“The Hell With Sarah Palin” – An Update from Emmonak
~~Chum salmon drying. Emmonak, Alaska June 2009
Last week Governor Sarah Palin sent a series of messages from her Twitter account regarding the subsistence fishing situation in Western Alaska. “Good news!” we were told.
AKGovSarahPalinGood update re Rural Advisor John Moller’s recnt Emmonak trip, great news he reports; we’ll twitter assuming press won’t pick up good news.
John Moller was in the Western Alaskan village of Emmonak to discuss the topic on everyone’s mind – salmon. Salmon are the primary subsistence food, and primary income source for residents of the Lower Yukon River. Big problems, starting with the mismanagement of fisheries have caused a catastrophe. Not enough fish last summer meant not enough food, and not enough income for fuel, supplemental food and supplies during the harsh winter. Luckily food drives, donations from around the country, and support from churches was enough to keep the villages of the Lower Yukon from total disaster. But that was just one season of many. And this is another.
Anchorage videographer Dennis Zaki, who works for CNN, visited Emmonak last winter to document the plight of Native Alaskans that came as a direct result of last summer’s disastrous fishing season. He wanted to go back this summer to follow up, and get a sense for how things might look this winter. He made a trip, funded as the last one was, by donations from private citizens whose hearts were touched by the heartbreaking story of fellow Americans in dire circumstances. They became informed of the situation through a host of Alaskan blogs, and stepped up to the plate so that the story might go from isolated rural villages, or local Alaskan story, to the national media. CNN picked up the story last winter.
June is almost over, and news like this from the governor came across the Twitter wires just minutes after the previous one.
AKGovSarahPalinJohn Moller just returned from Emmonak, reports 50% of residents have subsistence needs met already, others confident they can do the same.
Last week Palin Tweeted that Emmonak had 50% of their subsistance quota. I’ve heard all around town that that was false. So this morning I took a poll around town. Out of 66 people polled, 5 said they have met their quota. 51 said they have less then 50% of their quota. The limited time of the openings are making it hard to fish.
“Half of Emmonak residents do NOT have their subsistance quota, and according to nearly all of the residents I’ve spoken to, they have no idea if they can get their quota. Tribal leaders are angry at this false statement by John Moller.
There is a high level of anxiety because the Y1 district could close to fishing at any time. According to Fish & Game, 75% of the kings this year have already made it upriver from here, so any chance of making money off them is slim to none again this year. Kings go for over $5 a pound, chums go for 50 cents. You can see why fishermen are not in a good mood. With only a 4 hour opening tonight for chums the fishermen that make their living from the sea, which is nearly every family in town, are going to only be able to catch just a small amount of fish. And that’s assuming there will be fish there tonight. There could be no fish.”
These people get pissed when I tell them what Moller said about 50% having their quota.
Three people told me they can’t fish because they don’t have money to retrieve boat parts at the Post Office. They can’t make money because they are commercial fishermen and with the fishery closed to commercial fishing, can’t get a loan until it opens.
Frustrations are running high, and village residents are fearful of what the coming winter will bring. It is only a couple months away, and every fish that swims past, and every check that doesn’t come, and every Seattle factory trawler that dumps its salmon bycatch overboard dead, brings Emmonak one step closer to collapse.
Meanwhile, from the governor’s Blackberry, all’s well in the land of magical thinking.
AKGovSarahPalin John also met w/CNN reporter while in Emmonak & shared welcomed GOOD NEWS of region…as a result, highly unlikely interview will air : )
[A version of this story is posted at The Huffington Post – HERE. Please go comment and Buzz it Up for wider exposure.]
Start the recall, sure residents in north will sign. I like the new mayor’s ttitude of Anchorager, Government is a service center and I take it means that Government is for the people and by the people. Start rolling on the recall.
my bad…Zazi=Zaki…it’s late and I should be in bed…
everyone else, follow up on this and spell things correctly…
ok, it’s late here in Kentucky and I’m still trying to kick the tobacco habit since April (trust me, it’s hard…)
Anyway, here’s the email I just sent to ADN:
I’m in eastern Kentucky and a reader of the McClatchey Lexington Herald-Leader.
I can not believe that you all are NOT making the salmon story page one while making the Palin PAC begathon “news”.
Shame shame shame on YOU!!!
Get Kyle’s story on page one and talk to Dennis Zazi and those who live in the villages to get the real story about the 50% subsistence that Gov. Palin crowed about in her lame twits from Kosovo (and Moller is now quietly off on a fishing vacation????…give me a freaking break!!!!)
Get some balls and start reporting the NEWS!!!!
BTW, I donated and worked for a pressure washer for Eagle and also sent several flat rate boxes of immediate needs stuff (having been a victim of a natural disastesr here in eastern Kentucky myself).
What has ADN done for the villages? Not expecting you to actually send anything or drive up there to see for yourselves, have you WRITTEN anything? Be part of a grassroots effort?
Now is your time! You have less than two months before winter hammers the villages to do more than Gov. Palin has done all the time she has been governor.
echo Lainey… welcome CougInPortland…enjoy your time here!
i know you will and please step in with comments!
welcome CouginPortland
New here. I appreciate this site and all of you. Visit every day.
I third it – I’m in
Nan
Professor Geezer Says: I will send $$ to help you in an Recall Effort. I am not in AK, but I would donate!
I second that!
@dee
Minnesota finally seats a senator and Bill O’Reilly’s head explodes. Priceless!!
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lmao…I don’t know why, but this cracked me up!
probably old Norm, in his desperation, will go federal…maybe his head will explode also too
CG thank you for a very simple, clear and sensible explanation about the Moller video.
From what small store of knowledge I have of the yup’ik culture, it makes sense. It makes me angry think that this man is being used by Moller for purposes of his own.
CG – that’s awesome
I’d forgotten about that mmm-hmmm answer. Same one my dad used to use, for the same reasons! (he’s been gone 25 years now – no, 35!)
How much you wanna bet there is no more footage… Moller got his answers (he thinks).
Stranger In A Strange Land – Governor Palin’s video of John Moller and Emmonak elder. No particular reason for this post, just indulging myself. It got under my skin.
First – Mr. Westlock is wearing a hearing aid. I suspect that he’s also deaf in the ear you can’t see in the video.
Second – his first language is not English, although he’s quite fluent. I point this out because there’s a specific thing that happens with deafness and communication in a second language, particularly in intelligent people. There’s a skillful compensation. The person never says, “I didn’t hear you, could you repeat that?”
Not really hearing each and every word; but recognizing the subject, we heard every 5th word and intelligently filled in the rest for ourselves, assuming that we knew what they meant. Sometimes the dialogue seems to be lacking and you can’t quite pin it down.
I’ve become quite fluent in my dad’s hearing aid-assisted/English-as-a-second-language communication style.
It’s evident here. Anyone with children in the house will also recognize this. : )
Third – Mr. Westlock has been interviewed a lot. On this subject recently, and probably many others at other times. He’s used to explaining stuff to teachers, school kids, Fish & Game, and had many conversations with curious and interested people. He doesn’t expect to deliver a sophisticated 5-hour lecture, uninterrupted, on Yupik Eskimo conservation, or hunting techniques, or traditional food preparation. He’s used to giving short succinct superficial answers that satisfy the other human being, without the background necessary for a sophisticated thorough understanding. All of our elders are used to that. They patiently answer superficial questions with dumbed-down answers. Sound and video bites.
His demeanour, his addressing of John Moller demonstrates that he is not explaining himself or his “needs” in a traditional cultural fashion. He’s just answering the questions and I think he’s not quite sure what Moller is asking.
Moller is using ‘dumb Native’ talk. He’s not addressing Mr. Westlock in a respectful grandson role context or fishing peer, expecting real education and response; he sounds like one more inspector taking notes by video and wondering where the plane back to Anchorage is.
Ann Strongheart explained the salted fish thing. I’ll add that this is a seasonal variation; a snack, not an entrée. It’s like the pickles that your grandma used to make with the extra stuff out of the garden. So Mr. Westlock has 5-gallon buckets that he’ll need 3 king salmon for the recipe. It’ll last awhile, but it’s not a year’s worth of fish being put up for the winter.
My impression of what’s happening is that the local fish processor and/or Fish & Game are giving out salmon; I’m not clear why or where the fish came from. Perhaps it’s a gesture to community elders.
Mr. Westlock came down to get a fish. Note the use of the term “game wardens”, an archaic term that means anything from Fish & Game to State Troopers and wildlife rangers.
He seems a tad nervous, almost deferential, like he’s either embarrassed to need a fish or to have been videotaped.
Moller asks about his “king needs”. I’ve never heard this term before. Not familiar language in the village, amongst subsistence users or commercial fishermen. Obviously, Mr. Westlock is accommodating, but I believe that he doesn’t know what Moller means, maybe didn’t hear him.
[C’mon, John. Where’d THAT come from? Well, gosh, I’ve got my “beef needs” met, but I might be low on my “egg needs” and “milk needs”. ]
John Moller: “Gordon. Uhhh…come down to, to get a king?”
Gordon Westlock: “I’m short with one king in my bucket, so I came to get one from the game wardens.”
John: “For your salt bucket?”
Gordon: “For myself, yeah. For winter.”
John: “How about your other king needs? Did you get those yet?”
Gordon: “I got three. Three for each one, one five-gallon. Three kings for five gallon. We save for winter for food.”
[Obviously, didn’t hear him and continuing his answer in the context of the previous question. He’s trying to explain to him what he’s up to.]
John: “So you have your kings for the year then?”
Gordon: “Mmm-hmm.”
[This is what my dad does when he didn’t hear me.]
John: “You do?”
Gordon: “Mmm-hmm, yeah.”
[He either didn’t hear him or he’s waiting politely for Moller to clarify. In the previous exchange, Moller talked over him, interrupting what he was saying. That’s a typical Western habit irreconcilable with Eskimo good manners. In Yupik, to speak over someone else is a direct statement that you either don’t want them to speak or that they aren’t saying what you want and you’re not listening. Now he’s waiting because he was challenged and he’s being careful not to elaborate. ]
John: “How about chum?”
Gordon: “Chum – we hang, we hang and dry. That’s our…we just save everything, every bit of it, even the bones for dogs. We have puppy, dog. We save that one.”
“What about chum”, what? A meaningless incomplete question. He’s offering information about chum, answering as if Moller was asking about traditional usage, or what he does with them.
John: “Yeah. Good. So…you’re not going to have any problems getting your subsistence needs this year?”
Gordon: “No.”
John: “Well that’s good to hear, I am really happy to hear that.”
Gordon: “Mmm-hmm.”
Translation: Well, good for you, buddy. Are you really happy? What do you want?
Gordon: “We’re happy that these game wardens they help us a lot, especially now with the ones that needs help. These elders, they call them up and whenever they have fish left over, they just give it to them. There are elders who can’t go out and go get whatever they want today.
Another thing is, some of us, the gas is too high, the gas price is too high and we have to go get whatever they have left. And these game wardens are really happy to give it to us.”
Mr. Westlock gracefully trying to interject some meaning to the dialogue at the end there. Diplomatically thanking the game wardens for giving fish to the elders. Giving Moller a lead-in to addressing the real issues. I’d like to see the footage of what came next.
Don’t miss Kyle Hopkins’ post at ADN, as mentioned above by InJuneau:
http://community.adn.com/adn/node/142105
When Sarah tweeted “John Moller just returned from Emmonak, reports 50% of residents have subsistence needs met already, others confident they can do the same”, this information was supposedly based on a statement by Nick Tucker of Emmonak, at the Federal Subsistence meeting last week.
Nick Tucker flatly denies that he said that, and also denies that it is true.
Sounds like Moller would be wise to just keep fishing. Perhaps he is like many other government employees in Alaska who have been told to only give Sarah good news???
CG
All that fisheries connections, is reminiscent of what’s his name… Watts? The former lumber guy put in charge of the Interior during the Reagan admin. Fox & henhouse, basically.
(((( GRAMIAM ))))))
from your mouth to God’s ear!
Fellow mudpuppies, methinks I spy an iceberg. The Vanity Fair article and GINO’s mistreatment of villagers is hitting the MSM like a bomb. Now Andrew Sullivan is running with the ball. I don’t think Gov. Palin can stop the bus she just fell under.
Yup, he’s fishing (from: http://community.adn.com/adn/node/142105 )
The governor’s response?
“That was the information from John Moller,” Leighow wrote. “He is fishing today out of cell range. John also said he talked with numerous residents who reported they have taken enough king salmon for their subsistence needs or would by the end of the season.”
Holy cats.
Quilt AK – you’re right, he’s fishing
Ann Strongheart – thank you for the “interpretation.” It makes things a lot clearer.
Remember Nick Tucker? He’s not happy:
http://community.adn.com/adn/blog/104297
Nan
Harper’s Magazine article. Long, but worth the read.
Fast fish, loose fish: Who will own Alaska’s disappearing salmon?
http://harpers.org/archive/2009/05/0082490
Yep, John Moller is probably out fishing. He’s a SE gillnetter with two nice fishing boats, the 60 ft ‘Carley Renee’ (1998 build; he’s not listed as the owner, but someone with his permit is using this boat to fish) and 32 ft ‘Mikiah Bay’ (1988 Rozema, beautiful well-fitted luxury fishing boat).
He’s had openers since May, with latest Sun June 28 to Wed July 1. He also holds two Pot Gear permits.
And then there’s that little business of Adak Fisheries and a relationship with Ben Stevens. http://community.adn.com/adn/node/108715
June 22, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JOHN MOLLER JOINS ADAK FISHERIES
Anchorage – June 22, 2007 – Adak Fisheries is pleased to announce and welcome John Moller to our company. John is a life long Alaskan and has participated in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska fisheries for more than 25 years. John spent ten years as the skipper of Bering Sea crab vessels. ~
John joins the Adak Fisheries management team to assist with further development of our business in Adak.”
“Adak Fisheries has loomed larger than might be expected for a small private employer in a town of 60 permanent residents on a closed Navy base near the distant edge of the Aleutian archipelago. The contentious lawsuits between the partners, and between Adak Fisheries and the Aleut Corp., revealed a once-secret option to buy 25 percent of Adak Fisheries held by state Senate President Ben Stevens, R-Anchorage.
Stevens obtained the option from Solberg and then-partner Icicle Seafoods in July 2002 while he served as a director of the Aleut Enterprise Corp., the Aleut Corp. subsidiary that leased the plant to Adak Fisheries. A year later, Stevens’ father, U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, single-handedly pushed a measure through Congress that awarded the Aleut Corp. the exclusive rights to millions of dollars in Aleutian Islands pollock. By the time the measure passed as a rider to an appropriations bill, the Aleut Enterprise Corp., with Ben Stevens voting, had already assigned the pollock to Adak Fisheries.
Aleut Corp. officials said Stevens never disclosed his conflict of interest while serving on the Aleut Enterprise board.
Ben Stevens, also was paid more than $300,000 by Adak Fisheries for lobbying, consulting, and, from about March to September 2005, serving as company president…”
Another good read about John Moller’s relationships and business strategies:
http://blog.sunlightfoundation.com/2006/09/01/catalog-of-ted-stevens-actions-that-have/
But I’m just jealous…
I have to agree with you about helping people to help themselves. That is what I so admire about Ann and the other Anonymous bloggers. No whining, just brainstorming and a wicked sense of humor in the face of adversity. My kind of people. I don’t have a lot of money, anyway. I live on a fixed and limited income. However, what I do have is time, and a big mouth, and an ability to find out where the bodies are buried and to dig them up!! LOL! That is at your disposal. While you are busy preparing for another winter, what do you need us to do? It is obvious that it will be another freeze or eat kind of winter. How can we develop a system to get fuel and food in place BEFORE it hits the fan. More bang for the buck! Sorry for the “stream of consciousness” but these are my thoughts as I write. Just keep us in the loop and let us know what you want to do.
Minnesota finally seats a senator and Bill O’Reilly’s head explodes. Priceless!!
Gramian brings up Bill Gates Foundation for upgrading internet access to rural America. Here in my part of eastern Kentucky, the Foundation did indeed provide high-speed internet access and computers to our county library, and continued to provide upgrades.
However, Blackberries, that’s a different animal. We don’t have reliable cell phone service here (heck, most of us don’t even have access to regular over-the-air to an antenna TV or radio, or even cable TV).
In any event, I would encourage those in the villages who do have internet access to take advantage of that by witnessing with words and photos.
Gramiam:
Don’t butt out EVER. We need you. The moral support is what keeps us going.
I am not that saavy when it comes to politics but it seems that a politician’s job is mainly to get re-elected. Or to move up to a higher office.
From what I remember about New Orleans, a lot of the problems were caused by none of the politicians knowing who was responsible for what. And god forbid they should just dive into the muck because they might make a political misstep.
The only way that things get done is for “the people” to do it. We cannot count on our politicians.
We need to be careful that we are sensitive to peoples’ pride and not just being the great white hero coming in to save the day. No one ever wants to admit that they need help.
The secret seems to be helping people to help themselves. Give what we can in terms of money, goods, labor or time, but listen carefully to what people want or request in terms of help.
I, personally, love all of you for the unending support.
Ann, what kind of internet service do you have up there? Is it broadband? I have a link about broadband in remote areas that may be helpful.
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/highspeedinternet.html
We need to outflank Palin and company and establish rapid communication. claudianyc is right on! Bill Gates foundation has provided inexpensive laptop computers to third world countries for just this purpose. Maybe we can interest him in helping get it going right off his back porch in Alaska. Come on, Mudpups, let’s put on our thinking caps.
As for GINO. let her lead ,follow or get the heck out of the way!!
about the folks not getting paid for their cleanup work for Homeland Security.
Not sure how it’s handled in Alaska, but with disasters here in Kentucky, those sort of funds come from FEMA to the state and local Disaster Management/Homeland Security folks to be distributed to the workers.
So…in Alaska, who is holding up the local checks?
lovemydogs, you get a great big hug for your rant!! Nobody could have said it better. There are a number of us who cannot “know” how it feels to live in your situation. We want to help, but the reality is that our opinions mean little. We need you Alaskans to tell us what we can do to help, and when we need to butt out and let you alone to do whatever you choose to do. I think you know you can count on us to come running when you holler.
Elsie, michigander, muppet2 and canadian neighbor:
Sorry for the lack of paragraph spacing. It was late and I was on a rant. I have re-posted here in an effort to make it more readable. I didn’t mean to cause anyone a headache. And thanks for the understanding michigander.
I do not claim to be an expert on the extremely complicated fishing regulations in Alaska. I do know that they are a combination of federal and state laws as well as international treaties.
The things that anger me most in this post are:
#1. people not getting paid for work done. There is absolutely no excuse for this. None. You show up, do your work, they are supposed to give you money..on time!
#2. I am a fairly cynical person when it comes to the way that we treat Native Americans in this country. The government (federal and state) has a loooong history of screwing aboriginal peoples over every chance they get.
The Repubs have a history of preferring big business over the little guy every time. Put those two things together and it is always a recipe for disaster at some point.
I read comments last winter about this from some of the “citizens” of Alaska that were basically calling for everyone who couldn’t handle living in the bush to “just move”. The question was always “move where?” Certainly not to Wasilla…
The point being, the land that these people live on belongs to them. Before Alaska began to be bled dry by “development” (as the powers that be so lovingly call the rape of the land, oceans, lakes and rivers of this state in the name of “progress”) the native people hunted, fished and made it work and even in times of famine, they survived.
We are now facing situations, here and elsewhere, where the number of fish that go upstream have to be carefully counted and regulated to ensure that the fish can spawn or there will not be any fish for anyone anymore. The present problem seems to lie primarily with the “bycatch”. I have no idea which branch of the government controls this.
In my roundabout way I am trying to say that the native people seem to be the first to get screwed. Yes, they signed a treaty that deprives them of special status in terms of subsistence even though they depend most upon subsistence harvest to “subsist”. Where I live, there is a subsistence quota for every resident of Alaska and by god everyone catches their quota. Tell me how many Alaskans actually eat everything they catch. I fill my freezer every year with freezer burned fish from the year before that no one ate. They give it to me for my dogs (don’t get me wrong- the dogs appreciate it). Then they go out and catch their limit again this year. And so it goes.
Bottom line-unlike the native people in the bush who absolutely depend on their quota for food, most of us don’t. But absolutely no politician in Alaska is going to get anywhere suggesting that this change because they would have rotten vegetables thrown at them in public.
It is important to acknowledge that some of the argument is about commercial fishing on the river as opposed to subsistence fishing. It is different. The commercial fisherman make their living by fishing. It can be a lot like farming. When the fish run, life is good- when they don’t, you can’t pay for the equipment and expenses of going to work that day.
Commercial fisherman where I live have nothing but disdain for subsistence. They do not believe that their fisheries should be closed to allow fish to go to subsistence users. It is sort of like water wars in the southwest. Who has first rights to the water required to grow food? Especially during a drought. I am rambling. But it is very complicated.
The next bottom line is what needs to be done? There is obviously a problem. One of the problems is not even fish. It is fuel to stay warm. Or….if someone were actually thinking, alternative and sustainable power to stay warm so that fuel doesn’t have to be shipped at exhorbitant prices. What I want to know is what the h__l is my government doing about it? It certainly seems that some of the stimulus money could have been used to help with the energy problems (oh I forgot, too many strings-oh—the strings, the strings).
These problems aren’t going to go away. They will continue until people can pull their heads out of their collective behinds, get their poop in a group and do something besides declare the malamute the state dog (not that my malamute minds).
If we actually had a leader– in my dreams– maybe that person could be an enlightened, smart, thinking being who could get the best people together (including the native people) to figure some of this out (or at least get a start). Look at how the people in Eagle are trying to figure out how to best address their tragedy (one step at a time and without it being a recipe that might work somewhere else but doesn’t fit their community). But–Nooooooo.
Sometimes I really wonder why I choose to live here. I am surrounded (for the most part) by uneducated libertarians who still believe that taxes are illegal. They have no idea what taxes pay for and they don’t care. They do care about not having their permanent fund touched. These are the people who think SP is doing “a great job”. Their daughters are all pregnant and unwed by the age of 17 and their mothers are sooooo happy to have grandchildren at the age of 30 something. I don’t get it.
This whole situation makes me sad and mad at the same time. I ask myself, what can I do? Holding our elected representatives’ feet to the fire just seems to burn our hands most of the time. We are the laughing stock of the country because of SP and her goons. If she is as great as she thinks she is, she should get off her butt and get started working on the problems instead of romping through Europe when there is an awful lot that needs doing right here and right now before everything freezes again.
Put your friggin blackberry down and roll up your sleeves Sarah. If you have all of the political clout that you think you have then spend some of it here and DO SOMETHING.
@claudianyc
The YK Delta just got cell phone service last winter, we don’t have what do they call it…we can’t use cell phones to IM, email or tweet etc…
Can’t remember what they call that service but it’s not available on the Yukon yet.
Here’s my suggestion. Let’s find a way for Alaska residents to counter little miss liar and co’s continual stream of false and self serving tweets. Can we get blackberrys or whatever it is people use to tweet on into the hands of those who are being most harmed by Palin? Starting with the residents of Emmonak. That way they can monitor communications and tweet back the truth to the world.
55 Nan Says:
June 29th, 2009 at 11:25 PM
About that video, it almost seemed to me that the two of them were having two different conversations. And neither of them realized it. Or something.
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i posted similar on open thread too, but in addition to the blatent attempts to put words in the mans mouth and lead him to say what moller knew sp would want to hear, they were having different conversations also because the man being intetviewd, im pretty sure, is hearing-impared. i dont think thats a blu-tooth in his ear. so in addition to everything else, he was answering the questions he thought he heard, rather than what was asked.
still one-handed typing as injured left flipper heals (actually, sprained thumb and hand – angry ligaments in hand and wrist, and some accompanying tendonitis in the forearm. worst is i cannot actually play my instruments right now. wahhhh! gets a little better each day but must build back srength slowly. have almost no gripping strength.
To paraphrase a very funny gentleman: There’s “lies, damned lies, and then there’s Sarah Palin.”
I will send $$ to help you in an Recall Effort. I am not in AK, but I would donate!
I’ll commit to collecting signatures as well…RECALL!!! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!
p.s.
Depending on the size of the family they usually put away anywhere from 30 to 60 gallons of dried fish. Dried fish are packed in barrels ranging from 5 gallons to 55 gallons. After they have been dried and smoked (NOT INCLUDING THE SALT FISH) they are tightly packed into these drums/buckets.
So if you take into account that most put away 15 to 20 gallons of Salt Fish and an additional 30-60 gallons of Dried Fish (usually chums) that’s a lot of fish. A rough estimate would be that it takes about 80 to 100 fish or more depending on size to fill a 45 gallon drum. That’s what we are guessing from putting away dry fish last year.
So that gives you an idea of how many fish are needed for the winter.
Alaskan Sisu Says:
I’ll commit to collecting signatures should anyone initiate a recall. I think a recall would send the message to the rest of the country that the State of Alaska has had E@#nuff!
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I’ll sign the damn thing (and I don’t live there) to finally get her out of the running…off the map! If everyone waits for somebody else to initiate the recall, it’ll never get done….you could be the hero that saved the planet! 😀
OK I have comment on the video of Moller and Gordon Westlock Sr posted on the State site:
First off Mr. Westlock was telling Mr. Moller that he was coming down to get one more King for his BUCKETS. His salt fish buckets he puts away for the winter. He told Mr. Moller that he puts away three 5 gallon buckets of SALT FISH.
Ok definition here… SALT FISH: King Salmon that is filleted and cut into strips, then they soak them in a salt brine, then they are hung to dry and smoked. Then they packed into 5 gallon buckets.
SALT FISH is not a large part of what most put away for the winter. Mr. Gordon NEVER said that he had enough fish dried for the winter. There is an obvious communication gap and misunderstanding on Mr. Moller’s part. I really think he was putting words into Mr. Gordon’s mouth.
I think if someone would have been there and had the conversation in Yup’ik the outcome would have been totally opposite of what was displayed in that video.
JMHO,
Ann 😀
QuiltAK–true that! And you know how important it is to get all your fish for the year…
So John Moller is on personal leave? I’ll take bets that he’s fishing. Tis the season.
My outrage continues. Everyone here is outraged. Politically, it’s the lies that hurt GINO.
But on a human level, it is so much more; it is her (and let’s face it, many, many other Alaskans’) utter disdain for the people of the Lower Yukon, their way of life, their culture, their traditions, and their human needs. That makes me sick at heart.
There must be a way to spread the truth, turn this into an issue that will not only hurt her politically (let’s face it, there are plenty of issues that can and will do that), but help the people who are being ground into the dirt.
If there is one way that I would like to see life in these villages change, it would be for them to be able to use modern technologies to communicate, to enable their activism, to get their message out and mobilize help outside of their villages. In short, reliable broad-band internet access that is affordable and available to all, and the assistance they need to learn how to use it!
In many parts of the world, telephone usage has exploded in the last decade, not because of more land lines (there still aren’t reliable land lines), but because of affordable cellular service. This has helped small business, helped allow people to stay in touch with their families if they have to leave their homes, helped to fuel political change as they are able to communicate with the wider world.
The villages need to push to “leapfrog” to the best new communications technology out there. Not everyone will necessarily adopt it, but the option needs to be there! My opinion, but I really do believe that modern communication is key.
I think SP will challenge Mark and Uncle Ted will help her…just a threory
I’ll commit to collecting signatures should anyone initiate a recall. I think a recall would send the message to the rest of the country that the State of Alaska has had E@#nuff! Wouldn’t look good on her resume would it now? I became extremely agitated at the Peeps last winter during the Emmonak crisis. Their comments on the ADN made me ashamed that our Governor would send out her scripted ones to create divisiveness on ADN.
Governor Palin continues to weave her fairy tale existence in Alaska. I understand why the people in these areas are nervous. Gino knows they aren’t at 50% catch rates, she’s just playing games as usual.
Wouldn’t it be great if the native corporations of Alaska orchestrated a RECALL, or even mentioned a recall, in response to her ongoing attempts to create more divisiveness between the rural and urban areas of this state?
MissSunshine–she may think she could run against Lisa M (although she says she has no such intentions…), but I think there is NO WAY Alaskans would choose her over Lisa at this point. Lisa has been given lots of very powerful appointments in the Senate over the past few months (including the recent elevation to the 5th most powerful position in the Senate Rs organization), and Alaskan have a visceral opposition to voting out powerful politicians, esp. in our Congressional delegation, Stevens aside.
88 Physicsmom Says: June 30th, 2009 at 7:21 AM
This just makes me cry and I thought I was over that. Just saw some talking heads on MSNBC discussing the Vanity Fair article about Palin and the consensus was that she’d take it as a challenge and come back harder and stronger. They were impressed with her “scrappiness.”
____________
Although I do not know from personal experience, I suspect their opinion was made while their talking heads were still firmly implanted up her backside.
Everything looks rosy when deliberately ignoring reality.
since palin has an uncontrollable yap…maybe twitter is a good thing…there’s a safe place for her to keep putting her foot in it. she is her own worst enemy and without the filters of the “protectors”…it’s all good…one can only hope. 😀
Thanks all for the link to the Vanity Fair article. I loved that one of the pictures they ran of her was the “Pouting Palin” – one of my favorites in which, for a brief moment, her mask of cheerful self-assurance slips and shows a far more truthful expression of the temperamental, petty creature she is.
After reading the article I got a strong feeling that she is going to try for a Senate seat. Lisa Murkowski had better watch her back. I bet SP and her minions are busy digging up muck to throw at Lisa when the time is right.
I add my voice to the outrage of SP’s lying twitters.
#81 I Can See Villages From My House has a good point. SP already has a flattering photo clip of her “benevolent” relationship with the First Peoples. Unless this situation gets some serious national attention, she will just continue to tour Europe for pictures to show the folks in the lower 48 at how she now has “foreign experience”. It just makes me sick at how close she came to the WH.
BahstinBoyo
For some in AK, there is a question if they’ll even *have* a home to heat this winter, thanks to the ice and the flooding.
Physicsmom
I do see what you’re saying and it does make ya want to cry. If the “real” campaigning was starting up tomorrow, we’d all be boo-hooing our eyes out.
But, at this point, all there really is, is the posturing, the jostling for position, the surface stuff. Once the “real” campaigning gets started, there will be a lot more attention paid to substance, and a lot more analysts, pundits, commentators looking more deeply.
So for now, I have kleenex, and I have popcorn (and opinions, which I really do try to minimize, honest).
Popcorn anyone?
Most EXCELLENT post! Read the one at HuffPost as well, and came accross this comment from ‘BobLablah’…
“Why do you Dems spend so much time hating on an insignificant govenor of an insignificant state? Does she really scare you that much?”
Having been a Pup since the fateful VP pic, and having great concern for the plight of my fellows, wherever they may live, I was motivated to reply to him…
“BobLablahblahblah… It’s not hate, it’s exposure for fraud. To use the new terms, DemocRAT, RepuliCAN’T, or InDEPENDSdant matters not, it’s resposibility to the PEOPLE that is in question here. The fact that the Govenor of SC had an affair is NOT the issue… what IS the issue is tha fact that he frauded the PEOPLE of SC in his duties as Govenor. The fact that Govenor Saracuda tries to put a bandaid AGAIN on an dire issue for her PEOPLE is what needs to be addressed. Funny how no one is ‘available’ to comment, don’t you think? GINO doesn’t scare very many RATIONAL people in the lower 48, (she’s welcome to run for POTUS in 2012, that will just make a second term a given) but she scares the hell out of most rural Alaskans. When was the last time YOU had to decide between feeding your family or heating the home in subzero weather? That IS what these people in rural AK face YET AGAIN this winter. I ask you, will YOU be amoung those Americans from around this country who sent food and clothing and donations for fuel last year again THIS year because of The Queens inaction? All of the cute nicknames aside, she is FAILING the PEOPLE of the State of Alaska, THAT is the issue… and yes, that IS scary!
Just sayin’.”
Okay. I’m off the soapbox for now. AKM… keep fighting the good fight… we are all still here with you and ready to help at the drop of the hat.
BB
Seagull –
Yes! It makes one wonder. Is it “personal leave” time or is it “Palinspeak” for one-step-away-from-unemployment (again, also too)
This just makes me cry and I thought I was over that. Just saw some talking heads on MSNBC discussing the Vanity Fair article about Palin and the consensus was that she’d take it as a challenge and come back harder and stronger. They were impressed with her “scrappiness.” They’re all into the image of Palin and not the substance nor are they interested in the details of how she is actually governing (or not) in her state. I’m afraid there’s nothing the mainstream media will be covering here – too many other sexy issues out there, and this requires a lot of backstory to understand. It makes me sick, but the solutions need to be local. Good luck.
If posted already – sorry for the repeat – but did anyone catch in the ADN article that John Moller is away on “personal” time and could not be contacted?
Gardenslug – agreed
In case anyone missed it, the one word in common in each line of your post is:
1. her (-self)
2. her… her… her… her
3. her
I think I see a pattern here! Whooooaaa…
Your governor’s priorities, above the needs of the Alaskan people, appear to be:
1. herself
2. her accessories: her Blackberries, her hair, her shoes
3. her national ambitions.
I have two thoughts and I’m not sure either is helpful enough but here goes:
1) Who are the pollock fishing companies who are wasting so much salmon? Is there a way to mount a protest/letter writing/boycott that could affect a change? ie: slogan – Pollock fishermen international starving alaska one village at a time. Not very good, but there are lots of people who don’t live in Alaska who find the waste appalling on so many levels.
2) If the villages could use some kind of alternative energy what would be the best? Solar, wind, etc? If wind or solar, how about getting one of the big alternative energy companies to underwrite and set the village(s) up with the energy – maybe like Habitat for Humanity with underwriting, volunteers and sweat equity. Make a documentaries, youtube videos of progress, set up a blog for daily reporting, get some of the alt magazines to buy in and send a reporter or print a monthly report…. I know it wasn’t enough, but when Katrina hit, folks all over the US were doing things that made a difference. Why couldn’t it work here?
I have no idea if these ideas have merit, but I’ve been a journalist for 30 years and I covered lots of activist action and I’ve seen public info, shaming officials and sweat equity change a lot of bad situations for the better.
Suggestions and comments are welcome. What SP is allowing to happen is criminal in my opinion. At a minimum it is serious dereliction of her duties.
LIsbeth
“Obnoxious behavior” is sometimes regarded with more repugnance than law-breaking.
Remember Leona Helmsley? (sp?) Most of us agree that paying taxes is a pain – but she not only didn’t want to pay taxes, she implied she should be exempt “Only the ‘little people’ pay taxes,” she claimed.
She was reviled for the way she treated anyone less powerful than herself. It didn’t serve her well.
The Vanity Fair article is good but not scathing enough in my opinion. There are a few things I wish he would have touched on. Millions of Americans (like us) despise Palin and see through her phony lies. He talked about her star power a lot and he mentioned her “good looks.”
I also wish he would have touched on the Trig controversy and her fringe religious views. Still there was a lot of info about her obnoxious behavior during the VP campaign and her propensity for distorting the truth (lying).
I cannot wait to see this woman gone from politics.
Emmonak and all the Lower Yukon villages can continue to go cold and hungry for the next several years – we still have no viable energy sources that gets us off petroleum dependency and don’t have enough cash to pay for that and fishing. . .got news for you folks – DOES NOT MATTER TO THE GOVERNOR. She’ll still roll out her cookie footage at her national stomps.
She wouldn’t declare an economic disaster (so as not to point out the third world living conditions half her population lives under) but got One Who Must Be Obeyed to declare a flooding disaster – plus she did her dog and pony bit with Samaritan’s Purse and got all the footage of Native adulation she needs for her “Friend of Natives” creds on that campaign trail when they ask her about her relationship with people of color.
“They love me.”
Wow. I thought I was done being outraged by Governor Palin’s stupidity, venality, and sheer vileness. I was wrong.
Oh! About enlarging the text on a page – if you have “Firefox” as your browser, just hit “Control” – and while holding that down, hit the “+ /=” key (not “shift”, just the “+ =” key itself)
To make it smaller again, it would be “Control” and the ” – ” key.
@Kath the Scrappy:
What I was saying was, Village lands don’t “convert back to the State” if Native villagers leave the village.
In general, and the land situation is too complex, no many how paragraphs, for a full explanation in a blog comment, we’re talking about privately owned Native (corporation) lands in Alaska, not reservations held in trust by the federal government like in the lower 48.
When I went to work for a Native Regional Corporation in 1979 I confessed that I didn’t know any public land law or resource law, even though the corporation was on its way to becoming one of the largest landowners in the world. “That’s good,” the land manager said to me, “because you’d have to forget it all anyway. Alaska’s different.”
CG –
I don’t know which one “understood” which whatever.
I do recognize that Moller had a goal in his questions, and was listening for that, as opposed to listening to what the older man was actually saying.
Moller may believe he got the answer he had hoped for. If so, he would be “mistaken” but not consciously lying in his “report” to SP – who only wants the “good news” anyway.
Also (too), SP doesn’t hear what she doesn’t want to hear.
Nan
who needs caffeine – and has to work today, anyway.
Correction: “Just hit the Space Bar”
Hit the Enter key, that creates a space between paragraphs.
From Vanity Fair article…
(The one time Meg Stapleton, who handles Palin’s personal and political public relations, ever answered multiple e-mails was when I wrote her and Palin’s gubernatorial office at the same time, and she replied: “Thank you for emailing. I will email you separately so as to remove us from the state account.”)
The pattern is obvious. She needs to go.
@ Liz “land convert back to the State. (I think I am correct on that point but feel free to educate me) “) is not correct. The land situation in Alaska is complex so it is…”
Just like someone earlier was trying to convey, I kept reading & re-reading to try to figure out the premise you were trying to convey. Just hit the Space Bar, simple as that, to make a paragraph or separate/define one’s argument.
Yes, for sure, the land of magical thinking, but also, her tweet about “highly unlikely interview will air”, shows an unforgiving, grudge-holding individual who cannot let go. And, it shows about her character. This little dig about interview probably not airing is the sam -old same-old with Sarah.
She throws in her little digs, her private hatred of the media, reporters who don’t report nice things about her when she is talking about serious human issues, like here. Can’t she just not think about herself, at the very least while commenting (tweeting) on community tragedies, no, she must throw a little “they hurt me” bomb. Even at the troops, ie. John Kerry.
I just hope no one ever invites her to speak at a funeral or a memorial – it’s supposed to be about the other person, but she finds a way to worm her little battles into her speeches, where it’s all about her. If she has a battle with the media, talk to them, not bring it up when addressing serious topics.
@Dr Patois. Your statement (“It seems vital to me that whenever one conveys a story about the struggles of the villages, they make this fact known. If the villagers are forced to leave their land in order to survive, the ownership/rights to their land convert back to the State. (I think I am correct on that point but feel free to educate me) “) is not correct. The land situation in Alaska is complex so it is easy to get confused, but in the vicinity of Native villages there may be Alaska Native Village Corporation lands (which are private lands, not held in trust), Alaska Native Regional Corporation lands (ditto), other private lands, municipal lands, state lands, federal lands and there may be Native corporation lands which have been put in a federal land bank. One of the main thrusts of the 1971 settlement was to clear title to aboriginal lands in Alaska so that the Alaska pipeline could be built. Village and Regional Native Corporations were conveyed 44 million acres of land under a complicated formula and those corporations can develop or not develop their lands like any other private landowner.
I have printed out the Vanity Fair article to read on the bus home…looking forward!
Although, to those of us who follow The Mudflats and Celtic Diva, Shannon and Gyrphyn, no news to us1
This is the part, from above, which bugs me the most:
In addition to these troubles, residents who were financially strapped and looking to get paid for recent work done to assist wtih flood cleanup, didn’t get the checks they were promised from the government. Several residents were supposed to have been paid Friday, and needed money for gas to catch the fish opening tonight. They were told the checks hadn’t been deposited until late Friday and wouldn’t be ready until today. Hours ago they learned that the checks have not been deposited yet.
Why does it bug me so? Because it shows an administration that not only is flat-out busted, but also immensely dishonest. Were the administration a bank, doing the above would result in a federal investigation. This isn’t just a matter of promises being broken. Sarah Palin’s administration is hell-bent on having its own version of Wounded Knee.
Hi there.
If you hold down the “Ctrl” button with your left hand, then use your right hand to roll the button on your mouse AWAY from you, you will increase the font size on the screen.
Hold the “Ctrl” button down, then roll the button on your mouse TOWARDS you, and you will decrease the font.
Jane of Anonymous Bloggers taught me that months back, and I’ve appreciated it ever since.
Alternatively, like Canadian Neighbor said, just cut-and-paste onto a new page in Microsoft Word or on Notepad, and enlarge it for reading there.
What LoveMyDogs contributed is thoughtful and worthy of our time. I was especially struck by her comments near the end: “I am surrounded (for the most part) by uneducated libertarians who still believe that taxes are illegal. They have no idea what taxes pay for and they don’t care. They do care about not having their permanent fund touched. These are the people who think SP is doing “a great job”. Their daughters are all pregnant and unwed by the age of 17 and their mothers are sooooo happy to have grandchildren at the age of 30 something. I don’t get it. This whole situation makes me sad and mad at the same time.”
Uneducated libertarians who believe taxes are illegal…Wow! Now it’s beginning to make some sense to me! THAT must be who voted for Palin — like-minded twits who tweet nonsense and live in the la-la land of “let them eat cookies”, instead of truly caring about rural Alaskans just trying to survive.
lovemydogs – I read your post and have a feeling you got caught up in the passion of what you were trying to convey. I have fallen prey to that myself – just kept going so as not to lose the train of thought.
That being said, the content was very interesting and it was a good read. Thank you and do try to get those paragraphs in next time so others won’t skip by (o:
Am I supposed to believe from the video that 3-5 fish is “subsistence”? Those game wardens’ fish looked mighty small to me.
Someone will know the man who was interviewed ….
Muppet2,
I had the same problem. What I did was highlighted and copied the post on to a blank email page. That way I was able to make the type larger and narrowed the screen.
Just a suggestion!
Lovemydogs
I really wanted to read all of your post; but without paragraph spacing, it’s just a bungle of text that I have to ignore. I’m sure you had something good to say because I was able to read the first half of the first paragraph, but had to stop. I was getting a headache. I beg you to please use proper spacing. I have bad eyes and blocks of text that large are nearly impossible to follow.
Thanks and sorry I missed your post.
Nan, the old guy is being agreeable, polite and cooperative to the unknowledgable outsider sent in to check things out with his camera from far-away Juneau. Just like they always do. Like they have for 50 years.
The old guy realizes what the conversation is – Moller doesn’t.
The video on the state website of John Moller. Not only is the transcript below the video wrong, but the cross-cultural communication is waaay off.
Nan, you’re absolutely right – they really ARE having two different conversations.
He’s not a fisherman; he’s an elder accepting donated fish. I’ll post later with an accurate transcript.
Meaning no offense to anyone-this is an illustration of differences in culture, and a perfect example of why just because he’s “Native”, doesn’t mean that Moller is better equipped to deal with Natives. His Aleut heritage and physical characteristics does not mean that he is endowed with an understanding of other indigenous peoples. Or even his own, for that matter. The homogenization of indigenous groups just doesn’t work.
Same thing with Asian. Japanese and Chinese are very different and are aware of the differences. It’s cultures outside that don’t know the difference.
Go ahead, John Moller. Run this interview in Yupik. Then I’ll be impressed.
I do not claim to be an expert on the extremely complicated fishing regulations in Alaska. I do know that they are a combination of federal and state laws as well as international treaties. The things that anger me most in this post are: #1. people not getting paid for work done. There is absolutely no excuse for this. None. You show up, do your work, they are supposed to give you money..on time! #2. I am a fairly cynical person when it comes to the way that we treat Native Americans in this country. The government (federal and state) has a loooong history of screwing aboriginal peoples over every chance they get. The Repubs have a history of preferring big business over the little guy every time. Put those two things together and it is always a recipe for disaster at some point. I read comments last winter about this from some of the “citizens” of Alaska that were basically calling for everyone who couldn’t handle living in the bush to “just move”. The question was always “move where?” Certainly not to Wasilla… The point being, the land that these people live on belongs to them. Before Alaska began to be bled dry by “development” (as the powers that be so lovingly call the rape of the land, oceans, lakes and rivers of this state in the name of “progress”) the native people hunted, fished and made it work and even in times of famine, they survived. We are now facing situations, here and elsewhere, where the number of fish that go upstream have to be carefully counted and regulated to ensure that the fish can spawn or there will not be any fish for anyone anymore. The present problem seems to lie primarily with the “bycatch”. I have no idea which branch of the government controls this. In my roundabout way I am trying to say that the native people seem to be the first to get screwed. Yes, they signed a treaty that deprives them of special status in terms of subsistence even though they depend most upon subsistence harvest to “subsist”. Where I live, there is a subsistence quota for every resident of Alaska and by god everyone catches their quota. Tell me how many Alaskans actually eat everything they catch. I fill my freezer every year with freezer burned fish from the year before that no one ate. They give it to me for my dogs (don’t get me wrong- the dogs appreciate it). Then they go out and catch their limit again this year. And so it goes. Bottom line-unlike the native people in the bush who absolutely depend on their quota for food, most of us don’t. But absolutely no politician in Alaska is going to get anywhere suggesting that this change because they would have rotten vegetables thrown at them in public. It is important to acknowledge that some of the argument is about commercial fishing on the river as opposed to subsistence fishing. It is different. The commercial fisherman make their living by fishing. It can be a lot like farming. When the fish run, life is good- when they don’t, you can’t pay for the equipment and expenses of going to work that day. Commercial fisherman where I live have nothing but disdain for subsistence. They do not believe that their fisheries should be closed to allow fish to go to subsistence users. It is sort of like water wars in the southwest. Who has first rights to the water required to grow food? Especially during a drought. I am rambling. But it is very complicated.
The next bottom line is what needs to be done? There is obviously a problem. One of the problems is not even fish. It is fuel to stay warm. Or….if someone were actually thinking, alternative and sustainable power to stay warm so that fuel doesn’t have to be shipped at exhorbitant prices. What I want to know is what the h__l is my government doing about it? It certainly seems that some of the stimulus money could have been used to help with the energy problems (oh I forgot, too many strings-oh—the strings, the strings). These problems aren’t going to go away. They will continue until people can pull their heads out of their collective behinds, get their poop in a group and do something besides declare the malamute the state dog (not that my malamute minds). If we actually had a leader– in my dreams– maybe that person could be an enlightened, smart, thinking being who could get the best people together (including the native people) to figure some of this out (or at least get a start). Look at how the people in Eagle are trying to figure out how to best address their tragedy (one step at a time and without it being a recipe that might work somewhere else but doesn’t fit their community). But–Nooooooo. Sometimes I really wonder why I choose to live here. I am surrounded (for the most part) by uneducated libertarians who still believe that taxes are illegal. They have no idea what taxes pay for and they don’t care. They do care about not having their permanent fund touched. These are the people who think SP is doing “a great job”. Their daughters are all pregnant and unwed by the age of 17 and their mothers are sooooo happy to have grandchildren at the age of 30 something. I don’t get it. This whole situation makes me sad and mad at the same time. I ask myself, what can I do? Holding our elected representatives’ feet to the fire just seems to burn our hands most of the time. We are the laughing stock of the country because of SP and her goons. If she is as great as she thinks she is, she should get off her butt and get started working on the problems instead of romping through Europe when there is an awful lot that needs doing right here and right now before everything freezes again. Put your friggin blackberry down and roll up your sleeves Sarah. If you have all of the political clout that you think you have then spend some of it here and DO SOMETHING.
Excellent post AKM! Keep up the good work holding Palin’s feet to the fire! You have some help from Vanity Fair – excellent article in the August Issue. Post on HuffPo.
Would LOVE to hear your unique and talented take on it!
One of my favorite parts from the Vanity Fair article was the night Mccain lost GINO asked to do a concession speech and she was told no. Then when the guy went to load Mccain’s speech onto the teleprompter GINO’s speech was already loaded!!! The woman is certifiable.
Yup, that Vanity Fair article is a good one!
@wasillawarrior: I concur! I concur!
@Injuneau: I am laughing hysterically. Yws! Trademark it, Should be invaluable!
!Phil Munger:Thanks for all the truthful info that you bring to us. Otherwise we would be bamboozled into thinking that Sarah, Moller, and the mob lies were truth. You are right, I think that SP has her foot on his pair and he is desperate to find lies to combat the truth. I am so glad you have Emmonak John. Keep up the good fight for the people!! We are so proud and anything we can do, just say it.
The Vanity Fair Story that someone posted here with the link is
FANTASTIC ! ! !
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/sarah-palin200908
It’s going to be hard for her to bad-mouth VF. Maybe Letterman will comment on the story too. CBS writers… are you listening..?
Great work, AKM. And tip of the hat to Dennis!!
Ol’ GINO is nothing but a pathological liar. She is an incompetent governor and she lies to cover her behind.
This is the same person who waited over six weeks to visit rural Alaska so she could bake some cookies, call up 2 preachers and a purse before visiting her constituents in distress. Shameful behavior for an elected official and she should have been kicked out on her behind a long time ago. Like when she faked that pregnancy and gave that ridiculous wild ride from Texas story!
About that video, it almost seemed to me that the two of them were having two different conversations. And neither of them realized it. Or something.
The video Far from Fenway references above at #45 or #46 is not of somebody who has been subsistence fishing. It is from an older gentleman who appears to have come down to collect fish from somebody who is giving him fish. If that is the case, it is even more pathetic than some of you may realize. I have to watch it a couple more times, but the comment above about this being “cherry-picked” appears to be more accurate than you knew.
I think Moller is desperate to find lies to spread, coming out of Emmonak. We had Baghdad Bob. Now we have Emmonak John.
So, I decided this evening, while describing the idiotic tweets to the spouse, that they should be called “Tweets from Twitville” (I’m trademarking that, if no one has yet 😉 )!
RECALL !!! RECALL !!!! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH !!!!
HonestyinGov: I wholeheartedly agree. Greed and corruption are off the chain there and SP is the head ring leader of the” Christian” mob.
When AKM did a story about the by-catch with the Pollock fishing I asked myself the same question that this person just posted on the ADN.
vilkas wrote on 06/29/2009 08:39:32 PM:
I’d like to see the trawl fleets preserve their by-catch and distribute it to those people whose fishing is restricted because of low returns. Provided in equal proportion to the amount of fish unable to be taken by those people.
————————————-
This is so ‘ common sense ‘ that it is ridiculous. I have to assume that it will cost the large trawlers a ‘ little bit ‘ more money to store these salmon…. and to them a little inconvenience. And for PROFIT alone… it is cheaper for them to throw the dead fish overboard and say screw the natives.
If nobody has the stones to aggressively negotiate a fair contract (for everybody- even the Natives)…. they just let the corporations have their way. Nobody is willing to draw a line in the sand and NO to them. Maybe there is some corruption and pay-offs going on as well…? Just saying….. business as usual.
I will buy my 1st issue of Vanity Fair in over 5 years because of this ‘tell-all’…. “Loose Cannon” “It came from Wasilla”…
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/sarah-palin200908
Far fromFenway Fan Says:
There’s video up on the State of Alaska site of Moller interviewing a man from Emmonak who says he has his quota:
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/video_GordonEmmonak-June2009.php
———
Gordon, the man interviewed in this video got 3 King Salmon. THREE and Moller was putting words in his mouth as to “So you have your kings for the year then”. Gordon asked yes but I don’t believe it. THREE for a full winter. This will not sustain a family for winter.
Moller needs to do a reality check. Where’d his brains “poop” out.
According to ADN Moller is on personal leave now — suspect it’s a way of slipping him through the cracks out of department
AKM needs to Tweet this story.
Or put some kind of a teaser Tweet out there. I don’t know how many ‘ follow’ AKM but every little bit helps. We have people who follow GINO… can someone Tweet CNN, CBS, ABC.. etc. as an outgoing message. Not familiar with the specifics. I thought the person getting it has to be one of the Followers as well.
Far fromFenway Fan,
Probably interviewed a number of people and cherry picked ONE.
Now the tool is on personal leave according to ADN — wonder why
There’s video up on the State of Alaska site of Moller interviewing a man from Emmonak who says he has his quota:
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/video_GordonEmmonak-June2009.php
HuffPost has a link to Vanity Fair article about Palin…..she’s not gonna like it…LOL
That Vanity Fair article was interesting. No new revelations, some real good stuff from the Mccain people. Definitely worth the read. Maybe AKM will do a post about it.
Omg. You don’t suppose this is thanks to the 8K she repaid to the state of AK, do you? She seems to dislike paying the kids’ travel expenses… maybe she’s trying to get Track’s next visit funded…
say it ain’t so, please?
@Far fromFenwayfan: This woman just boggles the mind in the most infuriating ways imaginable. (Shaking my head in utter disbelief) I cannot believe her total insensitivity to Alaskans.
honestyinGov,
Sanchez is on holidays returning on Wednesday. Ali Velshi filling in
Today in Palin’s latest request for money through SarahPac she wrote:
“Words can never express the incredible spirit of all those who dedicate their lives to making even one life more comfortable.”
Too bad she’s not one bit concerned about making fellow Alaskans’ lives “comfortable”, i.e. fed and warm this winter.
Dennis Zaki will sell the story to CNN.
To get the other Show anchors to report on it you can call in as a story tip. The more times they hear it… it may create a Buzz.
Rich Sanchez is on 12:00 PST or 3:00. Make as many calls to the show as you can. Call a few times as well.
CNN- 1 877 692 – 6609 ( Toll Free)
Everybody should be reading Jasons Huffpo story tomorrow. It got posted late.
I just posted a copy of her last Tweet(about the 50% )… and then underneath it pasted the quote from Dennis and the Villagers saying it was a Lie.
Everybody should focus on certain quotes from AKM’s story and repeat them throughout the day.Or link back to this story. Let the Huffpo bloggers repeat the story. Her Tweets show that she outright lied or was an accomplice. It shows she is NOT doing her job…. and thinks she can govern using her Blackberry and twitter.
Oh yeah… the Begathons. More concerned with raisin’ money to support “other like minded politicians”, but can’t be bothered to raise money for the residents in her own state (unless they are NG Troops who want free transportation for their vacations).
Bleccchchhh! Barf! ICK!
I need a shower.
I like “Vanity Fair” and hope the many subscribers read their article on SP. Maybe we ought to send ” Vanity Fair” these latest serious life-threatening antics she has been foisting upon the people in Alaska so they can write about them, so people will know.
Maybe if she would put her golden mirror down and stop admiring herself for a moment, she could get ACCURATE information and then APPROPRIATELY ACT on that information.
This is such an atrocity, I don’t even know what to say.
Can’t someone physically go to her office and demand a little action that is more than tweeting a bunch of lies??
Really… WTF? She’s going to Europe, going to NY & TX, making all of these stupid, vapid, inane speeches that don’t matter (introducing Reagan with someone else’s material, for instance), complainin’ about bloggers, raising her son to “Sacred” status, trying to get comedians fired, dragging her kids into every issue, etc.
Where is she for the PEOPLE OF AK?
This sickens me.
@seatttlefan: You said it!! She has got to be stopped! Alaska, as someone mentioned earlier. deserve so much better than that fake, fraud and phony. Some how we have to help make sure that they get better.
I feel like screaming! I actually felt my face flush with anger and such dislike it almost bordered on hate. This article should be on huffington, cnn and other news sites.
Vanity Fair article on Palin.
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/sarah-palin200908
@califpat #24
Exactly. That could be a huge issue down the road.
There are so many strange things going on, it is hard to remember them all. It is late and I’m tired, but I’m remembering all her ethics issues now.
Overload!
I apologize in advance for this.
She, Sarah Palin, is a Hateful B**ch.
That’s it – absolutely fed up.
How does she keep getting away with this? Just flat out lying again also too.
@ Phil Munger
What really hacks me off is that the financially strapped workers AKM describes above have not received their money for work completed….when, at the same time, the ADN is running a “begathon” for Palin.
I put up a post at PA on this four hours ago, before I went to a board meeting – Friends of Mat-Su. Driving there and back, I was thinking about several aspects of this.
The Palin inner circle may be involved in an ongoing attempt to pit people on the upper Yukon against the lower Yukon, through selective enforcement of fishing violations, through holding money for state assistance, through behind-the-scenes evangelical activity we don’t know about yet, and other things.
Then they can try to paint the issue as one of some Natives stealing from others. They’ll pitch something like “See how much they need our help to get them out of the past and out of their villages,” etc….
Another thing started to piss me off. Here’s from my update I just posted at the article:
“Just back from a board meeting. Driving there and back, I was thinking, “has the Anchorage Daily News ever before printed two emails, one in its entirety, from a candidate who may be running for a statewide office, who is an incumbent, who is soliciting funds for a variety of undefined political and legal objectives, without giving the printing of the solicitations some sort of journalistic context?”
I don’t know of any such articles, and it bothers me.
The Queen of Denial is at it again. She thinks she can “rewrite history” Palin Style! She has no human decency whatsoever. She is a heartless SHAM. A Fraud, a Liar, a Hypocite and a Sham. I cannot believe what she gets away with. We need to get together on this and get rid of her@! We deserve so much better than THIS!
It seems vital to me that whenever one conveys a story about the struggles of the villages, they make this fact known. If the villagers are forced to leave their land in order to survive, the ownership/rights to their land convert back to the State. (I think I am correct on that point but feel free to educate me). If that is the case, it is the crux of the problem. The State has a conflict of interest in assisting the villages. Having regulations that make it near impossible for the villagers to meet subsistence quotas means the State has a better chance of regaining the land they want to rob of its resources.
It makes one suspicious as to why the checks were delayed. It seems to me that those who were not paid on time should be given another day to fish. I realize that by the time they are paid it might be too late.
The waste of salmon by the factory trawlers is outrageous! Isn’t there someway to require them to sort the salmon from the pollock and not destroy it? The State is required to manage the salmon. To do so by allowing an industry to destroy tens of thousands by denying subsistence fishing is beyond the pale.
@seattlefan: And dont forget facilitating her own Begathons for her own selfish greediness.
I assume the fuel barges pump the fuel into tanks at each village (?) Are those tanks intact after all the ice and floods?
What a manipulator your Governor is and a heartless one at that. She would rather twist the figures and make it sound like everything is cool and she is somehow responsible.
I’m so glad Dennis was up there to get the facts and the opinions of the people who are impacted. He took his camera and his quest for the facts, while she recently went to these areas in quest of the camera ops and took some cookies.
The AK Governor who spends all her time campaigning, tweeting, (or is it twittering…not sure?) ,silently hiring/firing, doing “See Me!” tours, and padding her passport should be ASHAMED of herself. Her own citizens are suffering from her own policies or lack thereof.
Ms. Palin….a word to the wise. The whole country is watching you now. You have made that possible. I don’t think you can get away with much anymore.
🙂
And, by the way, where the heck IS that iceberg?????????
We need contact info on the Federal agencies involved so we can put their feet to the fire. Also has anybody contacted Sen. Begich and what is his take on this. Time to throw open the windows and raise hell before winter sets in and we have to do more food and fuel drives that are expensive to ship. I wonder if we can get some help to these people BEFORE winter, like fuel barges etc.
@wurzelhexli: People have to be informed that this atrocity exist. As redwoodmuse suggested, there needs to be video cams set up so that there can be actual videos of what is going on? Phone calls and emails need to be sent out to people who have the authority to take swift and bold action. (quoting my President) As redwoodmuse said, ” This needs to go viral”, immediately!
Sarah’s claims to be a Christian really tick me off – I am not particularly religious, although raised a Catholic, but she is totally the kind of “christian” Christ would have driven out of the temple with a whip, just like the moneylenders. Total hypocrite and hateful human being, I am waiting, very impatiently, for karma to make it’s way around to her!!
Oh boy – sure would like to hear from Nick Tucker on this, also. We would love to have news of the Federal Board of Subsistence meeting last Weds to see if the Feds had any ideas on this. These villages were here fishing long before we came along, and we have imposed so many state/federal regulations and regulatory agencies that it’s almost impossible for a non-resident to figure out who does what. I doubt many of the residents get it, either and have to rely on others to keep up. Understanding is the key to helping, and it’s a mess.
Someone needs to slap Sarah Palin with a dead fish, preferably one that has been dead so long it has turned to putrid mush. Just like the crap that comes out of her mouth – putrid mush. She’s a big fat LIAR, again.
Isn’t that two of the three most famous lies, 1. I am from the government and I am here to help, and 2. The check is in the mail. I unfortunetly don’t remember the third, but it doesn’t apply here anyways, at least as far as I know.
WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GET THE PEOPLE OF ALSAKA TO RISE UP AGAINST THIS ATROCITY OF A GOVERNOR???
Are the checks Federal or State? If Federal perhaps a few hundred well placed emails and calls to the White House about the issues? If State, how about some well placed MSM coverage – Keith or Rachel?
This is monsterous. Genocide by hunger?
Any way of getting a video cam set up so can upload some youtube bits? Let’s figure out a way to have this mess go viral.
As for SP and her religiosity, I’m reminded of a quote by Gandhi – “To the one who is lucky to have one bowl of rice per day, the only form in which God dare appear is food.”
redwoodmuse
ADN is finally reporting on this, but only after all the local bloggers ran the story. It’s telling that the public can only get the real news about this administration’s activities from the local blogs.
RIP, ADN.
http://community.adn.com/adn/node/142094
Excellent work, Dennis Zaki and AKM!!
Nothing like having boots on the ground when Palin starts tweeting her lies.
Does this woman have any semblance of a grasp on reality or ethics?
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could at least pretend to be surprised?
I remember hearing the following from an old German I knew when I was a kid – “She’s a liar so much she has to get somebody else to call her dog.”
GINO said “John Moller just returned from Emmonak, reports 50% of residents have subsistence needs met already”
Don Zaki said “Half of Emmonak residents do NOT have their subsistance quota”
Well they are saying the same thing! One has a positive spin and the other is negative. I don’t understand what the big deal is. When you guys beat the war drums without proof of anything, you look really foolish. Im not a Palinbot. All I am doing is pointing out facts.
Actually, if you read Dennis’ full statements, you’ll see that out of 66 people asked, only 5 have their subsistence quota met. So, the glass is half empty vs. glass is half full doesn’t hold water…if you’ll excuse the pun. AKM
Hugo Chavez knows more about what is happening in Alaskan Native Villages than Sarah ever will.
I don’t know much about subsistence living, but I DO know a thing or two about the communal spirit. My guess is that if one person has their supplies in and for some reason their neighbor doesn’t, the food would be shared. If my theory is correct, wouldn’t that would mean everyone would starve halfway through the winter? Just thinking out loud…
Where are the checks? Who is responsible for these people getting paid? Where is the problem? This is outrageous. Who would you call about their money? Somebody needs to look into this. One would think Moller would, but he’s too busy carrying Palin’s water.
I guess they all better get on that Trail of Healing before they get any help from Palin.
So is Palin going to blame Moller for not telling the truth? Will Moller be her scape goat, someone will have to Sarah can’t take the blame!!!
AKM, you should create a tab for the Palin Hall of shame and put this and the winter YK Delta posts you did. With all the recent brouhaha over DL and jokes and CD with Dr Chill’s photo shop and the Eddie Jerk red t-shirt, it would be good to have the national media to have the chroncles of the gastly gov and her evil ways. JMO, you do good work, and people’s lives in AK are at stake in the YK.
I hope that “good news” does air! I can see it now, only the statement about “yes, 50% have met their quota,” stuck between the interviews with each of the 51 people who haven’t been paid, who don’t have their 50% of needed fish, who have been lied to time and time again.
It would be very effective, indeed!
Alaska Natives needs to focus their anger on the feds, who manage the pollock fishery that is intercepting so many of their kings. In addition, from “the real world is always more complex” file, comes the revelation that some Alaska Native coastal villages continue to enjoy the benefits of the trawl fishery through community development quotas. Before getting all up in the Guv’s grill, they need to forsake those pollock profits and petition the feds to shut it down until they can stop catching so mant king salmon.
Unbelievable!! Just unbelievable!!!
When does that IRSberg going to hit?
Wouldn’t it be great if it did get widespread MSM coverage because of her written history of LYING!?
She has brown eyes because she’s full of moose poo.
Too bad that CNN reporter isn’t buying her BS tweets. I’m waiting for a protest where everyone on the street waves the half peace sign salute. Good for D Zaki for getting the REAL word out.