Occupy Anchorage PA Poll - Scott McAdams and Shannyn Moore Videos

Occupy Anchorage sign-making and information tables - PA

Last night, I posted an essay expressing my sense of frustration about the current state of protest in Alaska, after having attended the "Occupy Anchorage" event yesterday afternoon.   Interesting comments, especially this predictably anonymous one:

Oh, Phil. You're not "jaded," you're just lazy. What efforts did YOU contribute, other than sitting on your ass yappin' with Kelly Walters throughout the entire thing, so you could bash people afterward? You couldn't even be bothered to take your own photos while there and have to poach those of a fellow blogger (whom you also habitually trash, of course). If you want causes and events to be better, how 'bout putting forth a modicum of effort yourself, instead of lazily throwing derision from the sidelines?

 Sweeeeet.

Here are the poll results.  I was only able to poll about 25 people, as I wanted to hear the speeches, and people began drifting away rapidly after the last speakers had their turns.  Not everyone answered every question, so numbers vary, as at some of my earlier tea party movement polls.

Did you show up more in solidarity with the issues of Occupy Wall Street, or over concern about Alaska issues:

National solidarity - 4
Alaska solidarity - 21

What Alaska issue concerns you the most:

Oil taxes and fees - 5
Mineral development (other than oil) - 6
Alaska political corruption - 10

Who did you vote for in the 2008 presidential contest:

Obama - 20
Nader - 2

Do you expect to vote for Obama in 2012:

Yes - 13
No - 5
We'll see - 7

What party affiliation do you hold:

Democrat - 14
Non-partisan - 7
Green - 2

How do you feel about the impact of the tea party movement on American political discourse and action:

Positive - 0
Negative - 22
Neutral - 2

Is the Alaska Democratic Party political establishment:

Too conservative - 14
Too liberal - 0
Just right (or stuck where they inevitably have to be) - 5
Too complex to judge - 2

Is Sen. Mark Becich:

Too Conservative - 15
Too liberal - 0
Stuck where he has to position himself politically - 6

Who is your favorite Alaska politician currently holding office:

Elvi Gray-Jackson - 4
Mark Begich - 4
Hollis French - 3
Bill Wielechowski - 3

Who is your least favorite Alaska politician currently holding office:

Sean Parnell  - 9
Seanico Parnellips (they actually used the term, coined by Shannyn Moore) - 4
Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan - 5
Rep. Bill Thomas - 1

Ray Metcalfe smiling - PA

I didn't poll as many people as I had hoped.  The side discussions I had, particularly on the issues of how both the Alaska Democratic Party and Sen. Begich feel they have to position themselves, struck me as starkly at odds with what I perceive the goals of the Occupy Wall Street/99% movement to be.

Another troublesome aspect of the event, was its center on banking, finance, campaign finance reform and their ties to political corruption, at the expense of attention to climate and sustainability issues.  However, talking to young people, most of whom I had never met before, they tended to have a more firm realization of the imminence of climate collapse and, particularly from two discussions, an understanding of the importance of ocean acidification.

Also, I got a call an hour ago from a UAA student I spoke with at the event.  She is meeting with others today on campus, and invited me to attend.  Unfortunately it is at 4:00, when I will be at the Occupy the UAA Fine Arts Recital Hall event.  She will let me know about the meeting, though, and I hope to help these kids.

Here is all but the first few seconds of Scott McAdams' speech:


And here is Shannyn Moore's speech: