Pop, Ooze, Dung, and the Alaska Personnel Board.
Lots of good stuff floating around the internets. Here’s a little smorgasbord of tasty treats you may have missed. POP! Gubernatorial candidate Bob Poe wrote an excellent compass piece for the Anchorage Daily News that begins like this: I support equal rights for all people. And I support banning discrimination in Anchorage due solely to someone’s sexual orientation. I support a comprehensive equal rights ordinance because it’s the right thing to do, period. Sh. sh. shhh. Listen. Do you hear those faint little noises, like Pop Rocks? Remember all those people in red shirts who testified at the Anchorage Assembly…
Netroots – Turning Red Districts Blue: Organizing for Change
One of my favorite panels at Netroots Nation was the panel discussion entitled Turning Red Districts Blue: Organizing for Change. Panelists were David Atkins (moderator), Darcy Burner, Adam Lambert, Democracy for America’s Arshad Hasan, Matt Browner Hamlin, and Eden James. Matt Browner Hamlin spoke about his time as Mark Begich’s online communications director in the 2008 campaign. MBH: The challenge in Alaska is how do you get from a population which is only 23% Democratic to a vote of 50% +1. It was a big hurdle. Most Alaskans are registered as Non-Partisan. What helped the Begich campaign was the…
Sarah Palin – On to a “Higher Calling”
It’s Quittin’ Time here in Alaska. Yes, according to our almost former executive-in-chief, we’re yesterdays news. Tossed like an old banana peel on the compost pile of past political ambition. Cast off like an old peep-toe pump with a broken heel. Jilted. So, why are we so happy? It’s kind of like being dumped by someone who was really bad for you anyway. Sure there are some hurt feelings. Didn’t we measure up? Weren’t we worth fighting for? “It’s not you, it’s me?” What does the Lower 48 have that we don’t? Is it the money? But, you said you…
Palin Hands Alaska to the Dems?
Is it true? She said she was doing the best thing for Alaska when she quit, and by gum, she just might be right! The soon-to-be official resignation of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) could hand Democrats a legitimate pickup opportunity, according to a recent poll in the Last Frontier obtained by the Fix. The survey, which was conducted by Global Strategy Group, showed Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell (R) at 41 percent to former state Sen. Ethan Berkowitz‘s (D) 40 percent — a statistical dead heat. Democrats held the Alaska governorship from 1994 until 2002 as Gov. Tony Knowles (D)…
Palin’s Milllllions of Dollars!
Part of Palin’s reason for quitting the governorship, so she says, is financial. Why should the state be spending “million of dollars” in dealing with “frivolous ethics complaints” and frivolous lawsuits and just general…frivolity? Heck, according to the governor, the frivolity takes up 80% of the administration’s time these days. And that’s a lot! Think for a moment what we could be doing with that money. We could be funding the State Troopers! No, we haven’t really done that before, but we could do it now. We could fund teachers! OK, we wanted to cut that stimulus money for education,…
Buckle Up. The Palin Transition Begins.
OK folks, here we go. Rub your palms briskly on your face, and shake out your arms. The Palin transition begins… So, last February, Sarah Palin appointed someone to be third in line for the governor’s office. That someone was Wasilla High School pal Joe Schmidt, Commissioner of the Department of Corrections. An odd choice for several reasons. But nevertheless, it’s the governor’s prerogative to choose, and he was confirmed by the legislature. Now presumably, whomever accepts the position of #3 in line to the throne is thinking … “Wow. If anything happens, like the governor deciding to run for…
Palin Wonders Why Sudden Resignation is Such a “Darn Big Deal?”
After Friday’s stunning announcement that in a few weeks she is quitting the governorship, 18 months before her first term is up, Sarah Palin has gone fishin’. Kate Snow from ABC News has caught up with her near Dillingham, where Palin told her that she didn’t understand why the sudden resignation of a first term sitting governor who is rumored to be a contender for her party’s presidential nominee in the next election cycle is “such a darn big deal.” Really. You can see the video clip from ABC News HERE. Palin: Conditions have really changed in Alaska in the…
The Voice Speaks – Van Flein Whiffs
The source of all the RUMORS about strange dealings with the Palin family, the Wasilla Sports Complex and the Palin house in Wasilla that was built by Todd Palin and some contractor “buddies” all sourced back to an article last October that appeared in the Village Voice. Well now….the Voice speaks. (I love that) There reflections on the latest Palin flailin’ is an article entitled: Palin’s Team Takes Swing at Voice, Whiffs. Sarah Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein spent his July 4 in Fairbanks, Alaska, issuing a four-page statement warning news organizations not to investigate allegations printed by the Voice last…
New Ethics Complaint Filed Against Gov. Palin – Per Diem for Personal Gain
Wasilla resident Zane Henning will be filing an ethics complaint today against soon-to-be-ex-governor Sarah Palin for continuing to collect per diem expenses from the State of Alaska while still living in, and commuting from her own home. One of the things that will still be getting some attention from government watchdogs, and legislators are possible changes that need to be addressed in the Ethics Act and/or State Law. Sarah Palin may be heading for the exit doors, but Alaska residents will have many governors to come. Like George Bush, who left the door wide open for potential abuses by his…
Open Thread – Where Was Sarah?
Residents in Juneau felt left in the lurch on the 4th of July. Where was the governor? The governor spent the Fourth of July weekend in Juneau but was only spotted briefly on the sidelines of the capital city’s parade. She had been invited to ride in a convertible, as she did last year, but never told organizers whether she would attend. Juneau parade director Jean Sztuk said officials drew up banners in case Palin showed and was willing to take part. As the last of the parade’s clowns and marching bands headed past her, Sztuk gave up on Palin….