A. The Alaska Dispatch News interviewed Ms. Bakalar in her capacity as a State of Alaska "election attorney" about the recent Alaska electoral college lawsuit.
https://www.adn.com/politics/2016/12/15/alaskas-republican-presidential-electors-set-to-vote-trump-despite-tidal-wave-of-lobbying/
Recently, a Clinton supporter filed a lawsuit against the three GOP electors in Alaska federal court. The plaintiff, Janice Park, said in her complaint that Alaska's three electors were poised to violate the Bill of Rights and the democratic principle of "one person, one vote" by voting for Trump when Clinton won the popular vote.
The Alaska Dispatch News (formerly known as the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska's largest newspaper) wrote a story about this lawsuit and the Electoral College process in general.
And lo and behold, who did they ask for an opinion on the lawsuit?
None other than attorney Libby Bakalar. Ms. Bakalar was labeled "an election attorney" with the Alaska Department of Law by the ADN.
Guess what Ms. Bakalar's opinion was? Keep in mind that Ms. Bakalar has written dozens of blog posts excoriating Donald Trump. She was overwhelmed with grief when he won the Presidential election. Thus, it is fair to say that Ms. Bakalar detests Donald Trump.
From the article:
"State law requires the parties to extract a loyalty pledge from each elector, and it also says the electors "shall" vote for their party's candidate. But an election attorney at the Department of Law, Libby Bakalar, said she was unaware of any penalties in state law for an elector who breaks his or her pledge."
Ms. Bakalar pointed out that there are no penalties if an elector breaks ranks and votes for someone else. (Hmm...this seems to signal to Trump electors that they are free to vote for someone else.)
Should Ms. Bakalar really be working as an election attorney for the State of Alaska considering her strong political views?
Does anyone really think that she is impartial?
Why is the State of Alaska allowing this vocal political blogger to continue working as an Assistant Attorney General in the Labor and State Affairs section???
Or conversely, why is the State of Alaska allowing Ms. Bakalar to work on her blog while she is getting paid to work as an Assistant Attorney General?
B. MS. BAKALAR SEEMS TO BE WRITING AND PUBLISHING BLOG POSTS WHILE ON THE JOB:
Ms. Bakalar is a prolific blogger. While she sometimes posts items on weekends and in the evening, she also posts items during regular working hours on weekday - sometimes more than one post per day. (I have left out posts when Ms. Bakalar was clearly on vacation and obviously I do not know if she was on annual leave on any other days listed below.) Here are approximately 300 examples from 2016 of blog posts posted during "regular working hours.":
Update/Note: This is just a list of blog posts Ms. Bakalar made during regular working hours. It does not include any data from all of Ms. Bakalar's other social media outlets - such as Facebook and Twitter - where she is also very active and where she posts often during typical workdays. Note: Ms. Bakalar denies she spends time at work on her blog.
I See You, 54-Second Recipe GIF of Unicorn Cookies that Poop Stars Made to Look Like They Don't Really Take All Day Because Fast Forward!
All I Want for Christmas is for My Kids to Flush the Fucking Toilet. Is That Too Much to Ask?
Five Pieces of Unsolicited Advice You Need Less Than a Small, Nonfatal Hole in Your Head
Let's Talk About the Modeling Shoot That Was Happening at the Place Where I Went to Go Stuff My Face with Tacos
(So clearly, this was not written and posted during her lunch hour. Ms. Bakalar went to lunch and THEN wrote up this blog post and posted it.)
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Standing Around Looking Like an Asshole is Like, Totally My Jam!
Roster of WWE Wrestlers Under Consideration for Trump Cabinet Posts
Thanks for Believing in Me! I Now Challenge You to Disprove 4 Highly Unproveable Opinions About a Bunch of Crazy-Ass Shit*
I Don't Understand Why This is a Bad Thing
Things that Rhyme With the "Alt-Right" and are Conceptually Kind of Exactly Like It Posted at 3:09 p.m.
Local Mother Inadvertently Agrees to Buy Kids a Pony and Send Them to Space Camp
Unless ...
10 Gift Ideas for the Girl Who Has Everything and Yet Still Needs to Make up a Story About Almost Dying in Africa, for Some Reason
Shout Out to My Hero--My Mom--on World AIDS Day (With Video)
Learn to Let Go of Fear by Doing Really Dumb Shit in Alaska
Meet Kellyanne: The Newest American Girl (TM) Doll to Celebrate Trump's Historic Win in 2016 America!
Things Could Be Worse: You Could be a Beaver in Formaldehyde
Ms. Bakalar ought to take her own advice here. It is so very ironic that she is posting about wasting time on the internet while at work while she is at work:
Get Off the Internet and Get to Work, Says Millennial on the Internet
A self-identified "millennial computer scientist who also writes books and runs a blog" has some career advice for everyone who reads the NY Times online: stop using the internet.
More specifically, Cal Newport sanctimoniously and accurately has this to say about social media:
Most social media is best described as a collection of somewhat trivial entertainment services that are currently having a good run. These networks are fun, but you’re deluding yourself if you think that Twitter messages, posts and likes are a productive use of your time. If you’re serious about making an impact in the world, power down your smartphone, close your browser tabs, roll up your sleeves and get to work.
But unlike the rest of us addicts and suckers, Cal is super serial about "making an impact in the world" you guys.
How?
By spending all his time on a computer with only one browser window open. Which is different than spending that same amount of time on a smart phone with multiple browser windows open. Cal is "rolling up his sleeves" as though he were a potato farmer in the field, if the farm were the Georgetown University Computer Science Department where he teaches, and the field was his keyboard.
God, I am so glad I read this, because I'm "rolling up my sleeves" right now. Just as soon as I re-tweet one more kitten-can-haz-cheeseburger meme.
Thanks, Cal!
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