(GetEr)Dunleavy Steps on His Own Twitter
Oh, dear. Brand spanking new Senator Mike Dunleavy (R) from the Mat-Su Valley, all eager and fresh out of the chute, steps into Juneau and on to his own… Tweet. Now, to non-Alaskans, or those who do not eagerly follow the continual shenanigans an skulduggery of the Alaskan political scene, this may seem like just a regular old tweet. But to those who lived here in the 2000’s, or what we in Alaska like to call the “Naught-ies,” the hashtag #geterdone would by hilarious, if it weren’t so incredibly eerie and seemingly prophetic. You see, way back in the mid-Naughties,…
Corrupt Bastard Double Feature – Kott and Kohring Sentenced
Yesterday, a long dark chapter in the history of Alaska politics came to an end. I decided that even though the day didn’t promise to hold any shocking news or big surprises, that I ought to be there nonetheless. The last of the self-described “Corrupt Bastards Club” have pleaded guilty and were sentenced by Judge Ralph Beistline. Courtroom 2 in the Federal Courthouse was busy today. No cameras were allowed in the courtroom so, as usual, you will have to rely upon my masterful and detailed court drawings that will make you feel like you were really there. First up:…
Corrupt Bastards Plead Out – No New Trials for Kott and Kohring
Well, it’s good news for former Senate President Pete (got) Kott and former Representative Vic Kohring – bad news for courtroom devotees of the Corrupt Bastard trials. It was political theater at its best, and there never seemed to be an end to the drama. But with news that there will be no prosecution of Ben Stevens, former Senate President (and son of the late Senator Ted Stevens), nor of Congressman Don Young, it appeared that things are winding down. Kott and Kohring were both found guilty and serving prison time when their attorneys successfully appealed and got both a…
Corrupt Bastards 2.0 Has Launch Date
Good news for Alaskans that have been jonesing for their Corrupt Bastard fix. It’s been a while. The trials of the self-named Corrupt Bastards Club were the best pieces of legislative and judicial theater around, and had Alaskans who normally didn’t pay attention to politics riveted, and infuriated. They may not have been keeping up with the ins and outs of Alaska oil and gas taxation and policy, but at the very least they expected their legislators not to blatantly sell their votes right to the oil companies. Silly Alaskans. Not only did we discover that our legislators sold out,…
Black Hat, Mint Julep, Piles of Cash and Karmic Imbalance… Alaska Meets Kentucky.
Well, don’t that beat all. In another stunning display of “you can’t make this stuff up,” yesterday’s Kentucky Derby winner, a 50:1 longshot named Mine That Bird belongs in part to Mark Allen, son of former CEO of Veco Corp. Bill Allen. Yes, THAT Bill Allen. The Bill Allen that copped a plea deal with the feds to turn over the likes of Vic Kohring, Pete Kott, and Ted Stevens. That last one didn’t work out too well, but nevertheless he tried. And it doesn’t stop there. Part of Bill Allen’s plea deal with the feds was that Mark would receive…