Letters to the Editor

Readers write: Letters to the editor, October 29, 2017

Love Babcock's satire

I wanted to thank Mr. Babcock for the belly laugh on an otherwise grey morning (Commentary, Oct. 24). I did not realize he had the intelligence, integrity and grasp of reality it takes to do political satire.

— Cam Rader
Anchorage

Don't stand for Trump's antics

Dear Sen. Murkowski, Sen. Sullivan and Representative Don Young:

"This above all: to thine own self be true
And it must follow, as the night the day
Thou canst not then be false to any man"

— William Shakespeare

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Are you being true to yourself? When President Trump undermines the norms of democracy and you sit silent, do you feel satisfied that you are upholding your own ideals?

We need people who call out bad behavior. Silence for the sake of expediency risks normalizing destructive behavior. Silence is complicity. What comes after President Trump? I fear our democracy may not recover.

If you are comfortable with Trump's behavior then by all means keep quiet and sleep soundly. But I hope you will ask yourselves these questions: Is the free press the enemy of the people? Is name-calling the best way to conduct diplomacy and negotiation? Is habitual lying acceptable in the office of the president?

If you believe — as I do — that Trump is undermining the foundations of democracy, please speak up. To thine own self be true. Don't stand by and let our democracy be damaged or destroyed because it is politically expedient for you to do so.

— Scott Hayden
Anchorage

An ode to Bus Route 60

I want to express my thanks and appreciation to a friend of mine for 31 years:

When my car was fixed, you took me to TGC Auto to pick it up. You gave me rides to Carrs Huffman, McDonald's, Sonia's Magic Hair Styles, Taco King, the post office and H&R Block Premium (even when it moved and became Block Advisors).

I dropped my visitors off at the Anchorage Museum or the downtown mall and you brought them home.

You took my Mom all the way downtown and back to Johns Road, following up with taking her and grandchildren to JC Penney, Sears Mall, the Loussac Library and Dimond Center. She was loyal to you and would not switch to any other bus.

As for me, I would transfer at Dimond or downtown and go to Chugiak High, Eagle River, UAA, Northway Mall and all over Anchorage. If I could just get back to the Old Seward, you would bring me home.

Bus Route 60, I only regret that I did not take you more often because Monday, October 23, 2017, you were gone. I'll miss you, I won't forget you, and I will keep trying to bring you back home.

— Roselynn Cacy
Anchorage

More Arctic coverage needed; bring back Yereth Rosen

Please consider more coverage of the Arctic, which is of significant and timely importance. There has been excellent coverage in the past by Yereth Rosen, who has unique expertise and years of experience with the Arctic as her beat. She would be an excellent choice, because this coverage would benefit from a journalist who has such extensive experience and knowledge.

Alaska is the climate-change canary right now, and what you investigate, print, and correlate with other sources is of enormous value, not only to the Arctic region but internationally. Since we have front-row-center seats to the Arctic, this coverage would be an opportunity to increase the reputation and enhance the prestige of the Alaska Dispatch.

— Sandy Harper
Anchorage

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Newspaper is smaller, smarter; give it time to grow

This 60-years-a-deliberate-Alaskan has always been a newspaper clipper. Today I did something I never ever did. I hung the entire opinion page on the wall of my Piano Studio. The articles and the letters were all totally quotable, and I had to laugh because one suggested tearing the one section into two for the sharers: I had just torn mine in half before I read the page.

I wish everyone could begin to see the neatness of this smaller, smarter paper, and give you all time to get started before fighting your changes.

— Sally Greek Hitchcock
Palmer

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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