FRANK'S PICNIC AND HOMELAND SECURITY

Attended "Frank's Picnic," better known as "The Governor's Picnic," on the Anchorage Park Strip. This is an annual event It's free to the public, and more real picnic than politics. The governor graciously invited me to have a picture taken with him and Alaska First Lady Nancy. I don't know which of us was the most brave!

Amazingly, it appears this year that I may have been the only state legislator in attendance at the picnic. Maybe there were others I didn't see, but during the time I was there, I didn't see them.

Later I had a very informative discussion about Alaska homeland security with Brigadier General Thomas S. Westall, Commander of the Alaska State Defense Force, and Colonel Roger Holl, Comander of the 492nd Coastal Command. As Chair of House Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs, and a US Air Force retiree, homeland security is one of my top concerns.

We are fighting a very different kind of war today - much different than the wars of my generation. Our biggest vulnerability is perhaps failing to appreciate the danger of terrorism in our own backyard. And yes, we do have people in Alaska who give their allegience to Osama bin Laden. Scary stuff. Wake up folks! It's time to recognize reality.