Voices from the Flats – Kill Moloch.
The Urgency of Campaign Finance Reform: A Meditation on Election Day, 2010 by Elstun Lauesen Let me begin with a little Ginsberg: I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix; Angel-headed hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night. Yeah. Word up. Here’s what I see. I see the best candidates of my generation destroyed by other people’s madness; people who are well fed and well-dressed, driving through the paved exurbs and hillsides…
The Public Records Act and Joe Miller’s Delete Key
Recently, we all learned a good bit more about ol’ Moose Poaching, Divorce Lawyering, Journalist Arresting, Line in Sand Drawing, Computer Hacking, Farm Subsidy Taking Joe Miller (I could add more, but really….it’s a bit much as it is. He should stop being such a hypocritical jerk so I don’t have to type so much). It wasn’t particularly surprising to learn that while employed as a part-time lawyer at the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Joe Miller had 60 — yes, SIXTY — pages in his personnel file, or that he admitted that he was a liar, or even that he…
Employees Say BP’s Ombudsman’s Office Neglected Their Safety, Retaliation Concerns
By Jason Leopold [Jason Leopold is the Deputy Managing Editor at Truthout where this article is cross-posted. He is the author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller, News Junkie, a memoir. Visit newsjunkiebook.com for a preview. ] Over the past year, BP’s office of the ombudsman has been presented with dozens of safety concerns and evidence that would appear to support claims of widespread retaliation against employees who work for Acuren, one of the beleaguered oil company’s contractors on Alaska’s North Slope. But the watchdog has failed to investigate the allegations and in some instances has prematurely closed cases without conducting a thorough…
Voices from the Flats – AFN Diary: Day 3
AFN Diary: Day 3. Stop the Bullying and Let’s Be Family Again! By Elstun Lauesen This morning the long list of Resolutions were considered by the delegates and the Chairman of the AFN Resolutions Committee, Trefon Angasan asked if there were other matters to be brought before the body. A young man from Ft. Yukon, Edward Alexander, who looks to be in his mid-20s, took to the microphone on the floor and made a motion to suspend the rules. Immediately another delegate seconded it. Mr. Alexander announced that he wished to introduce a resolution asking for certain changes to the…
Voices from the Flats – Brad Friedman
AK DEMS: State Division of Elections Inappropriately Aiding Write-In Voters in U.S. Senate Contest. by Brad Friedman As you may know, the U.S. Senate race in Alaska between GOP nominee Joe Miller and Democratic nominee Scott McAdams, Mayor of Sitka, has been thrown into what’s quickly turning into a potential three-way toss-up with Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s write-in bid for the seat. She and her father have long been insider fixtures within Alaska’s political establishment, and so now both the state Democrats supporter McAdams and Miller’s campaign are accusing the Department of Elections, run by the state’s Republican Gubernatorial administration, of…
More Early Voting Hanky-Panky. Poll Observers needed! (UPDATED w/ link)
You may remember this story from AKM on Tuesday: In Homer, apparently, reports were received that each booth had a written list of the write-in candidates posted. This is electioneering, and absolutely illegal. If you see anything irregular when you are early voting, please take a picture of it. The above picture is courtesy of KTVA’s Matt Felling from a message he put out on Twitter. The Alaska Democratic Party was sent this picture by an early voter in Homer who saw the list when he walked into the booth. Sure enough, the list was in all of the booths. …
Election 2010: There’s Only One Road to Transparency in Alaska…
In June of 2009 I embarked on an idealistic journey. Thanks to many Alaskans and folks across the country, I was able to raise enough money so that the State of Alaska would release the Records Request they had been sitting on for months. When the emails arrived and the only “good stuff” was redacted or witheld due to bogus-sounding claims of “privilege,” I was not worried. I was sure that as soon as the email lawsuits brought by Andree McLeod and Don Mitchell against Palin were resolved (in McLeod/Mitchell’s favor…no one thought otherwise), I would then be able…
Guest Blog Post from Wickersham’s Conscience (Updated)
This is for those of you who have yet to discover WC’s blog and his superb combination of legal wisdom, political humor, birdwatching knowledge and gorgeous Alaska pictures. I thought this was a great summary for the weekend of some Joe Miller articles this past week. I found his last comment the most interesting. (By the way, in the picture above, it’s not previously been mention but the other man besides Joe in that picture is right-wing Conservative Patriot member and the Tea Party’s personal radio talk-show host, Glen Biegel.) —————————————————————————- WC isn’t the only blogger who is . ….
Voices from the Flats – How Many Votes Will Lisa Murkowski Get in Kivalina?
By Elstun Lauesen William Takak from Shaktoolik understands the impact of climate change. The Alaska Native Science Commission quotes him in a survey of the impact of climate change[1]. “Last Spring we only got six walrus because of the weather and the ice moving out to quick. A long time ago it used to be real nice for weeks and even sometimes for months. Now we have a day or two of good weather and this impacts our hunting. The hunters talk about the ice getting a lot thinner. It is going out too quick.” Hannah Miller of Nome: “The…
Speed Hump Consultant? The jokes write themselves…
There is a rumor out there…that in neighborhoods across Anchorage, some who have problems with speeding traffic and have been unable to get “speed humps” (a “traffic calming” solution) have started to…errrr…improvise with things like traffic cones (see the picture above). The sad irony is that any unauthorized attempt to try and avoid a tragic accident will be removed by the Municipality. Thanks, Mayor Sullivan. Mudflats fans are aware of the excellent job Jeanne and Shannyn have been doing covering the Municipality of Anchorage “Speed Hump” debacle. A short wrap-up may help those of you not as familiar with the issue: –A little girl was hit by a car in…