Netlets for Monday, June 15

Tom Tancredo, former Colorado congressman and anti-immigrant zealot, referred to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a "racist." He also stated that Judge Sotomayor is a member of a group called "La Raza," which he described as "a Latino KKK without the hoods or the nooses."

The National Council of La Raza is one of the nation's largest and highly respected civil rights and advocacy organizations, in the same vein as the NAACP. As a Latino elected official, I am proud of the work that this organization does in education, health care and employment as critical to improving the lives of Hispanics in this country. It is the polar opposite of a hateful, violent and xenophobic group like the KKK.

This despicable attack on Sotomayor, a highly respected federal judge, and on Latinos in general demonstrates the extremist views of a small minority of people in our country who simply cannot accept our society being led by people from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds. Their total dismissal of our nation's constitutional promise of equality under the law is not acceptable to our citizenry.

The tragic reality of racism should not be distorted by the very people who practice it in their words and deeds.

REP. CARLOS MARIANI, DFL-ST. PAUL

A better idea for General Motors et al. An idea struck me one recent night while I was stuck in traffic on the way home from work: Rather than spend so much time and effort trying to sort out the various automakers' bailouts and bankruptcies, why not hire them to rebuild the once-excellent public transportation systems they dismantled 70 odd years ago?

If we can afford to automakers billions in bailout funds, we can surely afford to have them work for their pay, just as everyone else must. Rebuilding efficient public transportation in U.S. cities would not only create jobs, but it could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce our carbon emissions as well. It would also mean that these companies, who long ago sold out the American public by dismantling the streetcars and later by shipping jobs overseas, could save face by doing something that actually is useful to everyone, not just those who can afford a new car.

Be responsible, and obey the law In response to the June 11 letter that asked why Minneapolis police didn't pursue "more dangerous bad guys" and stop ticketing illegally parked vehicles, I'd like to respond by saying the police can't selectively enforce the law, just as citizens can't decide which laws matter and which ones should be broken.

While the writer can cite his own experiences to the contrary, facts don't lie: Serious and violent crime in Minneapolis is down. And it wasn't the compassion of his family members visiting his son in the hospital that was rewarded with parking tickets; it was their parking beyond the time they paid for on the parking meter. The meters are not "difficult to keep up with," as they are quite easy to operate and to understand their operation. People successfully use them every day. Did he ever stop to think that if the parking meters weren't enforced, his relatives may never have found a place to park their car? Besides, the money raised by those who are fined can help pay for the cost of better law enforcement.

Be responsible, obey the law and you won't be ticketed.

TERRY KEITH, BLOOMINGTON

Bag that flawed study The June 8 Variety article on the "dangers" of reusable shopping totes struck me as ridiculously slanted -- it even says the study was funded by a plastics interest group, "The Environmental and Plastic Industry Council"! Of course it would be in the council's best interest to sound alarms over our increasing environmentally sound practice of using multi-purpose totes, as the rest of the world does.

SHAWN MACGREGOR, BEMIDJI, MINN.

Disconnect health care from employment ... Many folks don't see the discrimination inherent in the current structure that ties health insurance to American jobs. But it's never been more evident than in today's fractured economy.

Many of us who have lost our jobs recently are 50 and older. While older workers earn higher salaries, that's only part of the equation. The amount our employers must contribute to keep even the fittest among us insured is astronomical. So when employers need to make cuts, skill too often takes a back seat to the overall costs of employment. In other words, the system forces the employer into the position of discriminating against valuable older employees in order to stay financially viable.

It's time that we reinvent health care in America so that it's no longer shackled to the conditions of employment. A single-payer health plan is more fair to businesses and to all citizens, regardless of their employment status.

LUANNE SPEETER, EDINA, MINN.

Our current broken economy was conceived by wealthy oligarchs who bought venal representatives of government that passed harmful legislation so that the few could increase their share of the pie.

May I paraphrase the writer? "We should be very, very, afraid of missing this opportunity to provide a health care system that works for America."