Ethan Berkowitz at Anchorage DL and Last Friday's Mat-Su Democrats' Egan Dinner

Last Wednesday, I managed to have the best talk ever with Alaska Democratic Party gubernatorial primary candidate Ethan Berkowitz. He was the guest speaker at Drinking Liberally's newest Anchorage incarnation.

I started Anchorage's first DL chapter back in 2005. I had to drop out when I began teaching on Thursday evenings. But John and Heather Aronno are shaking things up, getting a facebook page for the chapter, inviting guest speakers (Bob Poe spoke at a previous session) and moving the gatherings to Wednesday evening.

There were a lot of young people at Wednesday's DL, which was quite a change from the groups I had been to in Anchorage previously. I've been to Seattle's DL meeting twice, at the Montlake Ale House, and the crowd there was sometimes fairly young too. Good.

Ethan was our guest at Friday's Mat-Su Democrats Egan Dinner. About 75 people attended, and we ran out of tables and chairs.

We also heard from Bert Cottle, who is running for the Alaska House District 12 seat being vacated by John Harris. Cottle is currently Mayor of Valdez and Chairman of the Alaska Gasline Port Authority. Cottle calls District 12 "the roadhouse district" because it encompasses so much of the Glenn and Richardson Highways. He promised to visit every roadhouse, and the Mat-Su Democrats offered help in getting the vote out in the Soapstone Road area of Palmer, and the Glenn from Sutton to Glacierview.

Ethan gave one of the best candidate presentations I've ever heard at an Egan Dinner. The Q & A session was even better. He spoke about building relationships in the legislature, and of the need to change from the Palin era secrecy and stonewalling of the executive branch.

Ethan is one of the best-informed Alaskans on issues concerning renewable energy. He described his ongoing project to high-speed broadband internet to 140 communities from the Aleutians to the Arctic.

The session with Ethan Bermowitz went way overtime, but he stayed until almost everyone had left, answering one-on-one questions for almost 45 minutes.

Ethan is more relaxed, with a warmer demeanor than in 2008. He's always had a self-deprecating sense of humor, but he's beginning to turn that into a way to help a narrative about Alaska's future that is enriched with detail, rather than short on it, as has sometimes been the case in the past.

images - PA

Help Us Help Alan Grayson Save Federal Reserve Audit Bill

--- by Jane Hamsher

Yesterday [November 19th] shocked everyone. In an unprecedented move, the House Financial Services Committee voted to approve an amendment by Ron Paul and Alan Grayson to audit the Federal Reserve — the first time anything like this has happened in the Fed’s history.

A push is already under way to remove the amendment on the House floor. Scott Lanman of Bloomberg:

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has opposed the Paul legislation, saying it may result in interference with monetary policy.

“It’s going to be seen as weakening the independence of monetary policy with consequent negative implications,” Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the committee, told reporters after the vote. “People are going to be worried about the impact on the dollar, on the interest rate.”

Frank, who opposed the Paul measure, said the issue “may be revisited” when the legislation reaches the House floor.

Dean Baker laughs at the idea that the Fed is “independent” when phone records for Timothy Geithner during his time at the NY Fed show that he was in constant contact with bankers. What we effectively have is a system where the private banks conduct monetary policy for their own benefit away from the prying eyes of the public.

Dean Baker laughs at the idea that the Fed is “independent” when phone records for Timothy Geithner during his time at the NY Fed show that he was in constant contact with bankers. What we effectively have is a system where the private banks conduct monetary policy for their own benefit away from the prying eyes of the public.

But it’s clear that there is going to be an incredibly strong full-court press by the banks, by Timothy Geithner and Larry Summers and by the Fed itself to undo this. They thought they had it in the bag with the Watt Amendment, which would have made the Fed even more opaque, but a last minute push by progressives helped Grayson garner the votes he needed. As the Huffington Post notes, the letter we circulated signed by progressive leaders in support of the bill was “key” to Grayson’s ability to whip Democratic votes.

It was an incredible defeat for the banks, who have been able to write their own ticket by orchestrating the bailouts, controlling the Federal Reserve and demanding their divine right to profiteer while the unemployment rate skyrockets.

We’re proud of the role we played in this effort. It’s time we stop bailing out Wall Street and start investing in Main Street. But we need your support to help make that happen.

If you want us to keep fighting against the bankers and stop them from gutting the Paul-Grayson before it sees the light of day, please consider donating today.

Saradise Lost & Found Chapter 8 - Sunday Odds & Ends - Some More Odd Than Others

Beck and Palin, put together, make a deadly cocktail for the GOP - in 2010, 2012 or ever:


Palin in Columbus, OH today - Part One:

Part Three (part two is missing):

Why Are Strider and I Celebrating?

We're celebrating because we just found out that AK Muckraker - Jeanne Devon - has been named Cook Inletkeeper's 2009 Alaska Muckraker of the Year:

Please join Cook Inletkeeper for our annual Muckrakers Ball on December 5, 2009.

Cook Inletkeeper will be honoring Jeanne Devon for outstanding public service through her award-winning blog The Mud Flats.

Join us at RumRunners - Old Towne Bar & Grill in downtown Anchorage.

WHAT

Cook Inletkeeper's Muckrakers Ball

Shannyn Moore, Emcee

WHERE

RumRunners - Old Towne Bar & Grill

I know, I know - how could AK Muckraker NOT be named Alaska Muckraker of the year with a handle like that?

Well, it has to do with the fine job AKM has been doing, and the on-line community she has developed.

Saturday Alaska Progressive Blog Roundup - Another Death Panel

The Sarah Palin Death Panel:
Blackberry addict, annoying blogger, town crank and effete chap

Friday's All Things Considered on National Public Radio featured this little gem:

ROBERT SIEGEL: ..... I guess, my question for you is which one of those two women will be - we will be talking about more in 2012, Oprah Winfrey or Sarah Palin?

E.J. DIONNE: I think Oprah Winfrey but you just mentioned Sarah Palin, which increased the ratings of this show by 50 percent. You mention Palin, Web site traffic goes up. So that's why she is getting so much attention.

The Alaska bloggers have known this for some time. So does pretty much all Alaska media, electronic, print, audio and video.

I. Shannyn Moore's KYES Channel 5 television program, Moore Up North, broadcasting today at 4:00 Alaska Time, will feature a hilarious comedy skit by Alice Welling, about when Levi Johnston goes to the Palins for Thanksgiving, and an extended interview with University of Alaska Professor Rick Steiner about the unprecedented attempt at muzzling him by UA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

After that, there will be Sarah Palin's Death Panel, composed of people Palin has attempted to throw under her bus, but have managed to survive and thrive.

II. This past week, Moore continued to write the most effective articles about the continuing attempts to make the budget shortfalls that the Municipality of Anchorage is enduring into something they simply are not. Back on September 23rd, when Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan began his "poor me - nasty, mean Mark!" screed, Moore questioned his motives in an essay titled, "Is Dan Sullivan Running for Senate?" This past week, upon the issuance of the Wheeler Report, Moore wrote "Mayor Sully's Wah-Wah Moment." In the article, Moore observed:

If the city is in such financial disarray from the previous administration, why did Dan Sullivan take a mayoral paycheck for the weeks BEFORE he was mayor? Matt Claman was already being paid to be the acting mayor. Because of Sully, the good taxpayers of Anchorage had to cough up an extra $12,115.20. There is no record of any [previous] mayor EVER taking a paycheck between election certification and the swearing-in ceremony. The legal loophole Sullivan took advantage of ought to be closed.

I heard dapper Dan on some right-wing talk radio program Thursday afternoon. The host was constantly and incorrectly referring to the $1,215.00 Sullivan got. Sullivan didn't bother to correct the $10,920.20 computational error. Not once. It made me pause and think, "How can you trust this guy on other peoples' money, when he is so willing to let the truth about his own be so falsely portrayed to his own benefit?"

Some of the right-wing Anchiorage radio programs are calling for a special investigator, a special prosecutor or indictments. This is just plain nuts. And as Moore observes about the findings of the Wheeler Report:

According to the Wheeler report, it is important to note that former Mayor Mark Begich DID NOT violate the city charter. AND, the union contracts that have been under constant fire are VALID and PERFECTLY LEGAL!

AK Muckraker chose to cover the meretricious approach to governing by Dapper Dan differently. She told the story as parable, in an article titled "The Witch Hunt - A Parable."

The mayor of the town sat with his feet on the desk, sucking on a chicken bone and looking out the window, surveying his kingdom. OK, it wasn’t really a kingdom, but that would come. He tossed the chicken bone in the trash can and it landed with a clang as he enjoyed the view from his window. This was a very comfortable chair.

The man who previously sat in the comfy chair didn’t like this new mayor, and the new mayor didn’t like him. The new mayor didn’t like the old mayor especially because now the old mayor had left the little town and lived far away, and had an even better chair, and a bigger office and the people liked him. He thought about the former mayor and his success as he sucked a piece of gristle from between his teeth. Nope, he didn’t like that guy one little bit.

Into the office came minions. The mayor smiled. He liked having minions. Even though the minions were smarter than the mayor, they tried not to let him know that. A minion spoke. The minion was slick and he had an ironed shirt and a nice belt, and he used hair products. “The city is in debt,” he said grinning from ear to ear. “This is going to be great.”

“How is it great?” wondered the mayor aloud. The mayor was gazing out the window wondering what the view was like from that other office far away, so he didn’t see the minion roll his eyes. “It’s great because we can blame Mr. Bigpants the Senator just like we planned, you idiot!” He didn’t say “you idiot” out loud, but he thought it.

“But, didn’t he inherit a giant debt when he became mayor too? I don’t remember him blaming that other guy, did he? How will we get away with that?” The minion’s patience was wearing thin. He took a deep breath and decided to explain this to the mayor like he was an 8-year old.

“Look. We don’t LIKE this guy. It doesn’t matter what he did, and it doesn’t matter what history looks like, and it doesn’t matter about the actual facts. We’re going to make him LOOK bad. He’s on the other side, and people are starting to figure out that the other side is better than we are, and if this guy does well then it’s going to be bad news for us. Bad news here, and bad news there.” He gestured in the general direction of the big office on the east coast. “If we can get him out of there, then one of us can take his job!” The minion looked at the mayor for a long time to make sure he understood, and finally a little spark lit up his eyes.

“Ohhhh. I get it.”

“Good. So here’s the plan......”

Linda Kellen at Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis, in her coverage of the Wheeler Report, notes:

What it really comes down to: The Assembly already had all the financial information that the Mayor had. The Conservative's beef: the then-mayor asked for a spreadsheet from then City Finance Officer Sharon Weddleton, where she combined the information everyone already had and inserted some "risk factors" the city might face. As she said, "Most of that information has been disclosed in the footnotes of the financial statements for years." (As it stands, most of these "risk factors" never came to pass.)

I guess the Assembly doesn't read their footnotes. Then, they fired Ms. Weddleton as soon as Mayor Begich left to become Senator and before the Budget was completed. Ooops...

Mudflats explains all of this in an EXTREMELY entertaining way and alludes to some of the information that...well...quite frankly required more research before it could be discussed at any depth.

Coverage of this issue by Anchorage's print, radio and television media has been somewhat spotty. Don Hunter's series of ADN articles are good. KTUU's coverage has been scant, with only one video clip of "he said-she said" shallow reporting showing up in their video cache.


III. In the same article covering the Wheeler report, Celtic Diva provided an update on the status of her public records request that was paid for in large part by contributions from readers at Alaska's progressive blogs.

Since Attorney General Talis Colberg set up the structure for what has become the least transparent executive department in Alaska history, it has been extremely difficult to get information from the state on a variety of subjects. The Anchorage Daily News, The Alaska Democratic Party, scientist and professor Rick Steiner, Linda Kellen and dozens of others, have all had vexing encounters with the stone wall that has become access to the citizens' rights to know about conduct of government in Alaska.

Linda had been asked by the state to "either agree to an extension or risk losing if I treated all of this as non-responsive and appealed to the Governor. The other option, the court option, isn't really feasible at this time.

"So, I said I'd agree to the third option...to have the Governor belatedly ask the Attorney General to grant an extension."

Here's her letter:

According to your October 9th extension request, you have stated that I have three options:

1) I could agree to an extension request.

You did not state how long that extension would be. I cannot agree to it if I do not know the length of time of that extension. Also, there have been a few weeks between your letter and my response. I would assume that should considerably reduce the length of the extension if not make it unnecessary. For me to agree to #1, the length of the extension must be identified and it must be of reasonable length for the small number of emails I have requested. Besides, as a result of my research and experience with this process, I believe you have already had plenty of time.

2) I could treat this as a denial of my request and appeal to Governor Parnell or Superior Court.

My understanding is that: a) your letter alleges that the services for which the $5,552.62 was covering have already been rendered (i.e. the email search and filtering-see attached June 5th modified request and June 17th additional questions). b) We are now waiting for the lawyers at DoL to go through and see if anything needs to be redacted-services for which Alaska Statute specifically states I cannot be charged.

I am not financially able to either pay the money again for the same search (if Governor Parnell denies the appeal) or afford an appeal to the Superior Court. Therefore, I would not choose this option. (As an aside, since you now know how many emails are being analyzed as the result of the search specific to my records request, I would like to know the number. You should now be able to answer that question as the search process is completed.)

3) The Governor could belatedly request an extension from Attorney General Sullivan.

I think this would be my first choice, as long as my request is in no way penalized for it. In other words, no matter what happens, this process moves forward.

My ultimate goal, after all, is to obtain these emails.

So, in conclusion, I would request number three as long as the above conditions apply.

I believe that the $5,552.62 we paid was for the inefficiency and poor management of those inflated rates even one time as this is information guaranteed by Alaska Statute and Federal Law to be accessible to the public, much less pay for them again. If any action you are about to take could lead to that as a possibility, I expect that you will contact me and await a response before acting.

Thank you for your attention

Linda Kellen Biegel

IV. Once Again - All Sarah - All the Time. Good grief!

Where to begin. As you've noticed almost all of the progressive Alaskan blogs have been wall-to-wall Palin since late last week. Even though I intended to close down the Saradise Lost series after the Crazy Woman's abdication, I brought it back this past week, with Book 4. We're now up to 327 chapters.

First of all, PA should note that one of the mainstream media programs that went wall-to-wall Sarah this week was KSKA/KAKM's Anchorage Edition. I'm noting this mostly because this week's panel, hosted by Michael Carey from the ADN, was comprised of Rebecca Braun from the Alaska Budget Report, Jill Burke from The Alaska Dispatch, and Julia O'Malley, from the ADN. Carey, whose writings on Palin have sometimes been far too laudatory and at others have been spot-on, moderated a good discussion featuring some new voices in Alaska media - at least for this weekly program. A welcome sign of life.

Also, PA welcomed further evidence - from Palin herself - that my claim about Palin's creationist beliefs, made last year, and based on three conversations I had with her over an 8-year period, wasn't just plain "made up," as some right-wing blogs have asserted.

The national exposure Palin received this past week is quite unprecedented for any book release in American history. I can't help but wonder how different national perception of what Palin represents would be, had it not been for the Alaska progressive blogging community.

Saradise Lost - Book 4 - Chapter 13 -- A Compilation

Today's US Senate Cloture Vote on Health Care - YOU CAN HELP!

--- by AK Muckraker

“Homework on a Saturday?” you think. “What’s the deal with THAT?”

Well, this is the deal. We’ve been waiting for health care, and talking about health care and listening to other people talk about health care, and getting screamed at by teabaggers talking about the evils of health care, and suffering through round after round of endless wrangling in the House, and now…

There is a health care bill coming from the Senate. Or is there? After all this time, and all this effort, the Republicans in the Senate want to vote no on cloture. This means that they don’t even want to talk about it. They want no discussion. But, the other side of the aisle, and most of the American people DO want to talk about it. Very very much. The longer this debate drags on, the more people will die. It’s a simple fact.

And just to add insult to injury, the drum beat of conservative radio talk in Anchorage has been incessant. “Call your Senator and tell them to vote NO!” “Health care bad. Obstructionism good!” “Call now! Tell your friends!” “No no no!”

And this went on ALL. DAY. LONG.

And whenever that happens the folks on the other end of the line have to make note of how many calls they have gotten asking them to vote no, versus how many want them to vote yes.

So, what I’m asking is this:

Pick up your phone and make a super-quick, painless, friendly call to the offices of Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski and tell them YES! Yes, yes, yes. Vote yes to start talking! Vote yes to move the debate a step ahead! Vote yes to bring us into the home stretch of health care debate! Yes for dialog! Yes for discussion!

And if you can only make one call, that’s OK but make it to Mark Begich’s office. Imagine those poor forlorn phone answerers who have been dealing with the rabid teabaggers all day. They will LOVE to hear from you. You’ll be like a little gift. A smile. A ray of sunshine.

And once you do that, you can do a little add-on and call Lisa Murkowski. She always likes to quote the statistics and say “I’ve gotten this many phone calls and not one of them said yes.” It’s irritating. Because there are more people who want this to proceed than people who don’t. But the people who don’t want it, get their marching orders and call in. Actually the people that don’t want cloture, really DO. They just don’t realize it. So do them a favor too.

The vote will come today, so no procrastinating. Right now pick up your phone and call.

All you have to say is “Hi, I’m calling to urge the senator to vote yes on cloture for the health care bill.” And that’ll do it.

Yes, right now! I’ll wait….

Senator Begich 202-224-3004

Senator Murkowski 202-224-6665

And when you’re done, you get a reward! You get to write a comment [here at Progressive Alaska or at The Mudfats] or drop me an email and let me know you did it! And if you’re out of state, please call your senator too and let us know.

Homework is always fun when you do it with a group of friends.

Saradise Lost - Book 4 - Chapter 12 -- "Want a Cookie?"

Fish for Friday - Update on Fishery Resources on the Web in Alaska

Back in March 2008, Progressive Alaska posted an article about fishery issue coverage by Alaska media, called Writing About Commercial Fishery Issues in the Alaska Press. A lot has changed in that 20-month period.

The most widely read fisheries reporter in Alaska, Wesley Loy, left the Anchorage Daily News in mid-2009, in their big buyout deal. He has since started his own blogs.

Deckboss posts several articles per week and continues the modality Loy carried in his blog entries at the ADN. Deckboss isn't progressive, but Loy keeps up on issues and events.

Loy's other fisheries blog is called The Brig. In it he cites citations, violations and trials in the industry.

Along with Loy, Laine Welch's Fish Radio and her articles for Sitnews are valuable. Like Loy, she isn't progressive, but is quite knowledgeable. Fish Radio often has a new program every weekday.

The Alaska Report is the most valuable resource that also contains many articles that question the industrial paradigm that is on the verge of ruining the last remaining high-volume offshore fisheries on the planet. So, in that sense, its articles are currently the most viable. Reporters Stephen Taufen, John Enge and Terry Haines often contribute.

Enge and Haines have their own blogs. Neither are very active, but both sometimes post excellent articles.

Enge's blog, Alaska Cafe, hasn't posted a new article since August. Too bad.

Haines blog, The Rogue Wave, writes from an important and often neglected perspective - that of the deckhand, a normal crew person.

Two new blogs are also progressive and question the wisdom of many current fishery policies. No Trawl Zone is very critical of deepwater trawl practices and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration policies as they now stand.

Tholepin similarly highlights the unsustainable fallacies of these policies. Additionally, Tholepin has an open reward for information on bycatch criminality.

Since Wesley Loy left the Anchorage Daily News there hasn't been a clear fishery article policy there. Kyle Hopkins, Richard Mauer, Elizabeth Bluemink and others have contributed fisheries articles, but there has yet to emerge an editorial pattern there indicating the ADN knows very well how to fill the gap created by Loy's departure.

Alaska Public Radio Network has long been able to take advantage of having many coastal contributing stations when it comes to important fishery stories. Instead of giving $600,000 to the Alaska House in Soho on Manhattan Island this coming year, they might think about expanding fishery coverage at APRN. This past year, as other media outlets in Alaska, especially print media, crashed, APRN has held rather steady. They appear to be running at least four important fishery articles a week on Alaska News Nightly, sometimes far more.

APRN's reports, though not necessarily progressive, sometimes ask tough questions from State or Federal fishery administrators, or on subjects related to fishery sustainability. Their coverage of the Rick Steiner issue at the University of Alaska, compared to that of the Anchorage Daily News is a case in point on how much more APRN is able to perform statewide right now than the ADN.

Throughout the winter, spring and summer crises on the Lower Yukon and on the Kuskokwim River, Alaska Newspapers' many outlets contributed fine articles. With papers in Dutch Harbor, Dillingham and Bethel AN's outlets combined Western Alaska offshore and onshore issues as well as APRN.

Saradise Lost - Book 4 - Chapter 11 -- The Noblesville Disaster

Several blogs, including firedoglake, are running this. Also, the blog rumproast is collecting some very rude comments about the Noblesville Disaster from the Crazy Woman's facebook:

Gary Conner Sarah,

You angered and disappointed over 300 families in Noblesville tonight. I attended Mike Huckabee’s book signing yesterday. He had pre-signed book in case he would be unable to sign all the books for people who qualified. His books would be exchange one for one with any one whose book he could not sign

First, you should work to make this right. Second, you need to make sure that it never happens again!

and:

Jordan Harris I just spent 9 hours of my day, $40 of my hard earned money on two of your books, and took the whole day off work to watch you jump on a bus and throw a half-heated wave to the crowd you were avoiding.

I have never felt so disrespected. How can you claim that you are different? You aren’t. You are just as selfish as everyone else in Washington. It breaks my heart. I thought you might be the answer to the turmoil this country is under but you aren’t. You just slapped hundreds of Hoosiers in the face. The hard working type of people that you claim to represent.

and:

Linda Lewey My family (wife, 3year old, and 10 year old) and I waited for 6 hours to get a book signed by Sarah Palin tonight. She left 300 folks standing in the rain and cold without explanation or even an address at exit. That is 1800 hours of voters lives sacrificed for nothing due to lack of concern by another politician for… our time, money and effort to see a cause through. She could have invested 45 minutes and not received the boos, or sign my book chants. I know that the majority of the folks that were chanting go Palin now are returning her books tomorrow morning. What a disappointment.

and:

Greg VandenBoom I spent majority of my day at Border’s in Noblesville, Indiana waiting to get my book signed. After 8 hours in the cold and rain with my wife and 10 month old baby, I was shocked to watch Sarah get on a bus and leave without signing books for at least 400 people. Instead, we were given a sticker that had her signature printed on it! You lost quite a few supporters tonight!

and:

Dawn Hatfield Ament TOO BAD I was “Palienated” today in Noblesville. I waited SEVEN hours and never got my book signed. Only 600 of the 1000 promised wrist bands got in the door. Such a HUGE disappointment!

also (with video link):

“I’m very disappointed. I think it was very rude. She could have at least apologized, and she didn’t even do that,” said Teresa Hedrick.

Many of the unhappy people stood in the rain all day, bought the book from Borders and clutched their wristbands for their opportunity to meet Palin.

“We bought two books from Borders to have our receipt and our wristband to get it signed tonight,” said one woman. “My books are going back to Borders tomorrow.”

“We gave up our entire workday, stayed in the cold. My kids were crying,” said one man. “They went home with my wife. She was out here in the freezing cold all day. I feel like I don’t want to support Sarah.”

also, this comment from rumproast:

They will keep cutting the number in half after every stop on Palin’s book signing tour until it’s down to just one and that person will be John Ziegler. The end.