A chaplain’s deep impact

Russ Myers has been a source of education and support for much of my career in prehospital care (“Caring for the caretakers,” Dec. 15).

He and I presented at conferences in Wisconsin and Minnesota. More importantly, Russ was a source of counsel and support following my brother’s suicide in 2016.

Paramedics such as myself and EMTs often know we can have deep impacts during our brief patient encounters. Russ shares that same degree of influence. His care and wisdom have been beyond value. He should always know he helped many of us continue providing care through COVID, and beyond. His retirement is very well deserved, and the profile by Mara Gottfried was a fitting honor.

James Levi, St. Paul

Wrong target

With the filing of a lawsuit against the firearm manufacturer Glock this week, Attorney General Keith Ellison continues to take steps to punish corporations that manufacture a product that is used by people to commit crime, rather than prosecute those who actually commit those crimes. Two years ago he did the same thing to Kia and Hyundai because the cars were “easy to steal.” An old sage once said, “Locks are made to keep honest people honest.”

The real solution is to hold people accountable for their actions that are contrary to law and apply sanctions that act as a deterrent to the repeat of those actions, thus changing the reward of that transgression to a sanction that actually hurts and deters repeat actions. I suspect a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years in prison for the possession or transfer of a “switch” for a firearm to make it fully automatic and 20 years for using that altered firearm in a discharge or threat, whether in the air or during the commission of a crime. After a few prosecutions and imposition of sentences, I would predict a rapid drop in the problem.

If you don’t think a strong penalty is a deterrent, go to Canada and drive your car in excess of 100 MPH. The penalty is a $15,000.00 fine, suspension of your driver’s license and confiscation of your vehicle. You don’t see any speeders in Canada.

Jim Feckey,
Mendota Heights

Soft-pedaling, again

It looks like Trump’s nominees for important cabinet positions are playing the same game that his Supreme Court nominees did in his prior term as president, that is moderating their stance on issues to get confirmed only to revert back on important Supreme Court votes.

In Trump’s last term, the nominees were able to convince moderate senators that they respected precedent from past Supreme Court rulings, which proved not to be true.

The newest group of nominees are softening their stands against women, vaccines, regulations, worker’s rights, healthcare and numerous other issues. It will be interesting to see if the same “moderate” senators will fall for this the second time or if they will finally realize that if it looks like a dog, acts like a dog and smells like a dog it is really a dog.

Gregg Mensing, Roseville

Who ya gonna call?

Drones over military facilities;

Drones over large public events;

Drones over all of the USA;

No one seems to know what they are, what they are doing, or where they came from.

I suggest talking to Ukraine, they apparently know what to do and how to do it.

Bob Hall,
White Bear Lake

Already, an investment promise

Donald Trump is not even the president and he has a promise of $100 billion to be invested in the United States from PeopleSoft bank. This will create at least 100,000 jobs in America. And it didn’t cost the taxpayer a single penny.

The CEO of Peoplesoft said he wanted to double-down with President Trump coming into office. That statement says it all for the sentiment of the future economy.

I cannot recall the exiting administration creating this many jobs from any business without taxpayer money. This is a preview of what is to come in the next four years.

All Americans should applaud Trump and consider this a huge victory for the country and her people.

Thomas McMahon,
White Bear Lake

YIMBY, he says

The recent announcement by Ramsey County and the City of St. Paul to abandon plans to purchase St. Christopher’s Place from Catholic Charities as part of the “Familiar Faces” project is disappointing. It is not hard to imagine that “opposition from neighbors” played a significant role in thwarting plans to build city-owned supportive housing at 286 Marshall Ave.

I have lived in St. Paul for over 46 years. One of the things I love most about our city is that across race, class and zip code, most of us believe in giving each other a helping hand when we are down and out. That is why I support the “Familiar Faces” project. I believe most of my neighbors would also be in favor of developing housing for our chronically unhoused neighbors. But when we do not speak up, we allow others who want to protect the status quo to speak for us — a loud and vocal minority of our neighbors who presumably support the concept of supportive housing, but cry “not in my back yard” (NIMBY).

We recently moved from the Saint Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul, where I also did not have a chance to voice my support for the Ramsey County “Safe Space” shelter that was proposed at Luther Seminary before it too was cancelled prematurely. It is time to learn from our mistakes and use our voices to make sure everyone in St. Paul has a safe, stable place to call home.

Please count me as a St. Paul resident eagerly awaiting the next opportunity to loudly and proudly say: “Yes in my back yard” (YIMBY).

Dan Krivit, St. Paul

Magical thinking

Does the MPCA expect us to believe them ?

Your recent article on a change in Minnesota’s packaging law (“New law targets waste from packaging”) preys on our collective credulity.

Assistant commissioner Kirk Koudelka says when this law is implemented, “You’re going to see a reduction on your bill because now the manufacturers are covering the cost of it.”

He can’t honestly believe that. Manufacturers will pass on the cost to consumers and bills will increase, not decrease.

Further, how does Koudelka propose to “capture” the imaginary savings of $143 million and turn that savings  into “over 15,000 green jobs”?  Tax on recycled material?

This is magical thinking and we are being played for fools.

Gerald Kraut, St. Paul

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