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Joe Miller: These Two New Facts Should Give Everyone Pause

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Photo by Joshua Doubek

Photo by Joshua Doubek

This week we’ve already learned at least two facts that should give pause to anyone who cares about the liberty and prosperity of this country. First, an FBI investigation into the IRS scandal has so far determined there was no criminal wrongdoing and therefore no one should be held accountable. In other words, after investigating itself, the Obama Administration announced, “There is nothing to see here. Move along, Move along.”

This “investigation” was led by a political supporter of Barack Obama, who gave several thousand dollars to his campaign over both cycles. The probe, which reportedly did not even involve interviewing members from most of the targeted tea party and other conservative groups, found the IRS employees implicated were simply ignorant as to the rules. They did not have any particular political motive.

Really? I am not making any of this up.

The “investigation” cleared this atrocious abuse of government power by the IRS, which blatantly violated Americans constitutional rights to freedom of association and freedom of speech.

These are the kinds of unlawful or immoral actions we have come to expect from this Administration. Yet Senator Mark Begich has no intention of standing up for Alaskans’ constitutional rights or the cherished freedoms of all Americans. You only need look to the IRS scandal, the NSA surveillance scandal, the Associated Press wire-tapping scandal, or Benghazi.

Or how about the liberal Politifact’s number-one rated lie of 2013: “If you like your healthcare, you can keep your healthcare”? Senator Begich joined with President Obama in making that promise, yet thousands of Alaskans have seen their plans cancelled.

If you are tired of the lies, and the countless scandals with no one being held accountable, stand with me and help me remove Obama-enabler Senator Begich from office.

The second piece of news is that, for the first time in the history of Index of Economic Freedom published each year by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, the United States does not rank in the top ten nations. Denmark and Ireland moved ahead of the U.S., causing us to drop out of the top ten. We are now the only nation in the history of the index to fall for seven years in a row.

The United States has earned the dubious distinction of being only “mostly free” while other nations enjoy the ranking and benefits of being “free.” The main issues that caused America to lose its place include: new and onerous regulations, including ObamaCare; quantitative easing, where the fed prints money out of thin air; and out of control deficit spending.

If you agree it is time to begin restoring America to the “city on hill” she is meant to be, I need to hear from you today. We can’t win this effort without your help. One thing is for certain, Mark Begich and my Establishment primary opponents will not move America off the path that leads to continued decline.

Rest assured, I am committed to making the United States once again the beacon of freedom, both politically and economically, but I need your help today!

In Liberty,

Joe Miller, Candidate
United States Senate

Alaska Will Be Leaving the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium

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Photo Credit: truth in american education

Photo Credit: truth in american education

Erik McCormick, director of assessment with the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (AK DEED) announced that Alaska will be leaving the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). Governor Parnell and Commissioner Hanley had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SBAC in April of 2013, but withheld announcement of signing the agreement until the legislature had ended the 2013 session in mid-April. The announcement comes days before the beginning of the 2014 legislative session.

The April 2013 announcement spurred controversy during most of the summer and fall of 2013. Many activists in education policy believed that the governor and the AK DEED had overstepped their legal authority in signing the consortium agreement. According to the Alaska state constitution, education authority lies with the legislature not the governor. Case law such as the Moore decision squarely affirmed that the final authority for education was with the legislature.

Unlike any prior consortia, SBAC’s governing board was more like an Agenda 21 regional governing structure. The legislature’s ability to determine policy would have been significantly eroded by continued membership. Federal overreach, along with sovereignty rights were frequently expressed by activists who opposed Alaska’s membership in the consortium.

Activists also expressed concerns because the senior adviser to SBAC is Obama’s campaign adviser, Linda Darling Hammond. Hammond is so radical that Senate Democrats blocked her nomination to the U.S. Department of Education in the early days of Barack Obama’s first term. Hammond is a frequent contributor to the United Nations committee on global education playing a dual role as a U.S. researcher on that committee and as an SBAC adviser. Hammond’s earlier project, CSCOPE was met with considerable controversy in Texas and was recently outlawed in that state.

Second amendment supporters also expressed concern about the consortia. SBAC is housed at the University of California where Janet Napolitano became system president in the late summer of 2013. Because SBAC had a data sharing agreement with the state and the federal government, many Alaskans expressed concern that the consortia was simply surrogate for the federal government to further encroach on Alaska’s privacy and rights.

Several legislators were poised to introduce legislation aimed at eliminating the state’s involvement in the consortia, through either education funding or through substantive legislative language.

Shane Vander Hart of the Truth in American Education website noted,

“Alaska took a great first step in pulling out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. Now they must shine light on the back door approach to implementing the Common Core unbeknownst to their residents.”

AK DEED McCormick also stated that Alaska was contracting with Assessment & Achievement Institute, an organization with the University of Kansas for the construction of the tests for the Alaska State Standards. The state had already been working with another University of Kansas group, DLM Consortium, to create a new Alternate Assessment for students with severe cognitive disabilities.

Activists should not celebrate too soon. Alaska may face circumstances to those faced by Utah, Alabama, Maine, and Michigan when they left SBAC. In those cases, withdrawal from SBAC had to be approved by the SBAC’s governing board and U.S. Department of Education secretary Arne Duncan. In those states, the standards remained controversial because they are very similar to the common core.

______________________
Dr. Barbara Haney is an economist, political activist, and social media consultant in Alaska. She has previously served as a program director and faculty member at University of Alaska, Eastern Illinois University, University of Notre Dame, and other colleges and research institutions. In addition to her university experience, Dr. Haney has served as an ABE educator and a home school educator. She has served as a district chairman, national delegate, and campaign volunteer in various Republican campaigns. Dr. Haney receives mail at [email protected]

Will Educational Freedom in Alaska Dawn in New Year?

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Photo Credit: dmcdevit

Photo Credit: dmcdevit

There is no respect in which inhabitants of a low-income neighborhood are so disadvantaged as in the kind of schooling they can get for their children.” — Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman

Milton Friedman was devoted to freedom — his belief that human free choices and free markets unfettered by government restrictions produce the happiest, healthiest, wealthiest peoples throughout world history. Friedman’s belief in freedom of choice was nowhere more adamant than in the education marketplace — where government-run monopoly public schools often consign poverty families to multi-generational bondage to local failing education institutions. Alaska is fraught with examples from inner city to remote Native regions.

Yet whenever Alaska education choice advocates push for legislation enabling low-income parents more freedom to place their children in the public or private school of their choice, government unions and educratic special interests immediately claim any reform would violate the Alaska Constitution’s Blaine Amendment — which says “No … public funds for the direct benefit of any religious or other private educational institution.”

Rather than debate the many studies which show that both public and private schools perform better when they are competing against each other on a level playing field, the Alaska education cartel simply hides behind this Blaine Amendment.

In order to pave the way for school choice reform, when they re-convene this month Alaska’s Legislature is considering giving Alaska voters the opportunity to vote on abolishing Alaska’s Blaine Amendment.

School choice reform is only one of the many reasons Alaska should rid itself of the Blaine Amendment.

Consider that the U.S. Supreme Court has already declared that state constitution Blaine Amendments are unconstitutional under the federal Constitution, because the 14th Amendment guarantees equal treatment under laws regardless of whether you are religious or not. No prejudicial discrimination is permitted … either for or against a religious organization.

In Mitchell v. Helms (June 28, 2000) the prevailing Court opinion declared: “Hostility to aid to pervasively sectarian [religious] schools has a shameful pedigree that we do not hesitate to disavow. … Opposition to aid to ‘sectarian’ schools acquired prominence in the 1870’s … the [Blaine] amendment arose at a time of pervasive hostility to the Catholic Church and to Catholics in general, and it was an open secret that ‘sectarian’ was code for ‘Catholic’… Nothing in the Establishment Clause requires the exclusion of pervasively sectarian schools from otherwise permissible aid programs, and other doctrines of this Court [i.e., equal protection] bar it. This doctrine [Blaine Amendment], born of bigotry, should be buried now”.

So, in addition to federal unconstitutionality, the second serious flaw in Alaska’s Blaine Amendment is that it’s rooted in religious bigotry.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights conducted a Washington briefing on “The Blaine Amendment & Anti-Catholicism” on June 1, 2007. Panelist Richard D. Komer remarked, “…Blaine Amendments reek of religious discrimination. As such, they are illegitimate relics of a shameful past we have neither adequately acknowledged nor effectively remedied.”

A third flaw with Blaine Amendments is the false narrative that such anti-religious prohibitions are somehow wise or prudent.

Almost 70 years of American history prove repeatedly that religiously neutral student support is effective, efficient and productive.

The GI Bill aids veterans to attend the religious or secular school of their choice with amazing positive results. Child Care and Development Block Grants provide government aid irrespective of the religious (or non-religious) affiliation of the childcare institution with similar positive results. And both federal and state Child Care Tax Credits subsidize parental choice of child care providers with direct credits offsetting expensed regardless of the providers’ religious affiliations.

These are three examples of numerous government aid programs over 70 years which succeeded despite clear diametric conflict with state Blaine Amendments. And the $64,000 question is this: If religiously neutral, competitive, level playing fields are good for college programs, pre-school programs, after school programs, and summertime programs, why aren’t they also good for K-12 regular school programs?

Here’s why: None of these other programs have powerful government unions lobbying against them, opposing any attempts to reform the monopolistic system. That’s the only difference. Politicians need to recognize that key fact and choose sides rather than feigning “constitutionality” crisis issues.

And government union lobbyists need to start debating school choice on the merits of competition. Try refuting the many studies which reveal improved public school performance in school choice marketplaces, rather than clinging to the shameful anti-religious bigotry known as the Blaine Amendment.

Legislators should grant Alaska voters their right to vote on this reeking relic long past its time.

Joe Balyeat ([email protected]) is the state director for School Choice projects for Americans For Prosperity – Alaska. He is a former Montana state senator and National Merit Scholar. He resides part year in his home near Anchor Point.

Alaska Governor Unveils New Plan for Gas Pipeline

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Photo Credit: Arthur Chapman

Photo Credit: Arthur Chapman

Gov. Sean Parnell on Friday announced a new way forward on a long-hoped-for natural gas pipeline that includes scrapping the terms of a 2007 law he says no longer works well for the situation.

In a major policy speech in Anchorage, Parnell said the state and Canadian pipeline builder TransCanada Corp. have agreed to terminate their involvement under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act. He made clear, however, that TransCanada would remain a partner in the project, just under new terms.

Parnell said he would seek legislative approval for the state to participate in a new commercial agreement with TransCanada; the North Slope’s three major players, Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC and ConocoPhillips; and the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. He said he expected a set of terms to be signed soon.

Natural Resources Commissioner Joe Balash called the commercial agreement a “broad roadmap” and statement of intent. He said in an interview that legislation would have to be passed to accomplish what is being contemplated and the state plans to enter a separate, more narrowly defined agreement with TransCanada for pipeline services.

The terms of the inducement act will remain in force for the time being, though the parties envision transitioning into the new arrangement once enabling legislation is passed, Balash said.

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska Fishermen to Walmart: Keep Your Promise

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Photo Credit: jkbrooks85

Photo Credit: jkbrooks85

Alaska fishermen are pledging to take further action to hold Walmart accountable for its ongoing failure to keep its promise to revise by the end of 2013 its outdated and misguided policy that is shutting out a large proportion of sustainable Alaska salmon from its stores.

On September 24th 2013, Walmart pledged at a U.S. Senate Hearing to review by end of year its policy to only purchase seafood certified sustainable by MSC, a private European organization that much of Alaska’s salmon industry voluntarily severed ties with due to concerns about the organization’s increasingly high-priced and questionable business practices.

However, with the end of the year having arrived, the largest grocery supplier in the U.S. has provided no public explanation as to why it continues to refuse to purchase sustainable Alaska salmon—a decision which is placing at risk countless hard-working jobs in Alaska’s seafood industry, which contributes an estimated $16 billion to the national economy. As a result, “Alaska Salmon Now”, a grassroots collection of fishermen, consumers, and other representatives of the Alaska seafood industry that has advocated for Walmart to do the right thing via public rallies, social media campaigns, and other efforts, is promising further action unless Walmart reverses its policy.

“It is unacceptable for Walmart to make a promise to Congress and then not keep it,” said John Renner, Vice President, Cordova District Fisherman United. “Walmart has rightfully praised sustainable Alaska salmon, yet their misguided ‘MSC-or-nothing’ policy continues to negatively affect real American workers and consumers. Walmart’s policy is bad for America, Alaska, and health conscious individuals everywhere. All we want is for Walmart to do what’s right and recognize what countless capable and qualified organizations already do: that the gold standard for sustainability is here in Alaska.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska Banks Scramble Target Security Breach

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Photo Credit: kevin dooley/flickr

Photo Credit: kevin dooley/flickr

Financial institutions in Alaska are scrambling to reissue debit and credit cards to thousands of customers affected by a massive data breach that hit retailer Target.

On Dec. 19, Target confirmed that data connected to about 40 million debit and credit card accounts nationwide was stolen. Last week, the retailer said the stolen data included pin numbers for debit cards.

Three Target stores operate in Alaska, two in Anchorage and one in Wasilla. No statewide numbers of affected cardholders are available, but the Anchorage Daily News (https://is.gd/8G7G4X) contacted individual financial institutions for information.

Read more from this story HERE.

Bret Bohn: Medical Prisoner Over 60 Days in Anchorage, Alaska

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Photo Credit: Free Patriot

Photo Credit: Free Patriot

While many of us had Christmas and New Years, the family of 26-year-old Bret Bohn has held a vigil across the street from Providence Hospital, Anchorage, Alaska as they have most of this fall. Fighting some of the coldest temperatures of the season, they have held a vigil in an attempted to have their son released from the hospital.

It has been 60 days. There has been no diagnosis, no second opinion, and Providence has custody of him.

The hospital won’t let his parents in to see him. Other family members are being given very limited access. He has requested release and does not want to go to Boston for treatment.

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska’s Chill Arriving in Time for Green Bay – Chicago Football Game

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Photo Credit: NOAA/NWS

Photo Credit: NOAA/NWS

On Christmas morning, Chicken, AK (yes, that’s the name of the place) stood frozen in time at -58 degrees. Chicken is located in far eastern interior Alaska. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), other locales nearby were almost as cold (-40 and lower). Figure 1 (from Facebook) shows some of the frigid readings.

Greg Fishel, a TV meteorologist from Raleigh, NC, couldn’t resist the opportunity to pun, “Fowl weather indeed.”

Brian Brettschneider noted that he, “liked how the Chicken daily summary is listed as ‘Chicken COOP’ as is Chicken COOPerative Station. CQNA2 : CHICKEN COOP : -53 / -58 / 0.00 / 0.0/ 20

Well, while Alaska shivered, south Florida basked in seasonally tropical warmth. Just ask the pink flamingos, decked out in their holiday finery, shown here (Fig. 2).

All kidding aside, this air mass is already affecting the northern Plains and will be the first of the next in a series of brutal arctic invasions. Longer range computer and human projections indicate that temperatures from eastern Montana across the northern tier into New England are likely to be well below average for much, if not all, of the next two weeks (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4). Some of this cold air will spill southward, but not even close to the extent that our northern states and Canada will experience.

Read more from this story HERE.

Pioneering Alaska Doctor M. Marcell Jackson Passes Away at 84

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Photo Credit: Yahoo

Photo Credit: Yahoo

Friends and colleagues will gather January 19th in Anchorage to celebrate the life of family practioner Dr. M. Marcell Jackson, who passed away at the age of 84 on December 8th.

Despite contracting polio at the age of 2 (around the time her mother died) and having her spine fused when a teen, necessitating the use of a back brace, M. Marcell Jackson went on to become one of the first women doctors in Alaska, and delivered more than 1,000 babies, including one while she was in labor, herself.

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska, Lagging in Oil Production, Looks to Bring Back Boom (+video)

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Photo Credit: Kiskadee 3

Photo Credit: Kiskadee 3

The U.S. is on its way to becoming the world’s top oil producer. The Energy Department believes American output will soar to 9.6 million barrels a day by the year 2016. But surprisingly, Alaska, one of the country’s top oil suppliers, is being left in the dust.

Paul Hughes owns a snowmobile shop near Anchorage. He says there’s one day each year every Alaskan looks forward to: the day the state announces the oil dividend. He said this year it’s almost $900.

Every man woman and child in Alaska gets a check, their share of the state’s vast oil revenues. Hughes told CBS News’ Ben Tracy some people spend the money on snowmobiles and he used one of his kids’ checks to buy a new stove.

However, those annual oil checks are getting smaller because Alaska is producing less oil. Production on the North Slope peaked at 2 million barrels per day in 1988 but has dropped to less than 500,000 barrels currently. There’s so little oil flowing through the 800-mile Trans-Alaskan Pipeline that some state leaders say it may freeze and shutdown.

The problem isn’t that they’re running out of oil in Alaska — the oil industry says there’s still billions of barrels of oil in the North Slope alone. But they say the problem is taxes.”

Read more from this story HERE.