Blogs by Rep Bob Lynn

Blog site of Representative Bob Lynn, Alaska House of Representatives,District 31 Anchorage, Alaska. Blogs consist of public comments during legislative sessions, speeches, political commentary, as well as personal observations, and some journal type entries. Comments are invited.

Name:
Location: Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Member of the Alaska State House of Represeentatives since 2003. US Air Force, Retired; military bandsman; F94C interceptor pilot; Vietnam service as radar controller (Monkey Mountain), radar site commander(Pleiku); Government Contract Management; Public school Teacher, Retired. Married 55 years to Marlene Wagner Lynn, 6 children, 20 grandchildren, 1 great-grandchild. Member St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton Church. Former Tucson Arizona policeman, Ambulance Driver and Mortician's Assistant, Realtor (currently on referral status).

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

DEATH OF A PRESIDENT

President Gerald Ford died tonight at age 93. Born in 1913, he was one year younger than my late mother. He became president on Aug. 9th, 1974, after Richard Nixon’s resignation. At the time, I was stationed as Operations Officer at a mobile radar site at Sembach Air Force Station, Germany - soon after I left Vietnam.

The nation had suffered the Watergate scandal, and I remember the reassuring words of President Ford on Armed Forces Radio. He stated, “Our long national nightmare is over." Simple but appropriate words.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

HEARTRENDING STORY

There’s so much in the news that sometimes we miss human interest stories that are both heartrending and encouraging.

Some years ago a story came to my attention about a sixteen year old girl who became pregnant out of wedlock though she was, in fact, engaged. Early engagement is not as uncommon as one might think. In fact, my great-great grandmother Sally Foster Rainey was only sixteen when she married. Many of us can remember when pregnancy without accompaniment of a legal spouse was scandalous.

Joe, the young mother’s fiancé, knew he hadn’t gotten his girlfriend pregnant (he was a religious type). Quite understandably, he found it difficult to trust the girl after her impregnation. Although Joe loved the girl, he was reluctant to go ahead with the marriage and have his friends call him a fool – or worse, call the baby a “bastard.” That’s a “fighting word” even in the anything-goes-world of 2006.

It’s possible some of Joe’s friends may have wished that the girl would “take care” of the situation by eliminating the problem pregnancy – but there’s no record of such a thing and, if they did, no one admitted it.

Like anyone with a modicum of common sense, Joe went to a trustworthy counselor for guidance. Because of his confidence in the couple, the counselor advised Joe to go ahead and marry the girl. After the marriage, the newlyweds took a lot of static from busybodies, not to mention the religious right crowd. And that was just the beginning of the troubles.

At the worst possible time, in the middle of a trip out of town, Joe’s wife decided to deliver. It was the Christmas season, and almost every place in town was booked up. Finally, the couple was able to check into a dumpy accommodation at a roadside lodge – just before the baby was born. By the Grace of God, both mother and child came through the crisis unscathed, even though a doctor wasn't there to help. Even so, the family remained in desperate circumstances, although some other travelers heard about the situation and brought some gifts.

Trouble followed trouble – that sometimes happens when a child gives birth to a child. The family got in trouble with the government, and had to cross a state line to evade arrest. But later on, when the situation cooled down, Joe was able to move his family back home. Things started looking up.

The baby grew into a young man, home schooled in his father’s trade. But his son had other things on his mind. That set the stage for problems with the educational establishment who determined the young man was not “politically correct” and acted, in their opinion, as if he knew more than his teachers.

The young man was perceived to be a religious radical. Not only that, he became the leader of a gang of other like-minded men, causing one disturbance after another – once even on church property! Mainline religious groups took legal action, and an arrest warrant was issued for a trumped up capital charge, and he was arrested after one of his own gang snitched on him. Justice did not prevail. He had no friends in court, and no high paid lawyers, which is the usual case for poor folks. At what appeared at the time to be the end of the case, a summary execution was carried out in a cruel but not unusual manner.

As for his mother, her marriage was very successful. She gained renown for good parenting skills, and became a role model in responsible women’s movements.

The moral is: unplanned pregnancies sometimes bring unanticipated good results. And that’s just the beginning of the story. The BEST is yet to come!

Best wishes for a Blessed Christmas, Holy Season, and a Happy New Year!
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Note: At one time I wrote a weekly column called “Irregular Commentary” for the Valley Times Newspaper in Moreno Valley, California. The above story was modified from my December 17, 1992 column in that paper.

CHRISTMAS EVE "ROADSIDE OFFICE"

I enjoyed myself this Christmas Eve afternoon by holding my "Roadside Office" on Old Seward Blvd in Anchorage. I put on my Santa Claus hat, stood in front of my 8x12 "Meet your State Representative" sign, and waved a Merry Christmas to traffic passing by.

Temperature was a cool 17F degrees, but the reception was warm. Some folks stopped by to visit, many waved back at me, and several honked their horns. Those who didn't stop, knew they could have. Best wishes to everyone for a Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 22, 2006

WHOA THERE!

The following is an opinion article I submitteed to the Anchorage Daily News for publication on December 15, 2006.
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WHOA THERE!

In the wake of FBI raids of a few legislative offices, and the recent federal indictment of one member (out of sixty) of the Legislature, some people – who are smart enough to know better – are labeling the entire Legislature “corrupt.”

For example, the Anchorage Daily News reports Representative Croft said, “this is a fundamentally corrupt Legislature.”

Whoa there! That’s not fair. It’s outrageous. The indictment of one, or even more, is not and should not be an indictment of the entire Legislature.

The great majority of the legislators – both Republicans and Democrats – are honest, ethical, hardworking individuals (and the majority rules). Legislators can disagree on all kinds of issues, along party lines and within parties, but Honesty and Ethics have no party label.

This is not a time to play “Gotcha Politics,” by using allegations of improper conduct by a few to condemn ALL, for the apparent purpose of indulging in political vendettas or advancing party agendas.

I like Eric Croft. We disagree on some key issues, but he’s a good man. Like most other legislators, I believe he’s concerned about any indication of unethical behavior in the Legislature. Hopefully, he misspoke when he labeled the entire Legislature “fundamentally corrupt” – because that would be damning the many by the possible actions of the few. Surely Representative Croft agrees with me that most of his Democrat colleagues are dedicated public servants, just like my Republican colleagues.

No legislation will make an unethical legislator ethical. That said, the Legislature needs to “come reason together” on better ethics legislation that will assist anyone who is “ethically challenged.” With that in mind, I’m working with Representative Berta Gardner in a bi-partisan effort to draft a bill tightening requirements for disclosure and also addressing so-called “consulting contracts.”

A broad range of Alaskans elected the forty representatives and twenty senators in the Legislature. We are as diverse as the voters who elected us. Just like everyone else, none of us are perfect – not even close. Most legislators are good, law-abiding folks working to do our best. But, if anyone is convicted of violating the public trust, put them in jail and throw away the key.

We have a good Legislature, and a new Governor, and it’s time to move on to the challenges and opportunities that will make our state an even better place for all Alaskans.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

I LIKE A HARLEY

Part of our vacation in this December was visiting family. My daughter Debra in Moreno Valley, California (my old stomping grounds. Was on City Council there)has a Harley-Davidson motocycle. Of course, I had to take it for a spin. Wow! Sure beats the old Honda 450 motorcycle that I sold when I moved to Alaska.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

SAD NEWS

Marlene and I were on vacation out-of-state when I heard about the federal indictment of Representative Tom Anderson on several very serious charges. In our system of justice, everybody accused of a crime deserves their day in court and we’ll see what happens then. This is a sad situation that affects everybody to some degree. My heart especially goes out to Tom’s family. Let’s keep those who need our prayers, in our prayers.

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