Readers Write: Moonshots, abortion, internet equity, whiskers - Star Tribune

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An editorial from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, reprinted successful the Star Tribune Nov. 21, asks wherefore America is returning to what is simply a "large acold stone successful space." Why indeed?

NASA's administrator, Bill Nelson, answers successful a PBS NewsHour segment: "We bash not person the capableness of going to Mars. What we're going to larn surviving and moving connected the satellite volition assistance us."

What we already cognize astir some the satellite and Mars is that their atmospheres bash not enactment beingness arsenic we cognize it. Oxygen connected the satellite is buried successful its rocky surface, and the attraction of oxygen successful the Mars ambiance is 0.16%.

The projected full outgo of the Artemis task done a planned 2025 satellite landing is $93 billion, according to PBS NewsHour. The archetypal signifier has taken doubly arsenic agelong arsenic projected, with immense outgo overruns. Will an confederation with SpaceX assistance to trim costs? Probably, but it belies the cardinal question.

Isn't the clip overdue for Congress to ask: "Is Artemis fundamentally a self-preservation task for NASA?"

John F. Hick, St. Paul

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The editorial gleefully discusses the Artemis project, which volition instrumentality astronauts to the satellite and yet to Mars. It notes the technological advancements that person resulted from the abstraction program. Yes.

However, the Artemis task volition outgo astir $100 billion. When we see what different countries are spending connected their ain projects (such arsenic China's gathering a abstraction presumption and sending a unit to the moon), the disbursal is genuinely mind-boggling.

Wouldn't it beryllium a amended usage of the funds to code the contiguous situation of clime change?

Nic Baker, Roseville

ABORTION

"New frontiers connected abortion" (front page, Nov. 20) describes what, successful immoderate sense, sounds similar a insignificant inconvenience for the Red River Women's Clinic, formerly of Fargo but present relocated to Moorhead, owed to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. But this is similar the extremity of the iceberg that sank the Titanic, oregon the flimsy cough of idiosyncratic getting disconnected a trans-Pacific formation successful aboriginal 2020 — but that this occupation portends acold worse catastrophe than a sunk vessel oregon a pandemic.

The Supreme Court's irresponsible decision, combined with the ongoing irresponsibility of our dysfunctional Congress, is an iceberg with the imaginable to destruct the United States. Not a specified vessel named aft our federation — our nation!

There person ever been insignificant differences successful the laws from 1 authorities to the next. When I was a kid you couldn't acquisition margarine successful Minnesota. Such differences, similar North Dakotans crossing the Red River for a aesculapian appointment, make inconvenience. But the Dobbs determination overturning Roe v. Wade puts america connected a way to wherever a pistillate from Fargo, visiting Moorhead for a process ineligible successful Moorhead, could beryllium charged with a felony upon

her instrumentality to Fargo. Not lone that, but employees from the now-in-Moorhead session could beryllium arrested and charged with felonies the adjacent clip they store oregon dine astatine the West Acres Mall. Not a tenable script — but an wholly plausible one.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham precocious floated a projected nationalist termination argumentation allowing termination anterior to 15 weeks, but prohibiting termination aft to 15 weeks — with definite exceptions. Graham's connection died a speedy death, changeable down by extremists connected some ends of the termination debate. I don't often hold with Graham. I'm suspicious that his mid-September connection was much an effort to rescue the Republican Party's chances successful the midterms than to sphere the nation, and I americium not suggesting that his connection draws the enactment astatine the close place, oregon makes the close exceptions.

Yet a nationalist termination argumentation is precisely what we need. No compromise volition ever fulfill termination extremists connected either end, but the alternate is chaos — plausibly starring to the breakup, peacefully oregon not, of the "United" States. Everyone funny successful preserving our federation should constitute their senators and legislature typical to request a nationalist termination policy.

John K. Trepp, Minneapolis

INTERNET INEQUITY

The pb nonfiction successful the Nov. 20 Minnesota conception — "One redlined, present victims of net inequity," which suggests that radical successful Black neighborhoods are intentionally overcharged for net entree — is apt to marque it harder to remedy the problem, not easier.

The basal economical information is that it is much costly (per megabyte) to supply net work to a mediocre oregon agrarian vicinity than to a rich, municipality one. This is due to the fact that the outgo of laying the cablegram oregon optical fibre to bring the awesome to the vicinity depends lone weakly connected the full magnitude of bandwidth provided.

In a affluent vicinity with a precocious density of subscribers, the outgo per subscriber oregon per megabyte is little than successful an country with a debased density of subscribers.

I judge it's a bully thought for radical successful those affluent neighborhoods to subsidize basal net work to mediocre neighborhoods, due to the fact that it promotes socioeconomic mobility by making acquisition and connectedness much disposable to all. I deliberation astir radical successful those affluent neighborhoods would hold and would beryllium consenting to wage for specified a subsidy done their net bills if advocates explained it this way.

If advocates basal their arguments connected demonizing work providers done the "redlining" comparison, which ignores the basal economics, it volition beryllium a batch harder to sell.

Pieter Visscher, Falcon Heights

The writer is simply a retired physics professor.

WHISKERS

The Nov. 20 Minnesota conception included a photograph of Birdy, a creaseless collie, being readied for the All Breed Dog Show astatine Canterbury Park Expo Center ("Going for a much fetching look"). The representation showed a scissors-wielding pistillate trimming disconnected the snout whiskers of this hapless canine successful mentation for the show.

Anyone who cares astir dogs would recognize the value of a dog's whiskers. Snout whiskers are captious for communicating accusation to a dog's tense system, giving it the quality to consciousness its environment, find distances, arsenic good arsenic helping it find nutrient and water. They're besides 1 of the ways a canine is capable to show emotions. Whiskers are indispensable for a canine's well-being and removing them causes tremendous accent to the animal. Please bash not chopped immoderate whiskers from your dog's snout, eyes oregon chin! The Minneapolis Kennel Club would bash good to instantly extremity this practice, arsenic it's simply different signifier of carnal cruelty.

Vicki Sinha, Eden Prairie