Monticello

I had an outstanding day yesterday... I drove to Monticello and spent almost five hours wandering the grounds...guided mansion tour, garden tour, plantation tour and the like. It was an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous Fall day - lots of color on the grounds.

Monticello is quite different than Mount Verson - a reflection, I think, of the two very different personalities that were our first and third Presidents. Mount Vernon seems very functional - the house is grand for that era, of course, but somehow seems "ordinary" nonetheless.

Monticello, on the other hand, is a work of art from top to bottom. Every room, every flower bed, and every pathway is meant to be a part of a most wonderful picture. And this is not the fancy of modern conservators; Mr. Jefferson made detailed notes about every aspect of the plantation - the house, garden, and farms. And every effort is made today to remain true to those descriptions - including the species of all the flowers - all of which are the same cultivars (or very close to them) that were planted at the estate in the late 18th century.

Indeed, I am so taken by my two days of Presidential house hopping that I have decided to backtrack 30 miles today and visit Montpelier, the home of President James Madison. Montpelier was acquired by some branch of the Du Pont family and was greatly enlarged in the early 20th century but is now being "deconstructed" and restored to its early 19th century appearance. It should be fun!

After my Monticello visit I roamed the campus of the University of Virginia for an hour or so and then had supper in the University district - burger and beer night. Then a couple of episodes of South Park and to bed.

I'm afraid I still haven't downloaded any new pics...but they will be coming soon. The weather is beautiful again today so I plan to make hay while the proverbial sun shines.

I spoke to Alison yesterday morning and she and Doug arrived safely in Atlanta. They should be in Savannah today.

Life is good.

I'm off to Montpelier.

A Crisp Fall Day

Greetings from Charlottesville, Virginia and the lovely Dinsmore Inn. I'm staying in the "James Madison Room" and typing away at a beautiful antique writing desk. I just had a fine breakfast of bacon, blueberry pancakes, juice, and coffee and am contemplating the day's agenda. It's clear as a bell this morning, no wind, and about 35 degrees. A classic Fall day.

Yesterday I visited Mt. Vernon. It was great fun although a tad blustery. I spent about three hours roaming the grounds and, of course, took the mansion tour. I took lots of pics but haven't had the ambition to process them yet. Maybe later today.

The drive from D.C. to Charlottesville was very nice. There's lots of fall color - although the foliage is past it's peak in D.C. Still plenty of orange and red here, though, and it will get greener as I move south.

Today I'm going to visit Monticello and wander around the University of Virginia campus. Take another boatload of photos. Tomorrow I will drive over to Williamsburg. It's supposed to get warmer as we head into the weekend...should be around 70 on Saturday.

Last night I wandered into the old part of Charlottesville which has been turned into a pedestrian mall with lots of restaurants, galleries and the like. Had a couple of glasses of good Italian wine at a wine bar called Enoteca and then supper at a nice Italian joint called Fellini's #9. They had live music - a folksy trio that was pretty good. I sat at the bar for supper and visited with a number of folks - mostly youngsters most of whom are students (as are all the wait staff). As always, I like the feel of a University town. Folks are very friendly.

I sure enjoyed my visit with Martha. I hadn't seen her in a couple of years - she hasn't been to Juneau for awhile - and it's the first time I had a real chance to talk to her in many, many years. She is the same delightful person I knew in our years together working for Al Adams - still obsessive about politics although her canvas is much bigger now than in Juneau times. She is very close to Senator Stevens and his staff on both a personal and professional level and his conviction is causing her a great deal of heartfelt concern.

I just read the morning newspapers and it sounds like all the national Republican leaders are pigpiling on the resignation bandwagon. In Alaska, the Republicans are apparently split with some calling for Uncle's head and others saying he should stay the course. The only new poll numbers I've seen show Begich now ahead of Stevens by about 8 points.

I cannot say that I have shed any tears over Uncle's demise - it's long past time for a change. On the other hand, Stevens did have many legitimate legislative accomplishments over the years - his bipartisan work on fisheries issues for example - and now his legacy has turned to ashes.

Well, time to get on with the day. I leave you with one photo from the FDR memorial on the Mall:

Hey, buddy, can you spare a dime?

Dateline Washington

Greetings from the nation's capital. It is a beautiful Wednesday morning and I will be headed-out to Mt. Vernon and on to Charlottesville in an hour or so. Will pick-up my car at the airport.

I arrived in D.C. about 10 PM on Monday. It was a long day; but everything went off without a hitch.

Yesterday I walked the National Mall all afternoon. Hit most of the major monuments...and will upload more pics later. Last night my dear friend Martha and I went out for supper in the Old Town part of Alexandria...had a decent (but not great) meal at a French restaurant and then, for dessert, stopped into a Tapas establishment where we had profiteroles, coffee, and after dinner drinks. And as a bonus, entertainment in the form of flamenco!



My dear friend Martha Stewart

Flamenco!

Why Vacations are Important

Exhibit A:
Ho! Ho! Ho! The view from my deck this morning Sunday, October 26th. Fortunately, it's supposed to turn to rain later this afternoon.

Next post: Dateline Washington!

Counting the Days

I heard at the Club yesterday that we were within a day or two of setting a record for most days of consecutive rainfall. I don't doubt it for a second. We've had two big storms blow through in the past three days - big time wind and rain.

So...it is with very little regret that on Monday morning I set-sail for the Southland. Might even try some hominy and grits. And of course, hush puppies - which I believe are cornmeal cakes fried in fat. Good and good for you... Come to think of it, I better make sure my prescription for my cholesterol meds is filled.

As is now customary, I will be lugging-around 25 pounds of camera gear as well as my laptop and will do my best to keep you amused and abreast of my travels. Here's the basic itinerary:

October 27th - fly to Seattle (AS 72) and on to Washington D.C. (AS 2).
October 28th - Sightseeing in D.C. and dinner with Martha Stewart.
October 29th - Stop in Mount Vernon and then drive to Charlottesville, VA. I will be staying at the Dinsmore House Inn http://www.dinsmorehouse.com/
October 30th - Sightseeing in Charlottesville and vicinity - Monticello and the University of Virginia are top attractions. There's also a nice golf course operated by the University.
October 31st - Drive to Williamsburg. I'll be staying three nights at Magnolia Manor http://www.magnoliamanorwmbg.com/
November 1st/2nd - Sightseeing around Williamsburg - Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, and Norfolk are all attractions. Also the College of William & Mary.
November 3rd - Hit the road for South Carolina. I may drive straight through to Hilton Head (about 9 hours) or I may lay-up somewhere if I get tired.
November 4th /11th - Golfing and sightseeing with Dougie and Alison at their condo (need to get the address this weekend). I suspect we'll drive-up and spend at least one night in Charleston.
November 12th/13th - Drive back to D.C. I need to be at the airport by 2 PM or so - I will spend the night somewhere enroute on the 12th. Perhaps in the Raleigh/Durham area which is supposed to be nice. Or I may drive the coastal route.
November 13th - Fly to Seattle. Overnight at a hotel at Sea-Tac.
November 14th - Fly to Juneau (AS 75).

So there you have it...the Fall Victory Tour East Coast Swing.

In other news, I have eagerly been awaiting the Uncle Ted verdict for three days. But it sounds like the jury is wrapped-around the axle pretty tightly. Too bad. I was hoping for a quick conviction on at least one count. The Washington Post is now reporting that the jury has been excused until at least Monday and maybe until Tuesday due to a death in one of the juror's families.

Right now I see a mixed rain and snow shower out the window - no, make that hail. There's even a chance for a thunder shower (with more hail I would expect) this afternoon. A change of pace anyway...

Most of the leaves have now been stripped-off the trees by our recent windstorms. Many of them are now residing in my elder's gutters which I need to clean-out before I leave. But that can wait for tomorrow when we're only supposed to have frequent showers and not much wind.

I'm going to go have a workout and then haul a bunch of my old "work" clothes over to St. Vincent de Paul. I had all my dress shirts laundered and starched and most of them are still in pretty fair shape although I noticed that a number of them were purchased at Klopfensteins which has been out-of-business for something like fifteen years. Gonna take 'em a boatload of ties, too. Most of my suits still fit...guess I'll hang-on to a couple although I'm not sure why.

I was thinking maybe Sarah could take me shopping for some snazzy retirement duds. Reckon I'll take a jacket and tie back East...don't really know what to expect in the way of fine dining dress codes in that neck of the woods. And I will be going someplace nice in D.C. I'm sure...

I'll post again this weekend if anything interesting occurs. Otherwise it will be DATELINE WASHINGTON.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Let's Play Dress-Up!

Just a regular hockey mom wearing regular hockey mom togs...

Horny Teenage Boys for Palin

In other news...we await the verdict of the Uncle Ted trial...

More later...

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy 25th birthday to my two favourite gals in the whole world!

Rain, Heavy at Times, and Very Windy

Tick-tock. Six days until I blow this rain-drenched hell hole for (hopefully) sunnier climes. It's been very Octoberish of late - rain, rain, and more rain. And late tonight and tomorrow throw-in sixty mph winds for good measure. The forecast for this weekend now includes mixed rain and snow... And it's so g.d. dark!

Yesterday, we did have a sucker hole in the morning that allowed me to spend an hour or so in the elder's backyard pouring five gallon jugs of stove oil into the folks oil tank and chop a little wood. I also cleaned the chimney and put a clean cap on the stack. I went to the regional elections office and voted and got ballots for the folks to vote absentee - all the Lindstrom ballots are now signed, sealed, and delivered. And as a bonus, I hauled the elders to the doc so we could all get flu shots. Whew!

The poltical scene remains tense - two weeks to go to election day. The McCain/Palin folks continue to struggle although some polls show a slight up-tick in the G.O.P. numbers. Over the past week Mr. Obama's resume - according to the McCain folks - has greatly expanded. Today we are told that he not only pals around with terrorists; but apparently is also a terrorist himself as well as being a Muslim, a socialist, and now a communist. I thought communists had gone extinct - like the passenger pigeon or woolly mammoth. But wait! This just in from Fox News. Obama is actually Satan himself! Well, that explains everything...

Meanwhile back in D.C. closing arguments are underway in the Uncle Ted corruption trial. All the coverage seems to suggest it will be a close-call. The prosecution was pretty damn sloppy on a number of matters. Still, I am hopeful that justice will prevail. I cannot imagine a non-Alaskan jury getting a rancid whiff of Uncle's arrogance and sense of entitlement and NOT voting for conviction. In the real world a quarter of a million bucks of free goods and services (give or take) is not something that one fails to notice... And honorable people pay for these goods and services.

I have not seen any recent Alaska polling; but remain hopeful that both Uncle and Don Young will be shown the door on November 4th. Both the Democratic Senatorial and Congressional Campaign Committees are pouring a ton of dough into the race - although this could, of course, backfire. I just looked on a couple of websites and it appears that the consensus is that Berkowitz is up about 9 points on Young and the Begich/Stevens race is a toss-up.

My colonial era reading program continues. I just finished "Founding Mothers" by Cokie Roberts. It was very good. The wives and daughters of the "founding fathers" and other luminaries of the era were a plucky bunch.

What really struck me (as it did in several of the other books I have read) is how tenuous life itself was in that era - both sexes subject to untimely demise from diseases that we have long-since vanquished - smallpox, whooping cough, and yellow fever - to name just a few. And of course every woman of child-bearing age could expect to be pregnant every 18 months or so with a signficant likelihood that mother, child, or both would not survive the blessed event. The average number of children born to a woman was five (it would no doubt have been considerably higher had the mortality of mothers not been so great). Lucy Knox, the wife of the first Secretary of War, Henry Knox, had 13 children - only three of whom survived into adulthood.

I will try to post the final installment on my Legislative Finance years before I go on holiday. I have been frustrated by my scanner - when I scan items other than photographs it saves them in a format I cannot upload to my blog. It occurred to me this morning, however, that I should be able to copy them from one format and paste into another in Photoshop. This will be a somewhat laborious process and I may or may not get it done before I leave.

For the moment, I leave you with the the following from our third President, Mr. Thomas Jefferson:

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical... Our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions of physics or geometry...

The opinions of men are not the subject of civil government, nor under its jurisdiction... Truth is great and will prevail if left to herself... She is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate; errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted to freely contradict them."

A Slight Diversion - Senator John Sackett

I had planned to offer an entry on Football Fannie next; but I have had some technical difficulties scanning some of the relevant material. So...you get some more legislative stuff without adequate documentation. But trust me...

So a few anecdotes about one of my favourite legislators of the early 80's is the order of the day.

Without a doubt, the legislator I found most intriguing in my early years - and for a number of years therafter for that matter - was Senator John Sackett. Senator Sackett was Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee the first several years I worked for Legislative Finance. He claimed Galena as his residence, an Athabascan community on the middle Yukon. Senator Sackett was not only an Alaskan Native but also a Republican and gay - an unlikely combination then as now. He was also a true eccentric in many other respects. And he was regarded with fear and loathing by many of his urban colleagues.

My first Sackett story is strictly second hand. As I understand it, there came a time when Senator Sackett, Jay Hogan, Bob Grogan (a fiscal analyst with Legislative Finance) and several other legislators had the opportunity to attend a conference in Denver. They all checked-in at the hotel and then decided to go to supper together. Senator Sackett had his heart set on a particular restaurant; but when they all arrived and asked to be seated, they were informed that jackets and ties were required. Only Senator Sackett had a jacket and tie. While the rest of the assembled Alaskans were engaged in a discussion of where else they might go to dine, John turned to the maitre d' hotel and said "I guess that will be a table for one." Gotta love it.

My own first personal professional experience with Senator Sackett is memorable insofar as it taught me an invaluable lesson about the legislative process - do NOT make a move without knowledge of all the players involved.

My first session as a fiscal analyst saw me in charge of the "development" budget category, the smallest of the various budget categories and deemed most appropriate for the trainee. It consisted of a bunch of boring regulatory functions as well as some of the more entrepreneurial endeavors in which the State was becoming involved by virtue of its new found oil wealth. Like promoting agriculture (growing barley near Delta Junction and promoting dairy farming in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley), building dams for hydropower 'til hell won't have it, and generally promoting international trade. With the exception of some of the hydro projects, most of these initiatives have long since sunk without a trace. And deservedly so...although not without taking millions and millions of dollars of bullion with them to the bottom.

My first House Finance budget subcommitee Chairman was a freshly minted Republican legislator from Anchorage by the name of Dave Cuddy. Mr. Cuddy was the scion of an Alaskan banking family and, yes, this August went down to ignominious defeat in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate - whipped like the family mule by our recently indicted Uncle Ted Stevens. In the early 80's he was just a pup, and not a particularly promising one at that. Not a bad person, just someone with few people skills and not that bright. His mantra, as was and is the case with so many of these rubes was small government, free enterprise, and the like - without the slightest idea of what any of that might mean in the real world.

Still, as a public servant, and a young analyst out to make his mark, I regarded it as my solemn duty to further his goals notwithstanding my own personal reservations as to either his competence or his agenda.

After much hand-holding and generally futile efforts to educate my young Master about State Government, we presented a subcommittee budget report to the full House Finance Committee. Among the various budget cutting strategies proposed was the elimination of the State of Alaska's internationl trade office in Tokyo, Japan. At that time Alaska had trade missions in Tokyo and in Copenhagen, Denmark; and for reasons that I have long since forgotten I had concluded that the Tokyo office was the least productive of the two.

Unlike most of Rep. Cuddy's proposals, the elimination of the Tokyo office survived the House Finance Committee mark-up and was incorporated into the final House Budget. The Senate did NOT include this reduction in their version of the budget (I don't even remember with whom I worked on the Senate side).

When we got into the Conference Committee on the Budget Senator Sackett, the Senate Co-Chairman of the Conference Committee, much to my surprise, made a motion to restore the Tokyo trade office and to eliminate the Copenhagen office instead. After the meeting where this occurred, someone (I REALLY don't remember who or exactly when) explained to me that the incumbent in the Tokyo trade office happened to be Senator Sackett's boyfriend and the incumbent in the Copenhagen office happened to be the then sitting Attorney General's ex-wife. The only thing that perplexes me today, given the State's plump fiscal situation at the time, is why did the AG's former spouse get thrown under the bus? I do not know - and if I ever did know, I have forgotten.

In any event, I learned a valuable lesson and have since vowed, in the unlikely event I should decide that I want some sort of memorial upon my departure from this life, my tombstone should read as follows:

Elmer Alan Lindstrom
1955 -
"He aimed at Tokyo and hit Copenhagen"

One last Senator Sackett story. I don't recall what year this occurred...it's likely that it was after I left Legislative Finance and was working for Representative Al Adams - but the date is not important.

The Senate Finance Committee, then as now, met most mornings at 9:00 AM. And while 9 AM Senate Standard Time has always been an extremely flexible concept, I recall one whole week in particular where, even by the whimsical standards of the Senate , the delay was most mysterious to all of us awaiting their convening.

On Monday morning, we all assembled for Senate Finance. As I recall, it was near the presumed end of the session and there were lots of bills on the agenda. After cooling our collective heels for an hour-and-a-half or so, the Chairman's staff person came out and announced that the hearing had been cancelled for unspecified reasons.

Tuesday morning. Same thing.

Wednesday morning. Ditto.

Thursday morning. No meeting.

Friday morning. Cancelled.

Late on Friday afternoon we got word from Chairman Sackett's Office that there would be a Saturday morning Senate Finance Committee meeting. And we damn well better be there!

At some point I wandered down to the Chairman's Office and asked his staff just what in the hell had been going on... The Chair's staff sheepishly confided that every morning the past week Turner Broadcasting System had been showing a Judy Garland film and Senator Sackett had simply been too caught up in the drama to attend a hearing.

It's good to be the Chairman.

For the past ten years or so John Sackett has lived in Palm Springs with his partner (yep, the Tokyo guy) although I understand he has spent the last couple of summers in Fairbanks.

I would love to go out to dinner with him and his partner. I would even be willing to wear a jacket and tie.

Senator, my name is not Peter

The year was 1980 and Alaska was rolling in dough for the first time in its short history. One would think that the State would have been prepared for its oil bonanza - but that was really not the case. Despite the decade-long lead time from the award of the Prudhoe Bay oil leases and the start-up of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the state government was woefully unprepared for the piles of swag that would soon clog its bureaucratic arteries. The Department of Transportation, in particular, lacked sufficient projects designed and ready for construction.

Nature, as the saying goes, abhors a vacuum. And the Alaska State Legislature was more than willing to step-in with an endless parade of swell ideas to siphon-off the excess cash. If the State was unable to spend all this loot directly, then why not parcel it out to municipalities, non-profits, or some other half-organized bouquet of assholes with any plausible case to make for public funds?

Late in the 1980 legislative session as the House began mark-up of the next year's budget, a second major appropriations bill, House Bill 60, rapidly moved through the House and Senate and ultimately into a conference committee. All of the Division of Legislative Finance Fiscal Analysts were occupied in House Finance with the regular budget bill. So one day John Crandall, one of the aides to House Finance Committee Chair, Russ Meekins, had the bright idea that I should staff the conference committee for HB 60. I thought this was a swell idea and Jay Hogan agreed. So Accounting Tech Elmer became Fiscal Analyst Elmer - for a few weeks, at least. I wasn't officially awarded the title until later that year.

The bill had hundreds of sections of appropriations, written in narrative form.

For example: Sec. 200. The sum of $10,000,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the Department of Administration, for payment as a grant to the Municipality of Anchorage for construction of a community ice rink.

Someone had to create a spreadsheet that showed the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill- some sections were identical in both versions, some were for the same purpose but for different amounts, and some sections were for completely different purposes. I strapped-on my green eyeshade and went to work. This was in the age BEFORE desktop computers - I constructed the spreadsheet the old fashioned way on lined graph paper and did all the sums with a ten key calculator. It was a masterpiece if I do say so myself.

So, the day comes when I debut in the conference committee as official referee. I sat at the end of the committee table next to Ron Lehr, Governor Hammond's idiot budget chief. The Conference Committee, three members from the Senate and three from the House, start going through the bill section-by-section. And I take notes in order to draft the conference committee version of the bill.

Almost immediately I ran into trouble - didn't understand what Senator Hohman, the Senate Co-Chair of the committee, meant in one of his proposed amendments. I raised my hand to seek clarification. This engendered the following conversation (or something very much like it).

Elmer: "Mr. Chairman. Would you please restate your motion."

Senator Hohman (looking at House Co-Chairman Meekins): "Who's that?"

Rep. Meekins: "That's Elmer Lindstrom. He works for Legislative Finance and I asked him to keep notes since all the fiscal analysts are busy in House Finance."

Senator Hohman (glaring at me over his spectacles): "Alright. What I said was ONE MILLION, FOUR HUNDED FIFTY TWO THOUSAND FOR..... Did you understand THAT?????"

Elmer (meekly): "Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman."

Don't think I've ever been so intimidated in my life. But like most things, practice makes perfect; and before long I got into the rhythm of the conference. However, for some reason, Senator Hohman got it into his mind that my name was "Peter" and he so addressed me for several days. And of course, every time he said "Peter" the House guys, who all knew me, would laugh out loud. But since I knew who he was talking to, and since I had NO interest in correcting the Senator in public after my first humiliating question, I dutifully answered to "Peter."

The conference committee went on for several weeks. It was quite the circus. Every morning a herd of lobbyists and other hangers-on would troop into the Senate Finance Committee to catch the show - and hopefully some cash. The lobbyist for the Municipality of Anchorage actually dragged a steamer trunk full of requests into the room each day.

In those days, conference committees on appropriation bills could function as "free" conference committees, that is the committee could accept either the House version of an item, the Senate version, or make-up a brand new hybrid. And they could add new projects at will.

Over the years my experience as a budget analyst has been that "analysis" rarely consists of more than some combination of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. For House Bill 60, I made do with only two of these analytical tools - addition and multiplication.

Several days into the conference committee I happened to come across Senator Hohman and Senator Kertulla working quietly in the Senate Finance Committee room. I went up to Senator Hohman.

Elmer: "Senator, there's one little thing I would like to mention. My name is not Peter, it's Elmer."

Senator Hohman: "You don't say! Kerttula told me your name was Peter."

Senator Kertulla (who even then was very hard of hearing, looks up): "Huh? What?"

Senator Hohman laughed and went back to his papers. Subsequently I enjoyed his company on several occasions out-on-the town. Subsequently he also earned a felony conviction for sticking money in HB 60 to purchase a water bomber to fight forest fires and went to prison. He was to earn kick-backs from the seller of said bomber. He died quite a few years ago.

House Bill 60 largely disposed of the anticipated budget surplus that year. It contained hundreds of millions of dollars in projects when it was finally signed into law by the Governor.

Coming soon: Football Fannie

Career Planning - the Go with the Flow Approach

I promised some blogs on my early history with the Alaska State Legislature and you're going to get 'em whether you want 'em or not. I don't know why it's been so difficult for me to undertake these entries; but I'm disinclined to spend the money on intensive therapy that might provide an answer. Certainly the statute of limitations - both civil and criminal - have long since rendered anything I might divulge innocuous.

Part of my problem is the scanty photographic record. I got some nice pics from Alison Browne and Pat Williams from my old Legislative Finance days; but they are mostly snapshots of just us staff folks. And to do justice to any of the REALLY good stories, it would be nice to have action photos of some of the solons themselves. You would think that Google would have a variety of pics of state legislators from the 1980's - lord knows they have images of lots of pretty obscure stuff - but unfortunately they do not. And I do not have the time or the inclination at the moment to spend time in newspaper archives which is probably the best source.

Which is a long-winded way of saying I'm sorry I don't have more pictures to accompany these entries.

So here we go. In June 1979 I arrived back in Juneau with a freshly-minted baccalaureate degree in Public Administration eager to embark on a career as a bureaucrat with the State of Alaska. As I recall, Doug had immediately gone back to work for the Division of Legislative Finance as a Page upon our return from Bellingham; but subsequently got a more lucrative offer from his brother-in-law to go seining. And since there was an upcoming special legislative session and I was available - I was hired to replace Dougie.

The hiring process was noteworthy insofar as it pretty much set the tone for my next 28 years of public service - the go with the flow approach to career development. The "interview" took place after hours at Louie's Douglas Inn and was conducted by the division's Administrative Assistant, Pat Williams. Dougie attended to offer moral support. The details of this meeting are a tad murky in my mind; but by the end of the evening P.W. concluded that I had exactly the Right Stuff to be the division Page - the duties for said position consisting mostly of making copies, delivering stuff to offices, and NOT antagonizing any of the esteemed Members.

Apparently I performed my duties satisfactorily. Later that summer, after the special session had ended, (they kept me around afterward to make sure there was a warm body in the reception area since P.W. and others had previously scheduled vacations) I finally managed to secure a job interview at the Department of Labor for an Accounting Technician position. But fate intervened when Jay Hogan, the Director of the Division of Legislative Finance, intercepted me on the way out the door to the interview.

Jay: "Where are you going?"

Elmer: "To a job interview at the Department of Labor."

Jay: "For what job?"

Elmer: "Accounting Technician."

Jay: "Do you want to be an Accounting Technician for us?"

Elmer: "Sure."

Jay: "OK. Guess you don't need to go to the interview."

Elmer: "Guess not."

I've always liked the legislature's personnel system...

Elmer Lindstrom, Page, Division of Legislative Finance

Jay Hogan, Director of the Division of Legislative Finance

I beavered-away in the administrative office for the next few months - with the understanding that if I didn't piss-off anyone important - I would be moved into a fiscal analyst trainee position the following year.

But before proceeding further, a quick explanation of what the Division of Legislative Finance was all about is in order. Back in these antediluvian times, legislators had little or no personal staff. In fact until right about this time many of them hadn't even had offices. "Professional" staff were limited to the Division of Legislative Audit, Legislative Legal Services (primarily bill drafting) and Legislative Finance. The finance folks supported both the House and Senate Finance Committees in analyzing and drafting the annual budget and other revenue and appropriation matters. All these staff were non-partisan.

In real life terms what fiscal analysts did - in those days, at least - was hold the hands of members of the finance committees. The duties involved at least as much social work and counseling as they did actual budget analysis. Each analyst had a particular area of the budget that was his or her responsibility and he or she would work with subcommittees in both the House and Senate to develop initial budget recommendations for each full Finance Committee. Then each Finance Committee would pass it's own version of the budget to the floor of their respective body for adoption by the full House or Senate. Ultimately, a conference committee, in those days a FREE conference committee, would iron out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget and then the final conference committee bill would be adopted by both bodies and sent to the Governor.

Thus, each analyst had to be adept at discerning, at each step of the process, just what it was that each subcommittee (particularly the Chair), each full committee, and ultimately, what each body (the House and Senate) were trying to accomplish. And you had to try to provide them all with suggestions on how to meet their respective goals.

Needless to say the goals of the various members, subcommittees, and committees were often in conflict. Therefore, to be truly effective a fiscal analyst first and foremost had to have - how shall I say this - a high tolerance for ambiguity - an ability and willingness to work both sides of an issue at the same time. I am proud to say I excelled at this line of work.

Coming soon: "Senator, my name is not Peter."

Baby, Baby, It's a Wild World

With apologies to Cat Stevens...but it HAS been a wild world this week. I awoke at 6 AM and by the time I got to the computer the Dow Industrials had already lost 700 points, recovered to positive territory, and turned south again...it's now almost 7:30 AM and the Dow is currently down about 300. By the time you read this - who knows?

The fundamental problem - the credit crunch - shows no sign of abating and, indeed, has deteriorated markedly in Europe. However the stock market rout - as disconcerting and rapid as it has been - is not all that remarkable historically speaking. The Dow is down about 40% from it's highs, not at all unusual in a major bear market. If it goes down over 50% then I will begin to worry we may be in for something really special... I have actually been toying with the notion of putting a few bucks into the S&P 500 index - I haven't been in equities for over a year.

Yesterday, Dougie sent me a link to an article in Vanity Fair that I highly recommend. It suggests that our financial system, of late, has come to resemble that of a good ol' fashioned Banana Republic. The underlying argument is familiar to me - profits are privatized while losses are socialized. I dimly recall my Old Lefty political science professor, Chuck Fox, making the same arguments some 30 years ago - although the context then was somewhat different in the era of the first (but perhaps not the last) Chrysler bailout. Here's the link to the article: http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/10/hitchens200810?currentPage=1

On the campaign trail, Mr. Obama looks more statesman like by the day; and his opponent more rabid and confused (erratic is the term preferred by the Obama folks). I note that the CNN electoral map now shows Obama with solid leads in Virginia, Florida, and Nevada and also ahead, albeit within the margin of error, in Ohio, Minnesota and several other battleground states. Also from Dougie, I offer the pic below from the Emerald City "bassets for Obama."

Later this morning the investigator into "Troopergate" is to release his report to the Alaska Legislature. I hope for a bombshell; but barring blatant perjury on the part of Mr. Palin or someone on the Governor's staff, I think it more likely the verdict to be simply that the Governor was indiscreet and exercised poor judgement in the comments she made relative to her former brother-in-law.

Meanwhile in Washington, Senator Steven's trial staggers on. Not the finest performance by the prosecutors; but my money is still on a conviction notwithstanding the parade of poobahs now offering testimonials to Uncle Ted's character including his love of dogs.

On the personal front, I have spent a lot of time at the folks this week winterizing things and chopping wood. And lots of time at the Club. I just started lifting after time-off during my holiday and subsequent cold and was, once again, amazed at how quickly the body loses muscle tone. I've been sore all week. But it's a good sore!

I apologize for not providing you with any old legislative history this week. I have tried several times to write some stuff up, but have not been able to get into it - the project just does not amuse me at the moment. It seems too much like work. And I have been stymied in my efforts to find any pictures online of some of my favourite legislators of old.

So, there you have it. The week in review. Have a great weekend kids!

On Being an American

Ah yes, we enter the homestretch of the election. And it's going to be ugly.

The pious pitbull has been let off her leash and has been spotted in Florida attacking Mr. Obama for his association with Mr. Bill Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground some forty odd years ago. I will not bother you with the details; but if you are interested here is a link to Mr. Ayer's bio in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ayers

The Obama folks have retaliated with a video describing Mr. McCain's role in the infamous Keating Five imbroglio. Remember the Savings and Loan meltdown of some 20 years ago?

And of course the financial panic continues unabated - and now encompasses this entire disreputable globe. Todays headlines have the former CEO of

OOOPS. Sorry, I was interupted - the house was on fire. My landlady started a fire in their recently acquired woodstove and the stack overheated. Her son called me downstairs and the stack was burning...flames in the living room... Shannon called the fire department. I took the burning wood out of the stove and threw it out on the lawn. There was fire coming out of the stack on top of the roof. The fire died down. The firemen are now airing out the main house. No smoke in my digs. Shannon is a mite upset. Good thing she was still home when it started - or I would, at this moment, be standing in the driveway wondering what the hell happened...as my worldly possessions, such as they are, go up in smoke.

Now where were we? Ah yes. Today's headlines have the former CEO of the busted insurance outfit, AIG, blaming those pesky accounting rules for the firm's demise. Yeah.

The point of relating all of this (except the fire part) is that recent events have reminded me of an essay by H.L. Mencken titled "On Being an American" excerpts of which follow:

...
Why am I so complacent (perhaps even to the point of offensiveness),so free from bile, so little fretting and indignant, so curiously happy?
...
To me, at least (and I can only follow my own nose), happiness presents itself in an aspect that is tripartite. To be happy (reducing the thing to its elementals) I must be:

a. Well-fed, unhounded by sordid cares, at ease in Zion.
b. Full of a comfortable feeling of superiority to the masses of my fellow-men.
c. Delicately and unceasingly amused according to my taste.

It is my contention that, if this definition be accepted, there is no country on the face of the earth wherein a man roughly constituted as I am - a man of my general weaknesses, vanities, appetites, prejudices, and aversions - can be so happy, or even one-half so happy, as he can be in these free and independent states. Going further, I lay down the proposition that it is a sheer physical impossibility for such a man to live in These States and NOT be happy - that it is as impossible to him as it would be to a schoolboy to weep over the burning down of his schoolhouse. If he says that he isn't happy here, then he either lies or is insane.
...
Here the general average of intelligence, of knowledge, of competence, of integrity, of self-respect, of honor is so low that any man who knows his trade, does not fear ghosts, has read fifty good books, and practices the common decencies stands out as brilliantly as a wart on a bald head, and is thrown willy-nilly into a meager and exclusive aristocracy. And here, more than anywhere else that I know of or have heard of, the daily panorama of human existence, of private and communal folly - the unending procession of governmental extortions and chicaneries, of commercial brigandages and throat-slittings, of theological buffooneries, of aesthetic ribaldries, of legal swindles and harlotries, of miscellaneous rogueries, villainies, imbecilities, grotesqueries, and extravagances - is so inordinately gross and preposterous, so perfectly brought up to the highest conceivable amperage, so steadily enriched with an almost fabulous daring and originality, that only the man who was born with a petrified diaphragm can fail to laugh himself to sleep every night, and to awake every morning with all the eager, unflagging expectation of a Sunday-school superintendent touring the Paris peep-shows.

Have a nice day.

Vacation Pics Posted

Whew! I finally finished photoshopping all my vacation pics and got a CD to Laura with all the tournament action. Highlights have been posted on my Kodak Website - click on the link to the right.

I have also added a "dining guide" - links to good restaurants I have visited in the past couple of years. It's not all inclusive; but I vouch for all the eateries listed...makes me hungry just looking at their websites!

It was an uneventful weekend. Went to the Prospector with Dougie, Alison, Laura, and Shelly on Friday - good company and good fun. And then Alison invited me to supper. On Saturday I spent a good many hours uploading pics to the Kodak site and fiddling with my blog layout. Went to the folks and chopped quite a bit of wood.

I also got to play a little with my new toy - a Garmin GPS for my road trips. It's very cool. I programmed it to direct me to Aunt Emilie's and it worked like a charm. It's a got text-to-voice function which means that it both displays and enunciates directions - "Continue on Glacier Highway for 2 miles and then turn left on Egan Drive." "Turn left in 200 feet." And so forth.

This device should minimize stress on driving trips - particularly with other folks in the car. If you've got a beef regarding directions - take it up with the disembodied voice of Garmin - not the driver. Heh. Heh.

I will be giving the Garmin a workout in three weeks. My itinerary is still not complete; but I plan to fly to D.C. on October 27th. I'll spend the 28th in D.C. - hopefully taking my ol' pal Martha Stewart out to dinner (she's invited me to stay at the apartment she keeps near Reagan whether or not she's there). If she's not in the city, I'll leave time on my return trip to either visit her in D.C. or out at her farm in the Shenandoah Valley. Way cool.

On the 29th I think I'll visit Mount Vernon and then drive to Charlottesville, VA for a couple of days of sightseeing - including Monticello. Then, I think I'll drive to Williamsburg, VA for a couple of days. Then it's about an 8 hour drive to Hilton Head, SC to hook-up with Dougie and Alison for some serious golf. Yippee!

I'll stay flexible on the return...my only requirement is to get back to Reagan on the afternoon of November 13th for my flight to Seattle. Then on to Juneau the morning of the 14th.

I just didn't have the energy to scan any old legislative stuff this weekend; but perhaps I will get ambitious and have something amusing for you on Wednesday. Today, I'm going to go chop a bunch of wood - there's about half-a-cord alongside the folks fence that I can cut into smaller pieces and stack in the woodshed. Even with a tarp, the wood's not drying outside and it will get better air circulation in the shed. Then a workout.

Later gang...

Nose to the Grindstone

Well, the photoshopping of vacation pics continues apace. I took almost 200 shots at the golf tournament and have been spending about six hours a day the past three days working on them. It takes time to crop each pic and fiddle with the exposure, contrast, and so forth. And then there is the "cosmetic surgery" that is often needed - my goal in this instance to assure that the subjects do not look any more dissipated online than in real life. With any luck, I will finish the Redmond pics today so I can then copy them to a CD for Barb Whiting who can sort through them and decide which ones to put on the Juneau Golf Club website.

Otherwise it's been a fairly quiet week. I still have a drippy schnoz and a cough and have stayed away from the elders in order to avoid contagion. I did go up to Aunt Emilie's on Tuesday and mowed her lawn - for the last time this year, I expect. The grass hadn't been cut since before I left on vacation and it was quite wet, so it took a couple of hours to get the job done. And the damn bugs were the worst I've seen all year - there hasn't been a hard frost a sea level yet this fall.

Last night I watched the Biden/Palin debate. Unfortunately, I thought my Governor did quite a good job - although the bar was certainly not set very high given her recent foibles. Most of what she said was palpable nonsense, of course, but her chirpy brazenness will certainly allow her to live to fight another day. Indeed, most of the pundits concluded, and I agree, that although the debate most likely did little to improve Mr. McCain's chances in the election, it certainly did a LOT to assure Sarah Palin's future as a Whim Wham in the Republican Party in the coming years.

Meanwhile, the Congress continues to fiddle while Wall Street continues to implode; although this morning what passes for the Congressional leadership is suggesting that sufficient votes have been secured (that is to say purchased with taxpayer money) to gain House passage of the bailout package.

Among the more esoteric inducements are a tax break for manufacturers of wooden toy arrows (sought previously by both Oregon Senators) and tax credits for developers of auto race tracks (no specific sponsor has yet been identified; but I am willing to bet he/she lives somewhere deep in the Pellagra and Hookworm Belt). And of course there are the more general sweeteners of energy tax breaks, increasing the FDIC insurance limit, and limiting the application of the minimum income tax.

In other words, the bill that failed to pass on Monday - presumably because of Republican objections to the profligate use of taxpayer money to bail out greedy Wall Street Bankers - will likely pass today because it slathers an additional $100 billion or so of taxpayer money on other worthy causes - a number of which, on the face of it, lack any connection whatsoever to the financial meltdown.

In saying this, please do not mistake me for one who has shed any tears over greedy Wall Street bankers. Indeed, once the immediate crisis has passed, I would be more than happy to lead a patrol into the financial district to bayonet the wounded. And I certainly expect that the court dockets, both civil and criminal, will be well populated with folks in pinstripe suits for a number of years to come.

But enough rambling for one day. Time to go to work in photoshop...

Coming next week...my years at the Division of Legislative Finance.