Sarah Palin: NY Times, There You Go Again!

The New York Times ran a story on Sarah Palin, and as usual, got most of the facts wrong. Though there is a lot more to come, Mama Grizzly herself has a few choice words for the editors at the Times: [emphasis mine]

The New York Times just can’t seem to get much of anything right lately. No wonder they’re facing economic and reputation woes. Their article today falsely reporting on my record as governor is full of spin, and I shall call them out on it.

Regardless of the recent political posturing, ACES (Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share) is a success for all stakeholders who want more domestic energy supplies for our great country. The Alaskan people (who collectively own the natural resources, via our state constitution), the resource producers who bid on the right to develop our oil and gas, and consumers all benefit under ACES. It incentivizes production and development. It works.

Amazingly, to the uninformed (or to those who really don’t want to incentivize oil exploration in America) ACES is spun to sound like an oil windfall profits tax and its progressivity is made to sound excessive. In reality, it was born of a need to have a tax structure that did three things:

1. It could not be created under a cloud of political corruption and self-dealing like the former Alaska administration and legislature’s PPT oil valuation structure. That’s a critical fact that is now frequently overlooked years later. Remember the legislators and oil industry players who went to jail because of bribes leading to votes in favor of the former administration’s PPT, which was unfairly tilted in favor of the resource producers against the resource owners (i.e., the people of Alaska)? Have we conveniently forgotten the fact that a corrupt process brought forth PPT, and I and others set out to change it by cleaning up the corruption?

2. It had to align the interests of Alaskans and the oil producers through exploration and production credits in partnership so that they benefit proportionally from commercialization of Alaska’s sovereign resources. This is very different from a government overtaxing personal or corporate income in which the government has no ownership stake in whatever it is that is being taxed.

3. It had to use a progressivity system that protects the producers from commercial strain when oil prices are low; otherwise the producers would seek development opportunities elsewhere. ACES does incentivize industry, but beware that Big Oil will always do what it does best for its shareholders: it will look out for its bottom line and always claim that it needs even more tax breaks. More power to them for trying, but resource owners deserve A CLEAR and EQUITABLE SHARE (ACES) of the value of their commonly-owned oil and gas.


ACES accomplished all three. The current criticism of this fair valuation makes no real sense. As an article at Big Government notes:

"The number of oil companies filing with the Alaska Department of Revenue has doubled indicating that competition has indeed increased. Alaska has the second most business friendly tax set-up — up two spots since the passage of ACES. Additionally, a report from Governor Parnell’s Department of Revenue indicated that 2009 yielded a record high in oil jobs. Even more recently, the newest employment numbers from Alaska show that oil job numbers were higher in January 2011 than in January 2010, indicating that jobs are growing at the seasonal level. Parnell argues that state revenues are in jeopardy, but it is estimated that his proposal would reduce revenues by $100-200 million."

Most importantly, Alaska enjoys a $12 billion surplus thanks to ACES and the sound fiscal policies of my administration. I put billions of dollars aside in savings accounts (though I could have easily spent those billions and made a lot of friends with big-spending legislators on both sides of the aisle), and I continued to veto excess spending and Obama stimulus funds, and chopped earmarks by 86% – much to the chagrin of liberal legislators who were used as "sources" in the article. It’s kind of amusing to see state legislators claim credit for the surplus when they didn’t vote for ACES, and they cried to high heaven when I vetoed their wasteful spending on their special interest projects.

Of course, I could have made a lot more friends in Juneau if I had spent the surplus. But I chose to put billions in savings for a rainy day and return a portion to the people of Alaska. (It was their money after all.) I paid down hundreds of millions of dollars into our under-funded state pension plans, then set aside another billion for forward-funding education. I fought the union’s demands for more benefits, engaged in hiring freezes, and cut frivolous state expenditures – again, much to the chagrin of those who spend other people’s money recklessly. That’s sound fiscal policy. I’m proud of it, and Alaska is stronger today because of it.

Now, if others would like to claim credit for it, that is fine. As Ronald Reagan used to remind us: "There is not limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the credit." Amen!

But let’s not pretend that ACES wasn’t a key factor in the surplus, and let’s not pretend that it hasn’t been a success.

As for AGIA, our long-awaited natural gas pipeline project is moving along according to plan. A huge partnership was developed with Exxon and TransCanada when I put the project out for competitive bids, instead of using behind-closed-door schemes that would have screwed the public. Alaska will help America become energy independent, despite anti-energy politicos claiming AGIA won't work. It’s already got the 50-year dream off the dime and in the works. See, competition works. So does a transparent process.

~ Sarah Palin

Sarah's ACES program revolutionized the way Big Oil did business with Alaska, weeded out massive corruption, and not only put more money in the Alaskan people's pockets [by law they own the oil] but also made it easier for the oil companies to make money. It was a huge win-win for everyone concerned.

The radical left and the Republican establishment are working overtime to do anything and everything they can to stop Sarah Palin before 2012. Frankly, we can understand why the left wants to stop her. Sarah Palin is the greatest threat to radical Marxism the left has ever known. Sarah has the ability, and the backing of the American people, to stop the Marxist ideology dead in it's tracks. And not just stop it's forward progression either. She has the ability to send the radical packing. To end their ability to influence policy.

Of course, the Republican elites know Sarah will take them on as well, just like she did in Alaska. That's why the GOP and their errand boys are spending more time attacking Sarah, and other Common Sense Conservatives, than going after the real bad guys: Obama and his band of Marxist thugs.

The 2012 election is going to be something like we have never seen. In a lot of ways, it will be like 1980. Reagan not only had to defeat Jimmy Carter, and the media, he too had to defeat the Republican elites. These Republicans, were so afraid of losing their little power bases that even after they forced George H.W. Bush on Reagan as V.P., they STILL ran Illinois Congressman John Anderson, as a 3rd party candidate for president!

In 2012, Sarah Palin will not only have to defeat Barack Obama and his media partners, but the "good old boy" Republican elites as well. These establishment hacks, who are just as responsible for the mess we are in as the democrats, must be soundly defeated. They won't go without a fight.

Sarah took on the "good old boys" in Alaska and ripped them to shreds. We have no doubt she can bring her A game with her in 2012 and do the same thing on a national level.

Won't be easy though. We'll all have to do our part to make it happen.

Is Barack Obama Actively Trying To Kill Sarah Palin’s Natural Gas Pipeline?

So I get an e-mail from a colleague concerned that Barack Obama may be looking to take credit for Sarah Palin’s signature achievement, the deal she put together with TransCanada and Exxon-Mobil to build a natural; gas pipeline from Alaska to the lower 48 states.

The gasline is something Alaskan’s have worked toward for 50 years. Building the pipeline, or at least starting the thing, has been a campaign promise made by pretty much every Gubernatorial candidate for decades.

Sarah Palin made the fulfilment of this half a century old dream a centerpiece of her administration. So important was this project to Alaska and Sarah Palin, on her very first day in office she started putting a team together and drafting the plan that would become legislation known as the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA) This was very popular legislation with only one legislator, Ralph Samuels voting against it.

For more background on AGIA, go here.





This brings us to the story that appears in today’s Juneau Empire:

Obama to back Alaska's effort to build gas line

Federal coordinator Larry Persily may have higher profile

By Pat Forgey | JUNEAU EMPIRE

President Obama plans to boost the effort to develop Alaska's natural gas resources into the executive office of the White House, according to legislators who visited Washington, D.C., to discuss energy issued with other legislators.

Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, recently nominated legislative aide Larry Persily for the Obama appointment as federal coordinator. Persily has support from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, as well.

He is now awaiting confirmation by the Senate, after having been approved by the Senate Energy Committee.

Senate Majority Leader Johnny Ellis, D-Anchorage, said a top Obama administration official, former Alaskan Pete Rouse, told Alaska legislators in Washington that Obama would be more than just verbally supporting the Alaska natural gas pipeline.

"Mr. Rouse said the president was planning to elevate the Alaska gas line coordinator's office effort into the executive office of the president once Mr. Persily is in place and is official," he said.

After returning from Washington, Ellis told colleagues on the Senate floor Monday that Persily was likely to win confirmation and be well-placed to give Alaska's views on the gas pipeline.

"I guess the president is quite impressed with Larry Persily," he said.

Persily declined to comment on the possibility of the elevation of the coordinator position.

"The White House was pretty clear with me that I should not speculate about what that job may or may not be," he said.

Rep. Berta Gardner, D-Anchorage, said the message she and others received from the Energy Council meetings was that Obama would raise the coordinator's profile.

"They want to boost his position, get him access to an executive committee on energy issues," she said.

The president will be not just coordinating the pipeline project but actively pushing for it, Gardner said.

Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, said there is a national consensus that Alaska's natural gas needs to be developed.

"There's no doubt about that; Congress still considers the Alaska pipeline to be in the national interest," he said.

Persily currently works for House Finance Committee Co-chair Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage, but has bipartisan support in the state as well as Washington, D.C.

"I think we're fortunate to have Larry there. He knows us; he knows our issues. I think he'll be very good for the state of Alaska," Johnson said.

Persily, a former managing editor of the Juneau Empire, also worked for former Gov. Sarah Palin as an associate director of the state's Washington, D.C. office.

He in the past has served as editorial page editor of the Anchorage Daily News and as a deputy commissioner in the Department of Revenue.

He remains president of the board of Juneau's Wildflower Court.

Two competing pipeline efforts are now underway, including the Alaska Pipeline Project, backed by the state under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act and a joint effort - called Denali - by oil companies ConocoPhillips Co. and BP.

The charge of the federal coordinator is to push for a pipeline, but does not give preference to any specific plan.

At first glance, this looks good, right? Obama is finally realizing we need to develop our own resources, after loaning his buddy George Soros’ Brazilian oil company, Petrobas, ten billion dollars to drill offshore in Brazil. And maybe Obama is trying to steal Sarah Palin’s thunder here.

Unfortunately, I believe you’d be wrong, and I believe my colleague is, as well. I don’t think Obama is trying to steal credit for this deal, I think he is trying to kill it.

Frankly, when has Obama done anything to support energy development in America? On the contrary, Obama and his minions have openly worked to thwart any and all domestic development of natural resources.

So what’s the deal?

First of all, let’s face it, that’s how these Chicago thugs work, period. We see it every single day. They strong arm and attack their own people if the don’t tow the line. Ask New York Governor David Patterson how Obama’s gangster tactics work.

Let’s take a quick look at Larry Persily himself. Persily is a self described “blue-collar Chicago democrat.”




Persily is a journalist by trade having worked at the Anchorage Daily News as the editorial page editor, and the Juneau Empire. Persily has also contributed to the far left hate site, Huffington Post. The same Huffington Post that Alaska Mafia members Shannyn Moore and Jeanne Devon have contributed many a false story about Sarah Palin to.

For those that don’t know, Arianna Huffington, the publisher of the far left website, is close to Stewart Resnick, the billionaire owner of Roll Industries, and the guy who at one point was paying to keep dead beat dad Levi Johnston in the spotlight. Resnick’s wife Lynda is godmother to Arianna’s daughter. The Resnicks are huge donors within the democrat party.






Read more here.

While Persily has indeed worked for Governor Palin, he has also been a shill for the democrat party. Even though Persily denies it, he has penned multiple attacks on Palin at the Huffington Post.

Persily absolutely lost his mind when Sarah Palin took on Obama for “pallin’ around with terrorists,” a shot at Barack Obama’s close friend, domestic terrorist William Ayers, and his convicted felon wife, cop killer Bernardine Dohrn.

"She yelled fire in a crowded theater. She really did, in some of her speeches --'palling around' with terrorists and some of the other slurs she was hurling in the way of Obama and the Democrats," said Larry Persily, a former Palin staffer and Alaskan journalist.

Now I know that all of this is not enough to prove anything, but there is more. Much more.

One of the folks mentioned in this story is “former Alaskan” Pete Rouse. Funny thing, even though Rouse is a total creature of Washington, he still votes absentee in Alaska. There has been some controversy about this, you can read more here.

Of course, we don’t care how Pete Rouse votes, or where. What we do care about is the fact that Rouse, who was Barack Obama’s campaign chief-of-staff, and is now a senior White House adviser, is Obama’s point man for all the attacks on Sarah Palin.

We have written extensively about Obama and Rouse’s attempts to stop Sarah Palin. It was Obama and Rouse, through Rouse’s longtime friend former Alaska Senator Kim Elton, who ginned up the phony “Troopergate,” or as Sarah calls it “Tasergate,” affair. Obama himself called the Alaska Troopers Union within days of the announcement that Sarah was the Republican nominee

Although Sarah was cleared of any wrong doing by the personnel board, and members of this kangaroo court were admonished for hiding evidence that cleared Palin, as well as using the wrong statute to go after her, Obama still rewarded Kim Elton with a make-work job at the Department of the Interior. Classic Chicago pay-for-play.

Once Obama and Rouse shook off their failed attempt to harm Governor Palin, Rouse, along with Phil Monger and other assorted nerdowells formed what has come to be known as the Alaska Mafia.

With White House coordination, a group of bloggers, such as hate peddlers Shannyn Moore and Jeanne Devon were given prominent placement for their hit pieces over at the Huffington Post. The DNC’s “Official Blogger For Alaska” Linda Kellen Biegel, better knows as “Celtic Diva” was also involved in these efforts.

One of the projects, besides coordinating with other radical leftist bloggers, who continually fed lies to the media, was the recruitment of folks to continually file false “ethics complaints” against Governor Palin. These shenanigans would eventually cost Governor Palin over a half million dollars personally, and the Alaskan tax payers over $2 million.

Speaking of that, there is another close Obama staffer involved here. You remember Anita Dunn, the Mao Tse Tung loving Communications Director for the White House? The one Glenn Beck turned into a national punch line?

Well guess what....Dunn is an Alaskan as well!

Here’s her connection to this deal. Her husband, Robert Bauer, Obama’s White House counsel, is a partner at the prominent D.C. law firm, Perkins Coie, which also happens to be Obama’s attorney of record. Perkins Coie is the law firm the democrat party generally calls when they need help stealing elections as well.

What does this have to do with Sarah, you ask? Well, remember the half million in legal fees Sarah was stuck with as a result of defending herself against the phony complaints? Friends of Sarah started a legal defense fund to help her with these bills. Perfectly legal. Something many a politician has had to do.

Well, right on cue, one of the Alaska Mafia members filed a complaint against Sarah for having this fund. Of course, it was nonsense, but that’s how these evil people work.

As part of the “investigation” the State of Alaska hired a supposed “independent investigator” by the name of Thomas Daniel. Now there is nothing wrong with investigating things, in fact, no one would want it any other way. The problem is, there was a serious conflict of interest here. You see Mr Daniel has a day job as an attorney at...wait for it....Perkins Coie.

Here’s where it comes together. Even though under Alaskan law it is unlawful to discuss ongoing ethics investigations, Thomas Daniel, the so-called “independent investigator” let it leak that Sarah was about to face federal indictment for violations surrounding this legal defense fund. Of course, not only did Daniel, an officer of the court, violate Alaskan law, he was lying.

Like all of the other phony ethic complaints filed against Sarah, this one was dismissed as well. It was total BS. In fact, after Mr Daniel's out and out lie surfaced, the FBI went on record as saying that there were no investigations concerning Governor Palin, never had been, and none were expected. This is something the FBI never does, by the way, but the lie by Mr Daniel, which was then broadcast by Obama's plants over at the Huffington Post, and then picked up the worldwide media, was so egregious the agency felt they had to respond.

Why would Mr Daniel, an officer of the court, do this you ask? Why risk a his entire career?

Well, this all went down in August of 2009. In case you don’t remember, this is about the time Sarah wrote her famous “death panels” blog, and totally destroyed Obama’s momentum to enact his unconstitutional take over of America’s health care system. Momentum that Obama has never regained.

This was a completely transparent attempt to discredit Palin and her message. Of course like every other attempt Obama has made to hurt Sarah Palin, this failed because the truth quickly came out about Thomas Daniel and all of the tomfoolery going on.

Nothing happened to Mr Daniel for his lies or for his discussion of the matter, by the way. No doubt powerful friends of President Obama protected Mr Daniel from any consequences of his malicious conduct.

You can learn more about the Alaska Mafia, all of the phony complaints, Pete Rouse, Thomas Daniel, and a whole lot more by clicking here.

There was also a great video put together by Naked Emperor News detailing the connections between Obama, Pete Rouse, Phil Monger, and the rest of the Alaska Mafia, including Mafia members in their own words.

Jeanne Devon worked overtime fighting to keep this video off of any American video sharing sites like You Tube. Thankfully our friends at Canada Free Press have no qualms about hosting this highly damning video. Watch it here.

Look, I want to stress here that at this point, we aren’t really sure what Obama and his crew are up to, but if past is prologue, you can be pretty confident they are up to no good. There is absolutely a reason why this particular fellow, Larry Persily, was chosen.

Think about it, why would a "journalist" with ties to a far left hate website, that spreads lies about Sarah Palin on a daily basis be chosen as a "federal energy coordinator" and be given control of her signature achievement?

Sarah Palin is one of the most accomplished Governors in the nation. Her list of achievements are great, but the one thing that she really takes great pride in, is her and her administration’s incredible achievement in setting up AGIA and forging the deal with TransCanada and Exxon-Mobil. This is the largest construction project in North American history, and an achievement that any person would take great pride in. This gasline will go a long way towards making America energy independent.

We know that Sarah Palin is a force of nature, come campaign season she will be all over the country spreading her message of liberty, freedom, and common sense conservatism. Most people consider Sarah a front runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, and a shoe-in to be the 45th President. What do you think the collapse of one of her signature accomplishments would mean?

Persily, who is openly hostile to Sarah Palin, will be in a position to effect the TransCanada deal.

This doesn’t pass the smell test at all. We are going to be looking into this a lot further, but for now we are cautioning readers to be on alert, and know that Obama, and his gangster regime are up to something.

The Real Sarah Palin Story Of The Past Week: Energy Independence.

Quick, what was the biggest Sarah Palin story of the past week or so?

Was it her rousing introduction of Michael Reagan in Anchorage where she eloquently spoke of his father, President Ronald Reagan, and took on President Barack Obama, and his big government policies, head on?

Maybe it was her trip to Auburn, NY where she celebrated the life of former Secretary of State William Seward, in conjunction with Alaska’s 50th year of statehood, an event that saw Palin draw over 20,000 people. Seward is the one who pushed for the purchase of Alaska from Russia.

Palin gave a stem winding policy speech in Auburn that saw her again take on the current administration’s big government policies, it’s want to apologize for America when overseas, it’s military readiness, and foreign policy.

It could be the over $500,000 Governor Palin raised for several charities, including autism research and assisted living while in the state. You might even think that it was the crass and tasteless remarks made by a late night talk show host, aimed a Palin and her 14 year old daughter, and the ensuing calls for his firing and his show’s loss of sponsors.

All of these are big stories, for sure. But as usual, the real story got lost by the media.

While in Auburn, Governor Palin spoke at length about America’s need for energy independence and promised a huge bit of news would come out within the week concerning this..

And true to her word, in Dallas, Texas Governor Palin announced to the world of the huge progress on AGIA, the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act.

Governor Palin announced that in a historic agreement, Exxon-Mobil had joined with Trans-Canada to make what some have called a “pipe dream” a reality.

Audio of the announcement from Exxon-Mobil and Trans-Canada officials is available here.

For those not familiar, Alaskans have tried for over 30 years to build a natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the lower 48. Previous Governors have tried to make this happen, and Alaskans have went back and forth on how it should be done.

Governor Palin made this a centerpiece of her administration. Within weeks of taking office, the wheels were set in motion to get this done. The AGIA legislation was passed 57-1 through Alaska’s legislature.

Of course, there were plenty of critics, this was a big undertaking. At $126 billion, the 1712 mile pipeline is the largest infrastructure project in history.

Many thought that Governor Palin had just bit off more than she, or anyone else could chew. There were worries about the market for natural gas. But the demand for the fuel is expected to rise as much as 40 percent by the year 2030.

Obama administration officials who had nothing to do with this, like Energy Secretary Ken Salazar, have rushed to claim credit for all of this. A pretty good endorsement of Governor Palin’s efforts.

Investor’s Business Daily, gives high praise to Governor Palin, and points out that Exxon-Mobil has some very strict guidelines for investment. Their standards are high. Marty Massey, U.S. joint interest manager of Exxon Mobil Production Co. Had this to say about his company’s involvement:

“We evaluated all the options and it came down to our belief that this approach with TransCanada and Exxon Mobil was going to be the most successful project.”

Massey went on to say that Exxon might look at expanding it’s role in the project.

As the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act Trans-Canada and Exxon Partnership materials point out, this is a privately funded project. Which obviously makes this deal a win-win for the state. The purpose of AGIA is to protect the interests of the state of Alaska as the project moves forward.

The bottom line in all of this, is the pipeline will be built. Trans-Canada is one of the world’s most respected pipeline construction companies, and Exxon-Mobil is certainly a well respected oil and gas company.

For those that don’t understand the real impact of all of this, let’s talk about natural gas and it’s uses.

Natural gas is one of the cleanest burning fossil fuels we have. Most Americans use it every day. We heat with it. We cook with it. But there are other uses. One of the more promising uses of natural gas is as a leading motor fuel.

Compressed natural gas (CNG), along with propane, has been used for decades to power automobiles, trucks, and buses. In fact, many large and medium sized U.S. cities already have fleets of cars, trucks, and buses that are powered by CNG. The reasoning behind this, of course, is the fact that an engine that burns CNG instead of gasoline, will see some of it’s harmful emissions reduced by as much as 90 percent. And with the addition of the latest engine management computer technology CNG has never been a more viable fuel.

Something else that makes CNG so promising is the fact that diesel engines can be made to run on the fuel as well, greatly reducing their emissions. And while some may tout electrics as the future of the automobile, that technology, will not work on long haul trucks, the 18 wheelers you see every day as they haul goods all over America. The battery technology just isn’t anywhere close to making it viable for that application.

Even better, every single one of the Big 3: Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors build cars, trucks, and buses that run on clean burning natural gas, and have for decades. So it would be a no brainer to produce more vehicles to run on CNG. Honda is also building CNG powered versions of it’s most popular models that are available to Americans right now.

Many countries use CNG powered vehicles extensively for transportation.

There are even companies that make units that people can install in their home garages that compress the natural gas, and allow someone to refill their car at home.

As a 30 year veteran of the automotive industry, and a certified “car guy”. This writer is very excited about the possibilities of CNG.

Alaska has an estimated 200 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. That is enough to make America very independent when it comes to energy. And that’s the real story here. Once the pipeline becomes operational, in less than a decade, America will be more secure, and energy independent.

Texas oil billionaire T Boone Pickens has been advocating a plan for some time that would see much of America’s vehicles converted to run on CNG, and see wind and solar become a more prominent source of electrical generation. In the Pickens Plan, the wind and solar would replace the natural gas we are currently using to produce electricity, freeing it up for transportation use.

Natural gas is a real win-win for America. It’s very plentiful. We have more than the equivalent of all of the world’s oil reserves in American natural gas. Natural gas is a very clean fuel. The environmentalists like it. And, this is not some newfangled experimental fuel. We have used natural gas for a long time to cook and heat with, and automakers have built vehicles that use it as a fuel for almost a century.

If automakers were to convert much of their production to vehicles that run on CNG, it would be cost effective, as the technology is already in use, and proven, as compared to all of the billions that have been invested in technology that still hasn’t produced a practical mass production car that people will actually buy and can use for more than short trips to the store.

This announcement from Governor Palin is indeed big news. This is a game changing effort that will not only help make America energy independent, but has the potential to change every American’s lives for the better with a clean, American produced fuel.

The national security benefits in all of this should not be lost either. The less money we send overseas to purchase oil, the less money regimes that don't necessarily like America will have. America sends nearly one trillion dollars a year overseas to buy crude oil.

Governor Palin has again lived up to her billing as an authority on energy. The Governor who previously was chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, as well as the chair of the National Governor’s Association Natural Resources Committee, and the Chairman of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, is uniquely qualified to lead on energy independence. And she is most certainly using her industry experience to move America in that direction.

Sarah Palin hit a grand slam home run last week. This will truly make America stronger.