Readers Write: Trump-Putin summit, law and order in D.C., data centers, wildfires, Hennepin Healthcare, dance

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

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How can the president plan a summit in Alaska if one-third of the participants are missing? Is President Donald Trump having difficulty counting to three? (“Zelenskyy rejects giving up territory,” Aug. 10.)

Norman Holen, Minneapolis

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At great expense, Trump is going to meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin to talk about ending the war Putin waged on Ukraine. Trump will do his best impersonation of a man in charge and tell Putin what he wants, like before. Putin will agree and then do what he wants, like before. I haven’t read “The Art of the Deal,” but is there a chapter called “The Art of the Self-Humiliation”?

Doug Williams, Robbinsdale

Thomas Wexler, Edina

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Trump refused to call in the National Guard when the Capitol was under siege and a person had been killed. Now he finds the crime in D.C. so overwhelming that it’s necessary to have the Guard roaming the streets (“Trump sends Guard into D.C.,” Aug. 12). Where’s the logic?

Sally Thomas, Edina

From the Sunday article “As electric bills rise, eyes turn to data centers,” it is evident that “progress” is on a collision course with reality. The energy demands of data centers, along with water needed for cooling, will put us on the terminal path of climate change that no amount of artificial intelligence will rectify. Where has common sense gone, along with the common good and the good of the Commons? A carbon tax proportional to the carbon footprint of Big Tech and other corporate enterprises to generate sustainable “green energy” resources, and improved water conservation, needs to be initiated by responsible government.

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As the article points out, much of the explosive growth of data centers requires huge increases in electric consumption and the resulting increase of electric rates paid by the broad consumer base (us). Then the question is: Who should pay for the increases in costs to provide that increase in consumption (which is much greater than the increase in the broader economy)? My obvious answer is the data companies and various states have tried a variety of ways to try and do that, but not successfully. My suggestion is that these data companies should build and use their own electric generation plants and not be allowed to plug into the broader networks.

Duane “Dana” White, Edina

With all the smoke from Canadian wildfires this year, some Republican elected reps are seeing an opportunity to bash Canada yet again, for fire disasters that are every bit our responsibility as theirs. This year, the smoke from Canada is as bad as it’s ever been because the wildfires are as bad as they’ve ever been. It would be a terrific idea for representatives from Canada and the U.S. to come together in good faith and good will, to collaborate on how best to mitigate this problem. But have our representatives from either party ever done that?

In our own politics in this country, we seem to have forgotten that we get more done when we collaborate rather than going around picking fights. Instead of our representatives blaming others for the problems that we all share responsibility in, come out with ideas for how America can lead on these problems and help find solutions.

My first encounter with Hennepin County Medical Center was in 1976 as a medical student. I later completed the surgery residency program and ultimately 35 years as a staff surgeon. During that time I also performed many different administrative positions.

During my time at HCMC I can’t remember the hospital and health system being profitable. But the county commissioners were always willing to make up the deficit. The commissioners were proud that the county-owned safety hospital needed significantly less financial support than any other county-owned hospital in the United States.

But the current model, especially in light of decreasing revenue from multiple sources, is not sustainable (“Hospital takeover a ‘naive,’ dubious prescription,” Strib Voices, Aug. 11). There have been many articles written regarding management and financial challenges but no solutions.

Hennepin Healthcare needs an academic partner to continue its mission. Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota are the only reasonable options, and Mayo would be the unlikely partner. A partnership with the U would bring many synergies to both organizations. The synergies include combining management departments, computer systems, research and many others. Competing clinics could be joined. Clinical programs could be combined, which can reduce staff and increase volume, which always lead to better outcomes. Physician staff could be reduced with program alignment.

Hennepin Healthcare and the U are asking for major capital projects and new hospitals for both organizations. Wouldn’t it be better to plan these projects together, especially in light of the proximity of the campuses? The U is obviously a state resource, but Hennepin Healthcare accepts patients from all over Minnesota, not just Hennepin County, and should be considered a state resource.

Of course this means continued financial support from Hennepin County and the state of Minnesota. Many options should be considered.

The governance of the combined organization should be independent directors with vast and varied health care experience. Not governed by special interest groups or directors who lack health care management experience.

What we have now is not working and there needs to be a bold plan for both organizations. Cost-cutting just means reducing the services to the patients that the organizations serve. Less access and poorer quality of care to the patients.

Think boldly.

Mark Odland, Edina

Thank you for the thoughtful article about dance and technology (“Learning dance digitally,” Aug. 8). I’m sorry I missed the event at the Walker Art Center; I’m sure it was beautiful and inspiring.

I fear we have allowed our obsession with research in education to swamp the arts. Training the body for dance teaches discipline, self-awareness, pattern recognition, performance skills, anatomy and physiology. We should not have to justify it academically by layering on technology and “research.” Nor do we need its end result to be more than what it is: a polished, expressive performance reflecting on the human condition.

One of George Balanchine’s most enduring works is “Jewels,” in which, without any reference at all to minerals, dancers charm us with the brilliant colors of their costumes and the brilliant athleticism of their bodies. We might consider the efforts of the nearest geology department while enjoying the dance, but should that not occur to us in the moment, little will be lost.

The performing arts stand on their own as a critical element of human society. Let’s invest in them so artists can continue to do what they do best: entertain and inspire us, charm and delight and surprise us.