Bob Bird: Is it time for a constitutional convention?
By BOB BIRD
Recently the mainstream media has become interested in the 2022 decennial vote, “Shall there be a constitutional convention?” Lately, the Radical Left (which always presents itself as “mainstream”), has become quite worried about the so-called “con-con.”
They have admitted as such with a loud and firm opposition to a “Yes” vote, as seen by a resolution within the state’s Democratic Party.
Personally, I hope their worries are well-founded. A constitutional convention, if it was controlled by an authentic representation of the people, would likely modify the current over-praised “model constitution” of the state’s 1955 convention towards a more conservative direction.
If the PFD is “constitutionalized”, as many think is the top priority for a constitutional convention call, it would certainly be welcome. But overlooked is the far more troubling aspect of the Judicial Council, for without it, we would continue with the false paradigm, currently believed because of constitutional ignorance, that “the constitution means whatever the supreme courts says.”
Had we ever been granted a true conservative governor who understood that the judiciary is intentionally designed to be the weakest of the so-called “three co-equal branches of government”, we never would have had half of the crises the courts have created.
This is because, even foregoing anything said about limited judicial powers in The Federalist Papers, our own state constitution says, “The jurisdiction of the courts shall be prescribed by law.” But it now practically means, “The jurisdiction of the legislature shall only be permitted when approved by the judiciary.”
We really shouldn’t need to write it into the constitution, but it wouldn’t hurt to have it proclaim what now appears on the Alaskan Independent Party’s website. Its own “model constitution” was written over a decade ago by conservative Republicans, AIP members, and non-affiliated sympathizers. Any Alaskan can find it at www.akip.org. Not meant to be anything but a template to stimulate discussion, one section regarding the Judicial Branch reads thus:
“[The judiciary] is to be the least influential of all branches of government … and is to adjudicate only between contending parties … Its decisions will be only as effective as the willingness of the Governor … to enforce any decision … The executive will reserve the right to review any and all decisions in regards to conformity to natural, constitutional, statutory and common law.
Any interpretation of this constitution, or the statutes written by the legislature, shall be merely their own, and applicatory only to the contending parties upon executive concurrence, and not to the legislature, executive or the people.
The executive shall also have the power of interpretation by refusal to enforce a law or judicial decision …”
There would also always be the ability by the legislature to curtail an unreasonable or tyrannical executive. The scenarios are endless and subject only to personal imagination in this regard. But the use of impeachment has for too long been a reluctant tool, reserved in Alaska for merely old-fashioned corruption, rather than constitution overreach. And while the Congress has been shown to use impeachment as a political weapon, in 1868, 2020, and 2021, we must accept that neither governments nor constitutions can possibly be perfect.
I omit 1998, for Clinton’s impeachment involved perjury, not politics.
The Legislature needs to work out beforehand an agreeable statute for the selection of con-con delegates. If they are to be chosen through the normal method of campaigning, the majority will be representative of liberal, corporate, and leftist interests. If chosen by the precinct method, whereby something akin to a “town hall meeting” takes place, a more authentic voice of the people would be possible.
As things stand right now, if we actually had an executive and legislature with correct constitutional awareness, and a spine to go with it, the only remedial work that would need to be done, would be to address federal overreach into our de-facto “rump” statehood.
To put it briefly, most federal properties are arguably unconstitutional. Released from the Lower 48 Green Lobby control over our resources, Alaska might begin to stabilize its economy from the “boom-and-bust” syndrome — and develop its own food security.
But the federal government has always done its best to avoid that. One need only look at our history to prove it.
Bob Bird is chair of the Alaskan Independence Party and the host of a talk show, the Bird’s Eye View on KSRM radio, Kenai.
Michael Tavoliero: Will Alaska wake up to the Marxist party takeover, or is it too late?
“Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt.”
– attributed to the Roman poet Juvenal
In a time when the ancient Roman government provided the people with bread during the chariot and gladiator circuses held in places such as the Colosseum, the people often forgot their government induced misery, starvation, and poverty. They were happy watching the misery and death of others. And, more importantly, they were predictable and controllable.
In a time when Alaska’s future potential as a viable economic natural resource development behemoth in the world, not just the United States, has never been more precarious and threatened by the Marxists controlling the local, state, and federal governments,
In a time when Alaska’s children have never been so dismally positioned for a failing future in a growing global education environment which has surpassed the Alaska education system with its novel disinformation such as Critical Race Theory, gender identification, the 1619 Project, other Marxist doctrines, and mandatory masking,
In a time when Alaska’s health care costs per capita are the highest in the nation, the world, and the space station, and controlled by a collective hegemony focused on bleeding the state’s treasury through Medicaid and the Welfare industry,
In a time when the private sector is eroding into non-entity status supplanted by corporatism and the public sector continues to grow and prosper.
In a time when the Alaska Permanent Fund is over $83 Billion and heading to $100 Billion.
In a time when Alaska’s crude oil production has increased since the beginning of 2021 by over 40% and Alaska crude oil production has averaged over 470,000 barrels daily. This alone has added over $4.7 billion to date to the state treasury. With Alaska’s crude oil demand worldwide continuing to grow, barrel prices may reach between $80 to $100 a barrel in the future.
In a time, when history will show the people of Alaska have suffered the greatest economic and social debacle ever in its state’s history more due to local, state, and federal government incompetence, malfeasance, graft, and corruption than the pandemic,
In a time, when the Marxists under the leadership of former Gov. Bill Walker, former Senate President Cathy Giessel, and former House Speaker Bryce Edgmon added the single greatest red herring and obstruction to Alaska’s legislative process in its history, the “Percent of Market Value” or POMV, and seconded by SB 91, the Omnibus Crime Bill, another clever distraction,
In a time when the people of Alaska have been denied their legal and rightful share of oil revenues through the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend since 2016, while the Alaska Deep State continues to grow with exponential resilience,
In a time when all these issues are squarely on the shoulders of the current Alaska political system brought to you by the same Marxist groups who continue to destroy our state,
Please allow me to introduce another startling exercise in hypocrisy, sleight of hand, and deception or for those studying ancient Roman history how to appease the masses.
The Alaska Marxists represented by the Alaska Chamber of Commerce and the Alaska Department of Administration through its leadership have introduced the “GiveAKaShot.com”.
“Ladies and Gentlemen”, shouts the circus announcer for the Alaska Chamber of Communism:
“Healthy people are the foundation of a healthy economy, and our economy is suffering.”
Are you kidding me?
The Alaska Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the State of Alaska Department of Administration are using Cares Act funds to produce yet another contrived distraction to the real issues our state faces.
Its website at GiveAKaShot.com states, “This is why the Alaska Chamber is launching the Give AK a Shot Sweepstakes set to give out nearly a million dollars to vaccinated Alaskans. Now through Oct. 30, Alaskans vaccinated for COVID-19 are eligible to enter the Alaska Chamber’s “Give AK a Shot” drawing for a chance to win $49,000. A total of 18 prize drawings split between two categories (Alaskans aged 18 and older and Alaskans aged 12-17) will be awarded.”
“The Alaska Chamber firmly believes that one of the most important tools in realizing economic recovery is vaccinating for COVD-19. It is the single easiest and safe thing that individual Alaskans can do to help get our economy back on track. Why? Because recent studies show that vaccinating for COVID-19 is highly effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalizations, and death.”
I won’t go into the recent rise in vaccinated Covid-19 cases, instead I’ll just let you research the studies, but here is my point:
With the fact that Alaska’s economy and society is in jeopardy, why didn’t the Alaska Department of Administration, instead of a sweepstakes, take the Cares Act money and pump it into the PFD under Covid-19 education? In other words, add a couple of innocuous sentences into the PFD by regulation which advises all PFD recipients to get vaccinated?
Same thing, but different results.
Let’s take it one step further. Is the Alaska Chamber of Commerce and the Alaska Department of Administration advocating the relinquishment of an Alaskan’s constitutional right to privacy? Perhaps a stretch, but the camel just got his nose under the tent. I see this as egregious and slams against our constitutional right found in the Alaska State Constitution:
Article 1. Section 22. The right of the people to privacy is recognized and shall not be infringed. The legislature shall implement this section.
The Alaska Marxist party is inclusive to the Alaska deep state. Yet many of our conservative political representatives believe that we can go along to get along and there is no problem being bribed by Cares Act monies.
With each flaccid sentiment, the party steals one more component of liberty and one more element of our rights. The party falsely represents itself as the final answer to all societal problems, economic, social, political, and religious.
The dynamic deceit of Marxist action provides a continuum of energy and enthusiasm but no solutions. It preys on our youth through indoctrination and foments an indoctrinated adult with chaotic theatrics.
Personally, I think the Alaska Chamber of Commerce should rename its website, “WeDon’tGiveaSh_tAboutAK.com” instead.
Michael Tavoliero is a realtor in Eagle River, is active in the Alaska Republican Party, and chairs Eaglexit.
Anchorage schools enrollment is 6.6 percent lower than projections, so far
In 2017, Anchorage schools had 47,464 students enrolled. This year, the count is down — way down.
Only 42,945 students were enrolled as of Aug. 30, 2021, in the 10th day of school report. It’s a loss of 4,519 students over four years.
Schools in Alaska are awarded state dollars per student, based on enrollment figures that are reported in October, and so the final enrollment numbers are not set. But the district had projected it would have 45,979, and instead saw a 6.6 percent drop from what it projected for this year, a sign that October’s enrollment will be lower than expected as well.
ASD official student enrollment peaked at 50,024 students in the 2003-2004 school year. Since then, ASD has added more than a million square feet of new schools. In simple terms, in 18 years Anchorage has lost nearly 8,000 kids — but added space for 6,000 more.
The investment in facilities has been at a time when Alaska has dropped to 49th in the U.S. for 4th grade reading scores for upper/middle income non-minority student.
Anchorage schools change how they report Covid cases on campuses
The Anchorage School District on Friday began to share with the public how many cases of Covid-19 have developed at each of the district’s campuses. Earlier, it was only showing the number of classrooms that had been temporarily shuttered, but not the number of cases.
Parents protested having so little usable information, which led the district to now report both the total number of cases in the schools, as well as how many active cases there are.
As of Aug. 12, there have been 694 cases of Covid-19 in the schools, and as of Saturday, 288 were active cases.
Of the schools with the most reported cases, East High School was far-and-away the highest, with 14 active cases as of Sept. 4. Other schools with more than a couple of active cases included:
Creekside Park Elementary School – 11
Service High School – 11
Rilke Schule Arts – 9
Eagle River High School – 8
Tudor Elementary – 8
Willow Crest Elementary – 8
Northern Lights ABC School – 7
Ocean View Elementary School – 7
Dimond High School – 6
Fire Lake Elementary School – 6
Taku Elementary – 6
Mirror Lake Middle School – 6
Denali Montessori School – 5
Polaris K-12 – 5
Rabbit Creek Elementary -5
Russian Jack Elementary – 5
The entire list of schools, cases of Covid-19, and whether classrooms have been closed or if students are doing partial home-learning is at this link.
Providence ups pressure to vaccinate workers
Providence Alaska Medical Center has adjusted its Covid-19 vaccine policy, requiring its caregivers who previously declined to get a Covid-19 vaccination to resubmit their “exemption request” or proof of vaccination through the company’s online portal.
The hospital has tightened its exemption rules to reduce the number of accepted exemptions. Social, political, and other beliefs will not be honored for exemptions, although religious beliefs may be granted, and medial exemptions may be granted to those with CDC-recognized contraindications.
Those who are resubmitting their exemption requests will find it more difficult to evade the vaccination and still remain employed at Providence.
According to the human resource department at Providence, the hospital requires all caregivers to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 or have an approved medical or religious exemption. Those who do not comply may be forced out of their jobs, or “removal from the schedule,” as a human resource memo describes it.
This comes at a time when nurses and other caregivers are in such short supply that the hospital is nearly in a crisis mode, according to observers who say the staff is harried and overworked.
Murray Walsh: How to save the planet with energy, including fossil fuels
By MURRAY WALSH
(Second in a four-part series.)
According to this Our World in Data, earthlings used 173,340 terawatt-hours of energy in 2019. This is an average of just under 20 TWh per hour.
What does terawatt-hour mean? A terawatt-hour is a unit of energy equal to outputting one trillion watts for one hour. It is enough energy to illuminate 10 billion 100-watt lightbulbs. In numbers it looks like this: 1,000,000,000,000.
These are big numbers and hard to ponder so let’s narrow the focus a bit. An American household uses a lot of electricity. The U.S. Energy Information Agency says the average U.S. household uses about 11,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year in 2019. My own house in hydro-electrically powered Juneau Alaska used 9,432 kWh in 2019. However, that is not the total energy usage. You have to include oil-fired space heat which, even in Juneau, is far less expensive than electricity for space heat and propane for the range top, barbecue grill and hot water. You also have to add in the gasoline or diesel for your vehicles. Given all that, according to the source above, the average American used about 80,000 kWh in 2019 or over 300,000 kWh for a family of four.
We also have to add in the energy it took to manufacture all of the stuff you buy, especially your house, and the energy it takes to for all the activities you do such as ride on airplanes, attend movies, and educate your children. In fact, the federal energy info agency tells us that America uses about 30,000 terawatt hours per year. Divide that by our current population of 330 million and you get about 100,000,000 Wh per person per year. (Note: we are talking watts now, not kilowatts.) Over a 100-year lifespan, that’ll be 10,000,000,000 Wh. or one percent of a terawatt hour.
You and 99 of your equally long-lived friends will use one terawatt-hour over your collective lifetimes. Makes you feel like you are part of something big, right? Well, the climate activists will say that part of the solution is for us all to live smaller, especially Americans. If we drive small cars, or better yet, take the bus; live in apartments; and eat tofu, the planet will be saved. This kind of directive, without clear and direct evidence of need, will be resisted. People could see and smell air pollution and were thus willing to do something about it. Same with other environmental issues.
Well, let’s suppose we all take the hint and decide to live small, even if only to avoid scowls from our neighbors. Let’s be bold and say we will cut our energy consumption in half. Is that enough to eliminate the need for fossil fuel energy? Nope, not by a long shot. This is the total energy picture, and 2019 year history, for our planet:
Note: It is really worth it to look at this chart at https://ourworldindata.org/energy-overview. The chart is interactive and you can look at the details year by year.
This should make it clear that fossil fuels are by far the mainstay of planetary energy consumption and that even cutting by half would still require plenty of fossil energy. Fossil fuels include the big three, oil, gas and coal but if we remember that the energy is converted, that is, made useful, by combustion, there is a fourth fuel that generates carbon emissions and that is “traditional biomass” burning such as wood, charcoal, peat, and that arid climate favorite: dung.
Interestingly, according to the above chart, the amount of biomass energy consumed per year has basically doubled since 1800. The world population, on the contrary, has increased from just under one billion people to over seven billion over that same period of time. (See OurWorldinData.org) It is probably safe to say that there are still a billion people or so that depend on burning biomass to meet their energy needs for heating and cooking but it is clear that the vast majority depend on the other three fossil fuels for their energy needs.
Again, the point of this series is to highlight the nature and necessity of the fossil fuel industry and to demonstrate the folly of seeking to destroy it without a competitive alternative in existence. The value is not just fuel for energy but also in products and there are thousands of things made from all three types of fossil fuel. The bulk of fossil fuel is indeed used for energy but, as shown below, there is a substantial amount that goes to non-energy use.
This graphic is just for petroleum but there are similar proportions for gas (pantyhose, among other things) and coal (bowling balls, concrete and aspirin to name three.) An important point to make is that if we did not use fossil fuels for energy, we would still have to extract it to make all this other stuff and it would all cost a lot more because of the economies of scale.
I hope it is clear from all this that the world depends on fossil fuels for energy and a lot of other benefits. The day may come when a non-fossil-based energy system can evolve that is large enough to replace fossil and has none of the side effects that make them objectionable.
For a time during the 1950 – 1970 period, it was thought that nuclear power was that holy grail and it was vigorously pursued in France and some other places but cost, plant safety and anxiety over the disposal of spent fuel eventually shut down most of the industry, especially in the United States, and limited its growth around the world.
There is still hope for fusion-based electricity which would supposedly not generate any waste but the public is going to have to believe it is cost-competitive and totally safe before it will be commercially available.
What to do until that day arrives? Well, let’s figure out how to use fossil fuels to make energy, especially in the form of electricity, in a way that generates zero unwanted emissions. It is being done and we will explore those efforts in Part 3 of this series.
Murray Walsh is part of the extended MRAK writing staff in Juneau. Check back for Part 3.
Ketchikan ballot set for October
The deadline for filing for Ketchikan’s Oct. 5 municipal and borough races closed last week, with five people signed up as candidates for the two open slots on the Ketchikan Borough Assembly.
Jason Button, Grant EchoHawk, Carlos Weimer, Jaimie Palmer, and Darlene D-Svenson filed for the three-year seat being vacated by Assemblyman Sven Westergard, and the seat being vacated by Assemblyman Felix Wong, who is term-limited.
The five candidates for the three Ketchikan School Board seats are incumbent Nicole Anderson, along with Keenan Sanderson, Tom Heutte, Ali Ginter, and Stephen Bradford.
School Board President Kim Hodne and School Board member Doug Gregg are not running for reelection. They were each finishing out board vacancies.
For Ketchikan mayor, Dave Kiffer is running unopposed. Ketchikan Mayor Bob Sivertsen did not file.
Two Ketchikan City Council seats have three candidates on the ballot: Incumbent Janalee Gage, Jai Mahtani, and Lallette Kistler, as Councilman Sam Bergeron did not file for reelection.
Bernadette Wilson named state director for Americans for Prosperity Alaska
Bernadette Wilson, a well-known political mover-and-shaker in Alaska, has been named state director for the Alaska chapter of Americans for Prosperity, Must Read Alaska has learned from sources close to the national organization.
Wilson is the owner of Denali Disposal in Anchorage. She has been involved with political movements for most of her adult life, working to pass the “parental notification” ballot initiative in 2010, and co-hosting a radio show with Ethan Berkowitz before he ran for Anchorage mayor.
She has been involved with “Open Alaska,” a group pressing for fair public policy treatment of businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, and she organized a citizen-led 2020 Memorial Day remembrance event attended by hundreds in Anchorage on the Delaney Park Strip, after then-Mayor Berkowitz canceled city sponsorship of the annual event.
Wilson was a key advisor to the campaign of Dave Bronson, who became Anchorage mayor in July. She is a frequent guest on the morning Dan Fagan Show on KENI radio.
Wilson replaces Ryan McKee, who left the organization several weeks ago after two years at the helm.
Americans for Prosperity is dedicated to the belief that every person has a unique set of gifts and the ability to contribute to society in their own way, an idea that has inspired progress since our country’s founding.
In 35 states, the group engages in grassroots outreach to advocate for long-term solutions to the country’s biggest problems that prevent people from realizing their incredible potential. Much of the group’s focus is to fight unsustainable government growth, spending, and debt, a broken immigration system, a rigged economy, and a host of other issues.
The group, which has grown in its effectiveness since its inception in 2004, sees its role in “advancing a free and open society, where every person can realize their American dream. We recruit and unite concerned individuals in all 50 states to advance policies that will help people improve their lives.”
The Alaska chapter of AFP was formed in 2015, with Jeremy Price as its first state director. Price now serves as a commissioner with the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Must Read Alaska has not confirmed the appointment with AFP.
