Kincaid Park!

Please, pretty please stay away! I am talking about the snow-machine fanatics that want to invade Kincaid Park. Look, the last time there came an invasion – from the soccer moms – a hazardous waste zone was uncovered, by the kick of a soccer ball! That turnover of soil cost us Anchorage property owners a whole bunch! Now imagine what a bunch of tundra grinding machines could do, maybe uncover Ben Stevens' secret “skeleton” closet – and that is something we don't want uncovered! Or would we? Maybe the names of the little girls that Bill Allen abused while under the influence of Ted Stevens would be revealed, but those kids have seen enough suffering pain and need no more publicity. But here is my take on the snow-machine debates. Shutdown the Fort Richardson ARMY base, demobilize it and open up the lands for recreational use. There exists thousands of acres that would be great for snow-machine enthusiasts and since there exists already on the base a fast-food concessions, hey this is Arctic Cat heaven. And there is a hospital! I am not a snow-machiner as placing “duct tape” across the face for protection from the cold, it hurts! What do you mean that's the Alaskan equivalent of “Botox” treatment? Does it really rip off the wrinkles? But understand that we can only have so many military bases here in Alaska, as times have changed and cuts are coming our way. So why not put “this land is your land this land is my land” to good use right now? Alaska is still a valuable place to stand-down our troops just in case, but there is a corrupt element that is ruining this “valuable” asset and sending several of the once prime target cold war bases onto the BRAC listing, also known as the “Black List”. The brass in charge of the military has to live within its budget, wherein we will see less and less money appropriated towards the military as we see peace on the horizon. So the brass must make tough and calculated choices, as once it gets out of the bag that a base may get the ax, in runs the Congressional delegation of the constituency surrounding the effective base closure to perform all kinds of illegal maneuvers - to twist the arm of the brass in changing their minds or else. It is very UN-American some of these tactics, UN-becoming a U.S. Senator, UN-becoming a U.S. Representative. It involves Congressional threats, but with such threats upon the guys that have the “codes” comes immunity, the delegation gets away with it and the brass gets a black eye. Look Mr. Begich, they are only doing their job. So are you I guess, in vain to keep the aging military bases in Alaska away from the demolition wrecking ball! But their job is much more important so please, stay out of their way! They swear to protect this country and listen to the Commander-in-Chief, you Mr. Begich, you swear upon something we Americans are still trying to figure out and it appears you have no intention of protecting this country by letting the brass call the shots, as it becomes a “state vs. nation” or else you loose your seat and may have to return to work. Anyway, Alaska is not sitting very well with the brass on the existing military budget consensus, due a simpleton reason. There are many factors that go into the BRAC decisions, some political, but for the most part the brass look at the cost of keeping a base operating with respect to its superiority with respect to protecting America so the U.S. Taxpayers can get the best bang for that buck. Now in Alaska, due “Greed”, we have shot ourselves in the foot. Many of the bases in Alaska have been “privatized” with respect to the utilities at these bases, like for heat, electricity, water and waste-water. “Privatization” was supposed to save in the long run. But in Alaska, we now see costs escalating to 100% over what was required when civil servants performed the same damn job – and that was one of the main reasons “privatization” made sense as it would cut down on overloaded overhead. And since the “private” entity that acquired many of the “privatization contracts here in Alaska seems to think it can renege on its promise and so obliged to take on the ARMY in a court of law, the JAG have come to the rescue, to make sure the U.S. Taxpayers are not screwed by the Canadians. In all honesty, today much of the “privatized” military utility infrastructure here in Alaska finds a lien against it from a Canadian bank? So that is strike “One” against the military operations here in the “Last Frontier”. Strike “Two” comes in the form of energy costs, and Alaska ranks on the bottom of the list, even though coal is still the cheapest form of energy for generating heat to keep the troops warm and in efforts to generate electricity so troops can read the battle plans. When the Defense Logistics Agency bartered for reasonable coal delivery contracts, they went proud that across America from sea to shining sea they contracted agreements that realized a 5% reduction – which meant $billions$ in cost savings for the U.S. Taxpayers. EXCEPTION! In Alaska due no competition and what appears to be constipation, the cost of coal from Joe Uselessbelli went up 14%! Look, the Koreans can get coal cheaper from Joe then what our own military can bargain for? See, the Koreans can say “F%$# You Joe”, and find cheaper coal from Canada. If the brass said the same, well the Alaska delegation would once again threaten those that keep us safe! So the cost of energy plays into the fact that Alaska's military bases will be shut-down, sooner than later. And strike three comes from the way this state's delegation holds hostage our men and women in uniform. When Begich placed a hold on military promotions because he thought the AIR FORCE was not being truthful in its assessment of Eielsen Air Force base, Begich used tactics that would have found him hung out to dry in some countries. The reason Eielsen was on the chopping block is this very simple fact. The cost of coal and the fact that the aging power plant has never been able to meet the air quality permit requirements. Yes, today that base is operating a coal burning power plant that doesn't have a state air quality permit – so it needs a new power plant, this is costly and is one of the things that goes into the equation of sustainability. These are simple reasons and not excuses, yet the Alaskan delegation continues to piss off the brass and maybe they can pick their battles, win a few of those battles here and there, but we have NOT the power or tenacity to win the “WAR”. I understand that Mr. Begich's tactics pissed the brass off so bad, this scare tactic to hold back on promotions military men and women deserving who had nothing too do whatsoever as to what was occurring in Alaska, the brass at the top were willing to test the Missile Defense Shield to see how accurate it was! So let's do the brass a favor, ask them to consider shutting down Fort Richardson and turning the mine-free and ordinance-free recreation area over to the public. Think of the possibilities for the snow-machiners and those that enjoy the tranquility of skiing at Kincaid, they can all have it their way. For the machiners, it means new frontier to trash, hunt, ice fishing, racing and right here in our own backyard. And since the base is surrounded by barbed-wire fence and a security detail, we can have our own Summit Lake drunken brawlathon – with the convenience of a sober up time lock-down behind that fence, with men armed with AR's. And since most of the CEA overhead power lines lead to that base, one could leave his or her home on the Hillside and in 20-minutes be in the wilderness! And the U.S. Taxpayers could enjoy $millions$ in cost savings. Look, we can get that land for a buck, now this something the delegation should be working on! EXCEPT? There is nothing corrupt this simple plan as “We the People” benefit, there is no free-loading loopholes for the lobby, and that is not what representation is all about these days.

Brought to you by the MickPrick Show, where everyone is a victim and posted on the Alaska Chinook blog, the posting that Alaskan democrats and republicans refuse to read, as an independent voice scares the crap out of them!