By BOB BIRD
In the recent debate with former Alaska State Sen. John Coghill, a true gentleman if ever there was one, I could not broach all of the flaws that exist in our current state constitution. One of them is Article 1, Section 5:
“Every person may freely speak, write, and publish on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right.”
When one looks at the federal “Bill of Rights” and in most of our own in the Alaska constitution, they are worded with restrictions placed upon government, rather than granting permission to citizens. The rights then are seen as pre-existing, given to us by Natural Law from the Almighty.
“No law shall be made …” and “No person shall be denied …” is how all of them should properly and justly read. It is easily understood that were it not this way, we would suffer under the rule, “The Government giveth, and the Government taketh away.”
But read Section 5 of Alaska’s Constitution again. That is precisely what it does — it grants us permission, with a finger-wagging warning that should we abuse it, we would pay a penalty. It goes without saying that abuse of the freedom of speech was already thoroughly ensconced in American statutes and Anglo-Saxon common law, and was not necessary to be included.
Even during the debates held in 1955, this was seen as a danger. None other than the last living convention survivor, and the Dean of Alaskan liberals Vic Fisher, understood that the wording was fraught with potential mischief. He was assured that Idaho’s state constitution had similar wording and had therefore been “tested” — as if it could never be abused in the future.
The liberal Mr. Fisher was on to something important in 1955. I wonder what his thoughts are today regarding the abuse that is now ongoing in the state legislature with the heroic Rep. David Eastman.
But the template of our vaunted state Constitution of 1955 came out of a liberal think-tank associated with the Rockefeller created-and-funded University of Chicago, called the Public Administration Service, or PAS. Their various officers, who were Socialist New Deal retreads, were even invited to advise, observe, and speak at the 1955 confab in Fairbanks.
A word on the term “holocaust,” which Eastman used in reference to something other than the Jewish Holocaust. I hate to say it, but the term seems to have been patented by the liberals, and I am here to inform them that it is not.
The prolife movement has used it for nearly 50 years, and will never stop using the term. If it doesn’t actually parallel the Jewish holocaust, it is because the body count of aborted babies in the US alone now exceeds 10 times the number of Jews murdered by the Nazis.
But they don’t count, you see. And why?
Because the liberals told us so.
The politically conservative Jews, such as Andrew Barr, the secretary of the UK’s Jews for Justice, are also warning us that we are going down a terrible path with cancel culture. If the witches’ brew that is the Democratic Party succeeds in ousting Rep. Eastman, the rest of us will be next in our workplace, schools and churches.
House Speaker Louise Stutes and House Majority Leader Chris Tuck are not the sharpest knives in the drawer. Legislative bodies must extend courtesy to their confreres. If you want to pass bills, today’s opponent is tomorrow’s ally. Throwing bean-balls at the head of conservative mavericks by inviting childish and bed-wetting witnesses, eager to throw mud through “guilt by association” is a threat to the other members, and is deliberately meant to be. It will result in an end to legislative comity. It might eventually lead to a modern version of Sen. Preston Brooks and the caning of Sen. Charles Sumner.
Aside from having to modify Article 1, Section 5 of the Alaska Constitution, it appears that the hellbent, dangerous, and evil witch hunters in the state legislature will have to be voted out — if we can restore election integrity.
Should Eastman suffer some sort of legislative discipline, or expulsion, a bone-chilling nightmare will descend on us here in the Last Frontier.
To quote Donald Trump’s speech: “They weren’t really after me, they were after you. I was just in their way.”
Bob Bird is chair of the Alaskan Independence Party and the host of a talk show, the Talk of the Kenai on KSRM radio, Kenai.
Birds anti-semitic rants and attacks on our legislators and Vic Fisher demonstrate the First Amendment is alive and well. As Abraham Lincoln said, it is better to be thought of as dumb, than speak and remove all doubt.
Frank, I fully expected the anti-Semitic mud to be thrown. That’s because Leftists conjure every excuse to use the term. But you are so dumb you can’t see that I actually complimented Vic Fisher. You would fail 4th grade “Reading Comprehension”.
Your incessant attacks on Article I, Section 20 of the Alaska Constitution is far worse than your back handed compliments to Vic Fisher.
You’re absolutely right…you just proved it!
I’m reminded of a truism I’ve come to embrace when it comes to legislation of any kind:
“The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one’s time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all. – H. L. Mencken
Cancel Culture would have us surrender all at the very point on the battlefield where oppression must first be stopped “if it is to be stopped at all.”
It is for that reason that I stand here, where the liberals and revolutionaries are pressing hardest. Truly, I can do no other.
The Marxists know what is at stake. When will our Republican elected officials figure it out?
Legislation is supposed to ensure the citizens receive the rights within the Alaska and US Constitution. Legislation protects those rights including individual choice. Your constituency will vote you out once they realize they elected a legislator that does not want to legislate.
Like Bird illustrated, the rights do not reside “within the Alaska and US Constution(s).” Rather, the rights are pre-ordained upon every sovereign citizen individually (not even collectively) by the creator of the cosmos. Our constitutions should merely serve as our contract by birthright which protects our pre-ordained rights.
I generally agree with Mr. Bird here, with one important exception: the attack on Rep. Eastman is not so much an attack on free speech, as it is an attack on freedom of thought itself. Which is of course even more chilling, and more Orwellian.
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And as a note on the use of the word “Holocaust” (capitalized), I am old enough to remember when it actually referred to the estimated TEN million innocents who were killed in Nazi death camps, including Gypsies, Poles, Russians, and other minorities, and NOT to just the estimated six million Jews who were killed therein.
I agree with all you just said!
Jefferson, Inasmuch as speech (in any form) is an expression of thought, the First Amendment has covered your point. That was the original (and obvious) intent. What you may be driving at is the infringement upon the right to proportional representation of Eastman’s constituents. As their representative, he is entitled to equal footing and respect in the legislature until such time as he commits a provable crime or malfeasance.
“The right to freely utter controversial and objectionable comments, without retribution, is one of the cornerstones of our republic”–Wayne Coogan, 2022
Wayne Douglas Coogan, Sir your quote, dated 2022 is fundamentally flawed. One has the right to express his, her, or, it’s thoughts and opinions however it is also true that others will take exception to those same thoughts and opinions and that they also have a right to object. Retribution can come in many forms and it can be a healthy exercise within a civil society in that it is a test of thoughts and ideas. The key here is to put on your big girl panties and weather the storm of “retribution”, from whatever nefarious source. As Eastman says in his Mencken quote, one does find ones self defending a lot of scoundrels when you sally forth defending free speech.
BTW, part of defending Free Speech is to come to the aid of those suffering “retribution”, I hope folks connect the dots here and support Mr. Eastman.
1) Our government over and over again, based on the US constitution, has decided not all speech is protected, because speech can cause harm.
2) Do we really want a Holocaust denier as a state representative?
3)
“Because the liberals told us so. The politically conservative Jews, such as Andrew Barr, the secretary of the UK’s Jews for Justice, are also warning us that we are going down a terrible path with cancel culture. If the witches’ brew that is the Democratic Party succeeds in ousting Rep. Eastman, the rest of us will be next in our workplace, schools and churches.”
Ok this creeps me out…so many antisemitic motifs here and nothing to do with the Eastman..just dropped in…there are some “good” jews. Next things ya know the author will be referring to the Marxists.
What ever happened to ‘sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me’? Sure words can be powerful, and as responsible adults we should choose words carefully, but also as mature humans we should have the strength of mind and character to choose not to be ‘harmed’ by others’ poorly chosen words. It’s called thick skin.
Also, what evidence is there that Representative Eastman is a “Holocaust Denier?”
The cancelling and censorship of people and speech is one of the weapons used by the ignorant subordinates in the Class world war we are in now. Those weapons will come to be used on the very people that employ them now.
Wasn’t it this little momma’s boy up in Fairbanks, Rep. Grier Hopkins, who introduced some Left-wing resolution directed at Rep. Eastman? So-called anti-hate legislation. Commie Democrats think they own the franchise on what is considered free speech and what is considered hate-speech, so long as the message in the speech fits their narrative and their agenda. Btw, Hopkins seems to be in trouble with the new redistricted borders in the Interior. His little bit of sniveling is a dog whistle to all Communist Democrats to help desperately come to his aid. He needs more than his mommy, now. He needs his uncle on the Assembly to sue the Redistricting Board, and his brother, Scott Kendall, to get piles of fraudulent votes so he can stay in the game. This is what happens to 40- year old momma boys who can’t negotiate like adult men. They wash out early, because real men like Eastman know how to get in the fight like real men.
Alvin, true words. Grier has depended on his mommy and daddy (former Fairbanks mayor) to get him jobs in Juneau and to get elected. My Fairbanks friends tell me that he never really had a real job in his life. He worked as a Juneau aide in the legislature for an ousted senator and later as a teacher’s union errand boy, a job he also through his parents. Not much of a resume in the real world. Not much of a man, either. His uncle up in Fairbanks is trying desperately to save him from a potential loss this fall. Grier’s sister is married to Scott Kendall, one of the biggest Left-wing kooks with a law degree and Bill Walker’s election agent. Not to mention all of the known political shenanigans, including ballot fraud, that Kendall is known for. Grier will never grow up while he’s committed to politics because he has too many radicals babysitting him.
Maybe he was an abused child?
Abortion is a heinous crime. For each year in each classroom there are empty desks and chairs what a child would be using if that child was not killed in the womb. If your child is lonely perhaps their best friend or future spouse was aborted. They will have to wait a bit longer to go into heaven and see their friend. If i was a teacher, i’d put an student empty desk and chair and when asked by students about its empty presence. The teacher can quietly tell its a memorial desk that someone their age was supposed to be born during their year and be part of their class. Its a quiet way that may impact todays more prolife teachers students to develop prolife views behind the liberals back. Just don’t be loud tooting your good deed, be discreet.
The reason they nailed Him to the cross; and executed 11 of His 12 disciples; and banished the 12th to a remote island for life, was because none of them were properly “discreet.”
“But whosoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.”–Mat10:33
“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there be that find it.”–Mat7:14
America’s Constitution (Article VI, Clause 2) says laws enacted by states must comply with the Constitution; if state law conflicts with federal law, federal law applies.
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Alaska’s Bar Association owns and operates the judiciary branch, so freedom of speech means what the ABA say it means.
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The Stutes owns and operates the legislative half of Alaska’s lobbyist-legislator team, so freedom of speech means what The Stutes says it means.
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Seems reasonable to ask, Bob, whether you’re ready to go to war on Eastman’s behalf over what might turn out to be a blatant federal civil-rights violation against Eastman.
The US Constitution is “the law”. The US Constitution recognizes these rights are God-given. “Congress shall make no law.” These rights certainly may not be infringed or limited without remedy financial remedy by the usurper. $300,000 per usurpation. it is illegal to usurp a right, transmute it into a privilege, and license the right and public employees demand a fee for illegal license of a God-Given human right. The time is coming for the broken justice system and legislative to be retrained to follow not break the Constitution. I look forward to that day.
Appreciate the letter Mr. Bird.
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All of these communist wannabes are to dimwitted to recognize that no matter what happens, the institution of a full blown fascist/communist government WILL NOT turn out to be to their advantage or that of their progeny. They clearly have the weapons, along with feet that they will need to shoot a few more times before they will figure it out. The path back to sane government that is OF, FOR, AND BY THE PEOPLE may be impossible to find once, or if, we get to where they intend for us to go.
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That does not mean that the GOOD people of this country will give up. EVER. Where there is a will, there is a way.
I agree completely. As a student of the U.S. Constitution and the Federalist Papers and the application of their principles, such language in the Alaska State Constitution is a set-up for abuse. That kind of language has to be changed. I am reading the Gulag Archipelago by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. These kinds of flaws were used in soviet Russia to justify blackballing and to eventually justify placing people guilty of nothing into prisons and work camps for decades. And it happened quickly after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Bob, Please send me a list of all the flaws you see. Thank you.
Most comments on here today are commendable; with the ring of truth articulated by the learned and wise. I am only troubled that you are so few in number.
“….if we can restore election integrity”. That is a big “if”. I don’t believe it will happen in my lifetime.
The situation lends itself to a challenge to Art. 1 Sec. 5 as violating the 1st Amendment. May be what has to be done to end such malarkey on the part of the cancel culture communists in our Legislature and elsewhere. How a provision in our Constitution could be constructed and maintained in violation of the 1st Amendment of the Supreme Law of the land is something that calls out for correction.
Where ANY document created in the nation of the United States that is in conflict with the US Constitution the conflict is resolved by the US Constitution prevailing. This application is very likely to happen soon again in our nation because the stellar US Constitution is very much desired by Americans.
Liberals only understand and respect force and violence. That’s why they use it so much.
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