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Friday, January 28, 2022

Giessel Says Scrutinize Foreign Students

giessel

Looks like another piece of legislation is coming from the Xenophobe caucus.

Rep. Bob Lynn (R-Anch) has proposed HB1, which will basically turn the DMV into a branch of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and require extra work for multiple state agencies who will now have to process drivers licenses more frequently, attempt to know law that is not their job; and create a bunch of hassle for foreign students in our university system.

Yes, this isn’t just any nefarious terrorist threat, this is students. Let’s hear from Cathy Giessel (R-Anch/Turnagain), who proudly never had any of her children in the public school system. She’s all for scrutinizing students.

“A lot of times folks think of students: ‘very innocuous,'” Giessel said. “But I also think those folks that flew the planes into the Twin Towers, some of them were here on student visas — is that correct?”

Oh, those terrorist ‘folks.’  It’s good to know that Giessel is basing an entire policy for Alaska on an event that happened 12 years ago in New York City, and she’s not even sure she’s correct about it. Whatever. All she knows is that those sneaky ‘other’ people with their pigment, and their languages, should have us living in terror. For a supposed limited government Republican, she’s adding a bunch of cost and paperwork to soothe her fear of the furriners.

“In moving to require applications for driver’s licenses on a more frequent basis, this essentially increases the workload of local Social Security offices, my office and most importantly the DMV offices,” Carol Holz of the University’s International Programs Department said.

Weirdly, Bob Lynn, sponsor of HB1 says that it won’t cost us a dime! No fiscal note at all.  He must be telling the truth, he’s a legislator! So I guess it’s just such a darn good idea, that the hard workers at the Social Security office, and the DMV, and the University will volunteer their time and paper.
Oh, and the ACLU says if the legislation goes through, it won’t stand up to a legal challenge. Heck, it’s only money, right?

Apparently, Senator Giessel’s authoritarian big government tendencies have skipped a generation.

It’s impossible to look at this type of unneeded big government excess without noting, ironically, that Giessel’s son David is an outspoken anarchist, who used to be an AM radio host in Fairbanks for the talk show “Patriot’s Lament.” This Giessel “completely rejects the state.” He describes his parents as “limited government Republicans” but that they’ve “come quite a way” to his line of thinking. So much for that, I guess. Mom has pulled her jack boots back on.

Here are the self-described “Patriot’s Lament Boys” from Fairbanks.

photo

(L-R Josh Bennett, Militia leader Aaron Bennett, David Giessel, and “our good friend and soon to be regular” Michael Anderson)

While Giessel the elder is willing to add layers of  wasted money to bloat the budget of state government in the name of 9/11 and thinly veiled racism, the younger Giessel has a different take on the threat of foreign terrorism.

“No one’s really trying to kill us… except for the state,” he explains.  When he was asked specifically about 9/11, in an interview he gave at an pseudo-anarchist conference in New Hampshire, he said, “There’s Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, right? Those are somewhat believable compared to a lot of things we’re told – 9/11, Osama bin Laden, the Kennedy assassination, you know.” He explained that people just don’t want to believe that their own government would plot to kill its people. “It’s a hard pill to swallow” for most people, he said.

I bet this Thanksgiving’s table conversation is going to be a hoot. Maybe he can wrap the pill in a piece of turkey.

The Patriot’s Lament blog explained in June of last year that, “David is moving on, taking his own advice to leave the country while you can.  He will still be checking in from time to time from places unknown.” The “places unknown” turns out to be Canada, where he probably has health care now, and is working for a company testing drones. The mind reels.  I still think the younger Giessel would be a whole lot more fun to hang out with than the elder one, and at least his political views are more consistent.

As for “our good friend” Michael Anderson up there in the picture, he also moved on in June, 2012. We don’t really know where he is because he would be the same “Michael O. Anderson” that was convicted militia leader Schaeffer Cox’s IT guy – the one who did all the research to find out where targeted judges, TSA agents, and law enforcement officers lived, what cars they drove, their license plate numbers. You know, stuff like that. He was arrested and set to stand trial for conspiracy, but turned state’s evidence in exchange for his testimony and freedom from prosecution as a domestic terrorist. He got some cash and fled. Four of his other friends were not so lucky, and are currently serving hard time for conspiracy to murder federal employees, and a host of illegal weapons charges.

So, remember. The real threat is all those smart brown people at the University. We really need to make sure we use the legislature’s time to focus on keeping an eye on them, because they sure have been fooling us by acting all innocuous.

Comments

comments

Comments
13 Responses to “Giessel Says Scrutinize Foreign Students”
  1. All I Saw says:

    Cathy is one creepy, creepy lady. For someone who pushes the “anti government” stuff pretty hard her husband sure has made a mint doing almost exclusively government contracts.

    But those exclusive Christianist private schools, that Cathy has been a board member of, specialize in producing hypocrites (and crooks, who meddle in public affairs).

    Carry on Cathy. A few of us know who you really are, and you aren’t fooling anybody. I wonder if they Anchorage FBI has been playing the same connect-the-dots game?

  2. Zyxomma says:

    Thanks for my daily dose of all-too-necessary snark.

  3. Alaska Pi says:

    “Bob Lynn, sponsor of HB1 says that it won’t cost us a dime! No fiscal note at all.”
    Ok this no-fiscal-note dealie is bugging me a lot.

    DMV is saying HB1 will not impact it
    http://www.legis.state.ak.us/PDF/28/F/HB0001-1-2-013013-ADM-N.PDF
    Not quite sure how employee training is absorbed in overall budget or if it is ever broken out of any other totals when new legislation passes.

    • Alaska Pi says:

      If we read the rules for fiscal notes , we see it applies to the state itself
      http://www.touchngo.com/lglcntr/akstats/Statutes/Title24/Chapter08/Section035.htm
      which includes requirements
      “(c) A fiscal note for a bill or resolution must contain the following information:

      (1) the fiscal impact on existing programs;

      (2) the fiscal impact of new programs or activities;

      (3) a line item detail of the fiscal impact;

      (4) the source of funds expected to be utilized by general fund source, federal fund source, or other identified source;”

      Assuming DMV is correct at some level about no real $$ impact , I still wonder about whether C 1 and 2 are satisfied without more information.If this passes , there will be printing costs for changing the physical pamphlets available to folks seeking how-to-get-your-license info and IT time to update DMV management of files and their website. Perhaps this is negligible in in their budget because it is assumed to be a one time deal but it does cost something along with the training of staff to manage this type of license.

      The primary costs of this proposal are put on other agencies , ones who are not state agencies, which makes for a series of questions about how it is that the legislature can make a law which affects non-state agencies’ budgets and workloads by making them responsible for the bulk of the work involved in meeting the law.
      Isn’t this a spin on the unfunded-mandate routine they all love to hate about the Fed?
      Or is it just a way to slide the costs of the proposed program off state books onto others?

      • Pinwheel says:

        Too much, I can’t take much more of this idiocy. This is like a reverse federal mandate, right? n

  4. John says:

    The repubs must be having a contest to see who can do or say the dumbest thing that finally sends the party over the edge into irrelevancy. They have been teetering on the brink for awhile.

  5. Wow, I don’t know anything about her, but she just looks mean and like she just ate a whole bowl of lemons – without any sugar. But all that stuff about her son – maybe that’s her real problem. That must keep her up nights.

  6. simple mind says:

    Ummmm…. Excuse me, Ms. Giessel, how is having DMV issue a drivers license limited to the duration of authorized stay going to protect us from a terrorist who has a student visa?

  7. Alaska Pi says:

    “and is working for a company testing drones “?
    Really? REALLY?

    An anarchist is working for a company which has anything to do with drones?
    An anti-statist is doing something which supports state oversight of its people and other people?
    An anti-war, anti-statist is working for someone who has something to do with tools used in war?
    Sorry sad statement of philosophy and reality being disconnected Mr Giessel the younger. What a pitiful fraud you are.
    —————————————————-
    Hope someone in Canada keeps an eye on your papers, buster buns.
    Sheesh.

  8. ugavic says:

    So it is not going to cost us a dime….I wish they would use that math on things like school lunch programs, subsistence abuse programs, and even some of those trooper positions their great Gov asked for and they cut!!!

    BS in its fullest form!!!

    Disgusting and tiny minded idiots! (Sorry but I no longer see any reason to call them anything but what they are!!)

  9. akbright says:

    Wow, great find, great story. Another good one to share.

  10. Moose Pucky says:

    How many days do we have left with this pathetic set of legislators?