Editor's note: Mike Doogan is an Alaska State House Representative, author and former newspaper columnist. This commentary appeared in his legislative e-newsletter on March 2, 2012.
We had big fun in the House of Representatives Wednesday.
First, we listened to a speech by the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court. I have lots and lots respect for the chief justice – especially since a guy never knows when he might get hauled in front of the court – but I have to say that the hour-long speech might have been just a skosh longer than my attention span. But then I've never been accused of having the longest attention span anyway.
But that's a story for another day.
This was one of those joint sessions, where we get together with the Senate for this or that. We always do it in the House Chambers, because the Senate Chambers are way too small to hold our combined egos. Heck, most days it can't really hold the Senate's. Anyway, after the senators left our place – and I checked to see if I still had my wallet – we started in on a bill to do one of the things we do best, spend money.
I'll spare you all the who-shot-John about the bill. All you need to know at this point is that it was a piece of junk written by the Department of Revenue and both Democrats and Republicans didn't like it. So there were amendments in the offing. That seemed to tick off the Speaker of the House, who shooed us out of the chambers with orders to be back at 7 p.m.
Time passed. Work was done. And several of us realized that the briefing we'd been given about the bill by government officials had – how do you say – left out a few facts. And so when we waltzed in around 7 p.m. to pick up where we left off, I was not very happy.
I got less happy when it became apparent that the Republicans had suddenly become unanimous supporters of the bill. It's a process known in the Capitol as schooling up. Like fish. Don't know what they got for it. Don't really care. All of the amendments failed.
Fine. That's happened before and it'll happen again. But I sat there thinking about how the Revenue official (a guy from Commerce was involved, too) had omitted the truth. I finally decided the Hell with it. And when I got up on the floor to speak against the bill, I said I was tired of the people who run the Department of Revenue lying to me.
Now, you could say that it wasn't a lie to fail to tell the whole truth. But the Jesuits who trained me would say that a sin of omission would send you to swinging a shovel in the Devil's furnace room as fast as a sin of commission. I'd spent most of the last legislative session trying to separate the truth from the lies they were telling about oil taxes, and I'd had it.
Still have. If you see an official from the Department of Revenue in my office, better have your eyes checked.
The Power of Language ...
I've been in and around this legislature a long time now. This will come as a surprise to most of you, but I haven't always had the greatest confidence in the ability of a bunch of politicians squirreled away down in Juneau to guide this state in the right direction. In fact, sometimes this place makes me downright grumpy. But every now and then something happens that makes my ears, and my spirits, perk up a bit.
This Tuesday was one of those moments – in fact, it might well have been the best one I can remember. This not-so-powerful member of the powerful House Finance Committee was sitting in our daily hearing, expecting to be thoroughly underwhelmed and bored to death. Then public testimony began for HB 254 – which will create an Alaska Native Language Council. In short, the intent is to create a council whose job it will be to help restore and reinvigorate the native languages of our state.
All too often, when we talk about "Alaska history," we're talking about the last 100 years or so. But some very powerful testimony on Tuesday reminded many of us that Alaska's rich human history goes back thousands of years. Alaska's native languages thrived and help define the unique and long-standing cultures of the state's original people.
We were reminded that the government had more than a passing role in the alarming demise of those ancient languages – in many cases literally beating traditional language out of school-age children, and encouraging their families to speak only English in the home. Language is not merely a way to communicate ideas, but it is part of how a people develop a worldview and how we come to think about the world and our place in it.
The testimony, delivered by elders and young Alaskans as well, was powerful, emotional and refreshing. It reminded me that, no matter how they are written, or how many numbers they include, all bills are really about people – and the best bills actually mean something significant to people.
I just wanted to thank Reps. Alan Dick and Cathy Muñoz for sponsoring this bill, and for creating the opportunity for us to remember what we're supposed to be doing down here.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Ameduri
The older, wiser, less-dashing member of my staff became older and—fingers crossed—wiser, yesterday. (It's far too late to hope for him to become any more dashing.) Frank Ameduri had the good fortune of, on the 45th day of session, turning 45 for the fourth year in a row. Frank, as you might recall, avid reader, is a fellow recovering ink-stained wretch, and has worked for me for the past two sessions after five tours of duty as the press secretary for the powerful House Minority—the job I held just before he did. Come to think of it, he's been following me around for quite some time now.
I'm thinking of having him arrested.
Benevolent employer that I am, I rewarded Frank on Wednesday with a floor session that went until 11 p.m. the night before his birthday. Such is life for a Juneau staffer.
Happy birthday, Frank-O.
A Brief Respite
If you're as sick of hearing about the legislature spinning its wheels in the mud as I am of being splattered with that mud, then I have good news for you: my e-news will be on a short hiatus next week.
My colleagues have decided yet again to take a mid-session break for a junket—ahem—I mean a fact-finding mission of great importance, in Washington, DC, for the annual Energy Council meeting. Because 90 days never seem quite as fleeting with 44 left to go, I suppose.
Hanging around an empty State Capitol building seems about as appealing to me as contributing to the hot air floating around the halls of our nation's Capitol, so I will be going home to experience the immense rejuvenating powers of a long weekend in Spenard.
Hence, no e-news next Friday. Stiff upper lip, kids. We'll be back to hammering square pegs into round holes in no time.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch. Alaska Dispatch welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, e-mail commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.