Rep. Lindsay Holmes Switches Parties
Who’s that in the portrait you ask? Well, let me get my glasses. It’s either Benedict Arnold or State Rep. Lindsey Holmes – it’s kind of hard to tell. Lindsey Holmes, you see, was just elected in November in a strong Democratic district (one of the few in Alaska). She was elected as a Democrat, by mostly Democrats, to BE a Democrat. But she decided that after she’d begged for money from Democrats, denied another actual Democrat (whose color doesn’t run) a chance at the seat, and got ELECTED as a Democrat… that she’d just rather be a Republican. Yes,…
2012 Parting Shots
If you live in the Lower 48, you may be under the illusion that your state knows how to do “trashy” and “no way—that’s not for real!” It doesn’t. Not compared to Alaska. So sit back with some popcorn and check out the pros. Parenting Fail If you’re going to engage your own son in LSD-fueled hand-to-hand combat in the street over a woman (!), at least don’t do it in the nude. In Spenard, that makes you such a cliché. Poor Kids Get Baked Speaking of excessive nudity, House Finance Co-Chair Bill Stoltze refused to allow a vote on…
AK Must Redraw District Map
Remember the new district map for Alaska? Well, it has had a tumultuous, though brief life span. Some hated it, some disliked it, some said it was fair, and a lot of Democrats clutched their pearls and gasped, “Don’t make a stink, because it could be worse!” Um. Worse than losing the bipartisan coalition in the senate, and maintaining a solid minority in the house? Gee, I’m glad we didn’t go there. Well, the kerfuffle over the map went all the way to the Alaska Supreme Court, and the divided opinion said … (drumroll please) … Back to the drawing…
Leg Office Space for Hate Group?
It’s not every day that an experienced legislative staffer gets ousted, and banned for life from rehire by the legislature. What could cause such a response from the Committee on Legislative Ethics in the Alaska State House? How about literally giving legislative office space and the keys to the Legislative Offices to some guy from an anti-muslim hate group? Oh, you Mat-Su Republicans can still surprise me after all these years. Before the start of the new legislative session, Rep. Shelley Hughes (R-Palmer) has announced the “resignation” of her Chief of Staff Karen Sawyer after the ruling came down. Hughes…
Parnell Pounds the Table
There’s an old saying, “When the facts are on your side, pound the facts. When the law is on your side, pound the law. When neither is on your side, pound the table.” But in Alaska, when it comes to cutting oil taxes, that strategy really isn’t a winner. With all-time high levels of employment and investment on the North Slope, and the oil companies raking in record profits, the facts are definitely not on the side of the Big Oil Tax Giveaway. With a constitution that requires Alaska to reap the maximum benefit for our natural resources, the law…
Alaska Readies for Voter Photo ID Bill
Rep. Bob Lynn, R-Anchorage, the chairman of the House State Affairs Committee, reportedly plans to introduce a voter photo ID requirement in the Alaska Legislature. He says this photo ID law isn’t based on the so-called “model statute” developed by the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council, a national organization that promotes conservative model legislation. Even though Lynn is a member of ALEC. In state where village residents, who famously vote Democratic, don’t have or need a photo ID, this law will provoke a lawsuit before the ink is dry on Captain Zero’s signature. It’s all about equal protection. If you have a photo…
Pozonsky-Gate Demands Answers
I hate messy breakups, and boy did we have one this week. Former Pennsylvania Judge Paul Pozonsky resigned as a workers’ compensation hearing officer for the State of Alaska Thursday, just days after I started asking exactly how he got hired. Pozonsky apparently got the job after a closed application process was reopened just long enough for him to apply. For some reason, the fact that the former judge was under investigation by a Pennsylvania grand jury for ordering the destruction of evidence in 17 court cases, and that he resigned from the job last June after being stripped of…
OMG! Liberal Palin Freak Out!
I think I heard something… That familiar grinding sound like when you’ve worn through a pair of brake shoes. Shhh… Hear that? Ah! Yes. I’ve got it. That metal on metal noise used to be Alaska’s governor. She’s managed to grab a moment in the spotlight again by… wait for it… saying dumb stuff. Shocking. After the last election cycle in which her party was soundly thrashed, she lost her one remaining claim to anything remotely serious. She’s now no longer the immediate past Republican Vice Presidential nominee. That embarrassing mantle is now worn by Congressman Paul Ryan. That makes…
Parnell Hiring Scandal leads back to Dyson, Kopp, Palin
Chuck Kopp, Chief of Staff to Republican State Senator Fred Dyson, and a two-week Palin administration official, dismissed over a sex scandal is now at the center of another firestorm – the controversial hiring of his brother-in-law Paul Pozonsky by the Parnell administration. Pozonsky, a Pennsylvania judge under investigation for destroying evidence (including crack cocaine and cash) in 17 criminal cases was hired by the Parnell administration as an Alaska hearings officer. He was given the job despite his late application, the fact that the current investigation has stripped him of his ability to hear cases, and that he was…
Recounting the Vote
Just when you thought it was over, it looks like two close races will be counted again. Ah. Ah. Ah. Senate candidate Bob Bell from Anchorage has requested a recount of his race with Hollis French. Bell lagged by 54 votes, and Senator French wasn’t surprised by the request, saying he’d probably do the same thing if the situation was reversed. [Side Note: I finally figured out why the name Bob Bell rings a … well, you know. Bob Bell was also the name of the actor who played Bozo the Clown from 1960 to 1984. I’m not necessarily saying…