PEACEFUL MENNONITES
Beale gets it wrong
The April 22 article "Defendant: God 'wants me to get rid of' the judge,'" quotes Robert Beale as saying "God needs us to be like Gideon against the Mennonites -- 300 vs. 120,000 men. We rise up and God will take care of us."
Beale was in error -- Gideon of the Old Testament fought the Midianites, not the Mennonites.
The Mennonites, a historic peace church, have their origins in the 16th-century Reformation period. We remain a small denomination, committed to following Jesus' example of love of enemies, and seeking justice through peaceful means.
JOETTA SCHLABACH, MINNEAPOLIS;
PASTOR, FAITH MENNONITE CHURCH
Sorel to MNDOT
A great choice
The future of our transportation system looks even brighter with the appointment of Tom Sorel as commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Star Tribune, April 22).
Sorel brings an engineering degree and decades of experience in delivering highway, bridge and transit projects to MnDOT.
The first step to repairing 20 years of neglect was passage of the transportation-funding bill. Now we have someone with experience to take the resources provided by the Legislature to deliver safer bridges, expanded highways and more transit options.
Transportation professionals are ready to work with Sorel to build a new transportation future, one that serves all Minnesotans.
GARY SAUER, MAPLE GROVE;
PRESIDENT, PROGRESS IN MOTION
soaring gas prices
Don't blame Democrats
In their current advertising campaign, Minnesota Republicans have hit a new low in respect for public intelligence. To try and blame the increase in gasoline prices solely on Democrats who voted for the small increase in the state gas tax is nothing short of ridiculous.
I filled my car up at $2.75 a gallon the day after the increase was voted into law. On Monday, it was $3.41 a gallon. The Legislature would be responsible for 2 cents, or roughly 3 percent, of that increase; 97 percent can be attributed to big oil, which contributes mostly to Republican campaigns.
DAVID SEEBA, COON RAPIDS
DRUNKEN-DRIVING SURVEY
Who's she fooling?
In the April 27 Letter of the Day, Sarah Longwell, managing director of American Beverage Institute, claims that the respondents of the drunk-driving survey could have gotten confused by the way it was phrased: "During the past 12 months, have you driven a vehicle while you were under the influence of alcohol?"
That is ridiculous. If I had a glass of wine at dinner or a beer at a ballgame, I would not consider myself to be "under the influence" of alcohol, and I don't think anyone else over 100 pounds would either. There was nothing confusing about the way the question was posed.
The American Beverage Institute is an anticonsumer lobby group opposed to alcohol safety regulations as well as indoor smoking bans. Longwell insulted the intelligence of the Minnesotans and all other Americans who participated in the study.
JULIE SANDBURG, MINNEAPOLIS
MAC AND NWA
Play hardball
The Metropolitan Airports Commission has an obligation to the taxpayers to collect the millions of dollars that Northwest will owe us when it moves its corporate office once the merger with Delta occurs. I also hope that MAC will limit the gates for Northwest and open up at least 50 percent of them to competing airlines in order to lower our prices for flying.
NANCY ANDERSON, BLOOMINGTON
AWOL BROTHERS
Call them cowards
I don't understand why the Star Tribune takes such a sympathetic look at soldiers going AWOL ("Deputy nabs second of three AWOL Minnesota brothers," April 28).
I don't know if the intent of the article was to demean the military, present these cowards as heroes or what, but it sickened me.
These guys signed up to serve. They claim they were misled. Why didn't they do a little research on their own -- possibly by visiting the Guard unit in Duluth?
I understand that most people don't want to go into combat, but when you join the Army, the very name suggests combat.
AARON MEIER, FAIRMONT
DEMOCRATIC RACE
Clinton's mudslinging
In the April 26 Star Tribune, Geoff Garin attempts to turn reality on its head by depicting the Obama campaign as being unfair to Clinton.
This is rich! The Clinton campaign against Obama has been one of the nastiest I have seen, and it's making it increasingly difficult for this Wellstone Democrat to imagine being able to vote for Clinton, should she be the nominee.
It's the Clinton campaign that has stooped to red-baiting, terror-mongering, and playing the race card. These are tactics that one would expect from the likes of Karl Rove, Lee Atwater, Jesse Helms and Joe McCarthy.
RICK MCCORMICK, MINNEAPOLIS
GRAND THEFT AUTO IV
Sex bad, violence OK
In the wake of the release of Grand Theft Auto IV (Star Tribune, April 29), I'm reminded of one of the absurdities of our free speech laws: Explicit sexual content is not protected free speech but gratuitous violence is.
Evidence overwhelmingly suggests that role-playing games involving human exploitation lead to exploitative behavior in playgrounds, dormitories and private residences across our county. I am at a loss as to why our laws protect one type of victim but not the other.
JAMES MATHEWSON, FARIBAULT, MINN.
