What’s Wrong With Alaska’s Congressional Delegation?

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Most Alaskans know that their congressional delegation is pretty liberal, with the some-times exception of the ethically-challenged Don Young. Anyone watching this past week’s Senate votes by Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich would have a hard time disagreeing with that conclusion.

Here’s a recap:

Photo ID for Elections. Sen. David Vitter proposed an amendment requiring photo ID for voters. Only two Republicans voted against it. Yep, you guessed it: Lisa Murkowski was one of them, joining her Democrat colleague Mark Begich in sending the measure to defeat.

Abortion Mandate for Religious Groups. Pro-abortion Democrat Jeanne Shaheen offered an amendment reaffirming the requirement that religious groups, notwithstanding their sincerely-held moral objections, must provide abortion drugs and birth control to their insureds. The measure passed with both Murkowski and Begich’s supporting votes.

Banning Former Illegal Aliens from Healthcare Benefits. Sen. Jeff Sessions offered an amendment that would have banned former illegal aliens from receiving government medical benefits. His effort failed. Both Murkowski and Begich voted against the proposal.

United Nations Funding/China’s Abortion Policy. See this article on Murkowski and Begich’s votes opposing Senator Cruz’s point of order against funding the United Nations as long as any of its member nations have a policy of involuntary abortions.

Finally, both Murkowski and Begich supported President Obama’s controversial anti-gun judicial nominee, Caitlin Halligan. That support went down in defeat this week with Obama’s withdrawal of the nominee after a lengthy GOP filibuster.

Miniature Horse Aids Alaska Boy With Special Needs

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Photo Credit: AP

A young miniature horse in sneakers is helping a 4-year-old special needs child at an Anchorage public elementary school. Zoe, a black mare, is a service animal for preschooler Zaiden Beattie at Russian Jack Elementary School. It’s the only service horse in an Alaska school _ and after multiple online searches, the only service horse Principal Elizabeth Hornbuckle could find at any school in the nation.

Zaiden is one of 300 children in the U.S. diagnosed with A-T, or ataxia-telangiectasia, a genetic disorder that progressively robs children of their ability to coordinate movement such as walking. Zaiden’s mother, Lesley Zacharias, a professional horse trainer, is teaching Zoe to help Zaiden walk steadily until the disease inevitably shackles him to a wheelchair.

“He moves around a lot better and has more energy if he’s got a hand on someone, either holding someone’s hand or a hand on something,” Zacharias said. “My personal goal is first grade with a pony instead of a walker.”

The head of the 10-month-old horse only rises to an adult’s waist and is almost irresistible to touch, though training protocols call for her to be petted on the neck, not the face, and only when given permission. Zoe is calm but playful, eager to play or work, and lets her owners know it by nuzzling their hands.

The sturdy, 150-pound animal began making appearances in Zaiden’s preschool classroom in January. Early training began with socialization _ exposure to crowds and loud noises such as the school’s fire alarm. Now she’s learning tasks.

Read more from this story HERE.

Murkowski’s Folly: No Road For King Cove

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Photo Credit: U.S. Army Alaska

Alaska has long received more than its fair share of federal tax dollars, as evidenced by its perennial first place ranking in pork per capita according to Citizens Against Government Waste’s (CAGW) Congressional Pig Book. Now, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) wants taxpayers to pay for a road in her state linking the town of King Cove (about 750 year-round residents) to Cold Bay and the latter’s all-weather airport, purportedly for safety reasons. In February, Sen. Murkowski threatened to block the nomination of Sally Jewell to be Secretary of the Interior unless the road was approved.

Sen. Murkowski’s pet project had previously been rebuffed by the Department of the Interior because the road would run through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Environmental Impact Statement, the road would cost $22.7 million, but data from the Alaska Statewide Improvement Transportation budget projections from fiscal years 2010-2015 suggest that the cost of the road could exceed $80 million, or more than $2 million per mile. Undeterred, Sen. Murkowski stated on February 12 that she was “prepared to consider all actions available…to convince this administration that denying the people of King Cove reliable access to medical care would be a travesty.” This week, Sen. Murkowski struck a deal with the Interior Department to get the road proposal reevaluated and toned down her rhetoric regarding the nomination.

Predictably, it appears that commercial interests, not medical emergencies, are the primary driver of the project. According to a February 24, 2013 Washington Post article, “Originally, both area residents and state officials viewed the road as a way to bolster the region’s fishing industry. …when King Cove passed its first resolution calling for its construction, it did not mention safety concerns and instead called for the road to ‘link together two communities having one of the state’s premier fishing port/harbors.'” The “safety” defense emerged only after it appeared unlikely that the road would receive federal funds.

Read more from this story HERE.

Message to PETA: Stay the Hell Out of Alaska

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From grieving the “enormous suffering” of dead fish to demanding that Honey Boo Boo rename Nugget, her pet chicken, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) seems to be pursuing an increasingly fringe agenda. The crazier the radical group becomes, the more it attempts to cram its animal rights agenda down throats of every American.

One of its latest campaigns is focused on Alaska’s Iditarod … again. This time, PETA complains that Iditarod volunteers and a Fairbanks musher should face criminal charges because her dog died while awaiting transport.

This unfortunate incident occurred after the musher’s dog was “dropped” at the Unalakleet checkpoint and the musher and her team continued on to Nome. A storm hit Unalakleet after the musher left. Iditarod volunteers then placed her dog, as well as a number of others that had been dropped, in an area protected from wind. Transportation for the dogs was delayed by the storm, several were buried by the snowfall, and the musher’s dog died.

Although there’s little doubt that Iditarod procedures can and should be improved to avoid this type of situation in the future, there’s absolutely no evidence of criminal intent by any Alaskan in the death of the dog.

But here’s the kicker: it was just disclosed this week that PETA, the same organization demanding criminal prosecution over the accidental death of a musher’s dog, hypocritically slaughtered 90% of the cats and dogs brought to one of its “rescue” facilities last year:

The charity, well-known for attention grabbing publicity campaigns such as the ‘I’d rather go naked’ anti-fur campaign, euthanized 1,647 cats and dogs last year and only placed 19 in new homes according to the data submitted to the Virginia Department for Agriculture and Consumer Services.

PETA’s hypocrisy reflects how morally bankrupt the group really is. Alaskans of all stripes should reject its meddling in the Last Frontier.

Ethics Committee Investigating Rep. Don Young Of Alaska … Again

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Photo Credit: Marc Lester

The House of Representatives Ethics Committee is investigating Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young over allegations of wrongly taking gifts, using campaign funds for personal purposes and lying to federal officials.

The ethics committee said Tuesday that it was creating an investigative subcommittee to determine whether Young broke the law or House rules. The decision to move forward with an investigation follows an initial probe by the ethics panel in which it reviewed evidence against Young.

Young declined a request for an interview to discuss the allegations. “We have no comment at this time,” Young spokesman Michael Anderson said, adding that Young has cooperated with investigators and will continue to do so.

The allegations are that Young “or persons acting on his behalf improperly obtained, received or accepted gifts, improperly used official resources or campaign funds for personal purposes, failed to report certain gifts on his annual financial disclosure statements and made false statements to federal officials.”

Corruption investigations have dogged Young for years. At one point, the Justice Department drew up a draft indictment that included the synopsis that “Donald Young, in his capacity as congressman of Alaska, accepted and expected things of value (trips, meals, golf, etc.) from lobbyists, and in exchange he would provide them with official actions (meetings, letters, legislation).” The indictment wasn’t used, and Young has not been charged.

Read more from this story HERE.

This is Your State! This is Your Educational System! This is Your Constitution!

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We need your help. We are asking every freedom loving Alaskan to call into the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting scheduled for this Monday, March 18, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. Senate Joint Resolution 9 (SJR9) will have its SECOND hearing at this time. SJR9 will allow the people, YOU, to have an opportunity to weigh in on YOUR constitution. If SJR9 is passed out of committee as well as the Finance Committee, it will go to the Senate floor for a 2/3 vote. The House has a companion resolution and if it passes there with a 2/3 vote as well, this will appear on the 2014 ballot for a vote by YOU the people to see if YOU wish to change the constitutional language in the education section. There are some associated with special interest groups who do not want you to have the ability to weigh in your constitution. To me, this is unacceptable.

This is YOUR state!
This is YOUR educational system!
This is YOUR constitution!

It does not belong to the teacher’s union. It does not belong to those who fear you -the people. It does not belong to those who are afraid that parents might have more options in how to educate their children. This is about freedom. Freedom to decide. Freedom to choose. Freedom to vote on YOUR constitution. If we allow those who wish to own our constitution, our educational system, and most importantly, our children—if we allow them to prevail, we capitulate our rights and responsilities as free people and free Alaskans to special interests.

This is not about supporting one religion over another, or using public funds to directly fund church or private schools – SJR9 DOES NOT DO ANY OF THIS. Those in opposition of your right to vote on your constitution want to portray it in this manner to scare people from exercising the fundamental right to weigh in on your constitution. Please don’t let them win.

I need your help. I have sponsored this resolution on behalf of those who want to enhance our public educational system, to continue current practices that serve thousands of Alaskans, for those who wish to have more of a say in how one educates one’s children, and for those who believe in freedom of choice.

There are many steps in this process. We need you there supporting us throughout. Please call in to the committee meeting today (Monday, March 18, 2013) at 1:30 p.m. Please tell the committee that you want an opportunity to vote on your constitution. Tell them to LET THE PEOPLE VOTE!

If we win, we move closer to enshrining more freedom for all Alaskans.

US To Deploy More Ground-Based Missile Interceptors As North Korea Steps Up Threats (+video)

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Photo Credit: The U.S. Army

The U.S. is deploying 14 new ground-based missile interceptors in Alaska to counter renewed nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday.

The new interceptors will be based at Fort Greely, an Army launch site about 100 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, and are projected to be fully deployed by 2017, Hagel said. The additions will bring the U.S.-based ground interceptor deployment from 30 to 44, including four that are based in California.

That will boost U.S. missile defense capability by 50 percent and “make clear to the world that the United States stands firm against aggression,” he said in a briefing at the Pentagon.

The announcement comes as North Korea has been making bellicose threats to void the armistice that ended the Korean War and launch a nuclear attack on the U.S. The U.S. and South Korea began annual military drills this week despite the North Korean threats.

Hagel said the U.S. would also shift some “resources,” which he didn’t specify, from the delayed Aegis anti-missile program in Europe to U.S.-based defenses, saying the Aegis program was “lagging” because of reduced congressional funding. And he reiterated previously announced plans to add a second U.S. anti-ballistic missile radar installation in Japan.

watch video here:

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Interior Chief: Shell ‘Screwed Up,’ Must Improve To Resume Arctic Affort

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Photo Credit: Lee Jordan

Royal Dutch Shell “screwed up” in 2012 during its troubled efforts to begin oil exploration off Alaska’s coast, and must improve planning and contractor oversight before regulators will let it return, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said.

Interior on Thursday released the findings of its 60-day review of the oil giant’s mishap-filled effort to begin looking for oil in Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast last year.

“Shell screwed up in 2012 and we are not going to let them screw up” when they seek to resume their effort, Salazar told reporters on a conference call.

“This review has confirmed that Shell entered the drilling season not fully prepared in terms of fabricating and testing certain critical systems and establishing the scope of its operational plans,” the review states.

Interior said it would require Shell to develop a “comprehensive and integrated” operational plan and complete a third-party audit of its management systems, which are two of the various recommendations in the report.

Read more from this story HERE.

Lazy Approach to Public Policy Remains the Status Quo

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Senate Bill 26 is terrible public policy that drastically alters the sale, exchange, permitting and use of state lands/water. It passed the House under its sister bill HB77. Obviously, the Governor has this on the fast track. Why?, one might ask.

Approximately 223,205 people (AKDOL, R&A, US Census 2010) – one third of the total state population, live in unorganized places all across the state. How will this legislation impact their lifestyles and/or livelihoods? Has this been studied?

Does city, borough or tribal governments have a role in the appeal process? It doesn’t seem so. Are any decisions throughout the appeal process resolved at the local government level before going to the highest (only) level which is Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Commissioner, or in some cases DNR Division Director?

Senate Bill 26 (SB26) gives much too much authority to one person – the Commissioner, Department of Natural Resources. To appeal the Commissioner’s decision is futile. One must appeal to the same Commissioner that wrote the first decision. The Commissioner of DNR is not even required to reply in writing.

SB26 shows an absence of fair appeal, no public impact study, and a minimal public comment opportunity. This combination makes for bad legislation. To add insult to injury, the accompanying fiscal notes say it won’t cost anything. That is unbelievable.

Contact your Senator before it becomes the law of the land. Get the word out. Let elected leaders know we want smarter public policy! We don’t need more sloppy, lazy, legislation.
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Tara Jollie is the former Director of the State of Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs.

Exoskeleton Allows Anchorage Man to Walk (+video)

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Photo Credit: Ekso Bionics

The idea of “wearable robots” may seem like something out of a movie, but this technology is already being used in real life.

Started as a project for the military, the exoskeleton has transformed from a device designed to allow soldiers to lift heavy loads and walk further to one that enables people with disabilities to step out of wheelchairs and stand upright.

The “Ekso” is a bionic exoskeleton developed by Ekso Bionics that gives paraplegics upright mobility. While the commercial version of the Ekso has recently been made available to hospitals and rehabilitation centers, the company hopes to make the technology more accessible so that people can use it at home and in their everyday lives, with a personal version releasing in 2014.

CEO Eythor Bender sat down with CNN to talk about Ekso, the bionic exoskeleton he helped develop.

CNN: How many years have you been working on exoskeletons?

Bender: We have been working on exoskeletons for the last 10 years. It started as a project with the military and it was funded by DARPA, the same people who funded the Internet and GPS systems. So it was groundbreaking technology, and in the year 2005 we had a breakthrough in terms of making sure that the weight of the exoskeleton transfers all the way down to the ground. So the user who is wearing it — it usually weighs up to 50 pounds — doesn’t feel the weight at all. And that’s so important because obviously you are trying to make their lives easier, not more difficult.

Watch video here:

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