Favorite Link Friday Week of May 13, 2016

SOUTHEAST ALASKA 2016 LINGCOD SPORT FISHING REGULATIONS SET FOR THE SOUTHERN SOUTHEAST ALASKA AREA

[Full Source]
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today that the lingcod sport fishing seasons, bag and possession limits, annual limits, and size limits have been established for the Southern Southeast Area (see attached map). In this area the following regulations apply:

Southern Southeast Area
Season: May 16 – November 30.
Limits:
Residents – 1 daily, 2 in possession, no size limit.

Nonresidents – 1 daily, 1 in possession, size limit: 30 inches or greater in length and less than 45 inches in length, or 55 inches or greater in length. Annual limit of 2 fish, one of which is 30 to 45 inches in length, one of which is 55 inches or greater in length.

Nonresident anglers shall immediately record the date and location (body of water fished), in ink, of all lingcod harvested either on the back of their sport fishing license or on their nontransferable harvest record

Charter operators and crew members may not retain lingcod while clients are on board the vessel.
These regulations are designed to ensure that the sport harvest of lingcod stays within the sport fishery allocations established by the Board of Fisheries.

Rep. Kreiss-Tomkins Reiterates the Need to Roll-Back Unsustainable Oil Company Subsidies 

AJOC EDITORIAL: Democrats loved credits, until they didn’t

[Read the Full Article Here]

Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage, and former Democrat Sen. Hollis French once boasted about spending $540 million on them in a single fiscal year.

As a candidate, Gov. Bill Walker said he wanted to use them on the North Slope the way they’ve been used in Cook Inlet.

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, touted them as a way for the major Slope producers to reduce their tax liability.

With the state in a $4.1 billion hole for the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1, the Legislature has ground to a halt wrangling over the credit expenditures that are going to cost about $775 million no matter what changes are made going forward.

Republicans who fought through elections and a referendum defending their vision for tax policy and incentives have tucked tail and run over the issue as Democrats who supported these very incentives have been allowed to bank on the public’s amnesia over their past statements and ride on their tried-and-true playbook of demagoguing the oil companies.

Holding diametrically opposed positions on a major policy issue within the space of a year or two is generally something the press finds newsworthy, but not many members of the media have bothered to hold Walker or Democrats accountable for their past statements — and votes — as they pound Republicans and the oil companies for supposedly trying to take away the Permanent Fund Dividend to line some fat cats’ pockets.

The credits under ACES were a way for Democrats to pretend they appreciate the mammoth contributions to the state economy from the oil and gas industry by claiming they supported small companies and incentivizing exploration with credits while bagging on the easy targets of the major multi-nationals who pay virtually every government salary in Alaska including the minority members of the Legislature and Walker’s anti-oil administration.

It’s no surprise politicians would cynically exploit the current fiscal state for their own gain, but it has been a useful exposure of the Democrats’ hypocrisy on the issue if anyone would bother to notice.

'Screw the next generation' and 'Harry Reid's a pompous a**': Democratic congressman writes Anonymous tell-all book slamming 'nation of naive, self-absorbed sheep' as he admits he never reads bills he votes on

[Read the Full Source Here]

A new book threatens to blow the lid off of Congress as a federal legislator's tell-all book lays out the worst parts of serving in the House of Representatives – saying that his main job is to raise money for re-election and that leaves little time for reading the bills he votes on.
Mill City Press, a small Minnesota-based 'vanity press' publisher describes 'The Confessions of Congressman X' as 'a devastating inside look at the dark side of Congress as revealed by one of its own.'

'Voters claim they want substance and detailed position papers, but what they really crave are cutesy cat videos, celebrity gossip, top 10 lists, reality TV shows, tabloid tripe, and the next f***ing Twitter message,' the congressman gripes in the book.
'I worry about our country's future when critical issues take a backseat to the inane utterings of illiterate athletes and celebrity twits.'
Much of what's in the book will come as little surprise to Americans who are cynical about the political process.
'Fundraising is so time-consuming I seldom read any bills I vote on,' the anonymous legislator admits. 'I don't even know how they'll be implemented or what they'll cost.'
'My staff gives me a last-minute briefing before I go to the floor and tells me whether to vote yea or nay. How bad is that?'

The larger picture that emerges is one of disenchantment with the political process and the professional office-holders behind it.
Especially those in the Democratic Party.
'Our party used to be a strong advocate for the working class,' he says. 'We still pretend to be, but we aren't. Large corporations and public unions grease the palms of those who have the power to determine legislative winners and losers.'

'Most of my colleagues want to help the poor and disadvantaged. To a point,' he adds. 'We certainly don't want to live among them. Or mingle with them, unless it's for a soup kitchen photo op. ... Poverty's a great concern as long as it's kept at a safe distance.'

The book also takes shots at voters as disconnected idiots who let Congress abuse its power through sheer incompetence.
'Voters are incredibly ignorant and know little about our form of government and how it works,' the anonymous writer claims.
'It's far easier than you think to manipulate a nation of naive, self-absorbed sheep who crave instant gratification.'

Passenger demanded beer and hugs in diverted Alaska Air flight, feds say

[Full Source]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A passenger who authorities say forced an Alaska Airlines flight to be diverted after he didn't get a beer has pleaded not guilty in Portland, Oregon, to a charge of interfering with a flight crew.

A federal indictment unsealed Tuesday says 32-year-old Luke Watts of Portland threatened to become violent if flight attendants didn't serve him a beer during a March flight from Sacramento, California, to Seattle.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Tolkoff says Watts then locked himself in the bathroom and screamed and pounded on the door. He also demanded hugs from flight attendants.

The American Civil War in Color

The American Civil War in Color