I was disappointed with Rep. Mike Thompson's response ("Thompson reads and understands," Aug. 10) to Chris Burns' letter, "Politicians aren't listening," (Aug. 6). I didn't find Chris' letter "curious and illogical" at all and I didn't perceive it as criticism of Thompson per se. To me, his letter reflected a more general frustration with our political system as a whole, a frustration that is shared by many others, including me. Instead of taking his letter personally and merely devaluing it, I would have liked to see Thompson acknowledge his dissatisfaction, which is real and valid, and offer some political solutions.

The United States again is close to squandering a rare resource. The issue affects national security and generations who will need the resource far more than we do in the early 21st century. The subject is oil drilling in Alaska, but hold on before skipping to the next article. This is a new argument to most readers.