What pushed my buttons last week

If the body of my 322 newsletters over the past 10 years is actually a diary about my job, I suppose it's time I do what any good diarist does--begin to confess just a few of my many human foibles.

Observers who actually saw Janet Jackson's wardrobe failure may also have gotten a glimpse of my inner demons last week if they were watching me as closely on Gavel-to-Gavel as they watch Super Bowl halftime shows on network TV. I revealed a larger than necessary reservoir of impatience book that sometimes spills over into a certain, unappealing gruffness and grumpiness.
     The large reservoir of impatience was revealed by two events: the presentation of the governor's supplemental budget request for this fiscal year; and the remarks of University of Alaska President Mark Hamilton. The unappealing gruffness is soon to be revealed in the following few 'graphs.
     In the first instance, the governor's supplemental budget presentation to the Senate Finance Committee devolved into the political equivalent of white noise. Instead of a clear discussion of tweaking the spending plan we passed last spring, it became an exercise in maintaining the hot air in a budget soufflé.
     The governor's spokesperson reiterated a press release fiction that the executive branch was cutting $268 million in spending via the supplemental budget vehicle. That claim edges very close to slipping from risqué into soft porn politics that actually demeans and degrades healthy policy debate. A full $200 million of that quarter billion dollars in claimed savings is spending probably deferred from this fiscal year into the next fiscal year. Another $50 million in additional claimed savings is supposedly eliminating a pot of money that never existed.
     The $200 million was supposed to pay credits to oil and gas companies investing in exploration. For various reasons, those credit payments are slipping from this fiscal year to next. Instead of savings, it is more like deferred spending. The $50 million was never in this year's budget, it was simply a long-ago guess about what might be needed (but wasn't) in the FY09 supplemental budget.
     A real problem with this kind of budget spinning is it makes it confusing and difficult for Alaskans to have productive conversations about what we should be doing inside the four walls of the Capitol.
     Another supplemental budget issue is the savings the governor claims comes from price-cutting she ordered right after she signed the budget almost eight months ago. One of her commissioners last week reiterated that claim at the committee table when he said he was able to cut his department's general fund budget significantly without cutting services. That claim raises the question: if he was able to cut his FY09 budget allocation right after it was signed, without hurting service, why ask for the larger appropriation in the first place? The only logical conclusions are that either he and his cohorts were featherbedding their budget presentations to the legislature or services actually were cut.
     The second issue, remarks by the university president, really made me impatient. Defending himself from remarks by a few legislators who suggested they couldn't figure out why they should appropriate dollars to the university when students and staff were arguing against large development projects that swell the state treasury, the president seemed to get rattled. His response was inappropriate and apologetic. He said he hoped some would become more conservative as they matured. He further suggested we all should appreciate that his institution was not like Berkeley.
     Now I don't mind comparisons with Berkeley, but we ought not stop with a simple comparison of how conservative our UA folks are compared with UC folks. Perhaps we ought to compare graduation rates--they graduate 62 percent of their incoming students within six years, we do 22 percent. That comparison actually could lead to a substantive debate.
     We all should encourage any Alaskan--student, senior citizen, police officer or veteran--to share strongly held beliefs without being afraid that it may affect state funding. It seems the university president should especially encourage and defend that premise.
     There. I've admitted my buttons were pushed and that makes me gruff and grumpy. Two of my many foibles are now exposed. I feel better.

Best lede of the month--"Outside a cynic's imagination, horse manure and sensitive state documents actually do belong together." From Jeremy Hsieh's Juneau Empire story about a recycling program that turns shredded paper into horse bedding for a local stable.

Romantic Sarah--"With a thud, the gallant moose hit the chilly Alaskan (sic) ground, and Sarah knew she'd struck a winning shot. moose

With a proud glint in her eye, she made her way to the fallen beast as another hunter arrived amid (sic) the roar of a snowmobile. As she eyed him curiously, her cheeks warmed with a redness not caused by the brisk northern breeze. The mighty moose had been struck through the heart and, with a glimpse at this mysterious stranger, Sarah realized she had been, too. . ." The Week (sort of a Reader's Digest take on the week's news and culture) recently challenged readers to write the opening lines of a Sarah Palin romance novel. Scott Iverson of St. Louis was the winner with his "gallant moose" paragraph.

A penny (okay, nothing) for your thoughts--Wayne Leighty, a Juneauite studying sustainable energy systems at the University of California, Davis, is conducting a survey on energy use in Juneau. If you can find 30 minutes, please help him out on his post graduate work by completing the survey at: survey.its.ucdavis.edu (note there is no "www").

Quotable--"I believe it's state policy: we like the price by the barrel high and price by the gallon low." Co-chair of House Finance Bill Stoltze commenting on the price of a barrel of oil and the price of a gallon of gasoline.

News from the Bat Cave--Actor Val Kilmer is expressing strong interest in running for governor of New Mexico in 2010 after Gov. Bill Richardson is termed out. Kilmer has a reputation for being very difficult on movie sets (including getting rid of director John Frankenheimer from the "Batman Forever" team). Others, including directors Michael Mann and Oliver Stone say he's intelligent and talented even though he has an admitted "reputation for being difficult, but only with stupid people." Ahhh. I guess if he only has a problem with stupid folks, he'll be an okay governor?

A gift without value?--The six legislators who sued to stop the legislature from investigating Troopergate disclosed this week the gift of failed, ineffective legal services. Texas-based Liberty Legal Institute gave the legislators a combined gift of $25,000 in legal services, an Alaska law firm gave them a combined gift of $40,000 in legal services, and a national firm gave them a combined gift of $120,000 in legal services. All for naught. The legislature paid an Alaska firm $25,160 and that firm slam-dunked the high-paid suits from the other firms in pink

both the superior and supreme courts.

In the pink--Friday was Rep. Les Gara's birthday. His staff gave him a pink shirt and others wore various shades of pink to celebrate. They also stuffed themselves with cupcakes covered with sinful amounts of pink frosting. I'd guess the theme was chosen because Les is one guy unafraid of wearing pink shirts in the Capitol. But it also could be they were celebrating the color his cheeks get as he fulminates against injustice.

OJT--One freshman committee aide prepared for her job by shadowing a senior committee aide prior to her debut meeting. At her initial real meeting, she stood, miming the behavior of the more experienced committee aide she'd shadowed. A few minutes flower

into the meeting the chair, her boss, called her over and quietly asked why she was standing. "I don't know," she whispered back. The chairman quickly responded, "sit down, you're making us nervous."

Good omen--Juneau's Filipino Community, Inc. inaugurated its newly-elected officers Saturday night. Returning to the president's position is Jenny Gomez-Strickler who moved to Juneau from a Pacific state south of Alaska. She drew a laugh when she said in her inaugural address that this was the year of two presidents from Hawaii.

From Senator Kim Elton's newsletter: