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Letters

Trump’s waste, fraud, and abuse

To the editor: Elon Musk, (Remember him?) was notoriously charged with ferreting out the waste, fraud, and abuse in our federal government. Along the way Elon and his DOGE team with the blessings from the Oval Office threw out the baby with the bath water, and our country is only beginning to feel the ill effects of the willy-nilly, chainsawed, deep cuts into our democracy. (Guess whose favorite absentee, “Where’s Waldo” District 1, U.S. rep joined the DOGE caucus in 2024...) In considering the waste in Republican’s repetitious mantra, I’m reminded of the saying ...

Play highlights discrimination, hurtful words

In January, The New York Times published an article titled, “The R-word returns, dismaying those who fought to oust it.” The R-word, for those unfamiliar, is the word retard or retarded. Minnesota agencies and federal policy stopped using mental retardation in 2005 and 2010. According to the New York Times article, the R-word is now being used more often. We are People First of New Ulm, a group of self-advocates with disabilities and allies, and United We Stand Players of New Ulm, an inclusive theater group producing original works focused on community, discrimination, and what ...

The world’s bully

To the editor: Our President has become the world bully. He is committing war crimes in Iran by bombing civilian infrastructure and has attacked boats in international waters with no proof of illegal activity. He is making demands rather than negotiating, and shows no interest in actually resolving anything. He seems bent on taking whatever he can, to increase his own sense of power. Is any of to benefit the U.S.? There should be diplomacy, efforts toward understanding, cooperation, peace… This man is destroying our standing in the world, our diplomatic ties, our connections. ...

A step forward

To the editor: I received a response from U.S. Rep. (Brad) Finstad regarding his use of misinformation and inflammatory language in his newsletter. I responded with a “Kudos for reining in your “blame the Democrats” game in your response. And for your willingness to participate in the bipartisan funding legislation that was put forward.” A step forward. I further challenged U.S. Rep. Finstad to continue working with all House members to recognize the need to fund with caution. Historically, he appears willing to do this. For example, when it suits the narrative of “fraud, ...

Keeping us informed

To the editor: Thank you to everyone at the Journal for keeping our local newspaper alive and vibrant. Although the Journal is no longer a true daily paper, your newspaper brings us important local and regional news five times each week. The Journal keeps us informed concerning local government issues at meetings of the city council, county board, and District 88 board. My neighbor, Amy Zents, was recently added as a freelance reporter. She does a splendid job with her local human-interest stories. I look forward to every column authored by Randy Krzmarzick. He is often humorous and ...

Facts matter: Addressing claims of non-citizen voting

To the Editor: In response to the letter from Paul Platz published in The Journal on March 31, we felt it was necessary to issue a clear, fact-based response. First, it is important to understand that voting by non-citizens in federal elections is illegal and carries significant penalties. In addition to prison and massive fines, a noncitizen would risk deportation or derailing their naturalization process by voting. Beyond that, our election system includes multiple safeguards to prevent ineligible voting. Voter registration requires verification of identity, and states routinely ...