2010 Hanshew Middle School Band

Not many people in political circles know that I credit music with saving my life.

I started playing the piano when I was six-years-old. I often kicked and screamed about practicing, but my mother was determined and I continued through my entire school career.

In sixth grade, I discovered the snare drum and concert band. I absolutely loved playing music with a group. That was around the time that I discovered that music was an escape from the insanity of my life at home.

Unfortunately in high school, I discovered that drugs and alcohol provided a different kind of escape. I dropped out of any band activity, though I continued with piano. My grades plummeted and it became clear that with only a 2.5 GPA junior year, I wouldn’t be getting into a decent college…

…until I started auditioning as a piano major. Suddenly, I was accepted at schools we couldn’t afford, like Temple University and Berkley School of Music. I received some modest scholarships to a couple of smaller schools but ended up going back home to Ohio and The University of Dayton. It was there that I truly fell in love with their much-touted marching band and was a member all four years. My membership in that band was my lifeline at a time when I was sinking deeper into alcoholism and depression.

When I made it to Alaska and sobriety, music reclaimed me. I even made a very tiny living for several years in the Anchorage music scene. Those were some of the best years of my life.

Music has now come full circle in my family. Morrigan took piano lessons for awhile. However, when a music teacher in grade school taught the kids to play penny whistle, we discovered that my daughter had a knack for the woodwinds. She started on the clarinet in sixth grade band and after only a couple of months, auditioned and was accepted into the Honor Band.

While the idea that music enhances math skills has been long claimed, recent studies show a more direct correlation between music and algebra:

Helmrich divided the students into three groups: Those who had received formal instruction on a musical instrument during the sixth, seventh and eighth grades; those who received choral instruction during those same years; and those who received no formal musical training.

She found the students who studied music significantly outperformed their peers. “Formal instrumental instruction impacted algebra scores the most,” she reports. “Choral instruction also affected scores, but to a lesser extent.”

From our experience, my husband and I noticed that as our daughter started to learn clarinet in sixth grade, she began to struggle less with her algebra assignments. Now, she’s two-years ahead in mathematics.

The video below is of the 2010 “Sonic Boom,” the end-of-the-year mass-performance of all sixth grade bands in the Anchorage School District.

If Governor Sean Parnell and Mayor Dan Sullivan have their way, this long-time Anchorage tradition may disappear, along with the entire sixth-grade music program.

Per the Anchorage Symphony website:

We learned that last week the ASD Music Supervisor received a request for information from a school board member about the potential cost savings if 6th grade band and orchestra were to be eliminated.

The school board will have its final reading of and will be voting on the ASD budget on Thursday, Feb. 9, starting at 5:00 p.m. in the ASD Education Center Board room.

We can express our opinions regarding the importance of 6th Grade Band and Orchestra in the following ways:

1. Call or email the school board. To email the school board, send one message to SchoolBoard@asdk12.org and all seven members will receive it.
2. Testify at the Feb. 9 meeting. People can sign up to testify via the same email address or can call 742-4312. Testimony is taken in the order received.
3. Attend the meeting [5530 E Northern Lights Blvd, Anchorage] to show support for music education. Please wear concert dress or all black.

The most important message is children must start an instrument early in life; middle school is too late. Personal stories have a big impact, especially from young people. This program has been cut over the years. Students used to start instrumental music in 4th grade, then the program was cut to starting in 5th grade and several years ago the program was cut to a 6th grade start. This year, 91% of ASD 6th graders are taking band and orchestra!

Remember: in order to testify at a School Board meeting, you must sign up with the Superintendent’s Office to testify at the meeting any time before 5:30 p.m., or one hour prior to the start of the meeting, whichever is earlier.

Cutting the sixth grade music program is just the latest of the bad possibilities from a school board that is desperate to find a solution that is least hurtful to the least number of students. If there is no increase in funding, the prospects are bleak. Those of you who read The Mudflats know that we’ve been spending quite a bit of time explaining what is happening to education in Alaska. We’ve told you about the several $$ million in outrageous fees Mayor Dan Sullivan has tacked on to the Anchorage School District and how he refuses to tax to the property tax cap. We’ve shared in several posts about Governor Parnell’s severe underfunding of the Department of Education in the budget currently before the Alaska Legislature. We’ve also described the horrible cuts the Anchorage School District is facing.

It is very, very important for folks to attend the Anchorage School Board Meeting and let their voices be heard. However, that MUST be followed up by contacting Governor Sean Parnell, Mayor Dan Sullivan, the Anchorage Assembly Members and the Alaska State Senators and Legislators. They must be told how important Alaska’s public schools are on a personal level.

I’ll see you on Thursday!

**UPDATE** (NOTE: There is no official action on the table at this time to cut 6th grade band/orchestra programs. The concern of music teachers/parents/musicians across the city comes from the fact that a member of the Anchorage School Board requested information as to the cost of the programs and currently, the Board is trying to figure out what cuts to make. When you testify Thursday, realize the Anchorage School Board is not the villain. Anger and frustration over the budget situation must be directed constructively (in a civilized way) at Governor Sean Parnell, Mayor Dan Sullivan, the Anchorage Assembly Members and the Alaska State Senators and Legislators. They are the ones who hold the purse strings.)

Last school year, I wrote a post about the proposed cuts in the Anchorage School District budget and how they would affect a family of a middle school student. It was then I became aware of the outrageous fees Mayor Dan Sullivan was charging the school district–for example: 100% of the salaries and benefits of those Anchorage Police–called Resource Officers–who only service the School District about 70% of the time. I tried to show how they were taking millions of dollars away from our kids. (Note: As of this week, these fees have not changed.)

Sadly, this week Jeanne wrote a post about this year’s cuts. They are much worse than last year and are precipitated by both Governor Parnell’s under-funding as well as Mayor Sullivan’s refusal to tax to the cap.

But it’s not just Anchorage that is suffering. Fairbanks, Juneau and many smaller and more rural schools are in deep trouble if things don’t change. The worst part: this is all orchestrated as part of a larger and more national attack on public education. Alaska is just next-in-line.

For over a year now, I’ve watched how the anti-public school drama has played out in Alaska on multiple fronts. From the Municipality of Anchorage to the Legislature to the Governor’s Office to outside organizations, the forces at work are performing a complex dance in multiple venues…a dance that is impossible to follow unless one is a complete research nerd (and then, only tenuously). I’ve wanted to write about it all in that context…I’ve started a number of posts. However, I haven’t been able to figure out how to present it. I started writing a list, like an outline…

…and realized that was the best way to start.

So here is a list of the characters in this drama and the means they are using to achieve their agenda — a summary of their activities so far. Jeanne and I will be writing multiple posts in the future on these education issues. This gives you a place to look up the various characters and refresh your memory about their place in the story.

Disclaimer: I want to emphasize that while the characters supporting these false “reforms” in Alaska seem to be Republican, the issue is not a partisan one. From what I can see, the majority of Alaska’s Republican Legislators are not yet “sold” on this bill of goods and are more than happy to receive input from their constituents.

The problem: Like every other Alaska issue, these strategies are generally pushed forward by those religious ideologues and/or those beholden to businesses/corporations who want privatization across-the-board. These businesses/corporations who are pushing this “education reform” agenda can do so with tons of money and the help of friendly politicians. We must contact our State Senators and Representatives to counter any misinformation. I hope this and future posts help you to do that.

Leading the attack:

– Governor Sean Parnell — I covered some of the issues with the Governor at the beginning and discuss his budget below. Since the election, Governor Parnell has truly shown his religious extremist leanings and tea party philosophy, which includes a strong “Christian” influence in the interpretation of law. An alarming number of his appointees also seem to reflect his beliefs.

– Representative Wes Keller — Originally appointed by Sarah Palin to fill a vacancy in the Legislature, Mr. Keller is a religious extremist and tea partier through-and-through. He is a state chairman for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Mr. Keller is the sponsor/creator of House Bill 145 and House Joint Resolution 16 (see below) with some help from ALEC’s “model bills.”

– Senator Fred Dyson — He wasn’t appointed by Palin but “ditto” to everything else. Dyson is sponsor of the companion legislation in the Senate, SB 106 and he attended the ALEC Conference with Keller last year.

– ALEC — A slightly re-worded summary from Pro Publica — I encourage you to follow the link and read the entire post: “For decades, a discreet nonprofit called the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC has brought together state legislators and corporate representatives to produce business-friendly “model” legislation. These “model” bills form the basis of hundreds of pieces of legislation each year, and they often end up as laws.”

– The Friedman Foundation — Per the Nation: “For most of the half-century since economist Milton Friedman first advanced the idea of school vouchers, it’s been the ultimate weapon in our educational debates, always ticking just under the surface, never quite going off. But after last November’s Republican statehouse victories, the right, sometimes abetted by Democrats and liberals, has brought back vouchers and school privatization with a vengeance.”

The Foundation has been heavily involved in most of those voucher battles across the country. As I will discuss below, they have turned their sites on Alaska by conducting a poll of residents regarding school vouchers.

– Mayor Dan Sullivan — I have recapped some of the Mayor’s anti-education moves at the beginning of this post and Mudflats as a whole has covered many more. His “Education Summit” is ongoing and I discuss it below.

– Jim Minnery–Minnery’s Alaska Family Council lists “School Choice” as one of their top issues. Minnery has been a proponent of changing the AK Constitution in order to use State money for religious education since back in 2008, as this email between Gov. Sarah Palin and then Atty General Talis Coleberg shows.

– The Catholic Archdiocese of Anchorage It’s not hard to guess the motivation behind the Archdiocese’s push for school vouchers, as reflected in the “Catholic Anchor.” A story in the Chicago Tribune on what the results of Indiana’s voucher program revealed: “…Just as backers had hoped and opponents feared, a new statewide school voucher program in Indiana is draining money from public education and offering new life to struggling parochial schools.” My understanding is that the economy has taken a serious toll on the enrollment in parochial (as well as private) schools in the state. Last year, one of them had a Senior graduating class of three. These schools may be counting on our State money to keep them afloat.

– KIPP Charter Schools — I included KIPP on this list even though their only actual appearance in the state was in the form of Dr. Mike Feinberg, who taught 5th grade for three whole years with Teach For America and then founded the “Knowledge Is Power Program” (KIPP) Charter Schools. The reason I list them is because the presentation by Feinberg at the Education Summit (third video, first speaker after Superintendent Comeau) sounded like he was trying to sell a Veg-O-Matic or a set of Ginsu knives rather than inform a group about education alternatives. And it makes sense…Alaska is a rich oil state with a surplus when most other states have deficits. You could almost see the man drooling.

The Artillery:

– Governor Parnell’s Operating Budget (HB 284 — starting on page 8) — The Governor promised that his budget was a “full funding of K-12 Education”. In actuality, the budget doesn’t even cover inflation (which averaged 3.16% in 2011) and now has school districts across the state scrambling to cut much-needed programs. How much of a slap-in-the face was it to K-12 Education in Alaska? The “Teaching and Learning” line-item in the Department of Education budget makes up the bulk of the money shared by every school district in Alaska. If the budget stays as-is, Alaska schools will receive a little over $237 million this year…an increase of about $3 million from last year or about 1.3%. However, the Office of the Governor “Executive Office” line-item (which includes the Governor’s Staff) will be receiving over $13 million this year — an increase of almost $2 million or over 13%!

– House Joint Resolution (HJR) 16 — A resolution which, if passed, would place an amendment to the Constitution on the ballot, allowing for public (education) money to go for a “public purpose.” According to the text of the resolution, it still specifically does NOT allow state money to go towards private or religious institutions. However, it DOES seem geared to allow state funds for privatized education. Also, I have been told of one more possibility (which will require more research)…it could leave open the option of a for-profit business that owns a religious school receiving funds. From Wes Keller’s Sponsor Statement:

HJR 16 opens some of these doors for both public and private education by allowing the release of funds to more than just public schools. This Constitutional Amendment allows those students seeking to excel in secondary and post secondary education to attend a school that meets their needs.

Like I said…more research…

– House Bill (HB) 145 (Senate companion bill SB 106) — Titled the same as the ALEC template voucher bill, HB145 is intended to establish: “…the parental choice scholarship program to be administered by school districts for the purpose of paying the cost of attending grades kindergarten through 12 at public and private schools…” In other words, it will establish school vouchers with State of Alaska money.

At this time, it suffers from some major drawbacks:

1) It’s unconstitutional per Article 7 Section 1 a) State money cannot be used to fund private or religious education (see HJR 16) and b) We must “establish and maintain a system of public schools open to all children of the State,” — since many village parents will be unable to utilize this “choice” (voucher), it could quite possibly get decimated in the courts.

2) Because there have been amendments on top of amendments in an attempt to get it to work, it is a huge pile of gobbledy gook that most of the members of the House Education Committee don’t even completely understand, based on their Friday meeting. Those pushing the bill (Rep Keller, Rep Dick) seem to think it’s been in the Education Committee “an embarassing” amount of time and just needs to get moved along…whether it functions or not.

**There is another meeting scheduled for Wednesday Feb 1st and I intend to send my testimony to the Committee beforehand. I encourage you to do the same.**

– “Alaska K-12 School Choice Survey” — Several months ago, I was listening to a conservative show when the host started discussing a poll that proves Alaska wants to have vouchers private charter schools. It turned out to be a poll that was funded by the Friedman Foundation. The host was quoting numbers over 60% in favor of various types of alternative education…pretty impressive. When I researched the poll, I discovered the most important question:

How familiar are you with [Charter Schools/Virtual Schools/School Vouchers] in K-12 education? Not that familiar/Never heard of it — 62%

So basically, the vast majority polled had no idea what these folks were talking about. So, when these Alaskans who were quite used to receiving free money in the form of a Permanent Fund Dividend Check each year were asked a question worded like this:

“An education savings account allows parents to withdraw their child from a public district or charter school and recieve a payment into a government authorized savings account with restricted but multiple uses. Parents can then used these funds to pay for private school tuition, virtual education programs, private tutoring or saving for future college expenses. In general, do you favor or opppose this kind of savings account system?”

61% were all for it!

Note that 61% is about the same percentage of folks who had no idea what “school choice” really is. In other words, the same percentage of folks who know what all of this means said “no” to the free money.

Another note: if you look at the survey demographics, only 13% were Alaska Native. That does not match the State of Alaska demographics according to the 2010 Census, but it does match the Municipality of Anchorage demographics. In other words, while these folks were claiming that their “sample size” was Alaska, it was probably just Anchorage.

Why is that significant?

Anchorage School District already has really nice charter schools within the system (and there is no reason we can’t have more). If you ask someone from Anchorage about charter schools, especially if they don’t know about the lower-48 kind, that will completely skew their responses.

– The Education Summit — Per Municipal Code, Mayor Dan Sullivan’s roll in enacting School District changes is generally signing or vetoing what’s been passed through the School Board and the Anchorage Assembly. However, being that it’s an election year, he adopted the role of Superintendent by collecting corporate and private business money for an Education Summit. It was set up in three parts:

1) He hired Viewpoint Learning, a company of professional “handlers,” then hand-picked a mostly-conservative 100 participants. They brought up seven panelists. All but two of them were clearly pushing a privatized charter school and/or voucher agenda, four of them worked for organizations whose funding was provided directly by privatization advocates and only one had proof of an education plan with long-term success…a non-privatization pro-union strategy in Finland.

2) Now in phase 2, The Mayor’s Office is currently asking for Anchorage residents to attend the “community conversations.” This is the only time that the general public will have any input n the “scenarios” reached during the Education Summit. I’ve already signed up for one and I encourage everyone to do the same.

3) There will be a “Capstone Summit” in June where some of the Summit participants and some of the Community Dialogue participants will get together and finalize “recommendations.”

To be continued…

STOP THE PRESSES! This just in – Mayor Dan Sullivan finds way to grease palm of incompetent corrupt crony! Also, sun appears poised to rise tomorrow at daybreak.

There’s an old expression – “A boat is a hole in the water into which one pours money.” Boat… port… whatever. The same definition could apply to the infamous Port of Anchorage expansion project, which until very recently was run by former almost-impeached governor Bill “I never sold my soul” Sheffield.

The 83-year-old Sheffield has been port director since 2001. He has been at the center of controversy recently because of serious construction problems and escalating costs for expansion and renovations of the port. (snip) The cost of the port expansion project, as envisioned by Sheffield, has jumped from $360 million in 2005 to about $1 billion. Sullivan has proposed a less ambitious project. The city late this year asked the Legislature for $350 million to continue port construction work. “The project has faced challenges but we have worked hard over the last two years to get the management and construction back on the correct course,” Sheffield said in a written statement.

$360 million… $1 billion… Whatever. At least Mayor Sullivan has a solution. When confronted with a much higher price tag, simply modify things to make it a “less ambitious project.” Less for more.

You do have to give Sheffield credit, though. For an 83-year old guy, his deftness and skill shoveling money into the watery hole rivals that of a much younger man. And despite all those “challenges,” at least he found a solution to getting the “management back on the correct course” – his own resignation.

Mayoral candidate Paul Honeman had called on Mayor Sullivan to relieve Sheffield of his duties before the city and state hemorrhaged more cash into the Cook Inlet whirlpool. Sullivan, of course, defended his friend and blamed the feds. But then, Sheffield announced his retirement at  a fundraiser he was hosting in his swanky Turnagain home for (you guessed it) Mayor Dan Sullivan.

Then, the mayor announced that part of Sheffield’s “retirement” would involve a no-bid, sole source $60,000/year contract as a “consultant” on the project because he’d made some good “connections” while he was being incompetent for a much higher salary. And apparently, as Sullivan and those of his ilk know, he holds one hell of a fundraiser.

A commenter on the Anchorage Daily News story summed up the crony count well:

Let’s see: $193,000 love offering to Sully for a non-existing insurance scam. $80,000 for Dan Coffey’s sweetheart contract to hijack Title 21, $60,000 to Dan Coffey’s sweetheart contract for lobbying for the disastrous Port, $60,000 to Bill Sheffield sweetheart contract to ‘advise’ on the disastrous Port. ~Half a million dollars of sweetness under Sully! That’s a lot o’ love!

Yesterday, I stopped downtown to visit those protesting Mayor Sullivan’s new sidewalk ordinance. When I arrived in the noon hour, there were about two dozen protesters sitting, drinking coffee, and holding signs. Sidewalkers were joined by Occupiers from down the block.

For background on the sidewalk ordinance, you can read HERE, and HERE.

Sitting or reclining on the sidewalk without permission or a medical emergency became illegal at 6am that day, which is when the first protesters showed up.

Signs represented a variety of causes and concerns.

Strangely, the Tea Party which is supposedly all about personal liberties, and opposed to government overreach impinging on those liberties, was absent. I’m still waiting for the Tea Party and the Occupy Movement to come together on the issues they both believe in – like the Constitution, and the amendments contained therein.

Conspicuously NOT absent were the Lindas – The Mudflats’ own Linda Kellen Biegel, and photojournalist extraordinaire Linda Scates. They made themselves illegally comfortable in the shadow of City Hall.

Although there was a police presence (one officer), no arrests were made.

The department’s not ready to enforce it,” said Lt. Anthony Henry. “There’s not a mechanism for (officers) to do that yet. When the law’s passed, you still have administrative things that need to take place.” Police and the court system need to iron out details such as bail schedules and court codes and classifications, Henry said. Henry said he did not know when officers might start enforcing the law. [snip] Officers can write offenders a ticket for up to $100, but Police Chief Mark Mew has said police have discretion in using the law and will likely only issue citations as a last resort. [snip] “They’re going to have a lot more flexibility if they’re doing a sit-in,” Henry said. “We cherish and hold in high regard the constitutional rights that citizens have.”

Happy Solstice to all! It’s that wonderful time (especially in the far north) when the Earth decides to tip back into the summer direction, and the amount of darkeness gets less, and the light gets longer. It will only be a second or two a day at first, but as the weeks roll on, it will turn to minutes at a time in its frenzied journey to long summer days.

I love the Solstice, and try to make time to appreciate it in some way. It’s almost a shame it comes surrounded by all the rest of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. It can tend to get lost in there. This year it was decorating the tree, listening to beautiful music, drinking yummy drinks, and feeling grateful to have made it through a difficult year. A new tipping of the axis has come, with new possibilities, new hopes, and new strength. This is one of those holidays that exists objectively, whether we want it or not. Every culture marked it, and every human has noticed it since the beginning of time. And nobody will change it to Monday so we get a long weekend, or combine it with another event and call it “Celestial Day.” It is what it is – simple, scientific, magical and beautiful.

The Sun, which has been conspicuously absent the last week or so, rose (literally) to the occasion today with a beautiful sunrise, and equally lovely sunset. A grand entrance and finale, worthy of celebration in itself.

But if noting the turning of the seasons, and basking in their resplendent symbolic glory isn’t enough for you… and if you’d rather mark this most notable of days by celebrating your Constitutional rights, and challenging the grinchy government interventionist mayor, who says that he can tell you when you can and cannot sit on the sidewalk, then have I got the thing for you.

Join the group of protesters who are ready to do the unthinkable, the untenable… They shall defy big gubmint, and those who have grown too large for their mayoral britches, and they shall SIT. That’s right. They’re going to sit – right in front of City Hall. They shall dare to park their backsides on the cement surrounding the Ivory Tower.  They are a mighty lot. To join this noble crowd, dress warmly, bring a thermos, and prepare to sit for liberty.

Where: Right in front of City Hall on 6th and G Streets

When: Lunchtime, any time 11am-1pm  [Note that there will be some hearty souls there at 6am when sitting officially becomes illegal]

Graduation coaches, summer school, school secretaries, and a host of others were on the chopping block.  Fortunately, most of the budget was able to remain intact, including the graduation coaches. And that has turned out to be a very good thing, indeed.

Just five years ago, Anchorage’s high school graduation rate was staggeringly low. Superintendent of Schools, Carol Comeau noted “Now, more than ever, our young people are leaving school with a high school diploma. Our graduation rate is near 72 percent, up from 62 percent just five years ago. We still have a long way to go but our efforts are working, and this is good reason to celebrate.”
Part of this success is due to the fact that in 2008, the Anchorage School District hired Graduation Support Coordinators, or “graduation coaches”, to help increase graduations and reduce the dropout rate. Last year, the Anchorage Council of Education/AFT Local 4425 (ACE) received a prestigious American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Innovation Fund grant to partner with the Anchorage School District in supporting graduation coaches as essential support staff positions in high schools. 

So, what exactly is a graduation coach?  “Sounds like some namby-pamby librul made-up nonsense job,” you can almost hear the budget cutters say.  “Back in my day, kids had boot straps they could pull themselves up by!”  Well, here’s what they do, and why they are so important. Graduation coaches work with only the most at-risk students. They become part of a student’s life, and learn about what’s going on at home, creating strategies to help the student succeed. They work closely with students, school faculty and parents to achieve this goal. They care, they follow-up on a daily basis, and they let students know that they care about their success.

At the Anchorage School Board meeting last night, testimony was given in support of graduation coaches. 750 at-risk kids are supported by the program, and last year, 148 graduates were directly linked to the services provided by their graduation coaches. The number this year is anticipated to be much higher.

ACE showed the following video to board members and those in attendance. I’m warning you now – get a hanky. I’ve seen this video several times now, and it gets me every time.  It tells the story beautifully, and I defy anyone who watches it to call the amazing people who do this work unnecessary.

The video received a lump-in-the-throat ovation from the audience and the school board. Board members seemed universally impressed, and Jeannie Mackey was the first to speak, “Thank you for bringing faces to this. That was amazing.”

Graduation coach Eric Spade, who is featured in the video, gave testimony last night. “Personally, I would like to see the program expanded, and I think all the other graduation coaches would agree with me. It’s always a funding issue, but everybody has consistently agreed that you need to start intervention early.”

~Board members and the audience watch the graduation coach video

Superintendent Comeau was moved. “You should be so proud of the work you are doing. The video is amazing. Thank you on behalf of the district. When people criticize us for adding extra positions because enrollment is flat, these folks are a good example of how that makes a difference. This video will be played more than a few times.”

Even if your heart is a giant lump of ice, and all you care about is the bottom line, remember that students who graduate are less likely to commit crime, more likely to go to college, and more likely to find a good job. They are more likely to become productive members of society who pay taxes, rather than being a societal burden.  And their children are more likely to graduate too. Each year’s class of dropouts will cost the United States over $200 billion during their lifetimes in lost earnings and unrealized tax revenue.

Supporting  kids and giving them their best shot at success is the true meaning of “No Child Left Behind.”  So, the next time the budget cutters rear their red pens, remember the teachers, the support staff, and the graduation coaches who are out there every day working hard for our kids and growing the next crop of community leaders. They do make a difference – every day.

Anti-truancy, pro-graduation “union thugs” Corinne McVee & Stephen Brown of ACE

Remember when Ordinance 64 came before the Assembly? It stated that the LGBT community should have basic equal rights when it comes to housing, education, employment and use of public facilities. Pretty basic stuff, right? Well, after almost 24 hours of public testimony (including testimony from people who didn’t even live in Anchorage, yet were bussed in from evangelical Wasilla churches), the Anchorage Assembly voted yes on the ordinance.

And after weeks of debate, during what has been dubbed “The Summer of Hate”, Mayor Dan Sullivan had the hubris to circumvent the public process, and the vote of the Assembly. He vetoed the ordinance, keeping Anchorage in the Dark Ages, and saying it was OK for employers to fire people, or landlords to evict people, simply for their sexual orientation. The Anchorage LGBT community and its supporters reeled. But they have risen again, and this time they are putting it to a vote of the people. An initiative will appear on the April 3, 2012 Municipal ballot asking the citizens of the city what they want, and what they think is fair.  The question is:

Shall the current Municipal Code sections providing legal protections against discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, marital status, age, physical disability, and mental disability be amended to include protections on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender identity?

The full petition application is HERE.

A press conference was held today by One Anchorage, the organizers of the initiative. The media and representatives of the campaign met in the lobby of City Hall right before more than 13,500 signatures were submitted – more than twice the 5,871 needed to put the initiative on the ballot. Present to speak to the media were former Democratic Governor Tony Knowles, former Republican State Senator Arliss Sturgelewski, and One Anchorage’s Trevor Storrs.

“This initiative is about providing all Anchorage residents equal protections under the law, plain and simple,” said Trevor Storrs, chair of One Anchorage. “No matter what religious or political background you have, we can all agree that treating people equally is an absolute must for our community. Everyone deserves equal and fair housing and employment opportunities.”

A few hours later, across town, another group met to voice their support for One Anchorage.  The group Christians for Equality, representing a number of religious and faith-based organizations in Anchorage also stood up for the initiative.

Photo courtesy of Amy Coffman

“Equality is a core value of our Christian faith,” said Rev. Michael Burke, pastor of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, and convener of Christians for Equality. “That’s why we firmly support the One Anchorage initiative, because it calls for equal treatment of one another and protects those in our community who have no legal rights against discrimination today. We are speaking out so that the full voice of the Christian community is heard on the issue of equality,” said Burke.

The group’s members also include: Rev. Peter Perry of St. John’s United Methodist Church; Rev. Martin Eldred of Joy Lutheran Church; Rev. Susan Knight of Immanuel Presbyterian Church; Rev. Dan Bollerud of Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church; Rev. George Blair of First Congregationsl Church; Rev. Sara Gavit of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church; Rev. Beatrice Hitchcock of the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship; Rev. Ron Myers of First United Methodist Church; Rev. Glenn Petersen of Central Lutheran Church; Rev. Paul Boling and Rev. David Boling of First Christian Church, Rev. Julia Seymour of Lutheran Church of Hope; Rev. Drew Pheonix of The United Methodist Church; Rev. Johnathan Jones of Church Life AK; Rev. Gayle Nauska of Nauska Counseling, and Rev. Susan Halvor, Chaplain.

“The biblical message is an ethic of love,” said Rev. Peter Perry, senior pastor of St. John United Methodist Church. “When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus responded, ‘Love the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ We affirm that we are all made in the image of God and are therefore called to honor the dignity and equality of all persons. Discrimination and unfair treatment are never loving.”

~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more!

This is Alaska…

A 30-year old man escaped from jail during a bathroom break in the remote Western Alaska village of Alakanuk. It’s been nine years since Kevin Patrick has escaped from the Alakanuk jail during a bathroom break. This time his arrest was for drunk driving. The last time it was for assaulting a police officer with a shovel. After the first jail break, he was caught and arrested by trooper Eric Spitzer in a now infamous case where Patrick sued the state for the trooper’s excessive use of force during the re-arrest. The half million dollar settlement from the state wasn’t enough to keep Patrick out of trouble, apparently. He was last seen heading out of town on a green Arctic Cat snowmachine…

Kommie the Frog

A decade ago we learned the shocking news that beloved teletubby Tinky Winky was a secret gay icon (why else would he have a triangle shaped antenna and carry a magic bag?). And now, Fox Business shares with us the horrifying revelation that the Muppets are communists. That’s right – those seemingly charming and loveable characters who have free access to the innocent psyches of children are really freedom-hating capitalism-destroying commies. Pinko pigs and red frogs are on the march. It’s totally easy to see. The antagonists in their latest propaganda film are Big Oil, and it’s spokesman Tex Richman. It’s only a matter of time before one of these Muppet movies shows Gonzo shopping in the state store, and Big Bird winning all the speed skating events at the Olympics.  Don’t fall for the Muppet Manifesto, America. Keep Comrade the Frog at arm’s length.

The Attorney of the Flaming Pants

Remember when Municipal Attorney Dennis Wheeler lied to the Assembly and told them that the ordinance they were about to vote on, restricting the right to sit on city sidewalks, had been “run by the ACLU” and that they had no problems with it? Well he didn’t and they do. The Anchorage Daily News finally picked up on it (see link above), and at tonight’s Assembly meeting in the Loussac Library, Dick Traini will seek to have the law rescinded or repealed, ADN reports, because Wheeler “wrongly indicated” that he had talked to the ACLU.

Hold the Onion

No, this is not a satirical piece from The Onion. This is an actual Ron Paul ad. It is airing on TV in the key early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire. Wow.

Trump Pulls a Palin

Why do conservatives like to make up words? I guess I do too, but I don’t actually pretend or think they’re real ones. Palin was the champ of that. Remember “refudiate?” And who could forget “mandation?” Well, Donald Trump has just announced that he’s going to help out some lazy inner-city youth learn work ethic by making them “apprenti.” Yes… “apprenti.”

[Newt] Gingrich, who found himself in hot water last month for saying America’s child labor laws are “truly stupid,” called on Trump to create an “Apprentice”-style program for 10 inner-city New York children to teach them “work ethic.”

“We’re going to be picking 10, young, wonderful children, and we’re going to make them ‘apprenti,’” Trump said after a high-profile meeting with Gingrich on Monday. “We’re going to have a little fun with it, and I think it’s going to be something that is really going to prove results. But it was Newt’s idea, and I think it’s a great idea.”

Nope, Newt won’t give up on child labor for the poor. Maybe all it needs is a TV show!

Let’s play a little game. Imagine this scenario, and then tell me in what country this story takes place. You wake up and go to work. Maria, in the next cubicle over, isn’t there. And she isn’t there the next day. You and your coworkers come to find out that military officers knocked on her door in the middle of the night and took her away somewhere. She was suspected of being an enemy of the government – suspected of being a terrorist. No benchmark of proof was necessary. No presumption of innocence. The executive branch of the government gave the order, and the military responded. You realize that not only do you not know where she is, but she can’t call you or anyone. She has no legal representation. She has not been charged with anything. She can be held indefinitely on suspicion… of something. And there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

If someone had told you in the year 2000, that eleven years later, a Democratic led Senate in the United States of America would vote to pass a bill including a provision that allowed the United States military (not law enforcement), on U.S. soil, to detain and hold American citizens on a suspicion of terrorism, and to hold them indefinitely without legal representation, and without even a charge, would you have believed them?  Perhaps if you were a Japanese American of a certain age, you might. Almost 70 years ago, Executive Order 9066 authorized the U.S. military to remove any person from designated “military zones” without charge, trial or due process.  What happened next was the forced evacuation and internment of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans, two thirds of whom were U.S. citizens. Many spent years in camps. Their only crime? They looked like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor.

Last week the Senate voted on an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill of 2011. The Feinstein amendment said that it was not okay to use the military on US soil against the citizens of its country. The majority of your elected representatives in the senate didn’t much like that idea, and voted it down 55-45. It remains to be seen if the bill will see a presidential veto.

Every school child learns about Habeas corpus. It is one of those procedural remedies which made us, as Americans, feel grateful for our system of justice. It was one of those reasons that we felt proud to live in a country where individual liberties were valued, where the rights of the citizens meant something. We embraced that ideal of the founders that the people ran the government. We were not a citizenrywho lived in fear of tyrants, of governments who wielded their power by unjustly imprisoning those they wished to silence, those who were considered a “threat” by the subjective standard of the executive branch. This was America, and Americans were free.

But Habeas corpus is only a guarantee and a procedural remedy against illegal detention. Illegal used to mean held without charge for an indefinite period of time. Illegal used to mean that the government could not use the military against its own people. Now, it doesn’t. So, the former best safeguard of our individual liberties has been put through the wringer. Illegal detention doesn’t look like it used to, and neither does Habeas corpus.

And then there’s the Constitution – the rule book, our political Bible, the blueprint of our nation, our birthright as citizens. It had a few things to say about criminal prosecution and detention. Who can forget these old favorites?

‘In the trial of all crimes there shall be a jury, and the trial shall be held in the State where said crimes have been committed.”

No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, except upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.

As an American citizen, this is what you get.  This is the prize for winning the political lottery. This is why politicians love to say how “exceptional” we are as a country. These are the actual freedoms that our troops supposedly go fight for – the very troops who may now be called upon to seize and arrest you with no charge, no presumption of innocence, no jury trial, no lawyer, no court,  in violation of the Constitution they have sworn to protect and defend.

That’s a nice kettle of fish.

Now, don’t delude yourself. It isn’t like the Bush and the Obama administrations haven’t been doing this already. It’s one of the things for which progressives and Democrats used to love to criticize the Bush administration. But most seem strangely silent about the fact that the Obama administration is doing the very same thing.  And the “Constitutional conservatives”  and small government Republicans who turned a blind eye to Bush, but were happy to criticize Obama, are now strangely silent when the vast majority of Republicans voted against the Feinstein amendment.

So, what’s the difference if all this has already been going on for years?  Why should we care?  The difference is this:

First, this will actually codify unconstitutional acts into our body of law. It condones it. It puts it on the books. It is another hatchet mark in the Tree of Liberty, to use a favorite Tea Party metaphor. And every stroke of the axe brings the tree closer to collapse.

Second, we now have the privilege of knowing exactly who is on the side of the Constitution and the intent of the founders of the country. We also know who is willing to sell your most basic unalienable rights down the river. They do it because of political calculation, ineptitude, or desire to keep the nation in a perpetual state of war with an amorphous enemy that exists under every rock, and behind every tree until the end of time. The battlefield is everywhere, and the enemy is “terrorism” – the dark art practiced by those who “hate our freedom.” Ironically, we just gave them less to hate.

I was pleased to see that there were Republicans who actually walked their small government, individual liberties, Constitutional talk. Kudos to Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Susan Collins of Maine, and Mike Lee of Utah for breaking with their party and standing up for the people of the country.

It would have been nice to see Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have the courage to do the same. She has been criticized by the far right for being centrist, and moderate, and sometimes even liberal. The reason Democrats were given by the Murkowski campaign to vote for her in her historic and victorious write-in campaign (against far right Republican candidate Joe Miller, and progressive Scott McAdams) was that if she were re-elected in this way, it would free her to be more “herself.” She’d now be unshackled and not beholden to the pressures of the Republican party. She could vote her heart.  Well, take a good look, Democrats who voted for Lisa Murkowski. Peek in to that heart and tell me what you see – it either belongs to someone too weak to buck the party that threw her under the bus in the 2010 election, or an attorney who thinks nothing of voting against the Constitution she swore to uphold.

Ironically, both of her opponents in the 2010 senate race would have voted for the amendment, despite their very different political philosophies.

When asked if he would have voted for the Feinstein amendment, Joe Miller said in a statement to The Mudflats, “I absolutely would have voted for it.  Please note that my position on the Constitution and the liberties it guarantees has been consistent, no matter the position of party leadership.  I am very concerned about the increasing reach of the federal government to the detriment of individual liberties.  Alaskans can rest assured that whatever I do in the future, I will continue to fight aggressively to protect their fundamental rights.”

Democratic candidate Scott McAdams agreed, and told The Mudflats, “Empowering the executive branch with the power to arrest, detain and deprive a sovereign citizen the due process rights promised in our constitution is undemocratic and anti-American. No amount of security is worth demolishing the civil liberties that make America great. I am appalled Senators from a state that values individual and civil liberty above all would support this horrible affront to the core of who we are as Alaskans.

“As a locally elected leader, I have seen inconsistencies between a governing body’s intended purpose of a policy or ordinance and the manner in which such is carried out by staff. As community members, we would rally against an official who misused their authority, suspend a child from school without a stated purpose, or fire a public employee without just cause. It is outrageous to imagine that we as citizens would ever allow our local police departments to arrest and indefinitely hold a suspect with no promise of a trial. Our senators can’t possibly be naive enough to believe that the potential for abuse inherent in this short-sighted security measure is not real, and I hope Alaskans let their delegation know it.”

When Lisa Murkowski’s father Frank Murkowski lost the gubernatorial primary to Sarah Palin, the bumper sticker “Anyone but Frank” was seen on the rear ends of cars and trucks across the state. So, who would have voted for the retention of your civil liberties in the senate? Who would have voted to preserve the intent of the writ of Habeas Corpus, and the Constitution?  In 2010, the answer would have been “Anyone but Lisa.”

Now, let’s look at the Democrats who voted against this amendment – those who bucked their party in order to do the wrong thing. Here are the Democrats who think that violating your Constitutional rights is OK, as long as it serves their own political purposes – Richard Blumenthal (CT), Daniel Inouye (HI), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Mary Landrieu (LA), Carl Levin (MI), Joe Manchin (WV), Ben Nelson (NE), Mark Pryor (AR), Jack Reed (RI), Debbie Stabenow (MI), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), and yes, Mark Begich of Alaska.

Shame on every Democrat who decided to buck their party, only to officially codify the theft of your Constitutional rights.

Any Alaskan who doesn’t have their head in the sand isn’t surprised by Murkowski’s vote. But, in a moment when Mark Begich could have distinguished himself from Murkowski, appealed to civil libertarians in Alaska (of which there are many from the Tea Party to the Occupy movement), defended the oath taken by servicemen and women in the military, and didn’t even have to vote against his party, he blew it.

As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight. And it is in such twilight that we all must be aware of change in the air –however slight -lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness.
– Justice William O. Douglas, US Supreme Court (1939-75)

Fifty five senators who feared to look “soft on terror” have taken away our basic civil liberties in a way the terrorists never could.  Who should we really fear?

A few days ago, Jeanne recounted the tale of Anchorage City Attorney, Dennis Wheeler and his role in the Mayor’s no-lying down/no-sitting sidewalk Ordinance. If you remember, Municipal Attorney Wheeler lied used “a poor choice of words” when he claimed the ordinance had been “run by” the Alaska ACLU to determine whether it was vulnerable to lawsuit. (As it turns out, “run by” is only a poor choice of words when it actually means “never spoke to the ACLU about it once.” It would only be an outright lie if…ummm when…uhhh…errr…well…back to our story…)

Assemblyman Dick Traini was the one who had the discussion with Mr. Wheeler about potential lawsuits and ACLU involvement:

Assembly Member TRAINI: Dennis, since this will end up probably in the court system if it is approved, the ACLU takes this to court, is this defensible in your
point of view?

Municipal Attorney WHEELER: Mr. Traini, this ordinance was run by the ACLU.

Assembly Member TRAINI: Did they have any problems with it?

Municipal Attorney WHEELER: They did not have any problems with it. And, that’s primarily because we drafted it after a law that was already challenged in
court.

Assembly Member TRAINI: Because I’m wondering why ACLU is not here. Normally when something like this comes forward, if they have a problem, they
are here to testify. So, I appreciate that. Thank you.

He then voted for the Ordinance, based on Mr. Wheeler’s response.

Ooops…

While not always in agreement with those of us here at Mudflats, we know Assemblyman Traini to be a good guy. His response to Attorney Wheeler’s behavior (with the support and co-sponsorship of Elvi Gray-Jackson and Paul Honeman) didn’t let us down. It is “An Ordinance to Procedurally Repeal for Good Cause Retroactively to November 22, 2011…” AO 2011-112. In simple terms, if passed, this would throw out the no-lying down/no-sitting sidewalk ordinance.

The Ordinance itself is two pages — the legal document to be signed by the Assembly and the attached letter/explanation from Mr. Traini. The letter shows me why I could never be a member of the Assembly. The emphasis is mine and my comments are in a very festive red & green:

The vote taken on the Mayor’s Sidewalk Ordinance, AO 2011-112 was taken in reliance on specific information requested from the Municipal Attorney, as set out in the excerpt transcribed and attached  for ease of reference.

(Note: The first place I saw the Traini/Wheeler discussion transcribed was on Mudflats…just sayin’… )

The intent of this ordinance is to reverse action taken by the Assembly on November 22, 2011 to pass and approve AO 2011-112, in light of corrections in that information from the Municipal Attorney, received by the Municipal Clerk on November 29, 2011, after the vote was taken and the time for notice of reconsideration by the Assembly had expired.

(Coincidentally, this also happened AFTER ACLU attorney Thomas Stenson handed Wheeler’s butt to him in an email exchange, and threatened to go public with his lie “poor choice of words” unless he said something to the Mayor & Assembly first.)

As noted in e-mail communication from the Municipal Attorney dated Tuesday, November 29, 2011, included as Attachment 1, the information provided by the Municipal Attorney at the
Assembly Meeting on November 22, 2011, immediately prior to the vote on the ordinance, was not accurate and the choice of words was misleading.

(Misleading, as in a fabrication, an untruth, a distortion, a deception, a fable, a falsity, a myth, a BIG, FAT, FRIGGIN’ LIE!!!  Yeah, I’m repeating myself…)

As Assembly Members, we often place legal counsel “on the spot” and it speaks to good character when the misstatements and/or misinformation are corrected. This repeal will not
foreclose future consideration by the Assembly. Repeal will simply allow for a “reset” of the matter, and ensure that the integrity of Assembly action on an important ordinance is not
clouded by misinformation from the Municipal Attorney’s Office, corrected later in good faith.

(Yeah, good faith…as in, I have “faith” that Dennis Wheeler wanted to save himself from the embarrassment of being publicly (and eloquently) called-out by an ACLU attorney.  Did he think no one would find out?  Silly, silly lawyer…)

This Ordinance is only being introduced tomorrow (Tuesday). I am unsure at this time if there will be public testimony.  I also do not know if the vote will occur during the last Assembly Meeting of 2011, December 13th or sometime in January. We will find out more tomorrow night. If it isn’t repealed before the Ordinance takes effect on December 22nd, I know where I’ll be…occupying a lunch break on the City Hall sidewalk!