The Mudflats

“Bush’s Brain,” advisor Karl Rove had a few words of advice for the Facebook blogger/Fox commentator Sarah Palin today. If she’s getting ready to run for the White House in 2012, she better start now.

Politico did not elaborate on how exactly Rove suggested this should occur, but we can assume it means doing a lot of reading.

Acknowledging that the politics of the day will change between now and then, he still said there’s not a moment to lose.

“This is her year to get ready for the hot spotlight that will fall on her…I don’t know if she wants to, she certainly can, she did very well in the 63 days she was on the national stage,” Rove said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Really?  Was it only 63 days?  Those for whom that 63 days felt like a lifetime cannot fathom an entire four-year Palin presidency.

But will she or won’t she?  That’s the question that nobody seems to be able to answer for sure.  Keeping us guessing keeps her in the spotlight, however, and speculation alone has fueled sales of her book, anticipation of her next book, and supported six figure speaking engagements across the land – to loggers, and bowlers, and liquor wholesalers, and NASCAR fans alike.  So, even if Palin is not planning to sit in the political dunking booth to which she would be permanently confined in the run up to the 2012 election, she benefits handsomely from not telling us that.

[Don't forget to tune in to The Shannyn Moore Show today HERE from 11am-2pm Alaska time. I'll be Shannyn's guest for the weekly "Thursdays in the Mud" segment from 1pm-2pm. Today's special guest is Anchorage Assembly Chair Patrick Flynn! Wonder what we'll be talking about?]

Well, one thing you can say about “Sullygate” is that it’s a big fat mess. And I hesitate to even call it “Sullygate,” because I remember back when I called the mysterious and fishy firing of Sarah Palin’s Commissioner of Public Safety “Palingate.” Then, of course, there were so many gates, they all needed their own name and the firing of Monegan became known as “Troopergate.” So, on the hunch that we may be seeing more “gates” in the future from our not-so illustrious mayor Dan Sullivan, we might need to think of another name. But, until we come up with one,  ‘Sullygate’ will do. Lord knows we all feel “sullied.”

When we last left Mayor Dan Sullivan and the Anchorage Assembly, confusion reigned. The only one who seemed to have a clear head about things was Assembly Member Harriet Drummond. While everyone else was scratching their heads, and looking at the ceiling, and walking around in circles, Drummond said, “Hold on a minute.”

And then she said this: (my interpretation)

So, Mayor Dan. Your father who used to be the mayor died. And now you’re the mayor. And you keep telling us that we have no money and that the city is hurting, and you’re cutting all kinds of things like the fire department and the library among other things. And now, you’re telling the Assembly that back in the 1980s, the Assembly decided that your father was so swell that he deserved a life insurance policy from the Municipality for the rest of his life, even though no other Municipal employee gets this perk.

And then, in 2002, when the insurance company said they wouldn’t insure him any more because he wasn’t actually a municipal employee, and when age and pre-existing conditions made him ineligible for insurance from an insurance company, the city decided to pretend to be one. And you have been paying a premium between $500-1000 a YEAR for this coverage for a total of about $20,000. And now the payout that’s coming to you after your father died is $193,000.

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(Intermission) – We’re taking a little “irony break” to appreciate how Mayor Dan Sullivan has criticized conress’ attempts at health care reform, and yet is happy to take money from the government to cover health issues that disqualified his father from private sector coverage.  We also appreciate the “entitlement” of George Sullivan to get this big payout that is not an option for other former municipal employees.  Just sayin’.

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And then, you tried to slip past the public that this payout from city coffers was about to happen. And you told the Anchorage Daily News that you didn’t even know about this. And then when evidence was uncovered that you did know about it, you said you thought the reporter meant something else.

And then you wouldn’t tell us that you were the trustee when we voted at the Assembly. And now you admit you’re the trustee but you still won’t tell us who’s getting the money.  And you don’t think there’s any reason to investigate this.  And you tell us that there’s a contractual agreement, but you cannot or will not show us the contract, if there IS even a contract.  And we can’t stop the process to figure out what the heck is going on, because you’ve already disbursed the money to people you refuse to identify,  and you won’t give it back?

And then Dan Sullivan said this: (my interpretation)

Neener, neener neener!

And then he gave us this: (my interpretation)

Now, back to Harriet Drummond. She’s asked for something OTHER than the little present above. She’d like someone independent of the current administration to take a look at things and let us know what they find out.

Harriet Drummond, who was the lone Assembly vote against appropriating the money, has introduced a resolution calling for an independent counsel to investigate its legality.

Assembly Chairman Pat Flynn, meanwhile, asked the city attorney’s office to put together a report providing more details on how it all happened. [snip]

Drummond said her resolution should come up at the Assembly’s March 23 meeting. It asks the mayor to return the money to the city “until the Assembly is assured by independent legal counsel that payment of $193,000 in public funds is legally appropriate.”

Dan Sullivan said Tuesday that it wouldn’t be possible for him as trustee to give the money back. “The funds have been disbursed. … it would be violating my fiduciary responsibility to disburse it in any other means other than what is outlined in the trust.”

Sullivan will not list the beneficiaries of the trust, saying that it’s not public information.

For more details on this evolving story, read the latest at the Anchorage Daily News HERE.

And for a very detailed summary and analysis, nobody has taken it farther or done better than Mel Green HERE.

Thanks to Sean Cockerham and Mel Green for diving in. Gifts of virtual soap and Brill-O pads are on the way from the Mudflats.

Last week, the Alaska Board of Game voted 4-3 to open the Northeast periphery of the Denali National Park and preserve to wolf trapping. What this means is that an area around the National Park, referred to as a “buffer zone” no longer exists. The buffer zone was put into place to help preserve the wolves that live in the park and are a huge draw for tourism and wildlife photographers. In recent years, pack leaders wandered out of the park and fell victim to trapping, raising the hackles of wildlife organizations, conservationists, residents who love wildlife, and the tourism industry.

And now, thanks to the challenged decision-making of our new governor (who is much like the old governor on this issue) the tourism boycott has begun.  Thanks a lot, Governor Parnell.  I’m sure business owners across the state are really excited about this, especially since the economy has already reduced tourism by double digits last summer.

The buffer zone helps to keep these Denali wolves alive, because, frankly, wolves don’t really know where the park boundary ends, and where they need to be to stay safe. These packs, which have been studied since the 1930s, have a natural range and it doesn’t exactly conform to the boundary of the park.  And now the northeast periphery, which was formerly a protected area, is open for trapping thanks to this vote by the Board of Game.

The decision swings in the opposite direction  of what park authorities had asked for. The federal authorities had recommended expanding the buffer zone to protect the wolves that wander outside the park’s boundaries. Those particular wolves are the ones typically seen by busloads of tourists who visit the park every summer.

The wolf population is the lowest it has been since 1987, park authorities say. While they don’t know for sure why the numbers have plummeted, they say there has been trapping pressure on the animals.

There are about 70 wolves left in the 6-million-acre park.

Let’s look at this 4-3 vote.

Sometimes the best way to understand a vote, is to understand the votER.  So, let’s hunker down and learn about the latest appointment to this board, one of those on the “4″ side that voted to remove the buffer zone and increase the trapping of wolves.  Governor Sean Parnell recently appointed a man named Al Barette of Fairbanks to the Board.  Mr. Barette has an interesting history.

He retired from the military in 1993 because of an injury, and now lives in Fairbanks with his wife and three children.  He’s also a business owner.  But his kind of business is not the kind of business that will feel the pinch when environmental and wildlife groups expand the boycott on Alaska travel because of this decision.  He owns the kind of business that thinks this decision is just swell.

He owns the Fairbanks Fur Tannery – the first commercial tannery in Alaska.  He started it in 1993 and business is good, but of course it will be better soon.  Here’s a picture of Mr. Barette on the job.

Then, in 2002 he purchased another business – The Alaskan No. 9 Trap Company.  And, believe it or not, they manufacture The Alaska Wolf Trap.   Business prospects are looking good for that one too.

One of his favorite things to do is to teach young, inexperienced trappers how to do it better, and is often seen discussing equipment and tactics “over the counter” at the Alaska Fur Tannery.

And he is so dedicated to wolf elimination, he was even the recipient of the very first permit to shoot one from an airplane, after then Lt. Parnell’s poorly worded ballot initiative permitting the practice passed.  Thousands of Alaskans, myself included, voted the wrong way on that initiative because it was worded so poorly.  A cynic might say that the obfuscation was deliberate.  Voters had voted against the aerial hunt twice before but this time it passed.

But surely, there are two sides to every story.  Granted that tourists will suffer, and the wolves of course, and wildlife photographers, and those in the tourism industry, and small business owners who will feel the pinch of tourism boycotts…  But someone has to benefit from this other than just Board of Game member Al Barette who will be able to sell more traps, and tan more hides.  There are others who benefit. See my emphasis below.

Alaska wildlife advocate Rick Steiner called the Denali decision a slap in the face to the park service and to its visitors who come to the park to see, among other animals, a wolf.

“It’s an outrageous decision,” he said. “The Board of Game placed the interests of three or four trappers on the eastern edge of Denali over the interests of hundreds of thousands of visitors to the park, and countless public comments from Alaskans asking not only to maintain the existing buffer but to expand it.”

He said the economic impact of the tourists that the wolves draw to the state make wolves “worth orders of magnitude more alive than dead.”

The interest of three or four trappers AND the interest of the man who cast the deciding vote to eradicate the buffer zone.  Conflict of interest?  Sounds like it to me.

Once again Alaskans are caught up in the epic battle of the hunters.  On the one hand are the wolves who bring tourists to the park and are worth their weight in public relations gold.  They have to eat, and they have the misfortune of liking to eat the same things we do.  On the other hand are those for whom the Alaska wilderness of their dreams is nothing more than a moose and caribou farm with us the only predator.  It’s good for people who like to eat wild game, yes.  But the big money comes from those who  come to Alaska, kill something, and leave.  And so the state may as well stack boards with those who can make a pretty penny off trapping.  It’s a win-win situation for them, and a lose-lose situation for the wolves and those who derive joy and economic benefit from keeping them alive.

It’s time to elect a new governor.  Before you cast your vote in November, find out what your candidate thinks about the current mission of the Board of Game, and find out if they are appalled by the current conflict of interest that exists on the Board, and the administration’s war on tourism and small business.

While waiting to cast your vote, feel free to let the governor know how you feel about this.  And remember, the wolves of Denali National Park belong to ALL of us, wherever in the country we live.  So, even if you’re not in the state, you have a stake in this.

Governor Sean Parnell – http://gov.alaska.gov/parnell/contact/email-the-governor.html

CALL  907-465-3500   FAX: 907-465-3532

PLEASE ALSO CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND TELL THEM NOT TO CONFIRM BARETTE’S APPOINTMENT. More details on this story to come.

So, we know at this point that Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan just can’t bring himself to fully fund the Anchorage Fire Department. $150,000 is just too darn much money to spend on saving people that fall through the ice, or get lost in the back country, or stuck in the mud, or whatever horrible thing the HazMat team might have to save you from.

So, where SHOULD we be spending our money? Shannyn Moore asks the question.

What the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks?

So, the mayor “respectfully submitted” the purchase of two Zamboni machines, but doesn’t think the “fall through the ice” rescue team should be funded during the winter months? I wonder if his friendship with Assemblyman Dan Coffey has anything to do with it. Coffey is one of the owners of the Alaskan Aces hockey team.

Hey, Anchorage, with the Zambonies we can make ice, just be careful you don’t fall through any if you’re outdoors having a “Big Wild Life.”

What have we learned?

1) There is actually a Mr. Zamboni and his first name is Frank. Who knew?
2) These Zambonies have a tight turning radius which is really impressive.
3) We got these Zambonies at a screamin’ deal because they usually cost more than $77,000 a piece.
4) My city is spending the same amount of money it’s cutting from vital city rescue services that save people’s lives, on having nice shiny indoor ice.
5) My head hurts after I bang it on the desk.