Letters to the Editor

Letters to the editor (8/16/12)

Anti-Pebble groups shameless

Please, I beg you, stop running the anti- Pebble Mine advertisements. Seems that Alaska Wild Salmon Protection, Inc., thinks its continuous negative television ad campaign, including during the Olympics, will influence public opinion. So far, the only conclusion I reach is that there are no limits or shame in what they're willing to subject the public to and their spending on media advertising is probably greater than the operating budgets for most Bristol Bay communities.

I've given up hoping they change tactics to something more positive and less frequent, and instead rely on my mute button and DVR to make my relaxing TV time a bit more tolerable.

-- Chris Humphrey

Eagle River

Al Adams an excellent lawmaker

I was in Juneau when Al Adams was in the Legislature. Alaska lost an excellent legislator when Al Adams chose not run again for the state Senate and turned to lobbying. Al set a standard I have not seen equaled since.

ADVERTISEMENT

-- Jerry McCutcheon

Anchorage

Jesus would speak clearly, with love

In response to Shannyn Moore's comment in Sunday's (Aug. 12) paper: "Liberalism is the political practice of What Would Jesus Do?"

What would Jesus do? He would not throw stones. He would not use fear and confusing rambling cliches to make a point. He would clearly articulate His message backed with something that was totally void here -- love.

And I'll speak for myself. I do like Mitt Romney and what he stands for. I do not "fear and loathe" any season and wish the best for the upcoming campaign. And if the candidates ask themselves the question, "what would Jesus do?" then we are all in good hands.

-- Becky Berger

Anchorage

Praying for Moore

Please let Ms. Moore know I am praying for her. Carrying so much hate for other human beings must be painful.

-- David Cox

Palmer

Time to stop Big Money dominating elections

Just say "No." Say no to the money.

I reviewed the competing sides of the measures on the Aug. 28 ballot and have decided to vote against the money. The same goes for any candidate with an overwhelming monetary advantage.

On my 18th birthday, I registered to vote. Fifty years later, the duty to vote is there; my hope for the tattered process is that more voters can fix this mess. Do I think my plan could help elect a less-than-stellar candidate? Yes. Have we been electing people that don't measure up? We sure have.

There has to be some way to stop the money tsunami. First it was corporations with free speech; next it was Super PACs, and now fundraising groups aren't required to reveal who "donates" money. What is to keep another country from electing our leaders?

ADVERTISEMENT

Unless the poorest candidate is wearing horns and carrying a pitchfork, I'm voting against the money. We must stop the rising tide because the people with the most gold usually win -- go figure.

-- Caroline Bolar

Anchorage

Shooting to wound is not realistic, puts others at risk

Regarding Elaine M. Bales' letter of Aug. 13 regarding the use of deadly force:

Use of any force with the intent to kill is not legal, except in states where the death penalty is legal. Using that language in reference to APD is misleading.

To suggest using deadly force (gun) with the intent to wound is unrealistic and ignores certain facts.

Such force may kill regardless of user intent. A shot to the center of a threatening person is safest for all. Granted, it's not so safe for the person shot (whether wounded or killed) but it has the best likelihood of stopping the threat (and hastening the arrival of medical attention). It also reduces chance of wounding bystanders.

ADVERTISEMENT

The policy also has the benefit of raising the barrier to the use of deadly force. To suggest "wounding shots" makes it more likely that deadly force will be used (in an attempt to wound) with predictably sad results.

I suggest changes in APD's policy be taken up with deeper thought than can be expressed in Letters to the Editor.

-- Larry Schuller

Anchorage

Fliers against Ballot Measure 2 have eerily familiar message

In 2006 some billionaires tried to convince Alaskans to vote no on Ballot Measure 2, the cruise ship initiative. They mailed fliers to every household that rarely mentioned the words "cruise ship." Alaskans were not fooled.

The same fatcats want to defeat this year's Ballot Measure 2. The mailers are suspiciously familiar. But this time they say nothing about coastal zone management. The doom and gloom predictions are the same: if we want a say in our own lives, the economy of our state will surely collapse.

Ballot Measure 2 passed in 2006 despite their multi-million dollar propaganda campaign.

Guess what: cruise ships still come to Alaska, our waters are cleaner, and most of our ports of call receive enough revenue to cover the industry's impacts. This Ballot Measure 2 will give us a say in coastal zone management, and guess what: it won't make the sky fall either. Don't worry -- no money is being wasted on the mailers. They say nothing about the issue and can be recycled for the next Ballot Measure 2!

-- Gershon Cohen

Haines

ADVERTISEMENT