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Letters to the Editor

November election an opportunity to change course

Well, gas prices have doubled since the war started. To justify what has happened with the sharp increase, we hear about how high gas prices were in 2022, from the same people that were complaining about it then. Only now we are hearing from these people that it isn’t that bad. First let’s see what caused the gas price increase in 2022. Russia invaded Ukraine and their oil was sanctioned to stop the invasion. Then the pandemic was coming to an end and a massive increase in driving and jet fuel consumption started, combined with closures of refineries and reduced operations by the ...

Keep ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ in mind when voting

My 84 year old mother is upset because her Medicare Part D prescription drug insurance premium is going up nearly 80% next year. This year it’s $101/month. Next year it will be $179/month. In 2025, it was $50/month. The reason? Government subsidies have been scaled back and insurers are choosing to pass on these costs. My mom is on a very fixed income. Since they retired, my parents never paid taxes. For reference, the threshold for a couple to avoid paying taxes on Social Security is $32,000 a year or less. Dropping the insurance coverage is not an option. List price for 1 of her ...

Opposition to Metro Surge leaves state with black eye

Saving democracy in Minnesota? The Metro Surge this past winter was designed to rid Minnesota of the illegal freeloaders, gang members, murderers, child molesters and others who are taking advantage of our overly generous benefits. However, with the help, rather lack of help from our top elected officials, namely (Gov. Tim) Walz and (Minnesota Attorney General Keith) Ellison, as well as the heads of local law enforcement, this endeavor was partially hamstrung. If there had been just the least bit of cooperation and crowd control there probably would not have been any loss of life. ...

Spending taxpayer money on ads

Our fearless leader (President Donald Trump) has supposedly pulled a rabbit out of his hat six weeks before the midterms, in which he is not running. He has aired some ridiculous ads attacking anyone left of the doorway, having spent some $920,000 taxpayer dollars in attempt to turn his past missteps into victories. All the while he is being supported by his own Supreme Court and every Republican in Congress. Please remember this. Release the Epstein files. Dennis Phelps Westbrook

Minnesota saved American democracy

The plans of the Trump administration to remake American society were thwarted by Minnesota’s resistance to Trump’s Metro Surge invasion of the Twin Cities. That is the conclusion of the essay “Trump Has Finally Lost the Plot” by Peter Wehner and Jonathan Rauch. Wehner served in the Reagan and both Bush administrations. Let me summarize their observations. Before the failure of Metro Surge, Trump had made progress toward: running the federal government as “the leader’s personal property and family concern,” degrading “what is considered acceptable in American public ...

Spending taxpayer money by the numbers

Taxpayer cost of the June 2025 military parade: $25-45 million Taxpayer portion of the cost of the White House East Wing demolition and proposed ballroom: $307-352 million Taxpayer cost of renaming the Department of Defense: $52 million (Pentagon estimate) Taxpayer cost for the reflecting pool: $16 million Taxpayer cost for the proposed renaming and renovations of the Kennedy Center: $257-285 million Taxpayer cost for the proposed Trump arch: $15-100 million Total project costs: $672-850 million Taxpayer costs for 108 days for the Iran war: $113.3 billion ($2-3 ...