Don’t fall for the lies

Dear Editor,

In last week’s paper, the left attempted to gaslight you. They tried to use the false narrative of a phony insurrection to get your support for legislation that will allow a federal takeover of state election laws. Most Alaskans are more concerned about a never-ending pandemic, high food prices, job security and safe schools for our kids than we are about a protest gone bad on Jan. 6 of last year. We are concerned for the state of our country and how a desiccated old man in the White House screwed things up so badly, so quickly. Voters are unhappy and intend to show it at the polls next election day.

Democrats know they are in trouble, and that to avoid a catastrophic defeat next November, they need to keep bringing up Jan. 6 and demonize it, as an excuse to pass the HR 1 radical election takeover bill. Among other things, this horrible bill mandates voting with no ID required, legalizes ballot harvesting and universal absentee ballots. It also compels states to count mail-in votes received up to 10 days after election day.

This bill isn’t about fair elections. It is about codifying cheating and ruthlessly seizing permanent control of government for the Democrat Party. Don’t fall for the self-righteous Democrat lies. We need to reject this effort and reject the Democrat party soundly at the polls next November.

Respectfully,

Greg Sarber

Real danger to democracy is exclusion of other voices

Last week a letter-writer reminded us of an anniversary: the Jan 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol by a crowd of President Trump supporters.

Firstly, the physical integrity of the United States was hardly at risk; if necessary, a squad of armed Marines could have quickly cleared the building.

Secondly — contrary to the letter-writer’s assertion – the vast majority of those invading the Capitol were emphatically not anti-democratic individuals seeking to discredit the concept of democratic government, but concerned fellow citizens who believed that a fraudulent, and therefore decidedly anti-democratic, election process had occurred in several swing states. Thus the Capitol invasion was a visceral – if grossly misguided – expression of their frustration.

However, the real danger to democracy is not from a physical threat by citizens, but – as exemplified by the letter writer – by an unwitting (apparently) desire to crush and exclude from the political process those with opposing values and beliefs under the guise, ironically, of preserving democracy.

Such efforts are totally contrary to the letter-writer’s professed support of unity; and because we are all legitimate participants in this process it also demonstrates the subtle prejudices inherent in assuming a posture of self-righteousness.

Larry Slone

Election system isn’t broken

Dear Editor:

Jan. 6, 2021, is a date which will forever remain in infamy. The whole world watched in rapt horror as Republican activists stormed the U.S. Capitol, waving the Stars and Bars and banners celebrating the name of the deranged orange monster who incited the mob to violence in the first place. The ousted President of the United States watched gleefully from the White House, rewinding and rewatching the good parts, such as some of his fervently patriotic followers smearing their own feces all over the place.

At the end of the day, so to speak, the Capitol had sustained $31 million in damages, 140 Americans were injured, and seven lay dead or dying. The attack on the Capitol was clearly orchestrated, albeit sloppily, by the seated President based on his unsupported claim that the previous election was “rigged.” Not one shred of evidence exists to support his claim. Not one.

Now we notice the governor of Alaska has publicly gone lock-step with the ex-president, seemingly to bring him back. This entails his aiding and abetting the ex-president in publicly condemning and defaming Alaska’s senior senator and getting directly involved with Alaska’s voting system.

I’ve been voting in Alaska since I graduated from Homer High School 50 years ago. In that time people have complained vociferously about who got elected, but never of the integrity of the system. Any fiddling with this unbroken system smacks of it being “rigged.”

Timothy W. Nixon, Kenai

Students lead campaign to address hate

Homer High School has for a long time sought to be a pioneer of progress, employing methods such as Green Dot active bystander training to make the school a safer, more respectful place. However, as of late these methods have fallen short. Racism, homophobia, ableis, and many other forms of discrimination have become normalized within the school. In response the HHS Campaign to End Hate was founded by students directly impacted who are endeavoring to make change.

In a recent survey taken by students involved with our campaign, almost 90% of those surveyed had heard or were subject to some form of hate, bigotry, or discrimination. To give an example, one of our LGBTQ+ members was subject to identity-based hate speech for months that eventually escalated to threats of bodily harm and even death. The high school responded with a short suspension for the perpetrator, but did not work to address the root of the issue or ensure the health and well-being of the injured party. Many minority students at the school have similar experiences with being subject to hate speech/threats of violence and feeling like the administration response was not adequate.

Our purpose is to combat these issues through education, awareness, student participation, and calling on administration to address necessary changes in school policies. Thus far we have gained support from various school/community organizations, as well as received a commitment from staff and administration to work with us and create change. The HHS Campaign to End Hate has written this letter to ask community members for support in our mission and to bring attention to the current high school environment. We hope through public attestation to cumulate support in bringing light to these pressing issues and creating a safe and respectful school environment for everyone.

Emma Sulczynski

Don’t split DHSS

Dear Legislator,

Thank you for attending the 2022 legislative session.

Gov. Dunleavy recently announced, at the request of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Servces, that he will use an Executive Order to split DHSS into multiple departments. DHSS Commissioner Adam Crum has stated that the proposed split is at the recommendation of five executives and would be a benefit to Alaskans. However, the expansion of a bureaucracy rarely does little, except to increase cost and reduce services as an expense of the expansion.

The proposed split of DHSS itself has a major flaw in conception alone. The separation of the Alaska Pioneer Homes from other senior programs will cause disarray and pit seniors against seniors for competition of budget funding. The community of interest between seniors of Pioneer Homes and seniors in general is a fundamental bond that should not be broken. There are better answers.

More effective management is the true answer for DHSS and Alaska’s senior population, not the expansion and creation of additional bureaucracy. The proposed split will incur significant expense. It is a dark cloud over DHSS when it proposes increasing division overhead expenditures, while it has cut some senior benefit programs by up to 50%.

Seniors of Alaska, on behalf of seniors statewide, asks that you review this change and carefully consider the impact on Alaska’s Senior population of a potentially unnecessary and costly disruption of the services provided by DHSS.

We trust the voices of Alaska Seniors and you as our elected legislators prevails and DHSS will focus on better provisioning of services versus gratuitous and costly expansion.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of Alaska’s seniors and The Team at Seniors of Alaska,

Peter T. Zuyus, Executive Director, Seniors of Alaska