You're under arrest

I got an e-mail last week that said: “You've been there almost a whole session and you haven't been arrested. Nice work.”

Funny, but not really. The indictments and arrests of legislators, and the confessions of the people who say they bribed them, is a – pick a word – blot, stain, 11-million-gallon oil spill on the good name of the legislature and everyone associated with it. The indictments call into question the honesty of the political process – and of every single person involved in it. Even people like me, who weren't here when the dirty doings were allegedly done.

What should be done in response?

Well, we need to strengthen the state's ethics laws. As I write this, a bill to do just that – HB 109 – is headed for passage. That's good. I'm voting for it. Enthusiastically.

But we need to do more than that. When I went door to door last year, I talked to a lot of people about ethics, and came to the conclusion that the only thing that will really change the ethical standards of the legislature is to change the culture. How does that happen? People start behaving differently, and pressure others to start behaving differently. Sorry if this seems excessively zen, but all a law can do is make something illegal. Only a cultural consensus can make something unethical.

RIP VOT

The Voice of the Times is going out of business at the end of the month, only 15 years later than it should have. The VOT was the result of an unfortunate political deal between the Anchorage Daily News and Bill Allen, who pled guilty to bribery this week. That forced the Daily News to turn loose of the deal, so it's not like they suddenly saw the error of their ways.

Oil taxes redux?

Another piece of fallout from the indictments is a renewed interest in revisiting the legislation that caused the bribin' and skulkin', the Petroleum Profits Tax. House Democrats, of whom I am one, sent a letter to the governor and House speaker asking for a special session to review the law, now under a legal and ethical cloud as thick as a lobbyist's wallet. Passing the PPT was a long, hard, ugly process, so lots of people aren't eager to revisit it. But with four members of the House of Representatives who passed it now under indictment, it's hard to see how we can avoid it.

Get out my life, AGIA

We should be looking forward to the passage of Gov. Sarah Palin's Alaska Gasline Incentive Act. Instead, as I write this, we're in something of a hairball – sorry to use a technical term here – over the project labor agreement language. A PLA is really the only way to guarantee Alaska hire on gas line construction, but it has political enemies among House Republicans and members of the Palin administration. Hopefully, we'll be able to iron out the problem, but with all the bobbing and weaving at the end of a session, who knows?

E-mail campaigns

I've been getting quite a bit of email from people who want me to change my vote on the same-sex partner constitutional amendment or who want me to fully fund education RIGHT NOW! The emails are, unfortunately, almost word for word.

I say unfortunately because its not hard to recognize a campaign when all the emails read the same, and a carbon copy email has a lot less impact than one that reads like a real person gave some thought to something and sat down to communicate it. I don't challenge the right of special interest groups to barrage me with dittos. I'm just saying it doesn't work very well, with me or, I suspect, most legislators.

Lots more happening

But that's all I've got time for. Stay tuned.

Best Wishes,