HB 115 - Permanent Absentee Voting Option

Here's Rep. Buch's sponsor statement.  The bill comes up before the House State Affairs Committee tomorrow.  Here's a link to the Gavel to Gavel schedule for tomorrow (Thursday.)  At least you can go there and find the House State Affairs meeting.  And you can link to the bills from there as well.  I'm still trying to figure out what gets broadcast live and what after the fact.  I'm working on a post about the relationship between the Legislative Affairs Agency recordings and Gavel to Gavel.  As I understand it LAA does the audio and G2G does the video.  But their websites are linked.  It does say it will be teleconferenced.  The G2G schedule doesn't show it yet, so you'll have to check in the morning. 

See, I'm trying to get ahead a bit so some of you can actually find something you're interested in and listen in yourselves.  I've been wondering how long I could go out of town and how much I could cover via the internet before any one figured it out.  Probably because I use so many photos and videos you'd catch on pretty quick. 

Anyway, here's the Sponsor statement on HB 115: (By now you should know what HB stands for, if not, check the end of the post.) 

HB 115 An Act establishing a permanent absentee voting option for qualified voters
HB 115 will streamline the absentee voting process for Alaskans by giving voters the option to register for permanent absentee voting status for state elections. Once a voter is on the permanent absentee voter roll, they won’t have to fill out an absentee request form for each election cycle. Instead, an absentee ballot will be automatically sent to them by the Division of Elections.
HB 115 does not change anyone’s voting rights. Voters can still request a one-time absentee ballot, just as they can now. Voters can still vote at their regular voting places if they so choose. HB 115 makes voting more convenient for voters. It also streamlines the administrative process for the Division of Elections.
HB 115 does not change any of the security or evaluation procedures that are already in place in Alaska statutes for handling absentee ballots; all of the provisions currently in place for absentee ballots would apply to permanent absentee ballots. HB 115 includes a provision for removal from the permanent absentee roll if the Division of Elections receives notice that mail sent to the voter’s address is undeliverable.
HB 115 does not apply to local elections. It only applies only to primary, general and special elections, and any election for which the state has the responsibility for the conduct of the election.
HB 115 has an effective date of January 1, 2010 due to the implementation of a new voter registration system in May of 2010. The new system will be able to handle permanent absentee voting, according to the director of the Division of Elections.
Thank you for your consideration. Representative Bob Buch

HB = House Bill

It Does Rain in Juneau After All

We've had so much comfortable weather, Juneau's rainforest reputation was in jeopardy.  But we've had rain each day since Sunday.  But it's not too hard and the temperatures are comfortable (30s and low 40s).  See, I'm even too tired to convert that to C.  Just above 0˚C.

 

I'm stalling.  Yesterday I did too much and stayed up too late.  I've got stuff to post, but it's not quite ready.  Also trying to take care of day to day stuff.  Fortunately I have an incredible wife.  She got me a new cell phone today after I put mine through the washer and drier over the weekend.  It did light up and I did make some calls, but the battery was dead and they said they didn't have that kind of battery any more.  I can't fight them any more, so just said ok.   And we have a friend in Anchorage who just underwent serious surgey and trying to get J some tickets to spend some time with her, but also have a relative in LA who is also awaiting surgery and was hoping J would come down.  But that keeps being postponed since end of November.  Our daughter left for her six month fellowship in Berlin today and we've been looking for tickets to visit her.  So, you get some rain pictures.  But I'm working on several posts. 

Mandatory Winter Tire Bill

Rep. John Harris (R) Valdez spoke for his bill HB 322 before the House Transportation Committee. The bill would require vehicles above 60˚ North latitude (Someone said this would make it above Yakutat) and connected to the main Anchorage/Fairbanks road system to have US government designated winter tires. Such tires have a snowflake symbol on them. Below is an excerpt from Tirerack's history of such tires which are required now in Quebec.

In 1999, The U.S. Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) and the Rubber Association of Canada (RAC) agreed on a performance based standard to identify passenger and light truck tires that attain a traction index equal to, or greater than 110 (compared to a reference tire which is rated 100) during the specified American Society for Testing and Materials traction tests on packed snow. The new standard helps ensure that drivers can easily identify tires that provide a higher level of snow traction.

Severe Winter LogoA mountain/snowflake symbol branded on the tire's sidewall identifies tires that met the required performance in snow testing. The mountain/snowflake symbol is expected to be fully implemented on new tires by now, however there still may be a few winter/snow tires in the marketplace that meet the requirements but were produced in molds manufactured before the symbol was developed.  [more on this at the Tirerack link]

 Anchorage Johnson Tire co-owners Kelly Gaede and Michele Hogan offered a powerpoint presentation that pushed such winter tires as necessary for winter driving safety.  It was less about snow than about cold, which changes the composition of the rubber and their ability to grip the road.



(Photo:  Kelly Gaede at hearing]

Rep. Tammie Wilson (R) Fairbanks aggressively challenged Gaede on different points.  How were poorer families who could barely afford a car going to be able to buy a new set of winter tires?  What about soldiers stationed in Alaska?  Would they be required to change tires when they crossed the border in the winter?  How did their research know that tires were the cause of winter crashes?   Gaede explained that in 1972 the concept of all weather tires began to take over the winter tire business.  However, all weather tires, he continued, really have no traction in the cold. 

This slide was about Finland I believe.

Department of Transportation employees also testified.  By the end of the hearing there were suggestions to push back the starting date until 2014 and several other changes I can't recall. It was also conceded that people could drive on winter tires all year, but not with studs. 


The committee wanted to hear from experts other than the state's largest tire dealer.  As part of the benefit to the state, they said that Johnson Tire would grow from about 125 employees to 800.  Chair Peggy Wilson noted that they needed to hear about the tires from someone who didn't stand to profit from the passage of such a bill.  It was also noted that if the bill passed, Alaska would be the first state in the US to have such a bill.  However, it was pointed out that Quebec has passed a law requiring winter tires.


Here's a copy of the bill.  I can't see it all on my monitor.  If you have the same problem, you can get the bill here.

00                             HOUSE BILL NO. 322                                                                          
01 "An Act relating to winter tires; and providing for an effective date."                                                 
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1. AS 28.35 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                  
04            Sec. 28.35.158. Winter tires required. (a) A person may not operate a motor                                
05       vehicle registered in this state on a highway from December 15 to March 15 unless                                 
06       that vehicle is equipped with tires designed for winter driving.                                                  
07            (b)  In this section, "tires designed for winter driving" means tires                                        
08                 (1)  that bear the mountain snowflake symbol as certified by the Rubber                                 
09       Manufacturers Association or a comparable symbol as approved by the department;                                   
10                 (2)  that are approved by the department for winter driving; or                                         
11                 (3)  equipped with studs.                                                                               
12    * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to                          
13 read:                                                                                                                   
14       PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN. The Department of Transportation and Public                                            
15 Facilities shall undertake a public education campaign to notify the public about the                                   
01 requirements of AS 28.35.158, added by sec. 1 of this Act, before the effective date of that                            
02 section to ensure that the public is aware and has notice of the requirements of that section                           
03 before the requirements become effective.                                                                               
04    * Sec. 3. Section 1 of this Act takes effect December 15, 2011.                                                    
05    * Sec. 4. Except as provided in sec. 3 of this Act, this Act takes effect immediately under                        
06 AS 01.10.070(c).                                                                                                        

State Affairs Does NOT Pass HB 241 Iran Divestiture Out of Committee

This hearing picked up House Bill (HB) 421 where things left off last week.
The vote on Rep. Gatto's (R) (Wasilla) bill to have the state funds divest companies that do business in Iran was 3-3.
Yes:  Gatto; Lynn (R) Anchorage; Gruenberg (D) Anchorage
No:  Seaton (R) Homer; P. Wilson (R) Wrangell, Petersen (D) Anchorage

Rep. C. Johnson (R) Anchorage was out on an excused absence.


What happened?  At the last hearing, the Commissioner of Revenue and the Executive Director of the Permanent Fund both said they could handle the bill without too much disruption.

[From left to right:  Rep. Lynn; Rep. Gruenberg; Rep. Peggy Wilson;  Rep. Petersen]

Here are the concerns I heard Tuesday:

1.  Minor concerns about how the companies would be identified.  The committee made changes so that the language put the Alaska bill in line with Federal standards and so the Department of Revenue could utilize the lists created by other states rather than do the investigation based on slightly different Alaska standards.  It sounded like these weren't problems, but the language wasn't totally resolved.

2.  Concerns of inconsistent message sent by the bill because the bill requires the various state funds - the Permanent Fund, the retirement funds, the State of Alaska Supplemental Annuity Plan, and the deferred compensation program for state employees - to divest their holdings of companies identified as doing business in Iran.  But the bill does not require the state to stop doing business with such companies. 

3.   Concern over the impact of the notification provision.  There is a provision in the bill that requires notification of companies that they are being put on the list so they have a 'due process' right to clear their name if they are on the list in error.  Rep. Gruenberg was concerned because there is right to prevent a fund from selling your stock and he didn't want some company lawyer to use this to fight the state's selling his client's company.   Others argued this was aimed at giving companies the right to challenge their incusion on the list.  Rep. Wilson asked whether the Dept. of Revenue expected companies to reply and Commissioner Galvin said he didn't expect many replies.

4.  Impact on investments.  Deputy Commissioner Barnett said we have about $900 million invested in stocks and bonds currently on the list.  There was a question about whether having to sell these in 90 days would mean we might have to sell at a loss.  Rep. Gatto pointed out that with various states getting rid of their investments in these stocks, it was likely the prices would go down, so now is a good time to sell anyway.  

5.  Too many changes not yet made.  From here the bill goes to the Finance Committee.  If I understand this right, they will only look at the financial impacts of the bill, not the substantive issues.  Four of the members had concerns that there were still significant changes to be made and were reluctant to release the bill to Finance in the condition it was in.  Seaton said that substantive changes should be made in this committee and not passed on to Finance.  Gatto said you can amend it on the floor of the House if you still have problems then. 

5.  Finally, at the end, Rep. Seaton raised an objection based on his questioning of the  original justification of the bill.  Here's the audio of his objection. I've added a rough transcript below because the volume is so low. Just click the black arrow on the yellow square. 
HB 241 Iran Divestiture Rep. Seaton Objections by AKRaven  

Seaton:   I want to go back to the public testimony that started this about radical Islam and 911 and all that.  We know 911 was the perpetrators of that was Al Qaeda which is affiliated with Sunni Muslim. We know the participants were from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Egypt, none from Iran.  We had testimony about Iraq and we had a huge war there, and that’s Sunni, Saddam Hussein was Sunni, not Shiite. Shiite is Iran.  There’s a a total mixing of these kinds of metaphors about what's happening.  We talked  about weapons in Afghanistan suppled by Iran.  We have no evidence.  Testimony I hear under oath by our Supreme Military Commander before Congress on C-Span is that Iran could be much more unhelpful than they currently are. They’re not really helpful as they could be but we hear all the time about attacks across the border.  That border is not the Iranian border.   You never hear about us having drone flights over Iran and shooting terrorists on the Iranian side.  It’s always the Pakistani side.  The Pakistani side is the one that already has nuclear weapons.  We’re worried about Iran for other reasons.  The basis for this bill is evidence I don’t think we have on the table here. I think  I think we have some news reports of what may or may not be hapening in Iran.  I’m not really supporting Iran here, I have friends of 15 years ago in Homer who barely escaped Iran in a very torturous process who are Bahai who had extremely difficult time.  I don’t know currently if that’s still going on or not.  I’m not aware of that.  I don’t have the evidence of that so, I’m not meaning that we have a situation where I could make this decison based on the facts that we have in evidence. They are counter to what  I hear counter evidence when Admiral Baldwin General Petraes testify before Congress.  The western half of Afghanistan is fairly calm.  We’re not having big problems there. Part of the reason is because  the state is supplied  electricity by Iran and it could be turned off at a moment’s notice. We have 500,000 Afghanis  or more to a million they were evicted or left the Taliban and are residing in Iran right now who could be deported any moment and be a huge problem for us to try to deal with in Afghanistan. That’s been the testimony that we’ve seen.  We have some real problems but I don’t see we have enough factual basis to make decision at this time.

Finally, Rep. Gatto, obviously concerned that there may not be enough votes to pass the bill out of the committee Tuesday, made a last effort to convince the other members.

HB 241 Iran Divestiture Rep. Gatto Supporting by AKRaven

Gatto:  This bill has been scrubbed here.  There are three conceptual amendments.  So much language has been removed.  Commissioner said he could deal with it even before the changes. We’ve essentially made it easier for the Commissioner to do what he does best, make decisions on what the substance of the bill is.  Not a difficult bill. Sec. of STate Clinton has said Iran is on its way to becoming a military dictatorship.  We know what they intend to do.  I don’t think anyone is sitting here saying, well, they just want some peaceful nuclear energy.  If you’re ok, I’m not ok. I’m not ok with allowing them to go on and then sit by like an idle little object saying boy I hope things go well there.  Cause they’re not going well over there.  It’s not going to change a lot of behavior, but it makes a stand for us. And if you say the bill’s too difficult to deal with  I don’t know what the difficulty is, your going to sell something and maybe make some money, maybe lose some money. Buy something else, maybe make some money maybe lose some money.  That’s the net effect of the bill, it doesn’t do  anything else.  It doesn’t arm soldiers, doesn’t put them on ships and send them overseas.  It just says what do you want to do in the invetment portfolio.  It’s not a policy of the state. It’s just saying what can we do in our investments in this state to make a statement that we’ll join 20 other states in saying that we object to this country. Because I think If I asked you, you’d admit that you do object to what’s going on in Iran.  I do.   And I think almost everyone in this room, if not everyone in this room does objects to what’s going on in Iran.  And all we’re asking is something pretty simple. We could take this bill and we could hold it in here  It’s already been here over a week. We’ve had ample opportunity  to look at it and  remove bits and pieces, which we’ve done.    Goes to the second committee. When it’s on the floor, and if you don’t like the bill, say, you know, I’m going to offer an amendment.  I thought we covered this back  but it looks like we missed something so I’d like to make an amendment.  That’s what we do.  If you don’t want to pass the bill out, if you think it oughta stay here two more weeks well fine. That’s your vote, but it’s not my vote.

Rep. Johnson (R) Anchorage, had an excused absence.   It's not clear which way he would vote.  Last week he raised concerns about alienating companies that do business in Alaska.

Local Food Comes to the Capitol

Ted came by and got me out of the staff/public lounge where I was trying to write up a post on the morning hearing on the Iran Divestiture bill.  (It will be up soon)  There was a must attend lunch being sponsored by the Alaska Farm Bureau.  I didn't know we had one.  But I'm always looking for a good photo op, especially one with free food.  There were people lined up in the hall to get in.  This was not your typical lobbyist lunch and learn sandwiches and chips.  The menu had gone around and had done its job.  

People were here for the Alaska grown prime rib and the elk meatloaf.  Not exactly vegetarian fare, but surely there was more than that.  They promised to hold my place in line while I went in to scout it out with my camera.  Here's Rep. Neal Foster learning about Alaska grown food.

This is a room in the Thomas Stewart Building connected to the Capitol building by a second floor bridge.  The building just opened in January.  

Chef Rob Kineen of Orso slicing the elk meatloaf.  I think he was on the panel after the movie Ingredients was shown at UAA in December, but I'm not 100% sure.



Bernie Karl of the Alaska Farm Bureau tells me what this is all about.  With a little help at the end from Victoria Naegle of Wasilla. 

 

Enjoying lunch.

 


I'm pretty sure this is squash cake with Alaska whipped cream on top. 

 

I didn't starve - there was a potato salad, an apple slaw, and vegie dessert.

Sen Coghill Helping Reporter Chris Eshleman on Trauma Bill

[The video is taking forever to load, so I'm going to post this and add the video when it's done, probably within the hour.  Consider this a preview.  The video is ... well I describe it below.]

I've got a whole slew of posts to do, but I was too busy being there to get anything up until now, but there's more on the Iran divestment bill (HB 241) which did NOT pass out of committee today on a 3-3 vote, 4H'ers in town learning about the legislature, the Alaska Farm Bureau's lunch for legislators, Rep. Harris' mandatory winter tire bill (HB 322) and Rep. Doogan's ban on cell phones while driving, plus Hooper Bay student in town for the week shadowing different folks each day.  Not sure how many of these I'll get up, but here's an interesting bit of tape. 

Fairbanks News-Miner reporter Chris Eshleman invited me into the empty Ramona Barnes Conference room as he went in with Senator John Coghill who was explaining to him the intricacies of Senate Bill (SB) 168.  So this video is essentially a behind the scenes recording of a news reporter working on his story with a Senator who wants to get his story out.  





Basically the bill is to set up a fund which will help hospital with their
I'd note that after I turned off the video, Sen. Coghill told us that a big motivation for him on this is the fact that his two year old grandson died of a head trauma in part because it took four hours to get the appropriate doctor to the emergency room in Anchorage.  He assured us that this is not out of bitterness or anger, he understands that they did all they possibly could, but he doesn't want it to happen to others. 




Update Friday:  Here's the article Chris wrote from these sessions.  It begins this way:  

Alaska bill to aid trauma care moves ahead

by Chris Eshleman / ceshleman@newsminer.com 

 

JUNEAU — A House committee Tuesday advanced plans to create a public account to aid trauma care and, supporters hope, steer major emergency rooms toward better funding for trauma services. . . (click on link above for the rest.)

There Can Be Civil Disagreements

Last week I chided fellow blogger Phil Munger because I thought his name calling and language choices seemed to do more harm than good in his quest to interpret events through his vast experiences in different field. 

It's not the first time I've suggested the left needn't copy the tactics of rightwing talk radio.  I think the left needs to stand up and challenge every distortion and error, but you can be firm and polite at the same time. 

Phil reposted my post and one by another Anchorage blogger Mel.  And while we offered criticism of what he was doing (not of him), he took our comments graciously and has responded with a new post.  While some of the comments over there did not rise to the same level, many were thoughtful as well. 

Phil has every right to post what and how he wants.  But as I said last week, what someone can do and what they should do are not necessarily the same thing.  While I think Phil came to the right conclusion, I'd feel the same whatever decision he came to.  My real concern is that he handled the criticism with grace.   Thanks Phil. 

Reconoitering

I've been here a month and it's time to take stock of what I'm doing and how.  So far, I've been getting the lay of the land, figuring out where things were, who was who, how things worked.  What have I learned?

1.  There's a lot going on.  The legislature is supposed to do a lot of things.  Article 2 of the Alaska Constitution which is titled Legislature, is pretty technical and talks about 'how' more than 'what' the legislature is supposed to do or 'why.'  For example:

Section 2.14 - Passage of Bills.

The legislature shall establish the procedure for enactment of bills into law. No bill may become law unless it has passed three readings in each house on three separate days, except that any bill may be advanced from second to third reading on the same day by concurrence of three-fourths of the house considering it. No bill may become law without an affirmative vote of a majority of the membership of each house. The yeas and nays on final passage shall be entered in the journal.

You have to get to the parts of the Constitution that deal with specific areas to be governed, such as:

Section 7.1 - Public Education. (This version of the Constitution isn't Article by Article, so you have to scroll down the page a bit.)

The legislature shall by general law establish and maintain a system of public schools open to all children of the State, and may provide for other public educational institutions. Schools and institutions so established shall be free from sectarian control. No money shall be paid from public funds for the direct benefit of any religious or other private educational institution.

And 

Section 8.2 - General Authority.

The legislature shall provide for the utilization, development, and conservation of all natural resources belonging to the State, including land and waters, for the maximum benefit of its people.

In any case, the legislature has power over the budget of all of the state government and there's plenty to keep the 60 legislators and their staff more than busy.

2.  Things go at a pretty frenetic pace.  There is no peace and quiet and I suspect few people ever spend more than ten minutes without some sort of interruption.  Staff print out calendars each day for the legislators that have the various committee meetings they're supposed to attend plus whatever meetings and receptions they have.  But walking the halls and sticking heads into offices is a constant activity leading to three minute trips becoming an hour of interactions with a lot of different people. 

3.  Things and people aren't always what they seem.  As I start to form opinions about people and bills, I have to work hard not close off my assessments too early.  People I respect sometimes point out aspects about people that are contrary to opinions I've already formed, and people can surprise me.  One legislator  did  when I saw him coming down the Capitol steps wearing jeans and polo shirt.  It was a side of him I'd never seen and I had to start rewriting my mental assessment of him.

4.  The State has done a lot to make the legislature accessible.  The online meeting schedules that legislative staffers consult are available to anyone with internet.  Committee meetings are available online and in some cases on television and at legislative information offices around the state.  People could have a lot of information about what's happening if they wanted to and took the time to acquaint themselves with the legislative website.


Up to now, I've just been bouncing around and everywhere I go there is something to write about.  But there's no long term objective, except the vague - show people what it is like down here.  Maybe that's fine.  Maybe there's a better way. I'd characterize my posts, so far as:

A.  This is what Juneau and the legislature are like.
B.  This how you can access what is happening via the internet if you aren't in Juneau.
C.  Here's what happened in this committee meeting.
D.  Here are some of the folks down here lobbying.

I've already decided I need a team, a big team.  But I can only afford myself.  This also raises questions about how the media cover the legislature.  Ideally there would be a team on each of four or five key issue areas such as natural resources, education, health, revenues, etc.  

So how should I spend my time?  Should I focus on a few bills and follow them through the process?  One topic area?  Should I try to dig up dirt? That's not exactly my style. But I could take on some longer term projects and dig a little deeper.   Maybe I'll feel more confident to do something like that when I feel more sure of my knowledge of the place.  But 90 days isn't long to really know.  It is long enough to think you know.    Highlighting things that are being done well is also important.   Should I focus on a few legislators and what they do?  Or should I focus on people behind the scenes - legislative staff, the full time staff of Legislative Affairs Agency, the lobbyists?  Or should I just take things as they come?

My style up to know has been basically light with some heavier, more substantive pieces.  Overall, I've consciously been the opposite of sensational.  Where I've had information that I thought was of interest, I've made the reader work to find it.  I don't know if that's a good approach.  But I've also tried to make some things more accessible with pictures and videos. 

So, I'm at a point of reassessment.  

If anyone has any thoughts, I'm in a receptive mood.  It is clear that whatever I do it will be a tiny, tiny nibble at what is happening simply because so very much is happening. 

Endings

Nothing here is meant to glorify any kind of death.  I'm just sharing some thoughts that this news article brought to mind.

From the Alaska Dispatch:

On a day the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Adivsory Center warned snowmachiners to be especially alert to the dangers of avalanche on the Kenai Peninsula, the president of ConocoPhillips Alaska died beneath a wall of snow that came down near Spencer Glacier about 50 miles east of Anchorage.

Jim Bowles, 57, was with a group of a dozen or more people riding near the glacier when the avalanche came down, according to Alaska State Troopers. Conoco employee Al Gage, 40, was reportedly riding with Bowles and caught in the avalanche as well.

Troopers said late Saturday that Gage remained missing in the area. He is presumed dead. Troopers reported Bowles was dug out shortly after the avalanche swept over him, but rescuers could not revive him despite trying for half an hour.

How the avalanche was triggered remains unknown, but the Chugach avalanche center on Saturday morning warned of considerable danger from human-triggered slides.

I remember long ago, on school break as a Peace Corps teacher in Thailand, another volunteer and I flew to Bali.  While we had round trip tickets from Bangkok, a route that had just recently opened up, we broke up the trip with some cross country bus rides to see a bit more of Indonesia.  As we finally made it across to the island of Bali, riding along the southern part of the island, I saw these magnificent beaches with absolutely perfect surf.  Having grown up near the beach in LA, I was an avid body surfer.  My traveling companion was from New York and not that excited.  But I insisted that during our week, we find a way to get back out there to one of these totally deserted beaches and go body surfing.

After a perfect day in the water, we were lying out on the sand and Alan said something like, "Well, it was nice, but I kept worrying about sharks."  I looked at him and said, "You know, it was perfect.  If I'd been eaten by a shark, it would have been ok.  It was the perfect way to go."  

The article also says that Bowles fell in love with Alaska and the adventures it held.  It sounds like it was a glorious day - blue skies, fresh snow.  Perfect, just like that day in Bali.  I'll bet that like me 40 years ago, he was in the zone and, if he had to go, at least he went doing what he loved.

It's still a great shock for his family and friends and I wish them peace and courage as they come to terms with this great change in their lives.

By the way, as Alan and I were talking about sharks on the beach, a coconut fell from high above between us.  It could have taken out either one of us if it was a foot over in either direction.

Church-State Battle in Texas School Board

The New York Times published an interesting 10 page article Sunday by Russell Shorto on the battles at the Texas School Board to include language into American history books.  It looks at why Texas text book decisions are so important, the religious intentions of the founding fathers' for the US, and points to the March 3rd Texas School Board elections as an indicator of whether  "the Christian right’s recent power surge has begun to wane."

Public education has always been a battleground between cultural forces; one reason that Texas’ school-board members find themselves at the very center of the battlefield is, not surprisingly, money. The state’s $22 billion education fund is among the largest educational endowments in the country. Texas uses some of that money to buy or distribute a staggering 48 million textbooks annually — which rather strongly inclines educational publishers to tailor their products to fit the standards dictated by the Lone Star State. California is the largest textbook market, but besides being bankrupt, it tends to be so specific about what kinds of information its students should learn that few other states follow its lead. Texas, on the other hand, was one of the first states to adopt statewide curriculum guidelines, back in 1998, and the guidelines it came up with (which are referred to as TEKS — pronounced “teaks” — for Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) were clear, broad and inclusive enough that many other states used them as a model in devising their own. And while technology is changing things, textbooks — printed or online —are still the backbone of education. . . (From page 1)

Ask Christian activists what they really want — what the goal is behind the effort to bring Christianity into American history — and they say they merely want “the truth.” “The main thing I’m looking for as a state board member is to make sure we have good standards,” Don McLeroy said. But the actual ambition is vast. Americans tell pollsters they support separation of church and state, but then again 65 percent of respondents to a 2007 survey by the First Amendment Center agreed with the statement that “the nation’s founders intended the United States to be a Christian nation,” and 55 percent said they believed the Constitution actually established the country as a Christian nation. The Christian activists are aware of such statistics and want to build on them, as Dunbar made clear. She told me she looks to John Jay’s statement that it is the duty of the people “of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers” and has herself called for a preference for selecting Christians for positions of leadership.

Dunbar’s book lays out the goal: using courts and public schools to fuse Christianity into the nation’s founding. It may be unlikely that it will be attained any time soon, in which case the seeding of Texas’ history-textbook guidelines with “Christian nation” concepts may be mostly symbolic. But symbols can accumulate weight over time, and the Christian activists are in it for the long haul. Some observers say that over time their effort could have far-reaching consequences. “The more you can associate Christianity with the founding, the more you can sway the future Supreme Court,” Martin Marty says. “That is what Pat Robertson was about years ago. Establish the founders as Christians, and you have it made.” (From page 8)

The Role of Art Today

Before Eurydice at the Preservation Theater our first week in Juneau, a theater administrator talked about funding declines during economic hard times (though he did say a long time funder AT&T was standing by them) and he mused, "What is the role of art today?"

That got me thinking. And it hit me like a flash. Art today is what connects us to truth. Art, true art, not the ubiquitous commercial art, is a glimpse into the soul of its creator. In today's world where reality is plastered over with literal and figurative makeup to hide truth, it's art which pokes holes in the facades created by Madison Avenue, by Hollywood, and by Washington, etc.


For example, here's Anchorage Channel 2's Juneau announcer, Ted Land.  He's young, he's good looking, and yet when I saw him one evening preparing to go on the air, I noticed his face was covered in make-up.  Would it hurt if, God forbid, a pimple showed?   Apparently.

But art shows up without makeup and shows us what the powers-that-be  don't want us to see.

And so it's no wonder that funding for the arts is drying up.  The truth is inconvenient or even dangerous.

Art can survive in our capitalist society (that's not an epithet, just a description) when it can be mass marketed.  Putting on a play with live actors performing for a relatively small audience is a dicey economic proposition.  So is a live singer in a small venue.  Or an original painting.  But, as Christine Vashon  said (Conversation with Julianne Moore and Christine Vashon)

"Somebody asked him if Hollywood was homophobic and he said, 'It might be, but who cares?  Money isn't.'"

So, if you can digitize the actors and the singer and sell their digital image to millions, you can make some money.  But as investors want to minimize their risks, they also make demands on artists to package their art into proven genres and formats.  And often the flash of truth is edited out. 

Or so I mused in answer to the question.  A week or so later, I came to the end of the book I was reading, Jo Tatchell's The Poet of Bagdad:  A True Story of Love and Defiance (Thanks Catherine) about  artist Nabeel Yasin who defied Saddam Hussein's henchmen to tell his truth through his poetry.


In the Afterward (p. 347,) Tatchell answers the art question a little differently than I did when she writes about Nabeel, who eventually fled Iraq for Europe, and then returned to Bagdad after 27 years in exile,

Behind closed doors, avoiding the curfews, small groups, sometimes no more than three or four people, were staging theater shows, reading and writing literature, painting, sculpting, talking, and sharing their stories.  In these nascent communities, Nabeel found the lifeblood he had always hoped he would find.  Art, it seemed, was still a symbol of defiance of the violence and bloodshed everywhere.

Beyond the obvious effects of destruction gripping Baghdad he found people filled with a yearning to reclaim the true spirit of Iraq.  He found that art, unlike violence, is a way of asking questions about what has happened and what might still be to come for the country (emphasis added).

Bread Dough, Friends, Graves, Poems, Rain, Thai Food (listed in alphabetical order)

Today, we hosted our first visitors who actually came over for a meal. We only have four chairs and while our 3 foot square table has a leaf on top that flips over, there's nothing to support it when it's open.  So we had a couple over for brunch.

I found another bread recipe online - this time whole wheat - and checked to see what would happen if I put the dough in the refrigerator overnight.  In Anchorage, I would use the bread maker and it would be all done in the morning on its own.  The several sites I found said, leaving the bread in the fridge overnight works.  And I learned two new words - proof (meaning rise) and oven spring  (meaning how much the bread actually rises while it is baking in the oven.)  The sites said bread left in the fridge overnight had better flavor and much more oven spring.

It worked.  It didn't rise much in the fridge overnight, but I got up early and took it out to warm up and went back to bed.  I got up two hours later and kneaded and flattened it (it said this would get it all warm faster) and rolled it back up into a lump and put it into the slightly warmed oven to rise.  Then an hour later kneaded it again and put it into that always recommended well oiled pan.  I also put in some chopped ginger, currents, and walnuts, and then on the once more flattened dough put a layer of guava jelly and rolled it up and stuck it in to rise again. It didn't rise as much as I would have liked in 40 minutes, but it was getting late.  Fortunately, the oven spring thing  worked and it really did 'spring up' in the oven. 

Our guests had asked what they could bring and we'd said, "A Poem."  And they did, several.  They read  Antonio Machado's "Last Night"; Sharon Olds' "The Race" and "The Space Heater."  (wonderful chain of words at the end) Another was called "The Dress."    It seemed to me to be a sly observation about the communication minefields couples face, but also how other things get us safely through them.  But I'm not sure. I'd like to read it again. And there was one more that painted a picture of love and hate necessarily merging.  Wonderful gifts to the brain and heart all.

We then walked up Basin Road toward Perseverance Trail.  It was raining and blustery and the trail got muddier and we had places to go so we weren't gone long. (Or maybe it seemed short because we were having such good conversation.) And then a quick change into drier pants and off to tea and three berry pie with other friends a short walk away. 

And here are three more pictures that probably won't fit anywhere else.  As I ran through the Evergreen Cemetery Saturday afternoon, I remembered that I'd read somewhere that Joe Juneau was buried there.  And as I came upon the next grave, there it was.  Richard Harris was buried to the left of the path in an identical grave.   Wikipedia tells us:

It is interesting to note that the town did not take up its current name right away; originally it was known as Harrisburg, Pilzburg, and Rockwell. Apparently, Joseph Juneau was able to bribe (buy votes from) enough of his fellow miners for it to be changed. Even though the city doesn't carry Harris' name anymore, Harris Street remains in Juneau. Richard lived the rest of his life in Juneau, his children and descendants stayed in Juneau for many years. Both Richard Harris and Joseph Juneau are buried in the city's Evergreen Cemetery.

Would you rather live to 60 and have the state capital named after you?  Or live to 74 and just have a street named after you?  Personally, I glad Juneau became the name of the town, because there's already another state capital Harrisburg.


We got picked up by another friend Saturday night and driven out to Chan's Thai Kitchen.  We had a good meal and good conversation.  This is, I'm told, the only Thai restaurant in town and it's way out by the university. [HarpboyAK corrects me in the comments, noting Suwanna Cafe in the Jordan Creek Mall.]  And the portions are pretty big.  But last Saturday night's Thai dinner was much more sublime.  But it was at someone's home.

Year of the Tiger Begins

From Year of the Tiger:

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2010 is the Year of the Tiger, which commences on February 14, 2010 and ends on February 2, 2011. The Tiger is the third sign in the Chinese Zodiac cycle, and it is a sign of bravery. This courageous and fiery fighter is admired by the ancient Chinese as the sign that keeps away the three main tragedies of a household. These are fire, thieves and ghosts. . .

Just as how their counterparts in the jungle are impulsive, so too are individuals born in the Chinese Year of the Tiger. When people think of tigers, it is their vigor and power that comes to mind first. But it has also been noted that tigers are known to share and are unselfish animals. The reason people admire the tiger is due to the fact that they are ferocious and domineering on the outside, but they are just as noble and distinguished on the inside. These are the same personality attributes that persons will have who are born in the Year of the Tiger.

People that are born in the Year of the Tiger are generally well liked because of their charismatic personalities. Often, failing at a given duty or being unproductive in his personal or professional life can cause a Tiger to experience a deep sense of depression.A Tiger is always at their happiest when they endeavor to climb the ladder of success. Attaining the top spot is his foremost purpose; being in a position of power is her ultimate goal. They are quick learners, need to be challenged and often prefer to work alone. Some Tigers tend to change careers more frequently because they get bored quite easily. They are natural born leaders and perform at their best if working towards positions of power and influence. So once there is no further room for progression, they will often move on to something else. [The rest at Year of the Tiger.]

From Chinese Fortune Calendar:

 2010 is Year of Tiger and it will arrive on February 4, 2010. Many people must be eager to know they have better luck in the coming year than 2009. Here, we want to use Chinese Astrology Five Elements (Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth) theory to explain people fortune in 2010 and foresee what will be happening to them in year of Tiger.

According to Chinese Five Element Astrology Calendar, 2010 is the Year of Metal Tiger . Gold is related to Metal and money. People who like to talk about wealth will say that 2010 is a Golden Tiger year. In Five Elements (Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth)  theory, the color representing metal is White. Therefore, we also can say that 2010 is the Year of White Tiger. The White Tiger is connected to the symbol of jinx in China history. Some Chinese might consider that 2010 White Tiger is a bad year.

Chinese Astrology is a Balance Theory of Five Elements. Each animal can be converted into Five Elements. Tiger contains Mainly Wood, Fire and little Earth. Wood and Fire together will make Fire stronger. Metal is afraid of Fire and Metal is also against Wood. That means Metal and Tiger together will fight each other, which implies 2010 won't come quietly and peacefully. We can image that 2010 is a Tiger wearing armor. This Tiger doesn't like armor on the top its body and keeps jumping around. For safety, we should keep our distance from it. That's why many Chinese don't like White Tiger.

Tiger has the potential to become vigorous, ferocious and cruel. So Tiger is a symbol of power and authority. This kind of personality is good for the leadership. With the inflexible and destructive personality, Tiger has very poor people relationship, especially, with family members. In traditional customary, Chinese family don't invite people born in year of Tiger to involve private wedding ceremony. [the rest at Chinese Fortune Calendar]

Alaska Humanities Forum Pitches In Juneau

This is part of my continuing coverage of the people who come to Juneau to talk to their legislators.  Of course, I'm only you showing a fraction of 1%.  But just to give you an idea.

I ran into Jim MacKenzie in the hall outside the Senate Finance Subcommittee meeting Thursday. Jim, a former student, runs the Leadership Anchorage program at the Alaska Humanities Forum.  He and others from the forum, including his boss, AHF president and CEO Greg Kimura, to tell legislators about what the Humanities Forum is doing.  Fortunately for me, they also were serving lunch (this was the first time I've gone in without breakfast).

So here's Jim and Greg on the video. 

I did ask Greg who they could justify bringing so many people down to Juneau and he said they are doing double duty, visiting with people involved in Humanities Forum programs here in Juneau.  Up til now, he said, they haven't had any state funding, but their funding for the summer history teachers workshops has run out, and this is a really important program to help teachers teach Alaska history.

This is their Alaska history curriculum for high school teachers.  The DVD's have historic Alaska films that they converted.









They also published this statehood anniversary collection, Alaska at 50,  which Greg said was the top seller at the University Press.  That's probably not saying a lot.

Senate Finance Subcommitte Looks at Insurance, Energy, Industrial Development, Fish, and Travel

Working in the Capitol building is like being a pin ball.  You go in one direction (Thursday I went to the State Affairs Committee at 8am) and then you find yourself colliding with other balls and going off in a lot of different, unexpected directions.

I met someone who suggested I head to the Senate Finance Commerce subcommittee where I heard people present their budget proposals for the

• Division of Insurance
• Alaska Energy Authority (AEA)
•  Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA)
• Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute
• Alaska Tourism Industry Association (ATIA)

Each department had documents, some with more, some with less, data.  They all say they do good things.  And they may well do such things.  Or some might others might not.  The Division of Insurance director Linda Hall sounded sincerely interested in helping Alaskan consumers avoid being caught in insurance fraud.  They were the only group to keep their handout to one piece of two-sided paper.  But I really dislike when agencies use shortened numbers without telling people how many zeroes to add.  I know their budget is more than $6,816.5.  Do I add two zeroes?  Three?  Insiders know this, but how should the public know?  They say the collected $58 million in premium taxes, penalties, and fees.  They got $214,000 in additional payments to Alaskans.  That doesn't sound like much when short hospital event can cost $40,000 or more.
Their public service pledge is "to consistently exceed the expectations of those we serve."  That's cool.  I wonder if they do.  Good goal though.

The others were less consumer protection or regulation sorts of agencies.  At least the Seafood Marketing Institute spells out its budget request total = $18.7 million, of which $3.7 comes from the State of Alaska, $9.1 million from 'voluntary industry assessments' and $5 million from the federal government.  They gave an example of a Brussels Trade Show that cost about $300,000 and netted in $36,000,000 in on site sales and '$394,000,000 more projected for the year.'  And their website has some recipes:

Chef John Besh's Wild Alaska Seafood Recipes You Can Make At Home:

• Blackened Wild Alaska Cod with Fennel and Orange Salad
• Wild Alaska Halibut with Mushrooms and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
• Lacquered Wild Alaska Salmon in Butter Lettuce Cups with Vietnamese Dipping Sauce
• Grilled Wild Alaska Cod Tacos

 But this is like buying a home or a car after looking at the brochures.  On the other hand, I don't know what the committee members know already, and who all else has scrutinized the budget. 

Their website is really a marketing site for Alaskan Seafood, so it really wouldn't make sense for them to post the handouts they gave the committee there, but I couldn't figure out how to get the stuff from the committee site either.  You can get their annual report on line.  Sen. Menard praised the Seafood Marketing Institute for their great ads in the Alaska Airline magazine.

 I just don't know enough about this process.  The Alaska Tourism Industry Association handed out a hard copy of a power point presentation.  It was pretty simplistic.  It did list the 2009-2010 44 Marketing Committee Volunteers, but did NOT list the 24 members of the Board of Directors. 

[Photo is, I believe, Patti Mckay of ATIA reporting to Sens. Menard and Thomas. Double click photos to enlarge.]

The Republican Party is the one that argues most strenuously for the free market and against government intervention.  Except for the Division of Insurance, the agencies at the meeting seem to be government agencies helping out businesses.  As a Democrat, I tend to think that government has a role in helping to stimulate the economy, but I certainly would have asked more rigorous questions than the two Republicans on the panel, Sen. Thomas and Sen. Menard, to be sure that the money was going to give a significant return.  There just wasn't enough information in any of the handouts for me to be able to judge.  And there wasn't much time to ask many probing questions either. 


Chip Thoma from Responsible Cruising in Alaska was there and gave me a copy of a list of questions for the committee to ask ATIA.  Thoma wants to know why the state's share of ATIA is now 75% when it used to be 50%. [These are not my figures.]  He also wants to see backup for the information ATIA offers and questions the lobbying efforts of ATIA in conjunction with the Alaska Cruise Association, which, he says:

• oppose the one-halibut limit on guided sport fishing, a major cruise ship excursion that pays large monetary commissions to the cruise lines.
• oppose the state cruise passenger tax, which pays for cruise-related capital projects in 12 ports throughout the state
• criticize the legislature for 'hoarding' cruise tax moneys
• support cruise lines and the ACA filing a federal lawsuit against the state cruise passenger tax

I don't know enough about any of these agencies to know if they are using the money responsibly and effectively, but I do know that the handouts they gave the committee certainly didn't give enough information either.  

And, to continue the pinball analogy, when I went into the hall, I bumped into a former student and when I went to look for him a little later, he was in a nearby room pitching for the Alaska Humanities Forum.  This constant sudden change in trajectory due to random meetings is probably okay for a blogger, but I wonder how legislators and staffers get anything real thinking done. 

For the Snowbound - Consider a Break in Springlike Juneau

I'm afraid these aren't great photos, I've been trying to get some shots, while rushing to work in the mornings,  that would show off why the snow bound might want to consider a weekend break in Alaska. 

 

 Wednesday

Wednesday - This is Franklin Street.  

Notice the snow is on the mountains, not in the streets.

Thursday. Mountains, not in the streets.

Today.  With Sunshine. From our window.

Today, sun and blue sky.  From another window.

And just so I don't get accused of misleading you, here's a map of Alaska, showing you that Juneau is in what is called Southeast Alaska.  To get your bearings, Southeast is north and west of the US Northwest.  The map will enlarge a lot if you click it.

And for those who want to wish Abraham Lincoln a happy birthday (and Charles Darwin), you can singalong at least year's post on this day with the Anchorage cast of Hair.

Security Cam

The Thomas B. Stewart Building just opened recently after being remodeled. It's still not quite finished. The stairwells, for example, aren't done. The new staff and public lounge is here at the end of the bridge from the second floor of the Capitol.

So, Thursday as I was typing away, the worker came in and installed this new security camera. I asked him where I should sit so the camera wouldn't see me. He said, they're installing it to keep an eye on bloggers. (I realize as I write this now, that some people might not realize that he said this jokingly, having seen me doing video interviews in this room.)

Boyd McFail Lobbying Against Mandatory Car Daytime Headlights

I keep being amazed by the number and variety of people walking the halls of the Capitol to make their case to legislators. Alaskans complain that Juneau is far away and isolated and people can't get to see their legislators. It may be hard to get here, but once people get here, I imagine any other state Capitol buildings being more accessible than Alaska's. And people manage to get here.  It's crawling with people from all over the state. And you can walk into a legislator's office and if you can't see the legislator right then, they'll probably offer you another time or a staffer who will take down your story. I've never been in another state's legislative building during a session so I don't know how accessible they are, but here the building is wide open for any and everyone to walk into the building and into most anyone's office. Among the many people in the halls today were a group from Bristol Bay, the Alaska Humanities Forum (I'll try to get a post up on them) dentists, people advocating for public transit, and who knows what all else.

Here's a video Boyd McFail explaining why he's against mandatory daytime headlights on Alaska highways just before talking to Rep. Max Gruenberg.

Sorry about the audio, I've turned off the autostart

The Gavel to Gavel embedded audios in the last two days, unfortunately, were set to start playing audio automatically. I had this problem once before with a video but it was a while back and I had to go look up how to turn it off.

It's really not to hard. Just look in the embed code. It will say 'autostart' somewhere followed "true." The true makes it turn on automatically when someone opens the page. You just have to replace the "true" with "false" and then people have to click on it to start it.

It's a real pain - especially on blogs - and I'll try to talk to the Gavel to Gavel folks and get them to change the embed codes so it doesn't go on automatically. For more information about the codes, this Apple tutorial makes it easy.