Captain Zero Rides Again
Sean Parnell, who stepped into the steaming pile of leftover Palin in 2010, announced his intention to run for re-election this evening. He’s not finished wreaking havoc on the state budget, and draining our coffers into a giant oil drum. Thanks to his predecessor’s early departure, he can serve for a total of ten long years. “We have a great working team with us here in Juneau. We intend to build on that in Juneau. We intend to frame-in this opportunity for Alaskans by seeking re-election in 2014,” he said to loud applause. “I’m not ready to take the distraction…
Blinded Me with Science: Begich Town Hall Videos
Alaska Senator Mark Begich discussed issues ranging from guns, to veterans benefits. to the 800-pound gorilla in the room – Pebble Mine – in a town hall May 1st. Out of the 50 or so attending the open Q&A with the Senator, roughly half of them were wearing either a “No Pebble” button or sticker. Attendees of the town hall were not pleased with Sen. Begich’s “let’s wait for the science to come in” responses to Pebble Mine concerns. Sen. Begich also discussed plans to help veterans work through the problems at the Veterans Administration, and saving a local landmark from…
Don Young’s Legal Fees. Follow the Money.
Don Young’s second ethics investigation rolls along. The FBI investigated Alaska’s lone congressman, but in 2010 it said it didn’t have enough evidence to convict him and turned the whole thing over to the House Ethics Committee. They looked it all over, and decided to launch their own investigation in March of this year. He allegedly improperly accepted gifts, used campaign funds for personal use, and lied to federal officials. Say it ain’t so. So that means a whole host of new legal bills. Just this spring, Young forked over $60k from his legal defense fund to the DC law…
The Search for Spring – Day 2
Springquest. Day 2. I don’t think I have the discipline to do one of those 365 day photo projects. So, this one will be only until I feel that I’ve brought you, gentle reader, and me, raving lunatic, successfully to springtime. “But you do not sound like a raving lunatic,” you may be thinking. The reason you think that is because you did not see me this morning, as I sat in my usual spot on the loveseat at Mudflats Central, with my usual cup of coffee, looking up from my laptop out the window to see this. Uh-huh. Yeah….
Parnell Announces Friday
Tomorrow, Sean Parnell will announce his political intentions for 2014. He’ll be in Fairbanks, the Golden Heart City, the city where his predecessor and boss Sarah Palin gave her final, rambling Quit Speech into what looked like the severed tail of a wolf, and stepped her Naughty Monkey pumps off the tiny annoying Alaska stage, and on to the big giant national one. Sean Parnell stood there dutifully, and silent. He pretended to like her big signature legislation. He smiled, and nodded. And he stepped into the governor’s mansion to finish out her term. He was quiet, and polite. He…
May Day in Alaska (aka Come Help Me!)
It is May. I know this because the calendar sheet over there on my toolbar is sporting a big black “1.” It is May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, which celebrates the international labor movement. Solidarity to all workers everywhere. It is also May Day, the traditional day of several Spring Festivals in the Northern Hemisphere – the Celtic festival of Beltane and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night, for instance. Flowers are celebrated, poles are danced around, the woods are frolicked and cavorted in. The May Day it feels like in Alaska, is of a different sort. A…
Last Aurora Hunt of the Season?
A couple of nights ago the northern lights were suposed to be out in force, so I went north from Anchorage in search of my prey – Aurora Borealis. After driving over an hour north, pulling off into dark corners along the Glenn Highway. I thought, again the prediction maps were just a tease. So since I was already out wandering around in the darkness, I decided to find a spot and take some star trail photos. I stopped at Thunderbird Falls in the Chugach. The wind was occasionally biting, but it stayed in the high 30’s so I knew I’d…
Senator Palin?
This message, sent to a select group of Tea Party Leadership Fund email subscribers leads off with a subject line that asks: Do the words “Senator Sarah Palin” excite you? Let’s pause for a moment, and look something up. ex·cite [ik-sahyt] verb (used with object), ex·cit·ed, ex·cit·ing. 1. to arouse or stir up the emotions or feelings of: to excite a person to anger; actions that excited his father’s wrath. 2. to arouse or stir up (emotions or feelings): to excite jealousy or hatred. 3. to cause; awaken: to excite interest or curiosity. 4. to stir to action; provoke or…
The Trap
There’s a man who hates his job. Oh, there are lots of them but this guy can’t quit and his boss knows it. His son has asthma and has been in and out of the hospital since he was born. The job he hates includes health insurance for him and his family. He can’t be sure that health insurance at a different job would cover them. If he interviewed for a new job, and asked too many questions about health coverage, he might scare them off — fearful that he would drive their premiums even higher. The man can’t say…
Our Parks Create Stories
At the end of National Parks Week, when I have spent my busy week occupied with other thoughts, I had to force myself to slow down and think of how our National Park System has influenced my life over the years. This is something we should all do from time to time, because it is likely we can all find a thread that the parks have woven through our personal fabric over the years. The first unit of our National Park System I visited was Devil’s Tower National Monument in Wyoming, about a decade before Steven Spielberg made it famous…