Letters to the Editor

Readers write: Letters to the editor, July 12

Actual people are people too

The feds and the politicians are at it again.

1) The Supremes protect the "religious freedom" of corporations like Hobby Lobby from Obamacare while the feds force me to break the Fifth Commandment by financing Obamadrones.

2) The politicians want to deport little kids whose only "crime" is trying to escape murderous Central American thugs. How many Alaska politicians want to deport alien corporations like BP for serial violations of state and federal laws? Or are the politicians too busy using tax cuts to coddle corporate criminals?

Maybe you smart people can tell me why corporate "people" are entitled to more freedom and less accountability than real ones?

— Geoff Kennedy
Anchorage

Palin has no right to weigh in on SB 21

Hmmm..........I can't seem to understand why anyone puts any credibility in what Sarah Palin has to say about SB 21. She was the architect of ACES which suppressed investment in the oil fields of Alaska and then after being in office for less than her full term and ACES was in place, resigned as governor in pursuit of the almighty dollar herself. Kinda hypocritical don't ya think?

— GM Hefley
Anchorage

Caribou metaphor doesn't work with oil taxes

Six of the largest native corporations suggest that ACES is comparable to hunting "all the caribou in a single season" with the resultant consequences the following year (ADN Compass, July 10). While a caribou herd can be replenished, there is only one opportunity for a finite resource to be equitably taxed in a manner that benefits all Alaskans. To squander this finite resource for short term gain will not "build a better future for their children."

An equitable progressive taxing structure of our oil reserves with rigorous oversight is a better alternative than SB 21 even if the benefits take longer to realize.

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— William Maxey
Anchorage

Eliminate those pesky urban bears

Craig Medred implies that one is safer with some sort of protection when in bear country, which is true, but why should what is essentially an urban park be bear country? There are tens of thousands of bears in Alaska outside of urban areas, and in their domain they are the dominant species and the top of the food chain. In urban areas we humans are the dominant species and the top of the food chain -- let's act like it. Fish and Game, I am sure, is aware of most bears in the area and they should be enforcing our position in the food chain. As the dominant species here we should dominate and have no encounters with animals who we don't control. Bears aren't fuzzy pets to have around. You want bears, go into the bush, well armed, but in urban areas eliminate the pests.

— Wes Sutterlin
Anchorage

Great headphone controversy

The return of Craig Medred to the pages of the Daily News has coincided with an apparent increase in animal attacks around the state, which of course triggers a kind of feeding frenzy on the part of Mr. Medred himself. I note that the quality of Mr. Medred's reporting of a recent wolf incident was called into question by Pat Dougherty in last week's Anchorage Press. Among many other charges, Mr. Dougherty faulted Medred for describing the ear buds used by the man involved in the wolf incident as "headphones." Mr. Medred defended the usage, although I notice that in subsequent stories touching on encounters with auditory wild animals, Mr. Medred has used the phrase "in-ear headphones."

Stubbornness, pugnaciousness, and very high self-esteem seem to be the hallmarks of Mr. Medred's journalistic work. Some people apparently appreciate these qualities. The rest of us, not so much.

— Doug Miller
Anchorage

The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter for consideration, e-mail letters@adn.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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