One of my favorite panels at Netroots Nation was the panel discussion entitled Turning Red Districts Blue: Organizing for Change. Panelists were David Atkins (moderator), Darcy Burner, Adam Lambert, Democracy for America’s Arshad Hasan, Matt Browner Hamlin, and Eden James. Matt Browner Hamlin spoke about his time as Mark Begich’s online communications director in [...]

If there is one thing Alaskans have learned in the past few years, it’s patience.  We know that despite the lack of obvious activity, often there is lots of duck paddling going on below the surface in Alaska’s many corruption investigations.  And at long last,  it looks like the grand-daddy of the Corrupt Bastards Club [...]

If you live in Alaska, sit down. The U.S.Justice Department this afternoon asked that two former Alaska state legislators imprisoned after convictions in public corruption cases be released, saying their trials were tainted by the failure of prosecutors to disclose favorable information. The rest of you may not know the characters involved in this little [...]

I Want My Corrupt Bastard Fix! Time was, they were dropping like flies.  It seemed like hardly a month went by when a legislator wasn’t indicted for something.  After the fiasco that was the botched Ted Stevens trial, Alaskans have begun thinking that maybe that’s the end for our favorite past-time of watching the deserving [...]

What do Ted Stevens and Sarah Palin have in common? Popular high-level Alaska politicians?  Check. Republican?  Check. Like to go fishing?  Check. Used to like each other?  Check. Intense dislike of the media?  Check. Included in the deck of Alaskan Outlaws playing cards?  Check. Legal defense fund?  Check. Book deal?   Looks like another check. “Curmudgeonly [...]

Budget cuts.  That’s where the rubber meets the road for fiscal conservatives.  Sarah Palin’s been talking a big game about fiscal conservatism.  Alaskans adored Ted Stevens and Don Young  and re-elected them for term after term after term (etc.) because they could bring home the pork, baby.  Don Young’s well-attended annual fundraiser is actually a [...]

Well, don’t that beat all.  In another stunning display of “you can’t make this stuff up,” yesterday’s Kentucky Derby winner, a 50:1 longshot named Mine That Bird belongs in part to Mark Allen, son of former CEO of Veco Corp. Bill Allen. Yes, THAT Bill Allen.  The Bill Allen that copped a plea deal with the [...]

I thank you very much for letting me join you. I just want to make one comment. When the judge dismissed the case against me, and he said in nearly 25 years on the bench he had never seen anything approaching the mishandling and misconduct it had seen in my case. Judge Sullivan appointed a [...]

Wow.  I didn’t expect this one. ANCHORAGE, Alaska — In a poll conducted by Channel 2 News, Thursday, April 23, 2009, respondents were asked if they were more or less likely to vote for Dan Sullivan with Ted Stevens’ endorsement of Sullivan. Here is the official question and results: Are you more or less likely [...]

I’ve often thought of Sarah Palin and Lisa Murkowski as a pair of alpha wolves, each with their own pack.  Palin, of course, roundly defeated Murkowski’s father Frank Murkowski in the Republican gubernatorial primary in 2006.  Picture a fight in which the older alpha wolf (Frank) has migrated from the larger and more powerful pack [...]

A smiling Ted Stevens surrounded by his equally smiling daughters graces the front page of the Anchorage Daily News online today.  What a long, strange trip it’s been. A federal judge today set aside a jury’s guilty verdict and the indictment against former Sen. Ted Stevens, then announced he was appointing a special prosecutor to [...]

There are certain milestones in a professional career that mark an ascension, an achievement, a distinction….they are a clear message that you have “arrived.”  Depending what the career is, it might be the corner office, the primo parking spot, your name on the letterhead, or the ever-popular six weeks of vacation. For Alaska politicians, there [...]

It’s been a while since a bunch of hopping mad Alaskans gathered with signs to protest the actions of our governor.  But today, at 9:30 in the morning in the bitter cold, hundreds showed up to wave signs, mingle with legislators, pack the Assembly chambers, give public testimony and send a message loud and clear [...]

Here’s a press release from Alaska Senator Mark Begich (d).   (Yes, I made that lower case on purpose) WASHINGTON – A diverse group of 15 Senate Democrats today announced the formation of a new moderate coalition that will meet regularly to shape public policy. The group’s goal is to work with the Senate leadership [...]

Rick Steiner Speaks on “Crisis in the Oceans and Free Speech” Professor Rick Steiner, who recently lost federal grant money for being too “mavericky” in speaking out for sustainable oceans, will be speaking on Sunday morning, March 22 at the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 3201 Turnagain St. in Anchorage.  Mark your calendars now, and be [...]