I spent a lot of time in a small Alaskan church.  I’m glad I did.  It helps me interpret Palin’s evangelical dog whistles.

The title: “The Pelosi Bill Was Rammed Through on Saturday, But Sunday’s Coming.”

Seems harmless to a casual reader, but to the evangelicals? Instant salivation.  During sermons about the crucifixion, a typical preacher line goes, “Friday was a dark, dark day, but Sunday’s coming.”  Answered with many “Amens.” So, Nancy Pelosi just killed Jesus, and Sarah is going to resurrect him?

Is she equating the health care bill to the crucifixion, and the conservative comeback as the resurrection? Really? Go on, Sister Sarah, tell us how how the GOP is going to forgive us for all our sins and give us eternal life.  The same GOP whose logo has inverted satanic stars.  Anyone with half a wit of faith would call you on your blasphemy.

“We’ve got to hold on to hope, and we’ve got to fight hard because Congressional action tonight just put America on a path toward an unrecognizable country. “

UNRECOGNIZABLE?   From what? A country that lies its way into wars? A country that tortures? A country that transports prisoners to other countries for torture? A country that wiretaps its own citizens? A country that neglects its veterans; poor and sick? A country that sides with corporations over its people? A country that looks away from evidence of environmental decay?

Well, I’m fine with becoming something other than the country you recognize.

”The same government leaders that got us into the mortgage business and the car business are now getting us into the health care business.”

The reason for the bailouts in the first place, Sarah, is because decades of Republican deregulation left no one minding the store.  Former President Bush, by the way, pushed through the first bailout, and it was Bush whose 2004 campaign sought to lower barriers for home ownership!  What about the same government that employs Blackwater XE over our military? What about our justice system being for sale to the highest bidding private prisons?  All your honking about privatizing goods and services is a little late.

”Despite Americans’ decisive message last Tuesday that they reject the troubling path this country has been taking, Speaker Pelosi has broken her own promises of transparency to ram a health “care” bill through the House of Representatives just before midnight. Why did she push the 2,000 page bill this weekend? Was she perhaps afraid to give her peers and the constituents for whom she works the chance to actually read this monstrous bill carefully, if at all? Was she concerned that Americans might really digest the details of a bill that the Wall Street Journal has called “the worst piece of post-New Deal legislation ever introduced”? “

Oh, yes, that decisive message that said, “Hey, Bill Owens, you’re in!  First Democrat elected to NY House District#23 since the Civil War!  Now go vote an “Aye” on the health care bill?”  Right, that one.  Betcha wish you had that $25,000 back about now.  And the WSJ? Wow, you mean Rupert Murdoch’s paper? Oh…it’s…getting…clearer.  On another note, the WSJ, last year, said you were a terrible candidate in a piece called, “Palin Failin’”…so I guess they are right some of the time.

”This out-of-control bureaucratic mess will be disastrous for our economy, our small businesses, and our personal liberty. It will slam businesses at a time when we are at double-digit unemployment rates – the highest we’ve seen in a quarter of a century. This massive new bureaucracy will cost us and our children money we don’t have. It will rob Americans of more of our freedom and further hamper the free market.”

Lady, you think the free market is eBay.  Your party deregulated that free market into such a predicament there isn’t a coupon to save it.  Check out the Gramm Leach Bliley Act, also known as the repeal of the Glass Steagall Act.  Gramm, Leach and Bliley were the trio of Republicans back in 1999 that were just swamped with constituent phone calls demanding they do something about those pesky bank regulations that prohibited the merger of investment banks with commercial banks and insurance companies.  You can use the “googles”.  Thank your lucky stars Charlie Gibson didn’t ask you about that!

”Make no mistake: we’re on course to have government commandeer one-sixth of our economy. The people who gave us Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now want to run our health care. Think about that.”

Yes indeed.  The people that gave us Fannie and Freddie; hmmm…that would be your former running mate, John McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis.  Davis headed the Homeownership Alliance, a mortgage industry lobbying group formed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Under Davis, the Alliance’s primary goal was to step-up the number of mortgages granted-setting the table for the the mortgage crisis.  And yes, health care is kind of a big deal.  We get that.

”All of us who value the sanctity of life are grateful for the success of the pro-life majority in the House this evening in its battle against federal funding of abortion in this bill, but it’s ironic because we were promised that abortion wasn’t covered in the bill to begin with. Our healthy distrust of these government leaders made us look deeper into the bill because unfortunately we knew better than to trust what they were saying. The victory tonight to amend the bill and eliminate that federal funding for abortion was great – because abortion is not health care. Now we can only hope that Rep. Stupak’s amendment will hold in the final bill, though the Democratic leadership has already refused to promise that it won’t be scrapped later.”

“…us who value the sanctity of life…” Are you out of your mind?  You don’t even value a wolf running from a plane.  You don’t value a young girl who has been raped.  You want the death penalty and cry for more war.  You wouldn’t know the sanctity of life if it dropped dead in your lap.

”We had been told there were no “death panels” in the bill either. But look closely at the provision mandating bureaucratic panels that will be calling the shots regarding who will receive government health care.”

Alaskans are still waiting for your explanation of the death panels under your watch as governor.  There are still over a hundred dead who weren’t granted health care they were qualified for because of your negligence.  Your legacy is “death panels” to some Alaskan families, and not because you spouted the phrase a few minutes before Charles Grassley.

”Look closely at provisions addressing illegal aliens’ health care coverage too.”

I wonder where Lazarus lived…

”Those of us who love freedom and believe in open and transparent government can only be dismayed by midnight action on a Saturday. Speaker Pelosi’s promise that Americans would have 72 hours to read the final bill before the vote was just another one of the D.C. establishment’s too-common political ploys. It’s broken promises like this that turn people off to politics and leave them disillusioned about the future of their country.”

Hey, WE ALL LOVE FREEDOM.  Freedom from crazy is what I’d like right now.  Transparent? You couldn’t be transparent in a Saran Wrap bikini. Open? Well, you’re open for business and that’s about it. You are rich to call Pelosi on a broken promise…you said you’d be governor and you quit.  Again, I thank you for breaking a promise.

”But despite this late-night maneuvering, many of us were paying close attention tonight. We’ll keep paying close attention. We need to let our legislators in Washington know that they still represent us, and that the majority of Americans are not in favor of the “reform” they are pushing. After all, this is still a country “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” We will make our voices heard. It’s on to the Senate now. Our legislators can listen now, or they can hear us in 2010. It’s their choice.”

The majority of Americans did not vote for you.  The majority of Americans want reform.  Our voices are being heard.  In 2010, 2012, or any other 20…you will not be our choice.

THIS JUST IN:

The president will stop Wednesday at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage to refuel Air Force One. While in Alaska, he’ll mark the Veterans Day holiday with the military personnel at the base, the White House said.

His stopover in Alaska will come after the White House Veterans Day breakfast and a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. The White House described the Elmendorf stop as “an event with the men and women of our Armed Forces,” and said that more details would be released in the coming days. It’s not clear whether the event will be open to the public.

Oh, Lord, not sure if I’ll get to go or not…but I’m waiting for Sarah Palin’s facebook comment in…3…2…..1…

I tried to resist. Glenn Beck and the Teabaggers (sounds like a bad lounge act) will be making the governors’ losses in New Jersey and Virginia a “referendum” on Obama’s “socialist policies.”

Fine. Let’s just go there. Bend over, I’m driving.

When a quitter and a spitter show up to help out your campaign…don’t take the money and don’t sign a loyalty pledge to a crazy man WHO CAN’T VOTE FOR YOU!

Mr. Hoffman was a fake…a true voice for the tea baggin’, rapture watchin’, gay hatin’, health fightin’, ladies bakin’, race baitin’, forced breedin’, birth denyin’, war lovin’ party of Glenn Beck-a-Palin-istas.

Here’s your referendum, and it’s solid. The GOP is sick of your rightwingery. Facebook and FoxNews are the podiums you raise your fists from; fists that reach from anemic bodies, grasping for an America people have fought hard to overcome. Sarah Palin is the political fluffer to lubricate the scene. All this glam and luster got diminished with traditional Republican Flacks making the scene, like the old priest wandering inside a new megachurch. Old Fred Thompson showed up to put a big arm around Champion of the Tea Baggalicious Best Campaign Ever! Wow…Fred Thompson…Wow, I just say his name and I forget what I was saying…Fred Thompson….Wow, I just say his name and I forget what I was saying…Fred…forget about it.

I would love to be a Wood Bark Beetle on the credenza in Roger Ailes’ office when he is discussing the results of the beta test of the Palin-Beck 2012 launch. That group that voted for Scozzafava represented the margin of victory for the Republicans. They would not vote for a Democrat and they sure as hell weren’t going to vote for Hoffman. Ailes suddenly realizes something significant. If the Republican Party were run by moderates, the crazies would still be with the Party. But if the Party is run by the crazies, the moderates will never be there.

The best part of our country is our willingness to CHANGE. That doesn’t mean Democrat or Republican…it means we take care of each other.

In her latest Facebook, Palin boasts of New Jersey’s defeat of Jon Corzine, the Goldman Sachs candidate-as if she had anything to do with it! Apparently, and not surprisingly, Palin thinks her last minute Robocall to Virginians was the difference in a race that was over before the first ballot was cast. Bob McDonnell was leading by double digits last week and never looked back. He also never requested Sarah Palin’s “help”. Can they super-size Governor-elect McDonnell? Maybe he comes with a side of fries.

The only thing Sarah Palin can really take credit for is New York’s House District 23 electing a Democrat for the first time since before The Civil War. Late election night from Facebook, Palin invoked Ronald Reagan with “the cause goes on.” What is that cause? Making government so big you call in the uterine police and tell people who they can marry? Palin goes on, “The race for New York’s 23rd District is not over, just postponed until 2010.” Ahem, Sarah, the 23rd district will be dissolved in redistricting in 2010 which is why it was so hard to find a Dem to run…just sayin’.

So while Limbaugh will call the GOP victories in the Governorship races a referendum of the Obama presidency, which they aren’t, they will deny that NY-23 was a clear victory for president Obama, which it is. “Owens, Baby, Owens!”

Your soggy teabags are showing.

Suck it up, Buttercup!

“Why do you still talk about Sarah Palin? Maybe if you shut up she’d go away.”

Wrong.

Sarah Palin isn’t going anywhere.  Look at her political history.  When Sarah ran for mayor of Wasilla, she had to destroy her Republican opponent, John Stein.  Once elected, she boasted she was “the first Christian mayor”.  Mr. Stein replied, “Really?”

Palin and Wasilla Republican and Alaska Senate President, Lyda Green, often clashed over politics in Green’s district.  On a local shock jock talk show, Palin giggled after the host called Lyda Green “a cancer”. Green had just recovered from cancer. Plunk, there went the district.

When Palin filed to run for governor against first term incumbent Frank Murkowski, people took notice.  Frank wasn’t loved.  His first act as governor was to nepotistically appoint his daughter to fill his vacated US Senate seat.  Within the Alaska GOP, a war ensued, including fisticuffs at the Republican Party picnic between rabid Palin supporters and the GOP faithful.  Oh, lookie, there went the state…

Many people regard Sarah Palin as a punch line.  That’s too easy.  In fact, she’s more of a threat.  If the Republican Party had half a mind, they would look at Palin’s history of party divisiveness, polarization and destruction and take heed.  In fact, they’d be smart to take her at her word.  She’s a self-proclaimed rogue.  According to dictionary.com, the first entry under their definition of rogue is:

rogue /roʊg/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [rohg] Show IPA noun, verb, rogued, ro⋅guing, adjective

–noun 1. dishonest, knavish person; a scoundrel.

Case in point: New York’s congressional race in House District 23.  Sarah Palin’s meddling has a Republican dropping out and throwing their support for a Democrat! 

Today, Palin is interfering in the Virginia gubernatorial race and robocalling 300,000 Virginians:

PALIN: “Virginia, hello, this is Sarah Palin, calling to urge you to go to the polls Tuesday and vote to share our principles. The eyes of America will be on Virginia and make no mistake about it, every vote counts. So don’t take anything for granted, vote your values on Tuesday, and urge your friends and family to vote, too. Thank you.”

ANNOUNCER: “Paid for by the Virginia Faith and Freedom Coalition.”

Republican candidate Bob McDonnell was leading Democrat Creigh Deeds by double digits last week.

Palin’s imposition comes despite the fact that McDonnell’s campaign claimed it didn’t want the former governor of Alaska’s help.  And, with last week’s 11 point lead, what could Sarah’s robocall do except chase independent voters over to Deeds’ camp? It will be interesting to see what, if any, effect the robocall has on the outcome of the race.  If McDonnell wins, Palin will surely take credit.

Apparently, she can’t stay out of the New Jersey governor’s race either.  Republican Chris Christie continues to hold a three-point advantage over incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine in New Jersey’s down-to-the-wire race for governor.  Independent Candidate, Chris Daggett, is pulling votes from both candidates.

 Palin Facebooking this weekend:

 “Despite what candidate Chris Daggett is claiming, I have never contacted him or his campaign. I have never asked him to drop out of the NJ Governor’s race. Now, if a politician is going to play loose with facts like this, the electorate needs to know it.

So, to the good people of New Jersey, please know that Daggett’s claims are false. I’ve never even suggested he should drop out of the race. But, come to think of it…”

- Sarah Palin

That’s rich.  Daggett may be a liar, but Sarah is no saint. So, Palin is doing exactly what she threatened to do when she quit:

 ”I WILL support others who seek to serve, in or out of office, for the RIGHT reasons, and I don’t care what party they’re in or no party at all. Inside Alaska – or Outside Alaska.”

-Sarah Palin, July 3, 2009

Apparently, Palin will endorse and campaign for various candidates against their wishes; talk about going rogue.  The ripping and tearing of Republican political flesh doesn’t keep me up at night.  Sarah Palin is either a treasonous Republican…or a brilliant Democratic operative.

36 months and $750,000, for, according to former VECO CEO Bill Allen’s new hot shot lawyer George Terwilliger, Allen’s runaway passion for former Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski’s secretly negotiated Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT).  Terwilliger suggested to US District Judge John Sedgwick that Allen’s passion clouded his judgment and got the better of him, so much so, that he bribed Alaska legislators.

Remember the beloved PPT? That was the industrious scheme concocted by Murkowski and The Oil Producers behind closed doors.  Alaska’s 4^th Estate failed to explain it.  Your morning newspaper, the Anchorage Daily News, never once called the PPT a NET PROFITS TAX!  Nor did the ADN ever fulfill their social and unwritten pact to educate the public on something so basic, yet so vital!                       

The net profits game was not unique to the oil business.  Corporate film studios employed it as a way of dangling a carrot in front of aspiring, young Hollywood creative types. For decades, it was standard practice; studios would use creative net profits accounting practices to siphon profits from successful blockbuster films and then show on paper how much money they lost.  5% of nothing is still nothing.  Promised net profits were just empty pipe dreams.  The Federal Courts finally got involved and the net profits scheme became a nefarious thing of the past…at least in the film business.

In Frank Murkowski’s Alaska, The Producers dusted off and resurrected Hollywood’s net profits scheme and changed the name to the PPT. The PPT would forever tie Alaska’s primary revenue stream to the efficiencies of the oil producers while simultaneously incenting them to be inefficient; that is, the higher their costs (INEFFICIENCY) they could deduct, the less their royalty payments would be (INCENTIVE) and therefore the less revenue for the state of Alaska (INDUSTRIOUS SCHEME). 

Despite the tandem of strong-handed lobbying from Governor Murkowski combined with Bill Allen’s bribery of state lawmakers, and Ted Stevens yet-to-be-indicted son, Ben, presiding over the senate, the Alaska Legislature barely passed HB 3001 (the PPT) on August 10, 2006.  Murkowski signed the bill into law nine days later.  But, just like in Hollywood, the FEDS got involved and uncovered the plot.  And, given the money at stake-hundreds of millions; in fact billions of dollars would flow either into state coffers or inflate the already record-high Producers’ profits.  Had the PPT not been thrown out, the promised net profits would have literally become empty pipe dreams for Alaskans. 

Just eleven days after the PPT became law, Allen was with Republican Senator Fred Dyson heading to breakfast when they were confronted by the FBI.  Allen claimed during his sentencing statement to Judge Sedwick that after listening to the damning tapes he immediately decided to quit drinking and cooperate with the FEDS.  The next day, August 31, lawmakers’ offices in Juneau were raided by the FBI.  Politics in Alaska forever changed.

It’s been a while since the federal courthouse busied itself with anything related to the Alaska Corrupt Bastards Club.  Blame the Bush DOJ and the botched prosecution of the slam dunk trial of former Senator Ted Stevens.  Since the last time Bill Allen passed through courthouse security, he hired an infamous new gun.  George Terwilliger was George W. Bush’s key lawyer during the fraudulent Florida Recount following the 2000 election.  Remember the Brooks Brothers faux riot???  Yep; an associate of the Bush Crime Family right here in Anchorage representing Bill Allen at his sentencing.

36 Months and $750,000…

That’s the price Bill Allen will pay for his orchestrating the Corrupt Bastards Club.  Given the sentencing guidelines meted out by Judge Sedwick, 36 months was just 5 months shy of the maximum recommended by the federal government.  $750,000 was, in fact, the maximum fine Sedwick could impose, and, according to Sedwick, he would’ve imposed a higher fine if he could have because Allen’s crimes were motivated by greed.  And besides, that’s how neighbors do one another.

But, you know, according to Allen’s counsel, the amount of money involved in this case was only “lunch money” compared to the billions being spent on health care lobbying in Washington DC.

I’ve attended most of the CBC trials: Tom Anderson, Pete Kott and Vic Kohring.  I listened and watched enough audio and video surveillance tapes of drunken, corrupt legislators jockeying for positions of favor (read ASS KISSING) with Mr. Allen to last me, oh, I don’t know…at least 36 months.

These trials have been nothing short of high drama and tragic entertainment.  I laughed out loud at Pete Kott confusing Viagra with Ambien and punctuating every sentence with a boisterous Larry-the-Cable-Guy “Get ‘er DONE!”  And his desire to be a prison warden in Barbados was irony at its finest.  Watching Vic Kohring on trial made me want to just pack him a lunch and give him a sandwich.  He always reminded me of that really big 8^th grader that shaves and ought to be a senior.  There were also things that surprised me.  I caught myself feeling this strange and surprising grandfather-like affection and empathy for fallen oil-services tycoon, Bill Allen…the same Bill Allen who published the Anchorage Times-an honest diatribe in that they never pretended to be anything other than a right wing rag; a rag I passionately disagreed with.

Given Allen’s age, 72, his health, and his immediate accountability and cooperation with the federal prosecutors, I understand Judge Sedwick’s 36-month sentence.  I have no idea how they come up with those guidelines.  I do know it wasn’t the minimum sentence nor was it the maximum.  I believe, however, it was probably a reasonable sentence-all things considered.  Compared to the reality deficient and forever unaccountable Tom Anderson, Pete Kott and Vic Kohring, Bill Allen seemed saintly.   AND…Bill Allen never swore to uphold the public trust-something that Judge Sedwick failed to mention in justification of his relatively light sentence.  A conspiracy of this magnitude requires extensive corruption on both sides; the bribers-Bill Allen and his family, former VECO Vice President Rick Smith and the bribees-Kott, Kohring, Senator B, Bruce Weyhrauch, Beverly Masek and John Cowdery; it’s kind of like being single and cheating with someone who is married.  Who made a promise and took a vow? 

That matters.  The unmarried party is still immoral, but the married person wreaks more havoc.  Of course, both are corrupt.  In this case, the unmarried adulterer is Bill Allen and Co.  The married vow takers and promise breakers are our legislators that swore an oath to uphold the Alaska Constitution and the public trust.

These trials have been an ugly stain on Alaska’s government and oil industry.  And, judging by the prosecution’s comments in court this past week, we aren’t yet through.   Ben Stevens has been implicated in recordings but has not yet been indicted.  Bruce Weyhrauch received a delay courtesy of the 9^th circuit court. Alaska Congressman Don Young has paid massive attorney fees with his campaign trust.  There are others and yet even more questions.  What is going on with Jim Clark?  Who is he cooperating with and implicating? 

And, more than anything else, the thing that nags and gnaws at me is the damning audio tape of ConocoPhillips President Jim Bowles instructing Bill Allen to get the “…House to go ahead and gavel out and finish up and get them out of town…” at the very moment the PPT was in danger and facing tough opposition.  To me, the CBC points upwards from Bill Allen.  It leads to The Producers; ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and BP.  It was The Producers who were full-court pressing Allen to do their dirty bidding. 

As a result of the corrupted PPT, the Palin Administration proposed Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share (ACES).  Palin’s initial draft had many of the same problems as the PPT.  It was a net profits tax with unlimited deductions-contradicting her campaign promise to replace the PPT with a gross profits tax.  The ACES bill that Governor Palin signed into law on December 19, 2007 was completely remodeled and tweaked by key legislative Democrats; Senators Hollis French, Bill Wielechowski, and Kim Elton, along with Representatives Les Gara and Beth Kerttula worked long hours to insure ACES would balance “maximum benefit for Alaskans” with Producer investment incentives.  As a result, the Owner-State of Alaska immediately began earning its fair share of its resource wealth.  Ironically, those same Democratic Legislators that helped Palin pass marquee legislation became the target of her ire from the time she was on the campaign trail until the day she quit.  The McCain Campaign sent the “truth squad” to Alaska to viciously attack her former allies as they tried to understand and unravel Troopergate.

The local right wing talk radio jocks that dominate Alaska’s public airwaves and the Oil Producers have been crying foul ever since:

“We’re taxing ourselves out of jobs!”

“Investment is drying up on the North Slope!”

“We’ll never get a gas line!” 

“Alaska’s closed for business!”

“Last one to leave turn out the lights!”

“We’re growing government!” 

“We’re chasing investment out of the state!”

“We must repeal ACES before it’s too late!”

“SOCIALISTS!”

Well, once again, the right wing fear mongers were caught LYING.  We have had nearly two years under ACES and guess what?  Not only did the sky not fall, but, according to the October 18, 2009 issue of Petroleum News, at least one producer, ConocoPhillips, is doing more than just fine under ACES:

Alaska oil and gas production makes up about 12 percent of ConocoPhillips’ worldwide output.  In the first quarter of this year, Alaska operations earned the company $240 million, or 29 percent of its worldwide exploration and production income.

In the second quarter, ConocoPhillips had $725 million in E&P worldwide earnings: More than 55 percent of that, $404 million, came from its Alaska business.

I may be Just A Girl From Homer, but when 12% of your business accounts for 29% of your income, I’d say that part of your business-ALASKA-is doing pretty well!  And when that same 12% of your business accounts for more than 55% of your earnings in the next quarter…well I’d say that’s a pretty spectacular trend-or as my pop likes to say, “better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick”; especially given the worst worldwide recession since The Great Depression! 

Make no mistake.  These right wing radio talk jocks are nothing more than oil company shills.  They aren’t interested in Alaska’s constitutional mandate; that Alaska’s resources be developed for the maximum benefit of the people.  They sit there, day after day and pollute the public airwaves with their anti-Alaskan, misinformed, fear-mongering drivel.  They push their GOP ideology and they’re hardly entertaining-shilling rarely is.  They’ve basically morphed themselves into an interactive infomercial for the hard-line right-complete with callers.  It reminds me of those fake half hour gold informercials.

The best negotiated deals are those that are mutually beneficial.  ACES, clearly, is a win-win.  It’s good for Alaska and it’s good for The Producers.  Anyone who says different is either just a whore with oil dripping down their chin, or The Producers themselves.  The truth and proof lie in the income statements.

Now…how long, if ever, till the FEDS raid The Producers’ downtown offices?

Professor Rick Steiner has a challenge for this week’s “Cluster Douche” award winner, University of Alaska President Mark Hamilton.

Too bad Hamilton hasn’t taken a cue from Palin and quit…with his upcoming retirement, he’s a lame duck president.

President Hamilton –

Given recent circumstances, I would like to invite you to debate with me, openly and publicly, re: the issue of academic freedom, and the influence of corporate donations to the university.

You have said many things in support of academic freedom over the years, but when push came to shove in my case, you made a decision in opposition to free speech.

In 2002, you received an award for your support of academic freedom from a group calling itself the “National Association of Scholars”, who it turns out, actually opposes sustainability movements on today’s college campuses.  They say that sustainability is “deceptive, coercive, closed-minded, a pseudo-religion, distorts higher education, shrinks freedom, programs people, is anti-rational, by-passes faculty, and is wasteful.”  This group apparently supports free speech only when they agree with what is spoken, and opposes it when they disagree with what is spoken.  Apparently this is your position as well.  That you chose to accept an award fro this group calls into serious question the progressive character of the University of Alaska.

All of this is an extremely serious transgression of the very role a university is supposed to fulfill in civil society.

I look forward to your reply, and to debating this issue publicly and honestly.

Sincerely, Rick Steiner, Professor

There are two reasons to wage war on science.  Faith and Funding.

Dr. Rick Steiner will be my guest today on the Shannyn Moore Show in the second hour.  The outspoken Steiner lost his funding at the University of Alaska, after a long battle over academic freedom and intelligent, science-based discourse when it comes to the realities of climate change and industry.  University of Alaska President Mark Hamilton was invited to appear on the show but has not yet responded.

Professor Steiner will be making an important announcement on my show tonight.

Tune in tonight from 5pm-7pm local/6pm-9pm Pacific/9pm-11pm Eastern.

Catch us on terrestrial radio on Smart Radio AM700 KBYR.

You may stream the show live on the Series of Tubes here.

There is Live Blogging on The Mudflats!

Call the show at 907.274.5297.

Grab a Redbull and strap on your seatbelts…

Here is Dr. Steiner’s appearance on Democracy Now! this week.

The Renewable Resources Foundation hosts:“Clean Water and Wild Salmon are Good Business: A Fundraiser to Protect Alaska’s Wild Salmon.”

Thursday, October 29th,  6:00 to 9:00 PM

At Snow Goose Restaurant & Brewery located on 717 West 3rd Avenue in Anchorage.

The event features a performance by Melissa Mitchell.

Artwork, fishing and hunting trips, getaways, guided backcountry expeditions, and outdoor gear will be available for silent auction. Tax-deductible contributions support work to protect clean water and wild salmon in Bristol Bay – a region now threatened by the proposed Pebble Mine. Tickets are $25.00 and include appetizers and a free beverage.

To purchase tickets call Melissa Heuer (907-743-1900), Francis Gallela (907-333-6657), or visit the AK Starfish Co. located on 2601 Spenard Road in Anchorage. Get your ticket now before they’re all sold out!!

There are few issues as close to my heart as the preservation of Bristol Bay’s wild salmon runs.  I will be there…and looking forward to seeing you there!

With anticipation of Sarah Palin’s memoirs coming to book shelves near you on the 17th of November, a response was created.  Going Rouge, a trade paperback published by O/R Books will be released the same day.

The collection of essays on Palin were written by a collection of contributors including Eve Ensler, Christopher Hayes, Jim Hightower, Naomi Klein, Shannyn Moore, John Nichols, Jeanne Devon, Max Blumenthal, Joe, Conason, Katha Pollitt, Hanna Rosin, Matt Taibbi, Patricia Williams and more.

We’re waiting for the Oprah call…

Publication: November 17th, 2009
Price: $16 paperback; $10 e-book
240 pages with 20 b/w illustrations

Order your copy here:
http://orbooks.com/

Announced today:

CHICAGO — In a world exclusive, Oprah Winfrey will interview former Alaska governor Sarah Palin for an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show to air Monday, November 16, 2009. Winfrey and Palin will meet for the very first time on the episode, which will mark Palin’s first interview to discuss her upcoming book, Going Rogue: An American Life and her first-ever appearance on the Oprah show.

Soooo, what would you like to hear Oprah ask Palin?

Will Oprah go all Gotcha with questions like, “What do you read?”  Can you already imagine the SNL skit in the making?

The details are still foggy about the plane crash near the east fork of the Toklat River.

Whatever the details, Alaskans live in an extreme land.  While watching the news, you may hear tragedies of neighbors, school mates, old lovers…it’s a mine field.  I can’t explain the connection I feel to the trusted news men and women who bring me these stories.

Gordon Haber, 67, a wolf biologist, was on the plane.  He had been a guest on my radio show during the fight to ban aerial wolf hunting.  He was an advocate of science who seemed to find wolves less rabid than humans.  His research and dedication to the science of wolves was relied upon for much of my own writing on the aerial hunting policies of Sarah Palin exactly one year before his death.

He wrote of his struggle against the state policies with no subtle words:

Unfortunately there are major problems for wolves in Alaska and elsewhere from heavy government-sanctioned killing, including with the use of airplanes and snowmobiles. There have even been Mengele-like experiments to convert their vibrant family groups (so-called packs) to sterile pairs across large regions. The vital underlying patterns of variation that define natural wolf-prey systems are being ignored and replaced. This is being done with parochial, anti-adaptive farming approaches to management that seldom if ever produce and sustain the high, stable numbers and yields of moose and caribou touted by proponents. Perhaps worst of all, these problems originate primarily from biologists and remain largely hidden from public notice due to outright deception.

He wasn’t a snuggly guy. He was serious, and locked horns on occasion.  Most people who care so passionately do.  His website was dedicated to his life’s work.  His tweets were about the Toklat wolf “family” and his determination to see their recovery after a hunter killed the pack’s alpha male and alpha female.

Some of my favorites:

Raw, wild beauty at the den tonite with the wolves howling a great chorus for me as rolling thunder from a passing storm shakes the valley.12:19 PM Jul 3rd from web

Grizz bear going same way on forest trail during my hike to den. Lukewarm droppings indicated he was a good half hour or more ahead of me.11:47 AM Jul 11th from web

Biologists are the primary culprits, not the governor and other policymakers. Blasting at these others diverts from the real cause.5:21 AM Jun 27th from web

The killing is far worse than the 100-200 wolves aerial-hunted each winter. Total of 1200-1500+ killed most years. Must address all of it.5:18 AM Jun 27th from web

This issue has been dumbed down to meaninglessness. The level of detail at these links is vital. Force yourself to understand it -you can!5:16 AM Jun 27th from web

Raw, gusty wind during den obs tonite,55F -watching wolves not always fun and games. Sitting in those conditions for hours builds character.1:49 PM Jun 21st from web

Gordon’s last tweet makes me curious:

Go to new photo essay at Website http://tinyurl.com/ybjfu6e. Been busy with court action against state,etc but more on the way here+website10:36 AM Oct 2nd from web

I wonder when the wolves howl tonight…

florian shulz

do they know what an advocate, friend, lover of nature and defender of justice they have lost in the death of a man who knew them better than most?

We have lost one of the pack leaders in the war to defend the wolf…on the same land where he mapped their lives.

Rest In Peace Gordon Haber.

Rest In Peace The Wolves He Tried To Save.

Many of you watched Keith Olbermann’s special comment on health care.  His obvious love for his father and ability to empathize with other Americans was a stark comparison to other talking heads.

There is a call to action.  Keith is calling for free health care clinics across the country.  The National Association of Free Clinics is accepting donations to make this possible.

Mission of the NAFC
The National Association of Free Clinics provides research, education and resources to promote, strengthen and advocate for member organizations and the communities they serve.

Vision
To be a national voice and essential partner for building a healthy America

Who They Are The National Association of Free Clinics (NAFC) is the only nonprofit 501c(3) organization whose mission is solely focused on the issues and needs of the more than 1,200 free clinics and the people they serve in the United States .
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Washington , D.C. , the NAFC is an effective advocate for the issues and concerns of free clinics, their volunteer workforce of doctors, dentists, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, technicians and other health care professionals, and the patients served by free clinics in communities throughout the nation.

You can donate here.

Sarah Palin, half term governor of Alaska, has herself a pair of fancy flip flops when it comes to America’s wars.

In an interview with Alaska Business Monthly, in March 2007, an exit strategy seemed to have utmost importance:

“I’ve been so focused on state government, I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe. Every life lost is such a tragedy. I am very, very proud of the troops we have in Alaska, those fighting overseas for our freedoms, and the families here who are making so many sacrifices.”

While speaking at a fundraiser in San Francisco, on October 5, 2008, we got the sense Palin had spent time watching “Charlie Wilson’s War”.

“They are also building schools for the Afghan children so that there is hope and opportunity in our neighboring country of Afghanistan.”

This week on her facebook page, the exit strategy seems less important…more war…more war…

“For two years as a candidate, Senator Obama called for more resources for the war in Afghanistan and warned about the consequences of failure. As President, he announced a comprehensive new counterinsurgency strategy and handpicked the right general to execute it. Now General McChrystal is asking for additional troops to implement the strategy announced by President Obama in March. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers in harm’s way in Afghanistan right now. We owe it to all those brave Americans serving in uniform to give them the tools they need to complete their mission.

Our allies and our adversaries are watching to see if we have the staying power to protect our interests in Afghanistan. I recently joined a group of Americans in urging President Obama to devote the resources necessary in Afghanistan and pledged to support him if he made the right decision. Now is not the time for cold feet, second thoughts, or indecision — it is the time to act as commander-in-chief and approve the troops so clearly needed in Afghanistan.”

- Sarah Palin

Palin’s advice to President Obama?  No cold feet?  Is that like “don’t blink”?  She was against the war before she was for the war.  Before she became host to the NeoCon body snatchers.

Stay tuned for Keith’s plan to get health care passed…

Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three:

…a little late. I couldn’t stop laughing…btw, pistachios don’t prevent pregnancy unless you hold one between your knees.  Tank Jones is type cast…get crackin’.

Shannyn Moore is live on KBYR AM700.

5pm-7pm Alaska Daylight Time

9pm-12pm Eastern Time

Tune into AM 700 Smart Radio KBYR

or…

If you’re fishing the internet streams you can listen on line HERE!

Call the show at 907.274.5297.

You can email me at shannynmoore@gmail.com or on facebook.

Live Blogging at www.themudflats.net

If you’re in Anchorage, please join us at 8pm tonight at the UAA Arts Building Recital Hall — Room 150. Free Parking and a great discussion with Max Blumenthal. He will have copies of his book, Republican Gomorrah available.

Here’s the cover…up.

A double header on MSNBC tonight.  I appeared on Countdown and Jeanne Devon from The Mudflats made a splash on Rachel Maddow. It was her first time on national television and she knocked it out of the park!