It's now going on two weeks after the solstice, and we have been enjoying our days of summer. With sunsets coming around 9 p.m., these are the days we Minnesotans yearn for in January and February.
Many people may not be aware of this, but an increasing number of people want to eliminate the ritual of changing our clocks for Daylight Saving Time. In fact, a bill was introduced in this year's legislative session (HF 2458) to eliminate DST. Thank Reps. Mary Franson and Mike Freiberg.
As you enjoy your summer, imagine no DST. Notice all the activities you've been to on athletic fields in the 7 to 8 o'clock hours. As we move through the season, those become less optimal. Pay attention to how the extra hour of daytime benefits Minnesotans.
Also realize this : We are currently in a two-month period when the sun rises within 10 minutes of 5:35 a.m. Eliminating DST would mean two months of 4:35 a.m. sunrises — yes, 4:35 a.m. We would be giving up our precious summer hours for that.
Of course, there will be some who would prefer the 4:35 sunrise; I run at 5 a.m., so I would have light instead of dark in August. But I don't see much else going on at 5 a.m. Eliminating DST might work some places, but in Minnesota, choosing 4:35 sunrises for 8:00 sunsets would truly be Daylight Wasting Time.
Cary Kangas, Lakeville
ROAD CONSTRUCTION
Commuters suffer, and again there's no accountability
We know drivers are frustrated — that's all we seem to get from the Minnesota Department of Transportation. This is now the third summer in a row that a combination of road construction projects has caused major gridlock in downtown Minneapolis ("Construction, utility work snarl Minneapolis commutes," June 29). When citizens try to get the bottom of who is responsible for this, not just for the frustration but for actively stealing hours of their lives and forcing them to miss family commitments, adding strain on already understaffed after-school programs and causing untold other forms of havoc invisible to the leadership at MnDOT, they're told, "Well, that's Metro Transit's project" or "You would need to ask the city of Minneapolis."
Minneapolis City Council President Barb Johnson says, "Everybody's got their projects and people do work together to try to make the projects not compete." OK, then how do they continue to fail so miserably year after year? Where were you when these agencies were deciding which projects could take place simultaneously? Are you even doing traffic impact studies and, if so, where are they?
Adding insult to injury is the Downtown Council's "Big Build" branding effort. It's great that Nicollet Avenue is going to look good for the tourists in fall 2017. Meanwhile, I've spent the last two years stuck behind the buses that were never meant to be on Hennepin. A lot of marketing, blame-shifting and tepid acknowledgments that people are upset. No changes in leadership. No investigations. Nothing resembling actual accountability.
Jesse Peterson, Minneapolis
CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS
Progressives want to perceive religions as equal; religions don't
I am glad to see the Twin Cities' progressives have their view on what Christians should think and say. A June 26 letter writer responding to John Kass' June 24 commentary about Bernie Sanders' attack on the Christian beliefs of Russell Vought, nominee for deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, ended her letter with: "They do not have The Truth." The letter writer said all religious people should be careful about the language they use, in particular the words "condemned" and "infidel."
Let's pop one of the progressives' mantras right away. True adherents to various faiths do not think the other faiths are correct. Progressives want to add an equal sign to all religions. They think no religion is better than another. In their view, it is pure arrogance for one religion to claim superiority or truth over another.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father but through me." Christians differ if one must believe in Jesus to go through him to the father, but when you add Jesus' statements about being the gate and that those who do not go through the gate are thieves and robbers, I think it is safe to say that a religion that identifies Jesus' followers as infidels is most likely in that group of thieves and robbers.
Jesus' above statements are also contrary to a Muslim's declaration of faith that Mohammed is God's messenger. You can see why the true adherents to Christianity and Islam think the others are wrong. To have progressives tell those holding either of the beliefs what to believe is where the pure arrogance lies. Secondly, the progressives' view is contrary to logic. To tell somebody that two contradictory possibilities are the same is just stupid. Yet, that is what the progressives think the adherents to faiths should do. Thanks, but no thanks. Unlike the progressives' faith in secular wishful thinking, I would like to follow my faith in a sane manner.
Dan Nye, Edina
LONG-TERM-CARE INSURANCE
Not so easy to get or to afford
Regarding a June 30 letter responding to the June 28 letter "Why Medicaid might matter to you, even if you are not 'poor' ": I am happy for the writer that she and her family believe in personal responsibility and are able to afford long-term-care insurance. My father had a pre-existing condition that made him ineligible, and my mother had the insurance, but it only lasted for three years. Somehow she managed to die just before the insurance ran out! Many people with a pre-existing condition will never be able to afford such insurance, and surely no one living at the poverty level or below will be able to buy it. Anyone who is lucky enough to have long-term-care insurance should look very carefully at the fine print to discover the limits of what this kind of insurance pays out.
Judith Allen Kim, Excelsior
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May I point out that for people with pre-existing conditions such as insulin-dependent diabetes (which includes me), it is very nearly impossible to find an insurer that will provide long-term-care insurance. I have been trying to find such an insurer for many years, and I have been refused each time I apply. If the June 30 letter writer knows of a kindhearted insurance company — surely a mythical beast — I would hope that she would let me know where they are to be found. I would, of course, prefer an affordable premium, something less than half my monthly income.
Carol Figeroid-Burgi, St. Paul
THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY
The big picture
Thank you, Star Tribune, for the coverage of President Donald Trump's disgusting tweets this week against the two MSNBC hosts ("How we wish Trump would use Twitter," editorial, June 30). However, I think the bigger story this week and an issue that is becoming more alarming every day is Trump's attempt to discredit and control the media. This week alone, cameras were disallowed in the press room, questions were refused by the White House spokespeople, and our president continues to attack specific media personally and viciously. One Republican senator from Nebraska, Ben Sasse, tweeted, "Please just stop." We have all been imploring this president and those in this White House to just do their jobs for weeks. It is becoming increasingly terrifying to see a perpetration of sexism, disrespect and personal attacks from the president of our country. I heard a rumor that First Lady Melania Trump's agenda was to fight cyberbullying. It appears she needs to begin her work in her very own house.
