I can't help it.

I can't help myself, I have to get this off my chest.
Sarah Palin has said that she wants our President to boycott the Climate Change conference because of some emails that totally blow the entire field of climate science out of the water. But wait what did she do when she actually had any responsibility and would be held to account for her opinions and action:

Sarah Palin GOVERNOR

STATE OF ALASKA OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR JUNEAU

September 14th, 2007

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 238

I, Sarah Palin, Governor of the State of Alaska, under the authority of art. III, secs. 1 and 24 of the Alaska Constitution establish the Alaska Climate Change Sub-Cabinet to advise the Office of the Governor on the preparation and implementation of an Alaska climate change strategy.

BACKGROUND AND FINDINGS

Scientific evidence shows many areas of Alaska are experiencing a warming trend. Many experts predict that Alaska, along with our northern latitude neighbors, will continue to warm at a faster pace than any other state, and the warming will continue for decades. Climate change is not just an environmental issue. It is also a social, cultural, and economic issue important to all Alaskans. As a result of this warming, coastal erosion, thawing permafrost, retreating sea ice, record forest fires, and other changes are affecting, and will continue to affect, the lifestyles and livelihoods of Alaskans. Alaska needs a strategy to identify and mitigate potential impacts of climate change and to guide its efforts in evaluating and addressing known or suspected causes of climate change. Alaska's climate change strategy must be built on sound science and the best available facts and must recognize Alaska's interest in economic growth and the development of its resources. Commercializing Alaska's great natural gas reserves through a new pipeline will improve the nation's energy security while providing a clean, low carbon fuel to help the nation reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions.

PURPOSE AND DUTIES

The purpose of the Climate Change Sub-Cabinet is to advise the Office of the Governor on the preparation and implementation of an Alaska climate change strategy. This strategy should include building the state's knowledge of the actual and foreseeable effects of climate warming in Alaska, developing appropriate measures and policies to prepare communities in Alaska for the anticipated impacts from climate change, and providing guidance regarding Alaska's participation in regional and national efforts addressing the causes and effects of climate change.
In view of its purpose, the Climate Change Sub-Cabinet shall develop recommendations on the following:

1. the assembly of scientific research, modeling, and mapping information in ways that will help the public and policymakers understand the actual and projected effects of climate change in Alaska, including the time frames in which those effects are likely to take place;
2. the prioritization of climate change research in Alaska to best meet the needs of the public and policymakers;
3. the most effective means of informing, and generating a dialogue with the public regarding climate change in Alaska;
4. the early assessment and development of an action plan addressing climate change impacts on coastal and other vulnerable communities in Alaska;
5. the policies and measures to reduce the likelihood or magnitude of damage to infrastructure in Alaska from the effects of climate change;
6. the policies and measures addressing foreseeable changes to the marine environment; the quantity, quality, and location of fish and game in Alaska; and the productivity of forests and agricultural lands in Alaska due to climate change;
7. the evaluation and response to the risks of new, or an increase in the frequency or severity of, disease and pests due to climate change in Alaska;
8. the identification of federal and state mechanisms for financing climate change activities in Alaska, including research and adaptation projects;
9. the potential benefits of Alaska participating in regional, national, and international climate policy agreements and greenhouse gas registries;
10. the opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Alaska sources, including the expanded use of alternative fuels, energy conservation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, land use management, and transportation planning;
11. aggressive efforts toward development of an Alaska natural gas pipeline to commercialize clean burning, low carbon natural gas reserves
12. the opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the operations of Alaska state government;
13. the opportunities for Alaska to participate in carbon-trading markets, including the offering of carbon sequestration;
14. the identification of economic opportunities for Alaska that might emerge as a result of the growing response to this global challenge;
15. other policies and measures that the Climate Change Sub-Cabinet considers would help achieve the purpose of this Order

This Order takes effect immediately.

DATED at Juneau, Alaska, this 14th day of September, 2007.

She isn't real. I am sure of it. She just can't be.

SO PISSED OFF RIGHT NOW!!!!! AGAIN!!!!

Via Sam Stein at the Huffington Post who reports on this story. Read those and mine below is just a further rant.


I am self-employed, my wife works two part-time jobs. No employer based insurance is available to us. Last year, after years of not having any insurance my wife let me sign her up on my catastrophic health insurance plan. I still have to convince her every month to pay the bill.

I was looking at new plans for me and the kid and was able to add her for what appeared to be about $100 or so. Signed up on-line, got a quote and sent in the paperwork. The policy comes back being about an extra $150 to add her. (She has actually used health care in the past and this is counted against people when they sign up for insurance.) Bite the bullet, got to be responsible. So we started paying the monthly payment of around $500 for a policy that has a $5000.00 deductible and and bunch of really fine print. It isn't health care, it really is insurance against the dreaded day when you hear from the doctor, "I have some bad news...." And then it might be useless.

Now apparently we are not paying enough to meet Wall Street's expectation for their profits.

Aetna President Mark Bertolini laid out how the company planned to raise prices to improve the company's profit margin. He said the firm had "implemented a combination of underwriting enhancements, pricing actions and plan design changes, intended to ensure that each customer is priced to an appropriate margin."

They are making a profit, just not enough. (What is that called again? Oh yes, I think it is "greed") So Aetna will be raising rates and kicking out clients who use health care. Nice. These people are so sure they are going to win this health care reform issue, they are people who are such bullies, who have the entire Republican Party and 3/4 of the Democrats in their pocket, they can just lay a big stinking pile of crap right on the American public, and then expect us to thank them.

No reform needed here. The best medical care in the world!!! And good public policy. Let the marketplace decide who deserves health care, no government "death panels" needed. It just happens by the magical power of the free markets.

I am not sure if I am going to try and convince the wife to pay that bill again.

What is that Parnell up to?

What is that Parnell up to? The governor's office is entirely too quiet. It is kinda boring. Maybe he could hire Meg back. That would get things rolling.

PFD

Thinking about the Permanent Fund Dividend.

Each year when the Gov. announces the amount the Permanent Fund Dividend that each of us Alaskans will be getting, I am struck by the unmet needs that exist in our state and the possibilities of what we collectively could be doing with that money. The oil that generates the money isn't ours, the resource doesn't belong to the current citizens of the State of Alaska, it belongs to future citizens as well.

I grew up in Texas. The burbs of Dallas. Texas has a Permanent Fund too. But in their Constitution they set up a Permanent Unviversity Fund. The University of Texas System and the Teas A&M system are both in part supported by the money generated by this fund.

These two Universties are top notch institutions, education and research. The endowment the PUF has created will keep these universities going long after the wealth from the resources has been exhausted. Future generations will have access to education and will economically benefit from the research produced by these institutions. We will all get to pay off our credit cards, pay from some oil for the heater, or use all kids PFD's and buy a snow machine.

A study on the impact of a strong University system reports,

"For every $1 dollar the state invests in UT System higher education, that dollar serves as a catalyst for, and ultimately results in, an additional $24 dollars of gross work-life incremental earnings that go into the Texas economy."

I can't find any research on the impact of the PFD, but I am sure that is big as well, but too what end?

Good Luck Sarah

It seems obvious that Sarah Palin reached the limits of her executive capabilities as mayor of Wasilla. Her further advancement was just ambition, a confluenece of political disasters (Gov. Murkowski, Knowles, McCain) and just dumb luck.  

Politically she was a master of capitalizing on the events of the day.  We have to give her that. Unfortunately, or more correctly, fortunately she lacked any substance to back up the bluster. It was always about playing the politics and promoting the brand.

Alaska can move on now and she can further her new career as a celebrity-politician. And unless there is revelation of a scandal or she takes up the offer from Playboy and wipes out the modicum of credibility that she retains, she will continue to drag the Republican Party further right and further into obscurity. 

Good luck Sarah.

Old Time Religion

Someone explain this one to me:

• 742 American adults surveyed on use of torture against suspected terrorists
  
• 54 percent of those who go to services at least weekly say it's often or sometimes OK
  
• In survey, people unaffiliated with any religious group were least likely to back torture

Kenai Peninsula Borough- Broken Brains Lead to Broken Budgets

The condensed version of the story is:

Dave Cary was elected as the mayor of the the Kenai Peninsula Borough as a "cut taxes and reduce the budget" candidate. (Strangely he also claimed as mayor to have the ability to protect your gun rights. I don't think he was pandering at all with that addition to his platform.)  He won.

Previous to that election the voters of the Kenai Peninsula had repealed a sales tax in a vote put on the ballot by the Alliance of Concerned Taxpayers (ACT). 

The mayor is now planning to reduce property taxes on us over taxed Alaskans.  

Which leads to the great republican plan of underfunding government to destroy it. The borough is facing a budget shortfall. The mayor has said everything is being scrutinized for cuts. Education is not being spared and he has proposed a reduction in the school districts budget. The outcomes of that will be great. Less education is what we need now in this world. That will help the growth and quality of life for people left on the Peninsula. 

The impact on my kid's education is already being felt. Due to this budget turmoil, his school has had to delay and possibly not hire a replacement teacher. This is in a K-12 school with a teaching staff of 4. By this time of the year good teachers that are looking for new schools probably have jobs lined up for next year.  We will still hope that our second or third choice turns out to be an adequate educator for our children. Thanks a bunch Dave and Alliance for Concerned Taxpayers. You are really making the Peninsula a great place for families. 

Much in this post needs further exploration, such as:

Who are these ACT people?

What is a lifelong educator, our mayor,  doing minimizing education?

Many of his supporters have fingered teacher unions as the culprit. Does Dave get a retirement fought for by unions?

How does a borough mayor protect your gun rights?

Who voted for Carey and are they the Senior Citizens who live here 5 months a year and are always showing up for the subsidized lunch program?

Why don't grandma and grandpa want their grandkids the best education they can get? 

How does our tax burden compared to other boroughs and counties?

What is it like to live in a progressive state?