My wife and I watched Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy address our Congress on Wednesday, and suffice it to say our emotions were a pendulum, swinging from anger to hate to tears of shock after watching the video he provided.

After the speech, my wife and I talked about the sanctions, the brave people of Ukraine and the Russian people's hate of their leader. We both agreed that this terrorism warrants a huge bounty put on Vladimir Putin's head, only to find out later that a Russian businessman has already put a $1 million bounty on him. This is not to avenge the war on the Russian people but to encourage the removal of Putin, who has little support from them. The world also needs to put a bounty on Putin's head and make it large enough for someone to risk their lives doing it. I think there would be lines of people looking for this war criminal, even though he is probably living in a lavish bunker somewhere, knowing his time is limited.

The support for Putin in America has grown due to the constant misinformation coming out of our anti-patriot newsrooms. This also should not go unpunished.

Richard Dingwall, South Haven, Minn.

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"History doesn't repeat itself but it rhymes" is often attributed (wrongly) to Mark Twain. Nevertheless, as a history teacher I cannot help making analogies between the war in Ukraine and World War I. This comparison was especially relevant after reading the March 16 editorial "Make China pay if it bolsters Russia."

In the years leading up to World War I, European powers suspected a war was imminent and searched for alliances. France chose Russia to give Germany an enemy on both of its borders. Germany, more by default, aligned with the weaker Austria-Hungary. During the course of the war, this continually proved detrimental to Germany, the greatest of powers. Austria-Hungary continued to siphon off Germany's soldiers, weaponry and supplies to sustain a resistance on its borders. At one point, a frustrated Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm bemoaned this alliance with Austria-Hungary by saying, "I am tethered to a corpse."

Such it is with China. Russia is a world power to be sure, but, like Austria-Hungary, a diminished one. Russia's economy has never matched the West's and looks to erode. Its military has proved to be less than Putin expected. China has an opportunity here to play a legitimate role in shaping the next century by aligning with the West. In supporting Russia it is tying itself to a degraded power that will only drag China back to Putin's medieval mindset.

China is at a crossroads. Untether from the past or walk into the future.

Earl Weinmann, Northfield

Like Abigail Cerra, who resigned as chair of the Minneapolis Police Conduct Oversight Commission (front page, March 16), I am more than frustrated with the internal city politics and bureaucracy that prevents the board from changing police practices. I am horrified that substantive change isn't happening in the face of the Minneapolis Police Department's decades-long record of use of excessive force. The world is watching us. Mothers cry as they worry about what could happen to their children in the hands of a Police Department that the city is unwilling to hold accountable.

Cerra talked a lot about "coaching," which the mayor supports. It's a gentle reprimand of officers that doesn't leave a trail of discipline, so that when they have further abuses, there isn't a paper trail to back up removal or reprimand.

I know that for many if not most police officers, the current system is not working. Rather than being given clear expectations from the city, they are told to do an impossible job. Their colleagues who are abusive are not disciplined. That leaves the good officers in a position of being feared and hated by many in the community.

The mayor and City Council need to step up and call for transformative change in public safety. Not next year. Now.

Annette (Nettie) Smith, Minneapolis

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I have known Cerra for 10 years. She is a person of great intelligence and integrity. Her ideas and energy could have led to real police reform here if City Hall had been willing to listen and provide the commission with basic resources. The loss of her leadership is bad news for our city.

I worked in our criminal courts for almost 40 years, while mayors and police chiefs came and went and while the Minneapolis Police Department culture stayed the same or got worse. Cerra could have helped us finally actually do something for reform, if city government had supported her.

John Stuart, Minneapolis

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I applaud a March 16 letter writer's passion in arguing for a healing approach to policing but question whether the proposed solution is realistic. Pointing to what the writer terms a fascist narrative in a Star Tribune story reporting police use of GPS tracking devices, the letter suggests that breaking the law should not always be viewed as wrong or as a crime at all if perpetrated by someone who falls into a low-income bracket or has suffered trauma in their past. Accordingly, those accused of a crime should escape accountability and the possible "atrocities of incarceration" by simply pleading poverty or past trauma.

The vast majority of those living in poverty do not resort to crime and are far more likely to be a victim of the criminals whom the writer suggests we excuse due to their circumstances. As we have seen with previous attempts to assuage past injustices, the writer proposes a solution that lacks any justice whatsoever.

Dan Eittreim, Minneapolis

The March 16 commentary by Eva Enns and Katy Backes Kozhimannil urging Minnesotans to put their masks back on for now is sound public health advice.

This week global increases in COVID-19 cases were seen in China, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Finland. During the pandemic, we have seen how COVID trends elsewhere can be followed by similar patterns here. We also learned former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff, tested positive for COVID.

Such news invites reflection on what COVID precautions should be followed to prevent transmission. For the sake of immunocompromised Minnesotans, and those with underlying conditions, and neighbors who may be resistant to vaccines, properly wearing masks is a small price to pay to minimize the risks and costs associated with a disease that has already infected nearly 1.5 million Minnesotans and killed 12,489.

William Robiner, Minneapolis

The writer is director of health psychology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

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