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Lifestyle different from race

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In the letter by Amy Sprouse (Sept. 2), "All Alaskans deserve freedom," she states, "Be they gay, lesbian, straight, black, white or green, everyone deserves the same rights as everybody else." Isn't she confusing lifestyle with race? If we are to include lifestyle, we could also include murderers, rapists, domestic terrorists, etc.

Enough said.

-- Norma Tillett

Wasilla

Say no to government welfare

I would love to have health insurance. No employer-based plan is available to me and I have no money in my family budget for private insurance premiums.

If my family is indigent enough for Medicaid, we're not interested in enrolling onto government welfare. HR 3200 will force us to accept welfare or be penalized.

There is language in HR 3200, like it or not, which does mandate minimum coverage be maintained by every citizen. Failure to will result, as outlined in Section 401 of HR 3200, in a 2.5 percent income tax penalty on all income in excess of the standard deduction to a maximum penalty of the average annual premium. That's about $1,000 at my income.

So what are my choices? Accept government-imposed welfare or quit filing income tax returns? HR 3200 would force me to choose between becoming a ward of the state today or committing a federal crime, which could lead to becoming a ward of the state in the future.

Yes, we need health insurance reform but HR 3200 is not the right plan.

-- James Lintz

Anchorage

Alaska's offshore record good

Betsy Beardsley's assessment of offshore exploration as "aggressive" and "risky" (letter, Aug. 28) ignores decades of environmental work and the successful drilling that has taken place in the Alaska offshore.

Industry's offshore record is outstanding. Furthermore, over $500 million has been spent collecting baseline science in the oceans off Alaska's North Slope. There's more to come, but claiming we know "too little" is disingenuous.

Industry has studied and perfected techniques for recovering oil in Arctic conditions. Field trials in Norway bear this out. History is also on our side. Of the over 14,000 exploratory wells drilled since 1959, four have resulted in minor spills (200, 100, 11 and .08 barrels). In the unlikely event of a spill, our assets and crew would be on site and prepared.

It's unfortunate Ms. Beardsley chooses to frame the issue of offshore exploration with uninformed perspectives. Alaskans need only look to Cook Inlet for a reminder of how offshore production can coexist with user groups, marine mammals and the environment.

-- Curtis Smith

Shell Alaska External Affairs

Anchorage

New approach to homelessness offers treatment with dignity

Catholic Social Services (CSS) agrees with the unified approach to address homelessness taken by the mayor in his Strategic Action plan. This plan, which begins with public safety for all members of the community, meshes with the efforts taken by Sen. Johnny Ellis to develop a specialized treatment unit at the Clitheroe Center for adults suffering from chronic alcohol abuse.

"Title 47" will be used as a tool for non-voluntary commitment to help people detox and start treatment in a dignified and respectful environment. It is tragic that in a city that has suffered the deaths of 12 citizens from the long-term effects of chronic alcoholism, the number of detox beds has dropped from 35 to 10 and the waiting list for long-term treatment is months long.

CSS strongly supports increased funding for treatment and detox beds by the Alaska Legislature. It is imperative that state and local governments work together so that we do not continue to watch people die on our streets.

-- Susan Bomalaski

executive director

Catholic Social Services

Offenders need to be monitored

Everyone should demand that the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 finally receive funding to help establish a national registry of class 3 sexual offenders.

I believe sexual offenders don't "get well." I believe they need lifelong monitoring to reassure neighbors they are maintaining control of their daily routines.

The recent case of Jaycee Lee Dugard is a high-profile example of what still needs to be done in our country to protect people, and especially young children, from sexual predators.

And when parole officers do home visits, they need to at least check community property records to make certain they are looking at the full extent of an offender's residence. As I understand it, it was only a wooden fence that blocked the PO from encountering Dugard's 18-year horror. Imagine!

-- Howard Partch

Anchorage

'Wizard of Oz' film anti-male

This is a response to Brandon Anderson's letter of Aug. 30 ("Beware of the wizard").

The 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz" is an underhanded political statement with anti-masculine and anti-manhood themes. All strong characters in the movie are females. Dorothy (Judy Garland) turns out to be a resourceful and assertive young lady, while the Good Witch of the North is Dorothy's protector who ultimately rescues her. Even the Wicked Witch of the West, despite her evil traits, is a woman of vast power.

Contrast these strong female roles with the weak, bumbling and deficient males depicted in the movie. The Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion respectively lack a brain, a heart and courage. The "all powerful" Wizard of Oz turns out to be an incompetent fraud who cannot keep his promise to take Dorothy home. Even the Munchkins appear to be neutered males.

Unlike the children's novel by L. Frank Baum upon which the movie is based, "The Wizard of Oz" is an extravaganza with an anti-male and pro-feminist slant. How peculiar that this movie should be invoked as part of a political attack against a strong female leader.

-- August Cisar

Seward

Education a priority for Obama

I found President Obama's speech to students to be refreshing and hopeful for our nation. Education was elevated as a top priority for the youth of the United States.

We should jump for joy that we have a president who believes in the No. 1 priority of education!

Students attending the speech seemed thrilled and attentive. And, they were excited after the speech to shake the president's hand.

My favorite part of President Obama's speech was when he spoke about his mother's inspiration in his education:

"When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday -- at 4:30 in the morning. Now, I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, 'This is no picnic for me either, buster.' "

-- Judy Fulp

Kodiak

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