Letters to the Editor

Readers write: Letters to the editor, August 14, 2016

A tale of two strong women, a critical choice for Eagle River

Eagle River voters must choose between two impressive candidates for state House. I consider both friends of many years. They appear to share much the same value system and both are strong women, but there is a profound difference between them.

In elective politics, it is essential to have good people skills and to be able to build ad hoc teams to get policy changes and goals met. The successful policymaker must have integrity and be trustworthy. Sadly, the incumbent Eagle River representative, Lora Reinbold, is not able to provide those virtues and skills. Her legendary anger, inability to keep staff, lack of keeping commitments, misrepresentations, record-breaking unexcused absences, and virulent attacks on others have alienated her fellow legislators and many constituents. In addition, Lora's actions on the budget had the unhappy result of thwarting more Republican budget cuts. I still hold the opinion Lora's intentions are to do good, but the damage she has done and the severe limits she has put on her effectiveness make it time for Lora to take a couple of years off. She can hopefully use that time to work through her personal issues and then come back and use her talents to serve our state and district with distinction.

Lora's opponent Crystal Kennedy is much different at this stage of her life. Crystal is quiet, very hardworking, and builds respect and relationships wherever she goes. She does not appear to have any need to get attention, pick fights, jump in front of cameras or microphones or run off at the mouth. She served us with distinction on the Anchorage School Board and numerous boards and commissions. She is strong, principled, informed, and has a proven ability to work with all kinds of people and groups to get good things done.

I, and most area legislators, have chosen to support Crystal at this critical time in our state. I hope and pray Lora can use a well-deserved break as an opportunity to gain some new maturity and wisdom in her life journey. We need her back in the battle in the future.

— Fred Dyson
former state legislator
Eagle River

Changing up news sources

For some time I have found myself distancing myself from cable TV news and from newspapers such as The Washington Post, The New York Times and ADN. I quit subscribing to the Post and Times some years ago. As the content of the ADN has diminished, the breadth of the coverage has diminished, interest in the coverage has diverged and the price has gone dramatically up.

In all fairness this year's slugs are not attracted to the orange plastic wrapper of ADN, while they are attracted to the blue plastic wrapper on the Peninsula Clarion. This leads to very slimy hands and having to wash them diligently.
This morning after scanning the Post and Times online, turning off CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, and scanning the Clarion and ADN papers I saw and read "Obama Expands the ISIS bombing campaign to a fourth country, the media barely notice," by Adam H. Johnson in The Nation, Aug. 5. He points out what began two years ago as "limited" airstrikes in Iraq now includes Syria, Afghanistan and Libya — all with little media attention and public debate.

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He also includes the fact that U.S. military troops and Special Forces have been sent to Iraq and Syria in 2014, '15 and '16 — depending on how one defines "boots" and "ground." I was reminded of how complex life is depending on the definition of "is," how the truth can be "short circuited." Last night one TV expert explained the difference between lies and bull. I didn't get it. Frankly I am tired of both and suspect I am not alone.

I do understand why I am paying more attention to other news sources, like the Huffington Post, Democracy Now, the Guardian, the Nation, Consortium News, the Intercept, etc. The urge to shift my subscriptions to support these news sources is also growing.

— Hugh R. Hays
Veteran for Integrity,
Equality, Justice and Peace
Soldotna

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 under 200 words 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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