Parnell Kills His Own Special Session. Blames Senate. Pouts.
Things aren’t going well for Sean Parnell. It all started last week when he called the legislature into special session to talk about three things, the most difficult and contentious of which was oil and gas production taxes. The governor sent his team to Juneau with a bill. For purposes of readability, we’ll refer to this bill (SB3001) as what it is metaphorically – a cow pie. Hatching the Idea What the governor wanted in this new “hybrid” bill was to give all kinds of breaks to big oil companies for fields that are already producing, and not so much…
Don’t Bend Over Alaska II – Hilarious! (Video)
Coming on the heels of the $40/plate White Linen Tablecloth Oil Executive “Rally” yesterday, is another video from Bob Lester – Don’t Bend Over Alaska II. It’s hilariously funny, and right on target. Remember to tell your legislators that Alaskans aren’t buying the governor’s BS. It’s our oil, and we’d rather not give it away. And to the oil companies who made a trillion dollars in profit in the last five years, and who don’t think that’s enough? Enjoy!
Sean Parnell Still Works for the Oil Companies
By Shannyn Moore – Cross-posted from the Anchorage Daily News On Thursday, May 20 1993, Bob Van Brocklin left a suicide letter. “The stress from Exxon which brought about my financial stress was too much to deal with alone. The end should be good and maybe my spirit will live. I have a lot of fear right now, but faith is all that is left. I wish I could have done more good for others but I guess my time is up.” Bob was the former mayor of Cordova. He shot himself. Bob sat in the Cordova High School on the…
Vulture’s Picnic – My Home is Now a Strange Place (Installment 4)
Here is the next installment of Greg Palast’s new book Vulture’s Picnic. He has allowed The Mudflats to bring you Chapter 7 – My Home is Now a Strange Place in its entirety. This is an exclusive excerpt, just for Mudflatters. I find it absolutely riveting. If you need to catch up, here are links to the first three installments. Installment 1 Installment 2 Installment 3 ********************************** Chapter 7, continued By Greg Palast STEINHATCHEE, FLORIDA We also needed witnesses. I needed insiders who would spill to outsiders. To find them, I needed a hound dog. I needed a blonde. I…
Vulture’s Picnic – My Home is Now a Strange Place (Installment 3)
[This is the third installment of Chapter 7, My Home is Now a Strange Place from Greg Palast’s Vulture’s Picnic. Many thanks to Mr. Palast for providing The Mudflats with an exclusive of this story that is so critical to the state of Alaska, and reveals so much about the corporate interests that still dominate here.] By Greg Palast PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND, ALASKA, 1989 State Inspector Dan Lawn, grabbing a fast launch from Valdez, was the first to reach the shipwrecked tanker, risking the ride through the sickening fumes and fountains of crude that could explode with the touch…
Vultures Picnic – My Home is Now a Strange Place (Installment 2)
By Zach Roberts It’s weird where life takes you. In 2006, I started working for Greg Palast. He was one of my heroes. Most people know him for breaking the story of the stolen 2000 election. That was how I was introduced to his work as well, but the story that made me want to work for him was one of the lesser known ones from his best-seller The Best Democracy Money Can Buy “A Well-Designed Disaster: The Untold Story of the Exxon Valdez.” It blew me away. Everything I knew about one of the most important events in American history…
Alaska Disasta! Conoco Net Income Looks Grim…
Forgive me a second while I try to calm down. I… it’s…. I’m sorry. Just… just give me a second. (You kindly wait while I compose myself) You know how Governor Parnell tells us that we have to give $2 billion back to the oil companies every year? It’s not that he really wants to, but you know, they have to make a living. They invest a lot in our state, and we need to show a little gratitude. We can’t be all greedy and hog it all to ourselves, or they will just be lose their incentive, and will…
Alaska’s Business Report Card – F is for Fabulous, and A is for Asshat
Senator Bill Wielechowski and Rep. Les Gara held a press conference yesterday talking about how corporations attempt to wield their power over the Alaska legislature through the use of the Alaska Business “Report Card.” Let’s listen to what this is all about from Rep. Les Gara. Now, think about corporations for a moment. I have equated corporations to polar bears before. Polar bears are not inherently evil, but they can be dangerous, and they do have an agenda that doesn’t always match that of people. The internal programming of a polar bear is simple – if it moves, it’s food….
The Bailout is Billions…Ten Specifically
The recent oil tax debate has raised more questions than answers for many Alaskans, including the majority of state Senators. Today, in a press release from Senator Bill Wielechowski, a few of those questions were answered. BREAKING: Data Shows Even As Companies Invest, Alaska Takes A $10 Billion Hit For Immediate Release: April 13, 2011 JUNEAU: Senator Bill Wielechowski (D–Anchorage) said new analysis shows that, even with the potential investment mentioned last week by ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva, under the Governor’s oil tax rollback proposal, the state would lose an estimated $10 billion over the next eight years. Last Thursday, Mr….
Exxon Denies Long Term Environmental Damage to Prince William Sound – A Day in Court
~Oil sheen from the Exxon Valdez spill fills a footprint on the beach 21 years later in July of 2010 Tomorrow will be a historic day. After 22 years, the final word will be had on the long-term environmental damage from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Last summer, I traveled to Knight Island in Prince William Sound. The point of landing was “Diesel Beach.” As you can imagine, this is a post-1989 name. You can read my post Walking With the Ghost of Exxon HERE. The long-term impact on Prince William Sound has been significant. With resident orca populations expected…