With All Due Respect Episode 50

The walls are closing in around Governor Dunleavy with the Angela Rodell firing and his budget. Anchorage city hall is being run by hormonal teenagers who refuse to answer questions. Alaska's U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan emerges to take credit that ain't due. Naps are awesome. A great book on a famous negro leaguer who landed in the hall of fame. 

Transcript

Show 50
 
 Intro:

Just spent two weeks in Rio De Jenaro 
 courtesy of Ted Underhill’s
 American Express card
 
 Greetings
 I am Irwin M. Fletcher,

Your host

 With me as always
 main man
 my fat sam and gummy
 Van Sanders…
 
 Mr. Sanders two weeks off
 …your thoughts on that sir
 
 Exchange

 Disclaimer

 Contents
we touch all the bases
 
 State politics –

 Governor Dunleavy’s proposed budget
 …is a big beautiful sand castle
 …right before high tide
 
 Also
 
 The investigation in Angela Rodell’s firing
 …has begun
 …and walls have begun closing in
 
 
 Local politics:

The Bronson administration
 …is acting like hormonal teenagers
 …so we’re thinking about
 …taking away their Xbox
 
 (uggg I hate you!)
 
 …and
 
 …surprise surprise
 
 …Jimmy Hoffa
 …digs himself out
 …of the end zone
 …in Giants Stadium
 …and returns to
 …promote his
 …homeless mega shelter
 …once again
 
 (ummm…how bout no)
 
 Federal Politics:

As Alaska’s U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski
…single handedly
…saves Alaska’s economy

…Alaska’s other U.S. Senator
…Dan Sullivan
…finally emerges
…like Punxsutawny Phil

…just in time
…to take credit
…for something
…he had nothing to do with

Life:

Naps are your friend.
 …I’m going to tell
 …you about a great way
 …to grab a quick nap
 …in the style of Albert Einstein
 …and Salvador Dali
 …that will boost
 …your creativity
 
 Entertainment:

 It’s black history month
 …and your host has
 …a book for baseball lovers
 …about one of the first
 …players in the negro leagues
 …and one of the finest
 …players in major league history
 
 In closing comments:
 

Both U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski
 …and Governor Mike Dunleavy
 …are up for re-election this year
 
 One has built Alaska’s economy
 …the other has torn it down
 
 One has been a hero for Alaska
 …the other has been a zero for Alaska
 
 I’ll name names.

Alright, alright…
 …let’s talk some politics
 
 
 

 (Van plays politics)

State politics:

 As the Alaska legislature 
 …convenes in Juneau
 …for this year’s 
 …sine dei
 …grandstanding 
 …election year
 
 …they have begun to consider 
 …Governor Mike Dunleavy’s fy 23
 …budget proposal
 
 This year Governor Dunleavy is touting
 Alaska has a balanced budget
 …however he’s not telling
 …you that the budget is only
 …balanced 
 …thanks to the man
 …he loves to hate 
 …President Joe Biden
 
 Nearly half of Governor Dunleavy’s budget increase
 …is paid for by $375 million one time federal dollars
 …which will eventually cause
 …deficits in the hundreds of millions
 …beginning the following year
 
 Of course it will
 …you’re taking one time money
 …and creating on going obligations
 
 Governor Dunleavy’s budget is like
 …getting a birthday
 …check from your nana
 …and saying
 …cool
 …I’m going to buy
 …that car I always wanted
 …because now I 
 …have the first
 …months payment

 …That means
 …after the governor travels the state 
 …doing his Eva Peron turn
 …promising the creation
 …of these new programs 
 …on the campaign trail
 
 …in two years 
 …when the money runs out
 
 …he’ll have to propose
 …either 
 …cuts or new taxes
 …to pay for these programs
 
 Classic election year politics
 …it’s 3 card monte
 …using federal money
 
 Think about it
 …the guy had three years to propose 
 …these same 
 …much needed programs
 …but waits until an election year
 …and the federal government is 
 …picking up the tab
 
 However 
 …aside from the original $375 million hole
 …at least one of Dunleavy’s proposed programs 
 …will drive future costs exacerbating that deficit
 
 His safety initiatives 
 …call for 
 …adopting longer sentences
 …more prosecutors, 
 …more police
 …more prisons.

Look
 …if you want to be tough on crime
 …that’s cool
 …but
 …just recognize it ain’t free
 …being tough on crime costs money
 
 After all
 …soaring corrections costs
 …and the growing need for a new prison
 …was the well intentioned
 …reasoning behind SB91
 …a few years back
 …which
 …was an attempt
 …to lower prison population
 …and reduce recidivism
 …because annual corrections costs
 …were growing unsustainable
 
 
 So
 …after Governor Dunleavy invests
 …one time money in these new programs
 
 …creates all of the organizational
 …and human infrastructure
 …along with public expectations
 
 What happens
 …when next year those
 …federal funds aren’t there?
 

 Even
Budget documents published 
by the governor’s Office of Management and Budget
indicate the governor’s proposal
would create a budget hole in future years.
 
 

So
 …what’s the opinion of
 …Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka 
 …and co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee
 
 

Well, Senator Stedman
 …sipping a pina’ colado
 …painted the governor’s
 ...budget proposal
 …in a more tropical light
 
 “It appears to me
 that they’ve spent
 all the funds
 they can
 get their hands on
 …like a bunch of
 drunken monkeys
 putting together
 a budget together
 in euphoria”
 
 Drunken monkeys.
 Damn.

 Sidenote: 
 …This podcast is a huge Sitka fan
 …so it would make sense
 …that the podcast is
 …a huge Senator Stedman fan
 
 …And 
 …full disclosure
 
 …this podcast has spent 
 …a few nights 
 …in fine Sitka establishments 
 …like the Sitka Moose Club
 …as a drunken monkey 
 …but never 
 …ever
 …putting together a budget

 
 Unfortunately
 …not all of our leaders can come from Sitka
 
 

Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer 
 …and a member of the House Finance Committee, 
 …had a different feeling about the guvs budget
 
 Johnson’s initial impression 
 …of the budget is 
 …hey
 …it’s all good
 …in the hood
 
 Quote…“It looked like a realistic and straightforward, honest budget, I thought,” 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen
 …Governor Dunleavy’s budget 
 …is built on $375 million dollars
 …worth of sand
 …that will disappear next year 
 …but according to one
 …of Governor Dunleavy’s allies
 …it’s a realistic
 …straightforward
 …honest 
 …financial proposal
 
 Is there any wonder why 
 …Alaska has failed
 …to address these challenges
 …for so long?
 
 And the budget problem is complicated
…because Dunleavy has no plan for the future
 
 Alaska’s economy is one
 …of the very few 
 …in the country
 …that hasn’t reached 
 …pre pandemic
 …economic levels
 
 Governor Dunleavy
 …hasn’t succeeded on
 …one major economic initiative 
 …in the last three years
 …but he’s certainly
 …promised them
 
 In fact
 …his economic achievements
 …over the last three years
 …are so non-existent
 …that the first Dunleavy commissioner 
 …to resign this year 
 …was his 
 …commissioner of 
 …commerce and economic development
 
 I guess
 …not a lot cooking in the kitchen.
 
 Last year
 …you might remember
 …the governor saying 
 …his economic development team
 …was going to work on attracting 
 …the pharmaceutical industry
 …to Alaska
 
 A year later 
 …listening to those
 …same people  
 …their big thing now
 …is commercializing kelp
 
 …kelp?
 
 
 …Oil industry jobs are down 30% 
 …in Alaska over 2019 levels
 …and seaweed is 
 …apparently the economic answer 

 Speaking of looking for answers
 
…the LB&A committee
…looking for answers regarding the suspicious
…firing of Angela Rodell
…have retained legal counsel to 
…investigate the matter
 
The committee has instructed
…their legal team to
…interview all appropriate witnesses
…and if they need subpoenas
…to compel testimony they will
 

As with similar investigations
 …the committee will have no knowledge
 …of updates during the investigation
 …and will only receive the final report
 
 What this does is eliminate
 …any potential political grandstanding
 …and we get a truly independent report
 …without being tainted by politics
 
 Now
 …in recent weeks
 …more discoveries have been made
 …about the events leading up
 …Rodell’s firing
 
 Let’s all remember
 …Governor Mike Dunleavy 
 …has made
 …three very clear 
 …public statements 
 …about 
 …what he knew 
 …and when he knew it?

 One…he had nothing to do with the firing of Rodell.
 
 Two…he can’t recall ever having any conversations about the firing of Rodell.
 
 And Three…he knew nothing about the decision until it became public.

 However
 …According to public records obtained
 …by the Alaska Landmine
 …shows a flurry of meetings
 …that raises significant questions
 …about what Governor Dunleavy knew
 …and when he knew it
 
 According to public records:
 
 Between November 2
 …and November 23
 
 …there were seven different
 …meetings that included
 …four of the five trustees
 …that voted to fire Rodell
 
 …including five meetings that
 …included Governor Mike Dunleavy
 
 
 Now
 …meetings happen
 …so this doesn’t prove
 …there is a fire
 
 …but you cannot deny
 …that there is a hell
 …of a
 …lot of smoke
 
 I mean that’s
 …seven meetings
 …in three weeks
 …between permanent fund board
 …trustees
 …in the month leading
 …up to Angela Rodell’s firing
 
 …and yet nobody said
 …anything?
 
 …and yet nobody knew
 …anything?
 
 
 And that’s not it my friends
 …on December 9
 …the day Angela Rodell was fired
 
 …Commissioner Corrie Feige
 …was forced to call
 …in to the meeting
 …to fire Rodell
 …because
 …wait for it
 
 …she was at that very moment
 …in Reno Nevada
 …with Governor Dunleavy
 …at a mining conference
 
 But yet
 …according
 …to Governor Dunleavy
 …he only found
 …out when the
 …public found out
 
 The coverup is always worse
 …than the crime
 
 …and it’s clear there
 …is an obvious
 …coverup going on here
 
 Let’s hope this independent investigation
 …gets to the bottom of the
 …firing of Angela Rodell
 
 Let’s determine if this
 …was political
 …and give policy makers
 …a roadmap to ensure
 …this doesn’t happen again.
 
 
(Van plays music without words)

Local politics:

Conflicts between assembly 
 …and city hall continue
 
 As we’ve said for months 
 …this is about setting the table
 …for April elections
 …so City Hall can claim 
 …unsolved problems
 …like homelessness
 …are a result of a 
 …do nothing assembly
 
 The Bronson administration has been
 …no shows at meetings
 …they’ve fail to respond to questions
 …and when they do 
 …they sounds as if
 …City Hall is being run
 …by hormonal teenagers
 
 (why do you ruin my life so much)
 
 The assembly is like

…Dear City Hall
 
 What’s happening with the shelter contract?
 
 Whatever.
 
 

Alright…How about the status of Covid testing?
 
 It’s fine leave me alone.
 
 Okay…how about answering questions about the police department?
 
 (ugghhh…I hate you)
 
 Than just like a hormonal teenager
 …they show up every Tuesday night
 …and demand to know 
 
 What’s for dinner?

 Meanwhile…

 In a terse response
 …Anchorage City Manager Amy Demboski
 …accused Assembly members of
 …being combative while
 …bringing up the old dispute over 
 …who controls the assembly chambers
 
 Look fifteen seconds on this please
 …It's called the assembly chambers 
 …because it is the assembly’s chamber
 
 …It’s the seat of local government
 …It's the seat of the Anchorage assembly
 
 Of course the assembly chair controls the chamber
 …just like the speaker of the house 
 …controls the house floor
 …or the senate president 
 …controls the senate floor
 
 So why, the fight? 
 
 So why in the history 
 …of the Anchorage assembly
 …is there any debate
 …about 
 …who controls the chambers 
 …when the assembly in session?

 Because you’re
 …dealing with hormonal teenagers.
 
 Speaking of the
 …biggest hormonal teenager
 
 Last week
 …Mayor Dave Bronson
 …after drafting the
 …Anchorage’s project
 …wish list in private
…demanded
 …the assembly request $15 million 
 …from the State of Alaska
 …for his long sought 
 …after mega shelter
 

But when the assembly balked
 …because the mega shelter plan
 …is poorly thought out
 …too expensive for taxpayers
 …and still so many
 …unanswered questions
 
 Mayor Bronson
 …threatened to cut
 …off all further conversations
 …between city hall and the assembly
 …regarding solving
 …the homeless issue in Anchorage
 
 Then
 …if that wasn’t enough
 …Mayor Bronson said to
 …Assembly member Chris Constance
 …for all to hear:
 
 …”I have the money and I don’t need you to do it
 …I could do this project on my own”
 
 First…no he doesn’t have the money
 Second…no he can’t do the project on his own.
 
 But that never stopped a hormonal teenager
 from threatening did it?
 
 Then after getting rebuffed
 …by the assembly
 
 …the mayor got a boost
 …from his former homeless director
 …John Morris
 
 …you remember John Morris
 …Mayor Bronson’ former
 …homelessness director
 …who like Bronson
 …is married to
 …the mega shelter concept
 
 The same John Morris
 …who pulled a Jimmy Hoffa
 …at a meeting he scheduled
 …while disappearing
 …without so much as a goodbye
 
 Well he resurfaced this past week

…and penned an op/ed
 …in the Anchorage Daily News
 …demanding the assembly
 …build the mega shelter
 
 Now
 …I’m not going to go into
 …why a guy who walked
 …away without a word
 …suddenly has words
 
 But his op/ed with was basically
 …why hasn’t the assembly
 …built the
 …mega shelter yet 
 
 
 Now
 …for months on this podcast
 …we raised questions about
 …John Morris and the company
 …who was positioned to build
 ….the mega shelter
 
 Something wasn’t right.
 
 First the cost 
 …of the mega shelter 
 …had gone from
 …seven million
 …to fourteen million
 …to twenty one million
 …and was still growing
 
 Second
 …Here we had John Morris
 …actually paying for the design 
 …of the mega shelter before 
 …Mayor Bronson was even 
 …sworn into office
 
 

So this raised questions
 …about Morris’ involvement
 …with the company 
 …he was shepherding
 …into building the mega shelter
 
 

On October 27 of last year
 …the Alaska Landmine filed
 …a public request for emails
 …about John Morris
 …and his relationship
 …with Sprung
 …the Utah based company
 …Morris was promoting
 
 So far city hall 
 …has refused to provide
 …those emails
 …after three months

 So this podcast
 …has two suggestions:
 
 
 …before taxpayers ever
 …listen to John Morris
 …or Mayor Dave Bronson
 …on their mega shelter idea
 …taxpayers need to understand
 …the cozy relationship
 …between the administration
 …and the mega shelter builder
 
 …and
 
 …if Anchorage city manager
 …Amy Demboski
 …would spend less time
 …commuting to her home
 …in Wasilla
 
 …she’d have more time
 …to provide the public with
 …those emails that were
 …requested three months ago
 
 (van plays music without words)
 
 Federal Politics:
 
If not for Lisa Murkowski
 …than for whom

Last year when Alaska tourism
 …looked like it was going to suffer
 …a second straight cruise ship less summer
 …U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski 
 …went to the White House and said
 …my state needs help
 …and she got it.
 
 

With one phone call 
 …Lisa Murkowski
 …single handedly collaborated with
 …the White House 
 …to save the summer tourist season

Then
 …with Alaska’s economy struggling
 …and a state government 
 …that had stopped investing 
 …in infrastructure 
 
 Lisa Murkowski negotiates
 …across party lines
 …the largest infrastructure
 …funding in Alaska’s history
 …that will have the effect of
 …literally saving Alaska’s economy

Lisa Murkowski…
 …began last year on this trek
 
 She started negotiations
 …with 8 fellow senators 
 …four Republicans, four Democrats
 …they created a process
 …they grinded out negotiations
 
 From a political stand point
 …what Murkowski was able to accomplish
 …was nothing less than historic

 So what about Alaska’s 
 …other U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan?

 How helpful was he?
 
 

Well not only did Sullivan
 …originally oppose the legislation
 …but he actually mocked the group
 …attempting to negotiate the deal
 …including Murkowski
 
 

This past summer
 …at the same time Murkowski was working
 …across party lines
 …Sullivan was on CNBC at the same time 
 …mocking their negotiations
 …saying it was a waste of time.

Now Seven months later
…old Danny boy
 …wants to claim credit
 …that ain’t due.
 
 

This past week
 …Sen. Sullivan joined both
 …Sen. Murkowski and Rep. Don Young
 …to discuss with state lawmakers
 …the un-precedented benefits
 …this federal legislation would
 …bring to Alaska
 
 So
 …here is Dan Sullivan
 …who did nothing to help
 …in fact
 …initially opposed the bill
 …and mocked the collaboration
 …between Republicans and Democrats
 
 …now proceeding
 …to take credit for
 …military spending
 …broadband
 …critical permitting reform
 …a historic list of funding he called it
 
 

So Lisa does
 … all the hard work
 
 …then Dan sidles
 …up to
 …steal credit 
 
 Think about that
 …Lisa Murkowski spent months
 …suffering the slings and arrows
 …from her own party for
 …collaborating across party lines
 …and working with the White House
 …and then 
 …after she achieves
 …historic success for Alaska
 …Dan Sullivan suddenly appears
 …with a wide smile
 …ready to run the victory lap

 Dan Sullivan nothing
 more than an empty suit
 
 He reminds of that Seinfeld 
 …character Lou 
 …the sidler guy
 
 Seinfeld fans 
 …will remember Lou
 …Elaine's co-worker, 
 …who moved so quietly she couldn’t hear him
 
 And he’d 
 …use his ability 
 …to sidle up beside her 
 …whenever 
 …she presented her work
 …so he could steal 
 …half the credit 
 …for her accomplishments
 
 That’s our U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan.

 Like in that Seinfeld episode
 …maybe Sen. Murkowski needs to 
 …get Sen. Sullivan 
 …a box of tic tacs
 …to carry around
 
 …that way when he comes
 …sidling up to her side
 …the next time she
 …accomplishes something
 …she’ll at least hear him coming

 (Van plays life)
 
 

Life:

Napping is awesome.
 
 I’m not sure why it took me
 so long to appreciate naps
 
 Now
 …according to a new study
 …a unique napping habit practiced
 …by Thomas Edison and Salvador Dalí 
…might be one way to unlock your creativity.

Participants were instructed 
 …to allow 
 …themselves to fall asleep 
 …and reach the N1 stage of sleep. 
 
 In N1
 …people can perceive shapes, 
 …colors, and dream a bit, 
 …but aren’t yet in a deeper stage. 

The trick is to stay in N1 only fleetingly.
 
 So
 …Dalí and Edison would nap
 …while holding an object
 …like a spoon in their hands.
 
 When they began to doze,
 …their muscles would relax
 …and the object would fall to the floor,
…waking them up. 
 
They then began to go to work
…believing the brief rest had 
…improved their creativity.

In the recent study, 
 …the subjects were given a cup 
 …and when the cup 
 …hit the floor, 
 …they woke up.

Participants were tested afterwards 
 …and the results showed
 ..those that reached the N1 stage
 …were better at solving tasks
 ..they’d had previously been stymied.
 
 I will personally vouge 
 …for this technique
 …it does work

 but I will be honest
 …it works much better
 …if you hold nothing
 …and sleep until 
 …you wake up naturally
 
 …or until
 …you hear the music
 
 (Van plays entertainment music)

 
 Entertainment:

 In entertainment,
 …February is black history month
 …and as a die hard baseball fan
 …nothing has intrigued me
 …more than
 …the professional negro baseball leagues
 
 So
 …I picked up a book about one of the
 …earliest stars in the negro leagues
 …who went on to be voted to
 …the baseball hall of fame
 
 The book is called
 
 The Bonafide legend of Cool Pappa Bell
 Speed, grace and the Negro leagues
 

 James Bell, born in 1903
 …he'd become one of the first
 …players in the negro leagues
 …and one of the finest players
 …in history.
 
 During that time James Bell
 …made a name for himself
 …in the league
 …as a smart player 
 …with blazing speed
 
 

For fifty years
 …major league baseball was completely
 …segregated so the National Negro League
 …was created in 1920.
 
 
 However 
 …during the off season
 …major league stars like
 …Ted Williams, Roger Hornsby , Walt Feller
 …would come to play winter baseball 
 …in places like California and Mexico
 …and they’d play in tournaments
 …against Bell and his fellow
 …negro league all stars.

More times than not
 ….Bell and his team got the better
 …of their major league counterparts
 …in spectacular fashion
 
 Soon Williams, Hornsby and others began
 …to speak out 
 …saying 
 …hey these guys are really good 
 …if not better
 …why aren’t we playing together?
 
 Finally in 1947
 …Jackie Robinson broke
 …the color barrier
 …heralding the end
 …of segregation in the major leagues

 Ladies and Gentlemen
 …The 1950’s
 …was the first decade of 
 …integrated major league baseball 
 
 During that first decade 
 …80% of the National League 
 …MVP’s were players
 …from the negro leagues
 
 Some say James Bell 
 …was born
 …twenty years too early
 
 But his story 
 …shows an amazing man
 …who dedicated his life 
 …playing a game 
 …he loved
 …during a time of
 …blatant discrimination
 …amongst a
 …constant threat of violence

This is a book of optimism
 …the story of one man
 …James Cool Pappa Bell
 …his style
 …his integrity
 …and his love of baseball
 
 The book again is called -

The Bonafide legend of Cool Pappa Bell
 Speed, grace and the Negro leagues

 …written by Lonnie Wheeler 
 …Checks in at 302 pages
 …and is available in paperback
 
 

I highly recommend it.

(Van plays politics, life, entertainment)
 
 

Closing comments:

As I mentioned
 …earlier on this podcast
 …U.S. Senator
 …Lisa Murkowski 
 …with her ability to work
 …across party lines 
 …has saved Alaska’s economy
 
 Her ability to say hell with politics
 …I’m going to do what’s right for Alaska
 …will result in billions
 …in much needed investments
 …while providing thousands of jobs
 
 Now
 …you’d think Governor Mike Dunleavy
 …a Republican governor
 …who has led this state to one of the
 …worst economic performances of any governor
 …in the United States over the last three years
 …would be 
 …eternally grateful for Murkowski’s work
 
 
 
 Lisa Murkowski 
 …delivered historic
 …infrastructure investments
 …in less than one year
 …working across
 …party lines
 
 I mean Ladies and Gentlemen
 …this has got to be
 …the first time in history
 …where a United States Senator’s call
 …just before the stroke of midnight
 …pardoned the governor 
 …and his state’s failing 
 …economy
 
 
 Lisa Murkowski 
 …delivered for 
 …Governor Dunleavy
 …an eleventh hour reprieve
 
 …but he won’t endorse
 …Murkowski
 
 …because 
 …instead of doing 
 …what’s right for Alaska
 
 …he feels
 …it’s better  
 …continuing to
 …bowing to  
 …former President Trump
 …instead of 
 …standing tall for Alaska
 
 Just like our U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan
 …where it’s better for him
 …to continue bowing to
 …Trump supporters
 …who stormed the capitol
 …causing death and chaos
 
 …than it is for him
 …to have the courage
 …to defend democracy
 
 What is it with
 …politicians like Dunleavy
 …and Sullivan?
 
 They portray themselves
 …as these stand tall 
 …defend your country
 …when in fact they’re
 …both so 
 …pathetically weak 
 …with their Twizzlers
 …for backbones
 
 
 U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski
 …is the hero 
 …Alaska needs to celebrate
 …this election year
 
 Governor Mike Dunleavy
 …is the zero 
 …Alaska needs to defeat
 …this election year
 
 

And for U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan
 (Whatever)
 
 (Van plays closing music)
 
 And there is the music
 …ladies and gentlemen