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Alaska: Governor Dunleavy Delivers State of State Speech By MARY KAUFFMAN - Tonight, Governor Michael J. Dunleavy outlined directly to Alaskans a series of commitments and priorities during his first State of the State address to a joint session of the Alaska Legislature in Juneau.

In his address the Governor said, "Things will be different; things will be very different. Together we are tasked with righting the wrongs that have broken the trust of the Alaska People. And I’ll work with all my energy, dedication, and ability to do exactly what I promised you I would do."

Dunleavy said no more of the tired old approaches: “We’re going to declare war on criminals. We’re going to get our spending in line with our revenue.  We’re going to protect Alaskans’ PFDs. We’re going to grow our economy and put Alaskans to work. And we must restore public trust in government and elected officials.”

Dunleavy said he is Governor today because of the campaign promises he made to the people of Alaska on the issues most of us believe in. "I’m here to do exactly what I promised to do. What I told Alaskans I would do.”

PFD

Dunleavy said, "Alaskans’ PFDs should be paid in full using the law that has worked for decades, and the PFD should be protected in the Constitution, now and for the future."

In his address, Dunleavy mentioned that last week he unveiled two bills for the back-pay owed to Alaskans on their PFDs. Tonight he urged the legislature to act swiftly on those bills. He said, "Every penny of that PFD money due Alaskans is sitting in the Earnings Reserve Account, and is available for distribution."

"Let’s act now and put this issue behind us once and for all." said Dunleavy.

Budget

Next the Governor addressed the budget saying, "Alaskans believe our state budget process is a mess. There is simply no other way to describe it."

Dunleavy said it's a mess "because our government spending far exceeds the revenue we take in. Kicking the can down the road for years, wiping out billions from savings, and then taxing the PFD, all the while just hoping for another oil boom — it simply doesn’t work."

The days of creating a “wish list” budget, when anything and everything is just too important not to fund, and where politicians spend their time looking for ways for you to pay for it, Dunleavy said those days have got to be over. "We can no longer spend what we don’t have."

Dunleavy said his administration is preparing a budget that for the first time all Alaskans will be able to understand and trust. "No more games, no more shuffling numbers. Just an honest, straightforward look at where we are."

"While no one person is to blame, Dunleavy said, "Alaskans will quickly see that we’ve been spending wildly beyond our means for years. Our children and grandchildren deserve better."

In order to get a handle on the budget, Dunleavy said one of his first administrative orders was to centralize the budget-making functions of all departments under the Office of Management and Budget.

"My administration will be focused on the basic functions of government, while realigning programs and operations to eliminate duplication and prioritize each agency’s core mission," said Dunleavy.

"My first budget is going to be an honest budget, said Dunleavy. "As I promised the people, we must start from the standpoint that expenditures must equal revenue. We can’t go on forever using savings to plug the budget gap."

And to address the fiscal issues that have plagued Alaska for years, the Governor said we need a permanent fiscal plan, a plan that will put our state on solid footing for decades to come.

While not a new struggle for Alaska, the state struggled with this before when Alaska first became flush with oil money from Prudhoe Bay, and many were focused on spending as much as possible said Dunleavy.

However, the Governor said, there were some in the Legislature, even back then, who were concerned about where we were headed. At this point the Governor recognized Dick Randolph from Fairbanks. Randolph is a former teacher, an insurance agent and a retired legislator, who the Governor said in the 1970s and early 1980s had the foresight to understand that the People of Alaska, through constitutional amendments and the initative process, could help control government spending and develop a sustainable fiscal plan.

Governor Dunleavy said he will be introducing three constitutional amendments, which will be the foundation of a permanent fiscal plan. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 22, 2019

The absence of some services are clearly visible, such as a buildup of trash at national parks or longer lines at airport security checkpoints. Others, like those felt primarily by businesses, are less noticeable but arguably more important, such as an inability to get a small business loan or limited service from the IRS, Securities and Exchange Commission and other key agencies.

Collectively they show that government matters. But once the shutdown ends and the memories of the pain and discomfort it caused begin to fade, the visceral reminder Americans got of this message may fade with it.

As scholars of business and policy, we believe it’s essential that Americans not forget. In fact, the shutdown provides a good opportunity to reflect on the government’s vital role in the free market and find a better balance between regulation and business.

The partial shutdown, in its fifth week, has left about 800,000 government employees either furloughed or working without pay, affecting more than 10 agencies.

This has resulted in the slowing or halting of a great deal of activity, including food safety inspections, initial public offerings on the stock market and the approval of new craft beers.

And these costs are felt by citizens as the risks grow to their food, the environment and other things. Economists warn that long-term impacts could also undermine confidence as businesses, consumers and investors lose faith in political leaders’ ability to make constructive policies.

The White House’s own economists estimate that every week of shutdown reduces growth by 0.13 percentage point, meaning the economy has already taken a hit of half a percent. If it goes for another week, total costs could exceed US$6 billion, which is more than what the president is demanding for his border wall.

And yet Americans won’t even know the actual impact because many of the government workers whose job it is to collect and measure economic activity have been sent home. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 22, 2019

Analysis: Trump's reference to Wounded Knee evokes the dark history of suppression of indigenous religions By ROSALYN LA PIER - President Trump evoked the Wounded Knee massacre in a recent tweet. He was reacting to an Instagram video that Sen. Elizabeth Warren posted on New Year’s Eve.

There’s been considerable criticism of the president’s inaccurate portrayal of Native American history, including from members of his own party. Two Republican senators from South Dakota, Mike Rounds and John Thune, spoke out against the tweet.

Wounded Knee is among the worst massacres in Native American history. It was also one of the most violent examples of the repression of indigenous religion in American history.

Religion historian Tisa Wenger explains that before the 20th century, many Americans believed that “indigenous practices were by definition savage, superstitious and coercive.” They did not consider them to be religion.

In part because of this belief, the U.S. government decided not to recognize Native Americans as citizens of sovereign governments in the 19th century, but as colonial subjects. In 1883, the Department of Interior enacted the first “Indian Religious Crimes Code” making the practice of Native American religions illegal. These codes remained in place until 1934.

In response, Wenger writes, some Native American groups tried to convince government agents that their gatherings were places of “prayer and worship” similar to Christian churches. Others claimed that their gathering were “social,” not religious.

But this kind of masking of religious practices did not stop the U.S. government from using violence to suppress these Native American ceremonies. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 22, 2019

Historical Analysis: Foreign interference in US elections dates back decades; Nazis and communists tried it too By BRADLEY W. HART - Americans have spent the last 18 months wondering about Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election.

Charges have already been filed against 12 Russian intelligence officers for interfering with the 2016 presidential campaign, as special counsel Robert Mueller continues investigating the extent of the Trump campaign’s links to Russia.

A Senate report concluded that the Russians’ interference was aimed at influencing the outcome of the election.

If true, the president would not be the first U.S. politician that foreign powers tried to help.

In fact, two campaigns, in 1940 and 1960, featured bold attempts by hostile foreign powers to put their preferred candidates in the Oval Office.

While neither was successful, both highlight a vulnerability in the American political system that, for the first time, has become the subject of major public discussion.

As I point out in my book “Hitler’s American Friends: The Third Reich’s Supporters in the United States,” American politics was deeply divided in 1940. The key debate was over war and peace, in this case the Second World War raging in Europe.

American public opinion was split between those who wanted to help the flagging Allies – and potentially enter the war – and a bipartisan coalition of non-interventionists and isolationists. The Roosevelt administration was seen as interventionist; its opponents had their power base on Capitol Hill.

The 1940 election took place against this backdrop. For months, President Franklin Roosevelt refused to answer questions about whether he would run for a third term in office.

No one knew who might seize the Democratic nomination if FDR choose not to run. There was also no clear candidate who could command national support on the GOP side.

The Nazis concluded that if Roosevelt could be replaced by a non-interventionist, the prospects of U.S. involvement in the European war would be greatly reduced.

So Berlin enlisted the support of a sympathetic, well-connected American. William Rhodes Davis was an oilman with a sketchy business past who, in the late 1930s, made a fortune by selling cut-rate Mexican oil to Hitler’s government. Simultaneously, Davis cultivated connections inside the Democratic Party, making a sizable donation to its 1936 election efforts.

When war broke out in Europe in 1939, Davis’ fortunes changed as the British imposed a blockade on German ports. He believed the only way to save his business was by personally making peace in Europe by negotiating a deal between the warring parties himself. Calling on his Democratic Party connections, Davis approached the White House with his plan for peace. FDR was sensibly skeptical.

Undeterred, Davis traveled to Germany, met with leaders of the Third Reich including Hermann Göring, and returned with the vague outlines of a deal that would have given Germany territorial gains in exchange for Roosevelt mediating a peace treaty.

Roosevelt refused to even meet with Davis upon his return, worried that he might be compromised and acting as a Nazi agent.

In fact, there was a secret aspect to Davis’ mission to Germany.

While there, he talked to Göring about the possibility of a non-interventionist winning the 1940 election. Davis even had the perfect candidate in mind: labor leader John L. Lewis, the controversial head of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, who was a non-interventionist and a staunch opponent of the president.

Göring evidently allocated US$5 million to support the plan and stashed it at the German embassy in Washington D.C. for Davis’ use. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 22, 2019

CHRISTINE FLOWERS: Toxic Masculinity is a Myth - Last week, shaving-supply company Gillette released a controversial ad reminding guys of their "toxic masculinity," a phrase that has popped up to describe the supposed hazards of typically male behavior.

The ad begins by showing men engaging in Neanderthal-like activities including cat-calling, bullying, mansplaining, and using sexual innuendo when talking to women. Then, in a cloyingly obvious nod to #MeToo, the ad suggests that men can "get closer to [their] best" by being empathetic to women's needs and intervening when their pals engage in harassing behavior.

The "short film," as the razor giant calls it, quickly went viral. As of this writing more than 16 million people had viewed it on YouTube. While some have praised Gillette for challenging behavioral norms, others are threatening to boycott the company for stereotyping all men as misogynists and bullies.

The message I see in this ad is that men need to stop being men and that men's default position is bestial. I think that's outrageous.

I am not surprised that ad executives have fallen prey to the "men are bad" narrative, which is the extreme and ridiculous response to the equally extreme and ridiculous "women are victims" narrative that has become conventional wisdom in the wake of the sexual abuse accusations against Harvey Weinstein. Madison Avenue has about as much of a social conscience as Wall Street.

Unfortunately, the executives at Gillette aren't the only ones who think that men are a problem.

This month, the American Psychological Association (APA) released its first-ever guidelines designed to help psychologists work with men and boys to address the so-called epidemic of "toxic masculinity." According to the APA's research, "traditional masculinity - marked by stoicism, competitiveness, dominance, and aggression - is, on the whole, harmful."

I believe this hostility toward men is dangerous, but I also know that it's nothing new. As the second and third wave feminists gained momentum over the last 50 or so years, they bolstered a narrative that has become accepted wisdom: Men, the patriarchy, and masculinity in general have been the source of women's suffering. Women are taught to blame men for everything bad that has ever happened to them. The #MeToo movement is just the next generation of this. - More...
Tuesday PM - January 22, 2019