“Let’s Hang In There Together”
by
Dave Harbour
At the signing of the Declaration of Independence – in the face of political oppression — founding father Benjamin Franklin urged his fellow countrymen to, “…all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
| See last week's report and photos: Alaska Mining Day! |
Today, the enemy of freedom and economic stability – as we have demonstrated – is a dedicated enviro-industrial-governmental cabal perhaps more menacing than King George’s foot guards, fusiliers and lancers.
Why is this so?
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Today's Wall Street Journal Joins Us In Documenting The Lawless EPA. -dh A basic precept of American democracy is that petitioners before their government receive a full and fair hearing. The Obama Environmental Protection Agency is in urgent need of that remedial civics lesson. The EPA inspector general's office last week announced it will investigate the agency's February decision to commence a pre-emptive veto of the Pebble Mine project, a jobs-rich proposal to develop America's largest U.S. copper and gold mine in southwest Alaska. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy says her decision to strike down Pebble before it received a hearing shouldn't worry other developers because Pebble is a "unique" threat. She needs to say this because the truth might chill billions of dollars in investment in the U.S. The IG is looking into internal EPA documents that we've also obtained that show agency officials were maneuvering to kill Pebble more than five years ago, and that EPA's main concern was building a façade of science and procedure to justify it. … EPA's decision to initiate a veto process before Pebble had even received an Army Corps review is a disturbing first—and a flouting of the law. … Emails show that EPA biologist Phillip North, based in Alaska and working on Pebble, was in 2008 advocating that his agency bring down the 404c hammer. "The 404 program has a major role" with Pebble, wrote Mr. North to Patricia McGrath, EPA's regional mining coordinator for Alaska, in August 2008. … By early 2010 EPA staff made a Power Point presentation for former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson about Pebble that lists a "pre-emptive" veto under "future options." Emails also show that Mr. North was actively engaging outside critics of Pebble. When the Bristol Bay Native Corp. filed a veto request in August 2010, Mr. North responded in an email to the group's lawyer: "Hi Peter, We have been discussing 404c quite a bit internally at all levels of EPA. The letter will certainly stoke the fire." |
America’s current enemies of the free market, economic sustainability, capitalism and constitutional principles are, indeed, enemies from within. They are narrowly focused on redistributing political power from a fair and balanced, democratic vote and due process, to themselves.
Their weapons are federal government overreach, erosion of the Rule of Law, regulatory abuse and creating alternative business/industrial allies through economic seduction: transferring taxpayer wealth via subsidies to favored enterprises.
Sadly but truly, it is much easier to summon resources to fight a foreign belligerent than a domestic anarchist with networks of fellow citizen supporters.
Until recently, citizens have been more or less consumed with day-to-day pursuits: getting, spending, caring for families, reveling in recreation.
But to thinking Americans, crises in the mid-East, Asia and Europe along with a failing US economy and deteriorating national defense capability are creating a new focus on reality. The new reality: ideals upon which our founders created America’s great Petri dish of freedom are under attack—jeopardizing the entire experiment in freedom.
In Alaska and Northern Canada alike, environmental activists — with billionaire / governmental / grass roots support — seek every opportunity to work against, not with, the industries that enable the country to provide the amenities upon which everyone depends, including activists.
Focusing for the moment on Alaska, we hearken back to Franklin’s admonition and apply it to our current circumstances.
Alaska’s constitution and Congress’ statehood vote nearly 55 years ago rested on the principle that the 49th state could survive only through development of its natural resources.
Plural.
That is, Alaska’s founders knew that all of Alaska’s resources were included in the bargain. Since 1959, however, Alaska’s ability to both survive and provide critical natural resource wealth to the country has been threatened by both overreaching federal and state statutory and regulatory policies. The first sign of a bureaucratic attack on our resource base occurred against Alaska’s forestry industry, made virtually extinct 30 years ago.
The most critical of current issues include both state and federal threats to the sustainability of Alaska’s economic lifeline, the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). TAPS survival is critical since over 90% of the state’s operating budget and almost half of its economy depends on the Alaska North Slope oil production that it transports.
Alaska oil and gas supports the financial strength of Alaska – and a third of all jobs — with TAPS oil responsible for the lion’s share. But the tourism and commercial and Sport Fishing industries provide thousands of jobs throughout urban and rural Alaska. Alaska non-profits per capita may be the most abundant in the country. And educational institutions employ tens of thousands directly and indirectly as do labor unions. All are dependent on oil production.
And yet: a majority of the legislature passed an exorbitant oil tax bill during the Palin administration which the Alaska legislature finally reformed a year ago. Oil investment is again increasing but another voters’ initiative to be decided this coming August proposes to dump the legislature's reform bill. Thankfully, many other industries are working to defeat the initiative.
Still, the fact that Alaska’s constitution gives life to the referendum process makes the prospect of investing in Alaska less attractive.
So what is to be done?
Keeping Alaska economically viable and TAPS providing economic wealth requires an outpouring of support from consumers as well as fellow producers of wealth. Indeed, to capture the long term loyalty and votes of the electorate requires the activism of leaders of education, labor, tourism, retail services, fishing and more.
We therefore urge our friends in the nonprofit, education, retail, labor and related industries to ask producing industries to talk to their boards of directors, their members. Interview producers for articles in nonprofit newsletters. Give them awards and accolades – not just for the many contributions of money they give directly to these activities!
Education is the key. A truly informed electorate will overcome the loud harangues, harassments and fundraising bases of activist groups which thrive on the economic discontent of the majority of citizens.
Energy is life. Trucks bring us virtually everything in our homes, schools and businesses—and trucks run on fossil fuel. Aircraft fly business, education, government, environmental, media and nonprofit leaders and employees here and elsewhere—but only when affordable energy is available. Ships bring Alaska toilet paper, food, manicure supplies, milk, fruit, frozen fish, fishing lures and winter clothes — all dependent on fossil fuel, mines and mineral production and resource harvesting of one kind or another.
To ignore the reality is to separate ourselves into shadowy little silos of self interest.
If more and more citizens secret themselves into solitary silos, our ability to hang together as a state and nation weakens.
President Lincoln (NGP Photo), before the other great war within, spoke to us through the ages with the ageless wisdom that, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Then, after half of America dominated the other half, he observed that, “It has long been a grave question whether any government, not too strong for the liberties of its people, can be strong enough to maintain its own existence in great emergencies.”
In our time, as in Franklin’s, if we don’t hang in there together we shall certainly hang separately as dedicated enemies from within continue to – almost imperceptibly — unravel the fabric of freedom so dearly won and held, little by little.
God save us from reaching a point of no return.
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