Semper fi forgotten by Sullivan
During his campaign for the U.S. Senate, Dan Sullivan made much of his military background, touting his experience as a U.S. Marine Corps Reservist — a status he retains today. Yet Sen. Sullivan, along with 46 other Republican senators, signed a letter addressed to the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The letter, as widely reported by news outlets around the world, seeks to undermine President Barack Obama's efforts to craft a nuclear agreement with Iran. In addition to the U.S., the multinational negotiations include the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany.
The interference by the 47 Republican senators was shocking to the foreign policy establishment, as well as members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. Even the Iranians reacted with disgust. The fact that U.S. senators would communicate directly with the Ayatollah Khamenei to undermine our president was a breathtaking breach of protocol that many called a violation of federal law (the Logan Act), and that some deemed outright treasonous.
The fact that Sullivan, a Marine Reserve lieutenant colonel, would show such utter disrespect for his commander in chief is even more shocking.
Sullivan has shown his true colors, and they are not red, white and blue. In his zeal to be a member of the "Disloyal 47," U.S. Marine Reservist Sullivan forgot the meaning of semper fidelis — "always faithful."
— Kimberly Metcalfe,
Alaska's Democratic National Committeewoman
Juneau
Sullivans defense of letter fails
I was disheartened to see Sen. Dan Sullivan make the front page of The Washington Post and appear on Fox News in defense of the now-notorious GOP letter to Iran. I was impressed — negatively — by Sullivan's abstract logic that this letter represented a bipartisan concern, when only some GOP senators signed it.
Others with sense, like Sen. Lisa Murkowski, did not. Sullivan's defense of the letter is akin to an enthusiastic call for a Seahawks pass on the 1-yard line. Alaskans have elected the new poster child for ill-advised politics and an unorganized GOP.
— Brett Scruton
Anchorage
Reject DST bill; a body cant take it
I'm appalled that Sen. Anna MacKinnon's bill to end daylight saving time passed the Alaska Senate. She may not have lived here when Alaska's time zones were combined so that all of Alaska was on one time zone. That was a big change and improved overall communication capabilities, not only within Alaska but also with the Lower 48.
This current bill will make life much harder when it comes to:
1. Communicating with those who live out of state because we will constantly have to remember when DST affects other states and when it doesn't.
2. Traveling out of state whenever other states are on DST and we are not. This means that our bodies will go through two hours to five hours of adaptation instead of one to four. If we travel several times a year, like most business people do, or only once a year, like most of the rest of us do, it means that our circadian rhythm will be much more messed up than what we currently go through with a one hour time change twice a year.
For goodness sake, I sure hope the Senate will use common sense and reject this bill.
— Giselle Bergeron
Anchorage
Galled that Sullivan signed letter
The open letter to Iran's leadership that was signed by 47 Republican senators was a despicable and damn near traitorous effort to derail negotiations that have been taking place between six world powers, and to leave war as the only option for stopping the Iranian nuclear program. The authors of the letter displayed no understanding of international law, and so little knowledge of American constitutional law that the foreign minister of Iran (himself a graduate of U.S. schools) had to correct them about it.
Moreover, the senators in the Republican clown car handed the keys on this issue to Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, a conspiracy theorist whose knowledge of foreign policy begins and ends with border fences. The result is that Senate Republicans in America have aligned themselves with Muslim extremists in Iran in trying to stop negotiations between the leaders of their respective nations.
I am especially galled that our new Sen. Dan Sullivan, who has been in office only long enough to enjoy his government-funded health care for two months, assumes he knows enough about foreign policy to try to interfere with high-stakes negotiations that have going on since before he received his first check from the Koch brothers.
I applaud Sen. Lisa Murkowski for standing up to whatever peer pressure she faced and not signing the letter. As for Sullivan, I suggest he slip on his floaties and wade around in the kiddie pool for a couple of years before thinking he can swim with the adults in the room.
— Michael Gershel
Eagle River
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@alaskadispatch.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.