Pop, Ooze, Dung, and the Alaska Personnel Board.
Lots of good stuff floating around the internets. Here’s a little smorgasbord of tasty treats you may have missed.
POP!
Gubernatorial candidate Bob Poe wrote an excellent compass piece for the Anchorage Daily News that begins like this:
I support equal rights for all people. And I support banning discrimination in Anchorage due solely to someone’s sexual orientation. I support a comprehensive equal rights ordinance because it’s the right thing to do, period.
Sh. sh. shhh. Listen. Do you hear those faint little noises, like Pop Rocks? Remember all those people in red shirts who testified at the Anchorage Assembly meetings about men in dresses in the ladies room, and how the ho-mo-sexuals are going to ruin society by “recruiting” our kids? That’s their tiny little heads exploding.
Alaska Personnel Board Meets September 9 and Ethics Complaints are on the Agenda
Linda Kellen Biegel has an update on the goings on at the three-ring Board of Personnel. The next meeting is on September 9, and it’s going to be interesting for a number of reasons.
1) There are a couple of newer, open ethics complaints out there with serious teeth. One (Zane Henning) is in regards to the per diem Sarah Palincharged the State of Alaska to live in her own home. Another (Andree McLeod) is in regards to the gifts Palin has received that have gone unreported.
2) (The main subject of this post) We have heard NOTHING regarding Kim Chatman’s complaint over the Alaska Fund Trust since a report unfavorable to Palin from Investigator Tom Daniel was revealed. (Of course, it barely covered an iota of the violations revealed by other lawyersin the Fund Trust). While a number of Palinbots claim that there was no violation here, the report very clearly stated that Palin would be in violation of the Ethics Act if she did not accept his remedy.
3) I was notified through certified letter that the Personnel Board would be dealing with my comments in response to the Arctic Cat dismissal and I would havea chance to speak in Executive session.
You can read the rest of the details HERE.
Finally, a Hat in the Ring!
Finally someone has tossed his hat in the ring to run against Alaska’s lone congressman, Republican Don Young (fondly known on the Mudflats as Yon Dung). Last time, everyone counted Young out. Spending millions on defense lawyers over a pending indictment is generally not the way to win an election. But somehow he pulled it off with the reminder that he held all those plum committee assignments and that Alaskans needed his clout. Well, he promptly got asked to step down from those, and we got stuck with him anyway – all the headaches and none of the perks.
So, welcome Representative Harry Crawford. He’s a Democrat, an iron worker, a down to Earth guy with a great work ethic, and he makes one hell of a gumbo. He proved this at a fundraiser he hosted to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. And I don’t know how many pairs of shoes he’s worn out knocking on doors in his district, but he has no fear of hitting the pavement and meeting with constituents eye-to-eye. I think he’ll run a good race, and he just may be the kind of guy that can knock the Don off his perch. And he’ll do it with a smile on his face. Go get ‘im, Harry!
(And if the FBI is reading this….come on! Pleeeeeeeeze? Just one little indictment. I’vebeen SO patient. Don’t I deserve just one??)
The Wizard of Ooze…
That would be President of the AFL-CIO Vince Beltrami’snew nickname for Conservative radio host and columnist Dan Fagan. Fagan was eerily on target with his vilification of former governor Sarah Palin, and then strangely compelling with his “I apologize to anyone I ever said anything mean about” confessional post in the Anchorage Daily News last month. But apparently those days are gone. Whatever planetary conjunction we were living under has now been pulled asunder, and Vince Beltrami takes Fagan to the wood shed for spinning history and blaming former Mayor Begich for every ill in the city, while giving Current Mayor Dan Sullivan a pass.
In your August 1st column of enlightenment you said: “The Bible teaches scripture must back up everything,” and “if my profession calls for tearing down others to be successful, then I’ll just have to find another career.”
In your latest column, just four weeks from your mea culpa column, you’ve already broken at least two promises. Or maybe three, because I doubt after reading this week’s entry you’ve reached out and apologized to our hard-working junior Senator.
curiouser Says:
September 1st, 2009 at 1:49 PM
From an ADN editorial that’s worth revisiting: “Petumenos’ report is so obviously tilted in favor of Gov. Palin that it fails to put the Troopergate matter to rest. The Legislature would do Alaskans a service by holding a forum where both investigators argue against each other, so Alaskans can make up their own minds.”
There’s no issue:
Petumenos determined that the CEO wasn’t responsible for the skulduggery of her personal staff and her family on her behalf (a conclusion which enabled him to overlook her ridiculous perjury in denying any knowledge of it). Imagine being a CEO – even one without a job description: would you be expected to take responsibility for what your staff and your family do?
Branchflower said that what goes on in the CEO’s suite is of course the CEO’s responsibility (wow! just like in real life).
Oh, yes, I forgot the title of this post referred to ‘ooze’ and ‘dung’- maybe instead of ‘juicy’ I need another analagous, metaphorical or descriptive reference – uh, tantalizing… not that’s not it – – ok, well, I’lll get back to you on that.
Interesting, thought provoking and juicy tidbits – thank you!
Martha – I have to believe things will change. The first thing that has to happen is we have to have a liberal (Yes, I said it!) win the next gubernatorial race. Then things will fall into place – just like the presidential election did. I think it will take some (hopefully not much) time, but it WILL happen. After all, Alaska started out as a liberal state and I think we will go back to our roots (before the time the religious right took over). At least that’s what I tell myself in order to sleep at night!
You’ve been invited to speak in executive session? Not by subpoena, I hope.
Bring a lawyer just in case.
Yon Dung is a member of the minority party now, non?
Perhaps it’s a great time to fling the dung and elect Mr. Crawford. You certainly cannot do any worse than what you currently have.
The only thing I can see to do about the, Personnel Board; would be to call each one of them out. Plaster their names and faces in the papers, websites, blogs and media. Make them explain themselves and hold them accountable for the decisions that they have mad regarding, Palin, in particular. Put pressure on them and sooner or later someone will break and spill their guts. Then follow the paper trail. There are going to be alot of people defending themselves!!
I agree with what Martha said at #14. “Serious teeth” or not, the ethics complaints are likely to be dismissed. Too much history from this Personnel Board for me to think or hope otherwise. There should have been an impeachment process after Palin was found guilty of abuse of power (a very serious offense) – and there was nothing, nada, zip – not even a censure.
Why did they even bother with the investigation?
12 curiouser …..the Alaskan people certainly deserve better from both the legislature and the personnel board.
Having said that, the cost and time of having a forum is futile, I think.
The legislature are the lawmakers of the state and if there are glaring discrepenceys in the “Petumenos” report they should investigate it.
But only IF they intend on taking action on their findings.
They should have done that immediately after in was completed.
In fact they should be investigating most of the ethics complaints that this personnel board has processed.
As we all know in our hearts, there was pressure put to bear on this board, no differently than the Troopergate case.
The very SAME abuse of power the legislature found Palin guilty of in the first place!
The very SAME abuse of power that the legislature gave Palin the green light to continue with.
The legislature should be investigated for taking no action when they found Palin guilty of abuse of power.
As I said before….in what state of the union….has it’s legislature found their Governor…………..guilty of abuse of the power of the office of Governor…….and done ……………..nothing…………….no impeachment…………not a single sanction!
What does a Governor have to do in Alaska to be impeached?
If Palin HAD committed murder at high noon, in front of the State Capitol buildings………………they still would have done nothing, because the police would have done it for them.
The only time anything is done about corruption is when the federal government steps in.
This legislature has corrupt members of it’s own and needs a thorough house cleaning.
> Go get ‘im, Harry!
“Give ’em hell, Harry”?
Martha #11 – Perhaps it’s not too late for the legislature to look at the discrepancies between the Branchflower Report and the Personnel Board’s finding on Troopergate. There have been some rumblings about the legs. looking at the ethics act. Couldn’t Alaskans demand they reconsider their earlier position which was taken when Palin had high favorability? If there is any attention given to the Personnel Board, this issue would shine the brightest light on their actions.
A citizens’ petition? Calls and emails?
From an ADN editorial that’s worth revisiting: “Petumenos’ report is so obviously tilted in favor of Gov. Palin that it fails to put the Troopergate matter to rest. The Legislature would do Alaskans a service by holding a forum where both investigators argue against each other, so Alaskans can make up their own minds.”
http://www.adn.com/opinion/sarah-palin/story/581487.html?pageNum=2&mi_pluck_action=page_nav#Comments_Container
Alaska Personnel Board Meets September 9 and Ethics Complaints are on the Agenda
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The Alaskan legislature failed Alaskans (and the rest of the country as it turns out) miserably, when it comes to Sarah Palin.
The Branchflower report found Palin “abused her power by violating section 39.52.110 (a)”.
What other state in the union, ……….has had it’s legislature find their Governor guilty of abuse power,……… then fail to impeach or at the very least sanction them?
The report also found that “the Attorney General’s office has failed to comply with my August 6th 2008 request to governor Sarah Palin for information about the case in the form of e-mails”.
Was that request ever complied with? Did the Alaskan legislature ever follow through on that?
Representitive Les Gara has said that “there was no political will” to take any action against Palin after this lengthy, costly investigation, resulting in the Branchflower Report.
In other words , we found Palin guilty, but simply can’t be bothered to do anything about it.
Why hold with the investigation in the first place?
You needn’t look any further than the Alaskan legislature, for giving Sarah Palin a free pass to carry on as she pleased.
This personnel board is less willing than the legislature to do their job.
And why not?
If the legislature cannot be bothered, why should they?
If it were not for the progressive bloggers and the conscientious citizens that filed ethics complaints, Palin would continue to be governor with an 80% approval rating.
It is time for Alaskans to clean house in the legislature.
It is HIGH time Alaskans had legislators that have the “political will” to do their job!
With the help of progressive bloggers, conscientious journalists, citizens and a few good politicians (I’m so rooting for Bob Poe) maybe Alaskans will have there eyes opened.
Maybe they will realize that they do not have to tolerate the massive, ingrained corruption that seems to grip Alaskan politics.
The more national attention the corruption of Alaskan receives the faster it will end.
I look at it like a cancer, with Alaska’s case at stage 4.
So far it has been “the feds” with numerous indictments and much needed interference that have had the best interest of Alaskans at heart.
Alaskans need to realize that “the feds” and folks from “outside” are not their enemy.
The real enemy in Alaska are the corrupt politicians and careless politicians.
The first are motivated by greed and the second just go with the flow, have no “political will”.
I hope that finally, the majority of Alaskans, will care enough to truly care for themselves.
Poe’s piece has been quite splattered with ‘sploding-head-shrapnel. The majority of his commentators seem to be those who most need to read what he has to say, but are the least likely to see-themselves-in / understand / profit from what he has to say.
Remember ‘Will and Grace’ from ’05? http://www.durfee.net/will/media/0718-Middleborough-150.wmv
Harry Crawford is a good man. Do everything you can, Alaska mudpups, to get him into Congress!
Big Pete – Yowza! Now there’s a circular reference to top all others. I imagine churches split over questions such as yours.
He’s no “wizard”. That implies competence.
He’s more like the Igor of Ooze. Always bringing the wrong brain to the party.
And exactly why isn’t Mark Begich to be held accountable for driving the Muni into this debt? He’s the one that pushed the union contracts.
“The Bible teaches scripture must back up everything…”
Does it?
The Wizard of Ooze…I’m going to have to remember that insult!
I, of course, wish Harry Crawford well and will work to help him defeat Yon Dung. However, we will MISS him here during Sessions!
Mr Poe still sounds good…off to read Linda
and, golly gee, i am number one again.
life is good.
well, ms akm, you are back with a bang.