Readers write for Nov. 25, 2010

Questions for all the flame-throwers out there who think it is smart to have a weakened president:

Does such a president invite North Korea to test the waters ("Korea clash forces tough options," Nov. 24)? I don't know.

Might a weakened president mean it will be rougher and tougher for the two American hikers held in Iran since last spring? I don't know.

Will a weakened president make negotiating the New START treaty a bit different? I don't know.

I wonder what Afghan President Hamid Karzai says to his cabinet about our president. Do you know?

I have a good idea what the Taliban is saying about our weakened, unsupported president.

Whatever we know -- or think we know, a weakened president of any party is not in our national interest.

GEORGIANA ANDERSON, ST. PAUL

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The New START treaty that President Obama spent a year negotiating with Russia is not good for the United States. North Korea just fired artillery rockets at South Korea. North Koreans say they did it because South Korea was having training missions in an area North Korea claims is its territory. New START has no new tools to deal with Iran and North Korea, which are the clear and present danger today.

All New START does is tie our military's hands by limiting our capacity to build the missile defense systems necessary to deal with these regimes. It prohibits the conversion of offensive missile launchers to defensive interceptors, and it links missile defense and offensive nuclear weapons -- limiting the development of defensive missiles. It also creates a Bilateral Consultative Commission that could impose additional restrictions on the U.S. missile defense program.

Proponents say that New START is needed to prevent terrorists from getting nukes, but the nukes that are most vulnerable to terrorist threats are Russia's 10,000 tactical nuclear weapons -- which are not covered by New START.

It doesn't make sense to ratify a treaty that limits our defenses while allowing our opponent to build or keep offensive weapons.

DOROTHY MATHIAS, ROBBINSDALE

Rather than concluding that Minnesota's medical care "Quality is all over the map" (Nov. 19), it is much more accurate to say that the data from the Minnesota Community Measurement Project comparing the "performance" of 520 clinics and 133 hospitals on predetermined measures (such as aggregate scores on clinical lab tests) are, indeed, all over the map.

The Minnesota Physician-Patient Alliance understands that consumers are seeking information to help make informed choices of physicians, clinics and insurance coverage. And, like Gov. Tim Pawlenty, we want to help patients have ready access to information that will help them consider and decide on treatment options based on evidence-based medicine. Whenever possible, this includes a collaborative, ongoing relationship with doctors and other care professionals. We know, too, that the public is concerned about the cost of care and health care insurance and needs data.

Unfortunately, there is little in this recently released data from Minnesota Community Measurement to help patients and their families. They should not view these as accurate measures of personal care quality.

As the medical Hippocratic ethical admonition goes, primum non nocere. That means, above all else, community "quality" reporting should do no harm.

LEE H. BEECHER,

PRESIDENT, MINNESOTA PHYSICIAN-PATIENT ALLIANCE

The recent coverage in the Star Tribune about sex trafficking in the Somali community ("A huge web of gang crime," Nov. 10), highlights a growing problem in Minnesota -- the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

I congratulate the law enforcement teams that investigated and disbanded this horrific criminal enterprise, and I applaud your recent article on the need for more understanding of the cultural challenges and lack of appropriate services for Somali girls.

However, we must look deeper to begin to fully understand the issue and to develop multidisciplinary solutions for all children who are at risk of being exploited for profit by sexual predators. Women and children of all racial and ethnic demographics are being victimized by sex traffickers, and we believe populations with high vulnerability factors are more at risk of exploitation.

Recent data from the Atlanta-based Shapiro Group show that the Internet sale of children for sex in Minnesota is up more than 50 percent in a six-month period. The research also indicated that a significant percentage of men utilizing "call centers" to place an order for sex are willing to follow through, even knowing that the individual provided to them will be a child.

The business language used here is intentional, for the sale of women and children for sex is a market-driven criminal enterprise that is created by demand. Until we begin to focus on the demand, the supply of younger and younger children will remain constant, and long-term solutions will be elusive.

Here in Minnesota, children are still sometimes arrested and charged with the crime of prostitution under state statute. It is clear that under both federal and state law, children who have been commercially sexually exploited are victims of sex trafficking. We have the opportunity to change this during the next legislative session, to enact laws that stop criminalizing children who are trafficked for sex. We also can begin to put stronger penalties in place for the men who purchase sex -- those who drive the demand and create the opportunities for pimps and traffickers to make money off of the suffering of the most vulnerable.

While the political landscape remains cloudy and partisan politics dominate our daily news, this is one issue we can all agree upon. Children who are sold for sex are victims of a horrific violent crime, and we as Minnesotans have the obligation to do our best to put a stop to it.

SUZANNE KOEPPLINGER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MINNESOTA INDIAN WOMEN'S RESOURCE CENTER

I was very satisfied to see "Turkey abuse caught on video at hatchery in Willmar" on the Nov. 24 front page; it is important for people to understand how these birds are being treated before they end up on your dinner plate.

These workers' practices were unethical and unacceptable. All life deserves respect, especially life feeding us this Thanksgiving.

KIM OTTESON, Eden Prairie