Meet Your Republican Candidates, & Bring the Popcorn
It’s hard to know where to begin these days, but let’s start with something nasty that’s brewing which will directly affect the policy positions of Republican candidates, and tells us exactly what to expect if Republicans manage to take back the majority in the State House this November. HINT: It’s going to look a lot like the horrific beginning of last session only there won’t be anyone to stop it. WHAT AR THEY DUIN? A strained pun is about the best you can get out of the absolute fiscal disaster the Republican Party is cooking up. Remember when Tuckerman Babcock,…
Alaska Politicians Exposed – Stooges, Shills & Shenanigans
TALL TALES from Juneau and the DC Debacle AND IT’S ALLLL ON TAPE Sometimes you know things, but it’s nice to have them proven right out loud, through dramatic and surreptitious means. Such is the case with the immediately infamous “Pebble tapes.” If you haven’t heard them, make yourself a beverage and get ready to be a fly on the wall as your beautiful state and all its salmon get sold down the river (not the beautiful blue Nushagak of today – the contaminated, cyanide-filled Nushagak of tomorrow). We now know what our elected Republican leadership thinks of us,…
The COVID Caucus Out on the Town
ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE Let’s start off with a little Facebook gem from Rep. Steve Thompson (R-Fairbanks). It takes a look at the sunny side of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hey, you guys… Don’t think of it as 168,000 dead Americans – think of how many Americans are still alive! Considering that any day now, COVID-19 is going to be the third leading cause of death in the United States, it’s hard not to wonder when Rep. Thompson will stop thinking that the “panic is out of control.” And if you google Rep. Steve Thompson, here’s his weirdly ironic…
The ‘Law & Order’ Party Cheers AK Law Breakers
OH REEEEALLLLY… So, it seems that Don “I call it the beer virus” Young is perfectly happy to wear a mask in the White House for a photo op, just not in his own state to protect his constituents. Here he is at the elbow of the Maskless One, at the now famous bill signing where the President referred to Yosemite National Park as “Yo Semites.” The bill was signed in the hope that it might help the beleaguered candidacies of Republican Senators Cory Gardner of Colorado and Steve Daines of Montana. No Democrats were invited to the signing of…
Anchorage Assemblywoman – “Wear your mask!”
TALL TALES from Juneau and the D.C. Debacle OOPS After last week’s edition of Tall Tales hit your screen, Dan Sullivan let all Alaskans know how it feels when your United States Senator can’t even tell the difference between two civil rights icons that he served with in Congress. He expressed his obligatory regrets at the passing of Rep. John Lewis by posting a picture of himself in front of the Smithsonian’s new Musem of African-American History and Culture with… the late Rep. Elijah Cummings. He wasn’t the only one to make this cringe-worthy gaffe – His fellow Republican…
Wasilla GOP Candidate Forum Madness!
I WATCHED THE MAT-SU REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FORUM SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO Yep, I watched it all, courtesy of the video taken by the eponymously-named Republican blogger, “Politadick.” There’s no easy way to prepare you for this, so let’s just dive in. But first, a visit to the United States Flag Code: THE EMCEE: Mike Coons, recently reappointed by Gov. Dunleavy to the Alaska Commission on Aging hosted a Mat-Su candidate forum this past weekend. It took place at the Senior Center in Wasilla. Why isn’t the governor’s appointee to the Commission on Aging wearing a mask at an…
Sullivan, Murkowski & Young cry racism? WHAT?
Hey, Republicans – you’re doing it wrong. In a time when the most NON-political issues have become political third rails like, I dunno… basic hygiene during a pandemic, the Republican party never ceases to amaze. As the Black Lives Matter movement rolls forward, demanding that Alaskans and all Americans look hard at reforming our law enforcement agencies in the wake of decades of horrific inequities and violence against people of color, toxic seeds of racial division are being sown even by our Republican Congressional Delegation. Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. IT’S ONLY RACIST IF THERE’S OIL…
Alaska Republicans Say the Darndest Things
TALL TALES from Juneau Eyes on the Dunleavy Disaster NEVER LET A GOOD DISASTER GO TO WASTE That’s the hallmark of Republican politics. Remember the Patriot Act that got shoved through during the immediate aftermath of 9/11 – chock-full of provisions to trample civil liberties and violate the Constitution? It was basically ready to go, and waiting for an opportunity. Well, don’t think that COVID-19 isn’t going to have its own set of nefarious legislation that gets implemented during these days of crisis when people are looking the other way. We’ve already seen public money dumped into funding the private…
Juneau in the Time of Coronavirus
TALL TALES from Juneau Eyes on the Dunleavy Disaster Despite the slow-down in activity across the state, things have been hopping in Juneau. And as usual, most of the activity centers around the budget, the PFD, supplemental funding, and what to do with the limited funds we have. We’re cleaning up after a summer of natural disaster, and heading into an uncertain future of pandemic. And floor sessions in the House are the same old bare-knuckle fight we’ve become used to. This is because the minority wants you to know something. They want you to know that they really really…
Gov. wants to know if you’re “done venting” yet
You could practically hear the eye rolling as he stared at his watch. It’s hard to say when that might be; are we “done venting” about the horrendous cuts to the university system? Are we “done venting” about skyrocketing charges at the Pioneer Homes? Are we “done venting” at incompetent, partisan cronies, and conservative talk radio hacks making six figures? Are we “done venting” about disingenuous promises used to get into office? Are we “done venting” at extreme cuts to Medicaid, homeless services, pre-K, agriculture programs, and public safety? Thumbing his nose at the Constitution and rights of workers?…