Permafrost Friday: Attacking our intelligence

Public opinion catches up with reality

Local pollster Dave Dittman released a recent public opinion poll that showed almost 60 percent of respondents were not at all confident that AGIA would result in a pipeline while 34 percent said it would.

It was just a year ago when a majority of those polled felt AGIA would succeed.

Maybe that's why lawmakers are suddenly scrambling to propose every natural gas pipeline idea short of having prison inmates carry the precious cargo 800 miles to tidewater on their backs.

Scrambling Eggs

For the umpteenth time in as many days, lawmakers have a new plan to build an instate Alaska natural gas pipeline. At a recent press conference, the same lawmakers who voted to hitch the state's wagon to AGIA, now fear the project will take too long and won't provide in state gas.

Wait a minute; lawmakers have spent taxpayer time and treasure to over the last three years defending, voting and subsequently awarding an AGIA license and now they're talking about having the Alaska Railroad bond for an in state project?

Today the state's energy strategy seems to be; throw everything against the wall and hope something sticks.   

Don of a new day?

Last week in an interview, Alaska's lone Congressman Don Young was asked about his involvement with the Tea Party movement. I want them to know that nobody represents what they represent more than I do, Young told a KTVA reporter.

So lets get this straight; Don Young thinks he's represents an angry group of taxpayers who have made a name for themselves protesting runaway government spending and taxes?

Meanwhile, Young has long been called the King of Pork and a few years ago proposed raising the nation's gas tax while declaring victory for "stuffing" an appropriations bill "like a turkey."

In addition, as the one of the longest serving Republicans, Young has driven the country so far into debt, taxes will have to be raised on every American to pay for his mismanagement.

During Young's twelve years as Chairman of both the Resources and Transportation committees, the nation's debt doubled from $4.6 trillion to almost $10 trillion.

Don Young seems like the type of poster boy that tea partiers should be calling for his defeat, not celebrating.

Weathering climate change

With all the debate over climate change one statistic seems to have escaped the good news. More than 92% of the U.S. is now drought free, and federal scientists are calling it the most dramatic turnaround since they began keeping records. In August of 2007, almost 50 percent of the country was considered in a state of drought.

Fighting the filibuster

All the chatter about Republicans use of the filibuster in Congress to prevent Democratic legislative proposals like Health Care Reform from moving forward seems to be ignoring recent history. In 2005, Democrats loved the filibuster and used it to stop then President George Bush's judicial picks. 

Today, with Democrats in the majority, they want the ability to end the filibuster. Remember...be careful what you wish for.

As Senate historian Donald Ritchie was recently quoted in TW, it's not a Republican Party or Democratic Party position, "It's a minority party position and a majority party position."    

What goes around comes around.

Don of a new day: Part deux

In the same interview, Young scoffed at anybody challenging him because it would mean he'd be replaced by a "Fresh freshman who doesn't know anything."

Touche Mr. 36 year incumbent as I'm sure you faced that argument when you challenged incumbent Nick Begich back in 1972.

But then again, what is there to know other than the fact that whoever replaces Young should avoid doing exactly what Young has done to Alaskans. After three decades of service, Young is being investigated by the FBI for handing out political favors to donors and has buried Alaskans in so much national debt that our grand kids will probably never dig themselves out.

Oh but other that, he's the only guy who can do the job?

Yeah, explain that to your kids when they're broke from the burden of Young's runaway government spending and debt.