Is Guantanamo Who We Are?
It is hard to imagine being abducted, away from your family for eleven years, chained, beaten, with no hope for freedom even when your captors know you did nothing to be there … that is the case for eighty six men held at Guantanamo Bay prison facility. Neighbors turned in rivals, bounties were paid, and many times the wrong person was taken simply for wearing a certain brand of wristwatch in the days that followed the invasion of Afghanistan. The United States had no evidence of wrong doing in many cases and has concluded no charges could be filed against…
Alaska Eyes 2014
The legislative session in Juneau has ended, and our elected officials have flown away from the carnage they either created, or endured. The stalwart among us, the political junkies who don’t need to take time off to lick wounds, yell at clouds, or throw chairs, will begin to think of… 2014. The courts have ruled that the redistricted map used for 2012 is not Constitutional. We literally go back to the drawing board to rework legislative boundaries. And the insanity will begin all over again. But wait, that’s not all! U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES We’ve also got our one…
Murkowski Responds to Accusations
Sunday afternoon Senator Lisa Murkowski borrowed a move from Sarah Palin and responded on her Facebook page to an article I wrote yesterday which first appeared in The Anchorage Daily News, and on The Mudflats. “It’s incredibly important to clear up the confusion created by Shannyn Moore’s piece today — and I want Alaskans to hear it directly from me. The amendment she misconstrued focused on tribal jurisdiction over non-Natives who are accused of domestic or sexual assault on reservation land. Of Alaska’s 229 federally-recognized tribes, Alaska only has one reservation: Metlakatla. My amendment was introduced to spell out in…
Day of Resistance Rally (VIDEOS)
While the Anchorage Legislative Caucus was hearing citizens’ testimony at the library, another group was meeting at the Park Strip downtown. Coordinating with demonstrations across the nation, Anchorage held a “Day of Resistance” rally. There were about a hundred attendees, with numerous flags of the American, Alaskan, and Snake variety. I doubted I’d see many progressive Democrats here, so I thought to myself, “You’ve got the House. You’ve got the Senate. You’ve got the Governor… What the hell are you resisting? You should be embracing, I should be resisting!” But there is one thing they do not have. A small…
Open Thread – MLK & Inaugural Day
It’s a double celebration today, as we honor America’s greatest civil rights leader, and observe the swearing in of President Barack Obama for a second term. If you’d like to enjoy some great views of the gathering crowd in Washington DC, you can check out the webcam atop the Smithsonian, and another of the Washington Monument. Here is the schedule of events from NPR: Though he and the vice president have already taken their oaths of office, President Obama is due this noon to stand outside the Capitol for his ceremonial swearing in and then to deliver his second inaugural address….
Gun Bill Condones Arrest of Federal Agents
Mike Chenault, the mouth-breathing bully who also happens to be the Republican Speaker of the House in Juneau, has an awesome idea. As the country enters into a conversation about gun control, Chenault puts forward House Bill 69: House Speaker Mike Chenault says federal law enforcement officers should be arrested in Alaska if they attempt to enforce any future federal law banning personal possession of assault rifles or large ammunition clips or if they attempt to register any Alaska firearm. Yes. Really. “Tragedy is not a license for federal encroachment of constitutionally protected freedoms,” said Chenault. But don’t think this…
EXCLUSIVE: FBI Militia Informant Tells All
Bill Fulton, undercover FBI informant in the “Alaska Militia Trial,” gave a lengthy interview to The Mudflats about his role in the case, and his controversial life in Anchorage before it was revealed. In this article, he shares his candid opinion about local Anchorage media, national progressive media, Joe Miller, and what they got wrong. Yours truly didn’t even escape entirely unscathed. Bill Fulton came to Alaska, the biggest small town in the world, and became instantly “known.” He owned a shop in Anchorage that was utterly unforgettable. A military supply store, which doubled as offices for a security company,…
Palin Galluping Off the Chart
In these days of political woe and want, when fiscal cliffs, and debt ceilings, and oil rig groundings get us down, there’s really nothing like another little piece of confirmation that Sarah Palin is slipping into oblivion to make us at Mudflats central clonk our coffee mugs together and smile. It doesn’t really mean anything, but it’s still nice. It’s like the empty calories from a butterscotch candy. So, here’s one. Every year since the 1940s, Gallup has done a poll asking Americans two simple questions: What man/woman that you have heard or read about, living today in any part…
Frankenfish or Cut Bait
When Barack Obama was campaigning in 2007, he said something that I’d been yearning to hear from a politician. He vowed, as president, he would strive to “let folks know when their food is genetically modified because Americans have a right to know what they’re buying.” I realize the difference between campaigning and being president is much like the difference between dating and being married — but that seemed like a pretty solid statement. Europe has required all foods containing ingredients genetically modified to be labeled since 1997. Fifty countries, including China and Russia, require food manufacturers to label GMOs….
OMG! Liberal Palin Freak Out!
I think I heard something… That familiar grinding sound like when you’ve worn through a pair of brake shoes. Shhh… Hear that? Ah! Yes. I’ve got it. That metal on metal noise used to be Alaska’s governor. She’s managed to grab a moment in the spotlight again by… wait for it… saying dumb stuff. Shocking. After the last election cycle in which her party was soundly thrashed, she lost her one remaining claim to anything remotely serious. She’s now no longer the immediate past Republican Vice Presidential nominee. That embarrassing mantle is now worn by Congressman Paul Ryan. That makes…