This is why Palin is just the face of Political Dominionism – and not the head of the ship. There are many members of this sect, most simply are not as obnoxiously in the headlines, in fact they generally prefer to work without recognition. And this is an example of the continuation of Political Dominionism in the new Parnell version of Alaska politics.

Battle for the bench – Why do conservatives want to change the way Alaska picks its judges?

By Scott Christiansen
Anchorage Press
Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, September 2, 2009 5:37 PM AKDT

James Bopp is an Indiana attorney suing the State of Alaska in federal court in an attempt to change the way Alaska selects its judges. Asked why his plaintiffs want to upend the system, he stonewalls and refers to the arguments in the small but growing case file that opened in July as Hinger v. Carpeneti at the federal courthouse in Anchorage. Bopp himself is founder of the James Madison Center for Free Speech, a nonprofit that attacks campaign finance laws in court on behalf of conservatives who want to pour money into the business of influencing elections.

Do you find it as interesting as I do that these attorneys who are belly-aching about changing the Judicial apointment game rules, because they were unsuccessful at their bids to be Judges – had to go “Outside” to the Lower 48 to find an attorney who apparently they feel is competent enough to fight the rule changes so their incompetence can be overlooked?  I find that fascinating…

“I have a national practice,” Bopp says. “It would be fair to say that I’ve gained a national reputation among Republicans and conservatives… people tend to come to me with their cases.” Bopp says. “Typically, it does result in a liberal activist judiciary and people do not want that.”

From all appearances, this is a right-wing conservative attack on the Alaska judicial system. Bopp’s three original plaintiffs certainly all have right-wing street cred.

1) Ward Hinger, left the lawsuit after landing a job with the new administration of Alaska Governor Sean Parnell.

2) Carl Eckstrom is a management employee at ChangePoint Church, the Anchorage mega-church that last week hosted a big kickoff for a citizen initiative on abortion law. Carl Eckstrom, another one of Jacobus and Bopp’s plaintiffs, works at ChangePoint. His job title is “development director,” according to paperwork ChangePoint files to the Internal Revenue Service. Eckstrom declined to talk about the lawsuit and referred questions to Bopp.

Eckstrom is also a non-attorney member of the Alaska Bar Association’s board of governors and was appointed to that board by Palin.

3) A third is a conservative attorney, Kenneth Kirk, is an attorney who has applied for judgeships in the past and been rejected. He’s also done some in-court activism on behalf of James Dobson’s Family Research Council, a major national policy arm of the conservative Christian movement. When the FRC wanted to file a friend-of-the-court brief in Alaska lawsuit over parental consent and minors choosing abortion, they called on Kirk.

Ken Kirk, ah yes…I remember this character. A friend of Wayne Anthony Ross! Both of whom have repeatedly applied for positions on the bench in Alaska – and both of whom have been repeatedly rejected – because they are not qualified. So of course he is going to jump on that bandwagon and try to change the laws of the state. If you don’t qualify, lower the standards! That’s always what is best for the people.

I knew him through his work for dead-beat dads when he started his practice in Anchorage, Alaska. He has experience with the Supreme Court all right…arguing on behalf of non-custodial parents right to NOT support their children.

And oh! He is also a member in good standing of the “Christian Legal Society”…who describe their purpose thusly,

“Seeking Justice with the Love of God.” Their mission is “To be the national grassroots network of lawyers and law students, associated with others, committed to proclaiming, loving and serving Jesus Christ, through all we do and say in the practice of law, and advocating biblical conflict reconciliation, legal assistance for the poor and the needy, religious freedom and the sanctity of human life.”

Oh! I get it! This crosses over so quickly into “Dominionism 101″ simpleton maneuvering. Eckstrom is a Palin plant that furthers the ‘c’hristian Political Dominionism agenda as a non-attorney, but with the power of Jesus calling him to duty against the pro-life fixation on “Parental Consent”. The non-speech that Palin did [not] give at Sean Parnell’s Change Point Church where he is an Elder. And check out his project to establish a FEDERALLY FUNDED project for “scenic by-ways” on behalf of his loving ‘c’hristian church according to dogemporer…

It means, in essence, they’re trying to steeplejack a public
program–essentially using a federal program to designate historic or
scenic roads as advertising for their cult.

(The Scenic Byways project is a nationwide project to select scenic
highways–that would have historic or other significance like nature
parks nearby, etc.–and get them federally recognised and signed.
Groups can sponsor and nominate roads nominated to be Scenic Byways,
similar to “adopt a highway” programs meant to cut down on litter.)

In the case of the Seward Highway, there is a proposal to develop it
as part of the National Scenic Byways program because of its historic
significance in passing through many Gold Rush communities and
historic sites (http://www.bywaysonline.org/grants/funded/detail/51503/index.html?filter_id=1250936975&new_filter=yes),
and further a proposal to develop it as an “All-American Road” due to
the fact it passes through towns that have been certified as
“All-American Cities” (which is another civic program saluting towns
and cities of historic significance).  It’d appear that ChangePoint
has attempted to infiltrate the planning and funding committee for
this (and it is a committee, per
http://www.dot.state.ak.us/stwdplng/scenic/assets/2007-spring.pdf and
http://www.dot.state.ak.us/stwdplng/scenic/assets/2007-summer.pdf); it
might not hurt to investigate others known to be on the board (per
http://www.sewardak.org/seward_byway.htm and the board minutes
selectable from that page).

No BIAS THERE!

My point in sharing this story with you is multi-leveled…it shows how insidious their activities are “behind our backs” (so to speak), and how effective Palin’s and Parnell’s religious ideologies are AND how they continue to infiltrate further into the decisions that effect us all. Particularly from the heights of the Supreme Courts – state and federal – which carries more permanency in their impacts than almost any other influence.

Just be aware..that’s all I’m sayin’…