No, it’s not “mammoth oysters” like rocky mountain oysters. I just mean that this is an oyster round up of mammoth proportions! For those of you unfamiliar with the oyster roundup, it’s what we do here at The Mudflats when the stories come too fast to catch up. It’s a little homage to Lewis Carroll and his epic poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter” which includes the line about oysters:
Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more!
So let’s begin.
Anchorage – You’ve Been Sullied!
Show us the contract! I love it when Mel Green at Henkimaa gets all organized and meticulous. There were no pie charts this time, but there’s a great index, and sources, and arranged .pdf files. She’s got a great analysis of “Sullygate,” the breaking insurance skullduggery involving Mayor Dan Sullivan, Mayor George Sullivan, Mayor George Wuerch and various incarnations of the Anchorage Assembly since 1982. Dig in!
Strangely Absent
Any mention of the front page above-the-fold story about Mayor Dan Sullivan and his little $190,000 windfall from city coffers on KTUU Channel 2, Alaska’s most viewed news program. What gives?
(Insert Laughter Here)
Voices from the Flats contributor, and brilliant co-creator of Going Rouge – A Sarah Palin Coloring Book, Michael Stinson attended the recent taping of The Tonight Show with guest Sarah Palin. He decided to see what all the fuss was about, and use the opportunity to hand out copies of his coloring book to audience members and staff. His “boots on the ground” report is quite fascinating and presents a very different picture of what happened at the event. Far from the wild applause, cheering, and uproarious laughter that we thought greeted the ex-governor turned stand-up comic, there was actually applause and laughter piped in to the theater to cover up the sound of the crickets. Wow.
They added laughter where there was none during uncomfortable portions. Well, there was some laughter. Mine, of derision. During those pregnant pauses in her performance I was laughing long and loud, couldn’t help myself as much of what she was saying was utterly surreal, ridiculous, hypocritical – nonsense, spewed platitudes, pushed buttons. I was seriously thinking of leaving as it was getting hysterically unfunny.
After sitting through the taping of the show in the studio I can recount many portions where there was little or no laughter or response, but at the later broadcast they are smoothed over with applause and laughter that WERE NOT THERE at the taping. Groans, hoots, grumbling, or just dead silence – all missing.
You can read the rest over at Daily Kos.
***Stinson will be appearing on The Shannyn Moore Show today in the first hour – 11am Alaska Time***
Blogger Buzzzzzz
Local blogger, and citizen watchdog Linda Kellen-Biegel is going bald for charity. That’s right, she’s getting her head shaved in solidarity with cancer patients as part of the St. Baldrick’s Day event which will raise money for cancer research, and coincide with the festivities downtown at the start of the Iditarod. And the event will take place in…..(drum roll please)…..McGinley’s Pub! This establishment, of course, is partially owned by none other than our ne’er do well Mayor, Mr. Dan Sullivan. Will he be getting his head shaved for the cause? Doubtful. But Ms. Kellen Biegel definitely deserves some kind of large shiny medal for undergoing the head shaving AND the location. You can support Linda and help her reach her goal of $500 for cancer research HERE.
As for the other owners and employees of McGinley’s, I know not all of you can be in love with Dan Sullivan, so just emai me at akmuckraker(at)yahoo(dot)com. If you unburden your soul, you’ll feel better. I promise.
It’s Your Rainforest Too!
Yup, America has a rainforest. You don’t often think of it that way, but the Tongass National Forest is just that. It’s some of America’s last great untouched, ancient, and most biologically diverse forest area. And right now, a deal wending its way through Congress would turn over a large chunk of YOUR rainforest to a private corporation allowing clear-cutting and commercial development. Click HERE to read more and send a letter to congress.
A Confession
You know I love my Senator. No, not HER – Mark Begich. But I have to confess… I’m seeing someone on the side. Well, a couple someones really, if you must know. My latest Senatorial crush is one Michael Bennet from Colorado. I think he’s pretty swell, and I wrote him a letter telling him so. I don’t often do that, but this time I did. And now I’m on his mailing list, and I’ve been getting emails about how he’d like to change the rules of the filibuster. You can click HERE, to send your Senator a message that you’d like him or her to support Bennet’s proposal that:
Ends anonymous holds so senators will have to answer to their constituents;
Requires filibuster supporters to actually show up and vote;
Filibusters at the beginning of debate will be eliminated so we can get back to the business of deliberating bills; and,
Creates incentives to encourage bipartisanship and allows bills with bipartisan support to move more quickly.
Speaking of That Other Senator…
The formerly moderate, newly teabagginated Senator Lisa “Who’s Yer Daddy” Murkowski has decided that she’s going to hold hostage climate legislation – legislation that literally affects everyone on Earth – until we start talking about drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. My thoughts, and I know they are shared by other progressives in Alaska, are that drilling ANWR is not the worst threat to Alaska’s environment. Offshore drilling in Bristol Bay and points north, the Pebble Mine, and Chuitna coal are all potentially worse in my humble opinion. Anything that messes with water is always worse. However, to dangle the baby over the balcony and demand a ransom is a bit hard to take, especially from someone who used to be…. well… reasonable.
And who is calling her on it? As much as it pains me to say so, it’s Joe Lieberman who called the inclusion of ANWR a “no-no” and a “deal breaker.”
I know! Let’s send both of them off to a small uninhabited island to work it out.
Everyone Loves a Spine
OK, Democrats. PAY. ATTENTION.
Republicans like a politician who stands up for what he believes — even if he believes the Republican Party is populated by a bunch of “knuckle-dragging Neanderthals.”
The candidate leading the Florida GOP primary to determine who will take on Rep. Alan Grayson, the Democrat who represents the Orlando-based district, is none other than Grayson himself, according to a poll paid for by his campaign. Grayson is a freshman congressman who has drawn scorn from the GOP and has quickly built a nationwide following of progressives.
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