When reading “Order dissolves Mpls. VA unions” in the Aug. 12 edition, I became aware of the blatant disregard to safety and well-being that exists toward police and security officers. As a result of an executive order, the union for federal workers was dissolved. The executive order cited national security concerns for this action. Unions representing police and security officers are exempt from the executive order. These are the very people who protect the rest of us — we should protect them when we can. If federal workers need protection from the evils of labor unions, include everyone — include police and security officers.
Linda Emmel, Buffalo, Minn.
Politicians and the search for objective truth don’t exactly play well together
On Friday, the Star Tribune published the online article “Trump executive order gives politicians control over all federal grants, alarming researchers,” which was about President Donald Trump’s new executive order giving politicians control over federal grants with the power to override peer-review recommendations. A few recent National Science Foundation research awards went for, for example, “Inverse Methods for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of Non-Crystalline Materials” and “The genetic basis of complex plumage phenotypes in hybridizing Passerina buntings.” These were rated by their peers, in intense competitions, as among the top proposals likely to advance our scientific understanding. Upon being asked about their expertise to override the science panels, these political appointees might as well respond, “I may not have the expertise, but I did stay at a Motel 6.”
Our future is literally at stake when politicians substitute their judgement for the rigorous analysis that has, until now, made the U.S. science enterprise the envy of the world.