Alaska Dispatch Extracts $85,436 From Joe Miller In Superior Court, But Did Pro Tem Judge Stephanie Joannides Have A Conflict Of Interest?

Alaska Dispatch is crowing about a decision rendered on Friday May 17th, 2013 by pro tem Alaska Superior Court Judge Stephanie Joannides ordering Joe Miller to pay more than $85,000 of Alaska Dispatch’s attorney fees and costs stemming from their 2010 lawsuit to make public Miller’s employment records during his time as a part-time government lawyer. Specifically, Alaska Dispatch's total fees were $112,375, while other costs totaled $2,309. Judge Joannides ordered Miller to pay 75 percent of the fees and 50 percent of the costs, for a total of $85,436. The Fairbanks-North Star Borough must pay 10 percent of the fees and 50 percent of the costs, a total of $12,392. Judge Joannides decided that Miller was a vexatious litigant who acted in bad faith, having unnecessarily dragged out the lawsuit. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner has also published a story.

John McKay, a longtime Alaska media attorney who represented Alaska Dispatch during the quest to release Miller’s employment records, justified the decision. “Mr. Miller unreasonably ran up the cost of this litigation for both the Dispatch and the Borough,” McKay said. “After we got the records released, he refused to let the Dispatch out of the case unless it gave up its rightful claim to fees as the winning party and made the Dispatch incur more and more unnecessary fees, using this as leverage. The judge correctly rejected this tactic, and the Dispatch should be credited for setting an example by resisting such intimidation.” The rest of the Dispatch article provides more background on the case, from their perspective.

Although Miller has 30 days to appeal the court decision, he has not personally responded as of this post; on May 19th, Miller spokesman Bill Peck merely said Miller and his staff had yet to see the judge’s ruling. However, Miller has allowed conservative Alaska blogger Thomas Lamb to post a response on Restoring Liberty, and Lamb discloses a few facts that Alaska Dispatch left out. Since Miller is a candidate for the U.S. Senate, he's not going to accept outside articles for publication on his website unless there's verification, so we can be reasonably assured of Lamb's facts:

-- Alaska Dispatch remained party to the case long after the Anchorage Daily News and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reasonably withdrew and had agreed not to petition the court for legal fees. Of course, it was an Alaska Dispatch reporter, Tony Hopfinger, who got trussed up by Federal snitch William Fulton and his buzzcut security thugs at a Miller campaign event in Anchorage in October 2010, but this opens up speculation as to whether or not Dispatch was also motivated by revenge.

-- Most of the fees were billed either before Miller intervened in the case or after they were a relevant party to the case.

-- Judge Stephanie Joannides was revealed to have had a financial relationship with a Dispatch employee, yet she refused to recuse herself from the case. Judge Joannides had rented her basement apartment to an Alaska Dispatch employee, but claimed that the fact was irrelevant to the case.

-- Judge Joannides was hand-picked for the case by the Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court. Under normal circumstances, a judge would be assigned through a random selection process.

What no media outlet has explained is why Judge Joannides is still involved in the case. Judge Joannides officially stepped down from the bench on January 31st, 2011. Her name does not appear on the Alaska Judicial Council's official list of judges. Yet she's remained involved in Joe Miller's legal disputes, having intervened in a judgment between Miller, the Fairbanks North Star Borough and former borough Mayor Jim Whitaker back in September 2012. However, Administrative Rule 23 of the Alaska Rules of Court authorizes the chief justice, or another justice designated by the chief justice, to appoint a retired judge to sit temporarily (pro tem) in any court in Alaska where such an assignment is deemed necessary for the efficient administration of justice. Pro tem appointments may be made for one or more cases, or for a specified period of time up to two years. Since the Chief Justice hand-picked Joannides for the case, this means he conferred a pro tem appointment upon her.

Considering Joe Miller's litigation history, it is possible he may choose to appeal the ruling, since over $85,000 is at stake. Miller is getting penalized merely for seeking justice. However, this could end up undermining his Senate campaign. Already, public comments to Alaska media outlets indicate most respondents are happy with the decision. Here's a sampling:

frozen_alaskan posted at 12:12 pm on Mon, May 20, 2013 (News-Miner):
If Joe "Sue Em" Miller had not been so lawsuit happy, he would not have had to found himself in this position, that is, losing his lawsuit. This hypocrite is living in D.C. yet says he is going to run for election in Alaska again. Well, the G.O.P. voters actually named him in the last primary. Maybe they are stupid enough to do so again. I will be voting for whoever else is running in that primary as I hope other Alaskans will do so as well.

Art Chance 7 hours ago (Alaska Dispatch):
It's expensive to be Sarah Palin's sockpuppet! Actually, Mark Begich should pay Miller's legal bills to keep him in the running because Miller is Begich's only hope for remaining a US Senator.

Michael A. Armstrong 14 hours ago (Alaska Dispatch):
Good job, John McKay. This must be sweet revenge for Tony Hopfinger, too.

Boulder-Sized Meteor Strikes The Moon, Glowed Like A 4th Magnitude Star

Screenshot of meteor strike from video

A boulder-sized meteor struck the Moon on March 17th, 2013, and the strike was visible to the naked eye despite the relatively small size of the object. The 40-kg (88 lbs) meteor measuring 0.3 to 0.4 meters (max 1.3 feet) wide slammed into the Mare Imbrium region of the Moon's surface while traveling at 56,000 mph, and scientists estimate the impact, which lasted for a second, glowed like a fourth magnitude star. Here's an explanatory video from Russia Today; the strike occurs at the 0:47 point, followed by a slo-mo instant replay:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYloGuUZCFM



The lack of an atmosphere ensured the meteor would not be slowed down or burned up upon entry. In response to the question as to how an explosion could take place in an oxygen-free environment, Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office said “Lunar meteors don't require oxygen or combustion to make themselves visible. They hit the ground with so much kinetic energy that even a pebble can make a crater several feet wide. The flash of light comes not from combustion but rather from the thermal glow of molten rock and hot vapors at the impact site”.

Amazing how the strike of an object little over one foot in diameter could generate an explosion on the Moon visible from Earth.

Thousands Of Pro-Family Activists Led By Orthodox Priests Stop Gay Pride Parade In Tbilisi, Georgia

Just because 12 U.S. states have legally recognized gay marriage and others are trying to legislate homosexual propaganda in our schools doesn't mean the rest of the world is following suit. On May 17th, 2013, gay activists attempted to hold a gay pride parade in Tbilisi, Georgia, and thousands of pro-family activists decided to show up to register their opposition. Most impressively, they were led by a number of Orthodox priests who decided that their ministry should not be limited to the pulpit. YouTube video of BBC report below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECPo2ZQRNBM



Here's another video from Russia Today more explicitly showing the righteous wrath of the Georgian people against the attention-whoring gay activists. A few actually stooped to throwing objects at the gays and their vehicles, but whether they were pro-family activists or false-flag operatives trying to misrepresent the pro-family activists has yet to be determined:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NErcgqgYeE



The Daily Mail offers numerous photographs in their story.

Only several dozen gay activists showed up; police in Tbilisi took control and bused them out of the city center shortly after they arrived at the gathering when it appeared there would be physical violence. The Russia Today video shows some pro-family activists throwing rocks at one of the buses as it passed. Pro-family activists on the street held up posters reading "We don't need Sodom and Gomorrah!" and "Democracy does not equal immorality!" A number of protesters carrying bunches of stinging nettles threatened to use them on gay activists. An estimated 16 people were injured, none seriously. According to one poster on Free Republic, some pro-family activists even briefly chased the U.S. ambassador's car, taking her for a gay supporter.

Reaction: Nikolai Kiladze, a 21-year-old student, said "We are against the propaganda of homosexuality. If we need to allow parades like this in order to become a member of the European Union or other Western organizations and blocs, then I'm against joining these organizations." Father David, a priest who was one of the organizers of Friday's anti-gay rally, said the parade insults people's traditions and national sentiments. Georgia is about 90 percent Orthodox.

Comments to the videos and to the media outlets indicate considerable support for the pro-family activists. Most do not object to the existence of homosexuals, but merely to the public promotion and celebration of it. The upshot is that most people are suffering from gay fatigue and are sick and tired of hearing about it. Gays need to shut their mouths about homosexuality and simply be gay; keep it private and discrete. It is the elite and the national media which is promoting this rubbish so heavily.

Village Of Eagle, Alaska Floods For The Second Time In Four Years Due To Ice Jams; Only Seven Homes Affected So Far

The community of Eagle, Alaska (see map), which has fewer than 100 year-round residents, has experienced flooding for the second time in four years due to ice jams on the Yukon River associated with spring breakup. Only this time, the flooding is not likely to be as serious as the episode back in May 2009. Alaska Dispatch has photos.

According to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, an ice jam formed on the Yukon River at Calico Bluff, 12 miles downstream from Eagle, around 12:30 A.M. on May 17th. Water and ice began back up into the community; the resulting flood knocked seven homes off their foundations in Eagle, while nine other outbuildings were destroyed. But waters began to recede after a jam in the main channel of the Yukon River broke loose at about 5:30 A.M. Nevertheless, ice from the flood remains, and some of the affected homes remain surrounded by thick ice. No injuries or fuel contamination is reported.

This event was nowhere near as destructive as the 2009 flood. A warm, fast breakup in 2009 caused massive damage to the community, taking out 30 homes and leaving much of the town covered beneath a field of jumbled Yukon River ice. At that time, there was also diesel contamination from ruptured tanks, and the town's only became contaminated with E.coli. There is yet to be a dramatic warmup, and the ice in many areas further downstream remains locked solid. Most of the community is built on a bluff overlooking the river.

Circle is believed to be the next community on the Yukon River threatened by ice jamming, and a flood advisory has been issue for Salcha, where the Tanana River is beginning to break up.

Update May 19th: The breakup front reached Circle, a community of 100 people, on May 19th. The Yukon River rapidly rose 5 to 8 feet and water reached almost every home in the community, pushing several homes off their foundations. Final total is 30 structures damaged and 15 families displaced.

More Anti-DUI Madness: NTSB Releases "Reaching Zero" Report, Calls For Lowering DUI Threshold Nationwide From 0.08 To 0.05

The anti-DUI Talibans are at it again. On May 14th, 2013, the National Transportation Safety Board released a 100-page report entitled “Reaching Zero: Actions to Reduce Alcohol-Impaired Driving”, and among their 10 recommendations is a proposal to lower the DUI threshold nationwide from 0.08 to 0.05. Prominent national media outlets publishing reports include CNN

Justification: In their official press release, the NTSB notes that each year in the United States, nearly 10,000 people are killed in crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers and more than 173,000 are injured, with 27,000 suffer incapacitating injuries. Since the mid-1990s, even as total highway fatalities have fallen, the proportion of deaths from accidents involving an alcohol-impaired driver has remained constant at around 30 percent. In the last 30 years, nearly 440,000 people have died in alcohol related crashes. They focus upon the 0.05 threshold because they believe that, although impairment begins with the first drink, by 0.05 BAC, most drivers experience a decline in both cognitive and visual functions, which significantly increases the risk of a serious crash. They add that over 100 countries on six continents have BAC limits set at 0.05 or lower. The NTSB also says they chose the May 14th release date because it's the anniversary of the May 14th, 1988 head-on collision between a drunk driver and a church bus in a rural, unincorporated area of Carroll County, Kentucky, which ultimately resulted in the death of 27 people and injury to 34 of 67 passengers. Contributing to the severity of the accident was the puncture of the bus fuel tank and ensuing fire in the bus, the partial blockage by the rear bench seats of the area leading to the rear emergency door which impeded rapid passenger egress, and the flammability of the materials in the bus seat cushions.

What the NTSB failed to mention was that the drunk driver, who was traveling on the wrong side of the interstate, had a BAC of 0.24 -- far above the NTSB's recommended 0.05 standard. This should immediately bring into question the wisdom of and motivation for casting a wider net by lowering the threshold.

The complete list of 10 new recommendations is published in Chapter 8 of the report, which begins on page 51, and they assign the tasks to three different OPRs (office of primary responsibility):

To the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

-- Seek legislative authority to award incentive grants for states to establish a per se blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit of 0.05 or lower for all drivers who are not already required to adhere to lower BAC limits. (H-13-1)

-- Develop and disseminate to the states best practices for increasing alcohol ignition interlock installation and compliance that are based on recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research. (H-13-2)

-- Create incentives for states to adopt the alcohol ignition interlock best practices developed in response to Safety Recommendation H-13-2. (H-13-3)

-- Develop and disseminate to the states best practices for driving while intoxicated (DWI) courts. (H-13-4)

To the 50 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia:

-- Establish a per se blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit of 0.05 or lower for all drivers who are not already required to adhere to lower BAC limits. (H-13-5)

-- Include in your impaired driving prevention plan or highway safety plan provisions for conducting high-visibility enforcement of impaired driving laws using passive alcohol-sensing technology during law enforcement contacts, such as routine traffic stops, saturation patrols, sobriety checkpoints, and accident scene responses. (H-13-6)

-- Include in your impaired driving prevention plan or highway safety plan elements to target repeat offenders and reduce driving while intoxicated (DWI) recidivism; such elements should include measures to improve compliance with alcohol ignition interlock requirements; the plan should also provide a mechanism for regularly assessing the success of these efforts. (H-13-7) [This recommendation supersedes Safety Recommendation H-00-26.]

-- Take the following steps to move toward zero deaths from impaired driving: (1) set specific and measurable targets for reducing impaired driving fatalities and injuries, (2) list these targets in your impaired driving prevention plan or highway safety plan, and (3) provide a mechanism for regularly assessing the success of implemented countermeasures and determining whether the targets have been met. (H-13-8)

To those states that have administrative license suspension or revocation laws and the District of Columbia:

-- Incorporate into your administrative license suspension or revocation laws a requirement that drivers arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI) use an alcohol ignition interlock on their vehicle for a period of time before obtaining full license reinstatement. (H-13-9)

To those states that do not have administrative license suspension or revocation laws and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico:

-- Establish administrative license suspension or revocation laws that require drivers arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI) to use an alcohol ignition interlock on their vehicle for a period of time before obtaining full license reinstatement. (H-13-10)