Readers write: Letters to the editor, May 25, 2017

Put money to its best use

Kudos to the Alaska Senate for holding out on the $1 billion owed to oil firms in subsides. The millionaires and billionaires in the Lower 48 who own these oil firms are having hard times, too, and their need for this money outweighs any needs the state may have for this money. Education and public safety could not possibly be as important as the needs of the millionaires and the billionaires. State senators in their true leadership roles understand the greatest needs of the state and what the state's top priorities are. That is why they are elected to the Senate in the first place. I hope the state Senate keeps up its outstanding performance in giving the billion dollars to those who are in the greatest need of this money.

— John Suter
Chugiak

Reject Trump's extreme cuts

The White House just released a national budget that includes extreme, unprecedented cuts to foreign aid. Congress must say no.

Here is just one of the many things on the chopping block: the chance for millions of children to achieve their simple dream of — and their right to — an education. With a staggering 263 million children and youths out of school globally, the White House responds by eliminating the main account funding education. This is outrageous and nonsensical. What is for them a forgettable line-item in their massive budget is the future for millions of people, who just want a chance to go to school.
Congress, do the right thing and reject these cuts.

— Diana Barney
Anchorage

Shame on cartoon on Trump

I found the May 24 Alaska Dispatch News cartoon disrespectful to our president who holds the highest office in the United States while visiting the Holy Western Wall in Jerusalem. President Donald Trump is the first sitting President to visit the holy site. Shame on you. I'm very close to canceling my subscription, I am very tired of the slanted, negative, liberal opinions of ADN. If it weren't for the Safeway and Fred Meyer ads I would cancel today.

— Ronna Olsen
Anchorage

Legislature crushing schools

"We're slowly crushing our schools." This line jumped out at me in Charles Wohlforth's excellent article on how this state's legislators are "wasting human potential" (firing inspiring teachers) while supposedly saving money. As many writers of ADN have aptly expressed, the self-serving majority in the Senate who refuse to consider an income tax, or to tax the oil companies for the advantage of Alaskans, are just crushing the families they claim to represent. Now we are paying them take even more time to work on a budget that hurts Alaskans.
Where is the compassion, the ethics, the justice?

— Diane Crawford
Anchorage

Fuel tanks at the port

Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, Chairman Dick Traini, I know from firsthand experience how bad a tank-farm fire can be. Late in the day of Oct. 20, 1944, I stood with my family on Overlook Road in Cleveland, Ohio, watching the still-burning aftermath of the East Ohio Gas Co. explosion.

The series of explosions leveled a 50-block area of Glenville, a Cleveland neighborhood right next to the gas company plant. "Flames went as high as 2,500 feet in the air. Everything in a half-mile vicinity of the explosion was completely destroyed." Newspaper reports say that 130 people were killed and 200-plus were hospitalized, and that it took two days do put out the fires.
There was no 1,000 foot setback for the East Ohio Gas Co. tanks. You can find pictures and articles describing the horror online. Just search for "East Ohio Gas Co. explosion."

Please reconsider your "compromise." It is a killer.

— Jacob Tuckerman
Anchorage

Please bring TV guide back

I echo Linda Yannikos's letter on Friday about elimination of the TV Guide. In addition to the crossword puzzles, that's one of the main things I have counted on these past 17 years. While you've made some excellent changes recently and the coverage on national issues has gotten better, this is one small insert that should stay. Please reconsider.

— Lois Hansen
Anchorage

Don't race to beat red lights

To the blonde woman in the M-class Mercedes and the big man in the big pickup: When you gunned your engine to beat that red light, you might have thought that if you got two wheels in the crosswalk on the yellow you were legal. I don't know if that is true, but I do know it makes you a bad driver. What you didn't see in your tunnel vision as you blew that red going 10 mph over the limit was that I was about to step into that crosswalk. Sadly you are not alone, but you are in bad company.

— Walter Heins
Anchorage

Trump faithful are still here

A response to the Mike Jens Letter to the Editor of May 21:
Mr. Jens' second sentence states that "most of the previous pro Trump apologists" no longer support President Trump. Jens quotes the ultra-liberal New York Times as the source of his negative views. I disagree with Jens' opinion, and I do not know of any defectors from existing Trump voters. In my view America is very fortunate to have a person of President Trump's management ability and accomplishments.

Mr. Jens should remember that President Trump won the November 2016 election while fighting a troubled foe and most of the TV media. To right America's fiscal problem will take strong medicine, and some of the policies might be temporarily bitter.

Hillary is a two-time loser because, in my opinion, she is a poor candidate and has a checkered past. To get a published opinion of Hillary's lack of organization skills and lack of message read, "Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign," by Allen and Parnes.

— Roger Haxby
Anchorage

Former FBI Director Comey
is good at 'letting it go'

It amazes that the left-wing nuts and the their enablers, the media, get so excised at President Trump for telling Comey he "hoped he could let the investigation of General Flynn go." He did not order him to let it go and they both agreed that the general was a good man. After all, Comey testified before Congress that Hillary Clinton mishandled over 60 classified documents (a clear felony under federal statutes). She lied to Congress and the American people. Comey let that go!

— Will Gay
Anchorage

Trump should change habits

It's been widely reported that Mr. Trump doesn't sleep much, doesn't exercise and doesn't drink.

Perhaps he should.

— Ken Flynn
Anchorage

More than a burger flipper

This letter is to express my appreciation for Richard Sanchez of The Arctic Roadrunner fame. He is such a great example for the community, and we have been fortunate to have him here in Anchorage these many years, doing so much more than just flipping the best burgers in town. From his heartwarming statements on his Arctic Roadrunner sign to all of the wonderful things he has constantly been doing for the Anchorage community these many years, Richard has been a wonderful example of stewardship. If you get the chance, stop by the burger stand and say hello! Thanks, Richard!

— Timothy Sell
Anchorage

Trump inquiry is no witch hunt

I would like to comment on Will Gay's letter of May 21. After 40 years of being accused of everything from drug running to murder, Hillary Clinton was never charged, let alone convicted with any crimes. The only "crime" Bill was charged and convicted of, was a "crime" that thousands of Americans commit every year. People who commit this crime include Democrats, Republicans, Christians, agnostics, atheists, and on and on. That crime is lying under oath in a court of law, or in a deposition about extra-marital affairs. Unlike the investigation into President Trump, the investigations into the Clintons were real witch hunts.

We on the left have done the leg work and the homework needed to bring what we consider crimes against the people of the United States to the forefront. If Mr. Gay thinks that there have been crimes committed against the people of the United States, I suggest that he get off his couch and put his own blood, sweat and tears into the game and not ask other people to do his work for him.

— Michael McKinnon
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.