- The Dispatch’s Richard Mauer wrote about an email exchange between Gov. Sean Parnell’s chief-of-staff and Parnell’s sexual assault coordinator in November 2010, that talks about rampant problems in the Guard. The piece also confirms that that governor’s office brought the FBI into the mix a month before, in October, and that the six week FBI investigation into “assault, sexual abuse, misuse of resources, drug trafficking and transporting illegal weapons” led to nothing.
- The Juneau Empire proved that it’s not entirely predictable. Today the paper endorsed Gov. Sean Parnell for another term, citing Bill Walker’s potentially reckless approach to the natural gas pipeline and his vague answers to specific questions. The best line of the piece: “Walker, while a strong candidate, feels like a rogue. We’ve had enough of rogues.” That was a risky endorsement considering that Walker’s lt. gov. candidate, Byron Mallott, lives in Juneau.
- The Hill has a piece about growing Republican confidence in Senate control. That might have been a bit premature since Salon and the New York Times both report that the latest polls putting Sen. Mark Begich in a lead is throwing “Senate calculus” into the air.
- KTOO’s Juneau Votes candidate forum was surprising in that state Senate candidate Tom Williams and House District 33 candidate Peter Dukowitz did not appear. That left only the Rep. Cathy Munoz and George McGuan as a real debate. The Juneau Empire has more on the candidates.
- For a state that is consistently ranked as least fashionable in the Union, having a positive article about any of our Washington delegation in Esquire is something to hoot about. This time, U.S. Senator Mark Begich and his veterans’ healthcare bill was front and center. You can also purchase your own copy; the article is in November’s edition, if Deborah hasn’t bought them all.
- AARP’s Jewel Lake debates were enlightening for their district voters, but the debate between Matt Claman and Anand Dubey won the prize as the most interesting debate of the day. The AlaskaCommons not only covered it, but also has a detailed account of the popcorn-worthy mudslinging.
- So much attention has been focused on the Senate, but Politico reports on House Democrats finding themselves scrambling to defend Democratic seats that were considered safe just a few weeks ago. You can almost hear Forrest Dunbar screaming, “I’m here!” particularly now that he’s got some polling numbers, no matter how much an outlier they are, that shows he’s in reach.
- The Dispatch has a piece about how Opportunity Alliance PAC has sent out vote-shaming mailers to Alaskan registered voters with real people’s voting records. While it may seem creepy, and a violation of individual rights, it is also completely legal. Voting records are public, and there are services galore that will give you those records. Candidates, journalists, and political parties all have access and use them constantly.
- It seems that Alaska is not the only state that is so focused on places of birth. According to Politico, upstate New York Rep. Dan Maffei is coming under attack by his opponent because Maffei’s baby girl was born in, wait for it, Washington, D.C. and thus proof that Maffei is not a true New Yorker.
- The Fairbanks News Miner covered the swearing in ceremony of Michael O’Brien as the newest member of the Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board yesterday.
- Shell is “pressing the Interior Department to give it an additional five years to scour for oil in Arctic waters near Alaska.” The Hill reports that without the department’s extension, Shell’s O&G exploration lease will expire in 2017 for the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Maybe that will make the most terrifying chart of the day less scary.
- The Washington Examiner has a piece regarding a mailer from the Alaska Democratic Party “touting Sen. Mark Begich’s work to stem sexual assault and domestic violence in Alaska” using the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault’s logo. Problem? IRS rules dictate that ANDVSA is not allowed to endorse candidates and its logo is not to be bandied about for political purposed. The group sent a strongly worded letter to the Dems saying that the unauthorized use of its logo was “disheartening” and “disappointing.”
- The photo Nat Herz tweeted about the debate between Mark Fish and Sen. Mark Begich caught me off guard. At first it appears that Begich is wearing shades, but it is actually a political example of awesomely timed angles. Still doesn’t stop me from humming, “I’m wearing my sunglasses at night,”
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
Here are some facts regarding Parnell that some people are forgetting. We need make sure we can see through Parnell’s smoke screen of positive talking points and realize what he’s really done.
http://www.parnellbreakdown.com/governor-goof-off.html
He needs to be held accountable as Governor for the bad and not just take credit for the good (not that there is a lot to speak of). I’m a republican that is fed up with his failed administration. I’m just glad we have another conservative in Walker to chose. I don’t agree with him on every issue, but he’s definitely the guy who’s going to get the LNG pipeline built and I think I can trust him to put Alaska first. He has my vote.
“Strangest ticket” because they are putting partisan politics behind them and doing what’s best for the state of Alaska? To me that sounds like two true Alaskans that realize another four years of Parnell would leave our state broke and in an energy crisis because of his lack of leadership and transparency. Parnell has had more than FIVE YEARS to address Alaska’s major issues and all he has done is crippled us financially with his useless studies of projects and lack of discipline and leadership to make tough budget cuts. He had his chance and he blundered it. Walker/Mallott is the fresh start Alaska needs, in order to put partisan politics on the side and start doing what’s best for Alaska. It is essestial we, Alaskans, act now and make sure our voice is heard at the polls, before it’s too late.
Straight. Fair enough. And if someone has a blog and erases vague accusations about people that blogger loves, then I’d understand that person erasing them.
Fair enough. Same could be said by someone about pretty much any organization, state agency, or office holder for that matter — anyone who gets bashed in public is someone’s loved one, which is worth remembering, I think.
Doubt the Juneau Empire is going to sway any votes, they couldn’t even get the name of the Juneau mayor spelled right!
It was about my former place of employment, and people there who I love.
Now you’ve got us all curious…
Now you’ve got us all curious…
Yes, Bill Walker is a nut-job. He could never have won a primary (and did not of course) but here he is at the top of a ticket supported by the Alaska Democratic Party. This is by far the strangest ticket of either party in the United States today.
Moreover, Bill Walker and Byron Mallott have long supported, either together or each in turn, the very issues and measures their supporters find repulsive. Byron Mallot presided over shutting down union logging while Sealaska Corp. clearcut enough old growth on Prince of Wales Island that it could easily be seen from the moon. Walker opposes a woman’s right to choose abortion, beginning at conception no matter the circumstances. Walker is less pro-union than is his opponent, and Mallot has no record of helping unions whatsoever, not as Sealaska CEO or as an Alaska Airlines board member. Environmentalists have no reason to support the arcane Walker-Mallot ticket. This will forever be known as the tinfoil hat ticket.
Feel free to erase my response as well, if you like.
I’m sure you must have missed it but the venerable Juneau Empire has been in the throes of a significant decline over the last three years. Investigative reporting has all but disappeared from the pages and has been almost entirely replaced by ‘feel good’ pieces.
If one reads the Empire regularly it’s disconcerting how often factual errors and obvious omissions appear in what few real news stories they do print.
Given an existing culture at the Empire that is clearly either careless or oblivious of the facts and the truth, why would anyone rely on an endorsement from the Empire, much less seek one out?
AH HA: I erased that comment.
While I am very, very reluctant to even appear to defend The Dispatch and it’s Billionaire owner, resorting to vague innuendo does nothing but lower you to their (The Dispatch) level.
If you have a case to make regarding an inappropriate relationship between the owner of he Dispatch and Governor Parnell, Lets hear the facts.
Great endorsement from the Empire. They hit the nail on the head. Walker is unreliable, vague, and contradictory.
Begich is scum. He went to Congress and after six years is a multi-millionaire. How’d that happen? Smells to me.
More proof of Begich’s unbrudled arrigance and willingness to break rules for his benefit. This guy is so disrespectful. First, he exploits a Cambodian family’s victimization and was adminisihed by their family lawyesr. Not to mention that several news organizations stated that his ad was false, misleading and a lie. Then, Sen. Murkowski asked him to cease and desist from using her in his ads. He dismissed her with sexism and said laughingly that she just didn’t like the picture. Now, he has come under attack from a Domestic Violence group chastising him for his inappropriate and unauthorized use of their logo. His actions smell of chauvinism, arrogance and misuse of power. Thank goodness we have a clear and better choice in Dan Sullivan.
When is someone going to talk about the Dispatch’s publisher’s conflict with the Parnell administration over a private business deal the enriches her at state expense? Using her news staff to continue to throw barbs at Parnell and supporting Walker is the height of a breakdown of journalistic ethics. People should inquire about a pending federal land conveyance where the state has primacy and an effort is under way to convey the land via political shennanigans elsewhere. Worth exploring.