East High should offer swimming
I am a sophomore at East High School. I would like to have swimming be a class again at East High School.
Due to budget cuts, we can no longer afford to rent the pool from the city of Anchorage. I think not being able to use the pool takes away learning that could save lives. It would be fun, and kids enjoy it. I think it is a waste that we cannot use the pool when it is there and could be used. Most high schools do not have a pool, but East High School does, and we should be using it. I would like swimming because it is fun but mostly because it is for safety.
-- Lori Harris
Anchorage
Astounded by voter guide omission
My pleasure at receiving the "Official Voters Pamphlet" on Thursday turned to disbelief when I discovered that a leading candidate for governor was not included in the candidate's profile. While there were a half dozen or so candidates I had never heard of presented, one I had heard of and who has a reasonable chance of being elected was omitted. How can that be? Doesn't someone at the Division of Elections check the pamphlet for accuracy? It leads one to believe that such a "mistake" was intentional. Is that how we run elections in this state? Victory through omission and deception.
I wonder if the current staffers at the Alaska Division of Elections aren't actually the former staffers from the Florida Division of Elections who handled the 2000 presidential election. Come on, get it right and keep it fair.
-- Michael Harrison
Kotzebue
Research a little for best candidate
How do you decide who to vote for?
The candidate with the brightest smile, the best-looking candidate? Probably not.
Do you just vote based on the biggest ad campaigns? Many do because face it, actively looking for information about politicians and their past actions takes time. So they take the easy choice of just deciding based on what is shoved in their eyes and ears by the various ad campaigns and the talking heads they listen to. These seldom show the whole picture, just using a snippet that they can put their own spin on.
What do we get when the majority of votes are decided this way? Is it the most honest candidate, the one who least stoops to spinning the facts about their opponent? Not likely.
It doesn't take very much time to fact-check just a couple of claims by each side. For example, did mayor, now senator, Begich actually cause that big Anchorage ($17 million) deficit claimed by his opponents, or was the deficit he left actually a lot smaller than the deficit ($33 million) that he faced when starting the job? Find out; it's not hard. Google is a wonderful tool. Do you want to vote for the side that "spins" the facts or the side that sticks to the facts?
-- Alex Koponen
Fairbanks
GOP attack ad in voter guide offensive
I find the Republican political ad dissing Sen. Begich in the official voter election pamphlet extremely offensive. Since when can a paid political ad be published in an official election pamphlet for the state of Alaska? Were the other parties given the same opportunity to dis Republicans, or did they realize it would be irresponsible, unethical and maybe even illegal in such a document? Isn't the information packet supposed to be a nonbiased document? This is a highly unethical practice and quite possibly illegal. Gov. Parnell and the Republican Party are once again playing the partisan political games, and all parties involved should be ashamed of themselves, and if indeed illegal should be taken to court.
I am sick of all the negative ads, but to find one in the official state election voter pamphlet made my blood boil. And by the way, was the omission of Mr. Walker a mistake or a political ploy?
-- Patty Arnold
Palmer
Lets address rising carbon emissions
A few days ago ADN ran a photo of a melting permafrost ice cellar. Before that it was walruses crammed into an extremely dense onshore colony, probably due to a lack of floating ice platforms. Yesterday an article reported that Barrow's average October temperature has increased 12.96 degrees since 1979.
Fellow Alaskans, let's address the rising carbon emissions that are contributing to these changes. There is a proposal at http://citizensclimatelobby.org that you might find helpful, like I did. It urges placing a fee on fossil fuels at the point that they come out of the ground, returning all the revenue to Americans in the form of dividends and including protections so that U.S. companies still stay competitive.
REMI, a well-regarded economic modeling group, calculates that the proposal would create millions of new jobs, be a net gain for American families and reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent within 20 years. British Columbia is already trying this with good results so far.
-- Jan Bronson
Anchorage
Political ads do not fool Alaskans
At the end of most political ads, the narrator says "____________" is responsible for the contents of this ad." A more accurate wording would say "irresponsible." Do the people who produce and pay for these commercials think Alaska voters are stupid? They may be trying to brainwash us.
-- Vince Fennimore
Anchorage
Reject candidates 'bought by the rich
An oligarchy is defined as "a government in which a small group exercises control especially for selfish or corrupt purposes." Russia is an oligarchy. China is an oligarchy. Many African countries are oligarchies. The United States government is headed in a direction that increasingly fits the above description.
The current political campaign in this state and country in which countless millions of dollars contributed by the very rich or the organizations and companies they control points clearly the direction this country's government is headed.
Individuals such as the Koch brothers or PACs controlled by rich individuals or very large corporations are attempting to "buy" the United States government, not for the good of the general population, but for fattening their already bulging financial portfolios. They give lip service support to conservative social issues to gain the votes they need for government control. Most could care less about these issues beyond the votes they can garner.
If we want to return to the "robber baron" days of the 1890s, we can elect the candidates they are paying for. If we want a government for all our citizens we can vote for candidates who are looking to improve life in this country for everyone.
-- Elliott Barske
Anchorage
Quarterly Review deserves support
On Oct. 9, I attended an event called "Exploring the Power of Creativity to Transform a Life," sponsored by Alaska Quarterly Review, Alaska Center for the Book and Anchorage Public Library. As an English instructor, I was particularly struck by the panel's insights into how the arts in education are being pushed away in favor of a business model. The panelists discussed not only what stakeholders can do (and have done) to show students the importance of the arts in their learning but also the ways in which the arts inform the more scientific and functional side of academia.
For these reasons, I am grateful that Alaska Quarterly Review, which houses some of the most creative and robust literary work, continues to be an important part of UAA and Alaska. I encourage my colleagues and community members to support such publications, and I hope that we continue to have healthy discussions about why the arts are essential to learning.
-- Jathan Day
Adjunct instructor
UAA Department of English and CPDS
Anchorage
Legalizing pot will have social costs
I am writing as a family doctor, and more importantly, a mother, in opposition to Ballot Measure 2. There is limited evidence of benefit or harm of smoked marijuana. This is in part due to barriers to research, which should be lifted. There may be medical benefit in treating chronic pain, nausea, glaucoma, neurologic and immune disorders. There may also be harm from inhaled toxins, addiction and dependence, to brain development in young people, from impaired driving and in accidental poisonings of children.
It is my understanding that impaired driving is one area that Colorado has found difficulty in addressing, as a positive marijuana test does not correlate with acute intoxication. It is also my understanding that Alaska's own research suggests there will be significant social cost to adopting this policy.
Whatever tax benefit the state may recoup, it should not do so at the detriment of its citizens. I believe if marijuana shows medical benefit, that it should be provided under medical supervision and control for specific medical indications, and regulated like other drugs.
Marijuana's medical indications and risks should be better delineated by controlled studies rather than by uncontrolled social experiment.
-- Marin Granholm, M.D.
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.