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Governor’s State of the State Address

January 19, 2012 by ·

So let us work in a spirit worthy of Alaskans. Let us honor the proud history we share by building a brighter future. And let us ensure the Last Frontier forever remains first in freedom, and first in opportunity….Gov. Parnell

For details of Governor Sean Parnell’s State of the State Address to the Alaska Legislature use the links below:

 

Transcript of Gov. Parnell’s State of the State address

Video of the Speech

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell gives 2012 State of the State Address

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell gives 2012 State of the State Address

Photo Gallery from State of State Address

Coverage and reaction to speech in Alaska media

(Look for “Coverage”)


 

Filed Under: Governor's Speeches, State Press Releases Tagged With: , , , ,

Standing committees are like Iditarod check points

January 18, 2012 by ·

Today’s Radio Show. Click link below to go to our Show Download Page.

TLHR Jan. 19, 2012  Standing Committees.

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Today’s phrase is:  Standing Committees.

One of the confusing things about the Legislature is that there seems to be so much going here, going there. Committee this, committee that. It can be hard to track what exactly is going on.

Because legislators want as much info as possible before taking action on a bill, there’s system by which bills go to various Standing Committees for review.

CLIP ART Committee from Microsoft.com

Clip art courtesy Microsoft.com

Here’s Maggie’s 3 Point Synopsis on Standing Committees.

  1. Bills are complex, new laws can have many unforeseen ramifications.
  2. It is  important that experts look them over.
  3. Standing Committees ensures that each bill gets a once over by experts in the various areas it may affect.

For instance, if it has to do with money, someone who knows money and how it works inside the state’s system needs to be involved in the process to make sure the numbers tally, to make suggests about where the money will come from, or where it will go to, how it will affect something already in the works.  You know, the kinds of things that –say–you might be real smart about, but someone who isn’t in your job or  have your training and experience wouldn’t have enough of a clue to even ask about.

Both the Senate and the House have Standing Committees that include:

  • Finance,
  • Health Education and Social Services,
  • Judiciary,
  • Labor and Commerce,
  • Community and Regional Affairs,
  • Resources,
  • Rules,
  • State Affairs and
  • Transportation.

Here’s any easy way to understand the various standing committees in the legislature.

Think of the Iditarod Trial Sled Dog Race…There are check points along the way and rules that mushers must follow in order to get the OK to proceed on. Sometimes, mushers spend a lot of time in a checkpoint, sometimes, it’s a quick zip in and out.

They call them standing committees….but I think of them—and often refer to them—as mandatory committees. Like mandatory check points along the Iditarod Trail.

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Resources:

Click link below to go to the Legislature’s Official non-partisan website. The link will open the page dealing with committees. It lists all House and Senate committees and tells you who is on each.

http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/commbr_info.asp?session=27

 

Filed Under: Committees, Daily Radio Shows January 2012, Leg Words Tagged With: , ,
New session begins Tues. Jan. 17

New session begins Tues. Jan. 17

January 16, 2012 by ·

 

Alaska Legislators face hundreds of bills,

state budget and a 90 Day deadline…

 

Click below to listen to today’s show.

TLHR for Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012

Tuesday is slated to be the first day of the new legislative session. Alaska lawmakers have 90 days to finish their work which includes approving a budget for next fiscal year and consideration of a number of contentious measures.

And if that wasn’t enough, last Friday the second batch of prefiled bills was presented and includes another 28 new bills to add to the burgeoning stack of measures the Alaska Legislature is already working its way through.

Included in the most recent prefilled bill release are 21 bills from the house and 7 from the senate.

Topics include: Oil and gas credits, a permanent absentee voting option, loans for commercial fishing permits, changes to commercial motor vehicle permits, and changes to regulations concerning natural gas storage.

You may recall last year that Representative Sharon Cissna of Anchorage was late in getting to the opening of the legislative session because she refused to submit to an invasive body search by TSA. Instead she instead opted to arrive by land and sea transport only, bypassing TSA altogether.

Rep. Sharon Cissna

Rep. Sharon Cissna

Cissna said at the time she did not take TSA’s actions lightly, and would fight for the right to dignity when traveling, especially for those who’s physical or medical condition sets them up as potential targets for TSA searches.

Now, she’s put her legislative power behind it and has introduced a measure that takes on TSA and their invasive body scanners.

House Bill 262 would make it an offense of interference with access to public buildings or transportation facilities if access requires consent to physical contact or to an electronic process that produces a picture of a private exposure of the person.

A related measure, co-sponsored with Representative Max Gurenberg of Anchorage, would require airports to post warning signs outside of security screening areas warning passengers that they are subject to searches of their bodies by physical touching and by electronic devices that emit radiation.

That bill is HB270.

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Resources:

Below are links to both sets of prefiled bills. They come from the Alaska Legislature’s official site which is www.legis.state.ak.us.

http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/docs/pdf/2012_1stPrefiles.pdf

http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/docs/pdf/2012_2ndPrefiles.pdf

 

For more on TSA…Click on link below to read Rep. Cissna’s comments on TSA’s invasive searches and legislation in Texas against it. This will take you to Cissna’s webpage on the House Minority’s website which is akdemocrats.org.

Unlike the Alaska Legislature’s official site, this link takes you to a partisan site.

http://akdemocrats.org/rep_cissna/2011/05/14/rep-sharon-cissna-statement-on-texas-tsa-law/

 

Filed Under: Daily Radio Shows January 2012, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 15, 2012 by ·

Martin Luther King’s Address

at

March on Washington

August 28, 1963

Washington, D.C.

 

 

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Summary: “I Have a Dream” is a 17-minute public speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on August 28, 1963, in which he called for racial equalityand an end to discrimination. The speech, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. Delivered to over 200,000 civil rights supporters, the speech was ranked the topAmerican speech of the 20th century by a 1999 poll of scholars of public address. According to U.S. Representative John Lewis, who also spoke that day as the President of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, “Dr. King had the power, the ability, and the capacity to transform those steps on the Lincoln Memorial into a monumental area that will forever be recognized. By speaking the way he did, he educated, he inspired, he informed not just the people there, but people throughout America and unborn generations.”

At the end of the speech, King departed from his prepared text for a partly improvised peroration on the theme of “I have a dream”, possibly prompted by Mahalia Jackson’s cry, “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” He had first delivered a speech incorporating some of the same sections in Detroit in June 1963, when he marched on Woodward Avenue with Walter Reuther and the Reverend C. L. Franklin, and had rehearsed other parts.

Speech Title, Performance and Writing Process: Believe it or not, the “I Have a Dream” speech was originally titled “Normalcy, Never Again.” and the first drafts never included the phrase “I have a dream”. The popular title “I have a dream,” came from the speech’s greatly improvised content and delivery. Near the end of the speech, famous African American gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted to Dr. King from the crowd, “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” Dr. King stopped delivering his prepared speech and started “preaching”, punctuating his points with “I have a dream.

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Download Daily Radio Show for Mon. Jan. 16, 2012

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MLK Material courtesy mlkonline.net

 

For written transcript of MLK’s “I have a dream” speach click link below.

Link also contains an audio player so you can listen to the speech as MJK gave it.

It’s quite powerful and is only 17 minutes long.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

 

 

Filed Under: Daily Radio Shows January 2012

Former Chief Justice of AK Supreme Court Passes

January 13, 2012 by ·

((Sorry, can’t get Friday’s show to upload to server. Will try again later…Maggie))

Another prominent Alaskan who helped shape the state has passed away—this time a former Supreme Court judge.

Governor Sean Parnell ordered state flags to be lowered to half-staff on Friday in honor and memory of former Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court Robert Boochever.

Boochever passed away in October, but a memorial service is being held in Pasadena, California on Friday.

In a press release, Parnell described Boochever as a trail-blazing Alaskan. He was the first jurist from Alaska ever to serve on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Boochever served in the U.S. Army from 1941 until 1945, when he was discharged with the rank of captain. He served as Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court from 1975 to 1978, and on the 9th Circuit from 1980 through 1986.

He is survived by four children and 11 grandchildren.

State flags will be lowered on Friday in honor of Boochever. Flags will be raised to full-staff on Saturday.

Flags were also at half-staff on Thursday to honor former Representative Ed Orbeck of Fairbanks.

The back-to-back lowering of the flag is unusual, but not something that should be totally unexpected as it is done to acknowledge the passing of an Alaskan who served the state. And is generally timed to coincide with their memorial service.

STING (short music bed)

Here’s a family oriented fun activity that you can bring to your town. The governor’s office is working right now to schedule this summer’s annual Governor’s Picnics around the state.

Traditionally the picnics have been held in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, but the governor’s office is also organizing what they call “roving” picnics for other communities around the state.

These picnics are planned, funded, and organized by the host communities; and are a great way to bring neighbors together. The deadline for submitting a proposal has been extended to January 27, 2012.

If your community is interested send an email to governor at Alaska.gov.

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Resources:

For info on hosting a Governor’s Picnic email governor@alaska.gov

 

Click link below to view about a jillion photos from the Aug. 18, 2011 Govenor’s Picnic at Juneau’s Sandy Beach. Includes lots of cute kid photos!

Link takes you to first of several flickr pages of photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49477898@N05/sets/72157627494181692/

 

 

 

Filed Under: Daily Radio Shows January 2012
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