Jennifer Brooks used her column last Sunday ("Hey, Anoka County, listen, and listen good") to scoff at the idea that libraries should be a neutral environment and argues that institutions and people must make a "choice." She frames that choice in the stark terms of, "You stand with your neighbors or you stand against them."

But complex questions require nuance and discussion. A person can believe that the phrase "Black lives matter" is 100% true and still believe that the organization Black Lives Matter uses tactics and advances ideas that are wrong.

Similarly, a person can believe that every person, whether straight or gay, deserves to be supported with love and dignity, without subscribing to everything the modern Pride movement insists we believe in. As just one example: Is it really encouraging "shame" to withhold full-throated agreement of children and teens using puberty blockers and undergoing transgender surgeries?

Propaganda doesn't allow nuance or discussion: It divides. I'm glad that Anoka County is resisting pressure to propagandize.

Catherine Walker, Minneapolis

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The other morning on Minnesota Public Radio I learned that folks in Pequot Lakes are worried that their students might be subjected to a program that seeks to educate them about inequality in our society. I, too, an educator for over 50 years, am worried.

We don't need more examination of differences. What we do need is inclusion. Let the students see and learn for themselves. There is wonderful writing: poetry, essays, scientific and political theories, religious and cultural works, novels and historical papers (not an exhaustive list) written by people of all ethnic, cultural and sexual backgrounds in this country. There are works of art and architecture, songs, plays, classical music, films, etc. There are successful business people, inventors. Well, you get the idea. Teach a rich, diverse and interesting mix. It's all there. They are all there.

Jefferson and our founding fathers and mothers learned as much from the native people and the immigrants (free and enslaved) of this country as from the Greeks. If we teach our kids as much as we can in K-12, they can sort it all out. Those who want to go on to college might know why, or if, they want to learn more. But they will have the basis for a true understanding of their diverse world.

Judith Daniel, St. Paul

The report that six Twin Cities men have been charged in a trafficking operation that may be responsible for importing thousands of pounds of marijuana into Minnesota illustrates one of the many fallacies advanced by legalization advocates ("Six charged in major pot operation," front page, July 1). Supporters of legalization like to emphasize that that a regulated marijuana market will eliminate the black market. The opposite is true.

Despite legalization, the farming and cultivation of illicit marijuana has drastically increased in states like California, Washington and Colorado. According to Colorado's former Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, legalized marijuana has simply given illicit farmers and dealers easier cover. In California, around 14 million pounds of marijuana is grown every year, but only about 20% is sold in the state; the rest is shipped out and sold illegally in other states.

There are many obstacles to a fully regulated, safely monitored legal cannabis industry. Even if marijuana is legalized, substantial resources will still need to be devoted to law enforcement efforts to find and shut down illegal operations. Based on the evidence from other states that have pioneered marijuana legalization, there is great doubt about whether a black market in Minnesota will be eliminated.

Michael Daub, Excelsior

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While reading about the big pot bust in St. Paul, I could only shake my head and wonder, how much money did we spend on that? How many law enforcement officers were used to implement this? Don't we have better uses of these resources? Recreational marijuana use is legal in 18 states and grows with every election. The only reason it's not legal in Minnesota is because of the myopic, Republican-controlled Senate refusing to see the writing on the wall.

Doug Williams, Robbinsdale

Sandra K. Voydetich, Minneapolis

I am perplexed by the unattributed statement in last Friday's Star Tribune that there was only one "criminal attorney" on staff in the attorney general's office when I left office in January 2019 ("Ellison's bid for 11 more prosecutors stalls," June 25). The Minnesota Court Information System (MNCIS) tracks legal proceedings in Minnesota courts. By my count, MNCIS identifies 17 lawyers in the attorney general's office at the end of my tenure who were attorneys of record in criminal or sex offender cases. At least six had been attorneys of record in murder cases prosecuted by the office. Indeed, there were 47 talented and committed attorneys, investigators, legal assistants and support staff handling criminal and sex offender matters when I left office. That's about 14% of the total office personnel — and a far cry from one.

The first time I saw the "one criminal attorney" reference in your newspaper was on May 9. I chalked it up to a simple error. When I saw it again on Friday, I was prompted to correct the record.

Lori Swanson, Eagan

The writer was attorney general of Minnesota from January 2007 to January 2019.

The good news is that when I turn 90 years old I won't have to purchase a license anymore, according to Department of Natural Resources rules. I wonder, at 90, will I be able to bait a hook, cast a rod or climb into a boat?

Couldn't you do a little better than 90, DNR? Senior fishermen get nothing after years of support.

Joe Kowal, Coon Rapids