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I will leave the continuing discussions regarding our new state flag to others, while noting the comments of the great British philosopher Mick Jagger, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime you'll find you get what you need."

That said, I will forever ponder why the new state seal will feature a loon and not that performer beloved of generations of Minnesota children, Como Zoo's "Sparky the Seal."

Theresa J. Lippert, St. Paul

The 40-year-old Perspectives program, which provides child care, drug treatment. mental health care and housing for low-income mothers and children ("Housing program ending services," Dec. 27), which has had to stop providing children's programming and clinical services because of funding problems, should be seen as a vital resource needed in Hennepin County.

Federal policy changes in Housing and Urban Development funds made Perspectives drop its original standard of being a sober treatment house for mothers and children. The results — having to accept mothers who were not seeking drug treatment — changed the population and program offerings and reduced the income stream from medical insurance reimbursement, causing insufficient funds to continue the children's and clinical services program.

Lois Willand, Minneapolis

On Jan. 1, the state's earned sick and safe time (ESST) law goes into effect, giving working Minnesotans access to paid time off to care for themselves or a loved one.

This basic workplace benefit allows workers, regardless of their income levels, to prioritize health and safety over job loss concerns. Early in my working life, I remember milking cows, making pizzas, bagging groceries and serving meals in a nursing home and seeing my coworkers come to work sick, because they couldn't go without pay or risk losing their job. The new ESST law will change that.

When the ESST law goes into effect, employers must provide each eligible employee in Minnesota at least one hour of ESST for every 30 hours worked, up to at least 48 hours of accrued ESST a year. Our workplaces will be healthier, because our employees will have greater access to preventive care and medical treatment.

To help workers understand their ESST rights, employers, by Jan. 1 or at the start of employment, must provide key information about ESST to each worker. Employers must also include ESST information on employee earnings statements.

I'm grateful to the partners and lawmakers who helped make this possible. I know this will make it easier for many of us to take care of ourselves and each other.

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry is prepared to assist workers and employers and answer questions about the ESST law. For more information, visit dli.mn.gov/sick-leave.

Nicole Blissenbach, commissioner, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry

In response to attacks by mental health patients ("Attacks reflect health system flaws," Dec. 23), it's appealing to think we should strengthen the commitment laws, but let's first ensure that effective treatment is available. The first episode psychosis teams you mention are an example of an effective treatment that is not covered by insurance even though most of the patients, who by and large are under 25, have insurance under their parents. The program is effective because reducing the duration of untreated psychosis decreases long-term disability.

Just like for cancer, if we treat early people do better. What we have to do is enforce parity laws that require insurance to cover mental health care of similar quality to other medical care and thereby create a good and modern mental health system.

The writer is a psychiatrist with a first episode psychosis team.

Glaring national hypocrisy can come with a high price tag, in terms of lost credibility, damaged global prestige and diminished self-respect. President Joe Biden's decision to defend Israel's methods in Gaza so soon after, in a different context, condemning Russia's in Ukraine, is not just an event of anxiety for moralists. It's having a real-world impact on relations between the global North and South, and West and East, creating consequences that could reverberate for decades. The Biden administration, reluctant to change course, may say the parallels between Gaza and Ukraine are vague, but it is clear support on the world stage is declining.

By contrast, Vladimir Putin, after a period of his own global isolation, "really feels everything at this point is trending in his favor," says Fiona Hill, the former U.S. State Department official specializing in Russia. In a context in which many rising nations view the "international rules based order" with skepticism, Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov finds words easy to come by. Speaking at the Doha Forum in December, Lavrov complained: "The rules were never published, were never even announced by anyone to anyone, and they are being applied depending on what exactly the West needs at a particular moment of modern history."

Our newest confrontation with Iran, besides edging the world closer to a nightmare crisis, will only deepen the quagmire we are sinking into.

Steven Smith, Minneapolis

Nonviolence isn't just for big movements or famous people. It starts with each of us. When we're angry, we can step back and take a deep breath. If we don't understand someone, we can seek clarification. If someone is mean to us, we can stay peaceful. It's all about the words we use, how we say them and what we do in difficult situations.

This year let's promise to really listen to others, to talk kindly even when we don't agree and to see the good in everyone we meet. By doing this, we're not just making ourselves better, we're also making our communities a better place to live.

Seem too simple? Powerful ideas often are simple. What would the world be like if we all tried these simple ways of being?