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Monday, December 15, 2014

Governor Bill's Legacy


From the bench of S. Pam McGee, Esq: Hear Ye, Hear Ye, comes now the Anchorage “Town Crier” announcing that Bill Walker will fail as Alaska's 11th governor! Not that Bill is in any way shape or form a “Failure”, it's the political attitude that will wreck his vision and his “mission accomplished” will remain but a dream. He has a “Dream” for Alaska, but when “the train left the station, it had two lights on behind”! Yes, CAUTION lights! Bill Walker is from the “old school”. He has been around and followed Alaska's political scene since, well “We're In” and “Oil In”, when Alaska became a “State of the Union” and started down that road to riches with oil wealth come the completion of the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline. Bill helped build that “Dream” so that is an indication of how long he has been studying things, as that project and its politicalness, hey that was the “Green Light” for Alaska and everything that has happened since then, even with the assassination of Ted Stevens! Look, Bill should have already had a stab as the governor, so for me it is too little effort too late. But there is also an element of surprise between those two historic intervals, when we threw away the “Territory” status and “oil” finding a market finally. Yes, recognized by Uncle Sam and recognized by the rest on the world for our oil. See, even with all our oil wealth, there was a hijacking going on and so complacent was our behavior, we allowed the crooks to invade without remorse. The “Corrupt Bastard Club” mentality became so engraved within Alaskan politics, I doubt it will ever be completely extinguished and put to rest, as not only did it affect past, present and future political “mindsets”, it also polluted our spirit – to what Alaska and Alaskans were all about to the outside world. Pathetic, today from the outside the things finding interest with the 49er. What was once the “Last Frontier” has been sold out mowed over for the “Lost Frontier”. What seems to matter most lunatic minds is Sarah Palin, that PFD and “Reality” crap broadcast across the boob-tube by a film industry bent on displaying “felons”. Said again, pathetic we have become. To bad when the Congress agreed to “Statehood” that we weren't required a “probationary” period. See, Bill Walker goes way back, and part of the effort when Alaska was still young was to take the money from the oil wealth and invest it for a tomorrow - which has come and gone by now and there is no such tomorrow like we once looked forward to – upon such an opportunity of a lifetime sorry one chance only. Yes, sometimes that “Opportunity” knocks only once! Yes, back many years ago as the “First Oil” started flowing south, before it went delayed due Punp Staion#8 getting blown up, we sat down in “Think Tanks” and devised all kinds of “Win-on-Win” things that would make damn sure we could go it alone, by investing that money coming our way in an infrastructure that would provide self-sustainability - without “Oil Bucks” as it was inevitable that “Golden Goose Dropping” would one day “run out”. With that realized a “True” Alaskan spirit of reality fostered a way forward. Yes, support for “Worthwhile Projects” not “Mega-Projects”. There came the Yukon Pacific “Natural Gas Pipeline” idea that was to take Alaska's natural gas from the North Slope and LNG it for sale. Remember, by law we were guaranteed to find a gas line delivering low cost energy to our homes within 5-years of oil in – that was in June of 1977! Now YP had all the permits and all the funding to ignite our plan of attack for the future and generations to come. In fact, it required the sitting President at the time – Ronald Reagan – to make a decision to lift an “Export Limitation” so this project could move forward. How many years gone by and still no gas line? See, a natural gas line was the foundation of our dreams. Low cost energy was in demand, for petrochemical production to manufacturing. LNG had a market in the lower-48 states, remember that it was Alaska's oil that got Uncle Sam out of a jam when OPEC decided it was no longer our friend! Now LNG exported to the U.S. would have had mind-blowing financial rewards for Alaska – but timing was critical and we were ahead of the dooms-day clock striking midnight. We had our ducks lined up! So the plan was to bring that gas to Valdez, distribute it along the way to interior cities, towns and villages and there was thought of a “spur” line to the Matanuska Valley. This plan made sense and could have been built back then for $18-Billion, not the ridiculous price tag we find today for a similar project, upwards $65-Billion. And we cajoled the legislature to allow the Alaska Rail Road to sell that same amount in bonds, to pave the way for this critical component to be built as part of our plan of excitement. Everything needed was here, a plan, funding and a will! And that was the time we went excited over the “Alpetco” project, wherein there was an interest in building a world-class chemical plant in Valdez, because of a convenient “Ice-Free” port, an oil pipeline and natural gas. See, outside interests were starting to focus on Alaska, as it was appealing! Valdez - Bill Walker's home - had everything a business entrepreneur needed to make a project like this a success – including a business friendly climate and environment. Not only that, we sanctioned the Federal government for “Foreign Trade Zone” status, in and around Valdez and also in and around Anchorage and Cook Inlet. This allowed coastal infrastructure to be exempt from material import taxation. Basically, bring in the raw materials, like sheet steel and rubber along with plastic made locally - because of cheap natural gas - and manufacture cars and trucks at a discount – through FTZ tax incentives and with low cost energy from all that natural gas – we were onto something big. Imagine had we pushed forward this plan, we would have by now seen Nissan and Toyota plants pushing out cars and trucks, loaded onto freight barges and sailed away to markets – all over the world. With low cost energy due the fact “we the citizens” owned that gas and with oil bucks fueling state spending, manufacturing tax incentives would have found auto manufacturers begging at our door! And do you realize how many good paying jobs that would have created – and still going strong today? And Anheuser-Bush was entertaining building a world class brewery in Valdez, because of the energy costs and the fact there was some great water to tap into “for free” and the Delta Barley project was taking shape. Water and barley and a little heat, what a marriage! See, we were not dreaming this up, this was a plan that held no secrets and made sense. It wasn't extravagant, just a ways and means to build an infrastructure that created jobs and promoted the fact that we did not have to rely on “Big Oil” or Uncle Sam in that pursuit of happiness. The list of what we wanted to do was not extensive, just down right strong. And sure enough, had this plan for the future taken off, every processing module used on the “North Slope” following the “Great Sea-lift” would have and could have been build here – instead of outside. We also looked at building a huge power generation facility just up the road from Valdez. Yes, we were thinking out loud. See, there exists a few miles of sloping pipe coming down Thompson's Pass wherein valuable gas comes out of the oil due to a phenomenon called “column separation”. By extracting that gas prior to arriving in Valdez with the oil in turn which today is burned in the “Vapor Recovery” chambers, we could have basically jumped ahead of the world in pollution abatement – even before the carbon footprint became and overnight catch phrase success. Yes, electrical power generation that would save the environment, hooked into a grid throughout Alaska's interior. And how many realize that the TAPS was designed for a power reduction turbine, right there in the “Pass” to slow down the oil rushing into Valdez that could be trapped as another huge amount of energy for electrical generation – for free again. Innovative, yes we were. So all around, we had a plan of attack that followed what an expert had told us earlier on. If we played our cards right and invested correctly to build a sustainable jobs infrastructure, we would gain a status just like Kuwait – self supporting and not in need of a penny from outside interference. So what in hell happened to this “Dream”? It was derailed by our politicians – Bill is aware of this. It is a plan that would have worked well. It was the only plan that would have worked, why we spent so much time thinking about it and came away from the table, well drunk with enthusiasm that we had something of value for the future. We knew we needed something, what it was finally emerged from the heated thinking discussions. It wasn't speculative things, it would have worked, but for! So instead of investing time, and money to make this plan a reality, we just threw away good money on useless crap. Today we are starting to see how we will suffer the consequences, for ever allowing a guy like Bill Sheffield to get his “Conductors” license. But we cannot blame only Sheffield, as we all share in some of the blame as there is more then enough to go around. I for one am ashamed at what we have left our kids – many of them young adults by now. We failed. We had a plan, yet something got in the way of decency a mind of our own. So then, who is too blame? Let's start with Uncle Sam. Yes, had we not had the Ted Stevens, the Don Youngs and the Frank MurCowpies destroying our dream, we would have a completely different Alaska today – and Bill would not be worrying about a deficit! It is that simple. When I hear that word “Deficit”, it makes me want to...well, I can write about it and tell those we hurt what really happened. See, our delegation - made up of 2-senators and Don Young still - did not want this plan to work. For a “State of the Union” to become self-sufficient, that is not good as when such a status of wealth is front and center of attention, it curtails what can be ransomed away from Uncle Sam through appropriations, a.k.a. “pork” spending. And need I say more of how our delegatiuon over the years became known for, I call it robbery! Alaska has received more infusion then any other state not even close. And thus there came a repercussion, we became addicted to this “pork”, exactly what their plan of attack was formulated upon. It basically funded a completely opposite infrastructure one that would not lead us down that path to self-sustainability, one that supported not a sustainable infrastructure, but a throwaway infrastructure. And with that, we never learned to watch out for ourselves and devise or follow through with a plan of attack that didn't rely on their generosity with the U.S. Taxpayers' loot. Yes, we became addicted to that “pork” while the legislature went addicted with the “Oil Wealth” like there was no tomorrow, “NEY” sayers to saving for a rainy day, just spend, spend and spend some more. Look, in a neighborodd just up from where I live there is a gated communirty wherein they installed heated walkways? Money from Juneau based on “Safety”? Hey, if you are in Alaska and can't walk to school because you may get your socks wet, find a new home is my sentiment. But Begich found the same downtown in his menage a trois. Yes, good old Uncel Sam delivers and we bend over and take it up the...We have a losing railroad that relies on cheating Uncle Sam out of FTA funds. We have a rocket launch facility that finds no rockets to blast off and has been used as a corporate “Offshore” tax haven for several major defense contractors – see its closer to home and finds “Zero” transparency as it is a state run corporation. The list goes on of the fallout that has helped this state remain dependent and relying upon Uncle Sam's generosity when we could have and should have said, “No Thanks”. But there was always this doom & gloom scenario if our delegation failed, and mind you elect someone different for a change! So, we shoot ourselves in the groin with a gun belonging to our delegation. It is that simple. Had we found decency in representation, that which demanded we don't need the appropriations and forced ourselves to move forward with a strategy that was a benefit to our heritage, the “Last Frontier”, we would have an entirely different outlook on who we really are today – and for years being labeled the Welfare Recipient #1, in a state that reigned as the top contender in oil development – well there is something terribly wrong with that picture. So Bill Walker may have a dream, but let's hope it is a “New Deal” dream as the old abandoned plan could have worked, but today just a dream gone by. Is it too late, sure it is and there ain't much on the horizon that instills we have a whole lot of room to maneuver. As far as incorporating finally a sustainable jobs infrastructure not bent on seasonal projects building Don Young's dream, of “Bridges to Nowhere”, is there something out there that could get us to that “Independence”? I can't seem to find it looking in any direction. So maybe the young adults need to man those “Think Tanks” again, to see wherein this state is headed. And I bet you'll look back in time and come to the same conclusion, WTF? Asking the elderly that were around, how come this plan was shelved? Look no further then the Alaska delegation, and by being addicted to Don Young's pathological patheticness, in the meantime maybe we need a brand new slogan: “Oil Out, So are We”. So Bill can try to fix things, but history will prove we had a chance, but went addicted and never weened ourselves away and our legacy will be “We Blew It”. A deficit? So sick to think that can be a reality today here in the 49er! And sad it is also, that today in the news we once again pinch ourselves what Alaska is truly all about for many. We have kind of lost focus the “plight” of our Alaska Native “Brothers, Sisters and Kids”, with power plants falling apart and I almost forgot one all important thing. We started out a long time ago saying it was time to put an end to the “Honey Bucket”. In fact, many running for governor used that as an endorsement – that if elected on their watch the “Bucket” would be put to rest. So how much have we spent trying to eradicate that mess, yet we still have the damn buckets. So here is the challenge too our young adults. Take that on as a “mission”, to find out how much we have actually wasted with this campaign contribution, with the “Bucket” and then you'll begin to see how bad we have failed and maybe that is where you begin designing a future for Alaska! And this time around you won't have to worry about “pork” addiction from Uncle Sam, as that also is a thing of the past as Don Young hates “Government” - yes today denying the hand that fed his own addiction for as many years as we were addicted to his shenanigans! But had we found leaders that said NO to the “Corrupt Bastards” and with that started to unravel the mess that our delegation got us hooked on, maybe we would have found a chance to make good our promise to our kids. Bill, “Good Luck”.
When the train left the station, it had two lights on behind
Yeah, the train left the station, it had two lights on behind”

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