Sarah!

Hey, ET. Nice to see your alter ego.

ET!

I’m between rehearsals for about an hour. This is getting kinkier by the hour, even by Alaska standards. Shannyn Moore called me when I was driving from rehearsal to office, with info on Stevens’ letter from today. You can read it here.

ET!

What appears to be going down here – a deal between the two Alaska legislative leaders and the Governor for “pay for play”- may not be illegal under Alaska law. That’s part of why it took the Feds to bust the VECO Corrupt Bastards scam.

You can Digg it right here, thanks to Southern Dragon

Something that should probably be mentioned here came up in telecon I had earlier today with Celtic Diva, one of the founders of Alaskans for Truth.

With AG Colberg’s resignation, and the contempt citations issued last week, two of the initial goals of Alaskans for Truth have ben fulfilled.

I’m hoping Celtic Diva or Shannyn Moore will be able to join us shortly. Shannyn got her daughter a horse today, so she’s exhausted – said she’d try, though.

But…. but….. but…… How can this be? I don’t believe any of this. Not for one second. Sarah is a mav’rick who took on the party bosses.

Any of this in ADN or on local stations?

It sounds like these folks keep digging their holes ever deeper as they try to avoid responsibility for their acts. This is sounding like outright bribery to perjure themselves or to interfere with the course of justice. While initially these issues may have been ethical violations, it seems that they have now drifted over into the criminal realm…and multiplied the numbers of individuals involved.

Conspiracies of that scale are rarely resilient to firm questioning and inquiry!

some of it. but not the whole package.

Part of the reason Shannyn got her information is that she built up a lot of contacts through her radio work. Most of the reason I’m getting informants on this is that I probably gave ex-AG Talis Colberg more respect through this humiliating process he’s been put through by the Palins than did anyone else among the progressive or conservative bloggers. I’ve known and respected Colberg for years. I did call for his resignation in late September, though.

Talis has a lot of friends in Juneau. Even more, it appears the old Wasilla vs Palmer battle might even play into who might want to talk.

There’s speculation in a comment at my blog that the Bush AK US Atty – Cohen – may be in line for Colberg’s slot. He’s really, really slimy, so that could well be. Palin has moved beyond the possibility of having a typical Alaska AG.

”…may not be illegal under Alaska law…”

If I may be so bold…? You guys need better laws.

And this just came down this afternoon, while I was rehearsing:

Despite the fact that Bush has left office, the federal government’s energy exploration apparatus is still living up to its Bush-era pro-industry reputation. Indeed, new documents released by the advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) today show that Professor Rick Steiner, a marine scientist at the University of Alaska, is set to lose his federal funding for opposing the Bush administration’s industry-friendly policies.

In March 2008, Steiner wrote an open letter calling attention to what he said was a “pro-business slant” in the supposedly neutral North Aleutian Basin Energy-Fisheries Initiative, an oil exploration public relations program funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Sea Grant.

Prof. Steiner was the first person to confront Palin on her anti-science Polar Bear stance. This is part of the payback for seeking the truth in Alaska.

Color me slow . . . lemme see if I get this straight”

1) The AK AG resigned (fired) for his role in Palin’s lying and cheating (Todd, all of the others).
2) The blame will now be put on him, for getting Sarah and Todd and others ‘in trouble’.
3) The AK Senate Prez and House Speaker will sweep the firing of the AG, and any further investigations of PalinCo, under the rug.
4) They do that, cuz, they have projects for their precincts on tap and Palin has promised NOT to veto the legislation FOR those projects.

This is different from Blago, how?
This is just, fugly, as all get out?

The eyes of the nation are on PalinCo, AK and these asshats think they can get away with this shit?

Can someone ’splain what fed authorities are involved, investigating, and LIKELY to pursue and bring to justice these asshats, including most of PalinCo?

Thanks in advance, what a HELL of a story Mr. Teller!!! *G* Thanks!

I saw that earlier. The University of Alaska certainly caved.

Wild wild west, the last frontier.

Thanks, ET, for keeping us in the loop.

Lotsa sunshine needed here!

Like I said, I don’t think the deal they made is actually illegal in Alaska. It was only recently that we stopped letting legislators collect $$$ from companies as their lobbyist while actually helping introduce legislation that would enact the project they were being lobbied to fulfill.

Sen Ben Stevens, one of Sen. Chenault’s predecessors as AK Senate president, got slapped on the wrist by the Alaska Public Offices Commission for stuff that would have gotten him a lot of jail time in some states – like hundreds of thousands in “consulting fees” from companies whose projects he had influence over as Senate President.

Are we to understand that Stevens and Colburg will profit personally from this?

Mind boggling, all of it. ‘Specially the thought that TrooperGate and PalinCoGate might disappear. I was sorta counting on that to take Palin off the National GOP list for ‘10 or ‘12. And to show the nation, that politicians and even Governors can be held accountable rather than run up as LEADERS of a political party . . . . . thanks for sharing it all . . .

1) Gary Stevens is not related from Ben Stevens

2) He only gets pork for his district – Kodiak

3) Colberg gets the shaft. He is NOT in on the deal

ET, I hope you document everything that is going on as best you can, and hand on to all your information. Even if the State of Alaska will tolerate a lot of this crap, it might not look so good if it should come to light in the future in the midst of a campaign by a corrupt Alaska governor for national office. Maverick reformer, indeed *wink*

Hi, All..sorry I’m late.

This is seeming familiar with the “pay to play” barter system.

I’m waiting to see what leverage Sarah really has. The truth shouldn’t be
up on eBay or in the barter ring for projects. Does anyone know where exactly SP is? Juneau?

Most of the time, when I get information like what is in this post, I’ll sit on it, or use it to find something out another way.

Part of the reason I decided to go public with this is because if word gets out and back to ex-AG Talis Colberg about how fully he’s going to be used and abused, he might decide to talk.

{{{{neurophius}}}}

stocked away. Keeping my eyes on the rear-view mirror.

Hey, pups, please welcome Shannyn Moore. She’s helped get the word out about our corrupt bastards in Alaska evan better than I have.

“I just said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ to all these investigations. If we want something investigated, we’ll do it ourselves.”

oh, and don’t fly in any small planes.

Welcome to the Lake, Shannyn!

I’ve got to head over to an undisclosed location for my next rehearsal. Hopefully Shannyn can stay for a few minutes and answer any questions…….

“I didn’t think Alaska could afford an ethical state government, so I put it up for sale on EBay!”

you are too kind. I think it’s amazing how the AK blog community has nailed the political scene faster than any one else. Pressure is pressure. Sometimes a splinter can be more irritating than a broken bone…tiny…but bothersome!

Welcome to da Lake Shannyn! It is friendly place!

Have fun at rehersal. I’ve got a minute or so…thanks for the welcome…I’m still figuring this thing out.

Shannyn, why do the citizens of Alaska put up with stuff like this? Are their heads buried in the sand, or do they just not care?

you can click on the reply thingie below the comment you wish to reply to if you wish

welcome shannyn

How can Attorney General Colberg be forced to resign, and what is the pretext for it?

Just got here after a night out and saw this on my RSS feed as I was reading this post. Could it be related?

(CNN) — Sarah Palin will not be attending the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington later this month, her office confirmed to CNN Tuesday.

The Alaska governor had been expected to serve as the headline attraction at the three day event, which is also scheduled to include conservative icons like Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, and Ann Coulter. The presidential straw poll conducted at the annual Washington gathering is widely viewed as a reliable bellwether of conservative support. Several of the GOP’s past — and potentially future — presidential hopefuls are also slated to address the gathering, including Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.

Attorney General Colberg will be forced to resign,…

Looks like Step One is done.

JUNEAU — Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg has resigned in the wake of state legislators blasting his performance during the “troopergate” investigation.

{SNIP}

But Anchorage Democratic Sen. Hollis French, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, had left open the possibility of future action against the state attorney general.

“I don’t want to get sidetracked by the attorney general’s performance in this episode, but it’s worth pointing out that this resolution does not resolve questions — significant and serious questions — about his actions during this time,” French said Friday on the Senate floor.

Palin said she supports how Colberg handled the issue and did not have concerns with how he was doing his job.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/254/story/61901.html

To #35… Alaskan citizens put up with stuff like this…well, I think you’ve seen a lot of us kicking and screaming about “stuff like this.” But we have a curious phenom here. Women and Natives got the right to vote long before US citizens, and part of that was due to needing each other. It doesn’t matter when you’re freezing who helps you – you need them. People don’t check bumperstickers when they are towing you out of a snow bank. I think that “expect the best” is why we have been taken advantage of by many politicians. Also, they sold cheap…and there are always plenty of bidders.

Talis was thrown under the bus. I don’t know anyone who knows him and doesn’t think he’s a lovely man. That said, many people said he didn’t have the horse power to be AG. He is great as a cabbage judge at the state fair…but AG is tough…especially given the drama of Palin’s troopergate and the national circus. The expectation of the Gov seems to be that all the troopergate issues will be served cold if Talis is sacrificed. I want to know who was advising Talis to advise witnesses to not show. I have a feeling it will lead to the campaign attorneys that flocked here – and that leads back to McCain and Palin. At the least they should be disbarred for practicing law in a state they aren’t licensed to…further…witness tampering. The administration needs to know that the sacrificial lamb has not appeased the gods of truth.

what does “show text” mean?

Hi Shannyn. It is a function that will hopefully return soon. It shows the text of a quoted comment.

If you hit the “reply” button in the lower right hand corner of each comment, it opens a new window with the name and comment number of the commenter who you are “replying” to. If readers of your comment/reply have the right browser and allow the page to fully load, they may be lucky enough to see the text of the comment being quoted appear above the text of your reply/comment. Helps to put things in context. Works for me on Internet Explorer, but not on Firefox…

better put, and in fewer words, Lurk!

* s i g h *

I keep suggesting making it disappear until/unless it’s ever made to actually work again.

Then again, it makes me crazy that the letter O and the numeral 0 are adjacent on the keyboard, so go figure.

Oh, thanks. I think the will and the reality of the Senate are different. If a challenge is brought up of Sarah, and they don’t have the votes – she gets stronger. The working group in the Senate is 6 dems and 10 reps…they have to really work to get anything done, and have to make it pay off for the reps too. The will is shackles…the reality is…like a chess game. Last Friday was Check…Talis resigning is another move closer…

I still do not get why Colberg resigned. Was it to avoid impeachment or other punitive action against him, or was he just fed up with the crap, or what?

wonder if it was a resign or be fired kinda deal?

it was to sacrifice and cover up for the advice that rolled down to him…no more questions for Talis unless he is brought in to a hearing as a witness.

OK, so the McCain/Palin fixers showed up and somehow induced Talis to advise witnesses subpoenaed to the investigation not to show up? Is that it? What kind of leverage did they have on him?

And what is the Branchflower investigation? Is that the same as or related to “Troopergate”?

Steve Branchflower was the lead investigator on the Troopergate investigation.

Talis was doing whatever they told him…

Not to go all legally trendy or anything, but does “misprison of felony” not apply?

I’ll bet one inducement was that they convinced him that Imelda Magma Palin was going to be the next Vice-President.
Hey neuro

And when the party bosses tried to ply her with some fancy schmancy largesse, she said, “thanks, but no thanks”. And then shot some wolves from a helicopter…

hey, newt

toby is a couple flights upstairs

This is pathetic…still trying to destroy Palin after the election. Give it a rest.

Please tell me why people who know they do not have the experience or training to do a job take ajob- Talis was a private small town lawyer- right? he didn’t have government credentials-right?
Is the honor of an AG position so “rewarding” that someone would allow themselves to wake up every morning thinking: “Oh, what am I doing…I can’t do this” but get up and play act anyway? Where is professional and personal integrity and self-concept?
Of course, you could apply this to Sarah- but she got the returns that canaflauge any lingering doubts in the darkest nights…I suspect her heart is disconnected

Waaaaaaahhhhhh… Leave Sarah alone!!! Waahhhhh!

I guess when you have a pastor pray for you, you’d better make sure you don’t have any brooms in your own closet.

In our Nation’s Laboratory for Bad Public Policy, known in some circles as “Texas”, the late but-not-too-lamented Bo Pilgrim (owner of Pilgrim’s Pride Chicken) went onto the Senate floor in 1989 during the debate of a bill that gutted Workmen’s Comp laws in Texas.

Obviously he was lobbying in favor of the bill. He was lobbying with blank $10,000 checks for any and all comers. There was nothing in Texas law that made that illegal at the time.