‘Fundamentally flawed’?
I'm hearing that Hillary was a "fundamentally flawed candidate" — who nevertheless won more votes than did Donald Trump?
If all of us who are unhappy about Trump's Electoral College win had put as much effort into electing Hillary as she herself did, she would have won.
— Rick Wicks
Anchorage
OK, let’s assume that Trump didn’t mean what he said
Since the Trump victory (that gags on the screen as much as in the throat), Trump-supporting friends of mine and many pundits have tried to counter my fears and those of 54 million other people. All those crazy things Trump said? He didn't mean them, it was just election hyperbole. It was all tongue in cheek. Even his supporters don't believe him; they just like the excitement of hearing someone say what many of them might secretly feel.
OK, so against all evidence that politicians — especially at the national level — at least seriously attempt to fulfill their promises once elected, let's assume that Trump didn't really mean it about deporting 11 million immigrants, banning Muslims, building a wall, getting out of NATO, getting out of the nuclear agreement with Iran, getting out of trade agreements, getting out of the world climate change agreement, canceling the health insurance of 20 million people, criminalizing women for having abortions (or, wait, supporting women's rights to an abortion; he has said both), increasing the military while getting out of military engagements and commitments overseas, getting rid of the EPA, the Department of Education, the … oops, I forget everything else he mentioned getting rid of in government.
Why is this good? Why should we feel relieved that a presidential candidate might have spent over a year lying to us and the world, yet half the country voted for him anyway? If that is true, then our country's democratic tradition of free and open elections has degenerated into simply another reality and entertainment sideshow, where we make our voting decisions simply on how over the top the debate is, how vituperative and incensed the reaction is, how politically incorrect (or simply incorrect) the discourse becomes, how proudly ignorant or unknowledgeable or untruthful a candidate is.
Campaigns can be entertaining; they should be exciting. Music and barbecues, dancing in the street, or protesting in the street, are all part of big national campaigns. And some rhetorical hyperbole is part of the deal. But to have degraded into an easy acceptance of lies and knowingly false promises, if that is what we have done, is beyond the pale in a 21st-century democracy. It is not being shrewd or intelligent to simply say, "Oh, I know he doesn't mean it," when we should say, "I take him at his word," and then vote on our agreement or not with that word.
I believe that everything he said he will try to do, and that a willing Republican majority will back him up or egg him on all the way. I hope I am wrong, but mainly in that he will fail to achieve his promises, not that he will just brush them aside. To hope otherwise would be to encourage the deceit, and that is not good for democracy.
— Tony Sisto
Chugiak
Give gift of knowledge about fish
This holiday season, give the gift of learning and opportunity to Alaska high school students. For the past eight years hundreds of students at Colony High School have enjoyed a unique science class called "Alaska Wildlife" that has helped expose youths to the joys of angling and the value of our fisheries.
Students learn about salmon and their life cycle and explore various elements of Alaska's fisheries while tying fishing flies relevant to each topic. Due to a challenging budget, Colony High School's Alaska Wildlife class is in jeopardy and needs your help. Please consider donating some fly-tying materials today. Simply Google "tu.org Alaska high school fly tying material" to learn more, view the donation wish list and see how you can donate. Items can be purchased and donated at supportive fly shops including 3 Rivers Fly and Tackle, Mossy's Fly Shop and Mountain View Sports. With your help, the next generation of Alaska anglers can continue to be introduced to fly tying, the world of angling and the importance of Alaska's fisheries.
— Eric Booton
Trout Unlimited Alaska
Anchorage
Alaska’s hunting policies hurt both tourism and economy
With global warming's extended fall season, we could expand our profitable tourist season through September to supplement our budget gap by creating fall foliage-wildlife tours, common in northeastern states. Except — we are killing off and wasting the wildlife tourists want to see. Our misguided predator control kills bears and wolves to stock Alaska freezers with moose and caribou.
The politically powered Board of Game is 100 percent hunters — hunters representing 15 percent of our population — folks who bully the majority and control the fate of our wildlife. I used to enjoy fall hikes until two friends were killed by hunters, and I now stay safely indoors. The board should be composed of only 15 percent hunters, with the remainder composed of citizens and college-degreed scientists who seek wildlife preservation for the benefit of our economy and future generations.
Summer tourists are frustrated by lack of wildlife sightings in Denali, caused by hunting policies that decimated our famous Denali wolf packs and brought down the wolf population to a heartbreaking 60 percent. Bear baiting, killing sows and cubs, shooting from planes — cruel "control" to benefit hunters — keeps tourists away and creates bad PR. Wildlife struggle with global warming as they lose precious habitat. We ignore their plight and wastefully double the killing of migratory birds or ignorantly extend the Nelchina caribou hunt into rut season where meat is "spoiled" and wasted — all for the benefit of hunters.
It is shameful that hunters making $100,000-plus income claim subsistence status — apparently all Alaska hunters claim this; subsistence policies need to be defined and tightened now. Our hunters need to stop bragging about stocking their freezers with our wildlife — frontier days ended with the arrival of Costco and meat that is cheaper than hunting costs like expensive gear, travel and time off from work.
Our state is fortunate to have university-educated, experienced scientists like Dave Klein, Rick Sinnott, Rick Steiner — well-educated, far-sighted men who understand the complex dynamics of managing wildlife and ecosystems. We need to move away from myopic, politically defined policies of the 1990s into management policies that protect our wilderness and wildlife, cure mismanagement and take into account the challenges faced with climate change.
Our wilderness and wildlife is a national treasure and if we cannot intelligently manage this responsibility, we need federal assistance.
— Marty Margeson
Anchorage
Look at it this way instead
Friday's front-page headline in the ADN: "Here are a few things some Alaskans are hoping to get out of Trump administration."
Why not run a front-page article entitled,"Here are a few ways that Alaskans may be able to help President-elect Trump improve our nation's security, economic and social conditions"?
— Harold J. Sydnam
Bellingham, Washington
Some post-election suggestions
Now that we know who won the election, we must clearly identify what must be done to ensure the survival of our state and nation:
Extract financial derivatives out of our FDIC-insured banking system using the standards set by the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act and the 1936 Commodity Exchange Act.
Create federal, state, municipal and port authority bonds, grants and shares for infrastructure, productive capacity, science and education — leveraged through a new discount window at the United States Federal Reserve and leveraged through a new Alaska State Bank.
Demand that the proposed 1 percent Wall Street sales tax have a $1 million-per-year exemption for small investors and divide revenue evenly between our federal and state governments to fund Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, food stamps and other necessary social safety net programs.
Politicians must understand that if they only offer budget cuts without these reforms they will not win the next election.
— Charles E. Duncan
Anchorage
LIO issue: Everybody loses
Thank you for the article about the LIO lawsuit. This situation is a classic example of what happens in development when private and public interests get too far out of balance.
The private interests (Mark Pfeffer and Co.) got greedy and the public interests (Mike Hawker and the Legislative Council) got lazy, and now everyone loses.
— Mary Miner
Anchorage
Best commentary ever
I just read Tony Sisto's commentary ("Senior first-time voter has missed a lot," Nov. 7) from beginning to end, holding my coffee cup in the air and not taking a sip. I believe it was the finest commentary I have ever read in the ADN. What a perfect recap, and a perfect message. Thanks, Mr. Sisto.
— Jeanne Ashcraft
Anchorage
And who got more votes?
Lest we forget, Hillary Clinton's tally was more than 220,000 votes higher than Donald Trump's total.
— Colleen Kelly
Seward
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.