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

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I'm glad the failed Boeing capsule wasn't part of a mission to Mars ("Boeing craft returns safely but without astronauts," Sept. 7). If it were, what would have happened to the crew?

We should get out of the manned-mission business, except for near-Earth orbit, before people start dying. Either that or develop protocols for dealing with the loss of astronauts.

The cost/return ratio is way beyond what is reasonable. In addition to the cost in dollars, environmental damage and human lives, there is the fact that every molecule of fuel, water, food and oxygen has to be transferred from Earth. The scientific return on investment is also really low. We knew what would happen long before David Scott dropped a feather and a hammer on the moon. And for what are we expending all these resources? To find a way to a new planet after we destroy Earth? Get serious. Voyager 1 has been traveling for 47 years and is still 40,000 years from encountering a star.

We should be exploring with unmanned probes. Voyager 1, while nowhere near a star, is still providing data after 47 years. Try that with a manned mission.

James Chenvert, Champlin


HIGHER EDUCATION

Its future is unclear, but its value isn't

I recently lost a wonderful human being, the first person I met when beginning college in September 1968. At the memorial program, I was struck by the diversity of occupations that college friends had. Many of these were far from their majors as students. My friend wrote in a post for our 50th reunion how he had attended seminars at various reunions over the years about what made our education useful and special. The conclusion was that a liberal arts education teaches people to think objectively and interact in meaningful ways with others.

Four-year colleges are seeing fewer applicants each year ("Minnesota colleges brace for demographics and doubt," Sept. 11). Cost is a big factor. The comprehensive fee at my alma mater is $82,000 a year. My first year cost $2,950. There is generous financial aid available, but only 55% of students get the need-based aid. State institutions are feeling the biggest impact — witness the crisis at St. Cloud State.

Higher education is critical to society, both traditional college and technical educations. I hope the spiraling inflation of the cost of higher education can level off and we as a society can continue to appreciate its value.

Robert Wetherille, Eden Prairie


POLITICAL STANCES

The pole reversal that wasn't

John C. "Chuck" Chalberg's commentary comes out about eight years too late ("Might we be witness to a political pole reversal?" Strib Voices, Sept. 12). In 2016 you could get away with painting former President Donald Trump as the working man's friend and a lot of people would actually buy it, but today it's just laughable. Follow the money — almost all of the contributions to the Republican war chest have come in huge donations from the very wealthy, the billionaire class. Elon Musk is on board! Chief propagandist now with a promise of power later. Drain the swamp? Trump is the swamp.

Which brings us to the writer's opening premise, that RFK Jr.'s endorsement was motivated by some shift in philosophy that compelled him to align with the right wing rather than the Democrats. Nope, again, it was a simple transaction: Support Trump and receive a powerful position — cabinet level, perhaps? RFK tried the same ploy with the Harris team but didn't get an interview.

Chalberg then proceeds to equate Donald Trump with Harry Truman. Well, he does have a point there; their last names do both start with TRU. Bully, sir! Later he indulges in one of his and the rest of the right's favorite talking points, the association of immigrants with the welfare state. Anyone who has spent time around new Americans knows that welfare is the last thing they want, they work two or three times as hard doing whatever jobs they can get, and their contributions to our society are proportional. Readers should note: When they talk about immigrants taking Black and Latino jobs, what they mean is, jobs that they think Black people and Latinos should be doing. And if Trump gets in and releases the military into our communities to hunt people down as he has promised, then by God they will be!

But the most disturbing part of Chalberg's diatribe is his warning about the concentration of power being a threat to civilization. Having just quoted Josef Stalin, he brings valid and cogent historical context to bear on the subject. But wait, are not his preferred candidate and party the ones hellbent on concentrating power in the executive per their Project 2025? On purging the civil servants in administration and replacing them with people whose only qualification is loyalty to Trump? And didn't his chosen Supreme Court justices grant him nearly unlimited power to do so, legally or not? Stalin, indeed!

Our admirer of Teddy Roosevelt thinks this all bully! Just bully! Well, sir, it's certainly bull-something!

William Mayer, Minneapolis


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Conservatives like Chalberg have long been envious of the Democratic Party's support from the working class and people of color, wishing that the Republican Party could wear the donkey's skin, as it were. To be sure, conservatives have seen many opportunities to shift voters' perceptions.

However, using RFK Jr. and Dick Cheney to try and promote a "reversal" narrative is a shallow and unconvincing argument, considering that vis-à-vis the 2024 primaries and Jan. 6, both of these endorsements are clearly based on personal grievances. Chalberg needs to cherry-pick policy positions, such as on the border, where he compares Trump to pre-Trump progressives, but not to Cheney, whose administration established what is now U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He ignores most of Kennedy's green and health-oriented politics, just like Junior himself did, as he signed on with the candidate opposed to green energy and whose deregulation of pork processing gave Americans listeria in over a dozen states. In fact, Chalberg cites mostly rhetoric while ignoring policy. For a recent legislative sampler, on the issues of infrastructure spending, child tax credits and support for unions, the record is clear: Democrats for, Republicans against.

Has an internal shift occurred? In some respects, yes, but as long as Republicans oppose collective bargaining, push tax cuts for the wealthy and genuflect to religious extremists and xenophobes at the expense of civil liberties and personal choice, the difference will be mostly skin-deep.

Paul Villerius, Minneapolis


ANIMAL CONTROL

Not the scary place you're thinking of

Thank you for printing the article about Officer Susan Baker and Minneapolis Animal Care and Control ("She deals with city strays, the living and the dead," Sept. 7). So many people today still believe that "the pound" is a bad place and that animals get sent there to die. This is far from accurate. I've had several interactions with MACC and the animal control officers, and they've always been very positive. I adopted my best buddy, Lollie, from MACC and had her for almost 16 years.

On another occasion, a dog followed me home when I was on a daily walk; a neighbor invited us to come to his house so his dog and the lost dog could play while waiting for the officer, who arrived very quickly. I later found out the dog was chipped and had been missing for several days after escaping a fenced yard. His owner was ecstatic to have him back.

Not too long ago, while walking my dog, Stella, I found a cat someone had left in a carry case in the street. An officer came to my home and spent quite a while trying to coax the scared kitty into her carrier. She finally succeeded and said they would find a foster family for him or her. (I was never able to get close enough to find out if I had found a male or female.)

In every situation, the officers responded in a timely fashion and were friendly, compassionate and professional. I could tell they loved their jobs and loved the animals they were able to help. I donate periodically to help them with their mission, and I can't think of many better ways to spend my money.

Thank you to Officer Baker and all the other staff at MACC. The animals need you!

Jeanne Torma, Minneapolis