Letters to the Editor

Readers write: Letters to the editor, May 24, 2015

Stand your ground, Dems

I entreat the Democratic minority to please stand your ground, protect the Permanent Fund from the GOP majority.

Do not cave to the bullying, ever-arrogant posturing of Sens. Pete Kelly, Anna MacKinnon and Mike Dunleavy.

Crafting a budget is not a "my way or the highway" proposition. The GOP majority is not practicing representative government.

Alaskans want Erin's Law passed (the original one), the Taj MaHawker abandoned, the Bragaw Road extension eliminated, oil tax credits delayed until Alaska's fiscal house is in order, and of course Medicaid expanded.

Alaskans know the Democratic minority is not asking to spend more, rather, to spend differently. We know Kevin Meyer and Mike Chenault's op-eds are not factual. We will not be fooled.

GOP majority: Disrespecting Gov. Bill Walker will have grave re-election consequences.

— Patricia Gaedeke, owner

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Iniakuk Lake Wilderness Lodge, LLC

Fairbanks

It's our civic duty to recall legislators

I agree with LL Raymond's May 17 letter to ADN, "Time to recall legislators," saying "All elected public officers in the state of Alaska can be recalled. It only takes 10 percent of the voters … to put the matter on a ballot."

I think, we have a civic duty to put a referendum on the ballot to recall ALL of the "bums." While our Republican majority have been conspiring to block Medicare expansion to prevent the U.S. health care law from working in Alaska, all our Democrat and Republican representatives and senators have been conspiring to exhaust all our constitutional reserves within three years. What if we have another 1964-style earthquake in three years? (Murphy's law says we will.) How is any of this acting in the best interests of Alaska people? There must be a penalty for not upholding their oath of office, which requires all state elected officials to uphold U.S. laws, which includes our health care law, and to agree on a budget in the best interests of our people. Bye, bye, Republicans!

— Daniel N. Russell

Willow

This Legislature's debacle particularly shameful

I'll add my voice to those of the many other Alaskans who've protested our Legislature's unwillingness to expand Medicaid in Alaska and properly fund our public schools. Instead, they choose to spend — and I would argue, waste — large amounts of the state's money on industrial-scale projects, including some boondoggles that have little public support, and also make concessions to oil- and gas-industry corporations despite their huge in-state earnings.

At the same time, I applaud all those who've persisted in their efforts to convince the Legislature's Republican-led majorities that their priorities — and ethics — are out of whack with, including, and perhaps especially of late, Anchorage Faith and Action Congregations Together and the House Democratic minority. Though I consider myself a progressive to the left of even the Democratic party, especially here in Alaska, the Democrats come closest to expressing — and acting upon — my values. Those Democrats in the Legislature are on the "right" side of this issue if you happen to care about "ordinary" people; that is they are working on behalf of Alaska's citizens, including those who need society's help the most, including our elders, those in poverty, and school-age children.

Where, one might reasonably ask, are the compassion, good judgment, and Christian values of the Legislature's Republican leaders, all or at least most of whom likely consider themselves good Christians? They're certainly not acting in a Christ-like way. In fact I think Christ would likely toss them out of the Capitol, or the Anchorage LIO, or wherever it is that they're choosing to hide out these days.

At the risk of sounding self-righteous, this is a moral, ethical issue and Republican legislative leaders are failing the red-face test, not to mention the people they're supposed to represent. Alaska's politics can be exasperating and disheartening for someone who leans to the left, but this ongoing debacle is particularly shameful. It's often said that you get what you voted for, and I hope those who've voted for this bunch of hypocrites will choose differently in the future.

— Bill Sherwonit

Anchorage

Need east-west bike route

The map with the recent article about the progress of bike lanes in Anchorage pointed out a serious deficiency. While there is a lane nearly the length of town running north and south along the A Street-C Street corridor, there is virtually nothing running east to west through Midtown. It would be great if the current project rehabilitating Northern Lights and Benson boulevards or some other nearby location would include bike lanes for the increasing number of bike commuters.

— Paul S. Wilcox

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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@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.

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