Alaska Redistricting Board: About The Maps And How To Make Sense Of Them

[NOTE:  Board is meeting in Anchorage this afternoon:  

October 4, 2021: Anchorage Public Hearing: 4:30pm-6:30pm: Dena’ina Center 

 Kahtnu Rooms 1 & 2 (up escalators and to the left)

http://notice.alaska.gov/203893  from what I understand the Board will have maps up on the walls and people will be able to talk directly with Board members and staff, ask questions, make suggestions.  Whatever you say, also submit it in writing so it gets on the record.]

The Board's been meeting in SE Alaska and I read their announcements literally that they would simply have maps posted on the walls and the board members (at least two were going to attend these workshops)  who attended would be there to talk to attendees and that nothing would be broadcast.  I didn't look too carefully, because I was more than happy to be doing other things. 

But redistricting has been weighing on me and so let me share some thoughts about how people can figure out what's going on and weigh in on the maps, the heart of redistricting.

1. How many maps are there?
1. Depends on what you mean by 'a map.'  The Board was required to approve a draft map within 30 days of the Census Bureau giving out the official census numbers.  The Board produced two draft maps which they called version 1 and version 2.  (v1 and v2).  Then five other groups (the board calls them 3rd Parties) submitted alternative maps.  
2. After hearing public testimony, the board replaced v1 and v2 with v3 and v4.  The board approved of four of the five 3rd party maps (Doyon, AFFR, AFFER, and the Senate Minority maps.  They rejected the Democratic party map.) The approved maps have been posted on the Board's website along with v3 and v4 and are being shared with the public as the Board gets feedback around the state.  (Rejecting the Democratic map looks bad to casual observers, but it had a lot of issues. When questioned by Board member Borromeo, for nearly every district she asked about, they'd say, "This district has particular problems..."  The public has lots to digest and having one less set of maps map will make it easier for the public and I don't think anything important will be lost.  The Democratic Party is still free to point out aspects of their map that are better than any of the other maps is they feel it's important.)
3. So, there are two board maps and four 3rd party maps.
4. BUT, these are maps of Alaska and there are 40 state House districts.  So each proposal has 
1. a map of Alaska
2. maps of of key cities and regions (ie Anchorage, Fairbanks, Matsu, Kenai, SE, etc.)
3. maps of all 40 districts
5. You can get links to all the maps on the Board's map page.  The maps of Alaska in each plan are interactive - you can move around and enlarge them  to see details.  The individual district maps are pdf files.  If you have the right software and skills, there are also shapefiles.  If I understand this right, these have all the data on them and you can use them to make your own maps, as the 3rd parties did.
6. There's also a link to  an interactive map that overlays all the district borders of all the plans. Below is the AFFR map. The white lines outline AFFR District 25-M in Anchorage.  You can switch maps in the far left red bar (see blue arrow).  

   

   Click on image to enlarge

   
   
7. The Board offers a way to do your own maps.  All the current Alaska data are loaded there.  You can get there here.
2. How do you make sense of the maps?
1. Ah, that's the rub.  My suggestion is that you focus on your own district.  The Board's website has the 2013 plan too on the map page.  Go there.  Find your own district.  Print out that map.  Then start with v3 or v4 and find the district you'd be in with that map.  Print it out and then compare.  Then look at the districts the 3rd parties created for where you live.  
2. You can also go to the public meetings page.  This page lists all the meetings along with the minutes, audio recordings, and the testimony from the public.  You can listen to the tape of the meeting to hear what others are saying about the maps or read the public testimony.  This is where people have raised issues with the maps.  As I write this, they are only caught up to the September 20 meeting.  But there's enough to keep you busy and give you a sense of the key problems people found.  
3. If you notice a problem, how do you let the Board know?
1. Go to a meeting near you and testify.  I try to post info on upcoming meetings current here.  You can also subscribe to notices from the Board here.
2. Call in to a meeting. The meeting notices have a link to the information for calling in and testifying.  You can call in and just listen.  Testimony has been taken at the beginning and end of the meetings.  So if while listening, you can indicate to the operator that you want to testify at the end.
3. Speaking at meetings means you know the Board members heard you.  But if you want your message to be accurately captured, you can write it up at this link.
4. Ideally you do both so you know they heard you and there's an accurate record of your testimony.  
5. If the final plan is challenged in court, all the testimony can be used to show that the Board was informed of problems.  And if the 3rd party maps may be able to demonstrate that the Board's map  has NOT met the Constitutional requirements as well as other possible maps.  
4. But it's still so overwhelming, isn't it?
1. Yes, there's a lot there.  But if you focus on your district and nearby districts, then you can supply information about local issues and concerns.  
2. The 3rd party groups who submitted maps are also paying close attention to the map making and they represent different interests.  They've gotten mapping software in advance and are much more intimately knowledgeable than anyone else will be.  And if they think there are serious problems at the end, the will file a law suit challenging the maps.  The groups are:
1. Alaskans For Fair Redistricting (AFFR) - "Alaskans For Fair Redistricting (AFFR) is a coalition of Alaska Native groups, organized labor, public interest and community organizations. AFFR was created amid the 2000 redistricting process to ensure an equitable map for the people of Alaska"
2. Alaskans For Fair and Equitable Redistricting (AFFER) - This group looks out for Republican interests.  Randy Ruedrich (former Republican Party chair) and Steve Culligan presented the plan.
3. Coalition of Doyon, Ltd., Tanana Chiefs Conference, Fairbanks Native Association, Sealaska, and Ahtna. - This is a consortium of Interior Native Corporations and Sealaska.  Their ostensible interests are making sure that Native Alaskan interests are represented in Juneau.  And presumably they are looking for a map that will favor the various business interests of the Native Corporations. 
4. Senate Minority Coalition - Made up of the state Senate minority caucus and led by Sen. Tom Begich.  Begich has been involved with all the redistricting efforts going back to 1991 I believe and has been an expert witness and testified before the Supreme Court on redistricting.  This is group compensates for the loss of the Democratic Party proposal to some extent.  
3. Find the 3rd Party groups you think most aligned with your interests and contact them. Ask them for more information about the maps and how you can support their positions.  

Of course this is just one slice of what's happening, but the maps are the heart of redistricting so this is a good place to start.  

Redistricting Board Message On Meetings And Testimony

 I've been working on a post about maps - not analyzing the maps, but giving readers a sense of the lay of the land.  It's almost ready and I'll post it tomorrow (looking at the time, I should say later today.)

Meanwhile I just pulled up the message from the Board - you can all subscribe to these updates - which is relevant to the post I'm working on, so I'll just copy it here.

Hello subscribers,

 

Thanks for staying involved in the redistricting process! The board has learned a lot from the first week of public hearings and received a few suggestions on how to make the process better. Apologies in advance for the long email – I wanted to clarify a few things, answer a few recurring questions, and give out some more detailed information about the meeting format.  I’ve also attached a draft schedule for the rest of the month. As the tentative meetings are confirmed, I will be sending out the notice and a revised schedule. It will also be posted on our meeting information site here: Alaska Redistricting Board - Minutes & Audio (akredistrict.org) (you may have to refresh your browser to get the latest version).

 

Open House:  We have received a lot of feedback on the Open House format and I wanted to give a quick explanation. The board adopted six proposals for public input – these proposals have 40 districts each in addition to the six regional/statewide maps which equates to 276 maps to review. There has been a lot of confusion about what is in which map for which proposal and the Open House format allows attendees to view large format printed maps, spend more time comparing the maps they are interested in, have staff assistance viewing the interactive maps on the website, and ask detailed questions of the board members who are there. This format has been very informative to attendees and the Board plans to keep it available in addition to receiving in-person testimony.

 

Written testimony: Since only a few board members will be at each public hearing, written testimony is encouraged as it allows all testimony to be distributed quickly to all board members. Board members have also found that referring to written testimony is especially helpful when going back to the map drawing board. You can submit testimony via our web portal at Alaska Redistricting Board - Map Comment (akredistrict.org) or send email to: testimony@akredistrict.org.

 

In-person testimony: The Board will include an opportunity for “town hall” style in-person testimony at each meeting. The timing will be determined at the meeting based on attendee preference. In-person testimony will be recorded, transcribed, and sent to board members as soon as the transcriptions are complete.

 

Masks: Masking is required at all community public hearings. Our board members and staff are traveling to many locations in the upcoming days and will require that you take this precaution to protect us and members of the communities we are visiting.

 

Call-in testimony: In order to provide an opportunity for all board members to be present to hear call-in testimony, the board is planning to have two statewide call-in dates – these have been scheduled for October 20 and October 30.  To reduce waiting, there will be dedicated times for each region of the state, which I will send out as soon as they are finalized. However, if you can’t make your designated time, you will be able to call in at any point of the day – callers from those communities will be prioritized for that time slot but the plan is to allow all callers to have an opportunity to address the board.  

 

More information will be forthcoming as soon as it’s available. 

 

Juli Lucky (she/her)

Staff, Alaska Redistricting Board

(907) 251-9295 cell

 

Upcoming Board Meetings and Important Dates:

October 4, 2021: Anchorage Public Hearing: 4:30pm-6:30pm: Dena’ina Center http://notice.alaska.gov/203893

October 5, 2021: Kotzebue Public Hearing: 3:00pm-5:00pm: Nullagvik Hotel http://notice.alaska.gov/203945

October 6, 2021: Ketchikan Public Hearing: 4:30pm-6:30pm: Ted Ferry Civic Center http://notice.alaska.gov/203923

October 7, 2021: Petersburg Public Hearing: 12:30pm - 2:00pm: Petersburg Assembly Chambers:  http://notice.alaska.gov/203924

October 7, 2021: Wrangell Public Hearing: 4:30pm-6:30pm: The Nolan Center: http://notice.alaska.gov/203925

 

NOTE: the community public meeting schedule is still being developed – meetings will be added to this list as soon as they are confirmed.

November 10, 2021: Day 90: Adoption of Final Redistricting Plan

 

Here's Something Positive - Bees, Elephants, And Mavis Nducha

Mavis Nducha founded Kalahari Honey.  She died recently.  You can read more about her here. [Note:  the link goes to a site of a relative.]

Or, you can just watch the video.

Falling

Even though winter made a brief visit last week - checking out his winter home I guess - it is still just fall.  And after doing some chores and errands, I got on the bike for a few more kilometers.  For now my goal is 800 for the summer.  And it was sunny and beautiful.  Below is the south fork of Campbell Creek from Campbell Airstrip Road.

A quick view of the mountains as the bike trail comes out of the woods and goes along the road.

Campbell Creek, closer to Lake Otis.

Looking up at the Mt. Ash Tree

That's all.  Just lots of trees.  

 

Links Of Interest: Hide Your House, Russian Mercenaries, Doctors Without Borders

Some things I've run into recently that may be of interest.  

1.  How To Hide Your House On Google (and other online) maps - street view.

"With the rise of increasingly convenient features such as street-level 360º photos available on Google Maps and other competing mapping services, there’s always a risk your personal data will be captured in a publicly available photo in a way you’d rather avoid—whether than means the outside of your house or the location where you park your car.

If you face this kind of a problem, there’s a simple solution available in many cases—you can ask the mapping service to blur or remove the picture. We’ll going to show you how to do that on the most popular mapping services."

Then it gives you step-by-step instructions.  Doesn't look hard 

2.  Another story I found fascinating - from NewslinesMag. A British reporter, a fluent Russian speaker apparently, pokes around the remains of what had been a Russian mercenary post outside of Tripoli. A story about the Wagner Group.  A couple of excerpts:

"From September 2019, photographs and reports had begun to emerge of Russian mercenaries in Tripoli. They were identified as units from the so-called Wagner Group, a secretive and highly controversial organization of mercenaries that fought first in Ukraine, then in Syria, and later in Sudan, Mozambique, the Central African Republic and Libya.

"Reportedly financed by the Russian catering magnate Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has been sanctioned and indicted by the United States for his election interference efforts, the Wagner Group has been accused of acting as President Vladimir Putin’s shadowy expeditionary force, even though mercenaries are technically illegal in Russia. The group has also been linked to the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service, from whose ranks its ostensible head, Dmitry Utkin, and other rank-and-file members hail. And yet, as has often been the case with Wagner, beyond such reports and speculation over Wagner personnel’s involvement in the fighting, little detailed evidence had emerged.

"But this spring we obtained a small white Samsung tablet with a cracked screen, protected by a battered brown leather case. GNA fighters said they had recovered it from positions held by Russian fighters in Ain Zara, the area where Haitham had fought. We put it through extensive tests to ensure it didn’t contain some kind of tracking device or malware; we examined it minutely, searching for clues to its users and making sure it was the genuine article. It was."

3.  For a different view of foreigners working in poor countries, we have the group Doctors Without Borders  (MSF French acronym) which saves lives but its local staff says it also  perpetuates colonialism and racism.  I heard this riveting radio show on Reveal the other day.  Decolonize MSF is an organization trying to change how things are done.  It's troublesome.  The organization does a lot of great work around the world, providing life saving care who otherwise might die.  Yet, this radio report is really well done.  It maps out, through interviews, what structural racism and colonialism looks like.  Do go to the website with the audio.  Below is some description from that page.

"The organization, also known by its French acronym MSF, has about 63,000 people working in 88 countries. While foreign doctors parachuting into crisis zones get most of the attention, 90% of the work is done by local health workers. 

In the summer of 2020, more than 1,000 current and former staffers wrote a letter calling out institutional racism at MSF. They say MSF operates a two-tiered system that favors  foreign doctors, or expat doctors, over local health workers. 

On the eve of MSF’s 50th anniversary, reporters Mara Kardas-Nelson, Ngozi Cole and Sean Campbell talked to about 100 current and former MSF workers to investigate how deep these issues run. We meet Dr. Indira Govender, a South African doctor who in 2011 accepted what she thought was her dream job with MSF in South Africa, only to get a front-row seat to the organization’s institutional racism. Even though she’s officially the second-in-command of her project, she says it feels like a select group of European expats and White South Africans are running the show."  

We think of the doctors going from Western countries to help out in poor countries as being better than this and I'm sure many, if not most, are.  But this shows us how blatantly racist some are but also how the separate treatment of foreign doctors and native medical staff institutionalizes the separation between local staff (about 90% of the staff) from those who come to help from overseas.  

Maybe I can believe this troubling story because I've run into this sort of thing.  When I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand I got pressed into helping a Thai dentist negotiate with the Israeli construction company paving the highway near the town I was teaching in.  She needed a translator and so I went along.  After it was over the Israeli negotiator offered me a job because he couldn't trust any of the Thais and was surprised that I could live alone with them.  I was shocked by his view of Thais.

And when I traveled home from Thailand I took the long route so I could visit D who was teaching in Uganda.  I'd met him while I was a student in Germany and we'd hit it off and we traveled together a bit in England where he was from.  There, he came from a modest background, didn't drive, and had dropped out of college without completing his degree to start teaching.  In Uganda he lived in this giant compound surrounded by a ten foot wall.  Inside was like a giant golf course - green grass, trees, and cute little cottages scattered all around.  D lived in one and his car sat outside it.  There was dining hall with white table cloths and napkins and there four or five course dinners served by African waiters.  D's main interactions with Africans was with his students at the elite school he taught at, maybe some African teachers (I don't remember meeting any of them), the waiters and other help in the compound where he lived.  Again I was shocked.  But as we talked it was clear that D was socialized to live separate like this.  That's how all the Brit ex-pats, or at least the ones he knew, lived.  He didn't learn any of the local languages because "everyone speaks English" in this recently independent country.  When I'd talk with Africans in the market or anywhere, they would be very reticent, and after a few minutes they'd say something like, "You aren't a resident are you?"   Coming from Thailand where we'd had to learn Thai before even getting to Thailand and living and working completely with Thais, D's situation was hard for me to believe.  This was not the kind of life he' d had back in England.  We had long talks while I was there and that continued for years via letters.  And eventually he visited Alaska and I later visited him in England.  He had some harrowing experiences there and one African he did get to meet was Idi Amin.  But that's another story - his to tell.  

But those experiences were 50 years ago!  I would have thought things had changed since then.  I'm sure they have, but not as much as one might expect.  

As someone who has contributed to Doctors Without Borders I'm forced to think about how to support the good things they do and push for change.  The program talks about a protest group within MSF - Decolonize MSF.  Maybe contributing to them would be the way to go.  

At What Point Is A Politician Liable For Deaths Because Of His Actions Or Inactions?

Retired pilot Dave Bronson took office as Anchorage's new mayor on Thursday, July 1.  That was at a time when Alaska's COVID situation was relatively low.  So low that the State Health and Human Services Department only posted new numbers Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  So my starting date on this chart is Friday, July 2, 2021.  My ending date is Thursday, September 23.  Yes, they went back to reporting the numbers five days a week.  There was a Friday report too.  One of the worst ever.  They added 41 deaths and the new resident case total was 1729.  The highest ever.  But that report included a lot of backlogged numbers.  Most of the deaths probably happened during Bronson's tenure, but the new cases inflated that one day total. I decided the Thursday report was damning enough.  

These numbers are for the whole state of Alaska, and the Mayor of Anchorage is only in charge of Anchorage, But Anchorage is by far the largest city in the state with almost half the population, and people from nearby the Matsu borough and the Kenai Peninsula work and shop in Anchorage.  Plus it's the transportation hub of the state.  Many people outside of Anchorage have to fly through Anchorage on the way to other places.  It's also the medical center of Alaska, the place where people from more rural areas, with smaller hospitals or just clinics, come for more serious health needs.  So what the Mayor of Anchorage does regarding COVID affects more than just Anchorage.   

Our mayor came into office  having at various times denied COVID was a serious problem.  He thinks people's individual liberties are violated by mask mandates and vaccine mandates. And that the health restrictions harm business more than the virus.  He recently said he didn't know what more he could do.  

The alarming change in the COVID numbers is the result of his willful ignorance.  His stubborn clinging to bullshit information.  (Sorry, misinformation is much too tepid a term for the organized and profitable propaganda that is aimed at Trump supporters.)

My sense is that Bronson is the kind of man who rarely if ever acknowledges he's wrong.  Maybe on something minor like flipping a coin.  But he's been adamantly certain about LGBTQ issues for many years.  It's hard for a man like him to do the right thing after investing so much of himself to following the wrong path.  And because he's mayor, his actions and or lack of actions, impact tens of thousands of people. 

 One hundred and forty-four people have died since he took over Anchorage.  

• Let's drop half of them as not Anchorage related.  
• Let's skip the first month in office (there were only 12 deaths reported between July 2 and August 2). That leaves us 132 deaths. 
• Let's cut out 50% of deaths since August 2,  since Anchorage only has half of Alaska's population.  That leaves us 66 deaths.  
• Let's just arbitrarily say that 10% (and this is really low) of those could have been avoided had Bronson taken rigorous action against the spread of COVID in Anchorage.  

That would be six people who would probably be alive, but for  Bronson's inaction.  Probably a lot more.  He may be passionate about the life of every single fertilized human egg that is created, but actual birthed human beings seem much less important to him.   And we're not even talking about all the people who have been very ill.  Or the businesses that are suffering because people are cautious about going out in public because the of huge surge in COVID cases.  

What The Headlines Tell Us About The News Organization

I was reading the LA Times online today and there's a story about all the people running for LA mayor next year.  The latest entrant appears to be Rep. Karen Bass, an LA Democrat.  I was confused by this sentence:

"Voters now have a much clearer picture of next year’s contest to replace Garcetti, who faces term limits."  

I thought he'd been named Ambassador to India.  Is he still mayor?  So I googled "LA Mayor Garcetti  India" and got this page.  I've cut much of it and just left the headlines. These are all dated July 9, 2021 or thereabouts.  They're all pretty much the same, except one:

"Search Results    Web results

Biden nominates LA Mayor Eric Garcetti to be ambassador to ...https://dailybruin.com › 2021/07/26 › biden-nominates...

Garcetti is Biden's pick for ambassador to India - Los Angeles ...https://www.latimes.com › california › story › la-mayor...

Mayor Garcetti Selected as Ambassador to India - NBC Los ...https://www.nbclosangeles.com › news › politics › la-m...

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti picked for ambassador ... - CNNhttps://www.cnn.com › 2021/07/09 › politics › eric-garcet...

Biden nominates LA Mayor Eric Garcetti for India ambassadorhttps://apnews.com › article

Biden Chooses Scandal-Plagued L.A. Mayor Garcetti As India ...https://www.forbes.com › sites › joewalsh › 2021/07/09

Biden taps Eric Garcetti for India ambassador posthttps://www.washingtonpost.com › politics › 2021/07/09

Biden picks Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti to be US ambassador ...https://www.reuters.com › world › biden-nominate-los-an...

Joe Biden Taps Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti To Servehttps://deadline.com › 2021/07 › joe-biden-taps-los-ang...

President Biden Nominates LA Mayor Eric Garcetti For ... - LAisthttps://laist.com › news › politics › president-biden-no...

 There are lots of criticisms of the subtle ways that media's choice of words biases a reader's perception of the story.  But there's nothing subtle about this.  I haven't read the articles.  Perhaps the Forbes one is more of an opinion piece than a news item.  It certainly stands out.  

But I was still trying to find out why Garcetti is still Mayor and not in India.  My guess was Senate confirmation backlog, but I couldn't find anything that said that.  Various google searches kept getting me the same articles dated around July.  Even ones that said "When is he leaving office?"

Finally, when I put Sept 2021 in the search, while I still got the same July articles, I did get this one ABC News article  that has a similar focus to the LA Times article - who is running to replace him - but it does include this sentence:

"Mayor Eric Garcetti cannot run again in 2022 due to being termed out. He was nominated in July by President Joe Biden to serve as U.S. ambassador to India. He is expected to leave office early pending the U.S. Senate's confirmation of his appointment."

Why?  According to an August 11 LATimes article:

"Yet [Gentry O. Smith's] April nomination, like many made by President Biden for the State Department, Department of Homeland Security and elsewhere, sat stalled for months in Senate committees, where a few Republican lawmakers blocked approval.

Although nominations were blocked across the board, the State Department was hardest hit: As of Monday night, more than six months into the Biden administration, only one of the president’s ambassador picks had been approved, leaving nearly 50% of all embassies without their top official, according to the American Foreign Service Assn. Early Wednesday, a second ambassador, Kenneth Salazar for Mexico, was confirmed in a marathon Senate session."

It goes on:

Foremost among those blocking nominees is Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who has held back as many as two dozen State Department appointees, on demands that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken penalize all international firms and individuals involved in the construction of a Russian pipeline to Europe.

Blinken complained last week that 65 nominations were still pending a confirmation vote. Some of those, including Smith’s nomination, this week squeaked through the Senate approval process on the eve of Congress’ August recess after languishing for months.

“These are critical national security positions,” Blinken said, specifically mentioning the assistant secretary of State for diplomatic security, Smith’s designated position.

I've just started reading :KILL SWITCH THE RISE OFTHE MODERN SENATE AND THE CRIPPLING OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, by Adam Jentleson.  He was Senator Harry Reid's top assistant and this book is aimed as dispelling the myths around the 'sacred tradition' of the filibuster. 

I'll probably have more on that book later.  

 

What Are The Ten Longest Borders Between Countries?

I found this information because I was curious about how long the US-]Mixico border was.

First you have to guess the countries that have really long borders.  

Take some time.  Get a piece of paper and a pen.  Or open a document and type.

The map is to help jog your memories.  Hint:  Asia has most of the top ten.

 

Flying Over Andes between Chile and Argentina

India-Pakistan Border near Amritsar

The Information Below comes from worldatlas.com.  

10. Mexico-US - 3,155 km/1960 miles

9.  Pakistan- India - 3,190 km/1982 miles

8.  Brazil -Bolivia - 3403 km/2114 miles

7.  Mongolia-Russia - 3,452 km/2145 miles

6.  China - Russia - 4,133km/2568 miles

5.  Bangladesh- India  -4,142km/2474 miles

4.  China - Mongolia  - 4,630km/2877 miles

3.  Argentina - Chile - 6,691km/4157 miles

2.  Kazakhastan - Russia - 7,644km/4750

1. Canada - United States - 8,893/5526  (This length is achieved by including the Alaska-Canada border.)

Crossing Into US From Canada at Abbotsford, BC

POP. 1208 - Small Town Texas Around 1917 As Described In 1964

 

I'd have never read this book if it hadn't been one of the book club choices.  Chosen by a member who is also an author.  As I read the book, I did think about why an author would pick this book. And at the book club meeting, he said he read it because it was on a list of books given to him by another author.  The 25 books that most influenced him as a writer.  And he also acknowledged some hesitation about recommending it to our group.  It was a test, of sorts, of us.  

It begins like this:

"Well, sir, I should have been sitting pretty, just about as pretty as a man could sit.  Here I was, the high sheriff of Potts County, and I was drawing almost two thousand dollars a year - not to mention what I could pick up on the side.  On top of that, I had free living quarters on the second floor of the courthouse, just as nice a place as a man could ask for, and it even had a bathroom so that I didn't have to bathe in a washtub or tramp outside to a privy, like most folks in town did. I guess you could say that Kingdom Come was really here as far as I was concerned.  I had it made, and it looked like I could go on having it made --being high sheriff of Potts County --as long as I minded my own business and didn't arrest no one unless I just couldn't get out of it and they didn't amount to nothin'.

And yet I was worried. I had so many troubles that I was worried plumb sick."

That really is a good way to start this book.  It foretells lots of the troubles without giving nothin' away.  Whoops.  It's catching.   

So what's wrong with this book?  Well, it's narrated by the main character, a very small town Sheriff, who is more than flawed.  It's all from his point of view and it's all in his colorful language.  The most difficult parts for me were the vivid descriptions of the town's black population.  

Why did that bother me?  Yes, of course, the N-word liberally spit out in some parts of the book.  And the disgustingly racist attitudes and situations portrayed.  But it was published in 1964 (and so written before the Civil Rights Act passed) and those were different times.  White folks still were the only editors of public speech back then.  And it describes a time almost 50 years earlier.  We shouldn't censor history because we don't like the words and situations that existed then.  We should learn from them and not in cleaned up versions.  And, if I recall correctly, Leonard Pitts' The Last Thing You Surrender - a 2019 novel by a black author - uses the N-word - and includes a very troubling lynching.  

But I'm not using that word in this post.  Mostly because I'm thinking of one particular friend who would probably be disturbed -rather than offended - seeing me spell it out.  

And I think that's what disturbed me about reading this book for the book club.  I didn't ask the man who recommended the book this question:  "If we had an African-American in our group, would you have recommended the book?"  The fact that the book club is all white men over 50 means that we can read a book like this without any of us personally feeling demeaned by the language and situations.  None of our families were the subject of this particular kind of inhumanity.  And the fact that the things done in the book to blacks was done by whites, adds to the awkwardness.  Women weren't treated well either.  Actually, no one was treated well in this story

Yet, I find that I can pretty much tell you the whole story, though not in quite the same colorful language as the high sheriff of Potts County.  

And the subject matter of this book seems to come from personal experience.  From Wikipedia:

"Thompson's father was sheriff of Caddo County, Oklahoma. He ran for the state legislature in 1906, but was defeated. Soon after he left the sheriff's office under a cloud due to rumors of embezzlement. The Thompson family moved to Texas."

Also from Wikipedia:

 Stephen King says he most admires Thompson's work because "The guy was over the top. The guy was absolutely over the top. Big Jim didn't know the meaning of the word stop. There are three brave lets inherent in the foregoing: He let himself see everything, he let himself write it down, then he let himself publish it."^[2]

There's no doubt that Thompson was using the sheriff to shine light on everything that was wrong about small town life in Oklahoma and Texas.  

Talking about his (the sheriff's) father:

"But that's the way my daddy was -- like those people.  They buy some book by a fella that don't know a god-dang thing more than they do (or he wouldn't be having to write books).  And that's supposed to set 'em straight about everything.  Or they buy themselves a bottle of pills.  Or they say the whole trouble is with other folks, and the only thing to do is get rid of 'em.  Or they claim we got to war with another country.  Or . . .  or God knows what all."

Seems those folks are still with us today.  Lots of them.  These are the folks who went to lynchings.  These are the folks who stormed the Capitol on January 6.  And the folks who rather take advice from Tucker Carlson that Dr. Fauci.  

I guess there was a lot in this book.  I think I knew it when I was reading it.  I just didn't like any of the people in the book.  Yes, there was probably something decent in them all, but the Sheriff was focused on the other parts.  If you asked me if would recommend the book, I'd answer using the sheriff's favorite phrase: "I wouldn't say that I would, but then I wouldn't say that I wouldn't."

My Week So Far

 Sunday it was warm enough to sit ou on the deck and work.

Monday, it was cooler and damp as I biked home from the redistricting meeting.

Tuesday, the mountains that had just traces of snow Sunday 

were now mostly white.  

Oh, and the Redistricting Board's new maps - v3 and v4 - are now up for viewing.

"We are pleased to announce that the map gallery (link here: Alaska Redistricting Board - Map Gallery (akredistrict.org)) has been updated to include Board Proposed Plan v.3 and v.4, which were adopted yesterday. If you have recently visited the map gallery, you may need to refresh your browser.

 

The following formats are available:

• Google Map interactive
• Shapefiles (require GIS software)
• Regional .pdf maps

 

District population and deviation files are also posted.

 

We are still working on the 3^rd party maps that were also adopted yesterday, but will get those up soon!"