July 24, 2008 - 9:01pm | AK_Lady

Tazar?

What's a "tazar"? Ha!

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  July 25, 2008 - 4:12pm | rfn

Hadn't you heard?

It's toy.

Approved, apparently, for use on children under 12 by The Department of Public Safety and The Alaska Judicial System.
Dunno if the approval also extends to "by" and/or "with" children as well.

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  July 20, 2008 - 9:20pm | Cartman3_15

You're disgusting.

Do you not have even a little shame?

All that red meat on the table right now and you still have to resort to innuendo?

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  July 20, 2008 - 8:24pm | rfn

We should not lose sight

of the simple fact that any matter involving a Native American becomes a civil rights issue. There could be many, many investigations. In many places.

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  July 21, 2008 - 11:59am | jacekones

Wha?

From what website did you extract that bit of information? I'd love to see it. I had no idea that "any simple matter involving a NA becomes a civil rights issue." How fortunate we are to have your legal brilliance on this blog.

Please cite the federal statute. Thank you.

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  July 21, 2008 - 12:05pm | rfn

Be patient

as this plays itself out.

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  July 20, 2008 - 11:01pm | Talkradio

I'm pro-life Burg

You must have me confused with someone else. I have always wanted the abortion bills brought up for a vote. I did not want them to threaten AGIA and TC legislation. I’m Pro-Life. I always have been pro-life. I apologize if I was not clear on the issue.

Eddie Burke

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  July 20, 2008 - 2:32pm | Emperor

Yes, exactly what...

...the citizens of Alaska needs now. Another divisive issue to distract from the real issues facing our State. Things like the gas line, and oh I don't know... maybe the total ineptness and perhaps criminal behavior of Palin and her court of fools.

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  July 20, 2008 - 1:39pm | Emperor

She appointed...

...Commissioner Monegan. He was supposedly the change she wanted in her DPS. In fact, she's parading Monegan's plan as her own for the future. She had an underling do her dirty work and didn't even give Monegan the decency to tell him why he was being let go.

You also have to understand that Palin ran on the promise of "open and transparent" government, which she has failed at time and time again.

The Commissioner may work at the pleasure of the Governor. But the Governor is answerable to Alaskans. Governor Murkowski, forgot that, and it appears Palin has as well.

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  July 20, 2008 - 12:21am | Black3

Not true. Commissioners are exempt

from the State Personnel Act and its confidentiality provisions. As a citizen, you can ask for their application for employment, their personnel file, their evaluations, etc. Now a smart administration wouldn't have anything in the P-file other than pay records, but under the Public Records Act, you're entitled to it and there is no legal proscription against discussing any aspect of a commissioner's employment or dismissal. Good manners might dictate some limits, but the law doesn't. This also completely misses the reason most are questioning this; sure any Gov can fire any commissioner anytime and for any reason, no reason, but not an illegal reason. This is about what if any influence the Governor, members of her family, and other members of the administration brought to bear in a personnel matter involving a employee who WAS subject to the State Personnel Act.

And as much as some posters want to sic the FBI on this, there doesn't appear to be any federal issue.

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  July 20, 2008 - 1:06am | tlamb775

Black

when there is a history of trooper misconduct and is done off duty or on duty, the term under the color of law comes into play.

Same with Palin.

The DOJ civil rights division can become involved in this as well as the FBI on investigating matters within Adminstrative Investigations.

One example:

http://columbia.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/2008/civilrightsviolation061008.htm

TROOPER INDICTED ON FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATION

If death threats against the father had been made as alleged, then most certainly it would be investigated.

And Palin's actions would be looked at also. But from reading your posts, I think you already know what the law is.

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  July 20, 2008 - 1:11am | Black3

What protected class is Wooten

alleged to have used his office against? Unless those alleged threats against the Gov's father were made because he was over 45, and the threat was truly under color of the office, as in, "I'm a Trooper and I can kill you because I'm a Trooper," there's not a federal issue.

Wooten doesn't appear to have conspired with anyone to do these alleged bad acts, so you can't get the federal conspiracy involving federal funds hook that the FBI is using on the miscreant legislators.

Don't get me wrong, I think there are some interesting STATE questions in this: when and how did the AI get released, and, when, why, and by whom was Wooten's suspension reduced from ten days to five? Those interest me. The rest I don't much care about; divorces are routinely nasty and the first liar doesn't have a chance, commissioners, even Governors, come and go and the World lives on.

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  July 20, 2008 - 1:54am | Sheridan_Sheraton

Palin's actions might have

Palin's actions might have a Federal issue involved.

There's involvement of several state actors, and I don't think anyone would doubt that the AST recieves Federal Funds through some channel or another.

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  July 20, 2008 - 2:17am | Black3

A few grants,

mostly for hardware and the occassional fashionable program. DPS is almost entirely a GF department. That's the reason it can't get any money, can't recruit, can't retain, and tries to keep Troopers that maybe it shouldn't.

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  July 20, 2008 - 1:45am | tlamb775

Black, I believe

that there was testimony that alleged Wooten used the fact that because he was a trooper he knew Judges and lawyers, etc, etc.

I am paraphrasing here but that is the gist of it.

Like in other federal cases, corrupt state actors are emboldened by their status to make serious threats.

They feel empowered by their authority both on-duty and off-duty.

Unfortunately, this divorce is different from your normal everyday divorce.

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  July 20, 2008 - 2:47am | Black3

Oh, I suppose some clever federal attorney

could come up with a colorable argument for some federal cause; give a lawyer enough time and money and they can come up with an argument for anything.

At the essence, this was a rookie mistake; too many people talked way too much about Trooper Wooten. I don't think I ever had a political principal who didn't express to me his/her belief that the World might be a better place if someone or another didn't work for the State. My usual response was something like, "well let me know how that turns out." Sometimes though, that suggestion meant that whoever was protecting said employee couldn't do so anymore, so it was open season on them.

The Ds are actually much better at this than the Rs. The Rs come in screaming, "I want that sunovabitch fired and I don't give a damn about the union." OK, he gets fired, the union grieves, the arbitrator or court puts him back to work after he's had a few months of paid vacation. If it is a court that puts him back to work, he usually gets a nice damages award in addition to the paid vacation.

The Ds are much more patient. They'll just move you around organizationally until they can get you to a place where they can cut the budget and you don't have a job anymore. Or, if they can't do that, especially with high-level classified employees, you'll just come in one day to find your office doesn't have windows, your chair flushes, and your phone, if you have one, doesn't ever ring - you never get the memo. You just become a non-person, and not many people can stand that for very long. And they'll issue a press release when they do it telling the World that they just promoted you to something really, really special.

Ironically, it is always the Rs who catch Hell for the new administration purges but they actually do very little of it. The Ds do it relentlessly and ruthlessly. It doesn't matter if you're a clerk or a commissioner, if you piss off anyone important to a D administration, your career indicator light should be flashing.

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  July 20, 2008 - 11:04am | tlamb775

I agree with

you on the D's and R's but it seems you have the Green/Hollis inquistition coming to a blog near you.

I don't know how hard it would be to make the case for a federal prosecutor on the charges, since the statements seem to come from Palin's side and the governor herself.

Powerful stuff.

And you are correct on staffing but part of the problem is the State can't find let's say suitable candidates to fill the positions.

I don't know if money is always the problem. Sounds like the teachers union to me. And we know what happens when the union doesn't do its job on purging the bad apples.

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  July 20, 2008 - 1:02pm | rfn

Were it to become

a partisan inquisition as you outline, one might hope we could save a lot of state tax money by holding it in Australia

Far less expensive to get a dozen kangaroos for a jury in Australia and they wouldn't have to be paid per-diem.

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  October 15, 2008 - 7:04pm | cautionyou

m2ts converter

With the superfast and high-quality m2ts converter can convert M2TS files to so many other formats. What' more, this M2TS Converter has powerful editing function, you can crop, trim the video and customize video effect and merge the video into a file.

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  July 20, 2008 - 1:06pm | rfn

Some funny parts to all this:

1. Halcro still is not governor and has become less likely to be without trying in another state.

2. Lyda is still off the ballot; too late to undo anything.

3. Alaskans have tasted freedom from the oppression of the oilies and are highly unlikely to repeat the Murkowski experiment for generations.

There are more comic aspects but let's let the anticipation built a bit longer.

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  July 19, 2008 - 7:42pm | black33

All she had to do was tell the truth

and she would not be in the middle of such a tawdry scandal

ps she took Veco money when it was politically correct to do so

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  July 19, 2008 - 9:18pm | akmooster

i don't think the veco connection....

has much to do with it. But you are right all she had to do is act as if her enemies were there watching, don't misuse the office like she did. And when confronted with her poor behavior, tell the truth, apologize, and move back to the valley.

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  July 19, 2008 - 9:31pm | AK_Lady

.

She moved back to the valley months ago.

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  July 19, 2008 - 9:40pm | coccinellii

and

gets paid per diem to live in her Wasilla mansion.

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  July 20, 2008 - 7:20pm | ybnormal

get her per diem records

Let's really see if she collects the per diem...Also last time I heard she doesn't have a chef, cut security from 7 to 2, drives on the road system whenever possible, doesn't have an Anchorage apartment and doesn't fly the state plane on "business" to hook up with her yacht...

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  July 19, 2008 - 7:16pm | akadvocate59

This is Alaska

Everyone has an ax to grind. That's beside the point. If Little Miss Anti-Corruption hadn't set herself up as so very high and mighty, then gone into denial on incidents where it appears she and/or Todd had stretched the truth, then perhaps the palace walls wouldn't crashing down so hard. She walked into this. In other words, Sarah - practice what you preach.

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  July 19, 2008 - 5:50pm | AK_Lady

Hey

are you the kid that started the Palin for VP website thingy?

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