Oyster Roundup – “Freedom,” “Shame,” and Crimes of the Sea
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more!
Here are five on the half shell. Links in the titles. Slurp!
Arne Fuglvog, the corrupt fisheries aide of Lisa Murkowski will be serving jail time for fish crimes. He called his transgressions a “grand misjudgment.” Yes. Quite grand indeed. Back when he was charged, and confessed, his boss Lisa Murkowski reminded us that despite his confession, he was still innocent until proven guilty. He confessed to overfishing, falsifying reports, and selling his ill-gotten aquatic gains for almost a million dollars over a span of several years. (See previous coverage HERE) Apparently, the court actually believed his so called “guilt”, because he will be serving five months in the clink and pay a $50,000 fine. He could have served up to a year, paid $100,000 in fines, and a year’s supervised release. But Arne will go the way of other corrupt bastards. He will continue the long and storied tradition of ratting out others for a reduced sentence. He doesn’t see himself as a snitch, though. According to his attorney, it was a very difficult decision for the convicted felon to assist the courts by telling them about other crimes of which he was aware. It’s tough sharing information about people you like who are breaking the law. (We dab our eyes with a hanky.) Stay tuned, because there is likely much more to come as Fuglvog flips like a salmon in the bottom of the boat.
Murkowski and “Religious Freedom”
And the state with the biggest increase in teenage pregnancies is….
Surprise! It’s Alaska, home of that stalwart supporter of abstinence only education, Sarah Palin, and her daughter Bristol, a teen who became pregnant outside of marriage. That startling bit of information is was included in CDC statistics that formed the basis for a new review calling attention to a worrisome development. After years of dropping steadily, the teen pregnancy rate has plateaued and begun to rise.
It’s only worrisome to some, apparently. Senator Lisa Murkowski (who, just to be clear, is a woman) has signed on as a co-sponsor to this:
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced a bill on Monday that would override the Obama administration’s new rule on birth control coverage and allow religious hospitals, universities, and other organizations that morally oppose contraception to refuse to cover it for their employees.
Why is Murkowski taking this stand against women’s reproductive choice, and health? Because she’s Catholic, she says – just like a whopping 7% of the population of her state, making Alaska tied for last place in the nation for concentration of Catholics. It should also be said that 98% of Catholic women have used birth control, not approved by the church in their lifetime, and 58% of Catholics (higher than protestants) believe employers should be required to cover birth control for their employees.
She’s also signed on despite the fact that:
- In 2006, there were 8,000 unintended pregnancies in Alaska (53% of all pregnancies), and
- Of all unintended pregnancies in Alaska in 2006, 61% resulted in live births and 26% resulted in induced abortions.
So, let’s get this straight. Only 42% of 7% of Catholics in the state think employers shouldn’t be required to cover contraception – that’s about 2.94% of Alaskans. And 26% of unwanted pregnancies result in abortion (which, I believe, is also frowned upon by the Catholic church). So, according to her Catholic argument, to appease less than 3% of her constituency (and most of her party in DC), she’s willing to increase the number of unwanted pregnancies, more than one in four of which will result in abortion, and the rest of which will result in… unwanted pregnancy.
Alaska’s other Catholic senator, Mark Begich isn’t objecting to the administration’s decisionr “since it recognizes the rights of churches and strictly-religious charities to opt out. A Begich spokesperson told the Catholic Anchor that the rule struck a balance between religious freedom and making health care accessible and affordable for more women.”
Guv Fitzwalkerstan of Wisconsin is using settlement monies from mortgage lenders to cover newly discovered budget shortfalls. Wisky is set to get 140 millions. The state gets 31.6 mil directly of which 25.6 is being diverted to cover shortfalls. http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/state-to-receive-140-million-to-settle-mortgage-claims-qh44q6v-139014139.html
Okay, third try and still no result. I find that kind of interesting.
So AKM, explain to me please why three efforts on my part to post a comment to your blog have resulted in a nullity. You have the right of censorship of course. But it seems a little odd that I should be cencsored for disagreeing with so fundamental an issue as Pebble. Though it is ambiguous actually why I was censored in the first place. Perhaps it was for something else? I included no links.
It is pretty clear though that if you disagree with something in an obscure way, you will be silenced.
I’ll post this comment and the exact same comment with the on that is being obscured and see what happens.
Moreso there are grown ups in the republican party who know how to cheat elections, rig them in their favor, cage votes, disenfranchise, delay, obfuscate, and so on. Moreover, they have an obedient and slavish media in their thrall. Fox pronounces and the rest of the media jumps on the band wagon to try to garner some ratings. Add to that frothy mixture the waffling and hem-hawing of a handful of DINOs who are desperate to hold onto their positions for a few more years so they can leverage that experience into some kind of high paid lobbying position.
There is not a single statesman among them, they are all in it for themselves.
As to Pebble. The mine might be a viable project if they were willing to forego some profits for environmental safety, but the proposal as it stands now is framed around maximizing profit. That means simply put, to hell with what the consequences might be, make as much money as we can on the cheap and any costs that arise down the road unload onto the unfortunate people who happen to live in the region we choose to despoil. That is all fine apparently with politicians because big money is a much louder voice than people.Yes, I know, it is even more complex than that. Pandering to the bigotry of certain constituencies is a fine art which I am not familiar with.
Look at the big picture. On the one hand we have a shitstorm raging over a mandate that contraception should be covered by all insurance. Religious freedom is under attack! Yet it is plain and obvious to anyone with two braincells to rub together that the human population of planet earth cannot grow without limit. But again we run up against the ironical contradiction of superstition. According to what the vast majority of humans believe, some super power in the sky is directing things, and is looking out for the interests of us frail and actually quite maladapted organisms. Supposedly this super power has given us dominion over the earth. Yet we are now confronted with problems so grave and so vast that they defy comprehension. We know we do not understand the earth’s climate, but we also know that our activities are perverting it. What should we do?
I did not censor you or silence you. Your comments were stuck in the spam filter. I don’t know why. But I posted them as soon as I found them. I make every effort to check the spam filter each day. It’s not unusual for Akismet, the spam filter, to be overzealous for reasons I do not understand. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Okay, third try and still no result. I find that kind of interesting.
So AKM, explain to me please why three efforts on my part to post a comment to your blog have resulted in a nullity. You have the right of censorship of course. But it seems a little odd that I should be cencsored for disagreeing with so fundamental an issue as Pebble. Though it is ambiguous actually why I was censored in the first place. Perhaps it was for something else? I included no links.
It is pretty clear though that if you disagree with something in an obscure way, you will be silenced.
I’ll post this comment and the exact same comment with the on that is being obscured and see what happens.
Let’s try one more time and see if the comments are filtered.
Here’s what I posted earlier:
Moreso there are grown ups in the republican party who know how to cheat elections, rig them in their favor, cage votes, disenfranchise, delay, obfuscate, and so on. Moreover, they have an obedient and slavish media in their thrall. Fox pronounces and the rest of the media jumps on the band wagon to try to garner some ratings. Add to that frothy mixture the waffling and hem-hawing of a handful of DINOs who are desperate to hold onto their positions for a few more years so they can leverage that experience into some kind of high paid lobbying position.
There is not a single statesman among them, they are all in it for themselves.
As to Pebble. The mine might be a viable project if they were willing to forego some profits for environmental safety, but the proposal as it stands now is framed around maximizing profit. That means simply put, to hell with what the consequences might be, make as much money as we can on the cheap and any costs that arise down the road unload onto the unfortunate people who happen to live in the region we choose to despoil. That is all fine apparently with politicians because big money is a much louder voice than people.Yes, I know, it is even more complex than that. Pandering to the bigotry of certain constituencies is a fine art which I am not familiar with.
Look at the big picture. On the one hand we have a shitstorm raging over a mandate that contraception should be covered by all insurance. Religious freedom is under attack! Yet it is plain and obvious to anyone with two braincells to rub together that the human population of planet earth cannot grow without limit. But again we run up against the ironical contradiction of superstition. According to what the vast majority of humans believe, some super power in the sky is directing things, and is looking out for the interests of us frail and actually quite maladapted organisms. Supposedly this super power has given us dominion over the earth. Yet we are now confronted with problems so grave and so vast that they defy comprehension. We know we do not understand the earth’s climate, but we also know that our activities are perverting it. What should we do?
Still did not post.
Interesting.
Here is the comment that got wacked.
Moreso there are grown ups in the republican party who know how to cheat elections, rig them in their favor, cage votes, disenfranchise, delay, obfuscate, and so on. Moreover, they have an obedient and slavish media in their thrall. Fox pronounces and the rest of the media jumps on the band wagon to try to garner some ratings. Add to that frothy mixture the waffling and hem-hawing of a handful of DINOs who are desperate to hold onto their positions for a few more years so they can leverage that experience into some kind of high paid lobbying position.
There is not a single statesman among them, they are all in it for themselves.
As to Pebble. The mine might be a viable project if they were willing to forego some profits for environmental safety, but the proposal as it stands now is framed around maximizing profit. That means simply put, to hell with what the consequences might be, make as much money as we can on the cheap and any costs that arise down the road unload onto the unfortunate people who happen to live in the region we choose to despoil. That is all fine apparently with politicians because big money is a much louder voice than people.Yes, I know, it is even more complex than that. Pandering to the bigotry of certain constituencies is a fine art which I am not familiar with.
Look at the big picture. On the one hand we have a shitstorm raging over a mandate that contraception should be covered by all insurance. Religious freedom is under attack! Yet it is plain and obvious to anyone with two braincells to rub together that the human population of planet earth cannot grow without limit. But again we run up against the ironical contradiction of superstition. According to what the vast majority of humans believe, some super power in the sky is directing things, and is looking out for the interests of us frail and actually quite maladapted organisms. Supposedly this super power has given us dominion over the earth. Yet we are now confronted with problems so grave and so vast that they defy comprehension. We know we do not understand the earth’s climate, but we also know that our activities are perverting it. What should we do?
Looks like the commenting function is still a bit wonky. My last comment has not appeared yet it was deterected by the system as being a dublicate when I tried to send it again.
Good on Senator Begich. Lisa, Lisa–that is just pathetic.
Moreso there are grown ups in the republican party who know how to cheat elections, rig them in their favor, cage votes, disenfranchise, delay, obfuscate, and so on. Moreover, they have an obedient and slavish media in their thrall. Fox pronounces and the rest of the media jumps on the band wagon to try to garner some ratings. Add to that frothy mixture the waffling and hem-hawing of a handful of DINOs who are desperate to hold onto their positions for a few more years so they can leverage that experience into some kind of high paid lobbying position.
There is not a single statesman among them, they are all in it for themselves.
As to Pebble. The mine might be a viable project if they were willing to forego some profits for environmental safety, but the proposal as it stands now is framed around maximizing profit. That means simply put, to hell with what the consequences might be, make as much money as we can on the cheap and any costs that arise down the road unload onto the unfortunate people who happen to live in the region we choose to despoil. That is all fine apparently with politicians because big money is a much louder voice than people.Yes, I know, it is even more complex than that. Pandering to the bigotry of certain constituencies is a fine art which I am not familiar with.
Look at the big picture. On the one hand we have a shitstorm raging over a mandate that contraception should be covered by all insurance. Religious freedom is under attack! Yet it is plain and obvious to anyone with two braincells to rub together that the human population of planet earth cannot grow without limit. But again we run up against the ironical contradiction of superstition. According to what the vast majority of humans believe, some super power in the sky is directing things, and is looking out for the interests of us frail and actually quite maladapted organisms. Supposedly this super power has given us dominion over the earth. Yet we are now confronted with problems so grave and so vast that they defy comprehension. We know we do not understand the earth’s climate, but we also know that our activities are perverting it. What should we do?
I have to laugh at the language thing. In the 90s we took several trips to Guatemala to help build a school and work in a medical clinic in the Northwest Highlands. But while we were still in Guatemala City, we went shopping. Some in our group spoke no Spanish, some (like me) spoke enough to do a little shopping or order dinner.
And one lady in our group told us that she spoke Spanish well. So she took over when we went shopping. The clerk looked at her funny and said he didn’t understand what she wanted. She tried again – same result. When we left, she was highly insulted because “I said it correctly.” Well, obviously, she didn’t or he wouldn’t have looked at her like she was speaking German. And mind you, for many in Guatemala, Spanish is their second language so I find it much easier to understand and speak Spanish – we are all on the same playing field.
(I quickly learned NOT to go shopping with her – not only was her attitude about her Spanish arrogant, so was the way she seemed to look down her nose at everyone else.)
Well, let me rephrase that – it makes me laugh because of a similar experience. But it really isn’t funny. Back to the little village where we spent time in Guatemala – a couple lived there for over 20 years and worked with Wycliffe. They learned the Kanjobal language, which was not a written language in anything anyone today could read, and figured out how to phonetically write it in Spanish. When we went to the Mayan church, we took the little Kanjobal hymn books and could sing along (as long as you knew your Spanish phonics). And the reason they wrote it in Spanish was because many people there spoke both the local Mayan dialect and Spanish. The point is that they had daily contact with people speaking the language and were able to figure out all those little details that go with a spoken language, instead of a language that is just part of history.
I have a simple question. The “sudden and relentless” (to use a favorite phrase of a former governor) attack by Republicans on women’s rights, women’s health and women’s access to a procedure that has been legal since the early 1970s is doing exactly WHAT to address the problem of job creation in this country?
The more the Republicans bloviate and carpet bomb the conversation with verifiably untrue statements about these hot button, wedge issues the better (short term) for the crusading candidacy of Rick Santorum. It takes the focus off the economy which is alleged to be Romney’s strength, though that is certainly debatable.
Are there ANY grown ups in the Republican Party anymore. Do they know how self-destructive all of this is to their cause? This what you get when your hatred for a smart, competent, dedicated, patient, caring and careful Black Pesident, and your insatiable thirst for power, blinds you to everything happening around you.
Shame on the Republican Party and its pitiful members.
Oh, there are still some grownups in the R party. Unfortunately, they use their brains and talents to figure out how to keep the wingnuts in the tent, so they can gain office and play lickspittle to their corporate masters.
I have to say, the story that bothers me the most is the story of the Tlingit Encyclopedia. How could you do years of work in another culture’s language without consulting with or meeting with anyone who actually speaks the language???
Self absorbed arrogance perhaps?
Well said. I was flabbergasted when I heard the story on the radio.
However, this pretty much covers it: “I think often I’m led spiritually, and I don’t make my decisions with the full knowledge of the situation.” Perhaps she should consider getting help for the voice(s) in her head. If nothing else, recognition that there’s no prohibition on thinking in the Bible might help.
Nothing in this post is a surprise, but I always love the Oyster Roundups (big Lewis Carroll fan; I can still recite many of Alice’s poems).
Much of Alaska is federally-managed land, and much of it is National Parks. The National Parks Conservation Association has an action today to protect, under the Clean Water Act, waterways that flow into (or through) national parks. Take action here:
http://bit.ly/zK3no9
All watersheds should be protected under the Clean Water Act. Those that flow into and through national parks are important, but so are those in my backyard that are no where near a national park. I applaud this effort I think, but I hope it doesn’t lead us to the idea that some watersheds are more important than others.
A watershed can support signficant salmon fisheries, for example, and would be every bit as important as a watershed flowing into or through a national park.
We have critical watersheds that are threatened by oil and gas drilling- so far our governor and Oil and Gas Commission are holding firm, under great pressure from the industry- whose new mantra is “jobs, baby, jobs” instead of “drill, baby, drill”.
hello all…
kathy giffords has endorsed her aide, ron barber, to run for her congressional seat. if one is of a mind they can contribute through act blue: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/barberwebsite?cp=ODpBQjA0MTU5OTMz
(i hope this isn’t a no-no, mods)
?Kathy Giffords, do you mean Gabby? So this would be in Arizona?
Ron Barber would be a worthy successor, but for right now, he has only commited to serving out the reaminder of Gabby’s term, which would be through November. He’s a great guy, and was seriously wounded in the attack last year. The Republicans are already swarming, and there are something like 6 or 7 candidates, all right wingers. the newest is a woman veteran who says god has told her to run, and that if god could make the world in seven days, she can put together a campaign in five.
New Mexico looks better by the day.
Freedom’s on the march
The usual: the rich get tax cuts and the poor get screwed.
http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/columns/belinda-white/TMG9071483/Louis-Vuitton-condoms-the-fashionable-way-to-fake-it-in-the-bedroom.html
More GOP hypocrisy. They constantly complain about government meddling in health care, and then they introduce legislation to force women in to an expensive, and unnecessary test. Sen. Fred Dyson claims that women need to know what’s going on in their womb. I’m pretty sure that women are aware of the reproductive process.
Then on the national scale, they want to fight insurance coverage for birth control. What are they so worried about? If all the Catholics are truly opposed, none will be submitting claims for contraceptives. Or could it be that the whack a doodle right wing extremists, and church hierarchy are just a bit out of touch with reality?
It starting to appear that the GOP will only be happy with the return of the inquisition. Maybe Dyson would get to be the grand inquisitor to ferret out those who don’t pass his religious litmus test?
Maybe they should make pregnancy mandatory for all public school fourth grade girls,just for their own good,doncha know. Then the youngsters can have hands on experience with child rearing and they can decide whether to have more children at an earlier age. They can take their little bundles of state forced joy home every night as homework and then work full time jobs to support their babies because you know rwnj don’t want to pay for them. Then they feed them and change diapers throughout the night and still have to get up and go to school the next day. Then the Prevos of the world can blame the fourth graders for getting pregnant and shame them into a lifetime of real misery for having loose morals.
Instead of carrying around eggs they could carry around real babies!
With a bit of planning (Spring Break perhaps?) the upper classes could conceive and give birth in time to hand off the little one to incoming lower classmen at the onset of the following academic year.
Yeah, and all the boys could just go play sports.
They’re pandering to the evangelical voters, it’s an election year. I feel these so-called pro-lifers are the worst kind of hypocrites, as they also want to cut all the government social services that would help every child and family get a healthy, positive start of life.
I would like to see all insurance coverage for Viagra, Ciallis (sp), and any other erectile disfunction medicine removed. Let all the Dicks pay for this out of their pockets. Let’s see what the old men making rules have to say about that.
Re: Arne Fuglvog – Over a $M in illicit sales, and five months in jail w/ out fines or forfeiture? That amounts to over $200K/mo for watching tv and reading paperbacks. Where do I sign up?
My first thought when I saw no one had commented yet was that I didn’t want to be first. I decided I have to ask this question. Heard on the radio while I was driving to work that the Alaska Legislature is considering a bill similar to the one in Virginia requiring women to have, pay for, view and have questions asked and answered about an ultrasound before having an abortion? Coghill (no surprise here) is the sponsor. Anyone have any more information? I’m going to email my favorite reps and see what else I can find out.
Hi Carol…the bill is SB191 and is in the Senate Health and Social Services committee. It will not likely get a hearing. The senate R’s just wanted to pick a fight and have a talking point about abortion issues. That’s all I know so far. I expect there will be a house counterpart, but it hasn’t been introduced yet…sjk
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?session=27&bill=SB191
What I got back from Scott Kawasaki.