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| November 3, 2006 Editor’s Desk by Aaron Selbig, insurgent49 It’s been a motivated week here at Insurgent Headquarters. Tuesday, November 7th, is Election Day in Alaska and all over the country. In anticipation of what is shaping up to be the biggest midterm election cycle since the Republican takeover of 1994, voter turnout is expected to exceed the average national rate of about 37%. Still, it can’t be said too many times … Don’t forget to vote, Alaska. For info on polling places, hours, etc., check out the Division of Elections website here: www.elections.state.ak.us/voting.php#locations. Change is in the air in 2006. There is a distinct “throw the bums out” mentality here in Alaska and across the country. Republicans, grown arrogant from over a decade of domination (even longer in the Alaska State Legislature), are reeling from endless scandals, public anger over the Iraq War, and the sudden realization of Americans that the GOP really is The Corrupt Bastards Club. Speaking of corrupt bastards, one of the worst of them (the third worst, according to the latest issue of Rolling Stone) is Alaska’s own Don Young. The list of Young’s crimes is long and truly heinous, and has led us here at Insurgent49 to take a drastic step. Insurgent49 has never endorsed any candidate for office before. We’ve always thought of ourselves purely as citizen observers, watching over the political process with an eye for hypocrisy and injustice, but never wading into the pool. Not this time. Insurgent49 endorses Diane Benson for Congress, and we ask you to cast your vote for her on Tuesday. We do so for three reasons. First, Don Young is an absolute embarrassment to Alaska. He is arrogant and corrupt, and his act is tired. He was (is?) good buddies with Jack Ambramoff. He still thinks global warming is a myth perpetrated by liberals. He has consistently voted to screw the working class, students, and veterans in order to pass the savings on to the super-rich. He has donated a portion of his $2 million campaign fund to the legal defense of Duke Cunningham. And once, in front of a group of Fairbanks high school students, he referred to homosexuals as “buttf***ers”. Not funny. Don Young has been in Washington for thirty-four years and its past time for him to go. Second, Diane Benson is the right person to replace Young. She is a life-long Alaskan, a Native leader and a mother. Her son Latseen is a disabled veteran of the Iraq War, and no one understands better than Diane the cost of the illegitimate and mismanaged mess in Iraq. She makes ending the war and providing adequate health care for veterans her top priorities. She supports ethics reform, health care reform, Congressional term limits, raising the minimum wage, and investment in renewable energy. She would be the first Alaska Native sent to Congress and the first woman to represent Alaska in the House of Representatives. Diane Benson is a true progressive, and does not apologize for it. And finally … she can win. A Hays Research poll released last week showed that Diane had pulled to within nine points of Don Young, a huge comeback from the thirty-point deficit the same poll showed earlier in the campaign. No one has gotten that close to defeating Don Young since Valdez Mayor John Devens lost by only four points in 1990. The Democratic Party machine has gotten behind Diane, smelling the possibility of a huge upset. And what an upset that would be. It’s a tough road, to be sure, but it can be done. And Diane Benson is the person to do it. Please, friends … don’t forget to go out and vote on Tuesday, and in the box marked “House of Representatives”, cast your vote for Diane Benson. For more info, visit www.bensonforcongress.com Aaron Selbig is an activist and media junkie who resides in an undisclosed location in downtown Anchorage. He is the winner of a 2006 Alaska Press Club award for Best Editorial Writing, host of KUDO 1080 AM's 'The Aaron Selbig Show' and a co-founder of Insurgent49. Aaron may be contacted at editor@insurgent49.com |
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October 27, 2006 October 13, 2006 October 6, 2006 September 29, 2006 September 22, 2006 September 15, 2006 September 8, 2006 September 1, 2006 August 25, 2006 August 18, 2006 August 11, 2006 August 4, 2006 July 28, 2006 July 21, 2006 July 14, 2006 June 30, 2006 June 23, 2006 June 16, 2006 June 9, 2006 June 2, 2006 May 26, 2006 May 12, 2006 May 5, 2006 April 28, 2006 April 21, 2006 April 14, 2006 April 7, 2006 March 31, 2006 March 24, 2006 March 17, 2006 March 3, 2006 February 24, 2006 February 17, 2006 February 10, 2006 February 3, 2006 January 27, 2006 January 20, 2006 January 13, 2006 January 6, 2006 December 30, 2005 December 23, 2005 December 16, 2005 December 10, 2005 December 2, 2005 November 25, 2005 November 18, 2005 November 11, 2005 November 4, 2005 October 28, 2005 October 21, 2005 October 14, 2005 October 7, 2005 September 30, 2005 September 23, 2005 September 16, 2005 September 9, 2005 September 2, 2005 August 26, 2005 August 19, 2005 August 12, 2005 August 5, 2005 July 29, 2005 July 22, 2005 July 15, 2005 July 8, 2005 July 1, 2005 June 24, 2005 June 17, 2005 June 10, 2005 June 3, 2005 May 27, 2005 May 20, 2005 May 13, 2005 May 6, 2005 April 28, 2005 April 21, 2005 April 14, 2005 April 7, 2005 April 1, 2005 |
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