Politics in Action

My fellow Soldotnans,

Do you need help deciding for whom to vote for in the upcoming Borough Assembly seat that Pete Sprague is vacating due to term limits?  The two candidates, Linda Murphy and JR Myers will present their political views this coming Wednesday, Sept 1 at 5:30 at the Reel Cafe, on the corner of Funny River and the Seward Hwy (right in front of SBS).  Be informed.  Be there.

If you're concerned about the direction that CPGH will take in regards to governance and ownership, you might want to consider attending the Sept 7 Borough Assembly meeting where this will be one of the hot topics on the agenda.

Become informed, get the facts, vote responsibly.

Primaries, Politicians and the Press: Part 4

I can't make up my mind about it...should I be happy that only 329 folks voted for Militia-man Ray Southwell, or should I be scared that there are at least that many motivated, paranoid, gun-toting, irrational people in the central peninsula?

Joe Miller still has the lead this AM.  The teabag vote is a reality in Alaska.  Of course, I hope that y'all read the story about the Koch brothers (see the link in the previous post), if you think Miller will call the shots.  He is in their pocket.  Where do you think he got the funding for his campaign?  The Tea Party movement was conceived and is hugely funded and totally manipulated by the Kochs.  

Was there any encouraging news?  Ballot measure 1 did fail by a wide margin.

Primaries, Politicians and the Press: Part 3

Alaska and Alaskan issues have had some coverage the national press lately.  The most direct piece was the NY Times article about how we get the most federal dollars per capita than any other state. The reporter skewered those Alaskan politicians and citizens (particularly Republicans and tea baggers) that have no trouble cashing in on largess of the Feds, and yet at the same time bitch and moan about how the US is Alaska's enemy.

If you know (or are) a Tea Party member, a Cato Institute fan, or don't think the recent Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited and hidden cooperate sponsorships of political causes is such a bad thing, you should read the article in the New Yorker, Covert Operations, about the billionaire Koch Brothers who have provided not only seed money for the teabag movement and the Cato Institute, but continual funding and operational control of both organizations and for many of the "Citizens for..." organizations that run political attack ads.  The Koch Brothers are the the third richest Americans and operate oil refineries in Alaska and control thousands of miles of oil pipelines in the lower 48.  They also helped finance Joe Miller's run for US Senate and have been friends and supporters of Sarah P. Apparently they supplied much her information (also debunked) about polar bears.

The Cato Institute, a conservative think tank (is that an oxymoron?) are one of the primary global warming/climate change deniers, yet all of their claims against warming have been debunked (remember that university in England that the deniers have claimed cooked the books? Well, that wasn't true after all).  Yes, the Cato Institute is almost completely funded by the Kochs.

Another read about the North is Disaster At The Top of The World, a look at just how dramatic climate change is in the Arctic. 

Hey, you live in Alaska.  You should know something beyond the political slogans and the opinions of the Corrupt Bastards of the state.

As I write this, Joe Miller has a 2 point lead over Murkowski in the Republican primary.  If he is us, we're SOL for sure.

Primaries, Politicians and the Press: Part 2

Both the Kenai Borough Assembly and the Soldotna City Council will have new representation this next term.

Term limits have prevented Pete Sprague, Paul Fisher and Gary Superman from seeking re-election.  The only seat that has more than one candidate is Sprague's.  Linda Murphy and J.R. Myers are both running to represent SOLdotna.  Linda is along-time Alaskan and has been involved in various public service roles for quite some time, most notably as borough clerk.  Mr Meyers, recently from Montana, is the vice-chair of the Alaskan Independence Party.  Just what is agenda?  If he get elected to office, will he move to have the borough secede from Alaska?

Residents of K-Beach will select Brent Johnson, a commercial fisherman from Clam Gultch and Nikiski will have Raymond Tauriainen, an oil-patch electrician as their assembly person.

It could be an interesting political season.

Primaries, Politicians and the Press: Part 1

Oooh, boy.  The political season is well underway, and it is such great entertainment to see the issues get spun and the candidates spar.

I was so disappointed that my work schedule had me out of town for the Murkowski/Miller debate in Kenai this past Friday with Merrill Sikorski acting as moderator.  I hope that Merrill made some of his infamous quips.  According to the PC, most of the issues brought up were about health care.  Both candidates tripped all over themselves trying to show who was most opposed to the new legislation.   But in true Republican fashion, no sensible solutions were offered.  Miller proposed health savings accounts and free-market solutions.  But where have those free-market solutions been these last 50 years?  And what about kids who have parents who don't save?  And what about those of us who do save, but saw the markets collapse after the unregulated free-market crash and subsequent recession since?  At least Miller wasn't as silly as their last debate when he suggested not to fund anything that wasn't mentioned in the Constitution.  Lisa then pointed out that the Air Force isn't mentioned in that document and wondered if Miller would cut funding for it?  Gotcha! 

And that's the thing about those who say they are Constitutionalists.  Raise your hand out there, Soldotna.  OK, how many of you then are opposed to giving those born here, even if their parents aren't residents, citizenship?  Yep, that is one of the Republican platforms these days, but isn't that right granted in the Constitution?   Keep your hands raised now.  How many think the Muslim cultural center (the so-called ground-zero mosque) shouldn't be built a couple of blocks away from the WTC? What about the 1st Amendment - making no law respecting the establishment of religion? If we are the land of the free, does it mean freedom and justice for just us white Christian folk? Do you pick and choose only those rights that your agenda agrees with - or do protect and defend the whole document?  

When she was first appointed to the US Senate, Lisa seemed a bit sensible - not a party-line hack.  But that is what she has evolved into since she ascended to Republican Party leadership roles.  The health bill that passed is quite close to what she said she wanted when she was at the Sports Center for the town hall meeting last year.  If you remember that, Lisa had absolutely no answers for those who asked her what she would do for them - hard working folks that had no health care and who had kids who required extensive help.  Lisa still has no answers.

Godzilla in Japan

While reports about the hi-jinks of Borough Mayor Dave Carey and his visit to Japan are just now trickling in, the consensus has been that there has been some boorish behavior by the mayor and some borough employees.  SOL has no intention of embarrassing most people and will hold off on some of the stories that I've heard, but if you were there officially and might want to explain a thing or two before something gets posted, do send me an email.

One thing to relate - at an official reception Mayor Dave couldn't find his gift for the local mayor.  Carey then said in front of everyone that he had given the box with the present in it to a young Japanese woman there to help him.  She then carried the box up to the banquet. But the gift wasn't there and the young lady was very embarrassed as people thought she had lost some of the contents. Turns out that Carey left the gift in his hotel room.  Nothing like sloughing off blame to an underling, especially in a society that values dignity.

Maybe the funniest thing was a public FB post (now thankfully removed) of buck-nekkid borough muckety-mucks with only a small towel covering their naughty bits, but not their ample personages. I can see Jr High kids doing something like that but...?

I did save that photo, but no worries, that won't be (ur-rumph) exposed here.

Lack of Progress Days Parade

Somehow the organizers of Soldotna's Progress Day Parade managed to keep MC, Merrill Sikorski, on a tight leash during this past Saturday's event.  Although he slightly strayed off-script once or twice, I was very disappointed that he did not say one inappropriate comment.  I mean, that's the whole point of enduring that parade.

There was a marching band for the first time I can remember, and that was good, but the rest of the parade consisted of fire trucks, race cars, hummers, evangelical church groups, Shriners without zany antics, conservative politicians and such.  Oh, yes, and borough Mayor Dave with his 49 star flag stopping every few feet to remind us that we are a nation under God.

Why not just smile and wave to the crowd like mayors Peter and Pat?

Setting a Fine Example

What's wrong with this picture?
Addendum: after reading the comments, I suspect that the PC was
mistaken in identifying the people in the boat at CES personnel. Most likely, all were Kenai Fire Dep't. Apologies to CES for originally running with the Clarion's version of the facts.

This photo was in the PC the other day and shows the rescue crew going out to look for the man who fell in the river and is presumed to have drowned.  There's been at least 3 drowning deaths in the central peninsula the last week or so and none of the victims were wearing their pfds.

And here are the pros, the ones that tell us all to wear our life jackets.  That's right, not one of them is wearing their own.  Hopefully the boss on the dock is giving them the what-for on that!

Murkowski EPA Resolution: More Wars, More Spills, More Deaths

The US Senate will probably vote today on Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski's resolution that would limit the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.  The bill, written by the oil industry, would also gut the Clean Air Act and increase our dependence on foreign oil.

Murkowski's resolution would strip the EPA's ability to promote fuel consumption standards,  especially for larger vehicles. Why would oil companies be against increased mpg efficiencies? The more oil we consume, the more money they make.  Of course, we would then have to import more oil from such friendly places like Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.  Just how many soldiers and civilians have been killed in the oil wars?

Of course, the more oil we consume, the more pollutants are put into the air.  Oh, I know it is far-fetched, but maybe there also might be an oil spill or two associated with drilling for the stuff.

But Lisa would spin it a different way.  She would have us believe that Congress should be the ones that regulate. But doesn't that route promote partisan politics, the power of industry lobbyists and propaganda rather than facts in determining energy policy? Senator Murkowski worries about the costs to the oil and gas industries and major power-producing companies.

We Americans are mostly blind to all of the costs.  How many hundreds of millions of dollars will it cost to clean up the Gulf spill?  How much will it cost the fishing, tourism and other industries shut down because of it?  How much does it cost to fund our military and pay for the oil wars?  How much does it cost to pay for the medical problems associated with dirty air?  What about medical issues like diabetes, obesety and heart disease that would be dramatically reduced if we would get out of our car and walk or bike whenever we could?

Now imagine if we could take the money we wouldn't be spending on pollution/lifestyle-caused health care problems; the money not spent on the military's involvement in the oil wars; or the money spent to clean up toxic spills and instead promoted non-polluting renewable energy, mass transit, and etc.

How in the world can Lisa be anything but a tool of the industry and an enemy of freedom, self-sufficiency and the future of Alaska and the US.

It's been a beautiful week here in SOLdotna.  There's no excuse for not walking or riding your bike to work or to the store.  Try it for one or two days a week and you cut your fuel consumption by nearly 20% this summer.

Or you can keep on keeping on and blame everyone else for the spill, the wars and etc.  Pogo was right: We have met the enemy and he is us.

Addendum: Murkowski's resolution was defeated 53-47 with Mark Begich voting no. 

Spending it Down

What is a poor school district to do?

Flush with stimulus money and an increase of per/student funding from the state, the KPBSD has managed to accumulate a healthy surplus.  As we all know, the school district initially received $4 million less than it requested from the borough assembly.  The assembly later added $2 million of funding, but the district knows that as long as their bank account is awash in black ink, the odds are good that the borough will fund under the cap.

The solution?

Spend, Baby, Spend.

Quite a bit of the surplus money is designated for the district's several charter schools, so these schools have been ordered to make the money go away. This summer, these school have hired teachers and administrators at per diem (from $250-$500 a day) to come work an additional 20 days.

That's 20 days without kids.  Doing what you might wonder?  Work that teachers in traditional school are expected to do on their own time: planning lessons, cleaning up the classrooms, placing orders for next year and etc.

Teachers in these charter schools are already given extra contact days without students (and thus more money) than teachers at traditional schools and this latest boon seems like ploy that has just one purpose - to get more money from the borough.

Much To Do About A Lot Of Nothing

One has to be careful about taking small-town politics too seriously and, in the process, making big problems out of not much at all.

Here are a few recent examples that belong in the molehill hole.

The silliest is Soldotna Mayor Peter Micciche's radio spots where he wanted the public to identify Soldotna city workers who were doing a good job and, as a reward, Peter would take them out to lunch on his own dime.  Yeah, the mayor paid for 1/2 of the plugs and the city covered the other half and the spots sounded a bit like he was campaigning, but I think his intentions were good, despite a bit of self-promotion.  It was curious that the PC interviewed folks at the PO to get their opinion and one of those was Carla Anderson, wife of recently elected councilman, Nels.  What a coincidence. She wasn't happy, and her response sort of came across as bitchy.  Considering the not-so-clean campaign the anti-Redoubt cemetery folks ran, maybe Carla's comments were revenge.

In other city news, the Mayor M is trying to duck a little responsibility by removing himself as the decider when it comes to conflict-of-interest cases.  Shea Hutchings's particular case comes to mind as his parents own property needed by the Soldotna Creek Park expansion.  Yes, it is a conflict-of-interest.

Not to be outdone in self-promotion, borough mayor Dave Carey took out an ad in the PC last week because it was radio dispatcher appreciation week.  Fine, but the mayor had his handsomeness's picture taking up about 2/3 of the ad.  Just who do you want us to appreciate?

Carey is also trying to give out some more pay raises, but at least this time he is up-front about his largess.

A couple of weeks ago, I chastised Dave about recommending that the borough not fund the schools to the cap.  He had proposed giving the KPBSD about $200K less than what they had requested.  But then the assembly outdid the mayor and underfunded the school district by a whopping $4.2 million. I can't get too worked up about that because the school district simply didn't offer a compelling reason for receiving the money.  They have a huge savings account, are flush with federal stimulus money and didn't point to a single thing they would have done with the extra cash.  In today's political climate, if the school district didn't see the need for a more exact accounting of what they were doing with their money,  show why they have a such a big surplus and explain why they wanted so much from the borough, that shows some insular and out-of-touch thinking.

Sue McLure, the assembly person from Seward demonstrated that she has no backbone and changed her mind about the dual-service conflict-of-interest ordinance. The voters know if a person is has more than one political office - shouldn't they decide?  Carey has threatened a veto and it might be one of the few times I would agree with hizzoner.

Despite all of this light-weight political news, there was one thing I did find particularly disturbing.  A Soldotna police officer is under investigation for misusing his authority.  The PC picked up the story and within minutes, the comments began - including one that named the officer and what he may have done.  The comment section for ALL articles was then pulled.  A couple of days later the comments section for other stories was back, but the original story about the cop vanished.

I don't know if Soldotna police officers have that much pull, but this is the second time in recent memory that stories about them or their families have been kept under wraps by the PC.  Certainly everyone deserves a right to privacy and folks are innocent unless proven otherwise, but who else, especially public employees, gets stories pulled?

Tee'd Off at the Tea Baggers

Darn if I can figure out the anti-tax protesters out demonstrating on the Y last week. Claiming that they are taxed enough already, they are also worried about the direction that the country is going.

But their protests don't quite jibe with reality.

I'm sure that most of you have come across the recent Tax Policy Center's factoid that 47% of American households didn't pay a dime in income taxes.  If you were married and had two kids and your adjusted income was under $50K, your income tax was $0.

Although it wasn't much, for the rest of us who made less than $200K, we were the recipients of Obama's tax cuts.  Yes, tax cuts.  For me I made 25% more in 2009 than in 2008, yet I paid $300 less in taxes.  Thanks, Mr Obama.

According to a Gallup Poll survey, 45% of people claiming to be teabaggers made less than $50K - so likely they paid little to no federal income tax.  I would bet that the number that make less than $200K pushes close to 90-95% of the protesters, so the rest received tax cuts under Obama.

Shouldn't they have been out there THANKING the President?

And the many seniors that were out there receive a $300K property tax exemption from the Kenai Borough.  Since there are no state taxes and we all get a PFD check, it is likely that quite a few of the demonstrators are in a tax-gain situation.

So, they are protesting the taxes they don't pay.

And that is not even counting those folks at the Y who are on medicare/medicaid or receive SSI benefits, or have a city/state/school district/borough/veteran/federal pensions, which, of course, are taxpayer supported and a form of the very socialism that they are complaining about.

Not one of them offers a realistic solution of course - well aside from cut spending and taxes.  But don't cut those programs that benefit them.  And not a mention of the nearly trillion dollars spent on the Iraqi War (I didn't see ANY of this crowd protesting at the Y when we were invading Iraq).  How about the billion dollars spent for the fence along the Mexican border that is nowhere near completed nor is it at all effective.  How about the 'star wars' missile defense program that has sucked billions and billions, but doesn't work? Just how much have we spent over the years on the war on drugs, yet there has been no prolonged reduction of drug use? 

If anyone is really fed-up with the feds, please walk the talk.  Give up all of your government benefits and start paying for your share of the federal money that comes to Alaska and subsidizes your lifestyle. Stop using parks, highways, airports, ambulances, fire and police departments and all of the government run and subsidized programs.

Does the US have a spending problem? Undoubtedly yes.  But I've yet to hear some serious, non-politicized discussion about what to do about the deficit. I do see the easily hoodwinked being lead around by the Limbaughs and Becks of the airwaves.

If you repeat lies, it doesn't make them true.

Prankster Wanted: Apply at ksrm.com

We slammed John Davis and his radio stations on this blog a few weeks ago, but if there is anyone out there that REALLY wants to annoy Mr Davis, I suggest that you log on to KSRM.com

It isn't there.

Apparently John forgot to renew his domain name and now it is up for auction.  For $79, you can begin bidding on his URL.  And what fun one could have with the call letters:

Kenai's Shameless Republican Machinations
or
Kenai's Self-Righteous Moron

Just click through Backorder Domain and let the hijinks begin!

Putting a Cap in Education

What's a borough mayor to do? You've already come out against funding the school district to the cap, but aside from the vocal hysteria from the ACT folks, there's absolutely no traction with that idea anywhere on the Kenai.  As a former teacher, Dave might have some insider-information about waste in the school district, but the change of administration over there has been a bit more above-board and Carey really can't point out anything that is obviously egregious spending.  The move to offer distinct programs at the three central peninsula high schools and letting students enroll in what meets their needs has been a positive change and big potential cost-saver as programs wouldn’t be duplicated in these schools.

So, Carey announces that three assembly members support cutting back what the KPB gives the KPBSD.  Only Carey won’t say which three.  In today’s PC, the Clarion reported that they called all of the assembly members, and only one could remember having that conversation with the mayor.  Assembly President, Pete Sprague is in favor of funding to the cap though.  Gary Superman did not respond to the reporter’s phone message, but even if he agreed with the mayor, that would just be one person.

Perhaps Dave is stalling for time, appeasing the ACT folks and trying to build up support.  If an assembly person is in favor of cutting back the borough contribution, they should just come out and say so.  Without that, Carey’s words are empty and an example of political doublespeak.

Does Carey have a point though – should the KPB no longer fund the KPBSD to the cap?  Unless Dave can point out specific things he thinks are unnecessary, all he is doing with his stance is thumping his chest and pandering to the tea-baggers.

Bad To The Bone: Borough Animal Control The Carey Adminisration Way

When Duane Bannock took over as Acting Chief of Staff, he promised that he was going to eliminate a position from the borough payroll.  Well, in what can only be a bone thrown to the ACT folks, the Carey administration, through Sue Wilcox, fired Ares, the search and rescue dog that CES has already spent over $10K on for training.  Technically, Ares works for the borough for free, but his handler, Dale Lawyer, a CES paramedic, is required by FSLA  (Fair Labor Standards Act) to receive 3.5 hours a week ($7400/year) for maintenance of rescue dogs. 

Part of Ares' duties  has been to go to schools and instruct kids what to do if they ever get lost.  The program has been very well-received.  

The Kenai has quite a bit of wilderness and it is reasonable to expect that eventually, some tourist, hunter, hiker, snowmachiner, skier or kid is going to get lost. $7400/year is small insurance that might help someone have a happy ending to a bad day.  Ares is also trained in avalanche rescue and we've been hammered with avalanches this year. 

Just one of the pay raises that Carey gave his staff would have more than covered the annual cost for Ares.

Who knows, maybe the dog pee'd on one of Dave's red, white and blue fire hydrants?

Snippets

There is SO much to write about, I just don't know where to start. I think I'll just post some questions that are a foggin-up my mind these days.

1) Why are some of those most vehemently opposed to the health care reform bill also the recipients of public-funded socialized medical insurance? If you work or have retired for the city, borough, state, feds, or if you're a veteran, a teacher or a senior on Medicare and are bitchin' about the bill, why is all right to subsidize you, but it is not OK to make sure all also have insurance?

2)Did Mike Chenault really work every day of the past year? He claimed per diem for them all. When he went on the all-expense-paid trip to China, did he also claim his per diem? Mike collected more money than any other legislator - nearly $90,000.  Really, he never went fishing, never went on a vacation, never took a day off...what dedication.  Considering what laws DO get passed, maybe he should think about taking a day or two off.

3)Sean Parnell recently went on a cruise ship convention junket to Florida and now wants to reduce the $50 tax that the cruise ship passengers pay to help mitigate the problems the hordes create in those port towns and to monitor the sewage and garbage the ships dump at sea...so, all one has to do is wine and dine the guv and he becomes a lapdog?

4)A couple of rich Texans want to put a coal mine right through the Chuitna River drainage across the inlet, and then sell the coal to China. And Mayor Dave thinks that this might be a good idea? So, we should destroy a healthy salmon stream for...?

5)Alaska Department of Fish and Game shoots collared wolves just outside of Denali National Park and kills off a pack that habituated the park. In a recent OpEd piece in the PC, Corey Rossi, writing as the assistant commissioner for AK Fish and Game, defends aerial hunting stating that it was designed to put more food on Alaskan tables. Why did he fail to mention that Board of Game also refused to prohibit Outside big game hunters from shooting moose in those same areas? If there so few moose for subsistence hunters that we have to shoot animal predators, why is there enough for rich dude predators from the lower 48 to come and take some too?

6)The same Corey Rossi was just appointed as the Alaska Director of State Wildlife Conservation. Turns out the man has no wildlife qualifications. He's not a college graduate and has had no training in that field. Well, he did take a biology course at a JuCo and he was once paid $11/hour to trap rats. Apparently the man is a personal friend of the Palins and had the assistant commissioner job created just for him (note to Tea Baggers, SP increased the size of gov't). A few people who have some real knowledge have raised a fuss (and read the ADN OpEd piece here). So, we are worried about our kids falling behind in math and science, so we put a political appointee with no credentials in a job where some education and understanding might be an asset? Those darn real scientists ruin everything.

I'm not out of questions, just out of time right now...

Praise the Lord, Pass the Ammo...and the Haldol

Here I am thinking I'm SOL in SOLdotna because of the suburban sprawl, strip malls, and the over-crowded chaos on the Kenai River.

But every time I pick up the PC, Norm Olson and Ray Southwell are putting on their Paul Revere tri-corners and spreading warnings about black helicopters, the feds, space aliens and the coming Armageddon. Along with Bob Bird, Schaeffer Cox and the 2nd Amendment Task Force, these two have been promoting the Alaska Citizens' Militia, their club of angry, gun-toting, mostly fat old white guys who don't want to pay taxes, but want their roads plowed.

Well, Bob is not fat and Schaeffer isn't old or fat, but angry he is. He was arrested last week for domestic violence. With their kid in the back seat of his rig, Mr. Cox tried to strangle his wife as they were driving to a show.

At least he wasn't texting.

Where did the militia last meet? In the taxpayer-funded auditorium at KCHS. I wonder why they don't support a capitalist local business? Well, I don't know of too many businesses who would want a crew of over-aged, locked-and-loaded paranoids hanging out on the premises. And besides, that crowd doesn't like to tip. Or pay for anything besides the latest armor-piercing ordinance.

But maybe these guys are on to something. Maybe we should be very afraid. And maybe these are the guys who will save us from the conspiracies that lurk behind every delusional thought they have.

So I did a quick search. The first click brought me to the New World Order's official web site. Yep, they recognize that Norm is their nemesis and Olson has repeatedly thwarted their plans for taking over the planet.

I'd like to direct Olson and Southwell to three more very imminent threats to Alaska and freedom: Canadian World Domination, The Evil League of Evil, and Terrorist Squirrels!

I know I'll feel a lot better knowing that the militia might focus on threats just as whacked as they are.

One reason the Kenai attracts the angry old white guys with guns who don't want to pay taxes is that we encourage them to move here. Yep, once you are 65, you get a $300,000 property tax exemption. Norm has 2 years to go before he gets to really whine about the taxes he is (not) paying, although he currently qualifies for a Nikiski senior tax break. I'm all for cutting slack to seniors who are in need - especially those who put their time in locally to build this community, but the break goes to anyone that qualifies for the PFD and it doesn't matter if one's annual income is $0 or a million bucks. So Norm, Ray and their ilk move up here and we all will subsidize their craziness.

In related breaking news, bigots from around the US are worried that the development of new racial slurs aren't keeping pace with the rise in mixed-race births. Read about it here.

Think About It: John Davis Doesn't Think

Radio Kenai's five stations dominate the local commercial airwaves. John Davis, the radio media magnate, has infused right-wing propaganda through most of the syndicated shows that he broadcasts. John, and his partner in opine, Joe Nicks, offer their own profundities in the Think About It series. At best, their ideas are insipid, but more often they are, in the satirical way Rush uses the word, retarded.

Let's look at a sampler of what they want you to think about.

Joe wants to keep anyone over 60 from running for political office. They're too out of touch with the youngsters. So no Bush I, Reagan, Ford, Eisenhower or Truman. I think we all would have preferred the old George over the youngster W.

He also wants to give one-time tax credits for those who quit smoking or enroll in weight-loss programs. Simple...or maybe just simple minded. Ok, so you quit smoking, take your tax write-off, and celebrate by lighting up? Is the gub'mint going to put their spies out to make sure you really quit? The same for weight loss credits. Does he want the Feds to come and weigh you to make sure? And if you gain the weight back, do you pay the credit back? If not, what's the point? This is how you propose we solve the health care issue? How about we give those ideas at least a couple minutes more thought Joe?

But it is Mr. Davis who really demonstrates what little thought he is capable of. John gussies his platitudes with faux-folksy tales of his past and equates old-time parental discipline as a sure way of getting the Feds back in line. Well, he's a little short on specifics, but those might confuse him. The government has chipped away at gun rights over the last 100 years. Well, we can't own atomic bombs, so I guess he's right. John, what specific laws are you talking about?

He also rails against the Patriot Act, just one of the many doublespeak laws passed in W's watch, but there are no specifics, just his cutesy musing wondering what type of soap the government will use on those who speak out. I don't think the government should do warrant-less phone taps on citizens, force librarians to turn over the titles of books that citizens check out and etc., but why does he complain now and why did he remain silent when some of those laws were passed and why the silence when W's justice department violated the existing rules on wiretapping and torture?

I did get a big laugh over his delineation of liberals and conservatives. A liberal vegetarian wants to outlaw meat. A liberal wants to surrender gracefully to Osama Bin Ladin. An atheistic liberal only wants to promote 'foreign' religions. A liberal person of color only sees himself as a victim.

John, if you need to believe all of this to feel good about your ignorance, that is your right. But if you call that thinking,maybe you should think again.

Acting Chief of Stuff: Duane Bannock

There they were just a couple of days ago, Charlie Pierce and Duane Bannock, parked in one of the handicapped spaces at the OEM Building and deep in conversation.

And the Press Release today maybe reveals what that conversation might have been about: Duane is the new acting Chief of Staff, replacing Scooter Chumley who resigned a couple of weeks ago.

Mr. Bannock is a former car salesman, who served on the Kenai City council, was fired as Director of Alaska's DMV, and most recently, the political appointee in charge of the Spruce Bark Beetle Mitigation Program. In the shuffle, Michael Fastabend will act as head of the SBBMP, and Susan Wilcox will be the Admistrative Officer for the KPB.

Some of Mr. Bannock's political views have included his support of industrial pig farms for the Kenai, state issued ID cards, private prisons, Moms, Apple Pie, and Dodge trucks.

Included in his business views was selling cars "to not very smart people". But this practice came to a legal halt, when a developmentally impaired man, under the legal guardianship of his parents, bought a car from Kenai Chrysler when Duane was the general manger. When the parents tried to return the undamaged car the next day, Mr. Bannock refused to recognize the validity of the guardianship and would neither cancel the sale nor return the man's trade-in. The parents took Mr. Bannock to court where Duane lost the verdict and the appeal.
But maybe it explains why he was parked in a handicapped parking space.

No Walk To The Park: The Soldotna Community Playground

What’s not to like about the Soldotna Community Playground? A group of moms saw a need in the area, so they got together and are making something good happen. Inspired by the custom playground in Seward, some local parents contacted the private enterprise that sold that playground equipment in Seward and several other locations around the state (and nation) and began to raise the needed funding to begin construction. The community has generously responded and ground breaking is scheduled to begin this May.

The location seems ideal. Soldotna Creek Park has become a showcase for our town, especially after the DOT exchanged the land adjacent to the old park for their present location adjacent to ARC Lake. The expanded park now offers boardwalk fishing, hosts the Kenai River Festival, weekly farmers’ markets, and will be the site of the Kenai Watershed Forum’s headquarters. A new park plan is in the works and it will feature a gazebo, a veterans’ memorial, a (not nearly as big as the first revision) parking lot and some needed landscaping.

But what is not included is access across the highway for the kids who might want to go play in the soon-to-be very cool playground. There is no crosswalk and no traffic light, nor is there a ramp over or tunnel under the Sterling. The closest protected crossing is either by the Y or on Binkley St.

Just about all of the kids in town live on the other side of the highway, don't they?

Do you think that the new kiddie park might attract the attention of those 7-12 year-olds, some who are just learning to ride their bikes, who probably have not yet developed sane unprotected-highway crossing skills. While Soldotna Creek Park already gets unsupervised youngsters, the number of those free-range kids will undoubtedly increase.

Soldotna has been lucky that no child (to my knowledge) has been hit by a car or truck while crossing the Sterling or Spur Highways, but the odds of that happening will increase as we offer an attraction that makes them dodge our crazy summer traffic. To not have a safe highway crossing plan in place the day the new playground opens up is simply flirting with disaster.

The residential area of our town is very friendly to bicyclists and pedestrians. One of the goals of the city-sponsored Envision Soldotna 2030 is to promote walking and bike riding – it’s a good idea for everyone’s health, for relieving traffic congestion, and for making the city more livable. For kids, having parks where they can safely walk or bike to gives them some fun, freedom and exercise. It gets them out of the house and out from underfoot.

The only way to get to the proposed playground safely will require that someone drive the kids there – completely contrary to SOLdotna’s grand development plan.

Not every parent has the time or means to get their kids there when the youngster might have some time to play. And isn’t it a better idea that when the parents do have the time to take the kids to the park, that the family walks or bikes there together?

It’s hard to believe that the planning department, parks and rec, and the playground group asked themselves the basic question: Where is the best place for this new playground? While Soldotna Creek Park might be the most aesthetic, it isn’t the most practical and without a controlled crossing, it isn’t the safest.

Wouldn’t a central Soldotna location be a better choice? Why not close Park Ave between Binkley and Fireweed to traffic, remove the blacktop, and put the playground there? It would be less than a mile from most every home in the residential area, there would be no unprotected major roads to cross, kids from both Soldotna ad Redoubt Elementary could take mini-field trips with their classes and the residents of the nearby senior housing could watch the great-grand kids romp around.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that a car, no matter where the playground is located, won’t clip some boy or girl, but I don’t like the odds of that happening if the playground is installed at SCP without some sort of traffic control at Birch Ave.