Show Me The Money...
In that somewhat famous line from the Tom Cruise hit movie, "Jerry McGuire"... the star athlete was responding to his agent when asked about the possibility of a new deal. This of course the most common response one would hear from a star performer that has been asked to either perform or sponsor. This is really what it boils down to. Sure there are athletes and performers that are into whatever activity they get paid for because they have a 'love' for it. However, even those performers have to get paid in some sort of way. This doesn't apply to just star athletes, actors and musicians; but also to just about most adults and even some children in the world.
People are not inclined to perform of give-up resources without due compensation... This also applies to land resource extraction and potential threats against those resources. Existence as a whole works on the Act/React system. Quite simply it boils down to this; When action A happens - then action B happens. Thus starting a chain of actions. Every action after number one is considered a reaction to the previous actions, however they relationships do change. For example, Action B is the obvious cause agent for Action C, but Action C isn't necessarily capable of also encompassing the parameters of Action A when it occurs. This also holds true the other way around, Action A being the original cause agent is not always instigated with the knowledge of the parameters of subsequents reactions. But enough of that for now...
Yesterday, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell spoke at a luncheon sponsored by The Resource Development Council. The general topic of the occasion was pretty much a bunch of resource extraction folks sitting around bashing the federal government and in particular, the EPA. This bitch and whine session was essentially their "Go To War" party to support the destruction of Bristol Bay and the rest of the North Pacific Fishery. The "guests" were brought in by Illiamna Development Corporation with is a dummy corporation run by a few locals to do the bidding of Anglo-Whatever in the Bristol Bay region and Alaska. But this luncheon was also a wrap up of the little tour that was given to tell Bristol Bay residents how bad the EPA is going to crackdown on the lifestyle in Bristol Bay. There is some validity in the concerns being voiced...Some.
"In Alaska, we are pushing back," Parnell told the crowd. "We are for federalism. We are for freedom. We are for private property rights and we will continue to fight for those rights."
Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2012/05/22/2476039/pro-development-luncheon-turns.html
Oh Moosecrap Governor Parnell!!! Shame on you for standing there and lying. The State of Alaska draws something like 50% of it's operational funding through the federal government, directly and indirectly.
If "we are pushing back", then why isn't the State of Alaska demanding higher taxes on produced resources to take over it's own finances?
If "we are for private property rights. . . ", then why did you allow the Coastal Zone Management Program to lapse? This was OUR voice in the control of OUR resources.
If "...we will continue to fight for those rights.", why are The State of Alaska and The Pebble Partnership (Anglo-American) working together in a lawsuit against the People of Bristol Bay? Oh... wait, cooperating in several lawsuits?
Maybe you should get a brief on Federalism and how it affected the way the Alaska Constitution was written. In a federalist environment, duplicitous is the anti-thesis of how regulation and legislation is created and enforced. But, in the true spirit of Federalism; The duplicate effort to be removed is the Federal Level. Look it up... The law of the land as interpreted by the US Supreme Court says that the efforts are only duplicitous if the the effort by the State entity can meet the effort by the Federal entity and still achieve the same result. So... if you and your pro-development buddies had supported CZMP, we may not even be having this issue. When the CZMP was abandoned, you as the Governor of Alaska essentially asked for the EPA to come in with it's established process that does involve public participation. You gave that right to the US Government and took it away from The State of Alaska.
This isn't the first time that I have written about Governor Parnell's lack of respect for the Alaska constitution and I am most certain that it won't be the last either. But in case Governor Parnell may have forgotten how the Alaska Constitution addresses this issue... Below are a few applicable passages
"Article 1 - § 2. Source of Government
All political power is inherent in the people. All government originates with the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the people as a whole."
"Article 8 - Natural Resources, § 3. Common Use
Wherever occurring in their natural state, fish, wildlife, and waters are reserved to the people for common use."
"Article 8 - Natural Resources § 13. Water Rights
All surface and subsurface waters reserved to the people for common use, except mineral and medicinal waters, are subject to appropriation. Priority of appropriation shall give prior right. Except for public water supply, an appropriation of water shall be limited to stated purposes and subject to preferences among beneficial uses, concurrent or otherwise, as prescribed by law, and to the general reservation of fish and wildlife."
It's high time that We The People of the State of Alaska stop laying down to the resource development entities, Public and Private. Just because the Governor says it...doesn't make it true or right. And just like his predecessor, Governor Parnell is spending way too much time trying to promote low benefit development over sustainable resources, that's why I like to call him SP2.O. As Governor of Alaska... you should be doing a hell of a lot more to look out for Alaska and Alaskans, not the foreign corporations that are in Alaska for their own benefit only.