So now we have "official" lists of "write-in candidates" being posted in polling stations and voting booths and no one seems to think its electioneering. Except the Alaska Democratic Party. Everyone else thinks it a nice way to help confused votes note get "disenfranchised."
Well let me say this about that. I was disenfranchised. I got (still have, somewhere) a letter from the Division of Elections telling me my question ballot was not counted. Not in this election but fairly recently.
Lets see...
Oh yeah...I told a Division of Elections Director she was fired, once. True story. Ask me and I might tell.
Enough of this tit for tat on the ADN, too. Kill that damn thread off.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Remember Jim Sykes?
He ran for Governor as the Green Party of Alaska candidate in 1990.
AFN held a Governor Candidate Forum.
Jim Sykes basically explained to the AFN Convention that the GPoAK Platform and his own beliefs were about 100% aligned with Alaska Native and Tribal interests.
I was in Hooper Bay watching it on RATNET and was spellbound by the thought that AFN Delegates FINALLY had a candidate who was entirely in their court.
Then Tony Knowles came up.
Bla bla bla.
Well, before you could say "eh-yah-ah" there was a motion for the Convention to endorse Tony.
A little debate and there you had it, Jum Sykes tossed under the sled runners after making the best pitch AFN had ever heard and Knowles endorsed.
Now, it was a long time until AFN endorsed another candidate...until last month.
AFN held a Governor Candidate Forum.
Jim Sykes basically explained to the AFN Convention that the GPoAK Platform and his own beliefs were about 100% aligned with Alaska Native and Tribal interests.
I was in Hooper Bay watching it on RATNET and was spellbound by the thought that AFN Delegates FINALLY had a candidate who was entirely in their court.
Then Tony Knowles came up.
Bla bla bla.
Well, before you could say "eh-yah-ah" there was a motion for the Convention to endorse Tony.
A little debate and there you had it, Jum Sykes tossed under the sled runners after making the best pitch AFN had ever heard and Knowles endorsed.
Now, it was a long time until AFN endorsed another candidate...until last month.
Her AFN Board Endorsement in hand, no need for others to appear with Lisa at Convention
or so conventional wisdom would hold.
The news speedily made the rounds this afternoon that the Alaska Federation of Natives Board of Directors, composed of Corporation and Village representatives voted to cancel Friday's scheduled 3 pm US Senate Candidates Forum.
Senator Lisa Murkowski will address the annual Statewide Gathering of Alaska Natives in Fairbanks' Carlson Center at 2:05 pm on Friday.
The AFN Convention is televised statewide and carried in radio broadcast as well, so Alaska Natives and anyone else interested will be watching and listening.
The Agenda is set by the Board, but changes can and have been made from the floor.
It should be an interesting weekend.
The news speedily made the rounds this afternoon that the Alaska Federation of Natives Board of Directors, composed of Corporation and Village representatives voted to cancel Friday's scheduled 3 pm US Senate Candidates Forum.
Senator Lisa Murkowski will address the annual Statewide Gathering of Alaska Natives in Fairbanks' Carlson Center at 2:05 pm on Friday.
The AFN Convention is televised statewide and carried in radio broadcast as well, so Alaska Natives and anyone else interested will be watching and listening.
The Agenda is set by the Board, but changes can and have been made from the floor.
It should be an interesting weekend.
twwwstlij* tells us why not to vote for Koch-n-cake
"Our Senate is the most prestigious deliberative body in the world. One vote there has consequences extending far beyond that chamber."
Words of wisdom from a most unexpected source.
*the woman who was supposed to live in juneau
Words of wisdom from a most unexpected source.
*the woman who was supposed to live in juneau
Monday, October 18, 2010
Mickey or Mighty....
Mouse, that is.
Early reports form a Gubernatorial (took two tries then spell check to get THAT right) this evening in Anchorage show that the "briefs or boxers" style of questioning leaders and wannabe's by the Youth of Today is alive and well.
In a three-way discussion of favorite cartoon characters sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Sean Parnell said his favorite Disney Character was well known cartoon cocaine user Mighty Mouse. Oh wait, this just in, it seems the one "to save the day" was actually snorting "crushed flowers."
Early reports form a Gubernatorial (took two tries then spell check to get THAT right) this evening in Anchorage show that the "briefs or boxers" style of questioning leaders and wannabe's by the Youth of Today is alive and well.
In a three-way discussion of favorite cartoon characters sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Sean Parnell said his favorite Disney Character was well known cartoon cocaine user Mighty Mouse. Oh wait, this just in, it seems the one "to save the day" was actually snorting "crushed flowers."
A Matt Nicholai Story
One day Frank Murkowski, when he was Governor, stopped by the building I work at to visit the boss and a few other people. For one reason or another I stepped into what might be politely called "protocol duties" and got to greet Frank on the stairwell.
Since I knew he was coming that day I, very out of character, wore a necktie (actually I look good in a tie).
Well, Frank had to make a "head call" so I led him down the hall towards the 3rd floor bathroom. For some reason, Matt Nicholai was tagging along. Getting to the mens room, we found it was in the process of being cleaned (we have an extraordinary housekeeping staff where I work, God Bless 'em, some of the hardest workers in the firm). Anyway, I started leading Frank even FARTHER down the hall towards the back stairs so we could go to the Second Floor bathroom, when Matt pipes up and says
"Take him to (the big boss's) bathroom."
I stopped dead in my tracks and said "What?"
He repeated his original statement that we go to my CEO's "private" bathroom.
Well never had I taken so much pleasure in contradicting someone and never have I been so proud to work for the company I do when I was able to tell Matt Nicholai, in front of the Governor, that my CEO certainly had no executive washroom, in no uncertain terms.
We lost him at the top of the stairs.
The second floor mens room was clean and open and Frank went to do his business.
I was standing by the sink and in walks our then-Contracts Officer.
He looks at me, in my tie and says, "Hi Mark, what's with the tie? Is the Governor here or something?"
Suddenly Frank, without missing a beat pipes up, "Yeah, and he's taking a piss."
Frank was cool that way.
Since I knew he was coming that day I, very out of character, wore a necktie (actually I look good in a tie).
Well, Frank had to make a "head call" so I led him down the hall towards the 3rd floor bathroom. For some reason, Matt Nicholai was tagging along. Getting to the mens room, we found it was in the process of being cleaned (we have an extraordinary housekeeping staff where I work, God Bless 'em, some of the hardest workers in the firm). Anyway, I started leading Frank even FARTHER down the hall towards the back stairs so we could go to the Second Floor bathroom, when Matt pipes up and says
"Take him to (the big boss's) bathroom."
I stopped dead in my tracks and said "What?"
He repeated his original statement that we go to my CEO's "private" bathroom.
Well never had I taken so much pleasure in contradicting someone and never have I been so proud to work for the company I do when I was able to tell Matt Nicholai, in front of the Governor, that my CEO certainly had no executive washroom, in no uncertain terms.
We lost him at the top of the stairs.
The second floor mens room was clean and open and Frank went to do his business.
I was standing by the sink and in walks our then-Contracts Officer.
He looks at me, in my tie and says, "Hi Mark, what's with the tie? Is the Governor here or something?"
Suddenly Frank, without missing a beat pipes up, "Yeah, and he's taking a piss."
Frank was cool that way.
This One's for You, Joe
A tip or the Drudge-like fedora to UAA Music Professor Phil Munger for pointing to this classic of patriotic song.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Oh, except the rent a agent says he KNEW he was a reporter
"Koch n cake's" account previously notwithstanding, the rent an agent involved in kidnapping (look it up in the Alaska Statutes, kiddies) tells Craig Medred he knew he Hopfinger was a reporter:
Miller guard says editor refused to leave private event
Miller guard says editor refused to leave private event
Yeah, Whatever
Liberal Blogger "Loses It" at Town Hall Meeting
Obsession with Republican Nominee leads to physical assault, publicity stunt
Anchorage, Alaska. October 17, 2010 -- Joe Miller released the following statement:
"While I've gotten used to the blog Alaska Dispatch's assault on me and my family, I never thought that it would lead to a physical assault. It's too bad that this blogger would take advantage of a "Town Hall" meeting to create a publicity stunt just two weeks before the election."
The Miller campaign was required by the facility to provide security at the event. Even though Joe had spent nearly an hour freely answering questions from those in attendance, the blogger chased Miller to the exit after the event concluded in an attempt to create and then record a 'confrontation' with the candidate. While Miller attempted to calmly exit the facility, the blogger physically assaulted another individual and made threatening gestures and movements towards the candidate. At that point the security personnel had to take action and intervened and detained the irrational blogger, whose anger overcame him. It is also important to note that the security personnel did not know that the individual they detained was a blogger who reporting on the campaign. To them, the blogger appeared irrational, angry and potentially violent.
###
Obsession with Republican Nominee leads to physical assault, publicity stunt
Anchorage, Alaska. October 17, 2010 -- Joe Miller released the following statement:
"While I've gotten used to the blog Alaska Dispatch's assault on me and my family, I never thought that it would lead to a physical assault. It's too bad that this blogger would take advantage of a "Town Hall" meeting to create a publicity stunt just two weeks before the election."
The Miller campaign was required by the facility to provide security at the event. Even though Joe had spent nearly an hour freely answering questions from those in attendance, the blogger chased Miller to the exit after the event concluded in an attempt to create and then record a 'confrontation' with the candidate. While Miller attempted to calmly exit the facility, the blogger physically assaulted another individual and made threatening gestures and movements towards the candidate. At that point the security personnel had to take action and intervened and detained the irrational blogger, whose anger overcame him. It is also important to note that the security personnel did not know that the individual they detained was a blogger who reporting on the campaign. To them, the blogger appeared irrational, angry and potentially violent.
###
Good Luck
You shaved head punks of "Drop Zone Security" must be off-duty GI's or something, wanna be Secret Service HAHAHAHA.
If you ARE GI's, you might recall that you swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Well, news flash. ear-piece wearing poseurs...you might find yourselves culpable in violating your oaths for cuffing a reporter carrying out HIS constitutional right,nay, duty, to hold a public figure accountable.
And by the way, be sure and mention todays little incident on your future applications to three and 4 letter agencies. HR screeners all need a good laugh these days.
If you ARE GI's, you might recall that you swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Well, news flash. ear-piece wearing poseurs...you might find yourselves culpable in violating your oaths for cuffing a reporter carrying out HIS constitutional right,nay, duty, to hold a public figure accountable.
And by the way, be sure and mention todays little incident on your future applications to three and 4 letter agencies. HR screeners all need a good laugh these days.
Questions of veracity may persist
The Lying Koch-Worshiper raises far more questions than he answers on his UNITED STATES SENATE FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORT
FOR NEW EMPLOYEE AND CANDIDATE REPORTS.
Now I am neither a lawyer nor an accountant, but I sure as shit can add.
On page 2, Earned and Non-Investment Income, he claims he earned:
1 Law Offices of Joseph Miller, LLC Fairbanks, AK Salary / Distributions $59,348
2 Fairbanks North Star Borough Fairbanks, AK Salary $38,056
So, a princely sum, eh?
BUT, and here is where my mad math skilz come into play, look at PART X. COMPENSATION IN EXCESS OF $5,000 PAID BY ONE SOURCE which is on Pages 9, 10 and 11. Apart from being a list of his clients, it also lists COMPENSATION ON EXCESS OF $5,000 PAID BY ONE SOURCE.
There are 15 lines on each page. Two pages are full, page 11 has 6 clients listed. Lets see...36 times 5,000 is... $180,000. Wow. Show us da money, mister big time yalie lawyer.
Oh yeah, apart from a West Point Diploma is there anything uglier and more unreadable than a Yale Law degree?
FOR NEW EMPLOYEE AND CANDIDATE REPORTS.
Now I am neither a lawyer nor an accountant, but I sure as shit can add.
On page 2, Earned and Non-Investment Income, he claims he earned:
1 Law Offices of Joseph Miller, LLC Fairbanks, AK Salary / Distributions $59,348
2 Fairbanks North Star Borough Fairbanks, AK Salary $38,056
So, a princely sum, eh?
BUT, and here is where my mad math skilz come into play, look at PART X. COMPENSATION IN EXCESS OF $5,000 PAID BY ONE SOURCE which is on Pages 9, 10 and 11. Apart from being a list of his clients, it also lists COMPENSATION ON EXCESS OF $5,000 PAID BY ONE SOURCE.
There are 15 lines on each page. Two pages are full, page 11 has 6 clients listed. Lets see...36 times 5,000 is... $180,000. Wow. Show us da money, mister big time yalie lawyer.
Oh yeah, apart from a West Point Diploma is there anything uglier and more unreadable than a Yale Law degree?
From Joe Miller's Calendar
Town Hall Anchorage
When Sun, October 17, 3:00pm – 4:30pm
Where 1405 E street Central Middle School (map)
Description Why: Because your friends, colleges, family, acquaintances, neighbors, need to be informed and hear Joe Miller speak for himself. Don't let the media skew your views. Make the decision for yourself. Help send Joe to DC!
Soooooo... We have an open invitation to the public, in fact all comers to attend this event.
Tony Hopfinger, editor of the Alaska Dispatch shows up and what happens?
Take a wild guess:
Miller's "security detail" (a fetish for big, strong men, anyone?) handcuff his ass!
OK, Mr. Constitutional Fucking Attorney pipsquak scumbag phony son of a bitch. Explain it to us.
When Sun, October 17, 3:00pm – 4:30pm
Where 1405 E street Central Middle School (map)
Description Why: Because your friends, colleges, family, acquaintances, neighbors, need to be informed and hear Joe Miller speak for himself. Don't let the media skew your views. Make the decision for yourself. Help send Joe to DC!
Soooooo... We have an open invitation to the public, in fact all comers to attend this event.
Tony Hopfinger, editor of the Alaska Dispatch shows up and what happens?
Take a wild guess:
Miller's "security detail" (a fetish for big, strong men, anyone?) handcuff his ass!
OK, Mr. Constitutional Fucking Attorney pipsquak scumbag phony son of a bitch. Explain it to us.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Why I am proud to be an American (didn't we invent the parenthesis?)
What a filthy, socialist regime we find in Switzerland. That impoverished, disarmed, culturally euthanized nation of unemployed clockmakers ruled by a cabal of Obama/Frank-loving "rollers over" to the "concept" of "international banking regulation" just recently "celebrated," in a manner consistent with their new masters in Havana and Caracas a milestone (no pun intended) in the frightening march towards one world economy and, worse, toward the opening (again, no pun intended) of a route for international terrorists (whether of the Baeder Meinhoff set or, even weorse, those Jesus-hating Musselmen that we were warned so clearly about in that classic of Western Literature ((often unheeded in todays troubled times)) - Edward Gibbons' The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire).
I have no doubt that Joe "We can have Koch and cake for lunch...wait, there's no cake!" Miller read it during his studies at the United States Military Academy.
So join me in both rueing the fate of the Swiss, and their TAXPAYER FUNDED railway tunnel and bemoaning their serfdom to the rest of Europe (picture, if you will, trains full of swarthy Europen holiday makers speeding along at 120 miles per hour (sorry, your Both Barrels Editorial Board STEADFASTLY REFUSES to follow the lead of the properly moribund and soon to be shut down National Aeronautics and Space Administration in adopting the marx-inspired metric system) from Italy in the South to Denmark in the North and points in between and let us not forget the literally thousands of Turkmen who will be forced out of their honest labor driving truck along the scenic highways and biways of Switzerland as TRAINS, those most socialist of carriages, haul millions of tons of trans-European cargo through this vile hole in the Earth, all the time the honest bankers and cheese curdlers of Yodelland struggle to pay the nearly $1,300 every Switzer owes to pay for this outlandish project. Can you say "Soverign Debt Crisis"?
But THERE IS HOPE!
The courageous Governor of one of the original 13 Colonies, in an action no less bold than Mussolini's firm hand in making the notorious Italian Railway system run on time, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, that jewel of the Atlantic Coast (in the interests of disclosure, the author went to US Coast Guard Boot Camp in sunny Cape May) took the side of suffering taxpayers in his State and put the kibosh on a tunnel that would have done little more than allow residents of New Jersey to get to that center of human degredation, that sewer of every sort, Manhattan in much quicker fashion. We need look no further than the unqualified support for this project, no doubt a favorite of the socialist Musslemen in the (no, I shan't say it) - the "Executive Mansion" on Pennsylvania Avenue - no, we need look no further than the unqualified, even lubriquious support of one Paul Krugman to give good cheer to Governor Christies' upholding of the principles so clearly espoused by such founders as Samuel Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
I have no doubt that Joe "We can have Koch and cake for lunch...wait, there's no cake!" Miller read it during his studies at the United States Military Academy.
So join me in both rueing the fate of the Swiss, and their TAXPAYER FUNDED railway tunnel and bemoaning their serfdom to the rest of Europe (picture, if you will, trains full of swarthy Europen holiday makers speeding along at 120 miles per hour (sorry, your Both Barrels Editorial Board STEADFASTLY REFUSES to follow the lead of the properly moribund and soon to be shut down National Aeronautics and Space Administration in adopting the marx-inspired metric system) from Italy in the South to Denmark in the North and points in between and let us not forget the literally thousands of Turkmen who will be forced out of their honest labor driving truck along the scenic highways and biways of Switzerland as TRAINS, those most socialist of carriages, haul millions of tons of trans-European cargo through this vile hole in the Earth, all the time the honest bankers and cheese curdlers of Yodelland struggle to pay the nearly $1,300 every Switzer owes to pay for this outlandish project. Can you say "Soverign Debt Crisis"?
But THERE IS HOPE!
The courageous Governor of one of the original 13 Colonies, in an action no less bold than Mussolini's firm hand in making the notorious Italian Railway system run on time, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, that jewel of the Atlantic Coast (in the interests of disclosure, the author went to US Coast Guard Boot Camp in sunny Cape May) took the side of suffering taxpayers in his State and put the kibosh on a tunnel that would have done little more than allow residents of New Jersey to get to that center of human degredation, that sewer of every sort, Manhattan in much quicker fashion. We need look no further than the unqualified support for this project, no doubt a favorite of the socialist Musslemen in the (no, I shan't say it) - the "Executive Mansion" on Pennsylvania Avenue - no, we need look no further than the unqualified, even lubriquious support of one Paul Krugman to give good cheer to Governor Christies' upholding of the principles so clearly espoused by such founders as Samuel Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
Friday, October 15, 2010
How Many Votes Will Lisa Murkowski Get in Kivalina
Editors Note:
I am lifting this whole from Mudflats cuz Elstun is my buddy.
His opinions are not necessarily those of myself or the Both Barrels Editorial Board.
However, I do believe in the importance of open dialoogue, and I welcome a response by Senator Murkowski which would be published in whole.
Ed.
By Elstun Lauesen
William Takak from Shaktoolik understands the impact of climate change. The Alaska Native Science Commission quotes him in a survey of the impact of climate change[1]. “Last Spring we only got six walrus because of the weather and the ice moving out to quick. A long time ago it used to be real nice for weeks and even sometimes for months. Now we have a day or two of good weather and this impacts our hunting. The hunters talk about the ice getting a lot thinner. It is going out too quick.”
Hannah Miller of Nome: “The seasons are getting very fast and are all mixed up. The last few years my grandmother was living she said that there was not enough time to put things away like there used to be. When we are done with the willow leaves then comes the sourdocks. These seasons are in too much of hurry now.”
In 2006, the Alaska Legislature established The Alaska Climate Impact Assessment Commission. In March 2008, the Commission delivered its report[2]. Among other findings, the Commission notes:
“In Kotzebue, the Commission recorded insights into coastal erosion in the region, relocation issues at Kivalina and Shishmaref…”
The report talks about the challenges of community relocation while techniques such as the use of armor rock are evaluated, citing “…As many as twenty other Alaskan Villages may suffer from similar strategic shortcomings”
While the Villages struggle with the consequences of global climate change, politicians in Washington DC have been struggling for years to develop a public policy to deal with the issue. Lisa Murkowski has changed on this issue in a dramatic way.
LISA THE GOOD. 2006-2008
In an article for Mother Jones Magazine[3], Journalist Kate Sheppard documents this change. Sheppard notes that in 2006 Murkowski broke from her Republican colleagues and stated that she not only believes that global warming is a fact, she also believed “…it is a reality that man is contributing to the current warming trend. Accordingly, it is appropriate and, quite frankly, our responsibility to take steps to curb the growth of greenhouse gases”
For the next year, Lisa worked with Senators like Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) on the issue and became a co-sponsor of Bingaman’s cap-and-trade bill, the Low Carbon Economy Act.
During this period Lisa was aware of and moved by the plight of rural communities. In her introduction to the REFRESH Act aimed at reducing manmade impacts of climate change she noted“In Alaska, we have certainly seen firsthand the effects of a warming climate in recent years.”[4]
With this kind of profile it is little wonder that Environmentalists were encouraged by Lisa Murkowski The Good to believe that, with the election of BarackObama and a strong Democratic Majority in congress, real progress could be made on climate change policy. But sometime after the inauguration of President Obama, Senator Murkowski turned bad.
LISA THE BAD
The turning of Lisa Murkowski was just one-more by-product of John McCain’s appointment and ruination of Sarah Palin (I have written elsewhere that I thought Sarah was a pretty good socialist governor). When McCain-Palin lost the election, Sarah returned to Alaska as a celebrity with a national following and fund-raising power. The punditry at the time widely speculated that Sarah would have an easy shot at Senator Murkowski in the Republican primary. As a senator, Sarah would establish her bona fides (the lack of which helped pull down McCain’s candidacy) for a run against Obama in 2012 or perhaps 2016. The victory of Mark Begich over Ted Stevens provided additional trauma to Lisa who was suddenly ‘on her own’ as a Senior Senator. Lisa assumed a leadership role with the McConnell team (no doubt facilitated by Uncle Ted) and, according to the rules of that structure, she had to play ball and, in turn, would face any potential Republican challenger with a strengthened hand of plum committee assignments and national gravitas.
Unfortunately, the playbook the McConnell team was running was obstructionism and Lisa has to move hard to the Right. That meant no more maverick Global warming stuff. While Lisa was increasing her health and armor, as a gamer might put it, she still lacked the weapons and kill points to fend off an assault by Sarah and her Troll Army. This required money—and lots of it. Sarah, after all, now had a national cult following.
So Lisa turned to the only source for amassing a war chest that she knew: PACs, industry PACs including the ever-willing energy PACs. But PACs also mean quid pro quo. For Lisa, who came to the game equipped with both brains and a conscience, this had to be framed in terms of some ‘greater good’ rationalization. Given the narrow set of options open to her, it is easy to guess how her self-justification worked: oppose my own values in the short run and I can do good in the long run; an earmark here, a bill there.
But as the anti-Obama rhetoric stepped up, the McConnell team had to match that heat with political initiatives that fed raw meat to the political mob. For Lisa, her actions were defined according to both her leadership and her committee assignments. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee, for example, became her venue for hitting the “undo” button on cap-and-trade, which she once co-sponsored.
Most shocking to the liberals and moderates who had followed her political career was her direct assault on the regulation of the very greenhouse gases that she once said had to be reduced. Most notable was Lisa’s amendment to bar the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide. The Los Angeles Times[5]noted at the time,
Those lobbyists, particularly one named Jeffrey Holmstead, were major facilitators of campaign donations to Lisa for her re-election.
A Washington Post Story[6]also mentioned above notes working relationship between Lisa’s staff and the lobbyists:
“The maneuvering comes as The Washington Post has confirmed that two Washington lobbyists, Jeffrey R. Holmstead and Roger R. Martella, Jr., helped craft the original amendment Murkowski planned to offer on the floor last fall…In an interview, Holmstead said of the Murkowski amendment, “I certainly worked with her staff” on the exact phrasing of the measure in September.”
Politico[7] was even more descriptive of the working relationship:
“Jeffrey Holmstead, head of the environmental strategies division at Bracewell&Guiliani, and Roger Martella Jr., a partner at Sidley Austin, walked Senate staffers through the details of the amendment, via speakerphone, during a meeting held at 8:45 a.m. in Room 370 of the Hart Senate Office Building on Sept. 23, 2009…”
LISA THE UGLY, AND THE CASE OF KIVALINA
Lisa Murkowski filled her war chest with $124,500[8] from the clients of the lobbyists who helped her staff draft the so-called “Dirty Air” amendments to the Clean Air Act. Ultimately, of course, Lisa ended up facing not Sarah Palin, but a much weaker surrogate, Joe Miller,who, despite Lisa’s Right-Wing correctness makeover, beat her. Obviously the base didn’t buy it.
The question Alaskans, particularly Alaskans living in the villages along the coast have to ask is if Senator Murkowski sold you out then, will she do it again? Let’s be clear, Lisa Murkowski did sell out rural Alaskans on the global warming issue, and she did it for both power and money. A Government Accountability Office report found global warming was immanent and threatening as many as 31 Alaska villages because of coastal erosion flooding and climate change. The cost of relocation of those villages could be as high (in current dollars) as $2.4 Billion. These are public costs that will be borne by state and federal governments because, in part, the companies who so generously donated to Lisa Murkowski’s political reelection have been polluting for decades and wish to continue to do so.
What is particularly ugly about Lisa’s write-in is the manner by which it cleaves the interests of coastal villages. The write-in campaign, which is most certainly going to fail, has now pitted most well meaning Alaskans against each other in service to her hunger for power. An example of this cleaving can be seen in the example of the Village of Kivalina, a community located within the NANA region. Many of the residents of Kivalina are shareholders of NANA Corporation, an ANCSA Corporation now committed to the write-in campaign of Lisa Murkowski.
A super-PAC of ANCSA corporate donors has been formed to plow a million dollars of advertising on Lisa’s behalf. I doubt that the Corporation discussed this with their shareholders in Kivalina.
In 2008, the Village of Kivalina filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil, BP and more than 20 other oil and power companies alleging that their contribution to global warming is threatening to destroy the village [Kivalina v. ExxonMobil et al (2008)].Some of the defendants, including Duke Energy, are clients of Jeffrey Holmstead. The lawsuit, from what I can tell, was dismissed in September 2009 at the District Court level in California for a lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The Village tried to appeal to the 9th Circuit Court but was turned down. Ironically, the argument by the defendants (in part) was that the lawsuit violated the Article III prohibition of federal Court jurisdiction over matters of politics. The issues in contention, Global Warming and its causes and solutions, were matter to be decided by Congress and not the Courts. The Court agreed. The Irony, of course, is that once the federal District Court in California agreed with the defendants, Mr. Holmstead et al began working to stanch Kivalina in congress. They blocked their liability in court but now they had to wound any congressional urges in the same direction as Kivalina and Lisa Murkowski became their vehicle. She was perfectly suited for all of the reasons discussed above, past credibility on the issue and facing political jeopardy from her conservative base. The political assault on clean air and global warming policy was perfectly aligned with the anti-government sentiment ignited by the corporate-funded tea party insurgency. Lisa could benefit greatly by climbing aboard and she did. In a word: Lisa threw Kivalina under the bus.
Since Lisa got donations from most of the defendants in that lawsuit, including Duke Energy, one of Holmstead’s clients, I wonder how many votes she will get in Kivalina?
[1] www.ser.org/files/ppt/Elaine%20Abraham%20PPT.pdf
[2] www.housemajority.org/coms/cli/cli_finalreport_20080301.pdf
[3] http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/03/lisa-murkowski-climate-change-double-agent
[4] http://murkowski.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=267610
[5] http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/01/murkowski-greenhouse-gas-emissions-epa.html
[6] http://views.washingtonpost.com/climate-change/post-carbon/2010/01/murkowski_and_her_lobbyist_allies.html
[7] http://climateprogress.org/2010/01/15/politico-lobbyists-led-meeting-on-murkowski-epa-amendment-alaska/
[8] http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=341F1A70-18FE-70B2-A8834AE647A29686
__________________________________
Elstun Lauesen is a lifelong Alaskan who has worked for 30 years as a rural develpment specialist, including in Western Alaska.
I am lifting this whole from Mudflats cuz Elstun is my buddy.
His opinions are not necessarily those of myself or the Both Barrels Editorial Board.
However, I do believe in the importance of open dialoogue, and I welcome a response by Senator Murkowski which would be published in whole.
Ed.
By Elstun Lauesen
William Takak from Shaktoolik understands the impact of climate change. The Alaska Native Science Commission quotes him in a survey of the impact of climate change[1]. “Last Spring we only got six walrus because of the weather and the ice moving out to quick. A long time ago it used to be real nice for weeks and even sometimes for months. Now we have a day or two of good weather and this impacts our hunting. The hunters talk about the ice getting a lot thinner. It is going out too quick.”
Hannah Miller of Nome: “The seasons are getting very fast and are all mixed up. The last few years my grandmother was living she said that there was not enough time to put things away like there used to be. When we are done with the willow leaves then comes the sourdocks. These seasons are in too much of hurry now.”
In 2006, the Alaska Legislature established The Alaska Climate Impact Assessment Commission. In March 2008, the Commission delivered its report[2]. Among other findings, the Commission notes:
“In Kotzebue, the Commission recorded insights into coastal erosion in the region, relocation issues at Kivalina and Shishmaref…”
The report talks about the challenges of community relocation while techniques such as the use of armor rock are evaluated, citing “…As many as twenty other Alaskan Villages may suffer from similar strategic shortcomings”
While the Villages struggle with the consequences of global climate change, politicians in Washington DC have been struggling for years to develop a public policy to deal with the issue. Lisa Murkowski has changed on this issue in a dramatic way.
LISA THE GOOD. 2006-2008
In an article for Mother Jones Magazine[3], Journalist Kate Sheppard documents this change. Sheppard notes that in 2006 Murkowski broke from her Republican colleagues and stated that she not only believes that global warming is a fact, she also believed “…it is a reality that man is contributing to the current warming trend. Accordingly, it is appropriate and, quite frankly, our responsibility to take steps to curb the growth of greenhouse gases”
For the next year, Lisa worked with Senators like Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) on the issue and became a co-sponsor of Bingaman’s cap-and-trade bill, the Low Carbon Economy Act.
During this period Lisa was aware of and moved by the plight of rural communities. In her introduction to the REFRESH Act aimed at reducing manmade impacts of climate change she noted“In Alaska, we have certainly seen firsthand the effects of a warming climate in recent years.”[4]
With this kind of profile it is little wonder that Environmentalists were encouraged by Lisa Murkowski The Good to believe that, with the election of BarackObama and a strong Democratic Majority in congress, real progress could be made on climate change policy. But sometime after the inauguration of President Obama, Senator Murkowski turned bad.
LISA THE BAD
The turning of Lisa Murkowski was just one-more by-product of John McCain’s appointment and ruination of Sarah Palin (I have written elsewhere that I thought Sarah was a pretty good socialist governor). When McCain-Palin lost the election, Sarah returned to Alaska as a celebrity with a national following and fund-raising power. The punditry at the time widely speculated that Sarah would have an easy shot at Senator Murkowski in the Republican primary. As a senator, Sarah would establish her bona fides (the lack of which helped pull down McCain’s candidacy) for a run against Obama in 2012 or perhaps 2016. The victory of Mark Begich over Ted Stevens provided additional trauma to Lisa who was suddenly ‘on her own’ as a Senior Senator. Lisa assumed a leadership role with the McConnell team (no doubt facilitated by Uncle Ted) and, according to the rules of that structure, she had to play ball and, in turn, would face any potential Republican challenger with a strengthened hand of plum committee assignments and national gravitas.
Unfortunately, the playbook the McConnell team was running was obstructionism and Lisa has to move hard to the Right. That meant no more maverick Global warming stuff. While Lisa was increasing her health and armor, as a gamer might put it, she still lacked the weapons and kill points to fend off an assault by Sarah and her Troll Army. This required money—and lots of it. Sarah, after all, now had a national cult following.
So Lisa turned to the only source for amassing a war chest that she knew: PACs, industry PACs including the ever-willing energy PACs. But PACs also mean quid pro quo. For Lisa, who came to the game equipped with both brains and a conscience, this had to be framed in terms of some ‘greater good’ rationalization. Given the narrow set of options open to her, it is easy to guess how her self-justification worked: oppose my own values in the short run and I can do good in the long run; an earmark here, a bill there.
But as the anti-Obama rhetoric stepped up, the McConnell team had to match that heat with political initiatives that fed raw meat to the political mob. For Lisa, her actions were defined according to both her leadership and her committee assignments. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee, for example, became her venue for hitting the “undo” button on cap-and-trade, which she once co-sponsored.
Most shocking to the liberals and moderates who had followed her political career was her direct assault on the regulation of the very greenhouse gases that she once said had to be reduced. Most notable was Lisa’s amendment to bar the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide. The Los Angeles Times[5]noted at the time,
Those lobbyists, particularly one named Jeffrey Holmstead, were major facilitators of campaign donations to Lisa for her re-election.
A Washington Post Story[6]also mentioned above notes working relationship between Lisa’s staff and the lobbyists:
“The maneuvering comes as The Washington Post has confirmed that two Washington lobbyists, Jeffrey R. Holmstead and Roger R. Martella, Jr., helped craft the original amendment Murkowski planned to offer on the floor last fall…In an interview, Holmstead said of the Murkowski amendment, “I certainly worked with her staff” on the exact phrasing of the measure in September.”
Politico[7] was even more descriptive of the working relationship:
“Jeffrey Holmstead, head of the environmental strategies division at Bracewell&Guiliani, and Roger Martella Jr., a partner at Sidley Austin, walked Senate staffers through the details of the amendment, via speakerphone, during a meeting held at 8:45 a.m. in Room 370 of the Hart Senate Office Building on Sept. 23, 2009…”
LISA THE UGLY, AND THE CASE OF KIVALINA
Lisa Murkowski filled her war chest with $124,500[8] from the clients of the lobbyists who helped her staff draft the so-called “Dirty Air” amendments to the Clean Air Act. Ultimately, of course, Lisa ended up facing not Sarah Palin, but a much weaker surrogate, Joe Miller,who, despite Lisa’s Right-Wing correctness makeover, beat her. Obviously the base didn’t buy it.
The question Alaskans, particularly Alaskans living in the villages along the coast have to ask is if Senator Murkowski sold you out then, will she do it again? Let’s be clear, Lisa Murkowski did sell out rural Alaskans on the global warming issue, and she did it for both power and money. A Government Accountability Office report found global warming was immanent and threatening as many as 31 Alaska villages because of coastal erosion flooding and climate change. The cost of relocation of those villages could be as high (in current dollars) as $2.4 Billion. These are public costs that will be borne by state and federal governments because, in part, the companies who so generously donated to Lisa Murkowski’s political reelection have been polluting for decades and wish to continue to do so.
What is particularly ugly about Lisa’s write-in is the manner by which it cleaves the interests of coastal villages. The write-in campaign, which is most certainly going to fail, has now pitted most well meaning Alaskans against each other in service to her hunger for power. An example of this cleaving can be seen in the example of the Village of Kivalina, a community located within the NANA region. Many of the residents of Kivalina are shareholders of NANA Corporation, an ANCSA Corporation now committed to the write-in campaign of Lisa Murkowski.
A super-PAC of ANCSA corporate donors has been formed to plow a million dollars of advertising on Lisa’s behalf. I doubt that the Corporation discussed this with their shareholders in Kivalina.
In 2008, the Village of Kivalina filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil, BP and more than 20 other oil and power companies alleging that their contribution to global warming is threatening to destroy the village [Kivalina v. ExxonMobil et al (2008)].Some of the defendants, including Duke Energy, are clients of Jeffrey Holmstead. The lawsuit, from what I can tell, was dismissed in September 2009 at the District Court level in California for a lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The Village tried to appeal to the 9th Circuit Court but was turned down. Ironically, the argument by the defendants (in part) was that the lawsuit violated the Article III prohibition of federal Court jurisdiction over matters of politics. The issues in contention, Global Warming and its causes and solutions, were matter to be decided by Congress and not the Courts. The Court agreed. The Irony, of course, is that once the federal District Court in California agreed with the defendants, Mr. Holmstead et al began working to stanch Kivalina in congress. They blocked their liability in court but now they had to wound any congressional urges in the same direction as Kivalina and Lisa Murkowski became their vehicle. She was perfectly suited for all of the reasons discussed above, past credibility on the issue and facing political jeopardy from her conservative base. The political assault on clean air and global warming policy was perfectly aligned with the anti-government sentiment ignited by the corporate-funded tea party insurgency. Lisa could benefit greatly by climbing aboard and she did. In a word: Lisa threw Kivalina under the bus.
Since Lisa got donations from most of the defendants in that lawsuit, including Duke Energy, one of Holmstead’s clients, I wonder how many votes she will get in Kivalina?
[1] www.ser.org/files/ppt/Elaine%20Abraham%20PPT.pdf
[2] www.housemajority.org/coms/cli/cli_finalreport_20080301.pdf
[3] http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/03/lisa-murkowski-climate-change-double-agent
[4] http://murkowski.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=267610
[5] http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/01/murkowski-greenhouse-gas-emissions-epa.html
[6] http://views.washingtonpost.com/climate-change/post-carbon/2010/01/murkowski_and_her_lobbyist_allies.html
[7] http://climateprogress.org/2010/01/15/politico-lobbyists-led-meeting-on-murkowski-epa-amendment-alaska/
[8] http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=341F1A70-18FE-70B2-A8834AE647A29686
__________________________________
Elstun Lauesen is a lifelong Alaskan who has worked for 30 years as a rural develpment specialist, including in Western Alaska.
What do you get
When you put Joe Miller in bed with the Koch brothers?
Oh wait, he already is in bed with them.
Oh wait, he already is in bed with them.
Paul Jenkins sometimes hits it RIGHT ON THE HEAD
We've been saying it all along. Joe "rhymes with Koch" Miller has been bragging just a little too much about his stupid Bronze Star. For crying out loud, they were included in the MRE's during the brief "conflict" in Kuwait.
Paul Jenkins, a respectable journalist (despite his flacking forays, but it seems every scribbler gets more than ink on their hands these days) said this recently in the Anchorage Daily News:
"A friend asked me why I have such a low opinion of Joe Miller, the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate. It's not because of his ideas, which range from naive to uninformed to flaky. It's not his "It was good enough for me; it's unconstitutional for you" hypocrisy. I'm offended by his Bronze Star, or, rather, the constant, shameless touting of his Bronze Star. It is unseemly, and I'm embarrassed for him.
Virtually everything written or said about Miller quickly turns to that medal. His campaign ads. The New York Times, Time magazine, even Wikipedia and radio idiots. All of them. It is presented in such a way that the average person certainly could be forgiven for believing it was awarded for battlefield valor. Miller's was not. It was for "meritorious achievement" from Jan. 17, 1991, to March 6, 1991, during Operation Desert Storm."
Read the entire piece here.
Paul Jenkins, a respectable journalist (despite his flacking forays, but it seems every scribbler gets more than ink on their hands these days) said this recently in the Anchorage Daily News:
"A friend asked me why I have such a low opinion of Joe Miller, the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate. It's not because of his ideas, which range from naive to uninformed to flaky. It's not his "It was good enough for me; it's unconstitutional for you" hypocrisy. I'm offended by his Bronze Star, or, rather, the constant, shameless touting of his Bronze Star. It is unseemly, and I'm embarrassed for him.
Virtually everything written or said about Miller quickly turns to that medal. His campaign ads. The New York Times, Time magazine, even Wikipedia and radio idiots. All of them. It is presented in such a way that the average person certainly could be forgiven for believing it was awarded for battlefield valor. Miller's was not. It was for "meritorious achievement" from Jan. 17, 1991, to March 6, 1991, during Operation Desert Storm."
Read the entire piece here.
Is it Wednesday Yet?
November 3rd, that is...
Yeah, that was my thought today, that this frickin' bad dream would just get over and I'd wake up to find it's Wednesday the 3rd.
Maybe if I take a couple of extra Atenolol's I might get lucky and sleep for two weeks.
Yeah, that was my thought today, that this frickin' bad dream would just get over and I'd wake up to find it's Wednesday the 3rd.
Maybe if I take a couple of extra Atenolol's I might get lucky and sleep for two weeks.
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Another Unsung Heroine of World War II Passes On
from the New York Times, Eileen Nearne, Wartime Spy, Dies at 89
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Boomers Rule
My favorite morning read is Cryptome because I never know what John Young will have up next.
I particularly enjoy his Eyeball Series which features satellite and other imagery of places we pay up the ass for in taxes but never get to see...
Like CIA Training Center Camp Peary.
This morning I was absolutely as delighted as many must have been absolutely aghast to see this YouTube video linked. Like nukes? Then enjoy. There will be a quiz afterwards...
I particularly enjoy his Eyeball Series which features satellite and other imagery of places we pay up the ass for in taxes but never get to see...
Like CIA Training Center Camp Peary.
This morning I was absolutely as delighted as many must have been absolutely aghast to see this YouTube video linked. Like nukes? Then enjoy. There will be a quiz afterwards...
Friday, September 17, 2010
twwwstlij* supports anti-Alaska Native candidate in Arizona
from Politico it appears that the Alaska dentists union has not ended their opposition to the Dental Health Aide Program which puts trained para-professional dental care providers in rural Alaska clinics serving under-served Alaska Natives. They have enlisted the woman who was supposed to live in juneau to further their cause. Assholes.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Where were we on 9/11?
I remember September 11, 2001 quite vivdly. At the time I was the City Administrator in Hooper Bay, a small Yup'ik Eskimo village on the coast of the Bering Sea. The aftermath was several days of dead quiet skies with no planes coming and going, and the same shock and uncertainty every American shared.
I remember exactly where I was when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center, and I remember when and how I first heard the news.
This evening, September 11, 2010 on the 9th anniversary of the sneak attack by a few religious zealots who would not have given a whit nor changed theur plans if the airliners they hijacked were filled with devout Muslims, tonight familes gather around their television sets to watch documentary after documetary about a day which no school child will ever forget for the next 100 years.
And, tonight, in Anchorage, a couple of todays popular cultures biggest stars took the stage to reminisce about this day of tragedy and unbelievable herosim.
One of these stars was probably wide awake, watching it live.
The other was probably (figuratively, not literally) in the same place I was:
The only place most forturne cookies make any sense:
The place MOST Alaskans were when the planes crashed:
IN BED.
Oh yeah- Alaska is four hours behind time-zone wise. 8 am EST is 4 am Alaska time.
So, during these reminisinces this evening, at least according to news reports, the woman who was supposed to live in Juneau (twwwstlij) said she got a call from the Chief of Police of the fair city of Wassilla, and she turned on her tv to watch. OK, sounds fair. I called MY Chief of Police and told Him to turn on his TV.
But heres the interesting thing. She says the next thing she did was close down the City Hall and headed to church. I am not questioing that she went to church - many Americans headed right there. But unless she had her own key to the church, she would have had to wait until at least 8 am Alaska time to close City Hall (as soon as it opened?).
I set my alarm clock for 5:54 am so I can hear news first thing in the morning. That morning I woke from a very strange dream, hearing confused voices and cries, and then I was awake... a few minutes before my clock radio came on.
Then there was KNOM in Nome and it was weird because over the normal pre-6am music was the Associated News Radio feed and they were talking about one of the World Trade Center towers collapsing and planes crashing into both of them.
Well, we didn't have a tv at the time so I called my neighbor, the Chief of Police, woke him up and told him to turn on his tv...."How come," he asked...I told him I'd be over in a few minutes.
Now, as City Administrator I was responsible for the safety and well being of my community. The City Office opened on schedule and I wasted no time in checking the State Division of Emergency Services e-mail. People expected the City to be functioing, and it was. Sure, we listened to the radio constantly, but we sure didn.t shut down.
Besides, I couldn.t have shut it diwn at 8 am Eastern Statndard Time...I was still home asleep.
I remember exactly where I was when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center, and I remember when and how I first heard the news.
This evening, September 11, 2010 on the 9th anniversary of the sneak attack by a few religious zealots who would not have given a whit nor changed theur plans if the airliners they hijacked were filled with devout Muslims, tonight familes gather around their television sets to watch documentary after documetary about a day which no school child will ever forget for the next 100 years.
And, tonight, in Anchorage, a couple of todays popular cultures biggest stars took the stage to reminisce about this day of tragedy and unbelievable herosim.
One of these stars was probably wide awake, watching it live.
The other was probably (figuratively, not literally) in the same place I was:
The only place most forturne cookies make any sense:
The place MOST Alaskans were when the planes crashed:
IN BED.
Oh yeah- Alaska is four hours behind time-zone wise. 8 am EST is 4 am Alaska time.
So, during these reminisinces this evening, at least according to news reports, the woman who was supposed to live in Juneau (twwwstlij) said she got a call from the Chief of Police of the fair city of Wassilla, and she turned on her tv to watch. OK, sounds fair. I called MY Chief of Police and told Him to turn on his TV.
But heres the interesting thing. She says the next thing she did was close down the City Hall and headed to church. I am not questioing that she went to church - many Americans headed right there. But unless she had her own key to the church, she would have had to wait until at least 8 am Alaska time to close City Hall (as soon as it opened?).
I set my alarm clock for 5:54 am so I can hear news first thing in the morning. That morning I woke from a very strange dream, hearing confused voices and cries, and then I was awake... a few minutes before my clock radio came on.
Then there was KNOM in Nome and it was weird because over the normal pre-6am music was the Associated News Radio feed and they were talking about one of the World Trade Center towers collapsing and planes crashing into both of them.
Well, we didn't have a tv at the time so I called my neighbor, the Chief of Police, woke him up and told him to turn on his tv...."How come," he asked...I told him I'd be over in a few minutes.
Now, as City Administrator I was responsible for the safety and well being of my community. The City Office opened on schedule and I wasted no time in checking the State Division of Emergency Services e-mail. People expected the City to be functioing, and it was. Sure, we listened to the radio constantly, but we sure didn.t shut down.
Besides, I couldn.t have shut it diwn at 8 am Eastern Statndard Time...I was still home asleep.
Monday, September 06, 2010
Joe Miller on Armed American Radio
Listen to the ex-borough attorney Here.
Asked by a caller about elections he said of Alaska "We've got fantastic Division of Elections. It has integrity we know that every vote is going to get counted, its going to be accurate" (We'd be hapy to link to some of his published paranoia about Alaska's elections system, but it seems to be gone from his website!)
I did appreciate his comments on Diebold, et al when he advised, "Just fundamentally reject electronic voting" and said "we've got to have tangible ballots." Hard to disagree with "any of the jurisdictions moving to just purely elecronic votes, thats just really bad news."
On the Social Security front, he told the show's host's Dad calling in from Florida that his own parents in Kansas are wholly dependent on Social Security and Medicaid, and that that "contract" should be honored.
Hovever, in typical fashion he claims that his payments into the Social Security Trust Fund "has been stolen from me. That Trust Fund is empty. Well, I shouldn't say empty. It's full of IOU's."
Those IOU's are, of course based on the full faith (he said "good faith") and credit of the United States, which it appears Mr. M has little faith in.
"It's a better answer to privatize," he said.
The interview starts at minute 16 but the real dog meat is right there at the end.
Asked by a caller about elections he said of Alaska "We've got fantastic Division of Elections. It has integrity we know that every vote is going to get counted, its going to be accurate" (We'd be hapy to link to some of his published paranoia about Alaska's elections system, but it seems to be gone from his website!)
I did appreciate his comments on Diebold, et al when he advised, "Just fundamentally reject electronic voting" and said "we've got to have tangible ballots." Hard to disagree with "any of the jurisdictions moving to just purely elecronic votes, thats just really bad news."
On the Social Security front, he told the show's host's Dad calling in from Florida that his own parents in Kansas are wholly dependent on Social Security and Medicaid, and that that "contract" should be honored.
Hovever, in typical fashion he claims that his payments into the Social Security Trust Fund "has been stolen from me. That Trust Fund is empty. Well, I shouldn't say empty. It's full of IOU's."
Those IOU's are, of course based on the full faith (he said "good faith") and credit of the United States, which it appears Mr. M has little faith in.
"It's a better answer to privatize," he said.
The interview starts at minute 16 but the real dog meat is right there at the end.
Dan "Who's My Daddy" Sullivan Speaks Out
and endorses, of all people, the ex-Fairbanks North Star Borough attorney.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Lets hope THESE numbers hold
Joe Miller's Dollah Thermometah
However, my guess is 1. It is not a true interactive indicator of receipts and 2. It sure as heck won't show the anticipated dollars from K Street.
However, my guess is 1. It is not a true interactive indicator of receipts and 2. It sure as heck won't show the anticipated dollars from K Street.
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Glenn Beck's Gallows
I know all it took for me was to see the stage under construction to think "lynching gallows." Certainly anyone who has seen photos of mass hangings cannot help but see the imagery in this particular photograph.
Noone ever accused Glenn Beck or his comrades as being very subtle.
Friday, September 03, 2010
Lets have another look, shall we?
Ohhhhh...There are SO MANY REPUBLICANS ON K STREET UNHAPPY WITH LISA MURKOWSKI.... Well, WTF they SHOULD be unhappy with her. That means she wasn't at their beck and call. That makes ME HAPPY and should make every other Alaskan happy.
Joe Miller on the other hand seems to be so relishing the thought of being their towel-wrapped turkish bath butt boy that he can't wait for the checks to start flowing in. I wonder how much it will cost to get that towel off. There are plenty of chicken hawks on K Street just looking for a bear cub like Joe. And you know what? Thats about the best he can call himself.
Yup, the lobbyists of Washington can't wait to get Joe there, behind closed doors, maybe a scotch or two and a fine cigar, a cutie keepin' 'em coming while they discuss the vital importance to the Founders of tax cuts for the Koch Brothers (owners of the groundwater polluting North Pole Refinery) and various other matters pertaining to the very survival of the Republic while Joe tries to remember what it was Vic Kohringtold asked Bill Allen... Oh yeah, "Say Brother, can you spare a few bucks?" "Why sure JoeVic we sure can spot you a few bucks. Lets go over there by the mantle where the firelight casts its glow on the fine carpet in the panelled room where only men of power belong and we are sure happy your "folks" back there in Alaska decided to send you here. We are sure looking forward to working with you, JoeVic."
Oh yeah, its gonna be a gravy train for you, Joe. A real moneymaker, especially when you shake yours!
Joe Miller on the other hand seems to be so relishing the thought of being their towel-wrapped turkish bath butt boy that he can't wait for the checks to start flowing in. I wonder how much it will cost to get that towel off. There are plenty of chicken hawks on K Street just looking for a bear cub like Joe. And you know what? Thats about the best he can call himself.
Miss Me Yet?
Yup, the lobbyists of Washington can't wait to get Joe there, behind closed doors, maybe a scotch or two and a fine cigar, a cutie keepin' 'em coming while they discuss the vital importance to the Founders of tax cuts for the Koch Brothers (owners of the groundwater polluting North Pole Refinery) and various other matters pertaining to the very survival of the Republic while Joe tries to remember what it was Vic Kohring
Oh yeah, its gonna be a gravy train for you, Joe. A real moneymaker, especially when you shake yours!
Didn't Take Long for Him to Take the Pipe Between His Lips
Seems Joe Miller has put on the kneepads.
CQ Politics reports tonight on its blog that little known Fairbanks ex-assistant borough attorney Joe Miller has decided God's help isn't enough in getting plain 'ol folk to open their purses and has hired a "prominent D.C. fundraiser" to help him lose to Scott McAdams.
Headed Alaska: Miller Getting Serious About Fundraising and sporting such quotes as an anonymous source saying "There are many Republicans on K Street so unhappy with Lisa that this is a step up," this source said. "It's a winnable seat, and there's no way that Republican leadership is going to allow this to go south."
We agree. The Republican leadership should hold on to whatever dignity it might have after the job it did on Lisa, and NOT allow "this" (scum) to "go south".
Unless it is back into the VistaCruiser back to Kansas.
Yeah, Joe, let me tell ya, the musky aroma of that long K Street is just waiting for you.
No corporate funds, he say. He lie like Jim.
CQ Politics reports tonight on its blog that little known Fairbanks ex-assistant borough attorney Joe Miller has decided God's help isn't enough in getting plain 'ol folk to open their purses and has hired a "prominent D.C. fundraiser" to help him lose to Scott McAdams.
Headed Alaska: Miller Getting Serious About Fundraising and sporting such quotes as an anonymous source saying "There are many Republicans on K Street so unhappy with Lisa that this is a step up," this source said. "It's a winnable seat, and there's no way that Republican leadership is going to allow this to go south."
We agree. The Republican leadership should hold on to whatever dignity it might have after the job it did on Lisa, and NOT allow "this" (scum) to "go south".
Unless it is back into the VistaCruiser back to Kansas.
Yeah, Joe, let me tell ya, the musky aroma of that long K Street is just waiting for you.
No corporate funds, he say. He lie like Jim.
Two Legal Reviews of Miller's Loony Look at Alaska's Federal Lands
Wickersham's Conscience does a bang-up job of expaining the completely misguided belief of the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate that Alaska can take back Federal lands in Joe Miller Ignores the Law.
Next up is Mudflatter Legal Eagle who presents a very fine analysis that goes by the title of Joe Miller - Liar, or Idiot? A Legal Analysis.
Blog del Narco
Rumour (just rumour) has it that a drug dealer has moved into my neighborhood. I hear that he pays his mule's $2,000 for an ass-full of oxy's. Bet THAT's an uncomfortable plane ride!
Well, for those of you interested in the latest news from South of the Border it seems a brave young man in Mexico is blogging. Here's a recent news report (in English) about Blog del Narco (in Spanish. Plenty of gruesome photos of dead people and pics of piles of bales of dope, too.)
Fun way to bone up on that old high school espanol, eh?
Well, for those of you interested in the latest news from South of the Border it seems a brave young man in Mexico is blogging. Here's a recent news report (in English) about Blog del Narco (in Spanish. Plenty of gruesome photos of dead people and pics of piles of bales of dope, too.)
Fun way to bone up on that old high school espanol, eh?
But when is his live call-in on KYUK?
Joe's Schedule
Sunday, September 5
4:00pm Armed America Radio Network *Listen Live*
When Sun, September 5, 4pm – 5pm
Where KBYR 700AM KSRM 920AM (map)
more details
Sunday, September 5
4:00pm Armed America Radio Network *Listen Live*
When Sun, September 5, 4pm – 5pm
Where KBYR 700AM KSRM 920AM (map)
more details
Sweet Touch of Love
Thursday, September 02, 2010
And a Fairbanks "Lawyer" we ignore at our peril
On CNN, Joe Miller says his call for privitization of Social Security is "No demagoguery ... at all."
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
A Fairbanks Lawyer Worth Paying Attention To
I forget where I found a link to Wickersham's Conscience but I am ever so glad I did. I hope you will be glad you found it, too. Commentary, Reviews and Nature Photography is how the site is described and more than amply fils the bill
The germane novel of the political season is...
The envelope please.
Thank you,
and the winner is
Advise and Consent, by Allen Drury.
It's a pretty good movie, too.
Thank you,
and the winner is
Advise and Consent, by Allen Drury.
It's a pretty good movie, too.
How do YOU spell scum? I spell it miller.
"I thanked her for the hard-fought contest and wished her the best and asked for unity," Miller said in a telephone interview from his hometown of Fairbanks.
Asshole should be thanking the Koch Brothers
Miller said he thinks Murkowski will end up supporting him in the general election. "I'm going to give her some time and we're going to talk more about it later," he said.
"I'm going to giver her some time and we're going to talk about it later."
Lets hope THAT doesn't happen. Lisa is gonna be too busy packing her office and DC home to be talking to a lackey like you. Unity my ass, you phony little shit.
Miller said he's going to meet with close friends and family Tuesday night. "Then we'll probably head back to the office and do some more campaign work a little bit later tonight," Miller said on Tuesday.
Yeah, back to the office to call and thank the Koch Brothers
h/t ADN
Asshole should be thanking the Koch Brothers
Miller said he thinks Murkowski will end up supporting him in the general election. "I'm going to give her some time and we're going to talk more about it later," he said.
"I'm going to giver her some time and we're going to talk about it later."
Lets hope THAT doesn't happen. Lisa is gonna be too busy packing her office and DC home to be talking to a lackey like you. Unity my ass, you phony little shit.
Miller said he's going to meet with close friends and family Tuesday night. "Then we'll probably head back to the office and do some more campaign work a little bit later tonight," Miller said on Tuesday.
Yeah, back to the office to call and thank the Koch Brothers
h/t ADN
SCOTT MCADAMS FOR UNITED STATES SENATE - FOR ALASKA
Your Both Barrels blog is proud to endorse Sitka Mayor Scott McAdams for United States Senate.
As the Father of two Mt. Edgecumbe graduates I can say that Sitka is one of the safest and most liveable communities in our State, and Scott McAdams gets credit for helping to keep it tht way.
Alaskans have a CLEAR choice in November. It isn't about Democrat versus whatever the other guy is (he sure as hell isn't a real Republican). It is a choice for the future of our State.
Scott McAdams' task is simple - run the campaign that Lisa Murkowski did not.
I am looking forward to meeting Scott - he ought be to due for a trip to Bethel and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta soon.
As the Father of two Mt. Edgecumbe graduates I can say that Sitka is one of the safest and most liveable communities in our State, and Scott McAdams gets credit for helping to keep it tht way.
Alaskans have a CLEAR choice in November. It isn't about Democrat versus whatever the other guy is (he sure as hell isn't a real Republican). It is a choice for the future of our State.
Scott McAdams' task is simple - run the campaign that Lisa Murkowski did not.
I am looking forward to meeting Scott - he ought be to due for a trip to Bethel and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta soon.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
A few thoughts on Lisa Murkowski
It's interesting to see some of the reaction on at least one liberal Alaskan blog I read. People are actually trying to get busy over Senator Lisa Murkowski's concession based on a partial count of absentee ballots. Now I am no statistician but I know full well that she would need SERIOUS numbers to go her way to make up the deficit.
So she did do the right thing, before everyone got completely worn out (it has, after all, been a week) and she conceded the race, as hard as that might have been for her, her family, close friends and staff and supporters.
There was nothing dishonorable or quitting-ish about it. Unless you have run for office and lost you have no idea.
That out of my system, I want to thank Senator Lisa Murkowksi for her work on behalf of all the residents of our great State. She served with honor and grace and acquitted herself well.
Yes, she was appointed by her Dad, but she was also elected to a full term and her appointment was not a particularly big issue.
She helped people and organizations from across the State. Her staff was (and still is) excellent and responsive. She has travelled Alaska and made friends everywhere she has gone.
Lisa, Thank You, and I wish you a fine next few months as office holder and of course look forward to your continued contributions to the future of The Great Land.
So she did do the right thing, before everyone got completely worn out (it has, after all, been a week) and she conceded the race, as hard as that might have been for her, her family, close friends and staff and supporters.
There was nothing dishonorable or quitting-ish about it. Unless you have run for office and lost you have no idea.
That out of my system, I want to thank Senator Lisa Murkowksi for her work on behalf of all the residents of our great State. She served with honor and grace and acquitted herself well.
Yes, she was appointed by her Dad, but she was also elected to a full term and her appointment was not a particularly big issue.
She helped people and organizations from across the State. Her staff was (and still is) excellent and responsive. She has travelled Alaska and made friends everywhere she has gone.
Lisa, Thank You, and I wish you a fine next few months as office holder and of course look forward to your continued contributions to the future of The Great Land.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Vincent Beans for Alaska State House of Representatives
I am more than happy to recommend my old friend Vincent Beans of Mountain Village as the candidate of choice in the August 24, 2010 Primary Election, as he seeks to serve as District 39 Representative. There are only two candidates in the race so it is a "Winner Take All" in the primary.
Vincent is, of course a loyal Alaska Democrat, Veteran, local school board member and has long experience in rural economic development.
Please watch here for more details on his candidacy.
Vincent is, of course a loyal Alaska Democrat, Veteran, local school board member and has long experience in rural economic development.
Please watch here for more details on his candidacy.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Monday, May 03, 2010
And still MORE wrecked steel
and a possibly wrecked Gulf Coast, to boot-
The Last Four Minutes of the Deepwater Horizon
The Last Four Minutes of the Deepwater Horizon
Friday, April 23, 2010
Sorry to see it go...
Alaska's tallest structure scheduled for demolition
Safety zone in effect
JUNEAU, Alaska -- The Coast Guard has establish a safety-zone beginning Sunday during preparation for the demolition of the 1,350-foot Long Range Aids to Navigation tower in Port Clarence currently the tallest structure in Alaska.
The safety-zone will include all waters within a two-mile radius of the tower and is being created as part of a project managed by the Coast Guard's Civil Engineering Unit in Juneau which is responsible for taking down the LORAN Station Port Clarence's radio transmitting tower in a controlled demolition.
The LORAN tower in Port Clarence is the tallest of its kind in the country but the condition of the tower is deteriorating and with no funding for repairs the tower is at ever-increasing risk of an uncontrolled collapse. Alaska's tallest man-made structure will be the tallest structure ever intentionally brought down with explosives in a controlled demolition.
The Coast Guard began decommissioning its LORAN infrastructure in response to direction from Congress provided in the 2010 budget. LORAN Station Port Clarence ceased transmitting the LORAN signal February 8, 2010.
More information will be available as the demolition team prepares the controlled explosion. Photos and video will be available following the collapse.
Safety zone in effect
JUNEAU, Alaska -- The Coast Guard has establish a safety-zone beginning Sunday during preparation for the demolition of the 1,350-foot Long Range Aids to Navigation tower in Port Clarence currently the tallest structure in Alaska.
The safety-zone will include all waters within a two-mile radius of the tower and is being created as part of a project managed by the Coast Guard's Civil Engineering Unit in Juneau which is responsible for taking down the LORAN Station Port Clarence's radio transmitting tower in a controlled demolition.
The LORAN tower in Port Clarence is the tallest of its kind in the country but the condition of the tower is deteriorating and with no funding for repairs the tower is at ever-increasing risk of an uncontrolled collapse. Alaska's tallest man-made structure will be the tallest structure ever intentionally brought down with explosives in a controlled demolition.
The Coast Guard began decommissioning its LORAN infrastructure in response to direction from Congress provided in the 2010 budget. LORAN Station Port Clarence ceased transmitting the LORAN signal February 8, 2010.
More information will be available as the demolition team prepares the controlled explosion. Photos and video will be available following the collapse.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
TWWWSTLIJ to booze biz:
Aww, shucks- listen to it yourself:
The Recorded Sarah Palin-Wine Wholesaler Speech
Tom Wark's FERMENTATION: The Daily Wine Blog hits it hard and spot on.
Just listen.
The Recorded Sarah Palin-Wine Wholesaler Speech
Tom Wark's FERMENTATION: The Daily Wine Blog hits it hard and spot on.
Just listen.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Where is Bun E.?
Statement – March 19, 2010
Bun E. Carlos is not currently the touring drummer for Cheap Trick. Bun E. remains a band member. Everyone is healthy and Cheap Trick will continue to tour as planned.
Bun E. Carlos is not currently the touring drummer for Cheap Trick. Bun E. remains a band member. Everyone is healthy and Cheap Trick will continue to tour as planned.
Great short interview with Cheap Trick at SXSW
SXSW: Cheap Trick interview, Wednesday morning, Four Seasons
By Patrick Beach | Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 04:03 PM
By Patrick Beach | Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 04:03 PM
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Hooper Bay is neither primitive nor a settlement
The New York Times, the Old Gray Lady, caries a story by one Sam Dillon entitled Lawmakers Say Needs Of Rural Schools Are Overlooked wherein MY Alaskan hometown of Hooper Bay (Tok notwithstanding) is described as "a primitive settlement with no flush toilets."
Say what?
I have sent a letter to The Times in hopes of being published and since they insist on exclusivity I'll leave my comments at this for now. If my letter gets in, I'll let you know, but read the article and stew with me!
Say what?
I have sent a letter to The Times in hopes of being published and since they insist on exclusivity I'll leave my comments at this for now. If my letter gets in, I'll let you know, but read the article and stew with me!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
THEY WHAAAAT?????
The University of Alaska Board of Regents did it. They actually hired another retired military officer to run the University.
Hows this for a resume' quote: "Personally helped design, engineer
and coordinated the complete renovation of a 2000 student dormitory,
right down to the selection of all new student dorm room furniture."
Don't the Regent's read these things?
Hows this for a resume' quote: "Personally helped design, engineer
and coordinated the complete renovation of a 2000 student dormitory,
right down to the selection of all new student dorm room furniture."
Don't the Regent's read these things?
Monday, March 15, 2010
Not a comforting comment, Mr. President
DNA on demand? Open wide and say "ahhh" for the nice Police officer...
President Obama backs DNA test in arrests reports Politico's Josh Gerstein.
Talking to John Walsh of America's Most Wanted President Obama praised the idea of "DNA on Demand."
“It’s the right thing to do,” Obama replied. “This is where the national registry becomes so important, because what you have is individual states — they may have a database, but if they’re not sharing it with the state next door, you’ve got a guy from Illinois driving over into Indiana, and they’re not talking to each other.”
So the President, a Professor of Constitutional Law thinks it's fine for the Police to collect DNA as identifying material from anyone ARRESTED - not CONVICTED - for a felony.
Now, do the existing State laws that allow this extremely intrusive behavior by police call for the removal of DNA from data banks if an individual is released without charge or acquitted?
Before you think the President is sounding too Republican, read what Bob Barr has to say about a proposal in the Georgia Legislature.
And here is an Op Ed,To Stop Crime, Share Your Genes from the New York Times on the same subject, and discussion over at Slashdot.
President Obama backs DNA test in arrests reports Politico's Josh Gerstein.
Talking to John Walsh of America's Most Wanted President Obama praised the idea of "DNA on Demand."
“It’s the right thing to do,” Obama replied. “This is where the national registry becomes so important, because what you have is individual states — they may have a database, but if they’re not sharing it with the state next door, you’ve got a guy from Illinois driving over into Indiana, and they’re not talking to each other.”
So the President, a Professor of Constitutional Law thinks it's fine for the Police to collect DNA as identifying material from anyone ARRESTED - not CONVICTED - for a felony.
Now, do the existing State laws that allow this extremely intrusive behavior by police call for the removal of DNA from data banks if an individual is released without charge or acquitted?
Before you think the President is sounding too Republican, read what Bob Barr has to say about a proposal in the Georgia Legislature.
And here is an Op Ed,To Stop Crime, Share Your Genes from the New York Times on the same subject, and discussion over at Slashdot.
World War Two Heroine Andrée Peel, R.I.P.
from the New York Times comes the obituary of a true Heroine of World War II-
Andrée Peel, Rescuer of Allied Airmen, Dies at 105
"Andrée Peel, a highly decorated French resistance figure who helped save dozens of American and British airmen shot down over France during World War II, died on March 5 in the English village of Long Ashton, outside Bristol. She was 105. "
Andrée Peel, Rescuer of Allied Airmen, Dies at 105
"Andrée Peel, a highly decorated French resistance figure who helped save dozens of American and British airmen shot down over France during World War II, died on March 5 in the English village of Long Ashton, outside Bristol. She was 105. "
Thursday, March 11, 2010
FINALLY!
He was never a friend of Rural Alaska, so we shed no tears over his departure from the Legislature.
Bunde won't run for re-election
Bunde won't run for re-election
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Attention. Loranimals
Are you now or have you ever been a Loranimal?
For the uninitiated, a Loranimal is anyone who has spent a part of their life (usually one-year increments) caring for and feeding anything with a nomenclature beginning AN/FPN. Touchy things, those AN/FPN's, especially the 42's, 44 and 44A's and 45's.
Well, if you know what I am talking about, then THIS IS IMPORTANT.
It seems that most LORAN transmitters were X-Ray emitters! Thats right, the high-power final amplifier tubes generated x-rays.
You should DOWNLOAD THIS and read it if you ever worked at a LORAN Station.
There is a good set of links at Loran-History.info on the x-ray health issue.
Semper Paratus!
For the uninitiated, a Loranimal is anyone who has spent a part of their life (usually one-year increments) caring for and feeding anything with a nomenclature beginning AN/FPN. Touchy things, those AN/FPN's, especially the 42's, 44 and 44A's and 45's.
Well, if you know what I am talking about, then THIS IS IMPORTANT.
It seems that most LORAN transmitters were X-Ray emitters! Thats right, the high-power final amplifier tubes generated x-rays.
You should DOWNLOAD THIS and read it if you ever worked at a LORAN Station.
There is a good set of links at Loran-History.info on the x-ray health issue.
Semper Paratus!
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Like to fish?
Here's an interesting one from ESPN:
Culled out
Obama administration will accept no more public input for federal fishery strategy
.
Culled out
Obama administration will accept no more public input for federal fishery strategy
.
Remarkable WTC Photos from 9/11
As many have heard, a New York Police Department Aviation Unit helo was about the only civilian aircraft allowed to fly in New York City shortly after the double-jetliner attack on the World Trade Center. Photographs taken by Detective Greg Semendinger and possibly other NYPD Aviation Officers are available from the CRYPTOME website, released under a Freedom of Information Act request to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Containing 153 detailed photos, the 64 mb zip file is well worth the bandwidth. Most pictures are of evacuation efforts by the New York Harbor maritime fleet (US Coast Guard, Police Boats, ferries and tugs) as well as a couple of incredible photos of the roof of WTC North (the tower with the broadcast and communcations antennas).
Monday, March 08, 2010
Sunday, March 07, 2010
USCG LORAN-C Station Tok leaves the air
I came to Alaska in September, 1976 as a member of the Commissioning Crew of LORAN-C Station Tok, Master Station of the 7960 Gulf of Alaska Chain. We proudly maintained the signal which we knew was used for navigation by the Prince William Sound TAPS tanker fleet.
from the Seattle PI airline blog
Tx to 747sp for the link.
Aviation & Alaska Airlines in the Small Town of Bethel, Alaska
Aviation & Alaska Airlines in the Small Town of Bethel, Alaska
TWWWSTLIJ* in Canada
Thanks again to Palingates for these links:
McLean's Craig Cosh reports here and here.
*the woman who was supposed to live in Juneau
McLean's Craig Cosh reports here and here.
*the woman who was supposed to live in Juneau
Good coverage of the UA Prexy race
As mentioned a post or two below, the beauty contest for President of the University of Alaska is in full swing but amazingly below the radar of most Alaskans.The consequences of the final decision of the Board of Regents are of importance to EVERY Alaskan.The University of Alaska has touched nearly everyone on our State in one way or another, continues to and will as far off ito the future as I can see.For those of you who might be reading this post from somewhere that isn't familiar with the UA System, our University is divided (figuratively and literally) into three discrete unites, University of Alaska Fairbanks (founding campus and world headquarters); University of Alaska Anchorage; and University of Alaska Southeast.
The University is a world leader in geophysical research and has a number of world-class academic programs. The variety of programs it has available to Alaskan's is astonishing and worthy of the people of our State.
The Alaska State Legislature, of course, seems never to recognize this fact and oftentimes one wonders if the Statewide Administration of the University recognizes it. Anyone who has been to a "Public Meeting" with soon-to-be ex-President Mark Hamilton I am sure will agree.
My recommendation today is Professor Steve Aufrect's coverage and Professor John Creed's commentary Here.
The University is a world leader in geophysical research and has a number of world-class academic programs. The variety of programs it has available to Alaskan's is astonishing and worthy of the people of our State.
The Alaska State Legislature, of course, seems never to recognize this fact and oftentimes one wonders if the Statewide Administration of the University recognizes it. Anyone who has been to a "Public Meeting" with soon-to-be ex-President Mark Hamilton I am sure will agree.
My recommendation today is Professor Steve Aufrect's coverage and Professor John Creed's commentary Here.
Why SOMETIMES (only sometimes) I wish I lived in Anchorage
Cliff Groh (who looks better in a beard) will be giving a little talk that anyone with even a passing interest in the conjunction betwixt Alaskan politics and Federal Law Enforcement should attend.
And follow his blog!
And follow his blog!
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Why isn't the race for University President getting more attention?
Now between the Irony Dog and the Iditarod, most Alaskans just aren't paying attention to the high stakes game being played by the University of Alaska and the Board of Regents.
"Call me Mark, not General" Hamilton has finally given it up (hey, if I had two retirements, I'd relax, too) and after a relatively (relatively?) hush hush process the Board of Regents picked three finalists from a pool of who knows how many (six); even Gary Stevens thought he was one of them.
Before we rehash what Progressive Alaska has been running I want everyone to look for themselves at the resume's of the official three finalists.
"Call me Mark, not General" Hamilton has finally given it up (hey, if I had two retirements, I'd relax, too) and after a relatively (relatively?) hush hush process the Board of Regents picked three finalists from a pool of who knows how many (six); even Gary Stevens thought he was one of them.
Before we rehash what Progressive Alaska has been running I want everyone to look for themselves at the resume's of the official three finalists.
Friday, March 05, 2010
Comments
I just want everyone to know that I am moderating comments. Say what's on your mind, but I'll decide what goes on my blog.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Credit where it's due
Hi folks- Yes, I called Shannyn's show (at Metanoia2K's suggestion!). I found the palingates story yesterday and started boosting it on progressivealaska so you read about it there first :)
The irony of this whole Ironydog thing is, as most Alaskans know, that CITGO, God Bless Them (and the People of Venezuela) has ponied up where noone else would- right into the fuel tanks of Rural Alaskans.
The woman who was supposed to live in Juneau never had anything to say about people being cold and hungry out here and never had anything positive to say about the CITGO/Citizens Energy program.
But now, she's sucking up. What I will find really funny is if she says she didn't know that CITGO owns Mystik. Her other fall back, and true it will be, would be that Mystic Lubricants are made in America by American workers in American refineries.
But still, can we have a little consistency?
The irony of this whole Ironydog thing is, as most Alaskans know, that CITGO, God Bless Them (and the People of Venezuela) has ponied up where noone else would- right into the fuel tanks of Rural Alaskans.
The woman who was supposed to live in Juneau never had anything to say about people being cold and hungry out here and never had anything positive to say about the CITGO/Citizens Energy program.
But now, she's sucking up. What I will find really funny is if she says she didn't know that CITGO owns Mystik. Her other fall back, and true it will be, would be that Mystic Lubricants are made in America by American workers in American refineries.
But still, can we have a little consistency?
Thank You, Hugo!
Big tip of the ol' green visor to Palingates for nailing this one to the wall:
Sarah Palin's newest gig: Making a "mystik" commercial for the Iditarod 2010, and Todd Palin sponsored by the government of Hugo Chavez!
Sarah Palin's newest gig: Making a "mystik" commercial for the Iditarod 2010, and Todd Palin sponsored by the government of Hugo Chavez!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Enough Already
The Woman who was supposed to live in Juneau is getting far more attention from the Alaskan blogosphere than is deserving. Little can be said that will dissuade people from "camping out all night" in front of a bookstore to see her.
Who cares, really. She can knock herself out and make a fortune and we can all thank Dick Randolph for the fact that Alaska doesn't have an income tax anymore.
Who cares, really. She can knock herself out and make a fortune and we can all thank Dick Randolph for the fact that Alaska doesn't have an income tax anymore.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Eagle, Alaska Flooding
Well, flooding isn't really the word for it. Bulldozed by Yukon River ice is more like it.
Eagle has always been my favorite spot in Alaska. I've always said that if I had one minute to pick where I would live the rest of my days up here, Eagle would be that place.
I first visited the fair, First Class City (and Village) in the late '70s when I was in the Coast Guard in Tok.
Well, this year "Springtime in Alaska" ain't no 40 below. It's been HOT in the Interior and the Upper Yukon is on an ice jam rampage.
The pictures are heartbreaking.
Eagle has always been my favorite spot in Alaska. I've always said that if I had one minute to pick where I would live the rest of my days up here, Eagle would be that place.
I first visited the fair, First Class City (and Village) in the late '70s when I was in the Coast Guard in Tok.
Well, this year "Springtime in Alaska" ain't no 40 below. It's been HOT in the Interior and the Upper Yukon is on an ice jam rampage.
The pictures are heartbreaking.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Catching Sophie’s Killer: Cold Case Investigators Search For New Clues
Were you a UAF student in April, 1993? Did you live in Bartlett? Know somebody who was? Then you probably remember this story. Know something? THINK you know something? Then please call AST. They would love to talk to you!
From the Alaska State Troopers:
Sunday, April 26, is the 16th anniversary of the murder of Sophie Sergie, a 20-year-old from Pitkas Point who was found dead in a dormitory at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in 1993. In the past few years, Cold Case Investigators have diligently sorted through old case files and gathered new information; however, they need the public's help in finding new leads and eliminating others in order to find Sophie's killer. Soldotna-based Cold Case Investigators Jim Stogsdill and Lindy Minnick, aided by other Cold Case investigators within the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, Tim Hunyor and James Gallen, are trying to track anyone who was at UAF dormitory Bartlett Hall at the time of Sophie's death in the very early morning hours of April 26, 1993.
“We’d like everybody who was residing at Bartlett Hall in the spring of 1993, just simply call up and say, ‘Hey, I was
there, I was in whatever room number, this is what I heard, this is what I saw, this is what I heard people speak of afterwards,’”
Stogsdill said. “We can filter all that out.”
Interviewing people who might have something to add to the timeline leading up to Sophie’s death has been a challenge
from the start. Her murder occurred right around finals. Students quickly left for the summer, some of them never to return for
another semester at UAF. Investigators have the difficult task of tracking down people, some of whom have moved Outside or
joined the military in the almost 16 years since Sophie’s death.
Anyone who was in the area of Hess Commons or the Moore, Bartlett and Skarland Halls on April 26, 1993 can contact
Stogsdill at (907)260-2716; Minnick at (907)260-2710 or lindy.minnick@alaska.gov; Gallen or Hunyor in Anchorage at
(907)269-5611; or UAF Police Investigator Steve Goetz at (907)474-7721.
Contact Beth Ipsen at (907)269-5654, (907)351-5191 or elizabeth.ipsen@alaska.gov for more information, or for a copy of a videotaped interview with Investigator Jim Stogsdill.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Amen!
The old priest lay dying in the hospital.
For years he had faithfully served the people of the nation's capital.
He motioned for his nurse to come near.
"Yes, Father?" said the nurse.
"I would really like to see Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi before I die", whispered the priest.
"I'll see what I can do, Father." replied the nurse.
The nurse sent the request to them and waited for a response.
Soon the word arrived. Harry and Nancy would be delighted to visit the priest.
As they went to the hospital, Harry commented to Nancy , "I don't know
why the old priest wants to see us, but it will certainly help our images."
Nancy couldn't help but agree.
When they arrived at the priest's room, the priest took Nancy 's hand in
his right hand and Harry's hand in his left. There was silence and a
look of serenity on the old priest's face.
Finally Nancy spoke. "Father, of all the people you could have chosen,
why did you choose us to be with you as you near the end?"
The old priest slowly replied, "I have always tried to pattern my life
after our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
The old priest continued... "He died between two lying thieves. I would like to do the same."
For years he had faithfully served the people of the nation's capital.
He motioned for his nurse to come near.
"Yes, Father?" said the nurse.
"I would really like to see Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi before I die", whispered the priest.
"I'll see what I can do, Father." replied the nurse.
The nurse sent the request to them and waited for a response.
Soon the word arrived. Harry and Nancy would be delighted to visit the priest.
As they went to the hospital, Harry commented to Nancy , "I don't know
why the old priest wants to see us, but it will certainly help our images."
Nancy couldn't help but agree.
When they arrived at the priest's room, the priest took Nancy 's hand in
his right hand and Harry's hand in his left. There was silence and a
look of serenity on the old priest's face.
Finally Nancy spoke. "Father, of all the people you could have chosen,
why did you choose us to be with you as you near the end?"
The old priest slowly replied, "I have always tried to pattern my life
after our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
The old priest continued... "He died between two lying thieves. I would like to do the same."
The BOTH BARRELS Archive
Take a trip down memory lane and root around in the archives. Plenty of Tim Treadwell, Ted Stevens and other more arcane stuff in there. So if you are new to the blog, please feel free to see what you can see.
Trina is in Paris!
Trina Landlord, aka Eskimo to the World is in Paris, no doubt comparing the City of Lights (no, NOT Anchorage) to the Great White Way. So lucky!
Writing Raven's Earth Day Resolutions
As is my wont, on matters better understood and elucidated by those much wiser than myself, I once again defer to Writing Raven at Alaska Real:
So Earth Day kinda snuck up on me, and I do try and recognize it in some way. For several thousands of years, the Native people of this continent did a pretty good job of being responsible with the earth. But I think we're slipping, big time now. "Taking care of the land" should not be a past value, and I don't think it totally is - yet.
But today, I didn't really do anything because I forgot about it until about noon today. I also got to thinking that every Earth Day I reflect on how I SHOULD be doing more, and down the way not that much happens.
So today I actually reflected on WHY that's usually a fail. And I came up with two pretty obvious reasons:
1) I start too big. Somehow, overnight, I believe I'm going to change all my habits? As utopian as that is... that's a set up for a big fail right there.
2) I'm not really that specific. "Recycle more." "Use less energy." Uh, right. Not ,only is it kind of copping out, there's no accountability, even to myself.
So I've gone over some very small, very realistic changes I know I can make and instead of making them, "change these for the rest of your life" kind of moves, I'm going to commit to them until the end of the summer (Sept. 1.) Then, re-evaluate. My small changes include:
1. Do not purchase DVD's, or physically rent them.
Benefits: Save on packaging, the energy to create the physical DVD, save on gas. I will download any movies I want to rent or purchase, and if it's not available on iTunes... well, I'm SOL. I think it's something I can survive.
2. Do not purchase anything from the grocery store if I'm not using a reusable bag.
I started something like this last year, and even have all the bags, but kept forgetting them, and shrugging it off for a "I'll remember next time." So, for grocery shopping only, if I don't have the bags, I'm not walking in. Benefits: Save on plastic AND paper, landfills not as full.
3. ONLY use environmentally conscious cosmetic brands
I'm halfway to this goal, as the brand I prefer for my basics is pretty much there. But I looked up one of the items I use every day, and... yikes. I checked it on Skin Deep cosmetic database, and holy crap. I'm basically washing my face with toxins... which seems a little self-defeating as well. So only earth-friendly brands. This includes my shampoo, shower gel - the works. Benefits: Not putting freaky hormone-ridden stuff on every day, save on packaging, supporting companies with a green conscious.
4. I will dispose of any medications correctly
I didn't even know this was a problem until I was made aware of how BIG a problem it is recently! Not disposing of medications correctly can mean a lot of things, like danger to yourself or children by accidental poisoning, but it can also (and DOES) get into the water systems, and doesn't come out. This goes into our drinking water, but it can also effect salmon (and other wildlife) populations. You can check out proper disposal here from the State of Utah (hey, they popped up first.) Benefits: Non-poisoned drinking water and oceans, less chance of poisoning.
So that's it. It seems like so little to me, but this year I'm focusing on small changes, and succeeding small, instead of focusing on big, and failing hard.
So Earth Day kinda snuck up on me, and I do try and recognize it in some way. For several thousands of years, the Native people of this continent did a pretty good job of being responsible with the earth. But I think we're slipping, big time now. "Taking care of the land" should not be a past value, and I don't think it totally is - yet.
But today, I didn't really do anything because I forgot about it until about noon today. I also got to thinking that every Earth Day I reflect on how I SHOULD be doing more, and down the way not that much happens.
So today I actually reflected on WHY that's usually a fail. And I came up with two pretty obvious reasons:
1) I start too big. Somehow, overnight, I believe I'm going to change all my habits? As utopian as that is... that's a set up for a big fail right there.
2) I'm not really that specific. "Recycle more." "Use less energy." Uh, right. Not ,only is it kind of copping out, there's no accountability, even to myself.
So I've gone over some very small, very realistic changes I know I can make and instead of making them, "change these for the rest of your life" kind of moves, I'm going to commit to them until the end of the summer (Sept. 1.) Then, re-evaluate. My small changes include:
1. Do not purchase DVD's, or physically rent them.
Benefits: Save on packaging, the energy to create the physical DVD, save on gas. I will download any movies I want to rent or purchase, and if it's not available on iTunes... well, I'm SOL. I think it's something I can survive.
2. Do not purchase anything from the grocery store if I'm not using a reusable bag.
I started something like this last year, and even have all the bags, but kept forgetting them, and shrugging it off for a "I'll remember next time." So, for grocery shopping only, if I don't have the bags, I'm not walking in. Benefits: Save on plastic AND paper, landfills not as full.
3. ONLY use environmentally conscious cosmetic brands
I'm halfway to this goal, as the brand I prefer for my basics is pretty much there. But I looked up one of the items I use every day, and... yikes. I checked it on Skin Deep cosmetic database, and holy crap. I'm basically washing my face with toxins... which seems a little self-defeating as well. So only earth-friendly brands. This includes my shampoo, shower gel - the works. Benefits: Not putting freaky hormone-ridden stuff on every day, save on packaging, supporting companies with a green conscious.
4. I will dispose of any medications correctly
I didn't even know this was a problem until I was made aware of how BIG a problem it is recently! Not disposing of medications correctly can mean a lot of things, like danger to yourself or children by accidental poisoning, but it can also (and DOES) get into the water systems, and doesn't come out. This goes into our drinking water, but it can also effect salmon (and other wildlife) populations. You can check out proper disposal here from the State of Utah (hey, they popped up first.) Benefits: Non-poisoned drinking water and oceans, less chance of poisoning.
So that's it. It seems like so little to me, but this year I'm focusing on small changes, and succeeding small, instead of focusing on big, and failing hard.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Drugs, Guns and Money (These are a few of my favorite things...)
Seriously, though, lets talk about Mexico.
Our sunny south of the border friend is in a serious downward spiral for as many reasons as Carter has little liver pills, not the least of course the out of control drug game.
Some argue that the arrest and killing of a number of kingpins have had the same effect as the death of Tito (Marshall, not Jackson) in the former Yugoslavia.
Others suggest that the rampant corruption in, say it with me, "Mexican Law Enforcement" is the cause, although I must say that any man who risks beheading for a few hundo a month is my kind of guy (maybe Mexico and Iraq should have a law enforcement exchange program...)
The United States is the biggest market in the world for illegal drugs. All roads point North. It was interesting to hear on the radio the other morning that about 14% of Americans represent the consumer sector for illegal drugs. That was a surprise. However, it is an interesting corollary to the percentage of the population that controls the wealth, too!
President Obama was in Mexico recently, talking drugs, guns and money. Mostly guns.
Yesterdays Washington Times had an interesting editorial, to which I link:Obama's Gun Lies and shamelessly quote:
On Thursday, while on a visit to Mexico, the president continued his Blame America First tour. "This war is being waged with guns purchased not here but in the United States," he said, referring to the drug wars that are tearing apart our neighbor to the south. "More than 90 percent of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the United States, many from gun shops that lay in our shared border."
It is completely untrue that 90 percent of guns recovered in Mexico are from America. The Mexican government separates guns it confiscates that were made in the United States and sends them here to be traced. U.S. weapons are easy to identify because of clear markings.
Of the ones sent here to be traced, 90 percent turn out to be from America, but most guns recovered in Mexico are not sent here so are not included in the count. Fox News reported that 17 percent is a more accurate number.
It's a good editorial. Read it!
Our sunny south of the border friend is in a serious downward spiral for as many reasons as Carter has little liver pills, not the least of course the out of control drug game.
Some argue that the arrest and killing of a number of kingpins have had the same effect as the death of Tito (Marshall, not Jackson) in the former Yugoslavia.
Others suggest that the rampant corruption in, say it with me, "Mexican Law Enforcement" is the cause, although I must say that any man who risks beheading for a few hundo a month is my kind of guy (maybe Mexico and Iraq should have a law enforcement exchange program...)
The United States is the biggest market in the world for illegal drugs. All roads point North. It was interesting to hear on the radio the other morning that about 14% of Americans represent the consumer sector for illegal drugs. That was a surprise. However, it is an interesting corollary to the percentage of the population that controls the wealth, too!
President Obama was in Mexico recently, talking drugs, guns and money. Mostly guns.
Yesterdays Washington Times had an interesting editorial, to which I link:Obama's Gun Lies and shamelessly quote:
On Thursday, while on a visit to Mexico, the president continued his Blame America First tour. "This war is being waged with guns purchased not here but in the United States," he said, referring to the drug wars that are tearing apart our neighbor to the south. "More than 90 percent of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the United States, many from gun shops that lay in our shared border."
It is completely untrue that 90 percent of guns recovered in Mexico are from America. The Mexican government separates guns it confiscates that were made in the United States and sends them here to be traced. U.S. weapons are easy to identify because of clear markings.
Of the ones sent here to be traced, 90 percent turn out to be from America, but most guns recovered in Mexico are not sent here so are not included in the count. Fox News reported that 17 percent is a more accurate number.
It's a good editorial. Read it!
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