John Finley endorses Dan Ogg for the Kodiak House seat

Some things bear repeating, like this letter from a Kodiak fisherman and a long-time "voice crying in the wilderness" about social injustice in the fishing industry.

The plant in Pelican didn't need "linkages" or an "allocation" to get started again. Just plain old free enterprise. (This was almost my birthplace.)

(I also like to put stuff like this in my blog archives.) There are John Finleys all over in the ports. They are trying to make some money catching fish too. I just think current politics has fostered an army of new fishermen who the old halibut longliners called the "mad ones." That's a recipe for privatization that all Americans cringe about.

I don't go for giving away the fish into perpetuity. I just think it has the potential to hinder free enterprise to a point that the communities are no longer necessary. Technology in fishing vessels is getting that they mainly just need gas stations all over. And the Gulf of Alaska "Groundfish Pilot Program" won't really be a pilot program, but a way to get a boulder rolling down the mountain. How would you ever stop halibut IFQs(quotas) now for example? It's poor policy and pure greed that would encourage control of the marine resources by a few, instead of being owned by the public as it's always been.

How does government qualify as a referee for an industry it doesn't understand. Government's true role should be in making the stakeholders collaborate and not cop out and take sides. Government should replace a lawmaker, like NPFMC Chairwoman and processor's lobbyist Stephanie Madsen, who said to a representative for independent fishermen, "Don't you ever get tired of losing?"

Unfortunately, the big corporations and government in the seafood industry will need to be made to retrench to their inherent roles. The processors process the fishermen's fish, and the government makes sure the public's interests are protected. It's really very simple. Too many politicians have bit on the processors line of: you gotta protect us to protect the shore jobs. If you buy that I've got these deeds to Lunar landscape I'll sell you.

The Magnuson-Stevens Act said that fisheries management in the EEZ would be done by industry with the help of government. It's evolved into some nightmare of power and money grabbing. It all is a replacement for collaboration between stakeholders, but then when has the processing/government sector ever come clean with anyone. The souless corporation and souless government vs the independent fisherman can be pretty closely compared to godzilla vs bambi. Hence this fisheries scientist saying that future generations will only have jellyfish to eat the way things are going.

"Former Alaska Attorney General John Havelock's Anchorage Daily News' September 26th "Comment" is a must read if you're thinking the legal problems of the crooks selling off Alaska's resourses will just blow over. It's the straight story about the long hoped for cleaning of our political system.

The good news is 70 Federal agents on the case and indictments in 07. My only fear is we'll end up burning a few very important people who richly deserve it, but lose our own battle during the excitment.

I am still not allowed to fish Rockfish in the Gulf of Alaska, and you aren't either. Why is that? Those who feel they don't yet understand the situation should assemble the few simple facts that it takes to answer that question. The masterplan of the cartels would begin to emerge from the fog. They're going to steal the GOA just like they did the Bering Sea, if we let them.

On another note, having failed to shame several leading citizens into a write-in run for the House seat I'm forced to contemplate the choice we're left with. No one knows how bad Ledoux was unless they were one of the fisheries activists that worked for a year to turn her against SB 113. SB 113 was Sen. Ben Stevens' plan to gut the State Constitution in terms of fishing rights. She snubbed us fishermen all the way and then had the gall to claim credit for defeating the Bill in a campaign speech last month.

Gabrielle just vibrates with whoever is presumed to be important and winning. She rode into office on the Asian-Latino voting block in the last election. Those people voted for me when I ran years ago and my politics haven't changed. To them I would say that she took your vote and forgot about you. Don't be fooled again. Vote for Dan Ogg.

And look at Tony Knowles, climbing up in the pols by smearing Palin as anti-native on subsistence. Tony's sins as governor, too numerous to count, were color blind, injuring all Alaskans equally by favoring corporations over people. Please, whoever you are up there, let Sarah Palin be our next Governor. Please. All The Best"