Readers Write: The Trump presidency, attack at Bloomington Islamic center, Minneapolis election campaign finance, communications strategies, Dayton's Bluff neighborhood concerns, pets and the environment

Trump supporter Gary Abernathy (Opinion Exchange, Aug. 7) believes he is on the same page as me and millions of other Trump resisters. Where Abernathy loses that connection is when he states that "much of the blowback that Trump gets is a reaction to all this disruption … ." The disruption he talks about is part of the "crafted chaos" he sees as part of the Trump mystique. Abernathy belittles us when he says that the news media still can't get over the loss of being able to celebrate the first female commander in chief. What I and millions of other Americans dislike about the current presidency is the inept, ineffective and unethical approach to governance. No media, regardless of how biased, can mask the poor performance of this administration. After all, many of us have lived in this country through enough decades to recognize an administration that is completely out of control — and out of touch. Abernathy is not only NOT on the same page as I am, he is not reading the same book.

I just moved to Bloomington one week ago and want to tell my Muslim neighbors that you are welcome in my community anytime or anywhere ("FBI seeks 'who, why' in mosque bombing," Aug. 6). Do not judge us by one hateful person, but know that I am certain that I speak for all of us that you are welcome and free to practice your religion here in our community and that we are representative of the greater Twin Cities area. We are so sorry.

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Thank you, Gov. Mark Dayton, for being our moral leader (" 'A terrible, dastardly, cowardly act ... was committed,' " Aug. 7). You could not have said it better: Minnesotans "accept one another. We support one another. We respect one another. We live together. We work together. We succeed together." These are words to live by.

In the Aug. 4 letters, two writers repeat failed assertions that Jacob Frey improperly used his Minneapolis City Council campaign funds in his mayoral race. The writers clearly intended to attack his fitness for office. I provided legal counsel to Frey in this matter and write to clarify several important facts.

First, Frey proactively sought legal advice in order to be sure funds were properly used. He sought an advisory opinion from the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board, which has regulatory oversight of these matters. One of the Aug. 4 letter writers testified at the public hearing, arguing impropriety and precedent, but the board rejected her assertions. The funds from Frey's council campaign could be used to run for mayor. In fact, precedent at the state level is entirely consistent: state representatives and senators can use funds raised for those seats to run for governor.

Second, the letter writer then filed an appellate court petition against Frey on this very issue. It was dismissed.

In " 'The Mooch' just gives the rest of us a bad name" (Aug. 4), Kathy Tunheim stated that "obfuscation, misdirection or outright untruths" are the tools of organizations that do not want to be understood.

Readers can find several such examples on Page D1 of the Star Tribune that same day:

1) Mortenson Development's senior vice president Bob Solfelt, on canceled plans to build a hotel: "We have been working through the development process during a rapidly changing investment period and have decided the current market timing is suboptimal for our needs." Translation: We're bailing before we lose our shirts.

2) TreeHouse Foods' Chairman and CEO Sam K. Reed, on closing a Brooklyn Park plant: "These measures are required if we are to remain competitive in a rapidly changing marketplace for packaged foods." Translation: People no longer want to eat our junk food.

3) Developer Shafer Richardson's Maureen Michalski, on a new parking ramp in the North Loop: "For us, it's looking ahead to the future in addition to dealing with the demand and the constraints that are being seen in the neighborhood right now with parking." Translation: Who knows. I'm just glad they're not looking ahead to the past.

Regarding "Residents see day shelter as not-so-good neighbor" (Aug. 5), I ask this out of curiosity, not judgment: What would happen if the residents of St. Paul Dayton's Bluff who are opposed to Listening House visitors — instead of photographing and documenting activities — would join them on the bench with a bottle of water or a cup of coffee and talk for a while? Maybe even mention neighborhood concerns.

Gregory Orkin, a UCLA geographer who "couldn't sleep" once he realized how much meat consumption was occurring because of American pets and so started analyzing numbers, only tells part of this story ("What your pets eat could be damaging the climate," Aug. 5). Yes, pet food contains animal parts; however, the majority of it is what is left over after the parts that humans consume have been removed. Most dry pet food is composed of myriad other ingredients, often with as little as 3 percent of chicken or beef meal, provided from the leftover parts ground up at rendering plants. Simply multiplying how many pets times the pounds of food they consume results in a very skewed number.

The more important takeaway is that animal consumption by humans (which includes dairy products) contributes far more (approximately 30 percent more) to global warming than fossil-fuel consumption. It is positive that we are driving less with more-efficient cars and getting more of our energy needs met by wind and solar, but most people would never consider giving up their daily habit of consuming animal products. We need to look in the mirror and change our habits before blaming our pets.

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At last! We know the true cause of all our climate problems. It's not corporate greed, overpopulation or fossil fuels. It's Fluffy's fault. When I gently explained the pending demise of the Earth and placed the blame squarely on his skinny little shoulders, you should have seen the look in his eyes. My heart aches, but there's no way around it. He's got to go. Fluffy — I will miss you, but you, and only you, can save the world.