Facts: They’re Just My Opinion
A few months ago a listener to my radio show delivered a fresh new conspiracy/scandal. He was certain that President Obama had orchestrated the Sandy Hook school shooting to help get himself re-elected. Really. When I pointed out to the caller that the president had been reelected more than a month before the shooting, he responded, “That’s just your opinion.” So, now actual historical events are JUST MY OPINION because they don’t fit into the narrative that Obama wants to take your guns so badly he’ll send a Manchurian nut-job to shoot up a school. OK, so this guy may…
HB69: A National Disgrace
The most controversial bill in recent Alaska history – and beyond – might be this session’s House Bill 69, sponsored by Speaker Mike Chenault. This House legislation was advertised as a declaration of state sovereignty as it related to owning firearms in Alaska. But that was more of a side note to the actual threat the language of the bill presents. HB69 includes provocative language stipulating that state authorities could, should the bill pass, arrest federal agents who attempted to enforce federal law regarding gun regulations. For instance, if Washington DC passed a law tomorrow stating that high capacity ammo clips are…
Sen. Coghill Needs a Doctor STAT!
John Coghill can’t seem to find credible doctors to attack Alaskan women’s reproductive health. Imagine that. In a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, not a single doctor from Alaska was allowed to testify for or against a bill that would restrict access to safe and legal abortion for low-income women in our state. Gems of wisdom from the out-of-state doctors that the bill’s sponsor Senator John Coghill chose to testify on SB49 include these debunked falsehoods: “Abortion exacerbates existing mental health illness,” and “Women who have an abortion have an 81 percent increased risk for mental health problems.” –Dr….
Leg Office Space for Hate Group?
It’s not every day that an experienced legislative staffer gets ousted, and banned for life from rehire by the legislature. What could cause such a response from the Committee on Legislative Ethics in the Alaska State House? How about literally giving legislative office space and the keys to the Legislative Offices to some guy from an anti-muslim hate group? Oh, you Mat-Su Republicans can still surprise me after all these years. Before the start of the new legislative session, Rep. Shelley Hughes (R-Palmer) has announced the “resignation” of her Chief of Staff Karen Sawyer after the ruling came down. Hughes…
Is Pozonsky Eligible for AK Bar?
This past weekend, Shannyn Moore broke an important story in the Opnion Section of the Anchorage Daily News. She revealed that Governor Sean Parnell hired a new hearing officer for the Workers’ Compensation Board…Paul Pozonsky, a former judge from Pennsylvania. …a “former judge” who was stripped of his ability to hear criminal cases in Pennsylvania this past June and immediately resigned. Jeanne Devon followed-up with a fascinating back-story showing the family connections that give the Pozonsky’s influence over some of the most powerful individuals in Alaska, past and present. Both articles raise many questions as to the circumstances surrounding Mr….
Post Election Grief from “That Guy”
We’ve seen all kinds of wailing, and sobbing, and rending of garments since Tuesday’s Presidential election. We witnessed Karl Rove’s own mental denial of service attack on Fox News, and we’ve seen whatever right wing Facebook friends we have left indulging in a variety of reactions from head shaking at the idiocy of their fellow Amurrikans, to downright racist screeds about the President. But not until I read through my own emails, and saw this forward of a forward from a friend of a friend, had I seen such a comprehensive, and straightforward regurgitation of right wing gripes, talking points,…
Meet Pete Kelly. Whoa.
One of the races to watch in this cycle involves the stalwart, awesome Joe Paskvan, whom you may remember sitting at the end of the table in the Resources Committee meeting last session taking no guff from the administration, and helping to keep Alaska from hemorrhaging $2 billion dollars a year from our coffers to Texas and London. He’s running a close race with Pete Kelly (R) up in Fairbanks. This is not what Pete Kelly looks like when you see him on the street right now. This is what Pete Kelly would look like on the inside, if you…
Get Skooled on the Issues
If the Tea Party has its way, you’ll be getting a call soon, because you simply have not been told the truth about the real Obama. Oh, yeah. Don’t you kid yourself. The lamestream media has been at it again, covering up, and whitewashing critical information to allow their Kenyan messiah to dismantle our liberties, use the Constitution to line the bottom of their bird cages, and turn the whole country over to their secret overlords at the United Nations. The Tea Party has been hard at work sending out blast emails. I know this because I get them. I…
The Other Side of the Conversation
How many of you get those right wing “viral emails” from family and friends who are politically uninformed, raise your hand. That’s what I thought. Invariably, almost everyone has a coworker, uncle, mother-in-law, or ex-roommate who habitually blankets their entire contact list with these emails, usually about President Obama or the First Lady, with tales of secret college papers, birth certificate forgery, lavish White House redecorating, or some other horror du jour. They’ve gotten this email from someone they trust. This email is from a soldier, or someone who knew Barry in grade school. They’re doing it for our…
Paging Hunter Thompson
You’re going to want a can of BrainScrub within reach after reading about the “church bus.” (h/t to Nick Nice of Madison, WI.)