Posted by The Mudflats on August 3, 2023 · Leave a Comment
Time. It is precious, they say. It flies, they say. And former Republican Party Chair, former Dunleavy Chief of Staff, and now former University of Alaska Regent Tuckerman Babcock has none of it. Again. As Alaska Republican Party Chair, Babcock was the chief architect of the cannibalization of that Party. He loved the purity test, and if you were a Republican in the legislature and you weren’t far-right authoritarian enough, you were in his crosshairs and some extreme fringy candidate would be drummed up to run against you. And those monsters wasted no time destroying their makers. “RINO!” they cried….
Category Alaska, Alaska Legislature, Alaska Politicos, Alaska politics, Education, Ethics, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Headlines, Mike Dunleavy, Republicans, Tuckerman Babcock · Tags Alaska Legislature, Bethany Marcum, Elizabeth Bakalar, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Tuckerman Babcock, University of Alaska
Posted by Jeanne Devon on December 28, 2021 · Leave a Comment
*unless they don’t Today, Donald Trump and whatever remains of his organization issued a proclamation/extortion notice to his BF(maybe forever) Governor Mike Dunleavy. He will completely and totally endorse Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s reelection campaign! Why? Because, the Florida retiree says, he’s a strong conservative. He hearts the Constitution, “including the second and tenth Amendments.” He says Alaska needs Mike Dunleavy “now more than ever” which has earned the Tall One his “Complete and Total Endorsement [sic].” UNLESS Dunleavy endorses Lisa Murkowski. That’s right. Even though Trump proudly endorsed Governor from Wasilla 2.0 the first time and thinks he’s done a…
Category Alaska, Alaska Governors Race, Alaska Lt Governors Race, Alaska Politicos, Alaska politics, Alaska Senate Race, Donald Trump, Election 2022, Elections, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Headlines, Lisa Murkowski, Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer, Mike Dunleavy, Nation, Popcorn time!, Republicans, Second Amendment, Trump, Vitamin Democracy, Voting · Tags Donald Trump, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Kelly Tshibaka, Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer
Posted by Jeanne Devon on October 22, 2021 · Leave a Comment
MURKOWSKI AND SULLIVAN VOTE NO ON VOTER PROTECTION Both of Alaska’s Republican Senators decided to take a ball-peen hammer to the knees of democracy this week. It’s not surprising, but it’s disappointing. As the U.S. Congress weighs the heavy topic of the sustainability of our very democracy, Murkowski and Sullivan aren’t even pretending to care about voting rights – the foundation of everything. They didn’t vote against anything in particular, mind you, they voted to filibuster the entire Freedom to Vote Act. They don’t even want the subject to come up for debate. They have abused the filibuster to harm democracy,…
Category Alaska, Alaska Governors Race, Alaska Lt Governors Race, Alaska Politicos, Alaska politics, Alaska Senate Race, COVID-19, Democrats, Don Young, Election 2022, Elections, Ethics, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Headlines, Health, Law & Order, Lisa Murkowski, Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer, Mayor Dave Bronson, Mike Dunleavy, Militia, Municipality of Anchorage, Public Safety, Republicans, TALL Tales from Juneau, Vitamin Democracy, Voting · Tags Alaska covid-19, Alaska PFAS, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Rep. David Eastman, Sen. Dan Sullivan, Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson
Posted by Jeanne Devon on October 8, 2021 · Leave a Comment
THREE CHEERS FOR FAIRBANKS! Before we dive in to the usual shenanigans from the local to the federal level, let’s all take a moment to marvel at what just happened in Fairbanks and take a look at the faces that will grace the Borough Assembly and the School Board. Some will return, others are new, but all were enthusiastically supported by the Interior Democrats! At a time when the importance of rational local governance and local elections have never been more plain to see (more on that later), Fairbanks rallied the community with great candidates, solid plans and policies, hard-working…
Category Alaska, Alaska Politicos, Alaska politics, Anchorage Assembly, COVID-19, Elections, Ethics, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Headlines, Health, Lisa Murkowski, Mayor Dave Bronson, Mayor Dave Bronson & Co., Mike Dunleavy, Municipality of Anchorage, Public Safety, Rallies and Events, Republicans, TALL Tales from Juneau · Tags Adam Crum, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Jamie Allard, Mayor Dave Bronson, Meg Zaletel, Suzanne LaFrance, The Blue Alaskan, The Midnight Sun
Posted by Jeanne Devon on September 25, 2021 · Leave a Comment
NOT THAT SPECIAL Welp. Another special session has come to a close, with the legislature settling on an $1100 PFD – pretty much the same as we’ve had for years and no thanks to the governor who could have had this outcome long ago, but in an interesting choice vetoed the PFD down to nothing, and started the process all over again. It was actually a nail-biter for a second and it looked like Alaskans might have no PFD at ALL. But we drove back from the edge of that cliff. There will be no veto this time, but before you think…
Category Alaska, Alaska Democratic Party, Alaska Legislature, Alaska politics, Anchorage Assembly, Bill Walker, Democrats, Events, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Headlines, Health, Joe Biden, Mayor Dave Bronson, Mayor Dave Bronson & Co., Mike Dunleavy, Municipality of Anchorage, Public Safety, Republicans, Sarah Palin, TALL Tales from Juneau · Tags Alaska covid, Alaska Redistricting, Dr. Anne Zink, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Mayor Dave Bronson
Posted by Jeanne Devon on August 27, 2021 · Leave a Comment
This week has been particularly mind-boggling everywhere from the Capitol in Juneau to the Anchorage Assembly chamber, to the Kenai Peninsula, Fairbanks, and the Mat-Su. All I can say is suit up, because we’re going to take a dive and look at it all. IN JUNEAU The Special Session took a crazy turn Wednesday night. The legislature was slated to vote on what was shaping up to be an $1100 PFD, to fund scholarships, and get it done, and the floor session was ready to start… But 18 of the 38 legislators who were in the Capitol decided not to show up. Taking into…
Category Alaska, Alaska Democratic Party, Alaska Legislature, Alaska Politicos, Alaska politics, Anchorage Assembly, COVID-19, Democrats, Education, Election 2022, Ethics, Events, Fairbanks, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Headlines, Health, Mat Su, Mayor Dave Bronson, Mayor Dave Bronson & Co., Mike Dunleavy, Municipality of Anchorage, Religion, Republicans, TALL Tales from Juneau, Women's Issues · Tags Anchorage Librarian, Caitlin Shortell, Elvi Gray Jackson, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Ivermectin Alaska, Lance Roberts, Mat-Su schools, Mayor Dave Bronson, Recall Dunleavy
Posted by Jeanne Devon on July 9, 2021 · Leave a Comment
It’s a shortened week because of the holiday, the legislature has gaveled out for now, and it seems that most of the political world was quiet during the fourth of July weekend. With one major exception. THE GOVERNOR DID SOMETHING GOOD! No, you don’t need to clean your glasses, he really did. Okay, granted, it was totally by accident and not what he intended to do at ALL, and he tried to worm out of it once it was done, but none the less. Last Thursday, Dunleavy made the big announcement that he was going to veto a proposed $4…
Category Alaska, Alaska Democratic Party, Alaska Legislature, Anchorage Assembly, Anchorage School Board, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Headlines, Mayor Dave Bronson, Mike Dunleavy, Municipality of Anchorage, Republicans, Supreme Court, TALL Tales from Juneau, Tuckerman Babcock · Tags Dave Bronson, Gov. Mike Dunleavy
Posted by Jeanne Devon on July 2, 2021 · Leave a Comment
Remember the old Gov. Mike Dunleavy? Did you think the massive recall effort against him woke him up and that maybe he was trying to be more cooperative, more reasonable, less hatchety? Silly you. The governor has red-lined the legislature’s budget and released his own version. It cuts the Permanent Fund Dividend, foster care programs, ferry funding (Guess the Marine Highway System isn’t quite dead after his last attempt), and lots of other things. Will the legislature (who struggled to get THIS budget passed) be able to override any of these vetoes? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Here are the quick hot takes from…
Category Alaska, Alaska Legislature, Alaska Politicos, Alaska politics, Democrats, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Headlines, Mike Dunleavy, Rep. Ben Carpenter, Republicans, Sen. Bill Wielechowski, TALL Tales from Juneau · Tags Alaska House Coalition, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Mary Ann Pruitt, Rep. Ivy Spohnholz, Ron Gillham, Sen. Jesse Kiehl, Sen. Tom Begich
Posted by Jeanne Devon on April 9, 2021 · 2 Comments
SHOW ME THE MONEY It’s budget time in Juneau, and we’re looking at a strange set of circumstances that is complicating the process. Weirdly, it’s a giant influx of cash! You were not expecting that, were you? Joe Biden’s amazing American Rescue Plan means Alaska will receive about $1.1 billion, plus hundreds of millions more for education from K-UA, tribes and local governments, and infrastructure projects. You’ll recall Sen. Murkowski, Sen. Sullivan, and Rep. Young all voted against this bill. Guess they are not interested in bringing home the bacon anymore. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Now, the Alaska House and Senate must determine how to legally invest the money for the greater good of all Alaskans. Thankfully, there…
Category Alaska, Alaska Democratic Party, Alaska Legislature, Alaska Politicos, Alaska politics, Anchorage Assembly, Anchorage Mayoral Race, Anchorage School Board, Bill Wielechowski, Democrats, Education, Elections, Fairbanks, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Headlines, Lisa Murkowski, Mike Dunleavy, Municipality of Anchorage, Numbskullery, Ohio Dan Sullivan, Republicans, Second Amendment, Sen. Bill Wielechowski, Sen. Lora Reinbold, TALL Tales from Juneau, Voting · Tags Alaska SB39, American Rescue Plan, Felix Rivera, ghost guns, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Joe Biden, Lisa Murkowski, Rep. Don Young, Rep. Ivy Spohnholz, Sen. Lora Reinbold, Sen. Mike Shower
Posted by Jeanne Devon on September 22, 2020 · Leave a Comment
TALL TALES from Juneau and the DC Debacle AND IT’S ALLLL ON TAPE Sometimes you know things, but it’s nice to have them proven right out loud, through dramatic and surreptitious means. Such is the case with the immediately infamous “Pebble tapes.” If you haven’t heard them, make yourself a beverage and get ready to be a fly on the wall as your beautiful state and all its salmon get sold down the river (not the beautiful blue Nushagak of today – the contaminated, cyanide-filled Nushagak of tomorrow). We now know what our elected Republican leadership thinks of us,…
Category ACLU, Alaska, Alaska Democratic Party, Alaska House Race, Alaska Legislature, Alaska Politicos, Alaska politics, Alaska Senate Race, Anchorage Police Department, Election 2020, Elections, Environment, Ethics, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Headlines, Law & Order, LGBT, Lisa Murkowski, Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer, Municipality of Anchorage, Ohio Dan Sullivan, Pebble Mine, Public Safety, Republicans, Skulduggery, TALL Tales from Juneau, Voting · Tags Alaska Division of Elections, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., Alaska voting, Alyse Galvin for Congress, Bart LeBon, Ben Stevens, Casey Steinau, Corrupt Bastards Club, Craig Richards APFC, Dermot Cole, Dr. Al Gross for Senate, Gail Fenumiai, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Joe Biden Pebble Mine, Kevin Clarkson, Lisa Murkowski, Matt Buxton, Mel Gillis, No Pebble, Pebble Mine, Pebble Partnership, Pebble tapes, Ronald Thiessen, Sen. Dan Sullivan, Suzanne LaFrance, tom collier