What a great idea the Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin have come up with.
First, they will retain the country’s most tortuous districts, and since their hand-picked newly-appointed two-partisan election commission did not produce election results to their satisfaction, it will be dissolved and the Republican legislature will control future elections.
What better recipe to ensure continued party control. Why bother with choices at all? Just let us know who you want to nominate to represent us, and save all that hassle of an expensive and messy choice.
Lavonne McCombie, Hudson
‘Why’
Journalism 101 ″ Who, what, when, where, why and how. Journalists reporting on the Kyle Rittenhouse case never seemed to respond to “why?”
Before the verdict and now after the verdict, journalists fail to say why Rittenhouse shot three people. It was allegedly in self-defense before the trial, and now it has been proven that he defended himself, as evidenced by the video evidence and the jury’s verdict. Aamer Madhani states in a recent article on the Rittenhouse verdict that “Rittenhouse would shoot two men deadly and mutilate a third.” He continues with “Rittenhouse and his lawyers successfully argued that he acted in self-defense …”, as if this were still in doubt.
It seems that the journalists do not just want to say that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. Period. Journalists tried to portray this incident before the verdict as a murder, and now after the verdict, journalists are trying to cast doubt on the verdict by not saying clearly “why”.
Thomas Mortensen, St. Paul
The army can help
Civil criminal activity must be ended, and it can be ended now by moving away from civil society and sending even first-time criminals to the U.S. Army.
To be creative in this era of widespread criminal behavior is to go back to using the U.S. Army to solve civilian criminal behavior problems. It worked 50 years ago and before, it can work now. Car hijacking, burglary, shooting, theft of catalysts and you name it are all nonsense crimes, extremely unacceptable behavior and expensive in many ways. All of this makes law-abiding residents feel insecure and insecure. It is wrong.
In the former U.S. military draft society, judges could give offenders a choice of punishment for criminal behavior: join the army or go to jail. Now, with the volunteer army, the army may choose not to accept a volunteer for many reasons, criminal convictions, crimes or other unacceptable behavior among them. But if my research is correct, the U.S. Army, even for multiple civilian offenses or crimes, may waive its admission standards as long as the offender meets other mental and physical requirements.
These days, jail is not the answer to these crimes. Offenders should not work behind walls, but in the open society, 40 or more hours a week and for a living wage. They need to get tired and still see that they can behave differently and that they are learning skills. They need an environment where they can learn acceptable behavior.
The army has lots of jobs and is very good at discipline. Beginning with basic training, civil offenders will quickly realize that they are no longer in control, they are not special unless their behavior changes, and then they are only special as part of a team. They may be assigned a rifle, but it is not theirs to sell, and they will not be free to roam the streets and shoot it whenever they want, and accidentally kill someone; they will not be able to hijack a car, drive and crash it or sell it, not without being brought to justice.
What do we do about offenders who are minors? If adult offenders are removed from civil society, juvenile offenders may be more likely to correct their behavior through currently available legal and community services. Perhaps more minors will not be introduced to this criminal behavior. If adult criminals are removed from civil society, there will be fewer adults using minors to carry out their criminal bids.
Fred Matson, Oakdale
A country
A recently published Doonesbury (21/11/21) cartoon featured a map of the world showing where UFO incidents have been reported by local residents. Virtually all of these places are in the United States, excluding the rest of our planet with the exception of the United Kingdom.
“Gadzooks!” I said to myself after digesting this cosmic mystery. Then I realized that in the US, almost all reported UFO sightings occur in rural areas! Once again I said to myself, “Gadzooks!”
Apparently, Extra Terrestrials prefer to land on lonely country roads and cornfields in the U.S. (Friday and Saturday nights) while avoiding the hustle and bustle of U.S. cities and suburbs. As we know, the red-blue division in the United States has liberals living in urban areas and conservatives living in rural areas. Does that mean ETs favor Republicans while rejecting liberals who are not even worthy of an occasional visit?
ML Kluznik, Mendota Heights
