REFLECTIONS

In this issue: 1. Stevens 2. Mosque
3. Summer 4. Bailout 5. Pebble 6. Standing

Howdy all, a few Interesting Items for your information. Enjoy –

1. Stevens. Alaska lost one of our founders last week in a small plane crash not far from Dillingham in western Alaska. Former Senator Ted Stevens, who was the longest serving Republican in the Senate, and four others died in a plane crash on a foggy hillside. They were on their way to a fish camp for fishing trip. The pilot had over 28,000 hours and extensive flight experience in the area. Stevens was defeated for his last reelection in 2008 largely due to an illegal and fraudulent prosecution for corruption by the Public Integrity Section of the US (In)Justice Department. The convictions were tossed out months after the voters had their say. To date, none of the prosecutors have faced RICO or fraud charges. Stevens was part of the move toward statehood for Alaska during the Eisenhower administration. He helped open the Alaskan North Slope for oil and natural gas exploration and production. He was instrumental in passage of legislation that built the Trans Alaskan Pipeline System (TAPS). He carried – deservedly so – a lot of stroke in this state. He will be missed and his passing is a Great Sadness.

2. Mosque. President Obama managed to nationalize a local issue last Friday with a vigorous defense of the Islamist Victory Mosque overlooking Ground Zero in NYC. As usual, he came down squarely on the side of the Islamists and against the sensibilities of locals who remember very clearly the Act of War perpetrated by 19 Muslims against America on that spot. Public opinion nationwide is running about 70-30% against the construction of the Muslim Victory Mosque. This episode also clearly illustrates the difference between the elites of the Ruling Class and the rest of us. All permitting and zoning approvals in NYC were fast tracked through the system – usually with unanimous votes in support of Mosque construction. In contrast, a Greek Orthodox Church which was destroyed in the attack has been denied permission to reconstruct their building since 9-11. The Church has an active congregation that is meeting elsewhere. Why is a Victory Mosque for the Caliphate more acceptable than rebuilding a church that was on site before the attack? The Imam who is pushing construction of the Victory Mosque is a guy who blamed the US for the 9-11 attacks and for creating Bin Laden. The $100 million for Mosque construction has been well hidden, but is expected to mostly come out of the ruling family in Saudi Arabia along with some from Iran. Why is it a Good Thing to build Victory Mosques here in the US using Wahhabi and Iranian money? Obama and the left have tried to frame this argument as a freedom of religion for Muslims argument. It isn’t working, as everyone else is framing this as an act of war by the Muslims, as they always place a mosque in the center of the most recent conquest. You need not look any farther than Rome, Constantinople (Istanbul), Bethlehem or Jerusalem. They conquer and build a mosque in the center of the place they intend to rule from. And NYC is next on the hit parade. Finally, compare and contrast the newfound respect for the First Amendment provisions on religion with the 40-year anti-Christian jihad conducted by the Left. Given their newfound respect for that amendment as it applies to Muslims, imaging what they would do should it apply equally to Christmas celebrations, crosses on public property, and other Christian religious symbology that has been banished by the leftists infesting the federal judiciary over the course of the last half century.

3. Summer. We set a record in Anchorage this summer with 31 days of measurable precipitation over the latter part of July and first part of August. Temperatures have been close to setting record minimums for daily highs for most of the summer. Local gardens are late with fruits and vegetables. And worst of all, the Canadian geese are flying south 2-3 weeks earlier than normal. Some of us are expecting a very tough winter this year. I don’t think we are seeing the effects of manmade global warming due to carbon dioxide emissions. I think the long transition from solar cycle 23 to 24 has caught up with us here in the soon to be Cold Frozen North.

4. Bailout. The democrat majority in congress passed another $26 billion stimulus last week. The money was intended to fund new public employees (mainly teachers) hired with the 2009 stimulus dollars. The rest of it was sold as a jobs bill. Like every other stimulus / jobs legislation out of this crowd, what they are really doing is not what they say they are doing. The majority of this new stimulus is really going to prop up union retirement accounts. School districts are not rehiring teachers. They are taking the money and applying it to union retirement obligations that they no longer can afford. This last bailout, like all the others before them, is aimed squarely at democrat union voters. And they are doing it all on our dime.

5. Pebble. This summer opposition to the Pebble Mine in western Alaska heated up nicely. I wrote in earlier editions about a series of Trout Unlimited ads in opposition and wondered who was paying that tab. It now appears that he Obama administration via the EPA may be on the verge of weighing in and pre-empting all mining activities statewide via provisions of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. The vehicle will be a little-used power to peremptorily prohibit “discharge” of mining waste (crushed or broken rock) in the surrounding environment. Basically they intend on using their regulatory powers to prohibit the mine from digging a hole in the ground and moving crushed rock out of the hole (which is kind of the definition of mining) – regardless of whether this activity introduces anything harmful into surrounding streams or not. The locals in and around Bristol Bay are enthusiastically in support of this action, and are demanding the EPA step into the State of Alaska and immediately take action. We even saw a LA Times article late last week written with the assistance of fools from the local fishwrapper, discussing the controversy. The LA Times article was most notable in that it low-balled the value of the mineral find at Pebble (approaching a trillion dollars in reality – the LA Times claimed $300 million). The article also wildly over estimated the total value of the red salmon fishery in Bristol Bay at $440 million. Bristol Bay is one of the poorest parts of the state, regularly needing legislative bailouts when the fishery fails. The LA Times also low-balled the number of new jobs should Pebble be mined, while wildly overestimating the number of fishing jobs (all of which were claimed to be high value jobs) in the fishing fleet. Nobody on the anti-Pebble side entertained the notion that we can do both things at the same time, thus growing the overall economic pie. The locals and the native corporations involved need to be very careful inviting the EPA into Alaska to meddle in our business. For once started, the EPA will not stop. This is the same EPA that is hell-bent on regulating carbon dioxide emissions. The Bristol Bay commercial fishing fleet is all diesel powered, emitting vast amounts of carbon dioxide, soot, and other pollutants into the atmosphere when they are out in the water chasing red salmon around. They also spill some measurable amount of diesel into the “pristine” waters of Bristol Bay during their fishing operations. This is the same EPA that is also starting to regulate dust raised while farming in the Midwest. There are not a lot of paved roads in Bristol Bay. The anti-Pebble clowns need to be very, very careful, lest they loose a monster into their world that will not stop after it slays their selected target.

6. Standing. Judge Walker continues to legislate from the Bench in his effort to overturn the California ban on gay marriage. His latest trick is to question standing of Prop 8 supporters to intervene in the case. He has a governor in Schwarzenegger and a state Attorney General in Jerry Brown who both refuse to defend the seven million Californians who voted for the ban. He refused to allow one community to intervene on the grounds that it had no standing while allowing San Francisco to intervene against Prop 8 because it did have standing. He is allowing people who oppose the gay marriage ban standing to appeal while refusing supporters that right. And if the elected officials of the state of California refuse to uphold the Law, he uses it as a vehicle to help support his argument that the law is not supported by the general public. In short, this judge is using his power as a federal judge to push a change in the law that will personally benefit him and his live-in partner. He is abusing his authority and should resign his office. Jerry Brown needs to be very careful, as he is running for Governor. His Republican opponent Meg Whitman only needs to point out that if elected, she will faithfully execute the laws of the state of California – all of them. Brown will not.

More later — AG

“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”
- Samuel Adams, speech at the Philadelphia State House, August 1, 1776.

Note: Interesting Items can be found also at the following locations: MatSu Valley News and the home page. Rod Martin’s The Vanguard site is also a long-time supporter of this column. Alex Gimarc is a long-time member of the previous Town Hall Conservative group.