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…
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,…
Alaska Bravely Leaps Backward!
As the rest of the nation boldly marches forward, embracing enlightened thinking, electing more women to the Senate than ever; the first immigrant and first Buddhist in the Senate; the first openly gay woman in the Senate; the defeat of every Republican who ever made comments about “legitimate” rape, “God-intended” rape, and “just a method of conception” rape; as they celebrate marriage equality, and expanded civil liberties; as they re-elect a historic President; as the country decided in a measured and sensible way to keep the faith, and continue the slow forward momentum, and to not believe lies that were…
Giessel Loses It
by Thomas Dewar …on television. Making this fact even more stunning is that she herself paid for the air time. Oh yes, gentle reader, in Cathy Giessel’s latest bizarre ad, she gives you a stern talking to. Because who doesn’t enjoy being yelled at by the politicians we employ? Even under the best of circumstances the senator’s demeanor is one of barely contained rage and contempt, and a race she feels slipping away is far from the best of circumstances. Even her own, high-profile supporters have publicly noted that the race is surprisingly close. In order to cope with the…
Meet Pete Kelly. Whoa.
One of the races to watch in this cycle involves the stalwart, awesome Joe Paskvan, whom you may remember sitting at the end of the table in the Resources Committee meeting last session taking no guff from the administration, and helping to keep Alaska from hemorrhaging $2 billion dollars a year from our coffers to Texas and London. He’s running a close race with Pete Kelly (R) up in Fairbanks. This is not what Pete Kelly looks like when you see him on the street right now. This is what Pete Kelly would look like on the inside, if you…
Alaska GOP’s Radical Agenda for Women
Imagine a country where a woman is raped and forced to have her rapist’s baby. Imagine children shuffled off to schools that teach religious doctrine as science — on your dime. Picture a government that consults with church leaders before making public policy. I’m not speculating about a foreign country riddled with American military bases. This is what Alaska faces right now with the influence of an extreme agenda imported from Outside. Hear the warning bell, brothers and sisters. This agenda is backed by deep pockets like Exxon and the reactionary Koch Brothers, and its proponents are dead serious. I…
The Revenge of the Party Planner
11 days until the election, and the hilarious drama is flying. The mayor’s (errr) “Party Planner” has been a busy bee this campaign season. She’s been seen at the event coordinating the merger of church and state that gloated about data mining Alaskans’ private information, she showed up clad in classy faux leopard with “too crazy even for the Republicans” Judy Eledge as her date for a candidate forum, staffed Cathy Giessel at the Running debate, and now this… Petulantly clicking on her 7 inch heels, she stomped up to Senator Hollis French at a recent candidate forum, stuck out…
Get Skooled on the Issues
If the Tea Party has its way, you’ll be getting a call soon, because you simply have not been told the truth about the real Obama. Oh, yeah. Don’t you kid yourself. The lamestream media has been at it again, covering up, and whitewashing critical information to allow their Kenyan messiah to dismantle our liberties, use the Constitution to line the bottom of their bird cages, and turn the whole country over to their secret overlords at the United Nations. The Tea Party has been hard at work sending out blast emails. I know this because I get them. I…
Help! Help! We Can’t Find Sarah Palin!
Exxon has had some challenges in Alaska in the past. Remember that whole oil spill thing? Well, that was no walk in the park. Exxon and their legal help (including now-Governor Sean Parnell) had a devil of a time with those annoying fishermen. But finally, they ruled the day, and the Supreme Court whittled down the original $5 billion settlement to a mere $500 million owed to those whose livelihoods were damaged by the spill. And if more than 20 years of fighting feisty fishermen wasn’t enough, now they actually have to try to find all those people to whom…
Mitt Romney and War by Other Means
“When our grounds are being attacked and being breached, the first response of the United States must be outrage at the breach of the sovereignty of our nation.“ The first response of the United States must be outrage. Yes, outrage! That’s what we need, some good old-fashioned American outrage. Because really, we haven’t spent enough time in the last ten years paying the tab on decisions that were made in the throes of outrage, right? Our first response should be outrage. That was wannabe Decider-in-Chief, Mitt Romney, in response to a statement issued by the United States Embassy in Cairo, Egypt,…