Why the focus on Trump? Well …

A recent letter writer took issue with David Brooks’ column “A Time for Civic Uprising.” This letter was published under the heading “Where is the evidence?” While I think Brooks plays a little fast and loose with the term “civic uprising,” I agree with his central idea that a core motivation for Trump is the acquisition of unchecked power.

The letter writer’s primary point is that Brooks is one of many commentators so consumed with their hatred of Trump that they lose sight of the problems Trump is trying to address, such as bureaucratic inefficiency, border insecurity, national debt (he conveniently forgets that the national debt soared during Trump’s first presidency), inadequate prosecution of criminals, and so forth. He writes “Attack and vilify and dehumanize the person. And this isn’t about President Trump.”

Actually, it IS about Donald Trump. Even if one acknowledged that the problems raised by the letter writer are legitimate and require serious steps to correct, does this justify having a man as unbalanced as Trump in the most powerful office in the world?

Donald Trump has openly stated that he is serious about making Canada the 51st state of the U.S. Canada, our tremendous neighbor and ally, has been forced to take this threat seriously. This is but one undeniable indication that Trump is profoundly unbalanced. People focus on Trump and harshly criticize him because his statements and actions warrant such criticism and alarm.

— Peter Langworthy, St. Paul

Where did it go?

It has been nearly five years since the statue of Christopher Columbus was unceremoniously and illegally toppled from its pedestal, damaged, and removed from the State Capitol grounds where it had stood since 1931.

I have a few questions.

Where has the statue been stored for the past five years?

Has the statue been repaired?

When will the public be able to see the statue again?

Where will the public be able to see the statue again?

If Gov. Walz is against censoring books, why is he fine with keeping a work of art, a statue of an Italian, created by St. Paul Italian-American artist Carlo Brioschi, hidden from public view?

Who can and will answer my questions?

— Greg Cosimini, St. Paul

What’s great about all this?

About 100 days into the Trump administration, what is great about higher food prices, continued high interest rates, retirement accounts losing value, lack of due process for many citizens, cuts in education funding, cuts in social programs, cutting early childhood development, reducing press freedoms, turning back civil rights gains, tariff proposals that cost average citizens thousands of dollars, cuts in worldwide human aid that in the long run aids the United States, mistrust from other countries friendly to us, allowing other countries more latitude to reduce U.S. world influence, hurting U.S. veterans, attempts to make it harder to vote, etc.?

— Gordon Hayes, Eagan

A tariff on work-at-home employees

Much has been said about tariffs these days. Simply put a tariff is a tax on foreign imports. But tariffs are really just a bargaining chip to negotiate fair trade amongst countries.

Since we’ve established the basics on tariffs as a bargaining tool, I offer an incentive to bring state government employees back to work in St. Paul. As a resident property-tax payer of St. Paul, paying the lion’s share of property taxes for vacant tax-exempt government buildings, I propose a tax on government employees who refuse to come back to work and are living inside the 50-mile “Walz Wall.” If they refuse to come back full-time, a state income tariff should be imposed on their paychecks. Why, as St. Paul residents, should we pay for unoccupied government office spaces?

Shouldn’t stay-at-home state employees get taxed at a higher rate to offset their physical absence? They’re getting a paycheck just like the other workers who want/need to travel to the office. The in-office employees are making sacrifices. It’s time for the pajama-bottom workers to pay up.

We baby-boomers and earlier generations did not have the luxury of working from home. Some may say that the “work-from-home ship” has sailed. I say turn that ship around bring it back to port. A beacon of hope is a Stay-at-Home Income Tariff.

— Mark Kirchner, St. Paul

There goes lunch money

One of Gov. Walz’s arguments for mandating workers back to their offices was that “they will eat lunch at downtown restaurants.” But with all their new expenses, such as a second car and insurance for it, daycare for a child not even born when mom started working from home, and downtown parking at $8/day … there goes the lunch money.

— Carole MacCarter, Maplewood

Once they’re clean, consider felons

I am a student at Augsburg University, going back to school to obtain my master’s in social work paired with my licensed alcohol and drug counseling degree. I am nearing the end of my first year in the two-year program and enjoying my current policy course.

I am a 28-year-old female and I have just reached 2.5 years sober. I was consumed by addiction and lived in a world full of darkness. I went to Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge in October of 2022 and completed their short-term program, which changed my life. As I have been in recovery, I have met hundreds of OUTSTANDING individuals with quite the past and record. Even after years of sobriety, these individuals are unable to get certain jobs due to the past crimes they committed while in addiction. You see, addiction turns us into different people. When you step into long-term recovery, you step into a new life. A life of freedom. We are NOTHING like we used to be.

I am calling Minnesotans to consider felons with five years of a clean record for the police force.

In Minnesota, you are unable to serve on the police force after you have been convicted of a felony, which, unfortunately, many people in recovery have. However, people in recovery are qualified. People in recovery know how the streets are run, know all about the drug scene, know where the hot spots are, and have the smarts to know the appropriate interventions. They also have compassion for individuals still stuck in criminal activity. We need more people on the force who can relate to the people we serve and with that, I can guarantee we would see more positive change.

Police staffing across the U.S. is at historic lows. It’s time to consider alternative options.

— Jaycie Gerding, Maple Grove