Alaska News

Letters to the editor (8/31/12)

Men with racist bumper stickers on their cars should know better

This has been the most interesting election cycle I've seen in my 40 years of voting. Many of the political ads, especially those for president, have been not what the candidate has done or is going to do, but how bad the other guy is.

I still see many Republican presidential bumper stickers, mostly for Bush Cheney 04 or McCain/Palin 08. And I still see more positive bumper stickers for Obama than for Romney, including the "Veterans for Obama" on my car.

Oddly, there are also more negative Obama stickers than pro-Romney ones. Many are just rude but a very few are blatantly racist, these on vehicles driven by men my age or older; they should know better. Their children and grandchildren must be so proud.

I know there is not much chance but I would implore those who advance racist ideals on their vehicles to think about who is reading them. As the father of nonwhite children, it is very hurtful. Just try to imagine.

-- Skip Dunn

Eagle River

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Coalition didn't get things done but Republican majority will

I hope that the results of the Aug. 28 primary send a clear message to Alaska's legislators that we expect and deserve direct representation when we elect you, not representation that is cloaked in a coalition.

The November general election should result in a Republican majority that we trust will focus on getting things done, unlike the Senate coalition in the last session that apparently forgot how, or purposely neglected, to face any of the issues that are important to all of us. Issues such as oil and gas taxes, in-state pipeline, coastal zone management and a budget.

Hopefully the new state senators will have the same backbone as their colleagues who chose to stay out of the Senate coalition. Working with the House, we should experience a very productive Legislature.

-- Bob Lewis

Wasilla

Privileged Ann Romney has no idea what a real mom is

As I was listening to the radio in the wee hours of the morning here in Bethel, I heard Ann Romney's comment defining real moms of the world. Most moms wish they could be home with their kids on a rainy day versus going out to three part-time jobs.

A real mom is my sister Nancy, breast cancer survivor, 74, who raised two kids and is still working full-time to keep health insurance. My sister Colleen, 73, raised five children alone, after losing her husband to a heart attack at 39. And I could come up with thousands of other real moms with similar circumstances.

The real moms of this country will cast their votes without the help of someone born into entitlement and still getting the message so wrong. Ann Romney needs to look up the definition of rhetoric. Real moms use their own words and write their own words.

-- Peggy Maher

a real mom

Bethel

What next for Jewel Lake work?

Now someday, ideally before snow starts falling, the city will finish whatever it is they're doing to Jewel Lake between Raspberry and International, right? Because forward progress seems to have stopped and it's not entirely clear what the purpose has been (aside from median islands). But it's still going strong, so I'm expecting great things! Lord knows, more than two months of construction ought to produce something impressive over a quarter-mile stretch of road.

-- Zachary Miller

Anchorage

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