Young Insolent to Students – Suicide, Gay Sex & more
Alaska’s lone congressman, Don Young, spoke to a group of students at Wasilla High School Tuesday. If that sentence alone made you wince, then congratulations. It shows you’ve been paying attention to the rapidly crazying octogenarian who represents all Alaskans in the halls of Washington D.C. Earlier this month, Young barked at his Democratic opponent after a touch on the arm, “Don’t ever touch me! The last guy who touched me wound up on the ground, dead!” This time it’s insensitive remarks about suicide, berating friends of the victim, and comparing Alaska’s newly legal same-sex marriage to bull fornication. And…
Don Young Killed a Guy. He Says.
Last week Alaska Congressman Don Young (R) pulled a “Don Young,” and thanks to the magic of the internets and the television, it’s percolated up to the national media. Chris Hayes, on his show All In (see video above), talked about the incident that occurred at the Kodiak fisheries debate, in which Democratic challenger Forrest Dunbar made a terrible terrible mistake… One that could COST HIM HIS LIFE! (<——– Say this in baritone movie promo voice) Forrest Dunbar… touched Don Young. He. Touched. Him. Not a “show me on the doll where Forrest Dunbar touched you” kind of…
Alaska Celebrates Marriage Equality
Tonight a jubilant crowd gathered at Mad Myrna’s in downtown Anchorage to celebrate a judge’s ruling that declared Alaska’s current restrictive marriage laws unconstitutional both on the grounds of equal protection, and due process. It felt historic and happy, and long overdue. There was lots of smiling, and love, and laugher, and cake with rainbow sprinkles. Monday morning, Courtney Lamb and Stephanie Pearson, litigants in the case, will apply for a marriage license in Anchorage. It was a good day for equality, personal liberty, and constitutional justice. Congratulations to us all.
Alaska Marriage Equality Has Day in Court
Courtroom 1 at the Alaska District courthouse was full to overflowing. Courtroom 2 held those who couldn’t find a seat. The fates (and a friend) ushered my daughter and I to seats right in the jury box, which was a wonderful surprise. A TV monitor to my left showed a distant room which I knew to be in Fairbanks, because there was Gary Black from the Newsminer! Juneau was with us also, and had to be asked to mute their sound because of laughing and merriment. The mood was optimistic, but cautious. Alaska’s LGBT community has had victories within their grasp, and…
Debates on Prop 4: Bristol Bay Forever
Debates on Prop 4: Bristol Bay Forever, are taking place across the state in preparation for the election on November 4th. Now is your chance to learn more and show your support for Bristol Bay. If you are unable to attend in person, call in with questions and statements of support. You can listen in live at http://akl.tv, call in toll-free to testify at (855) 463-5009, or submit comments by email to bbaycomments@alaska.gov. We hope to see you there! Thursday, Sept. 18 — Ketchikan Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly Chambers, Whitecliff Building 1900 1st Avenue, Suite 144 4-6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 22 — Kodiak Kodiak Island Borough Assembly Chambers 710 Mill Bay…
The Naked Baker Must Go
If you are a Mudflats reader, you know him as The Naked Baker. Bill Stoltze may have earned his moniker by his unfortunate hobby of baking cookies for charity auctions in the nude, but sadly this is not the most horrifying thing about this Alaska legislator. Stoltze figured heavily into the book I co-authored, “Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin” (with Frank Bailey and Ken Morris, Simon & Schuster, 2011), for something worse. He was the force behind the coordination of the 2006 Sarah Palin for Governor campaign, and the Republican Governor’s Association then headed by Mitt Romney. Sounds important, like…
Alaska Republican AWKWARD!
Republicans have called for a “Unity Celebration” in Fairbanks on the very night after the opposition Unity Ticket launched in Anchorage. Well, that’s awkward.
Primary Post Mortem
Alaska’s primary election night is over, but the election itself is not quite done. About 14,000 absentee ballots remain to be counted, and the final results will not be known for days. That said, it will be a tough hill to climb for the passage of Ballot Measure 1, which would reinstate the ACES oil tax system put in place by former Governor Sarah Palin and a bipartisan coalition in the Alaska legislature. Sean Parnell, former ConocoPhillips lawyer and lobbyist, and Palin’s former Lt. Governor dismantled ACES with Senate Bill 21 which would give billions from Alaska’s treasury to the…
Election Central Live Blog
9:15pm Ok, Mudflatters… I’m martinied (is that a word) up, and here at Election Central. There’s a decent crowd and the first returns are coming in. I’ll report on the Republican Senate race and Prop 1, and anything else that is a surprise. Right now, the first numbers have come up on the big board: Sullivan – 39% Miller – 33% Treadwell – 23% Prop 1 Yes 50.01 No 49.9 Miller has a better showing than people expected. But, he did that last time. A 6 point margin can be made up in the remaining precincts. Prop 1 is an…
GOP Senate Lightning Round!
Someone has smoked pot. Someone has committed a crime. Someone got a speeding ticket on the way to a 2nd Amendment rally. It was quite an evening. Alaska’s Keystone Kops of conservatism took to the stage again for the GOP Senate primary debate. Falling all over each other to see who can get more conservative has become almost a sport. Like professional wrestling is a sport. “I’ve been a conservative all my life!” “I’ve been pro-life all my life!” “I’ve been pro-second amendment all my life!” “I challenge you to sign this pledge to keep out illegal immigrants!” Yes, those…