The world according to Ted has taken a strange twist this week. Guilty of seven felony counts! What a LONG strange trip it's been. Look...Ted has been a strong supporter of Alaskan interests since before it was a state. A friend of mine has a daughter that's currently on Ted's staff, and reports that the man is still one of the hardest working members of the Senate, putting in the kind of hours that wear her out. There has long been a love-hate relationship with Senator Stevens in this state. The bottom line with both Stevens and the recently retired senator and Governor Murkowski, as well as Congressman Young has been seniority. With a total of three representatives for the state in Washington..we have conceded the fact that their voices need to be loud.
Ted Stevens is the rare politician that actually has very little money. No family money to speak of. The house that was doubled in size was a modified A frame. A vacation home at best. All of Alaska feels bad about his situation. Not much anger, but a great deal of disappointment. It's almost as if Alaska feels we owed him more financial stability at his advanced age. We owed him the addition to his A frame cabin, the grill, the chair. He should have been able to afford these things after the years of service to the state. But not the way it went down....and particularly not with Bill Allen and Veco. Bill Allen is as crooked as a business man can get. He corrupted, and strong armed his company Veco into the biggest, and dirtiest, oil support company in Alaskan history. After an FBI investigation, and more than a few legislatures and lobbyist ending up in jail over the last couple of years, Veco's ownership of so many Alaskan politicians became painfully clear. With Ted, we may have hoped it to be much about nothing, but make no mistake....these were never "gifts" from an old friend. It was the pathetically low cost of owning a United States Senator. His re-election bid may turn out the biggest surprise of it all. I will not be shocked if he win's reelection. The thought of a democrat in Washington will be a hard pill to swallow for Alaskans. His democratic opponent was 1 point ahead before his conviction, and by all reason it shouldn't even be a contest now.....but stranger things have happened! At the very least the republicans can keep the seat from Beigich, and later when Ted looses the seat, a special election would almost assuredly elect Binkley, the republican who lost to Ted in the primary..
Republican, Democrat, Independent, Alaskan Independent, Green -Gray- and Purple party....no one will be rejoicing over the fall of an old Alaskan.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
The Bear, The Whale and The Wardrobe- October 25, 2008
Yesterday I saw that Sarah was wearing a large Polar bear pin on her lapel. Her history with Polar Bears would not lead someone from here to think it would be her first choice of an accessory. Aerial hunting of wolves is not her only questionable view of protecting Alaska's animal population. Sarah stood against considering Polar Bears as an endangered species. In part because although she does recognize that there are some climate changes, she questions if man has all that much to do with it. You know the rap....ice age...nuclear holocaust...not much difference . Both end up in a long hard winter! Just those silly little phases the earth goes through. But the main reason for her stand on the Polar Bears was based on the conclusion that it would add more environmental pressures against drilling in ANWAR. The fact that they are not substantial inhabitants of that region meant nothing in her stand. The worry of perception drove her decision.
On to the Whale. I just love this one. She has also made a stand against including Beluga whales in the endangered species act. Her reason for that decision was in two parts. The first was her concern that it would hinder any development in Cook Inlet. Especially around the development of the Anchorage Port. Secondly, and my personal favorite, was her concern over the problems it might raise for the construction of.....you ready..... the bridge to nowhere!!! No....not the one to the airport in Ketchikan that was canceled. The on going project for a bridge over Knik Arm that has always been the true bridge to nowhere. Its is true, the bridge would be a short cut from Anchorage to Wasilla, and to property that Congressman Young's family has ties to. But other than that....it truly is the bridge to nowhere. And that project has continued to move forward with the 200+ million the state received for the project. Yes...the same funding that she told congress "thanks but no thanks". The infamous Bridge to Nowhere was ALWAYS about building both bridges. The funding was always about both projects. Congress never stopped the funding. They only took out the wording that forced the State to use the allocation for the two bridge projects, allowing the State to spend the money as they saw fit. The bridge that was never a bridge to "nowhere", but to the states 4th largest city's airport was canceled. The project to build the bridge across Knik Arm that was always a bridge to nowhere, but benefited her main constituents in the rail belt has been well funded and moving along very well. Inside scoop.....if you ever really want to piss off an Alaskan....mention the bridge to nowhere. And now you know the rest of the story
As to the wardrobe....when you show up to the party in sheep's clothing, of course the host is going to loan you a dress!
On to the Whale. I just love this one. She has also made a stand against including Beluga whales in the endangered species act. Her reason for that decision was in two parts. The first was her concern that it would hinder any development in Cook Inlet. Especially around the development of the Anchorage Port. Secondly, and my personal favorite, was her concern over the problems it might raise for the construction of.....you ready..... the bridge to nowhere!!! No....not the one to the airport in Ketchikan that was canceled. The on going project for a bridge over Knik Arm that has always been the true bridge to nowhere. Its is true, the bridge would be a short cut from Anchorage to Wasilla, and to property that Congressman Young's family has ties to. But other than that....it truly is the bridge to nowhere. And that project has continued to move forward with the 200+ million the state received for the project. Yes...the same funding that she told congress "thanks but no thanks". The infamous Bridge to Nowhere was ALWAYS about building both bridges. The funding was always about both projects. Congress never stopped the funding. They only took out the wording that forced the State to use the allocation for the two bridge projects, allowing the State to spend the money as they saw fit. The bridge that was never a bridge to "nowhere", but to the states 4th largest city's airport was canceled. The project to build the bridge across Knik Arm that was always a bridge to nowhere, but benefited her main constituents in the rail belt has been well funded and moving along very well. Inside scoop.....if you ever really want to piss off an Alaskan....mention the bridge to nowhere. And now you know the rest of the story
As to the wardrobe....when you show up to the party in sheep's clothing, of course the host is going to loan you a dress!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The Governor needs new clothes Oct. 22,2008
Our Governor seems to be under the gun today, about both her children's travel, and her new wardrobe. I really think these issues are much to do about nothing. First, the fact that new clothes would be required for Sarah should not be a great shock to anybody. She represents the very best of her party (wow) and has to look the part. As difficult as it is for me to get my mind around why it would be considered not appropriate to dress in Carharts, jeans and long johns....for anything....I do realize that it is not an opinion commonly held. I really do think she deserves a break on this one. As to her children's travel, and her collecting per-dium for the 300+ days she was home, I suppose that could be a reasonable issue for discussion. But this time I find myself siding with Sarah once again (gasp).
Alaska has historically had a very different standard of acceptance for our politicians. Because of the size of the state, and the location of the capital (there are no roads connecting Juneau with the rest of the state), all our legislators and their aide's receive per-dium through out session. Even the 3 Juneau representatives receive per-dium in an effort to equalize the pay for everyone. The issue of Sarah Palin collecting per-dium at home is pretty much a non issue when it comes to the money, as far as most Alaskans are concerned. What has some implications is the fact that she spends so little time in Juneau, where the Governors office is located. She has been a very hands off and absent administrator, and even members of her party were seen wearing buttons during the last legislative session that asked "Wheres Sarah" !
We collectively seem to have a very high tolerance for corrupt governors. For example there have been more than a few governors that were completely in big oil's pocket. No attempt to even hide the fact. For the voters here, it seems to be a bigger issue that we know from the start who owns who, or who owes who. The "at least we know from the start" will actually gain a candidate votes. In the case of Walter Hickel, former Secretary of the Interior under Nixon, the fact that big oil owned him lock stock and barrel (no pun intended) probably won him the 3 way election. Alaskans knew what he was about, and that was good enough. And he actually turned out to be a decent governor, with Alaskans welfare his first priority. As a funny side line, during that same election Alaska voted to re criminalize pot (that's a story in itself) Hickel came late into a 3 way election and was elected by a small margin. In between the governors mansion and the governors office is a short walk. On the building next to the governors mansion, a building that Governor Hickel walked by every day, and looked out his window upon every night ,was written in huge letters "Pot got more votes than Hickel". Walter Hickel was not a man of humor, so that building was a point of contention for his entire time in office. Thinking back, Juneau was kind of proud of that sign. If tourists stopped a local in the street to ask directions, they were always sent by the house no matter where they were going!
Anyway....I think in a way, the most anger generated in Alaska over Sarah Palins VP campaign is that we have no idea who she is anymore. She has said so many things, about the bridge to nowhere, lower taxes, taking on the oil company's, pushed a pipe line through, reformer, things that we all know is pure bullshit. As far as the state is concerned, if you have had relations with a chicken, say you had relations with a chicken, but don't make us find out on our own She speaks in the lower 48 as if her state cant hear her. We may have suspected her lack of substance, but are embarrassed that by the time it became so evident, it was in front of a national audience.
Alaska has historically had a very different standard of acceptance for our politicians. Because of the size of the state, and the location of the capital (there are no roads connecting Juneau with the rest of the state), all our legislators and their aide's receive per-dium through out session. Even the 3 Juneau representatives receive per-dium in an effort to equalize the pay for everyone. The issue of Sarah Palin collecting per-dium at home is pretty much a non issue when it comes to the money, as far as most Alaskans are concerned. What has some implications is the fact that she spends so little time in Juneau, where the Governors office is located. She has been a very hands off and absent administrator, and even members of her party were seen wearing buttons during the last legislative session that asked "Wheres Sarah" !
We collectively seem to have a very high tolerance for corrupt governors. For example there have been more than a few governors that were completely in big oil's pocket. No attempt to even hide the fact. For the voters here, it seems to be a bigger issue that we know from the start who owns who, or who owes who. The "at least we know from the start" will actually gain a candidate votes. In the case of Walter Hickel, former Secretary of the Interior under Nixon, the fact that big oil owned him lock stock and barrel (no pun intended) probably won him the 3 way election. Alaskans knew what he was about, and that was good enough. And he actually turned out to be a decent governor, with Alaskans welfare his first priority. As a funny side line, during that same election Alaska voted to re criminalize pot (that's a story in itself) Hickel came late into a 3 way election and was elected by a small margin. In between the governors mansion and the governors office is a short walk. On the building next to the governors mansion, a building that Governor Hickel walked by every day, and looked out his window upon every night ,was written in huge letters "Pot got more votes than Hickel". Walter Hickel was not a man of humor, so that building was a point of contention for his entire time in office. Thinking back, Juneau was kind of proud of that sign. If tourists stopped a local in the street to ask directions, they were always sent by the house no matter where they were going!
Anyway....I think in a way, the most anger generated in Alaska over Sarah Palins VP campaign is that we have no idea who she is anymore. She has said so many things, about the bridge to nowhere, lower taxes, taking on the oil company's, pushed a pipe line through, reformer, things that we all know is pure bullshit. As far as the state is concerned, if you have had relations with a chicken, say you had relations with a chicken, but don't make us find out on our own She speaks in the lower 48 as if her state cant hear her. We may have suspected her lack of substance, but are embarrassed that by the time it became so evident, it was in front of a national audience.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
News Update!
October 21,2008
NEWS UPDATE:
In the news last evening was the report of a major find in the Arizona desert, of thousands of dinosaur footprints that the scientists have given the name "dancing dinosaurs". The scientists have reported the site to be around 35.6 million years old. Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin , unable to except the findings, sent her own team from her Wasilla church to do a fair and balanced investigation. They discovered a fossilized saxophone and snare drum among the dancing footprints that date no older than 5,800 years ago. As the world should be able to agree....there is no chance that dinosaurs had any internal rhythm, and it should be universal knowledge that rhythm was not invented until people inhabited Africa, ergo there had to be people present to play these instruments at the dance, injecting the required funk into the dinosaurs to allow them to dance. Proof positive once again that man and dinosaurs walked and apparently danced on this earth at the same time, no more than 6,000 years ago. But you will never see that fact in the liberal elite media. On a side note, showing typical liberal intolerance, Sarah's minister and his helpers were escorted out of Arizona with a police escort after they made repeated attempts to exorcise a mini mart cashier whom they were convinced was a practicing witch.
NEWS UPDATE:
In the news last evening was the report of a major find in the Arizona desert, of thousands of dinosaur footprints that the scientists have given the name "dancing dinosaurs". The scientists have reported the site to be around 35.6 million years old. Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin , unable to except the findings, sent her own team from her Wasilla church to do a fair and balanced investigation. They discovered a fossilized saxophone and snare drum among the dancing footprints that date no older than 5,800 years ago. As the world should be able to agree....there is no chance that dinosaurs had any internal rhythm, and it should be universal knowledge that rhythm was not invented until people inhabited Africa, ergo there had to be people present to play these instruments at the dance, injecting the required funk into the dinosaurs to allow them to dance. Proof positive once again that man and dinosaurs walked and apparently danced on this earth at the same time, no more than 6,000 years ago. But you will never see that fact in the liberal elite media. On a side note, showing typical liberal intolerance, Sarah's minister and his helpers were escorted out of Arizona with a police escort after they made repeated attempts to exorcise a mini mart cashier whom they were convinced was a practicing witch.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
What you don't understand about Sarah Palin. An unfiltered view from Juneau, Alaska
So...what is the big deal about our Governor. If you people from the lower 48 didn't know about the things we, as fellow Alaskans, don't know about her...then we would all know a lot more than we do now, about the things we do know about Sarah Palin. The more the people from the lower 48 talk about our Governor, the more I'm left asking "Whats the big deal?" I will attempt to post a few examples every day until the election. an Alaskan view of a fellow Alaskan without filters....Fair and Balanced.
- Whats the big deal about how our Governor names her children? Sarah and Todd obviously name the kid's after things in their lives that have left an endearing and lasting memory. Piper, as in Piper Cub, is clearly a reference to a make of plane and Todd's love of flying. The name Track, one would assume, is a reference to the barracuda's excellence in athletics. Bristol is more than likely a reference to Bristol Bay, one of the states most productive commercial fishing grounds. These are names that all Alaskans can easily identify with. And the new baby's original name of "two moose fucking" was universally looked at as the cutest name ever, by the people of Alaska. But I gotta tell you, the rumor that McCain's high power political machine made Sarah change the baby's name right after she was givin the VP nod, leaves us Alaskans furious that some high power attorney thinks he can come into state and start pushing us around!
- Whats the big deal that she tried to fire Wasilla's librarian immediately after Sarah was elected to mayor. That woman refused to remove some books from the library that the mayor didn't like. Are you going to tell me that you lower 48ers never read a book you didn't like? Is the insinuation that Sarah Palin is the only one to have problems with Librarians? If I remember correctly, just a few short months ago there was a 68 year old librarian that was escorted out of a McCain town hall meeting and almost arrested. Her ultra inflammatory sign "McCain=Bush" was clearly intended to incite violence. Pull your head out people...they are not always the quiet, thoughtful people they want us to believe they are.
- And by the way...Whats the big deal, that after they stepped in and refused to allow Sarah to fire the librarian, the Wasilla assembly was forced to create the new, paid position, of City Manager in an effort to keep Sarah from doing anymore harm. She still had more responsibility's than a community organizer. Even though she wasn't allowed to fire people she didn't like anymore.
More to come
- Whats the big deal about our Governor supporting the aerial hunting of wolves in Alaska? As she has stated, this is a very complicated issue. Much to complicated to try and explain to someone from the lower 48. But I will try. The problem is that there are packs of godless, snarling wolves going all little red ridding hood on us up here. The fact that the packs tend to be hundreds if not thousands of miles from any human population, makes it very difficult to hunt these these evil creatures on foot. The use of helicopters not only gives us the ability to cover huge distances, but also supports our troops. 98% of all helicopter pilots in Alaska are military trained
- Whats the big deal that McCain sent a plane load of high powered attorneys to help gently guide and support our legislature as they investigated abuse of power accusations against out Governor. We needed their help, and thank god McCain sent them. We considered them almost like a pod of big brothers. We never looked at them as outsiders trying to manipulate our elected officials. We never though that they should get the fuck out of here and let us take care of our own business. Not once did we feel our Governor should have stepped in and demanded that Alaska be allowed to carry on its investigation as Alaska saw fit, without the influence of Republican hired guns. On the contrary, most of us could see the writing on the wall as far back as when Sarah was still wondering out loud what it was exactly a Vice President does. When we saw there were four democrat's seated on the investigating panel, we knew the eight Republicans on the panel would never be able to keep the investigation from slipping into a swamp of partisan attacks on our Governor. We collectively understood that when Sarah was called to duty on a national level, her promise to cooperate with the investigation, indeed her responsibility to the people of Alaska, was easily trumped by the need to control the information and massage the facts in an effort to keep us safe and free. The very fact that she moved so easily into the politics of secrecy and seclusion only proved to us how ready and qualified she is to move up the ladder, and into national politics at the highest level.
More to come
- Whats the big deal about the silly little abuse of power that Sarah was found guilty of last Friday. Considering she is still cooperating with her hand picked personnel board, I think the protests that sprung up in all corners of the state this weekend are premature and clearly partisan. Let's use the protest that took place on the capital step's here in Juneau this weekend as an example. The same three hundred or so aged hippies walking aimlessly in a circle, with the empty, hollow eyes of someone experiencing some kind of hellish flash back. Always looking for any excuse to break out the old signs. To an outsider it may appear as if the people of the state are very angry with the lying and the secrecy that surrounded the "trooper gate" investigation. I have to get serious here for a bit. The people in Alaska are furious about the way this went down. When the whole trooper gate thing first surfaced, it didn't seem like that big of a deal. We all knew she was guilty as sin. Guilty of using the power of her office in a personal and vindictive manner. No one was happy about that. But if at any time during the investigation she had stood up and said something to the affect of "Trooper Wooten was a bum that tasered his 11 year old son as a joke, reportedly was drunk on duty, and I wanted him gone. And when the head of law enforcement, who serves at the pleasure of the governor, refused to fire him as I asked, I fired his ass", Alaskans would have swallowed hard, and forgotten about the whole thing by the next morning. When the legislature announced the intent to investigate the possible abuse of power charge, Sarah agreed to cooperate fully with the investigation. After she received the VP nod, and the McCain campaign decided that Sarah was not about to cooperate, the whole thing started to go south. In addition to Sarah, other parties started refusing to testify. The legislature issued subpoenas that were wholly ignored. Todd claimed some Cheney-esk executive privilege. It turned into a classic case of the cover up becoming worse than the original crime. But for us in Alaska it was much worse than that alone. With a full understanding about Alaskans distrust of any Federal involvement in Alaska's decisions (subsistence hunting, control of fisheries, control of our natural resources)Governor Palin allowed McCain's republican machine to march in and play belt way hardball politics with our legislature. We had republican legislatures that were informed to do as they were told or forget any future in the party. The democratic minority members were strong armed and threatened with the full power of the RNC on the next election. She said and did nothing about it. With the vice presidency her new reality, the full view of her backside was all that was left for Alaska. It's an image we will not soon forget. The protests this weekend saw no division along party lines. By and large her reception on returning to Alaska after the national elections will be far from a welcome home. She had better hope that the RNC is stupid enough to have big plans for her on the national scene, because as it stands at this point, she has absolutely no political future in Alaska anymore.
More to come
- I have noticed that every once and a while I have a moment of clarity that allows me to see just how broken our politics have become. For example, I recently had a chance to watch about a ten minute re-run of the classic 1960 television debate between Jack Kennedy and Richard Nixon. I was stunned to see the level of discourse between these two well spoken and intelligent men. Their difference of opinion on the issues were clearly stated and well thought out. Not a single talking point. No rehearsed lines. A real debate. By comparison, what do we have today? There's no honest exchange of ideas in today's politics.. Party driven talking points have taken the place of thoughtful views on the issues. No opinions are allowed in today's politics until the polls show its an approved opinion, and it wont cost any votes to express. We are in the age of the non answer. It seems every past campaign's floor, is the next campaign's ceiling. Just take a glance back and see what we have become accustomed to in the last eight years, and its no wonder that when a politician is able to put an intelligent thought into words, that the politician is labeled as an elitist incapable of relating to the American people. The frightening thing is that it just may be an accurate appraisal of the voting public. We seemed to have had no problem believing that "W" was walking around with a black eye because he choked on a pretzel, passed out and hit his head on the coffee table, while trying to pet the dog!(you ever wonder what happened that could possibly have made that explanation less embarrassing than explaining what really happened?) Yet if an answer to a complicated question requires more that a noun, a verb, and 9-11 in the sentence, than its too lofty and full of nuance? Well...The addition of Sarah Palin to the McCain ticket has given me one of those moments of clarity...I think it's given the entire state a view of a political realty that might be more than we wanted. I'll begin to explain that in my next rant!
More to Come
October 20,2008
Much has happened since the last entry. The last debate, Sarah Palin announcing to the nation that she is thankful she was vindicated from all legal and ethic's charges from the troopergate investigation Obama is now a socialist on top of being a Muslim terrorist and some plumber named Joe (how classic is that!) is now the republican hero. I wonder if people really take all these tax cuts seriously on either side? We are trillions of dollars in debt....we just injected 700 billion dollars into the very heart of un-regulated free markets, still funneling what the government assesses at 10 billion dollars a month into Iraq, which means it is at least double that. And yet we argue about who's tax cuts are better!!! And who's more of a socialist!!! God help us all.
Anyway...back to an Alaskan view of our now infamous beauty queen.
- Somebody will be writing a book or two on Sarah. One would assume there are several in print already. I've come up with a couple of titles I think might be appropriate, and coupled with a cover with half naked people posed in erotically romantic embraces, would be sure to be the catch that a book about Sarah would need to sell. I don't think it would be over the top if the female in the embrace was Sarah herself. God knows the fantasy of that is responsible for at least half the male votes for Governor in Alaska. I am curious if the males in the lower 48 have similar depth. Actually...I know the answerer to that.
- The making of a VP in 6 days...A creationist's view of 21st century politics
- Constructing Sarah Palin....a look at her creation by fairly intelligent design
- Dances with Dinosaur's
- Alaskan Beauty Queen...The benefit of having all your teeth
- Runway to the Belt way...Republican view of the American voters intelligence
I just want to add how popular her self acquittal of any wrong doing in "troopergate" is here in her State. To paraphrase the Anchorage Times and the Juneau Empire...both ultra conservative rags. We are embarrassed as hell, and would have preferred she just kept her mouth shut. To say to a national audience that she was cleared of any ethic charges when she was so clearly found guilty of them, is like salt in an open wound. Of the many things she feels free to say to the lower 48, while apparently forgetting that people in her state can hear it as well., this one takes the cake. Fool us once..shame on her...fool us twice...shame on ......we won't be fooled again!! She will have a great deal to answer to when she gets home. She apparently has no idea yet, or she would be dropping the mention of "Alaska" from her stump vocabulary. Moose stew my ass....who would rank any kind of stew as their favorite meal of all time. She should visit the capital of her state once in a while. We would be glad to turn her on to Alaskan salmon or King crab!
More soon
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