Last week our Washington, D.C. delegation followed Gov. Sean Parnell’s lead by seeking to beef up the U.S. military presence in Alaska. They formally asked the Air Force to relocate 24 F-16 aircraft from a base in Germany to Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks. While the proposal is presented as cost efficiency measure, it’s also about jobs in Alaska. And with sequestration a new economic reality, we can be assured that other governors will be looking to military bases overseas for opportunities to offset defense spending losses in their states.

This editorial first appeared in the Ketchikan Daily News:

Alaska legislators are elected to serve the whole state as well as their home districts.

Voters in Ketchikan and Southeast Alaska elected Sen. Bert Stedman of Sitka and Rep. Peggy Wilson of Wrangell to represent not only the First City but all of Alaska.

In the same way, Alaska’s other 58 senators and representatives are responsible for the economic well-being of Alaska, which includes Ketchikan.

The resignation and retirement of Pope Benedict XVI and the conclave which will soon meet to elect his successor, underscores once again the global interest and nature of the Catholic Church. Another example of the universality of the Church was at the time of Pope John Paul II’s death, when the world experienced the largest funeral in the history of mankind.