Advocacy Groups Take Sides In Battle Over Proposed Ballot Initiative To Overturn Alaska SB21 Oil Tax Reform Bill

The passage of Alaska SB21, the bill to roll back ACES and institute oil tax reform which could be either interpreted as restoring more balance between development and revenue or as a giveaway to Big Oil, depending upon one's point of view, has resulted in one group launching an organized campaign to get a repeal initiative on the ballot for the August 2014 primary election, and two other groups responding with campaigns against repeal. The identities and missions of the three groups are presented below, while a summary of the provisions of SB21 is presented towards the end of this post. Read a related article in the Alaska Dispatch (slightly biased towards repeal of SB21).

Vote Yes - Repeal the Giveaway: Online resources include a website and a Facebook page. This group opposes SB21 and has launched a petition campaign to gather enough signatures to put a repeal measure on the August 2014 ballot to overturn the bill. They are required to collect signatures of qualified voters equal in number to 10 percent of those who voted in the preceding General Election and are residents of at least three-fourths of the house districts of the state and who, in each of the house districts, are equal in number to at least seven percent of those who voted in the preceding General Election in the house district; over 900 petition books have been deployed. As of this post, they have collected around 10,000 signatures, and say they're on track to gather 30,000 before the July 13th deadline. According to their APOC report, the group has raised $24,147 through May 15th from 47 donations, most under $50. While petitions are fielded at irregular intervals, there are people fielding petitions all over Alaska, including small towns like Hope. Check the Facebook page to find out the nearest locations and times. The three prime sponsors of their referendum are Vic Fischer of Anchorage, Bella Hammond of Port Alsworth, and Jim Whitaker of Fairbanks, although former Republican Moderate Party Chairman Ray Metcalfe is also prominently involved. This Mudflats post also highlights a few state lawmakers who are opposed to SB21 (all Democrats).

Repeal The Giveaway outlines ten reasons why they are opposed to SB21, many of which overlap one another:

(1). It is a massive giveaway for nothing in return.
(2). It gives away even more than they claim.
(3). It gives away billions for oil we're already going to get.
(4). It is unlikely to ever pay for itself.
(5). It undersells Alaska when our oil is worth the most.
(6). It removes incentives to reinvest in Alaska.
(7). It gives extra "new oil" breaks to old oil.
(8). It is based on false pretenses.
(9). It drains Alaska's hard-won savings.
(10).It repeats historic mistakes. [Ed. Note: Actually, there are other "historic mistakes" which have nothing to do with oil, such as two dairies that went tits up, a Mat-Su Ferry that's useless, and a state jet that had to be sold at a loss]

We Are Alaska: Online resources include a website and a separate Facebook page: A state-based group fighting the repeal effort, and funded primarily by the Alaska Support Industry Alliance. They say they represent more than 30,000 employees whose jobs involve everything from transportation to employee placement and professional training. So far, most of their advocacy has been in the form of radio ads, costing them about $30,000. Although they don't have to register or file disclosure reports with APOC, they will voluntarily file quarterly reports beginning in July. According to a recently-issued advisory opinion by APOC, groups opposing a referendum during the signature-gathering stage aren't required to register with APOC. This group maintains that Repeal the Giveaway leader Ray Metcalfe is misleading the public about the expected effects of SB21, questioning Metcalfe's claim that "BP has zero investment out of their own pocket since they paid off the pipeline in 1982." They also state that if SB21 is repealed, Alaska will go back to the system that was promoting declining production by discouraging new investment.

We Are Alaska believes that their point of view would prevail in a referendum, writing on Facebook "In the 2012 General Election, voters were given the opportunity to decide how they felt about oil tax reform. It was the main issue in that election. 91,697 Alaskans voted for 9 Senators who campaigned on oil tax reform and elected a Senate Majority that supported oil tax reform. Opposing a possible referendum isn't about denying the public an opportunity - its about maintaining a stable investment climate. SB 21 doesn't go into effect until January 1, 2014, and a primary election would occur in August of 2014; 8 months of instability for businesses who are making investment decisions. Investment decisions that will determine the future for Alaska".

Consumer Energy Alliance: Online resource include a website. This is an industry-backed national group that has fought the confiscatory cap-and-trade legislation which has been spawned by hysterical and unproven climate-change theory, a theory which took a severe beating because of our extended winter this year. They believe that repeal of SB21 would result in massive tax increases, reduction of Alaska’s global competitiveness, curtailment of Alaskan employment and income opportunities, reduce US energy production, increased dependence on foreign oil, reduction in state revenue, and contraction of permanent fund dividends, all of which will adversely affect Alaskans. Their primary form of activism is to persuade Alaskans and others to sign an e-mail letter placing one on public record as opposing repeal of SB21. They are endorsed by most every chamber of commerce and business organization in Alaska.

So what precisely did Alaska SB21 do? You can read the actual bill HERE; the House approved it 24-15-1, and the Senate approved it 12-8. Here are eight specific provisions of the bill:

(1). Eliminated the progressivity formula in the production tax.
(2). Eliminated a 20% capital investment tax credit for North Slope industry investment that included maintenance. (The 20% capital investment tax credit still continues for Cook Inlet and “Middle Earth” the unexplored basins of Interior and Northwest Alaska.)
(3). Replaces the capital investment tax credit with a per-barrel production tax credit. This links the company’s production to their tax reduction.
(4). Establishes two amounts for the per-barrel tax credit; a flat $5-ber-barrel credit that applies in new oil fields, and a sliding-scale tax rate that applies in existing fields that begins at $8 per barrel at low price ranges ($90) and is reduced to zero at high prices.($150)
(5). Establishes an additional incentive called a “Gross Revenue Exclusion,” or GRE, that applies to new fields or new projects within existing fields. The GRE allows 20% of new oil to be tax-free
(6). Extends the Loss Carry forward tax credit for small to medium-sized independent companies from 2016 to 2022. For the North Slope this is a 45% tax credit until 2016 and 35% after that. For Cook Inlet and Middle Earth, the Loss Carry forward remains at 25%.
(7). Eliminated the Exploration Incentive Credit (EIC) for the North Slope. Retained the EIC for Cook Inlet and Middle Earth.
(8). Added a 10% tax credit, up to $10 million a year, for expenditures in manufacturing or modifying equipment for oil and gas exploration and development – in the state of Alaska. The credit can be taken against the state corporate income tax.

Alaska Dispatch Extracts $85,436 From Joe Miller In Superior Court, But Did Pro Tem Judge Stephanie Joannides Have A Conflict Of Interest?

Alaska Dispatch is crowing about a decision rendered on Friday May 17th, 2013 by pro tem Alaska Superior Court Judge Stephanie Joannides ordering Joe Miller to pay more than $85,000 of Alaska Dispatch’s attorney fees and costs stemming from their 2010 lawsuit to make public Miller’s employment records during his time as a part-time government lawyer. Specifically, Alaska Dispatch's total fees were $112,375, while other costs totaled $2,309. Judge Joannides ordered Miller to pay 75 percent of the fees and 50 percent of the costs, for a total of $85,436. The Fairbanks-North Star Borough must pay 10 percent of the fees and 50 percent of the costs, a total of $12,392. Judge Joannides decided that Miller was a vexatious litigant who acted in bad faith, having unnecessarily dragged out the lawsuit. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner has also published a story.

John McKay, a longtime Alaska media attorney who represented Alaska Dispatch during the quest to release Miller’s employment records, justified the decision. “Mr. Miller unreasonably ran up the cost of this litigation for both the Dispatch and the Borough,” McKay said. “After we got the records released, he refused to let the Dispatch out of the case unless it gave up its rightful claim to fees as the winning party and made the Dispatch incur more and more unnecessary fees, using this as leverage. The judge correctly rejected this tactic, and the Dispatch should be credited for setting an example by resisting such intimidation.” The rest of the Dispatch article provides more background on the case, from their perspective.

Although Miller has 30 days to appeal the court decision, he has not personally responded as of this post; on May 19th, Miller spokesman Bill Peck merely said Miller and his staff had yet to see the judge’s ruling. However, Miller has allowed conservative Alaska blogger Thomas Lamb to post a response on Restoring Liberty, and Lamb discloses a few facts that Alaska Dispatch left out. Since Miller is a candidate for the U.S. Senate, he's not going to accept outside articles for publication on his website unless there's verification, so we can be reasonably assured of Lamb's facts:

-- Alaska Dispatch remained party to the case long after the Anchorage Daily News and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reasonably withdrew and had agreed not to petition the court for legal fees. Of course, it was an Alaska Dispatch reporter, Tony Hopfinger, who got trussed up by Federal snitch William Fulton and his buzzcut security thugs at a Miller campaign event in Anchorage in October 2010, but this opens up speculation as to whether or not Dispatch was also motivated by revenge.

-- Most of the fees were billed either before Miller intervened in the case or after they were a relevant party to the case.

-- Judge Stephanie Joannides was revealed to have had a financial relationship with a Dispatch employee, yet she refused to recuse herself from the case. Judge Joannides had rented her basement apartment to an Alaska Dispatch employee, but claimed that the fact was irrelevant to the case.

-- Judge Joannides was hand-picked for the case by the Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court. Under normal circumstances, a judge would be assigned through a random selection process.

What no media outlet has explained is why Judge Joannides is still involved in the case. Judge Joannides officially stepped down from the bench on January 31st, 2011. Her name does not appear on the Alaska Judicial Council's official list of judges. Yet she's remained involved in Joe Miller's legal disputes, having intervened in a judgment between Miller, the Fairbanks North Star Borough and former borough Mayor Jim Whitaker back in September 2012. However, Administrative Rule 23 of the Alaska Rules of Court authorizes the chief justice, or another justice designated by the chief justice, to appoint a retired judge to sit temporarily (pro tem) in any court in Alaska where such an assignment is deemed necessary for the efficient administration of justice. Pro tem appointments may be made for one or more cases, or for a specified period of time up to two years. Since the Chief Justice hand-picked Joannides for the case, this means he conferred a pro tem appointment upon her.

Considering Joe Miller's litigation history, it is possible he may choose to appeal the ruling, since over $85,000 is at stake. Miller is getting penalized merely for seeking justice. However, this could end up undermining his Senate campaign. Already, public comments to Alaska media outlets indicate most respondents are happy with the decision. Here's a sampling:

frozen_alaskan posted at 12:12 pm on Mon, May 20, 2013 (News-Miner):
If Joe "Sue Em" Miller had not been so lawsuit happy, he would not have had to found himself in this position, that is, losing his lawsuit. This hypocrite is living in D.C. yet says he is going to run for election in Alaska again. Well, the G.O.P. voters actually named him in the last primary. Maybe they are stupid enough to do so again. I will be voting for whoever else is running in that primary as I hope other Alaskans will do so as well.

Art Chance 7 hours ago (Alaska Dispatch):
It's expensive to be Sarah Palin's sockpuppet! Actually, Mark Begich should pay Miller's legal bills to keep him in the running because Miller is Begich's only hope for remaining a US Senator.

Michael A. Armstrong 14 hours ago (Alaska Dispatch):
Good job, John McKay. This must be sweet revenge for Tony Hopfinger, too.

Boulder-Sized Meteor Strikes The Moon, Glowed Like A 4th Magnitude Star

Screenshot of meteor strike from video

A boulder-sized meteor struck the Moon on March 17th, 2013, and the strike was visible to the naked eye despite the relatively small size of the object. The 40-kg (88 lbs) meteor measuring 0.3 to 0.4 meters (max 1.3 feet) wide slammed into the Mare Imbrium region of the Moon's surface while traveling at 56,000 mph, and scientists estimate the impact, which lasted for a second, glowed like a fourth magnitude star. Here's an explanatory video from Russia Today; the strike occurs at the 0:47 point, followed by a slo-mo instant replay:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYloGuUZCFM



The lack of an atmosphere ensured the meteor would not be slowed down or burned up upon entry. In response to the question as to how an explosion could take place in an oxygen-free environment, Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office said “Lunar meteors don't require oxygen or combustion to make themselves visible. They hit the ground with so much kinetic energy that even a pebble can make a crater several feet wide. The flash of light comes not from combustion but rather from the thermal glow of molten rock and hot vapors at the impact site”.

Amazing how the strike of an object little over one foot in diameter could generate an explosion on the Moon visible from Earth.

Thousands Of Pro-Family Activists Led By Orthodox Priests Stop Gay Pride Parade In Tbilisi, Georgia

Just because 12 U.S. states have legally recognized gay marriage and others are trying to legislate homosexual propaganda in our schools doesn't mean the rest of the world is following suit. On May 17th, 2013, gay activists attempted to hold a gay pride parade in Tbilisi, Georgia, and thousands of pro-family activists decided to show up to register their opposition. Most impressively, they were led by a number of Georgian Orthodox priests who decided that their ministry should not be limited to the pulpit. Note that the Georgian Orthodox Church is separate from both the Russian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Churches. YouTube video of BBC report below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECPo2ZQRNBM



Here's another video from Russia Today more explicitly showing the righteous wrath of the Georgian people against the attention-whoring gay activists. A few actually stooped to throwing objects at the gays and their vehicles, but whether they were pro-family activists or false-flag operatives trying to misrepresent the pro-family activists has yet to be determined:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NErcgqgYeE



The Daily Mail offers numerous photographs in their story.

Only several dozen gay activists showed up; police in Tbilisi took control and bused them out of the city center shortly after they arrived at the gathering when it appeared there would be physical violence. The Russia Today video shows some pro-family activists throwing rocks at one of the buses as it passed. Pro-family activists on the street held up posters reading "We don't need Sodom and Gomorrah!" and "Democracy does not equal immorality!" A number of protesters carrying bunches of stinging nettles threatened to use them on gay activists. An estimated 16 people were injured, none seriously. According to one poster on Free Republic, some pro-family activists even briefly chased the U.S. ambassador's car, taking her for a gay supporter.

A follow-up article published on May 24th in Alaska Dispatch indicates that a total of 28 people were ultimately injured, and that six people, including two priests, were charged with small offenses. Alaska Dispatch provides good background on the politics behind the confrontation.

Reaction: Nikolai Kiladze, a 21-year-old student, said "We are against the propaganda of homosexuality. If we need to allow parades like this in order to become a member of the European Union or other Western organizations and blocs, then I'm against joining these organizations." Father David, a priest who was one of the organizers of Friday's anti-gay rally, said the parade insults people's traditions and national sentiments. Georgia is about 90 percent Orthodox.

Comments to the videos and to the media outlets indicate considerable support for the pro-family activists. Most do not object to the existence of homosexuals, but merely to the public promotion and celebration of it. The upshot is that most people are suffering from gay fatigue and are sick and tired of hearing about it. Gays need to shut their mouths about homosexuality and simply be gay; keep it private and discrete. It is the elite and the national media which is promoting this rubbish so heavily.

Village Of Eagle, Alaska Floods For The Second Time In Four Years Due To Ice Jams; Only Seven Homes Affected So Far

The community of Eagle, Alaska (see map), which has fewer than 100 year-round residents, has experienced flooding for the second time in four years due to ice jams on the Yukon River associated with spring breakup. Only this time, the flooding is not likely to be as serious as the episode back in May 2009. Alaska Dispatch has photos.

According to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, an ice jam formed on the Yukon River at Calico Bluff, 12 miles downstream from Eagle, around 12:30 A.M. on May 17th. Water and ice began back up into the community; the resulting flood knocked seven homes off their foundations in Eagle, while nine other outbuildings were destroyed. But waters began to recede after a jam in the main channel of the Yukon River broke loose at about 5:30 A.M. Nevertheless, ice from the flood remains, and some of the affected homes remain surrounded by thick ice. No injuries or fuel contamination is reported.

This event was nowhere near as destructive as the 2009 flood. A warm, fast breakup in 2009 caused massive damage to the community, taking out 30 homes and leaving much of the town covered beneath a field of jumbled Yukon River ice. At that time, there was also diesel contamination from ruptured tanks, and the town's only became contaminated with E.coli. There is yet to be a dramatic warmup, and the ice in many areas further downstream remains locked solid. Most of the community is built on a bluff overlooking the river.

Circle is believed to be the next community on the Yukon River threatened by ice jamming, and a flood advisory has been issue for Salcha, where the Tanana River is beginning to break up.

Update May 19th: The breakup front reached Circle, a community of 100 people, on May 19th. The Yukon River rapidly rose 5 to 8 feet and water reached almost every home in the community, pushing several homes off their foundations. Final total is 30 structures damaged and 15 families displaced.