Heartfelt and introspective
I wish to thank Badeh Dualeh for the very well written Letter to the Editor published on Jan. 1 (“A minority of Somalis have brought shame to our community”) It was heartfelt and introspective as this subject demands. Much has been written and said about this current explosion of events, most justified if you are a taxpayer in Minnesota. I am the son of an immigrant and I appreciate Badeh Dualeh’s commitment to the laws of the United States and citizenship. Bravo.
William G. Baker, St. Paul
Premiums are spiking, but not because of expiring subsidies
Front page, “above the fold” headline on Jan. 2, “Insurance spikes as new year begins,” with a sub-headline about the expiration of premium tax subsidies expiring. It is true that insurance premiums are spiking higher, but not because of premium tax subsidies.
The complexity of setting the cost of insurance premiums makes a Letter to the Editor tough to write. Premiums are driven by healthcare spending, in part, and by the generous contribution made by those who pay the premiums to the insurance companies. The Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) created by the Affordable Care Act was a gift to the insurers, a guaranteed income generator.
Insurance companies can predict claims costs, but then are allowed to add 20% to those premiums to cover administrative and other expenses (for individual and small group insurance), and 15% for large group insurance. There is zero incentive for insurance companies to reduce premiums, or to promote less costly health insurance policies.
There is much more to this, but at least we can clarify the headlines.
Dave Racer, Woodbury.
The writer has authored, co-authored and edited 24 books about the U.S. healthcare system. The most recent, “Entering the Golden Age of U.S. Healthcare”, was released in December 2026.
They should be held to a higher standard
There has been quite a bit of coverage concerning former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s testimony to the House Judiciary Committee regarding the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Based on his testimony, and the research and detail he gathered during his months of investigating what had occurred that day, he concluded that the storming of the nation’s Capitol building, the violence that resulted in injuries and death, were a direct result of Donald Trump’s refusal to accept defeat in the 2020 election.
In his testimony, Smith repeatedly made it clear that the evidence gathered against Trump was strong enough to sustain a conviction. Accepting that as truth, the issue remains this: Why do we as a country still abide by the ridiculous premise that a sitting president cannot be indicted? If a crime has been commited, and can be documented and proved, then what does it matter who is responsible? If you commit a crime or break the law, you should be held accountable regardless of your occupation or job title. In fact, I would bet that most Americans would agree that anybody, public servants, elected government officials, the president, all of whom take a sworn oath to defend our country’s constitution, should be held to a higher standard than the average citizen … certainly not held to a lower standard.
The argument that by indicting a president, he or she would be somehow prevented from performing their presidential duties because they would be busy defending themselves in court, is ridiculous. As president, they knew the rules, knew what was legal and what wasn’t, so abiding by our laws shouldn’t be too much to expect from anybody regardless of political party affiliation.
It’s about time to make the old adage “no one is above the law” meaningful.
Mike Miller, Lakeland
And now, bellicose imperialism
As a mere single but concerned citizen of our great country, it is with humility yet sincere conscience that I must apologize to the UK, Canada, Greenland, the Kennedy Foundation, President Biden, Senator John McCain and all prisoners of war, Ukraine, Palestine, Epstein’s victims, all misogynized women, righteous people here from Somalia, the country of Somalia, Minnesotans now cut off from Health and Human Services, Americans now without health insurance, immigrants kidnapped and deported by ICE, Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan, the U.S. Capitol police on Jan. 6, and the good citizens of Venezuela for the rampant offensiveness, unfettered egocentrism and now the dangerous bellicose imperialism of our President Trump. All humanity deserves better.
James R. Carey, Little Canada
Dehumanizing rhetoric
When Trump calls Democrats scum or a journalist piggy or Somalis garbage, that’s not the sign of a leader; that’s the sign of a psychopath. He’s trying to dehumanize his opponents or, as a bigot, those he doesn’t like just for being who they are. Dehumanizing them gives him reason to treat them as brutally as he wants or, of course, to encourage brutality against them by his supporters.
In response to this dehumanizing rhetoric, we must ask ourselves if our own humanity, our own empathy, our own beliefs in right and wrong require us to speak out against it or keep quiet and let the brutality flourish?
One additional comment on beliefs, while it’s important to speak out about our beliefs, it’s a different thing to impose our beliefs. We must be careful about if, when and how we impose our beliefs on others.
Keith Besaw, St. Paul
Make plowing simple
Years ago in St Paul, after a snowstorm, main aka emergency streets were plowed first, then north/south and east/west streets. Simple.
St. Paul streets are horrible to begin with. The night plow routes, day plow routes and one-sided plow plan are worthless.
Rethink and go back to making it simple.
Jacqueline Heintz, Maplewood
Related Articles
SPPS district shares procedures in case of federal activity
Minneapolis vigil draws more than 1,000, participants condemn ICE shooting
St. Paul school board member Jim Vue to resign
MN 280 from St. Paul to Roseville to fully close for portion of 2026
St. Paul man who poured boiling water over girlfriend’s head sentenced to workhouse, probation
Leave a Reply