Readers Write: Veterans Day, nuclear weapons, government shutdown

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

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Earlier this fall, I spotted a rock on Omaha Beach in Normandy. I picked it up and decided I’d give it to my veteran brother who’d not yet checked off this historic destination from his bucket list.

Like most seaside finds, the rock was not as pretty dry as it was in the surf. So I attempted to coat it with a rock-polishing liquid. “Attempted” is the operative word, as this rock defied every attempt I made to gloss it up.

Curious, I googled, “Are some of the rocks on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, actually made of cement?”

I learned: Yes — some of the rocks on Omaha Beach are actually remnants of concrete bunkers, fortifications and invasion obstacles from World War II. In addition, the beach itself contains unusual materials like shrapnel, iron beads and even glass formed by explosions, which mix with the natural sand and pebbles. As Copilot put it, “This means Omaha Beach is not just covered with cement fragments but also contains a microscopic record of the battle embedded in its sand.”

With this history lesson, I gave up trying to polish something that was never meant to be pretty.

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This year, I will celebrate Veterans Day with a heavy heart. While I am profoundly grateful for the service and patriotism of our military veterans, both living and deceased, I am troubled by the efforts of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to politicize our armed forces. Just look at some of what he has done:

To the thousands of men and women in uniform, I say, “Thanks for your service!” To Hegseth, I say, “Please remember that your ultimate loyalty must be to the Constitution, not Donald Trump.”

Alan Bray, St. Peter, Minn.

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Dan Wicht, Fridley

Kudos to John Rash and a recent letter writer for pushing back against resuming nuclear testing (“An ‘alarming,’ ‘incoherent’ stand on nuclear testing,” Strib Voices, Nov. 5, and “Testing paves the way for war,” Readers Write, Nov. 4). Such testing has already caused many premature deaths domestically and globally. Estimates vary from hundreds of thousands to millions. Cancers, especially thyroid cancer and leukemia, cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses caused by radioactive fallout develop years or decades after exposure. Clearly these medical issues cause much suffering and debt for families and communities even as improved cancer treatment delays deaths.

I would support awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to any U.S. president who signs the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). A majority of the world’s nations have already signed. Since the U.S. was the first to build and bomb with nukes, it behooves us to be the first nuclear nation to sign. Signing the treaty starts the process toward ratification and does not require unilateral action.

The city councils of Minneapolis and St. Paul have passed “Back from the Brink” resolutions that affirm steps to diminish and eliminate the nuclear threats to our fiscal, mental and physical well-being.

Surely future generations (if humans manage to survive) will praise us for ending the lunacy of investing so much public treasure in weaponry that is mostly for show (since starting a nuclear war is suicidal) and creates so much residual suffering domestically in the process.

The writer is a member of the Warheads to Windmills Campaign.

Looks like the government shutdown might be ending, but at what cost?

If the “deal” is to permanently hike health insurance premiums for millions of working Americans, just to hand out more tax breaks to billionaires, that’s not a compromise. That’s a sellout.

We shouldn’t have to choose between a functioning government and affordable health care. Everyday people shouldn’t be the ones paying the price while the ultrawealthy get another handout.

Paul Niebeling, Minneapolis

I’m so angry at the Democrats who folded. Seven million of us rallied for you. We gave to food shelves and attended town halls and were loud. We stood behind you. You were finally doing something to stop just one of the obscenities of this administration. People were waking up to the cause of the chaos. I wonder, what’s the difference between having no health care and not being able to afford the health care you are offered? You caved. It’s unforgivable.

Mary Divine, White Bear Lake

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It is time to end the Senate filibuster rule, and the current U.S. government shutdown should motivate us more than ever in this direction. Currently, a budget has been put forth with majority approval in both the House and the Senate, but the old fly-in-the-ointment Senate filibuster rule gave the minority party the leverage it does not deserve in blocking passage of the budget and reopening of the U.S. government. I hold Congress responsible for smooth operation of our government, and a shutdown is shameful failure to do job one. The filibuster is responsible for the procedural temptation of Senate minority parties to avoid the will of the majority. The filibuster should be ended once and for all. Now is a good time to make this change when the damage it causes is so very evident.

Karl Feind, Bloomington

Shutting the government down was never going to result in the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Show when and where the Republican Party — which controls the presidency, House, Senate and Supreme Court — would cave to progressive demands on extending ACA subsidies.

Republicans have been trying to kill the ACA for years. You seriously think they would cave to Sen. Bernie Sanders and other progressive Democrats?

This deal guarantees full funding for 42 million SNAP recipients. Children will be fed. Federal workers get back pay, there will be no further layoffs, and the mass firings will be reversed. And chaos at our airport dramatically will improve.

And Republicans in the House and Senate will be put on record in the next few weeks on whether they support health care for their constituents at a reasonable cost. Just in time for the 2026 election.

This was the best deal you were going to get, Democrats.