IMPORTANT: TODAY — Redistricting Plan Public Testimony in Anchorage!
Redistricting is going on across the country as a result of the 2010 Census. It is the single most important political event happening this year because these are the districts we’ll all be voting in for the next 10 years. Lucky us…the way that Alaska’s Board selection is set up gave us 4 Republicans out of 5 members this time! So, you can imagine how some of the proposed districts look. Example: in Board Option 2, Sen. Wielechowski’s District J moves from Muldoon, Mountain View and Wonder Park (traditionally more Progressive areas) farther north to the military base and Eagle…
Oyster Roundup! Guns, Money and Cheese…
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! Pass the Bree Hey, remember when Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan “favorited” a porn star on Twitter last year? It was quite an entertaining tale, and you can refresh your memory HERE. Little did we know that the story would have a Chapter 2, and become more entertaining still. You see, it turns out that Mayor Sullivan’s favoritest porn star has now shed her porn name, and become (are you sitting down?) one of Charlie Sheen’s two “goddesses.” That’s right boys and girls… Sully’s Bree Olson is now…
Alaska Governor Sean Parnell’s Big Oil Bailout
~Senator Bill Wielechowski explains ACES *ATTENTION BLOGGERS – If you have a blog, and would like to repost this article in its entirety including links, photos, and attribution, please feel free to do so. This is important information, and it’s never easy going against the well-funded falsehoods continually pushed forward by the oil companies. Often, the truth is free and the lies cost a lot of money. So, help yourself and pass it on. You can also post the link in your Facebook page, or post the link in a Tweet. Thanks! By Thomas Dewar and Jeanne Devon “Each…
Voices from the Flats – Orwellian Juneau and Sean Parnell’s $2B Oil Tax Rollback
By Rep. Les Gara (D-Anchorage) The slick oil tax ads are starting. And when political ads begin, you start to wonder whether telling a fib is cheaper than telling the truth. Well, because political ads cost lots of money, and they tend to be more fib than truth. So, fibbing must be cheaper than telling the truth, right? Or, maybe in politics it’s just more effective to mislead people. Nah. No one would ever do that. Not when billions in state oil revenue are at stake. As you know, the governor has proposed the biggest oil company tax rollback in…
Broken Promises – YOU Can Help Tell the Story of the Yukon (VIDEO)
~Filmmaker Dennis Zaki & the Mudflats Moose at the top of the world – Barrow, Alaska. next to the famous whale bone arch. Mudflatters may remember our friend and filmmaker Dennis Zaki. We, and other progressive Alaskan blogs raised money to help send Dennis to the Yukon River village of Emmonak. Dennis flew to Emmonak to record a story. It was a story of how the Native people of the area were suffering a very difficult winter. Record cold temperatures froze the Yukon early, keeping scheduled shipments of fuel from reaching their destination. The resulting soaring prices in heating oil…
Debate Night!
I’m sitting at the KTUU Gubernatorial (and soon Senatorial) debate at the Alaska Native Heritage Center. You can view it live on KTUU Channel 2, or live streaming at KTUU.com I’ll be watching live, but feel free to blog it in the comments. I’ve forgotten my laptop, but Mudflatter Writing from Alaska has loaned me hers to start you off! The room is full of the hardest of the hard core supporters from all the camps and it promises to be a lively evening. So, pop the corn and cozy up!
Election 2010: There’s Only One Road to Transparency in Alaska…
In June of 2009 I embarked on an idealistic journey. Thanks to many Alaskans and folks across the country, I was able to raise enough money so that the State of Alaska would release the Records Request they had been sitting on for months. When the emails arrived and the only “good stuff” was redacted or witheld due to bogus-sounding claims of “privilege,” I was not worried. I was sure that as soon as the email lawsuits brought by Andree McLeod and Don Mitchell against Palin were resolved (in McLeod/Mitchell’s favor…no one thought otherwise), I would then be able…
Politics v. Policy – The Wrong Side Wins With Berkowitz’s “Visionary Plan”
Until last week, we believed that both Democratic candidates for governor were good choices. We believed that both put the interests of Alaskans first, supported Democratic achievements, and could be effective leaders working across the aisle to pass legislation and to support policy and existing legislation that benefited the people of Alaska. Many of our readers support Hollis French. Many of our readers support Ethan Berkowitz. But very few had substantial angst about the other. But last week something happened that rocked the boat, and by ‘rocked the boat’ we mean pitched the boat to the point where a lot…
Oyster Roundup!
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! Time? Late. Time Magazine is a tad late to the party on this one. At Techpresident, Nancy Scola dives into the numbers from Palin’s political action committee, Sarah PAC. Among the expenses? $22,000 to the firm Aries Petra Consulting, including $10,000 in June for “Grassroots/Communication Consulting” and $6,000 a month in April in May for “Consulting Internet, Message.” “Aries Petra is helmed by Rebecca Mansour, described by Politico’s Ken Vogel as ‘a Los Angeles screenwriter and political neophyte whose creation of the popular cheerleading blog Conservatives4Palin endeared…