Borealis

Bush tax cuts have shifted tax burden from top one percent to the poor and middle class

2004-09-09T09:49:00.000-08:00

I have never before discussed national issues at this blog, but this guest opinion piece in the Kodiak Daily Mirror on Bush's tax shift is making the round on the internet, including on the famous blog Smirking Chimp.

It seems that the national Republicans are just as devoted to helping their friends at the expense of the middle-class and the poor as are the Alaskan GOP. I'm shocked. Shocked.

Doing it Right: Begich announces tax reform plan

2004-09-04T00:16:00.000-08:00

Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich announced a proposed reform of the city's tax system. Almost all homeowners will owe less tax. Most small business owners will also owe less tax.

The losers are smokers and business owners who lease property from the city. There seem to be 450 businesses on muni land that is underassessed to the tune of $85 million.

On the whole, these proposals are excellent. Begich is proposing middle class tax relief financed by ending a de facto, hidden subsidy to businesses that lease city property and by creating an additonal disincentive to smoke.

See folks, good government is, in fact, possible in Alaska.

Homeland Security to Murkowski: Go Fly a Kite

2004-09-01T22:53:00.000-08:00

The federal Department of Homeland Security has rejected Gov. Frank Murkowski's request to use $2 million in federal money to buy a corporate-style jet.

According to KTUU, Homeland Security gives three reasons for the rejection:

1. The jet would not be primarily used for homeland security purposes.

2. The jet could not land on many bush runways.

3. The jet would not be outfitted with the equipment necessary to prevent or mitigate a terrorist act.

The administration has to concede that the first two points have some validity, but I would really like to see Murkowski argue that a burled walnut minibar stocked with ample supplies of single-malt Scotch can come in mighty handy when you have to battle Al-Qaeda terrorists holed up in some cave near Tok.

For Murkowski, Cronyism trumps Constitution

2004-09-01T00:07:00.000-08:00

Frank Murkowski has demanded that the Alaska Judical Council send him additional nominations for a superior court position in Anchorage. Murkowski does not seem to want to appoint any of the three persons the Council rated as "most qualified." He has, therefore, demanded that the Council forward the names of all "qualified" candidates for his consideration.

Now, Frank Murkowski has never been a man overly concerned with the pursuit of excellence and has devoted his life to establishing mediocrity in various areas of public policy. Murkowski's wish to pass over the best possible judical candidates for someone of lesser ability comes, therefore, as no surprise.

What is a surprise is just how clearly the Alaskan Constitution prohibits just what Murkowski is trying to do. Section 4, Article 5 clearly states:

§ 5. Nomination and Appointment

The governor shall fill any vacancy in an office of supreme court justice or superior court judge by appointing one of two or more persons nominated by the judicial council. [Emphasis mine.-B]

The Judicial Council, by forwarding three names, has already given the Governor one more name than the number to which he is entitled. Maybe Frank is just disappointed that no one from his immediate family made the list of "most qualified."

Note to Judical Council: Next time there is a similar vacancy, send Murkowski just two names. Maybe that will encourage him to read the Alaskan Constitution before starting such a silly, unnecessary conflict.

[Update: I just discovered that Nemo at Alaskascreed beat me to the punch on this topic. Nemo claims that the person Murkowski was hoping to put in the superior court seat is Scott Nordstrand.]

Senator Judas sends Self to Political Purgatory; No Murkowskis live in District to fill Vacancy

2004-08-27T00:46:00.000-08:00

Scott Ogan, who committed one of the most breathtaking betrayals of constituents in Alaskan history by supporting coalbed methane drilling on tens of thousands of acres of residential and privately-owned property, has resigned. While most of the credit for driving Ogan from office belongs to a group of his own constituents, the Ogan is So Gone committee, former Republican legislator and current Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker also deserves credit for outing Ogan as a shameless pawn of his corporate masters.

Ogan's poor judgement on coalbed methane may have gotten a lot of media attention and angered thousands of Alaskans, but his bizzare conduct, as recounted by Whitaker, regarding a possible North Slope gasline was at least as outrageous.

Governor Frank Murkowski has thirty days to nominate a replacement. The selection process promises to be challenging for the Governor, as he has no children residing in the district.

Small Cracks in Wall Surrounding Kremlin Republicans

2004-08-23T07:48:00.000-08:00

The ADN has a story on a few GOP legislative primary challengerswho are calling into question the GOP legislative caucuses almost daily use of closed door meeting. The reporter, Sean Cockerham, makes a good observation when he writes:

Because the meetings are closed, it is impossible to know for sure what is discussed. It is clear the doors close almost every day when the Legislature is in session. When lawmakers face big issues, the closed meetings get longer.

GOP legislators have repeatedly claimed, however, that legislatively substantive issues are not discussed in the caucuses. According to these legislators, only strategy and proceedural issues are determined in these closed meetings. What has amazed me is that no one has ever pointed out that all legislative issues always have procedural issues. Procedure governs everything a legislature does.

Savvy legislators would rather control the implementation of the rules of procedure than control of a legislative body's original agenda. Anyone who refers to procedural votes or debates regarding procedure as "merely procedural" or ""mere procedure" is either ignorant or a liar.

Hubbert's peak world wide??

2004-08-11T13:04:00.000-08:00

Better start restocking the woodshed, and increasing the state's share of oil revenue. If the world, not just Alaska, is running out of oil, then we need to increase the state's take of oil profits in light of the higher prices that will result before the wells run dry.

[Thanks to Constructive Creativity for the link.]

ConocoPhillips, BP Announce West Sak Heavy Oil Expansion

2004-08-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

While this announcement from the Big Two on the Slope is good news, we should remember that the 45,000 barrels of oil per day that ConocoPhillips and BP hope to wring from West Sak by 2007 is not very much relative to the 935,000 barrels per day that were shippped down TAPS in June.

West Sak, at 45,000 BPD, is not going to save TAPS or Alaska. (Permanent instability in the Persian Gulf and Russia, however, just might.)

State Senator Judas Iscariot

2004-08-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

Apparently not content with merely betraying the interests of his constituents while receiveing 40,000 pieces of silver a year from a coalbed methane developer, state Sen. Scott Ogan (R-Evergreen) has now decided to accuse constituents of criminal behavior. Anyone ignorant enough to actually believe what Ogan has to say about anything should first read this open letter from former GOP legislator and current Fairbanks-North Star Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker.

As for Fred Dyson's attempt to defend Ogan, Dyson himself made this defense almost laughable:

But Dyson, who serves with Ogan on the Senate Resources Committee, said at the press conference that he has watched Ogan stand up to resource development companies at least twice in the eight years the men have known each other. He couldn't recall the specifics of those examples, he said. [Link to article]

Furthermore, anyone who really had truth on his side would not have to take great pains to specifically mention the following:

Several days later, Ogan continued, Sutton activist Robin McLean "confronted" him in a hallway at 8:03 a.m. March 22 and told him that if the property owners' bill passed the House and Senate, " 'we'll call off the dogs.' "

Ogan remembered the time and date exactly, he said, because he immediately wrote the information down in his Bible.[Link to article]

Scott has a personal relation with Jesus. So did Judas.

The Significance of Whitaker's Letter to Ogan

2004-08-04T01:42:00.000-08:00

[Update: this post was written very early this morning before today's ADN was printed.]

Generally speaking, both the ADN and KTUU compare quite favorably to similar media outlets in similarly-sized markets. It is thus surprising that these esteemed sources have, at least to date, failed to grasp the significance of former state legislator and current Fairbanks-North Star Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker's blistering open letter attacking recent actions by state Sen. Scott Ogan. Perhaps they consider the letter to be nothing more than a personal spat. If so, they are in error.

Assuming that a gasline is built to ship North Slope gas to Midwest markets, Whitaker would like a spur line built through Fairbanks to Valdez. Alaskan gas could then be exported as LNG to Asia and California. (Such an LNG project may or may not be viable given the amount of gas at tidewater in some of the Persian Gulf states.) Under current law, however, a producer-owned gasline consortium could simply refuse to transport gas through their gasline to Valdez if the gas were destined for export. An independently owned LNG facility in Valdez could be effectively barred from competing in export markets against companies with an interest in the gasline.

At a minimum, Whitaker would like a spur line to provide gas to the Fairbanks area. Of course, the profit margin for gas sold into a Fairbanks market might not be as high as the margin for gas sold Outside. The same logic applies to selling North Slope gas into the Anchorage/South Central market through a $500 million spur line from Tok.

Given the likelihood that producers may very likely have a strong incentive to export all of Alaska's gas to the lower-48, Whitaker, quite correctly, wants Ogan and the rest of the legislature to require that some North Slope gas be marketed in Alaska with as few cost-enhancing barriers as possible.

According to Whitaker, however, current law bizarrely:

puts an overwhelming burden on local utilities and communities to commit to purchase, for firm transportation, a definitive amount of natural gas without knowing what their future demands will be, without knowing what the tariff rate will be, or the methodology for gas valuation will be, or from whom they will purchase gas or even if it will be available.

Yet Ogan, who claims to be so concerned about a possible shortage of Cook Inlet gas that he sold out his own constituents to the coalbed methane industry, seems, in light of Whitaker's letter, to be utterly opposed to the idea of requiring Alaskan gas to be marketed to Alaskans without the risk-increasing demands of current statute. In fact, the idea so scares Ogan, that he would not even let Whitaker testify before his Natural Resources Committee.

So who benefits from keeping North Slope gas out of Alaska's markets? While the major producers might experience a relatively minor marginal gain by selling less gas in-state and more out-of-state, Ogan's former client, Evergreen Resources, could have a relatively major gain. Cheap, plentiful North Slope gas would pull the rug right out from under Evergreen's Mat-Su efforts to supply Anchorage with coalbed methane.

Yet another reason to recall Ogan.

[Update, continued: This morning's ADN has a very good editorial on Whitaker's letter and what it teaches us about Ogan.]

Ogan Blasted by Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor in Open Letter. Charges very serious, tone scathing. Letter provided below.

2004-07-31T01:30:00.000-08:00

As the News-Miner reported yesterday, Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor and former state GOP legislator Jim Whitaker wrote Sen. Scott Ogan (R-Evergreen) an open letter in which he practically accused Ogan of sideing with North Slope producers against the interests of the state of Alaska. Whitaker also seems to imply that Ogan should resign from the legislature if he continues to favor producers over the state.

I have obtained a copy of the three page letter. Here it is with some minor formatting changes required to post it on this blog:

July 27, 2004

Senator Scott Ogan
Chair, Senate Resources Committee
Alaska State Legislature

Senator:

Your telephone call yesterday was surprising and inappropriate. During that call, you stated that you were “not going to allow the upcoming (Joint Sen. Resources / LB&A) hearing to get out of control”, as you felt it had at the previous hearing when Robin Brenna gave his testimony; which you characterized as: “an attorney going into full attack mode against the producers”.

You further stated that his testimony “had the producer’s panties in a wad”; and you inferred that you had assured the producers you would not let that happen again, out of fear that a potential project might be hampered. In an apparent attempt to prevent any such discomfort on the part of the producers, you stated that any testimony I might present to the committee on behalf of the Alaska Gasline Port Authority would have to be pre-submitted in writing and reviewed by you before you would allow it. When I replied that a constraint of that nature was unacceptable, you replied that you would “think about it and get back to me.” You have not done so, therefore, I am submitting this testimony to you and the public concurrently.

Senator Ogan, the request from Bonnie Robson, the consultant to the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee for Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Issues, is very clear, the subject matter for discussion is to be: “What is your company willing to offer on access beyond what is required by law?”

My testimony was going to be, and still is as follows:

Current Alaska law provides for a broad policy directive:

the Alaska Constitution, Article 8, sections 1 and 2 that directs “It is the policy of the State to encourage… the development of its resources by making them available for maximum use consistent with the public interest. And that The legislature shall provide for the utilization, development, and conservation of all natural resources belonging to the State, … for the maximum benefit of its people.”

AS 38.35 The Right of Way Leasing Act – “The natural resources of this state… and in its land for transportation of these resources …toward markets both in and out of the state are capable of making a significant contribution to the general welfare of the people of this state. It is the policy of this state that the development, use, and control of a pipeline transportation system be directed to make the maximum contribution to the development of the human resources of this state, the increase in the standard of living for all of its residents, the advancement of existing and potential sectors of its economy, the strengthening of free competition in its private enterprise system, and the careful protection of its incomparable natural environment.”

AS 43.82 Stranded Gas Development Act - “maximize the benefit to the people of the state of the development of the state's stranded gas resources”

Unfortunately, with the passage of HB 290 by the twenty-first Alaska Legislature in 2000, that broad policy directive is precluded in that the law puts an overwhelming burden on local utilities and communities to commit to purchase, for firm transportation, a definitive amount of natural gas without knowing what their future demands will be, without knowing what the tariff rate will be, or the methodology for gas valuation will be, or from whom they will purchase gas or even if it will be available.

Further, HB 290 exempts a North Slope natural gas pipeline from a requirement to serve as a “common carrier” for anything other than in state use of gas. There is no realistic provision in law that requires the owners of a gas pipeline to provide access for out of state shipping capacity to any other would be competitor.

Simply put, despite a broad policy directive to the contrary, it is probable that under existing law, Alaska’s communities will have limited access to North Slope natural gas. Further, it is probable that would-be competitors will be precluded from shipping natural gas, thereby eliminating the potential for a competitive free enterprise market, from which all Alaska benefits.

Fortunately, timely solutions do exist. When HB 290 passed, it was clear that a time of reckoning lay before us; when the legislation would have to be reviewed and changed. We knew that because, while HB 290 was the best we could do at the time, ultimately it did not meet out constitutional obligation. That time is now. The first set of solutions will require that the law be changed to provide a more probable opportunity for community access and competitive access for would be gas explorers and producers. A second solution is public ownership of a North Slope natural gas transportation system. The Alaska Gasline Port Authority, a municipal entity created in 2000 by an overwhelming majority of voters, and the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority, a state entity, created by initiative in 2002 and approved by a significant majority of voters, are both committed to ensuring access to any would be producer and also committed to providing access to supply for all Alaskan consumers; be they utilities, industrial, or other user groups.

Ready markets exist for Alaskan natural gas. The supply / demand dynamic is such that the economics of a project are predictable and positive. Supply, at a fair value, must be made available to the project that most benefits Alaska and Alaskans. It is the Legislature’s constitutional responsibility to ensure that supply, at fair value, be made available. That responsibility and subsequent action may from time to time require a reasonable legal and commercial confrontation or negotiation between the Legislature and the major leaseholders of Alaska’s North Slope natural gas: British Petroleum, Exxon and Conoco-Phillips.

A negotiation or confrontation of this nature between the State as the owner and the leaseholders is necessary and healthy; after all, much can be gained or lost on both sides. The Legislature’s responsibility is to fairly gain a maximum benefit for the people of Alaska.

Individual legislators who will not or cannot accept that responsibility should resign; to do anything less is tantamount to a breach of the public trust, which is conveyed to them upon taking the oath of office.

N. Jim Whitaker
Mayor, Fairbanks North Star Borough

Princess Lisa: Poster Child

2004-07-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

Further historical evidence that fedual, family-based political structures will always be undermined by the hard working members of the merchantile class can be found here.

Hulk jr. Removes Silver Foot From Mouth, Visits adoring Valley Masses

2004-07-29T13:31:00.000-08:00

GOP state senate majority leader Ben Stevens could not quite choke down a complete serving of humble pie in Wasilla yesterday. As the ADN reported:

In an appearance before a small Valley audience Wednesday night, state Sen. Ben Stevens stopped short of a direct apology for remarks he made in an e-mail exchange with a Wasilla woman earlier this month. But Stevens acknowledged he chose his words poorly when he called the woman "just more Valley trash" in response to her criticisms.

[snip]

"I have to have the confidence that the people in the Valley know that I was not classifying everybody," he said. "Because I wasn't. And that's just the way it was."

OK. So Hulk jr. does not think that every Valley resident is trash. But who did he have in mind with his "just more" comment? Who is the "more" in "just more"? I guess we would have to know who Stevens knows from the Valley.

Hey! Ogan, Kohring, listen up! I don't think Hulk jr. likes you.

Yet Another Reversal by Governor Whiplash

2004-07-29T09:44:00.000-08:00

Reneging on yet another campaign promise, Frank "Whiplash" Murkowski has abrubtly reversed himself and has signed a law changing the state's abortion policy. Women seeking abortions must now certify in writing that their doctor has provided them with government certified, anti-abortion propaganda. Planned Parenthood's rebuttal as reported by the ADN is concise and on point:

Planned Parenthood argues that all medical procedures require "informed consent." The new law sets up abortion as the lone procedure with its own separate set of requirements.

The ADN also quotes pro-choice former GOP legislator Cynthia Toohey as expressing surprise and dismay at Whiplash's action.

With all due respect, I have to ask where Toohey has been living the last ten years. The social conservatives totally dominate the state GOP. The so-called GOP "Big Tent" is a lie promulgated merely to keep the money flowing from the libertarian wing of the party. It's Marx in reverse: Jerry Prevo and his political ilk dominate the party while feeding the socially more liberal business elites a bunch of lies about an inclusive party deeply concerned with their issues.

The Problem with a Professionalized Legislature

2004-07-28T11:08:00.000-08:00

According to a recent report in the ADN, the National Conference of State Legislatures has issued a comparative report on legislative pay and staffing that places Alaska in the same categpory as Illinois, Florida, Ohio, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Wisconsin.

As Alaska's paper of record wrote:

The NCSL analysis showed Alaska had five staff members for every legislator. That included not just individual lawmakers' staff, but a host of other employees, such as researchers, maintenance workers and clerks.

That ratio of staff to lawmakers is about the same as in Massachusetts, Illinois and Wisconsin, Kurtz said.

In contrast, Wyoming's 90 lawmakers have just one employee for every three lawmakers. In Montana, the ratio is slightly less than 1-to-1 for the state's 150 legislators.

As for legislative pay, the story glosses the NCSL's report as finding:

The council calculated Alaska lawmakers' compensation at $55,000 to $60,000 a year. That includes their base salary of $24,000 along with per diem and other compensation that lawmakers do not have to submit receipts to receive.

In contrast, legislators in Wyoming, with just over 501,000 people, and Montana, with almost 918,000 people, are paid about $7,000 a year and report spending on average 40 percent to 50 percent of their time on the job, Kurtz said. But, he noted, the cost of living is also quite low in those states.

For Alaskans, the significant question that emerges from these data is whether or not we are better or worse off having such a highly staffed, highly paid legislature. Given the work load of each Alaskan legislator, I do not think they are overpaid. Their legislative duties demand a bit less time than a full time, yearound job, and they are paid a bit less than an experienced, highly skilled, unionized worker. They make a lot less than lawyers and doctors.

While the legislators are not overpaid for the work they actually do, I would suggest that they are both overstaffed and overpaid for the work they should do. Being an Alaskan legislator should not be like almost having a full time job. It should be,at most, a half time job. A full time legislator must live in fear of losing his or her job as a legislator because this job is what feeds his or her family, the personal staff and the personal staff's families. The conscience of such legislators is hopelessly crippled by the economic necessity of winning the next election. By contrast, very few people would sell out their values for a measely $7000 legislative stipend.

Just look at South Dakota. Politically, South Dakota and Alaska have a lot in common. The GOP is by far the dominant party in both states' legislatures and has been for some time. The SD GOP has controlled the governor's mansion since the mid-1970's. Both state GOPs are currently controlled by the extreme, theocratic wing.

Yet, SD Republican legislators show a lot more moral courage than AK Republican legislators. Why? Because SD legislators are paid less than $10,000 and have no permanent staff. (They share a temporary staff during sessions.) When a South Dakotan wants to call a legislator, the call is made to the legislator's home. When legislative leadership tries to pressure a SD legislator into making an important vote against his or her conscience, the legislator can always say, "I don't need this job anymore than I need your BS." The same logic applies to standing up to big-money lobbyists.

When Rep. Bob Lynn (R-Anch) showed some courage and voted his conscience against gutting the longevity bonus, GOP leadership stripped him of power. By contrast, SD State Senator Eric Bogue, who broke with his leadership and governor in 1999 over a crucial vote, was subsequently elected Majority Leader.

John Havelock once suggested that Alaska merge the state senate and house into a single unicameral legislature. Havelock argued that Alaska needs small legislative districts in which it is cheap to campaign. (Such a change would have the effect of increasing the number of current house seats by 50 percent.) Money, Havelock argued, is increasingly determinative of poltiical outcomes because legislative campaigns are increasingly expensive. In South Dakota, which has 105 legislative seats, very few candiates need to spend more than $15,000 to have a highly credible campaign. In Alaska, nobody batts an eye at $40,000 in expenditures.

I say, double the size of the legislature. Cut pay in half. And make evening and morning calls to legislator's homes the norm, not the crackpot's exception. Amateurs play the game out of love, not for money. We need more amateurs in Juneau and fewer professions who have too much to lose.

[UPDATE: In an earlier version of this post, I started the next to last paragraph with "Someone, I believe it was Steve Haycox, once suggested that... ." My recollection was wrong. It was John Havelock.]

Daddy Murkowski's veto aimed at Miller Supporter

2004-07-23T00:07:00.000-08:00

GOP US Senate candidate Mike Miller has received a lot of support from Mat-Su Republicans, including State Sen. Lyda Green. Now Frank Murkowski has vetoed funding for Green's main acheivement of the 2003-2004 legislative session, a study of a proposed expansion of the Palmer Correctional Center in Sutton.

The only serious policy alternative to an expansion of PCC is for the city of Whittier to build and operate a private prison in conjunction with Cornell Companies of Texas. Despite heavy pressure some GOP lawmakers, the PCC expansion seemed to have the upper hand especially given the fact that Murkowski is on record as supporting PCC expansion as an alternative to the Whittier project.

So what could possibly have changed Governor Whiplash's mind? Nothing about the two projects seems to have changed, just Green's relationship to Princess Lisa.

In other words, Murkowski would rather punish a supporter of Miller's than do what he once thought was right for the state of Alaska.

This guy does'nt think he governs the state. He thinks he owns it.

Outside Experts on Alaska Gasline: Start Building

2004-07-20T00:25:00.000-08:00

The Gas and Power Division of the Scotland-headquartered, international consultancy, Wood Mackenzie, has made a presentation of a study on the economic feasibility of a $20 billion gasline that would send North Slope gas to Chicago. According to KTUU, Wood Mackenzie predicts that Alaskan gas will ship to Chicago by 2016.

For a couple of years, I have noted that the national GOP, specifically US Senate Republicans and Bush administration officials, have worked hard to squash the sort of incentive packages that would promote the construction of such a gasline. The typical GOP claim has been that the Bush administration does not want to interfere with market forces. Of course, the current federal administration only pays lip service to the notion of free trade. (Just look at the steel tariff issue.) What I suspect has sunk the gasline so far is the fact that both Bush and Cheney have very close ties to the lower-48 gas producers who for years have thought that North Slope gas delivered in quantity to Chicago would severely drop prices. Senate Democrats, especially those from the chilly upper-midwest (where homes are heated with increasingly expensive natural gas), have strongly supported incentives to bring North Slope gas to market.

In other words, the partisan breakdown of the federal debate on gasline incentives is the mirror image of the debate on opening ANWR. Of course, the gasline issue is far more important for Alaska than ANWR because building a gas line and marketing North Slope gas would have a far larger economic impact than extending the Slope's oil fields to the east.

Nevertheless, the Washington DC-based Alaskan media has, to my knowledge, never run a story on how the national Republicans have tried to delay the construction of the gasline so their buddies can make a few dozen billion more dollars thanks to higher natural gas prices.

Halcro Praises Begich for Successful Year, heaps scorn on Ben Stevens

2004-07-18T02:24:00.000-08:00

In today's ADN, Andy Halcro offers us a nice synopsis of Mark's achievements since his election. Too bad Halcro is too moderate to win a statewide GOP primary. He would make a good governor.

Halcro also provides a shockingly honest and forthright comparison of Begich and Ben Stevens.

One interesting tidbit: the early internet edition of this piece described Halcro as a "former legislator." My recollection tells me that Halcro's previous ADN columns have described him as a "former Republican legislator."

Is Halcro going to switch parties? As both the US GOP and the AK GOP wallow in the mire of crony capitalism and anti-rationalism, the Democratic Party could pick up the banner of true, market-driven capitalism. Indeed, the so called New Democrats did this years ago. Halcro might not agree with the left side of the Democratic Party, but a Republican of a somewhat libertarian perspective would probably be more at home in the AK Democratic Party than the fundementalist-dominated AK GOP.

Just Another Upperclass Twit (Redux)

2004-07-17T01:45:00.000-08:00

So Ben Stevens, having been insulted by a single Mat-Su Valley resident, continues to refuse to apologize to the other 60,000 Valley residents for retorting with the phrase "Your just more valley trash". (Please note that the trailer-park grammar ["your" for "you're"] is from Stevens himself and not an error by trashy, trashy Borealis.)

Little Ben's statement that he never intended his e-mailed remark to someone who hates his guts to be ever made public shows such a low level of foresight that you have to wonder why the GOPper Solons decided to make him their caucus leader.

While it is likely that Hulk Jr. will never be elected to a statewide office because of Daddy Murkowski's shameful tapping of his daughter as his own US Senate replacement, one can never be sure.

Keep digging, Ben, keep digging.

Fineberg on TAPS tariff: Administration helps TAPS owners rip-off state, independent producers

2004-07-16T00:10:00.000-08:00

In a clear, cogent and damning op-ed in yesterday's ADN, Alaskan oil policy analyst Richard Fineberg shows how the state is getting cheated out of $70 million annually in tax payments due to inflated oil transport charges.

Just as significant is Fineberg's argument that inflated TAPS payments can significantly reduce the economic viability of independent (i.e., non-TAPS owners) producers on the Slope.

Fineberg also shows how the Murkowski administration, specifically the Department of Law, is actively working against the state's interests by undermining the Regulatory Commission of Alaska's attempts to correct the computation of the transport tariff.

Thanks to folks like Richard Fineberg, Gregg Erickson and Tim Bradner, this state has no shortage of excellent ideas. What we lack is true leadership simultaneously in both the Governor's mansion and the legislature.

In Princess Lisa's Kingdom, States' Rights take back seat to Federally-Mandated Bigotry

2004-07-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

In a remarkable display of self-condradiction and political pandering, Lisa Murkowski, simultaneously voted to support Federal instrusion into determining what sort of marriages states may recognize as valid while claiming to support the idea that marriage is an issue best left to the states.

As I have noted before, the idea that gay marriage is a threat to heterosexual marriage is absurd. Marriage is not just an abstract concept. It is an actual, daily practice. Any analysis of what weakens or strengthens marriage has to look at the issue concretely: i.e., how would letting gay people marry make it harder for heterosexuals to either marry or stay married?

Well, if you think the prospect of gay marriage is a threat to your marriage, then either you or your spouse have some unresolved issues that the Federal government cannot help you with.

Voting for the Defense of Marriage Act is nothing more than pandering to irrational fear and bigotry. I expect better from our Senators. And even from our Princesses.

Just Another Upper-Class Twit

2004-07-14T00:52:00.000-08:00

So the ever charming Ben Stevens called a Mat-Su critic "just more Valley trash" in a recent email exchange. Mr. Personality better start being more careful if he wants to run for statewide office. (Oh, I forgot, the children of US Senators in Alaska don't actually have to run for statewide office. They just claim them as a birth right.)

Vic Kohring (R-Oregon) has managed to get a bit of press for himself out of this brouhaha. Kohring can now have a new campaign slogan: "I gave away the ground beneath your homes to the coal bed methane industry, but I will always defend you from the insults of Ben Stevens!"

Still, the Mat-Su delegation needs to wake up and recognize that they are the laughing stock, not merely of the state, but of their own Republican collegues as well. No legislator would dare to talk like Stevens about the Valley back when Jay Kerttula and Ron Larson held office.

Uncle Ted trades Hulk Tie for Lemming Costume: joins Princess Lisa's rush to mar Constitution

2004-07-13T01:33:00.000-08:00

Both US Sen. Ted Stevens and AK Princess Lisa Murkowski hope to sully the US Constituion with an amendment banning gay marriage. Stevens, whose firery temper is well known in Alaska and DC, likes to be compared to the Hulk and even wears a Hulk-tie on occasion. But Stevens, unlike the Hulk, has apparently fallen prey to the vaccuous claim that gay marriage threatens heterosexual marriage.

Here's a simple question: How many Alaskan marriages are headed for divorce because gay marriages have been conducted in Massachusets and elsewhere? I bet the number is zero. In fact, I bet the number nation-wide is zero.

If we are truly interested in defending marriage, then what we should be looking at are the reasons people get DIVORCED. Why do people get divorced? I assure you, it is not because those two guys next door who have the stylish window treatments went and got hitched. People get divorced because of things like bankruptcy and other financial troubles, infidelity, physical abuse, and the loss of a child.

While it is no surprise to see Princess Lisa trying to shore up support in the Republican primary by appealing to the worst aspects of the AK GOP, Uncle Ted should know better.

The Hulk, whose anger always serves to bring justice to the oppressed, must be very disappointed.

Light Posting to Continue Until 7/13

2004-07-09T09:59:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the light posting the past two weeks. I'll be back on Tuesday, well rested and ready for more sleep deprevation.

ADN on our Kremlin Republicans

2004-07-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

The second of today's two ADN editorials presents a good, if brief, explaination of what is wrong with the secretive and fundementally unethical conduct of the GOP legislative caucus. Caucus rules demand that the caucus vote as a block on all procedural votes. Given that every single bill is subject to procedural considerations, and given that the majority caucus considers procedural questions in secret, the GOP has effectively replaced the open government demanded by our consitution with a closed, secretive quasi-legislative body that conducts the public business as if it were strictly a private matter.

One point not addressed in this editorial: The closed Republican primary insures that only the most extreme members of the Republican party can eventually join the Republican legislative caucus and thus further exacerbates the distortions created by secretive and binding caucus deliberations.

Ruedrich to Alaska: I crossed my fingers.

2004-07-01T10:25:00.000-08:00

Remember being six years old on the school playground and having a playmate claim that he really was not bound by a promise because he had crossed his fingers while making it?

Well, maybe that playmate was named Randy Ruedrich. If disgraced GOP Chair Randy Ruedrich is to be believed (do pigs fly?), he really is not guilty of all three ethics violations to which he recently admitted. He just admitted to the charges to save money.

It seems that Mr. Ruedrich does not consider the defense of his good name and reputation worth the money it would cost him to fight the various ethics charges.

Gosh, Randy, I think we can all agree on that.

Ruedrich admits the obvious, settles ethics charges

2004-06-23T07:15:00.000-08:00

The chief apparatchnik among the Kremlin Republicans, state party boss Randy Ruedrich, has admitted to three ethics violations and agreed to pay a $12,000 fine for conducting GOP business from his former state office.

Now that Ruedrich has admitted using state resources to assist the Republican Party, will Gov. Murky, Princess Lisa, Mike Miller and the GOP Central Committee, all of whom have shown extremely poor ethical judgement by backing Ruedrich even after the facts of the case came to light, finally pressure him to step down as GOP chair?

Cracks in the Dike: Another Mat-Su Republican backs Miller, evinces literacy

2004-06-22T01:19:00.000-08:00

Jim Turner, a former member of the Mat-Su assembly, and local GOP activist, has gone public with criticism of his party leadership's rush to support Princess Lisa and stifle open debate regarding who should get the priviledge of losing to Tony Knowles in November.

Turner applies Herodotus' account of a debate prior to the Battle of Salamis in his analysis of the political advantages of vigorous internal debate for the GOP. (I guess that makes one prominent Valley Republican who dares to read something other than The Bible. I doubt, however, if Turner can see the parallels between the quashing of loyal dissent among the Persians and their allies and the pathetic rhetoric of the national GOP which states that anyone who questions the war in Iraq must hate America.)

More telling for Alaskan politics, however, is the fact that Turner is now the third prominant Mat-Su Republican to break publicly with party leadership on a significant, non-legislative issue. Sara Palin and Tuckerman Babcock have already spoken out in the Ruedrich Affair, and Palin has gone a step further and endorsed Mike Miller.

If Ruedrich and Murkowski cannot keep the Mat-Su GOPpers in line, their political days are numbered.

Fahrenheit 9/11 to open in Anchorage on 6/25

2004-06-21T00:21:00.000-08:00

Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 will open in Anchorage on June 25.

It will be interesting to see if the wing-nuts mobilize to stop or curtail the showing.

"Odds Maker" Erickson: 20 to 1 against POMV constitutional amendment on November ballot

2004-06-20T13:41:00.000-08:00

The illustrious Gregg Erickson, co-editor of Alaska Budget Report, has expressed serious doubts about the legislature following Murkowski's lead and placing a constitutional amendment establishing POMV on the November ballot.

In addition to considering the proposed constitutional amendment regarding POMV, Murkowski has also asked the legislature to consider placing a mere advisory vote on the general election ballot. A proposed advisory vote only needs a simple majority of both houses to make the ballot. A constitutional amendment would need 2/3ds approval of each house.

Erickson, showing a basic level of foresight that seems to escape folks like right-wing legislators and Donald Rumsfield, points out that an advisory vote that made the ballot only to be dismissed by a majority of voters in November would set back the prospects of POMV for a very long time.

Given that most Alaskans would pay less under a modest, progressive income tax than they would lose in future dividends under Murkowski's plan, (loss of future dividends does not differ in any meaningful way from a head-tax) Alaskan political elites should expect stiff resistance to POMV by any Alaskans who know basic math and are willing to apply it.

The big question is this: how long can the forces of reason hold out for an income tax before the state goes bankrupt. Frank "the Bank" will, of course, never, ever sign an income tax bill, and no Republican legislator is willing to lose his or her next primary just to do the right thing for his or her constituents.

Why would the Republicans show leadership when they can get reelected just spewing forth ideology? Why serve your constituents when you can just please your donors?

Wev Shea to national Republicans: pull the anti-Knowles ads

2004-06-19T01:19:00.000-08:00

The ADN reports that GOP US Senate hopeful Wev Shea has asked the National Republican Senatorial Committee to withdraw ads that it is running against Tony Knowles. Shea calls the commercials, "silly, unprofessional and intentionally false... ."

At a minimum, the ad is silly and intentionally misleading. Worse for Princess Lisa, or whoever wins the GOP primary, the ad manifests contempt for the intelligence of the Alaskan electorate.

Princess Lisa, to her discredit, actually defended the ads which seem intended to mislead voters into thinking that Knowles is opposed to drilling in ANWR. Knowles, like almost all Alaskan officials, has always supported drilling.

Shea knows full well that the NRSC will not pull the ads unless Murkowski requests the Committee to do so. Still, Shea clearly knows how to get a B-1 story out of the ADN. If Shea can position himself as the only GOP candidate willing to buck the Kremlin Republicans, then he might pick up enough non-Republican voters to win the GOP primary. (Presuming that the GOP is letting non-partisans and independents pick a GOP ballot for the August primary.)

Frank Murkowski: Alaska's Whiner-in-Chief

2004-06-15T01:44:00.000-08:00

Frank Murkowski, never one to let the state's fiscal crisis cramp his style, has had to justify his desire for the state to use $2.9 million of its federal homeland security funds to buy a corporate jet for his (non-exclusive) use.

His latest excuse? Montana and Wyoming already have jets!

Even my four-year-old has learned not to ask for every cool toy owned by the neighbors.

What must Ted Stevens think? He had to spend the last 22 years carrying Murkowski's legislative weight in addition to his own. Now he has to bust his case so that Murky can afford to fly around in style while the rest of state government withers on the vine.

Pass the Popcorn: Republican infighting reaches new level

2004-06-14T01:26:00.000-08:00

In seeming retaliation against an anonymous smear campaign against her own integrity, Republican whistleblower Sara Palin has informed the Daily News of additional bad acts committed by AK GOP Chair Randy Ruedrich while he served as a member of the Alaskan Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Ruedrich apparently held private meetings with the very corporations he was charged with regulating. As former AOGCC Chairwoman Palin states, these meetings certainly violate the spirit of the state's Ethics Act.

The fact that Palin is not letting herself be cowed by the fact that Governor Whiplash, Princess Lisa and even Uncle Ted have all bizzarrely decided to defend Ruedrich is very interesting. Clearly, Palin is attempting to disentangle herself from what she perceives as a decling power network. From the quality of her public comments on the Ruedrich affair, she also seems to sincerely believe in the ethical basis for her actions against Ruedrich.

The critical question now is: How far will Ruedrich and Company go to destroy Palin -- a rising star -- to preserve their own petty hold over the state Republican Party apparatus? As true Kremlin Republicans, I bet they will go a long way.

Croft: "The emperor needs a chariot, I guess."

2004-06-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Murkowski administration hopes to spend $2 million in homeland security money for a corporate jet which would largely be used to shuttle Frank Murkowski around both the state and the world. State Rep. Eric Croft (D-Anchorage) has called for a state audit. The Governor already has access to two state turbo-props.

While Croft dished some pithy observations to the ADN, Heather Handyside, the director of community preparedness for the Municipality of Anchorage, laid out a restrained, but devestating, criticism of Murkowski's proposal to KTUU. According to KTUU's report:

"Handyside said of the state's $19 million pot of federal Homeland Security funds, Anchorage -- with 50 percent of the state’s population -- gets roughly the same amount as the cost of the jet being considered.
'The Municipality of Anchorage requested about $7 million in Homeland Security funding for specific equipment through that grant, and we were awarded, I believe, about $2.5 million worth of equipment,' Handyside said.
Handyside said one of the most pressing needs is a better radio system so the city's emergency responders can communicate better with state and federal agencies. That is an overhaul that could cost $17 million."

If Wally Hickel gave Alaska the concept of the "Owner State," Frank Murkowski seems devoted to a concept best entitled the "Owned State." Murkowski seems to think that the state of Alaska exists to enrich and empower him, his family and his cronies. Everyone else, be damned.

Typical Kremlin Republican behavior.

Governor Whiplash lashes the whip: Murkowski calls special session

2004-06-06T01:53:00.000-08:00

Governor, and would-be-political-dynasty-founder, Frank "Whiplash" Murkowski has formally called our do-nothing-legislature into a special session. The ostensible reasons for calling the session are:

1) To address the fiscal gap by placing on the general election ballot a proposed constitutional amendment that would permit the state to spend up to 2.5 percent of the market value (POMV) of the Permanent Fund on state and local services. A similar percentage would go towards dividend payments. The Permanent Fund Dividend would no longer be determined on the basis of average net investment earnings but, rather, upon a much lower percentage of the much larger market value of the fund.

2) Add a dollar to the per-pack cigarette tax.

3) Make changes in the state's workers compensation program.

As Frank Murkowski is someone who seems to have thown away 22 years of seniority in the US Senate (i.e., in an institution where seniority is an almost totally determing factor in legislative power) in order to give his daughter a leg up politically, he is not someone whose actions should be taken at face value. The question we need to ask if we are to understand Governor Murkowski's action is not "how might this help Alaska?" The question we need to ask is "How does this help Frank or his family?" Of course, the two questions are not always mutually exclusive. But there is one additional likelihood that shows that Frank Murkowski is probably insincere in his push for POMV: such a proposed constitutional amendment has no chance of passing the required public vote.

The people of Alaska are no more likely to support POMV than Frank Murkowski is to support either a flat or progressive income tax.

So why does he want it on the ballot? Because Frank probably thinks it will help Princess Lisa win election. (Sorry, but accuracy prohibits me from using the term "re-election. She did not get her senatorial tiara from the people, she got it from Daddy.)

How? While legislative Democrats are less likely to support POMV than Republican legislators because POMV, over time, amounts to a highly regressive head-tax, ordinary Alaskan liberals are more likely to support POMV because they will see it as a way to preserve state and local services. Ordinary Alaskan conservatives, on the other hand, are less likely to support POMV because it reduces dividend payments in the long run while increasing government spending. (GOP legislators like POMV because it would forestall the return of a non-regressive state income tax.) The purpose of putting POMV on the ballot is to increase the turnout of conservative voters to the polls in the hope of boosting Lisa Murkowski's chances against Tony Knowles.

Fat chance. The wingnuts in the legislature who actually relish the idea of the state's fiscal crisis getting worse are not about to stick their necks out for Lisa Murkowski. Unless, of course, Randy Ruedrich holds the same bizzare power over them that he seems to hold over much of the GOP's leadership.

Sitkadem: "All Hell breaks loose"

2004-06-03T12:47:00.000-08:00

Alaska blogger "sitkadem" has a good post on the US senate primary. Things are not looking pretty for Princess Lisa.

[Update:] It seems that "sitkadem" is now blogging as Jarfingle.

Kott: Administration, both parties "working feverishly" on special session

2004-06-03T12:18:00.000-08:00

In an interview with Channel 2, House Speaker Pete Kott stated that the Murkowski administration is trying to broker a deal with both (House??) majority and minority caucuses on what should be accomplished by a special session. The fact that Murkowski's people are talking with the Democrats indicates one of two things:

1) Either Murkowski is serious about resolving the fiscal gap, despite fierce resistance from the majority of Republican ideologues in the legislature, and is thus seeking necessary Democratic votes to produce a solution.

2) Or Murkowski, freaking out about the prospect that Princess Lisa is going to lose he election bid, is seeking to draw legislative Democrats into the trap of supporting very unpopular legislation. Murkowski will protect the family name by making sure that any unpopular measures will die on the Senate side of a special session. (Or he might even issue a veto).

Also, for a very interesting, well informed comment posted by Anonymous on Pete Kott and the possibility of a bi-partisan House majority caucus, click here.

Some Demo Momentum

2004-06-02T04:18:00.000-08:00

Democrats did a much better job recruiting legislative candidates this cycle than they did in 2002. This fact, coupled with what might be a solid Get-Out-The-Vote effort by both the Knowles campaign and the Democratic Party, should provide hope to those Alaskans who recognize just how rotten things are in Juneau and at the top of the GOP.

Shea: Murkowski's campaign manager afraid to lose Ruedrich

2004-06-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

Former AK US Attorney Wev Shea told the ADN that Lisa Murkowski's campaign manager told him that Murkowski cannot win against Tony Knowles without Randy Ruedrich 's help. Stiefel denies Shea's characterization of their conversation. Of course, those familiar with Stiefel's obviously false statements regarding bogus polling that he and Ruedrich coordinated know to accept Shea's recollection over Stiefel's.

In other words, the GOPpers think that Princess Lisa can only win against Tony Knowles if they have the campaign leadership of the ethically rudderless Randy Ruedrich.

So even the GOP recognizes that it cannot win elections in the state on the merits of its ideology.

For these guys, politics is just a game played by four year olds: if you can't win fairly: cheat, cheat, cheat.

Knowles scores big for Memorial Day weekend

2004-05-29T23:49:00.000-08:00

Memorial Day weekend is considered by many to be the traditional start of the campaign season in Alaska. While Princess Lisa's weekend is somewhat overshadowed by the sudden, and intriguing, entry of Wev Shea in the Republican Primary, Tony Knowles gets to benefit from having fellow Vietnam Vet Max Cleland campaining with him this weekend. Cleland, a former US Senator who lost both legs and an arm in Vietnam, is, without a doubt, the politically hottest supporter for a Democrat to have for Memorial Day activities.

It will be interesting to see in November whether Alaskan veterans, who are mostly male and thus somewhat more conservative than the general population, will tend to support fellow veteran Knowles or the presumptive winner of the Republican primary, Lisa Murkowski.

Alaska out $61 million in federal highway funds

2004-05-27T22:00:00.000-08:00

Who in our Congressional delegation, staff included, is responsible for this fiasco? Alaska is going to lose "nearly 20 percent of its $330 million in federal highway money... " because somebody was not paying attention.

Does the Washington DC-based Alaskan press corps have the guts and the contacts to find out? Note to AK media: it's litmus test time!

GOP leadership worried about Princess Lisa

2004-05-27T21:37:00.000-08:00

Uncle Ted and other GOP leaders must be awfully worried that Lisa Murkowski is facing a strong primary challenge from Mike Miller (and perhaps Wev Shea). Why else would one of the busiest people in America take the time to hold a joint press conference with Lisa to "bash" Loren Leman for endorsing Miller. The ADN piece states "[Stevens and Murkowski] met reporters at a borrowed law office conference room adjacent to her Official Senate office to avoid mixing politics with official activity... ."

In other words, the joint press conference was specifically called for the political purpose of attacking Leman. Usually, one would expect Stevens to just wait until some normal, non-election related press contact occured. Surely some reporter would ask about the Leman endorsement, and Stevens could then respond.

If the GOP leaders backing Murkowski asked Stevens to do this, they must be very concerned.

Wev Shea to Challenge Princess Lisa; Thank you Randy Ruedrich

2004-05-26T08:53:00.000-08:00

Towards the end of today's ADN story on Steven's comments on Leman, are statements by former AK US Attorney Wev Shea indicating that Shea intends to challenge Princess Lisa in the Republican primary.

His reason? Disgust at Republican leadership's failure to address the apparently serious ethical violations of Party Chair Randy Ruedrich.

The chickens are coming home to roost.

Governor Whiplash

2004-05-25T00:31:00.000-08:00

At the end of the recent legislative session, Governor Murkowski stated that he did not intend to call the legislature back into a special session to work on fiscal issues. Yesterday, he announced a 180 degree turn and called for just such a session.

Why this change? There has been no material change in the state's fiscal condition to prompt this about-face by the Governor. It is also highly doubtful that an increased number of Kremlin Republicans are willing to support POMV.

So what gives? Three options present themselves:

1)Murkowski hopes (or knows) that Sen. Pres. Gene Therriault is willing to suspend the usually applied (and utterly illegal) caucus rule that states that significant fiscal and constitutional matters can only go to the Senate floor for consideration by the whole body if either a majority or super-majority of Republican senators agree. In other words, Therriault is going to run the Senate as if the duly elected Democratic members were actually authorized by the Alaskan Constitution to represent their constituents and wield power in proportion to their numbers. If Therriault does this, then the moderate Republicans and the Democrats could, together, pass a fiscal plan acceptible to the House.

2) Murkowski is annoyed that an insufficient number of Senate Democrats chose not to fall for state Sen. Ben Steven's insincere call for a state income tax, and he hopes to give the Democrats enough rope during the session to hang themselves politically.

3) A combination of (1) and (2).

Despite the fact that the most cynical option is usually the explanatory choice for AK legislative action, I honestly doubt that option (2) is what is driving Murkowski. A special session will require some extra work on the Governor's part, and, as anyone familiar with his twenty-two years of service in the US Senate can attest, Frank Murkowski is not the sort of man who casually gives himself extra work to do. (If God intended Frank Murkowski to earn his living, He would not have given Sen. Ted Stevens such an excellent staff.) I think Murkowski actually wants the legislature to solve the problem of Alaska's structural deficit.

Of course, you can count on him to structure his proposal so that it causes the maximum pain to the middle-class and lets the wealthy off very lightly.

GOP to Alaska: Ethics are for losers

2004-05-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

Not only did the Republican Party of Alaska refuse to replace Randy "Hand in the Cookie Jar" Ruedrich as its Chair at the Party's recent convention, the state GOP even failed to formally entertain the mere idea of replacing him. The GOP could be forgiven for this awful lapse in ethical oversight if the pending ethical charges against Ruedrich involved the use of state assets for mere personal gain. But there seems to be no evidence whatsoever that Ruedrich abused his position on the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission for self-enrichment.

The purpose of Ruedrich's unethical behavior, rather, was to benefit the Republican Party of Alaska and its favored candidates. The Alaska GOP is not, therefore, a mere bystander to the unethical behavior of its Chair. The state GOP was the main beneficiary of Ruedrich's use of state resources for partisan purposes. If the leadership of the State's dominant party cannot recognize that the fact that the Party benefited from Ruedrich's unethical behavior requires that the Party take some sort of action against Ruedrich, then the Alaska GOP has clearly lost the faculty of moral judgement.

What will we tell the children?

If you find the state Republican Party's moral compass, please deliver to Soldotna.

2004-05-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

Democrats and Republicans are holding their state conventions this weekend. In the linked AP article, GOP Chair Randy Ruedrich sounds confident that he will not be removed as Party Chair despite his being caught with his partisan hand in the state's cookie jar. As Ruedrich states, "I doubt my issue will be significant here because the leadership is overwhelmingly in support of my activities."

As far as Republican "leadership" is concerned, using the state office of Oil and Gas Commissioner to conduct Party business might be a sign of shrewdness.

We can only hope that rank and file Republicans show a bit more ethical sense.

Lunatics hope to stay in charge of asylum

2004-05-20T08:18:00.000-08:00

Anyone familar with the disgraceful circumstances of Randy Ruedrich's resignation from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Comission should be unsurprised that Ruedrich lacks the ethical judgement necessary to resign as Chair of the GOP. The fact that some prominent Republicans like Anchorage Rep. Tom Anderson still seem to support Ruedrich is shocking.

The Alaskan Republican Party benefited from Ruedrich's use of significant state resources for his partisan activities. Not only should the GOP remove Ruedrich, it should reimburse the state for the costs the state incurred paying Ruedrich and providing Ruedrich with the modern communications devices and services that he frequently used to conduct Party business on state time.

Ruedrich: Slap my wrist, but not too hard.

2004-05-19T07:46:00.000-08:00

Randy "Ethically Challenged" Ruedrich wants to settle his ethics case with the state. Of course, the maximum fine, $20,000, that he seems to be facing is far less than he pilfered from each of us through his $118,000 state/Republican Party job.

Leman's Logic

2004-05-18T20:35:00.000-08:00

Lt. Gov. Loren Leman's endorsement of Mike Miller in the Republican Party's US Senate primary is highly instructive for what it reveals about the risk calculus that currently dominates Alaskan politics.

Let's start with a presumption: Leman is acting rationally to obtain the desired end of being elected Governor. So why would he choose to annoy Gov. Murkowski and most of the Governor's important staffers and close allies? Why, furthermore, would he choose to annoy Frank Murkowski by endorsing Miller, who is still quite likely to lose to Princess Lisa in the primary?

In Leman's judgement, he is better off closely aligning himself with the religious-right-wing of his party (i.e., Miller's wing) than with a possibly nascent Murkowski Dynasty. In other words, it is better to irrepairably destroy a relationship with a sitting Republican Governor and seriously weaken a relationship with the all-Republican Congressional delegation than to show less than absolute fealty to Jerry Prevo and Alaska Right-to-Life.

Why? Because to become Governor, Leman must first win a contested Republican primary, and to win this primary Leman must have the support of the radical right-wing of the Alaskan electorate. To win a state-wide Republican primary in Alaska now means that a candidate must be the favorite candidate of a relatively small, narrow-minded, ideologically extreme segment of the population.

Leman's shrewd move shows us just how screwed-up politics in Alaska has become. While there will occasionally be charismatic exceptions like Tony Knowles, victory in a statewide GOP primary is currently tantamount to victory in a statewide general election. But because victory in the GOP primary requires first sacrificing moderation, reason and eccumenicalism at the altar of extreme political conservatism, all significant state policy decisions must now comport with the ideology of a small minority of the population. The rest of us now live in political thralldom to the likes of Randy Ruedrich, Scott Ogan and His High Holiness Jerry Prevo.

No wonder we cannot solve the fiscal crisis or end the bitterly divisive fight over subsistence.

Leman doubts Princess Lisa

2004-05-17T23:56:00.000-08:00

[This post corrects a broken link contained in an earlier version.]

Moments like this make me so proud of our state's constitution. By having Lt. Gov. candidates separately nominated, we can sometimes have one who will speak his mind. [Of course, Leman's mind is on his probable 2006 gubernatorial election bid. I'll explain in a later post.]

What I would like to know is: who the heck read this post at the Free Congress Foundation website and informed the AK media? Miller might just give the Princess a run for her (dad's) money.

Lame Elephants

2004-05-17T23:06:00.000-08:00

The illustrious Tim Bradner sums up the legislature's recent sham attempt to address the fiscal gap and scores it a zero.

Kremlin Republicans

2004-05-17T09:00:00.000-08:00

From today's ADN: Legislators make case for closed-door meetings.

The AK Associated Press reports that legislative Republicans want to avoid "Monday morning quarterbacking" by legalizing the dubious practice of holding partisan caucus meetings behind closed doors. The problem with this secrecy is that all important decisions made by the legislature are currently made in secret.

In contrast to what the GOP legis say, the simple fact is that important bills that are not supported by 50 percent of the majority caucus do not reach the floor for consideration by the whole legislature where a truely representative majority might prevail. If the issue is constitutional, such as a rural preference for subsistence hunting, GOP leadership typically requires a 2/3rds majority in the GOP caucus.

What the GOP has done, is turn their own, private caucus, into the de facto legislature for most significant issues.

When the Blosheviks did something similar in Russia by subsuming state power under the orgaizational structure of the Communist Party, they placed Russia on the path to single-party tyranny and, ultimately, economic, social and scientific stagnation.

And they wonder why the rest of Alaska thinks the legislature is a joke.

Why this Blog?

2004-05-16T23:46:00.000-08:00

Today, May 17, is the first day of this blog. For those readers unaccustomed to political blogs, this one follows in the tradition of pseudonymous political blogs exemplified on the moderate left by Atrios's Eschaton and on the dwindling, non-wingnut right by Tacitus's Tacitus. If you want to see to what I aspire, in a purely Alaskan context, for this blog, visit them.

Why a political blog for Alaska? Certainly Alaskans have so shortage of opinions on what is right and what is wrong with our state. Also, unlike some other states with which I am familiar, Alaska is fairly well served by its two major news outlets, the ADN and KTUU. Unfortunately, both of these outlets no longer support web-based discussion of their stories at their websites. The "Comments" function of this site will hopefully spur active dialogue about, rather than mere passive reception of, what our state's media tell us. This blog should also provide a means to encourage internet obsessed, but politically inactive, Alaskans to become more active in civic life.

Why a progressive, rather than conservative, slant for this blog? Extreme right-wingers in Alaska already have a well developed forum for articulating their views. Its called the Alaska State Legislature.

Why a pseudonymous blog? (Please do not call this an "anonymous" blog. I use a name. It is Borealis.) Three reasons: 1) I can be more honest and much more specific in my criticism of the status quo in Alaska if I am protected by a pseudonym. 2) I do not hold myself out as an expert whose authority is based on credentials and professional experience. What I write should seem reasonable, if not always correct, to anyone not blinded by the extreme right-wing ideology that has corrupted so many local and state leaders. 3) Pseudonymous publishing was good enough for Madison, Hamiliton and Jay when they wrote the Federalist Papers under the name Publius. It should certainly be good enough for this blog. For an example of an excellent non-pseudonymous blog see Daily Kos.

Who pays for this blog? No one, directly. Blogspot.com does not charge me. Rather, it sells all advertising that might appear on this site. Borealis has no control whatsoever over and receives no renumeration from any advertising on this site.

Please forgive any technical errors on my part. I am learning how "to blog" by doing it. Also, be warned that I am a horrible speller.