Happy Dump Day! The Palin Emails are Released… Sort of.
~Fox News’ copies of Palin’s emails, Juneau, AK. Photo by ‘Mudflatter D.’ By Jeanne Devon Well, the day we’ve been waiting for has arrived. It only took (looks at watch) two years and change. I refer of course to the emails to and from Sarah Palin that were requested by individuals and news organizations to give them some insight into who this virtually unknown vice presidential candidate was – that which is known today as “The Palin Email Dump.” Well, with all the information now out there, I’m retroactively confident in my choice not to have voted for her. Phew….
“Superintendent” Sullivan’s Education Summit — What is the Goal?
In a previous post on the “Anti-Public Education Agenda”, we discussed how corporations and right-wing radicals were driving the “school choice” and education reform movements nationally and statewide. However, no one has played politics in this arena quite the way that Mayor Dan Sullivan has here in Anchorage: — Since the early days of his Mayorship, Dan Sullivan began waging an all-out war against public employees …especially those who are unionized. — Throughout his term, Sullivan has continued a pattern of putting hand-picked highly-partisan candidates in major appointments and to outwardly support them in supposed non-partisan races against people who…
Governor Sean Parnell and House Forfeit Alaska Sovereignty
By Shannyn Moore I was 8 years old and Frank McMichael was the most curmudgeonly man I’d ever met. He was the first person I’d heard cuss. Oscar the Grouch had Frank McMichael eyebrows. Frank carried a .44 revolver. Instead of a mattress, he slept on stacks of cardboard. At the time, my family was new to setnet fishing. The best memories of my life were on the west side of Cook Inlet — living in a bunkhouse built of cannery crates, with Visqueen windows, an outhouse and a creek. Frank had moved to the west side after World War…
Bible Purple
By John Aronno (Alaska Commons) There’s a truck that’s been driving around town. I saw it sputtering down Northern Lights Blvd last week as I gazed out the window at the Spenard Roadhouse. The four-wheeled apocalypse barker is touting the message that a massive, worldwide earthquake is going to hit us, giving way to the Rapture, and ending with the complete obliteration of the Earth one month later. Judgment day, according to this group, will happen Saturday, May 21st, reminding us of the utmost importance of gettin’ down on Friday. There’s nothing new about End Times warnings (in fact the…
New Assemblyman Trombley Guilty of Lying and Being a Whippersnapper
The thing that consoles me when I write about local issues, is that our characters here in Alaska (even though many of you are from elsewhere) are so incredibly over-the-top and ridiculous that they can be appreciated in their own right, just for the entertainment value. It’s like writing a book full of short stories about some mythical crazy dysfunctional municipal government, only it’s not mythical. Today, we’ll revisit one of the larger yet lesser characters in our serial drama, and one of Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan’s henchpeople. Remember Adam Trombley, former local basketball star and up-and-coming conservative mayoral toady?…
I Agree: “Darn it, Let’s Raise Taxes”
By Ken Morris According to House Speaker John Boehner, “You can’t raise taxes in the middle of a weak economy.” Echoing that talking point, newly elected Tea Party Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Illinois), in an interview with ABC, claimed, “Every time we’ve cut taxes, revenues have gone up, the economy has grown.” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) attacked the president’s April tax speech by suggesting that everyone knows, “Raising taxes … will do little to reduce the deficits and debt that are, at their root, spending problems.” If I and many economists, including Paul Krugman (who wrote, “Darn It, Let’s Raise Taxes”),…
Wisconsin GOP Voter Fraud? You Decide.
By Patrick DePula Madison, WI. During election season in Wisconsin it is common for legislative staffers to take a leave of absence and work on campaigns around the state. For a couple of months they are assigned to a candidate who may not live in their home district, and in many cases, act as campaign managers. In November of 2010 a republican legislative staffer, who in the past has worked for Rep. Mike Huebsch(Now DOA Secretary) and currently works for Rep. Warren Petryk, was assigned to the Dennis Clinard campaign in LaCrosse, WI. This staffer owns a home in Madison…
Mayor Dan Sullivan — Playground Bully (by LKB)
Remember THAT kid back in grade school? Remember coming to school and sharing the excitement of how you got the remote control car you wanted for Christmas? THAT kid would talk about his brand new remote control F-15 jet…life-sized. Or, you’d very proudly reveal the balsa wood car you’d carved yourself and painted red to run in the local Pinewood Derby while THAT kid would bring out the super-slick car he claimed he made himself but was secretly made by his daddy’s engineering firm. THAT kid was the one the teachers all thought was a wonderful student when he was…
IMPORTANT: TODAY — Redistricting Plan Public Testimony in Anchorage!
Redistricting is going on across the country as a result of the 2010 Census. It is the single most important political event happening this year because these are the districts we’ll all be voting in for the next 10 years. Lucky us…the way that Alaska’s Board selection is set up gave us 4 Republicans out of 5 members this time! So, you can imagine how some of the proposed districts look. Example: in Board Option 2, Sen. Wielechowski’s District J moves from Muldoon, Mountain View and Wonder Park (traditionally more Progressive areas) farther north to the military base and Eagle…
Wisconsin Capitol Stormed – Occupied by Protesters (Updates)
“In 30 minutes, 18 state senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin,” Democratic Sen. Mark Miller said in a statement. “Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten.” MADISON, WI. Thousands of angry citizens stormed the Wisconsin State Capitol this evening when the Republican Senate, after removing fiscal items from the original bill, passed legislation that will strip public unions of most of their collective bargaining rights and require employees to pay 8% more toward their health insurance and and a greater share of their pensions. Earlier today…