Pubdate: Wed, 22 Oct 2014
Source: Alaska Dispatch News (AK)
Copyright: 2014 Alaska Dispatch Publishing
Contact:  http://www.adn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18
Note: Anchorage Daily News until July '14
Author: David Phifer
Note: David Phifer has lived in Alaska for over 25 years and is 
married with one child. He works as a financial examiner and enjoys 
playing games with friends and shooting at the rifle range.

FRANK MURKOWSKI'S ATTACK ON LEGALIZATION MADE OF SMOKE AND MIRRORS

In denigrating Ballot Measure 2, Frank Murkowski did an about-face 
from his record of sticking up for a small government that didn't 
interfere in the lives of its citizens.

After reading former Sen. Frank Murkowski's opinion piece on Ballot 
Measure 2 I was struck by the lack of understanding of many of the 
issues involved. His misconceptions are summarized most eloquently in 
his second paragraph: "It reminds me of the herd mentality of the 
lemmings stampeding off the cliff with little thought to the consequences."

That is a good line  except it is a lie. The lemmings jumping off a 
cliff was staged by photographers looking for a good story with no 
regard for the truth. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has this 
to say about the incident, "The epic 'lemming migration' was staged 
using careful editing, tight camera angles and a few dozen lemmings 
running on (a) snow covered lazy-Susan style turntable."

This type of lie, the one that sounds good, endures while the truth 
struggles on. Murkowski asks us about the impact on our children. 
Rather than look into the truth, he is appealing to our feelings and 
what we think the answer will be. The truth of the matter is that 
teen cannabis use in Colorado has apparently dropped since it has 
been legalized. Ballot Measure 2 does not legalize cannabis use for 
children but for adults 21 years and older who can decide for 
themselves how to live their lives. Drug dealers do not check IDs, 
but licensed and regulated stores do.

Murkowski uses scare words like "Outside money" when he disagrees 
with the issue however he was not decrying this same "Outside money" 
when he accepted campaign donations from Chevron, Pinnacle West 
Capital, BP, and others. When multi-billion-dollar companies wanted 
to support him, he accepted their help with open arms. However, when 
two nonprofit organizations are working for the people of Alaska, he 
suddenly has a change of heart about "Outside money."

I can't help but feel that as a life-long politician, he thinks 
Alaskans are lost without people like him telling them what to do. 
Murkowski used to be for a small government that didn't interfere in 
the lives of its citizens. Now he is telling Alaskans that they are 
helpless without government stepping in and telling them what do to 
with their own lives. U.S. citizens should be seeking more freedoms 
rather than submitting to the authoritarian will of an ever-expanding 
government.

Murkowski is ignoring the nation's own history of failure in the 
prohibition of alcohol. Prohibition enriched ruthless criminals such 
as Al Capone and did nothing to stem the flow of alcohol, while 
making otherwise innocent citizens into criminals. Instead of being 
taxed and regulated, bootleggers were violently fighting for 
territory. Consumers were forced into dealing with criminals and 
buying a product that was often poisonous due to the lack of 
oversight. The U.S.-Mexico border is rife with cartel violence, and 
according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy 
more than 60 percent of drug cartel income in 2006 came from cannabis 
sold in the U.S.

Mark Twain once said "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."

The former senator and governor believes in pushing half-truths on 
Alaskans and hopes we'll run off a cliff and vote "no" without 
evaluating the truth. I believe Alaskans are not so easily goaded. A 
regulated cannabis market will create local jobs, tax revenue, 
increase our personal freedom, reduce the amount of money going to 
criminals, and will help move cannabis out of the hands of youth by 
putting it into the hands of licensed local business owners.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom