Murkowski
Dear Editor: I rise to disagree with Alaska’s senior senator.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski said something about the U.S. Congress that I believe deserves scrutiny. She said “the Congress has failed.”
How did “the institution of Congress” fail? The House investigated the conduct of the president, called witnesses in hearings where all committee members of either party were free to listen and participate. Based upon a large amount of evidence offered in sworn testimony by civil servants who ignored the obstruction of their president and obeyed the lawful subpoenas of the Congress, the House exercised its solemn Constitutional duty and voted to impeach the president – which in legal terms amounts to an indictment.
It was then the Senate’s turn to act as a jury and hear the case. They swore an oath to be impartial and just. If they had kept that oath, they would have heard testimony from a number of senior officials who were eye-witnesses of the events, and examined emails and other documents that directly pertained to the facts of the case – witnesses and documents that were not part of the impeachment proceedings because the Executive Branch, for the first time in our history, withheld them.
Sen. Murkowski stated that “65 million members of the electorate” would have been “disenfranchised” if their elected representatives had voted to convict the president.
I disagree.
Polling suggests that 70 percent of Americans were in favor of calling witnesses and examining documentary evidence. Her vote disenfranchised us.
The president’s actions disenfranchised us.
We do not have a democracy that functions via plebiscite. We have a republic, which elects representatives who are tasked – indeed take an oath – that they will place principles like the “rule of law” and the “greater good” ahead of personal gain or party power.
What we all just witnessed was a corruption of power, a travesty of justice.
A cult of personality has replaced representative government, and all of us have been disenfranchised by the elected representatives who fear to cross the man who has bent the Constitution to his will.
Sen. Murkowski was given the historic opportunity to stand in front of a dam, and keep it from breaking. I believe we will remember the flood which now threatens to sweep away the rule of law as the watershed event of 21st century America. Lisa had the power – our power – literally at her fingertips. She could simply have moved her hand two inches and pressed a different button.
That power at her disposal was on loan from the people of Alaska. It was the power to stop a cult of dishonesty in its tracks, and quietly insist upon appropriate evidence. Asking the President and his men to produce evidence of their innocence is not a violation of his rights. It is the sober duty that he swore as a condition of his employment.
I naturally expected the Senate majority leader to be corrupted by the dark money he controls for now. Nor was I surprised that our junior senator predictably voted to represent the half of Alaskans who welcome the president’s actions – actions which my half of the electorate view as a betrayal of all of our rights.
But when our senior senator, who has deep roots in the little community that is Alaska does a head fake intended to make it look like she cares about truth, and then votes against that truth, to make a toothless mockery of the trial of her party’s president, I am more than a little surprised.
I doubt if I am in the minority if I expected her to display more of our storied Alaskan individualism.
Most days, we Alaskans are used to having no real power. We’re a big tail, way out here, and we don’t often get to wag the dog.
The rest of us were counting on Senator Murkowski to use her leverage – our leverage – to resist the torrent of falsehood.
The evidence Lisa voted to bury on Friday could either have exonerated or convicted the president. Her decision to have a “trial” without witnesses or evidence – when she could not avoid tripping over that evidence on the way to her office – displays a dazzling amount of willful ignorance. It was the opposite of “blind justice.” It was all-too-intelligent injustice.
To lay the blame upon the institution of the Congress, rather than herself and her party and of course the president, is one of the most hypocritical examples of weak character that I have ever seen.
Sorrowfully,
Owen Kindig, Sitka
ATA Port Meeting
Dear Editor: An Alaska Trollers Association Port Meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the NSRAA building on Sawmill Creek Road this Friday. All commercial trollers are welcome. ATA’s Executive Director Amy Daugherty, ADF&G Troll Biologist Grant Hagerman, and Executive Director of Chinook Futures and Northern Panel Pacific Salmon Treaty Representative Deborah Lyons will be present.
There are many points of concern for all of Sitka’s wild fish harvesters. National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed two new Critical Whale Habitats which would cover all of Southeast Alaska’s waters. In practical terms we don’t know what this means (crabbers in northern California last year lost a lucrative fishery because of two whale entanglements).
On Jan. 9 a Puget Sound-based environmental group, the Wild Fish Conservatory, published a 60-day notice to sue NOAA over NMFS’ 2019 Biological Opinion (BiOp). The suit threatens all SEAK Chinook harvest including sport.
A discussion of possible Board of Fish proposals concerning the troll fishery is also scheduled.
These are some of the new issues ATA is following. If you’re a troller and you want to keep fishing come to the meeting.
Matt Donohoe, President,
Alaska Trollers Association
TDVAM Campaign
Dear Editor: February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Last year, the Sitka Youth Leadership Committee launched the “Healthy Me, Healthy We” campaign. This campaign aims to increase awareness of dating violence and promote healthy relationships among teens. SYLC believes a healthy relationship starts with a healthy me!
It is necessary that we talk about teen dating violence because it is too common an issue to ignore. Some 1.5 million high schoolers report having experienced either abusive or controlling behaviors in a dating relationship and one-third of all teens will experience some sort of unhealthy relationship.
Additionally, a person of any identity can be in an unhealthy relationship, regardless of their gender, race, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status.
In a healthy relationship you have the right to be yourself and you have the freedom to be independent. You also have the responsibility to respect your partner’s privacy, independence, interests, etc. Ultimately, in a healthy relationship, there is mutual respect and decision making. Everyone is worthy of these things in a relationship. Unfortunately, not everyone believes this of themselves. Sometimes, individuals don’t see the signs that they are in an unhealthy relationship.
SYLC is dedicated to educating our peers about the red flags or warning signs and their rights and responsibilities in every relationship.
Red flags of abusive or unhealthy relationships might include: your partner checking your phone, calling you names, keeping money from you, or threatening to leave you if you don’t do what they want.
If an individual exerts power over their partner, demonstrates controlling behavior, keeps someone from spending time with loved ones, or behaves violently towards their significant other they are displaying characteristics of an abusive relationship.
If you think a friend or family member might be in an unhealthy or abusive relationship, know that the best way you can show your support is by listening to them, acknowledging their feelings and respecting their decisions. Additionally, it’s important to know the resources available to you. Some great resources to start with are: Sitkans Against Family Violence (*Crisis line: 747-6511 or 1-800-478-6511 *Shelter: 747-3370 *safv.org), loveisrespect.org, the National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline (1-866-331-9474 or text “loveis” to 77054), the National Domestic Violence Hotline (*1-800-799-SAFE (7233) *thehotline.org), or athinline.org. And remember, everyone has the right to feel safe in their relationship.
Esther Burdick and the
Sitka Youth Leadership Committee
