AlaskaPundit

A response!

2005-03-30T21:13:00.000-08:00

My letter to the Juneau Empire did get through after all, and ran last Friday. Pretty cool, and a coworker complemented it. Then yesterday a Mark Ridgway wrote in response. It is too bad that the letter to the ed. page really doesn't provide a good forum for this type of debate as he raised some good points, but also ignored half of mine. Ah-well, I've linked to his letter above and posted it below.
Oh, and he used "Mr. Storey" way too much.

Iraqi deaths need to be added to equation
Letter to the editor

In response to Mr. Storey's letter on March 25, "Sometimes War is the Answer", I suppose, but what exactly is the question?

I cannot honestly say I am sure that we should or should not be in Iraq. I do know I tended to believe Colin Powell's U.N. testimony, complete with vials of white powder and smudgy aerial photos depicting weapons of mass destruction, that Saddam Hussein's Iraq could pose a threat to the United States.

But that is not what Mr. Storey's letter hangs its hat on. Mr. Storey implies that sometimes atrocities are so great that action is required, that nations must declare war, sometimes, to right these wrongs. Hard to argue with.

Mr. Storey supports his justification of war in Iraq in part by recalling Rwanda. He recalls the lack of U.S. response in Rwanda in 1994, and the 800,000 people who died there. This justification elicits thoughts of a cost/benefit analysis- a very serious one. Hundreds of thousands of people died, in part, because those who could did not act. If I can be allowed to paraphrase Mr. Storey: sometimes there are enough innocent people dying that action, meaning war, is warranted. Again, a hard point to argue.

What Mr. Storey fails to provide is the number of innocent deaths in this case. Therefore, he fails to complete his own argument with regards to Iraq. Doesn't the evaluation have to include some mention of Iraqi deaths under their previous regime and how many Iraqis have died as a result of U.S. action? Mr. Storey is spouting pre-packaged rhetoric with regards to Iraq if he does not know, provide or care about information regarding how many Iraqis have died.

A study designed and conducted by Johns Hopkins and reported on CNN last October estimated that around 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died since the United States invaded Iraq in March of 2003. The experts from the United States and Iraq said most of those who died were women and children, and air strikes from coalition forces accounted for most of the violent deaths. This doesn't include the Gulf War.

I, like Mr. Storey, am deeply proud to be a citizen of a country that has done so much when war was the answer. In regards to Iraq, I believe legitimate questions remain.

Mark Ridgway

Juneau

War Protesters

2005-03-19T08:23:00.000-08:00


I've tried e-mailing this to the Juneau Empire, but it's been kicked back twice now.

So it here is, my contempt for dishonest war protesters.

So war protesters are out waving their signs and
displaying their faux-coffin.  Good for them, for
unlike Saddam Hussein's Iraq, dissent against our
government is not a death sentence.  I take particular
offense, though, at two of their signs.  One says
“Support our Troops: bring them home” while the other
reads that “War is not the Answer.” 

I suppose those rescued from concentration camps at
the end of World War Two might disagree with the
latter, but perhaps they wouldn’t have welcomed the
war which liberated them.  Perhaps the over 800,000
Rwandans who were massacred in 1994 because the UN and
the United States refused to step in could have
benefited from American war actions.  But War was not
the answer for Bill Clinton nor the United Nations,
and so those poor people died.  Or the women who were
raped by Saddam’s sons and the thousands of Iraqis who
were killed on the orders of Saddam might not have
tought war was the answer; but they’re dead so we’ll
never know.  War is a terrible action, but sometimes,
it is indeed the answer.

Now lets talk about supporting our troops.  The United
States has an all-volunteer force, we who have served,
or are serving now, are aware of the obligations and
the hardships that even a reservist might face.  You
cannot support our troops by devaluing the very
mission in which they are engaged.  It is impossible
to say that “I hate the commander in chief, I detest
the mission, I abhor how the military acts in Iraq,
but I still support the troops.” That is an
intellectually weak argument and our troops deserve
better.

If you oppose the war, just say it that simply. That’s
more honest then disguising an agenda as concern for
our sailors and soldiers.

Sunday runs

2004-12-12T15:12:00.000-08:00

It's a problem sometimes having two dogs and being a runner. Fred, my dog and the oldest, used to be my steady running partner. But now that I'm in marathon mode, I don't take him as much. He stops and sniffs or pulls off to one side too much. Not his fault, that's how I trained him to run as I used to live in an area where he could run off leash. Then there's Tess, nine months and we've down a bad job lf leash training her. She jumps up, tries to grab the leash, and so forth. She also has three type of herd dog in her and as a result she likes to nip at my heels.

But on to my run.. My legs felt exhausted after the first mile on the track, this run was two days after my longest run to date, so instead of the two I planned to do there, I cut to the road and did two miles there. Going into the third overall mile my legs felt great, blood was flowing and I felt very steady.

So went home, picked up Fred, did a mile with him. Pretty easy pace as Fred was doing the aforementioned antics. Then we picked up Tess and did a third of a mile. Wow, surprised I didn't bit it the number of times the leashes got crossed and my heels were nipped.

Overall, very good run.

Coming week will be on a treadmill inside as I am in Anchorage Monday through Friday for seminars. Hopefully the hotel treadmill has incline control as trails around here are pretty flat.

In the lion's den

2004-12-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

Should have posted this earlier.

Working for the government now, I've always understood government employees as fairly liberal had that underscored for me last week.

In a conference on how communities can better enhance shore activities, an offhand comment that roughly said "How can these residents be supporting this?"

A participant then said, "We'll they voted for Bush too."
We'll, never one to back down I asked what was wrong with that.

Pin drop time.

LOL

Running is on the brain

2004-12-07T22:37:00.000-08:00

26.2. I'm crazy. I know it. I'm freaking crazy.
Still I want to do it.
August 6, 37 years old.
I'm going to do it.
Oh Lord bless my knees.

Washington State Governor's Race

2004-12-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

This takes you to the lastest on the attempts down in Washington by the Democrats to steal the governor's

ALaska's capitol

2004-12-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

Alaska's capitol needs to stay as far away from Anchorage as possible.

Simple sentence yet hard for many to understand. Anchorage wields undue influence over the rest of the state owing to the fact that most people live in or around that city. Most state employees are already located there and the airport and the sea port are the largest in the state.

If the capitol were to move to Anchorage the rest of the state would simply become suburbs of Anchorage and the governor would be a glorified mayor.

Is Juneau the perfect location? No, it is not. I, as a new Juneau resident, would prefer to see the Capitol relocated to Delta Junction or Fairbanks. Someplace n the Interior. Let the southern politicians be forced to go north for a change, let them experience first hand how large this state actually is.

Benefits would include economic stimulus in undeveloped portions of the state and it would spur some actual investment in statewide transportation facilities as material is shipped to build essentially a new city.

Maybe this could stimulate some actual road building in other places.

Absent that the capitol stays here.

The Groningen Protocol

2004-12-05T19:28:00.000-08:00

I was born and did a lot of growing up in Portland, Oregon and was saddened when a assisted suicide law was approved by the voters. The state should never make it legal for doctors to help people kill themselves. It devalues life and deadens the appreciation of life.

The Dutch also have suicide laws, and laws that allow doctors to kill patients who have no chance for a quality of life that they approve of. They have now taken it a step further.

The Groningen Protocol, so called after the hospital where they were first proposed, allows doctors to kill children up to the age of 12 if they deem the child's life is not worth the resources dpent preserving it. They, the doctors, do not need parents permission or approval:

Under the Groningen protocol, if doctors at the hospital think a child is suffering unbearably from a terminal condition, they have the authority to end the child's life. The protocol is likely to be used primarily for newborns, but it covers any child up to age 12.
The hospital, beyond confirming the protocol in general terms, refused to discuss its details.

"It is for very sad cases," said a hospital spokesman, who declined to be identified. "After years of discussions, we made our own protocol to cover the small number of infants born with such severe disabilities that doctors can see they have extreme pain and no

hope for life. Our estimate is that it will not be used but 10 to 15 times a year."

A parent's role is limited under the protocol. While experts and critics familiar with the policy said a parent's wishes to let a child live or die naturally most likely would be considered, they note that the decision must be professional, so rests with doctors.

In the recent election many on the Left compared President Bush to Hitler and the Nazi regime. Here is a bit of history that makes a true comparsion.

Washington State Governor's Race

2004-11-29T19:24:00.000-08:00

John Fund has a piece on how the Dems in Washington are trying to steal the governor's race. Dino Rossi was ahead by 261 votes after the initial tally and after the recount, with some questionable tactics in King County, his lead is down to 42.

A hand recount is now widely expected. Of all methods of counting, the hand recount has got to be the least dependable

With over 2.8 million votes cast in the race, there is no method of counting that is statistically accurate to 42 votes.

Rossi won the initial count and the recount and that should be the end of it.

In any case, the hand recount should include the entire state and not cherry picked counties that the Dems want.

Sanity in Rolling Stone?

2004-11-27T22:51:00.000-08:00

Power Line has a post on an article from Rolling Stone on the recent election and the Democrats problem..

Worth reading.

Pat Tillman, SI Sportsman of the year.

2004-11-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

Sports Illustrated to doing a fan poll for their Sportsman of the year.

Pat Tillman, the man who gave up a football career and finally his life when he realized there are things bigger than a game.

Vote often, vote early, vote Tillman.

Hat tip to Blogs of War

Handicapping Governors in 06

2004-11-26T11:51:00.000-08:00

Caught this from PoliPundit on the breakdown of Governors races in 2006. Mostly agree but think Alaska is in a weaker position to retain than he belives. The GOPs best bench warmer just got spanked by his fellow house members.

Dang it Hawker! you should have known better.

Alaska needs to be weaned

2004-11-25T13:17:00.000-08:00

This type of news, from U.S. and World Report, is why I believe Alaska's Congressional delegaton actually hurts our long term econmic growth.

Steven's is stepping down from the Appropiations Committee chair and will no longer have direct control of the purse strings, although he will still be able to steer a huge amount of money to the state in his remaining time in the Senate. But that is the question, how much longer will he remain?

Don Young also controls the purse strings in the House, and both his seat and the GOP House majority are safe for at least another six years, but those years will pass quickly.

Lisa Murkowski is doing her best to steer money Alaska's way, but once Steven's leaves, her task will be much harder.

Which brings me back to my original thought, how does building dependance on government contracts allow for sound fiscal growth for Alaska's business when the money dries up?

Awarding no-bid contracts to Alaska firms does not allow them the needed experiance of market competition, and when, not if, the federal money ceases, those firms are going to finally be required to pay the piper.

What makes politicians?

2004-11-24T21:19:00.000-08:00

The House rebellion has me thinking about how politicians develop. Unlike others, I do not think “politician” is a dirty word, and tend to admire those develop true leadership in the field. That being said, I think that Ethan Berkowitz is the most effective politician in the state.

To be sure, he has willing accomplices in the state press. But he is very effective in getting the minority position out and he takes advantage of the opportunities presented to him.

The Republican majority, on the other hand, have become used to power and their main battles are fought between a Republican House and Republican Senate. They don’t even have the chance to battle a governor from an opposing party now that Frank Murkowski won his election. The House-Senate battles do not produce politicians with good combative skills as the majority of the fights are over quibbles and the House-Senate reconciliation contain items which benefit both sides.

The minority party, particularly those who don’t quit in frustration, have to develop excellent political skills to accomplish even the littlest of things: they want a construction project in their district, they have to practice their persuasion skills to a hostile audience.

Or they can go the Newt Gingrich route and point out every flaw, bang every podium, and generally get your face in front of every camera. Newt did this throughout the 80s and it paid of in the 90s as mini-scandals and the hubris of a majority party caught up with the Democrats in D.C.

Is this now happening in Alaska? I suspect that to a small degree it is. Berkowitz is following the Gingrich model and taking advantage of every stumble.
I predict, although it pains me to do so, that the Dems will be picking up enough seats to take over at least one Chamber in no later than the next 4 years.

Retribution comes down to the Alaska House

2004-11-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

The punishment for the aborted House rebellion has been handed down. It is not as severe as it could have been with only two rebellious GOP members losing ranking positions. For Pete Kott, the once and almost future speaker, he didn't have a chairmanship to lose and it sounds like he is still sulking. As of yesterday he still hasn't been in official contact and it is unclear if he will even remain in the caucus.

This episode is a good lesson for new Speaker Harris. He was blindsided by the Democrats and Kott, but was able to persuade members back into the GOP fold with the possible loss of only one majority member: Kott. He learned that the Democrats are not to be trusted too far, and he learned to watch his flanks.

I suspect, on no evidence whatsoever, that Ethan Berkowitz of Anchorage was the prime mover in this and deluded Kott with dreams of "bipartisanship." Yes, in quotes as I suspect the Senate would not look kindly at bills passed out of the House if it was organized in such a fashion.

Have to hand it to Berk though, if he was the prime mover behind this he succeeded in sowing dissension in the House GOP and giving them a black eye in the opinion of state press who now condemn them for partisan politics (not that the press needed help with this), and if he was just a bystander who took advantage of an opportunity he still comes out of this fiasco with his political credentials in high shine.

Committee Head snoops

2004-11-21T17:08:00.000-08:00

Wow, this has got to be one of the most bizzare items ever to be passed out of committee--The head of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees will have the power to look at anyone's tax return.

Our Uncle Stevens blames this provision on an unnamed staffer and promises immediate repeal. But why on earth would this provision be written in the first place, let alone written so narrowly to grant that authority to just the two people.

Here's excerpts from the Anchorage Daily News:
. . . He got a lot of heat before the vote for an item in the bill that would have given him and a top House lawmaker power to send people to look at Americans' income tax returns. . .

Congressional leaders said it would be repealed before the spending bill becomes law. But Stevens called it a "stain" on his time as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and declined to give the parting speech he'd planned. . .

Stevens' spokeswoman, Courtney Schikora, said she was trying to find out how and why the power to review Americans' tax returns got stuck in the federal spending bill.

Stevens was furious.

"I do apologize to the Senate ... it is more than a mistake. It is a terrible disaster. We will have to examine our procedures to make sure it never happens in the future," Stevens said on the Senate floor during the Saturday night debate.

Lawmakers said the provision would have allowed the leaders of the appropriations committees -- for the moment Stevens in the Senate and Florida Republican Bill Young in the House -- to send people to look at individual and corporate income tax returns. It had no penalties for leaking the information.

Did this unnamed staffer have a political axe to grind and wanted legal cover to search for//lead dirt??

Wow, I want to know the end of this story.

Judging Speech

2004-11-20T11:07:00.000-08:00

The Anchorage Daily News is carrying a story today that has First Amendment overtones as well as the potential for judges to reveal bias before they hear an actual case.

Here's part of the ADN story:
Alaska Right to Life wants judges to reveal their personal opinions about abortion.

But the state Judicial Conduct Commission says taking public positions on political issues is a bad thing for judges to do and could result in them being disqualified from cases involving such issues.

Right to Life's political action committee sued the commission on Oct. 1 in U.S. District Court, claiming that the rules improperly limit a judge's right to free speech under the First Amendment.

As a result, "judicial candidates are unable to make their views known so that the electorate may intelligently evaluate the candidates' personal qualities and their positions on vital public issues before choosing among them on election day," the complaint says.

The defendants include members of the commission and officials of the Alaska Bar Association.

The lawsuit is one of five similar ones nationwide challenging bans against judges taking public positions on controversial political and legal issues, said Will Sherman, an attorney for Alaska Right to Life and a board member.

I think that it is a violation of First Amendment rights to prohibit judges from commenting on the views, particularly since they do stand for a retention type of election, and this prohibition stops voters from knowing candidate's views that allow voters to make informed choices. On the other hand, even in the absence of such a prohibition, there is no method to compel the judges to reveal their views.

The whole argument is really moot however, as judges don't lose elections in Alaska.

Nice comments on Spector

2004-11-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

Captains Quarters has a nice comment on Arlen Spector and his new duties as Chair of the Judiciary Committee

Does Alaska have an isolationist mentality?

2004-11-19T22:49:00.000-08:00

Tip O'Neil, one of the last great Democrats, famously said that all politics are local. But I wonder if Alaska isn't taking that idea to far. A few years back one of our better known politicians, I believe it was Sen. Stevens, opined that Alaska will never have a national stage as we are too isolated.

I believe though, that this mentality reveals a not a geographic isolation, but an unwillingness to be a true player in U.S. politics. None of our political leaders have truly sought a national stage, they are content simply to deal for money to come back to the state.

Would we be better off to have a Senator or Representative who had an international portfolio? Say one who builds strong ties with an Asian country, or one of the high Europe countries? Both those areas are on air routes with Alaska and through the building of this type of relationship, wouldn't Alaska then stand to benefit through increased trade?

Instead, we Alaskans rely on our governor to make our relationships. Which is fine as far as it goes, but the Alaskan model seems to have national politicians who stay around or 20 plus years while the governor is here for eight at the most. And many of Alaska's former governors lacked vision or interest in building strong international ties.

I would like to see Senator Murkowski build strong ties with resurgent Asian tigers that produce partially assembled goods for final assembly in Alaska for final shipping throughout the U.S.

Governor Murkowski talks of building infrastructure throughout the state, and this area has ling been neglected by his predecessors. I fear though that this will not happen unless and until the people can see what will be on the other end of the road.

Empowerment zones need to come to Alaska, and this means we need to join the rest of the world.

Lasar pointers, just not for dogs!

2004-11-18T20:53:00.000-08:00

Just about everyone who has a dog has played laser tag with the canine, got that pup running back and forth and spinning like a dervish.

Well the wife and I were out playing with our dogs the other night, after we were finished we decided to head up to Mendenhall Glacier and see what we could see after dark.

Just for grins we pulled out the pointer and tried to illuminate the glacier. Had to laugh, huge block of ice, little bitty lasar, and a mile between the two. Didn't work, but did have the light dancing all over the ground near us.

Then I saw the bear. Looked over at the wife, she was halfway back to the car. Decided to follow. Poor bear, he probably just wanted some fun.

So, lasar pointers, not just for dogs!

KMart buying Sears

2004-11-17T20:01:00.000-08:00

What will this do for Alaska? K Marts around the state closed last year as part of the company's reorganization while the Sears stores are outlet types or very rundown and shabby. The question now arises, will the increased buying power free up money for the Sears stores to be refurbished? If not, I fear that this will be at best a push for the state.

But if the stock of both companies maintain at least some of today's gains, that should free up capital to revamp the stores.

Juneau is long and skinny

2004-11-16T19:53:00.000-08:00

Juneau is hmmed in on one side by steep mountains and hills and bordered on the other by water. Downtown is built on a series of hills and the town extends down a ways to the Mendenhall Valley which is home the the second major population density in te area. It's all connected by a lingle road (The Glacier Highway doesn't count, it has a couple of interuptions). Two accidents on opposite sides of Egan Drive just about stopped rush hour.

Rebellion over

2004-11-16T19:48:00.000-08:00

Looks like the House Republicans are again toeing the line. And Berk is revealed for a power hungry partison.

I'll have a better breakdown and more is revealed.

Housing problems in Juneau

2004-11-15T20:34:00.000-08:00

When me and the wife came into Juneau we were armed with a pre-approved home loan for $160K. Not enough for the three story dream home, but certainly good for a starter house. Wrong! Of the THREE houses in our price range, two were Mobile homes built pre-1976 (and thereby disqualified by our loan terms) and a two story house in an avalanche zone with the closest parking 45 steps away.

Driving around this new town of mine I'm amazed at the lack of residential housing. To my eye there are no new condos, lots of old Mobile homes, and no apartment buildings newer than the 1970s. All the new construction houses are easily $350K and are not for first time home buyers.

We love this town, but hey, I'm paying through the nose for rent and there are no homes that we can currently afford. How many other professional are in our shoes, how many leave because of it?

Here's an editoral in today's Juneau Empire that speaks to the situation.

I see more posts on this, and on Alaska's general lack of control over its lands.

Developments in the Coup?

2004-11-15T20:18:00.000-08:00

More from ADN, hopefully some of the GOP are coming to their senses. Still haven't seen a list of defectors; they're probably in hiding just in case the coup fails they can can plausible deniabilty.

Heres excerpts from the Daily News:

Valdez Rep. John Harris and his Republican allies claimed the upper hand Sunday after moving frantically to crush a weekend coup in which splinter Republicans joined with Democrats to seize control of the state House.

But the outcome appeared still unresolved as charges and counter-charges flew through the afternoon among divided Republicans.

Legislators who had called each other friend just days before were now describing each other as liars and power-hungry turncoats. Both factions claimed to have enough support to rule the state House.

Harris and his supporters were calling up Republican legislators and telling them to abandon the Saturday rebellion that created the new bipartisan coalition reinstalling the previous speaker, Eagle River Republican Rep. Pete Kott.

Harris, who beat out Kott for speaker in a postelection poll of Republicans this month, said he thinks he has enough support to wrest back control. Kott, who announced the new coalition at a hastily called Saturday night press conference, wasn't talking Sunday.

"We have to see how many in the next few hours are willing to come back and join us," Harris said Sunday. "I think we'll see different headlines before too long."

Palace coup

2004-11-14T20:03:00.000-08:00

What in the world are House Republicans thinking??? Giving power to Ethan Berkowitz is not a sign of bi-partisanship! From what I've observed, Berk is THE most partisan member of the Alaskan House. This is Kott not wanting to give up power plain and simple.

My biggest disappointment is Mike Hawker. He couldn't get his Permanent Fund pass Berkowit's fellow Dems last session, dig he extract promises this time around? What was his 30 pieces?

Here's excerpts from the ADN of Nov. 15

Democrats have joined with about half the Republicans in the state House of Representatives to form a new Republican-led majority coalition, resulting in a stunning change of leadership that nullified the Nov. 5 vote of an all-GOP caucus and reinstalled Rep. Pete Kott as speaker, legislative leaders said Saturday night.

The realignment includes all 13 House Democrats of the 40-member body and, as of Saturday, about a dozen members of the GOP majority, said Ethan Berkowitz, the Anchorage Democrat who until the latest developments had been minority leader.

The coalition's eventual makeup was still fluid, however, and other Republicans who were out of state traveling were expected to get on board, said Rep. Mike Hawker, the Anchorage Republican who is to be the budgetary co-chair of the Finance Committee.

Out of power on Saturday night when only a week ago they had been the putative House leaders were Rep. John Harris of Valdez, the GOP pick for speaker, and Rep. John Coghill of North Pole, who had been selected majority leader.

Coghill, reached by telephone after the changes were announced, said he had no intention of joining the new majority.

Possibly more later

Howdie!

2004-11-14T08:18:00.000-08:00

New Blog!!!

Okay, my other blog wasn't quite working, too much going on. Welcome to Alaska Pundit! A Blog for all those who care about Alaska. Politics at all levels, local going's on, and whatever else catches my fancy.

Hope you all enjoy.

Hope someone actually finds this!

Laugh,

Grey