1. United States
2. Alaska
3. Letter

The dismantling of crucial services is moving along faster than most of us can keep up. We will not forgive complicity in the generational injustices that continued destruction of our federal services represents. My dissatisfaction with the wrongheaded thinking of this administration and a complicit Republican Party is echoed by the AP-NORC poll results published today. 91% of my peers - independents, not political partisans - believe the president is focused on the wrong priorities. We are truly in scary times. I write today about only one of many examples that represent the trust that is being lost in Republican leaders at a rate that is hard to quantify. Libraries and museums are at the heart of our communities. They provide crucial third spaces accessible to all that foster and facilitate education, culture, and connection. It is entirely predictable that President Trump would slash the modest funding of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. His disdain for books, art not gilded in gold, history that includes hard truths, or facilitating access to any of these has been clear from the start. After all, it is much harder to deny reality once you read and learn about it. It is time now for you to be less predictable. To assert yourself on behalf of Alaskans who depend on libraries as access points to bridge the digital divide, to serve as community meeting spaces, and to facilitate the sharing of knowledge through programs like Interlibrary Loan that could never enrich our society if it were left to private industry and for profit companies to administer. Abandoning these services is an assault on the public good. Failure to protect these services is an assault on the public. Restore the IMLS's funding and staff immediately. Stand up for society. Thank you Senator Murkowski for verbalizing your concern. Senator Sullivan and Representative Begich: Quit pretending like this is normal, acceptable, or without consequence. It is not.