Speaking of "Abuse of Power"...

There were many media folks out there trembling with anticipation for the Governor's Press Statement regarding the Halcro accusations/PSEA Press Conference. Imagine everyone's surprise when spokesperson Sharon Leighow's former radio partner Dan Fagan was reading this Press Release on the air at 3:38...before anyone else even received it!

A certain Program Director immediately called Leighow and was told that the release wasn't ready but would be in a few minutes. When he asked why Fagan was reading it, he got the cold shoulder on later calls to Leighow. He then called Janice Mason (the Governor's scheduler...can we say "where the real power lies?") who said she didn't have it either. When he informed her that Dan Fagan had just read it on the air, she made some exclamation and went to investigate. About 5 minutes later, the statement came from Leighow's office to his direct email.

It seems that others were also left in the lurch by Leighow when it came to the release. (***UPDATE*** While the Program Director got his about 4:05 PM--after he contacted Janice Mason and she seemed as surprised as he--one reporter didn't get his until 7:10 PM!!!)

Interestingly, the ones I know of were all folks who have been publicly friendly/supportive of a certain person who has a rather large defamation lawsuit in the works against Leighow and Fagan (among others).

Coincindence?

If Sharon Leighow is trying to earn badges on her road to "Evil Overlord" status she's already halfway there...she's got the "Evil" down pat. She just needs a lot of help with the "Overlord" part. I would highly recommend that she reads "The Top 100 Things I'd Do if I Ever Became an Evil Overlord" in order not to crash and burn early:

48. I will treat any beast which I control through magic or technology with respect and kindness. Thus if the control is ever broken, it will not immediately come after me for revenge.

I think this might qualify, if you think of "access to the Governor" as "magic or technology."

Sharon, ask your boss how well that whole "alleged" "treating-people-badly-through-revenge" thing is working for her.

To Dan Fagan and Sharon Leighow: Karma is a bitch and sometimes it's REALLY EXPENSIVE

My friend Rishi Maharaj has been through hell the last two years thanks to those two and a few others at Anchorage Media Group. It's been torture not to be able to scream about it from the rooftops until now.

However, I'm glad Brenden Joel Kelley at Anchorage Press wrote the first real article on the entire story. It's excellent; he painted an accurate portrayal of what really happened and how Rishi and all of us felt.

Well almost...

He didn't print the diatribe I spewed about the people responsible for trashing Rishi's career for two years, but that's because he's a good journalist and it wasn't appropriate.

That's why I have a blog.

There aren't really many people I despise. And I suppose, in the grand scheme of things, I don't HATE Dan Fagan or Sharon Leighow because I'd actually call 911...eventually...if either of them was hit by a car and lying in the middle of the road. Hell, Dan is friends with some of my family and his presence wouldn't chase me away. However, he's got a wall of bad Karma a mile high waiting for him and a lot of folks feel it's only justice if he gets flattened by that wall very publicly.

He just might.

First, read the article linked above.

Second, over at the Court site you can find Civil Superior Court 3AN-08-06160CI Maharaj, Rishi vs. Anchorage Media Group et al. Peruse the list of folks being sued.

Third, listen to THIS so you understand why. Fagan pretends like he can't pronounce Rishi's name and the first thing he asks about is Rishi's ethnicity. (Think of the insinuating emails about Obama.) Leighow and Fagan work the conversation so they are repeatedly emphasizing that Rishi should have been fired...that he shouldn't be employed until he's "cleared." In a number of subtle and not-so-subtle ways they insinuate that he's guilty. They report many inaccuracies as fact though they had complete access to the correct information.

I went to several of Rishi's court appearances. The only folks there were his friends...and Sharon...the only media rep. It was almost like she was stalking him. It was creepy.

It's hard to believe this was just a few months before Leighow was hired by the Governor Palin.

It's one of the curious aspects of this whole thing. The fact that it was obvious from the start that the DA had nothing. The fact that this dragged-out for two years and then when the Prosecution had run out of delays, the case was dropped. It always made me curious who might be putting the pressure on the Prosecution?

What person could possibly be connected enough to keep pressure on the Prosecution, especially if a walk for Rishi meant the good chance of a successful lawsuit?

I guess we'll never know.