Readers write: Letters to the editor, August 2, 2017

Parks, preserves are not game farms for sport hunters

National parks and preserves are special. They were created to protect America's past and ensure our children have opportunities to experience some of the world's greatest places. In Alaska, national preserves allow sport hunting, but they were not created to be game farms focused on producing the maximum number of caribou and moose for sport hunters.

Because parks and preserves are special, and because Alaska is blessed with the best national parks in the nation, they are an economic mainstay of the state. Visitors to national parks and preserves spent nearly $1.3 billion in Alaska last year.

Now, the new Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has directed the National Park Service to revisit a recent Park Service rule clarifying that sport-hunting predator control practices such as killing mother bears and their cubs while hibernating, baiting bears with donuts and dog food, and killing wolves and pups while they are denning, is not legal on national preserve land.
Predator control is not consistent with the mission of national parklands. Secretary Zinke's directive to revisit a Park Service decision made after 26 public meetings and 70,000 comments strongly suggests he plans to roll back the rule. That is a shame and a mistake. It is ultimately bad for Alaska's economy, and brings into question whether the secretary understands or respects our national parks and their unique place in America.

— Jim Adams
Alaska regional director
National Parks Conservation Assoc.
Anchorage

Greed sustains life in 'swamp'

President Donald Trump said he was going to "drain the swamp." I assumed at the time, he meant the swamp in Washington, D.C. Apparently, he meant the swamp in New York City, since he's bringing all of the greedy swamp animals from NYC to the White House. Shame on me, and shame on all of us, for not asking Trump to clarify his intent.

— Steven Lyons
Anchorage

Celebrate wild Alaska salmon and its heritage at Cuddy Park

With my legs bent and my fishing rod flexed to the max, I dragged my first Alaska salmon to shore. Twelve years old at the time, the experience is still etched in my memory. Not only was it incredible to see the large fish in all its scaly glory onshore, but spending that time with my family on the Kenai, and hearing stories from my father, enabled us to bond in a significant way.

When I turned 14, however, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Suddenly, the extensive camping trips and daylong fishing excursions became difficult, given my health. It was not just my health that was affected, but my ability to spend time with my family in the Alaska wilderness. My sense of camaraderie and oneness with my family and the Kenai community could not be achieved while my health was unstable.

Having experienced it, I know what it is like to be without access to our state's rivers and fishing areas. It is disheartening to think how they could be risked and mistreated. That risk goes beyond economic impact and impacts how our streams connect us as a community.

Legislation like House Bill 199 would not only provide additional degrees of protection over our rivers, it would also help ensure we keep the ties created through communing with our friends and family on our rivers. That is worth protecting and fighting for. Please join me in celebrating the cultural significance of our salmon and take action at a free, family-friendly, community barbecue for Alaska Wild Salmon Day, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Cuddy Family Midtown Park in Anchorage.

— John Jones
Anchorage

'One size does not fit all' rule

I am writing in response to those letters lately, lamenting the unneeded street cleaning in summer. I, too, was annoyed and called the city awhile back and found out this is a federal requirement. In order to receive federal road funds, the city has to agree to something like periodic cleaning four times a year. It is one of those "one size does not fit all" requirements that just doesn't work with our weather patterns.

So if you don't like it, it's best to contact your Congress people and let them know the rules need to be changed — once again — to accommodate Alaska. Or just know why and accept it. I guess another option is to fight for independence from the United States, or refuse the funds, but we probably don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, as the saying goes. Or to put it another way, we don't want to throw federal transportation money out with the street cleaning.

— Beverly Churchill
Anchorage

Difference in senators is stark

In regard to Sens. Murkowski's and Sullivan's votes on the Afforable Care Act, I am so sorry the Twitterer-in-chief and Republican Party mouthpieces are sad about Murkowski's vote. Unlike our other senator, Lisa stood up for all Alaskans. The upset ones probably have great employer-paid insurance and can afford to be "mean."

Comparing our senators, we now know which one has the right equipment.

— Tom Carberry
Anchorage

Senate could've used Stubbs

It's too bad the good mayor of Talkeetna has passed. He would have made a great senator — can't do any worse than what we have now.

— Ed Jarman
Palmer

For-profit hospitals exploit the sick and infirm for bottom line

For over 40 years I have witnessed the transformation of our health care delivery system from the inside. The obvious problem with the healthcare delivery system in this country is cost, and I believe much of the cost is a direct result of the rise of for-profit hospital corporations and the subsequent trickle-down effect into all the other branches of health care.

Hospitals emerged in this country in the mid-19th century as public institutions to serve the entire general population. They remained not-for-profit institutions for over 100 years. I worked in one of these public hospitals, with its Civil War-era large, open wards. The Boston City Hospital was founded in 1884, and by the time I arrived in 1972 it was a charity hospital serving only the poor and always overflowing in capacity. It was chronically understaffed and undersupplied (including linen), and on the brink of financial collapse. Most large cities had these charity, or "mercy," hospitals which started the same way and most, like Boston's hospital, eventually survived by merging with more profitable hospitals often associated with teaching institutions.

For financial survival, the business model was applied to the running of hospitals, and with the free market philosophy came the profit motive. I saw it begin in the 1970s and really take off in the '80s. It is one thing to generate enough income to balance the books and another to garner exorbitant profits on the backs of the sick. By the 1990s, large for-profit syndicates dominated the health care "industry." Now nobody blinks an eye over the fact that we, as a nation, exploit the sick and infirm for profit. Most people don't enter a hospital by choice, including a choice to walk away from the service. Sickness is arbitrary and can befall any one of us at any time.

My point to all this is that we need to re-examine our mercenary approach to health care and consider a design that re-introduces the idea of mercy.

— Marie Bair
Anchorage

Alaska needs its own 'wall'

I hear the president threatens to put Alaska on his enemies' list because one of our senators pays more attention to her constituents than to him.

Kind of reminds me of kidnappers who threaten to harm our families if we don't obey them.

Seems to me, we Alaskans have the right to protect ourselves from those who seek to take away our rights to the federal programs we finance through our taxes.

How about a wall along our borders to protect us — especially young Alaska women — from the president? Since we have more boundaries than all the other states combined, such a wall would create thousands of construction jobs.
And let's send the bill to The Donald.

— Geoff Kennedy
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 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.