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!

The Brown Queen of the GOP: Through the Looking Glass, Comically

It's official, Russ Millette, the elected chair of the Alaska GOP was ousted last night by the Republican Party leadership and in his place, Kasilof's own Debbie Holle Brown has ascended the throne.

Former party chair, currently under investigation for various shenanigans, Randy Ruedrich led the coup.  Claiming that Millette was basically incompetent, a charge that no one disputes, the Republican Executive Committee decided to have Debbie Brown, the elected vice-chair, take over the top position.

Yes, THAT Debbie Brown who always had something (inane) to say at Kenai Borough Assembly meetings.  THAT Debbie Brown that asked to have the three-minute public testimony allowance expanded just for her because it took her at least three minutes to give her introduction to what she was going to say.  That Debbie Brown whose word salads make Sarah Plain seem like a Rhodes Scholar. THAT Debbie Brown who when serving on the Kenai school board, the rest of the board and school superintendent had to create a new rule to keep her from making unauthorized, and well, crazy statements on behalf of the board. 

Brown, who herself was under investigation for misusing Party funds apparently was cleared, but her husband, former borough assemblyman Jack Brown, faces over $30,000 in fines by APOC for misusing District 34 funds.

Well, does Ruedrich and the old republican guard think they can use Brown as a puppet?  Do they think she has the capacity to really lead the party?  Will she actually have any power?

Ruedrich and company are not taking chances.  They've already transferred the republican political war chest to a fund out of Brown's reach.

It will be fun watching to see how all of this will unfold.