Gas prices cut a coincidence?

Isn't it interesting that the price of gasoline in Anchorage has gone down 14 cents a gallon (gasbuddy.com) closer to the national average since July 11, when the Anchorage Daily News published an article about the Democratic state Senate looking into alternatives to spur more competition in the gasoline and home heating oil market? Coincidence?

-- Joe Page

Anchorage

Murkowski, Miller similar

Sen. Lisa Murkowski's flip-flop on campaign finance reform reveals a disturbing pattern: First, she speaks passionately for something and then votes against the legislative solution because it isn't perfect. Congress has probably never written a perfect law. It's a high standard, senator, but you can do it.

I'm glad my senator agrees that corporations and the super-rich have hijacked of our democracy. I am looking forward to reading about her bill later this week. Sen. Murkowski is not all that different from Joe Miller, after all. Say one thing. Do the opposite. He railed against government handouts; but never met one he could resist personally.

-- Mike Macy

Anchorage

Governor must not prevail

In an overreach of executive power, our governor is actively working to dismantle bipartisanship in the state Senate ("Governor Takes Aim at Senate Majority Coalition" -- ADN 7.18.12). The Senate Bipartisan Working group can rightly claim many legislative accomplishments in the 2012 session. The failure of the governor's oil tax bill must be blamed on inadequate preparation rather than bipartisanship: The bill was pulled when the administration was unable to answer basic questions from Democrats AND Republicans. Bipartisan cooperation represents all Alaskans and gets things done. Don't let Gov. Parnell undercut fair, balanced and practical legislative representation

-- Cindy Lelake

Anchorage

Romney policies will return us to the failures of George Bush

When Alaska's economy collapsed in 1986, there wasn't a single spec home built in Anchorage for six years. Apartments and condos didn't resume in quantity for 12. That's typical of how long it takes for economies to turn around.

When Bush took office, thanks to eight years of Clinton's policies, the nation had a balanced budget and a thriving economy. Seven years into Bush's new policies, unemployment was rising at a record rate. By the end of Bushes eighth year, according to http://zfacts.com/node/319, the nation was losing a historical never-before-seen 800,000 jobs every month.

Obama's stimulus package, the package Republicans say didn't work, reversed the rising unemployment the month following its passage. Within a year, the nation's job hemorrhage had shrunk to zero. The number of American jobs has been slowly climbing ever since. Obama's biggest mistake was underestimating how long the economy would take to fully recover.

If Romney is elected, he will re-embrace Bushes policies and finish steering America's economy over the economic cliff George Bush almost sent us over.

-- Ray Metcalfe

Anchorage