This letter is in response to Tim Kearns’ April 7 column, “Liberals are loud, as they need to be.”

Mr. Kearns, as an editorializer, you should understand how to report the issues and facts and debate them. Instead, you misrepresent them or even get them totally wrong to further your own political misconceptions. Oh wait, you work for the Daily, so never mind.

Protesters committing civil disobedience, the subject of Gov. Pawlenty’s bill, tie up valuable police resources.

They are, in fact, a danger to the public by slowing police response time to real crimes such as robberies and assaults, and they cost taxpayers money in court costs, police overtime and general commerce. They also do little for the emotional welfare of affected commuters and office workers. Often times communities are forced to dip into funds earmarked for terrorism to deal with these events.

Gov. Pawlenty begged protesters at the outset of the war not to commit civil disobedience for just these reasons.

But, being the considerate, kind and loving people that they are, they didn’t listen.

Do I believe in Gov. Pawlenty’s concept in general? Yes, civil disobedience is simply another way for ultra liberals to get our hard-earned taxpayer dollars spent on them and turn policemen into social workers.

Do I agree with his proposal? No.

Instead of making deals with protesters to set them free in the morning, I believe they should be found guilty of disorderly conduct and ordered to pay serious restitution to the police department, the court and any affected institutions.

Here’s an idea in the true spirit of free enterprise — why don’t the protesters hire their own rent-a-cops to arrest them?

It would be cheaper for the protesters and the public, and leave the real cops to do real cop work.

John Brillhart

Senior

Transportation and Logistics