Please Disregard This FBI Video

My longtime friend Fred James, Vic Kohring's closest friend, and staunch supporter throughout the indictment, trial and internment (or, first trial and internment) phases of Kohring's odyssey, will be writing Progressive Alaska's main article on former Rep. Vic Kohring's impending release from prison.

I understand Vic is free to go, but preferred to stay through today's dinner. s/

Update - 4:15 p.m: Just off the phone with Fred James. Fred indicates that communication last week between Vic's attorney, John Henry Browne, and Attorney General Holder, may have had a bearing on Holder's decision. Fred is waiting to hear from Vic on a release date and time, but expects it to be within 48 hours of the AG's announcement.

Kohring had been scheduled to be transferred to the Sheridan OR Federal facility, early next week. His custody level had become low enough that Kohring's now-superseded travel arrangements would have allowed for him to hop on the nearest bus, and report to Sheridan within 24 hours, without other restrictions.

I'h hoping to get Kohring's permission to print Browne's letter to Holder here. Additionally, I've asked Fred to invite Kohring to write a post for Progressive Alaska, upon Vic's release.

As is being noted elsewhere, PA notes that the US DOJ has yet to clarify what Kohring and Kott's legal positions will be, other than that they are being released from incarceration.

Max Blumenthal Interviews Young People Living in the Country of "Our Greatest Ally in the Middle East"

And this ad was carried in many Israeli newspapers over the past four or five days:
I hope that Sen. Mark Begich's staff helps get our Senator aware of how much love is being sent the way of our President by this country to which our Senate gives billions and billions with "no strings attached."

Letter on Stimulus Fund Rejection to Gov. Palin from the Alaska House Democratic Caucus

What if All Alaska Governors Had Blackberries and Twitter?

Wednesday, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin reacted to news that the most recent citizen request for clarification on a matter involving the governor and Alaska's executive ethics code had been decided in the governor's favor, by reaching for her Blackberry, and twittering. Here's AK Muckraker's description, from The Mudflats:

You want to know the latest news about the governor, and the status of ethics complaints filed against her? Are you checking out the State of Alaska website? Silly you. For the hot cutting-edge news, you’ve got to be hooked up to the Twitter.

She even beat the Anchorage Daily News with this one.

AKGovSarahPalinWe won. Another expensive, time consuming false ethics charge thrown out. Remember the one: I wore my coat w/Arctic Cat logo & was charged?about 1 hour ago from TwitterBerry

AKGovSarahPalinWe’ll attach press release re: win against Democrat blogger’s ethics charge that I shouldn’t wear my warm snowmachine coat to cold Iron Dogabout 1 hour ago from TwitterBerry

Yes, even in victory, out comes the inner middle schooler.

Even though Blackberries hadn't been invented by John McCain until after Al Gore invented the internet, let's imagine, for a moment, if all of Alaska's previous governors had had the internet, the Blackberry, Twitter, and an 8th-grade level of snark, or, as AKM put it, a perpetual "middle schooler" sense of expressiveness.

Bill Egan discovers, upon becoming Alaska's first Governor, that Federal money comes with "strings attached":

WTF! You mean that if we take money from DC, the Feds have a say-so in how we spend it. Say it ain't so, Joe. Maybe we shoulda remained a territory, so we could progress the state on our own!

Wally Hickel twitters the Prudhoe Bay oil field discovery to a Canadian company:

Info4U - big (!!!) discovery on Northslope. You want $500 mil to push this field or not?

Keith Miller on Interior Secretary Hickel's shutdown of new construction on the "Hickel" ice highway:

NIGI! Got teh hiway named after hizzelf, but now I'm guv - iz rode to knowhere! Know where? - >URS, Huck Fickel!

Jay Hammond twitters on the legislators' reluctance to create the Permanent Fund:

OMG - IDUNNO where tey getz thez IIIO WATBz! $$$ it now - $$$ it later, cuz itz not gunno last 4ever. ROFLMAO

Bill Sheffield twitters about the news that he's about to be impeached:

H8TBU AK legz. Iz gunna FY & FY & FY with teh vetozzzz! GRWG MFz

Steve Cowper, after an all-nighter with oil lobbyists in room 604 at the Baranof, gets a text that the Exxon Valdez is up on Bligh Reef, leaking a lot of oil:

HFS! UGTBK! Iz reddy cuz Alyeska will rock! UL thoz booooms!

Tony Knowles, discovering that John Lindauer's last backer, Dr. Jerry Prevo, has finally accepted State Sen. Robin Taylor as a substitute write-in candidate for the GOP:

TYAFU, GBU Prevo! UCMU, sticking onto JL like bluebottlz to cow turdz till teh smell stunk THH. Kiss ur tax writeofz GFN, Ahole!

Frank Murkowski, looking at the GOP primary results in 2006:

NIFOC....OMGUGTBK!!! NWO....AK voters - AYSOS?

Ray Metcalfe on The Political Personal Enrichment Petition

--- by Ray Metcalfe

Exciting news for those who care about ending corruption in Alaska. The application to the Director of the Alaska Division of Elections requesting certification of an initiative to outlaw one’s personal use of one’s public office to enrich one’s self has been approved by the Division of Elections and the Lieutenant Governor.

The proposal reads:

• "Anyone found using their public office to enrich themselves, their relatives, close friends, business associates; past, present, or anticipated employers or contributors, is guilty of a class A felony. Anyone found securing enrichment by inducing public officials to violate this statute is guilty of bribery, a class A felony.”

Believe it or not, what you just read is totally legal. It is only on rare occasions in which an agreement for a kickback can be proven that such actions are prosecuted. Even if the kickback is obvious, it is generally not prosecutable unless the prosecutor has possession of proof that the perpetrators agreed that the kickback was only to be delivered if the appropriations were made.

Because such evidence was obtained through years of FBI surveillance, Alaska has seen eleven successful political corruption convictions over the past two years. One thing I have learned from my involvement in the investigations of those convicted is that for every kickback that could be proven there were ten crooks that successfully covered their tracks.

As bribery laws read today, proof that an elected official earmarked a billion dollar government contract to a business partner who later decided to pay that elected official a million dollar “consulting fee” isn’t enough. Even when the kickback is obvious, unless the prosecutor also has proof that a “consulting fee” was in fact agreed to as a bribe to be paid in compensation for the participating public official’s earmarked contract, the prosecutor will not prosecute.

Unfortunately, evidence of such corruption is usually limited to nebulous winks and nods. Under current law, the mind reading abilities of the observers of such winks and nods would have to become admissible in a court room to prosecute the overwhelming majority of such cases. This initiative would change that by making the delivery of appropriations to family, contributors, and business partners a serious crime regardless of whether a kickback is demonstrated.

The above described ballot proposition holds two other strategic advantages that will become apparent when the question of to pass or not to pass is put before the voters. When preparing the ballot, the Lieutenant Governor is required to provide a fifty word description of all voter propositions. An unappealing description from the Lieutenant Governor has often been used to deter voter acceptance of ballot propositions. If a proposition is fifty words or less, it goes on the ballot verbatim.

Consequently this proposal can’t be easily misrepresented and it is highly unlikely that any campaign could persuade voters to vote against something that effectively says: "If you use your public office to enrich your self, you go to jail." It will need no advertising to gain voter approval and no amount of advertising in opposition is likely to stop it.

Concerned citizens in many states have unsuccessfully attempted to address corruption through voter initiatives. If this proposition can be made to work in Alaska, it will very likely become a model for the same concerned citizens to try again. If it becomes law in enough states congress will eventually be forced to address this issue in federal statutes.

We now need to organize volunteers and raise about $50,000 to gather signatures if this proposition is to become law. If you want to help, call or email me, Ray Metcalfe, at RayinAK@aol.com or call 907-344-4514.

image - Ray Metcalfe speaking in favor of Rikki Ott's proposal for a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (Outlawing personhood for corporations), at the 2008 Cook Inletkeeper Muckraker Ball

Rock Garden Blooms Increasing in the Warm Weather

Here are more pictures from Judy's rock garden.

The Columbines are now beginning to bloom

We have several different colors of Columbine

A Morel mushroom

More flowers

Shooting stars

More flowers

Trip to Frog Island Lagoon

Yesterday evening, I canoed into Frog Island Lagoon, at the western edge of Neklason Lake. It was the first time I visited the lagoon during summer in three years.

My son, Alex, named Frog Island about twelve years ago. It is a high point in the marshy area that encompasses almost half of Neklason Lake's total acreage. In the spring, when the ice breaks up, tens of thousands of frogs hatch there. In the evening, they sing their songs.

Here are some pictures:

Frog Island Creek enters Neklason Lake
Frog Island, from the east

Frog Island marsh horsetails

Frog Island young marsh plants

Frog Island muskrat den

Frog Island Lagoon springs

Cottonwood Creek and western Neklason Lake from Frog Island Lagoon

A Trumpeter swan nesting in the marsh along Cottonwood Creek (click on the image for an enlargement. The swan is tiny, in the middle of the picture. I didn't want to get any closer). This is the first time in our 14 years on Neklason Lake that swans have nested here images - Progressive Alaska

The Best Mt. Redoubt Photo in Weeks

image - - Redoubt volcano steaming at sunset, taken from the Deep Creek boat launce on the Kenai Peninsula, by Dennis Josefczyk. Picture Date: May 26, 2009 22:30:00. Courtesy of the Alaska Volcano Observatory

Saturday Wasilla Tea Bag Party Update and Corrections - With Another Update (!)

Here's a picture taken last Saturday of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, holding a t-shirt given to her at Wasilla Wonderland Park, by the organizers of the picnic, speeches and ceremonies held there during the afternoon.

The group's chief organizer, Cheryl Brooks, advocates making being Chistian a requirement for governmental service, and a return to the laws of 1788, which would eliminate women's, minorities,' Jewish and others' civil rights. Apparently, she wants all amendments to the constitution eliminated (which would, I assume eliminate the Bill of Rights):

Our constitution would never be amended; the founding structure would be forever the same.


Cheryl Brooks has asked me to amend and correct Progressive Alaska's post that was the result of my attendance of Saturday's event. The following is from Ms. Brooks' email to me:

I do say your description of the rally was somewhat different than the 275 people (which signed in) that were there...

Senator Huggins was scheduled to be a guest speaker but the communication between his office and mine I was not able to confirm.

As far as Senator Menard was concerned she also was invited to speak, but her office never confirmed. My understanding was that she had other commitments.

You may have not seen other nationalities [sic] in the crowd but since you stayed off to the side you didn't see the children, and adults of the same other nationalities [sic].

Then we have your description of Governor Palin and what occurred when she arrived. The governor got out of her vehicle walked into the park area, spoke with many of us, we took pictures of her talking to us, smiling and I am sure she was cold since her sweater could of been heavier. We gave her a tee-shirt. I, another organizer spoke to Bristol who with the two little boys were in the SUV . Then she got into her vehicle and left. She was there about 20 minutes. We appreciated and enjoyed her taking the time to come and speak with us.

Our group American Patriot tea party, were born and raised in this country.

[At Wasilla Wonderland Park last Saturday - Cheryl Brooks, center, to the left of Gov. Palin, who is far more chastely dressed than she was for events honoring our Veterans during the preceding week]

I've requested that Ms. Brooks grant me an e-mail exchange interview regarding her proposed platform that would, it appears, re-institute slavery, revoke universal suffrage, and bring us back to the time when only Christians could serve in office.

Update - 3:20 p.m: From the comments, people sent over here from one of the Sarah shrines or from the Teabag Party are claiming that either I've made up Cheryl Brooks' quotes from above, or have made up the 20-point manifesto that I had pulled from the Alaska Tea Party web site last Wednesday.

The quotes above in indented italics are from an email Cheryl sent me overnight.

Although the 20-point program appears to have now disappeared from their web site or is extremely difficult to find, here is a Google cache screen shot that indicates that it once did appear there, as my post from last Wednesday stated:
One of the problems I've encountered in corresponding with, or in answering blog comments from some of the folks so ardent over Palin, and the Tea Bag set, is that they are often imprecise, or worse.


images - Alaska Tea Party

The Truth About Trans Employees

--- by E. Ross

Alishia is a firefighter. Enoch is a university professor. Dana is a software engineer. Jesse is an HIV prevention educator. Each makes invaluable contributions in the work place and in the community. And each faces the threat of losing a job, being denied housing or health care, and suffering violence and harassment simply for being transgender.

In Everyone Matters: Dignity and Safety for Transgender People, Alishia, Enoch, Dana, and Jesse talk about their jobs, their family, their hopes, and their worries. Framed by hope and optimism, their stories nevertheless show how vulnerable transgender people still are, and highlight the need for comprehensive laws to ensure that people can obtain and retain employment, remain safe on the streets, and have access to health care and housing.

Everyone Matters allows the viewer to hear from transgender people first-hand about their lives, and makes a powerful case for the passage of transgender-inclusive anti-discrimination and hate crimes laws.

Please watch this important video: