Community and Freedom

An article I recently read begins by asking, "What makes a community a great place to live?"

This is a great question we should all consider. Is it the neatness and conformity the community has or is it the relationships neighbors have built with one another? Is it the high resale values our homes are able to maintain or is it the ability for property owners to use their property in the best way they see fit? Are our communities great because the local police are quick to respond to disputes or is it the ability of the individual neighbors to peaceably work out issues with one another because they have focused on one another's similarities and fostered friendships with each other?

One option is achieved by rules, regulations, rigor, and relevance. The other option fosters freedom.

This begs to ask the questions: What is freedom, how important is freedom, and what am I willing to give/sacrifice to have the level of freedom I feel is best?

Give this article a read The Tyrant Next Door and ponder on these questions.

I Voted... Did You?

Final Bit of Info Before Voting...

Please be sure to check out this blog before voting if you have a chance.

http://alaskapride.blogspot.com/

Recent article titles include:


Alaska Judicial Retention Election: Vote Yes On Judge Richard Postma, And No On Justice Dana Fabe, Judge Patrick McKay, And Judge David George


Alaska U.S. Senate Candidates Sound Off On Affirmative Action; Joe Miller Offers The Best Balance Between Liberty And Equality


Alaska U.S. Senate Candidates Sound Off On Global Warming In Anchorage Daily News Q&A; Joe Miller The Best Choice For Energy Independence And Affordability

UPDATE: Judge the Judges

I recieved this email with the following judge information (Be sure to click on the link to see specific judge recomendations):

In part it says, "What does anyone know about judges? Is the fact that they may be good tempered more important than their philosophy of government? What about their deference to the people and to legislators when they act against the judges personal views on public matters?

Conservatives and Common Sense Independents know that a judge must understand the limits of their own power. That the people have the right to determine their culture in line with the original intent of the constitution.

When they lose this basic understanding, they should be released back into private life. That process of relieving them of their power over the people is called retention.

First, what is it? Judicial retention is a periodic opportunity for the public to judge our judges. They are voted on, or ‘retained’, in our regular elections in what has traditionally been an elective ‘nonevent.’

Judicial retention matters because the misinterpretation of even a single word in our Constitution leads to overturning supermajorities of legislators and Governors. Our judicial branch was designed to be the least powerful, not the most important. That is no longer the case. Liberalism in all of its forms is not often implemented by our elected legislators. It comes almost exclusively through the courts.

In extreme cases, our judge’s rulings can abuse the will of the people by ignoring even a Constitutional Amendment such as the Marriage act that was passed in 1998. The Marriage Act was disregarded in a recent 5 to 0 decision that recognized ‘same-sex domestic partnerships’ as having the same characteristics as married people, and therefore were eligible for benefits.

Again in 2007, overturning a supermajority of legislators, the Supreme Court, including Justice Dana Fabe, ruled that a parent's right to raise their child ends when the child begins to have sex. An outrageous and unique view in the history of Western civilization."

I Must Apologize...

For the incompleteness of this first voter guide. I had a lot of research on another computer that was damaged last week. I just found out today that the hard drive is gone and all the research I had done was lost. I have been re-doing a lot of it but am having difficulties and quickly running out of time. At least I covered several of the judges which I felt important to cover before the research loss... please just remember it is important to vote and to do so as informed as possible. Here are some things to check out and/or ponder:

• A big tip for what to consider when deciding on who to vote for. Look at who supports the candidate (either through campaign contributions or endorsements): Often when you see support by Unions, mainstream media, and groups like Planned Parenthood or even NEA (National Education Association) you can say that candidate is likely to be more supportive of bigger government and "social justice" issues that are often not in line with a Constitutional Conservative view of the proper role of government and moral stances.
  
  


• I know many people have issues with who to vote for in the Senate race as it has been a heated one. If you are not comfortable with the top three contenders remember you have about 150 write in choices. The list is here. *Note* the person at the top of the list is Michael Ames (someone I know personally and he is a man of virtue, integrity, and holds to a view of Constitutional Conservatism. He recently ran for FNSB School Board Seat D and information on him can be found here). He says, "Be sure to fill in that oval...next to Joe Miller." Hahahaha.



• To make clear the FNSB computer use issue with Joe Miller : An email received from Mr. Ames:
  "Here is the information you requested: http://alaskadispatch.com/images/media/files/court_ordered_documents_to_be_released_10-26-10-alaska_dispatch.pdf
  
  At the previous link you'll see all the documents released from the borough from Joe Miller's personnel file. Within you will find that Mr. Miller admitted the truth IN FULL within just a FEW MINUTES of having tried to explain away what he had done to his coworkers. They were all wondering why their cache's were cleared (three of them) and he said that he had to do it to be able to access a website but not to worry, that he wasn't on any bad websites. Everyone went back to work and a few minutes later, Mr. Miller comes into one coworker's office and asked if she had told anyone yet. She said No, and he asked her not to tell Rene (their boss) yet, to just give him ten minutes. He left for a few minutes, came back, then told them exactly what he had done. He then suggested that he should call Rene (their boss, who was out of the office at the time) and tell her what had happened. In a telephone conversation with Rene, he offered to resign, but they requested that he not resign. He was put on leave for two weeks, then three days without pay, and came back to work for another year and a half.
  
  The media always uses Joe Miller's statement that he first lied about using the computers, then admitted to using the computers but lying about what he did on them, then finally admitted to everything. According to his personnel records, he never lied about using the computers, in fact he fully admitted to using the computers from the beginning. He tried to get his coworkers to drop the issue and told them it was no big deal and it sounds like they were going to drop the issue and get back to work, but a few minutes later he confessed what he had done and offered to call the boss. That sounds like integrity to me, a momentary lapse to be sure, but he realized what he had done, felt remorse, and immediately got back on track.
  
  http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/politics/7342-millers-paranoia-at-fairbanks-borough-ran-deeper-than-records-reveal
  
  This link is slanted against Miller, but has some interesting information. Whether it was warranted or not, it appears that Mr. Miller felt that his life or reputation was in danger and that he was under an inordinate amount of stress at the time the incident happened with his coworkers computers. He told one of his coworkers that Frank Murkowski and the chairman of the Republican party were after him and had the money and connections to pull something off. At the end of the article his former boss, Rene Broker says, 'The job he did here was at a very high level and he did very good work.'
  
  Taking the fear for his life and reputation into account, I was reading an article I can't find at the moment, but should be easy to google, Miller had said that he would be willing to release his personnel records IF the borough would waive client-attorney privilege. It makes me wonder if there is something he knows, that he cannot discuss because of client-attorney privilege that would clear up some of what his personnel records show. Perhaps his "bizarre" behavior could be explained by something he knows that he simply can't discuss because he learned it on the job as an attorney."
  
  


• Tammie Wilson (R) is running against Sean Rice for House District 11. I have spoken with her several times and she has been quick to return my emails and phone calls. For the most part she has been able to answer my questions to satisfaction and I find her views to be in line with my Constitutional Conservative ideals.
  
  


• I know Lisa Murkowski used a bit about "outside influence" funding Mr. Miller's campaign during the primaries. But did you know much of the funding she has gotten is from outside Alaska? Group Contributions and Individual Contributions


• Compare with Joe Miller: Group Contribution and Individual Contributions
  


• Here's the grand Campaign Contribution List