brought home a silver following one of the most competitive gold-medal matches of the entire games. While Minnesota's other Paralympic athletes did not fare as well in the medal standings, they were fierce competitors and represented our state well on an international stage. They all deserve to be acknowledged as their Olympic counterparts were.

Jennifer Nelson, Minneapolis

I thoroughly enjoyed Kurt Ullrich's commentary ("Friday nights: It's who we are, who we want to be," Sept. 23). His observations about the enjoyable surroundings and typical characteristics of a small-town football game were spot on. His comment that electoral politics isn't a topic during games is a refreshing reminder of how much we all have in common. I was especially struck by his descriptions of all the kinds of people who are involved: queens, moms, dads, bands, elementary kids, middle-school kids. Players, too, received brief mentions, but only twice. I wish Ullrich had written more about those guys. To me, the most important part of high school football is the development it provides for the players. Our son Joe is a head coach at Little Falls, Minn. I know for a fact his ultimate focus is the personal development of the young men who learn from a game they love. Fun and winning are good, but temporary. Life is a lot less temporary.

Jim Bartos, Brooklyn Park

If Donald Trump wins the presidency, I will do a Colin Kaepernick, and kneel when he takes the oath of office.