What about the sisters?

Really? A papal exhibit to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Catholic Church in Minnesota?

Why not an exhibit portraying the development of the Catholic Church here? And, by the way, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province, will celebrate 175 years in Minnesota come Nov. 3, 2026. What about including the contributions of Catholic communities of sisters in an exhibit?

Mary E Kraft, St. Paul. The writer is a retired archivist for the Sisters of St. Joseph

Front-page news

I opened my paper Sunday, expecting to see Page One dominated by coverage of the No Kings rallies in Minneapolis and especially in St. Paul. Instead the main feature was “a look inside” the renovation of two elementary schools. While certainly a worthy topic of interest, this was hardly newsworthy enough to outweigh what was probably the biggest mass protest in the Twin Cities since 1970.

To be fair, you did feature a small article above the fold but it gave no sense of the dynamism and joyous coming together of community that infused the event. Your reporter described “dozens” of people at the intersection of Randolph and Fairview, an egregious undercount. I was there and can attest to well over a thousand attendees at minimum who lined the streets for blocks in all four directions, with hundreds more driving by, honking their horns in support, many waving signs and flags as well. The tiny picture that accompanied your article evoked none of that energy.

Other rallies were taking place around the city and its suburbs, as well as the mega rally in Minneapolis. I was hoping to hear about the turnout and vibe of those events, but they received scarcely any coverage at all.

To repeat a chant from the rally, this is what democracy looks like. If that is not front page news, I don’t know what is.

Mary Wingerd, St. Paul

Enforcing the law of the land

The Sunday front-page article and the “No Kings” demonstrations was a nothing article unless your intent was to display the results of our educational system.

Of the 10 “why?” questions apparently posed to demonstrators, most responded with “it” or “this”. One mentioned “taking money away from education,” another mentioned the “government shutdown.” The most laughable response was “lack of leadership.” The very term “Kings” indicates too much leadership.

We have just survived the four-year tenure of an un-engaged president. This was an observable fact. There, I’ve publicly stated it. We elect a president to lead — not a cadre of administrators pulling strings behind the scenes promoting God-knows-whose agenda.

President Trump’s opposition has attempted to dehumanize him since he decided to run. I didn’t like him at first — he was a sometimes-brash New Yorker. But the opposition press skewed information, and I came to realize that he had capabilities his opposition lacked — or they wouldn’t have to work at killing his humanity. And they wouldn’t have to engage in the lawfare to oppose anything he does. As I see it, he is enforcing the law of the land — specifically the job for which he was elected.

Art Thell, West St. Paul

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An absence of character

Strikingly absent in political discussions is the sacrosanct quality of character. Character, or the ability to know what is right and wrong and act accordingly, is absent in our current president, and this threatens our democracy. For me, this concern started with the infamous Access Hollywood Tape capturing our then soon-to-be president’s lecherous comments about women. Other improprieties followed, like demeaning our prisoners of war for getting caught, offensive nicknaming of rival presidential candidates, mocking people with movement disorders, and now the AI portrayal of our president as a jet pilot dropping bombs of defecation on No Kings protesters. Satirical – perhaps, presidential – definitely not.

He executes immigration reform according to his own will as immigrants, without due process, are whisked away surreptitiously by ICE marauders with the only difference from Hitler’s roundup of Jews being that gestapos didn’t wear masks. He is dismissive of the Constitution, Congress, and the judiciary. He believes he is entitled to complete control of all matters.

Such cavalier seizing of uncontested power is not presidential character; it is the charisma of dictators. He uses fear-mongering heavily. And his targets go deeper than immigrants and protesters; they include legislators, universities, employers and even military generals and admirals, all vulnerable for expressing any dissent.

True presidential character would place country above self, but our president shamelessly profiteers off of his office through use of his own real estate for dignitary events and his past marketing of Bibles, wristwatches and now bitcoin. Presidential character seeks wisdom and honest rebuttal; it does not seek a cabinet selected not for competence but for being wedded to the president’s every dictate. The current president’s behavior in promoting justice in Ukraine was deplorable as he catered to Vladimir Putin’s visit with red carpets, limousines and high praises, whereas he emphatically insulted Volodymyr Zelensky in both of his White House visits. His recent intimation of issuing Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine was a ray of presidential character in the defense of justice but sadly he caved following Putin’s phone call to him. His repeated calling of the Epstein scandal a hoax is beyond belief along with his transfer of Ghislaine Maxwell to a more lenient prison, which only exacerbates suspicion of his opposition to releasing the complete Epstein files.

Left unchecked, our president’s absence of true character will turn our democracy into an autocracy.

James R. Carey, Little Canada

Arrogant Republicans

Yes. This is just another letter to the editor protesting the dismissive attitudes from Republican elected representatives and their brazen, arrogant attitudes toward “run of the mill” citizens such as myself who are legitimately concerned about the ongoing erosion of our beloved democracy that the Greatest Generation strove so hard and so long to protect.

That generational group is now replaced with the likes of Republican representatives such as Tom Emmer who cower ever day about what their latest demand from the president and his lackeys will be to support and defend his ongoing attack on our democracy. We need to remind ourselves every day that what Donald Trump is doing is not normal. We as a nation are not asking for anything more but that our rights continue to be respected and not eroded or destroyed. These weak Republicans need to remember that Trump will not always be president and that we and history have long memories. Shame on them. Keep the faith.

Jane Greeman, Woodbury

What will you do, Democrats?

What will Democrats do following Saturday’s statement by millions of Americans who marched against Trump and the GOP?

Will you leverage this protest against the 10 weakest Republicans who are up for reelection? Will you move them to vote against Donald Trump?

Will you show them that this voting power will be turned against them unless they speak against the Trump Team?

Will you put together a coalition to dump Speaker Johnson?

You have the people’s backing to take action. Do you have the will?

Or are you and the other Dems just talking heads on TV working for reelection?

Joe Delmont, Mendota Heights

What ever happened to the red, white and blue?

Will Rogers said “with Congress, every time they make a joke it’s a law, and every time they pass a law it’s a joke.” Now Congress is passing nothing and nobody’s laughing. They don’t work and get paid, while air controllers and others work and don’t get paid. Did I fall with Alice through the looking glass? Everything is backward, bewildering and upside down. States are red; states are blue; what ever happened to the red, white and blue? If our color is not right, our leader hates us and then sends in the army, causing the confrontations they were sent to stop. This duplicity and distraction is much like the story of the emperor’s new clothes. What we’re told is there, is nothing at all.

Bob Emery, Mendota Heights

Favoring disinformation over science-based facts

The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded on Monday to three economists for their research that explains the relationship between technological progress and economic prosperity. Most of human history saw very little economic growth because humanity lacked scientific explanations for why breakthroughs worked and therefore how they could be replicated and improved upon by others.

The work of these three economists reveal how science achieves a greater understanding of the laws of nature that in turn enables breakthroughs that improve the human condition. But the Trump administration for federal fiscal year 2026 is seeking the following cuts to science agencies:

-74% for energy efficiency and renewable energy, Department of Energy (DOE)

-57% for the National Science Foundation (NSF)

-50% for the Science Mission Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

-46% for the Office of Research and Development, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

-44% for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

-40% for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Our federal scientific research enterprise, which is the culmination of decades of sustained bipartisan support, is the envy of the world and a powerful generator of innovations that have improved human wellbeing in the U.S. and across the globe. The practice of science, however, requires critical thinking, free inquiry and open exchanges of ideas. These proposed draconian cuts to scientific research in the U.S. are additional evidence of the Trump administration’s efforts to favor its own disinformation over science-based facts.

Patrick Hamilton, St. Paul

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