Readers write: Letters to the editor, January 19, 2017

Trump inspires dire prediction

Another day, another tweet from our child president-elect with supporters feeding him more rope.

— Richard Hanas
Anchorage

Will miss Obama’s class

I have had the opportunity in the past week to see President Barack Obama give his farewell speech and give two hourlong television interviews. Regardless of your political views, one must admit he's a class act. I'm going to miss that.

— Jim Fredrickson
Seward

Legislature’s cowardice hurts safety, security of Alaskans

I am a state employee and my pension plan is in jeopardy because legislators cannot balance the budget. It's my job to help ensure the safety and security of Alaskans. I take it personally when my legislators jeopardize my family's financial well-being by not executing the courageous acts necessary to balance this year's state budget.

To make it easier, I am starting a grassroots campaign to vote out all Alaska politicians who do not put the state's financial solvency ahead of his or her own political future. Hopefully, this will help the Legislature do what is right for all of Alaska, not just themselves or their constituencies. Lawmakers have a very hard job and I hope this small effort will help them get the job done.

— Kathy Curtis-Johnson
Anchorage

Sullivan pedals falsehoods

The Jan. 14 ADN story on how permafrost thaw is altering the chemistry of the Yukon River is important reporting on the real and consequential effects of climate change in Alaska. Yet on Dec. 16, I received a letter from Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan in which he wrote, "I believe that the scientific consensus is still out on what is actually causing climate change." As an educator, I do not give this level of ignorance a pass in my students. I do not know a business owner who would tolerate it in an employee.

Whether Sullivan's use of his public megaphone to pedal an established falsehood — despite its longevity as a politically expedient excuse for inaction — is the result of ignorance, malevolence, or incompetence at the task of educating himself about issues that face Alaska, the bottom line is his propagation of ignorance is an unproductive use of our tax dollars.

— Erika Monahan
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.