The Guardian makes the case for trying former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in front of the ICC.

Courtesy of The Guardian:  

Geoffrey Robertson rightly argued that it is not legally possible to put Tony Blair on trial in the international criminal court for a crime of aggression, because aggression was not included in the Rome statute that established the ICC. Joshua Rozenberg suggested that the focus should therefore be on cases against British soldiers for abuse of detainees. However, there is an alternative route to take Blair and his ministers to the ICC over their war crimes. 

Under the Hague and Geneva rules, occupying powers are prohibited from fundamentally transforming the economy and political system of a country. Yet this is exactly what happened: the coalition provisional authority (CPA), through which the UK and US governed, forced through a series of major structural economic reforms, including the removal of product subsidies and protective trade barriers and other tariffs, a flattened tax system in which the richest and the poorest paid the same rate, and economic policies that threw Iraqi industry wide open to foreign investors. It also reformed the political system root and branch, creating a government structure based on sectarian identity, which arguably played a key role in stimulating the violence that continues to this day. 

One Foreign and Commonwealth Office lawyer advised Blair in February 2004 that because “the extensive body of CPA legislation dealing with economic reform and governance was of questionable lawfulness … the risk of claims against the UK could not be ruled out”. 

This issue had been contentious in the days leading up to the invasion. Concerns about the legality of the occupation were expressed in writing by several officials. In his memo to Blair on 26 March 2003, the attorney general Lord Goldsmith had warned that “wide-ranging reforms of governmental and administrative structures would not be lawful”. Meanwhile, Iraqi oil revenues were used to fund reconstruction, the majority of it carried out by US and UK contractors. Chilcot noted that by the end of the CPA’s first year of occupation, there were more than 60 UK companies working in Iraq, on contracts worth an estimated $2.6bn. To the victor, the spoils. Over $8bn of that Iraqi oil revenue was lost, unaccounted for in a process described thus by Blair’s representative in the CPA, Sir Jeremy Greenstock: “A lot of cash was going round in suitcases to be dispensed to Iraqis, not all of which was accounted for.” 

The CPA also laid the groundwork for a fundamental restructuring of Iraq’s vast oil industry. While the period formally defined as occupation ended in June 2004, British troops remained in Iraq for a further five years. The official narrative was that they were there at the invitation of sovereign Iraqi governments, but those nominal governments were successively appointed, promoted or defined by the US and UK. 

Contrary to Blair’s protestations, government documents released this week spell out how Iraqi oil was a central motive behind the war. Throughout the six years that British troops remained in Iraq, the UK consistently maintained two objectives in relation to oil: to transfer oil from public ownership to multinational companies, and to ensure BP and Shell got a large share of it. While the post-2004 phase may escape the formal legal definitions, it raises important political and ethical questions.

Remember how protesters of the Iraq War claimed that it was all about oil, and they were dismissed as being liberals who did not understand the "post 9-11 world" we lived in?

Well guess what?

It was all about the oil. 

The attacks were just a convenient excuse to do what George W. Bush and his neocon buddies wanted to do seconds after he was sworn in as President of the United States.

And we just sat back and let it happen.

So this what it looks like when Hell freezes over.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:

The Alaska Senate late Monday passed legislation converting the Permanent Fund into an endowment and setting dividends at $1,000, a move designed to help reduce the state's $4 billion budget gap. 

The 14-5 vote, which supporters described as a necessary step to head off a financial collapse, came quickly after months of discussion and debate about Senate Bill 128. The vote came about 8:30 p.m. on the same day the bill emerged from the Senate Finance Committee. 

The legislation still must pass a more skeptical House before it could head to Gov. Bill Walker for his signature. And a House vote is unlikely to come before next week, with lawmakers taking a five-day break from Juneau starting Wednesday, with most of the city's hotel rooms booked for a festival of Alaska Native culture.

I think the word to describe me right now is flabbergasted.

I don't think there is any way that I can adequately explain to those in the Lower 48, how jealousy Alaskans guard the PFD.

We refer to it as the third rail of Alaska politics, and those who suggested capping it or taking money from it to fund the government did so while packing their bags fully aware that their polticla career had just come to an end.

So for this legislation to have made it this far is a testament to the courage of Governor Bill Walker and our state senators.

Personally I hope that the House demonstrates the same courage, because this needs to happen. And in fact it really needed to happen over twenty years ago.

Alaska's economy is essentially in free fall right now.

Courtesy of Bloomberg:  

America’s Last Frontier is in trouble. The 40-year oil boom that turned Alaska from a frigid backwater into one of the nation’s richest states is over. Not only have petroleum prices crashed, but Alaska’s supply of crude is running out. Thirty years ago the state was pumping 2 million barrels a day, a quarter of all U.S. output. But over the past decade, the Prudhoe Bay oil field, once the largest in North America, has started to reach the end of its life. Alaska’s output has fallen to 500,000 barrels a day, enough to fill only one-quarter of the capacity of the state’s main economic artery, the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. 

With 90 percent of the general fund revenue tied to oil, the collapse has been devastating. Alaska, facing a $4 billion budget deficit, is one of four energy states that have slid into recession over the past year because of cheap oil. The state’s rainy day fund is burning through $11 million a day. If that keeps up, it will be out of emergency funds within two years.

The article goes on to point out that Governor Bill Walker is stuck with the unenviable tasks of trying to fix a problem that the last two governors Parnell and Palin pretended did not exist. 

To do it Walker will undoubtedly have to tap into the Permanent Fund account, the recognized third rail of Alaska politics. And possibly reintroduce state income taxes, which might lead to an open revolt within the state.

Whatever Walker does it will no doubt signal the end of his political career in Alaska. And that is really a shame because he is now making the hard choices that his predecessors should have made years ago, and simply refused. 

A single King Salmon is now worth more than a barrel of oil.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch: 

With this year’s plunge in oil prices, a single chinook salmon is now worth more than a barrel of oil. 

The winter kings being caught by Southeast trollers are averaging 10 pounds each with a dock price of $7.34 a pound, according to state fish tickets. That adds up to $73 per fish, compared to about $30 for a barrel of oil.

Well so much for that "Drill, baby drill" approach to paying the bills in Alaska.

I have to say as somebody who watched my state plunge into corruption with the discovery of oil on the North Slope I am not exactly heartbroken to see that it will no longer be driving our economy.

However in order to prepare for what comes next we are going to need strong courageous leadership.

Hopefully Governor Bill Walker is up to the task.

Do you know who is really going to love this news?

Dennis Zaki.

Zaki absolutely HATES what oil has done to this state, but damn does he love fish.

That time when the policies of President Obama started to bankrupt ISIS and nobody even noticed.

How many times do I have to tell you I've got this?

Courtesy of Vox:  

Though the American media often portrays ISIS as an unstoppable, terrifying juggernaut, the truth is that the group is in real trouble, and is actually losing ground in its core Iraqi and Syrian holdings. A new leaked internal document suggests the pressure may be even worse than we thought. According to the document, ISIS is being forced to slash salaries for its fighters by half across its holdings. 

The document appears to be authentic. "[I] definitely think this is real," Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told me. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an anti-Assad group watching the conflict, has heard from its own sources that ISIS is slashing salaries.

So at this point you are probably asking, "How did that happen?"

Funny you should ask.

Most of ISIS's money comes from extortion: essentially taking money from its citizens at gunpoint. But there's only so much wealth for the group to steal in the territory it controls without economic growth, and ISIS has no plan for putting together a real economy. Its oil infrastructure, which used to be quite valuable, has been heavily bombed by the US-led coalition. 

"Their cash had already been drying up," Gartenstein-Ross explains. "The coalition bombing their trucks bringing oil to market further depletes their revenue by adding a premium to doing business with ISIS. Plus, taxing a population that has very little source of income isn't a sustainable revenue model." 

So in short: ISIS has lost 25 percent of its territory since mid-2014. Its cash resources are running low. It has no friends in the region and lots of powerful enemies.

Okay so I kind of understand the strategic reasons for not yelling this from the rooftops and giving Daesh the opportunity to recognize what is happening and taking steps to circumvent these strategies.

However when I hear these Republican candidates bitching about the President having no plan to deal with the terrorists, or when they call him "weak" or "ineffective," I just want Obama to walk up to a microphone somewhere and shut their asses down.

As far as I'm concerned when it comes to the current crop of GOP presidential hopefuls there is not one among them qualified to wipe our President's ass much less take over his job.

Another one bites the dust. Yet one more oil company decides that exploring the Alaskan arctic is not worth the trouble.

Courtesy of Think Progress:  

Norway’s state-owned oil and gas company, Statoil, announced Tuesday it is pulling operations out of the Alaskan Arctic. 

“Since 2008 we have worked to progress our options in Alaska. Solid work has been carried out, but given the current outlook we could not support continued efforts to mature these opportunities,” Tim Dodson, executive vice president for exploration, said in a statement. 

The company — one of six that recently called for a price on carbon — will be closing its Anchorage office. It is giving up on 16 leases in the Chukchi Sea, as well as partial stake in 50 others held by ConocoPhillips. All the leases expire in 2020. 

“The leases in the Chukchi Sea are no longer considered competitive,” Statoil said Tuesday.

And that is how it goes.

One by one they fall, until the day we are finished with them all.

However this should also serve as a wake up call to Alaskans that our days of suckling at the teat of big oil are rapidly coming to an end.

If we don't come up with viable replacements for the millions, or perhaps billions, of dollars that flowed into our state from oil production, we are going to be in a world of hurt.

State Department rejects Transcanada's request to pause review of Keystone XL pipeline. It seems likely the President wants to kill the deal himself before leaving office.

Courtesy of Reuters:  

The United States formally denied a request on Wednesday to pause the review of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, a decision expected to lead to the project's rejection by the Obama administration. 

TransCanada Corp's request to the State Department for a delay was seen by many as an attempt to postpone the decision until after President Barack Obama left office and a new president more friendly to the plan took over in 2017. 

The White House declined to comment on the State Department's decision.

There was a lot of hand wringing after news broke about  Transcanada's request, with many fearing it was a strategic move to keep the deal alive until a Republican won the White House.

However it appears that most of that concern was for naught.

I think that much like that drilling project by Shell in the Arctic, that President Obama has had a plan all along, and as usual played it close to the vest.

I have every confidence that he is going to going to kill this pipeline deal, and therefore relieve Hillary of the responsibility, and secure his legacy as a warrior against climate change.

So apparently Alaska's going broke.

Courtesy of HuffPo:  

Alaska Governor Bill Walker issued layoff notes on Monday to more than 10,000 state employees, serving notice of a partial government shutdown that would begin on July 1 unless state lawmakers can agree on a budget for the forthcoming fiscal year. 

Alaska is facing a $3 billion budget shortfall, worsened by a global oil price plunge, and lawmakers have been fighting for more than four months over how to fund day-to-day operations. 

"The amount of difference right now being argued in the legislature is really about 1 percent of the problem," said Walker, an Independent who last year defeated incumbent Republican Sean Parnell. "We want to focus on the 99 percent opportunity we have to solve this." 

The state House and Senate have differed on how much they can cut without hurting services to the 750,000 residents. 

If no agreement is reached, some 10,000 workers doing a range of jobs from communications to issuing permits and certain non-emergency road maintenance would be laid off temporarily, though some personnel could be recalled for emergencies, according to government statements.

Can't say this is terribly surprising.

We all know Sean Parnell was a terrible manager, and we also know that Alaska is deeply affected by changing oil prices. After all, taxes and royalties from the oil companies make up the majority of the state's budget.

Many of us have been arguing for years that Alaska needs greater diversification, but there are a number of lawmakers who are perfectly content to suckle at the oil company teat apparently with no realization that it is going dry.

Sarah Palin was able to take advantage of higher oil prices to buy Alaskan's adulation for an extra $1,200.

But those days are over. Probably forever.

Alaska Dispatch has a list of the jobs and services that could be affected by the partial government shutdown.

Good point.

Train carrying crude oil derails, and explodes, causing the evacuation of residents in a one mile radius.

Damn look at that!

Courtesy of the Charleston Daily Mail:  

Residents who were near the derailment of a crude oil train in Fayette County say it shook and rocked their community like a Biblical judgment. 

Around 1:20 p.m. Monday, a CSX train carrying crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken formation derailed in the Mount Carbon area of Fayette County, sending oil tankers off the tracks, with some reaching the Kanawha River. 

The train, consisting of two locomotives and 109 rail cars, was en route to Yorktown, Va. As of Monday evening, it was unknown how much oil spilled from the train. 

According to a statement on its website, CSX is “working with first responders to address the fire, to determine how many rail cars derailed, and to deploy environmental protective measures and monitoring on land, air and in the nearby Kanawha River. The company also is working with public officials and investigative agencies to address their needs.” 

It was also reported that residents within a one mile radius had to be evacuated and the fire burned for over nine hours. 

The Governor of West Virgina, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, declared a state of emergency.

According to NPR two local water treatment plants closed their intakes and have asked residents to conserve water as thousands of gallons of crude oil pour out of ruptured tank cars.

Oil spills, explosions, contaminated water. Gee you know what might be helpful right about now?

A new source of energy.

Apparently Sarah Palin gave a speech in Texas this morning. You know, same shit different longhorn.

I love how this Forbes article set up how they were going to share bits of the speech: 

It can be challenging to parse Palin’s core message from within her slap-dash stream of consciousness rhetorical style. There was no teleprompter today, so it helped that her presentation was moderated in the form of a Q&A, which sort of kept her on topic. Is that unkind? Well she’s used to it. “You can’t be afraid to stand up to the press,” she said today. “Look at the Brian Williams stuff. They lie.” Fittingly, within the cavernous hall at the Hilton Americas where she spoke, a handful of reporters was sequestered in a corner as far away from the stage as possible. No recording devices allowed, but I type pretty fast. 

In the interest of sharing with you what Palin was trying to say, I’ve sought here to distill and edit down her disjointed message into a more coherent whole. So here goes. Try hearing her voice as you read it.

With that the reporter, Chris Helman, offers up a number of snack size sound bites for our amusement:

“Energy is my baby. The thing that I miss most about my governing responsibilities is to be able to spur investment in exploration and development.”

Well it IS reminiscent of her relationship with Trig, in that she has no idea what it is, how it works, or what it needs to be successful

My husband Todd started off with BP on the North Slope of Alaska. “We raised our kids with that North Slope lifestyle. Thank you so much for paying my bills for many years.”

Considering how her children turned out that seems like more of an indictment against BP more than anything else.  

“The president is not for American energy independence.” If he were he wouldn’t be trying to lock up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. That’s “20 million more acres he wants to lock up from development.” 

Obama wants to balance that out by opening up some waters off the Eastern seaboard to oil exploration. But “that’s a bogus exchange.” 

“All we need to explore and develop ANWR is a 2,000 acre swath. Alaska is 400 million acres when you consider our water and land. A postage stamp in the middle of a football field. That’s all the land we need to develop.”

Okay that 2,000 acres only includes the area where the drilling will occur. There are still thousands of acres that will be impacted by moving in equipment and building pipelines. And that does not even take into consideration what will happen in the case of a spill.

And if we have learned nothing else from building the Alaska pipeline, it is that leaks and spills are unavoidable.

And simply put the LAST thing our environment needs is more oil being pulled out of the ground.

And what about the impact that the oil exploration might have on the wildlife?

Oh she has an answer for that I see.

“The administration is not understanding the inherent link between energy and security and energy and prosperity. He’s rewarding the environmentalists who are extreme in saying there would be environmental harm in developing ANWR.” They worry about the impact on the “moose and caribou.” Well we’ve had the Trans-Alaska Pipeline for decades, and that “pipeline has not been adverse at all.” 

On the contrary, “the animals like the warmth” that the pipeline gives off. “The animals mate under the pipeline. I haven’t actually seen it” but that’s what I’m told. If oil and gas development is risky to wildlife, “if it is to hurt one caribou, then that one caribou should take one for the team and allow the rest of the country to benefit.” 

"Take one for the team?" She does recognize that caribou do not exactly consider themselves to be part of our team doesn't she?

Concerning the presidential race in 2016: 

“I can’t wait for 2016. That election I can see from my house. I hope for a GOP candidate who understands energy and understands infrastructure.” 

“Hillary Clinton will be the Democrat candidate because she has the money.” After her, it’s a “shallow bench.” Is there any chance a dark horse could emerge to challenge her? “Not really, because of the money. Hillary Clinton will seize the opportunity to collect those funds. Hillary is it.”

Well we agree on that last part at least.

And of course the obligatory question that always has to be asked of this nitwit:

Is Sarah Palin considering a run?  

“I’m so sorry you asked that. It’s “just too early.” But “a lot can change.” 

She's sorry they asked her? She would literally curl up in a ball and die if people stopped asking her that question.

Palin then goes on to casually attack the President and then give her clearly prepared remarks on Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the Middle East.  (Remember she had the questions submitted before this appearance so that she would have prepared responses.)

Palin ends her remarks by blowing kisses at the military.

“Freedom isn’t free. You have to fight for it.” That’s why I support the U.S. military. “They are America’s true heroes.” 

I still have trouble understanding how slaughtering people in a foreign land makes America free.

So there were no huge Iowa sized gaffes in this speech, which I am sure is why they insisted on getting the questions with enough time to prepare reasonably intelligent answers ahead of time.

It appears, at least initially that Palin stuck to the script and clicked the safety on the verbal salad shooter.

But really, how long can that last?

So Sarah Palin was on Fox News babbling incoherently about Russia again.

Stuart Varney, the guy with the British accent that Roger Ailes hired to class up Fox News (Yeah good luck with that!), had Palin on today to discuss Christmas, Russia, energy, and other things that she know absolutely nothing about.

Somebody sent me a link so I listened to it and for the most part found nothing but the same old incomprehensible word salad that we have come to expect from the Queen of Non Sequiturs. (Varney asks her a question about Russia but her answer is so convoluted that I simply cannot bring myself to attempt a transcript.)

But then Varney asked Palin to explain why the President does not want to open federal lands in order to drill them full of holes to get more oil.

"Our President has absolutely no clue about what that inherent link between energy and sovereignty, energy and security and prosperity is, because he has no experience, I think, in the real world, or even in the corporate world, and understanding how energy is so extremely important for our economy and for our security, So that being said, that our President is clueless about all this, you would thing though that the Democrats, especially from oil producing states would be able to influence Democrat leadership, like our President, and help explain to him that we could take away Putin's power. We could take away the threats from some of these emerging economies to, who are using..um..energy as a weapon, as a weapon against us, and like you say you take that away by being sovereign and secure in your own energy security, your own energy independence. You do that by drilling domestically and when you hear President Obama spew this BS about what he has done to increase domestic supplies of energy, remember it is BS. Because on federal lands he still locks it up, he still wants it locked up."

Holy shit, there is not enough dressing in the world to make that word salad palatable.

And God I hate it when this imbecile starts arguing that President Obama has no experience in the real world. THE MAN HAS BEEN PRESIDENT FOR SIX FUCKING YEARS NOW!

There is no way he could NOT have experience in the "real world." He is the fucking leader of it!

Besides Palin's contention that drilling domestically would "take away Putin's power" is just another giant load of moosenuggets.

In fact we get so little of our oil from Russia it would make literally no discernible difference if we stopped.

And in fact if Palin knew anything about what she is talking about she would know that America gets the majority of its oil from right here in North America.

And a whopping 60% of the oil we use comes from production right here in the good old US of A.

You know that is something that I would think a self identified "energy expert" might already know.

By the way the very last thing that any of us should want is for the ANY world leader to green light more oil exploration in this country or anywhere else in the world.  And fortunately this President understands that the future lies in renewable energy sources and has made that a priority.

Perhaps a better use of Palin's time would be to stop making stupid videos about fake pie baking, and giving insipid interviews, and instead take a load off those spindly legs of hers and sit down to watch a little television.

Key and Peele explain how America decides which countries deserve military support.

Sadly this is not that much of a parody.

Well great now we are on the cusp of starting another war with the Native American people. Over a stupid pipeline yet.

Courtesy of Lakota Voice:  

In response to today’s vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to authorize the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, the Rosebud Sioux Tribal President announced that the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (Sicangu Lakota Oyate) recognizes the authorization of this pipeline as an act of war. 

The Tribe has done its part to remain peaceful in its dealings with the United States in this matter, in spite of the fact that the Rosebud Sioux Tribe has yet to be properly consulted on the project, which would cross through Tribal land, and the concerns brought to the Department of Interior and to the Department of State have yet to be addressed. 

“The House has now signed our death warrants and the death warrants of our children and grandchildren. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe will not allow this pipeline through our lands,” said President Scott of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. “We are outraged at the lack of intergovernmental cooperation. We are a sovereign nation and we are not being treated as such. We will close our reservation borders to Keystone XL. Authorizing Keystone XL is an act of war against our people.” 

In February of this year, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and other members of the Great Sioux Nation adopted Tribal resolutions opposing the Keystone XL project. 

“The Lakota people have always been stewards of this land,” added President Scott. “We feel it is imperative that we provide safe and responsible alternative energy resources not only to Tribal members but to non-Tribal members as well. We need to stop focusing and investing in risky fossil fuel projects like TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline. We need to start remembering that the earth is our mother and stop polluting her and start taking steps to preserve the land, water, and our grandchildren’s future.” 

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe, along with several other South Dakota Tribes, stand together in opposition to risky and dangerous fossil fuel projects like TransCanada’s Keystone XL. The proposed route of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline crosses directly through Great Sioux Nation (Oceti Sakowin) Treaty lands as defined by both the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaties and within the current exterior boundaries of the Rosebud Sioux Reservation and Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.

Well that could not be any more disturbing to read.

And the Lakota tribe is completely in the right on this issue.  Something that usually I would expect the Democrats to recognize.

Look I understand why Mary Landrieu sponsored the bill to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline, and I understand why some Democrats feel they must support it.

But ultimately it will not help Landrieu hang onto her Senate seat, and it WILL anger not only the native American people but also the environmentalist who have usually been a reliable demographic for Democrats.

Personally I would rather lose a Senate seat, than to lose the support of voters that we are desperately going to need in the next two years.

While Mark Begich works his ground game Dan Sullivan brings in the old and the crazy.

Courtesy of the Fairbanks NewsMiner

From the Alaska Dispatch: 

Begich and the Democratic Party have a roughly tenfold advantage in paid staff on the ground in Alaska, and their schedule for the next few days doesn’t include any particularly flashy events or guests -- Begich is campaigning in the Mat-Su, Anchorage, and Fairbanks, while his wife and mother make stops in rural Alaska. 

Sullivan’s campaign, meanwhile, is relying on Cruz and 2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who’s holding a rally Monday in Anchorage with Sullivan and Republican Gov. Sean Parnell. 

The visit from Cruz, who’s stumped around the country for Republican Senate candidates, helps Sullivan’s campaign to stoke its conservative base and even generate enthusiasm among Libertarians, whom Cruz mentioned in a video he posted shortly after his arrival in Alaska. 

Saturday’s event in Fairbanks was a showcase for that strategy. 

“In three days, we’re going to retake the U.S. Senate and retire Harry Reid as majority leader,” Cruz said to sustained applause from the Chrysler showroom, telling the crowd that Begich’s support for Reid amounts to “a vote that says, ‘I hate oil.’” 

“Let me tell you, in the fight for this country, for the direction of this country, Alaska is ground zero,” Cruz said.

Yeah Raphael Cruz is full of shit here.

While I agree that Alaska is grown zero in a lot of ways, there is NO politician elected in this state that hates oil.  

After all that is the lifeblood of Alaska right now, and without it we would suffer greatly. Mark knows that quite well.

However I am sure that Begich realizes that it will not last forever, nor should it, and that it is time to start seriously finding alternative fuel sources.

Having said that I can certainly attest to the powerful ground game being used by the Democrats in support of Mark right now. I have personally been visited a whopping seven times by door knockers making sure that I am voting, and voting for our current Senator. (I actually voted earlier today, so maybe I'll put a sign in my yard attesting to that fact.)

I have seen NOBODY from the Sullivan campaign in my neighborhood, and if he is relying on those out of state funded ads and the likes of Mitt Romney and Ted Cruz to give him a boost I think he might be in for a very unpleasant surprise tomorrow evening. (Assuming of course we know anything by tomorrow evening.)

By the way Begich referred to Cruz as "the king of the government shutdown." which I think is too perfect.

Well I for one am responsible for at least three Begich votes. No I did not vote three times, but my family members did come to me for guidance and I think I set them on the path of righteousness.

So if you have not voted yet, make sure you do tomorrow.

It is not just your responsibility, it is your right. And keep in mind who is working to take that right away from many of you.

One thousand eight hundred and eighty four dollars.

Nice try Captain Zero. Still not voting for you.

I thought I would end the day with the biggest news here in Alaska .

The announcement of the PFD amount.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:

$1,884: that's the amount of this year's Permanent Fund Dividend check distributed to Alaskans, as announced by Gov. Sean Parnell in downtown Anchorage Wednesday morning. 

The 2014 dividend will be the third-largest check issued since dividends began in 1982. The Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Division said checks and direct deposits would go out on October 2. 

The 2014 Dividend is much larger than last year's check of just $900. The reason: the 2009 fiscal year -- which saw dividend values drop as the nation's economy continued to stagnate -- dropped off the five-year rolling average of the Permanent Fund's performance used to calculate the dividend. With the fund now estimated at more than $50 billion, and stock and real estate markets continuing to show strong returns, all indications are that next year's check could be even bigger.

Well this is good news for  your favorite Alaska blogger. My check should be directly deposited into my account at the beginning of next month.

I have been keeping my expenditures to a minimum lately, because there has been a temporary hiccup in my monetary situation. It will smooth out in the next few weeks or months, but in the meantime I am trying to avoid spending any of my savings, for which this will be of great help.

The check may seem like a lot to those of you living in the Lower 48, but don't forget we have to deal with bears and harsh winters, not to mention having to share the state with the Palin clan.

Sarah Palin calls into her favorite Alaska radio show. Slams Sean Parnell, defends ACES, and sorta, kinda endorses Parnell's gubernatorial rival.

Palin's response to a question about why Parnell is doing away with the Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share program which was the legacy of her short time in office.

"Well bless his heart. Remember that Sean Parnell came from the oil industry. He was, you know, and employee of Conoco-Phillips, you know being an attorney for the cause there, lobbying for the cause there, so perhaps that's ingrained in him."

Ouch!

Palin then goes on to kind of endorse Parnell's 2010 primary opponent, and current candidate for Governor, Bill Walker.

"I heard recently Bill Walker on your show. That's another morning that I tried to call in but a lot of listeners must have been calling in. It was a pretty busy morning. Bill Walker he's got his thumb on the pulse of, I think, most Alaskans, who care about the future of this state, and don't want to see government grow, they want to see empowerment of the people."

As somebody certified in CPR I feel obligated to point out that you do not take a pulse with your thumb unless it your own pulse you are checking.

It has been quite some time since Palin has deigned to call into the Bob and Mark show. Though as we know she has been calling into conservative talk shows in other parts of the country.

I found her little passive aggressive swipe at Parnell kind of interesting, considering the fact that he continues to provide cover for her up here in Alaska.

Hmm, perhaps he will rethink that strategy.

Car dealer associations across the country are lobbying hard to keep Tesla Motors from establishing dealerships. The answer as to why this is the case is one that we know all too well. Oil.

Courtesy of Wired:  

Car dealers fear Tesla. In states across the country, powerful car dealer associations have lobbied to ensure the electric car maker and its direct-sales model are kept out. This movement claimed another victory this week when New Jersey banned Tesla stores in the state. 

On the surface, the fear is hard to fathom. In New Jersey, for instance, sales of Tesla’s $70,000 Model S reportedly number in the hundreds. But if you dig a little deeper, it becomes obvious why dealers are worried. They don’t just fear Tesla’s cars. They fear Tesla’s plan to create a world where you never have to bring your car into the shop again. 

The first and most striking way Tesla kills the dealer service department cash cow is downloads. As part of its sales pitch, Tesla says you should think of its Model S sedan as “an app on four wheels.” That may sound like vacuous Silicon Valley marketing copy, but the company isn’t just being metaphorical. Software is at the heart of what keeps Teslas running. These internet-connected cars are designed to self-diagnose their problems. The vehicles can also download software fixes or updates — even new features — much like an iPhone when Apple puts out a new version of iOS. When fixes happen over the air, there’s no need for a shop in the first place. 

The ability to repair a car via software is especially important when the vehicle itself consists of so much new technology that traditional mechanics don’t know how to fix. The flip side is that without an internal combustion engine, there’s not as much to fix. I’ve written before that a Tesla without its outer shell looks like a cell phone on wheels. It’s basically just a big battery. That means no spark plugs, no air filters, no fuel pumps, no timing belts. In short, Teslas don’t have any of the parts that force you to take your car in for “regularly scheduled maintenance” — services that can cost dearly at the dealer. But it’s hard to charge for an oil change when there’s no oil to be changed.

As you can imagine a vehicle that requires no gasoline and no oil changes, would drive the oil companies into  a near panic.

And so it has. Enough so that it has a long history of working against the electric car industry.

I think there is little doubt that this is the wave of the future, and speaking just for myself, the idea of a car that can self diagnose and solve problems via the internet is incredibly attractive.

However, and I almost hate to bring this up, before this country puts all of its eggs in the electric car basket, we need to completely overhaul our electrical grid, beef up security, and move to more solar power to meet our energy needs.

Right now we are incredible vulnerable to sabotage, and before we dispense with fossil fuel powered cars altogether that must be addressed.

However in the meantime I am looking forward to helping my daughter purchase a car that will NOT leak oil all over my driveway, and one which I can plug into the wall to charge rather than to stand in the freezing cold at a gas station spending money to support oil producing countries in the Middle East.

Dazed and Confused Sarah Palin on Hannity: "People are looking at Putin as one who wrestles bears and drills for oil." Suggests that the President "wears mom jeans and equivocates and bloviates." Clearly somebody got a new vocabulary word a day calendar for Christmas.

Before I start with the transcript I want you to just take a moment and look at this image.

THAT is the expression that Palin wore throughout almost the entire interview. I swear it is the same look that my daughter's dog had on its face after she recently came out of surgery.

Methinks somebody might have taken a little something for their nerves before the camera started rolling.

Hannity starts it off by showing the tape of Palin reading off of a teleprompter her "prediction" that Russia would invade the Ukraine.

He then asks her what she saw that the President failed to see. (You know, besides whatever hallucinations are currently dancing before her eyes.)

Here was her catatonic response:

"Well anyone who carries the common sense gene would know that Putin does not change his stripes. (Because he is a tiger.) He harkens back to the era of the czars, and he wants that Russian empire to grow again. He wants to exert huge power and dominance, so he has to get to those border areas, and he has to capture them. But you know what Sean? More importantly...we were right on that, I'm right when I talk about that inherent link between energy and security. Energy and prosperity. And when we don't develop our resources, and when we are not able to feed others with our resources, and so many others are reliant upon Russia, who does develop their resources, and with that wealth are able to strengthen their military and their influence and power on the globe, then other nations are in trouble." (For the record 2013 saw the United States breaking records with its domestic oil production. Which of course proves that Palin has no damn idea what she is talking about.)


I like the fact that after vomiting forth this chunk of clearly pre-written mooseshit that Palin looked almost pleased with herself as if she thought she had knocked it out of the park, while instead she had been chewing on her bat the entire time. 

Hannity then follows the predetermined talking point of suggesting that the solution to all of the planet's problems is more fracking. Also making the point that the Ukraine is crisscrossed with various pipelines.

Palin: "Right, see that building of pipelines is an example of developing natural resources and what they can provide to a region, and here today...was it in Washington D.C.? We had all these protestors against the Keystone Pipeline. Look, America needs pipelines! Just like the other parts of the globe we were just talking about need their pipelines, we need ours. And those protestors griping about..oh I don't know...perhaps an earthworm will be displaced when a pipeline in built in America. That earthworm, it can take one for the team." (I am not exactly sure why an earthworm would care to take one for a team of creatures that routinely destroys it habitat, but putting that aside the fear of what having heavy tar sands flowing through the Keystone Pipeline in the U.S. could do to our environment is about far more than a displaced worm.)

Hannity then asks Palin for her predictions as to what Putin might do next, and if it is possible he will invade more countries. (Because as we all know she used to spy on him from her house.)

Palin: "Well yes, especially under the Commander-in-Chief that we have today, because Obama's...the perception of him, and his potency...across the world is one of such weakness, you know and I...lookit people are looking at Putin as one who wrestles bears and drills for oil. They look at our President as one who wears mom jeans and equivocates and bloviates."

Did somebody mention "mom jeans?"

"We are not exercising that peace through strength that can only be brought to you courtesy of the red, white, and blue. That only a strengthened United States military can do."

Okay is crazy eyes literally suggesting that Obama should threaten Russia with military force? Surely even SHE is not that out to lunch. Or is she?

And speaking of the President, why was she talking about his "potency?" That did not seem like an appropriate word for what she was talking about.

Hannity then goes on to mock the President for his "reset" of relations with Russia, most of which took place during the term of Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, who appeared to be much more interested in negotiating with the west than has been demonstrated by Putin.

Palin greedily takes the bait: "Yeah that reset button thing that was just more um...more political speak, and double speak, that is so prevalent in the Obama administration. No...um...Obama instead has chosen to adopt this MO of leading from behind, whatever the heck that means, I mean because the rest of the world...looking for that shining city on a hill, looking for that country in which...that they can emulate. Um they're not seeing that anymore in America because of Obama's weak leadership, leading from behind, which makes absolutely no sense. Um what...what's going on...in a greater sense here is other countries finally taking advantage of that weakness in America at this point. Because our Commander-in-Chief does not understand the peace through strength that so many of us want to get back to. That is the only way that our world will be safer, more secure." 

Okay first off that "leading from behind" thing is an invention of Fox News and Right Wing talking points. So if Madame Mooseshit here does not understand what it means she needs to talk to her script writers.

Secondly it sounds to me like this lunatic is suggesting that the only way to control Russia is to beef up our military and return to a cold war mentality. Because you know, THAT would be making progress.

Hannity makes some comments about Russia and China giving each other a reach around, and then Palin chimes in with her final point.

Palin: "My last point is...when Putin now is being accused by critics of violating law, in his actions today, well I'm loathe to give any advice to a tyrant like Putin, but you know what he could do is what liberals adopt here in America as acceptable, and that is when our President decides which laws, picking and choosing, that he will follow, he can just call it an executive order and nobody says boo."

Yes because not wanting to support DOMA is just like invading another country, right you moron?

By the way perhaps somebody needs to remind this idiot that so far President Obama has only used the Executive Order 168 times to George W. Bush's 291. (Clinton chocked up 364.)

And speaking of George W, Bush, most pundits agree that it was HIS actions while invading Iraq that have helped to embolden Putin. NOT the policies of the current resident of the White House.

Here is the interview for you to watch on your own. (If you so desire.)

While watching it, my very first thought was that she looked like she was tranquilized, and that thought was immediately followed by "What the fuck in on her head?"

As for her delivery, it was clear she had been coached, and a script written for her, but in her medicated state she clearly had a difficult time sticking to it.

Here is what the Obama Diary tweeted after her appearance.

MT @SarahPalinUSA On @seanhannity tonight to talk about Russia and Ukraine // Palin aides school her first --> pic.twitter.com/24DeZOcMuK
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) March 3, 2014

Too funny, and too true.

Most Teabaggers per capita found in Alaska. Well shit!

Courtesy of the Washington Post:  

Maybe it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Alaska, a state known for its independent streak, is a hotbed for tea partiers. It’s home to the most members per capita, according to data from a new report. 

The states with the largest populations were, of course, home to the most in absolute terms, with the South leading the nation by region. The data was part of a larger report on the status of the movement produced by the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, a liberal group based in Kansas City, Mo. (Sources for the report’s data included political contributions and the Web sites of several tea party organizations.) 

The movement lays claim to a small slice of the nation, with its more than 450,000 members accounting for a 0.14 percent share of the population. The South is far and away home to the most tea party members, with nearly 190,000. Nearly 110,000 live in the West, and nearly 93,000 live in the Midwest. Slightly more than 64,000 live in the Northeast. 

In Alaska, tea partiers account for 3.57 of every 1,000 residents. 

Sometimes I just hate my life.

This is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful states in the country, with a population of some of the dumbest people on the planet.

I often get asked why we don't get more progressives in office, or why we don't challenge Mark Begich with a more liberal primary candidate, and my answer to this is, "Boy you sure aren't from Alaska are you?"

We have people up here that are so libertarian that they throw a fit when their town installs a new speed limit sign, or put in stoplights at a dangerous intersection.

These are the people who are ether members, or supporters of the AIP, but since that is not nationally recognized feel they might as well jump on the Tea Party bandwagon as well.

Though Sarah Palin has proven to be a national embarrassment to our state, her politics were right in line with how a lot of people, especially those in non-native rural communities, think.

And of course the funny thing is that Alaska would be a virtual wasteland without the federal money that Ted Stevens, Don Young, and the Murkowski's have brought up here for decades.

Sure we have oil, but without the roads, airports, and infrastructure provided by the federal government we would probably still be trying to find it, or if found, trying to figure out how to process it and get it out of here.

But none of that means anything to the Alaska AIP/Teabaggers, as far as they are concerned the regulations imposed on them by the Feds are simply there to ruin their fun, and the money sent up here by the boatload to support the state is of no use to anybody who considers themselves a REAL Alaskan.

Of course the sad fact is that most of those who consider themselves members of the Tea Party are not Alaska natives, ie "real" Alaskans, nor are they people who have been here since before the oil boom. They are Southerners who came up here when the smell of crude hit the air, and brought their fundamentalist religions and conservative politics with them.

I would be willing to bet that of this 3.57 percent who identity as members of the Tea Party, that the vast majority of them have not been up here longer than 30 years. You know before the red rash of conservatism spread across our political landscape.