Ordinance 64 – Live Blogging, Round V
Yes, boys and girls… it’s time for Red Shirt Theatre, Act V. The Non-Discrimination Ordinance public testimony continues. The link for live streaming the Anchorage Assembly Meeting is HERE. Use this thread to live blog the meeting if you feel so inclined. Public testimony will be given regarding Ordinance 64, which extends Anchorage’s non-discrimination policy to include the words “sexual orientation.” The red shirt brigade are an organized crowd from several local area evangelical churches. This will be the second round of public testimony in front of new Mayor Dan Sullivan. Recent polling suggests that the ordinance has very good…
Hey, Lady! Get a Blog, Already.
Is there such a thing as too much blog material? Back in the old days before Sarah Palin was on the national scene, I’d cruise around the internet to see what was happening, and when I was stricken with inspiration, I’d create a post. Sometimes they were long, sometimes short. Sometimes inspiration came right away, and sometimes I had to look around a while. I’d hit the Anchorage Daily News, and then maybe Daily Kos or Huffington Post, I’d look at what the other Alaskan Bloggers were doing… I’d zip down my blogroll, I’d check my email to see what…
Palin’s Parting Gift to Alaska – Another Constitutional Crisis. Gee, Thanks.
What is there to say? You do what you know. And Sarah Palin knows constitutional crises. Let’s look back at some of the highlights… Remember back when former Attorney General Talis Colberg suggested to state employees that it was OK to ignore legislative subpoenas in the Troopergate probe? He was really careful when questioned to say that he didn’t actually tell them not to testify, he merely pointed out that testifying was sort of an “option.” This set off a storm of protest from…well…anyone who knows anything about what a subpoena is. At odds with the legislature, the posture of…
Legislative Session Required to Confirm New Alaska Lt. Governor. Isn’t That ‘Special?’
Legal opinion is in, and a special session of the Alaska state legislature looms. Yup, that means that in all likelihood, this pack of hearty souls who have had to endure what must have felt like the longest gubernatorial partial term in the history of ever….isn’t done yet. The Commissioner of the Department of Corrections who, for some reason, was chosen and accepted the #3 spot in gubernatorial succession has decided he’d rather not have the job of Lt. Governor after all. Not that anyone necessarily blames him. Even he recognizes that Sarah Palin’s former high school buddy suddenly plopped in…
Buckle Up. The Palin Transition Begins.
OK folks, here we go. Rub your palms briskly on your face, and shake out your arms. The Palin transition begins… So, last February, Sarah Palin appointed someone to be third in line for the governor’s office. That someone was Wasilla High School pal Joe Schmidt, Commissioner of the Department of Corrections. An odd choice for several reasons. But nevertheless, it’s the governor’s prerogative to choose, and he was confirmed by the legislature. Now presumably, whomever accepts the position of #3 in line to the throne is thinking … “Wow. If anything happens, like the governor deciding to run for…
When in Doubt, Trust….The Bush Administration?
A potentially precedent-setting ruling in a case involving Alaska resource development came through the Supreme Court yesterday. It involved the legal contamination of a naturally occurring fish-bearing lake on the one hand, and the economic interest of a mining corporation on the other. I’ll give you one guess who the court ruled for…and it wasn’t the environment. (A lightbulb goes off over your head) “Heyyyy, is this the same Supreme Court that ruled in favor of Exxon recently in that oil spill case? The one where the environment and local people got the short end of the stick in favor…
I’ll Take Palin Fibs and Fables for $200, Alex.
“The feds.” It’s a slang term that most of us are used to seeing after the words “seized by” or before the words “raided the house.” It’s never said with respect or fondness. Rarely do you hear someone say “the feds are trying to give me money,” or “the feds want to weatherize my house.” And never have I heard a governor of one of the 50 states, that is actually part of the country, call the federal government “the feds.” I would no more expect that than I would expect to hear them talk about “the fuzz” or “the coppers.” But…
Isn’t There an Ice Floe Somewhere That Needs a Homophobic Preacher?
If there is such an ice floe, I know plenty of people who would gladly escort Jerry Prevo on to it, and ceremoniously shove him off the shore with their foot to a destination far far away…or perhaps to no destination at all. Prevo, of the Anchorage Baptist Temple has been a notorious opponent of civil rights for the LGBT community in the past, and he shows no signs whatsoever of intellectual or moral evolution. He does, however, continue to throw stones, embrace divisiveness, and can now take credit for this: Is this a joke? It looks like one, but alas, no. There’s…
Ziegler’s Folly
Conservative documentary filmmaker John Ziegler was in town to do a special screening of his new film “Media Malpractice – How Obama Got Elected and Palin was Targeted.” It’s been a while since I infiltrated a Palin event, so I decided to slip in and join the festivities. There seemed to be 300ish people there, I’d guess. I think they’d been hoping for more, as the theatre was only about half full. Clearly this was the base. The base of the base. Bob & Mark of the “Bob & Mark Show” were there as emcees. Eddie Burke was there too,…
Speaking Up.
There’s a moving op ed piece in today’s Anchorage Daily News. Grace Jang, a Korean-American journalist had an encounter with none other than right wing talk show host Eddie Burke, Governor Palin’s golden boy, and unofficial mouthpiece for the administration. It didn’t go well. On May 18, my photographer and I are invited to a conservative radio talk show to get behind-the-scenes video of a debate on a divisive issue. We accept. As a Korean-American journalist, I recently found myself an unwitting part of a disturbing story. The radio station has two guests whose views differ from the host. It is…