Letters to the Editor

Readers write: Letters to the editor, July 13, 2015

Fire devastated Willow

Today I drove twice through Willow, and it's very sad. I hope the people who were involved in starting the fire drive through and realize what you have put all these people through. Lost property, homes, animals, insurance to wait on, no insurance. I really hope the state puts an end to this problem.

-- James Christenson

Willow

Christians should get past ruling, recapture zeal

As a Christian, my view concerning the recent Supreme Court decision on gay marriage is that it is a healthy reaffirmation of the identity of the United States of America as a secular nation.

In 1787, our founding fathers created a secular constitutional government with individual rights for freedom of religion. Now, in 2015, we Christians can stop wasting a lot of time and energy trying to force our values and perceptions upon a nation with many nonbelievers.

We now can refocus on recapturing more of the original zeal of the early apostolic church. The early church used to be a revolutionary religion quite separate from the Roman empire. Under persecution, early Christianity grew in tremendous numbers; under protection, every modern mainstream church in America has lost tremendous numbers of its membership. The Supreme Court decision is good because it should be a wake-up call to reality.

Good biblical advice for today's American Christians: In thought, word and deed, "Be ye separate." Continue the work of creating our own separate Christian subculture in America and accept the legal fact that LGBT people may do what they want to do as long as they do not force their agenda on us.

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-- Michael M. Hidek

Eagle River

Congress’ sequestration to blame for Army cuts

Sequestration is the cause of the military cuts that will deeply affect our city, even the value of our homes. Sequestration is the term used for the congressional effort that refused access to funds, shutting down the government, which itself was very expensive. Republican Sen. John McCain on "Face the Nation" admitted sequestration was caused by Republicans.

It is time for D.C. Republicans to stop playing games with our national defense. It is also time for our D.C. politician Sen. Lisa Murkowski to give us straight talk, particularly on an important issue like this. It is not a good time for more political spin. We need facts. The Army made it clear these were congressionally driven budget cuts. They were a product of sequestration.

Our senator, always playing the political game, strived to deny the message that it was her majority party that created these congressionally driven budget cuts.

She either had it wrong or she was not telling the truth. Either one is inexcusable. Be fair with us, honest and straightforward.

-- Rod McCoy

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 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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