Back to the Sidewalk – Again!
The high drama of last summer’s sidewalk sitting may be back again in September. Mayor Dan Sullivan didn’t like that a homeless man protesting his draconian attitudes and policies toward the homeless was sitting outside City Hall on the sidewalk. He glowered out of his window in the tall tower, gazing to the sidewalk below and decided to bring the long arm of the law down upon the lowly “protester.” And then, to the mayor’s horror, he realized that there was actually no law prohibiting Anchorage residents from sitting on the sidewalk. It really hadn’t been an issue during the…
Happy Centennial to the Territory of Alaska
In April of 1912, a little debate was going on in the House of Representatives. A congressman stood, and said something that changed the course of history. “The time has gone by when all women looked after the kitchen and the dining room. Now they go into offices, school rooms and factories, where they do a man’s work, and they should have the same economic and political rights as men. . .” And so at the insistance of Victor Berger, a socialist Congressman from Milwaukee, the Alaska legislature was empowered to give women the right to vote, and they did…
Murkowski Urges Akin to Step Down
Republican War on Women? What War on Women? There’s no War on Women. That’s just delusional Democrats trying to manufacture controversy and put words in the mouths of poor ol’ Republicans. Ohhhh, what those desperate Dems won’t sink to. That’s what Republicans would have you believe. Then, there’s what actually happens, and what comes out of their mouths. And it’s not just Republican men, although they’ve gotten the bulk of the attention. Back in June, a group of 24 Republican House women – a sort of firewall, if you will, to protect the image of the Party with women by…
Bob Bell is Oh So Super Special
You know those politicians whom nobody can stand – the ones that think the rules apply to absolutely everyone? No exceptions. Except for them. I got one for you. Remember that scandal that had Director of the Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation, Corey Rossi, in the headlines for weeks? Rossi and his croneys from the Board of Game got busted flying into rural Alaska and pretending to subsistence hunt muskoxen for food. You see, there’s a really really expensive way of hunting muskoxen, and there’s a much less expensive way. One way, you have to enter a lottery for a permit…
In My Alaska Garden: Harvest!
Though a little later than expected, we are finally seeing the (literal) fruits of our labor in the hoop house! I’ve been sick for the last three weeks and haven’t felt much like writing or anything else. I wanted to at least get the pictures out to you of what’s been happening in the hoop house. I have a lot more near-future writing about what I’ve learned and the changes we want to make for next year. Let me know how everything is going in your garden!
Happy Walter J. Hickel Day of the Arctic!
“All of us own the seas in common. We own the air and space. If we can learn to use these resources productively for the benefit of all, not just for a few powerful groups or a handful of corporations, the world would stand today on the threshold of wealth and social advancement we cannot yet imagine.” —Former Alaska Gov. Wally Hickel On the day I was born, Wally Hickel was the Republican Governor of Alaska. On the day I moved to Alaska, Wally Hickel was the governor of Alaska for the second time, having run successfully as an Alaskan…
Repeated Gaffes from Wasilla Republican
(This piece is cross-posted at The Huffington Post – HERE) Wasilla City Councilman, Republican State House candidate (and former candidate for Alaska Lt. Governor in 2010), Mark Ewing just keeps talking. And then trying to untalk. And then talking again. And it’s just not good. In a recent debate at the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce candidates forum, Ewing squared off with his Republican primary opponent. All started predictably with both candidates in favor of a controversial coal mine, a controversial copper mine, and another boondoggle bridge to almost nowhere. But soon Mr. Ewing distinguished himself in the Rock ‘em…
Here Come the Attack Ads
Corporations will use new unlimited election spending rules to try to sway your vote this November. The smart move is to take attack ads and flyers from corporate groups you’ve never heard of with a grain of salt. Roughly 80 percent of these ads will be negative and deceptive. They were last election. The corporate spending goal is a one-party state, that will give away $2 billion/year in poorly crafted oil tax breaks under a governor’s bill that lets companies take that money and spend it outside Alaska. A Legislature that has balance on both sides of the aisle, and…
The Mudflats Calls Senate District I
There’s an alphabet soup of newly drawn Senate districts out there, but with 84 days until the polls close, and 0% of precincts reporting in, The Mudflats is prepared to call the election in Senate District I, for the beloved and awesome Democratic candidate Johnny Ellis. His opponent, Republican Paul Kendall (also known by his talk radio call-in alias “Will Free”) believes in Hydrogen energy, and women not working outside the home. It’s a devastating political duo of philosophies, which puts Mr. Kendall simultaneously in both the 22nd and 17th centuries. But for some reason, it doesn’t seem to be…