It has been an odd week in Alaska politics. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg came to the Last Frontier, learned our savage ways, and decided to educate the world about them (only to get a few details wrong). Then, with our endless legislative special session now set to focus on oil industry tax policy (HB 111), the Republican State Senate Majority, including Sen. Pete Kelly and Sen. Cathy Giessel, seemingly held a press conference to rail against cushy cash subsidies state government gives to oil companies. Wait, it was Republicans complaining about what a sweet, sweet deal the resource industry gets in Alaska? Democrats in the House Majority responded by holding a press conference of their own to point out some fine print in the GOP theater that makes the Senate plan much more oil friendly than they let on. Casey Reynolds and Forrest Dunbar sort through all of those political shenanigans, talk some healthcare and weed policy, and even bring in Alaska Tax Division Director Ken Alper to explain the fine points of oil tax policy at play in the HB 111 fight.
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Just for fun, since you mentioned Forrest Dunbar- I wrote this in October, 2014 at another blog site. Don Young was blaming government largesse for the spate of suicides.
mike from iowa says:
October 23, 2014 at 3:24 am
The king of pork barrel has spoken
His words are irrefutably true
If gubmint largesse causes suicides
We should be short a koch bro or two
Since no koch bros appear to be missing
Young’s truthiness is called into play
Without koch bros ass to be kissing
What’s the point of Young working today?
This story could have a happy ending
Without suicides or a gun
Start November off right by sending
Don Young packing so run,Forrest,run. :)
My humblest apologies for offending real poets.