Open Letter to the Alaska Tea Party…and You
Dear Alaska Tea Party,
A few years ago, Sarah Palin was asked which Founding Father was her favorite. She answered, “You know, well, all of them.”
My favorite Founding Father was William Woodford. He fought alongside his friend George Washington in the French-Indian War. Afterwards, Woodford brokered a peace treaty between the Virginians and the Cherokee that was honored for over a decade.
Woodford was a General, and before the Revolution started, he and Washington corresponded about the coming struggle. A letter lining out how to conduct troops was signed, “My compliments to Mrs. Woodford; and that every success may attend you, in this glorious struggle, is the sincere and ardent wish of, dear Sir, your affectionate humble servant, George Washington.”
That “glorious struggle” Washington mentioned was not “taking their country back”. It was about creating a new country and seizing sovereignty. Woodford led the first battle of the Revolutionary War and won. He was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine, recovered and returned to the war to be captured during the siege of Charleston.
He died in captivity and the British buried him at Trinity church in New York City.
You see, I think the founders of this country aren’t just the men who survived to sign the Declaration of Independence, but include those who gave all because they dreamed that great document would someday be written.
I am a direct descendent of William Woodford. For me, it’s not about getting scholarships from the Daughters of the American Revolution. I feel that bloodline boil when our sovereignty is threatened.
Alaska’s had a Coastal Management Program since 1977. Republican Governor Jay Hammond signed it into law. For 34 years the program facilitated coastal development. It considered both science and local input. The Coastal Management Program ensured, promoted and protected state and local sovereignty when it came to development decisions.
When it was up for renewal last year, the house republicans virtually eliminated local input and tipped the balance in favor of multinational corporations. Among several astounding changes to previous programs, they sneakily changed the definition of local knowledge and defined it with scientific evidence. Their new definition created the controversy that failed to pass muster with the senate. It boiled down to five words: (C) not contradicted by scientific evidence.
The old plan considered both scientific evidence and local knowledge. One didn’t trump and exclude the other. That’s a big problem and the reason over 30,000 Alaskans signed a petition to put Proposition 2 on the ballot.
These days science is a commodity; for sale to the highest bidder. What’s to stop Shell from paying a junior biologist to write a slanted paper that would contradict 10,000 years of local knowledge? Their “scientific evidence” needn’t be peer reviewed nor published in a respected journal; just written by someone with a science degree.
Prop 2 is on the ballot because of Alaskans. The No on 2 folks? Mostly Outsiders. They raised $776,000 dollars – $1,267 of it came from three Alaskan citizens. Their campaign disclosure reads like an international Olympic roster: three corporations from the United Kingdom, two from Japan, five from Canada, Monoco, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, and Norway. Oh, team USA was represented too: The Koch Brothers from Kansas, Texas, California, Florida and Idaho. The Pebble Partnership kicked in some cash. They don’t want to hear from Alaskans in Bristol Bay.
Shell threw in $150,000. Don’t they value local input from Alaskans along the Beaufort and Chukchi coasts? I guess they want silent partners while drilling in their back yard.
The cruise ship industry is throwing in. They hate it when Alaskans protest their pumping a boatload of last night’s buffets into our waterways along with the dry cleaning fluid.
What projects were shut down in Alaska because of our 34 years of Coastal Zone management?
Oh, there weren’t any.
The No on 2 folks like to say the ballot measure is “more red tape”. Really? Are Alaskans “red tape”? Are Alaskans fighting to keep fish farms out “red tape”? Is a Native Elder’s knowledge of walrus feeding habits “red tape”? Are commercial fishermen in Cook Inlet wondering where a coal chute is going to be placed “red tape”? Who the hell are these Outsiders, many of them foreigners, telling us we’re RED TAPE? They can’t vote here, but are attempting to buy yours and dupe you into thinking they and the federal government will just work out the details for development in our state.
Are you falling for that crap?
If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re the meal. Our Founding Fathers lived this for years until they fought to evict the table lords and wrote their own menus.
For all the things we don’t agree on, I’m hoping you realize the issue of sovereignty shouldn’t be politicized or put up for auction during an election.
Sincerely, the great-great-great-great-you-get-the-idea-granddaughter of General William Woodford,
Shannyn Moore
Good job Shannyn!
People forget that Alaska was accepted into the Union with a unique Constitution which expressly denied the operation of Dillon’s rule and , amongst other things, allowed for maximum local self government and charged the legislature with developing the state’s role in the Unorganized Borough with maximum local participation and responsibility.
The Coastal Management Program was a good fit with that for organized and unorganized areas of the state.
It would still be a good fit.
This latest round of corporate /paternalistic foo fa rah by the current Governor directly slaps the face of real live Alaskans in favor of paper constituted entities . Pffft!
Various sections of our State Constitution
“Section 6. Unorganized Boroughs
The legislature shall provide for the performance of services it deems necessary or advisable in unorganized boroughs, allowing for maximum local participation and responsibility. It may exercise any power or function in an unorganized borough which the assembly may exercise in an organized borough.”
This section refers to unorganized boroughs, indicating the intention of the drafters of this article that the entire state would be divided into boroughs, some of which would be organized and some of which would remain unincorporated until ready for self-government. (Commentary by the local government committee on the draft article said: “Under terms of the proposed article, all of Alaska would be subdivided into boroughs.” In meeting the needs of the unincorporated areas, the legislature is to allow for “maximum local participation and responsibility.”) Here the delegates had in mind local committees which would advise the legislature and perhaps assume administrative responsibilities.
Multiple unorganized boroughs have not been created. Instead, the legislature treats the entire area outside organized boroughs as one large unorganized borough (AS 29.03.010). To provide local services in the unorganized borough and meet the goal of local participation and responsibility, the legislature has made extensive use of special service areas as authorized by Section 5 (AS 29.03.020).Service areas in the unorganized borough include school districts (called regional education attendance areas), salmon enhancement districts and coastal management planning districts. Each of these entities has its own governing board.
page 181 of the Alaska’s Constitution, A Citizen’s Guide, 4th edition
http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/docs/pdf/citizens_guide.pdf
(obviously not yet updated to note the end of the Coastal Management Program- here’s hoping it won’t have to be! )
Also- I can say it because it is my Reg, CIRI donated 10K to this PAC along with all these Outside interests.
Is this to bypass any local input on the Underground Coal Gasification proposal, CIRI? At what point does my dividend become dirty money, CIRI? 100k to a PAC to re-elect Murkowski, 10K to freeze out your shareholders and their neighbors. Oh well done. We’ve become all about $$s, eh?
Excellent article and very enlightening. thank you.
Great piece, Shannyn great-great-great-etc. Woodford Moore!
Until now, I have never heard soooooo much about our founding fathers.
But since the can has been opened—-and Joe has been slammed for his remarks on the campain trail,
maybe we should talk about George. George Washington I mean. The founding father that had all those slaves working on his thousands of acres.
Now, how do we get this in front of the people who really need to read it?
Gee Shannon, how dare you stir the pot with facts!
Meanwhile, I’m off to my staunchly conservative neibors house, armed with this wonderful piece, to read to him.
He’ll probably hate me for a day or two. Then show up asking for a copy. Read it at my kitchen table and slam me for being right.
Oh and shucks, your welcome. For taking flack from a tea party member who can only see how the big and bad government is for speaking for Alaskans.
Once he is done giving me crap for YOUR factual words. He’ll probably get more pissed off cause he’ll realize the No On 2 folks consider him “red tape”. At such time, I’ll have that coffee cake done and will be serving him up a piece.
Then my job will be done!
Kudos sister! Your welcome, but mostly, I’m grateful for your words.
YES ON 2 !!!
In today’s “rill” world,those that give all are useful tools-cannon fodder-for Korporate Amerika’s insatiable appetite for taxpayer fueled ginormous profits. Too bad,so sad. You volunteered to lay your life on the line for KA. Soldiers only real value to pols is when their votes give rwnj an election victory,the only battle they are allowed to win.
Preach it, sister.
and Amen, also, too.
tcw
Kudos…. excellent.