Governor on the fire escape. This is not a good sign.
TALL TALES from Juneau (and beyond) Eyes on the Dunleavy/Babcock administration Forwarded from a friend? Join our email list HERE AND THE AWARD FOR BEST DRAMA GOES TO… The House Minority (which is filled with Republicans who refuse to work with their peers in the Majority coalition) shows once again why their Republican colleagues preferred to work with Democrats to actually get things done. Three minority members on the House Education Committee – Josh Revak (R-Anchorage), Ben Carpenter (R- Kenai), and DeLena Johnson (R-Palmer) decided that the vote their committee was about to take on the governor’s austerity budget, was…
Environmental Skulduggery is Afoot in Alaska
TALL TALES from Juneau… and BEYOND! PANTS ON FIRE! Reports are coming from far and wide that the new Senate Majority response to Alaskans who suggest revamping our oil tax credit structure is more or less this: “Oh, we got rid of oil tax credits. They’re gone. They don’t exist anymore. So… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Don’t know what you’re talking about!” Sorry, we call moose nuggets on that one. If anyone tries to flim-flam you with the “we don’t do that anymore” nonsense, here’s the deal. Cathy Giessel, Lora Reinbold, Shelley Hughes and others are regurgitating a bizarre talking point, and…
Ghosts in the Political Machine. No, really. Ghosts!
TALL TALES from Juneau Eyes on the Babcock/Arduin/Dunleavy administration Subscribe to TALL TALES here HOORAY! YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE GAY… Kelly Tshibaka, Gov. Dunleavy’s replacement pick for Commissioner of Administration (after first pick, Jonathan Quick, the “yogurt entrepreneur” was found to be lying on his resume) is certainly qualified for the job on paper. Nevertheless, she has some ideological issues which ought to raise serious concerns for someone wanting a position overseeing a very large and diverse government workforce. In 2002, Tshibaka (under her maiden name Kelly Hartline) wrote the following in the Harvard Law Record about “National…
Oh no they didn’t… the week in gaffes, goofs and OMGs
TALL TALES from Juneau Eyes on the Babcock/Arduin/Dunleavy administration Oh yes, they DID. It’s been a week of face-palm inducing, cringe-worthy, jaw-dropping gaffes and goofs in Juneau and beyond. It’s hard to know where to begin. So, we may as well start with the “beyond Juneau” part. SEN. DAN SULLIVAN The Senate Armed Services Committee recently questioned top generals on President Trump’s “national emergency” declaration along the U.S.-Mexico border. Sen. Dan Sullivan was unsurprisingly supportive of the national emergency. To justify this support, he asked U.S. Northern Command General Terrence O’Shaughnessy how many Americans were killed by opioid…
Alaska’s Fiscal False Choice – Don’t swallow it!
TALL TALES from Juneau Eyes on the Babcock/Dunleavy Administration Open up! FALSE CHOICES ARE YUCKY In case you haven’t noticed, Republicans are holding your nose and trying to shove a spoonful of false choice down your throat. And the false choice goes like this: Would you rather have: A full PFD, and a state with sub-par education, a crippled university, devastated health care and no viable transportation in southeast Alaska, OR A state you want to live in, and give up part of your PFD. But imagine if you will, a different choice, perhaps something like this: Would you rather…
Alaska Republicans Get What They Wish For. Aaaand it sucks.
TALL TALES from Juneau Eyes on the Babcock/Dunleavy Administration ‘Take it easy there, big fella’ Edition REPUBLICANS, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU TELL EVERYONE YOU WISH FOR We’ve been hearing for years now from Republicans in the legislature (after Parnell gave away the farm to the oil companies, and signed budgets that drained our billions in savings) about how we need to cut. Cut, cut, cut our way to prosperity, they said! The budget was cut by 40 percent, and STILL they said more cuts! Well, guess what? Republicans now have that balanced budget they’ve been yelling about, and…
The Commies did it!
TALL TALES from Juneau Eyes on the Babcock/Dunleavy administration The Commies did it edition (Re-posted with permission by the Alaska Democratic Party) I DIDN’T THINK ANYONE WOULD SEE ME ON THE INTERNET Well, the latest float in the parade of caustic, hyper-partisan, and ill-advised appointments by Governor Babcock has already come and gone. Tammy Randolph, we hardly knew ye. Yes, she has removed her name from consideration to be appointed to the University of Alaska Board of Regents. She said she was shocked and surprised that anyone would see her “private” (not private) Twitter account. We need…
TALL TALES from Juneau – The Catastrophic Failure Edition
**This post is reprinted with permission from the Alaska Democratic Party** If you miss the musings of Jeanne Devon, creator of The Mudflats, the good news is that she’s still writing – only this time it’s for the Alaska Democratic Party. She’s got a weekly (sometimes more) newsletter that will fill you in on all the “you can’t make this shit up” goings on in the great state of Alaska. If you originally came here for the Palin shenanigans, let’s just say you’re going to feel right at home. This is like the old “Oyster Roundup” Mudflats’ feature on steroids….
Return of Bird of the Week: Alder Flycatcher
Identification of flycatchers can be hard. Really hard. But now that we’re warmed up with all those yellow, black and white flycatchers, let’s continue our examination of some reallyhard birds: the infamous Empidonaxgenus, the “Emps.” Because after you’ve done Emps, nothing will seem as hard. Last week we looked at the Hammond’s Flycatcher. This week we’ll have a look at the Alder Flycatcher. This species has an impressive migration: it winters in South America, mostly in Brazil but as far south as Argentina. It’s a later arrival in the boreal forest, where it joins other Emps to torment birders. Here’s the…
Return of Bird of the Week: Hammond’s Flycatcher
Identification of flycatchers can be hard. Really hard. But now that we’re warmed up with all those yellow, black and white flycatchers, let’s look at some reallyhard birds: the infamous Empidonaxgenus, the “Emps.” Because after you’ve done Emps, nothing will seem as hard. In Alaska, at least. the commonest Emp is the Hammond’s Flycatcher. We’ll start there. All Empids are drab. All have pale eye rings and wing bars. Identification depends on subtle differences in voice, size, bill shape, the extent their primary wing feathers project beyond the tail, and tail length. Hammond’s Flycatcher, Empidonax hammondii, is small with a disproportionately large…