Compass

COMPASS

Nation needs dramatic change; that's why we need Palin

Our government is overwhelmingly dysfunctional, billions of dollars in debt, hemorrhaging increasingly large amounts of money, out of touch with citizen concerns and in need of a drastic overhaul.

COMPASS

We've got about 30 years of mistakes that need fixing

We were all watching the Wall Street bailout vote. Will it solve the housing bubble?

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Program helps keep abusers on the straight and narrow

When the police pulled Dave over for speeding, Lynette sat quietly in the front seat, staring straight ahead and praying hard (names changed). The officer asked for Dave's license, and per standard operating procedures, ran a check through the Alaska Public Safety Information Network, or APSIN.

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Though physically absent, Palin is executing her duties

I've worked for every Alaska governor since Jay Hammond.

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Native Americans waiting for US justice

The U.S. House of Representatives has the lives of millions of Native Americans in its hands.

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Businesses punish those who require daypacks

I am discriminated against in Anchorage by business and government alike. It's because I carry a daypack. Everywhere. All the time.

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Alaska's future will be powered by unlimited clean energy

Oilman T. Boone Pickens said it best about our energy crisis: "This is one emergency we can't drill our way out of."

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Monegan did a lot to help law enforcement in rural Alaska

I don't want to get into a big political fight over the subject of this column, but I cannot allow a fellow Alaska Native to have his reputation tarnished and used as a political football. I am speaking about the former commissioner of public safety, Walt Monegan.

COMPASS

Can't we have a few quiet recreation areas at Knik River?

Knik River Valley has been sacrificed to unbridled abuse for almost 30 years despite long-term attempts by residents to stop the chaos and destruction. Now it's official. Our surroundings, whose waters form the northernmost birthplace of the Pacific Ocean, are condemned to motor park status with Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Commissioner Tom Irwin's signature on the Management Plan for the Knik River Public Use Area.

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Nader could see this financial debacle coming

There was a time when a good citizen who blew the whistle on an impending crime, or a crime in progress, would get a bit of public praise and recognition. Perhaps a picture in the paper or an interview, a handshake from a public official, and a chance to say why he or she had been impelled to speak out.

COMPASS

You can share your rebate with those who need help

For thousands of Alaskans, there's no question how to spend the $1,200 energy rebate tacked on to our Permanent Fund Dividend checks this year. When your household income doesn't stretch to cover the basics, $1,200 can mean a couple of months' reprieve before you have to decide whether to pay for food or heat ("eat or heat"). Unfortunately, I'm not overstating the facts.

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Where is the love in trying to make gays go straight?

One of my earliest memories is being told by the principal of my Christian school that along with Prince fans and devotees of the rock band, Kiss, homosexuals were going to hell.

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John McCain should know: Getting old has its advantages

"I gave you the senior discount," chirped the friendly McDonald's server.

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'Just a housewife' merits more respect

The day John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate, I was listening to local talk radio. A woman phoned in to express her joy, but first she had to qualify her opinion by saying, "I'm just a housewife." I thought, "Maybe if Sarah is elected VP we'll finally get past denigrating the value of housewives and the importance of what they think or feel."

COMPASS

Bush took America into Iraq to try to make them like us

The most crucial question of this presidential campaign is the legitimacy of the Iraq war and the continuance of the U.S. occupation there. So much of the national discussion has skirted the real issues by framing the war with polarizing sports metaphors like victory, defeat, hit-'em-there, and surges. Americans must look beyond these and talk honestly about our country's approach to foreign policy.

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17-mile road linking King Cove to Cold Bay not necessary

The proposed road from King Cove to Cold Bay would be extremely costly, damaging and totally unnecessary.

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Regional Transit Authority can help speed us on our way

With an Alaska Railroad train gleaming in the sun behind them, Mayor Mark Begich and Mat-Su Mayor Curt Menard recently signed a joint agreement to create a Regional Transit Authority to better serve commuters in the region.

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What grade would you give your local Anchorage park?

Anchorage residents recently celebrated the grand opening of Cuddy Family Midtown Park, the city's dramatic new park setting. This beautiful urban space is a result of many years of hard work and active public involvement, as well as generous funding from state, federal and local bonds, and private donations, in particular from the Cuddy family.

COMPASS

A Republican community organizer saved Mountain View

Of everything in Sarah Palin's vice-presidential acceptance speech I didn't agree with, the part mocking community organizers ("I was mayor of a small town and it's a bit like being a community organizer except I had real responsibilities") sticks with me.

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Palin's credentials as a mother need not be questioned

When John McCain chose Palin as his running mate, I expected her to be roundly rejected by Hillary Clinton fans and pro-choicers. I also expected Palin's political readiness for the vice presidency to be questioned.

COMPASS

Chemical pollutants likely culprits in rising birth defects

As public health professionals, we are concerned about the high rates of birth defects in Alaska and possible links to environmental contaminants. As reported last month in the Daily News, the fact that "Alaska infants are twice as likely to be born with major birth defects as infants in the U.S. as a whole" cannot be explained simply by cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, maternal age and diet. The article did not discuss the growing body of scientific evidence that suggests environmental contaminants are linked to birth defects and other harmful reproductive health effects in both males and females.