Smokin' in The Good Ol' Boys Room / Pay Cuts for Workers, Pay Raises for the OverLords

Just when you think that things down in Juneau couldn't get any more atrocious, Mike 'COS' Chenault had a personal $74,000 item approved by the House - a "capitol stair landing" AKA a covered outdoor smokers' lounge.  Seems that Mike and his COS, Tom Wright, both smokers, feel entitled to a few more perks and damn it, the state should support their nasty habits.


If you haven't read the OpEd by Andree McLeod about the recent pay raises that Gov Parnell has given his personal staff, please take a minute and do so.  Parnell has been calling for ordinary state workers to take a pay cut and, of course, is all about denying the working poor a chance to be covered by health insurance (that would mostly be paid for by the feds), but he's also all about doling out extravagant pay raises to his staff. Keep in mind that none of these folks even have a job description.  His four aids will now cost the state some $1 million is pay and benefits in one year.

The fiscally conservative, lead-by-example Republicans that we keep electing are doing such a good job giving our money away to each other and the oil companies. 

The Alaskan GOP: The Party of Bear-Shit Crazy

Being an Alaskan political blogger has become a full-time occupation since the current legislative session began in January. Our local republicans have been accused of conflicts of interest (Micciche); ignoring the US Constitution (Chenault); padding their paychecks by keeping office supply money (Chenault and Olson); reinventing history by exonerating Exxon from culpability in the Exxon Valdez oil spill (Olson); sending an email to a secretary with the message 'What a crock of shit'(Chenault); making fart jokes in the Alaska House of Representatives (Chenault) and explaining why he voted to override a citizens' initiative and thereby letting cruise ships dump sewage in coastal areas by saying that Anchorage already does so (Micciche).

In this breaking story, GOP Party Chairperson, Debbie Holle Brown has now barricaded herself in the Republican Party Headquarters in Anchorage, had the locks changed and has threatened to have anyone entering the building arrested. Apparently, she's doing this to keep the old guard (Randy Ruedrich) from re-taking control of the party after Brown and fellow teabagger, Russ Millete took over in the Ron Paul coup last year.  Ruedrich already out maneuvered Millette by exposing Russ's lack of fund-rasing experience and general incompetence and had Millette demoted...

Crazy!

April 9th Update:
Debbie's out.  The GOP executive committee voted to remove Brown as the chairperson citing that she had raised less than $1000 for the party.  Since expenses were around $4000/month, the executive board said it was business, not politics that guided their decision.

Crude Dreams/Crude Schemes

Jack Roderick, long-time Alaskan public servant, oil industry analyst and author of Crude Dreams which examines the often slimly roll that the gas and oil industry has had with Alaskan politicians (Veco/Corrupt Bastards Club) gave public testimony the other day about the House and Senate bills that takes billions of dollars out of the state's coffers and gives it to oil companies.  He's not afraid to tell it like it is.  The senate bill passed by the absolute narrowest margins, 11-9 and two of the votes for the break came from ConocoPhillips managers, now in the Alaskan Senate, Kevin Meyer and SOLDotna's own Peter Micciche.

Roderick just put out on OpEd in the Alaska Dispatch.  You can read it here.

It's been reported all around the state how it's an obvious conflict of interest that these two were not only allowed to vote, but they were both on committees that pushed the bill through the senate. Roderick imagines that the national press will soon have a good time (once again) ridiculing politics here in the 49th state.  Let's see, a governor that was an oil company lawyer and lobbyist, two senators on the payroll of a major oil company, and a dozen representatives with direct or family ties to the industry vote for a bill that will enrich every last one of them.  And of course, the Republican party had to engage in some gerrymandering to get their way.

Roderick is annoyed (as we all should be) about the conflict of interest, but what particularity annoys him is that the money has been given to the oil companies without any requirement that they produce more oil or hire more Alaskans.

As previously mentioned in this blog and elsewhere, is that Senator Gary Steven's rider that would sunset the new tax scheme after three years if the extra oil wasn't produced  was defeated by the same 9-11 vote.  If the point of the give-away is to spur production, shouldn't we have that clause as an incentive for the majors to actually spur production?

Another Republican Makes Sense

I hope you all got to read Bert Stedman's Compass piece in today's ADN. If not take a few minutes to read it here.

Stedman, the Alaskan state senator from Craig and a Republican, is an accountant by trade and voted against Senate Bill 21 which gives multi-billion dollar tax breaks to oil companies without requiring  them to step up production.  Stedman makes several points and that I wish that our local legislatures, Peter Miciche, Mike Chenault and Kurt Olson would have the integrity and maybe the balls to respond to in detail.  Don't count on it.  Chenault and Olson have proven over and over again that the concept of integrity doesn't apply to them.  Micciche, a Conoco/Phillips manager, doesn't seem to know what the word means.

Questions that Senator Stedman has:
1) Why is the AK Dep't of Revenue's prediction of oil production in legacy fields twice the rate established by the major oil companies?
2) Why has the progressive tax rate been eliminated?  Alaskans own the oil, and progressive taxes are the compensation for the value of the oil at international rates. Otherwise we are selling our oil for 1990 prices.  That is insane! The progressive tax is just the way we Alaskans charge the market rate for oil coming out of the ground.
3) What drastic cuts are those who voted for the bill proposing to make up the monetary shortfall the state will now experience? Come on, let us know what you will fund (Knik Arm Bridge? Susitna Dam? Roads to Resources? Two gas pipelines?) and which you will cut (Education? Health Care? Rural energy? Mental health programs? Unfunded liability to state retirement systems?)


It's good that there are a few republicans left that ask honest questions and expect honest answers before selling out Alaska.  It's too bad that none of our local legislatures aren't that honest.

I have three additional questions:
Why not have the amendment that would revert that tax structure back to ACES if the oil companies didn't step up production?  If the goal is to step up production, why not make it mandatory?

If oil did drop to $40 a barrel as Kurt Olson mentioned at the recent town hall meeting in SOLdotna, how much more production would be needed to have the same amount of revenue come to the state as we are now getting and should we expect that much extra production with the new bill?

Why has Gov Parnell not allowed the experts he has hired to look into the tax law to testify to the legislature and why haven't the three oil-company stooges we have representing us demanded that information?

Well, Micciche, Chenault and Olson, got any honest answers?

Micciche: Doing Something Stupid in Juneau

To nobody's surprise, the Alaska senate passed the massive tax break bill for the major oil companies.  The vote that will give these companies billions of dollars of extra profits was predictable.  All seven of the Democrats voted no along with two Republicans, Stedman and Stevens.  The remaining 11 Republicans voted in favor of the give-away, including two ConocoPhillips managers that serve on the Senate, Keven Meyer and SOLdotna's own Peter Micciche.  In most places on the planet, Meyer and Micciche wouldn't be allowed to vote because of conflict of interest, but Alaska law is very lax about that.  While both men declared that they did have that conflict, all it took was the objection of their fellow Republicans to override the declaration.  The best government money can buy.

When ask about restructuring oil taxes, Peter said last month, “I think we have enough votes to do something stupid. My job is to make sure we don’t,” he said. “If it’s fair and protects Alaskans, I’m likely to be for it. If it goes the governor’s way, I probably won’t.”  Well, basically the bill isn't fair and it doesn't protect Alaskans, but it does pad the already record profits of oil companies.  Stunningly, there is no requirement of any extra production from the oil companies.  That is simply stupid.  But what can you expect from people who get their paychecks from the folks that will gain the most from this legislation?

Micciche was able to get his amendment passed that kept the base rate at 35% rather than the 33% the finance committee recommended, but that 'compromise' does little more than placate his ego that he is the great compromiser.

The vote was also 11-9 opposed to Steven's amendment that would have sun-setted the new law if the oil companies didn't step up production.  There's the moment of truth.  If the bill is supposed to stimulate production according to the R's who supported it, why not make sure that it does?  By voting against Steven's amendment, there is no question that this bill is a sham and designed only to give away the resources that each and every one of us in Alaska owns.

Micciche has stated that no one can explain why a progressive tax is any good.  Well Pete, it's called capitalism: supply and demand.  What business would sell their product for a low price when they could easily get a whole lot more for it?

Well, it is what it is.  Next up it will be curious to see how the senate and our own formeer mayor vote on spending bills.  How much will they spend on the Susitna Dam, the two gas pipelines, the Knik Arm Bridge, the Port of Anchorage, public funding of private schools and other such boondoggles being proposed.  Let's face it we're SOL n Alaska these days.

Mike Chenault: COS eats COS

Click to enlarge this COS

Mike Chenault is a hack-blogger's dream and this past weekend, has shown Alaskans what he is made of:  A steamy pile of Shit!

Here's what happened.  The secretary for the mayor of Valdez sends an email letter to Gov Parnell and all state legislatures that encourages them to consider moving forward with a large diameter natural gas pipeline that would have Valdez for its terminus.  Nothing wrong with advocating for your own home town, right?

Mike Chenault, or someone using Mike's email and signing off as Mike, replies to one and all,

"What a crock of shit"

SOL will refer to this reply as COS for expediency.

The email reply goes to the secretary who is mortified to received such a vulgar response from the Alaskan Speaker of the House.  The mayor of Valdez, Dave Cobb, is also a bit offended, but the guy has some dignity and wit.  He's quoted as saying "I'm not going to stoop to his level, but I'd like to."

Well, after the COS hit the fan, the brainiacs at Chenault headquarters went into spin control.  It was decided that Mike's Chief of Staff (SOL will use COS for expediency) would take the blame.  So an apology, not from Mike (who thinks he is hot shit or that his shit doesn't stink), but from Tom Wright (the COS) who says he accessed Mike's email and sent out the reply intended for Mike's peers and it was inadvertently sent out to the secretary.

Do you believe that COS?

So, Mike's COS is the fall guy for Mike's COS remark and has to eat the contents of the COS.  Mike might have a large body and even larger ego, but he must have the tiniest set of balls to not man up on this one.  If he let Wright access his email and send out a reply like that, he should fire the COS. The apology should have come from Chenault in any case, where exactly does the buck stop?

Can you belive that crock of shit?
Check out the story here in the Valdez Star and here on the Mudflats

The bigger issue, of course is the natural gas pipeline.  I'll have a post about that coming up.

SOL in Alaska

Oh, Crap, and I literally mean Oh, Crap. 

One of the first bits of legislation passed by the Republican controlled House of Representatives has been HB80 sponsored by Republican Governor S Parnell. It repeals the rest of the citizens initiative passed back in 2006 that prohibited cruise ships from pumping sewage into Alaskan waters.  Parnell had previously weakened the initiative by cutting back a cruise ship tax that was meant to finance the infrastructure in those towns that were impacted by cruise ship tourists. It was just COINCIDENCE that Parnell proposed the tax roll-back after the cruise industry treated the governor to a cruise.  Move along people, there's nothing to see here, just republicans serving their masters.  Oh, and that is not you, fine citizens of Alaska.

HB 80 pretty much give a green light to cruise ships to dump their sewage and waste water most anywhere and without having to bother to tell people where they took their dump.  I can see there will be a lot of happy commercial fishermen out in PWS, Glacier Bay and the gulf as they pull in nets filled with shit.

So, the voters of Alaska approve of an initiative, and Republicans feel that they can go around the desires of the people?  Obviously...

Unless it is something that they don't really want to do.

Quoted yesterday, House Speaker, Mike Chenault of Nikiski said "The voters have spoken..." voicing his reluctance to support resurrecting a coastal management program. A program he opposes because he doesn't want local communities to have a say in what might happen in their areas.

But from out of the other side of his mouth, Chenault has no problem ignoring what the voters have said about cruise ship sewage. 

Folks, it is only going to get worse!