Read about the ridiculous fees the State of Alaska (under former half-Gov. Sarah Palin and now) requires citizens to pay for public information!
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Though many of us suffer from Palin Factor Fatigue, it is irrefutable that there is a nagging curiosity to have the question answered, ?How in the world did Sarah Palin become so popular and why do we still need to hear about her?? My book answers these questions in detail and urges us all to be vigilant. She is one of a small pool of ?rising stars in the republican party? as John McCain stated as recently as January 25, 2009 on Fox News Sunday.
As unbelievable as her meteoric rise was we cannot delude ourselves, turning our backs once again, into thinking that she and those like her are going away. This woman is joined by millions of loyalists whose perception is that she was persecuted in the media, stifled by McCain, and mocked by liberals - and now the theocratic conservatives are regrouping with a vengeance!
"Blue Oasis" began in 2005 in its Blogger format (now an archive) and became possibly the first Alaska Blog on Progressive Politics. At the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis was honored to represent Alaska as the state blog.
Transition--Community Blog
In September 2008, Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis moved to a Soapblox Community Blog format. Readers can become full participants by registering on the blog to comment and write "diaries." Diary titles appear on the right sidebar for folks to read and provide comments. Blog editors may choose to move some of these diaries to the front page.
While this Community was formed specifically with Alaska in mind, all "friends of Alaska" are welcome as members!
**Note about registering** Scroll down the right side until you find the link to register. Then, just follow the instructions!
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YOUR BLOGMISTRESS
My name is Linda Kellen Biegel and I am a former 15-year Federal employee. Thirteen of those years were spent working for the US Army Corps of Engineers. I am also semi-retired from the Alaska music scene (singer, sound tech, stage manager, logistics).
When the blog was chosen to represent Alaska in the DNCC State Blogger Pool at the Denver Convention, I attended with the help of Alaska Real blogmistress, Writing Raven and my daughter Morrigan. On August 29th, one day after Barack Obama's inspiring speech at Invesco Field , my life took another turn as it did for all Alaska bloggers when Gov. Sarah Palin was chosen to be John McCain's VP running mate. Since then, I've either assisted or have been interviewed by media from the UK, Italy, Australia and Germany as well as national media outlets such as Wall Street Journal, NY Times, ABC Good Morning America's Kate Snow, National Journal, Dallas Morning News, LA Times, and NPR.
Presently, I work as a freelance writer, PR, event coordinator, community organizer, wife to computer programmer Josh and mother to 11-year-old Morrigan. Our family especially enjoys our summers in Alaska where we get to subsistence set-net fish Sockeye salmon as well as halibut fish/whalewatch in the family's homemade aluminum boat, "The Neverdone" (when it's working). We reside in Anchorage, Alaska.
Origin of "Celtic Diva"
I've used "Celtic Diva" as a screen name since the early 1990's on Web TV.
"Folks have asked about my Celtic heritage, especially in light of my name. What they don't realize is that I'm adopted. I was born Valerie Morehead of the Clan Muirhead. I was adopted at three-months-old by the Kellens. I always "knew" I was Celt even before really knew. I was drawn to all things Scottish, especially music. That's why my parents eventually told me at age 16."
"Linda is well-known in Alaska & beyond as the prominent progressive political blogger Celtic Diva of Celtic Diva?s Blue Oasis. But back in the day, the early 1990s, I knew her as Linda Kellen, a member of the local folk/rock band Sky is Blu, which amongst other things performed in at least a couple or so of the annual women?s show Celebration of Change, in which I also performed. And if you don?t already know, let me tell you: Linda is one fine damn singer."
I went on after the break-up of "Sky is Blu" to perform with various Alaska musicians and work with national folks like Bo Diddly, Coco Montoya, Debbie Davies, Taj Mahal, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Bad Company, Creedence Clearwater, Carny Wilson, etc...
A bee on Dragon Tongue Stonecrop in my rock garden
August 2010
(Scroll down to find posts.)
(Please register to participate in diaries and comments! We'd love for you to join our Community!)
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This one should be even more interesting for several reasons:
1) There are a couple of newer, open ethics complaints out there with serious teeth. One (Zane Henning) is in regards to the per diem Sarah Palin charged the State of Alaska to live in her own home. Another (Andree McLeod) is in regards to the gifts Palin has received that have gone unreported.
2) (The main subject of this post) We have heard NOTHING regarding Kim Chatman's complaint over the Alaska Fund Trust since a report unfavorable to Palin from Investigator Tom Daniel was revealed. (Of course, it barely covered an iota of the violations revealed by other lawyers in the Fund Trust). While a number of Palinbots claim that there was no violation here, the report very clearly stated that Palin would be in violation of the Ethics Act if she did not accept his remedy.
3) I was notified through certified letter that the Personnel Board would be dealing with my comments in reponse to the Arctic Cat dismissal and I would have a chance to speak in Executive session. (To be covered in Part II)
An article by AP this weekend made it obvious that there is still much interest in the results of unresolved ethics complaints against Sarah Palin:
Palin resigned as Alaska's governor abruptly in July, and an independent investigator said he found probable cause she had violated ethics laws by trading on her position as she sought money for legal fees.
We are waiting to find out exactly what is going on with Palin and her AK Fund Trust since Investigator Tom Daniel's report was revealed offering a "remedy" to keep Governor Palin from facing a hearing. The report was revealed by an unknown source and reported by Alaska AP apparantly a week after Palin and her legal team received it as well as the attached request from the Investigator. The request was for Palin or her representative to either accept or reject the remedy...a response that Alaska Executive Branch Ethics law requires.
The remedy required that Palin:
...the governor should refuse to accept payment of her legal fees and costs from the Alaska Fund Trust and withdraw her authorization for the trust to be recognized as her "official" legal defense fund...
According to the Executive Branch Ethics Act, their ONLY response to rejecting a remedy should have been to:
"...initiate formal proceedings by serving a copy of an accusation upon the subject of the accusation. The accusation shall specifically set out the alleged violation."
We haven't heard when this document was sent out--it should have been sent weeks ago and the twenty-day allowance for Palin's response to the "formal accusation" should be over by now. However, as soon as that formal document is served to Palin, long before her response is due, according to the EBEA: "...the accusation is a public document open to inspection."
(In other words, we should have heard by now that the document was sent. Today, I am sending off an email to the State asking for a copy.)
Giving Daniel and the Personnel Board the benefit of the doubt that they obeyed the law, we'll assume the formal accusation was sent and we have passed the 20-day response period. That means one of three things:
1) They admitted the violation, which would mean that we are now heading into the penalty phase;
2) They denied the charges, which means we should soon see preparations for a hearing;
3) They refused to respond, which is treated as if they admitted fault and the Personnel Board must then assign a penalty.
I have a call into Nicki Neal, Director for State of Alaska Personnel, asking for more information on a future hearing for former-Gov. Palin.
According to Ms. Neal, she cannot speak about the AK Fund Trust ethics case because CONFIDENTIALITY STILL APPLIES.
That can mean one of two things
1) They have served Palin with the formal accusation but are refusing to talk about the complaint case even though the Executive Branch Ethics Act (EBEA) states that it should now be public information, or...
2) NO ONE is following the Ethics Act in ANY way and Palin has NOT been served her formal accusation document.
In a piece by Justin Miller in "The Atlantic" yesterday titled "The Shoe that didn't Drop," Miller claims that there is no "scandal" that has influenced Palin to leave office:
The closest Palin is being examined is by an ethics investigator in Alaska who said it is probable she improperly used her position as a public official to collect donations for a private legal defense fund. However, the investigator suggests Palin simply not take money from the fund, and instead appeal to the state to handle these legal matters.
First off, Shannyn Moore and everyone else who talked about possible attention from the Feds NEVER SAID THE WORD FBI...they said F-E-D-E-R-A-L. So, when the FBI did it's Van Flein-influenced-denial of any investigation into Palin, that was a clever political ADD distraction. It worked, enhancing my theory that most journalists have ADD.
Last I checked, the IRS is a federal agency and I can attest to the number of emails I have received from folks telling me they reported the Palins to the IRS. Having been a Fed for 15 years, I can PROMISE you that those emails will NOT be ignored...mainly because it's no skin off their nose to check into the allegations.
Secondly, the bit about the "closest" Palin has been examined is by the ethics investigator who found that "it is probable she improperly used her position as a public official"...as if it's no big deal.
Huh? Misusing your position as a public official for financial gain is no big deal? Where does this guy come from?
1) The portion that Mr. Miller summarizes from Tom Daniel's report, that "Palin simply not take money from the fund, and instead appeal to the state to handle these legal matters", was the remedy offered to Palin by Investigator Daniel. As we knew when this report became public, Palin and Van Flein had ignored the report for a week. Since the AK Fund Trust website is still up and accepting donations, we can safely assume that they have yet to accept that remedy. Since that remedy was offered on July 14th and today is August 5th, I would think the time for acceptance has passed, so:
2) Because, per the EBEA, "the subject of a complaint failed to comply with a recommendation for corrective or preventive action," Investigator Daniel SHOULD have sent/be sending a formal copy of the accusations to the Palins, which lays out the specific violation. We should know as soon as this happens because EVERYTHING FROM THAT POINT FORWARD BECOMES PUBLIC INFORMATION.
3) There are three possible replies to the formal accusation letter that Palin can make:
- Denial of the violation: This then results in a hearing which involves a hearing officer (judge) and a formal procedure. The only way for Palin to be able to claim "no wrongdoing" is if the issue is completely dismissed after this process. Because she ignored the remedy, that isn't very likely.
- Acceptance of the violation: Palin's case would then automatically be sent to the Personnel Board for the penalty phase.
- Palin "does not respond in a timely manner" (or ignores the charges): "The allegations are considered admitted." This means they automatically go to the Personnel Board for the penalty phase. I find this scenario to be the most likely because in my experience with the Palins, they have a difficult time with deadlines.
Unless the unlikely occurs and the violation is dismissed after a full, public hearing, Palin has lost her "meme" that "she has not been found to have committed any wrongdoing." Somehow, I don't find any of this to be a "minor" issue.
It's also not the only thing nipping at Palin's heels:
Arctic Cat
I spoke last week with Holly Hill, Executive Director of the Alaska Public Offices Commission. I was double checking that she had received all of the documents I had sent the week before. I asked if the response to Van Flein would soon be forthcoming regarding their claim that their benefits from Arctic Cat qualify as a "trade secret." I mentioned how concerned I was about how this might effect attempts at income secrecy from other public officials. Ms. Hill assured me that there were very many officials who had expressed concern about this upcoming decision as well. She also stated that it probably wouldn't be out until the next meeting.
Interestingly enough, it came out early and a big "thank you" to Sean Cockerham and Lisa Demer for covering it:
In one lingering issue, the Alaska Public Offices Commission has refused Palin's request to keep secret the discounts that come from her husband's Arctic Cat sponsorship.
and...
APOC is giving Palin until Aug. 17 to make public "information related to the dollar amount of the discounts from Arctic Cat," as well as any gifts received in 2008 that she has not reported, said Holly Hill, the agency's director. Hill found that the state law Palin cited in arguing for an exemption from the Arctic Cat disclosure "only protects information submitted under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, and does not apply in this matter."
Personnel Board: I turned comments into the Personnel Board refuting the Arctic Cat dismissal and have been watching and waiting for their next meeting. That's most likely when they will have a "hearing" on them.
Emails:
First, to start out with the "most asked" issue...I have heard nothing more from Linda Perez on the emails. My target date to start bugging them about it is August 24th although they have until September (the deadline). I am very, very eager to see what I'll get and I'll pursue this until the bitter end.
Next, Sean and Lisa covered Andree McLeod's email cases very well:
A judge on Tuesday heard arguments in a lawsuit by Anchorage activist Andree McLeod, who is seeking to ban the practice and is arguing it could hide information the public has a fundamental right to see.
and (emphasis mine)...
"This is not something between Andree McLeod and former Gov. Palin. This is a very serious public policy issue," McLeod's lawyer, Don Mitchell, told the judge Tuesday.
The heart of the case is whether private e-mails obstruct the public's right to public information, Mitchell said.
Mike Mitchell, arguing for the state, said many e-mails aren't public records anyway because they are too trivial. McLeod is trying to expand the definition of a public record, and not just for the governor's office, he said.
What do you mean "too trivial?" Who makes the decision on what's trivial and what isn't? Emails about emails could be considered "trivial" except, in this case, they are not. According to every Federal Law I understand, all information produced in government service is fair game.
Gifts
I have believed all along that these will be the bane of her existence.
APOC also said Palin needs to disclose all the gifts she received last year, rejecting her interpretation that she doesn't need to until after she gets around to actually opening the gifts.
Palin has told APOC "there are boxes of unopened mail at this point, even mail that was delivered in 2008."
Andree has an excellent pending ethics complaint regarding the gifts and I believe Palin will encounter significant trouble with APOC regarding them as well. I have a much more thorough post started on the gifts issue that I'll put out this week.
As you can see, it's a veritable rainstorm of shoes in the Palin camp these days. It would be foolish to dismiss them offhand just because they are not federal indictments. As we've seen in Alaska, federal indictments aren't always very successful.
In all the activity this past weekend, it seems that we've forgotten a rather important detail left over from last week: what's to become of Sarah Palin's Alaska Fund Trust?
According to a previous post by New York lawyer JHop, Investigator Daniel was incredibly lenient with and even sympathetic to former-Governor Palin. In fact, he based his investigation on the public relations material written on the website...meant to show the Fund in the best of possible lights to encourage donations. However, he completely ignored the extremely damning legal documents that were only a click away!
We learned in another previous post that the Investigator's report for the ethics complaint against Palin's AK Fund Trust was released to the media by unknown sources. This was after Palin and Van Flein had been sitting on it for a week while Investigator Daniel was waiting for them to agree to the "remedy" he offered in order to allow her to continue her "they found I did no wrongdoing" meme. That remedy was to give up the money collected in the Fund while she was Governor.
It seemed that our former-Guv was not inclined to comply.
Sec. 39.52.330. Corrective or preventive action.
After determining that the conduct of the subject of a complaint does not warrant a hearing under AS 39.52.360, the attorney general shall recommend action to correct or prevent a violation of this chapter. The attorney general shall communicate the recommended action to the
complainant and the subject of the complaint. The subject of the complaint shall comply with the attorney general's recommendation.
Since Investigator Tom Daniel's decision was in the role of the AG, the law is clear that her compliance was an absolute. Ignoring the remedy IS UNLAWFUL.
So where does that leave us?
--The Personnel Board needs to hold a hearing based on 1) the violation of the Governor refusing to give back the money and 2) the fact that the Governor ignored the remedy in the first place.
Including this portion of the EBEA (emphasis mine):
Sec. 39.52.350. Probable cause for hearing.
(a) If the attorney general determines that there is probable cause to believe that a knowing violation of this chapter or a violation that cannot be corrected under AS 39.52.330 has occurred, or that the subject of a complaint failed to comply with a recommendation for corrective or preventive action, the attorney general shall initiate formal proceedings by serving a copy of an accusation upon the subject of the accusation. The accusation shall specifically set out the alleged violation. After service, the accusation is a public document open to inspection. Except as provided in AS 39.52.370(c), all subsequent proceedings are open to the public.
(b) The subject of the accusation shall file an answer with the attorney general within 20 days after service of the accusation, or at a later time specified by the attorney general. If the subject of the accusation fails to timely answer, the allegations are considered admitted.
A couple of points:
1) A hearing is automatically open to the public. That means anyone can go. As we learned from the last meeting, that's the Personnel Board's worst nightmare. They tend to "act up" when we're around.
2) Palin and Van Flein have serious trouble with timely answers. Investigator Daniel gave them much more time during Arctic Cat than he should have. They blew off two deadlines.
3) The releasing of the report to the media is a separate issue...proven by the fact that there is no vehicle by which to address it within the EBEA. I was reminded that Palin tried to use lack of confidentiality as a way to sidetrack an investigation before. At that time, the Personnel Board stated they didn't have the authority to derail anything. However, they may try to regularly throw emphasis on the "leak" to deflect attention from Palin thumbing her nose at Alaska Law.
Continuing with the EBEA:
(c) If the subject of the accusation denies that a violation of this chapter has occurred, the attorney general shall refer the matter to the personnel board, which shall notify the chief administrative law judge (AS 44.64.010), who shall appoint an administrative law judge to serve
as a hearing officer to conduct a hearing.
Very important point: This is now involving a "hearing officer"...a judge appointed to deal with this hearing.
Like Tom Daniel, who I believe was negligent by ignoring the legal documents of the AK Fund Trust during the investigation, he still couldn't maintain his integrity in Alaska's legal community by letting her off completely. Any judge in charge of this hearing will be in the same position.
Moving back to the EBEA again:
(g) At the conclusion of the formal hearing, the hearing officer may direct either or both parties to submit proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendation to be filed within 10 days after the conclusion of the hearing.
(h) Within 30 days after the conclusion of a formal hearing, the hearing officer shall serve a written report on the personnel board and the parties, unless the personnel board grants an extension of time. The report must contain the officer's findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendation. The hearing officer shall submit the record to the personnel board.
The Personnel Board...
(c) The personnel board shall review each report submitted by a hearing officer and shall either adopt or amend the findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendation of the officer. Deliberations of the personnel board must be conducted in sessions not open to the
public.
(d) If the personnel board determines that a violation occurred, it may impose the penalties in AS 39.52.410, 39.52.440, and 39.52.450, as appropriate. If the board determines that no violation occurred, the board shall issue a written order of dismissal.
No one else is going to touch this until they go through this process...a procedure that the Palins could drag out for months.
If, by chance, Palin decides to blow the whole thing off, making her automatically in violation:
--The Attorney General could take action himself, bringing charges or a lawsuit against Sarah Palin demanding her compliance to Alaska Law.
My initial reaction to that possibility is hysterical laughter. There is a reason that Governor Sean Parnell agreed to keep all of Palin's minions...I mean appointees...in place. She wants to be protected from the ethics issues and other legal problems she knows will be springing-up in the coming months. (I'll list those later.)
--The Alaska Legislature could take this up (finally) and hold her accountable.
I can't laugh at this...I get too angry. It's not going to happen and I can't even begin to discuss how I feel about their total lack of a collective spine without derailing this entire thread.
--Some citizen or group of citizens could come up with legal representation in order to sue Sarah Palin for her complete disregard of Alaska's Statutes.
I think that the previous possibilities would have to be exhausted first. I also think that it would be a very lengthy battle as it would be the first one of its kind in the State.
So, what's actually going to happen? At this moment, I don't think anyone knows. I believe letters to the Personnel Board asking that they start the hearing process against Palin for ignoring Investigator Daniel's remedy are in order.
Of course, there are many other issues still on the table:
--Andree McLeod's complaint surrounding the gifts and Zane Hennings complaint dealing with the per diem are still active.
--Comments have been filed in response to the dismissal of several ethics complaints (the EBEA version of an appeal), including Arctic Cat. Those comments will be addressed at the next Personnel Board meeting.
--The Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) will decide whether or not the Palins will be able to use the "trade secret" defense to prevent them from revealing their income from Arctic Cat at their next meeting. (It's amazing to me that APOC is actually investigating this...without a complaint attached, which rarely happens...and no one in the media will even talk about it. Any other state...it would be big news.)
--We'll also have a completely new set of Financial Disclosure documents to analyze a little less than 90-days from now based on APOC rules. (Palin must turn in a final report.)
--There will be a slew(?) of emails to go through with a fine-toothed comb sometime in the future.
As far as what may be up with the future of the Executive Branch Ethics Act, Palin-supporter legislator Bob Lynn wants to tighten the confidentiality requirements on ethics complaint filers. However, Blue Oasis Legal Analyst JHop had this to say:
I assume that she still has tricks and favors up her sleeve - which is why this whole ethics complaint procedure is terrible. It is so shrouded in secrecy that the public is denied the right to have legitimate claims investigated and heard by an impartial adjudicating body. It seems inherently unlawful if claims are being dismissed and whitewashed out of loyalty to the state or the Governor (who appoints the Personnel Board); and that the Governor is afforded automatic confidentiality that only she can lawfully waive. On its face, the process offers an unfair and unfounded advantage to the Governor; reforms are required to level the playing field.
I bring you back to July 3rd, when this fantasy story was told about a Governor who was driven out by us evil filers of "frivolous" ethics complaints...of how she was so abused and was drowning under this huge debt (in spite of the reportedly millions she's getting for her book deal).
Back then, I "puzzled until my puzzler was sore" over what possibly could have motivated Palin to do this. However, it was my husband that came up with the most logical reason as to why Palin would resign with so much time left in her term:
Hypothetically, what if all of the ethics complaints really ARE over...and several days ago, PALIN WAS TOLD THAT AS GOVERNOR, RECEIVING MONEY FROM THE LEGAL DEFENSE FUND WAS DECLARED UNETHICAL? One of the options to resolve a potential violation in the Executive Branch Ethics Act is to achieve resolution between the investigator and the complainee. What if, the only way to a) keep the money or NOT HAVE TO PAY IT BACK and b) to keep her "perfect record" of "no wrongdoing" was to leave the Governor's office?
An investigator for the state Personnel Board says in his July 14 report that there is probable cause to believe Palin used or attempted to use her official position for personal gain because she authorized the creation of the trust as the "official" legal defense fund.
The practical effect of the ruling on Palin will be more financial than anything else. The report recommends that Palin refuse to accept payment from the defense fund, and that the complaint be resolved without a formal hearing before the Alaska Personnel Board.
Palin's response...on Twitter (of course)...was unethical (she lied), as covered by AP:
Palin posted an entry on Twitter in which she said the "matter is still pending."
"There is no final report. The Investigator is still confidentially reviewing this matter. It appears suspect that in the final days of the Governor's term, someone would again violate the law and announce a supposed conclusion before it is reached," her spokeswoman, Meghan Stapleton, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
So, Governor Palin knew AT LEAST by July 14th that this final decision had been reached by the Personnel Board. (Knowing the process, I strongly suspect that someone tipped her off early...like maybe July 1st or 2nd?) Palin CONTINUED to collect donations through the site, Palin's supporters have continued to promote the site and amazingly enough, THE SITE IS STILL UP AND STILL TAKING DONATIONS!
She is absolutely disgusting. If this doesn't wake a few people up, I don't know WHAT will!
In response to rampant speculation (brought on by Palin lies/spin):
1) Once a report is sent out to the complainant, the findings have already been approved by the Personnel Board.
2) In this case, it looks like they were just waiting for Palin to agree to the remedy so they could close the case and move on, as well as for her to determine whether or not to waive confidentiality.
3) For Palin to let it to sit there for a week like that is unheard of. It makes one think that perhaps they had no intention of paying the money back nor of informing the folks who gave them the money. Of course, that's speculation...
