Sacrificing wilderness is no answer for our children
Columnist Steve Meyer (Feb. 7) wrote that oil development should occur in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because it would help a struggling young person have what Mr. Meyer has. I fear that Mr. Meyer is misjudging the situation. The first beneficiaries of oil drilling will be some of the most powerful corporations on the planet. Next in line is the North Slope Borough, which will gain additional taxing power to add to its already immense wealth. Then comes the Arctic Slope Regional Corp., sure to gain big contracts. Then we have the 35 percent of oil field workers who are not Alaskans, but who commute here and then do their banking in Houston or Tulsa. No doubt some of that oil money will filter down to Mr. Meyer's hypothetical young person, but that person will not be the primary beneficiary when that wilderness is destroyed.
Mr. Meyer states his opinion without considering that, once the leases are established and drilling begins, neither his opinion nor my opinion nor anyone else's opinion about the activity will matter in the least. The oil companies will pursue what is in their narrow self interests regardless of the viewpoints of the rest of us; that public land will cease to be public in any real sense. Mr. Meyer should also consider that the loss of this wilderness is only part of what we all stand to lose, as the Trump administration systematically sells off or leases what should belong to all of us.
When do we have enough? Most of Alaska's Arctic is already open for oil production. Very little has been protected. Some years ago the Prudhoe Bay fields encompassed some 600 square miles; I'm sure the number now is much larger. But in spite of the billions of barrels extracted in the past, the state is still nearing bankruptcy; and yet, as Mr. Meyer notes, we still refuse to tax ourselves. We have some serious problems, but they are not caused by the existence of wilderness, and the sacrifice of wilderness will not fix them.
— Clarence Crawford
Anchorage
Another example of NRA's work
A hearty congratulations to the NRA on another stunning victory of its "well regulated militia."
And to all the spineless politicians, including Murkowski, Sullivan and Young, who are totally intimidated by the NRA. Our kids may die but at least those political "leaders" will keep their jobs as long as they march in lockstep under NRA orders.
— Terry Johnson
Anchorage
Time for Seavey to back off
Here we go again. Dallas Seavey is going lower and lower in the eyes of public opinion. He is acting more and more guilty of doping his dogs. Now he has hired a lawyer to say he's not guilty. I hope he didn't pay too much for him, crooked lawyers cost and are a dime a dozen. Naturally Dallas is out of state preparing for a race, while he has his lawyer attacking all parties for him. The Iditarod has been around for a long time with no problems. Leave the board alone and the volunteers. Don't change a thing and don't let one bad apple destroy what took decades to build up.
— Roger Larson
Anchorage
Restrooms are no less safe
Once again Jim Minnery and his backers are distorting Christian values to promote intolerance in their attempt to convince Anchorage voters to repeal our anti-discrimination ordinance that protects members of our
LGBT community. They're trying to manipulate voters into fearing for our children's safety if transgender people are allowed to use the restrooms of their choice. We need not fear. APD has assured us that our public restrooms have not become less safe since the passage of our anti-discrimination ordinance in 2015. We should embrace our incredibly diverse population including our LGBT neighbors. We can learn from each other, live and work together without fear, encouraging each other to develop and share the talents we each possess.
— Debbie Corral
Eagle River
Make Mexico pay our bills
OK, I get it. We are too cheap (or perhaps we can be charitable, and just say "shortsighted") to be willing to pay taxes for basic upkeep of our roads and bridges. Politicians at both the state and federal level are afraid to lay the maintenance bill on the table for us. So, now we have a federal infrastructure "proposal" with only 20 percent funding. Where will the rest come from? The states are obviously not going to cough it up — or would have already. What to do? Well, duh! Let's make Mexico pay for it. In fact, let's have them pay for that narcissistic military parade too. I bet if we asked Mexico nicely, they might even dig in their closet and find one of those gaudy, 1962-style "Generalissimo" dictator uniforms with the giant epaulets. Now wouldn't our great president look impressive in that?
— Lou Nathanson
Anchorage
Say no to automatic weapons
Oh, my God. Not again in this country that I used to love. What is it going to take for America to realize that weapons of war, automatic or semiautomatic weapons, should only be available to military and law enforcement officials? May I suggest that Wayne LaPierre and his minions at the NRA, the president, and members of Congress who continue to refuse to act on reasonable gun laws volunteer to go to the school and clean up the carnage.
— Charlene Huhndorf
Ninilchik
No wonder Jenkins likes Citizens United so much
I'm not surprised Paul Jenkins likes Citizens United. Voter suppression and gerrymandering aren't enough to keep his Republicans comfortably in power. They still need the extra punch of unlimited, untraceable money.
— Paul Brickey
Anchorage
We don't all follow God's law
In response to Undra Parker "Transgender identity violates God's law" (Feb. 9):
News flash — not all of us in the Anchorage community are Christian.
Thanks to the Freedom of Religion listed in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, you are free to personally practice whatever religion you choose. However, that does not give you the right to force your religion on others, who are also free to practice any religion, which may or may not be Christianity. In addition, we as American citizens are also granted the right to secular laws free of influence from a particular religion. Go ahead and believe what you want about "broken bodies," but God's law is not U.S. law or Anchorage law.
— Lian Myers
Anchorage
Maybe gun manufacturers and NRA will use Russian funds
Thoughts and prayers are going out to the NRA, gun manufacturers and GOP candidates. The shooting of the children at the Parkland school is going to cause them all sorts of image problems. The NRA spent more than $17 million dollars on GOP candidates and $21 million on Trump the last election cycle. How are they going to survive? Gun manufacturers like Remington are declaring bankruptcy now that Obama, who was going to take away all the guns, is out of office. Where will they get their funding? I guess they will have to hit their Russian donors up for more money.
— Jay Cross
Big Lake
The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter under 200 words for consideration, email letters@adn.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@adn.com.