Mittpocrisy: Israel & Health Care
“As president, I will restore our relationship with Israel and stand shoulder to shoulder with our close ally.” Thus spoke Mitt Romney today, in a lame attempt to get himself into the media’s DNC narrative. This piece, dear Mudpups, is not about the Israel-Palestine debate. That discussion occurs, usually heatedly, in plenty of other places, and has for quite some time. This is about duplicity, about being on both sides of every issue, and in a feat of mind-blowing mental gymnastics, contradicting one’s own lies This is about a man who will say absolutely anything to anyone, and take any position…
RIP, RNC. AK at DNC in NC!
Well, it was quite a week. Hurricane Isaac was the featured guest of the non-first night of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Then we were treated to days of hearing the sad tales of long-suffering Republicans who had to sell some stock to get by in their early years, and stories of struggle and fear that if they couldn’t make it, they’d be forced to rely on their wealthy and supportive families to come to the rescue. And worst of all, they had to eat… TUNAfish, and PASTA. Ohhh, the humanity. Ann Romney never quite said, “I feel…
The (Real) Job Creators
I’ve never been a member or employee of a union. But I don’t cross picket lines, I don’t vote against school bonds, and I always side with labor against hostile employers and politicians. I don’t take these positions just out of charitable solidarity, but also because it’s in my self interest. I want the person who educates my two young children every school day to be well paid. We can’t claim that our kids and our future are really important, and then insist the person who helps shape them should be paid low wages. I don’t want to live in…
In My Alaska Garden: Eating the Harvest
Being sick for almost 5 weeks sucks. Thank goodness my family helped me with the hoop house. This week, I finally gave up and went to the doc for my antibiotic treatment. I’ve been on 3 days and while the cough hasn’t stopped and I still feel drained from that, I’m feeling a little better overall. Of course, it’s just in time to take care of Morrigan, who seems to have gotten a much lighter version…probably because she had her booster for Whooping Cough last year. Dang…I’m sounding like my grandma… The good news about this is I didn’t feel…
Eastwood, Palin and the Long Goodbye
Tropical Storm Isaac put a damper on the first day of the Republican National Convention. But nothing hit Tampa by surprise quite as much as what happened on the last day. Tuesday, it was announced that a special mystery guest speaker would appear before Mitt Romney on the final night of the convention. The most famous of the small tribe of Hollywood Republicans, Clint Eastwood took the stage. Dirty Harry looked a little more like Crazy Uncle Harry as he stood on the podium. But he’s 82, after all, and it happens to the best of them. The difference is…
Alaska Primary Wrap Up
Another election, another night at Election Central. This party was subdued overall, with only one or two over-eager campaigns doing the march with signs, balloons, and volunteers. Lora Reinbold, and Shelley Hughes had teams of people. Hughes also had a guy in some kind of unitard that covered his face completely in blue spandex. Not sure what was going on there, but I realized later that I’d been a bit disturbed and fled the scene before snapping a picture of him. There were quite a few candidates there, even those who had not faced a primary challenger. TV stations were…
Vernons Plead Guilty to Conspiracy
Lonnie Vernon, 56, and Karen Vernon 66, a couple from Salcha, Alaska, wore matching yellow jumpsuits when they appeared in court to plead guilty to count 1 of an 8 count indictment, conspiring to murder federal officials – Judge Ralph Beistline, and IRS officer Janice Stowell. Beistline had ruled against the couple in a tax case in which Stowell was also involved. Lonnie Vernon was one of three defendants, with Schaeffer Cox and Coleman Barney, in the recent 2-4-1 Fairbanks militia trial, where he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder of federal employees, and conspiracy to posses silencers…
On Quilt Squares and Life
By Kellie Coulson Several years ago I was a single mother going to a church where a founding family was getting ready to leave the state. Several months before their departure, a committeewoman gave me a 10” square and a cardboard heart with instructions to do something with the square and to create a heart on it however I wanted, as that square would be part of a quilt to represent my family on a church quilt. I went to a local fabric store with my little daughters and was directed to an area where women were poring over…
Akin Just Saying What GOP Thinks
I’m getting really tired of the pile-on of Missouri Congressman Todd Akin. He isn’t being treated fairly, and I think it should stop. During an interview Mr. Akin answered a question regarding his views on abortion. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” The idea of ladies having a Venomous Venus Flytrap-like apparatus that slams shut when there’s an unwanted intruder sounds awesome. It’s not true. Last year 32,000 American women were impregnated after being raped. “Legitimately.” OK, women — we’re kind of mysterious. Most guys didn’t watch those…
Militia Defendant & Wife Will Change Plea
Lonnie Vernon, one of three defendants in the recent 2-4-1 militia trial, and his wife Karen, are currently charged with an alleged plot to murder a federal judge overseeing a tax case against the couple. According to court documents filed on Thursday, they will be changing their pleas on Monday in U.S. District Court. Of the eight counts against them, it is unclear which plea(s) they will change. There were eight counts filed against Lonnie Vernon including charges of conspiracy to murder federal officials, threatening to murder family members of a federal judge, conspiracy to possess an unregistered firearm and…