A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

Mel’s anti-WAR letter: “cavalier” attitude on domestic violence and abuse

I’m a writer-blogger, not a political blogger — though I did try it out a little last fall after Palin became a vice-presidential candidate. But it proved too emotionally exhausting for me, & other Alaska progressive bloggers were doing it better. Sometimes, though, you gotta take a stand on something. So here’s the letter that I just finished sending out to Alaska legislators. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. It’s about my opposition to confirming Wayne Anthony Ross as Alaska Attorney General.

Scott Turner’s Annual Bake Sale

Update: The 2010 Community Bake Sale for Four A’s is on Sunday, May 16 from 4-6:30 p.m. at Mad Myrna’s, and includes a dessert competition.

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Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 4 p.m.
Mad Myrna’s

Join Scott Turner for his annual bake sale and BAKE OFF on Sunday. Bring your best baked goods to raise funds for the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association. Bake off categories for Professional Bakers, Best Cakes/Pies, Best Cookies/Bars, Best Other (Trifles, Breads, etc.) Prizes awarded to the Winners. This event is a lot of fun, with delicious food baked by your friends and neighbors, food that will tempt you to buy and share for a good cause.

Until the end of April, all gifts to the Four A’s food bank (cash or in-kind) will count toward a matching grant from the Feinstein Foundation.

A No Foolin’ FUNdraiser for Four A’s

Gay Man on The Alaska Experiment

That changes Tuesday night when Nodar, along with eight other participants, are dropped in the middle of the Alaskan bush and told to find their way out with minimal supplies and virtually no help. But don’t mistake this for a colder version of Survivor. There are no reward or immunity challenges, no scheming alliances and no million dollar prize.

Instead, Nodar and the eight others face only brutal weather and mile after mile of trudging through the Alaskan wilderness as they work to navigate their way back to civilization.

WAR compares gays to lima beans, "hates" us

Wayne Anthony Ross, Gov. Palin’s choice for Attorney General, was asked during Friday’s confirmation hearing how he would view cases involving homosexuality, since he called gays “immoral”, “perverse” and “degenerates” in the Alaska Bar newsletter.

“Let me give you an analogy,” Ross said. “I hate lima beans. I’ve never liked lima beans. But if I was hired to represent the United Vegetable Growers, would you ask me if I liked lima beans. No. If I disliked lima beans. No. Because my job is to represent the United Vegetable Growers.”

Gays=Lima Beans. He compares publicly insulting a minority group to hating the taste of a food. He “hates” us.

Later in the hearing, a representative talked about Ross’ well-known “flamboyance” and Ross said that flamboyance is something he associates with a fancy hanky in his breast pocket, “that kind of guy,” he chuckled.

What ‘kind of guy’ is Ross? He insults gays, Native Alaskans, women, blacks, unions members, peace activists, environmentalists … he called the federal government our ‘enemy’ during last week’s hearing … he made a sexist joke in response to an ethics complaint against Palin … and he wants to be the top attorney for the State of Alaska.

Ross thinks the hypothetical Vegetable Growers would hire a lawyer who publicly declares “I hate lima beans.” The question is, will the real State of Alaska hire an Attorney General who “hates” Alaskans?

"Double drag" with Mad Myrna’s Divas

MCC celebrates Easter with an interpreted service and a potluck

Say NO to Wayne Anthony Ross as AG

This guest post by Marsha Buck gives the contact information for testifying against Wayne Anthony Ross’ appointment as Attorney General, and includes her own testimony as an example. For more on Wayne Anthony Ross, see Public input needed on WAR and Palin’s AG pick called gays “degenerates.”

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If you were not able to testify during the Senate hearing, you have another opportunity to testify on the confirmation of Wayne Anthony Ross as Attorney General of Alaska today, Friday, April 10 at 5 p.m. when the House Judiciary Committee will take public testimony, in Room 120 of the Capitol, by teleconference (1-888-295-4546), or by going to your local Legislative Information Office. I hope many of you will be able to testify.

During the Senate hearing on Wednesday, 31 people provided testimony, 14 in support of Mr. Ross and 17 in opposition. Six people testifying in opposition spoke about his record of discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Alaskans and many more voices need to be heard on this topic. Our greatest allies in opposition to Mr. Ross’ confirmation appear to be members of the Native community, many of whom spoke forcefully against the appointment because of his record on subsistence and his divisiveness.

If you cannot testify on Friday, please call or email members of the House Judiciary, or send a Public Opinion Message, and express your concerns about Mr. Ross and his statement in the state Bar Association newsletter in which he referred to GLBT Alaskans as “degenerates” and spoke of being gay as a “perversion.”

Contact information for House Judiciary members:

Rep. Jay Ramras Phone: 465-3004 Email: Representative_Jay_Ramras@legis.state.ak.us

Rep. Nancy Dahlstrom Phone: 465-3783 Email: Representative_Nancy_Dahlstrom@legis.state.ak.us

Rep. Carl Gatto Phone: 465-3743 Email: Representative_Carl_Gatto@legis.state.ak.us

Rep. Bob Lynn Phone: 465-4931 Email: Representative_Bob_Lynn@legis.state.ak.us

Rep. Max Gruenberg Phone: 465-4940 Email: Representative_Max_Gruenberg@legis.state.ak.us

Rep. Lindsey Holmes Phone: 465-4919 Email: Representative_Lindsey_Holmes@legis.state.ak.us

The entire Legislature will be voting on the confirmation of Wayne Anthony Ross on Thursday, April 16th. Please contact all legislators, including your own senator and representative, and state your opinion about the confirmation of Mr. Ross as Attorney General. The Public Opinion Message (POM) system is an excellent way to communicate with legislators briefly and easily.

Thank you for your activism in support of civil equality for ALL Alaskans!

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Senate Judiciary Hearing Testimony

Wayne Anthony Ross Nomination for Attorney General

April 8, 2009

My name is Marsha Buck and I live in Juneau. I am here representing Alaskans Together for Equality, Inc. which is a new statewide organization to advance the civil equality of all Alaskans with a focus on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality.

I would like to testify in opposition to the appointment of Wayne Anthony Ross as Attorney General for Alaska. Mr. Ross’ record of negative comments about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Alaskans would appear to make him biased against the citizens Alaskans Together for Equality represents and therefore make it difficult for us to imagine how he could uphold our constitutional rights fairly and without discrimination.

We need an Attorney General who respects ALL Alaskans equally, including gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex Alaskans. I would, therefore, ask that you oppose Mr. Ross’ nomination.

Thank you,

Marsha Buck
Board President, Alaskans Together for Equality, Inc.

Public Input Needed Today on WAR as Attorney General

UPDATE: The House Judiciary Committee hearing is on Friday April 10, and they will take public testimony at 5 p.m. 1-800-295-4546. Listen live on Gavel to Gavel. The full Legislature is scheduled to hold a confirmation vote on April 16.

UPDATE 2: Read Leah Burton’s testimony on WAR’s family values: “There wouldn’t be an issue with domestic violence if women would learn to keep their mouths shut.”

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The Senate Judiciary Committee is taking public testimony for the Attorney General Confirmation Hearings for Wayne Anthony Ross on Wednesday, April 8 at 5:30 p.m.

The call in number is: 1-888-295-4546. You can also walk in to your local Legislative Information Office to testify. The Anchorage office is on 4th Ave.

“Does he have the qualifications, ethical standards and temperament to be the state’s top law enforcement official and run such an important, politically sensitive department?” asked an ADN editorial.

Qualifications

• Ross has been up for two separate Judicial advancements in the past two years, for the Alaska Supreme Court in 2007 and the Alaska Court of Appeals in 2008. He was not nominated by the Alaska Judicial Council either time. His mediocre Alaska Bar Association scores were cited as the reason he did not receive a nomination.
• In response, he wrote a letter to the Bar Association newsletter complaining about the judicial selection process and the negative comments made about him in the anonymous Bar Survey used to rate the applicants.

Ethics and Temperament

There is an extensive written record on Ross from his two unsuccessful runs for governor and his long history of political activism. His zealous support for a host of controversial causes and his insulting public statements about those who believe differently show intolerance, bad judgement and the inability to seek common ground. He has a long list of enemies, and even his attorney peers and NRA buddies don’t want him in positions of power.

• He called on the governor to fire an Assistant Attorney General for her participation in a peaceful animal rights demonstration. (“Animal Activists Real Enemy”)
• He threatened to sue the Permanent Fund Dividend division because they denied a check to his son Brian, who had not lived in Alaska for 14 years.
• During a talk on domestic violence, he said that the women’s movement emasculated men and was the cause of domestic abuse.
• He promised to fight the federal law requiring rural subsistence, and opposes tribal sovereignty saying, “If the state wants to deal with tribes, it should treat them as it treats fraternal organizations rather than as governments.”
• He did not support Mayor Wuerch for re-election because Wuerch refused to help Ross’ friend get into the Anchorage Fire Department after the friend failed a required psychological test.
• He publicly stated that pro-choice people are “baby killers,” and called gays and lesbians “degenerates” in an open letter to the state Bar Association.
• He endorsed Rick Mystrom for mayor in 2003 “because he fights the unions.”
• He represented without fee, and personally supported, a man who twice poured buckets of water from a passing pickup onto anti-war demonstrators.
• He was a founder of Alaska Right to Life and has provided free legal services to anti-abortion activists since 1972.
• He blamed moderate Republicans for the state’s fiscal problems saying, “Moderates are mush.”
• He is a former vice president of the National Rifle Association and was in line to become president, but was voted out of office by his peers.
• He is frequently described as “arrogant,” uncompromising and attention-seeking.

Do we trust an arrogant political activist with mediocre professional ratings, zealous positions on sensitive state issues, and openly expressed prejudice against groups of Alaskan citizens to be “the state’s top law enforcement official and run such an important, politically sensitive department?”

Give your public testimony on Wednesday, April 8 at 5:30 p.m. The call in number is: 1-888-295-4546.

Bowling, Ballroom and Easter Madness