Alaska needs to manage its coast
It saddens me that as the state with longest coastline, we don't have a coastal management program. We as Alaskans need to stop letting Conoco Phillips, Exxon, BP, and others dictate how Alaska is run. There will come a time when the oil runs out. Are we willing to sacrifice our future for a quick buck?
-- Andrew Dowd
Girdwood
State fair no place for mortifying exhibit of cadavers from China
I'm trying to figure out what the Ferris wheel, candy apples, tap dancers, and a cadaver exhibit from China have in common: apparently everything.
I am enjoying walking through the Alaska State Fair and see a sign indicating that by entering this exhibit I will gain insight on healthy living. Apparently that's how they "sold" the concept. Upon entering, I am mortified: an array of Chinese cadavers are on display -- one set upon a bicycle, one with the flesh cut in a checkerboard pattern, one sawed in half like a freakish circus act gone awry, all in the supposed cause of "learning" good health habits. I understand this display was banned in other countries and for good reason.
Alaska State Fair Board of Directors -- what in the world are you thinking? Fairgoers do not attend the fair because they have a morbid fascination with the dead. They actually go to have fun. Where is a human rights activist when you need one?
-- Angela Andersen
Anchorage
Armstrong deserved better coverage in ADN
I am extremely disappointed in the Sunday edition of the ADN this week. Your lead story on the front page was about a tourist being killed by a bear in Denali. While certainly newsworthy, the death of a national hero like Neil Armstrong, who had such a major impact on a whole generation of Americans, should have rated much higher coverage that the local death of someone who apparently thought Mother Nature is a Disney concept.
-- Julie Jones
Palmer
All Alaskans should have share in resources, not just oil companies
$1.5 billion to $2 billion a year is a lot of money to consider moving from state coffers to oil corporations. This amount would give every Alaskan between $2,140 to $2,850 under the governor's plan. This giveaway to the oil producers would set up a five-year permanent fund just for them. $7.5 billion to $10 billion over five years could buy a quarter interest in the gas line construction cost. That would open cheaper energy to both urban and rural areas to include Anchorage, Fairbanks, the Richardson Highway route and the Yukon-Kuskokwim drainage.
Clean and cheap LNG would save huge amounts of money in rural areas and provide an opportunity to open manufacturing and processing plants here in the state. This would provide new jobs throughout Alaska.
The owner-state philosophy of our constitution says that all Alaskans should share in the resources, not just a single faction.
-- Gary Brell
Anchorage
Seniors would pay heavily if Ryan's plan for Medicare enacted
Paul Ryan, vice presidential candidate, wants to change and rewrite the Medicare laws, among other programs that provide safety nets for the common person. Mr. Ryan wants to do away with Medicare as it is today and instead give a medical voucher for a flat amount to our elderly. If your medical bills exceed the amount of this voucher, you must pay the difference.
How will this police affect you?
As an example, as a 54-year-old male in the year 2000, my total medical expenses were $346. In 2011, at the age of 65, my medical bills exploded to a total of $63,243. Yes, I did have medical issues from years of wear and tear on my body, but did not have any hospital stays. Was that year exceptional?
Thus far this year, my medical bills total $30,988. From my example, it is clear that medical expenses of seniors are more costly. Do you really want a medical voucher system, or the existing Medicare program?
-- Steven Lyons
Anchorage
