Six Questions to Alaska Congressional Candidates #2--Solutions for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault

I submitted six questions to all of the Progressive candidates for the Alaska At-Large Congressional seat (running against Don Young) as well as the U.S. Senate seat (running against Ted Stevens). The ones who responded were Ethan Berkowitz, Diane Benson and Mark Begich. Here is the answer to question number two from AK-AL candidates Diane Benson and Ethan Berkowitz.

2) Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault: Do you have a plan to address and provide solutions to protect the mostly women and children affected by this chronic problem? Can you address solutions especially geared towards the Alaska Native Community considering the frighteningly high number of Native victims in proportion to their population?

DIANE BENSON

Having worked in the field of violence and recovery, I find several conditions evident for both the Native and non-Native communities:

1) There are not enough shelters in the state of Alaska for the protection of family members suffering in fear of and at the hands of violence.

2) Alcohol and drug abuse constitutes the major cause of violent crime committed in Alaska, yet we are sorely lacking in funds for alcohol and drug addiction treatment let alone for family support programs.

3) Education for women of every age about self-defense, protection, and resources is lacking.

4) First responders and police need more training and support to meet quicker and adequate response time and reporting requirements.

5) Community leaders and health care providers need to be adequately educated and trained in sexual assault prevention, mandatory reporting and reporters, safe homes, rape kit requirements, and victim testimony etc.

The Amnesty International report that alarmed many as to the level of sexual violence in Alaska was unfortunately only a fraction of the actual chronic levels of violence. Some who work in the field speculate that the rates of violence are as high as 90% in unreported cases. As Alaska’s Congressional Representative I would actively pursue ending this crisis in Alaska and therefore would:

1) Work with the Department of Justice and advocate for more funds directed to sexual assault and family violence prevention
.
2) Work with the state to increase rural police and VPSO programs, and appropriate training for these and other first responders.

3) Act on local recommendations for alternative/tribal court development, funding crisis centers, and act on school and other child safety plans.

4) Advocate for an increase in funds for justice for victims of crime.

5) Make reporting safer.

6) Work with the state to increase drug and alcohol recovery programs, and awareness – and support such federal bills as the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act.

7) Support a mandate to end sexual violence in Alaska.

8) Listen.

ETHAN BERKOWITZ

Too many lives, too many families have been shattered by domestic violence and sexual assault. I worked on too many cases with too many victims, and know that this violence casts a dark, dark shadow over Alaska. The statistics impersonally convey the extent of the problem.

I know the humanity from experience.

I remember the dignity of a young woman, raped repeatedly, under circumstances too horrific to recount here. I remember the strength of an abuse victim, so badly beaten, her face swollen, her arm broken, supported by two officers as she made her way to the witness stand to testify against her attacker.

Those experiences as a prosecutor, my work with the Criminal Justice Assessment Commission, and my time in the state legislature make it clear that any effort to reduce crime depends on implementing a comprehensive strategy linking prevention, policing, prosecuting, and prison. It depends on making sure that victims can have a voice, and that they receive the counseling and treatment needed. It means making sure that government provides adequate resources so we can break these cycles of violence.

Rural Alaska suffers disproportionately because it lacks so much. There is simply not enough law enforcement in the Bush – more than eighty villages don’t have even a VPSO. There is a lack of drug and alcohol treatment, and a lack of probation and parole officers to help offenders reintegrate into communities. Too many places in Alaska lack a complete justice system. And too many rural Alaskans fall easy prey to predators when they come to our larger cities because the support they should have, the deterrence that should exist, and the prevention measures that should be in place are simply lacking.

Diane Benson "says what she means and means what she says"--especially when it comes to our veterans

Diane Benson (second from the right) plus her team and Vietnam Veteran Mo Bailey

Late in July, Writing Raven and I had a fundraiser at Phil Munger's house for our trip to Denver...and Democratic Candidate for the Alaska At-Large Congressional seat, Diane Benson was kind enough to show up and donate. It was then that I asked her the question that had been bugging me for months. "Did I meet you about 14-15 years ago?"

The answer was "Yes."

I was heavily involved in Blues music in both performing and the tech side. She was continuing her history of fighting for the rights of those who need protection. In this case, it was her fellow Alaska Native actors who were being exploited by the entertainment industry. We discussed that many people don't realize how much discrimination occurs in all aspects of the performing arts nor do they understand how hard it is on women in non-traditional roles.

Diane Benson is about as non-traditional as it gets. I've had incidents where I've told a few of many colorful experiences living and working for 25 years in Alaska...pretty typical stuff for most Alaska women...and folks have thought that I was making it up.

Diane's life makes mine sound uneventful, as recounted in a much-coveted article by The Nation:

Benson's strength and determination stems at least in part from her background. She "grew up in logging camps, boarding schools, foster homes and even on boat houses," according to Indian Country Today. At times she was homeless. She worked her way through college as a Teamster truck driver and was one of the first women tractor-trailer drivers on the Alaska Pipeline – she often was the only woman on the jobsite. Benson said that was a tough job to get.

"I could prove that I could do the job and the union stood up for me," she said. "And they stood up for me time and time again, and I will never forget that."

Educated in Alaska, she earned her Bachelors Degree, a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and is now working on her Masters in Public Policy. She also attended the American Film Institute in Los Angeles and co-produced a PBS documentary about Alaska Civil Rights. She ran sprint-races as a dogsledder and – along with her son –had 32 dogs at one time. But it wasn't until 2005 when her son, Spc. Latseen Benson, was injured by a road-side bomb in Iraq and was a double amputee that she turned to politics. She spent three-and-a-half months with him and his fellow-soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Those experiences have made her an outspoken advocate of Veterans and their issues.

Benson was surprised that in a recent debate she was the only candidate to repeatedly bring up veterans issues – one of the other candidates brought it up maybe once, if that. With 80,000 veterans in the state, responding to their issues is a key part of her platform.

It was from Walter Reed, her third trip back since her son's stay, that Diane held a press event today.

Diane Benson had a lot of praise for the caregivers at Walter Reed and the many improvements--especially the addition of the new Military Advanced Training Center, which "greatly improves the services to the wounded."

She also had a great deal of praise for The Washington Post's continuing coverage of Veterans as well as conditions at Walter Reed, which got the ball rolling.

However, Diane's primary message was that of holding the government responsible to care for the Veterans who have served their country so valiantly:

"I am embarrassed by the fact that our government is using the same techniques to deny benefits to veterans that insurance companies use to deny care to sick patients" said Benson. "There are nearly 400,000 veterans waiting for their claims to be processed. That's outrageous. The President and Congress should fix the system and make veteran health care a priority."

Benson mentioned the 1.8 uninsured Veterans in this country as well as the 290,000 Homeless Veterans. "We can't just rely upon the Good Samaritans of America to take care of our Veterans," she stated.

She also discussed the difficulty of receiving long-term care by severely injured Veterans, like her son, who is still using "temporary legs" because he has been unable to get the services to prepare him for his "permanent" ones.

Diane Benson also emphasized the importance of getting care to the Veterans for the "less visible" injuries like PTSD.

I had a discussion about PTSD and Veterans with Diane, which included a discussion about dealing with women veterans recovering from sexual assault and the VA's hesitancy to specifically target funds for their recovery.

"Anyone who knows anything about the trauma resulting from rape and sexual violence in general knows that it is a lifelong devastation to the spirit and the emotional well-being of that human being. PTSD comes from this as much as it comes from combat fatigue or being in war zones."

Diane Benson speaks with authority on this topic and has been an advocate for the protection of Alaska women and children; Alaska leads the rest of the country by an alarming margin in its rate of domestic violence and sexual assault. Benson has been one of the few candidates for ANY political office who is willing to discuss it much less propose solutions, so it is not a surprise that this advocacy extends to the women (and men) in the battlefield.

I have heard Diane Benson in previous discussions and at past appearances describe with great fondness her encounters with veterans, disabled and otherwise. She talked about one especially touching encounter where she told a meeting of veterans in Rural Alaska that she felt "at home" there and one veteran responded back, "because you are at home." In a rare moment, the retelling actually misted-up the former-union trucker as well as the crowd of Vietnam and Iraq-era veterans and supporters around her.

That kind of emotional response from an audience of veterans only happens in the presence of credibility. Diane shouldn't be at all surprised that the other Congressional candidates try not to bring those issues up.

Women in the U.S. Military "...are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire..."

These are the words spoken on the above video by Rep. Jane Harman (D-California) during her testimony at a hearing on sexual assault in the military held by the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs this week.

She shared this information as the result of a recent visit to a VA hospital:

"My jaw dropped when the doctors told me that 41 percent of the female veterans seen there say they were victims of sexual assault while serving in the military," said Harman, who has long sought better protection of women in the military.

"Twenty-nine percent say they were raped during their military service. They spoke of their continued terror, feelings of helplessness and downward spirals many of their lives have taken since.

"We have an epidemic here," she said. "Women serving in the U.S. military today are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq."

This testimony, along with the heartbreaking stories of family members and the women soldiers themselves who were victims of rape don't even give the full scope of the problem.

Back in 2006, a little-reported finding from testimony at the Commission of Inquiry for Crimes against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration came from former commander of Abu Ghraib, Col. Janis Karpinski. It demonstrated that the fear of assault by their comrades-in-arms was so great, it led to the deaths of some women soldiers:

...several women had died of dehydration because they refused to drink liquids late in the day. They were afraid of being assaulted or even raped by male soldiers if they had to use the women's latrine after dark.

The latrine for female soldiers at Camp Victory wasn't located near their barracks, so they had to go outside if they needed to use the bathroom. "There were no lights near any of their facilities, so women were doubly easy targets in the dark of the night," Karpinski told retired US Army Col. David Hackworth in a September 2004 interview. It was there that male soldiers assaulted and raped women soldiers. So the women took matters into their own hands. They didn't drink in the late afternoon so they wouldn't have to urinate at night. They didn't get raped. But some died of dehydration in the desert heat, Karpinski said.

Later she testified that "Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, former senior US military commander in Iraq, gave orders to cover up the cause of death..."

This week, we also saw how the military is taking a cue from the Bush Administration, going to any lengths to cover up the extent of the problem including breaking the law:

As part of their investigation, the subcommittee invited and then subpoenaed Dr. Kaye Whitley, the director of the Defense Department’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, to testify. But Deputy Defense Undersecretary Michael Dominguez ordered her not to appear before the committee, claiming that the responsibility “rests with me.”

Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) responded by asking, “What is it you’re trying to hide.” Waxman then took him to task, even threatening to hold him in contempt:

WAXMAN: We subpoenaed her. You’ve denied her the opportunity to come and testify and put in a situation where we have to contemplate holding her in contempt. I don’t even know if we could hold you in contempt, because you haven’t been issued a subpoena. […]

I don’t know if we need to subpoena the Secretary and then hold him in contempt; Mr. Chu, and hold him in contempt; you, and hold you in contempt. Those are better options to me than to hold her in contempt, when she’s put in this untenable position, when her — in the line of command — instructs her not to comply with a subpoena of the United States Congress.

Watch the video below:



The final slap-in-the-face happens when women veterans seperate from service.

In May 2008, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash talked to Veterans Affairs Department officials about her bill to specifically provide care to women combat Veterans, an underserved population. She was surprised to find resistence.

...they brought up several concerns:

* Providing child care for women seeking mental health counseling could take away from direct care for VA patients.

* There’s no need for a study of female veterans’ needs because VA is already working on one.

* Staffing requirements for health care workers who can handle military sexual trauma would force VA to take a “cookie-cutter” approach.

Specifically regarding sexual trauma:

Cross also said VA opposes staffing standards for military sexual trauma therapy, which has become an issue since post-traumatic stress studies have found that women may have a higher rate of PTSD because of prior sexual trauma or attacks that occurred in the line of duty.

In light of the amount of sexual trauma inflicted by fellow soldiers, this resistence is suddenly not so surprising.

Chuck Kopp---curiouser and curiouser...OK, I mean slimier and slimier...

Picture courtesy of Dept. of Public Safety

This was pretty chicken-shit:

This coming up shortly: "Department of Public Safety Commissioner Charles Kopp will have a press availability for news media at 3 p.m. today to make a statement concerning the claims levied against him while he was with the Kenai Police Department. Kenai Mayor Pat Porter will attend in support of her former police chief."

Alaska Politics posted it at 2:53...I'm guessing they heard about it late as well.

Here's KTUU's story on the women who is accusing him.



I was at the "press availability" event last week where this was originally discussed. Also, here is the letter the Kenai Police Department sent the woman.

I can tell you from my own EEO experience, if there is good evidence that it truly happened and the victim is willing, they'll move the victim as part of a off-the-record settlement. If there's damning evidence and they don't want the victim to take it any farther, they'll move the perpetrator. They won't move anyone if there's no proof.

Chuck Kopp lied...this was a settlement.

***UPDATE--the "press availability" event***

Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Kopp disclosed he was reprimanded, with a letter, by the Kenai city council after an investigation found to have improperly hugged the employee multiple times. He said the hugs were non-sexual, in a "friend-to-friend capacity," and he has no idea why the woman eventually filed a sexual harassment complaint with the city.

He disputes that he ever kissed her, as the woman claims. He also disputed that there was a witness to a kiss, as she contended in an interview with KTUU-Channel 2 yesterday.

K...the letter said they did an investigation...don't you think that they talked to the people involved during an investigation?

KOPP...THEY MOVED YOU OUT OF YOUR SUPERVISORY POSITION, YOU THROWBACK! DON'T YOU THINK THAT BOLSTERS HER CLAIMS?

He said the city took the complaint seriously and he realized that the workplace hugs were inappropriate. He said he received a letter of reprimand after the investigation. He said he appealed the finding, and reached an agreement with the city that the letter would be removed after two years if there were no further incidents. He said there were none and the letter was removed.

The only reason we know that Kopp lied the first time is because the victim produced this above-linked letter:

"You may want to know what action has been taken against Chief Kopp as a result of this investigation. That is certainly understandable; but Title 23 of the Kenai Municipal Code requires personnel matters, regardless of their nature, to be kept confidential."

Basically, he can claim whatever he wants about the aftermath and any other potential problems and we'll never know...the Kenai Municipal Code prevents anyone but the victim from speaking out.

Chuck "I am not a sex harasser" Kopp, as Commissioner of Public Safety, is responsible for all aspects of Alaska law enforcement. Kopp is responsible for the difficult and sensitive task of finding solutions to Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, which exist in Alaska in crisis proportions. Kopp's past renders him ineffective in this most-important task.

Chuck "I am not a sex harasser" Kopp needs to go.

What I fear...a focus on rural substance abuse to the detriment of focusing on DV/sexual assault

Lauren Rice, Legislative Liaison/Special Assistant to the Commissioner has been asked to leave her position at the Department of Public Safety.

Per Andrew Halcro's Blog:

I have been asked to leave my post as the Legislative Liaison for DPS and I will do so sadly. I thoroughly enjoyed my time both with DPS and Commission Walt Monegan who exemplifies everything DPS represents.

Working with you has been an adventure and I have enjoyed it. I will miss it.

Next in her email comes a section that I have been afraid of since I first heard Walt Monegan was fired:

As you know, Alaska has long held the distinction of being number one in the nation for sexual violence (both sexual assault and sexual abuse of minors) and domestic violence. Many of you have been advocates for victims with both your voices and your actions. I have been inspired many times by that advocacy. The prevalence of this violence is seen in our communities, emergency shelters, hospitals, schools and streets. We see it in our neighbors’ eyes and in the lines for substance abuse treatment. It is a scar on our state.

The State of Alaska, and more specifically DPS, needs tools to fight this epidemic. They have proposals and ideas on how to better protect Alaska’s residents, but DPS will need your support in order to carry out any of those plans. I have attached a brief report from the University of Alaska on the correlation between violence and substance abuse among victims. I also encourage you to review the study below titled “Descriptive Analysis of Sexual Assault Incidents Reported to Alaska State Troopers: 2003-2004”.

http://justice.uaa.alaska.edu/research/2000/0601intimatepartnerviolence/0601.02.sexualassault.pdf

I spoke to Walt Monegan the day after he was fired. When I say "I spoke to Walt Monegan" I mean that I did most of the speaking. He wouldn't go on the record with much at that point and I admit, I know almost nothing about being a good interviewer.

However, the way I got him to call me was through my email to him, which talked about how I was afraid of what may happen to the focus on alleviating DV and sexual assault in Rural Alaska. I mentioned the Governor's emphasis on her "new direction" and focus on substance abuse. I also mentioned that concerned me because of the above-mentioned report, which shows a lack of correlation between being under-the-influence and acts of DV/sexual assault in Rural Alaska...on the part of the victim or the perpetrator. One of the few things he said was a strong acknowledgement of the findings in that report. At the time, I had wondered if that was "code."

I think this is starting to go beyond "code."

It seems to me that there are a bunch of folks who thought that DPS was finally on the right track. Now, they are not so sure...they are afraid that the gains they were making will be lost.

I'm wondering how far this puzzling DPS "housecleaning" is going to go?

Gov. Sarah Palin gives Commissioner of Public Safety the Axe

Walt Monegan, former Anchorage Police chief, was fired by the Governor's Office Friday per this story by Kyle Hopkins:

Gov. Sarah Palin appointed Walt Monegan as commissioner of public safety shortly after her election in 2006. On Friday, Palin's chief of staff told Monegan he was being replaced.

The news came "out of the blue," said Monegan, a former Anchorage police chief.

"If the governor was upset with me for one thing or another, it had never been communicated to me," he said in an interview Saturday evening.

The big question -- why? -- went largely unanswered Saturday.

Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said the governor is now at the halfway point of her term and it's natural for her to make changes.

Palin wanted the public safety department headed in a new direction, Leighow said.

Asked Saturday what Palin wants to change, Leighow said she didn't have details.

"The governor feels that the department of public safety could be better served under new management," she said.

(Kyle has more information on Alaska Politics blog, including the email from Monegan to his employees.)

This is a very large concern, especially for those who felt that there was FINALLY someone in that office who truly had reducing Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault in rural Alaska as a priority.

In May, Walt Monegan actually attended and was a panel member at the "Building Momentum" Conference put on by Alaska Native Justice Center. He responded to many questions lobbed at him from the audience of determined women:

Why are victims treated poorly by certain prosecutors and law enforcement officers? Shouldn't officers be required to use the specially trained Sexual Assault Response Teams whenever possible?

As to the last question, the answer for troopers is definitely yes, Monegan said. The teams help gather evidence, identify suspects and begin the healing process for victims, Monegan said.

If any trooper is rude to or insensitive with a victim, he said he wants to know about it.

At that conference, several studies were discussed regarding the extent of sexual assault in rural Alaska, who the victims and perpetrators were as well as some of the solutions to the problem.

Increasing law enforcement is not the only solution, but is an important part of it:

Federal authorities have created a "maze of tribal, state and federal jurisdictions" that slows response times and limits who can respond, according to the study. Sexual assaults and rapes on reservations and in villages sometimes get lost in "jurisdictional vacuums," allowing some perpetrators to "rape with impunity."

and

Alaska officials said they're working to get more manpower and money to areas lacking police.

Those officials have been Sen. Donnie Olsen...

This year, state lawmakers led by Sen. Donny Olson, D-Nome, approved more money for village public safety officers, who serve as first responders for all kinds of crises even though they aren't allowed to be armed, Colberg said. They'll be paid more, and there will be more of them. That should help with turnover, which is terribly high.

...and Walt Monegan:

Palin has called for cuts to the public safety budget, while Monegan wanted more troopers, said John Cyr, executive director of the Public Safety Employees Association.

So the comment from Leighow, that "Palin wanted the public safety department headed in a new direction" looms rather ominously considering where Walt Monegan appeared to be going.

Governor Palin, what direction are you taking public safety, exactly?

If we could just hide those darn homeless...

Assemblyman Dan Sullivan is running for mayor. We already knew that because he has been acting and speaking like a candidate for the last several years.

So it wasn’t a surprise to hear Mr. Sullivan’s recent remarks regarding Anchorage crime or his suggested use of a “Guiliani-style approach” by cracking down on panhandling and other “visible offenses.”

Exactly what problem is he trying to address?

The rise in the Violent Crime index has been a result of increasing Homicide, Rape and Aggravated Assault. All of these have roots in Alaska's ever-exploding Domestic Violence problem

- According to the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (ANDVSA), Alaska has ranked among the top five states in the nation for rape and sexual assault over the last 27 years.

- In 2006, there were 6000 cases of Domestic Violence reported in the State.

- The Alaska Bureau of Investigations reports that of 30 murder victims between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006 (FY06), 10 were domestic-violence-related and 1 involved a sexual assault. In 2005, Alaska was the 2nd most dangerous state in the country for women - 1/3 of homicides were Domestic Violence related and 80% of those were men killing women. In 2004, we were number one.

- In 2006, the number of rapes per capita in Alaska was 2.5 times that of the U.S. average. According to national statistics, when the identity of the perpetrator is known, 80 - 90% of them are previously acquainted with the victim.

Please tell me exactly how focusing on panhandling and “visual offenses” is going to fix that? Sullivan wants to do the equivalent of removing an unsightly mole while allowing Anchorage to bleed to death from an arterial wound.

I have to give Dan credit; he’s following a plan that has a successful track record. Giuliani has managed to turn police improvements started by his mayoral predecessor David Dinkins, the National downward trend in crime and the efforts of a Police Official he later fired so as not to share the limelight into a potentially successful bid for the Presidency.

And after all, who wants to take a candid look at actual solutions to Alaska’s systemic violence problem?

There is no way to slap a band aid on it. Treating the disease will involve lots of money funneled into education, social services and different prevention programs that won’t provide quantitative results for years. It will require a serious look into why so many men with a history of violence against women and children can still purchase a gun with ease. It would require truly dealing with racial issues in Alaska as five of the eight murdered Alaskan women in 2004 were American Indian/Alaska Native, just a bit out of proportion when Natives make up about 13% of the population.

On the other hand, in 2005 Alaska was ranked 38th out of 50 states when it comes to Robbery and was ranked 28th regarding Property Crimes, which includes Burglary, Larceny/Petty Theft and Vehicle Theft. These are considered to be the "street crimes" Mr. Sullivan’s “solution” would potentially be addressing.

So in Alaska, it's not the unknown panhandler or homeless person that we need to be worried about. There is no actual evidence that they are in any way responsible for violent crime, while we have lots of evidence that they are often the victims of violent crime.

However, hustling them out of sight is the easiest way to get a slap-on-the-back (or a campaign donation) from the “hang ‘em high” crowd.

Yes, it is obvious that Dan Sullivan wants to be mayor. The question is: will he address any of Anchorage’s real problems if he wins?

Sex Sells: The sea lion research webcam gets hot and steamy

What can I say, sex sells:

"This time of year, the cameras are trained on mothers nursing their pups at the small rookery on Chiswell Island, 35 miles south of Seward.

Research associate John Maniscalco is in charge of the remote video monitoring project for the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward.

“We see a lot of things that, of course, are very private,” he said. “But, of course, we are dealing with animals here... Sea lions don't have any sense of modesty.”

Scientists hope that monitoring the sea lions will help them understand why their numbers have declined so dramatically in south-central and western Alaska. The population is down about 70 percent since the mid-1970s."

The picture above was taken by yours truly several weekends ago. We were in Seward for a "threeee hour tooooour" with Renown Charters through Kenai Fjords Wildlife Refuge where we went to...you got it...Chiswell Island. The weather sucked but I was able to run in and out of the cabin to get warm and dry off between viewing/taking pictures. Our boat held 100 people confortably and was more like a floating restaurant/lounge then an actual boat. Some folks (many of the "blue haired" contingent) never even ventured out on deck...they looked at the pretty scenery from the warm comfort of the huge heated cabin, sitting in booths eating the provided lunch and even playing cards.

I never got the point of spending the money to come if that's all you were going to do.

Anyway, after the tour...where the weather really did start to get rough...we paid a visit to the Alaska SeaLife Center. Morrigan doesn't often get so excited that you can barely contain her, but she sure does there...especially when it comes to Woody, the love of her life!

Woody is the "king of the hill" at the SeaLife Center - a 1600 lb Stellar Sea Lion. Morrigan would have watched him for hours if we'd stayed.

Because of the sea lion issue, I've grown yet more disgusted with so-called "environmental" groups. Because of a lawsuit they filed, much of the research had to stop, losing at least one' year's worth of data and possibly compromising some studies, forcing them to start over.

Scientists are lamenting the loss of untold amounts of data on Steller sea lions after their study permits were revoked in a lawsuit by an animal rights group in early summer, the best time of year for observing the endangered animals.

The decision found that the National Marine Fisheries Service, which issues the permits, had not properly assessed whether some research techniques, such as branding sea lion pups, were essential to studying the animals.

The ruling came soon after the start of annual May-to-August research at the marine mammals' remote breeding grounds along the southern edge of Alaska.

"We missed the peak pupping period," Lorrie Rea, head of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Fairbanks, said Wednesday. "We don't know how many gave birth and lost pups or had stillborns, so the data is all compromised."

Talk about not being able to see the forest for the trees, the organizations objected to the pain branding would cause the pups, without taking into account that marine mammals can't be "collared" or "tagged" - techniques used on land animals. The scientists MUST be able to track these pups to determine what may be causing their drastic decline in numbers.

Why do so many "environmentalists" decry the use of science, even when their big-picture goals are the same?

Idiots.