The recent heat wave and forest fires ravaging Alaska are yet another reminder that the Last Frontier lies on the front lines of rapid climate change.
Through the smoky haze, however, one thing remains clear: the billionaire Koch Brothers have their hands around the throat of democracy in Alaska, and Mike Dunleavy is their dutiful puppet.
Remember the Governor’s “Budget Road Show” this past Spring? Organized and paid for by the Koch Brothers (see photo, above). Inletkeeper attended the dog-and-pony show in Kenai, and Koch brothers’ employees literally shared the dais with Alaska’s Governor when responding to audience questions. That’s a pretty strong signal our state has been hijacked by some of the richest and most ruthless corporate operatives on the planet.
And their goal is simple: to transfer our public wealth into their private bank accounts.
Today marks Day 1 of the Special Legislative Session called to address the state’s operating and capital budgets, to see if Legislators have the will to override Dunleavy’s $444 million in draconian budget cuts.
But like other dysfunctional banana republics, things aren’t going so well: today, lawmakers convened in two separate locations – with no more than 39 legislators meeting in Juneau, and no more than 21 gathering in Wasilla – making it impossible to secure the 45 votes needed to override any of the Governor’s vetos.
The Koch Brothers/Dunleavy vetos – impacting everything from kids, education and seniors, to arts, public radio and health care – are deeply unpopular across the state, as reflected by Dunleavy’s horrendous approval ratings after the vetos.
The Legislature has until this Friday to get its act together and override the Koch/Dunleavy vetos. If you do one thing today, take five minutes to write a Public Opinion Message (POM) to your decisionmakers.
Tell them to override the Governor’s vetos, and to rescind the law granting oil and gas corporations more than $1.2 billion in annual tax credit subsidies.
Otherwise the Koch Brothers and corporate socialism will be the new normal in the Great Land.