The Mudflats

Tiptoeing Through the Muck of Alaskan Politics

Archive for the ‘Skulduggery’

Unite1

UNITE HERE Wins a Victory Over Unfair Labor Practices at Anchorage Sheraton

It’s always nice to report good news, and today’s news was really good. The Mudflats has had ongoing coverage of the protests against the Anchorage Hilton and the Anchorage Sheraton, and on Friday a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against Remington Hospitality (which demonstrates none.) ~The President of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka in Alaska [...]
zyuy

Getting a Handel on Twitter

The only thing more humiliating than a public figure’s gargantuan screwup-by-retweet (see above) is an alert citizen grabbing a screen shot of it before the perp’s hapless attempt to scrub it. When not embarrassing herself on Twitter, Karen Handel, the now famous, Palin-endorsed former gubernatorial candidate and reactionary from Georgia, has been busy making liars [...]
koch

ALEC v. the Middle Class

By Thomas Dewar The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed corporations. —Thomas Jefferson ALEC is a dating service for state legislators and corporations. —Ed Muir, AFT Who Is ALEC? If you really want to know who and what is behind something [...]
Bob Griffin

APOC Ruling Assigns Large Penalty to Bob Griffin for Multiple Campaign Violations

by Linda Kellen Biegel Last week, I listened-in on an Alaska Public Offices Commission hearing regarding an old friend of ours here at Mudflats, Mr. Bob Griffin. You remember Bob: – In April 2011, he ran on his status as a veteran and a pilot in order to win a seat the Anchorage School Board [...]
muskox

In Parnell’s Administration, Cronyism Rules the Day

By Shannyn Moore The war on science is winning. And I’m not talking about those who confuse weather and climate. Nope. I’m frustrated with the continual election of candidates with a faith-based bias when it comes to policy that should rely on science. In a letter this week, Ed Fogels, deputy commissioner of the Alaska [...]
One-Anchorage_Letterehad_Logo_

Extremist Lies — Why One Anchorage Needs Volunteers to Spread the Truth!

by Linda Kellen Biegel When “One Anchorage” was preparing to file their now-successful petition with the city to place their initiative on the April 3rd ballot, most supporters and those experienced with similar campaigns agreed that it would be very difficult to provide a rational argument against the initiative itself. As it states on the [...]
champagne-toast

The Comeuppance of a Gopher Choker – Corey Rossi Busted for Illegal Bear Hunting

Corey Rossi, director of the Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation, who has just resigned in scandal after being snared (as it were) engaging in the illegal hunting of bears. Mudflatters may remember past coverage of Corey Rossi, referred to by others as “the gopher choker.” Rossi began his ignominious political career by being friends with [...]
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A Peek Into the Future of the Pipe

  By Shannyn Moore Ever wonder what the world will look like when you’re 95? It’s hard, but I got a little help with it last week when Superior Court Judge Sharon Gleason ruled that the producers on the North Slope have enough proven reserves to keep the Trans-Alaska Pipeline pumping until 2065. I know, [...]
teflondon

Teflon Don Strikes Again – Young Cleared of Ethics Charges

Charges that Alaska’s one and only congressman took money for his legal defense fund illegally… (where have we heard THAT before in this state?) have been dropped, and Don Young has been cleared. The complaint stated that he’d taken too much money from an out-of-state bazillionaire donor with massive corporate interests in offshore drilling. In [...]
corruption

Is Alaska Doomed to Repeat its Oil History Mistakes?

By Shannyn Moore “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” – Edmund Burke In 2006, the FBI raided the offices of legislators. Lawmakers were prosecuted for selling their votes to help pass Gov. Frank Murkowski’s Big Oil Bailout, the Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT). The PPT tied 85 percent of state revenue to [...]

XL Keystone – The Pig in the Pipeline

by Greg Palast The GOP is pushing a pipeline that could blow you to pieces Palast conducted a five-continent investigation of Big Oil for British TV’s premier current affairs program, Dispatches, and for BBC Worldwide. This report is based on the broadcast seen prime-time worldwide—but not yet in the USA. Whistleblowers have told Britain’s “Dispatches” [...]
garystevens

Gary Stevens and the Red Badge of Courage v. Captain Zero and Big Oil

~Senate President Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak) Yesterday, Senate President Gary Stevens (R) spoke to Commonwealth North at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage about a variety of issues facing the Legislature in its upcoming Session, including HB 110 (also known as Governor Captain Zero’s oil tax plan). Below, you will find a copy of his prepared [...]
luntz

Sean Parnell Attends a Class in Propaganda 101

~Frank Luntz, GOP Minister of Propaganda     By Shannyn Moore While most Alaskans were suffering through another cold, dark week, Gov. Sean Parnell was hard at work — on another junket, this time to the Republican Governor’s Association meeting in Florida. Odd — no palm tree beach shots on the state website. In fact, [...]
oysters

Oyster Roundup – Jail Break, Flaming Pants, and Commie Frog

~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! This is Alaska… A 30-year old man escaped from jail during a bathroom break in the remote Western Alaska village of Alakanuk. It’s been nine years since Kevin Patrick has escaped from the Alakanuk jail during a bathroom break. This time his [...]
constitutiongavel

Begich and Murkowski – Alaska’s Constitution-Optional Senators

Let’s play a little game. Imagine this scenario, and then tell me in what country this story takes place. You wake up and go to work. Maria, in the next cubicle over, isn’t there. And she isn’t there the next day. You and your coworkers come to find out that military officers knocked on her [...]