The recent discussion of civility on these cyberpages disappointed me. Neither blogger defined civility but appeared to claim the guys who agree with them are civil while those who disagree are uncivil. Neither opposes civil discourse. So, if civility itself is not controversial, then what are we arguing about? To me, civility begins with acting in a rational and consistent way. When I make my points, I use several devices to back up my arguments: I give examples of what I mean, I sometimes clarify my points with metaphors, I cite people with expertise on the matter at hand, I sometimes cite pertinent facts, I sometimes draw what I considerable logical conclusions from those facts, and I sometimes ask questions. 9:37 PM
George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclomation
Although the Continental Congress had issued a Thanksgiving Day Proclomation in 1777, George Washington was the first President (surprise) to issue such a Proclomation. This Proclomation in 1789 called for America's first National Thanksgiving. According to the Congressional Record for September 25 of that year, the first act after the Framers completed the framing of the Bill of Rights was that: "Mr. Boudinot said he could not think of letting the session pass without offering an opportunity to all the citizens of the United States of joining with one voice in returning to Almighty God their sincere thanks for the many blessings He had poured down upon them. With this view, therefore, he would move the following resolution: 8:54 PM
In medical school I was taught that a screening test should have 3 characteristics. It should have a high sensitivity and specificity. It should be inexpensive. It should be low risk. It gets considerably more complicated in the real world. The standard that has been most often applied has been cost per year of life saved. That theoretically takes all of the desired characteristics into account. 7:27 PM
I was sitting in a favorite café this week when an old friend and colleague in the book-publishing world came over to say hello and share news of an unexpected and untimely death. Sara Juday, longtime regional manager for Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company, put it bluntly: "I have some bad news. Graphic Arts has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy." Initially I didn't get it. I was thinking Chapter 11, the kind that results in a company's re-organization. Graphic Arts had been down that road once before and I knew the company has again been hurting financially. More than a year has passed since the company paid me any royalties. But Chapter 7? Liquidation? The company was going out of business? Wow, bad news indeed, not only for its employees, but also for its many authors and Alaska's book lovers. 11/18 6:34 PM
It was January of 2007. The war in Iraq was going badly. Very badly. U.S. General David Petraeus advocated an audacious counterinsurgency strategy. It would involve a massive troop surge. Senator Barack Obama disagreed, calling for a "surge in diplomacy."(1) 11/17 11:44 PM
My Response To Comments re: Broken People -
To commentors: Thanks for the thoughtful comments. 11/17 5:23 PM
Commander-in-Chief sounds like a true PATRIOT!
I was fortunate enough to receive one of the few civilian tickets to President Obama's stop at Elmendorf Air Force Base today. Once again, it proved to be a moving speech by our commander-in-chief, with respect and honor of our military and a vow of unquestionable resolve to continue to support the men and women of our armed forces and their families. Here is the link to the text of the President's speech. If you consider yourself a patriot you'll read it. I also was fortunate enough to be invited to participate on a panel yesterday for the inaugural taping of "Moore up North," a television talk show hosted by local blogger and radio host Shannyn Moore. Its scheduled to debut this Saturday at 4pm on KYES Channel 5. 11/12 10:23 PM
Alex Sheshunoff advocates a capital move on the grounds that Juneau's location is responsible for corruption in Alaskan government. In May 2007, John Strohmeyer, in an effort to sell more copies of one of his books, wrote an editorial similarly reasoned for the ADN. Most everyone ignored it. This, however, is too tempting to pass up so I'll bite. Like any number of other policy ideas, moving the capital to reduce corruption is a short-sighted and lazy tactic that fails to get at the root of the problem. Corruption in politics, where it is real and identifiable, is serious and corrosive and shouldn't be exploited to advance agendas that are totally unrelated. Pitting Alaskans against each another, region by region, is neither a constructive nor particularly creative way to address the issue. But electing ethical people in the first place would be a good place to start. As personal friends of several legislators from around the state, I can say that the vast majority work hard and represent their constituents effectively and ethically while in the capital city. 11/11 9:02 PM
HOW TO THWART THE NEXT BILL ALLEN? MOVE THE STATE CAPITOL
No doubt there will be another Bill Allen - the question is, what can we do to reduce his chances of success? For a start, we can move the capitol off what is, essentially, a remote island and closer to where more of us actually live. Doing so, could reduce corruption by over 52%. How can I be so exact? Well, I ran the numbers. With some help. 11/9 12:11 PM
News apps for the iPhone that just don't quit
I'm taking a class at the university about societal change. It's taught in the business school and a chief aim is for marketers to stay on top of change so they can keep selling products to an ever-morphing audience. The universe is divided into spheres -- the infosphere, the sociosphere, the psychosphere, the technosphere, the bio/power-sphere. 11/3 7:19 PM
If We Owned AIDEA For One Day By Jim Crawford If we owned the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) for just one day, what could we do? 10/28 5:17 PM
Cuts to Fire Department Lack Logic: forget about being rescued from avalanches this winter
At our last community council meeting, we learned that the city is eliminating the rolling closures that have closed our fire stations on rotating days throughout 2009. That is the good news. The bad news is that several of the Fire Department's special teams are slated to be mothballed for the winter. The city has several special teams trained for rescues in water, backcountry, trenches, as well as urban search and HAZMAT. The teams that are federally funded, like HAZMAT, will continue, but not the water and backcountry teams. 10/20 7:08 PM
Vince Beltrami is president of the Alaska AFL-CIO, a labor organization. He is a graduate of UAA.
Jim Crawford is a real estate developer and former Chairman of the Alaska Reagan for President campaigns and former Chairman of the Republican Party.
Kathleen McCoy is an electronic media specialist at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She is a former features editor and interactive media editor at the Anchorage Daily News.
Jenny Neyman is editor and publisher of Redoubt Reporter, a weekly publication that’s based in Soldotna and serves the Kenai Peninsula.
READER-SUBMITTED
Readers post their photos of the good, bad and ugly of Anchorage.
OPINION
Follow the ongoing debate in this collection of columns and editorial written on health care.
AUDIO INTERVIEW
Sen. Lisa Murkowski talks to the Daily News editorial board about health care.
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The governor defends her handling of the federal stimulus money.
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