KFX

Well, Gov. D. was right about one thing in this article - Bob Bundy is a good choice for an attorney to investigate YesMan General Renkes' ties to Kfx, the money-losing coal technology firm. We'll see if Frank is right about Mr. Renkes.

The scope of the investigation is limited, of course, as is the scope of Bundy's authority (he can't subpoena anyone) - reflecting that there is a limit to what folks really want to find out.

That having been said, this particular problem is clear. Renkes has been a paid advisor to, and owns and actively trades stock in a company with an unproven technology - at the same time, he has been pushing for the State to make a deal with Taiwan that would call for a massive investment in this unproven technology. Is this a conflict of interest? Does the Pope wear a funny hat? I mean, really, what question could there possibly be about this?

I've discussed this before - the problem is that these folks are so closely wedded to the extractive industries that they really don't know where industry ends and the Republican Party begins (and they don't have any idea where government begins, but that's a different story). They don't understand the difference between lobbying and governing.

That somebody could miss so glaring an ethical problem can only suggest that they have no understanding of what an "ethical problem" actually is in the first place.

Renkes' defense, of course, is that this proposal is a win-win - if the State gets a deal with Taiwan, there will be more jobs and income, and both Alaska and Kfx will be better off.

That's a lobbyists argument, though. And it's only true if the technology works, if the State doesn't have to pour too much cash into this project, if the other costs aren't too high (tax breaks, environmental problems), and if any profits actually made won't just fly out of state.

And these judgments should be made by somebody without any financial stake in the project - a servant of the people, not a lobbyist for the coal industry