Alaska State Representative Les Gara Organizes Legislative Lynch Mob Against The Owner Of The Asia Garden Bar In Anchorage

Regular readers of this blog may still be familiar with the April 2nd, 2010 incident at the Asia Garden bar in Anchorage where the owner allegedly refused admittance to a group of Polynesians because they looked like some other Polynesians who caused a ruckus back on January 31st. You can read my April 9th post to get up to speed on the details.

Now it appears that some state lawmakers want a piece of the action -- and a share of the glory -- in bringing down a so-called "evil racist". Alaska Dispatch reports on June 6th that Rep. Les Gara (pictured above left) has organized a legislative lynch mob, including Reps. Pete Petersen, Max Gruenberg, along with Senators Bill Wielechowski and Johnny Ellis, to stick their noses into this affair. The lawmakers represent areas of Anchorage where Polynesians are the most numerous, and they profess to be trying to broker a solution. Note that all five lawmakers are Democrats; no self-respecting Republican has, or should, have anything to do with this.

Why do I call them a legislative lynch mob? Let's view it from the perspective of the Asia Gardens owner, Fei Harding, who is an immigrant of Asian origin. When the controversy first broke, some of the local media, including KTVA, ADN reporter Julia O'Malley, and FM 104.9 radio personality Corinna Delgado piled on her and started savaging her. Now this immigrant, who's merely trying to run a business and create wealth and jobs, has received a letter from all five of these lawmakers demanding that she participate in a sitdown with members of Anchorage's Polynesian community. Rep. Gara is imperiously demanding a promise that this will never happen again.

So first, Fei Harding is mobbed by the media. Then the victims file a complaint against her with the state Human Rights Commission. Now she's being mobbed by lawmakers. Can you blame her if she thinks she's being targeted by political "lynch mobs" merely for trying to keep order in her establishment?

Rep. Gara writes the following in Alaska Dispatch:

The right policy is to do what many bars do -- post pictures of those individuals they do not want to enter because of their conduct. I can't believe I also had to write, in 2010, that separate is not equal. It never has been. This kind of policy is not legal under the Alaska's human rights laws, which were first enacted in territorial days when Alaska Natives were told they couldn't enter restaurants and movie theaters. It's not legal under the federal civil rights legislation pushed by people like Dr. King. It's not acceptable.

If Rep. Gara is so concerned about legality, perhaps he should first seek to put an end to race-based affirmative action in the state of Alaska. Affirmative action is generally anti-White; it presumes that all non-Whites are inherent victims and allows entities to extend preferential job consideration to non-Whites simply because they've been declared a "protected class". Civil rights is supposed to be about equal opportunity, not equal outcome.

Would you like to hold these five lawmakers electorally accountable? Here are the particulars, from the Alaska Division of Elections website:

-- Les Gara: Running for House District 23. No primary or general election opponents. So sorry -- you're stuck with this wanker for two more years.

-- Bill Wielechowski: Opposed by Republican Ron Slepecki in Senate District J. Slepecki is a highly-qualified candidate who's been active in community affairs. A social and fiscal conservative who's a veteran of 20 years military service. Slepecki CAN WIN.

-- Johnny Ellis: Opposed by Republican Richard Wanda in Senate District L. Not much hope here for those who want to hold Ellis electorally accountable; Wanda is a "perennial candidate".

-- Pete Petersen: Opposed by former Kodiak lawmaker Gabrielle LeDoux, a Republican, in House District 19. LeDoux is experienced and would be an excellent replacement for Petersen.

-- Max Gruenberg: Opposed by Libertarian Scott Kohlhaas in House District 20. Kohlhaas is the one Libertarian candidate who's clearly electable; he's run for office before and has been involved in several campaigns designed to combat intrusive, invasive government and to promote more liberty and freedom among Alaskans.

Political Correctness: KWHL's Bob And Mark Getting Witch-Hunted For Playing Humorous "Cash For Tlingits" Segment On The Air In Anchorage

We've got another politically-correct witch hunt taking place in Anchorage, Alaska. This time, the center of attention is Bob and Mark, a couple of popular radio personalities who work for KWHL. Recently, Bob and Mark aired a segment called "Cash for Tlingits", which was intended to be a spoof of Obongo's "Cash for Clunkers" program. KTVA Channel 11 was the only local media outlet which aired a story, although the ADN's Village blog is now discussing it; KTVA video embedded below, followed by a brief written summary and some background on the Tlingit people:



Elizabeth Medicine Crow of the First Alaskans Institute is the one minority activist making an issue of this. According to her, she got an e-mail from an Alaska Native who complained of hearing the "Cash for Tlingits" segment aired on KWHL. She is not demanding they be fired, however. Since this post, I've learned that more of Crow's reaction has been documented on the Tundra Telegraph. Here's the purported text:

"Are you out of cash? Do you need to make some quick money? Do you have an old Native lying around? Well, we will give you Cash for Tlingits".

Anchorage Media General Manager Dennis Bookey, to whom Bob and Mark report, characterized it as "inappropriate" and said his first thought was suspension or termination. But then he got his head straight and realized that canning them would not solve any problems. So he's going to put Bob & Mark through the standard "process" (diversity training, public humiliation, apologies out the ying-yang, yada, yada, yada, you know the drill) and have them meet with Native "community leaders" before he decides what to do next.

This is not the first time Bob has been under fire for this type of behavior. In 2008, Bob, whose full name is Bob Lester, came under fire for his remarks about then-Senator Lyda Green on the air. What exacerbated the situation was that Governor Sarah Palin was in the studio and she was laughing about it. Gross unprofessionalism on Palin's part. Bob was never threatened with any discipline over that issue, though.

So there's no reason why he should be threatened with any discipline now. The progressives and the anti-racists have destroyed discourse in our society and have taken all the fun out of life. Thanks to them, we're all walking on eggshells. The Republican brain trust became addicted to political correctness, and they pissed away in rapid succession the House, the Senate, and the White House. Now the Tea Party movement is going to take over the Republican Party and make it an American party once again.

More about the Tlingit people HERE. They are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast whose primary homeland is the southeast Alaska panhandle, although some can be found in Anchorage. They are a matrilineal society that developed a complex hunter-gatherer culture in the temperate rainforest of the southeast Alaska coast and the Alexander Archipelago. They are not restricted to reservations, being covered by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), which established regional corporations throughout Alaska with complex portfolios of land ownership rather than bounded reservations administered by tribal governments. They formed a partnership with the Haida people, and both are governed by a Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, a tribal government representing approximately 26,000 Tlingit and Haida Indians worldwide. They are a sovereign entity and have a government-to-government relationship with the United States. The Council's headquarters is in Juneau.

Sarah Palin Announces Endorsement Of Alaska Republican Senate Challenger Joe Miller, But It May Not Be Enough To Beat Lisa Murkowski

Apparently when Todd Palin showed up at the Wasilla fundraiser of Republican U.S. Senate challenger Joe Miller, he decided that Miller "passed muster", because on June 2nd, 2010, Sarah Palin announced her endorsement of Joe Miller over Lisa Murkowski, and posted it on her Facebook site. Miller first announced his entry into the race back in April 2010. The Anchorage Daily News Alaska Politics blog has also picked up on the story.

Joe Miller's campaign website is available at the following location:

http://joemiller.us/

On Facebook, Palin posted the reasons for her endorsement:

Joe is a man of true integrity. He will never be bought off; he knows what a solemn trust it is to be given the responsibility of spending other people’s money prudently and wisely.

Joe also more closely shares so many of Alaskans’ values. He believes the greatness of our country is grounded in the founding principles of limited constitutional government and individual freedom.

Joe believes that we must repeal the new Obamacare health care mandate and seek true market-based reform to allow competition, control costs, increase access, and give Americans more freedom in health care; Lisa opposes repealing the law.

Joe is unashamedly and unequivocally pro-life; Lisa is not and has voted to use taxpayer funds to support abortions and embryonic stem cell research.

Joe is against granting amnesty to illegal immigrants; Lisa has voted for it.

Joe is against cap and trade (Obama’s new job-killing energy scheme that I call cap and tax); Lisa believes Al Gore’s insistence that man-made global warming is fact, so she’s on record as being open to cap and trade legislation to address weather changes.

Of course, questions have surfaced as to how this decision squared with Sarah Palin's financial contribution to Lisa Murkowski's campaign in 2009. Palin explained that she had SarahPAC contribute to Murkowski's campaign primarily to dispel rumors that she would challenge Lisa Murkowski for the U.S. Senate. Palin also assures us that there is no "blood feud" between her and Murkowski. But other factors prompting Palin's subsequent tilt away from Murkowski may include the fact that Murkowski not only criticized the use of the term "death panels" popularized by Palin during the health care debate, but also criticized Palin's decision to resign from the governor's office in July 2009, saying that she was deeply disappointed that Palin, in her words, decided to abandon the state and her constituents before her term has concluded.

So will Palin's endorsement affect the outcome of the August 24th Republican primary? Not necessarily; an April 2010 poll by Dave Dittman showed that 62 percent of all Alaskan respondents felt Murkowski should be re-elected, including 49 percent of Democrats. But that poll was taken before Sitka mayor Scott McAdams jumped into the race, providing an electable Democratic alternative; McAdams' presence is already energizing some Democrats. A Palin endorsement did not work out well in Idaho, either.

Nevertheless, although Lisa Murkowski remains the lead dog, most people support her out of a sense of duty rather than passion. The key watchphrase to describe Lisa Murkowski is "quietly competent"; she exudes professionalism from top to toe, but inspires very little passion. You won't find U.S. Marines tattooing her face on their buttocks. In contrast, passion is Sarah Palin's middle name; you either love her or hate her, but are not likely to be neutral about her. That's because she always lets you know where she stands -- without fear or favor. But can Joe Miller provoke the same degree of passion to counter Lisa Murkowski's tightly-controlled corporate image?

And now that a serious Democrat is in the race, an additional question arises. Which Republican is more capable of defeating Scott McAdams; Lisa Murkowski, or Joe Miller? At this point in time, it would seem like Murkowski is more likely to defeat McAdams. Many Republicans may support Murkowski simply on the basis of this perception alone.

The Bottom Line: The Palin endorsement will help Joe Miller close the gap between himself and Murkowski, but will not, by itself, propel Miller over the top in August.

Just Bought An Acer H203H LCD Monitor At Best Buy In Anchorage, And It's Worth The $99.99 Sale Price, Although The Speakers Are Tinny

Back on January 12th, 2010, I bought an E-Machines EL1331-05 desktop computer at the Muldoon Best Buy in Anchorage, and I'm still satisfied with it. However, I was using a VGA-capable Dynex LCD TV as my monitor, and I wanted to start using it as a TV again. So I was waiting for a merchant to sell a name brand 20-inch LCD monitor with built-in speakers for less than $100. And on June 2nd, I struck gold. Best Buy has placed on sale the Acer H203H 20-inch LCD monitor with built-in speakers for $99.99. The sale continues through June 5th. After reading mostly favorable customer reviews on the Best Buy website, I decided to take the plunge. And so far, it's worth the money, although I wouldn't pay more for it.

Here are the pertinent specs:

-- Product Height: 14.5" with stand
-- Product Width: 18.7"
-- Product Weight: 9.4 lbs. with stand
-- Product Depth: 5.6" with stand
-- Screen Size (Measured Diagonally): 20"
-- Maximum Resolution: 1600 x 900
-- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
-- Response Time: 5 ms
-- Brightness: 250cd/m²
-- Contrast Ratio: 50,000:1 dynamic (1000:1 native)
-- Speakers Included: Yes
-- VGA Input: Yes
-- DVI-D Input: No
-- DVI-D with HDCP Input: Yes
-- HDMI Input: No

The unit also included one 6-foot standard VGA cable, one 6-foot DVI-D/HDCP cable (which does me no good since I don't have a compatible card installed on my computer), and one 6-foot audio cable. Also included was a DVD with an instruction manual and driver software.

I plugged the monitor in, turned it on, and shortly thereafter a message saying "Cable Missing" was displayed. This was because I had not hooked up the DVI-D cable. Nevertheless, I then turned on the computer, and shortly thereafter a normal display appeared on the monitor. So far, so good; the colors displayed properly, with no bad spots. But one minor deviation was soon noticeable -- the focus of the characters appeared very slightly blurred, uniformly across the monitor surface.

Not too worry -- the driver software would correct that. So I installed the driver software, and guess what happened? It immediately directed me to go to the Acer website to look for updates. So I did, and downloaded the latest updates. But then when I reloaded the software, it would not allow me to access the controls I needed to adjust the display. The problem: From the troubleshooting page, I found that Acer eDisplay Management is a Windows-based software utility designed for select Acer displays that support the Display Data Channel/Command Interface (DDC/CI) communications channel defined by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). Acer eDisplay Management does not function on non-Acer displays (including non-Acer displays that support DDC/CI), and does not function on Acer displays that do not support DDC/CI.

This means that Acer's driver software is primarily compatible only with other Acer computers, thus I have no way to adjust the display using software. There are no adjustment controls on the monitor itself. I intend to contact their technical support to find out if they plan to issue an updated driver with more universal compatibility.

Nevertheless, I didn't remain stuck with a slightly fuzzy display. I went into Control Panel to Adjust Screen Resolution. I found that several of the other choices were available for use. So I got out of the 1024X768 mode, and selected 1152X864 mode. This worked - I now had a clear, sharp display, but with smaller characters. To increase the size of the characters, I accessed View on the top line menu of my browser, selected Zoom, then Zoom In one time. Worked perfectly - I now have a highly satisfactory display.

The speakers are indeed tinny - many consumers identified this as a fault in their reviews. But the only time I use audio is when I'm reviewing videos in the preparation of blog posts, so I don't need high fidelity. But if you're an audiophile, you WON'T find the built-in speakers satisfactory. Visit the Acer website HERE for more information on their products.

The Bottom Line: The Acer H203H LCD monitor is a good buy at $99.99. It is not a good buy at a higher price. I do NOT recommend paying more than $100-$110 for it. It still beat the hell out of those overpriced clearance monitors Wal-Mart recently sold; a similarly-equipped HP monitor went for $129.