Together?

Most outgrow the “terrible twos.”

RE: “House Dems threaten no-show,” (Jan. 8) Pioneer Press article.

Such childish antics by the supposed adults elected to represent the interests of Minnesotans, all Minnesotans.

The DFL leader in the House, Rep. Melissa Hortman, makes the claim that “We’re here to work together.” Right! As long as we do it the DFL way.

— Gary C. Schraml, Lindstrom

Naming the gulf

It’s reported that U.S. Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) directed her staff to draft legislation renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, pursuant to Mr. Trump’s suggestion. How about a sign outside her congressional office stating “Gulf of Absurdity?”

— Alan Miller, Eagan

So, would NATO have to fight for Greenland?

NATO member countries sign a pledge stating that an armed attack on one is considered an attack on all. So what of President-elect Trump’s hints that he would consider using the U.S. military to acquire Greenland — his latest obsession? Greenland has been part of Denmark for 600 years; Denmark is a NATO ally. Would the other NATO countries be required to go to war against the U.S. in support of Denmark?

This has been Trump’s behavior his whole life. If he sees something he wants, he believes he’s entitled to have it, and woe to anyone who tries to get in his way as he never forgets. (And how is this different from Putin deciding he’s entitled to Ukraine?)

Trump has also announced that he wants to take the Panama Canal back from Panama. Fortunately for him, I guess, Panama has no military. With his usual lack of any class, he railed against Jimmy Carter (who was in office when the Panama Canal Treaty was signed) while Carter’s body was lying in state at the Capitol. He was probably upset that Carter’s death had pushed him off the front pages for a minute. Never mind that the Senate approved, the two countries’ leaders signed, and Panamanians voted to ratify the treaty. Trump has seen no need to honor his own contracts throughout his life (he’s infamous for stiffing people who work for him), so why would he care about some treaty entered into by a former president?

Truly, is this the chaos that Trump voters chose because they thought he was going to give them cheaper eggs?

Running the most powerful country on Earth is not some entertaining “reality show.” It’s actual reality, with actual consequences — and it works better when there’s an adult in charge.

— Carol Turnbull, Woodbury

Let’s make a St. Paul deal, Musk and Ramaswamy

Come Jan. 20, there will be a new administration hitting the streets of America. President-Elect Trump will be on the loose to stir things up, and our downtown St. Paul streets could should use a stirring.

Trump is looking to form a new department. DOGE. The Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE is not an actual department. For now, it is simply an acronym offered by Elon Musk. Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have been proffered to run the actual DOGE and begin ridding the federal government of inefficiencies.

One such inefficiency is the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). A proposal mentioned is to move the USDA to the heart of agriculture, the Midwest. If moved, the department will lessen its higher salary burden of so many department employees working and living in the more expensive Washington, D.C., area. Minnesota, according to Farm Progress, is the United States’ sixth largest agriculture state. Minnesota and St. Paul have strong USDA legs to stand on.

Let’s be proactive and offer Elon and Vivek a deal.

I suggest that Gov. Walz and Mayor Carter roll out the red carpet to Musk and Ramaswamy and offer a deal to get them to move the USDA to our capital city of St. Paul. Word is that Musk and Ramaswamy will require all federal employees to go back to work and abandon working remotely. St. Paul’s streets and office buildings have been emptied and decimated in the wake of the COVID pandemic. We could sure use the influx of workers. What a redemption opportunity for Walz and Carter to fill the vacant floors and streets of our capital city.

What the city of St. Paul may lose in property tax revenue, will likely be, naturally, redeemed through a rise in added employee income and service industry taxes. A tax I like to call a foot traffic tax.

— Mark Kirchner, St. Paul