Dan Sullivan’s Website of Lies Continues
Ok, maybe that’s a bit of a dramatic title for this piece, as we’re not talking about something criminal, just criminally stupid. Over the past couple months I’ve written about many of DC Dan’s awkward photographic adventures into Alaska, eventually causing him enough shame to switch his photos to ones actually taken in Alaska. I thought DC Dan’s adventures were finally done – his campaign long out of the early stages, and running at full speed, raising hundred of thousands of dollars. I would have guessed that he might actually have gotten some researchers to join his staff, maybe even some locals…
The Oily Facts on Prop 1
By Peter Blanas Alaskans understand that oil is the economic cornerstone of our state. Alaskans are right to be concerned, that we have a healthy and productive oil and support industry. It’s also understood that the extraction of oil in the Arctic, is very difficult and expensive, and should come with a good return on investment. We want the industry to earn a healthy profit, along with Alaska, the resource owner. First, a look backward: Oil began flowing down the pipeline from the North Slope in 1977. Daily production peaked in 1988, at just over 2 million barrels a day,…
Bridge The Gulf with Alaska’s Riki Ott
Ed. Note: Please check out the wonderful work that’s being done at Bridge The Gulf. They’re one of the few groups really looking into the long term effects of BP’s oil spill and much more – witnessing what happened in Alaska thanks to Exxon unfold in the Gulf. Interview by Bridge The Gulf’s Cherri Foytlin “I will share my personal story of flying over the Exxon Valdez and seeing this little three-football-field-long tanker in a sea of oil, and going, ‘Okay, I am going to spend the rest of my life working on this and I am not going to go…
Palin Slams GOP Successor in Alaska
Hey, Alaska! Sarah Palin is back. She left our state’s politics in the dust after quitting office in 2009, but yesterday she returned to her favorite local media platform—The Bob & Mark Radio Show—to slam her successor and one-time Lt. Governor, Republican Sean Parnell. The bone she had to pick with him relates to her signature legislation as governor, Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share (ACES). The oil tax system that ushered Alaska’s bank account into golden days of plenty, with a savings of more than $17 billion, ACES funded subsequent investments in roads, schools, and critical infrastructure projects. Under ACES,…
TransCanada Says Tar Sands Flowing to Gulf in Keystone XL South
For First Time, TransCanada Says Tar Sands Flowing to Gulf in Keystone XL South (via Desmogblog) Mon, 2014-05-05 10:33Steve Horn TransCanada admitted for the first time that tar sands oil is now flowing through Keystone XL’s southern leg, now rebranded the Gulf Coast Pipeline Project. The company confirmed the pipeline activity in its 2014 quarter…
First Comes Exxon, Then Comes God – Mayflower Arkansas hit by Tornado
Mayflower: Deadly Tornado Sweeps Through Arkansas Town That Endured ExxonMobil Tar Sands Pipeline Spill in 2013 (via Desmogblog) Mon, 2014-04-28 16:59Steve Horn On March 29, 2013, ExxonMobil’s Pegasus tar sands pipeline ruptured in Mayflower, Arkansas, sending hundreds of thousands of gallons of diluted bitumen (“dilbit”) pouring down the town’s streets. Now, just over a…
“Russia with Love”: Alaska Gas Scandal is Out-of-Country, Not Out-of-State
“Russia with Love”: Alaska Gas Scandal is Out-of-Country, Not Out-of-State (via Desmogblog) Fri, 2014-04-18 10:28Steve Horn A legal controversy — critics would say scandal — has erupted in Alaska’s statehouse over the future of its natural gas bounty. It’s not so much an issue of the gas itself, but who gets to decide how it gets to…
Show Me Your Budget
Show me a political flyer in Alaska and I’ll show you a candidate whose only reason for living is supporting the Permanent Fund and education, and fighting “government waste.” There’s an old saying, “Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” This week we got to see what the Republican majority in the Alaska Senate values. Rest assured, their budget, written by Sen. Pete Kelly, does not value birth control for irresponsible women. In fact, amendments to accept millions in federal funds for family planning — to actually reduce abortions —…
GOP Leader Threatens Sexual Assault Council
Speaker of the House Mike Chenault (R-Nikiski) is throwing rape victims under the train to get the governor’s out-of-state buddy on an Alaska gasline board. You’ve got to hand it to him; the lengths to which he will go to demonstrate his lack of common decency are not half-assed. In a state where 37 percent of women report having experienced sexual violence, and where rape statistics are three times the national average, Mike Chenault proves that for those like himself, there are more important things. Like getting the governor’s Texas buddy on the gasline board. The premise of Chenault’s latest legislative…