Allowances Must Be Made

Breaking news is that the AK legislature just voted to double the office allowance of the elected officials.  House members now can get $16,000 and Senators $20,000.  The kicker is that if they don't spend this money on office expenses, they get to pocket all of it.

OK, I'm not automatically against cost-of-living increases. But if it was based on the real cost-of-living data, the increases would have been under $2000 instead of the $8000 and $10,000 they voted for themselves.

Certainly there are office expenses that our legislative representatives will have and certainly these expenses, to a point, should be reimbursed. But shouldn't office expense reimbursements actually be used on office expenses?  I mean like show your receipts and write up a little justification: basic bookkeeping demands.

Those are the rules that most all of us probably have to follow.  But apparently these rules don't apply to our elected officials

This is nothing but a back-door pay raise and it seems quite shameless to boot. Our representatives don't have to account for a penny of the money, and get to put it in their pockets rather than actually buy staples, tape and sticky notes.

Mike Chenault did vote against this.  Bravo Mike.  But guess what?  Chenault and the other central peninsula legislative representatives, Tom Wagoner and Curt Olsen took the entire office expense check and put it in their pockets.   Not one penny went to paper, pencils or pens.  I guess leaving a paper trail is not a good idea for these guys anyway.

Mike, the best way to vote against the raise is not to take the money.  Who do you think you're foolin'?

Of yeah, the knuckleheads that keep electing these three.

Tell me again about how we elect Republicans here on the Kenai because they are fiscal conservatives?

Suckers for Cox

photo by D Petri from the PC

It was just two years ago when Schaeffer Cox (the dapper gent in the hat pictured between Bob Bird and Tom Wagoner) came to the Kenai to promote his philosophies of unrestricted gun-ownership and sovereign citizen political action.  He was welcomed with open arms by Bob and Tom and given an email endorsement by Dave Carey.  Since then, Cox has been arrested a few times.  Once for beating his wife and then once for not informing a cop that he was packing heat as Cox responded to a Liberty Bell (the Sovereign Citizen phone tree) call when a fellow member was arrested.  Then yesterday, Cox was one of five arrested for plotting to kill five AK state troopers and a judge.  You can read about that incident here.

Those in the Sovereign Citizen movement claim that they are above the law and don't need to follow any rules.  There's been an uptick of SC related incidents since Obama became president including the shooting deaths of two policemen in Arkansas and the shooting of Gabby Giffords and others in Arizona a couple of months ago.

But this blog post isn't about Cox, it's about peninsula politicians.  Obviously, Wagoner and Bird are suckers for Cox's, um,  ideas, but so is Mayor Dave Carey.  Norm Olson and Mike McBride of ACT were among Cox's handlers and Gary Superman was recognized.

While Congressman Don Young isn't from the Kenai, he does represent us down in DC and Don has been a big supporter of the 2nd Amendment Task Force, of which Cox is the president of the Alaska chapter.

And why all of the political support?  Do they all really believe that we all need to be locked and loaded at all times?  Do they really believe that we should disobey the law?  Do they think that we should kill the representatives of the law?

Maybe they were just pandering for votes among from the right wing-nuts here on the peninsula.  Remember, we voted overwhelmingly for Joe Miller this last election.

If peninsula politicians don't really buy that gov't conspiracy black-helicopter stuff,  maybe they shouldn't pal around with those who do.

Mike Chenault: One Definition of Insanity...

...is, of course, repeating the same mistake and hoping for different results.  We keep electing Mike Chenault to the State House and the results don't get any better.  Let's take a look at some of the inane things that have happened under Mike's watch as Speaker of the house.

The Goose Creek Prison construction project up in the Matsu Valley tops this list.  Already $50 million over budget and not completed, Mike admitted that the fault was probably the Alaska Legislature (which he is in charge of the State House ) for not watching the project more closely.  The prison, originally approved to be built closer to Palmer, was moved to near Pt McKenzie and had to have all utilities and a road brought in at great expense.  Yep, contractor buddies are getting rich, but tax dollars are being poured down the hole.  Even if and when the prison is built, it would still cheaper to house prisoners in Arizona and Colorado.  

Yesterday, the legislature did not approve Governor Parnell's proposal (and endorsed by Chenault) to give the oil industries over $2 billion annually for...well, for no reason since there was never anything attached to the give-away.  And then completely contrary to Parnell and Chenault's contention that exploration is being stifled by the ACES tax structure, two new players announce multi-billion dollar plans for the development of gas and oil WITHOUT the give-away these two wanted.

And then there was the closure of the Nikiski LNG plant that caught Mike by surprise.  That's hard to believe that he didn't get a head's up about that coming, but Mike's only idea?  Let's give away more state money to help out the filthy-rich oil companies. 

So, as long as it is a so-called conservative offering government bail-outs to successful business, it is OK?  What about the free-market?  The gas/oil in the the ground here in Alaska isn't going to go away if it's not drilled for right now.  Already the price of oil is jumping because of the new turmoil in the middle east.  We don't have to cut the oil companies any deals.  As soon as the price is right, things like the gas pipeline will be more economically feasible.  But that time is not now.  Regarding natural gas, the market price is low because of the development of lower 48 reserves that are cheaper to get to buyers.  For oil, well, Great Bear's and Repsol's ( a Spanish oil investment firm) decision to invest nearly a billion dollars, and again, without the give-away of state money, shows that the free market has the answers and that government isn't needed to subsidize business.

Do check out Shannyn Moore's Moore Up North Show for an interview with Senator Wielechowski and the straight scoop about ACES and the Parnell/Chenault scheme.

KPBSD - Unprincipled Principals

OK, here's your challenge: name more than 5 principals in the entire KPBSD that are genuine educational leaders (and not just former coaches), are honest and fair with both students and teachers and are occasionally willing to buck the whims of the Central Oriface and actually let some building decisions be hashed out by parents and faculty.  For years, both the CO and the building leadership positions have been prime examples (with a few notable exceptions) of the Peter Principle - the incompetent rise to the top.

The latest crop of new principal hires might have a few promising candidates, but OMG, Norma Holmgaard (shudder), currently the federal programs director for the district and now the newly appointed replacement for the failed principal at Kenai's Mt. View Elementary, hasn't a clue about education, has poor people skills and a way of being pompously self-righteous. Once, at a public meeting, without ever being able to back up her statements (despite being asked to provide such evidence), proclaimed that bright kids don't need extra challenges in school, and that such challenges were actually harmful to them.

Now, there's some educational leadership for you - if you want to be led down the path to mediocrity.

Political Junkies on Political Junkets

You know the conservatives are in charge when the state and borough credit cards come out and the politicians fly off to DC to meet with lobbyists.  The big story is that 28 state legislatures are off to Washington DC to attend the three 1/2 day Energy Council sessions.  Really - 28?!?  Included in that list is the central peninsula's Tom Wagoner, asleep at the wheel ever since elected, who has forever sat in the sidelines of the state senate and just got caught unawares about the Conoco LNG shutdown.  Is there a golf course nearby?!?

Couldn't a small committee be sent and reports then filed? And three 1/2 sessions are all that is on the agenda? 

Our local borough assembly members, all nine of them, are off to DC next week to attend sessions for some national counties organization.  The borough had to appropriate some $16K for this junket.  Again, do all assembly members really need to go?  And when budget cuts to essential services are in the works, how does this make any sense?

Someone please tell me about the connection between republicans/teabaggers and fiscal responsibility.

Do Tell...Don't Ask?!?

Oh, the ultimate power that being the Borough Assembly President brings.

Gary Knopp has met with Borough Mayor, Davey Carey, to begin reviewing and setting the upcoming budget and they decided that the other assembly members were not to be allowed to talk to the various borough department heads to ask them questions about their current budget needs. Carey already decided to make up his budget without input from the department heads and now ignorance will also be the borough assembly policy.

Now why would you do something so...stupid?!?

Well, why apply logic, sanity and need to political decisions?  Why not just make budgets (and cuts) according to your political agendas rather than by what might be needed to make the Kenai a great place to live?  Brings to mind Tricky Dick's famous quote: Don't confuse me with the facts.

Speaking of logic and sanity, the rumor is that Ron Long, the former borough assembly person from Seward will run for Borough Mayor this fall.  Ron, a successful businessman established a reputation as a fair, honest and knowledgeable man who was able to work with folks of various political persuasions to come up with sensible ideas and solutions to the various issues we face here on the Kenai.

Is there hope for the future?  Don't count on it.  The Kenai is the place where Joe Miller was the top vote-getter in the last US Senate race.  We live in a place where logic and sanity are about as important as fuel efficient vehicles.

Maybe Dale Bagely will also decide to run and he and Carey would split the, um, insanity vote.  Maybe, just maybe there is a chance not to be so SOL here.

OK, joke time.  A version of this made the rounds on FaceBook this morning:

The Koch brothers, a teabagger and a government-workers union employee were invited to a meeting to discuss wages. At the meeting there was a table with a plate of 100 cookies.

The K Bros., because of their VIP status, were able to enter early and before the other two had any idea that there were so many cookies, took 99 of them. When the teabagger and the unionized worker showed up, one of the Kochs pulled the teabagger aside, offered him a bite off of one of their 99 cookies, pointed to the one remaining cookie and the union guy and said "That union person wants most of your cookie"

Dis-Union

As noted in my previous post, since the super-rich were granted another extension of their tax breaks, the EPA and government workers' unions are being targeted by Republicans, Tea Baggers and conservative talk radio.  The previous post here noted the Peninsula Clarion's lame opinion piece that slammed the EPA, and while there doesn't seem to be much of witch hunt for unionized borough and school district personnel right now, both of those entities are looking at budget shortfalls and it will be curious how it all plays out.

Nation-wide, there is little doubt that the war on the middle class is being financed by the likes of the Koch Brothers.  Posing behind grassroots sounding names like Americans for Prosperity and the Tea Party Express these super-wealthy corporate masters manipulate those who are suckers for simplistic solutions that don't solve a thing.  But the PR is good and supported by the Rush Limbaughs and Glen Becks of talk radio.  A classic divide and conquer technique pitting average Americans against each other while the filthy rich get filthier. 

There was an interesting piece in the NYTimes comparing the tax rates of the security guards and janitors in the Hemsley Building in NYC, where the average resident had an adjusted income that exceeded $1million.  The bottom line, the poor paid a higher % of their income to taxes than the super rich.  And yet those same wealthy folks just got themselves a nice big tax break.  The rest of us?  Cuts to services, loss of jobs, and taking away the few things that help the middle class stay middle class.

Time To Apply a Strong Hand With the Clarion

Now that the super-rich have been given the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts and as the costs of two unfunded wars and the interest on that borrowed money mount, the US has plunged further into deficit spending. To divert attention to their own culpability, the right-wingers have have been quick to point fingers.  Obama's recovery plan was an easy initial target and so has been the health reform passed last year.  We'll not go into the merits of either here and now. But recently there have been two new whipping boys of talk radio and winger-blogs: unions and the EPA.

The Clarion chose to rip the EPA in its recent opinion piece, Time to apply a strong hand with the EPA.  What rot, but surprisingly so, what unabashed rot.  The writer doesn't even pretend to see a need for any sort of environmental protection, but rather simply whores for the jobs that unchecked development might bring, no matter the destruction it would cause.  


Without the EPA (which was created with a Republican in the White House) there's no doubt that development would be done without a care about the health of either the people or the planet.  If you think otherwise, think back to the time some 40 years ago when rivers in the US were so polluted that they caught fire. Do just a little bit of investigation on the drilling/production practices of the major players in developing countries.  In Ecuador, where the oil companies have rigged the game in their favor by bribing politicians and writing their own laws (sound familiar?), the courts have just awarded $9 billion to be paid by Chevron/Texaco to the indigenous jungle people for that company's wanton and reckless dumping of 18 billion gallons of toxic wastes and the spilling of 17 million gallons of crude oil in the upper Amazon basin. Look at the destruction and corruption done by big oil in Nigeria.

But everyone is blaming the EPA for stifling development.  Whatever.  Damn, we are lucky that we have that agency.


There was an interesting post in The Economist, a leading world-wide business magazine published in Britain and usually spot-on concerning economic/political issues.  One of the wikileaks revelations was that the Saudis have exaggerated their oil reserves.  The Economist predicts a steep increase in natural gas and oil prices and suggests that development now is not a good business idea. After all,  why be in such a rush to get your product to the market when prices are low?  And low natural gas prices are certainly the reason Conoco and Marathon are shutting down the Nikiski LNG plant - Alaska gas is priced out of the market right now.  Forget all talk of bullet lines and other such natural gas pipelines.  It's cheaper to import the resource than to produce it here right now.  It's a simple business matter controlled by an oversupply caused by new technologies, new discoveries and gas/oil fields located in places that are just easier to get to market.


But it won't be like that forever. Eventually that gas and oil we have in the ground is really going to worth developing.  If we were to do so today, it means giving billions of dollars away to the most profitable businesses in the world - corporate welfare at its worse.  And a bad business decision.


It's like a savings account protected safe underground for now.  We, along with the politicians in Juneau, have shown little sense in how we spend and give away the state's money.  Why should we be in such a rush to throw more money away? 


Let the free market decide.  There's no reason to give away these reserves at bargain prices and subsidize the oil companies to boot.  After all, these reserves are our children's inheritance.  


It will mean some belt-tightening for we Alaskans, but aren't we calling for that on a national level?  And in the long-run, it will be best for the future of Alaska.

Wake Up and Smell the Giveaway

Oh, Boy.  $1,000,000,000 + and that is just a start of the serious money that the State of Alaska is proposing that we give away to the oil industry, those very same companies that posted record profits. And what for? To protect oil companies from the vagaries of the free market system.  The governor and all of our locally elected officials that represent the Kenai in Juneau would give this amount of money and more to the oil companies without actually requiring them to guarantee that they would do more exploration or drilling. BTW, the state has already given these companies about $3,000,000,000 in breaks in the last four years with no guarantees.  Guess what? In this case, you don't get what you pay for. If you haven't read Mike Doogan's take on this, you should click here.

So, the oil companies are stinking rich, the state is flush.  Why the rush to promote development by giving away subsidies to the filthy rich?  What happened to free market system dictating development?  Why are those who decry government bailouts for the bankrupt auto industry the first to want to bailout extremely profitable oil companies? 

And then Mike Chenault has this piece in the Clarion about how we need to act or opportunities will pass us by.  Wow, that sounds we should do something and do it now, but just what are you proposing Mr Chenault?

Some other competitor beat the price that Conoco and Marathon was selling LNG to the Japanese.  Business happens.  And it wasn't because of regulations or taxes - with new technologies, new fields in the world and a glut of natural gas on the market, Alaskan natural gas is just priced out of the market right now.  Is Mike proposing that the state subsidize an in-state pipeline when there is not much of a market for the product?  That smacks of something that is not free-market capitalism to me. Well, Mike really doesn't offer much of a plan as there are no facts, no figures, no projections, just some sort of sense of impending doom and gloom. 

Please, someone help me understand this.  Yes, we have oil in the ground and offshore.  Yes, we have tremendous reserves of natural gas. Does anyone really have any doubt that sooner or later, these fields will be developed?   Our state fiscal reserves are brimming, and while production is certainly down, revenues for the oil owned by the state are the envy of every other state in the nation.

And when the price is right, and it sure isn't now, the state will make a bunch of money, the oil companies will make a lot of money, but maybe you and I won't make a lot.  But maybe our kids and grandkids will.  We've already proven that we'll piss away what we get.  Let's hope that our kids aren't quite as dumb .

And if you are of the tea-bag persuasion, here's your golden moment.  If you really believe in the free market and no government bailouts, don those tri-corner hats and just tell those republican politicians in Juneau that garsh-darn it no, no more subsidies for the most profitable businesses on the planet. Yeah right.  I won't hold my breath.

Of course there is a fallout to it all.  By giving away our natural gas at subsidized prices to Agrium and their fertilizer plant and to Conoco and Marathon to sell to the Japanese, enough natural gas was produced to offer the citizens of the Kenai the gas at relatively affordable prices.  Now that the free market is about to reclaim its place, we are all going to give more to Enstar.  The free market sucks when you have to pay market prices, but that is the way supply and demand works, isn't it?

Now imagine that we got smart.  Instead of paying $500,000,000 to Transcanada for looking into building a natural gas pipeline across Canada (surely that will create a lot of AK jobs), instead of giving the oil companies over $4,000,000,000 in subsidies, instead of thinking about giving  $150,000,000 to the Knik Arm Bridge developers, instead of the $11,000,000+ to study The road to Nome which could cost a few billion by the time it is completed, instead of funding the $5,000,000,000 Susitna Dam, let's take that all of that money and begin moving AK to sustainable clean energy (and maybe on a local rather than grand scale), fully fund our universities to attract and keep the best and brightest minds, help more homeowners make their homes energy efficient (and reducing the demand for more fossil fuels), develop viable mass transit and promote and develop businesses and industries that match the needs of the changing world?

Then our kids and grandkids might have a fighting chance.

Mayor Carey: We've Got To Keep Moving (down the road to hell): Part 2

Last week, I posted about Carey's call for the development of the Chuitna Coal mine.  Please, some one out there try to explain to me how destroying a productive salmon stream and shipping dirty coal to China to help power their factories and put more Americans out of work is a good idea? If you think developing this mine is just totally whacked, please do attend DNR public hearing this Wednesday night, January 19,  from 6-9 PM at the Challenger Learning Center.  This will be the one and only opportunity you will have to let the powers know that this is just a lousy idea.

And Mayor Davey is also all about developing the Pebble Mine too.  Once again, salmon be damned. Once again, let's destroy one of the last great ecosystems left on the planet so some multi-national mining company can make billions.  Sometimes, it is not just all about the money.

Alaska Oil Companies Need Your Money

Despite record profits, neither State Senator Tom Wagoner nor House Speaker Mike Chenault think that the oil companies make enough money and are both proposing to enable those businesses to give their executives even larger bonuses.  Of course, like back in the days of the blatant CBC (corrupt bastard club) Mike and Tom are reciting the oil company talking points, but have no real corroborating evidence that ACES has really stifled production or exploration.  The number of Slope workers is greater than what it was before ACES was passed, and the decline of production in the existing fields is what happens when you pump them for 25+ years.  Just like last year when there was some movement to eliminate ACES, the proposals did not have a clause that guaranteed the companies would ramp up exploration/production if they were given a break.  Nope - just give them the money.

Is ACES perfect? Of course not, but the only one with a better proposal was Ethan Berkowitz, who did not get elected governor. Read about his plan here.


What about the guy we did elect to be the Guv'?  The legislature is planning to give him a 40% pay raise - that's right $50,000.  And the guy has not one bright idea about anything. 

Let's see, Alaskans elect Frank Murkowski over Fran Ulmer.  Fran is honest, capabale and has some great ideas. Frank buys a jet and crowns his daughter.  Then we elect Sarah Palin.  Let's not even go there (ACES was her baby by the way). And then we elect Parnell and the first thing that gets taken care of might be his pay raise.

Please tell me exactly why anyone thinks the Republicans are the fiscally conservative party?  They are the union of the ridiculously rich with an army of those incapable of doing anything but reciting talk radio propaganda.

Mayor Carey: We've Got To Keep Moving (down the road to hell): Part 1

Oh, Davey, just whom do you get advice from and who writes your speeches?  Is thinking about the consequences of your proposals ever allowed? 

SOL to the rescue.

Let's start with your out-of-total context quip from the AK constitution that we're a resource development state.  You imply that we then have no other choice but develop each and every resource no matter what.  You can't just use the parts of the constitution that support your point of view.  The AK Constitution also says that we are conservation state too.  And more importantly, that development must be based on sustainable yield.

So let's start with the Chuitna Coal project.  OK - just to be clear, this mine would cut right through and destroy a world-class salmon stream by removing 11 miles of the river with an open-pit mine. The coal will be not be used here, but shipped off to China and will fuel their cheap-labor merchandise that will put more Americans out of work.  Then they will burn this very dirty stuff and cause even more environmental damage to the planet.  Oh, the tailings?  Mercury, arsenic and other poisons that not only would destroy the water table there, but would flow into Cook Inlet. 

And what about the salmon?  We have ours with the Kenai River, so screw the rest?  The salmon can be maintained as sustained yield guaranteeing Alaskans jobs and recreation for generations to come.

The open pit will sustain a few rich developers for a few years, create short-term jobs at the pit, but send many other Americans jobs to China.

You should put away that 49 star flag Dave and get out that Red one with the five stars. Anyone who supports this has obviously sold their soul to the god of greed.

There is a hearing about the mine at the Challenger Learning Center in Kenai on Wednesday the 19th at 6 pm.

7651 Local Idiots; 10,231 Peninsula Idiots

Yeah, name calling is a juvenile and mostly Republican occupation, but here I am calling the 10,000+ Kenai Peninsula people and 7000+ central peninsula folks who voted for Joe Miller, idiots.

I just can't think of a more appropriate word to describe the insanity of that fact.

Every day prior to the election, new stories came out about that slime ball's hypocrisy and lies.  He applied for an in-state hunting and fishing license before he lived in-state for a year AND applied for the license for poor people - despite building a $400,000 house that year.  He's against things like gov't services for the unfortunate, but had no trouble enrolling most of his 8 kids in Denali Day Care.  He is against federal largess, but received federal subsidies for farmland.  He was reprimanded for hacking the computers of his fellow workers and then using those computers to send illegal political messages while employed by the Fairbanks borough.  He then had the gall to say it was the fault of his co-workers for not securing their computers better.  His hired thugs roughed up a reporter who had the audacity to ask him some questions.  He refused to answer questions about his unethical behavior.  He lied about each of his opponents positions on almost all of the issues.  He was heavily subsidized by Outside corporate sponsors that definitely don't have Alaskan interests at stake. He continues to try to disenfranchise Alaskan voters and will announce sometime today if he will appeal to a Federal Court.  So much for the state's rights that he and his followers profess to espouse.  Jeez -what more proof does one need that this man is in it for his own ambition and that truth, integrity and sincerity be damned.

But more 10,000 of our neighbors on the peninsula with over 7500 of them from right here in the central peninsula still voted for him.  What is up with that?

It can't mean anything else but that we are surrounded by folks that have no critical thinking skills, are easily manipulated by phony ideological rhetoric, and that have absolutely no common sense.

In a word, idiots.  We are SOL in SOLdotna for sure.

The final vote tabulations:
4783 - McAdams

10, 231(7651 from the CP) - Miller -

6702 - Mercowskee

I'm Baaaaaaack!

Let me begin by dispelling the rumor that my long absence was the consequence of being placed in protective custody at Wildwood.  Let's just say I had to leave the country for a while.  The federal government was only slightly involved.

I did pay attention while I was in places where English wasn't spoken and did come away with some consistent observations:

1) I didn't see any obese people (other than some tourists from the US).  Most towns/cities had vibrant central business areas where most folks shopped/did business on foot.  Not much pre-processed food available.  I saw one Hummer (driven by...you guessed it, someone from the US).

2) China.  I was no where near that country, but they are everywhere.  They are providing developing countries with what they need: cheap consumer goods ranging from home appliances to little motorcycles.  Guess what?  They have also cornered the alternate energy market.  Even in some very remote and impoverished places that have no (or unreliable) power sources, most every home has solar panels from China that provide enough energy to run  a few lights, a TV and a satellite dish.   Small-scale is good.

3) There's a powerful and growing middle class in developing countries.  The growth of the bourgeoisie is bringing (relative) political stability, prosperity and safety to these countries.  And many of the economies have experienced more growth than what we've had here.

4) Environmental protection laws are a good thing.  I know SOLdotna, anyone who recycles here is a considered an extreme whacko greenie,  but if you think that protecting the environment is a bad thing, go check out countries where those laws don't exist or where no one even thinks of enforcing them.  It's horrific.  But it was encouraging that it is the local, ordinary folks, the ones who live with the consequences of putting profits ahead of safety and poisoning the land (and humans), that are insisting that rules are put in place and enforced.  So far, greed and corruption still have the upper hand.

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?