Readers write: Letters to the editor, December 26, 2016

Grateful for Obama 'betrayal'

Contrary to the statement of Sen. Dan Sullivan, I am one Alaskan who does not feel "betrayed" by President Barack Obama's withdrawal of U.S. Arctic waters from oil and gas leasing.

I'm sure I am one of many who do not share the outrage of Alaska's federal delegation (all of whom receive contributions from the oil and gas industry) — most especially, the original Alaskans who rely on the waters of the Beaufort and the Chukchi seas for the marine mammals and fish that form the basis of their traditional diets.

Their culture has existed for 10,000 years or more. Wouldn't it be a shame to lose that culture and that fabulous, fragile ecosystem to an oil spill from drilling in the final days before humans make the transition to clean energy?

Thank you, Mr. President.

— Patti Saunders
Anchorage

Electoral College shouldn't be winner-take-all in each state 

The primary problem with the Electoral College is not that it constitutionally favors small states, but rather that — as currently implemented by most states — it, unconstitutionally, disregards minority votes in each state. For example, Democratic votes for president in Alaska, and Republican votes in Hawaii, count for nothing. This violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. Furthermore, it minimizes the incentive for voting in all except swing states, and thus minimizes the incentive for citizen self-education about public affairs.
As the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bush v. Gore in 2000, which gave the victory to George W. Bush, votes within each state must be treated equally. Disregarding minority votes — and awarding all of a state's Electoral College votes to the statewide popular vote winner — is not equal treatment.

Purely for partisan advantage, states started awarding all their Electoral College votes to their statewide popular vote winner long after the Constitution was adopted. Once a single state did it, it was a race to the bottom, with almost all other states following suit to similarly maximize their own (partisan) influence. But this does not serve the national interest.

Assigning Electoral College votes proportionally to popular votes within each state would not only honor the letter and spirit of the Constitution, it would also be an incentive for political parties to maximize voter turnout in every state, not just the current "swing states."

As our founding fathers clearly understood, participation in elections — as well as in militias and juries, the other ways in which citizen participation is built into the Constitution — maximizes the incentive of the citizenry to educate themselves about public matters. Greater civic participation — and greater citizen self-education — would only be good for res publica, that is, for our Republic.

For more on this argument go to billmoyers.com.

— Rick Wicks
Anchorage

Proud 'deplorable' chimes in

Robert Reich (ADN, Dec. 22), I hate to inform you, but over 3,000 people have been murdered in Chicago alone. " Gun control" right?

As you say, "bury the hatchet," the election is over and the only people stirring hate and discontent are people like you.

Listen, pull on your "big boy" pants, grow up, and be a good citizen who tries to help heal this country. But that doesn't pay well or sell papers, does it?

Trump won because of the working man everyone else forgot. The working man is the one paying taxes on his wages, which pay for all the entitlements that keep lazy people from looking for work. The people at Trump rallies are taxpayers the Democrats forgot. Comments like "Build the wall," "Lock her up," are freedom of speech. No vulgarities, just free people expressing their feelings. Get used to it. We learned by watching you liberals on TV.

Merry Christmas from one of the proud "deplorables."

— Robert Dawson
Talkeetna

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.