Alaska Teritorial Guard benefits

If you haven't heard, last week the senate voted to keep the language in the defense authorization act to keep retirement pay to the veterans who served in the Alaska Territoral Guard.

Sen. Begich press release

Sen. Murkowski press release

From Begich:

Sens. Begich and Murkowski introduced a bill providing for the pensions to be restored to the ATG members, but were also successful in getting the language into the Defense Authorization Act. Concern arose after the SAP came out questioning the pensions and stating ATG service was state service and therefore not eligible for computation of retired pay.

I happened upon this commentary about it, and thought it was a great little history about the guard, not to mention some plain facts:

Alaskan Senators Lisa Murkowski (R) and Mark Begich (D) successfully brought forth legislation to restore full retirement pay to the surviving members of the ATG who qualify, and they have sent a letter to President Obama asking him to directly intervene. The fact that this should be necessary is a disgusting travesty. The nation, and the Army in particular, owe a debt of personal honor to these men and women – and an apology.

_

Begich gives maiden speech, introduces Inuvikput bills. Love it.

I was really expecting a sort of typical, "Let's drill!" sort of focus, not because that's what Begich tends to do, but when an Alaskan politician gets in front of the U.S. Senate, that's kind of what I expect. Okay... not really fair, but it was a pretty long time, with a pretty big spotlight, to have the floor, and I think it's awesome that it was about the Arctic - preservaton, responsiblity, focus on those most affected in the regions. He mentions drilling, but in the light of needing more responsibility, including ensuring safe drilling in the first place, and ensuring those in the region aren't affected, and protection if they are.

He uses an Inupiaq word to describe the package of bills - Inuvikput - and really gives an awful lot of attention and focus on Native and rural issues and impact. Worth a listen to:




There's more details on some of the bills on Shannyn Moore's page, including:

Arctic OCS Revenue Sharing Act – Alaska Natives who have subsisted on marine mammals and other arctic resources for thousands of years would bear the direct risks of increased commercial activity in their waters. This bill directs a portion of federal revenues from offshore oil and gas development – the same share Louisiana receives from drilling in the adjacent Gulf of Mexico – to the State of Alaska with a percentage of those funds directed to those most affected.

Arctic Health Research Act – People of the Arctic suffer from increased rates of alcohol abuse, diabetes, high blood pressure, and death from injury and suicide. This act would initiate a study into the mental, behavioral and physical health problems in the Arctic, institute an Arctic health assessment program at the Centers for Disease Control and create an “Arctic desk” at the National Institute of Health that was called for in 1984 but has never been established.

Yes - this is EXACTLY why I voted for Begich!!

He also mentioned something about a bill he is still considering giving - something that got tabled - on an Arctic advisory council:

Begich said he is considering introducing an additional piece of legislation focused on providing the people of Alaska's Arctic with more of a voice in the decisions affecting their lives. The bill would establish an Arctic Regional and Citizens Advisory Council, modeled after similar councils which successfully operate in the Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet regions of Alaska. At the request of the North Slope Borough mayor, Begich said he held off introducing the bill pending further discussions with the people of Alaska's North Slope, as well and industry and regulatory stakeholders.

Well, I WAS happy about it...

I spotted this bit in Obama's plan about meals for seniors, including specific allocations for Native programs. Without too much detail, I happen to know a little bit about the great importance local Native programs have right here in Anchorage - including having restrictions on how many seniors they can serve due to funding. As the details of the stimulus package are reported, it was awesome to see programs like these - very easy to ignore - get attention in such hard times.

I was very happy.

But today, with the announcement that Palin is rejecting nearly half (there's different numbers around) of the Alaskan allocation of the stimulus package so we don't "grow government", I saw this tidbit:

Palin is also turning down money for weatherization, immunization, senior meals, child care development, employment services, air quality, justice assistance grants and other programs.

I would love to, and still might, make an argument for all of those things. Immunization? Child care, when we need it now more than ever? EMPLOYMENT SERVICES? When the biggest newspaper in the state just announced today it had to cut 17% of its staff?

I like my irony funny, not tragic.

But the senior meals really hit me. Really? The "I'm making a point here" argument wins out over Elders who just want a hot meal?

These battles will be taken way beyond what I can argue - both Sen. Begich (Alaska Report) and Anchorage school superintendent Carol Comeau (Alaska Dispatch) had words about the biggest chunk Palin turned down - $170 million for education (again, heard different numbers here.) The ADN article about the school official's reaction further drove home the irony of Palin arguing she only wanted money that would help "alaskan jobs":

Much of the stimulus package money for education -- about $74 million -- was designated for poor schools and special-needs kids. It was to be spent over the next two academic years.

Most of the other money is meant to help prevent cuts to classrooms, staff and critical services.

The article pointed out some of the rural impact:

Aleutians East superintendent Phil Knight hopes Palin reconsiders.

Knight's district of six schools, all of which are accessible only by boat or plane, has 250 kids. He had planned to use his district's slated $84,000 to keep open smaller schools threatened with closure next year.

Northwest Arctic Borough superintendent Norman Eck reacted to the news in an e-mail: "I am stunned," he wrote.

His district is under intervention by the state Department of Education because of poor test scores year after year. He said he had planned to use his $1.2 million for education materials the district otherwise could not afford. High electricity and fuel costs hit his budget hard this year, and ended up being taken from money otherwise meant for kids in classrooms.

Even if Palin's argument that the funding would "only be around for two years" - Holy crap! That's TWO MORE YEARS of having an accessible school for some of these communities! In two more years, the economy could be better, the energy costs might not be diverting from the education costs - in short - you just don't know. Two years is a long time in the life of a child, and incredibly long in their education life. Why on earth are we worried about losing the programs/materials/staff two years from now when we are going to lose them right now?

It's like that sad friend you have that always cuts her relationships short because "she knows she's gonna get hurt"... My advice to that frustrating friend has always been - take a risk. You could absolutely lose out in the end, but it's just stupid to prevent the present from also being a good thing. Living with the constant anticipation of losing just means you will never have anything to lose.

Maybe analogies like that are why I'll never be balancing anyone's budget, but Palin is going to have to do a much better job of explaining why she's selling out Elders, disabled children and the unemployed.

Finally! Funding for Emmonak through the BIA

From the Alaska Report:

BIA Announces Emergency Funding for Emmonak, Alaska

Traveling to Bethel with U.S. Sen. Mark Begich today, Bureau of Indian Affair’s (BIA) regional director for Alaska, Niles Cesar, announced the BIA will provide emergency financial assistance to help residents in Emmonak struggling with the price of fuel...

"I am extremely pleased that the BIA has answered Senator Lisa Murkowski and my request for assistance to help these residents get through the winter," Sen. Begich said. 'This is not a long-term solution, but it’s a step in the right direction. I am hopeful the State of Alaska will step in and help solve this for the future."

Sen. Begich arranged the meeting in Bethel today and asked BIA officials to go with him. Cesar said the assistance may range from $400 to $1,000 depending on a person’s income.

Wierdly enough,the Anchorage Daily News reported Palin just announced she's heading out to a few villages (finally) with evangelist Franklin Graham:

Rep. Ramras (who has been involved in a little bit of a verbal battle regarding rural assistance lately) commented:

"I applaud her for following in the footsteps of what Alaskans and nonprofits and churches have already been doing over the last four to six weeks," he said Thursday. "I think she's setting a great example for the next wave of giving."

Interesting - the residents of one of the villages she's visiting (Emmonak is not one of them) say they only learned about it today (she's there tomorrow) and aren't sure what she's going to do, except probably hand out food.

The ADN also printed Sen. Murkowski's speech to the state legislature. Some excellent comments regarding Native issues, and even a little shout-out to bloggers!

Every day we hear more tragic stories from communities in the YK Delta that are suffering from a triple whammy. Bad salmon runs, high energy prices, and an early freeze that prevented the second fuel barge from landing. These communities are flying fuel in at prices that force some in their villages to choose between heating oil and feeding their families.

Suffering in silence until someone writes a newspaper article or posts a blog about what life is like this winter. Suffering in silence in the hope that Hugo Chavez and CITGO will donate stove oil to those in need.

It is unconscionable that our Native people would have to depend on the charity of a South American dictator for their heating needs. But it is also unconscionable that they must continue to depend on expensive diesel to power their communities. We need to find a permanent answer to rural Alaska’s energy crisis...

Alaska is also home to more Native people per capita than any other State in the union. The federal government has a special relationship with the first peoples of the United States. It is a trust relationship with Alaska Natives as the beneficiary.
That relationship drives millions of dollars in federal Indian program funds to Alaska Native institutions which have become household names in ourcommunities...

These institutions hire Alaskans and purchase goods and services in the Alaska economy. Along with the Alaska Native Corporations they have emerged as important economic engines in urban Alaska as well as our villages.

Our Alaska Native health system is exemplary in many respects... Yet we still have so many challenges. The rates of suicide in our villages and throughout Alaska are alarming...

The health disparities between our Alaska Native communities and the rest of America are striking in nearly every respect. Consistent with the special relationship between the federal government and our first people, the United States has an obligation to adequately fund federal Indian programs. In this respect they have fallen flat. I have called upon new administration to do better. Much better.

Here, here! Although not explicitly said, I'm hoping much of this reference is about the reauthorizing the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. It has been stalled in D.C. for TWELVE YEARS now. It passed through the Senate last spring, waiting for the house, and Bushie kept threatening to veto. No biggie. It's just Native cancer and AIDS issues at stake.

There was actually TONS of Native/rural references in Murkowski's speech. I always fight against agreeing with Lisa Murkowski, because she can drive me a little nutty, but she has been paying attention to rural Alaska and Native issues since she got in office, including holding meetings in rural communities back when few others oustide the Native community were paying attention to the problem.

She doesn't seem to be following her father's footsteps with some Native issues (and that's a GOOD thing.) If Palin where to challenge her seat, I think I would find myself voting on the republican primary ticket to make sure the one with intelligent ideas and comments about Alaska Natives issues (something besides fluff about treasuring the culture) runs against whomever is on the dem ticket.

What a weird time for rural Alaska news...

Begich and the Native vote

Now, I'm an eye-roller when it comes to arguing about which group "really won it" for that candidate or another. But this article in the Alaska Report in November made me puff out my chest just a bit. A "look what we did..." kind of a moment.

The Begich Treaty - the Villages signed on with their votes

It's basically about how the Native vote in Alaska "gave him his narrow victory."

I disagree with the premise of it - I mean, would Begich have won without a pretty large section of the 84% of Alaskan voters who are not Native? Not to mention the incredible effort by the Obama campaign, working with the Begich campaign, to make this happen.

But it is still a proud moment for me, looking at the Native people who, in the end, came through for Begich. Native people have long backed "Uncle Ted" because, in the much-too-long-now past, he was a great supporter of Native issues (and I might add, not just a supporter of Native corporations.) He hasn't been that Ted in awhile, and I'm hopeful for the outcome of our new Sen. Begich, working with Sen. Murkowski who has been (surprisingly) pro-active on rural issues, with a president who had a general plan for Alaska Native involvement months and months ago, and a plan for Native American involvement well over a year ago.

Alaska Natives throughout Alaska listened to Begich, trusted him and gave him their votes. Despite Senator Ted Stevens' past record of accomplishment for rural Alaska , a record described in detail by Senator Lisa Murkowski, as she and other Senators bade Stevens a final farewell, every rural election precinct came through for Begich.

(Emphasis by yours truly.) And he pulled in the urban Native vote as well. I love that the article also shows just why Begich could be so important for the Native people of Alaska. As a mayor, he did as much as a mayor could for Native people - mostly regarding racism and the "in-migration" from the villages (resources, transition.) But as a senator he will have much greater opportunity to fight for us in Washington.

In short, there are some pretty good reasons for Native people to be both proud of their vote, and optimistic about the political future.

Soon-to-be-Senator Mark Begich's to-do list for Obama

Can I say one more "Yea!" for Begich!?

With the win over forever-Senator Ted Stevens a certainty tonight, I want to emphasize just how much I believe our new Senator is going to get done. He's always got something going on, a new plan, new implementation of something, and I don't know how many times he's pushed something ahead and I've gone, "Ooh - good idea!" He's a smart guy who surrounds himself with smart people.

I hope to soon be sharing his accomplishments and hard work in D.C. One of his most recent newsletter announcements (before the win was certain):

Begich Offers “To Do” Suggestions for Obama. President-elect Obama should develop a national energy policy and visit Alaska to see first-hand Alaska’s enormous energy potential and our unmatched natural beauty. That’s Mayor Mark Begich’s suggestion for two items on the new president’s “to do list” requested by MSNBC. Begich was among 205 mayors in 48 states who responded to the news network’s request for what Obama should focus on. “As America’s energy storehouse, Alaska should play a central role in supplying our nation’s energy needs, including the oil and gas beneath ANWR and development of Alaska’s enormous natural gas reserves," the mayor said. As the only state he has yet to visit, Begich invited Obama to Alaska. See the full story at: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27583162/

Don't count us crazy yet! - UPDATED!

Begich (D) is now leading (convicted felon) Stevens (R) by THREE votes!

Per the Anchorage Daily News:

The elections division still has over 10,000 ballots left to count today and thousands more through next week, but the latest numbers show Mark Begich leading Sen. Ted Stevens 125,019 to 125,016.

The new numbers, reflecting nearly 43,000 absentee ballots counted today, are from all over the state. Election night, Ted Stevens led the Democratic Begich by about 3,000 votes.

The huge democratic push for early and absentee votes is paying off huge!

UPDATE: By the way, Begich won his first mayoral election by 18 votes! Just sayin' - the man can pull it off!

NEWEST UPDATE: At 8:37 Alaska Time (about 12:37 a.m. ET) the Anchorage Daily News announced it was 132,196 to 131, 382 - Begich leading Stevens by 814 votes!!

Begich and Comeau make sure Palin knows this is an emergency

I first saw this bit of news in the public newsletter I receive from the Mayor's office.) I don't know how familiar non-Alaskans are with our Anchorage Mayor, but Mark Begich is currently running against LONG time Sen. Ted Stevens for U.S. Senate.)

There has been a bit in the news - as well as my blog - about the migration and extremely high fuel costs of the Alaskans villages (Bush). Basically, think about the highest price you would ever pay, and then triple it. People have been leaving the villages in droves, because they just can't afford it. Teens moving in by themselves, now homeless, because they can't afford to live in the village. Most of this population is Alaska Native.

Even more recently, I was trying to report on a small village in Alaska, Adak, in which the residents were flat out being told to leave. They had run out of cash to pay for their fuel, and were going dark. Few, including our governor, seemed to be paying much (or any) attention to this story. I am still having something of a time trying to find out information, but from what I hear there has been a temporary agreement - including the corporation supplying the fuel requesting the mayor step down for the town to receive it - and they have electricity temporarily.

In any case, not a small problem. Begich and Comeau (Anchorage's school superintendent) have released a letter sent to Gov. Palin addressing the issues of out migration from the villages, and some of the problems this is creating. From the mayor's newsletter:

Anchorage Officials Call for Action to Help Rural Communities.

With numerous indications of a migration from rural to urban Alaska underway, Mayor Mark Begich and Anchorage School Superintendent Carol Comeau are urging the governor to form an emergency task force. In a letter to Gov. Sarah Palin today, the two say deteriorating economic conditions in many rural villages are forcing families to move to Alaska’s cities. “A prosperous, culturally diverse Alaska depends on both flourishing villages and thriving cities, so we cannot stand by and tolerate the deterioration of rural Alaska,” they write. Comeau says Anchorage school district enrollment from rural communities is increasing as village families are hard-hit with $2,000 monthly home heating bills. Begich and Comeau say they want to work on an emergency task force with other local, state and federal officials.

I agree so heartily with the stress that THIS IS AN EMERGENCY. The $1,200 has not done much for rural families (as was argued about before Palin pushed for this stop gap) and this is something that cannot take a theoretical or casual approach. People, families, lives are in need right now.

Anchorage Daily News article about the letter, and some of the migration issues.

ADN provided the pdf copy of the letter.

Letter to Gov. Palin from Mayor Begich and School Superintendent Comeau

A bit from the letter -

Dear Governor Palin:

We write to express our deep concern over what appears to be an unfortunate realignment underway in our state where challenging conditions in many rural communities are forcing a migration to urban cities. A prosperous, culturally diverse Alaska depends on both flourishing villages and thriving cities, so we cannot stand by and tolerate the deterioration of rural Alaska.

As you know, Alaska’s rural communities are facing school closings, record high energy prices, lack of economic opportunities and public health and safety concerns, which are resulting in an unprecedented out-migration to urban centers. We urge your administration to form an emergency task force with local, state and federal officials to take immediate steps to stem this trend taking place in our state. We would like to participate on this task force.

Certainly, the recent distribution of Resource Rebate and Permanent Fund Dividends checks may help in the short term. But we fear we are seeing only the first wave of families leaving rural Alaska because they cannot cover the record energy and food costs they face this winter. ...rural communities pay about 40 percent of their annual income on home energy use, compared to just 4 percent in Anchorage... Today, fuel oil prices in some remote villages have reached $11 a gallon, forcing some families to pay more than $2,000 a month to heat their homes. High fuel prices also make travel to subsistence hunting and fishing grounds prohibitive while also raising commercial food prices...

(the highlighting is mine)

There was also an interesting opinion piece in the ADN following the news piece. It talks about what needs to be done in Anchorage right now to address the influx, and that the real emergency is here in Anchorage with the people coming in.

My vote? Both. And I think that's some of the point. I do know there have been efforts to address the people moving in, including literature as resources, a "guide" to Anchorage specifically for rural migrators, the new charter school is geared around introducing a lot of rural students to a big city school, and so many of the Native-based non-profits have been hitting this pretty big in the last few years. I also know there have been efforts to address some of the migration, but I think before it's not been in quite such an urgent voice, probably because it hasn't happened quite this rapidly - the migration I mean.

Opinion in ADN about the Begich/Comeau letter

Why would anyone except the people this directly affects care about what is happening in some remote villages in Alaska? Because this is happening in your country, in a modern world. Because although now it is only people you can't imagine having their lives upturned, literally moving from places some families have lived for millenia - all because of the state of our economy - it is an indication of things to come for everyone else.

Venturing around the block from Palin-mania

I've discovered life outside of Palin-world!

Actually, I didn't really venture far.

I went looking in the campaigns that in any other election would not stand a chance of being the second, third, fourth story on the news (I mean locally, here, folks).

For instance, the U.S. Senate seat long-ago engraved with the name of Ted Stevens - and I do mean long-ago, like almost 40 years ago - could (should, will) go to our mayor, Mark Begich.

When I was down at the Dem. Convention a few weeks ago, and the primary results came through, people (non-Alaskans) were shocked that Stevens was chosen in the primary. Apparently, they expected that he was not going to get chosen because of the indictment.

We Alaskans were more surprised that they thought he wouldn't win the primary.

In fact, his indictment had less impact than you'd think on Alaskans voting for him. Most of the people I talk to now kind of shrug about - the money he pulls in for Alaska has outweighed the corruption for many. (Not comforting to many of you in the Lower 48, I know, but many of us ARE trying to resolve this!) The latest polling has Stevens only a few percentage points behind Mark Begich. Two major factors are what really have Stevens behind at all - the indictment, and the strength of his opponent.

Begich pulled ahead of Stevens before the indictment even came through - practically unheard of in a race against Stevens. He's a popular mayor (with good reason) of the largest city in Alaska. By largest city, I mean about half of the population of the state lives here. He has his own reputation for bucking the "good ol' boy" network, and comes from a strong political pedigree (His late father, Nick Begich,) with clear stances and actions on some of the state's biggest issues. Some of them aren't even the most popular stances (he is a Democrat in a highly Republican state, after all), but Begich is respected for sticking to his guns, and working with people to figure it out. He will get things done.

Another race that has received limited attention for what it would have been if Palin-mania had not gripped the state, is the nail-biter between Don Young and Sean Parnell in the primary for U.S. Congress. The vote won't be certified until the 18th, but Young's ahead by just over 200 votes last I heard. Talk about another guy who has had the seat since forever.

I'm not as sure about this election. Don Young is also embroiled in scandal and legal issues, but he hasn't brought quite so much to the state as Stevens, and... well, he's just not that likable. I don't know the exact numbers, but he's trailing behind Berkowitz - the Democratic candidate - by quite a bit. This race isn't quite as much about the strength of the Democratic candidate, as is the Begich/Stevens race. Berkowitz is good, but not quite the shining star Begich is. This race, I think, is more about not electing Don Young. Diane Benson, the other strong Democratic primary candidate, was polling ahead of Young too - Young was a good third place.

By the way, I know people outside Alaska aren't seeing them, but Mark Begich wins my "Best Campaign Commercials" vote. He actually talks about ISSUES in them. Hard to detect in what Obama just called "silly season" for politics, but I actually kind of look forward to them.

So far he's addressed corrupt Alaskan politicians (and in a way I never thought possible - without personal attacks!), alternative energy (wind farms on Fire Island), No Child Left Behind, and even a very touching one about his father, and the impact and legacy Nick Begich has left.

Check out the links above for the YouTube versions folks - he's going to be representing Alaskans soon!

And yeah, if you haven't noticed, I'm quite a fan of Begich, even before he was mayor, with good reason. I will be exploring his candidacy when all the to do with Palin has died down at least a little bit. He's got strong positions I really agree with, made some real change in this city, is just plain a smart guy, and to top it off, he and his family have a great record with the Native people in this state.

All right, my own little impromptu ad is over.

But see, wasn't it nice to have a few moments away from the "P"-word?

Everybody loves Begich

Or at least all the convention-goers love Begich! From all across the nation, these Democrats love to talk about Mark Begich.

I assumed people would not know him by name, being an Anchorage mayor. Although everyone is mentioning the Stevens corruption (more on that later in the week,) I figured that Begich would be more known as just "the democrat" that is finally really challenging Stevens - and not well-known outside of Alaska.

Boy was I wrong.

From the more expected places, like the AFL-CIO rep at the delegate meeting (see earlier post) shouting (and I mean shouting!) "God bless Mayor Begich!" - to delegates to press to people we meet on the street and light-rail, the people are rooting for Begich. Some of them have asked us to "Tell Begich, 'Good job!'" or "Tell that Mayor of yours to keep it up!"

I met these two gentlemen (above) when they were talking right by me, and I overheard the name "Mark Begich." The guy on the left, from Trick or Vote (actually a pretty cool idea - take a look) laughed when I interrupted and asked if they were talking about Mayor Begich - "You must be from Alaska!"

But the guy on the right, the one who brought up the name Begich, is from London! (That's like the third guy I've met from London...) He's absolutely certain Begich will take the election.


These are two Texas delegates, and were so excited when they heard we were from Alaska. They are cheering on the "red to blue" movement, but were really cheering on Mark Begich. They gave us some encouraging messages to take back to him (I think everyone also assumes all Alaskans know all other Alaskans,) and actually knew a decent amount of his political and personal background.


Celtic Diva wears a Begich button, to which I've witnessed a few, "Mark Begich... hey, are you from Alaska?"

Just yesterday alone, I talked with people from Wisconsin, Colorado, California, Washington (state), Tennessee, Florida, West Virginia, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, Iowa, Maryland, Texas and England who all knew of Mark Begich and his run for the U.S. Senate seat, and were cheering on Alaskans to get him there.

Red White and Green

The "green" efforts during the past year really don't need any emphasis. You can't walk through a grocery store without seeing that it is definitely one of the bigger issues being addressed, not only in the campaign, but by people nationwide. I just got my umpteenth cloth grocery bag - mostly because I can't remember to bring the bags in when I go shopping.

The green efforts of the Democratic National Convention are nothing short of incredible - the DNCC has really bent over backwards to present a convention that makes a low impact on the environment. They created a "green delegate challenge," including service work by delegates in the Denver area. I've received about three gazillion press releases from them on the different green efforts going on, from Coca Cola being the "official recycler" of the convention (and sorry, it is a LITTLE funny that Coca Cola is the official recycler in the Pepsi Center... maybe not "ha ha" funny... I digress) to alternative fuel, biodiesel or hybrid transportation.

That the Democratic Party is the eonvironmental party is not exactly news, but it was worth it to me to look a little more into the candidate's environmental stances. I really believe we are going to see true lifestyle changes on the part of America, due to environmental efforts, and our next leaders need to be leaders in this area. I don't think you have to be a "radical environmentalist" to care about the environment - just responsible with what we were given.

Presidential Candidates

Sen. Barack Obama has a pretty strong record with the environment, especially as a state senator. He was given a 100% "Environmental Voting Record Award" from the Illinois State Council. His page on the environment. He carries endorsements from the League of Conservation Voters, Friends of Earth Action, Sierra Club The League of Conservation Voters has scored him generally in the 90th percentile each session, hitting 100% for the year 2006, though it dropped down to 67% the last session - mostly due to absences during the votes.

Sen. John McCain has a pretty bad record when it comes to the environment, and generally has voted in favor of big business over environmental concerns, especially with oil and nuclear concerns. His page on climate change. He has a pretty dismal score of 10% with the League of Conservation voters, though a 0% the last session.

Senate

Hard to top 10%, but Sen. Ted Stevens was scored a %5 by the League, though for pretty much the same reasons as McCain. His issue statement on the environment.

I've been impressed with a lot of the things Mayor Mark Begich has done in the city in regards to "greening." I especially liked the light post switch. Sometimes it's the simple things that get overlooked - but end up making a big difference. He has actually done many practical things to get the energy conservation and the environment a priority - all really practical, "That's a good idea" kinds of things. His issue statement on the environment, and an article about how his mind got changed on the environment in the Huffington Post.

Congress

Diane Benson and Ethan Berkowitz didn't have too much information on their sites about their positions - or plans - regarding the environment, and I don't recall either of them speaking about it much. Benson's issue page on the environment - not too detailed, and Berkowitz' issue page - a little more about oil and "watching" things going on about the environment.

Don Young - well, Young's issue statement about the environment was probably the least helpful, period. It's mostly a rant about "radical groups" and having no proof that emissions has anything to do with... well, anything. Feel free to read, but it's mostly about securing energy bills. He was scored a 0% by the League of Conservation Voters, but I think if they could have given him a negative score, they would have. Looking at his environmental voting record, I'm not sure Young believes there should be an environment... a little scary as the "ranking member of the natural resources committee."

Begich on education

I got an e-mail about Mark Begich's education plan today, and I am now more a supporter than ever. I was in the early childhood field for several years, and he hit the best points of what needs to happen with American and Alaskan education. Highlights:

- No more "No Child Left Behind!": This has been a train wreck from te beginning, with no hope of getting out.

- Universal, voluntary pre-k: Absolutely. I don't know that I would have supported this so much had I not been required to go through a few dozen trainings that show study after study after study about just how important those first few years are, and what a difference it can make to begin an early childhood program.

- Building on Head Start: This was addressed under the pre-k part, but I was happy to see it. Indian Head Start's in particular got hammered pretty hard under new regs for Head Start.

- Explanding Native education opportunities: Native education - from preschool to college - is addressed at several points.