Video: Alaska Republican Party Dysfunction on Display in Fairbanks

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The Alaskan Republican Party central committee meeting in Fairbanks on Saturday, September 22, 2012, adjourned after only an hour, proving that the dysfunction of the state party is only growing worse.

Apparently, a dispute arose over a member of the ARP SCC who was recording the meeting. After a motion to remove the member who was recording passed, the meeting was recessed so he could leave. Later, when many of the members of the SCC were apparently no longer in the room, the out-going ARP Chair, Randy Ruedrich, adjourned the meeting without conducting additional business.

The below video is lengthy. You may want to skip forward to the discussion about recording the SCC at about 50 minutes. Ruedrich’s adjournment then occurs at about 1:06.

Stay tuned for a column from a district chair who attended this SCC meeting.

Restoring Liberty Now Second Most-Read Alaskan News Site

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This past weekend, the Restoring Liberty news site passed another milestone. As of Friday, it now exceeds the liberal Fairbanks News Miner in Internet traffic ranking, leaving only the Anchorage Daily News with more US web users.

This is an exciting development. As reported earlier this month, Restoring Liberty surpassed the traffic of the Alaska Dispatch blog. The Dispatch blog, founded and funded by Alice Rogoff, wife of billionaire and former Carter-adviser David Rubenstein, seems to have a single purpose: tearing down any efforts to reform the corrupt political establishment in Alaska (Ms. Rogoff has not responded to Restoring Liberty’s written request for an investigative interview). Profit seems to be no objective as it reputedly sucks in millions of dollars per year and is quite staff-heavy. Advertising revenue is likely a mere fraction of expenses.

Similarly, the News-Miner has significant funding behind it. The paper, the oldest in the State of Alaska with the second-highest circulation, is controlled by the family trusts of Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder, the founders of the MediaNews Group. This entity also owns 56 other newspapers throughout the United States as well as KTVA in Anchorage, the television station that was caught attempting to fabricate a story about my campaign and child molesters in 2010.

Although rarely reported by either biased outlet, both the News-Miner and the Alaska Dispatch filed lawsuits connected with my campaign. The Alaska Dispatch remains embroiled in litigation in an attempt to secure legal fees against me related to the Fairbanks North Star Borough case.

As many computer-savvy readers already know, Internet rankings are not entirely static. But at the time of the writing of this column, the national ranking for JoeMiller.us stands at 12,038, Fairbanks News-Miner – 12,303, Alaska Dispatch – 13,167, KTUU – 15,644, the Juneau Empire – 29,324, KTVA – 70,022, Alaska Public Radio – 105,178, and the Mat-Su Frontiersman – 223,982. [Current statistics for each site are available from Alexa.com]

The fact that Alaskans are turning away from our corrupted media to solid conservative sources is incredibly encouraging. Please support our efforts by advertising at Restoring Liberty. And let your favorite businesses know about Restoring Liberty as well. Advertising revenue will allow us to hire staff reporters so that we can fully displace the biased press from the State of Alaska. You can also contribute by sending us tips ([email protected]) and by providing original content on liberty-oriented topics.

Kathleen and I thank you for your readership, prayers, and other support. May God Bless our efforts together to Restore Liberty!

Common Sense and a breath of fresh air for the Mat-Su

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A tiny ray of common sense is peeking out of the court system. The court threw out a lawsuit from Friends of Mat-Su against Usibelli Coal mine. The plaintiffs are miffed and say the problem is all about “constant blasting, coal dust,” “trucking of coal through our community” and “health and safety of thousands of families living near the mine and the transportation route throughout the Mat-Su Valley,” but the real reason for the suit was to shut down coal development. Alaska is one of the richest states in natural resources.

Cook Inlet Keepers have sued to reverse the federal government permit granted the Mat-Su Borough for a rail extension to Point MacKenzie because it “would harm the environment” and is “not needed because Alaska already has three tidewater ports.”

What do these two organizations, Friend of Mat-Su and Cook Inlet Keepers have in common? Mark Masteller.

Mark Masteller is the former chair of the MSB Planning Commission and currently serves as the Alaska Director for Cascadia Green Building Council. He is also a board member of Friends of Mat-Su.

Masteller is now challenging Larry DeVilbiss, our current Mat-Su Borough Mayor for the seat Larry has been doing a fine job at.

While on the Planning Commission, Masteller’s idea of conservative management was to slap heavy regulations on all natural resource development including the timber industry, coal bed methane gas exploration, and local power generation. It seems Masteller has a one track mind: green projects, energy efficient buildings and multiple smaller energy projects. Does anybody remember Solyndra? Masteller’s slogan is “A bright future for the Mat-Su,” but if he imposes more taxes, codes and regulations, the Valley will be one dark cold place.

In January 2011, Larry DeVilbiss, brought a breath of conservative fresh air to the Valley when he won the Mat-Su Borough Mayor seat. Larry brought his extensive experience and common sense as a farmer, School Board member, MEA Board of Directors, Borough Assemblyman, and long time Valley resident to his job as mayor.

Larry wants to develop resources responsibly, knowing that we can use our God-given natural resources wisely and beneficially for businesses and Valley families. Larry opposes government overreach, and California style regulation. Larry’s concern for opportunity for the people of our valley is what drove him to run for mayor just one year ago. Already we are seeing a huge increase in business and job creation with over 750 new business licenses this year alone. And, in the environment of a national recession, with Larry as mayor, over 800 new jobs have been generated in the Borough.

As a businessman, Larry understands the importance of an economy that is local as opposed to remaining a bedroom community. Larry doesn’t rubber stamp big government either. Larry worked to cut the budget, redundant or unnecessary positions and wasteful spending. He also uses integrity and thought about levying the least burdensome taxes for property owners, as well as pushing tasks needed by the Borough out to professionals in the private sector, thereby limiting government and expanding private sector jobs and still providing the services needed for Valley residents, families and businesses.

Mayor Larry DeVilbiss stays connected to the public by giving highlights of Assembly meetings in his podcast, the Mayor’s Minute. Many weighty subjects are addressed and it’s not just a gab session—Important things get accomplished in his interaction with the Borough Assembly. Here are just a few of the ones this last week:

• Approved wided supported Gas LID
• Approved a long-stalled road project in South Big Lake. This project has been desparately needed and in the works for sometime, but was stalled at the State level. Now with the Borough taking over it, by the summer of 2013, Big Lake residents from Jade Lake to Burma Road will enjoy improvements of a straighter, wider road.
• Discussed buyers for Susitna Ferry along with a debate on insurance costs for the M/V Susitna
• The issuance of $13.6 million in the voter-adopted, legislature-blessed road bond projects, just the beginning of the $64 million package. The issuance of bond money is sold in parts, matched by the state for roads, infrastructure and such for Borough wide needs, lessens the impact on the tax rate and also sets a completion date for the projects.
• $23.5 million in legislative grants for the ongoing construction of the Port MacKenzie Rail Extension

Larry’s humor, honesty, thoughtful moral character, and hard work ethic have been a huge asset to not only the Mat-Su Borough, but the entire state. Larry issued the first Mat-Su Borough proclamation in support of the National Day of Prayer. Larry is unequivocally pro-life and is always willing to speak up for the Right to Life. Alaska Right to Life PAC has fully endorsed Larry.

With the help of true conservatives like Mayor DeVilbiss, and newly elected Representative Shelly Hughes and Senator Elect Mike Dunleavy, we will back up government overreach and regulation while creating private sector jobs, opportunities and businesses that will ensure the best future of Valley families.

With Alaska’s Higher Costs, Dividends Won’t Go Far

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This is the day Alaskans crow about to their brethren in the Lower 48, trying to make them jealous that the government gives them money to just live here.

Alaskans got the word Tuesday that this year’s Permanent Fund Dividend will be $878. Almost all Alaskans — nearly 647,000 people — will receive a dividend, their yearly share of the state’s oil wealth.

But what your Alaskan friends may not tell you is that the yearly bounty barely makes a dent in the higher cost to live in the nation’s northernmost state — and this year’s checks won’t go far.

Living in Alaska costs more since most everything has to be shipped in. In fact, 90 percent of all goods sold in the state pass through the Port of Anchorage.

There’s no such thing as a dollar menu at a fast-food restaurant in Alaska — it’s more like a $1.50 or $2 menu. And there’s a reason why many TV commercials advertising prices have a line in small print at the bottom saying prices may be higher in Alaska and Hawaii: It’s because they are.

Read more from this story HERE.

Shell’s Safety System Problems Plague Arctic Plans

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Photo credit: Daquella manera

Safety equipment that Shell Oil volunteered to put into place for drilling off the coast of Alaska is complicating the company’s quest to reach oil-bearing rock during the short open-water drilling season this year.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC announced Monday that a containment dome being tested off the coast of Bellingham, Wash., was damaged Saturday night in its final test. Time needed to repair the damage, on top of delays from ice and waiting for the Alaska Natives’ whaling season to end, figured into a decision to cancel plans to complete exploratory wells this year in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.

“We can see that we’re better off optimizing this year around top holes and next year drilling into hydrocarbons,” Shell Oil President Marvin Odum told The Associated Press. “That’s the way we get the best out of a multiyear approach.”

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last month cited Shell’s failure to obtain certification for the Arctic Challenger, the oil spill response barge that will carry the containment dome, as the prime reason the company has not been able to drill into hydrocarbon zones this year.

Shell Alaska spokesman Curtis Smith said Monday the dome is one of several precautions against a major spill.

Read more from this story HERE.

Commerce secretary declares Alaska salmon disaster

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Photo credit: Peber the Swede

King salmon fisheries in major Alaska watersheds have been declared failures by the U.S. Department of Commerce, making commercial fishermen eligible for disaster relief.

Acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank announced the disaster declaration Thursday for the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, which flow into the Bering Sea, and for Cook Inlet region south of Anchorage, which includes the Kenai River.

“Some Cook Inlet salmon fisheries have experienced revenue losses of up to 90 percent of their historical average during the 2012 season, seriously hurting local economies that are dependent on fishing,” Blank said in her announcement.

The Yukon River is North America’s third-longest. Villages along the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers depend on chinook salmon for both commercial sales and subsistence needs, Blank said.

King salmon are the largest of the five Pacific salmon that thrive in Alaska waters. They hatch in freshwater streams, live a year in rivers and spend three to four years in ocean water before returning to streams to breed and die. Some spawning Yukon River kings swim more than 2,000 miles over two months across the width of Alaska to reach headwaters in Canada, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Read more from this story HERE.

Electoral College Members May Vote Against GOP Nominee

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At least three Republican electors say they may not support their party’s presidential ticket when the Electoral College meets in December to formally elect the new president, escalating tensions within the GOP and adding a fresh layer of intrigue to the final weeks of the White House race.

The electors — all are supporters of former GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul — told The Associated Press they are exploring options should Mitt Romney win their states. They expressed frustration at how Republican leaders have worked to suppress Paul’s conservative movement and his legion of loyal supporters.

“They’ve never given Ron Paul a fair shot, and I’m disgusted with that. I’d like to show them how disgusted I am,” said Melinda Wadsley, an Iowa mother of three who was selected a Republican elector earlier this year. She said she believes Paul is the better choice and noted that the Electoral College was founded with the idea that electors wouldn’t just mimic the popular vote.

The defection of multiple electors would be unprecedented in the last 116 years of U.S. politics. And it would raise the remote possibility that the country could even end up with a president and vice president from different parties.

If Romney prevailed in an extremely close presidential election, for example, defections could deprive him of the Electoral College majority needed to secure the presidency. That would throw the presidential election into the U.S. House for the first time in nearly two centuries. The Senate would elect the vice president if neither running mate got a majority of the electoral votes. If Republicans retained control of the House, and with the each state delegation getting a single vote, Romney probably would prevail. But if the Senate remained in Democratic hands, Vice President Joe Biden would be the favorite.

Read more from this story HERE.

Sea Ice Halts Shell Alaska’s Drilling of its Landmark Oil Well in Chukchi Sea

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Photo credit: NASA Goddard

Only a day after Shell Alaska began drilling a landmark offshore oil well in the Arctic, the company was forced on Monday to pull off the well in the face of an approaching ice pack.

With the ice floe about 10 miles away, the Noble Discoverer drilling rig was disconnecting from its seafloor anchor Monday afternoon in the Chukchi Sea, about 70 miles from the northwest coast of Alaska.

Company ice trackers had been carefully monitoring ocean ice and, when the wind direction changed and the ice floe began moving closer, they advised that the rig shut down and disconnect from the well, Shell spokeswoman Kelly op de Weegh told the Los Angeles Times.

Op de Weegh said that the ice floe, 30 miles long and about 10 miles wide, wasn’t an immediate threat but that engineers elected to halt operations as a precaution.

“The Arctic if anything is dynamic,” she said. “That’s why we have the capabilities we have to monitor sea ice, as well as the ability to safely alter our operations.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska Feed & Food Prices Set to Soar

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I’m pretty sure that most readers here, don’t really live under rocks. And, they most certainly do not swallow the mainstream media news bites for everything. Nope, I am positive you all are very good at ferreting out your own news sources for reliable news and information.

So it should come as no shock to you that the drought, coupled with market factors, is going to have a deep and lasting effect on local food prices. In addition to a very poor harvest in some areas, the effects may cause problems with the coming growing seasons too, based on what I am reading lately. Read at AgWeb and other farming websites to gain an idea of the scope of the problems. There is also an excellent map showing drought conditions HERE.

So here is a tidbit that might have escaped your attention: The EPA issued new emissions standards a while back…..this time, they apply to maritime traffic. To lessen these emissions, they are requiring that the cargo ships use a low sulpher fuel mix, in place of the more typical (and much cheaper) bunker fuel that is typically used. TOTE has reached an agreement that allows them to continue to use the normal fuel, based on their promise to overhaul the ships…they are planning on converting to LNG over the next four years. What do you suppose it costs for such a conversion? We, the end consumers, will end up paying for that compliance to the new EPA rules, it’s a given.

Now, if you don’t know the intracacies of shipping to Alaska, that’s fine-but it helps to know a few things, so that when you hear about freight rates, surcharges, and so on, you’ll have an idea what it means on the grocery and feed store shelves. First, the major shipping companies establish a rate for containers, usually twice a year. I believe that this rate may be governed by regulation, but I am not positive. In addition, there is usually an added fuel surcharge. This is applied in addition to the rate, and has been running about 32 percent for the past couple of years. That is, base ship rate, plus 32 percent. (A few years back it was over 35, btw) So if the container costs you $5000 to ship, you will pay an additional $1600, or, $6600 for that container. Most containers have a limit as to weight, but in general, if you can “make weight” you will end up with the cheapest per pound price. Bulky, lightweight items end up costing more, on a per pound basis, due to volume. (Also known as cube if you are shipping LTL, or “less than load”) Now, there is an additional charge being added: Another 32 percent. What their rationale is for adding this, I have no idea but I presume it ties into the increased fuel and expected conversion costs.

So what does all this really mean? Scarce or nonexistent harvest, coupled with very high freight basically means we’re screwed. Royally and completely. Alaska gets over 90% of products through the port, via shipping containers. If you ask the folks working at the local WalMart, they are telling their customers to expect a price increase of as much as 40 percent on the very next shipment. This is due in small part to scarcity from the drought, but mostly due to freight charges. Just yesterday, a family member was told to expect as much as 140 percent increase in feed by spring. And no, that it not a typo. When the full effects of the drought are seen….it’s going to be pretty ugly. Many head of cattle were culled, meaning a temporary drop in price as the market was glutted-this is still ongoing, by the way. Same thing for hogs, and chickens. Now would be a very good time to stuff the freezer if you can. Next year, there will be a reduced number of livestock available, because much of what was slaughtered were producing females-due to either not having pasture, or no hay available, or feed costs prohibitive if shipped into a drought area.

Read more from this story HERE.

Outrage: Alaska’s Human Rights Commission Drives Christian Store Owner Out-of-Business for Religious Discussions with Employees

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Alaska’s Human Rights Commission (HRC), a government agency established to enforce the state’s human rights laws, recently heard a case involving Paul Kopf, the owner of Goldstream General Store in Fairbanks. A former employee, Lynn Dowler, alleged that she was forced to quit because she found the owner’s religious talk too offensive to handle. The HRC determined that Mr. Kopf had discriminated against his employee by speaking openly about his religious views and imposed a $75,000 fine against him.

When I first heard about this ruling several days ago, I was upset. So I sought out Mr. Kopf’s attorney in Fairbanks, Tom Wickwire. After talking to Mr. Wickwire yesterday, I became incensed.

Here’s what Mr. Wickwire told me really happened in the case:

Paul Kopf [also] hired employee Lynn Dowler’s daughter, knowing she was a lesbian. While the daughter worked for Kopf, she went through a very unhappy and stressful break-up of a relationship. It affected her job performance and absenteeism so much that Lynn Dowler recommended, or suggested that Kopf fire her daughter. He didn’t. Instead he kept her on, allowing her time to work through her emotional crisis. This showed compassion and sympathy for an employee with a lifestyle that many do not accept. Kopf also had several other employees who, I will say, lived on the fringes, if not outside of, mainstream society.

This “tolerance” made one of Ms. Dowler’s other allegations, that Mr. Kopf was vehemently intolerant of Catholics, even less believable. Mr. Wickwire continued:

While Dowler was in the hearing trying her best to convince the Admin law Judge that she had reached the point of not being able to take Kopf’s religious talk any longer, it became clear that she had never complained to Kopf that some of his talk was offensive, in fact had never told him she was Catholic. But in the hearing, [she] complained that Kopf was harshly critical of Catholics.

There is clearly established law in other areas that an employee who feels subjected to a hostile work environment has a duty to tell the boss what she finds offensive, so the boss knows and has a chance to stop before getting sued. I briefed this law to the Human Rights Commission and they apparently ignored it.

To make matters worse, after Ms. Dowler quit, she later submitted a list of grievances to Mr. Kopf. This list contained no complaint about religious talk. But the grievance list that was later submitted to the HRC was apparently altered to include a religious discrimination claim. Why? Mr. Wickwire stated that, “for Dowler to have a winnable case, she had to prove she quit because of religious discrimination.” He believes that she added the religious allegation “to the list when she learned, probably from talking to the Human Rights Commission after she quit , that this was the only way they would take her case on.”

Mr. Wickwire concludes:

It was disappointing that the Human Rights Commission did not realize that the First Amendment is what protects the right of a private business owner on his own property in speaking his mind. This right, and its limits, seems particularly important when our nation has embarked on a debate about Mormonism and what would it mean to have a Mormon President. We should not punish people for expressing their religious beliefs, including doubts or criticisms of other religions. The US Supreme Court has said in many First Amendment decisions that free, open vigorous debate of conflicting viewpoints is the surest and safest way to expose unworthy ideas and have the best ones gain acceptance. This case, and the HRC’s handling of it has set us back.

What was accomplished here?

Kopf is broke. His belief in America as a country that values differing religions and encourage lively religious debate is much shaken. If the HRC is right, it has taught Kopf that he can think what he wants but had better not talk about his faith.

An employer who had shown himself willing to hire people who were otherwise not likely to get decent paying jobs, is run out of business.

The Right of individuals to speak about their faith on their own property freely, without fear of persecution is now in question, at least in Alaska.