Alaska Gets Gouged
I’m never surprised by the unabashed glee with which those on the right shill for the rich and powerful, but the Republican support for the fuel price gougers here in Alaska has even me flabbergasted. Alaska’s gas prices are through the roof. Why? Oiligopoly. Two refiners control virtually 100 percent of the gasoline market — with Tesoro controlling 80 percent and Flint Hills, owned by the Koch brothers, controlling 20 percent. You know the Koch brothers: job creators extraordinaire. They’ve enjoyed a decade of low taxes, fired 13,000 workers since 2007 and seen their net worth skyrocket from $34 billion…
Shell Drill Ship Runs Aground (updated)
Remember last week when Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said, “I don’t believe there will be an oil spill?” He was talking about Shell’s offshore arctic drilling in the Beaufort and Chuckchi Seas. I wonder if anyone asked Ken Salazar if he “believed” that Shell wouldn’t even be able to get the drill rig to the drilling site without running it aground? Because, guess what? It did. Well, they didn’t say it “ran aground.” The official story from Shell’s spokesman Curtis Smith (who may or may not be Sarah Palin’s former spokesman Curtis Smith) was: “Today, while moored off the…
Young Denies Existence of Big Trees
~Photo of delusional person by John Schoen. Do NOT believe your lyin’ eyes. This post is about Don Young. Periodically, Alaska’s one and only congressman makes it a point to embarrass the thinking residents of his fine state. Some times it’s by yelling at his fellow legislators, or insulting them. Sometimes it’s an outlandish stunt like banging the penis bone of a walrus on the table while the House is in session, or wearing a propeller beanie to demonstrate how silly wind power is. But this one is just bizarre. And for Don Young, that’s saying something. But first, let’s…
“Potentially uncounted” Municipal Ballots Found
Just when you thought the Anchorage municipal election of April 3, 2012 had come to a completely unsatisfying and maddening conclusion, there’s this. Sent out to the press at 6:30 on a Friday night (where news stories go to die) was an announcement from City Hall which ironically began: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE And followed up with this: “Anchorage Assembly Chair Ernie Hall and Municipal Clerk Barbara Jones announce that 141 potentially uncounted ballots in total from three precincts in the April 3, 2012 municipal election were located in precinct election bags on July 11, 2012. The 141 ballots were found…
Convicted Militiaman Schaeffer Cox Fires Attorney
Schaeffer Cox, who was recently found guilty in federal court on multiple counts including conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, and various weapons charges, has fired his attorney Nelson Traverso. In papers filed today, Traverso moved to withdraw from the case since Cox has discharged him from representation. “Mr. Cox is extremely dissatisfied with counsel’s representation and expressly requests that any further attorney-client representation be terminated,” Traverso said in his motion to withdraw from the case. He has been Cox’s attorney since March 23, 2011. Cox, who is currently being held at the Anchorage Correctional…
Dear Mr. President, “I believe,” is not good policy
An open letter to President Barack Obama: Dear Mr. President, As a woman who worked very hard to make sure your last opponents were not elected — walking door to door in the snow on your behalf, registering more than a thousand Alaskans to vote, exposing Palin in the national media, etc. — I feel obligated to write you about a few of my concerns. Your secretary of the interior, Ken Salazar, recently told reporters asking about Shell’s recent drilling permits and Alaska’s Arctic, “I believe there’s not going to be an oil spill.” Sir, he just wrote the headline for the first oil spill under…
Arctic in Crisis
By Rick Steiner The Arctic is one of most pristine and unique regions of our planet, but it is now in crisis from two serious threats — climate change and industrialization. As sea ice retreats, the Arctic has become the “wild wild north” — a last frontier for a failed development paradigm that has ravaged much of the rest of the biosphere. And while governments and industry say they will develop the Arctic “responsibly,” their actions so far suggest otherwise. On climate change, things have quickly gone from bad to worse. The Arctic is warming at twice the rate…
Ghost Pots Haunt Bering Sea Crab Fishery
The ocean has many woes. Over-fishing, acidification, heavy metals, plastic and styrofoam, oil spills, marine mammal endangerment, mining near water bodies, and climate change, just to name some of them. But here’s one you don’t hear about very often that affects one of our favorite gifts from the sea – Alaska crab. For those who have never seen a crab pot, they are huge metal and net contraptions that cost between $1000 and $1500 a piece. They sit on the sea floor, collecting and trapping crab that dwell on the bottom. They are secured by heavy lines and marked by…
The Soldier, The Sailor & The Senator
Prisoner #313052 was wounded and, a few days later, taken captive by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge. A member of the 86th and 28th Infantry Divisions during World War II, George Chilton aka “dad” would later be liberated by the Russians and awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his service. He never did claim the Bronze Star. He said he didn’t like to think about what he had to do to earn it. And thus, ever since I was a young girl, I was made aware that there are ordinary people who do extraordinary things…
Sully Goes Viral!
Well, look at that. Mayor Dan Sullivan’s decision to skip town and take his oath of office in Hawaii has, apparently, gone viral. None other than First Lady Lynette Sullivan has sprung to his defense. She piped up in the comment section of the Anchorage Daily News to quell the rumblings of Anchorage citizens who thought that the Mayor actually ought to put his official duties first, and his tropical vacation second. It’s worth reading, just to see if you can manage to keep your lunch down. My comments (as always) are in red. ********************* Hello Anchorage! This is First Lady…