Letters to the editor (10/14/09)

I recently accompanied a veteran friend, home on R&R after several months in Afghanistan, to the Elmendorf hospital, where he was picking up some refills from the pharmacy. As we were leaving, he told me a young man working at the hospital had asked how he was doing, and my friend answered that he would be fine once he was back from Afghanistan for good.

The hospital worker asked if he had been there before, and when my friend said yes, the young man said that's cool, that it's got to be fun to get to shoot at terrorists.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

My friend said, "He asked if I had killed anybody. I told him that you're not supposed to ask questions like that and he just shrugged and said that he thought it sounded like it would be really cool to get to run around killing bad guys. Can you believe that?"

Please, for the sake of our sanity, learn some common decency.

Thanks to those of you who know better.

-- Ester Stirrett

Fort Richardson

Providence staff exceptional

We in Alaska, especially Anchorage, are very blessed. I have recently been very ill and went into the Providence Hospital Emergency Room for diagnosis and care. From my admittance, as my condition deteriorated, I was always treated with kindness, dignity and compassion.

Being a retired nurse, I am very aware of good medical and nursing care, and throughout my 15-day stay, the care I received was truly exceptional. They went out of their way to meet our needs, be it for a bed for a family member to sleep on overnight or a reclining chair to make me more comfortable. The staff never acted as if I was asking too much of them, even though at times I could tell they were very busy. When one is very ill, it is a joy to be cared for with consideration and a smile. I would like to thank everyone from the cleaning crew to my physicians for their goodness to me.

-- Barbara W. Seidl

Anchorage

Obama worthy of Nobel Prize

Regarding people's surprise at Barack Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I think Americans do not realize how worried the rest of the world has been regarding recent U.S. policies of unilateral militarism, and how relieved the world has been since the last presidential election to know that our new president is striving toward honesty and integrity in government, and toward diplomacy, civility and understanding in international relations.

Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because he has accomplished much: As a relatively unknown junior U.S. senator, he challenged the U.S.' "business as usual" political establishments by running for U.S. president. He conducted an honest and transparent political campaign and prevailed in that campaign, thus demonstrating to the world that in a major world power, an entrenched and corrupt political apparatus can be dislodged by a well-orchestrated political campaign without resorting to the use of rancor, deceit or character assassination.

If that is not worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, then I don't know what is.

-- Stephan Paliwoda

Anchorage

Environmentalists have become antagonists in new blame game

I am disappointed to hear former Sen. Ted Stevens say in his speech to the Alaska Industry Support Alliance on Oct. 1 that "extreme environmentalists" are standing in the way of oil and gas development. This is a familiar statement repeated in many circles.

In this case, environmentalists are the bogeyman. They are the evil people standing in the way of progress. They care more for animals and trees than jobs, people and their families. Sound familiar?

It's a classic blame game but with a different antagonist. Environmentalists apparently share the same social strata as illegal immigrants, the news media, atheists and welfare moms as the root cause for most of the problems in society. When all else fails, blame someone else. It's their fault.

Alaskans utilize their environment more than most regions in the U.S. -- whether for subsistence or leisure. Imagine if we had little or no environmental regulations. I can imagine it quite clearly; it looks like China or Russia. Environmental stewardship benefits everyone -- even those in the oil and gas industry.

-- Alecia Brettschneider

Anchorage

Hunter's actions rude, reckless

I'm not against ethical hunting. However, pulling over and shooting a bear in front of people gathered to watch and photograph the bear was rude, insensitive and reckless! Neither the man who shot the bear nor his partner had any consideration for the safety or feelings of others.

The area is well-known by locals as a place to view bears. People fish and hike in that section of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, so it's illegal and unsafe to "hunt" within a quarter-mile of the highway. Alaska has many state and national parks, so hunters should be aware of when and where they can hunt. This information should be posted in the state Fish and Game regulations to avoid such problems.

This bear killing was not hunting; the two "hunters" could just as easily have shot a bear at the Alaska Zoo!

-- Cheryl Flothe

Cooper Landing