The Best Bill in Juneau
During the hearings, and vote on SB21, (the governor’s oil tax plan to give billions to oil companies in exchange for absolutely no promise of anything) did you find yourself wondering why Sen. Peter Micciche who works for Conoco Phillips was allowed to vote to give his boss a windfall? Or why Sen. Kevin Meyer who also works for ConocoPhillips was allowed to do the same? And then there’s Rep. Mike Hawker whose wife works for the oil industry. Before critical votes, you’ll hear a legislator like Micciche and Meyer pipe up and say they’d like to abstain from the…
Repeal SB21 and Take Back Alaska
Here is everything you need to know about the ongoing effort to honor Alaska as an owner state. The time is now to be active, and take our state back from the undue influence of Outside corporations, and the legislators who do their bidding. Complaining is easy. Fortunately, so is acting in a positive way to take control of our future. Gov. Parnell will sign SB 21 on Tuesday, May 21st at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage between 11:30am and 1pm. Be there with a sign to protest the giveaway! Alaska is an owner state. We deserve a fair share of…
Alaska vs. Outside Corporations, the Choice is Ours
By Sen. Hollis French Two recent news items out of Norway caught my attention. The first happened April 30 when Gov. Parnell went there to discuss tax policy. The second was the announcement on May 6 that Norway had decided to make a change to its oil tax laws. Now, I don’t know whether the governor was responsible for the May 6 tax change. But I like to imagine that the Norwegians listened very carefully to the governor’s reasons for lowering taxes here. Being the sober and meticulous people they are, they ran a complex cost-benefit economic analysis on his…
Alaska Politicians Uncovered!
If you are a person of symbology, a political mystic, or for any reason believe that anagrams have any kind of hidden meaning, then get out your crystal ball, light a bundle of sage, and wrap your head around these startling divinations. I took it upon myself to use a handy online anagram generator (or two) to share with you the deeper, sometimes darker, and often creepily accurate dimension of (echoey deep voice—->) THE POLITICAL ANAGRAM. Let’s begin with the executive branch: Governor Sean R Parnell = Plane Snarler. Hmmm… I thought that was Sen. Lesil McGuire! Lt….
Must See! AK, the World, and Wally Hickel
Tonight at 7pm Alaska time, KAKM will broadcast the one-hour documentary, “Alaska, the World, and Wally Hickel.” If you are not familiar with our former governor, this documentary will be revelatory. I’ve come to learn that even if you think you knew Wally Hickel, there will undoubtedly be many surprises. Hickel championed Alaska’s unique role of the “owner state,” and this documentary comes at a timely moment, as our current governor, and the Republican-dominated state legislature just voted to undercut all that stands for. SB21, the legislation that gives billions from our oil wealth to huge outside corporations is exactly…
Oyster Roundup! Volcanoes, Armed Mobs & Wine
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! Can You Hear Me NOW?? For all the fuss and upset that is happening about 3-D printers that could allow people to print guns off the internet, here is a happier use. The’ve printed a working bionic ear! I can’t decide if I’m going to want the brain upgrade. Mind the Volcano! In this land of fire and ice, there are new rumblings at the Cleveland volcano, in the Aleutian Islands. The color-coded terror alerts at the airport are a thing of the past, but not…
Parnell – Dug in Like a Tick
Well, I’m surprised. Gov. Sean Parnell announced Friday that he will run for governor again. “Fantastic! I get to vote for Sean Parnell as governor again!” said no one within earshot of me ever. The anticipation of his announcement, and the speculation around it, was fierce. Would he give Mark Begich a run for his money for the U.S. Senate? Would he figure his work was done, having succeeded in passing a bill to give billions to oil companies for no guarantees, and just start picking out wallpaper for a K Street office? He’s dug in like a tick. I…
Parnell Announces Friday
Tomorrow, Sean Parnell will announce his political intentions for 2014. He’ll be in Fairbanks, the Golden Heart City, the city where his predecessor and boss Sarah Palin gave her final, rambling Quit Speech into what looked like the severed tail of a wolf, and stepped her Naughty Monkey pumps off the tiny annoying Alaska stage, and on to the big giant national one. Sean Parnell stood there dutifully, and silent. He pretended to like her big signature legislation. He smiled, and nodded. And he stepped into the governor’s mansion to finish out her term. He was quiet, and polite. He…
Senator Palin?
This message, sent to a select group of Tea Party Leadership Fund email subscribers leads off with a subject line that asks: Do the words “Senator Sarah Palin” excite you? Let’s pause for a moment, and look something up. ex·cite [ik-sahyt] verb (used with object), ex·cit·ed, ex·cit·ing. 1. to arouse or stir up the emotions or feelings of: to excite a person to anger; actions that excited his father’s wrath. 2. to arouse or stir up (emotions or feelings): to excite jealousy or hatred. 3. to cause; awaken: to excite interest or curiosity. 4. to stir to action; provoke or…
SB21 Repeal Referendum Certified!
After taking the maximum allowable time under the law (go figure), Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell certified the application for a referendum petition filed last week by Vote Yes – Repeal the Giveaway, a grassroots Alaskan group formed to challenge the controversial new law known as Senate Bill 21. The certification allows a signature drive to move forward to put this oil wealth giveaway to a vote of the people in 2014. The group is now waiting for petition booklets from the state. SB 21 dramatically lowers Alaskans’ oil income, transferring billions of dollars from resource owners to multinational oil companies. It…