Diverse?

In the Feb. 10 edition of the paper, your report describes the new Saint Paul City Council as the most diverse ever. Perhaps my notion of “diverse” is different, but I noticed that there was not a single white male, or even any male, among them. Odd notion indeed of “diverse.”

Sandy Beitsch, St. Paul

Do tell

During the Monday night coverage of the Iowa caucuses, there was a camera at a caucus that showed a woman giving a short speech in support of disgraced former President Donald Trump. She said, “I know I don’t have to tell you how much Donald Trump has done for this country.” (Crowd cheers.) She said a couple more sentences and moved from the lectern.

Hold it! Yes, you do have to tell millions of Americans what Trump did for the country. I watched those four years closely, I remember a lot of rallies, a lot of golf, his own business deals, and sucking up to dictators. Please let us know anything he did for the country.

Tom Leary, Mendota Heights

Where strength lies

According to “A strongman president? These voters crave it” column by ZeynepTufekci of the New York Times, the perception among many Trump supporters is that he is their choice because he is strong.

I don’t understand what is strong and even respected about a person who name-calls, bullies, breaks the law, and disregards the fundamentals of American democracy.

As a child, I was taught that strength lies in character, strength lies in morality and integrity, strength lies in the rule of law. I hope the American people will vote for the person who best represents our better angels.

Donna Isaac, Inver Grove Heights

Recalling King on Vietnam

On Martin Luther King Day, I read a few of his speeches. “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” Riverside Church, NYC, 1967, is the speech where he argued for the cessation of the Vietnam War. I wonder, if living today, how he would message the devastating Israeli assault on Gaza and the Palestinian men, women and children.

These are King’s words and I think of our role in Gaza when Vietnam is referenced: “Before long they (U.S. soldiers) must know that their government has sent them into a struggle among the Vietnamese, and the more sophisticated surely realize that we are on the side of the wealthy, and the secure, while we create a hell for the poor. Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam.” “I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose houses are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted.” “I speak as a citizen of the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as one who loves America, to the leaders of our own nation; the great initiative in this war is ours; the initiative to stop it must be ours.”

King continued, “If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long dark and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality and strength without sight.”

We can’t deceive ourselves. America has influence to put an end to the demolition of and suffering in Gaza; after all, we are the supplier of the weapons of war that Israel is dependent upon to ravage Gaza.

Pete Boelter, North Branch

Court interpreters and context

To put the Minnesota court interpreters’ demand for a significant pay increase in historical perspective:

Certified interpreters are now paid $56 per hour, an increase that went into effect in 2021 after an increase from $50 to $52 in 2018 — which means no increase in pay for 19 years until then.

According to Minneapolis’s Federal Reserve Bank, this means that by 2018 that $50 per hour was reduced to $31.92 in value or purchasing power and the two raises in 2018 and in 2021 only incrementally change these numbers over the past 26 years.

Moreover, interpreters are independent contractors and pay the full 15.2% social security tax on every dollar earned instead of only 7.65% paid by employees, and they receive absolutely no employment benefits such as medical insurance and pension contributions.

Compare this to compensation for Minnesota court personnel to understand just how unfair these circumstances have become.

By contrast, a Minnesota district court judge was paid $86,834 per year in 1997. which has been raised since then to $169,254 as of 2022, with proposed or passed legislative increases of 4% for 2023 and another 4% for 2024 — bringing their pay up to $183,065 — approximately a 110% increase since 1997 — and thus have suffered no inflationary loss of purchasing power over that period, while at the same time that of interpreters has been cut in half.

As a former attorney, I know how hard most judges work at their job and therefore should be fairly compensated, but in evaluating fairness here, be informed that additionally they receive a very substantial benefit package, including medical, dental and disability insurance, and an incredible employer (state of Minnesota) contribution to their pension of up to 22.5%, so that the true total compensation received is over $224,000, or a 118% increase since 1997. Moreover, they only to have to pay 7.65% on their earnings for Social Security instead of the 15.3% paid by court interpreters.

Not only do our judges receive fair compensation under the above criteria, but so do most court personnel — especially at the higher positions. Court Administrator Shorba, for example, is paid over $200,000 per annum plus the aforementioned benefits yet has been in the vanguard of assuring court interpreters remain underpaid.

In order to become certified in our courts, an interpreter must undergo rigorous study, training and testing to qualify. Many study and practice for years before testing and many hold advanced degrees in the field. At trial they must not only be able to simply interpret from a foreign language into English but they must be able to do so consecutively and simultaneously if required and also be able to sight-translate written documents. On top of this, they must become proficient in the legal process, terms and ethics and are required to perform their duties under extreme pressure in a trial setting.

Their importance to the judicial process cannot be understated, and it is incumbent upon those who determine what they are to be paid, particularly those who can most influence that determination — that is our judicial branch, meaning judges and administrators alike — to recognize that  fact and to once and for all compensate our court interpreters fairly.

Given its resistance over the last 20-plus years, however, I would propose in the alternative that, since the judicial branch apparently  places so little value on the interpreters’ skills, perhaps we can dispense with them altogether and our judges instead would be required to be fluent in at least one of the commonly used foreign languages spoken in our courts to qualify to conduct trials and other proceedings. Certainly we as taxpayers would benefit from the resulting lower expenditures and, no doubt, from a more intellectually skilled, if not more enlightened, judiciary.

Michael Lander, Minneapolis

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