Letters to the Editor Aug. 23, 2005 The other day I was reading the introduction to a collection of Greek poetry in which the translator mentioned that, had the Gospels in the King James Bible been translated literally from their original Greek to English, John the Baptist would today be known as John the Dipper. This is because the Greek word for “baptize” directly translates as “dip.” Well, this got me thinking. By this standard one of the nation’s largest denominations, the Southern Baptists, should technically be known as the Southern Dippers. And if a person happened to be both Baptist and thin, well then, this individual would surely be a skinny dipper. Just thought you’d like to know. James King (pseudonym) George Bush Perhaps George's concern for those who have lost family members in Iraq is less than genuine. “I’m not meeting again with that goddamned bitch, she can go to hell as far as I’m concerned!” —George W. Bush Aug, 25 2005, when asked if she would meet again with Cindy Sheehan (Doug Thompson, Bush Leagues). I think the only one going to hell may be George. Sincerely, Fuel prices I hope that someone will be doing an article regarding the rise and possible future rises in both gasoline and home heating fuel in the near future in Alaska and particularly the Fairbanks area. We have been told that the gas rise was due to availability and in some cases inability to refine enough for demand. With the recent disaster there will be some repercussions in many markets for a variety of goods and services but in Alaska FUEL IS NOT ONE OF THEM ! We have no availability or transportation problem as the local refinery produces both home heating oil and gasoline. The recent general rises in gas prices is already reasonably suspect and now with the Katrina disaster, the oil and gas industry and our politicians should be reminded that even the President Of the United states has said public that the rise in gas prices is localized in the southeast of the country due to problems with damaged pipelines and the ina bility to produce due to refinery damage in that area The president has also said publically on national television that he will not tolerate price gouging and fraud among other things during this time of crisis and that companies that do will be severely sanctioned. Basically, there is no reason for the rises in heating fuel and gasoline in this area unless the companies are using the crisis and other people’s misery to jack up the prices. According to President Bush's statements these actions by the fuel suppliers are clearly profiteering at best, at worst un-American. Using a natural disaster and other people’s misery as a platform for more company profits is disgusting and shows a total lack of compassion. If the large fuel suppliers would like to act in the spirit of President Bush's remarks and all the adverts that they run showing themselves as part and parcel of our local economy, they should leave fuel prices as they are now which could be their contribution to the entire situation. Sincerely, The KUAC hoopla I have always financially supported KUAC to the degree that I can. I know that many locals feel that there is no lever stronger than withholding your financial support from KUAC, to “vote with your wallet”. Many of you will also disagree with my assertion that this is an unwise, perhaps even self-defeating way to exercise your protest. The strongest contender for giving a better voice to KUAC listeners is to pursue a public advisory committee role for the KUAC membership. This advisory committee used to exist. It should be created anew. Lack of a public role in decision-making is the reason donors distrust the ultimate programming choices. Greg Petrowich told me in an hour-long conversation that the original decision to disband the public advisory committee nearly 15 years ago, was “to get better control over our programming”. Need I say more? My crucial message is that withholding money support from KUAC is exactly the wrong tack. Withholding money is really cutting out the heart of KUAC’s local support, while putting it in putting KUAC in an extortionary context. It does so without assurance that this will change anything. It will also have the net effect of driving the KUAC staff and administration even closer to corporate support. Those of us with progressive interests and dissenting politics will be even further marginalized. Consider this: if Karl Rove were to design a way to destroy public radio, he would design it such that those who support it and love it most are the ones who destroy it by not supporting it. What needs to be done is to accept nothing less than a public advisory role, which has a defined public input mandate into their public policy. We must be clever and get to the heart of the conflict without destroying an institution we treasure, public radio. We should not abandon our small, but important, effort to fund it in our interests by starving KUAC of financial support. We should be the public radio support for what we desire. Most sincerely,
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