It's Bill Walker
Daily Planet

Bill Walker is our easy choice for governor because he has a clear vision for Alaska and exhibits leadership qualities this state needs so desperately.

He understands the state economy and the importance of jobs. He understands oil and gas and how taxes work to either encourage their development or impede it, as the current administration has done. His plan to have Alaska invest in a gas pipeline, to hire it done, is something that should be discussed.

French is pleased with the tax that is sinking Alaska

By TOM BRENNAN

Hollis French’s latest campaign commercial is insane liberal happy talk.

The Democratic candidate for governor brags giddily in the television spot about how many billions of dollars the ACES tax boost is bringing Alaska. And he denigrates any legislator contemplating reducing the tax.

French is out of his mind. ACES, an acronym for the self-servingly named Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share, does bring in billions. Oh, doesn’t it though. The problem is the bill made Alaska just about the highest-taxing oil province in the world. And that at a time when the best oil fields here are in a steep decline and more investments in exploration and new development are desperately needed.

Dismantling America: Part two

By THOMAS SOWELL

"We the people" are the central concern of the Constitution, as well as its opening words, since it is a Constitution for a self-governing nation. But "we the people" are treated as an obstacle to circumvent by the current administration in Washington.

One way of circumventing the people is to rush legislation through Congress so fast that no one knows what is buried in it. Did you know that the so-called health care reform bill contained a provision creating a tax on people who buy and sell gold coins?

You might debate whether that tax is a good or a bad idea. But the whole point of burying it in legislation about medical insurance is to make sure "we the people" don't even know about it, much less have a chance to debate it, before it becomes law.

Political schizophrenia and the election

By PAUL JENKINS

One of the funnier things about elections nowadays is the absolute predictability of America’s political schizophrenia, that ability we have to talk, especially during elections, about cutting spending nationally and then sending folks to Washington, D.C., and expecting them to bring home the bacon - or the whole hog.

On the issue of spending and getting, we talk out of both sides of our mouths. It is as if we simply cannot make the connection. It’s simple: If we cut spending, we get less. Or maybe we do get it and have mastered the art of hypocrisy.

Not the best time to be a politician

 By PAUL JENKINS

Gubernatorial candidates Ralph Samuels and Bill Walker will tell you they are unhappy about Gov. Sean Parnell’s refusal to debate them more than a handful of times before the election.

The two of them have gone hammer and tong at each other all over the state. Alaskans have had ample opportunity during their debates to gauge the differences between the two on various issues such as the Alaska economy and our future as it relates to oil and gas.

They wonder why Parnell refuses to show up. I used to think they were only doing what election challengers do; that they wanted the governor to come out and rumble so they could make points and rack up more name recognition at his expense. In those kinds of face-offs, there always is the chance that incumbents will implode and challengers will come out on top.

Will Republicans save us?

By WALTER E. WILLIAMS

Democrat control of the White House, House of Representatives and the Senate has produced an unprecedented level of political brazenness and contempt for the limitations placed on the federal government by the U.S. Constitution. As such, it has raised a level of constitutional interest and anger against Washington's interference in our lives that has been dormant for far too long.

Part of this heightened interest and anger is seen in the strength of the Tea Party movement around the nation. Another is the angry reception that many congressmen receive when they return to their districts and at town hall meetings. According to the most recent Gallup poll, only 20 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, but that's up from a March 2010 low of 16 percent.

The smart money suggests that there will be a Republican takeover of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. The question is what can liberty-minded Americans expect from a Republican majority? Maybe a good starting point for an answer might be to examine how Republicans have handled their majority in the past.