‘Global Warning My Gluteus Maximus’ Says Palin
You knew this was coming. Alaska is experiencing insane weather anomalies. Last year Southcentral Alaska had its snowiest winter on record. This year, it’s the longest snow season, at 231 days and counting. So it’s not surprising some idiot on Facebook is going to pipe up and say, “Still believe in ‘global warming?’” But I actually didn’t expect to hear it from Sarah Palin, even though she’s repeatedly earned the title of Alaska’s newest village idiot. Palin, you see, during her very brief tenure as Alaska’s governor, not only acknowledged climate change, but actually tried to do something about it….
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…
WWII Vet Tours USS Anchorage
[Editor’s Note: Through the magic of Facebook, I learned that my friend Peggy Wilcox’s dad was a World War II vet, and was going to go on a tour of the USS Anchorage before it headed out to sea. My dad was a WWII veteran as well, and I found myself imagining what it would have been like to tour the ship with him. I asked Peggy if she’d be kind enough to write a little something about her dad, and the day.] By Peggy Wilcox My dad is pretty cool. We hang out. He tells me to buy gold, I ignore…
Don Young’s Legal Fees. Follow the Money.
Don Young’s second ethics investigation rolls along. The FBI investigated Alaska’s lone congressman, but in 2010 it said it didn’t have enough evidence to convict him and turned the whole thing over to the House Ethics Committee. They looked it all over, and decided to launch their own investigation in March of this year. He allegedly improperly accepted gifts, used campaign funds for personal use, and lied to federal officials. Say it ain’t so. So that means a whole host of new legal bills. Just this spring, Young forked over $60k from his legal defense fund to the DC law…
Our Parks Create Stories
At the end of National Parks Week, when I have spent my busy week occupied with other thoughts, I had to force myself to slow down and think of how our National Park System has influenced my life over the years. This is something we should all do from time to time, because it is likely we can all find a thread that the parks have woven through our personal fabric over the years. The first unit of our National Park System I visited was Devil’s Tower National Monument in Wyoming, about a decade before Steven Spielberg made it famous…
Stories We Missed
Between the news from Boston, Watertown and Texas the 24 hour news media seemed to be like a pig in… well you know what. MSNBC, FOX, CNN all seemed unable to cover anything else other than the two big stories – they threw their entire media machine at them. Meanwhile, stories that would normally be headline news went by the wayside – and weren’t even talked about. While I could never pretend to have caught all the really important ones here’s a bunch of the news stories that we at TheMudflats thought were really important and deserve a second shot…
The Good We Can Do
Media saturation and outrage fatigue. That’s the kind of week it’s been. There were so many stories — from all over the country and world in such terrible detail. There seemed nothing to do but watch as horror after horror unfolded. When was the last time I heard “Breaking: Good News?” As summer draws near, we watched the U.S. Senate — including both of our senators — fail the victims of past and future gun massacres. On Patriot’s Day blood spilled on the streets of Boston, limbs lost, lives lost. We saw a deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant in…
WATCH: Colbert Calls Begich a Hero
Last night, The Colbert Report responded to the defeat in the Senate of the Manchin-Toomey Amendment in an extremely funny segment that once again brought Alaska into the spotlight. Colbert called Alaska’s Democratic Senator, Mark Begich, a “hero” saying: “Despite relentless pressure from special interest grieving parents, 45 Brave Senators stood tall to protect what they find most precious, the A rating from the NRA. “The heroes were not just Republicans, 4 brave Democrats joined in, including Alaskan Senator Mark Begich, who celebrated his vote to kill background checks saying ‘It’s dangerous to do any type of policy in an emotional…
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…
“Active Homosexuals” to be “Embraced” by Boy Scouts?
Read it and weep. Jim Minnery, of Alaska Family Council sent out an email calling supporters to show up at a Town Hall meeting of the Boy Scouts to address whether “active homosexuals” will be “embraced” by the Boy Scouts. Not sure about those inactive people who have let their homosexual memberships lapse, but “embracing” is definitely a red flag. If you get his meaning. *ahem* Next month, the Boy Scouts of America plans to vote about whether to lift the ban on gays in scouting. And one 16-year old Maryland Eagle Scout candidate who has come out, may be…