Open Thread – Lisa Hearts Polluters
And the Caper of the Day is brought to you by:
Three Greenpeace activists deployed a floating banner in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building in plain view of a favorite destination for polluter lobbyists — Senator Lisa Murkowski’s Washington DC office. The banner exposed Murkowski’s close relationship with dirty energy interests and promoted PolluterHarmony, a spoof online dating site launched just before Valentine’s Day to help connect polluters, industry lobbyists, and politicians.
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Iditarod Update for “My teams”.
#50 – Aliy Zirkle is #11. She’s out of Koyuk.
#36 – Michelle Phillips and her fabulous lead dogs are running at #29 out of Shaktoolik.
#61 – Colleen Robertia (who you can read about in today’s Voices from the Flats) is #36 out of Unalakleet.
#4 – Wattie McDonald from Scotland is running #42 out of Kaltag.
#14 – Newton Marshall from Jamaica is #48 in Kaltag.
Lance Mackey is holding on to the #1 spot and is in striking distance of doing what no other musher has ever done – claiming the title of 4-time consecutive Iditarod champion. He left White Mountain at 8:43pm with 11 dogs. Nipping at his heels are Hans Gatt and Jeff King with 12 dogs apiece. They are all heading to Safety and then Nome. One of them will make it first, and it will happen some time tomorrow.
Happy Tuesday to all! So far today, the headlines are all mediocre, no major crises, and it appears the MSM are finally getting behind the health care reform issue and not only writing more on it, but they seem to be slanting in a more favorable viewpoint than they had in the past.
I mentioned it on a thread late last evening, that Palingates has a thread up about the Palin’s chalet. Mudflats is recognized for the photo. Only one *cabin* is listed and that is valued at $99,700. Based on similar homes in this area, that is a low-ball figure. Their taxes on the entire piece of property is just under $125.00 – that also be a low tax rate compared to here in rural Kentucky. The statement shows a similar figure for last year as well. $250 is pocket change for Sarah nowadays, so she should hurry up and pay her taxes.
I scanned through a few of the thousands of comments on the Grayson-Palin story and most seem to be backing Grayson, and only a few find him utterly disrespectful of her. How long before her ghostwriter posts something on facebook?
Regarding the Murkowski banner – was it put up there legally so that it can stay for a specified time period, or was removed soon after? I would love to see the expression on Murkowski’s face when she spotted it.
Some of the stuff they have done borders on nuts, but this… this I like.
Go doggies!
Quite a caper! Looks like they got someone’s attention…
and Go Doggies! also, too. Not a quitter to be found in AKM’s picks, either, you betcha!
I got an interesting letter from Alan Grayson this morning:
“I voted to make health insurance more affordable for you by supporting the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act (H.R. 4626).
The bill does not change the state-based system for regulating insurance. It simply eliminates the blanket federal antitrust exemption for health insurance companies. That means health insurers will no longer be shielded from legal accountability for price fixing, no longer divide up territories among themselves, and no longer sabotage their competitors in order to gain monopoly power.”
Progressin’ the health care reform…and not quitting!
Boker tov, all. Good morning.
Color moi..smilin’ large..smilin’ often..after that entire picture/ramifications..are..Enjoyed.
Is that security guard running to take the folks down?! Hoooo weee, that is a great caper!
Yay for those gutsy folks! Call ‘em out, Greenpeace, ALL OF ‘EM!
yay for the teams..the guy running cracks me up (he is a little late LOL)
What’s the world coming to…Sarah Palin on the cover of Canada’s McClean’s Magazine:
http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/03/16/unstoppable/
What a sad statement about America….
I suggested to a Canadian friend of mine that Palin is nothing more than Chauncey Gardener to which she whole-heartedly agreed.
I’m sorry, but AK sounds like one big toxic dumping ground…I hope and pray you mudpups that live there stay healthy. I used to want to see your state, but the more I found out about how it’s been run…I just don’t think so.
Sometimes it’s fun to see politicians get famous for their work, and Murkowski deserves to be famous (and remembered) for her Murky Air Bill.
Deep thoughts from the sappy Lieberman: The Peoples’ Champion!
http://barbinmd.dailykos.com/
Great race this year. Love those dogs with four legs and not, you know, made of i-r-o-n.
@OMG — Chance the Gardener (Chauncey Gardiner) meant no one any harm. Yes, he was a blank slate upon which one could imagine anything. Sarah, on the other hand, is vindictive as all get out.
Lisa Murkowski was properly “honored” with that banner. At first glance, I thought it was a collaboration of AKM and Flyinureye. Glad to see it’s real.
Health and peace.
Banner was real, but the protestors were arrested shortly after releasing it, and it was removed ASAP. Bummer!
Yeah, “our teams” are hanging in there. Just finishing ought to be an honor. Is there some way we can send our congrats after the race?
All I can think about is the Iditarod. Lance – you are a devil! Jeff – 4 wins and 2nd or 3rd place for your last Iditarod is no small accomplishment!
Colleen is slowly moving up – I can’t wait to see where she ends up!
Waving at Dee Dee and hoping the best outcome for her mother with cancer.
There are hundreds of little stories out there on the trail, and big ones, too. Go mushers! Go dogs!
http://alaskadispatch.com/projects/iditarod-2010/4471-mackey-has-left-white-mountain
“(Update 6:49 AKDT) After Nome, no matter how the final standings turn out, Mackey has a vacation planned for May to balmy Jamaica. The trip is “a bonus” for working with and lending a team of dogs to Jamaica’s lone Iditarod musher, rookie “Hootin’” Newton Marshall. No doubt Mackey’s frostbitten feet will approve of the Caribbean climate.”
OK, everybody say “Hootin Newton Marshall” ten times really fast! What a great name!
lovemydogs – your absence is conspicuous and I bet you are busy busy with dogs and keyboard! Can’t wait to hear from you.
@ Lainey:
I know. Right?
I’m astonished at how far off the path Alaska’s “leaders” have strayed.
Juneau is a frat house, (that is supported by a bunch of social climbers) and we wonder why a bunch of spoiled brats end up making all the important decisions like they’ve never had to be accountable to anyone!
I’ve lived here all my life and the scenery and outdoor’ness just doesn’t make up for the economic arson being committed here anymore. At least half of the smartest people I knew growing up – have left.
It’s not a brain-drain, its an ethics drain.
Not me, I’m not leaving, no way, no how! All it takes is a week down south, maybe two, and I’m longing for my home with friendly neighbors, beautiful scenery, stunning beaches close by, a ski area just as close, and all the trails in the world to keep me busy in the summer with my dogs! Not to mention the long summer nights, the kayaking with whales, the wildflowers…
We’ve definitely ignored our politics, though – and that must change!
MUYS: I’m here. Just woke up. Only day off (sort of). On first cup of coffee.
Trying to get caught up. No update on Safety checkpoint yet so it is hard to tell what is happening out there with Lance, Hans and Jeff.
It seems Ramey Smyth got some foot time in (lost his team and had to run all the way to the next checkpoint (where luckily the team had pulled in for a rest). That has to be a “just shoot me” moment. I lost a team of puppies once and by the time I walked 4 miles back with the one dog that I mistakenly disconnected from the rest of the team (in a tangle), Lance had everyone bedded down and snacked. We forever referred to it as the original “walk of shame”.
Joseph has pictures of Colleen coming into Unalakleet on their blog. OMG, I had no idea it was that beautiful there. Some of my forever friends’ ashes will always be sparkling there (so one day I will have to go and visit). She is battling a bit of a virus going through the team as well as dogs in heat.
People say “put the girl in heat out front and everyone will run faster” but it doesn’t work like that. The girls can get really bit*hy or just want to strut their stuff and the boys go crazy and can’t keep their mind on the task at hand (sort of like high school). It is just a major distraction for all. Sometimes you just have to drop the girl(s). But Colleen has dealt with this before and knows how to handle it.
She left Unalakleet this morning with 14 dogs. It sounds like she is more upbeat. Joseph is on his way to Nome where he and her parents will hopefully hook up with my friend Char. Then he can return to obsessive mother hen role until she gets there. Maybe Char will take him out to a checkpoint on her snow machine….
Were the women holding the banner hurt or arrested? Looks like the cop on the right side is running to tackle the woman holding the bottom part of the banner… he coulda walked over and asked her politely to remove it.
lovemydogs – love reading the updates. those are bright points when compared to some of the other sad bleep going on.
Hee hee..’All I Saw’..I have great n fond memorys of Juneau..and when 18..a running ..u-turn..into-outof..the Govs Mansion hallway, on a dare ..from my local cousins. Yup..a good number of them have..since moved down around us in Oregon..but..a few still tend to busyness..in town and such.
INCOMING!!!! Lance is out of Safety. 22 miles to go. Still in first place! Run, Lance, run! Don’t fall off of the sled! I sure wish I could watch him come into Nome. I don’t get that channel on my TV darn it. My antenna won’t pick it up. ACK!
Sen. Landrieu (D) from LA was taking a lot of heat for trying to derail health care reform and being a PAID ‘ spokesperson’ for the Corporate entity’s.
They already have a Democrat in place to run against her and people were pouring money into his Election coffers.
Looks like they will do the same thing with Bart Stupack. Part of the email I received just now. ( from Democracy for America )
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“Now, Rep. Bart Stupak is at it again.
He claims to have put together the “Stupak Block” of about 10 House Democrats who will vote against the reconciliation bill if his Medieval Roll-Back isn’t re-inserted before the final vote.
The good news is we can send a message to the so-called “Stupak Block” today. A Democrat and Michigan’s former Charlevoix County Commissioner, Connie Saltonstall, has announced she is running against Rep. Bart Stupak in the Democratic primary to represent MI-01. “
It’s too bad Stupak cannot be forced to be pregnant with a child he does not want. That is all I have to say on that matter.
lovemydogs!
INCOMING! I heard Lance took a tumble on his ear, head? and slid down a hill. Boy, that would be a wake up call just when you are feeling just a tad cocky! I was so excited to see the news that he is out of White Mtn – I have chills, on his and his team’s behalf! And every one who is helping that team! Wow, there could still be a shake up somewhere in the top ten, but not too likely that Lance will be caught. Go Lance!
I am so glad the team of Ramey was waiting for him, whew. I was told by my musher friend, the first time and only time I soloed a small team of six, “Hang on with your life, and if you don’t I’ll kill you anyway!” Something like that! The dogs knew I was a complete rookie and they looked back and smiled at me. You know what I mean. They had husky thought bubbles that said “Oh, she’s gonna be a fun one! Lots of trees up ahead!” They gave me more adrenaline than I ever could know what to do with, but it sure came in handy when they did try and get me off the sled with several tricky moves and I somehow was able to hang on. Adrenaline is good, it helps you clutch onto something like nobody’s business!
Go Colleen! Go Penny!
I meant Safety not White Mtn!
I wonder what Lance will see when he comes into Nome this year. One year he was so tired that he says he saw animal mounts (African animals no less) on all of the electricity poles as he came down main street. When he got to the finish line he asked the checkers “When did you put up all of the mounts?” They smiled and said “Right this way, Lance, there is a bed waiting for you right over here.”
Colleen is into Shaktoolik! Norton Sound – sea ice ahead.
lovemydogs,
African head mounts on Nome’s power poles – LOL!
Also, too – sleep deprivation makes you cold! Brrrr, now that’s a double whammy for a musher.
oops, I meant African animal head mounts.
#8 OMG – truly, OMG, what a slanted article in a Canadian publication! It made me rather angry and I believe this is borne out with the comment I left on the site. Most comments were complimentary of Palin; I could not let that stand
This guy is an idiot. Really. Seriously deranged, and not in a good way.
Texas Republican Gohmert: Demons Have Invaded The Capital
Speaking shortly after he riled up a crowd at Tuesday’s Tea Party protest, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) declared that “demons” – yes, demons – have invaded the capital (and likely the souls of Democrats), forcing lawmakers to mislead the public about the content of the health care bill.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/16/texas-republican-goehmert_n_500805.html
Go doggies!
According to this website… Lance Mackey has won the Iditarod. He is FINISHED.
http://www.iditarod.com/race/race/currentstandings.html
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=12148345
Click on the upper right for a short video of Lance Mackey and his amazing team pulling into Nome. First team to ever of win four Iditarods in a row!
@MUYS #20
everyone gets homesick when they are away on vacation, but all those things you mentioned can be found in many other states “down south” – without the toxicity and intentional carelessness, putting dollars over pollution and health risks and laws – including long summer nights (maybe not exactly like your midnight sun, but we like to sleep in the dark, and staying light in some of our states until 9:30pm is plenty long for a day).
AKM….. Here is some NEWS that you could do a story on.
Erik Erickson of the RW Crazy blog ” Red State ” has been hired to be a commentator on CNN. W o W !!! And CNN USED TO have a reputation to go by.
Does this mean they will be hiring Dick Cheney next…? Who could be worse..? John King would LOVE to sit next to His BFF. I’m guessing Erickson will spend most of that time on King’s Show. Not that I will ever be watching.
CNN has totally lost it now. Daily Kos has a story post here.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/3/16/13466/8440
@35 jimzmum
Probably the same minions of the devil that plant fossils all over the earth every day so that scientists can find them.
Let the debate begin!