"Can You Pull Her Hair, Mommy?"

"Not without putting on some welding gloves first, dear," was probably Gov. Palin's reply to her inquisitive daughter, who was trying to help mom deal with the intractable and - so far this session - enduring personality of Mat-Su Valley Senator Lyda Green.

The fracas over how to schedule Gov. Sarah Palin's "State of the State" message wasn't Sen. Green's shining moment, eh? And, frankly, the Governor could have handled the affair better too.

But I'm not about to comment about this cat fight I've been predicting for over two months. It isn't even that important to comment about the comments on the cat fight and the huge attention this Alaskan Kabuki has elicited from the media, the media-controlled blogs and the free blogs. Palin and Green haven't liked each other for a long time. It most likely dates back to Palin's clash with the Murkowski administration over the ethics of Randy Ruedrich on the Oil and Gas Conservation Board.

It got to the point that when Green visited Palin with a huge bag of campaign money from the slimiest reaches of GOP donors, right after Palin's GOP primary victory over then-Gov. Frank Murkowski, Palin immediately returned the money. To Green. Personally. So what did Lyda then have to do with the, uh - I assume - checks? How often has that happened to Lyda?

Last week's dustup was too hot for the MSM press to handle, so they passed it off to Sheila Toomey, who gets to use different adjectives than the "serious" reporters.

What I really want to talk about and write about is one item in the State of the State Address:

I'm appointing an Energy Coordinator, to activate a statewide Energy Plan. We'll use earnings from a $250 million “Renewable Energy Fund” for alternative projects, like hydro, wind, geothermal, and biomass. These projects cannot even flirt with snake-oil science – they will be real, doable, and economic. Alaska’s plan can lead America toward energy security and a cleaner, safer world.

If this is serious business, and the Legislature helps enable something important to go through, such a plan will bring important and positive changes to our future.

I'll be following this closely through the current legislative session.

hat tip to the ADN's David Hulen for the quote that he got from KWHL's Bob & Mark Show

Sergeant, There Is No Such Thing As ARMY Bootcamp, Sergeant

I must have heard the poor soldier say that a hundred times while I was in U.S. Army Basic Training at Ft. Polk Louisiana, in the early spring of 1966. His older brother was a Marine, his sister in the Navy. He kept on calling the misery we endured "Boot Camp," as his brother and sister had called their training. It wasn't.

So every time my buddy, whose name I've long forgotten, called it that, he had to get down and do twenty. Or thirty. Or, for Sgt. "Killer" Smith - fifty pushups, while yelling, "Sergeant, there is no such thing as Army boot camp, sergeant."

Sarge would say in the voice he reserved for people he wanted to know he was about to squish, "I can't hear you, pussy. Yell it out!"

I hope the Governor doesn't call what her son has just gone through "boot camp" in front of his buddies while she's down in Georgia later this week. I have no idea whether the term "boot camp," used in the print, radio and TV news about Track Palin's upcoming graduation, originated from the Governor's office or from the press, but use of that term for the young man's training is both inaccurate and demeaning to U.S. Army soldiers. Ask KUDO's Aaron Selbig, for instance. He served in the U.S. Army Infantry for over three years. I was in Aviation and the Transportation Corps. We would die before we called basic training boot camp, or our "weapon" a "gun."

United States Army Basic Training (also known as Initial Entry Training) is a rigorous program of physical and mental training required in order for an individual to become a soldier in the United States Army, United States Army Reserve, or United States Army National Guard. It is carried out at several different Army posts around the United States. Basic Training can last anywhere from 15 weeks to over one year, depending on the career path an individual chooses upon enlistment.

Progressive Alaska Interviews Erin McKittrick

Erin and Hig are headed to the funnel between Gunsight Mountain and Lion's Head, where the Copper River drainage and Matanuska headwaters almost meet in one of the most spectacularly dramatic landscapes on the Alaska road net. Their next big stop will be Anchorage, where they hope to get to in about a week to ten days. They've gotten really, really good at walking. Recently, in the cold.

Erin posted an update at their trip blog late this morning, before they once again hit the trail. A couple hours before that, I spoke with her for about 40 minutes about the trip, their goals and what we can do to help them when they arrive in Anchorage, for the longest layover of their odyssey from Seattle to Unimak Island.

What I asked in the interview was mostly about logistics of getting the word out about their trip and the philosophy that under-rides it. The questions I asked were answered so well. My notes - scribbled on a small legal pad - were so inadequate. But Erin, in today's blog post, answered them herself, so much better. I had asked what their rules are. I'll quote fairly extensively:

No Motorized Transport.

That’s it. Most of the time, we are deep in the wilderness where the rule is entirely irrelevant. In towns, it’s a minor inconvienience, as we refuse all offers of rides, and wander to do our shopping, errands, and visits on foot. But since Valdez, we’ve re-encountered the net of the highway, and the rule has suddenly become much more important.

So, why have the rule? Some kind Canadians were very impressed with our rule - how we were not emitting CO2 and contributing to global warming with our expedition. As we walk past shrinking glaciers on useless maps, climate change jumps out at us all the time. But as we eat our cookies, noodles, and butter from thousands of miles away, dressed in petroleum clothes, we’re clearly as much a part of the problem as anyone else. Our informal rule of not having any food drops (planes making trips solely for us), probably matters much more.

The answer lies in our idea of ‘ground truthing’ this entire 4000 mile chunk of country. We want to see everything that’s out there. The good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly. If we start skipping over bits in a zooming vehicle or boat - because they seem boring, or because we fear they might be difficult - we make the journey less complete. An adventure is the epitome of unpredictable. And we never know where and when the most amazing experiences will happen, or the most important lessons will be learned.

****

Hig pulling the pack rafts

Alaskans For Clean Elections Celebrate!

I just got an e-mail from Michelle Meyer, the Campaign Director for Alaskans for Clean Elections. Here's what Michelle says:

THANK YOU everyone who helped us take this first step towards Clean Elections in Alaska.

Alaskans for Clean Elections turned in over 32,000 signatures to the Division of Elections today and thanks to a whole host of volunteers, we had already verified 23,920. The total we needed to get was 23,831. So barring any unforeseen occurrences, we'll be on the 2008 ballot.

There will be much work ahead, but tonight we would like to celebrate so please join us if you can:

6pm Whale's Tale in the Captain Cook Hotel downtown at 939 West 5th Avenue.

To everyone outside of Anchorage please know that we'll be thinking of you and we thank you again for your hard work. We needed to get a significant percentage of signatures in 30 out of 40 state house districts and we did it in 34 districts!

To your credit, we anticipate that a full third, or 11,000 signatures, have been gathered by volunteers.

I think this might be a new high number for volunteer participation in initiative signature gathering in Alaska!

We could not have done it without you.

*******************

This is an important event, an important milestone for Alaskans. I don't think people can yet tell quite what effect this will have on the November 2008 election, but I am hoping that the presence of this initiative on the ballot will help to draw more young people, more disenchanted independents, more disillusioned Democrats and who knows what else out to vote - all of whom will help 2008 be the best year in recent memory for Progressive, Liberal and Moderate Alaska voters and candidates. It helps frame our side as positive, earnestly seeking change from a corrupt regime that has hurt our state and its citizens. Which is the way we should be seen.

photo - Michelle Meyer with staff and petitions. Do they look happy? Duh...

Erin and Hig nearing Eureka

Erin McKittrick e-mailed me Sunday evening from a cabin just east of Eureka. As she put it, "so, as often happens with us, things took a bit longer than expected..."

Well, Erin, that's part of the territory when you do what nobody in the history of the human race has done before.

Soon after she and Hig leave Eureka, they'll be reaching the headwaters of the Matanuska River. From there to Palmer, it will be all downhill. OK - and uphill, but mostly downhill. I'm not sure how much pack rafting they'll be able to accomplish on the Mat River in mid-winter, but I'm sure they'll be able to decide what's best.

I'm hoping to participate in hosting a slide show about the progress of Hig and Erin's trip from Seattle to Unimak Island at UAA on the 29th of January. More on this as it develops.

Update - Monday 10:00 a.m: Just off the phone with Erin. They'll be hitting the trail again this morning, and hope to be getting into the Sutton area in about a week.

ethics, Ethics, ETHICS!

A couple more items before I head out to a full work week.

Last week I was volunteering for the Mat-Su Democrats, as we prepare for the February 5 District and State Caucuses. On Friday I went into state Democratic Party HQ to see if they have posters and other stuff we can put up on the walls for the caucus.

I was immediately struck by how many young people were in the state HQ. And they were busy. They were also helpful, informed and on-topic. But what impressed me the most was how pumped they are. It wasn't just youthful enthusiasm. I got the feeling that they know they've got a major role in rebuilding the Democratic Party in Alaska this year, and that they're looking forward to the work and to the results.

And they'll have their hands full! The GOP party members outnumber Democrats in Alaska almost two to one. But both party's memberships are dwarfed by the numbers here with no affiliation. Robert Dillon published an article in the Fairbanks News-Miner today that looks into what pollsters think will be driving voters to the polling booth in November. Corruption, ethics and Ivan Moore's quaint term, "electability," top the pollsters' lists.

Tomorrow, Alaskans for Clean Elections will be turning in their petitions for a voter initiative designed to revamp election financing here.

Lyda says "Thank You, Ray." So Do I!

It turns out that this weekend's pre-eminent Alaska investigative journalist was Sheila Toomey, the Anchorage Daily News gossip columnist who has written the Ear since, well - since a long time ago. It isn't too late to nominate her in the investigative category for the 2007 Alaska Press Club awards, folks!

I mentioned Sheila's coverage of UAA Prof. Rick Steiner's confrontation with the State of Alaska over access to information on how the state is dealing with information on the status of Polar bears in the column directly below. But Toomey today also mentioned three of my favorite people together in the same episode:

Ear stopped laughing long enough to check in with Mat-Su guru Myrl Thompson, who told the following story:

Myrl was at the Cook on Wednesday with a friend when Ray Metcalfe showed up. Ray's been torqued at Lyda ever since she was quoted saying she saw no evidence of corruption by Ben Stevens when he was in the Senate.

Ray had a copy of his APOC complaint against Ben and was looking to "serve" it so Lyda could no longer claim ignorance, he said later.

You're in luck, said Myrl to Ray, delighted to pour gas on the fire. "My friend here just happens to be a licensed process server."

So the three headed across the street to the Corsair, where Lyda and aide Portia Babcock were greeting well-wishers at the bottom of the stairs. Hi, said Myrl's friend, handing Lyda the papers. "You've been served.

"Thank you," said Lyda.

Figuring she was on automatic pilot from greeting well-wishers, Ray said something like, "No, Lyda. This isn't a good thing."

But it takes more than Ray and a process server to crack a veteran politician's public aplomb.

"Thank you," she said firmly.

Myrl Thompson is one of my favorites because he afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted so well in the Frontiersman. Ray Metcalfe is a great Alaskan ethics crusader. And Lyda is my Senator.

I've covered Ray's efforts here in the past, and will be doing so again, soon. I've also groused about how little attention Sheila's employer has devoted to asking politicians who have received Metcalfe's information over the years what they did with that information.

You've got to hand it to Myrl and Ray for showing up like they did at what might be one of the last events Sen. Green presides over as coalition chairman.

Sarah and the Bears, or You Can't Just Let Polar Bears Keep Oil Companies From Running Wild

People have been debating global warming, ANWR oil development and the fate of the Polar Bear as separate issues and in various intermixtures, for years. Alaskans can expect a lot more talk about Polar Bears during 2008 than in any previous year.

The Palin administration appears to be making major efforts, not only to keep the bears moved from vulnerable to endangered status, but to make it difficult for academics like UAA's Prof. Rick Steiner from gaining access to vital information about research done in Alaska on Polar Bears.

Why is it that something this important has to be gleaned from the Anchorage Daily News' Sunday Ear column? I'll quote Sheila Toomey's coverage of Steiner's situation in entirety:

Oil industry watchdog Rick Steiner recently submitted a Freedom of Information request to state Fish and Game for public records regarding the listing of polar bears as endangered. He wanted the records "to see how politics influenced their position to oppose the listing," Rick said in a note.

F&G Commissioner Denby Lloyd wrote back that the fee for what Rick wanted would be $468,784. Rick, a prof at UAA, said he's going to ask if they'll accept his IOU. Denby gently suggested Rick might want to narrow his search request. Rick not so gently suggested it was obstructionism by Palin, who has said publicly she doesn't think polar bears should be listed.

Rick Steiner is a genuine Alaska hero. He was an important figure in the Battle of Sawmill Bay during the Exxon Valdez catastrophe. Had more Cordova experts like Steiner, and fishermen like Tom Copland been heeded in the first 24 hours of the spill, the effects of Exxon's negligence would have been mitigated greatly. I dedicated a musical work about that oil spill, Shadows, to Steiner 15 years ago.

He's one of the most sought after experts in the world on oil spill response. A year and a half ago, the Lebanese government sought his advice on how to deal with the biggest oil spill in history in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Jiyeh power station oil spill, caused by the Israeli Air Force. This environmental war crime, is the most under-reported man-made and totally avoidable environmental catastrophe in recent years.

The Palin administration's treatment of Steiner, who is also an expert on the fate of the Polar Bear, is the most disturbing development I've seen in this administration. Steiner hasn't quibbled about these animals' fate. "For anyone who has wondered how global warming and reduced sea ice will affect polar bears, the answer is simple -- they die," was Steiner's response to a Wall Street Journal query back in December.

Alaskans know a lot more about bears than most people. Over the years - as in lots of years - bear species come and go. The Polar bear diverged from the Brown bear only 200,000 years ago. They were preceded in Alaska by the Arctodus Simus, a larger, less omnivorous animal that disappeared here about 12,000 years ago. All three shared Alaska for a far longer time than human civilization has existed.

There are similar numbers of Polar Bears worldwide - just around 30,000 - as there are Brown bears in Alaska. There are a similar number of Polar bears in Alaska as there are the Brown bear subspecies, the huge Kodiak Bear, around 3,000 of each. Just as Polar bears diverged from Brown bears long ago, they can mate, and do, creating the hybrid known as Nanulak.

Although the only known Nanaluk was bagged by an American hunter on Banks Island in upper Canada, Alaska communities are concerned that should the hybrid get started where the two creatures' habitats overlap, the result will be a very large, mean animal that doesn't hibernate.

Palin, for her part, sounded somewhat pragmatic in an op-ed she wrote on January 8, but her statement, "[t]o help ensure that polar bears are around for centuries, Alaska has engaged in research and worked with the federal government to protect them," appears to be disingenuous, given the demand that Prof. Steiner fork over a half a million bucks to have access to some of the information the governor touts as having been done purely on the species' behalf.

Update: Cross-posted at DailyKos

House Bill 288

Alaska Public Radio Network's AK opened their program this morning, Chasing the Sun, with a segment about my friend and former colleague on the Friends of Mat-Su board of directors, Mimi Peabody. She and her husband, Will, live off the power grid in their home up Clark-Wolverine Road, northeast of Palmer. The interview-tour ended with mention of House Bill #288, which has been pre-filed for the impending Alaska legislative session by Homer Representative Paul Seaton.

Seaton may be my favorite GOP Alaska legislator. He has introduced many innovative bills over the years, mostly having to do with fishery issues, habitat protection and public access to redress of grievances against the state, and against powerful corporations. In his past efforts, Seaton has teamed up with such unlikely allies for a Republican as the Republican Moderate Party, Friends of Mat-Su, the Alaska Center for the Environment, and the Northern Alaska Environmental Center.

His House Bill seeks to allow people like the Peabodys to be able to force power companies to buy power from people on-line who, from time to time, produce more power than they can store or use. 36 other states have such legislation. The idea has been around for a long time. It is called net metering, and here's how it works:

Net metering programs adopted in many states offer the potential for individuals or businesses to realize financial benefits from installing renewable energy systems. Net metering allows consumers to offset the cost of electricity they buy from a utility by selling renewable electric power generated at their homes or businesses back to the utility. In essence, a customer's electric meter can run both forward and backward in the same metering period, and the customer is charged only for the net amount of power used. By definition, true net metering calls for the utility to purchase power at the retail rate and use one meter. States have adopted a number of variations on this theme.

Winter Songs Rehearsal

I got to hear a rehearsal of my newest work, Winter Songs, this morning at UAA.

In 2006, the Alaska Pro Musica, UAA's pre-eminent chamber ensemble, asked me to write a work for them. I decided to compose a song cycle about winter. I chose four texts from the Alaska-Northern Rim literary quarterly, Ice Floe. Here's one of the texts:

The Path

On the ice of the forest lake
in untouched snow
I walk myself a path the shape of a large spiral.
In the middle of the lake, in the innermost of the
helix I stop, standing still.

All around me the spruce forest in dark expectation.
Comes spring, and sunshine. Slowly I sink
through the ice.

- Carl-Erik Strom
(translated from the Swedish by the author)

Drs. Walter Oliveros on violin, Tim Smith on piano, and Mark Wolbers on clarinet, will be joined by coloratura soprano Anastasia Jamieson, to perform Winter Songs and other works at the UAA Arts Recital Hall at 4:00 p.m. on January 20.

Update from the e-mails: I write music.

late winter ice on Neklason Lake