Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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Columnist Noah Feldman ought to know better ("The social-media question the Supreme Court is avoiding," Nov. 6.) When public officials use their social media account to take positions and push out information related to their official positions, they don't just convey information as they would in a speech. They create a "public square" that contains not just one-way speeches or even two-way dialogues but rather an electronic bulletin board or town meeting.

Readers use social-media sites to post ideas, criticize others' ideas and interact among themselves. Of course officials can set content-neutral rules as they do, for example, in a city council meeting or congressional hearing — limitations on length or frequency of postings, for example. And they certainly should not be conduits for threats or intimidation. But if they use social media to do their jobs, they can't silence opinions because they disagree with them.

Prof. Feldman says: "The First Amendment is about the right to speak, not to hear." Wrong. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held exactly the opposite. And Frederick Douglass said it best: "To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker."

It's irrelevant that the company that owns the social media app could squelch opinions it disfavors. It's still dangerous and illegal when a public official does so. That's what the First Amendment is about.

John Gordon, Edina

The writer is former executive director, American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota.

I am the mother of a 2-year-old boy with respiratory issues; every common cold goes to his lungs. I do my best to keep him healthy because it is scary and exhausting when he gets sick.

His day care is situated across the street from Smith Foundry in East Phillips ("Feds find foundry is a chronic polluter; neighbors upset with lack of enforcement," Nov. 8). I have frequently reported noxious odors from Smith Foundry to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). On Oct. 18, after I submitted another complaint, MPCA insisted that Smith Foundry was operating normally. They suggested the fumes might not be from Smith Foundry, considering other businesses in the vicinity, and that in the future I report my concerns to 311.

My worst fears were confirmed when it was revealed last week that Smith Foundry has been breaching the Clean Air Act since 2018. This news was devastating; not only has Smith Foundry been a known polluter for years, but I also expected MPCA to act as our community's safeguard. The MPCA's failure to protect our children from such blatant environmental violations is unacceptable. The health risks my child faces daily are not just hypothetical — they are real and present. We need accountability, transparency and, most important, we need to ensure the air our children breathe is not a threat to their health.

We are owed more than excuses. We deserve answers and action. Our children deserve a future with clean air.

Allison Lind, Minneapolis

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Our state agencies have forgotten their mission to work in the public interest, not in service to polluters' interests.

Another case in point is "Feds find foundry is a chronic polluter; neighbors upset with lack of enforcement": Federal investigators found through a surprise inspection that Smith Foundry has been releasing higher-than-allowed levels of emissions, including lead, for years. The foundry is located in Minneapolis' East Phillips neighborhood, which is already dealing with more than its share of industrial pollution.

Reports show that the MPCA received complaints and found elevated levels of pollutants from its own air monitoring, but took zero action.

This is another example of "polluter capture" from the MPCA that we have seen repeatedly: flawed approvals of the Line 3 pipeline, failure to protect drinking water and our state forests being "managed" for profit, not habitat. It's past time for Gov. Tim Walz and the Legislature to demand answers.

Nic Baker, Roseville

Community, services, privacy and autonomy. Duluth's Safe Bay seasonal program offers those things that make living in one's car more comfortable and less isolating ("Varied tactics needed on homelessness," editorial, Nov. 8). I agree with Chum Executive Director John Cole that we need to "pay attention to the diversity of needs expressed within people experiencing homelessness." The anchor provided by a parking lot, the community of seeing others in a similar plight and a roof over our heads, be it a car roof or a structure, can be so helpful to easing the condition of homelessness. I applaud the simple solution that makes everyone safer and hopefully with an awareness of further services available. Homelessness can become invisible here in the winter months, but the needs can overtake the services available, and the needs do not disappear when seasonal programs close.

Friday's Star Tribune article on Alaska's winter storm with 2 feet of snow and four unhoused individuals' deaths is a preview for what is at risk in our coming winter months. Shelter beds, transportation to the beds and communication on availability are needed. Is there a similar winter creative option to Safe Bay for those living in cars in warmer months? Let's open our collective eyes and hearts to those diversity of needs and see if alternatives to winter indoor shelters can be offered.

Stephanie R. Braman, Edina

In response to the letter writer regarding veterans and veterans' discounts ("Thanks, but that doesn't help much," Readers Write, Nov. 11): First of all, thank you for your service to our country. You served in an era of non-thankfulness and you deserved a much better homecoming welcome than you probably received. You can get a veteran ID card that confirms your status. Per the National Veterans Foundation, "Visit vets.gov to confirm your veteran status and request the Veteran ID. There is no charge for this card, and while it is official proof of your veteran status it is not proof of eligibility for any VA benefits." Also, next time you renew your Minnesota driver's license, bring in your DD 214 and you can get a veteran's designation on your driver's license.

Carolyn Floyd, Hopkins

As we move toward the holiday season period of this year and are moving optimistically toward the upcoming new year, I was able to take a moment to admire the beautiful scenery that was around me during a peaceful walk the other day.

As Minnesotans, we get to experience four seasons in our calendar years, and as I was walking I started to reflect on just how amazing and blessed we are here to be able to witness our natural environment change, grow, reproduce and provide for us right in our midst as we go about our daily activities.

Taking that moment to admire, appreciate and embrace how amazing and beautiful our natural environment is had me really appreciative and thankful for it during my peaceful walk.

James Bradford III, St. Paul