Madame President, I don't know how many in this body read regularly the talking points that come out of the Governor's office, but I do -- as much as anything to get some chuckles for the week. The Governor typically takes credit, or those who write it take credit, for actions done by others, and then reproduce editorials that somehow say something nice about him.

The talking points issued yesterday take a cut at the Legislature. Senator Adams just said that the governor is willing to work with us, but this volley out of his office does not suggest that. It says "Knowles Lays Out Aggressive Agenda" and goes on to suggest that this Legislature has already said that it's going to do nothing. It says that "it prompted one wag to observe over the weekend that President Harry Truman campaigned against a do-nothing Congress, but this is the first legislature in recent memory to announce that it will do nothing before it even convenes."

I don't know that anybody here has announced that. It is certainly not my intent that this be a "do-nothing" legislature, but I think the Governor needs to understand the difference between doing what he wants, and doing what we want, and what the majority of Alaskans want to accomplish. There is a difference between stepping up and having government be the first answer to the challenges that we face, as opposed to us as individuals.

I'll point out an editorial in the Juneau Empire that was distributed today that says "hopefully we have learned in the past quarter century that the buck stops with our actions as individuals. Government has its role, but each of us as members of this democracy has the burden of citizenship, which includes being accountable for ourselves and our actions." I suggest that should be the message we send.

I look forward to hearing from the Governor tomorrow night, but his first shot across our bow is not one that I think is appropriate for him if he really wants to work with us. The message ought to be that we are going to work together, but at this time when we are facing a lot of challenges in our state, the vision that he has may not necessarily be the vision that we ought to advance.