Hollis French And Harry Crawford Want To Constitutionally Enshrine Alaska's Individual Permanent Fund Dividend, Transform It Into Welfare Program

Alaska State Senator Hollis French (D-Anchorage) and State Representative Harry Crawford (D-Anchorage), both campaigning for higher elective offices, have proposed a singularly boneheaded move which not only could destroy the Alaska Permanent Fund as we know it, but is a crude way to bribe voters into supporting them. French and Crawford want to insert a clause in the Alaska State Constitution guaranteeing an individual Permanent Fund dividend every year. Primary media story from the Anchorage Daily News; secondary story published by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

French and Crawford want to guarantee Permanent Fund dividend checks in the state constitution, saying if the dividend isn't protected, the legislature will eventually use the money to pay for state spending. They intend to introduce a resolution to be considered in the annual legislative session starting this month. Such a constitutional amendment to enshrine the dividend would need a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate and then a statewide public vote to pass. It would guarantee the annual payout as long as the investment earnings are sufficient to provide the money.

French and Crawford are so committed to the idea of "enshrining" the individual PFD that they'd be willing to impose a state income tax before drawing money from the Fund. Both have said drawing money from the dividend should be "dead last" on the list for how to balance the budget -- a list that might include a statewide sales tax or income tax if petroleum revenues should drop far below state spending. Imagine that - one would get a PFD check from the state in October, and then turn around and send a tax check back to the state in April. Money chasing money through the system.

This is not the first effort to "constitutionalize" the individual PFD. Previous efforts by Crawford, French and others to put the dividend in the constitution failed to get nearly enough support in the legislature to make it to the public vote. But French, who is running for governor in the fall election, and Crawford, who is running for Congress, said they want to provoke a statewide conversation about the dividend in the wake of the suggestion by several Republican legislators that the state should look at changing how it taxes oil.

But Rep. Mike Hawker (R-Anchorage) thinks the idea is silly. "It creates the appearance clearly of campaign tactics, much more so than a substantive look at the state's resources and the state's needs," said Hawker, who is among the legislators who want to look at changing the state's oil tax system. Hawker said putting the dividend in the constitution is against the intent of the Alaskans who voted to create the Permanent Fund in 1976, and that earnings from the fund were meant to sustain state operations once petroleum money ran out. The state has a surplus because of high oil prices and there is no serious push right now to use some profits from the $34 billion Permanent Fund for government. But Alaska oil production is declining, and the time will come to tap the Fund more vigorously. Senator Tom Wagoner (R-Kenai) agrees and said a proposal to put the dividend in the constitution wouldn't have a chance of passing the legislature in the upcoming legislative session.

What French and Crawford don't understand is that the individual PFD is a profit-sharing program designed to share oil profits annually with qualified Alaskan residents, in much the same fashion as corporations share profits with stockholders through their own dividends. But corporations don't tap into principal to to pay dividends if there is no profit; no profit, no dividend. Consequently, if the Permanent Fund does not make a profit, theoretically it should pay no individual dividend. We use five-year averaging to ensure the Fund can pay a dividend even after a lean year. Visit the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation website to learn more about the history of the Fund.

In short, French and Crawford merely want to transform the individual PFD into just another entitlement or welfare program under the emotional premise that the dividend is "ingrained in the fabric of Alaskan life". Public reaction after the jump.

$500,000 Alaska Lucky Times Lotto Drawing To Benefit Standing Together Against Rape (STAR) Delayed Until February 28th, 2010

Update June 11th: Drawing to be held June 15th, payout reduced to $350,000. Updated post HERE.

Update May 3rd: Spoke with ticket sales clerk, who said lotto drawing now pushed forward to May 31st. The operator will continue to push the lotto drawing forward each month until all tickets are sold, or the drop-dead suspense of December 31st, 2010 is reached.

Note: All posts on this particular lotto drawing available HERE, with the most recent post displayed first.

When I woke up on January 1st, and found no new messages on my answering machine, I concluded that none of my four Alaska Lucky Times Lotto tickets had been chosen. So I was amazed that no further news about this subsequently filtered out.

Now we have an explanation, as reported by KTUU Channel 2. Lucky Times Pull Tabs owner Abe Spicola announced that, because of slow ticket sales, he will continue to sell tickets and postpone the drawing until February 28th, when it will take place at 7:00 P.M. at Rumrunners. Participants need not be personally present to win, since participants enter their names, addresses, and phone numbers on the tickets.

Spicola says the hype over this year's $500,000 dollar lottery hasn't quite reached the frenzy of last year. To wit: Proceeds dropped from $20-30,000 a day last year to $8 - $10,000 a day this year. If proceeds are still insufficient by February 28th, Spicola says state law allows him to extend the lottery again. Lotteries are legal in Alaska if a percentage of the ticket sales go to a non-profit organization.

Although the softening economy may have crimped ticket sales a bit, the lack of advance publicity has hurt more. Unlike last year, when the media was shouting it from the housetops, there was little to no media publicity this year. Furthermore, Abe Spicola doesn't even have a website for Lucky Times, which he could use to promote the lotto and list the locations where people can buy the tickets. Two confirmed locations in Anchorage: The main Lucky Times outlet on 4608 Spenard Road, and the Chevron station at 1304 Airport Heights (across from Alaska Regional Hospital). A News-Miner reader reports that the Moose Lodge is selling tickets in Fairbanks. If I find other locations, I'll post them here.

Lotto tickets cost $5.00 each. When you buy a ticket, you enter your contact information on one half and return that half to the seller. You keep the other half, which you would need to present if you win. Of the $500,000 offered, the winner will probably receive around $350,000 because organizers must withhold federal taxes. It is still unclear how much of a share Standing Together Against Rape (STAR) receives, but Alaska state law requires that anyone organizing a game of chance that benefits a charity must give at least 10 percent of what's left over after the prize money is paid out. It is estimated that STAR was to get anywhere between $2,000 and $20,000 last year.

Last year's lotto generated controversy when a registered sex offender, Alec Ahsoak, won. Subsequently, Ahsoak was targeted and assaulted by a California drifter, Brandon Hughes, who eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and was sentenced to three years in prison by Judge Patrick McKay on May 18th, 2009. Ironically, the judge himself was arrested for DUI on August 27th, and was sentenced to five days in jail and three years probation after pleading no contest on October 27th.

Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch Sets Forth Three Reasons Why The "Obamacare" Health Care Bill Is Unconstitutional

Alaska U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski is not alone in her courageous battle to stop the health care boondoggle being stampeded through Congress. Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch has been leading the charge against the bill, focusing on the mandate that would force all Americans to buy health insurance.

In an op-ed piece published January 2nd, 2010 in the Wall Street Journal, Senator Hatch sets forth three reasons why the health care bill may be unconstitutional - and why some Republican senators might mount a Supreme Court challenge should it be passed and signed into law:

First, the Constitution does not give Congress the power to require that Americans purchase health insurance. Congress must be able to point to at least one of its powers listed in the Constitution as the basis of any legislation it passes. None of those powers justifies the individual insurance mandate. Congress's powers to tax and spend do not apply because the mandate neither taxes nor spends. The only other option is Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce. But in the 1995 case of United States v. Lopez, the Supreme Court rejected a version of the commerce power considered at the time so expansive that it would leave virtually no activities by individuals that Congress could not regulate.

A second constitutional defect of the Reid bill passed in the Senate involves the deals he cut to secure the votes of individual senators. Some of those deals do involve spending programs because they waive certain states' obligation to contribute to the Medicaid program. This selective spending targeted at certain states runs afoul of the general welfare clause. The welfare it serves is instead very specific and has been dubbed "cash for cloture" because it secured the 60 votes the majority needed to end debate and pass this legislation.

A third constitutional defect in this ObamaCare legislation is its command that states establish such things as benefit exchanges, which will require state legislation and regulations. This is not a condition for receiving federal funds, which would still leave some kind of choice to the states. No, this legislation requires states to establish these exchanges or says that the Secretary of Health and Human Services will step in and do it for them. It renders states little more than subdivisions of the federal government.

So why did Massachusetts get away with RomneyCare? Hatch has an answer for that question. The federal government may exercise only the powers granted to it or denied to the states. The states may do everything else. This is why, for example, states may have authority to require individuals to purchase health insurance but the federal government does not. It is also the reason states may require that individuals purchase car insurance before choosing to drive a car, but the federal government may not require all individuals to purchase health insurance.

Senator Lisa Murkowski continues her courageous crusade against the health care boondoggle. After the Senate vote on December 24th, Murkowski explained that premiums for individuals without employer-sponsored coverage would rise between 10 and 13 percent, the bill would impose a 40 percent excise tax on high value insurance plans, and the bill also does nothing to fix the Medicare reimbursement rate inequity for Alaska, which is already in a crisis situation.

This bill needs to be shot down by any means necessary. If people aren't buying health insurance because they can't afford it, it makes no sense to pass a bill forcing them to buy health insurance. And subsidizing them? Isn't our national debt large enough? This bill also has the potential to be massive corporate welfare for the insurance industry, delivering a gigantic captive constituency right into their hands.

Winter Solstice In Fairbanks, Alaska: A Video Of One Of The Shortest Days Of The Year, As Captured By Videographer Eric Muehling

Fairbanks, Alaska is only about 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle, and so the days become short during the winter.

Very, very short.

How short? The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner informs us of the work of Eric Muehling, who used his digital camera to take 1,882 separate frames from just before sunrise to sunset on December 28th, 2009, just a week after the official winter solstice. He assembled the images into a time-lapse video that compresses the period from sunrise to sunset into about two minutes. He took the new photos from the West Ridge at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, placing his camera in a cardboard box with a 60-watt light bulb to keep the batteries warm. And he uploaded the results to YouTube, embedded below:



Oh, in answer to the previous question, 3 hours and 49 minutes. The sun rose at 10:58 A.M. and set at 2:47 P.M. The sun never got higher than 2 degrees above the horizon. So if you have "Seasonal Affective Disorder", Fairbanks may not be the place for you.

Eric Muehling's YouTube channel is accessible HERE. He's listed as faculty at the UAF Geophysical Institute.

Alaskans For Palestine Rally In Anchorage On Behalf Of The People Of Gaza To Commemorate The Anniversary Of The Israeli Invasion Of Gaza

On Saturday January 2nd, 2010, an estimated 12 activists associated with the group Alaskans For Palestine showed up at the corner of New Seward Highway and Benson Boulevard in Anchorage, Alaska, rallying in support of the people of Gaza. The rally marks the one-year anniversary of the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Media story published by KTUU Channel 2.

"We're here to stand in solidarity with the rest of the world who are marking this one-year anniversary," said Heather Barbour, a spokeswoman. "And we're just here to support civil rights, human rights and to end the siege -- end the blockade." According to Progressive Alaska, Alaskans For Palestine were acting in solidarity with The International Coalition to End the Illegal Siege of Gaza.

Alaskans for Palestine says the people of Gaza are suffering from a lack of medical supplies and limited food. This issue is further explored on the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (WRMEA) website. In an article entitled, "Nine Of Ten Gazans Living in Poverty", Mohammed Omer states that, according to a September 2009 report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), living conditions and access to sources of livelihood in Gaza are currently at their worst since 1967, with poverty affecting 90 percent of the population. The World Bank says that Palestinians currently are experiencing the worst economic depression in modern history.

Omer also points out that Israel’s December-January military assault on Gaza, triggered by isolated rocket attacks into Israel proper, caused an estimated $4 billion in damage — three times the value of the strip’s entire gross national product (GNP). Despite international pledges at the Sharm el-Sheikh donors’ conference in March 2009 of over $4.5 billion in aid — much of which remains an unfulfilled promise — Gaza’s destroyed economy has not improved. The water, sewage and electricity infrastructure, already severely debilitated by the siege, is now stretched to breaking point. In addition, businesses in Gaza are failing because Israel won't allow many raw materials to be imported into the Strip. Of late, Israel allows three types of raw materials into Gaza: Sugar, flour and butter. Among the more than 100 materials Israel prohibits from entering Gaza are cartons, paper, plastic covers, chocolate, hygienic materials, and spare parts for machines.

There's also a dispute between Israel and the Palestinians over natural gas - a subject near and dear to the hearts of many Alaskans. Off the coast of Gaza exists a large underground natural gas field. This would become Israel’s prize if Gaza is broken, for Tel Aviv covets the land and natural resources of Gaza, if not necessarily the human beings who live there. The West Bank also possesses a natural gas reserve. According to more than one country’s intelligence sources, Israel began parallel drilling and siphoning off the West Bank natural gas through Jerusalem in the late 1990s. Some interpret this as a "war crime" under the Geneva Convention.

It's also worth noting that on June 24th, 2005, climber Dan Pingree unfurled a Palestinian flag after summitting Mount McKinley. He wanted to transform what he called an "otherwise selfish climb into a poignant experience" that would help him better appreciate Palestinian suffering. In addition, he hoped that raising the Palestinian flag on Denali’s summit will garner the kind of publicity befitting the cause of Palestinian statehood.

The Palestinian people clearly desire statehood; such a desire is not inherently anti-Israel or anti-Semitic. Israeli security is inseparable from Palestinian liberty; one cannot exist without the other. While Israel is entitled to have secure and defensible borders, the Palestinians are also entitled to have a geographically-contiguous nation. The cause of the Palestinians is just as worthy as that of the Israelis.

Colorado DOT Employee Under Fire For Forwarding E-Mail Showing Photoshopped Image Of Barack Obama Shining Sarah Palin's Shoes

An unnamed employee of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is being investigated for allegedly using a state-owned computer to forward an e-mail showing a photoshopped image of Barack Obama shining Sarah Palin's shoes. Media stories published by the Denver Post and KUSA Channel 9. National bloggers picking up the story include The Raw Story, the Huffington Post, and The Moderate Voice.

The employee, identified only as a 73-year-old woman who works as a program assistant for the Denver metro region's traffic and safety section and who supervises one other employee, forwarded the e-mail to co-workers December 22nd. The originator of the message, who was not a state employee, captioned the message "It appears he (Obama) has found his niche." At least four other state employees received the e-mail, but it was someone outside the department who got a copy of the e-mail with the CDOT e-mail address attached who complained to agency officials about it on Tuesday December 29th.

The employee, a 29-year veteran of state government who earns $51,684 a year, could face discipline ranging from a written reprimand to a suspension or firing, although termination would seem unlikely considering the minimal impact of the infraction. CDOT spokeswoman Mindy Crane said the central issue is that state employees are barred from using work computers to send such e-mails, although she also complained that some might find the e-mail "offensive". But state employees have the right to contest proposed adversarial actions; under state employment rules, before any discipline is meted out, the employee meets with the agency's personnel officials first and then has the opportunity to respond in writing to the concerns raised. The meeting with the employee is scheduled for the first week in January. KUSA also reveals that the employee is a registered Democrat.

But this did not stop Colorado's Democratic Governor Bill Ritter from inserting himself into the fray. Governor Ritter spoke to CDOT officials about the matter, and said that he found the e-mail itself "very distasteful". Nevertheless, the governor acknowledged that it was a personnel matter and refrained from further comment. But you just know that the governor is going to twist arms behind the scene. There is no evidence that the governor has expressed similar personal interest in any other abuse of state-owned computers.

Public reaction: A few commenters are trying to score diversity points by playing the "racist" card, but most are cynical, and some even hostile towards Obama. One commenter suggests we should support Sarah Palin because she has "great legs"; considering that no other attributes seem to make a difference, perhaps he's not wrong:

kucinich2012 4 hours ago on KUSA (1/1/2010)
I gotta say it, Folks: Freedom of speech works both ways. Making a big deal out of this only increases the negatives, anger, and cultivates even MORE hostility. Political cartoons have been around since the 1700's and I don't see this as any different except being done with more technology.


mwl 5 hours ago on KUSA (1/1/2010)
Ahh, after 4 trillion dollars spent Obama finally created a job for someone....himself. This is a dig on people who resort to what they can make money from such as shoe shining. In the Depression it was selling apples, today its shoe shining. Obama has accomplished nothing, he hates the military and when he spoke at West Point it looked like he was chewing on a turd, he has disgust for the military. He wouldnt even talk about jobs so he got "stupid 36 yrs in the senate with nothing to show for it" Biden to explain the job creation and saved web site. Which we all know was a model of failure and lies.

So in the mean time Obama gives Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac a check book from the tax payers to spend spend spend. Oh, and GMAC spend spend spend. Health care bill spend spend spend. Congressional bribes and payoffs spend spend spend. An Obama GREEN job doesnt create money its a spend spend spend job. Obama will have as many as he can follow suit in whats depicted in this picture. Remember Regan's trickle down economics...This is Obamas trickle up poverty. The picture is worth a thousand words and has the sentiment of those who lost their jobs ....NO response from Obama is just what the picture says. The person who sent this out should be lauded for showing the truth.
Mike

Tom M. 2:15 P.M. 12/31/2009 on the Denver Post
Didn't see the picture but I will volunteer to shine Palins shoes. And you can blast a picture of it all over the world for all I care. Them are some of the nicest legs I have ever seen on a political candidate. What do you say next election instead of voting for change or phony promises of making everyone's life better or voting for the best talker, we vote for the best legs running for office. I mean we have elected Ivy league grad after Ivy league grad and look where it has got us. Great minds don't seem to be the answer. Who knows? Maybe great legs are the answer.