From a Marine Corps vet to Sen. Dan S. Sullivan
Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, as a Marine Corps Veteran (1961-65), I salute your military service, but for your disservice to the U.S. Constitution and Alaska I hold you in contempt.
Contempt for not calling out President Trump for his disastrous decisions including:
- Not releasing the Epstein Files as promised;
- The 223 extrajudicial murders off the coast of Venezuela;
- The violation of the War Powers Act;
- For starting an unprovoked war with Iran that has killed thousands of innocent men, women and children, not to mention killed 21 U.S. service members and wounded 865. Never mind the billions of dollars worth of military equipment and weapons that were destroyed.
Sen. Sullivan, neither you nor Rep. Nick Begich called the President out for any of the above despicable actions. Instead, you both have gained millions of dollars during your terms in office; was that due to insider stock trading or smart investing? Either way, the citizens of Alaska got a giant increase in the cost of living while each of you are millionaires who apparently don’t care!
These are the reasons I’m voting for Mary Peltola and Bill Hill.
Mike McCarthy
In defense of Bill Hill
In defense of Bill Hill, who is running against Nick Begich for Alaska’s lone seat in Congress in the House of Representatives.
Nick accused Bill of really being a Democrat rather than an Independent. Nick said Bill had voted for Bernie Sanders to prove his point, and asked Bill which party he would caucus with in Congress. Bill replied he’d caucus with whomever was like-minded. I feel Bill could have said more. I’ll respond for him.
Bernie Sanders, first of all, is an Independent who caucuses, usually, with the Progressive Democrats because they have more policies that are beneficial to most people, like affordable health care and child care and free college, equality and justice.
The younger generation will benefit from Bernie’s and Bill’s policies because those policies also address existential issues like global warming. For the past 15 years, every year is now warmer than the last. Glaciers are melting. The world is losing species every day due to pollution and environmental degradation. Our air, our food and our water are contaminated. People are getting cancer. What kind of world are we leaving to our children? The Republicans are exacerbating the problem, apparently seeking the destruction of life on Earth — all for short-term gain.
We can imagine a better way and move toward that better way. The development of clean energy will bring lots of new jobs. We need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Alaska is rich in natural beauty, in nature, which many people flock here to see and enjoy. Tourism brings a lot of money to the state.
How much is your health worth? How much is the health of the planet worth? The two are inseparable. Pollution is the great equalizer. Rich people will get sick, as well. Of course, people in close proximity to the oil wells, for example, will get cancer first, but it will spread. You can’t stop the winds from blowing.
Lela Ryterski
The millionaires or working class
It troubled me to read the ADN Editorial Board endorse Nick Begich III as our lone US House Representative. They state his record of accomplishments for Alaska while in office, nicely giving credit to Mary Peltola for two bills she began and he pushed through. Yet he voted for the BBB Act (cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, other social services), the SAVE Act (interfering in state elections), No Rogue Ruling Act (restricts restitution for unlawfully fired federal workers), Midnight Rules Act (overturns worker protections), Lower Health Care Premiums Act (substandard health coverage designed to cut ACA tax credits), the Rescissions Act (cut overseas aid and public broadcasting), voted for all the unreal cabinet secretaries, and supports the Iran war which is suspiciously about war machine industry profits for investors, not unsubstantiated nuclear weapons. And he is a crypto currency profiteer. He literally stands by D. Trump. Wealth and power go hand-in-hand.
Alaska has a choice, vote for the incumbent whose record appears to be contrary to the good of the people, or for an independent alternative, one who has devoted his life to his community and Alaska and is endorsed by many unions and Native Alaska leaders. Millionaire or working class. Profiteering or common good.
Therese Lewandowski
About Homer’s Veterans for Peace
During the discussion following the recent showing at The Porcupine of “Aftermath: The Remnants of War” I learned that Veterans for Peace, a global organization whose collective efforts are to build a culture of peace, is open to members who have not served in the armed services. I became a member at the September meeting; the next meeting of VFP will be 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Homer Public Library. All are welcome.
Gloria Wahl
On ranked choice voting
The election pamphlet explains ranked choice voting and how to fill in the ballot. However, some people think they have to rank all the candidates, which is not true. Only vote (rank) the one or ones you want. This way, if you really like someone who may not be popular, you can still vote your heart and not treat voting like a horse race betting on the one you think will win. Rank your first choice first. Then, the one you like second best can be ranked second, and so on. If you don’t want someone to win, DON’T rank them! It’s OK just to vote for one person and not rank the others.
Let’s say you voted for the one you like best and your second choice. (You ranked two people.) If your first choice only gets a few votes, he/she may be eliminated, but now your vote counts toward your second choice. You don’t lose your vote. And, you don’t have to worry about splitting the vote if you like two candidates from the same party. For instance, if 60% of people vote for Republican candidates and there are two running, they can vote for both, one first, one second, one of which will win. The 40% of Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, etc., vote for their candidates.
However, in this case, the majority will rest with the Republicans even if the others’ second choices are not Republican. The Democrat or anyone only wins when more than 50% of people rank (vote for) that person.
Votes are confidential. Vote with your heart. Vote for who you think is the best person. Maybe other people really want that person, too. And wouldn’t it be great if that person won?
Lela Ryterski
Time for Vance to go home
Representative Sarah Vance likes to say she “didn’t give up her First Amendment right of freedom of speech” when she entered the State Legislature. While true, this does not give her the right to violate State Ethics rules when, on State of Alaska letterhead stationery, she successfully bullied the Homer News into changing a story about Charlie Kirk. This major ethical lapse should be enough to deny her reelection to the State House from District 6, but coupled with her multiple votes to deny increases to school funding, and her pursuit to strip Alaska women of reproductive rights, it’s definitely time to send Sarah Vance where she can exercise her first amendment right legally, HOME.
Hal Smith
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