Readers Write: Furst’s retirement, Presidents’ Day protests, immigration

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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The recent coverage of Randy Furst’s retirement from the Minnesota Star Tribune almost understated his contribution to great journalism and dogged determination to cover and uncover great stories for more than 50 years (“Furst retires from the chase he loved,” Feb. 15). As a longtime elected and public official during Furst’s epic career, I was covered many times in stories that ranged from the environment to the new jail construction to being on the wrong side of an assault at the Mall of America. A subject of Randy’s stories never had to fret about cheap shots or inaccuracies in his coverage. He was as eminently fair and balanced as a journalist could be. He also cultivated his sources over many years, sending good wishes and even holiday cards to subjects as a genuine gesture of good will but also as a way to keep sources fresh. He proved time and again that good old-fashioned shoe leather, persistence, balance and respect are hallmarks of great reporting, regardless of whatever subject or area he covered.

Mark Andrew, Minneapolis

The writer formerly served on the Democratic National Committee, as chair of the Minnesota DFL Party and as chair of the Hennepin County Board.

On Monday, Presidents' Day, close to 1,000 Minnesotans braved dangerous subzero temperatures on the steps of the State Capitol building to demonstrate their opposition to President Donald Trump’s policies. They carried handmade signs and endured windchills of double digits below zero. Yet, I cannot find one mention of it in the Star Tribune! Was it too cold for you to have a reporter present? When something that significant happens, the press has a duty to report it.

Cynthia Ahlgren, St. Paul

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On Presidents' Day, despite the frigid temperatures, hundreds of people consisting of a broad cross-section of our society gathered at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul to demonstrate against the dismantling of our government by Trump and the unelected Elon Musk. Where is the Star Tribune’s coverage of this and other events? Nowhere. As a longtime subscriber to the Strib I say shame on you. This was news. Report it. All of it.

Dianne Bell, Minneapolis

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The deluge of protests coming from Democrat activists come as no surprise. Their party made numerous missteps in the run-up to the last election cycle. They set themselves up for failure by attempting to prop up former President Joe Biden for too long. His disastrous June 27 debate performance sealed the deal in many ways. Passing the torch to Kamala Harris further cemented their fate. She could not define her policies nor convince Americans she had the leadership acumen to lead the nation.

Now that President Trump is following through on his campaign promises, Democrats are attempting to find their footing. To date, they have not received a favorable court decision to stop Trump. To date, they have not realized they are on the wrong side of many issues. Legacy media has predictably joined the Democrats in their efforts at undermining the administration. This too will fail. Americans can take solace in the fact they made the correct decision. Will Trump and his administration get everything right? No, it’s a complicated world. But he represents a return to common sense with respect to policies, spending and leading for the future. Meanwhile, Democrats continue to dig a deep political hole. And to that I say, let’s give them a bigger shovel.

Joe Polunc, Waconia

I read with astonishment the piece by Moses Bratrud on Feb. 15 (“Supporting Trump, supporting refugees: Evangelicals are doing both,” Strib Voices). He supports JD Vance’s touting the concept of “ordo amoris” (rightly ordered love) and writes there are decreasing levels of love Christians are supposed to give as American citizens, starting with family, neighbor, community, fellow citizens and then everyone else. Having rarely missed Sunday school or church (ELCA) in all my decades, I can confidently say I’ve never encountered such an interpretation. “Love thy neighbor as thyself” has always meant love everyone else as much as you love yourself. There are no love levels.

Bratrud wraps up by suggesting evangelicals should walk straight down the road, avoiding the ditch on either side. They might as well be wearing blinders. I prefer the parable of the good Samaritan, in which the Samaritan goes to the ditch, helps the injured stranger, and spends money on food, clothing and care without hesitation. I think this makes clear to us we are also to “look in the ditch” and treat everyone as we would be treated.

Geneva Weisser, Hastings

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Bratrud commends the choice of evangelical church members to walk “straight down the road, avoiding the ditch on either side.” As a devout Christian, he is undoubtedly familiar with one of Jesus’ best-known parables, the story of three men heading down a road. Jesus agrees that love of God is paramount, followed by love of neighbor. Challenged to define “one’s neighbor,” Jesus talks about a man robbed, beaten and left half-dead by the roadside. A priest and a Levite, surely devout religious men, pass on the other side of the road and ignore his condition. Maybe they had to get home to their families. Maybe they had an important community meeting to attend. Then a Samaritan, a foreigner, rescues the beaten man, takes him to an inn, and pays for his care. When Jesus asks who acted as a neighbor, the answer was “the one who showed mercy.” Perhaps we need to stop looking straight ahead and start seeing those who are being kicked into the ditch.

Kathy Piehl, Mankato

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Bratrud’s commentary presents misinformation. First, he falsely implies and occasionally directly states in the article that Trump is the rare president who has addressed the border issue. The fact is that it has been the policy of all modern U.S. presidents (i.e.: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama) to deport recent arrivals and noncitizens convicted of serious crimes. In fact, all these presidents deported more people than President Trump did during his first term (President Biden deported approximately the same amount of people as President Trump). The difference is President Trump’s stated objective is to deport as many people as possible (families, children, people who have been law abiding and contributed to our country for decades).

I would also remind Bratrud during the Biden administration, our representatives agreed to a bipartisan bill that would have addressed the border issues — boosting border security funding as well as the system to screen people requesting asylum. It was candidate Trump who pressured congressional Republicans to kill the bill so he would have an issue to run on.

Here are a few of the immoral and anti-Christian actions Trump has taken against immigrants and refugees since returning to office:

Further, Bratrud attempts to use the same excuse Vance used for these immoral actions, ordo amoris. According to Pope Francis and other biblical scholars, this is a misuse of St. Augustine’s practicality concept, i.e., you can’t help everyone, so help the ones you can. It don’t know if it’s moral or not to prioritize a family member over a stranger, but it is not moral or Christian to be cruel and to bear false witness (Eighth Commandment) against anyone. I would argue that you can either be a moral, Christian person or you can support Trump’s immoral actions — but you cannot do both.

Sadie McKinley, Minneapolis