SOLdotna Rules

Good Time Charlie's and Bristol Palin made the the show Real Time with Bill Maher last night.  In his New Rules piece, Maher noted: "There's got to be an easier way of teaching the rhythm method. Oh, I'm just kidding.  Lay off Bristol Palin.  You know, her mother's a dingbat, but she's just a young girl having fun and the skills she learns on the dance show will serve her well in her future career at Southern Alaska's finest strip club, Good Time Charlie's".

It's about time a Palin dealt with the naked truth.

Election Selections

The editorial staff here at SOLinSoldotna realizes that by coming out in favor of something/someone just might be that icy kiss-of-death for the issue/candidate.  With that in mind, the reader will just have to wonder if the endorsement is meant to promote or distract.

First up and despite having picked on the poor guy, SOL gives the nod to Kyle Fisher for Soldotna City Council. Rather than point out hypocritical political beliefs, there is no doubt that Kyle cares about SOLdotna.  He's on the Kenai Watershed Forum Board and has been behind some local quality of life issues.  His opponent seems like  one-issue guy with a grudge against the police department.

SOLdotnans should also consider backing the bond issue for the library expansion.  Its a fine facility that could be even nicer. I hope they increase the bandwidth for wireless internet access.

For the SOLdotna seat on the Kenai Borough Assembly, Linda Murphy gets the nod.  She's smart, approachable and even if you can't agree on all the issues, Linda would have an open-mind about them.  Her opponent is a militia 5th columnist who has taken a middle-of-the-road approach, but belies these stances with his membership/leadership in the AIP.

Maybe it's about time to have a borough manager making the big decisions and relegate the mayor's job to ribbon-cutting and other such innocuous duties.  It might provide stability and consistency to the management of the borough and keep politics out of practical matters.

Taking Back Conservative (and Joe Miller is not one)

The world is so neat and tidy when people can put others in categories that fit their own agendas.  I hope that I'm less concerned about labels and more about having integrity: that one can defend one's own actions because of rational thought, good conscious and even change one's mind when presented with reasonable and sound alternatives.  You can't have integrity if you don't have an open mind.

So, it's been a delightful political season here in Alaska and things are becoming more and more interesting every day. 

I'm especially curious about Joe Miller, with his populist Tea Party support and his chest-thumping conservative label.  But what a scam that all is.

The latest news this week exposed that Mr Miller, who has railed against sucking on the teat of big government, has been caught in a big white lie.  Yes, he too has sucked hard.  While he blows on about the deficits, he has admitted taking farm subsidies for his fallow land in Kansas.

Nothing illegal of course, but just plain slimy. And dishonest.  And hypocritical.  And self-serving.  Just the sort of political qualifications we want in DC, I suppose.

So, Mr and Mrs Soldotna T. Bag, help me out here - just what is a real conservative?

Is it one who conserves?  That would be what I'd think.  And I think I am one of the most conservative people in SOLdotna. Really.  If cutting back on spending is one of the solutions for over-spending, cutting back on consumption is one of the solutions for the energy crisis.

I think a conservative doesn't believe in being wasteful - yet Joe Miller parades around Alaska accompanied by Hummers - the very symbol of wastefulness.   Shouldn't we have leaders who are willing to lead by example? We are never going to break our addiction to foreign oil if we think it is our god-given right to buy and use the biggest gas-guzzlers on the planet.  When Al Gore preaches about conserving resources and cutting down on our carbon footprint (all fine conservative principals), but lives in a huge and energy-guzzling home, that too is hypocritical.

I was at Fred Meyers the other day and saw a big Ford Excursion (Excruciation?) with a Don't Tread On Me decal on it.  And just what is the message? That you'd rather put American soldiers in harm's way risking their lives in the middle east so we can guarantee the right to be wasteful?  And of course, don't even think of making anyone pay taxes to cover the trillion dollar costs of the wars. 

And then Joe Miller wants to do away with Social Security and Unemployment, both insurance-type programs that we all pay into, but then he has no problem cashing in on farm subsidies that is nothing but a giveaway program. 

Joe also wants to do away with the National Park program that was brought about mostly under Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican that knew that conserve was the root word of conservative.  How do we preserve our natural wonders if we don't conserve?

Lisa Murkowski is going to run as a write-in and both are tripping over themselves as being true conservatives, but the only thing either really wants to conserve are the tax breaks for the super-rich and the sweetheart deals given to the most powerful in the country.

I hope that readers will seriously consider voting for Scott McAdams for senator.  He's a working guy without an ivy league law degree.  He doesn't come from a connected background - he has earned everything he has from actual work. He doesn't say things to pander for votes and has an open-mind for practical and needed legislation.  And he is not funded by the Koch Bros.

Big Time

We got an off-hand mention in the Alaska Ear section of this past Sunday's ADN.  Nice.  Well, it was about a post more than two years old, but news out of SOLdotna does travel slowly I suppose.

Agreeing to Disagree With Kyle Fisher

I received an email from Kyle this past week and he took exception to the things I posted about him  last week.  To be fair, no matter how unbalanced either of us may be, the following is a point-counter-point exchange.

Kyle:You base your entire blog on the fact that I am a member of the Tea Party.  The clip that you reference I added the caption "Check out this trailer.. you will love it."  I posted it strictly for its entertainment value, and similar to your blog, to insight discussion.  Nowhere did I say I agree, endorse, or encourage the message in the trailer.  The subject matter of the clip has to do with national spending policy, and has very little to do with a local election.

SOL: (This is in reference to a post on his FB page) Well, you don't really have any post from a sane point-of-view.  What you don't say in your response to me is if you sort of agree with the caricatures that are presented in the clip.  If you didn't, why would you post it?  If you are so easily hoodwinked by the message of that clip that you posted, why should you get the vote of people who are looking beyond partisan politics to find solutions to very real problems here on the local level?  So, is you is or is you ain't a TP sympathizer?

Kyle:  You reference Beck and Rush.  I agree with you that just because Beck or Rush say something enough, it doesn't make it true. The fact that you elude any of these entertainers would persuade my deductive reasoning or civic logic is offensive.  It would be the same as equating George Clooney and John Travolta as source of your political views and opinions.  I seriously doubt that you are that shallow.
SOL: Thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt.  I jumped to that conclusion because of that clip on your FB page.  By posting it, you seemed to have swallowed the propaganda of those who would rather make stuff up rather than engage in serious debate and offer real solutions to problems.  Once again I ask - what the heck do you really believe?


Kyle:You question my motivation for running and infer I will cut quality of life expenditures.  First, I'm not sure where you got the idea that I would do that.  Second, as you probably already know, as a member of the Soldotna City Council, you are required to live within the city limits.  Would it be logical to cut the quality of life that me and my family enjoy?  That doesn't make sense. 
 
SOL: Well, none of the tea bag philosophy makes any sense to me.  If that is your real political point of view, they are all about cutting back government services and cutting back quality of life expenditures.  Except when it benefits them.  And only if someone else will pay for it.  So, once again, the question that must be asked, is have you really swallowed the TP/Beck/Rush/Palin kool aid, and if so, just how will that affect how you vote on the things that make SOLdotna a livable place?

Kyle:You question the sincerity of my pledge to protect the Kenai River for all of the users groups.  I don't know why you question this, but I will address it.  This year I was approached by the Kenai Watershed Forum to join their board of directors.  I believe that speaks for itself.  If we do not protect the river, not only will we lose a great treasure, but will lose the biggest economic engine in our region.  To be frank, I doubt Soldotna would survive a major permanent catastrophe in the Kenai River.  We must all do our part to protect the Kenai, but I would be naive to think it could be done without governmental regulation.  

SOL: Yes, I am aware that you are on the BOD for the KWF.  And I am glad that you are sincere that the river must be protected and the only way that will be done is with government regulations. Without those, we would quickly over-fish, use the river as a toilet bowl, fill-in feeder streams, and cut down all the riverside brush. Maybe you are a closet progressive liberal? 

One last question, are you going to vote for Joe Miller?  You do know that he would say to screw the river, and make it easy for pig farms on the peninsula and vote against all fed $ and money to help protect the Kenai River and all other salmon streams in AK.

The Tea Party and the Militia Want To Represent SOLdotna

There are two candidates wanting to represent SOLdotna that perhaps are being somewhat less than honest about their views on politics and about what their agenda is.

Take JR Meyers, the candidate for the borough assembly.  JR and Linda Murphy answered some questions about their views in a recent forum and, according to the PC, their views were the same for the big issues.  But sometimes people sometimes say more by what they don't say.  Myers is the vice-chair of the Alaska Independence party and that party's most notable other candidate, is his buddy, Ray Southwell, the anti-government militia-man from Michigan that now wants to represent us in Juneau.  Hmm...does Myers pal around with terrorists? The AIP, aside from wanting to secede from the states, is against regulations, especially environmental regs and wants to end property taxes (sounds good?  OK, then, just how do we pay for stuff?).  Do check out the AIP's platform before you vote.

And then there's Kyle Fisher who is running for SOLdotna City Council.  If you are on FaceBook, check out his page  - it's got this Tea Party animated clip comparing Obama's and St Ronald's economic policies.  Ah, history is just so easy to reconstruct.  Just because Rush and Glen say things a million times, it doesn't make so.  Just for the record Kyle, when Reagan took office in 1981, taxes were $517 billion and outlays were $591 billion, for a deficit of $73 billion. When he left office in 1989, taxes were $999 billion and spending was $1.14 trillion, for a deficit of $153 billion. The deficit went as high as an 5 percent of GDP during Reagan's term. As a result, the national debt soared by almost two-thirds.In contrast (despite the cameo by BC in the animation), Clinton cut spending 3 times as much as Reagan (and left us with a surplus). W, by not funding his two wars and by cutting taxes for the richest 2%, turned that surplus into a deficit of 9% of the GDP.  Obama now has increased that by another 2% - a smaller increase than either RR or GWB.  We still have not paid for the wars and then this little problem with the economy erupted at the end of the W years. And what brought the country out of the Great Depression?  The massive amount spent on WWII - that was paid for by a modest tax increase. But why let facts confuse us?

So, as a tea-bagger, just what is Kyle Fisher's real agenda?  And how will he go about it?  Of course, a seat of the city council is far removed from the problems we have as a country, but if Fisher's viewpoint is what it appears to be, will he cut all quality-of-life expenditures?  Does he really care about protecting the river (that means regulations, Kyle)? His FB page has his slogan displayed: It's time for Soldotna to be more concerned with the living residents.  I dunno, is he suggesting that we ignore what the people want?

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.