SCOTUS Sticks it to Alaskans
Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court of the United States decided on a 5-4 vote to gut the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has a central provision, Section 5, that requires some state and local governments, mostly in the South, and also in Alaska, to get permission from the Justice Department or a federal court before making changes in their voting laws. Indeed, it was the Voting Rights Act that was at the heart of successful efforts to stop states attempting to cut back on early voting hours and instituting voter identification laws that would have dramatically affected minority…
Mead’s In. Lt Gov. Treadwell announces for Senate Run
To nearly no ones surprise Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell has announced that he has filed the necessary paperwork to run for the US Senate in the 2014 Republican Primary. So now we’ve got Joe Miller and Mead Treadwell running to unseat incumbent Mark Begich. Should be an interesting election season. Question is, if Mead loses, will he bow out with grace or run an ugly independent run like a certain other Senator. Below the photo is Treadwell’s announcement from his site – which is now www.TreadwellAlaska2014.com STATEMENT BY ALASKA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR MEAD TREADWELL Lt. Gov. announces he will not seek…
Palast: Dummy’s Guide to Voting Rights Act
Will the Supreme Court pull the teeth out of the law? by Greg Palast exclusively for TheMudflats.net This month –as early as tomorrow— the US Supreme Court will tell us whether Black and Brown citizens have the right to vote. Now, if you saw the film Lincoln, you probably thought that issue was settled about 147 years ago. But Honest Abe never imagined a High Court occupied by Dishonest Thomas and Scalia the Scurrilous. There’s been a lot of nonsense talk fogging the issue before the Court. To cut through the BS, the Palast Investigative Fund has made a little…
Watch: Shannyn Moore on MSNBC
Yesterday, the Mudflats’ own Shannyn Moore (TheMudflats.net, Anchorage Daily News and 1020am KOAN) joined the UP With Steve Kornacki panel on MSNBC to talk about guns, Joe Miller, and the future of the Republican Party. Shannyn (as always) kicked ass and took names… one of which was Pat Brady, former Chair of the Illinois Republican Party. Brady tried to say that the Republican Party needed a unifying figure, like the Dems’ Bill Clinton. Shannyn asked the obvious question. Watch Segment Two for the smackdown. http://wp.me/p2dbRK-9RA Here at TheMudflats.net we want to thank the staff at UP with Steve Kornacki for having…
Mayor Dan Sullivan Seeks Higher Office
On Thursday, Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan filed a letter of intent to run for statewide office. He did not report the office for which he will be running on his APOC form, but the rumor mill has ben churning on this one, and all indications are he’ll be running for Lt. Governor, just as all indications are that current Lite Gov Mead Treadwell will be running for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Mark Begich. As in Hawaii and Utah, Alaska’s Lieutenant Governor runs a completely separate race from the gubernatorial candidates. So, who would get stuck with “Mayor…
He’s In! Joe Miller Files for Senate Run
Buckle up boys and girls, it jut got interesting. Joe Miller has tossed his hat in the ring, and will be running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate from Alaska. This will be Miller’s second attempt at a senate seat. He did his best in 2010, winning the Republican nomination, and running in the general against Democrat Scott McAdams, and write-in candidate incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski, whom he’d trounced in the primary. Murkowski won that race in a history making election. But this time, the incumbent is not a member of the same party so no write-in will…
Repeal SB21 and Take Back Alaska
Here is everything you need to know about the ongoing effort to honor Alaska as an owner state. The time is now to be active, and take our state back from the undue influence of Outside corporations, and the legislators who do their bidding. Complaining is easy. Fortunately, so is acting in a positive way to take control of our future. Gov. Parnell will sign SB 21 on Tuesday, May 21st at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage between 11:30am and 1pm. Be there with a sign to protest the giveaway! Alaska is an owner state. We deserve a fair share of…
Oyster Roundup! Volcanoes, Armed Mobs & Wine
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! Can You Hear Me NOW?? For all the fuss and upset that is happening about 3-D printers that could allow people to print guns off the internet, here is a happier use. The’ve printed a working bionic ear! I can’t decide if I’m going to want the brain upgrade. Mind the Volcano! In this land of fire and ice, there are new rumblings at the Cleveland volcano, in the Aleutian Islands. The color-coded terror alerts at the airport are a thing of the past, but not…
Parnell – Dug in Like a Tick
Well, I’m surprised. Gov. Sean Parnell announced Friday that he will run for governor again. “Fantastic! I get to vote for Sean Parnell as governor again!” said no one within earshot of me ever. The anticipation of his announcement, and the speculation around it, was fierce. Would he give Mark Begich a run for his money for the U.S. Senate? Would he figure his work was done, having succeeded in passing a bill to give billions to oil companies for no guarantees, and just start picking out wallpaper for a K Street office? He’s dug in like a tick. I…
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…