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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!
**Note about comments** To comment on a story, click on the heading and then look for the "comment bar" at the bottom (it's light grey, I can't seem to change it). I believe the font color NOW permits you to see the "post comment" text.
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...
USA Women's Olympic Hockey Team Star Kerry Weiland with our friend Isabella and my daughter Morrigan at St. Baldrick's Day
(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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There are so many parties, fundraisers and BBQs planned for this weekend because the last several weeks have been SO gorgeous!
Of course it's raining like crazy today!
I don't mind because then I don't have to feel guilty for being behind the computer when there is so much yard work to do. (Yes, folks, that's what 16-years of Catholic school will do to you! My permanent companions sound like a popular Irish band, Shame-n-Guilt!) I just recently found my IPod (yay!) while unpacking boxes so I'm listening to my version of rainy-day music...Me'Shell Ndegeocello's album "Bitter." ("Grace" is one of my favorite songs of all time.)
Anyway, it seems that, like the leaves on the trees outside, news, emails and comments are just springing up all around me and it's impossible to keep up. I'm working on several other analytical posts, but I decided I needed to do a summary post of news I haven't had time to cover:
Homer Fire
While I have mentioned the flooding my friends in Rural Alaska have been experiencing and suffering through, I have NOT mention my good friends in Homer fighting and fleeing from the East End Fire. The link is to an facebook group started to follow the fire. Information about the fire can be found at Homer News, including the shared photos section:
The fire, originally estimated at about 1,200 acres, is more accurately about 1,075 acres, said spokesman for the fire command team Pete Buist on Friday morning.
"The weatherman is making us look like heroes," he said.
The forecast for the day was cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 50s, the National Weather Service said. The area might even get a few scattered rain showers later this afternoon.
Meanwhile, residents of three Russian Old Believer communities were still holding out in the face of the smoldering wildfire.
No injuries have been reported.
I hope that some of the rain we are getting here finds its way South to you guys who need it!
My readers are smart and wonderful and really, really observant!!
One item was noticed by a number of you (bravo!) and was summed up nicely in this email from a reader:
Van Flein writes in his letter to Svobodny that "the Governor may spend time in the Governor's Mansion writing and editing drafts and use state provided equipment, such as a fax machine, phone, internet connection, etc. to do so, based on the premise that the Governor's Mansion is to be used as her personal residence and personal activities are permitted there. However, if this uses causes an additional cost to the state, such as long distance charges, the Governor will reimburse the state for any such additional costs."
Despite this statement, Svobodny responded that "Ethics Act precludes use of state equipment and resources to benefit your (Palin's) financial interests. You have made representations that you will not use state equipment....in connection with your book project." He also says it's ok to have "incidental, inadvertent, or insignificant... use" of state equipment. It seems clear that Palin's is planning to use it (it's not inadvertent) and Van Flein's statement does not state any intention to limit the use.
Does the ethics act does say that the governor can feel free to use state equipment, and then reimburse the state? Or can a state legislator use his or her office/equipment for campaign purposes, and then only reimburse the state if there are incremental costs?
More to the point, didn't someone rise to prominence in large part that she accused Randy Ruedrich of using state equipment for personal purposes?
Why yes...yes she did!
Expect to see more about that on a future post!
Sarah Palin attends Bristol's graduation...and still manages to make it all-about-her!
Yesterday, Bristol Palin walked down the aisle, graduating with other Seniors from Wasilla High School. Eddie Burke even congratulated her on the air.
However, could this day remain simply about Bristol's graduation? No-friggin' way...
Conservatives4Palin, the same blog that spins those rare moments that Governor Sarah Palin is actually DOING HER JOB into supreme acts of courage, "reported" that Palin was "uninvited" to speak. (Gee, I wonder who made sure they found out THAT information?) After harassing the High School for information (and then their readers subsequently doing the same thing), Sean Cockerham from the ADN picked up the story. He talked to Senior Class Advisor Tony Jenson, who told him:
Jensen said Palin, who had been chosen as governor since she last gave the school's commencement address, was the favored pick. School officials were discussing the speaking engagement with the governor's staff even as late as August. When Palin was picked as the vice-presidential nominee, those discussions took a backseat to her national election campaign. Jensen said he wasn't sure that she'd ever agreed to speak.
After the election was over, school officials began discussing graduation plans again. Their thinking about asking Palin to speak had changed, Jensen said. The school was already in the national media spotlight because of the election and Palin's alumni status there. Here's Jensen's synopsis:
"We didn't want that to distract from the graduation ceremony itself. The other idea was, we'd had a political figure speak at the last three or four ceremonies ... the idea was floated by our administration that maybe she had had her turn."
Gee...imagine that...thinking that Palin was going to be a "distraction" from the ceremony itself...from the graduates...hell, from her own daughter. Why, that's MADNESS!!!!
Her mom, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice-presidential nominee, was not always so sure. Palin said in an interview that one of her first thoughts when Bristol announced her surprise pregnancy last spring was, "Oh, there goes her education." "And that's why I'm so proud of her ... really relieved," Palin says. "It's been a challenging and exciting year - her senior year - and I'm just so pleased that we are where we are today."
Sarah's motto: There is no major event in my children's lives that I cannot use to publicize MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Those Palin kids are going to need some serious therapy down the road. On the other hand, their tell-all books should be awesome!
CONCORD, N.H. - Gov. John Lynch said Thursday he will sign a bill to make his state the sixth to legalize gay marriage as soon as the Legislature makes some changes, which legislative leaders immediately said they would back.
Lynch asked that the already-approved legislation be revised to better protect churches and their employees against lawsuits if their beliefs preclude them from marrying gays. Gay marriage supporters said they do not object.
"Throughout history, our society's views of civil rights have constantly evolved and expanded," Lynch told reporters. "New Hampshire's great tradition has always been to come down on the side of individual liberties and protections."
And now, the part that blew me away:
Lynch said he personally opposes gay marriage, but decided to view the issue "through a broader lens."
And that, my friends, is the way it's SUPPOSED to work! I can only hope that this will be Alaska someday.
I remember seeing puppet shows and marionette performances as a kid. Usually they would be part of a carnival or a state fair...a larger venue...a show within a show.
What always fascinated me about them was the way most folks would react to a puppet or marionette. Even if the operator--the true voice of the puppet--was standing in plain sight, kids especially would always direct their conversation to the puppet/marionette and NOT to the person actually speaking. It's automatic...you can't help but act like the puppet actually has a voice, a brain, a personality all its own.
Meet Acting Attorney General Svobodny (during a case as a District Attorney):
The Alaska Department of Law issued an opinion this week that was critical of the Legislature's secret process.
"While we recognized that there is a tradition of confirming such appointments in private, we have never agreed with this procedure and have doubts as to its constitutionality," acting Attorney General Richard Svobodny said in the opinion
Now, why would the Legislature do this meeting in private? OH YEAH, they are talking about PERSONNEL INFORMATION...something that by statute, Alaska REALLY DOES CONSIDER CONFIDENTIAL!
Besides, Sarah didn't have a problem with it earlier on:
It took Palin only a few days to appoint Wes Keller to that seat and a few more for him to be confirmed. She made no objection then when Keller, a Republican from her hometown of Wasilla, was confirmed in secret.
I'm sure Mr. Svobodny would have written an opinion to support that as well.
So now we come to yesterday's announcement...that Governor Palin has signed a book deal (contract) with HarperCollins Publishers for what they are calling "her memoir."
It seems that the Governor told asked the Department of Law about the book deal and that she didn't care about its implications regarding Alaska Law. The Acting Attorney General was pulled up from his slumping position on the ground by attached strings leaped into action.
The law department has looked into whether the governor having a book contract conflicts with the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Acts, including its prohibition on accepting outside "employment for compensation."
The department concluded a book contract isn't employment, because it's not regular work for a salary or wage. State employees are allowed to provide services for their own financial benefit as long as it's on their own time, does not conflict with their official duties and does not involve using state equipment or resources, said the legal opinion, signed by deputy attorney general Richard Svobodny.
"A book publication project is compatible with your position as governor so long as it does not interfere with your official duties," Svobodny wrote to Palin.
There has probably been a rash of short-circuiting monitors in the State of Alaska Executive Branch offices the last two days when the employees have read that "decision" from the Svobodny puppet. You see, it's kinda contradicted by this little thing called the "definition of outside employment" for all State of Alaska employees!
To explain, when they first come on board and then every year afterwards, they are contacted by the person who is their "ethics supervisor" and are given a memo and then some attachments with information explaining the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Law. They are reminded that they MUST report any outside employment by July 1st, if it is applicable to them.
Since I serve as your designated ethics supervisor, I want to remind you that the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act requires that all state employees report to their designated ethics supervisors any outside employment or services benefiting their personal or financial interests by July 1 of each year. Although elected to your position, you are considered a public employee under the Ethics Act and must comply with the reporting requirement, if appropriate.
However, the Ethics Act also precludes "the head of a principal executive department of the state" from engaging in "outside employment."l The Office of the Governor is a principal department of the state.2 Therefore, as head of that office, you may not be engaged in outside employment. We construe "employment" to have its ordinary meaning.
But wait...what is its "ordinary meaning?" Oh, there is an attachment (page 7) which gives a definition...how fortunate!
3. What does "outside employment" include?
• Any employment for which you are paid, but not your state employment.
• Examples: a job with another employer, work as an independent contractor, and work in your own business.
Now, let's revisit Mr. Svobodny's "legal pile of crap opinion."
First:
The department concluded a book contract isn't employment, because it's not regular work for a salary or wage.
Holy crap! State workers who do contracting on the side, rejoice! If you arrive at a bid of $15,000 to remodel someone's home, get paid half upon start and half upon completion, it's not regular work for a salary or wage so IT DOESN'T COUNT!!!! If you are commissioned to sew dresses for a wedding, do art pieces for a business, any kind of contracting that involves a finite figure, you are in the clear!!!!!
Tell YOUR ethics supervisor to GET STUFFED when they try to insist that you need to report it as outside employment! What's good for the Governor...
Second:
State employees are allowed to provide services for their own financial benefit as long as it's on their own time, does not conflict with their official duties and does not involve using state equipment or resources, said the legal opinion, signed by deputy attorney general Richard Svobodny.
But wait...other state workers are ALLOWED to provide these services but THEY MUST REPORT THEM as OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT.
2. What do I have to disclose?
• Any compensated employment;
• Any volunteer activity, if you receive any type of compensation, such as payment for travel or meals; and
• Any other volunteer or non-compensated work, if there is a possibility that such work conflicts with your official state duties.
And it VERY CLEARLY STATES in the information from the past REAL ATTORNEY GENERAL, not the Acting Attorney Puppet, that:
The Office of the Governor is a principal department of the state.2 Therefore, as head of that office, you may not be engaged in outside employment.
Now it seems that Governor Palin Acting AG Svobodny is attempting to change all the rules AND the Constitution with one opinion! However, Governor Palin isn't fooling ANYONE into thinking this puppet is using any voice but hers.
Once again, we have a puppet show within a larger production...the farce that calls itself the State of Alaska Executive Branch. However, there are two other Branches missing. Isn't it time for the Legislative and Judicial to change the script?
I've explained that the Administration's claim the Department of Law is completely tied up beyond all hope with ethics complaints against the Governor is false. The reason we know this is true is because complaints barely stay in the Department of Law before they are passed over to the Personnel Board.
Now we have proof that the Department of Law has EXCESSIVE time on their hands.
You better darn-tootin' not hijack an official Web site from Sarah Palin's State of Alaska. Houston DJ and nightlife ne'er-do-well Shoe Latif recently found that out the hard way when she got a cease-and-desist letter from the flinty-eyed legal eagles in Palin's Attorney General's office. And no, Palin didn't enclose a picture of herself winkin' either. This is the Internet we're talking about here, people. Serious business.
When I pulled up the site, the title was "Bristol, your mom is a crackho!" Here's what we find on the site now:
SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!!
So here's the deal. A while back during the election I created a new front page for crackho.com I used frames and in one frame I redirected to the Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin's website. I never had the official seal or anything from her site on my server. It was a simple redirect using the meta refresh tag. I didn't think anyone would notice. Ooops.
So, what kind of horrible human could this "Shu Latif" be that would warrant such action from a Law Department too busy for anything else?
Well, it seems that she's a photographer and a DJ! How AWFUL!!!!
Shu Latif was born on August 13th, 1976 in Miami. Growing up in Houston, she was raised by her mother who had emigrated from a small town in Egypt. Obsessively taking pictures of her cat at an early age, she quickly fell in love with the craft. Despite dreams of going to art school, she found herself in a career in technology. Almost ten years later she returned to school at the University of Houston pursuing her BFA in photography.
You can see the photos from her DJ career at her Flickr site.
So, let me see if I can get this straight...
Someone creates a "goof" site insulting Sarah Palin with a meta-tag link to the State of Alaska website (which, while questionable and unadvisable, I don't believe for a second is misuse of the State Seal). Sarah Palin, because she feels that the government of the State of Alaska is her own personal Nazi SS squad, decided to use the full force of the Department of Law to slap down a detractor.
Does any of this sound...oh, I don't know...even vaguely familiar?
I think this is in the list of the best punchline's ever written, and it's the first sentence on a letter with official State of Alaska letterhead:
"It has come to our attention that the website www.crackho.com has hijacked a State of Alaska webpage."
Yeah, the State of Alaska has been hijacked, alright, and not just the website.
Because the "Truth Squad" is anything but truthful.
1) Legislative Council investigation--legal per the Constitution. The Alaska Constitution allows for the most powerful governor in all 50 states. The Legislative oversight permitted by the Constitution is broad as a result.
I'd like Ed O'Callahan and Meghan Stapleton to show me specifically where the investigation is illegal...they can't.
2) Ed O'Callahan has not passed the bar in Alaska. Ed O'Callahan has admitted to providing "legal counsel" to Van Flein (Palin lawyer) and the Attny General. How is that not practicing law in the State of Alaska?
3) Sarah Palin promised to cooperate with THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL'S INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATOR. She made this promise long before she had FILED ETHIC CHARGES AGAINST HERSELF with the Personnel Board...a group of people she has the authority to fire.
Our own Sen. Bill Wielekowski does a great job on Rachel Maddow Friday to clear up some misinformation on Troopergate:
**Note** Senator Wielekowski pointed out that Talis Coleberg, our absent Attorney General, did his own "investigation before the investigation." As a result, Steve Branchflower has the statements that many of the absent-subpeona-ees made to the AG before this all went South.
Or...should I say...before the AG went South and the "new" Department of Law came FROM THE SOUTH?
Speaking of which...the McCain Campaign's "coup" got some attention over the weekend:
ANCHORAGE -- The takeover of Alaskan government by the campaign of John McCain, which is determined to shut down an investigation into running-mate Sarah Palin's burgeoning abuse-of-authority scandal has become so complete that aides to the governor are no longer answering questions about state business.
They are directing calls to McCain campaign operatives, who have flooded into the state to try and manage the so-called "Troopergate" investigation. That bipartisan inquiry was launched -- with approval from Republicans who control the state legislature -- after the governor's July dismissed of Alaska's public safety commissioner, who would not fire her former brother-in-law as a state trooper.
Alaskans are furious about the McCain camp's efforts to turn state government into an arm of the campaign.
