Readers Write: St. Paul data hack, D.C. sandwich thrower, driving while high, Presidential Fitness Test

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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I applaud the city of St. Paul for not caving to the recent ransomware attack (“Hackers distributed St. Paul data online,” Aug. 13). It is time for the government, companies and other organizations to stop paying these attackers. It rewards them and leads to even more sophisticated attacks. I suggest lawmakers pass laws to make it illegal to pay ransoms to cyberattackers. Also, companies that hold our private data and supply communications infrastructure hardware and/or software must be held accountable for breaches. Fines for breaches due to insecure software/hardware systems could be used to fund national efforts to fight cyberattacks, most of which come from foreign actors, both private and state-sponsored.

As one example, Microsoft should be held accountable for many egregious flaws in our computing systems. Microsoft announced recently that it wants to charge millions of Windows 10 users $30 per year to get updates to flaws in its software! Is this not a ransom of its own?! No auto manufacturer would withhold fixes to flaws in their vehicles and demand payment!

Yay to St. Paul leaders for taking quick action to protect their citizens and hopefully make further attacks less likely.

Craig Anderson, Plymouth

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Marie Ward, West St. Paul

Will the hypocrisy within the Department of Justice ever end? On Aug. 14 it was reported that “Pam Bondi fires Justice Department employee accused of throwing sandwich at federal agent” (StarTribune.com). Sean Dunn was also charged with a felony assault. To be clear, I don’t condone throwing anything at another person, or violence of any kind.

This contrasts with the treatment of Jan. 6 rioter Jared Wise. Wise was a former FBI agent, and he breached the Capitol, telling other rioters who were attacking law enforcement officers to “Kill ’em! Kill ’em!” Charges against him were dismissed on Jan. 20 mid-trial. On July 1, it was reported that Wise was appointed by the Department of Justice to its political weaponization task force.

Clearly, the only thing that separates Dunn and Wise is their loyalty to the current administration. And I guess a Subway sandwich versus true violence against our law enforcement officers.

Patty Schmitz, Minneapolis

In our recent committee meeting, we had a lively discussion about the article’s recommendations on how long to wait before driving after using cannabis. On one hand, it’s understandable to want to give people a clear rule of thumb they can plan around. On the other, like alcohol, THC affects individuals differently — tolerance, metabolism, co-occurring medical conditions, medications or other substances can all influence the length and degree of impairment.

Rather than relying on a specific time frame, we discussed the value of a simpler, more universal message: “If you feel different, you drive different.” As one member put it, “We would hate to have someone get behind the wheel and create an unsafe situation because they tried to follow a specific amount of time as guidance.”

We appreciate the paper’s efforts to promote safe consumption and hope to see more of this kind of balanced, public-health-focused information as Minnesota’s cannabis market grows.

Sara Polley, Minneapolis

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The new interlock law for drunken driving is a move in the right direction, but I would suggest that we take it a step further. A fine and suspension for a first offense is appropriate. A second offense is an indication that they did not learn their lesson. Take their vehicle away for 6 months and require an interlock in order for them to get the vehicle back. One might argue that this would inconvenience the rest of a family that needs transportation, but that inconvenience is a small price to pay when compared with the number of people being killed because we continue to let drivers high on alcohol or drugs on our roads.

Robert Lommel, Minnetonka

Humility is different than humiliation. While it’s good to know that two recent letter writers “A mile run can change your life,” Aug. 14) weren’t permanently scarred by their youthful experiences with the Presidential Fitness Test — though the fact they took the time to write about the test belies that assertion — we weren’t all as lucky. One writer stated, “We can’t all win the trophy,” and “If we never challenge ourselves, how can we improve or make adjustments?” For his part, the other writer learned after running the mile as part of the test that he excelled at running, eventually becoming the Minneapolis Mile Champion — yet he reminded us “humility is a gift you can tap into ... for the rest of your life.”

Hmm. Perhaps these men were blessed with more sympathetic, equitable physical education teachers than I had, but humiliation was more the name of the game for my Presidential Fitness Test moments, also occurring in the early to mid-1970s. Red-faced embarrassment and even tears resulted when my lanky, uncoordinated body was unable to execute the prescribed exercises in the adequate quantity or period of time. But more athletically gifted peers received gushing praise from our teachers, who scoffed at my sincere efforts or were downright derisive. The feelings such treatment elicited did not dissolve “by the next gym class,” as one of the writers suggested; indeed, 50 years later, they are still easily recalled.

I held my breath when my own three children went to school, but they were fortunate to have wonderful, encouraging physical education teachers throughout their own K-12 public educations. Their teachers applauded effort, gave every kid a chance and seemed to know, whether through instruction or intuition, that making physical activity seem fun, rather than threatening and humiliating, was key to developing a lifetime interest in healthy movement.

Humility? That’s all I’ve got. Humiliation? Unnecessary. Empathy? Let’s give that a shot.