Readers writer (June 17): State Capitol, Basilica Block Party, Lake Calhoun, Libya

Throughout the legislative session, I have not read of a single innovative proposal to balance the budget. No one has suggested a tax code change to eliminate the deductions that are personal choices and should not be subsidized (mortgage interest, education, charitable donations).

No one has suggested changes to the way government does business (reduced hours at regional centers, changing hours to noon to 9 p.m. four days per week.)

Instead the Republicans and the governor have trotted out their one-trick ponies. No new taxes. Tax the rich.

Spare us the costs of a special session and government layoffs. Spare the needy the loss of benefits. Agree to the budget proposed. And get your sorry selves back home.

No brains, no heart, no courage. And no man behind the curtain.

MARY MCFETRIDGE, NEW HOPE

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However, that is not what the Block Party is about, and by boycotting it we risk alienating the very people whose hearts and minds we are trying to change. We also give ammunition to those who argue that the GLBT community is trying to force religious organizations into performing same-sex marriages (which we are not; religious organizations should be free to decide for themselves whom they will and will not marry within their congregations).

More important, boycotting the Block Party will hurt people who benefit from the services of the St. Vincent de Paul Center -- a good organization that does important work in the city on behalf of the poor, and a recipient of the proceeds from the Block Party. The rest of the proceeds will go toward restoring the Basilica itself. This is a building that is on the National Register of Historical Places, and is deserving of preservation.

Over the next 17 months, we will hear much debate about the marriage amendment, and my hope is that most of it be civil. We in the gay community need to brace ourselves, however, for an onslaught of lies, harassment and bigotry. And, we must choose our battles wisely. I just don't think a boycott of the Basilica Block Party is one of them.

KATY DANIELS, MINNEAPOLIS

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"Lake Calhoun" provokes us to recognize us that we live in slavery's discriminatory backwash -- growing achievement gaps, mounting black underclass poverty and unemployment, rising black infant mortality rates, ever more discriminatory incarceration rates and applications of capital punishment.

Think for a moment about post-Katrina New Orleans and collapsing black-dominated cities such as south Los Angeles, Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Think further about the quality of "race relations" here in the Twin Cities. Reflect on all this while strolling around beautiful Lake Calhoun.

JAMES BREWER STEWART, ST. PAUL

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The debate over the name of Lake Calhoun is becoming truly absurd. John Winters' commentary ("Slavery was evil; its hero deserves no honors," June 15) asks why the Confederate message has dominated the popular culture. I'm just not aware that it has.

What I do hear is what eventually will be productive discussion of the lingering racism that plagues our country. I'd like to suggest to Winters that if we change the name of Lake Calhoun, we'll need to be consistent and rename the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial and, of course, the nation's capital.

JOHN F. HETTERICK, PLYMOUTH

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All the talk about Calhoun reminds me of Mark Antony's eulogy about Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's play:

"The evil men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones."

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While I am a native speaker of English, the language of "war," "hostilities," and "humanitarian assistance" is way over my head. But if the use of drones to kill people in another country does not constitute "hostilities" ("White House: Obama has legal authority for Libya mission without congressional authorization," June 15), is the label "murder" applicable?

CHUCK TURCHICK, MINNEAPOLIS

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In 1991, the United States said to Britain and France: We are going to have a war in Iraq; please join us, and they did. In 2001, the United States said: We are going to have a war in Afghanistan; please join us, and they did.

Actions have consequences, and friends have responsibilities to one another.