Saw this in the ADN Newsreader today, originally from the New York Times. Willie Hensley, a prominent and VERY well-respected Alaska Native leader wrote an op-ed that landed in the Times, aptly titled "In Alaska, Qiviters Never Win." The "qiviters" is a play on a an Inuit word for... well, quitting.
From the article:
In short, Alaska had a governor who had the stature within the state, nationally and internationally, to deal with our problems. She could have used her position to find solutions to the high costs and financial insecurities of our far-northern state. Instead, she abandoned her role as the state’s leader in midstream, making her the only governor in our state’s history to "qivit" in the true sense of the word, at a time when we need strong leadership.
It's actually a great article on the history of this state, and endurance of ALL its people, and worth the read.
Phil Munger over at Progressive Alaska also had a great post today about the voice of Alaska Native people, highlighting Hensley and other Native leaders.
In under an hour, Palin will no longer be our governor. Hallelujah.
I have no idea what her plans are after this, and the only way this could be a bad thing is if she decided she still wanted to run for office. If she wants to do some entertainment/newsy thing, go for it - I don't care. It would be easy to turn her off and ignore her - something I can't do while she's making (or, more likely, not making) huge decisions that will affect me and everyone I care about.
This Juneau Empire article did a great job, I think, of explaining some of the "ethical dilemna" Palin faced (or, again, didn't face) and is leaving us with. Basically, a great big mess. It really goes into the ethics complaints issues, and exposes all the PR lies about them from the Palin camp. Ironic that the BULK of the money the state is being made to pay on these "frivolous complaints" is from the complaint Palin filed against herself.
Palin's claims, from the article:
Those claims are contradicted by records released under the Alaska Public Records Law and interviews with administration and other sources. They show a pattern of the Palin administration using public resources and the state's ethics laws in an effort to block and discredit both frivolous and credible charges made against the governor.
Is this the "ethics reform" she was talking about accomplishing?
But as much as, yes, she's abanding the post with tons of unfinished business, and I STILL can't figure out what she was talking about on all her administration's "accomplished," I'm still glad she's leaving. It was pretty likely she was going to leave those things unaccomplished anyways.
From the other big newspapers around the state:
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner on the state vs. national access Palin's given, and her "open access" fail.
When it comes to taking responsibility for her failures, Sarah Palin is completely unaccountable. Her finger is always pointed at the most convenient scapegoat. Last fall, I said she was George W. Bush with lipstick; nothing is ever her fault. With her resignation, she has set a new bar for blame.
Describing the project, which would cost $5 million and take two to three years to complete, Gov. Palin said, “no such system-wide risk assessment has ever been conducted on this complex system.”
Two years later, as Gov. Palin leaves office early, the risk assessment project is in shambles.
I've been back on dry land for a few days, trying to catch up on the Palin news after my own personal "media blackout." But to be honest, I still don't even know what to think about Palin quitting office.
First reaction, disbelief. Second, glee. Third, WTF?
Despite Palin's claim she "gave her reasons," uh... did you hear any? I mean, I heard a bunch of things thrown out there, but not really. Is she going to run in 2012? No idea (but sure hope not.) Is it because of some looming scandal that's going to break? Wouldn't surprise me.
She spent a lot of time blaming the media, but that's the wierdest part to me. I mean, I know it's been a strategy of hers since the beginning, despite her hypocritical and ironic trashing of Hillary Clinton about "whining" over the media. But quitting because the media is too mean?
Even more ironic, in her rambling statement, people are "naive" to think the media isn't hard on her. Isn't she even more naive to think that doesn't come with the territory? If you think running for Vice President of the United States isn't going to get a million people examining and commenting about every hair on your head, I'm sorry ma'am, YOU'RE very naive. I'm sure it's hard, and I'm sure I'd hate the same, but that's the reason I never ran for PUBLIC OFFICE.
In any case, I suppose I'm with the rest of the country in waiting for her reasons, and seeing what comes next.
And in case you haven't seen it, I thought Shannyn Moore's interview - and their dscussion - on Countdown was excellent. The whole Palin segment was pretty good, including the bit with the Vanity Fair writer. If you haven't seen THAT article, make sure to check it out too!
When McBride left the position last October, she let it be known that an Alaska Native person should have the position. Palin filled the position this month - I don't know much about the new rural advisor, but he was a big fisheries manager and the Daily News said he "describes himself" as Alaska Native - Aleut. Kind of wierd wording, but whatever. Hopefully, he'll do a job...
From the article:
My defining moment came last summer while on a boat trip down the Koyukuk. One of my fellow travelers, who is an Alaska Native, asked me if I had ever cut fish. And I said, "No. When I lived in Bethel, people always shared their fish with me. They were so kind and generous. So I never learned to put up fish." She laughed and said, "Imagine that. A rural adviser who doesn't know how to subsist." The remark wasn't meant to be unkind, but the power of it was a turning point for me.
Also, in the course the job, I came to meet many Natives who were more qualified than me for the job. Not only do they know how to subsist, but they have degrees from Ivy League schools. There is a generation of leaders coming up that will make whatever organization they join better. Our world will be better for them. They're strong in their culture, wise beyond their years, and so knowledgeable about their professions.
