Readers Write (Oct. 13): Curing 'Electoralyte Imbalance,' the presidential race, the Dakota Access Pipeline

Surgeon general's warning : Clitrumpidodious (technical name), more commonly known as Electoralyte Imbalance, has been officially categorized as an epidemic. Every state in the country reports active cases with the outbreak expected to peak on Nov. 7. Symptoms include queasy stomach, headaches and acute ringing in the ears. Doctors warn that you can differentiate between Electoralyte Imbalance and the flu by the additional symptoms of a pain in the neck. Severe cases also include uncontrollable nasal drainage and acute amnesia. The outbreak is expected to be most severe in Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Colorado.

If you are exhibiting signs of Electoralyte Imbalance, experts suggest the following, a strict five-point regimen.

1) With the first symptoms, eliminate all cyber from your diet. Replace it with a steady diet of trees. You cannot overdose on trees, so find a patch of woods, start walking and exhale often.

2) Avoid all locker rooms. Electoralyte Imbalance has been linked to locker rooms, and experts believe they may be the genesis of the outbreak. Evidence shows that men's locker rooms may hold more contagions than women's, but the CDC cautions against making assumptions.

3) Read poetry. Especially read "Eating Alone" by Li-Young Lee, "Invisible Strings" by Jim Moore and "Optimism" by Jane Hirshfield.

4) Greet your least-favorite person in a friendly way. Ask him about the weekend or inquire about his dying mother. Compliment his shoes. Look him in the eye. Smile. You will jump-start the healing process. Tell him you admire his children and that he is so hardworking.

5) Go to a playground. Sit on a bench and watch children playing together. There will be laughter.

A short allegory: Two neighbors walked down a gravel road. They came upon a dead rabbit with tire treads. One neighbor said, "Look at that poor bunny that got hit by a car." The other protested "No! It is obviously a case of rabbit suicide."

Republican contributor Andy Brehm shared his perspectives in your recent commentary ("The Republican," Oct. 2) and made an assertion regarding judicial nominees. "We know the kind of justices Mrs. Clinton would appoint: reliably liberal lawyers committed to ruling on the basis of their own personal political view rather than on the basis of law."

How inconvenient that just a few days before Brehm's piece, Judge Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court was removed from office for the second time. The first time was for refusing to remove his Ten Commandments monument from a state building, and the second time for instructing state employees to refuse marriage licenses to gay people.

Moore is not only perhaps the most egregious example of ruling on the basis of personal political belief in this country; he is a Republican. Oops. I guess the rabbit committed suicide again.

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While he highlights flaws in Clinton's record, nowhere does Anderson resort to fear, negativity or disregard for the facts. In short, his decision to support Clinton was based on a clear understanding of issues and personal integrity, reflected in his reference to the Broadway play "Hamilton" putting "love of country and faith in the future first."

I find Anderson's integrity in sharp contrast to that of House Speaker Paul Ryan ("GOP rift grows", Oct. 11), as Ryan "assure(d) members he was not withdrawing his endorsement of Trump, but rather doing what he considered in the best interests of the House."

Has Ryan forgotten that the House over which he presides is the House of the American people, not "his" House or that of the Republican Party? This country desperately needs leaders who can rise above short-term partisan ugliness and act out of a commitment to the country as a whole and the future of the American people. For Ryan, as a leader of the "family values" party who has spoken of his Christian faith, personal integrity — actions based on one's values — appears to be lacking in his decisionmaking and his continued endorsement of Trump.

Recently, I had the honor, privilege and opportunity to bring a North Side presence and perspective up to the Sacred Stone Camp in North Dakota. Along with me were many indigenous young people from Indigenous Roots and MN350.

I appreciated connecting with people interested in supporting this effort to take back the power for ourselves and stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. I learned more about Native culture and traditional practices, and how they intersect with colonialism and institutional racism in the U.S. And I thought critically about how we as a society must live in a more sustainable manner now and going forward into the future.

The people of Standing Rock and their thousands of supporters remain firm. The struggle is far from over. We see similar injustices across the world with wars being fought for oil; banks like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and other financial institutions with financial investments in the Dakota Access Pipeline; and in our own backyard of the Twin Cities with polluters like Northern Metals and GAF. That's why we must continue to engage in nonviolent direct actions every step of the way. Nobody is going to help us or protect us, except for us.