Walker/Wielechowski – Right for Alaska
We like Sen. Hollis French, and respect him. He’s been an outstanding legislator. We think he’d make a good governor, and have donated to and voted for him in the past. Our issue with the senator’s contemplation of another gubernatorial run is not the candidate, but the fact that the candidate cannot and will not be elected governor. The problem is math. Sen. French retained his own state senate seat in his newly drawn district by the skin of his teeth. The statewide political terrain is far less friendly to him than West Anchorage. The far right made French the…
Don Young Attacks Federal Employees, Goes Hitler
The “Congressman for All Alaska,” Don Young (R) was a featured speaker today at the Federal Overreach Summit in Anchorage. Young, who has a reputation for being outspoken, outrageous, and often politically incorrect was in rare form. After railing on what he perceives as the intrusion of the federal government into land and resource issues in Alaska, and into our personal lives, he castigated the EPA, the DEC, the National Parks Service, and the Army Corps of Engineers, saying they “do nothing.” He also had a harsh message to federal employees in general who number 22,887 in his state of only…
Gov Parnell Smacks Down Feds
Yesterday, a “Federal Overreach Summit” began in Anchorage. For two days, lawmakers and administration officials will gripe about the “feds” and what is described as intrusion into Alaska’s affairs. But the federal overreach discussed on the first day of the summit didn’t touch on Stand Your Ground law, or issues of reproductive choice, or gay marriage, or even voting rights which have been so much in the news as of late. This federal overreach is quite specific, and gets to the heart of what this administration considers important. It’s all about land use and resource extraction. A Department of Natural…
Exclusive Exerpt: Pilgrim’s Wilderness
Into the Wild meets Helter Skelter in this true story of a modern-day homesteading family in the deepest reaches of the Alaskan wilderness–and the chilling secrets of a maniacal, spellbinding patriarch who called himself Papa Pilgrim. Tom Kizzia was the perfect writer to tackle this fascinating, horrifying, and very human story that could have happened only in Alaska. His former work as a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News led him to travel extensively throughout Alaska, and to report on a family that would leave a lasting impression on his psyche. The result was his new book, Pilgrim’s Wilderness. Like many Alaskans, the…
Walker & Wielechowski – Alaska First
It’s summer. I don’t watch TV in the summer. I fish. So I first heard about the Domino’s ad, “powered by pizza,” with its slam on halibut, by reading the Mudflats blog. Yes, I know, Domino’s “thought halibut was a funny word.” The ad shows a lonely man in a dark room spitting halibut into a pie plate as the announcer says, “No one ever had a world-changing idea over halibut. NO way…” Having just returned from my hometown, the “Halibut Capital of the World,” Homer, Alaska, I had almost 20 pounds of fresh halibut fillets on ice. (Thanks, Pop!)…
Alaska: Hand Out, Finger Up
The State of Alaska has one hand out palm up, and the other raised with one finger prominently extended — again. The upcoming “Federal Overreach Summit” to be held at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage seemed like a tea party function. I don’t have a yellow flag with a snake on it or a three-cornered hat, so I didn’t pay much mind. Until this week. An email found its way to me from a Department of Natural Resources employee. Karrie Improte signed an email announcing the “very interesting news; on page 1 there is an announcement on the Commission sponsored…
What are Republicans Doing to Themselves?!
The Republican Party, after crushing defeats in the last two Presidential elections, and seeing newly elected members of Congress display racial intolerance, homophobia, and misogyny the likes of which have not been seen in recent history, has had to really sit down and do some soul searching. To their credit, Republican voters seem to have given some real thought to the condition of the not-so-Grand Old Party, and how it might be changed as they move forward to remain relevant, and serve the will of the majority in an evolving America. src=”http://ap.lijit.com///www/delivery/fpi.js#?z=186829&u=themudflats&width=300&height=250″> In that spirit, they’ve decided that Republicans simply…
Oh, SNAP: 14 Reps Take from Poor, Give to Selves
Washington, DC— Fourteen members of Congress, all Republicans, have voted themselves huge farm subsidies while voting to cut nutritional aid to 47 million Americans. At a total of $7.2 million in total subsidies, these members average over a half million dollars apiece in public monies going directly to benefit themselves and their spouses. The 14 Congressional Reps who believe struggling families have it too easy have, between themselves, a combined net worth of $124.5 million. So, let’s break it down, Mudpups: SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) doesn’t just benefit poor families…
Mudflats Chats: Paul Begala on Pebble & Democrats
I sat down with Presidential adviser Paul Begala, and asked him his thoughts about the proposed Pebble Mine project, Senator Mark Begich, blue lawmakers in red states, and what it really means to be a Democrat. One of the lead advisers to President Clinton, Begala and James Carville shaped a moderate campaign agenda that focused on balancing the budget and creating 22 million new jobs. I’d been told that Begala is an avid hunter and fisherman, and has been fishing near Bristol Bay. So, I knew where I wanted our conversation to begin – with an issue that is of…
Palin Considers Senate Run
They said it couldn’t happen. They said she was done. But she does not like being done. At the very least Sarah Palin is making headlines with idle threats. At most, she actually is doing what she says, and considering a run for the U.S. Senate. “I’ve considered it because people have requested me [to] consider it,” Palin told conservative radio host Sean Hannity on his show. Ever the reluctant leader. As a matter of fact, she told Sean Hannity once that George Washington was her favorite founding father for just that reason. He wasn’t seeking power and prestige, or…