Opinions

Ah, politics! Both here and away, the enchantment never stops

I'm just wondering what in the ever-loving world it is going to take to feel normal again.

We can always count on the "move the capital to the road system" people to pipe up to make things feel Groundhog Day-ish. Thanks for that, Rep. Chris Birch. For those of us who followed Mr. Birch when he was on the Anchorage Assembly, we all have to crack up with this newest earnest endeavor. See, Mr. Birch was chronically on the phone to attend his legislative meetings in Anchorage. When he did show up, he had a golf tan that would make George Hamilton jealous. As far as I know, Mr. Birch's home is on the road system to the Loussac Library, and that didn't make a difference for him then. I suppose it's a good distraction from the real work that it takes to try to meet the constitutional mandate to fully fund public safety and education.

Jerry Ward has come back into the news like a bad penny. Just when you stopped wondering how he slipped through the Corrupt Bastards Round Up back in the day, here he is again. The former state senator was never charged, despite the fact that private businessman Bill Weimar went to jail for funneling $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions to Ward. Well, our governor, while traveling with Trump this week, had time to post: "I am pleased to see that the White House announced Jerry Ward as the Alaska Rural Development State Director. Jerry is an Athabascan from the Caribou Tribe, born and raised in Alaska, and has an impressive record of public service. He will serve Alaska well in his new role." Wow. That's almost enough to make you become an involuntary bulimic. I guess it makes some kind of sense in this no longer normal world that Mr. Ward would get a job from Trump.

The mighty big news splashing about from the China excursion is the announcement of an Alaska natural gas pipeline in partnership with Sinopec. Oh, is it possible? A gas line? Should we hope for another crack at boom projects and lordy — could it be? Wait.

[Here are five big questions about Alaska's gas line deal with China]

Sinopec? Does that ring any bells for you?

During the vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, Palin said she led the charge to divest the Alaska Permanent Fund of Sudanese investments. She had not.  In January 2008, Reps. Les Gara, D-Anchorage, and Bob Lynn, R-Anchorage, co-sponsored a house bill to direct the Permanent Fund board to divest in companies sponsoring the genocide in Darfur. Sinopec was one of the biggest offenders in Darfur. Dozens of states also divested holdings from Sinopec. Universities, including Harvard, divested. It was the right thing to do. President George W. Bush signed into law a measure allowing state and local governments as well as mutual funds and private pension funds to divest.

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In 2008, when the bids were opened for the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, Sinopec was one of the four bids. Like all of those making a bid, they were incomplete in the state requirements. This has been a long game for Sinopec.

Oh, I'm not being a Debbie Downer. I have a lot of concerns about this state and it worries me to see us trade established values for a goal that has escaped us for decades. Just keep it in mind, darlings.

When we aren't being charmed by state and local politics, there's always national news to give us whiplash. While the first transgendered politician has won office, a Sikh has been elected to a mayor's seat in Hoboken, and Virginia's state legislature is almost reasonable, then there's Alabama.

[Roy Moore, another GOP calamity]

This week we found out multiple women accused Roy Moore, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Alabama and no relation to me, of abuse. It's pretty bizarre when some in Mr. Moore's party defend his alleged fondling of a 14-year-old as consensual. It couldn't have been consensual when she was 14 — it's illegal and the statute of limitations doesn't exist for that crime in Alabama. One of the state auditors said, "Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus." Sorry. Did coffee just come out of your nose? There are so many wrongs in his statement and I am not the stupid whisperer, so I'll let you pick it apart. It's too late to take Moore's name off the ballot and rather than have a Democrat win, now they are just defending an alleged pedophile. Just a reminder — Anthony Weiner is sitting in jail right now (and will be for another 21 months) for sexting with a teenager. Lock him up. Lock them both up.

My dear Alaskans, it's cold. Drive slow, wear ice cleats, and take care of each other.

Shannyn Moore is a radio broadcaster. 

The views expressed here are the writer's and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@alaskadispatch.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@alaskadispatch.com. 

Shannyn Moore

Shannyn Moore is a radio broadcaster.

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