THE BROWN WIN
One new senator and everything changes?
An observation after the special election in Massachusetts: Republicans crow as if they have retaken the White House, the Senate and the House, and the Democrats whine as if the Republicans have retaken the White House, the Senate and the House.
KEITH REED, ROSEMOUNT
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I find it amusing to watch President Obama and the Democrats try to spin the results of the special election in Massachusetts.
In November, Virginia, a moderate state, and New Jersey, a left-leaning state, elected Republican governors. And on Tuesday, Massachusetts, a longtime Democratic stronghold, overwhelmingly elected Scott Brown to fill the Senate seat once held by the late Ted Kennedy, who held the seat since 1962.
For the past eight months, populist protests have been held across our nation, with millions turning out demanding one thing of our elected government -- back off and leave us alone. We're Americans, we can take care of ourselves. Until the Democrats reassess themselves and their congressional leadership, they will continue to lose seats.
RICHARD O'BRIEN, ALBERTVILLE
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Am I the only liberal who sees a bright side to Tuesday's election? The Republicans now have skin in the game. They'll need to participate in the process. Republicans can no longer just throw rotten tomatoes and make rude noises.
MARK WENTZ, ROCHESTER
OBAMA'S PRIORITIES
Rather than health care, he should focus on jobs
My family strongly supported President Obama in the 2008 election. We still agree wholeheartedly with his core beliefs. This country can take care of its poor and it does need to change and improve our health care system.
However, none of this will matter unless we start creating jobs, jobs, jobs! The recession isn't close to being over. Our No. 1 priority should be job creation and reestablishing the middle class.
DENNIS ATCHISON, STILLWATER
A PTSD WARNING SIGN
American Legion was at the forefront
The Jan. 20 front-page story on the discovery of a biomarker for early and reliable identification of post-traumatic stress disorder omitted one important fact.
In the early '90s, the Minnesota American Legion, through a major fundraising effort, established the Brain Sciences chair at the University of Minnesota and the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. The establishment of the chair is the genesis of the research over the past two decades that has resulted in this wonderful scientific advance.
It is fitting that the research, originated by the American Legion, has led to this potential breakthrough for veterans suffering from PTSD. The American Legion is proud of its part in this monumental discovery.
AL DAVIS, ST. PAUL;
DEPARTMENT COMMANDER,
MINNESOTA AMERICAN LEGION
DISCRIMINATION CLAIM
ABM Janitorial stands behind its hiring record
The Jan. 7 story "From ICE woes to EEOC complaint," on the accusations that ABM Janitorial Services discriminated in hiring replacement workers to 1,200 illegal workers nabbed in an immigration crackdown, had many mischaracterizations. The company would like to respond to these claims.
ABM Janitorial Services is more than disappointed that SEIU Local 26 would orchestrate a tactic like this. It is without any foundation in fact and maligns an excellent organization such as Emerge, which employs these 50 workers.
The curious timing of its filing -- during collective bargaining negotiations for thousands of local janitors -- should not be overlooked. In fact, SEIU Local 26 has introduced specific bargaining proposals on this issue, and they are being addressed in contract talks involving all major Minneapolis-St. Paul area janitorial companies. ABM is proud of its association with Emerge, an organization that, by recruiting and hiring unemployed inner-city workers, provides local residents with new opportunity.
JEFF SOUTHARD, MINNEAPOLIS;
REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT,
ABM JANITORIAL SERVICES
WIND TURBINES
Editorial made claims with little or no basis
I would like to respond to several statements in the Jan 20 editorial, "Reconsider setbacks for wind turbines."
• The editorial states, "Hardly anyone denies the value of the clean energy produced by the giant wind turbines going up on sparsely populated land all across the country." "Hardly anyone"? Who says? That is an unsubstantiated generalization.
• It also states that bad location can "invite thoughtless and pernicious opposition to wind power generation." Yes, bad location is engendering opposition. But who is the Star Tribune to say that this opposition is thoughtless? It is real and for good reasons, among them the destruction of people's peace of mind, not to mention their property values.
• "Complaints about wind turbines are mounting, less on their merits than on their occasionally inappropriate locations." Yes, they have merits, but they also have demerits. They create inescapable noise, vibrations, kill birds and are, to many of us, visual pollutants.
• "If anything, there's an oversupply of farm land." Really? You can't be serious. On what basis does the newspaper draw this conclusion?
• "As for noise, there is little credible evidence that low-frequency sound from wind turbines is any more harmful than the routine hum of traffic for any urban dweller." On the contrary, there is much (and a growing amount) of evidence that shows that turbine sound and vibration has deleterious physical, emotional and psychological effects. Go to Google and search under "Wind turbines health hazards." You will find 180,000 citations.
• "Aesthetics? Fences, silos and grain elevators were once considered blemishes on the rural landscapes." Maybe. But they were natural, connected outgrowths of the farm culture. Wind turbines are foreign body transplants that generate a rejection response.
Wind turbines are a poor substitute for coal, oil and natural gas power generation. Solar is better. Even nuclear is better.
JAMES KONDRICK, EDINA
