Letters to the editor (8/18/09)

Regarding Palin's comment that the proposed health care reform legislation will create a death panel. Per the Annenberg public policy center, her claim is totally false! Palin, thank God you're our EX-governor. The very thought of you holding national office, or any office for that matter, should send chills down the spines of every American. Go away.

-- John Kennedy Nolan

Chugiak

Everyone deserves respect

The recent abusive treatment of a Native man by two persons as reported in the media is an action that every thinking Anchorage resident must deplore.

Bridge Builders of Anchorage is an organization that stands for equal, just treatment of all our citizens. Criminal behavior against our neighbors must especially be resisted. Each lawful resident of our community deserves healthy, respectful treatment as he or she moves toward peaceful goals, and no man, woman or child merits disrespectful or illegal treatment based on race, religion, ethnicity or political beliefs.

We are one as we strive to make Anchorage a more hospitable environment for our friends than many places throughout the country and the world.

-- David S. Alexander

vice president for programs

Bridge Builders of Anchorage

Construction workers did great

We have been dreading this construction season as the road and bike path in front of our house on West 100th was to be torn up all summer, but we have been pleasantly surprised. It was done with a great deal of professionalism and consideration for the residents of our street.

We commend Annette's Trucking, Inc. for a job well done!

-- Barbara and Gary Baugh

Anchorage

State needs energy independence

Regarding Dianne Dahle's letter Aug. 14, "Accepting stimulus funds makes us less independent," As a college-aged person who represents what the next generation of Alaskans will likely look like, I'd like to respond. For many Alaska youths, independence does not mean disavowing federal funding that has no strings attached. It means looking critically at our dependence on foreign oil, localizing our food system and becoming truly energy independent.

I'd like to challenge Ms. Dahle to envision a future in which Alaskans need not depend on other countries for diesel or pay astronomical energy prices. This means thinking critically about accepting funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy. It also means supporting Sen. Murkowski and Sen. Begich to strengthen and vote for the clean energy legislation that'll come into Congress this fall (formerly the American Clean Energy and Security Act). If Alaska is to truly maintain an "independence," it must be energy independent.

-- Laura Silverman

Anchorage

Ordinance was about discrimination

Dan Fagan's Sunday column ("Gay laws just widen community divide," Aug. 16) is wide of the mark. The ordinance in question is not about hurt feelings. It is not about gays being liked or disliked. It's about being fired or evicted. Big difference.

-- Richard Emanuel

Anchorage

Build a Turnagain Arm bridge

If saving lives matters, and it does, then it's time to end KABATA and start TABATA. Build the bridge across Turnagain Arm and save lives. This will greatly reduce the amount of traffic on the Seward Highway and the number of accidents on it.

Girdwood visitors and residents, Seward traffic and sightseers can use the present Seward Highway. Kenai, Soldotna and Homer travelers can use the new bridge and highway to North Kenai. Save lives. Save time too. And stop wasting money on KABATA.

-- Joe Buesseler

Anchorage

Will Pebble do any better than Utah's Bingham Canyon?

Charles Hawley's piece ("Corporate strength guarantees Pebble," Compass, July 21) asserts that Utah's Bingham Mine demonstrates how mining jobs last decades. My experience with Kennecott says that jobs are far from mining's true legacy.

Like Pebble, Bingham Canyon produces not only copper, gold, molybdenum and other valuable metals, but also dozens of toxic byproducts that have contaminated at least 75 square miles of groundwater. Toxics endure. Jobs do not. If we had a fishery below our mine, the fishery would probably be gone.

Kennecott used aquifers and the Great Salt Lake as its wastewater sump for decades. Since forced by federal courts in 1995, the company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on groundwater treatment systems obligated to operate only for the next 40 years. Even those are sending contaminants off-site, into the public realm. What happens after 40 years? Kennecott's tailings impoundment seismic stability is questionable.

Can the mine's environmental protections really be expected to last forever? That's a very long time.

Are Pebble planners, whose project has even greater potential for widespread contamination because of seismicity and precipitation, bound to address these same kinds of questions?

-- Ivan Weber

former environmental planner

Kennecott Utah Copper Corp.

Salt Lake City

Has Obama given up on health?

Looks like Obama is giving up on the public health care option. Today, insurance executives everywhere are toasting each other with very expensive champagne bought at our expense. What arrogant parasites!

-- Eric Treider

Soldotna

Fix health care now

With the aging of the boomer generation, very soon we will have a huge portion of the population covered by federal government health care: Medicare and VA.

The last 20 years there's been a large increase in government jobs and all those jobs have come with health care coverage and retirement benefits.

As the private industrial sector has lost jobs, service industry jobs without health care have increased.

The federal government currently runs several good insurance programs besides VA and Medicare: FDIC for banks, farmer's crop insurance, homeowner's flood, etc.

It's agreed we must know and reduce our cost of universal health care but we can reform health care now. Medical providers could cut costs if their malpractice insurance could be controlled; therefore we need tort law malpractice reform.

Congress cannot be allowed to react to the single-issue loudmouths at town hall meetings. E-mail Congress now; the silent majority needs to be heard from before the August break is over.

-- Gordon Bowen

Homer