EXCLUSIVE: FBI Informant Tells All – Part 3
We last left Bill Fulton working undercover for the FBI. After he was asked to make contact with militia leader Schaeffer Cox, now convicted on weapons charges and conspiracy to commit murder, Fulton recalled a disturbing meeting. He was in Fairbanks, attending a sale and fundraising event hosted by his own Anchorage military supply store and security company Drop Zone, and held at Far North Tactical, a similar store in Fairbanks, owned by his friend Aaron Bennett who had his own militia group in the area. Fulton’s initial conversation with Cox led him to believe that Cox had “gone crazy.”…
Gov Kills Palin’s Climate Change Sub-Cabinet
Here’s another reason why Sarah Palin was a better governor than Sean Parnell. (SPOILER ALERT: He killed an entire sub-cabinet, and never bothered to tell the public) Remember that special group Palin created to address the warming of Alaska due to climate change, and the threats this poses to Alaska’s coastal communities? It’s easy to forget, but it was 2007 when the Palin administration created that group, after she expressed her concern over the unwelcome changes that global warming was bringing to the state. They even had an “Immediate Action Plan” for the most at-risk from sea level rise, loss…
Parnell Dumps Citizens’ Initiative Overboard
This just in from the Alaska Democratic Party. Republicans overthrowing the will of the people to serve their own self-interest and that of their corporate donors? I’m shocked. Shocked, I say. Today House Republicans passed Gov. Parnell’s bill to allow discharge of sewage and untreated wastewater in Alaska waters, repealing a provision of the 2006 citizen initiative that protected Alaskans’ health and state fisheries. Parnell’s bill would allow the release approximately 1,064,448,000 gallons of sewage and wastewater into Alaska state waters every year. Republicans rejected Democratic amendments which would have required disclosure of the location of sewage discharges and protected…
Government Funding for Mat-Su Madrassa?
That’s what the Christian Conservatives are pushing for this legislative session, even if they’re too obtuse to know it. Chalk up another one to the Constitutionalists of Convenience – you know, conservatives who squawk and flap about libruls and leftists who want to “shred the Constitution,” and then turn around and fire up the shredding machine for the very document they purport to love. The fair-weather founding father fans now have their sights on one of the hallmarks of the Alaska Constitution – public education. The Alaska Constitution specifically prohibits using public money to fund religious schools. It’s quite clear….
Senator Micciche: Delusions Of Grandeur
Last Sunday, in my Anchorage Daily News column, I wrote about the conflict of interest of newly minted Senator Peter Micciche. A Republican from Soldotna, Mr. Micciche works for Conoco Phillips and has for decades. He now sits on the Resource Committee — one of the most powerful in the Senate, and not only is he a member, he’s vice-chairman of the special sub-committee reviewing the bill to slash oil taxes. I was hoping the Senator would realize, because of the conflict of his employer, he wouldn’t be allowed on a jury or as a judge. How does he not…
Happy Marmot Day!
We don’t know what rodent you folks celebrate in the Lower 48, but in Alaska today is officially Marmot Day. And while the question of whether or not we’ll have six more weeks of winter is generally laughable in a state where you’re not allowed to complain unless it’s still snowing in May, today is looking mighty spring-like in this corner of the Last Frontier. For those of you curious about the origin and purpose of Marmot Day, there is an amusing Wikipedia entry detailing Senate Bill 58, and how it came to be. Senate Bill 58, sponsored by Sen. Linda…
Pebble Has Rocks in Head
Behold the latest gripe from the Pebble Partnership about the oh-so-restrictive permitting process required to put the largest open pit copper and gold mine on the planet at the headwaters of the planet’s largest wild salmon fishery. The project requires permits for lots of things. It pays to be assured someone knows what they’re doing when they have to build 700 foot tall earthen dams that will last forever in a highly active seismic zone, holding back giant lakes of poison from a thriving fishery. You know, stuff like that. Check out the latest. We know they’d like to compare…
Senate 2014 – Begich v. Palin?!
Here’s a little bright spot for Alaska Democrats. I know, right? How often to you hear THAT? Harper Polling, a Republican-leaning outfit, has done a survey in Alaska of 1157 likely voters. They asked about hypothetical match-ups in the 2014 senate race, in which giddy Republicans are lining up to take on freshman Democratic Senator Mark Begich. The poll was taken on January 29 – 30. After Begich’s narrow win in 2008 over Senator Ted Stevens, who at the time was a 7-time convicted felon, the right has had their knickers in a twist over the “illegitimacy” of Begich’s win….
Dems Vote to Begin Recall of Holmes
By Michelle Scannell Approximately 50 District 19 residents gathered tonight, and voted to begin the recall process against Representative Lindsey Holmes (D—>R). In a meeting that was led by temporary District Chair (and former Anchorage assemblyman and mayor) Matt Claman, people-Undeclared, Independent, and Democrats, voted overwhelmingly to get the wheels of democracy moving against the Turnagain Turncoat for her recent actions, in which she switched her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican before even being sworn in to office. Scorn was heaped upon Holmes as she was called “traitor,” “thief,” “corrupt,” “unethical,” “Lindsey the Liar,” “Benedict Holmes,” and my personal…
Oyster Roundup! Mush, Mountains & Miscreants
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! We’ve got irons in the fire, and as one of our editors put it, “enough on our plates to feed a third world country.” So enjoy a platter of newsy sliders to tide you over until we get back into full swing this weekend. Mush and Track The Yukon Quest 1,000 mile international sled dog race starts on Saturday in Whitehorse, Yukon. It’s a tough field this year, and fans are gearing up for what should be an exciting competition. It will be easier to track…