All Fools up here in Alaska

Hoo, boy what a hilarious week we've had. Just when I thought Alaska politics couldn't get any more ridiculous, BAM!

• Wayne Anthony Ross gets appointed as attorney general not because he's good at law, but because he's got an agenda! From the Gov's own press release:

As Attorney General, Ross will work with the governor on issues surrounding development of Alaska’s rich natural resources as the state continues its efforts to provide energy security for America and lower energy costs for Alaskans. As Attorney General, Ross also will help the governor protect Alaskans’ right to bear arms, and he will work tirelessly to manage Alaska’s fish and game resources for abundance through science and not politics.

• Recently-Republican Democrat Grussendorf gets chosen (by Sarah), then rejected (by the legislature)
• Mike Doogan makes an idiotic move and unveils a pseudonymous political blogger's real name
• a volcano goes off and Chevron decides to follow Exxon's wise example and leave 6 million gallons of oil in tanks on the side of said volcano--with no response plan ready! More here.
• Three years after the fact, the state sues BP for some oil spills and back royalties.
• Ted gets off scot-free because the prosecution screwed up their big case with a capital S

Sheesh. Can it get any worse?

Hah. Better not bet against it--in this state, it can always get worse...

And the prosecution SLAM-dunks the Stevens' defense volley!

Ah, yes, the Great Alaskan Sporting Event: watching the Elected Officials vs. the Prosecuting Attorneys. The ADN's Alaska Politics blog has got some great info on the latest legal motions, courtesy Erika Bolstad and David Hulen. (What a time for Libby Casey to be in Washington!) First, Stevens and his lawyers claim the case against him should be dropped, dismissed, tossed out, because, well, this, that, and the other...but not because the charges might be false (of course, he did plead not guilty).

But the prosecution was ready for 'em: a hard fastball of motions and out comes the promise of MORE EVIDENCE! More unreported gifts: a Jeep Cherokee! a secret interest-free loan! an unpaid-for backup generator at the infamous Girdwood residence! this last at Stevens' request!!!

And then there's that job for one of Stevens' sons! with--wait for it--VECO! and as if that wasn't enough--for a grandson, too!

Good god almighty.

But there's more--Stevens' "Non-Legislative Acts" concerning the natural gas pipeline, the Sakhalin oil fields, and the Pakistani pipeline (also a few other things). From the indictment:

It was a part of the scheme that STEVENS, while at the same time concealing his continuing receipt of things of value from ALLEN and VECO from 1999 to 2006, received and accepted solicitations for multiple official actions from ALLEN and other VECO employees, and knowing that STEVENS could and did use his official position and his office on behalf of VECO during that same time period. These solicitations for official action, some of which were made directly to STEVENS, included the following topics: (a) funding requests and other assistance with certain international VECO projects and partnerships, including those in Pakistan and Russia; (b) requests for multiple federal grants and contracts to benefit VECO, its subsidiaries, and its business partners, including grants from the National Science Foundation to a VECO subsidiary; and (c) assistance on both federal and state issues in connection with the effort to construct a natural gas pipeline from Alaska's North Slope Region.

Basically, Stevens' claim is that his actions were legislative and innocent, and protected by what's known as the Speech or Debate Clause, intended to protect those activities that a member of Congress might undertake that are integral to his or her duties. The prosecution is claiming, on the other hand, that while the legislative activities might be protected, the concealment of the benefits he received for certain actions is definitely not, and

evidence will be offered at trial for the purpose of demonstrating Senator Stevens' intent and his motive to conceal the substantial benefits he received from VECO by, among other things, lying on his mandatory, financial disclosure forms.

Did you notice that? They wrote "among other things", implying that there is even more muck to rake.

And that muck is assuredly oily: undertaking, lessee, official actions on an international scale so that a particular company can get rich?

Ah, but the prosecution's not worrying about that sort of thing. It's the dishonesty they're hopped up about.

Boy, howdy, is this going to be an interesting couple of months.

Upcoming first anniversary of the FBI raid on Stevens' house

I received this afternoon a public service announcement of an event commemorating the FBI raid on Senator Stevens' house in Girdwood last year. To whit:

What: An observance of the first anniversary of the FBI's raid on Ted Stevens' Girdwood home
When/Where: 11:30 AM Wednesday July 30 at Ted Stevens' Fairbanks campaign HQ, Old Steese just north of College Road
Why: Let the public know the following facts have not been forgotten, we'll provide signs!
Who: Alaskans who want the corrupting influence of big money removed from Alaska politics

In the year since FBI agents raided Ted Stevens' Girdwood home, we've learned that:

• VECO employees donated over $180,000 in large dollar amounts to Ted Stevens - based on FEC records
• VECO employees doubled the size of Ted Stevens' $440,000 Girdwood home. Stevens claims to have paid $130,000 for this remodel. VECO was not in the housing renovation business, rather it is an oilfield service company.
• Ted Stevens arranged huge funding increases to the National Science Foundation to expand arctic research.
• The National Science foundation awarded contracts to VECO totalling $170 million to provide logistical support for arctic research.
• VECO hired Ben Stevens, paying him $243K for "giving advice, lobbying colleagues and taking official acts in matters before the legislature," (8/16/07 Anchorage Daily News)
• When asked by federal prosecutors, former VECO executives Bill Allen and Rick Smith stated under oath that their payments to Ben Stevens constituted an illegal bribe.

(I can't say as I see increasing the National Science Foundation's funding as a bad thing, but it does look a little sticky when all those oil types are involved.)

Things looked bad enough to the FBI that they started taping Stevens' conversations.

For a really extensive listing, got to Alaska Report's Corrupt Bastards Page, an excellent reference. Retire Ted! also has a lot of stuff, but it's paid for by the Democratic Party of Alaska and hasn't been kept current.

At any rate, it looks like things will be lively at Stevens' campaign headquarters on Wednesday around lunchtime.

Palin's shortsighted energy plan

The Energy Debit Card is indeed as described, a short-term pain reducer. It "can only be used for energy purchases from authorized energy vendors in Alaska, such as electric utilities, natural gas utilitie, heating oil distrubtors, gas stations, and other retail fueling stations." It has a limit of $100 per month. So, in effect, it will do nothing for the long or even medium term, and it certainly won't reduce the actual costs of energy.

And what about those who would like to invest in, say, triple-pane thermally insulated windows to replace their leaky double-paned or single-paned windows? (Don't laugh--there are people in Anchorage living in houses that have single-paned windows—I've seen them with my eyes. This month.) Or maybe buy some insulation? This energy card can't be used for that kind of thing, or on long-life low-energy florescent lightbulbs, or all in one chunk on, say, solar heaters or small wind turbines.

What about those of us who (I blush) forgot to fill out our PFD forms in time? or who chose not to fill them out? or who haven't been here quite long enough to qualify for a PFD? Or those who make so much money that they really don't need a handout from the state for something like this? There's no qualifications regarding income level.

I'm sorry, Governor Palin, but I think this energy card idea is seriously flawed. If you're going to give out money to the public to deal with energy costs, then do it in such a way that it reaches those who really need it, and encourage (or at least allow!) them to conserve energy and use renewable energy sources. This is just a way of giving cash back to the oil and coal companies, ultimately, and doesn't help solve the actual problem.

When ELFs Go Wrong

Ray Metcalfe and Richard Fineberg spoke at a seminar yesterday sponsored by the Cooperative Extension Service and the UAF School of Management (Energy Economics Program) on Alaska's oil taxation. The basic question was, "Could sharing oil windfalls mean larger Permanent Fund dividends?"

The answer, of course, was YES.

I wasn't able to go, unfortunately (nasty sinusy cold laid me out—ick). But the gist is that the Alaska public is only getting half of what we legally should for oil revenue, and that our elected leaders (Frank Murkowski, Ben Stevens, Gary Wilken, Ralph Seekins, among others) are selling us down the river. Ray Metcalfe and the Republican Moderates have information on Ben Stevens' conflict of interest and VECO connections, and Richard Seifert, the moderator, has interesting links on his site to energy and economic information pertaining to Alaska.

Alaska: the new Florida in the world of political corruption (only oilier)…