Governor Sean Parnell today sought to secure federal disaster relief for Yukon River residents. Parnell urged the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to declare a fishery disaster due to poor returns of chinook salmon on the Yukon River.
“I trust Secretary Locke will recognize the severity of the situation on the Yukon and declare a fishery disaster,” Governor Parnell said. “I look forward to working with federal agencies and Alaska’s congressional delegation to secure disaster relief assistance for this region.”
The Magnuson-Stevens Act authorizes various forms of federal assistance through the National Marine Fisheries Service when the Secretary of Commerce determines there is a commercial fishery failure due to a fishery resource disaster.
State analysis indicates that the decline in the Yukon chinook fishery meets the standards in federal law as well as National Marine Fisheries Service policy for disaster declarations and criteria.
I have not known exactly what to make of our new Governor up till this point. But I have to say this is a good start.
Showing posts with label Yukon Delta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yukon Delta. Show all posts
Friday, August 07, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Thank goodness Sarah Palin's pick for the new Rural Advisor is not just another kiss ass or anything. Just kidding! He totally is!
It’s been a challenging winter for rural Alaska villages. High fuel prices, reduced income from fishing and a particularly cold winter have left many residents struggling to heat their homes and feed their families. But action has been taken and work continues.
Through Gov. Sarah Palin’s leadership (What? When did this happen? Sarah Palin demonstrated leadership and I missed it? Dammit!)and the Legislature’s support, the motor fuel tax was suspended. Alaskans who qualified for the 2008 Permanent Fund Dividend also received a $1,200 resource rebate to help with the high cost of energy. In the Lower Yukon River villages of Emmonak, Kotlik, Alakanuk and Nunam Iqua, this meant a total of more than $6.5 million in cash flowed to residents in the region just before winter set in.
(Oh THAT leadership! The leadership she demonstrated when she was trying to get John McCain to choose her as his running mate by buying our love and support. Except I believe the definition of that particular "leadership" is called "pandering".)
Gov. Palin also supported restoration of the municipal revenue sharing program, which provides $60 million to communities statewide. These funds are critical for rural communities. Roughly $500,000 went to these Lower Yukon River villages and likely will be provided again.
Also, more than $51 million was included in the fiscal 2009 budget for Power Cost Equalization and $29 million went to heating assistance programs. An additional $4.8 million went to the Bulk Fuel Loan Fund (32 communities have used this year) and $5.5 million for the Bridge Fuel Loan Fund (24 communities have used this year). A statewide energy plan was developed and the state invested $100 million for grants for renewable energy projects. Another $25 million is pending in this year’s budget.
All of these efforts through the state budget process assisted rural Alaskans.
(However they fell well short of offsetting the incredibly high energy prices and the loss of fishing revenue along the Yukon Delta.)
Current efforts include the mobilization of five state departments. The Department of Education has made multiple food shipments. Emmonak received 2,452 pounds, Mountain Village received 1,463 pounds and the Bristol Bay Native Association received more than 2,444 pounds. Additionally, the Department of Public Safety transported Food Bank donations of 4,700 pounds to Kotlik and 1,000 pounds to Kipnuk.
(Oh my God! Is this jerk giving the Governor credit for the charity shown by the Alaska people and others from around the world? That food arrived DESPITE the efforts of the Governor, not becasue of them. Oh now he has pissed me off!)
The Department of Fish and Game extended the moose-hunting season to allow residents another opportunity to put food on their tables. The Department of Health and Social Services is conducting outreach and signing up eligible individuals for the available cash assistance programs.
The governor and the lieutenant governor have personally visited the region to deliver food aid and provide moral support. They were welcomed with the traditional warmth and appreciation from community residents that rural Alaskans are known and respected for providing.
(Yeah the native people are very hospitable, especially when you avoid the villages that have been complaining about your lack of compassion.)
Looking long-term, state employees from different departments, including myself, heard one strong message when we visited: “We need more jobs.” The unemployment rate in rural Alaska is too high. In response, the Department of Labor and the Department of Fish and Game are looking into ways to increase earning opportunities.
The administration is also working on a plan to coordinate fuel orders and deliveries with distributors and communities to achieve maximum efficiency for future fuel purchases. For example, if revenue sharing, the “payment in lieu of taxes” and other payments to communities are distributed earlier in the year, orders can possibly be placed to distributors sooner and fuel delivered before rivers ice up and expensive fuel has to be flown in.
The governor, the administration and Alaskans care about rural Alaska and its residents. The state is deploying a wide variety of personnel and approaches to ease the hardships facing those living in rural communities. We are constantly exploring and reviewing options and will remain vigilant to find solutions.
Jesus what a snow job! I wonder how this guy can even write with his lips attached to the Governor's ass like that?
And this pretty much proves that Palin will only appoint people who are completely under her thrall which means that virtually anybody she comes up with to be the new AG or to replace Senator Kim Elton will prove unacceptable to the Alaskan people.
Through Gov. Sarah Palin’s leadership (What? When did this happen? Sarah Palin demonstrated leadership and I missed it? Dammit!)and the Legislature’s support, the motor fuel tax was suspended. Alaskans who qualified for the 2008 Permanent Fund Dividend also received a $1,200 resource rebate to help with the high cost of energy. In the Lower Yukon River villages of Emmonak, Kotlik, Alakanuk and Nunam Iqua, this meant a total of more than $6.5 million in cash flowed to residents in the region just before winter set in.
(Oh THAT leadership! The leadership she demonstrated when she was trying to get John McCain to choose her as his running mate by buying our love and support. Except I believe the definition of that particular "leadership" is called "pandering".)
Gov. Palin also supported restoration of the municipal revenue sharing program, which provides $60 million to communities statewide. These funds are critical for rural communities. Roughly $500,000 went to these Lower Yukon River villages and likely will be provided again.
Also, more than $51 million was included in the fiscal 2009 budget for Power Cost Equalization and $29 million went to heating assistance programs. An additional $4.8 million went to the Bulk Fuel Loan Fund (32 communities have used this year) and $5.5 million for the Bridge Fuel Loan Fund (24 communities have used this year). A statewide energy plan was developed and the state invested $100 million for grants for renewable energy projects. Another $25 million is pending in this year’s budget.
All of these efforts through the state budget process assisted rural Alaskans.
(However they fell well short of offsetting the incredibly high energy prices and the loss of fishing revenue along the Yukon Delta.)
Current efforts include the mobilization of five state departments. The Department of Education has made multiple food shipments. Emmonak received 2,452 pounds, Mountain Village received 1,463 pounds and the Bristol Bay Native Association received more than 2,444 pounds. Additionally, the Department of Public Safety transported Food Bank donations of 4,700 pounds to Kotlik and 1,000 pounds to Kipnuk.
(Oh my God! Is this jerk giving the Governor credit for the charity shown by the Alaska people and others from around the world? That food arrived DESPITE the efforts of the Governor, not becasue of them. Oh now he has pissed me off!)
The Department of Fish and Game extended the moose-hunting season to allow residents another opportunity to put food on their tables. The Department of Health and Social Services is conducting outreach and signing up eligible individuals for the available cash assistance programs.
The governor and the lieutenant governor have personally visited the region to deliver food aid and provide moral support. They were welcomed with the traditional warmth and appreciation from community residents that rural Alaskans are known and respected for providing.
(Yeah the native people are very hospitable, especially when you avoid the villages that have been complaining about your lack of compassion.)
Looking long-term, state employees from different departments, including myself, heard one strong message when we visited: “We need more jobs.” The unemployment rate in rural Alaska is too high. In response, the Department of Labor and the Department of Fish and Game are looking into ways to increase earning opportunities.
(Do you know what would really help this area? A little of that Federal Stimulus money that is earmarked for Alaska. You know if the Governor does not do something stupid like refuse to take it.)
Department of Labor staff members have been assisting job seekers in Western Alaska for months. To date, they have signed up more than 200 residents from Emmonak, Alakanuk, Kotlik and Nunam Iqua for work search and employment services through the state’s online job bank to help match residents with available jobs and services.
The administration is also working on a plan to coordinate fuel orders and deliveries with distributors and communities to achieve maximum efficiency for future fuel purchases. For example, if revenue sharing, the “payment in lieu of taxes” and other payments to communities are distributed earlier in the year, orders can possibly be placed to distributors sooner and fuel delivered before rivers ice up and expensive fuel has to be flown in.
The governor, the administration and Alaskans care about rural Alaska and its residents. The state is deploying a wide variety of personnel and approaches to ease the hardships facing those living in rural communities. We are constantly exploring and reviewing options and will remain vigilant to find solutions.
Jesus what a snow job! I wonder how this guy can even write with his lips attached to the Governor's ass like that?
And this pretty much proves that Palin will only appoint people who are completely under her thrall which means that virtually anybody she comes up with to be the new AG or to replace Senator Kim Elton will prove unacceptable to the Alaskan people.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Sarah Palin's public relations debacle in Russian Mission is beautifully disassembled by a professor of Anthropology in Kenai.
Gov. Palin billed her mercy mission to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta to deliver food aid to hungry villagers as a faith-based partnership with Samaritan's Purse. Governments have been partnering with faith-based organizations since the days of Sheldon Jackson in the late 19th century to effect change in Native Alaska with mixed results, depending on your perspective.
This latest partnership was prompted by a letter from Nicholas Tucker of Emmonak, who alerted Alaska that some folks in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta faced the prospect of choosing between food and fuel this winter. Many Alaskans rose to the occasion. Donations came anonymously, without fanfare, from individuals and tribal, political, nonprofit and religious organizations to regional authorities like the Bethel-based Association of Village Council Presidents, who saw that aid got to the right people. At the request of Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich, the BIA has discreetly provided a huge amount of assistance.
But Samaritan's Purse chose a different path.
To bestow its charity, the fundamentalist Christian organization brought in its celebrity evangelist, Franklin Graham, along with Gov. Palin, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell and the Rev. Jerry Prevo, head of the Anchorage Baptist Temple, to create a media event of altruism. The showmanship of the relief flight to Russian Mission and Marshall maximized the social capital of Samaritan's Purse and provided a platform for the faith-based partnership between Franklin Graham and Gov. Palin. The alliance of Graham and Gov. Palin began during her vice presidential bid and will likely continue as Samaritan's Purse ramps up its Alaska operation, buying large tracts on the Kenai Peninsula as an apparent base for further missionary and political lobbying efforts for "Sarah 2012." The publicity also made the people in need feel small.
The reason most Alaskans provided monetary assistance anonymously is because they understand the nature of a gift, particularly in rural Alaska among people living in the subsistence tradition. Subsistence is not just about hunting and fishing for food. Subsistence is about sharing the wild food you got and processed with your own effort, giving the gift of sustenance a value-added quality by investing a part of yourself in it. The desire to repay the gift of a jar of personally caught, home-canned salmon is a willful obligation that becomes the glue that holds a community together and a motivating factor in the timeless dance of the seasons.
So when folks in the Y-K Delta receive a gift, it's a big deal. Giving food aid anonymously was the right thing, because that way there is no obligation to repay and it becomes an act of pure kindness toward a people temporarily in need. But Franklin Graham made a calculated, public display of giving, creating an obligation that must now be repaid by the Yup'ik of the villages. Obviously, Samaritan's Purse does not expect food in return, but they do expect access and influence and that, of course, has been one of several strategies of missionary activity since the advent of colonialism.
Gov. Palin used the Russian Mission event to promote a rural strategy encouraging young people to take week-on, week-off jobs in mining and the oil industry, thereby living in villages part time and receiving a good paycheck in an otherwise unstable economy. Many Native Alaskans already do work in resource jobs but this scenario does nothing to secure economic stability for the community, and the net result is still outmigration.
The Tundra Drums Web site posted a poignant exchange between Gov. Palin and Mr. Tucker recorded at the Russian Mission airport when Samaritan's Purse delivered their food packages. Tucker listened to the governor's week on/week off plan, and states, "Yes, I appreciate your help, but that's barely enough. We want to get restored back to who we are." By "who we are" I believe Mr. Tucker means a proud, dignified, independent people nurtured by the bonds of community and the place of their ancestors.
Tucker had earlier stated, "The thing is this (food relief) is a temporary help ... but we need sustainable jobs, fisheries. ..."
Of course he's right.
In the short run, the state can use its influence to minimize the impact of Bering Sea factory trawler ships on village-dependent salmon returns. And in the long run Alaska can enact a policy making affordable instate energy a cost of doing business in Alaska for oil companies.
Alaskans should never have to choose between food and fuel.
Alex Boraas, is a professor of Anthropology at the Kenai Penninsula College in Alaska.
This latest partnership was prompted by a letter from Nicholas Tucker of Emmonak, who alerted Alaska that some folks in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta faced the prospect of choosing between food and fuel this winter. Many Alaskans rose to the occasion. Donations came anonymously, without fanfare, from individuals and tribal, political, nonprofit and religious organizations to regional authorities like the Bethel-based Association of Village Council Presidents, who saw that aid got to the right people. At the request of Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich, the BIA has discreetly provided a huge amount of assistance.
But Samaritan's Purse chose a different path.
To bestow its charity, the fundamentalist Christian organization brought in its celebrity evangelist, Franklin Graham, along with Gov. Palin, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell and the Rev. Jerry Prevo, head of the Anchorage Baptist Temple, to create a media event of altruism. The showmanship of the relief flight to Russian Mission and Marshall maximized the social capital of Samaritan's Purse and provided a platform for the faith-based partnership between Franklin Graham and Gov. Palin. The alliance of Graham and Gov. Palin began during her vice presidential bid and will likely continue as Samaritan's Purse ramps up its Alaska operation, buying large tracts on the Kenai Peninsula as an apparent base for further missionary and political lobbying efforts for "Sarah 2012." The publicity also made the people in need feel small.
The reason most Alaskans provided monetary assistance anonymously is because they understand the nature of a gift, particularly in rural Alaska among people living in the subsistence tradition. Subsistence is not just about hunting and fishing for food. Subsistence is about sharing the wild food you got and processed with your own effort, giving the gift of sustenance a value-added quality by investing a part of yourself in it. The desire to repay the gift of a jar of personally caught, home-canned salmon is a willful obligation that becomes the glue that holds a community together and a motivating factor in the timeless dance of the seasons.
So when folks in the Y-K Delta receive a gift, it's a big deal. Giving food aid anonymously was the right thing, because that way there is no obligation to repay and it becomes an act of pure kindness toward a people temporarily in need. But Franklin Graham made a calculated, public display of giving, creating an obligation that must now be repaid by the Yup'ik of the villages. Obviously, Samaritan's Purse does not expect food in return, but they do expect access and influence and that, of course, has been one of several strategies of missionary activity since the advent of colonialism.
Gov. Palin used the Russian Mission event to promote a rural strategy encouraging young people to take week-on, week-off jobs in mining and the oil industry, thereby living in villages part time and receiving a good paycheck in an otherwise unstable economy. Many Native Alaskans already do work in resource jobs but this scenario does nothing to secure economic stability for the community, and the net result is still outmigration.
The Tundra Drums Web site posted a poignant exchange between Gov. Palin and Mr. Tucker recorded at the Russian Mission airport when Samaritan's Purse delivered their food packages. Tucker listened to the governor's week on/week off plan, and states, "Yes, I appreciate your help, but that's barely enough. We want to get restored back to who we are." By "who we are" I believe Mr. Tucker means a proud, dignified, independent people nurtured by the bonds of community and the place of their ancestors.
Tucker had earlier stated, "The thing is this (food relief) is a temporary help ... but we need sustainable jobs, fisheries. ..."
Of course he's right.
In the short run, the state can use its influence to minimize the impact of Bering Sea factory trawler ships on village-dependent salmon returns. And in the long run Alaska can enact a policy making affordable instate energy a cost of doing business in Alaska for oil companies.
Alaskans should never have to choose between food and fuel.
Alex Boraas, is a professor of Anthropology at the Kenai Penninsula College in Alaska.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Nick Tucker's response to the dismissive attitude he endured while meeting with Governor Palin.
Nick Ticker had to fly from his village of Emmonak to Russian Mission to finally get a chance to talk to the Governor, and to give her his heartbreaking letter which brought national attention to the crisis in the Yukon Delta. Here is the video of that meeting:
And here is what Nick Tucker wrote about his feelings afterward.
First off. I am outraged.
Think of this: Did Martin Moore and I have to go meet Gov. Sarah Palin there in Russian Mission and Marshall? Why did she not come here to Emmonak?
I don't have the latest figures, but Martin had told me that there are over 20,000 people in our region, the Wade Hampton district. If at least 50 percent are employable and are not working, where are these 10,000 young and older men and women going to exodus in trying to find jobs; who has 10,000 jobs available?
I felt like Governor Palin treated Emmonak with most disregard and disrespect by not coming here where it all started. Instead, we had to go up to Russian Mission to meet her and followed her to Marshall.
I was there. About whom and to whom was she referring that top leadership in what village(s) should be changed? This is a blow to all rural villages telling each one of us that our past and current leadership isn't worth being there!
Why and on what basis? This message is dismal, not of hope. How do I take things?
Here, I had a person whom I voted for and who turns around and stabs us? I tell you, I want things done for Emmonak. And now, for all rural villages. We deserve better than that — respect.
(You can read the letter in its entirety by clicking the title at the top of the page.)
Nick Tucker has become a symbol of Alaskan natives today, and a very dignified symbol at that. By contrast Governor Palin has become the very symbol of the arrogant, apathetic government in Alaska. Her actions are a reflection of just how poorly these proud people have been treated for hundreds of years, and is the living embodiment of what is wrong with how those of European descent view the indigenous people of North America.
It is time for new leadership in Alaska, and to start taking a critical look at how those in power have treated the people whose land they have so callously usurped. Surely we have evolved enough to recognize that our behaviors of the past must not be repeated in the future.
I am very pleased with some who are currently in leadership positions in Alaska, like Lisa Murkowski who helped get Emmonak $20,000 in aid and promised more to come. And future leaders like Walt Monegan, who is part native himself and who wrote about the coming crisis in the rural villages years before Nick Tucker's letter gained national attention.
So there is hope for how the native people are to be respected by the government in the future, but clearly Sarah Palin is NOT part of that healing process. As if we needed another reason to vote her out of office at the next available opportunity, THIS one should be the final nail in her political coffin.
(BTW I must give a hat tip to my good friend AKM, over at Mudflats, for the heads up concerning this letter by Mr. Tucker.)
And here is what Nick Tucker wrote about his feelings afterward.
First off. I am outraged.
Think of this: Did Martin Moore and I have to go meet Gov. Sarah Palin there in Russian Mission and Marshall? Why did she not come here to Emmonak?
I don't have the latest figures, but Martin had told me that there are over 20,000 people in our region, the Wade Hampton district. If at least 50 percent are employable and are not working, where are these 10,000 young and older men and women going to exodus in trying to find jobs; who has 10,000 jobs available?
I felt like Governor Palin treated Emmonak with most disregard and disrespect by not coming here where it all started. Instead, we had to go up to Russian Mission to meet her and followed her to Marshall.
I was there. About whom and to whom was she referring that top leadership in what village(s) should be changed? This is a blow to all rural villages telling each one of us that our past and current leadership isn't worth being there!
Why and on what basis? This message is dismal, not of hope. How do I take things?
Here, I had a person whom I voted for and who turns around and stabs us? I tell you, I want things done for Emmonak. And now, for all rural villages. We deserve better than that — respect.
(You can read the letter in its entirety by clicking the title at the top of the page.)
Nick Tucker has become a symbol of Alaskan natives today, and a very dignified symbol at that. By contrast Governor Palin has become the very symbol of the arrogant, apathetic government in Alaska. Her actions are a reflection of just how poorly these proud people have been treated for hundreds of years, and is the living embodiment of what is wrong with how those of European descent view the indigenous people of North America.
It is time for new leadership in Alaska, and to start taking a critical look at how those in power have treated the people whose land they have so callously usurped. Surely we have evolved enough to recognize that our behaviors of the past must not be repeated in the future.
I am very pleased with some who are currently in leadership positions in Alaska, like Lisa Murkowski who helped get Emmonak $20,000 in aid and promised more to come. And future leaders like Walt Monegan, who is part native himself and who wrote about the coming crisis in the rural villages years before Nick Tucker's letter gained national attention.
So there is hope for how the native people are to be respected by the government in the future, but clearly Sarah Palin is NOT part of that healing process. As if we needed another reason to vote her out of office at the next available opportunity, THIS one should be the final nail in her political coffin.
(BTW I must give a hat tip to my good friend AKM, over at Mudflats, for the heads up concerning this letter by Mr. Tucker.)
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Senator Lisa Murkowski provides REAL relief to the village of Emmonak.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, announced today that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has released $20,000 that the Emmonak Tribal Council requested to help residents who are struggling with high home heating fuel and food costs this winter.
Emmonak had requested $20,000 in emergency assistance and the BIA signed off on the funding today.
"I had asked BIA at a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing in January to find assistance to help Emmonak residents get through the winter, and I am glad to see that the agency has finally responded," Murkowski said. "A poor fishing season this year combined with sky high fuel prices left many families facing the tough decision of whether to put food on the table or heat their homes.
"As ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee and as a member of the Indian Affairs panel, I remain committed to finding ways to provide long-term, affordable energy solutions for rural Alaska."
A BIA official today confirmed that the funds are being transferred to the agency’s Alaska office, which will forward them to the Emmonak Tribal Council for distribution to local families.
"If Emmonak residents discover that they need additional funds to make it through the rest of the winter, I will be glad to support their request and the requests of other villages experiencing similar difficulties," Murkowski said.
It is worth noting that Murkowski did this without having a camera around to record her doing her job, or without having a Christian charitable group like Samaritan's Purse to do the real work for her while she acted like a spokesmodel for rural relief.
Murkowski also did this without acting contemptuous toward the man who first brought this crisis to the public's attention.
Go ahead and compare Sarah Palin's phony attempts to address this terrible problem to Senator Murkowski's very real and effective solutions to the difficulties faced by the citizens of Emmonak.
There have been a lot of rumors surrounding the fact that Governor Palin has her eye on Murkowski's Senate seat in 2010, but if you are a Republican ask yourself who do you really want representing you in the Senate? The vacuous and emotionally remote Sarah Palin, or the less glamorous problem solver Lisa Murkowski?
I will tell you right now that if the Democrats do not come up with a strong contender for 2010 that Senator Murkowski can certainly count on my support against Sarah Palin. It will be my pleasure to help her campaign.
Emmonak had requested $20,000 in emergency assistance and the BIA signed off on the funding today.
"I had asked BIA at a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing in January to find assistance to help Emmonak residents get through the winter, and I am glad to see that the agency has finally responded," Murkowski said. "A poor fishing season this year combined with sky high fuel prices left many families facing the tough decision of whether to put food on the table or heat their homes.
"As ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee and as a member of the Indian Affairs panel, I remain committed to finding ways to provide long-term, affordable energy solutions for rural Alaska."
A BIA official today confirmed that the funds are being transferred to the agency’s Alaska office, which will forward them to the Emmonak Tribal Council for distribution to local families.
"If Emmonak residents discover that they need additional funds to make it through the rest of the winter, I will be glad to support their request and the requests of other villages experiencing similar difficulties," Murkowski said.
It is worth noting that Murkowski did this without having a camera around to record her doing her job, or without having a Christian charitable group like Samaritan's Purse to do the real work for her while she acted like a spokesmodel for rural relief.
Murkowski also did this without acting contemptuous toward the man who first brought this crisis to the public's attention.
Go ahead and compare Sarah Palin's phony attempts to address this terrible problem to Senator Murkowski's very real and effective solutions to the difficulties faced by the citizens of Emmonak.
There have been a lot of rumors surrounding the fact that Governor Palin has her eye on Murkowski's Senate seat in 2010, but if you are a Republican ask yourself who do you really want representing you in the Senate? The vacuous and emotionally remote Sarah Palin, or the less glamorous problem solver Lisa Murkowski?
I will tell you right now that if the Democrats do not come up with a strong contender for 2010 that Senator Murkowski can certainly count on my support against Sarah Palin. It will be my pleasure to help her campaign.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Nick Tucker, the man whose letter brought national attention to the plight of rural Alaskans, finally gets some face time with Sarah Palin.
(Photo of Nick Tucker courtesy of Dennis Zaki.)Palin, with evangelist Franklin Graham at her side, arrived Feb. 20 with planeloads of food for rural Alaskans beset by a cold winter, sickening fuel costs, poor commercial fishing and staggering unemployment. The governor’s arrival scene was repeated later the same day in another Western Alaska village.
Palin spread a message of hope in Russian Mission and Marshall, and said often that youths should get resource-development jobs so they can earn money and return to their village part of the year.
The entourage’s short visit to each village mixed a campaign-trail energy with brief elements of a church-rally. (It is unsurprising that when confronted with a problem like this that Palin resorts to her comfort areas, campaign style interactions with large audiences and faith based solutions to the "problem".)
Palin worked the adoring crowds, squeezing cheeks, bending low to pose with elders and kids and bear-hugged strangers as if they were old friends.
“I’m so happy to be here, especially to get to meet all the kids in this village. You are beautiful kids!” she shouted, doing a sort-of gunslinger motion with her index fingers. ("Duck kids she is channeling her wolf hunting personality!")
She said the rest of Alaska and the nation care about the village. (Which is the only reason you will find her ass in such a god forsaken place.)
“As your governor, we’re here to partner with Samaritan’s Purse and other churches and other people across the nation who recognize Alaska’s uniqueness and recognize that Alaska faces some challenges right now with the high costs of food and high costs of energy,” she said. “Just know that we ask for God’s blessing over this part of Alaska also and those things the state government can do to assist, we’re here to help.” (But we are really hoping God does something because we Republicans just don't believe in spending too much time with people who cannot make large contributions to our political campaigns.)
Yoo know it still bothers me that Sarah Palin went to these two villages. And I am not the only one who is confused by the choice.
Several people in Marshall and Russian Mission said most people have enough to eat, but they said they appreciated the help.
George Owletuck, a middle-age man and former tribal law professor in Fairbanks who recently moved back to Marshall, said some elders were amused by a television news report that people were starving in the village when there’s so much fish around.
So as I said in a previous post this was nothing more then a glorified photo op which allowed Sarah Palin to appear to be doing something about the native Alaskans in crisis while avoiding the potential embarrassment of running into actual natives in crisis who are angry with her lack of response. Going to Emmonak meant interacting with people who have been suffering terribly and who are demanding that something be done to keep this same thing from happening next year.
But you know what they say, if you cannot get Mohammad to the mountain, then bring the mountain to Mohammad.
Nicholas Tucker flew to the villages to personally hand Palin the letter he’d written six weeks earlier. His plea for help described vivid stories of hunger in Emmonak, another village down the Yukon River from Russian Mission and Marshall.
Throughout the day, Tucker listened and watched Palin. Not being from Russian Mission or Marshall, it would be rude to steal their chance for attention, he said.
But in the Russian Mission gym, he jostled his way through the crowd and caught up to Palin.
During a four-minute conversation, he thanked her for coming, and asked if she could provide help to create jobs in the villages.
She bent over to speak close, and said resource development can create jobs for young people.
“So working together — you and the local communities and state government — we’re going to be able to allow these economies to be revitalized,” she said. (This is Palin talk meaning that if the damn Democrats will just let the oil companies drill in ANWR or if she can somehow get her natural gas pipeline through then the streets of Emmonak will be paved with gold. Beyond that she simply has no solutions.)
He said what the Native people really want is “to get restored back to who we are. The Native people are very strong people and this is probably the only time they … cried out for help.”
Tucker gave her his letter and asked her to read it.
She said she would.
Then she waded back into the crowd.
Look I know that I can be very cynical sometimes, and I really hope that she took that letter with her and read it on the plane on her way back to Anchorage, but I cannot help but feel that somewhere between Russian Mission and Wasilla that letter found itself deposited in a handy trash receptacle.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Here is some video of Sarah Palin and Franklin Graham before they ride off to rescue the simple native folk of Alaska.
Well according to Governor Sarah all the rural native Alaskans have to do to solve their difficulties is to leave their ancestral homes and run to the big cities just like her husband Todd, who according to Palin worked on the Slope and then "come back to the village after a, one and one, or a two and two, week schedule and still lived a subsistence lifestyle."
Now you know I just hate to disagree with the Governor but when I heard her make this statement I remembered something I had read in that future bestseller "Trailblazer: An Intimate Biography of Sarah Palin."
In chapter four page 56, of this riveting manuscript I read the following:"When they returned to Anchorage, Todd moved in immediately with the Heath sisters (This was right after their marriage on August 29th, 1989) and shared a room with Sarah. He had applied for an oil-company job on the North Slope and was waiting for an offer. In the meantime, he drove snow-removal trucks in Anchorage, usually working the red eye shift."
"Eight months separate the August 29 wedding day from Track's date of birth, April 20, 1989." (pg. 57)
"Before Track's arrival, Sarah and Todd moved back to Wasilla and bought a modest condo near the high school." (pg. 58)
""In 1989, Todd was hired by British Petroleum. which drastically changed the couples lifestyle." (pg. 58)
So let me see if I understand this correctly. Todd Palin was living a subsistence lifestyle in Wasilla? Really? Were Todd, and Sarah, and little Track subsisting on fish and berries and wild game that they hunted when Todd was not working on the North Slope?
Or does Governor Sarah believe that Todd deciding to walk into the woods and shoot a moose, or go to the Knik river and catch some fish, is a direct correlation with how the rural Alaskans in villages like Emmonak live their lives?
How could somebody who has lived the majority of her life in Alaska, and has served as Governor for three years, still be so completely out of touch with the reality of life in these villages?
Later in the video you see the Governor once again stressing how these people need to get out there and work. I wonder how Nick Tucker feels after listening to his Governor imply that the reason his people suffered so much this winter is because they did not "get out there and work"? Perhaps one of us should call him and ask for his opinion on this topic.
What a circus! I half expected to see trained seals and a tightrope act. I am amazed that they believe this will fool anybody.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Sarah Palin in a cage match with Rep. Jay Ramras over relief efforts for Alaskan villages. GET READY TO RUUMMBLE!
I just received this juicy bit of news from my friend Dennis Zaki of the Alaskan Report.
First this from a State of Alaska press release:
Governor Sarah Palin today lauded the work of the multiple state agencies, nonprofits and faith-based organizations that have worked in a cooperative effort to deliver supplies to Lower Yukon River communities affected by high fuel and food prices. ("Thank you so much, if you had not been so generous I may have been forced to do my job and risk missing an opportunity to bask in the national spotlight. Here let me check my two Blackberry's and see if there is an opening of a theme park I can attend or something")
The governor also expressed concern about inaccurate comments made to the media by Representative Jay Ramras that the state has failed to make state assets available to deliver supplies to communities.
“We are working cooperatively with the communities, many legislators, Native corporations, and other entities to address the needs in these areas,” Governor Palin said. “I am disappointed that Representative Ramras failed to express his concerns to my office before issuing a press release with incomplete and misleading information. This is particularly concerning since he knew I would be attending a meeting with his entire caucus that evening. Representative Ramras did not mention the specific issue of using state assets to me personally at the meeting. Instead, I read about it later in the press release. Truly Alaskans deserve better than that kind of ‘politics as usual’ (God she loves this phrase!). It is unfortunate that the representative sees this as an opportunity to play politics rather than help in the response."
What? Sarah Palin did something for the villages in the Yukon Delta and we did not know about it? How is that possible when we have been searching every news outlet in Alaska for weeks for some sign that she even knows how bad the problem has become?
Well if this is true then I owe the Governor an apology for all of my blogging which condemned her administration for not providing an adequate response to this crisis. Well, when I am wrong, I am wrong, so here it goes.
"Governor Palin I would like to sincerely apo....wait, what is that Rep. Ramras?"
From an Jay Ramras press release:
"I am shocked and appalled that Governor Palin would stoop to making derogatory statements about me," Ramras said. "My question to her during our caucus last night was 'where is the food?' In my interactions with her own administration I have spoken with Lieutenant General Craig Campbell from the Department of Military & Veterans Affairs; Commissioner Joe Masters from the Department of Public Safety; Commissioner Emil Notti from the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development; her Deputy Chief of Staff Randy Ruaro, and numerous others since we first learned of the hardships in Emmonak and Western Alaska. In my press release, I acknowledged that DPS, after much pleading, provided a small plane for transport from Bethel to Kotlik.
"That the governor would accuse me of politicizing the current economic situation in the Lower Yukon strikes me as fool-hardy and Clinton-esque," Ramras added. "I introduced House Bill 114 yesterday. That was the subject of the press release. And I am offended that the governor would call my service into question. I have been organizing food and supply drives for needy Alaska communities and groups for years, and spoke on the House Floor yesterday about the success we've seen thanks to the many groups that have come together over the last few weeks to help. I pointed to her lack of leadership on this issue; I didn’t do it politically, I did it because it's true: she has been too silent and her administration has taken too long to help in relief efforts. We are already weeks late."
Yeah Governor, about that apology? Don't hold your breath!
First this from a State of Alaska press release:
Governor Sarah Palin today lauded the work of the multiple state agencies, nonprofits and faith-based organizations that have worked in a cooperative effort to deliver supplies to Lower Yukon River communities affected by high fuel and food prices. ("Thank you so much, if you had not been so generous I may have been forced to do my job and risk missing an opportunity to bask in the national spotlight. Here let me check my two Blackberry's and see if there is an opening of a theme park I can attend or something")
The governor also expressed concern about inaccurate comments made to the media by Representative Jay Ramras that the state has failed to make state assets available to deliver supplies to communities.
“We are working cooperatively with the communities, many legislators, Native corporations, and other entities to address the needs in these areas,” Governor Palin said. “I am disappointed that Representative Ramras failed to express his concerns to my office before issuing a press release with incomplete and misleading information. This is particularly concerning since he knew I would be attending a meeting with his entire caucus that evening. Representative Ramras did not mention the specific issue of using state assets to me personally at the meeting. Instead, I read about it later in the press release. Truly Alaskans deserve better than that kind of ‘politics as usual’ (God she loves this phrase!). It is unfortunate that the representative sees this as an opportunity to play politics rather than help in the response."
What? Sarah Palin did something for the villages in the Yukon Delta and we did not know about it? How is that possible when we have been searching every news outlet in Alaska for weeks for some sign that she even knows how bad the problem has become?
Well if this is true then I owe the Governor an apology for all of my blogging which condemned her administration for not providing an adequate response to this crisis. Well, when I am wrong, I am wrong, so here it goes.
"Governor Palin I would like to sincerely apo....wait, what is that Rep. Ramras?"
From an Jay Ramras press release:
"I am shocked and appalled that Governor Palin would stoop to making derogatory statements about me," Ramras said. "My question to her during our caucus last night was 'where is the food?' In my interactions with her own administration I have spoken with Lieutenant General Craig Campbell from the Department of Military & Veterans Affairs; Commissioner Joe Masters from the Department of Public Safety; Commissioner Emil Notti from the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development; her Deputy Chief of Staff Randy Ruaro, and numerous others since we first learned of the hardships in Emmonak and Western Alaska. In my press release, I acknowledged that DPS, after much pleading, provided a small plane for transport from Bethel to Kotlik.
"That the governor would accuse me of politicizing the current economic situation in the Lower Yukon strikes me as fool-hardy and Clinton-esque," Ramras added. "I introduced House Bill 114 yesterday. That was the subject of the press release. And I am offended that the governor would call my service into question. I have been organizing food and supply drives for needy Alaska communities and groups for years, and spoke on the House Floor yesterday about the success we've seen thanks to the many groups that have come together over the last few weeks to help. I pointed to her lack of leadership on this issue; I didn’t do it politically, I did it because it's true: she has been too silent and her administration has taken too long to help in relief efforts. We are already weeks late."
Yeah Governor, about that apology? Don't hold your breath!
Palin appoints Rural Advisor. Solution to desperate problems in Y-K Delta? Or empty gesture to deflect criticism?
Gov. Sarah Palin's found her rural affairs adviser.
John Moller, a 47-year-old former crab fisherman and CDQ general manager started the job Jan. 30. He replaces KTUU Channel 2 reporter Rhonda McBride, who left in October.
Moller said he's been meeting with lawmakers and planning a trip to the Y-K Delta next week.
Q: Why did you want the job? (Given the tension, and spotlight surrounding the post)
A: I wanted the job because as a lifelong Alaskan, the state has been very generous to me. And I am in a position in my life now that I'm able to you know, give back to a state that's been very good to me. That's why I wanted the job, and I specifically wanted to work with this governor, and I threw my name in the hat. ...(Uh oh!)
Q: You said you specifically wanted to work with this governor, why is that?
A: I think many of her positions are parallel to mine, and I agree with the policy that I've seen her make thus far. (This is troubling news. And this last portion is even more concerning.)
(Moller said it was late in the day and couldn't list examples of Palin's positions that he agrees with.) (In other words Moller is not completely clear on what Governor Palin's positions are, but he knows he agrees with them. Can you say "Palin-bot"?)
I asked if the state ought to, or can, declare a fisheries disaster in the Wade Hampton area. And whether state fuel vouchers would be a good idea for the region. Moller said that since he's just started the job, it's too early to say.
"My thoughts are, lets try and do something that is meaningful and helpful," he said.
(Well if this is true then Mr. Moller does not support the Governor's positions on this issue, since her response was to do something "meaningless" and "unhelpful".)
I have a number of reservations concerning ANYBODY that Palin appoints, based mostly on her past performance in choosing the right people for the right job, but Mr. Moller does have at least one potentially helpful characteristic:
Here's how Moller describes his heritage:
"I am Aleut from Unalaska. My grandfather was a Norwegian immigrant and my grandmother was an Aleut from Unalaska, on one side, and Russian/Aleut on the other side."
He said he believes in simply choosing the best person for the job but can also see the value of having an Alaska Native in the position. "It can be easier to manuever in Rural Alaska. And maybe I have a bias in that, I am Alaska Native."
It may sound less then politically correct to say, but based on the information I have gleaned from native newspapers and Dennis Zaki (after his trip to Emmonak), it seems clear that having a native Alaskan in this position will be extremely helpful in gaining the trust of the people in this region as well as providing a framework for understanding their unique challenges.
I certainly hope that this John Moller takes his responsibilities seriously and does his level best to explain the problems facing the native community to Governor Palin, and then helps to craft some real solutions instead of just making promises that they have no intention of keeping.
John Moller, a 47-year-old former crab fisherman and CDQ general manager started the job Jan. 30. He replaces KTUU Channel 2 reporter Rhonda McBride, who left in October.
Moller said he's been meeting with lawmakers and planning a trip to the Y-K Delta next week.
Q: Why did you want the job? (Given the tension, and spotlight surrounding the post)
A: I wanted the job because as a lifelong Alaskan, the state has been very generous to me. And I am in a position in my life now that I'm able to you know, give back to a state that's been very good to me. That's why I wanted the job, and I specifically wanted to work with this governor, and I threw my name in the hat. ...(Uh oh!)
Q: You said you specifically wanted to work with this governor, why is that?
A: I think many of her positions are parallel to mine, and I agree with the policy that I've seen her make thus far. (This is troubling news. And this last portion is even more concerning.)
(Moller said it was late in the day and couldn't list examples of Palin's positions that he agrees with.) (In other words Moller is not completely clear on what Governor Palin's positions are, but he knows he agrees with them. Can you say "Palin-bot"?)
I asked if the state ought to, or can, declare a fisheries disaster in the Wade Hampton area. And whether state fuel vouchers would be a good idea for the region. Moller said that since he's just started the job, it's too early to say.
"My thoughts are, lets try and do something that is meaningful and helpful," he said.
(Well if this is true then Mr. Moller does not support the Governor's positions on this issue, since her response was to do something "meaningless" and "unhelpful".)
I have a number of reservations concerning ANYBODY that Palin appoints, based mostly on her past performance in choosing the right people for the right job, but Mr. Moller does have at least one potentially helpful characteristic:
Here's how Moller describes his heritage:
"I am Aleut from Unalaska. My grandfather was a Norwegian immigrant and my grandmother was an Aleut from Unalaska, on one side, and Russian/Aleut on the other side."
He said he believes in simply choosing the best person for the job but can also see the value of having an Alaska Native in the position. "It can be easier to manuever in Rural Alaska. And maybe I have a bias in that, I am Alaska Native."
It may sound less then politically correct to say, but based on the information I have gleaned from native newspapers and Dennis Zaki (after his trip to Emmonak), it seems clear that having a native Alaskan in this position will be extremely helpful in gaining the trust of the people in this region as well as providing a framework for understanding their unique challenges.
I certainly hope that this John Moller takes his responsibilities seriously and does his level best to explain the problems facing the native community to Governor Palin, and then helps to craft some real solutions instead of just making promises that they have no intention of keeping.
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