Readers Write: Korean War MIAs, primary election, ketamine use on suspects, police shooting of Thurman Blevins

Wednesday was a big day. The remains of more than 50 Korean War MIAs were flown to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, where Vice President Mike Pence was on hand to receive the remains, in an honorable carry ceremony ("Korean War remains welcomed home," Aug. 2).

Although it will take a long time to identify these men, remaining family members of these soldiers may finally get some closure. This after 60 years since the last shot was fired in the Korean War (not Korean conflict.)

I think President Donald Trump deserves some credit — for bringing this topic up with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at their summit in Singapore. No other U.S. president has made this happen.

My father, and other fellow Korean War soldiers at Fort Snelling, would probably be very happy to know that these men, who paid the ultimate price for freedom, are finally beginning to come home.

To my dear fellow Democrats, especially those who wrote the Aug. 2 letters with such disdain for the DFL Party and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith: Time to check your purity and single-issue politics at the door and draw attention to the issues that unite us. Look at the website for Tina Smith, and compare its specifics to those vague platitudes of the Republican candidate. If you value clean energy and the economic power it will give to our state, respect for grown women to make our own decisions about our bodies, logical legislation to get the ridiculous number of guns off the streets and as much support as possible to our public schools and teachers, you will vote for the candidates on the DFL side. None of them are perfect, but the Republican Party has become an anti-everything-except-tax-cuts-and-gun-rights party, and it is currently in charge. Time for a change, folks, and time for us all to look up the candidates to see their policy statements. The primary on Aug. 14 and the main election on Nov. 6 are the dates to vote!

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High-tech engineer Jamal Abdulahi advocates for people. The hardworking DFLer is in the Aug. 14 primary contest to represent the Fifth Congressional District. Dad to four daughters, Jamal fights for progress for women and the young. Access to quality education, especially in science, is integral to his vision.

Jamal has been reaching out to people in the district about what they value, especially in light of recent distracting statements from President Trump on domestic and foreign policy. Jamal seeks constructive public discussion between people of conscience. These include people of faith: Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and folks from other faith or nonreligious backgrounds: atheists, humanists and other beliefs.

Listening respectfully, Jamal's goal includes public conversation, participation and effective action, first at National Night Out on Aug. 7 for safe neighborhoods, and the following Tuesday with the primary election. Polls are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. that day. Absentee ballots are available through Hennepin County elections, 612-348-5151, at the Government Center downtown or the city hall where you live.

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The powerful office of Minnesota attorney general has a great candidate, Doug Wardlow. Doug, the endorsed candidate of the Republican Party, is a strong advocate for Minnesota and has litigated cases in defense of free speech, religious liberty, rights of conscience and property rights.

He will protect our safety by promoting law and order, and he is in favor of the job-growing power of free enterprise. In Doug's words, "I've spent my career fighting for American jobs, advocating for property owners in eminent domain cases, and defending the Constitution in cases all across America."

Doug grew up in Eagan. He and his wife, Jenny, are the proud parents of three children. Doug is hardworking and listens to the needs of people in Minnesota. He understands the fight for freedom and justice for the people.

This could be the first time in 48 years that we have a Republican state attorney general. It's time for a change.

Editor's note: For more on the contest for attorney general, see "Crowded race highlights shift in AG's role" (Page B1, July 29).

Regarding "City looks for leak in report on ketamine" (Aug. 1):

First, give the whistleblower a raise, and tell him or her to keep up the good work.

Second, whoever initiated the investigation should be given enough time to pay back the costs of all investigations, then should be fired.

The reasons:

• Restricting free speech;

• Promoting the highly questionable use of a drug that has focused national attention; on the city of Minneapolis and its police department for ethical breaches;

• Covering up the covert decision by "someone" to administer the drug with no review or approval.

There is much to be investigated, but not the whistleblower. That person is a patriot.

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Before we reject ketamine as a valuable law-enforcement tool, there should be a review of its value where available. Regarding the July 27 article "Mpls. ketamine report calls for stronger police policy," which cities its use in 2017 in 62 cases as an abuse, I would ask: How many arrests or contacts did the Minneapolis Police Department make overall during that year? I suggest that ketamine was used with great discretion.

Consider the alternatives to an agitated arrestee. Physical restraint, Mace, pepper spray, Taser and some version of a baton. Physical harm to both the citizen and police officer escalate. Confrontations with people on an elixir of drugs many times result in "superhuman" reactions. Dialogue has extreme limitations when someone has an altered mental state. Ketamine, when used under an agreed-upon protocol, could decrease the physical harm to all involved.

It has been disclosed that the 12 Thai soccer players who were rescued last month after being trapped in a cave were injected with ketamine to give them a calm demeanor as they escaped death. Let's not discredit something before we fully analyze its potential benefit.

Did you see and hear what I heard from Minneapolis police union President Lt. Bob Kroll as he defended the officers' actions in the Thurman Blevins incident? ("No charges against officers in Blevins death," July 31.) He used the phrase "fair game" in reference to what appeared to be a gun in possession of the pursued man. That's a term used in "the hunt" and is utterly inappropriate in this case, or any case, concerning an incident in which law officers confront a suspect.