Letters to the Editor

Readers write: Letters to the editor, Sept. 12, 2014

Give the gift of blood

Bob Scanlon's article (ADN, Sept. 9) on the importance of donating blood should be a wake-up call for all healthy Alaskans able to donate blood. It is hard to imagine a greater generous gift to humanity that costs nothing more than a commitment of some of your time to provide lifesaving blood. Call 222-5630 for info on how you can donate.

— Terry Stimson

Anchorage

NFL’s dance of denial ignores lies

Lost in the NFL and Ravens "leadership" denial dance is one little fact: Ray Rice … lied. Coach Harbaugh yesterday: "I hope the two of them 'make it,'" and "We just saw the video — it changes everything." In all the hemming and hawing from coach, not once did I hear, "I'm disappointed Ray lied to me."

There are many lessons to be learned from this ethical fiasco but let's add one more. It's pretty simple, actually. People lie. Even people you trust. Even to people like you and me. So why the dance of denial? Because numerous people thought (or even said),

"I believe it happened just as Ray said; I don't need — or want — to consider any other version of the truth. (So no one in the NFL thought, "I wonder if that elevator has a security camera, too…") Besides, Janay heard Ray tell us what happened and didn't correct his version.

Idiots. Didn't anyone take "Helping Battered Partners 101"? And — news flash: Anyone can lie. Professional liars do it best. Harbaugh went too far, simply and only trusting the word of a "good guy" like Rice.

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Trust your true friends? Indeed. But not blindly or necessarily to the bitter end, and no matter who or when or where, be careful thinking or saying of him, "He would never do such a thing."

— Keith Muschinske

Eagle River

Kikkan Randall is real class act

We all know her professional resume — four-time Olympian, umpteen World Cup podiums and national championships, etc. But only recently have I come to appreciate Kikkan Randall's generous citizenship locally. In the often scary world of youth running and skiing, Kikkan is everywhere, inspiring and cheering every kid, winners and also-rans.

At the Tuesday Night Races this week in the rain and mud, she was posted at the end of the finishers chute enthusiastically high -fiving every munchkin finisher with personalized kudos to each. What a class act. Thank you Kikkan for being such an awesome inspiration and role model for our kids. Alaska is honored to call you our own.

— Bruce Anders

Anchorage

Quarterly Review rare gem

As an master's graduate of the University of Alaska Anchorage and a long-time resident of Alaska, I declare the obvious: that a university should strive for, promote, and value excellence in knowledge, thought, and action. Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe wrote that "Excellence is rarely found, more rarely valued." With these words in mind, and in light of the recent (and not so recent) UAA indifference to the proven excellence of the Alaska Quarterly Review, I will again state the obvious.

AQR unrecognized is a loss of vision,

AQR unappreciated is a loss of spirit, and

AQR unsupported is a loss of possibility.

The review must be valued for its aspirations and its high level of widely recognized accomplishments. Dolly Parton is attributed with saying, "It's hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world." I call upon the UAA and the state of Alaska to rise above the rhinestone standard, and in a definitive manner join with professor Ronald Spatz and all those associated with the three decades of dedication and perseverance that have created and shaped AQR into the Alaska and nationally appreciated literary and cultural gem that it is.

— George Harbeson Jr.

Anchor Point

Obamacare bears rotten fruit

Why are so many "progressives" now bellyaching about the rise in health insurance costs? Didn't a glib President Obama repeatedly promise that the opposite would occur once Obamacare was enacted?

Obamacare's real problem is that it was not enacted in good faith. Instead it was rammed through a one-party Congress using Chicago thug political tactics. Sprung from the soil of tyranny and deceit, Obamacare will bear rotten fruit.

— August Cisar

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Seward

Sullivan is no ‘warrior’ for Alaska

Dan Sullivan claims to be a fighter in several of his ads, and even says he'll be a warrior for Alaska in one. Last time I checked, being a warrior meant having the courage to show up to a fight and look your opponent square in the eye.

So why does Sullivan keep declining invitations to debate Sen. Mark Begich? First he was unable to attend a forum hosted by the Alaska Native Brotherhood in Juneau. And now he is "too busy traveling" to attend the decades-old traditional fishery debate in Kodiak.

It makes me think he's scared of answering questions about his record in Alaska — which might have something to do with the fact that his record is full of examples of working against Alaskans' interests. Like how, as attorney general, Sullivan went to great lengths to argue that tribal courts don't have the authority to adopt its own village children in the Kaltag case. Or how he supports building Pebble mine, which would be devastating to the fishing industry.

Dan Sullivan might need a dictionary to look up "warrior." If he's too scared to show up and talk about what he'll do for Alaska in Alaska, it's clear he won't be brave enough to fight for us when he is across the country in Washington, D.C.

— Jody Serrano

Wasilla

Why fund roads instead of funding schools first?

I just heard on the radio, that the state is funding a $42 million project to build a road. Instead, I think the state should be funding schools which are underfunded and need more support.

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— Joshua Steinberg

6th grade, Chugach Optional Elementary

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, email letters@adn.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter to the editor constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Send longer works of opinion to commentary@alaskadispatch.com.

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