Netlets for Tuesday, March 18

The March 11 article "Study finds at least 1 in 4 U.S. teen girls has sexual disease" shows yet another way we are failing teens in this country.

As if leaving them with insurmountable national debt, a broken health care system and an ongoing damage to the environment was not enough, we are clearly failing our teens in the area of sex education. While proponents of abstinence-only sex education would like to live in the dreamland in which teens are not having sex, the reality is that teens are having sex, and from the looks of this study are not having it safely. Now more than ever it is time for comprehensive sex education. Don't our kids deserve at least that much?

JESSICA THEISEN, MAPLE GROVE

Franken vs. Nelson-Pallmeyer Senate candidate Al Franken has raised millions to put himself close to winning the endorsement of the Democratic Party.

When he built his fundraising lead that he owes his current position to, he went to great lengths to lament the need for fundraising, saying that he'd rather spend his time talking about the issues.

Now he's facing a strong challenge from the grass-roots issues-based campaign of Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer for the party endorsement.

Franken is faced with a choice. He could avoid debates with Jack before the convention and sit on his lead and his fundraising power. Or he could prove he meant what he said about rather talking about the issues back when he raised all that money, and step up and debate Jack on the issues.

Dan Patch has already been studied, and found lacking There have been several articles over the last several months in the Star Tribune and in some of the community newspapers regarding high-speed commuter rail along the Dan Patch Line. I am an Edina resident and will confess I clearly do not want a high-speed commuter rail running through my back yard. But I think there is more to it than residents along the line "managed to convince legislators several years ago to expressly prohibit any official consideration."

My recollection is that a very carefully considered $400,000 study taking over two years to complete (The Dan Patch Corridor Commuter Rail Feasibility Study Final Report completed on Dec. 28, 2001, by Parsons Brinckerhoff) concluded that a Dan Patch Commuter Line was not feasible.

I believe one of the major reasons the Legislature put a "gag order" on the Dan Patch line was to not continuously study (and spend money) an idea that was not feasible.

The study was independent. I would have assumed that Parsons Brinckerhoff would have been biased to prove that the idea was feasible as it would have been beneficiaries of numerous follow-up studies. Scott County, which was charged to facilitate the study, likely should have been biased too since the county would benefit the most from the rail. But it did not turn out that way -- the study clearly concluded the Dan Patch line was not feasible as a commuter rail route.

JIM WELBY, EDINA

It would seem that Pogemiller considers the serious business of facing budget cuts for the government as rhetoric and he is not even open to the idea that government should consider a cutback. Tell me, is it asking too much of our state government to be as sensible as its citizens? Come voting time I hope we citizens look for future leaders unlike Pogemiller who are responsible, creative, efficient managers of our state's budget.

DON CURWICK, SHOREVIEW

Unlicensed drivers and stolen plates The suggestion in your March 9 editorial "Seize plates from unlicensed drivers," seems like a good one, as far as it goes. A likely scenario, however, is that the problem will be pushed onto law-abiding drivers in the form of stolen vehicle plates. I believe that drivers capable of accumulating dozens of citations for driving without a license would not hesitate to obtain plates by any means necessary.

It would seem that in order to prevent this derivative crime, it would also be wise to stiffen the penalties for driving with stolen or false plates.

EDWARD CARNEY, ROSEVILLE

I graduated from the University of Minnesota in June of 1969 and attended commencement at the old Memorial Stadium, playing in the university band. Within two minutes of the beginning of the ceremony, a huge wind storm and torrential rain suddenly opened up on the unprotected audience. Moos stepped up to the microphone and spoke 10 words: "Ladies and gentlemen, the degrees are conferred. Commencement is over." Thousands happily took cover and benefited from the common sense of our university president.