Sarah Palin's "WTF Moment."
I’ve been regularly blogging about Sarah Palin since before she got the VP nod. And it takes a lot for me to be flabbergasted by anything she says. At this point, I kind of feel like I’ve pretty much seen it all. I have a big callous on my brain where all the Palin information is stored. But once again, I’m proven wrong in my assumption that she’s bottomed out; that she has become more of a caricature of herself than Tina Fey could ever be; that whatever tentative grip with reality and mental stability that she may have one…
APOC Files Its Own Complaint Against Rep. Bill Thomas (Update)
Many of you know about the APOC complaint I filed against Rep. William Thomas, Jr. (R-Haines) because he claimed ads like this were “thank you ads,” not “campaign ads”: The status of that complaint is basically where we left it in my last post on the subject. The APOC staff re-opened the investigation, as the Commissioners tasked them to do in the Adminstrative Order. I know because they contacted me for more information. The new staff report should be out any day now, as I believe the investigation ended the last week of December. However, THAT complaint really isn’t the topic…
The 2010 Muddies – Vote Now!
It’s that time of the year again – the beginning of it. And it wouldn’t feel right, hanging up that new calendar without our yearly round up of the ne’er-do-wells, miscreants, and rogues of Alaska politics. Yes boys and girls, it’s time for the Muddy Awards. Now that our heads are clear after the holidays, it’s time to reflect. In past years, the first place award winner frankly hasn’t been much of a shock. I’m sure you won’t be surprised in the least when I tell you that the First Place Muddy for 2008, and 2009 went to Sarah Palin….
Thomas Van Flein Exits Stage Right – Farewell, Snidely…
This blog post comes with musical accompaniment to enhance your reading pleasure. Yes, it’s true. One of our most favorite villains in the never ending Palin drama is leaving the Great Land. And I have to admit, as much as I’d like to tell him not to let the door hit him on the way out of the state, the dramatist in me is just a little sad to see him go. *sniffle* So, grab your li’l white hankies and join with me by the train tracks as we bid a not-so-fond farewell to Thomas Van Flein, who has been…
Murkowski & Begich – A Tale of Two Senators (and some guy from San Francisco)
It was a busy week last week. The giant metal gears in Washington D.C. were busy grinding up the hopes and expectations of those who voted for the President in 2008. And then, just as suddenly, something hopeful started to happen. Alaska’s story of the last week is one of the more interesting ones. We are the only state in the union that has not had its 2010 Senate election results certified. Joe Miller, who is raising legal challenges to the apparent write-in victory of incumbent Lisa Murkowski, still has several courses of action he can take. We’ll know Tuesday whether…
Angelina Jolie's Deadbeat Dad Thinks I Was a Big Meanie to Sarah Palin
By Linda Kellen Biegel Jon Voight, the actor who made the movie“Runaway Train” in the Great Land a quarter of a century ago, came back to make another one. It’s called “Ghost Vision” and it’s filming in Alaska now. Don’t get me wrong…I am ecstatic about Alaska’s new place in the movie-making business! I have been a musician/stage worker in this town long before I was ever political and I can only offer a big THANK YOU to AK Senator Johnny Ellis and the AK Legislature for passing the “Alaska Film Incentive Program.” It’s wonderful to watch many of my…
Anchorage Assembly Meeting 2011 Budget – What are People Saying? (Live blogging)
I’m here at the Assembly Chambers as public testimony is being taken on the Anchorage municipal budget. (See previous post) I’ll try to hit the highlights for those of you who couldn’t make it. There is a long line of people waiting to testify and the room is packed to standing room only. Guy in weird hat and American flag scarf thinks the mayor is doing a great job. Thinks the Assembly should buy their own lunch. Quoting from a book “citizens are a milk cow ready to give buckets of money… absurd taxes, bla bla bla.” 18th Century, Declaration…
Time to Storm the Castle! Sullivan's Budget
OK, boys and girls. The election is (almost) over and now it’s time to redirect our focus just a tad. It’s kind of like when the dishwasher overflows, and the dog is barking to get in, and someone drops a glass… Then when you finally get it all sorted out, you look over in the pantry and you see the five year old elbow deep in a bag of chocolate chips, with scared eyes and melted goo all over his face. He thinks because you haven’t had time to pay attention during all the chaos, that he could just keep…
War is Over, if You Want it… Have a Nice Day.
This time of year, it seems that everyone’s thoughts turn to the war… No, not Afghanistan. No, not Iraq. Not the War on Terror, or the War on Drugs. The War on Christmas. I’ve had to stay mum on the War on Christmas for professional reasons… until now. I used to own a retail business, and therefore I tried to stay professionally neutral at all times. Back in the day, when I was a brand new bright-eyed, twenty-something shopkeep, and my first November in retail began to wane, I thought to myself… “What shall I say to people?” “Have a…