Governor Sean Parnell: Lord of the Flaming Pants
Former director of government relations in Alaska for ConocoPhillips, Sean Parnell made an announcement on Tuesday. Some of you may know him by his other job working for the lobbying firm that represented ExxonMobil against Alaskans in the matter of a little oil spill that happened in Prince William Sound. Some of you may also know him as Captain Zero, or Caribou Ken, or SeanocoParnellips. However you know him, he also currently wears the mantle of Governor of the State of Alaska. But it’s been difficult for Sean to turn against his old bosses. He’s a loyal foot soldier, and…
Photos from Wall Street
On September 17, hundreds of protestors descended on lower Manhattan to publicly denounce the nation’s current financial system. The demonstration’s organizers plan to continue occupying the area around Wall Street for weeks or even months—however long it takes to change a system they say benefits the rich and powerful at the expense of middle-class and poor Americans. We’ll be following the protests and will continue to update the following stream with the latest images from the center of the financial world. The Mudflats’ New York Bureau Chief and photojournalist Zach Roberts is in New York City, and has been covering…
Baldwin and Warren – Ready to Reframe What it Means to Be a Woman in Politics
I don’t think there’s a progressive woman out there who hasn’t at one time found it more than a little frustrating that the women in politics who seem to get all the press, and who seem to represent the gender in general are… how shall I put this kindly … nuts. Not to name names, but I’m sure if you rub your temples and empty your mind you’ll be able to summon up a couple images without too much trouble. That’s it! Keep going. Well done. I knew you could do it. With those images assaulting us endlessly in the…
Captain Zero Greets CPAC in Alaska
‘Tis the season! No, not the moose rut. No, not the last run of silvers. ‘Tis the season that conservatives emerge from the sea and make their landfall on the arctic shores of Alaska. We’ve talked before about the “Tea Party at Sea” ship on The Mudflats. And now, there seems to have been yet another starboard leaning vessel that has docked in Juneau. Rather than heading for the misty hills of that fair city screaming when the invaders arrived, Governor Sean “Captain Zero” Parnell did the political equivalent of throwing flowers and candy. Yes, he greeted CPAC as liberators….
Oyster Roundup – Theft, Shakedown, Hot Sauce and More…
~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! [The Walrus and the Carptenter, Lewis Carroll] A half dozen on the half shell. Slurp ’em up! (Links in the titles) Rick Perry, Evangelical Economist Rick Perry thinks that God crashed the economy on purpose to teach us a lesson and return us to Biblical principles. I think that God inflicted Texas with Rick Perry for not allowing gay marriage. Rembrandt Returns! I have conflicting feelings about art theft. While I understand more the impulse and obsession to own great art, rather than simply a desire for…
D Student in Economics Knew it All Along – the Wit and Wisdom of Sarah Palin
~Sarah Palin, the future financial prophet, in college. Her economics themed attire reads: “I may be broke, but I’m not flat busted.” Yes, those fancy spectacles that may or may not have prescription lenses certainly gave the former governor 20/20 hindsight. You see, she predicted the United States’ credit downgrade all along. Yes, she did. Alaska’s half-term fiscal prognosticator knew it the whole time. She used her favorite social media tool, her Facebook page, to deliver the lengthy “Told Ya So!” to the nation about Standard and Poor’s smack down that took the nation from a AAA to a AA+…
Something’s Fishy (Hint: Salmon and the Tea Party GOP)
This week, to the tune of dueling canner whistles on the stove, I packed more than 30 cases of smoked salmon. I smoked fish and applied aloe to my river sunburn. I read the news and rolled my eyes. Too many times I thought, “Oh, I’ll write about that.” Outrage fatigue set in while watching the government train wreck. I started counting the days to go back to the river. Any river. As long as it had salmon. Store shelves have been running low on brown sugar and canning jars. Thank goodness people figured out dry brine beats wet brine…
Palin Says “I Can Win.”
It appears as though Newsweek has yet another traumatic Sarah Palin cover ready to hit the stands. One, as you may recall had her in a calendar girl pose, in running shorts demonstrating her mastery of flag etiquette by leaning on the flag as it lay draped over a bar stool. Then there was the ultra unretouched closeup, showcasing pores and facial hair. Palin fans did not like that one at all. And now here’s one with Wasilla gym clothes, and a ginormous watch that has seemingly replaced her wedding ring as the adornment du jour. But that’s not the…