The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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October 24, 2009

Your View: Governor was right on TVs

Jean Olson, Arlington

I rarely agree with anything our governor does, but I applaud his decision to remove the 50-inch large-screen TVs which were placed in a Moose Lake sex-offender treatment facility, in what Gov. Pawlenty called a “bonehead move.” He is certainly right this time.

The executive director of the program says the TVs have clinical value because “patients can be watched to see how they respond to what’s on TV.” Whether that is valid or not, do the TVs have to be ones that cost over $1,500 each and cost over $700 each to install?

I have two TVs in my home, one with a 19” screen and one with a 13” screen. Small? Yes, by today’s standards, but that doesn’t prevent me from watching TV.

Let’s get our priorities straight. Law-abiding people are unemployed, unable to feed their families, losing their homes — and we are blithely spending over $57,000 so sex offenders can watch TV on a large screen.

This was stupidity at its worst.

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