They say government should stay out of our lives, but want to force women to carry a clump of dividing cells to term, regardless if they can care for a child without abuse or neglect.

When the fetal alcohol, meth and crack babies reach school age, the politicians can then blame the public schools for failing to teach advanced algebra to the brain damaged children under No Child Left Behind.

If we do what is right for the common good, we all benefit from a healthy community and economy. Bill Gates Sr. has told us from a business perspective: "There's no way to run this country without taxation."

One of our former governors, Elmer L. Anderson, gave us sage advice for smart investment. He advised that "taxes put money into the economy, into essential services."

His recommendation for future political leaders is to "get back to the traditions of Minnesota as a progressive, thoughtful, sensible community of people that address issues as they come up in a bipartisan setting and with due regard to economic stabilization and a caring concern for future generations and the ultimate well-being of those less able to compete."

In recent years, voters have elected candidates who campaign on "pro-life and no taxes" without seeing the hypocrisy in their policies. We need leaders who have diplomatic skills to keep us out of wars, creativity to encourage investment in alternative clean energy technologies, and ability to keep their focus on raising revenue to fund our shared infrastructure needs, schools, social security, and health care for the common good.

Dr. Robert O. Uppgaard,

Pequot Lakes