Connecting the Dots from PA to AK
~Paul Pozonsky, right I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. When someone does something that looks bad, I usually assume incompetence rather than conspiracy. That said, follow along with me and see what you make of this. The job of Hearing Officer for the state of Alaska is a pretty important job. In other states, hearing officers are called judges and wear black robes. Talis Colberg, a former Alaska attorney general, went on to serve as a Hearing Officer for the Department of Labor after leaving the AG job. Hearing Officers decide the fates of Alaskans every…
Gender Gap Widens
Democrats are poised to shatter two more notable glass ceilings in the coming year. Fresh off their success in adding women like Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Baldwin to the US Senate in last month’s election, the nation’s two largest cities are both a good bet to elect their first ever female mayors in 2013. Incumbents Mike Bloomberg of New York and Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles are both termed out next year, with the former likely to be replaced by NYC City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and odds being the latter will be succeeded by either LA City Councilwoman Jan…
Sitting Legislator Calls Opponent “A-hole”
The votes in the state’s two closest legislative races are in. Senator Hollis French will return to Juneau after winning his race against Bob Bell by 54 votes. And 24-year old Democratic candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins managed to eek out a victory in the District 34 House race by only 32 votes, meaning that his opponent Republican Bill Thomas can ask for a recount if he wants one. Kreiss-Tomkins whose mother is a beloved physician in the district, ran an assertive person-to-person campaign, visiting all the small islands that comprise most of the district, and really getting to know his constituents….
GOP Lineup Goes Byzantine
The shakeup in the Alaska GOP continues. Our three party system (Dems, Republicans, and Tea Partiers) is going “byzantine,” according to the Alaska Ear. Yes, it’s inside baseball, but that’s really the only baseball that counts. The powerful finance committee is where bills go to live or die, and it seems like a couple of entrenched GOPpers find themselves on the outside looking in – or potentially so. Bill Thomas (R) who was assumed to be a fixture in said committee, finds himself suddenly in a race for relevancy with the awesome, out-of-nowhere Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tompkins. Their race, as you…
Palin Picker says Rice “Not Very Bright”
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. ~Charles Darwin The reason Great Britain remains a top-tier international economic and political power today is because it did a great job adapting from one reality to another. Seeing the heads of monarchs rolling across Europe, our mother country decided to give this whole parliamentary democracy thing a go, while repurposing the House of Windsor as stately and impotent figureheads and turning Buckingham Palace into Disneyworld. Apple Computer learned some tough lessons at…
Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen
By now, we’re into the seventh layer of complexity in the real-life spy thriller “Homeland meets The West Wing meets Melrose Place” – otherwise known as the Petraeus sex scandal. For those of you who haven’t tuned into the news recently, here’s a recap of what we know so far that led to Petraeus’ resignation as Director of the CIA. Republican ideologue working at the FBI sends Jill Kelley, a military Party Planner (not kidding) with whom he has an unknown relationship, shirtless pictures of himself. Later, said Party Planner gets harassing anonymous emails of the “I saw what you…
Mat-Su Surprise!
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. – Hamlet If anywhere in Alaska can be relied upon for its lobstery redness, and overabundance of bootstraps and red pickup trucks, it’s the Mat-Su Valley – home of the ex-half governor, home of the State Rep who held up honoring the Girl Scouts because he heard a rumor on the internet they were in cahoots with Planned Parenthood, home of the former State Rep who tried to outlaw Sharia Law, home of the High School that covered up their 1% for art because…
Jesus Gets Punked by Exxon
Election day may be over here in Alaska, but now is when the fun begins. The results of a couple close races are hinging on absentee and questioned ballots yet to be examined, and shiny new lawmakers are angling for committee assignments and chairmanships. Pundits, meanwhile, examine and expound upon the results of the Citizens United meets Big Oil meets Jesus campaign machine. Let me be one of them. During this time, it’s good to remember the lessons of the past. The genius of Ronald Reagan was his ability to unite two completely different groups of people—with completely different policy…
Alaska Votes to Go Back
It’s surprising that more Alaskans aren’t wearing those puffy white braces around their necks. If you missed getting whiplash from Tuesday’s election results, you either don’t follow politics or you’re hibernating with the bears. The nation rejected the radical right agenda on many levels. Four states approved marriage equality for their gay and lesbian citizens. (I know! Maryland, Maine, Michigan and Washington aren’t, like Anchorage, holding public meetings so hundreds of people can quote scripture about why their freedoms are under attack if they can’t FIRE or EVICT gay people.) Recreational marijuana was legalized in Washington and Colorado. Three days…
Post Election Grief from “That Guy”
We’ve seen all kinds of wailing, and sobbing, and rending of garments since Tuesday’s Presidential election. We witnessed Karl Rove’s own mental denial of service attack on Fox News, and we’ve seen whatever right wing Facebook friends we have left indulging in a variety of reactions from head shaking at the idiocy of their fellow Amurrikans, to downright racist screeds about the President. But not until I read through my own emails, and saw this forward of a forward from a friend of a friend, had I seen such a comprehensive, and straightforward regurgitation of right wing gripes, talking points,…