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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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Back in April, I did THIS POST when a then-unknown Kim Chatman joined the Juneteenth lawsuit, legitimizing it with an Alaskan resident so it could move forward in the courts. The basis of the lawsuit: Sarah Palin did not issue a proclamation celebrating Juneteenth in 2007, even after numerous reminders from Alaska residents.
Making this proclamation is part of Alaska law:
Juneteenth, a holiday observance which celebrates the freeing of the last remaining slaves in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, has been adopted in 29 states and was signed into law in Alaska in 2001. The bill known as HB 100 specifies that the "governor shall issue a proclamation observing the day."
Officials were also concerned that this was just part of a pattern of behavior:
In a related development, National Juneteenth Chairman Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D has requested a meeting with Governor Palin to allow her an opportunity to reconcile the conflict surrounding Juneteenth, stating that in addition to the 2007 failure, Palin "not responding to invitations to participate in the annual Alaska Juneteenth Celebration has created doubts in the minds of Alaska Juneteenth leaders about ever receiving any support for Juneteenth from the governor".
Washington, DC (PRWEB) November 4, 2009 -- Former Governor Sarah Palin, in the wake of her much publicized book and upcoming interview on Oprah, has rejected a settlement offer in the 2009 Juneteenth lawsuit (Case no. 3:09-cv-00091 United States District Court of Alaska). The plaintiffs' settlement offer, made by jazz musician Gregory Charles Royal and former Palin supporter Kim Chatman, was for Palin to merely follow through on what Alaska Assistant Attorney General Margaret Paton-Walsh said Palin would do: issue the 2007 proclamation.
Palin has been accused by the plaintifffs and has publicly admitted that she failed to issue the 2007 Juneteenth Day Proclamation which was required under Alaska statute. Palin has also been accused by African American leaders in Alaska as being the first governor in the state not to support the holiday observance.
The Alaska Attorney General's office said that former-Governor Palin would honor the settlement. There is no way the Asst. AG said that without corroboration with the Palin camp.
Commenting on Walsh's statement made in a July 2009 Associated Press article "that the governor is going to issue the 2007 proclamation" and that "a very big deal is being made out of a very small clerical error", Royal said: "Palin's choice, which should be clear to everybody at this point, to defy the African-American observance demonstrates exactly why we pushed in a lawsuit, what some called a trivial issue. We knew what she would do and just sat back to watch it play out. Her motivations, which as far as their racial component, we will let the public debate. Her claims that public resources have been wasted fighting ethics complaint is, well need I say more? The cost of our settlement for her to comply with the law, zero. The continuing cost to the state for her to evade issuing the proclamation, I'm sure she knows the math."
Palin's refusal to comply proves that this was no "small clerical error." So Palin lied...again.
This doesn't surprise any of us who truly know the nature of Sarah Palin. However, I am always flabbergasted that Palin refuses to make the logical, adult decision and instead chooses the spoiled high school cheerleader solution...blatant defiance no matter what the consequence.
But it doesn't end there.
The most interesting part of this case is the extremes Palin seems willing to go to in order to get her way...extremes that are clearly pushing the patience of the judge:
In a October 26th order, Alaska District Court judge Timothy Burgess has also ordered Palin to explain by November 4th, her claims that she has not been served the lawsuit which sparked a flurry of motions in August:
"It is unclear to the Court whether the defendant continues to contest that she was served"...."If service is still contested, the defendant must explain what steps she believes the plaintiffs must now take in order to properly serve her, and how she suggests this be accomplished." " The defendant is cautioned that so long as a party receives sufficient notice of the complaint, Rule 4 is to be liberally construed to uphold service'"......"Among other attempts at service, the plaintiffs filed an unexecuted service of summons stating that when their process server attempted to serve the defendant at the Governor's Office, her executive secretary refused to accept service."...."Sufficient service may be found where there is a good faith effort to comply with the requirements (for service) and further compliance ... is only prevented by the defendant's knowing and intentional actions to evade service."
If you think for a minute that secretary's refusal to accept the documents from the process server was NOT at the behest of the former Governor, read Andrew Halcro's tantalizing post. He shares some newly-gleaned information from one of the co-authors of former Palin aide Frank Bailey's upcoming book, "...the book that will contain the REAL Sarah Palin story, "Renegade: Sarah Palin's Hatchet Man." The new information surrounds Frank Bailey's infamous call to State Trooper Rodney Dial, requesting his help to get Palin's former bro-in-law Mike Wooten fired:
Todd Palin refuted that they ever pressured Bailey into calling Dial, however this is a great example of the plausible deniability that they've become so adept at.
Minutes after Bailey's phone call to Dial in February 2008, he sent an email via his Blackberry to Ivy Frye, another one of the three close insiders to the Palin family that were hired in her administration. Just got off the phone with Rodney, Bailey wrote to Frye, I don't think he gets it.
Phone records also show that the night before Bailey's call to Dial, Todd Palin placed several phone calls to Frye leading up to Bailey's call to Dial.
So who pressured Bailey into calling Dial? It seems that Todd Palin pressured Frye into pressuring Bailey into making the call, thus Bailey's revalation to Dial that he was calling on behalf of Sarah and Todd and in doing so Todd could deny culpability.
I'm practically giddy in anticipation of THAT book!
But back to the Juneteenth case: it seems that Palin is supposed to provide information by the end of today to explain herself. Based on my experience with her legal manuevers, if she bothers to provide the paperwork, I don't believe it will be particularly explanatory.
This is just one more legal issue to put on the list of "cases to watch."
When I heard the name of Sarah Palin's book, it was obvious to every Alaskan who lived through Troopergate that this is her way of giving us all the finger.
Politico reports that the phrase has its roots in an Oct. 20 story by Slate's John Dickerson, with the lead: "Has Sarah Palin "gone rogue"?"
But those of us who live in Alaska, and who have been following this story from the beginning know the real root of that phrase, and will understand the ugly irony of Palin's title.
During the ethics investigation of Sarah Palin now known as "Troopergate," that phrase became seared into the collective consciousness of Alaskans. Palin's spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton used that word referring not to Palin, but to the former Commissioner of Public Safety Walt Monegan.
I did a piece on this back on October 13, 2008, where I quoted an interview KTUU did with Palin and here's what she said about using the word "rogue" in reference to Walt Monegan:
KTUU-Channel 2: Walt Monegan was called "rogue." How do you feel about that?
Palin: Rogue isn't a negative term when you consider that in a cabinet you need a team effort going forward with a governor's agenda. And our agenda has been to find efficiencies in every department and make sure that we are serving the people of Alaska to the best of our ability given the resources that we have. And remember I fought very hard to increase funding for state troopers so that we could fill positions there and goals not being met that included not being able to recruit and retain all the state troopers that I wanted to best serve Alaska. That could be characterized I think as a cabinet member who - it's not a negative term I think -- being rogue in terms of not meeting those goals.
The governor's lawyer has accused the troopers of turning a blind eye to an alleged rogue officer, Mike Wooten, who also is the governor's ex-brother-in-law.
While I was writing the article a year ago, I was watching MSNBC and Meghan Stapleton called Trooper Wooten a "rogue" on national television (1:00 into the interview):
As I stated in my October 13th post:
Definition of rogue
1 : vagrant , tramp
2 : a dishonest or worthless person : scoundrel
3 : a mischievous person : scamp
4 : a horse inclined to shirk or misbehave
5 : an individual exhibiting a chance and usually inferior biological variation
So where, exactly, is that positive definition here?
The term "rogue" in describing a public safety officer is "code" within the law-enforcement community. While it was an "insider" term from much earlier, it was brought to public prominence through a book-turned-Oscar-winning movie "Rogue Cop" in 1954, which depicted the title role as a bribe-taking dirty cop who murders members of the mob when they kill his brother.
I'm feeling the warm-fuzzies now.
The word "rogue" used in association with a police officer sends a specific signal of on-the-job instability, lawlessness and dangerous behavior...none of which are reflected in the career of Mike Wooten. As unfair as it may be using "rogue" to describe Mike Wooten, using the same word in conjunction with Walt Monegan is downright evil. If you talk to Betty Monegan, Walt's mom, about what the McCain Campaign has done to her son, that's the word she brings up first.
I'm outraged at Palin's high-school snarkiness towards people who have suffered enough at her hand. However, I look at the definition of "rogue" with a renewed interest:
1 : vagrant , tramp
2 : a dishonest or worthless person : scoundrel
3 : a mischievous person : scamp
4 : a horse inclined to shirk or misbehave
5 : an individual exhibiting a chance and usually inferior biological variation
Perhaps this book title is the first honest description of herself that Sarah Palin has ever made.
I was exploring the clever snarkfest which is Wonkette and the plethora of Palin posts. The "post swarm" started when I "consorted" with Dr. Chill to "desecrate" her icon through the evils of photoshop. It has continued through the insanity that has been her resignation and up to the wacked-out strategy of threatening another Alaskan media figure (Shannyn Moore) with legal action.
Among those Wonkette posts was a little gem under the title "win of the afternoon"...they highlighted a comment from Alaska Girl:
She didn't finish her term as mayor, stepping down to run for Lt. Governor. She didn't finish her term on the petroleum board ethics panel, she resigned in protest and then ran for Governor. She doesn't want the office, she just likes running for office. She doesn't want (can't actually) accomplish anything, she just wants to talk about it.
Quitting before the job is done is her modus operendi.
Of course, this last year has also highlighted other patterns that Sarah Palin can't seem to break. Her biggest, most glaring pattern is hypocrisy mixed with secrecy.
In the middle of the primary, a conservative columnist in the state, Paul Jenkins, unearthed e-mail messages showing that Ms. Palin had conducted campaign business from the mayor's office. Ms. Palin handled the crisis with a street fighter's guile.
"I told her it looks like she did the same thing that Randy Ruedrich did," Mr. Jenkins recalled. "And she said, 'Yeah, what I did was wrong.' "
--In Palin's resignation speech, she continued her steady drumbeat of whining about the media, bloggers, the internet...everyone who has criticized her or made her life difficult. Yet, during the campaign, she reamed Hillary Clinton for her "whining" about the press:
--During her resignation speech, Palin also blamed those who "cost the State money" by filing "all those complaints."
During Palin's inauguration speech, she told us to "hold her accountable":
Palin steadfastly denies the allegations, and with her signature resolve, said she welcomes the investigation. "Hold me accountable," she challenge her critics.
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Chairwoman Sarah Palin said Friday she is resigning amid frustration that she is being forced to keep silent about ethics allegations against Republican Party of Alaska chairman Randy Ruedrich.
"I'm forced to withhold information from Alaskans, and that goes against what I believe in as a public servant," Palin said in a Friday interview.
Today, Sarah Palin doesn't seem to have any problem at all witholding information from Alaskans. It obviously suits her long-term purpose to leave us in the dark. I have my own theory as to what's going on. However, no matter what the actual details of "why" she resigned, it's pretty clear that they involve personal or financial gain...much like the basis for every single ethics complaint filed against her.
If we were paying attention, we should have seen this coming.
(Lazarhat does a nice "troll extermination" post that I thought you all should see.
I'll be out for the rest of the day. Sadly, with the worsening climate (and I'm not talking about weather) I don't feel comfortable publicly stating where I'm going ahead of time anymore. I'll be back with a post this evening. - promoted by Celtic Diva)
Oil Well Willie writes:
"well, you know what they say... (0.00 / 1)
in politics, if you have to keep explaining your
stupidity you are losing losing.
speaking of losing, you and your tribe are 0-15
on the ethics complaint boondoggle.
tut tut"
Well see Willie it's like this:
By whose scorecard? Yours and my friend Navylcc19's? Oh that's right -- it's that chatty little blog Sarah runs (or designates someone to run FOR her at her behest):
The game is fixed and run by employees of the executive branch if you're talking about the personnel board! With lawyers bought and paid for by either Sarah (defending her) or the state -- which, oh wait! -- is ALSO Sarah since the executive branch has hired several local lawyers to act as 'investigators' on behalf of the board... and Sarah IS the 'CEO' of this entire circus. Who is wasting money on lawyers? For most of these cases 'investigators' have been retained by the board. This is open and transparent? A process in a representative democracy where the people have no say, no oversight? These are NOT independent counsels under ANY traditional meaning of the term.
I am not impugning any of these people or the jobs they have done, I'm asking for a little checks and balances here, is all. The personnel board is absolutely, positively, 100% the WRONG venue for investigations into executive branch ethics complaints. Time to hit the reset button for Alaska and go back to the rational, open, honest and BI-PARTISAN days of the ORIGINAL 'Troopergate' investigation by our state legislature. The one that had started BEFORE the McCain campaign! The one that Sarah, Meg and the rest of the bunch (allegedly paid for by the McCain campaign) would later work so hard to discredit and derail as being "partisan" and "politically motivated".
Again, the people of Alaska didn't start this fight, Sarah did when she went on television, while on the campaign trail with McCain and 'Troopergate' was just starting to be investigated in Alaska by the legislature's independent counsel as agreed upon by a bi-partisan vote. She uttered the words "hold me accountable". (We're trying dear, but you must stop squirming. Admit your sins, fess up, move along. You did with the travel expense problems, so keep up the good work! Go Sarah! Go you!)
So we didn't start it but we will damn sure finish it AND in the appropriate LEGAL venue instead the big red "NO" stamp from what appear to be her rubber-stamping cronies on the personnel board. And while we do it, peacefully, with humor and grace, we will NOT make personal threats against the opposition. Nor shall we publish personal information including phone numbers for them on the internet. Nor will we use our radio programs as bully pulpit to suggest that listeners harass the opposition or do crazy stuff like threaten them with violence. Lastly we promise that we will NOT unleash our Chief of Staff to suggest that, and I quote from the ADN article (from a press release put up on the state of Alaska website), "I hope that the publicity-seekers will face a backlash from Alaskans who have a sense of fair play and proportion...". What does that mean, Mr. Nizch? Wasilla justice? Should I be worried about getting kneecapped by Tonya Harding's thugs, sir?
So in summation Mr. Oil Well Willie, when Governor Palin is driving this bus of state we Alaskans like to call "Alaska" we just want to make sure she's keeping her eyes on the road, doing her job and NOT issuing chatty TWEETS to the rest of the cheerleader squad.
Andrew Halcro -- Alaskan businessman, former candidate for Governor, blogmeister of one of the most informative blogs in the State (with some of the best sources), breaker of the news about Troopergate and radio guy on KENI has indicated in his latest post that he'll be quitting blogging "for awhile."
In a post titled "The End is Near," Halcro indicates that he'll be making some announcements about his future.
Looking ahead, next Monday and Tuesday will be my last original blogs for awhile.
Don't miss them.
In the comments, friends and admirers speculate on what that future may be...on whether there is, well, a little Gubernatorial tinge to things?
If that's true, it could only be good for the State of Alaska!!!! I'm not sure how he would do it, though...if he would run in the primary as a Republican or if he would run again as a third-party candidate. Either way, it would make one heck-of-a race!
What is YOUR speculation?
(P.S. Andrew would make an excellent candidate! However, on a more personal note, it would be SOOOOOOO worth it just to watch the Palinbots heads explode!!!!!)
So the Palin Administration hasn't had a very good couple of weeks.
--Andree McLeod filed two ethics complaints, one against her Press Secretary Bill McAllister and one on Palin's closest aide, Kris Perry.
--CNN has been doing regular broadcasts of Dennis Zaki's videos from his trip to Rural Alaska...a trip the Governor has yet to make...causing questions about the Governor's inaction to go national. Dennis's trip was a result of grass-roots fundraising by bloggers and "community organizers."
--The Alaska Legislature reminded the 10 folks subpeonaed during the Branchflower Investigation that they were in contempt when they decided not to show up. However, they put much of the blame on Attorney General Talis Colberg in advising them that they had the option not to show up, so the Legislature decided not to punish them. (I heard from sources over the weekend that the Legislature "may not be done" with Colberg.)
Governor Palin is claiming that Talis "resigned" because it's a "harsh political environment." Even the Daily News headline states that "Colberg resigns amid legislative pressure over 'Troopergate'"
Let's all be clear about where that "pressure" has come from.
When Alaska Governor Sarah Palin gave her innaugural speech in 2006, she made many promises of "protecting and defending the Alaska Constitution," supporting "free market and competition" and yes, this is the part where she asks us all to "hold her accountable." However, she also says this (at 7:50 on the video):
I'll insist on ethics in your government. **applause**
That all changed after she became a VP candidate and the McCain/Palin campaign decided not to cooperate with the investigation AND to smear and attack Walt Monegan and anyone who dared asked questions:
The Repubublicans also declared war on "Community Organizers."
Since no one else seemed to be standing up against the McCain Campaign people who were taking over the Alaska Government, in rode the community organizers:
-- Alaskans for Truth pushed a "Call to Action" called "Countdown to Truth" where for 10 days, everyone was encouraged to repeatedly contact the members of the Legislative Council, pushing for them to release the Branchflower Report. 2000 emails were sent out and the voice mail and email boxes of the legislators were flooded.
-- Alaskans for Truth had another major "Call to Action" leading up to the legislative session where hundreds of supporters contacted members of the Legislature through the holidays demanding that action be taken against Talis Colberg, the folks who ignored the subpeonas and that the results of the Branchflower Report not be forgotten. Before the "call" there were a number of legislators who had already stated they were "over" Troopergate. After a few weeks of emails, several legislator responses changed from less favorable to more favorable towards action on the Branchflower Investigation.
So, thanks to community organizers, Alaskan bloggers (wearing pajamas or not), and most of all, the passionate public out there who has supported the efforts, two of the things Alaskans for Truth wanted to get done were finished this week.
I encourage Governor Palin to continue to insult, laugh-at and try to discredit bloggers, community organizers, and civic-minded constituents. Believe me, it just makes us all more determined. And it appears that the Palin Administration really can't afford for us to get any more "determined" than we already are.
These are the concerns that need to be resolved. ABUSE OF POWER by the governor, this is a biggy-STILL. State lawmakers said they don't plan to pursue abuse of power findings against Gov. Sarah Palin
Troopergate and all that surrounds it cannot and will NOT be ignored! This is significant for two reasons. Sarah Palin was found Guilty of Abuse of Power as the governor of Alaska, we don't hear it near enough. Along with her conflicting stories and seemingly careless attitude about her abuses she cannot be trusted- Senture or Recall is an appropriate action for such a violation of the public trust....
Sarah's AG Talis Colberg is also guilty of unlawful conduct. As the top law official in this state he was completely negligent in his actions when he advised a 'no show' to those who were subpoenaed by the Legislature. Senture or recall is an appropriate action for such a violation of public confidence.
Let's get one thing straight...I am NOT a fan of PETA. I support PETA in their quest to spay and neuter to reduce the pet population but I think that's as far as the organization and I go together. I'm a carnivore, I wear fur and I like fishing.
That being said, Bill McAllister's emails actually made me feel a twinge of empathy for PETA. Being on the receiving end of the Palin Administration's bizarre, crazy-making behavior is...well...bizarre and crazy-making! While it can be argued that both Ingrid from PETA and Bill from Alaska acted like junior-high students, it could also be argued that Bill McAllister is the spokesperson for the Governor of Alaska. He should be on the high-road at all times, not diving into the depths of snarkiness and insults.
That's the territory of a campaign spokesperson, or does that mean that McAllister is once again wearing two hats and our Governor Sarah really is campaigning already? Hmmmmm...
The very same day that story came out, my in-box filled-up with back-and-forth email traffic between Alaskans for Truth supporters and Representative Mike Doogan. I was stunned! The AFT supporters were responding to the email Doogan sent out to about 30 of them at once, which can be found on the Alaskans for Truth website. It's hard to get beyond the first few paragraphs:
"Sorry this response took so long, but I wanted to make sure that all of your often-identical emails had reached me, and to do a little research on a couple of points you made.
First, let me thank you for writing. Citizen participation is important to this process, and I'm glad you took the time to make your views known.
Second, there is not much that can be done to satisfy your requests or demands or whatever they are. More on that in a moment."
Mudflats has done excellent reviews of the Doogan email process, starting with that initial response. Then there was the Mudflats story on the email chain started by that response...the same emails that filled my in-box. (and a number of other Alaskan bloggers).
There were several things about McAllister and Doogan's seperate email wars that blew me out of the water:
1) Both men are long-time journalists who worked for professional media outlets for many years. Of all people who should know how to control themselves and act appropriately with the public, it should be them.
2) Both men have jobs where they are supposed to be spokesmen or statesmen...either putting someone else or themselves in a positive light with the public.
3) Both men are answerable to the public either directly or indirectly. McAllister is indirectly responsible to the public as his boss, the Governor, is supposed to be answerable directly. Doogan is an elected legislator and theoretically is directly answerable.
4) Both men have shown repeatedly (and I suspect, will continue to show) that they don't care if they are answerable or not.
Sadly, among all of that disrespect and snark, Doogan actually showed potential for generating some decent legislation during the session:
"...I intend to move forward with legislation to prevent a re-occurrence of some of the problematic behavior that has arisen from the mess commonly called Troopergate. That legislation will define more closely what is a public document and seek to prevent public officials from shielding their communications by using private email accounts, and the state from stifling public access by charging an arm and a leg."
(I'd ask him more about it, but others have reported that he's now refusing to discuss issues with people who are not in his district. I find that facinating as whatever legislation he proposes effects ALL Alaskans quite directly.)
I've watched all of these developing McAllister and Doogan stories on the blogs and/or on the ADN. I've discovered that each one inevitably contain comments from the lower-48, where the commenter is disgusted by either or both McAllister's and Doogan's email behavior. The commenter goes on to explain that if either gentleman were in the same positions in the commenter's state, folks would have drummed them out of their jobs long ago.
I thought long-and-hard about those comments and realized that lack-of-respect may be the result of a pattern in Alaska. There was so much vehemence reflected in both men's reponses it was clear they believed they would not be held accountable for their juvenile behavior. It was also clear that they were unused to a group of people actively calling them on it. Doogan showed so much resentment for what he called an "organized campaign," he actually called Alaskans for Truth supporters "coreligionists."
Wow.
So I thought about what group of Alaskans ARE ALWAYS vocal and ARE taken more seriously and I came up with one group we hear from incessantly...
...those who pay property taxes!
Property taxpayers are invested in what happens to the money they pay directly to the city/municipality. Taxpayers have voted as a block very effectively for or against various Anchorage proposals, bonds, for or against Municipal candidates, etc... Property tax payers always make their Assembly representatives...and their Mayor...aware of their presence every time their taxes go up.
Property taxpayers directly write checks so they have a tangible dog in the fight.
Not so with our state legislature...while the oil money that funds our state does technically belong to each Alaskan, it's not like we ever take posession of it and then pay it back for state expenses. The only time we DO take posession is when we get to keep it...once a year at dividend time.
And then we're so busy spending it, we ignore everything else.
This year, the oil money has taken a nose dive. The Alaska budget is facing a crisis (no matter what fantasy land Gov. Palin may be living in) and those suggestions of various state taxes have come up once again in discussion. There are many who lean on the side of a sales tax which would take one of various forms. However, the tax I believe to be the most fair and may also solve a number of our problems is an Alaska State Income Tax.
1) An AK State Income Tax would be a write-off on Federal Income Tax,
2) AK State Income Tax would be fair, as it is usually on a sliding scale based on income,
3) AK State Income Tax would finally hit those folks who come to Alaska to work and then take all of that income out of the state to spend
4) AK State Income Tax would make us less dependent on oil for our state budget,
And the reason that motivated this post:
5) AK State Income Tax would make every Alaskan more motivated to pay attention to their Governor, their legislators, the budget, new legislation, state spending habits, etc...
I don't believe it's a coincidence that those "comments" questioning the lack-of-respect from our politicians are from folks who reside in states where they pay state income tax.
So this is my proposal to bring accountability back into government--forcing politicians to respect their constituents as those same constituents demand more from them.
Oh yeah...it will also reduce Alaska's dependence on oil money.
Establishing an income tax may actually have a prayer; I think it's going to be hard for the legislature NOT to pass SOME kind of tax this time, as the economy shows every sign of getting worse rather than better.
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 1 p.m. Professional Studies Building (PSB), Room 158
The former commissioner of public safety for Alaska and Anchorage's former police chief, Walt Monegan, will be the guest speaker at the Department of Journalism and Public Communication's monthly Brown Bag Lunch on Dec. 3. Monegan will discuss events that thrust him into the national spotlight after he was dismissed from Governor Sarah Palin's administration.
The disgusting treatment of Walt Monegan by McCain/Palin's misnamed "Truth Squad" was the reason "Alaskan's for Truth" was formed. You can bet I'll be there!
Some news: Alaskans for Truth is now a legally recognized Political Action Committee (PAC) which means it can now receive donations from the public. To do so, go to the website at http://alaskansfortruth.blogsp... and click on the really big yellow "donate" button. There are some exciting ideas on taking action and getting the word out, all of which will require money.
Also, the Legislators emails and any further information can be found (you guessed it) at http://alaskansfortruth.blogsp... -- please go there to email our Senators and Representatives so that they know that possible purjury (Petumenous Report), illegal access to privacy information (Branchflower Report...Todd Palin), misuse of government office (Branchflower Report), etc...are not acceptable codes of behavior according to the Alaskan people!
Alaskans for Truth, a non-partisan group organized to hold Alaska's leaders accountable, has issued a Call to Action to all concerned citizens to join them in insisting that the Alaska State Legislature respond to the findings of its own Legislative Council's Investigation, known as "Troopergate", as conducted by Special Counsel Stephen E. Branchflower and take the following actions:
- Censure Governor Sarah Palin, who the Branchflower Report found to have "abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act" which provides "The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.
- Seek contempt charges against the Governor's husband, Todd Palin, and the state officials who willingly ignored the Legislative Council's subpoenas during the investigation.
- Hold hearings on whether Gov. Palin and her husband, Todd Palin, committed perjury in their sworn statements to Timothy Petumenos, in his function as independent counsel to the Alaska State Personnel Board.
- Call for an independent investigation to determine if Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg or others, engaged in criminal witness tampering in advance of the Branchflower investigation.
The Legislative Council's investigation cannot be illegitimized. Though the Personnel Board tried to do so with their own report, the findings in the Legislative Council's investigation stand. Now it's up to the Legislature as a whole to follow up on the ethics violation and the other serious matters, let alone potential crimes that may exist.
Gov. Palin campaigned on the promise of an open, honest and transparent administration. It's our responsibility as citizens of this state to stand together and uphold the ethics in which Governor Palin believes.
Today...the day before the election...at a Personnel Board meeting which has been set for this date for weeks, Timothy Petumenos did something unreal. It was something that every lawyer that I heard discuss this report said would destroy his credibility in the legal community. He did something that spit in the face of legal precedent. He did something that will probably get him a cushy job in the Palin Administration:
3) He denied Walt Monegan a hearing and, while he was at it;
4) "These findings differ from those of the Branchflower Report because Independent Counsel has concluded the wrong statute was used as a basis for the conclusions contained in the Branchflower Report, the Branchflower report misconstrued the available evidence and did not consider or obtain all of the material evidence that is required to properly reach findings."
I was floored, depressed, furious but should not be horribly surprised. The McCain Campaign has been acting like they had this in the bag from the beginning. The date of the meeting has always been suspcious. Palin's willingness to be under oath with Petumenos was questionable.
And to top it off...one of the reasons he used to reject the Branchflower Report was because it was "incomplete" because it didn't have testimony from all of the subpeonaed witnesses.
You know, those witnesses who chose to ignore their subpeonas.
I talked to someone who reminded me that I can deal with this AFTER the election...that tomorrow is the most important thing we have to do right now. She was right.
Two prominent Alaskan politicians have demanded an apology from the McCain Campaign for their libelous/slanderous smears of former Marine and long-time Alaska Public Safety leader, Walt Monegan.
Gail Phillips, Former Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives and Chancy Croft, Former President of the Alaska State Senate make a clear and respectful request to John McCain and his Campaign to undo the damage the misnamed "Truth Squad" did to Walt Monegan's reputation, his employability, and his emotional well-being as well as the well-being of his family and friends.
We are asking all of you to help in this endeavor.
Please email this to your lists and send respectful letters (Gail Phillips has given us all permission to copy any part of their letter we may wish) to the address below, asking for an apology for Walt Monegan:
Honorable Senator John McCain
John McCain 2008
P.O. Box 16118
Arlington, VA 22215
(CC is discussing this on her show "Cutting Edge" today (3:00 - 6:00 pm Alaska time) http://www.kudo.com.)
Current Status. Alaska Political Corruption Events. 31 October 2008
Guilty Plea, Or Convicted:
1 Bill Allen Republican CEO VECO, To be sentenced.
Guilty plea. 3 felony counts: extortion, bribery and conspiracy.
2 Rick Smith Republican VP VECO, To be sentenced.
Guilty plea. 3 felony counts: extortion, bribery and conspiracy.
3 Bill Bobrick Democrat Lobbyist, Compl. sentence. Free.
Guilty plea. 1 felony count: conspiracy to bribe.
4 Bill Weimar Republican CEO Allvest, To be sentenced.
Guilty plea. 2 felony counts: conspiracy to commit fraud, and
illegal financial transaction.
5 Jim Clark Republican Chief Staff, Gov Murkowski. To be sentenced.
Guilty plea. 1 felony: conspiracy to defraud.
6 Rep. Pete Kott Republican Speaker, Alaska House. In Prison.
Convicted of 3 felony counts of bribery, conspiracy, extortion, and
of giving false testimony during his trial. Sentenced to 9 years.
7 Rep. Tom Anderson Republican Alaska House. In Prison.
Convicted, 7 felonies: 3 counts money laundering, 2 counts extortion,
1 count each of bribery and conspiracy. Sentenced to 5 years in prison.
8 Sen. Vic Kohring Republican Alaska Senate. In Prison.
Convicted, 3 felony counts, bribery, conspiracy, attempted extortion.
Sentenced to 3.5 years.
9 Sen. Ted Stevens Republican U.S. Senate. To be sentenced.
Convicted, 7 felony counts, filing false Senate financial disclosures.
I recieved a forwarded email today that Bill McAllister sent to his "special" media contacts. (Since I was told to leave the McCain-Palin Campaign office because I was an unfriendly "blogger," I already knew I wasn't "special".)
I guess Bill is a little peeved about how "Troopergate" went...and is still going under the Personnel Board:
There was much news coverage in the Troopergate matter concerning whether state employees would testify, whether subpoenas would be honored and so on. Yet, it now has been 12 days since those depositions have been disseminated by our office, and I am unaware of any news stories covering what the employees actually had to say.
For those who might not have read the depositions, below is my memo to one reporter who claimed to have read them and found nothing remarkable. It seems that only one side of the story is being told. As professionals, I'd think you'd hate to see that.
The bottom line is that months before Monegan was reassigned (a reassignment to a six-figure job, which he refused), there was plenty of internal administration discussion about his failure to support the governor on the budget and his attempted interference with union contract negotiations.
FYI.
--Bill
The memo consisted of one line:
From: McAllister, William D (GOV)
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 1:35 PM
In regard to the depositions, I'm surprised to hear you say there's nothing there indicating that Monegan was a management problem. You say "nothing jumped out." That's amazing. Consider the following.
He then showed a list of quotes from Talis Colberg's very slanted "depositions" taken during the "investigation before the investigation." He then showed a list of quotes from the "depositions" from the seven criminals who didn't bother to show up for their subpeonas, but submitted written answers to questions from Investigator Branchflower (in a strangly similar writing style as whomever wrote Todd Palin's "testimony"). They are clearly trying to paint a negative picture of Walt Monegan. Rather than show you the quotes, I'll just give you the links to the actual depositions. That way, you'll get to see them in context as I discuss them and you can judge for yourself if you feel they do anything other than make you respect Walt Monegan even more.
The following is my response:
Mr. McAllister:
I just read your extended "whine" to the media as well as these things you call "depositions." After reading them one more time, it's obvious that you, the Governor and the McCain-Palin Campaign are so completely out of touch with reality you don't even understand why you are LUCKY the media isn't covering this.
State Legislator Follows Up On Trooper Letter To Call for Independent Investigator
ANCHORAGE -- Today an Alaska legislator called on the State's Attorney General to appoint an independent investigator to look into possible criminal witness tampering by McCain-Palin campaign staff in Alaska. Rep. Gara's call came at the suggestion of the Director of the Alaska State Troopers, who called the potential of witness tampering matter "serious."
Director of the State Troopers, Colonel Audie Holloway, suggested in his letter that the state call on the State Troopers to hire an independent investigator.
Over the past two months McCain-Palin campaign staff tried to stop the Alaska legislature's bi-partisan Troopergate investigation, which recently concluded with a report that that state's ethics law was broken. See Michael Isakoff, Newsweek, "Can He Stop Troopergate?" (Sept. 16, 2008). "Until Senator McCain sent campaign staff up here on August 29, everyone, including the Governor, agreed the Legislature's investigation was proper. After the McCain staffers arrived, people who were willing to testify starting violating their subpoenas. It's not rocket science that someone worked to change their minds, and that's a crime under Alaska law," said Rep. Gara.
The legislative investigation was initiated by a bi-partisan committee of 8 Republicans and 4 Democrats in July, before Governor Palin was named to the McCain ticket. On October 10 that committee voted unanimously to release the independent investigator's report finding one ethics violation, and finding that the Attorney General had improperly withheld documents.
Alaska's witness tampering law makes it a crime to "attempt" to "induce" a person not to show up for a legislative subpoena. See statutes below. Approximately 10 witnesses failed to show for subpoenas during the Legislature's investigation into whether Governor Palin or her staff acted improperly in seeking the firing of her former brother-in-law, a State Trooper. After failing to cooperate with subpoenas, these witnesses have since provided written statements.
Starting on August 29 the McCain campaign tried to create public pressure to stop the investigation with near-daily press conferences, and participated in unsuccessful legal efforts to try to stop the investigation.
The independent investigation concluded on October 10, 2008, when the investigator's report was released by a unanimous vote of the Alaska Legislature's Legislative Council. A separate investigation by the State's Personnel Board is ongoing.
For further information, contact Rep. Les Gara with questions at (907) 250-0106.
________________________________________
Alaska's witness tampering statutes follow:
Alaska Statute 11.56.545 -
"(a)Tampering with a witness in the second degree: A person commits the crime of tampering with a witness in the second degree if the person knowingly induces or attempts to induce a witness to be absent from an official proceeding, other than a judicial proceeding, to which the witness has been summoned. (b) Tampering with a witness in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor. (Emphasis added).
AS 11.56.540 has similar elements, and is a felony.
Rumor has it that Sarah Palin is scheduled to speak at the Alaska Federation of Natives Conference on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008 from 10:20 to 10:35 AM at the new Convention Center -- G & 7th in Anchorage. Will try to verify
I wonder what brought that on?
***********************************
The Anchorage Daily News posted several articles today covering Sarah Palin's racial problems within the state.
The first one was about the relationship of Native Alaska with Palin, based on an interview with Rhonda McBride, Palin's former rural affairs advisor who left this week:
After two years working with rural communities faced by desperately rising energy costs, McBride herself decided the critics were right about the need for a stronger Native presence in state government.
"You begin to realize there's a certain moral authority a Native voice has," McBride said last week, one day after announcing her resignation.
Of course, our friend over at Alaska Real, Writing Raven, had an extensive piece on the resignation on Wednesday, where she revealed the actual resignation letter McBride sent out, as well as a nice analysis for people unfamiliar with Alaska Native issues. There were two parts of the letter/Raven's post that were particularly poignant. First, one addressing DCRA:
My personal opinion is that the Division of Community and Regional Affairs needs to be restored as a department, so that Rural issues get the attention they so desperately deserve. While that may no longer be politically practical, the DCRA director needs more of a voice at the highest level of Government. Perhaps the director could become a quasi-cabinet level position.
(Okay, this is pretty critical of how Rural affairs are being handled. There's a whole lot being said in very few words, but clearly a cry for change. Which I think most involved in Rural affairs would agree is desperately needed. I myself [please see earlier posts] don't believe Palin's administration has done an eighth of what should be going on right now.)
The second addressed Walt Monegan:
I have much appreciated the mentoring I have had from Commissioner Emil Notti and former Commissioner Walt Monegan.
(This was most surprising to me. Clearly, support of Monegan is an unpopular issue in Palin's administration right now. A strong disagreement with the tone Palin's administration... which she will still be part of until next week... has taken about Monegan. It also speaks to the great respect that people had for him - and continue to have - before and after his firing.)
And Walt Monegan is definitely an issue among Alaska Natives.
Well, I'm very very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing ... any hint of any kind of unethical activity there. Very pleased to be cleared of any of that.
Huh?
As amazing as that response may be, the question I found most interesting was one asked by KTUU:
KTUU-Channel 2: Governor, so good to hear from you. Do you approve of the way that your campaign has handled themselves here in Alaska? We've had a lot of people voice concerns about what they call attacks of good people in our state while you are away.
Palin: Well I haven't heard of any attacks on good people in Alaska from our campaign. If you have specifics there, maybe I could answer specifically. But no, in John McCain's mission here, in taking the high road, as you're going to see too with a lot of unfair shots he has taken in this campaign with some of his opponents' supporters, McCain and I taking the high road, being positive. I wouldn't support nor would I condone taking shots at any good Alaskans.
KTUU-Channel 2: Let me answer your question since you asked for specifics.
Palin: Sure.
KTUU-Channel 2: Walt Monegan was called "rogue." How do you feel about that?
Palin: Rogue isn't a negative term when you consider that in a cabinet you need a team effort going forward with a governor's agenda. And our agenda has been to find efficiencies in every department and make sure that we are serving the people of Alaska to the best of our ability given the resources that we have. And remember I fought very hard to increase funding for state troopers so that we could fill positions there and goals not being met that included not being able to recruit and retain all the state troopers that I wanted to best serve Alaska. That could be characterized I think as a cabinet member who - it's not a negative term I think -- being rogue in terms of not meeting those goals.
The governor's lawyer has accused the troopers of turning a blind eye to an alleged rogue officer, Mike Wooten, who also is the governor's ex-brother-in-law.
Amazingly, while I've been sitting here writing this article, (9:30 AM, 10/13/08) Meghan Stapleton just called Mike Wooten a "rogue trooper" again in her interview with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC.
***UPDATED***Video of Meg Stapleton trying to take on Andrea Mitchell (she can't)
Are we expected to believe there's some kind of "positive" aspect to this word?
Here's the media coverage I have the energy to post!
KTVA: Yay!!! It's on YouTube so I can put it on the blog!!!!!
LES GARA GOES FOR MEGHAN STAPLETON!!!!! GOGO LES!
(Put this in the category of "if only I was there" and "hindsight is 20/20": Why do the McCain Mouthpieces need to apologize? They called Monegan a "rogue" or a "rogue cop." That was the specific term Betty Monegan (Walt's mom) mentioned that had her so upset. It's "code" in law enforcement that means the guy is unstable, dangerous and a lousy officer. It was PICKED SPECIFICALLY for use by the McCain Campaign as about the worst smear you can give anyone in law enforcement. Meghan Stapleton should be held to the fire until she apologizes for that one.)
KTUU: More coverage of LES GARA GOING AFTER MEGHAN STAPLETON ON CAMERA!!!!
Here's ADN's Kyle Hopkins video of the Legislators reactions:
I'll try to post about my long day in the hall tomorrow. I actually have a couple of other things to tell you about as well. My daughter's birthday party is this weekend though (it extends over two days) so I'll do my best!
The Alaska Supreme Court today rejected an attempt by a group of six Republican legislators to shut down the Legislature's investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin.
The ruling means that Steve Branchflower, the investigator hired by the Legislative Council, will release his report as scheduled on Friday. Branchflower is looking into Palin's dismissal of her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, and whether she improperly pressured him to fire a state trooper divorced from her sister.
The state Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Texas-based Liberty Legal Institute and Anchorage attorney Kevin Clarkson, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Alaska Republican state legislators opposed to their colleagues' investigation.
The state legislators whose names appeared on the appeal attempting to stop the investigation are Wes Keller, Mike Kelly, Fred Dyson, Tom Wagoner, Carl Gatto and Bob Lynn
Alaskans for Truth has a lot to say on this...sending a letter out shortly!
