Letters to the editor for Aug. 28, 2016

 Relax, Lochte and Solo: NFL is here

Ryan Lochte and, to a lesser extent, Hope Solo, American Olympians, need not worry too much longer about their embarrassing episodes in Brazil during the recent Rio Olympics. The NFL season is closing in and there is surely to be another NFL player major episode along with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell doing what he does best — sidestepping the serious issues of NFL players.

— Ed Kobak
Clam Gulch

Alaska delegation supports Global Fund

Thank you Rep. Don Young, Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan for supporting The Global Fund that fights to defeat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. By working through partnerships with affected countries, donor governments, faith based organizations and the private sector, The Global Fund has saved the lives of nearly 22 million people since 2002. Still, the number of people who die from these diseases annually is about 3 million. On Sept. 16, The Global Fund will meet in Montreal, Canada, to organize the Fifth Voluntary Replenishment Conference in order to help turn the tide against these diseases. Please encourage Congress and the president to continue support for The Global Fund and thank our congressional contingent for helping in this effort to stave off these diseases.

— John M. Kennish
Anchorage

Could McHugh fire have been prevented?

There was a big fire near Anchorage in July. It put some people in danger, inconvenienced a lot of other people, and cost a lot of money to put out. Now it appears that there was at least one fire a few months earlier that began in the same spot, and that state officials may have been warned that a repeat was likely.
Is it too much to ask for a written, public report from someone on exactly where the fire started, whether it could have been prevented, and what can be done to try to prevent fires near Anchorage in the future?

— Doug Miller
Anchorage

Loose dog caused trail crash

Dear Trail Users (runners, walkers, Pokemon Go players, bikers, dog walkers, Rollerbladers, bird-watchers, jet plane-watchers, etc.):

As we all know, our city trails are gems — a big reason why so many of us love to live in Anchorage. These multi-use trails only work if everyone is careful, respectful and observant in practice of the rules that keep users safe. One of these rules is a leash law — dogs are to be kept on a leash and by their owner’s side. Most dog owners comply with this law and are very good at keeping their dogs out of harm’s way.

You probably know where I’m going with this. Yesterday a loose dog chasing a play ball on the Coastal Trail ran into me on my bike. I had slowed down and called out a warning to the owners, who saw me coming but still threw the ball down the trail. The collision sent me over the handlebars, a full somersault through the air that might have put me in Olympic medal contention. Luckily, I landed in the grass off the side of the trail, flat on my back. No broken bones and no head impact. Lucky indeed. I was able to ride home, but I’m mighty achy today. The dog was OK but its owners scolded the poor thing as if it had done something wrong. The fault lies with the owners entirely.

So let this letter serve as an appeal and a reminder to dog owners to kindly observe the leash law on the trails. And let’s all continue to play it safe. Bikes, keep it slow in congested areas and call out warnings or use a bike bell. Strollers, avoid more than two abreast across the trail and stand off the trail when you stop to chat. Pokemon Go players, please stop wandering all over the trail.
I was lucky (I think). A more serious accident is one mistake away.

— Jeff Silverman
Anchorage

Differences in viewing

My wife and I have different tastes when it comes to daytime television viewing. I tend to watch news and programs with political content, while she prefers home improvement programs.

You might think the major difference between these two choices is the importance of the matters being discussed. You would be wrong. The major difference is that in my wife’s programs, things actually get improved.

— Jack Morris 
Wasilla

Global warming is an old story

Margaret Stock’s commentary on climate change (Aug. 25) is another attempt to blame human activity for  causing a phenomenon that seems to be a recurring event that so far has escaped any plausible scientific explanation. Humans have always made up myths to explain that which they do not understand.

It is generally accepted that thousands of years ago Alaska and all northern latitudes had a long period of temperate, perhaps tropical, climate. This was followed by a long period of gradual cooling that evolved into the ice age. We know that the ice cap moved as far south as the latitudes of Colorado before starting to recede. That same recession and warming continues.

Somehow, I can not believe that 10,000 or more years ago autos or smokestack emissions caused that reversal or this repeat of warming.

When Margaret Stock and those who want to self-flagellate can explain with credible and reasonable theory the cause of the previous cooling and warming cycles, I might be inclined to be convinced. None of this implies that we should not do everything reasonable to maintain a clean environment.

— Robert Harris
Wasilla

People can choose; pets can’t

In John Havelock’s “Humanity needs to evolve beyond violent sports” (Commentary, Aug. 23), he casually states: “It is astonishing how so many of us displace concern for violence against people by embracing concern for pets. A few years ago a top football player got two hard years in the pen for running dog fights on the side. Maybe the fact that he was black and the court was in the South had something to do with it.”

I have absolutely no idea what message Havelock is trying to impart here. It wasn’t until Michael Vick got busted out for dogfighting that I became aware of the extreme suffering these animals are subjected to. It’s sickening.
So, in the first place, “pets” are not subjected to blood, gore, maiming and death on a regular basis. And second, a literate adult has the option to be subjected to brutality or not. These poor, abused animals have no such choice.

— Della Dempsey
Wasilla