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…

By Elstun Lauesen

There is a culture war going on. And the epicenter of that culture war is right here in Alaska. It is outrageous in its brazenness and tragic in its effect. It is political in its tactic and economic in its objective. It is a classic tale of western frontier conquest. I am speaking, of course, of the war on the Native subsistence culture of Alaska.

The passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980 linked federal land policy in Alaska to a subsistence use priority. Congress, in Title VIII of ANILCA, made it clear that they wanted a ‘rural’ priority in the 60 percent of Alaska that is under federal management. A rural priority (which was a compromise for the original draft language that said “Native preference”) meant that the priority for harvesting wildlife should go to the people who live in the management area and for whom subsistence represents a ‘customary and traditional’ use.

The online journal Cultural Survival notes

“…ANILCA distinguishes Native subsistence as something exceptional and cultural noting that ‘the opportunity for subsistence uses by rural residents of Alaska…is essential to Native physical, economic, traditional, and cultural existence and to nonNative physical, economic, traditional, and social existence.’ Although the distinction seems minor, it betrays a deeper philosophical division between Native and non-Native conceptions of subsistence.”

One indicator of this ‘philosophical division’ may be seen in the 2006 decision by the Federal Subsistence Board to reclassify the village of Saxman near Ketchikan from a rural to non-rural community. This reclassification is in the news because the 5-year waiting period is over and the decision is scheduled to go into effect.

As KTUU’s Rebecca Palsha put it so succinctly back in 2006 for a new story on the board’s decision:

“Who should have first dibs on hunting and fishing on federal lands? A group of Anchorage residents are making that decision at a two day meeting of the Federal Subsistence Board…”

The rationale by this ‘group of Anchorage residents’ was that Saxman is connected by a road to a modern city and are effectively integrated with the Ketchikan economy.

My research on the question of the ‘integration’ of the village of Saxman with Ketchikan reveals that in 2006 the numbers do not support such a conclusion. The Division of Community and Regional Affairs utilizes the American Community Survey statistics from the Bureau of the Census that breaks data down to the community level. Here is what it tells us. Saxman is a majority Native community and Ketchikan is not. 51 percent of Saxman’s residents are Native Alaskan/American; 25 percent of Ketchikan’s population are Native Alaskan/American. Despite the road that connects the two communities, Saxman has retained it’s ethnic character. In fact the web tourism promotion by the city notes the following regarding the character of Saxman:

“Blessed with abundant resources, West Coast people survived by subsistence, living off the land and the water- still a crucial part of their cultural identity.”

The American Community Survey also tells us that while Ketchikan had an unemployment rate of 7.3 percent, Saxman had an unemployment rate of 30.7 percent. Again, it would seem that a complete socioeconomic integration would reveal a smaller difference. Finally, there is poverty. According to the ACS, the percentage of folks in Ketchikan living below the poverty rate in 2006 was 10.8 percent; in Saxman that figure is 25 percent.

Again, the visitor coming to Ketchikan learns that

“…Coastal Native people have a matrilineal society; children inherit rights through their mothers. The Tlingit social system is based on two equal moieties, or halves (the Eagle or Wolf and the Raven).

Traditions are changing with the times although much remains and is as strong as ever…”

So the question remains in my mind that, if the presence of the road has not altered the economic disparities between the communities, how can the Federal Board be so certain that the road has altered the cultural dependence on the customary and traditional uses of subsistence resources?

But if the Federal Board seems arbitrary in its subsistence policies, the state of Alaska is downright hostile.

From 1990-2002, three state governors, 12 regular legislatures, five special legislative sessions on subsistence, and a host of task forces, mediators and other initiatives all failed to resolve the unwillingness of Alaska’s lawmakers to allow a rural subsistence preference. In 2002, the outgoing Knowles administration gave up after 8 years of trying to work with the legislature. Federal management then became a reality. Since 2002, through the governorships of Murkowski, Palin and Parnell subsistence management on state lands became increasingly subjugated to the very lobby that had worked so assiduously against it. Murkowski’s appointment of Ron Sommerville to the Board of Game, for example, was a direct repudiation of a serious state subsistence management regime.

The Alaska Outdoor Council, the organization that spearheaded anti-subsistence political assaults since the passage of ANILCA, championed Sommerville’s appointment. Governor Sarah Palin then continued the Murkowski assault on the Federal Subsistence Board’s ‘customary and traditional’ use finding for the harvesting of moose by the small Copper River village of Chistochina. A positive C & T finding by the Federal Board entitles residents of a specific community to the subsistence priority under Title VIII of ANILCA and such a finding was anathema to the state Board of Game (BOG). Chistochina became a test case. The Palin administration sued the federal board and promptly lost in court.

Palin’s resignation and the ascent of Parnell simply meant the continuation of the Alaska Outdoor Council influence on the BOG. It was during this time that a Parnell appointed Wildlife Chief, Corey Rossi, who, along with BOG Chair, Cliff Judkins and BOG member Bob Bell — All past or present Alaska Outdoor Council — are alleged to have committed criminal violations of subsistence regulations.

Again, from Cultural Survival:

“As Nelson Frank, a Haida from southeast Alaska put it in his testimony before the Alaska Native Review Commission (recorded in the book Village Journey by Thomas Berger):”

“Subsistence living, a marginal way of life to most, has no such connotation to the Native people of southeast Alaska. The relationship between the Native population and the resources of the land and the sea is so close that an entire culture is reflected… Traditional law … was passed from generation to generation, intact, through repetition of legends and observance of ceremonials which were largely concerned with the use of land, water, and the resources contained therein. Subsistence living was not only a way of life, but also a life-enriching process. Conservation and perpetuation of subsistence resources was part of that life and was mandated by traditional law and custom.”

This is the casualty of Alaska’s culture war against subsistence.

[Photo: Clan House at Saxman, Alaska]

There’s no doubt about it. Alaska is blessed. Just ask Governor Sean Parnell. These are golden oily days indeed. In his state of the state address last week, he told us that financially, we’re doing just fine, thankyouverymuch But what if…  What if some day we aren’t? We should really start cutting the budget just in case. Besides, swashbuckling with a red pen looks really good, even if you have a patch on both eyes. It can even make a chief executive/oil lobbyist look like a sound-minded fiscal conservative. Don’t look over there where the state is readying itself to shovel pallet loads of cash into the waiting pockets of the Big 3 oil companies…. Instead, check out Captain Zero and his mighty red Bic sabre, slashing and hacking with wild abandon. HYAAAAH!

And what makes the most sense to cut, just in case things get bad in the future? How about cutting the future itself – yes, that’s it!  Education!

Of course Parnell says he wants things to improve – test performance, graduation rates, drop out rates… And things are improving.

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.

We’ve seen good things happen when we’ve had the money to invest in making class sizes smaller, and creating jobs for those committed to helping kids be successful. We can all hope really hard that momentum continues now that they don’t have the money any more. I bet that will work. Ready everyone? 1 – 2 – 3…. HOPE!

For now, we can watch those who have devoted their careers and their souls to the calling of helping kids succeed, tell us how they are going to spend less per kid, put more of them in the classroom and eliminate the people in positions to help the most vulnerable succeed. That’ll fix their little red wagons.

Yesterday and today, Carol Comeau presented the 2012-2013 budget to the Anchorage School Board.”These are extremely difficult cuts to make,” she said.  ”If we had the funds, I think we would have made very few cuts to these programs that are helping our students, particularly our struggling students. But we have to make tough choices in order to produce a balanced budget.”

Program eliminations include:
Summer school – elementary, middle and high school (No problem making up credits as long as your family can afford a private program, though)
Middle school career guides
Middle school in-school suspension teachers
Student support program supervisors, and
High School Graduation Coaches

Right wing talk radio bloviators have recently taken to mocking High School Graduation Coaches. They roll their eyes and chuckle… What are “graduation coaches” anyway? I’ve never heard of them… What do they even DO? Just another librul money-sucking made up job… Bla bla bla.

Here’s a little something for the Google challenged on the right wing airwaves who apparently use their own narrow sliver of pre-existing knowledge as a benchmark for the worthiness of a program. Watch and learn.

Programs reductions include:

Elementary counselors
Elementary librarians and assistants
Special Education/Related Services
English Language Learner services
Gifted Education services
Curriculum & Instructional Support
Maintenance positions and project funds
Warehouse positions
Custodial positions

In total, the new budget will kill almost 90 jobs.

The administration is also recommending a class size increase for students in grades 3-12.

Grade 3 – 0.5 increase
Grades 4-8 – 1.0 increase
Grades 9-12 – 1.5 increase

“Class-size increases are the last thing we look at when trying to balance the budget,” said Comeau. “We know this is a very important issue for our teachers, principals, students and the community.”

“Over the years, we have added more programs to try to address individual learning needs,” said Comeau. “Many of these programs have proven effective but we’re in a place now where we have to make hard calls based on available funding. I don’t like this budget but I think it’s as responsible as we can make it… These cuts are necessitated by the lack of revenue increases at the state level and only a slight increase at the local level.”

Meanwhile back at the Governor’s office, Sean Parnell says he has problems with things like raising the base student allocation.

Parnell says in difficult economic times, domestically and abroad, Alaska must remain as liquid as it can financially.

So, what have we learned? Things are really great here in Alaska. We’re not having the problems everyone else is. BUT, down in the Lower 48 and abroad, things aren’t so rosy. And that’s really what should drive our policy. So, just in case bad things happens here, we need to underfund education while giving billions away to the oil companies, and everything will work out just fine. See how that works?

Fortunately, there are those in the legislature whose priorities differ from those of the governor, and haters of the biggest of all entitlement programs – edjacation.

I give you one Joe Thomas. Through the Senate Education Committee, Senator Thomas is the prime mover on SB 171, which would increase the Base Student Allocation by $125 this year, and more next year.  As co-chair of  Senate Education, he already has SB171 scheduled for this Friday morning. 

Here’s where you can help, by taking your daily dose of Vitamin Democracy.

That’s you all hopped up on Vitamin Democracy on the left, wielding your internet activist hammer against the snaggle-toothed forces of ignorance who think it’s too expensive to have educated children who contribute to a happy and healthy society.  >THWACK<  Here’s how you do it.

Help Senator Thomas, by giving him the evidence (via your emails) to demonstrate that people actually care about education and believe that children, even the ones who don’t have all the advantages, are the key to a successful and prosperous future. We can either invest now in happy, successful kids who graduate, get jobs and pay into the system, or we can abandon them, and pay later for prison, entitlement programs, and thereby create adults who take from the system. It’s our choice. Being compassionate and supportive actualy pays off monetarily too. It’s nice how that works.

Please send an email to Senator Thomas before Friday morning AND copy your own senator, to tell them that you support raising the base student allocation. It’s an investment in the future that’s easy to afford.

Senator_Joe_Thomas@legis.state.ak.us 

By Shannyn Moore

The war on science is winning. And I’m not talking about those who confuse weather and climate.

Nope. I’m frustrated with the continual election of candidates with a faith-based bias when it comes to policy that should rely on science. In a letter this week, Ed Fogels, deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, informed his colleagues that the mission of the department had changed.

The new mission: “To responsibly develop Alaska’s resources by making them available for maximum use and benefit consistent with the public interest.”

There are a few issues with DNR’s newfound mission. First, the mission they had wasn’t broken.

It read, “The Mission Statement of the Department of Natural Resources is to develop, conserve, and enhance natural resources for present and future Alaskans.”

That one was based in a little directive we call the Alaska Constitution.

“Sec. 44.37.020. Duties of department with respect to natural resources. (a) The Department of Natural Resources shall administer the state program for the conservation and development of natural resources, including forests, parks, and recreational areas, land, water, agriculture, soil conservation, and minerals including petroleum and natural gas, but excluding commercial fisheries, sport fish, game, and fur-bearing animals in their natural state.”

It’s ironic to have self-identified conservatives continually ignore conservation. Their drive to use up Alaska’s resources like we’re in some sort of race is reckless with Alaska’s economy and future development.

I realize cherry picking is common in the Parnell administration but the Alaska Constitution is not a Sunday buffet from which departments get to pick and choose what they’ll put on their mission plate. This behavior isn’t limited to one department; it’s pervasive throughout the Parnell administration.

Cronyism abounds and seems to be passed down from Republican governor to Republican governor. Sarah Palin created a position for Corey Rossi in 2009 because he was so blatantly unqualified to be commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game that even she didn’t dare do it.

In 2010, Parnell appointed Rossi as director of wildlife conservation. In addition to lacking the scientific credentials for even that job, Rossi also lacked the ethical credentials, which explains why he’s facing 12 criminal charges for illegal hunting.

This week on “Moore Up North,” Craig Medred reported that Rossi and a former head and a current head of the game board got in trouble on a little “subsistence” hunt in Nome. Apparently, unable to go on a legal trophy hunt for musk ox, the trio of Alaska game managers decided they would turn a subsistence hunt into a trophy hunt. Rossi, Bob Bell and Cliff Judkins were caught by a Fish and Game biologist in Nome with trophy horns that were supposed to have been destroyed as a condition of the subsistence permit.

Their “Don’t you know who we are?” attitude was met by a courageous state employee who did his job and enforced the law regardless of the consequences. The trio thought their positions would enable them to ignore the rules set up for everyone else. Cliff Judkins is the current chair of the Board of Game. On the game board’s 2012 agenda is a rule change that will allow Judkins, Bell and Rossi to legally bring home the horns from their next musk ox hunt. All that’s needed is a rubber stamp from the Board of Cronies.

The commissioner of Fish and Game, Cora Campbell, found out that Rossi was being questioned in a criminal investigation in early December. Her response was to do exactly nothing. She didn’t ask him a single question about what was up. Instead, she acted like nothing had happened and kept him on the job until formal charges were made. And when she accepted Rossi’s resignation, she thanked him for his years of service and explained to staff he was leaving for personal reasons.

Pathetic.

Anti-predator control public testimony at BOG meetings has dwindled. Why? Because crony appointments have turned the BOG into the Board of Predators. Alaskans can see that the game is fixed.

The abuses and blatant disregard of science and ethics are top down in Alaska. The “what can I get for my service” mentality didn’t end with Palin’s reality show and book tour. Parnell’s repeated calls for an oil tax giveaway have set the tone; ignore the constitution and get what you can for yourself and your friends.

Vic Fischer, one of the authors of the Alaska Constitution, has called for the impeachment of Parnell for repeatedly violating his oath of office.

Alaska’s executive branch has become a grown-up version of “Lord of the Flies.” I didn’t catch the name of the biologist in Nome but I’d like to thank him. I’ll take integrity and science over what’s-in-it-for-me, faith-based cronyism any and every day of the week.

Mudflatters may remember past coverage of Corey Rossi, referred to by others as “the gopher choker.” Rossi began his ignominious political career by being friends with Chuck and Sally Heath, parents of then-Governor Sarah Palin. And really, what else do you need?  In those days, being BFFs with the Palins was like being dealt a royal flush. Palin high school pal and former real estate agent Franci Havermeister was given the position of Alaska Agriculture Director for $95,000/year, after listing as one of her qualifications for the position her childhood “love of cows.”

Well, Rossi loved to kill stuff, so his career path seemed clear.

After Palin took office in 2007, Sally [Heath] lobbied her daughter to have Rossi named commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The commissioner oversees all wildlife and fisheries management in the state. Sally Heath, in an email to Palin, noted that almost everyone would object to Rossi as unqualified, but added those “are the very same people who said the same thing about you.”

‘Nuf said.

His previous wildlife management did not include things like a college degree, or much actual experience – unless you count his job killing geese and rats at the Anchorage International Airport. Or his job killing foxes and more rats on the Pribilof Islands. So really, he could just as easily have been the goose snuffer, the fox blocker, or the rat whacker.

Whatever you call him, he’s an exterminator at heart.

After urging from her parents, the governor pushed Rossi to the front of the line. But even Palin’s advocacy couldn’t make up for Rossi’s inexperience, and unsuitability for the job. So, it went to a gent named Denby Lloyd (who later resigned after being pulled over and arrested for a DUI by Juneau police, who determined his breath alcohol level was 0.143 percent. A person is presumed intoxicated at a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent. But let’s not get sidetracked.)

Rossi’s non-appointment would not squelch the nepotistic urges of our fair governor. Oh, no. She was made of more determined stuff than that. Instead, in January of 2009, an entirely new position was created just for Rossi, with the Orwellian title “Assistant Commissioner for Abundance Management.” No more airport geese, or runway rats for Rossi – it was time to take over predator control for the state of Alaska. And by control, he meant eradication.

Rossi’s shiny new six-figure job was quick to inspire outrage from the conservation community, and anyone who knew anything about biology, or game management.

Thirty-nine Alaskan biologists and former supervisors with a cumulative 800 years of experience with Alaska wildlife issues sent a letter expressing their dismay, and lack of confidence in Rossi’s appointment.

They stated that Rossi lacks the academic and professional experience for even an entry-level biologist position with the agency, because he has no college degree. Alas, all this genuine scientific concern and universal outrage had no effect.

The only ones who could stand him were the Palin family, current Governor Sean Parnell, and the “kill ‘em and grill ‘em” crowd who thought that Rossi was right on to promote the extermination of huge numbers of predators like wolves and bears. Using snares to trap and hold bears of all kinds (with cubs or not), shooting wolves (and potentially bears soon as well) from the air, and gassing litters of wolf pups in their dens, have all become part of Alaska’s formerly science-based wildlife management. All this eradication of predators is great they say, because in turn, it creates “abundance” in the numbers of moose that end up on tables and in freezers of hunters. Killing more means you get to kill more. See how that works? Kill for Abundance! It’s a win-win situation for a narrow group that does not include the tourism industry, nature photographers,wildlife viewers, or people who just happen to prefer their majestic Alaskan carnivores alive.

But Rossi’s reign of terror has come to an abrupt end, much to the delight of many who worked with him, and his legions of detractors in the environnmental community, the public at large, and perhaps others…

With the latest revelation, he seems to have made easy work of proving his critics’ point regarding his own unfitness to serve in the role he was given.

In this charging document, Rossi, 51, is charged with one count of permit hunt report violations, three counts of making false statements on black bear sealing certificates, two counts of unsworn falsification, one count of illegal possession of an illegally taken bear, and five counts of unlawful acts by an assistant big game guide.

In Alaska, this is serious stuff for any guide, nevermind the state Wildlife Conservation Director.  And it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

Turns out Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner Cora Campbell knew a month ago about Rossi’s skulduggery, but kept him on in his job, where he earned another $9250 until the documents were filed last week.

When asked about Rossi’s hunting violations, she was kind enough to explain for those who might be confused:

“These are charges and a process is going forward.”

She pointed out that these violations had happened before he took the job  (no big deal) and sweetly thanked him for his service.

“He was a staunch defender of state management rights. That was something we very much appreciated,” said Campbell. “He was a believer in abundance-based management, and he did a lot to incorporate that into the management of the department.”

Aww. He was a defender. A staunch defender. And a believer. He did a lot. And he was appreciated. Doesn’t that make you all sniffly and misty-eyed, and gripped by nausea?

Despite a month’s heads up, Campbell says she hasn’t had time yet to come up with a process to fill Rossi’s position. She said she doubts that someone from outside the state would really understand Alaska’s issues.

Folks say there’s a pretty talented termite wrangler in Ketchikan who just may be looking for work.

No sooner will Alaskans get the New Year party confetti swept up, then we will have to turn our attention to Juneau and the start of the legislative session. And just like the swallows return to Capistrano, so do the oil company lobbyists wing their way to our capital city to convince our lawmakers to give their bosses a cut of our kids’ future. It’s time to get ready for another round of Governor Sean Parnell’s game called: Let’s Give Our Revenues Away To Big Oil.

Big Oil and its allies have created a group called the Make Alaska Competitive Coalition (MACC). This group is made up of the usual suspects: executives of companies beholden to the industry, ex-politicians milking what lingering relevance they possess for an oily pat on their collective head, former VIPs, like an ex-University President, receiving the well-heeled deference of a grateful industry.

Sean Parnell and MACC and other Industry proxies will be beating us about our head and shoulders with advertisements. Expect a crop of gauzy TV spots with plenty of eye-catching production values as some golden throat intones how important it is for us to kill the goose (Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share or ACES) and give Big Oil half the Golden Egg.

Unfortunately for the Governor, events seem to have conspired such that, by the end of 2011, many of his major arguments have exploded in his face.

Just a week ago, the MACC was forced by Fairbanks journalist Dermot Cole to correct a lie that was featuring on its web site and delivered around the state by former Republican House Speaker Gail Phillips. The lie? “Federal law requires the pipeline be shut down and removed when production declines to 400,000 barrels per day.” When Cole heard these claims, he did what any responsible journalist should do; he asked for documentation. Shortly after that, MACC’s PR Firm, MSI Communications, had to back off the claim. Jason Moore, a communication specialist with MSI admitted that the alleged federal requirements do not exist.

This is not just an embarrassment for MACC. It is a fatal wound to one of the most important claims of the Governor: that oil throughput will decline in a few years to the point that the pipeline will have to be shut down. In fact Cole points out in his column that an internal analysis of a Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) owner states “TAPS could operate, with modifications, down to 135,000 barrels and have an extended life through 2050.”

BOOM! Goes that narrative.

On February 26, 2011, Ed Duncan, president of Great Bear Petroleum stunned members of the legislature with testimony that his company plans to begin production in 2013 and will generate 200,000 bbls a day by 2020 ramping up to 600,000 bbls a day by 2056. He further surprised legislators by saying that if they wanted a million bbl flowing through the pipe earlier, Great Bear could step up its pace of production. (Petroleum News, March 06, 2011).

Add to the Great Bear story, the news that Spanish oil company Repsol, Armstrong Oil and Gas and GMT Exploration have formed a JV that will commit a minimum of $768 Million to explore and evaluate the commercial viability of new leases they purchased.

KA-POW! Goes another lie: Unless ACES is altered to Industry specifications, Alaska’s oil field activity will wither away and die.

2011 saw more good news for Alaska and bad news for the Parnell-MACC’s talking points. I wrote the following in an earlier column: “…In the case of Cook Inlet, [ACES] makes both the Buccaneer Energy and Escopita projects possible …In Cook Inlet, Alaska’s partnership is represented by a credit facility that is secured by guarantees under ACES. Here is how Buccaneer Energy (BCC:ASX) describes the ACES incentives in their press release on December 5, 2011: The credit facility, which matures in November 2016, is secured by receivables to be paid by the State of Alaska and available to the Company under the Alaskan Clear & Equitable Share (“ACES”) rebate program … The Company intends to use the proceeds from the credit facility for drilling exploration and development activities on its five Alaska lease areas…”

BAM! Goes the argument that “ACES is a disincentive to exploration”
Finally, there is the point that is made ad nauseum, that “North Dakota Is More Competitive Than Alaska & We Are Losing Industry To North Dakota”. Go to fixthetax.com. That nice, smiling guy with the mustache: North Dakota’s ex-governor Ed Shafer hired by the industry to lead their attack on North Dakota’s oil tax system. So it seems that, despite calls for Alaska to be more like North Dakota, the industry isn’t really happy with North Dakota either. The Alaska Chapter of the International Association of Energy Economists gave a presentation on April 11, 2011 to an industry meeting in Alaska. One slide is of particular interest to Alaskans. It is a slide that compares the Statements of Revenues and Expenditures by Source among North Dakota, Alaska, and Alberta Canada. Alaska had over four times the revenues over expenditures of North Dakota—all of which went into our reserve accounts. Alaska’s Royalties are 5-1/2 times North Dakota’s royalty income because, unlike North Dakota, Alaskans collectively own the oil and gas of the state. Private royalty payments by the industry are not recorded as state revenues so, of course, industry payments to the state of North Dakota are lower. The important point here is that comparing Alaska’s revenues with North Dakota is a false comparison and, as I point out above, the Industry is never satisfied with any level of taxation.

KA-BLOOEY goes another phony argument!

So in 2012, Alaskans need to rebuff the false claims and scare tactics of the Industry. If we do, then 2011 will have proved to be a great year for Alaska and a lousy year for Sean Parnell and the Make Alaska Competitive Coalition.

Here’s to a happy and prosperous 2012!

By Shannyn Moore

“Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” – Edmund Burke

In 2006, the FBI raided the offices of legislators. Lawmakers were prosecuted for selling their votes to help pass Gov. Frank Murkowski’s Big Oil Bailout, the Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT).

The PPT tied 85 percent of state revenue to the efficiencies of the oil producers while simultaneously incentivizing them to be inefficient; the higher their costs, the more they could write off, the lower their taxes, the less money for Alaska. Great deal for the producers at the expense of Alaskans.

And now, just five years later, Gov. Sean Parnell is trying to pass his own Big Oil Bailout, known as HB110. History, it seems, is repeating itself.

Bob Bartlett was prophetic. As Alaska’s congressional delegate, he addressed the Alaska Constitutional Convention on Nov. 8, 1955. He spoke of the importance of our natural resources and predicted an influx of resource development interests. “Unfortunately some of these interests will not be scrupulous in the choice of measures to achieve their ends . . . lobbying activity on a scale never before seen will take place in the capital when Alaska becomes a state.”

Bartlett also warned of “exploitation under the thin disguise of development. The taking of Alaska’s mineral resources without leaving some reasonable return for the support of Alaska governmental services and the use of all the people of Alaska will mean a betrayal in the administration of the people’s wealth.”

Bartlett’s words were never more relevant to the lobbyist-infected political landscape we find ourselves in today, one where the oil industry has literally bribed legislators and raised millions to elect oil-friendly politicians who have returned the favor by ignoring their constitutional obligation to secure the “maximum benefit” for Alaskans.

The oil companies have systematically taken over the Chamber of Commerce, Resource Development Council, and policy groups. One of those groups recently ginned up fake legislative report cards. A nonpartisan Legislative Research Report showed that lawmakers who received F and D grades voted virtually identically to those who got A’s and B’s. The difference? Those who supported the governor’s bill to give $2 billion a year to the oil companies with no strings attached got A’s, while those who didn’t got D’s or F’s.

This past week, Senate President Gary Stevens — one of the legislators with the audacity to question Parnell’s oil tax giveaway — walked into the lion’s den. He addressed Commonwealth North, a group pushing to roll back oil taxes while billing itself as “Alaska’s premier nonpartisan public policy forum.”

Stevens didn’t mince any words. He noted the bogus legislative grades were “sort of like a target. A giant Scarlet Letter. Though I prefer to think of it as a Red Badge of Courage.” Stevens, a retired history professor, then schooled the chamberesque crowd.

You could have heard a pin drop in the room as he reminded Alaskans about the Amerada Hess court case. The court found that from 1977 to 1992 the oil companies were guilty of “deliberate falsification in computing the price paid to Alaska for its royalty oil.” The judge said the state was guilty of “inexcusable trustfulness” in dealing with the oil companies.

Stevens recalled the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, which destroyed the fishing careers of thousands of Alaskans. He noted that the Alaska Oil Spill Commission said Alaskans were abused by Exxon’s approach toward risk management, saying the company showed “a corporate culture of irresponsibility” that put profit over safety and risk mitigation.

Stevens brought up Bill Allen and the Veco scandal that led to the former speaker of the House, chair of the House Oil & Gas Committee, Senate Rules chair and others being convicted of corruption for trying to sell out Alaska to the oil companies.

Stevens noted the oil companies have an obligation to make as much money for their shareholders as possible. But the Legislature has a constitutional obligation to maximize the benefit of our resources for Alaskans.

For the past five years, Alaska’s Senate has been led by a statesman-like bipartisan coalition. While most states are broke, Alaska has more than $15 billion in savings — the largest in the country, without counting the Permanent Fund — because of the oil tax reform called ACES.

Jobs, investment, exploration, the number of companies on the North Slope, and oil company profits are all at all-time highs. Though you’d never know it from the oil industry report card, evidenced by the F the bipartisan Senate group received.

Former oil company executive Randy Ruedrich recently orchestrated the redrawing of Alaska’s legislative lines. His goal? Destroy the Senate coalition and restore power to the oil industry.

Will we Alaskans stay the course? Or have we forgotten our history and thus become destined to repeat it?

Yesterday, Senate President Gary Stevens (R) spoke to Commonwealth North at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage about a variety of issues facing the Legislature in its upcoming Session, including HB 110 (also known as Governor Captain Zero’s oil tax plan). Below, you will find a copy of his prepared remarks. Senators Kevin Meyer (R), Hollis French (D), Bill Wielechowski (D), Bettye Davis (D), and Linda Menard (R) were also in attendance for the organization’s annual Legislative Meet & Greet.

Kudos to Gary Stevens for putting Alaska first. He nails this from beginning to end, and calls the Chamber of Commerce’s “grading system” out for the farce that it is.  One observer described the reaction from the crowd as “stunned silence.”

The Mudflats has not awarded one of these as of late, but bestows upon Gary Stevens, the coveted Golden Spine Award.

To listen to Senator Stevens’ Speech, click here.

Senator Stevens’ Prepared Remarks

Thank you for inviting me to speak. Frankly, you’ve got a lot of nerve. I stand before you as the recipient of an “F” from the Alaska Chamber of Commerce and the Resource Development Council. Legislators were given grades by these organizations, apparently based on our support or lack of it for the Governor’s Oil Tax Bill, HB 110. So, the biggest issue facing the legislature this year is STATE OIL TAXES. Big surprise, right? This has been the biggest issue for many years running.

All Representatives who got A’s voted for the Governors oil tax bill, while those of us who got D’s and F’s either voted against it in the House, or like myself, dared to question it in the Senate. Former Governor Jay Hammond was a constituent of mine for several years after he left office. Hammond, liked to quote Article 8, Section 2 of the Alaska Constitution:

The legislature shall provide for the utilization, development, and conservation of all natural resources belonging to the state, including land and waters, for the maximum benefit of its people.

That’s people, not businesses or corporations, but the people of Alaska – You.

It’s a very unusual constitution in this regard. Now, you should know, I love the oil industry. I want to see more oil flowing through the pipeline. Oil provides jobs to Alaskans as well as lots of jobs to outsiders. But it is our oil, and Prudhoe Bay belongs to us. It is true oil pays the bills here in Alaska. Some 90% of our annual revenue comes from oil taxes. So, we like you, we respect you, and we need you. We want you to be profitable.

So let’s not forget the constitution or Jay Hammond. But, to be fair, let’s not forget the abuses we have suffered at the hands of the oil industry.

Remember Edmund Burke’s famous quotation – “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” I don’t want to dwell on those abuses but I would ask you to remember just 3 events in our historic relations with the industry, so we won’t repeat them. Surprisingly enough, so many Alaskans don’t know or remember these events:

1. Remember Amarada Hess, when the industry was found guilty of falsification and depriving the state of nearly 1 billion dollars

2. Remember the Exxon Valdez, when the industry despoiled our environment from which it has not fully recovered even today

3. Remember Bill Allen, when some of our elected politicians were bribed and sent to prison

Those 3 events are not the only abuses we have experienced. These are just the 3 I’d like you to remember.

Alaska v. Amarada Hess was a court case which found that from 1977 to 1992 companies were guilty of “deliberate falsification in computing the price paid to Alaska for its royalty oil.” It ended with the judge saying that we, the state, were guilty of “inexcusable trustfulness” in dealing with the oil companies.

You did get that, didn’t you? : The judge said we trusted the oil companies too much. That we were guilty of inexcusable trustfulness, WOW. I think you can get into heaven for that.

The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill was a disaster I well remember. With enormous damage to Prince William Sound, the Alaska Oil Spill Commission said Alaskans were abused in Exxon’s approach towards risk management, saying the company showed “a corporate culture of irresponsibility” and was unwilling to jeopardize profit when it came to safety and risk mitigation.

I was elected to the legislature in 2000 and was surprised to see Bill Allen and Veco employees so often in the halls and offices of the capitol. As we now know, some of our elected public officials were bribed yet still voted on oil tax bills, and even went to prison for their actions.

So, that’s all in the past. You may say things have improved greatly and I want to believe that.

Still, the wise person learns from history and remembers our past. We don’t want to be accused again of inexcusable trustfulness. We don’t want anyone to think that a culture of irresponsibility is OK, and we don’t ever want to see our elected politicians bribed. To maximize benefits to the industry and to the people – What’s good for the industry may not be good for you.

So, let’s get back to our current situation and the bill introduced by the Governor. It is HB 110 and readily, if barely, passed the House and was sent on to the Senate. It gives away billions of dollars in taxes to the oil industry. Upwards of $9 to $10 billion of your money with very little in return to Alaska.

We have been asking the Administration for months to give us some proof this will do Alaska some good. We asked them to make their case. Give us reasons to vote for it. Show us the proof that we get something out of giving up billions. What does it mean at various oil prices? We have yet to receive that information. And I hope it will be forthcoming before our session begins in January.

Jay Hammond was asked how he would tax the oil companies and he said, “For every cent we could possible get.” Sometimes, even I think Governor Hammond may have gotten a little carried away. I think what he meant was that Alaskans need to get their fair share. He knew the job of the oil company CEOs was to maximize benefits for their shareholders, and they have done that. They have made enormous profits. And I don’t question that they should make enormous profits. They have done well for themselves and for us. But Hammond saw his job, as Governor of Alaska, to do the same for his shareholders – to maximize benefits for you – to make sure Alaska got its fair share.

So, the Senate still has the Governor’s bill, HB 110. Right now, it is in Senate Labor and Commerce Committee. They are studying the issue of jobs. We all know how important this is to Alaskans. We have been told, if we pass HB 110, that more Alaskans will be hired on the North Slope. But as the committee has done its work, they have found we have nearly as many jobs now as we have ever had and they found that the lion’s share of new jobs have gone to outsiders, not to Alaskans.
The normal course for HB 110 would be to go to Senate Resources, to Senate Finance, then to the Senate Floor. Many Senators have concerns about the bill – real and important questions. I suspect if it does make it out of the Senate, it will only be with major changes. A big issue is that of progressivity, which is the tax we charge when oil reaches high levels of value. This I think is something that could be done and might give the oil companies the relief they seek. Also we will be discussing heavy oil. My priority is and will remain to provide for the maximum benefit to the people of Alaska

It is quite telling that Pedro Van Meurs, an international oil consultant, in his presentation here in Anchorage earlier this month implied that Alaska tax rates are not particularly out of line with other regions and suggested that there may be no need to make significant changes in Alaska’s oil tax program. He did not recommend approval of the Governor’s HB 110. This is the best evidence yet that the Senate was right. Let me say that again, Pedro Van Meurs comments are the best evidence yet that the Senate was right.

The past session and this interim have been most contentious. The Senate did not rush to pass the Governor’s oil tax give away bill. We were called a “do nothing” senate because we would not be rushed into a precipitous decision that could cost the state billions with little in return.

In conclusion – Have I mentioned the State Chamber of Commerce and the Resource Development Council? I think I did. As you know they gave those of us who dared question the Governor’s oil tax bill failing grades. They gave D’s and F’s to just about every Representative who voted on the House floor against the bill. Realize the vote was 22 to 16, so that’s hardly a landslide. They also gave failing grades to all the Senators who dared ask questions about the bill.

Many of those representatives and senators are right here in this room, right now. Look around you and maybe you will see members with giant letters on their chests. It’s right there if you can’t see it. Sort of like a target. A Giant Scarlet Letter. Though I prefer to think of it as a Red Badge of Courage.

Anyway, thank you for inviting me.

~Frank Luntz, GOP Minister of Propaganda

By Shannyn Moore

While most Alaskans were suffering through another cold, dark week, Gov. Sean Parnell was hard at work — on another junket, this time to the Republican Governor’s Association meeting in Florida. Odd — no palm tree beach shots on the state website.

In fact, no official mention of the trip at all — just one picture on his Facebook page saying the governor participated in a “panel discussion on energy issues.”

One of the presenters at the governors’ conference was Frank Luntz, a Republican strategist whose specialty is “testing language and finding words that will help his clients sell their product or turn public opinion on an issue or a candidate.”

In other words, if you’re a politician whose policies benefit the rich and powerful at the expense of the middle class, Mr. Luntz will help you choose words to convince the masses to vote against their own best interests and vote for you.

Luntz is so good that he was awarded the 2010 PolitiFact Lie of the Year honor for his promotion of the phrase “government takeover” to refer to health care reform, starting in the spring of 2009.

The reports of Luntz’s coaching session for the Republican governors about how to speak to us are fascinating. And chilling.

Luntz acknowledged that the general public does not agree that Republicans defend the “middle class.” So how do Republicans convince the masses that tax cuts for them are bad, but tax cuts for millionaires are good? Piece of cake, as it turns out.

According to Luntz, “If you talk about raising taxes on the rich,” people like that. But, “if you talk about government taking the money from hardworking (millionaire) Americans, the public says no. Taxing, the public will say yes.”

Apparently you just have to change a few words and millionaires will maintain or even gain massive new tax breaks while average Americans feed their families Top Ramen. Again.

How do you convince working Americans that government investments in education, roads, bridges, Social Security and Medicare are bad, even though they benefit from them? Quite simple, according to Luntz: “It’s not about ‘government spending.’ It’s about ‘waste.’ That’s what makes people angry.” Tweak a word or two and Grandma will support having her Medicare and Social Security cut while Republicans blast Obama for government waste.

How do you justify the Republican-imposed partisan gridlock that has led to an all-time low public opinion of Congress? Luntz has an answer for that too: “Don’t ever say you’re willing to ‘compromise.’ If you talk about ‘compromise,’ they’ll say you’re selling out. Your side doesn’t want you to ‘compromise.’ ”

Luntz discussed how to frame the growing Occupy Movement as well: “They’re having an impact on what the American people think of capitalism, so we’re replacing (capitalism) with either ‘economic freedom’ or ‘free market.’ The public … still prefers capitalism to socialism, but they think capitalism is immoral. And if we’re seen as defenders of ‘Wall Street,’ we’ve got a problem.”

What to say about the Occupiers? Three words. I suspect that jaws dropped when Luntz did not suggest, “take a bath” or “get a job,” as Newt Gingrich did. No, you have to be a little more cunning when dealing with the average American voter.

According to Luntz, “First off, here are three words for you all: ‘I get it.’ … ‘I get that you’re angry. I get that you’ve seen inequality. I get that you want to fix the system.” Then, Luntz instructed the would-be Republican puppet masters, pivot to the same-as-always Republican solutions. Tax breaks for millionaires. And corporations.

Of course, no Republican strategy session on dealing with the grimy masses would be complete without blaming Washington. It’s always Washington’s fault. Tell them, he said, “You shouldn’t be occupying Wall Street, you should be occupying Washington.”

But how to deal with those multimillion-dollar bonuses that Wall Street will be doling out come Christmas time while middle-class America struggles to pay the heating bill? This is a problem. Or, perhaps not. According to Luntz, strike “bonus” from your vocabulary. “If you give out a bonus at a time of financial hardship, you’re going to make people angry. It’s ‘pay for performance.’ ”

Choose your words carefully. Replace “jobs” with “careers,” “entrepreneurs” with “job creators,” and “middle class” with “hardworking taxpayers.”

We should all sleep easier knowing that we paid for Gov. Parnell to learn the art of political propaganda.

He doesn’t really want to lower taxes on the most profitable oil companies in the history of civilization. He wants to keep government from taking money from hard-working, job-creating Alaskans. He doesn’t want to cut health care for children and pregnant women. He wants to cut government waste.

And, by the way, he gets it. He gets that we pay some of the highest gasoline prices in the U.S. He gets that we have some of the highest home-heating costs in the nation. He gets that children are homeless and go to bed hungry.

And he has a solution: tax breaks for oil companies.