Don Young Touts Phony “Most Effective” Rating
Amid the flurry of political ads this fall – mostly for Alaska’s hotly-contested federal races – one really stands out for anyone who’s more than an election season quarterback. And it is this: “Don Young was recently rated the most effective member of Congress.” Sorry if I made you spit your coffee. So, how does one achieve this coveted “most effective” rating when, like Don Young, one has not even passed one single bill last session, and barely managed to squeak one by in only the House? Good question. Apparently the measuring stick for this phony rating is that you…
The ‘Law & Order’ Party Cheers AK Law Breakers
OH REEEEALLLLY… So, it seems that Don “I call it the beer virus” Young is perfectly happy to wear a mask in the White House for a photo op, just not in his own state to protect his constituents. Here he is at the elbow of the Maskless One, at the now famous bill signing where the President referred to Yosemite National Park as “Yo Semites.” The bill was signed in the hope that it might help the beleaguered candidacies of Republican Senators Cory Gardner of Colorado and Steve Daines of Montana. No Democrats were invited to the signing of…
Wasilla GOP Candidate Forum Madness!
I WATCHED THE MAT-SU REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FORUM SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO Yep, I watched it all, courtesy of the video taken by the eponymously-named Republican blogger, “Politadick.” There’s no easy way to prepare you for this, so let’s just dive in. But first, a visit to the United States Flag Code: THE EMCEE: Mike Coons, recently reappointed by Gov. Dunleavy to the Alaska Commission on Aging hosted a Mat-Su candidate forum this past weekend. It took place at the Senior Center in Wasilla. Why isn’t the governor’s appointee to the Commission on Aging wearing a mask at an…
The Anti-Greta, Climate Change & the Alaska Senate Race
By Zachary Brown She stood in the roiling crowd, amid clean-cut college kids and potbellied dudes in cowboy hats and media men dashing this way and that. Her stringy blonde hair, her dark eyeliner, her sneakers and the flannel tied round her waist, all gave a picture of punk defiance. How ironic, I thought, given the suit-wearing merchants of the status quo she represents. They chose someone small and thin as a garter snake for their enormous, dreadful task. Meet Naomi Seibt: the anti-Greta. The GOP needed an answer to Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager who has gained astonishing traction…
FACE it – Time for Don Young to go.
TOTALLY NOT WORRIED. NOPE, NOT WORRIED AT ALL… The beleaguered governor who said he “wasn’t worried at all” about the recall effort has spent the last week being “not worried” on national TV and in the White House. The guy who spent most of his political life grousing about “federal overreach” and how those darn DC bureaucrats need to stay out of Alaska’s business is now begging for dollars in the Oval Office. Literally. The schmoozing has resulted an extended meeting in the White House on “personal business” which basically means who knows what the governor has promised or…
They’re back! Personnel problems
One thing you can say for Alaska – we know how to recycle. We may not do that well with aluminum cans, but politics? That’s another story. RECYCLE! Remember the guy that Gov. Dunleavy nominated to be the Commissioner of Administration and who got a little too creative with his resume and lied to the Senate by claiming that he was a frozen yogurt entrepreneur which he wasn’t, and eventually had to withdraw in shame? Well, he’s back. Jonathan Quick has now shown up as a candidate for the Kenai Borough Assembly. There’s just been a complaint filed with the…
One Day, Three Bills for Alaska’s Organized Militia
Passing a bill is a big deal in the legislature. It often seems like it should be easier than it is, but it’s a long (sometimes years-long) tedious, slow, painstaking process often made worse by partisan bickering. So it’s nice when everyone can agree on something, and when THREE bills are signed into law on the same day in the same place, it’s an event to notice. And it took place today at the American Legion Auxilliary Post #1 on Fireweed Lane in Anchorage. I’ve done quite a bit of reporting on Alaska’s unorganized militias, and even wrote a book…
Russian Cheating Should Have Consequences Here Too.
It’s not very often that I miss having a television. I haven’t had one for many years, but there is something about the Winter Olympics that really makes me want to watch them. For 20 years, that something has been Kikkan Randall. She’s remarkable and I was sure she already had a stack of gold medals. Alaska is so proud of her. Moms are feeling encouraged by her accomplishments. Kids are talking about when they’ve met her. We’re going to need a parade. There’s a new doping scandal at the Olympics. Initially I thought it was a punchline. Doping of…
Voters Duped by Pot Initiative Says GOP Senator
Monday, the Alaska House of Representatives voted to legalize the farming of industrial hemp (the kind that doesn’t get you high). The Senate passed the vote unanimously but only after Sen. Johnny Ellis, the Democrat at the helm retired and gave the bill to a Republican to carry. Because anyone knows that good ideas can NEVER EVER come from Democrats. And by gum, we’d rather stop entrepreneurs from launching new businesses, and stonewall local farmers, let great legislation wither and die in committee, and fold our arms in the corner than give credit where credit is due. Things I learned in…
UPDATE: HE’S GONE! Meet the New Republican Senator from the Mat-Su!
As Mike Dunleavy (R-Wasilla) steps down from the state senate to run for Governor, Gov. Bill Walker was tasked with choosing one of three possible replacements to fill out Dunleavy’s term. Walker opted to choose from outside the shallow pool of nominees from the Mat-Su Republican Party’s options, and appointed Mat-Su Borough Assemblyman Randall Kowalke. The fabulously-coiffed Kowalke was at least an already-elected official in some capacity. Walker took a risk by choosing from outside the list, and quickly felt the wrath. The arguments on the surface were difficult to discount. It’s the normal custom of the Party to…