The Bible, False Prophets and Pete Kelly
Happy Easter to all those who celebrate this day. Polls show Alaska is one of the least religious states in the nation. That’s probably true for organized religion but I suspect most Alaskans are pretty spiritual people. It’s hard not to stand at the top of a mountain, in the middle of the wilderness or at the base of a glacier in Alaska and not believe in some higher force. When Sunday morning rolls around and my partner says, “You wanna go to church?” I will be on the boat halibut fishing pretty soon. If I were to generalize, I’d…
We’ve got the Legislature we deserve
Want to know what’s really wrong with the Alaska Legislature? The voters who sent this crew into office. For a long time I have thought the citizen legislature is a really quaint and fine representation of who we are as everyday Alaskans. If that is the case, we are in more trouble than we think. I hope to heaven that our populus is in better shape than who we have representing us. This week there was a giant surprise to the very lawmakers who voted for that hideous oil legislation known as SB 21. Shock, I tell ya, shock! What?…
Max Gruenberg (1943 -2016) – Memorial in Pictures
Alaska lost Rep. Max Gruenberg (D-Anchorage) last week. He was remembered by legislators on both sides of the aisle. Jeanne Devon (former editor of The Mudflats) took these excellent shots in her new job as Press Secretary for the Alaska Senate Democrats. You can watch the moving tribute to Representative Gruenberg at 360North.
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska ADN – Journalist who broke Fairbanks Four case unsatisfied after their release The letters seemed outlandish. But Brian O’Donoghue went to the courthouse to check them out, part of his job in 2000 as the opinion page editor at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. What he found wouldn’t let him go: the story of four young men convicted of murder on flimsy evidence. On Thursday, their convictions were vacated and the Fairbanks Four were finally released after 18 years in prison. O’Donoghue joined the celebration but said the job’s not done. Juneau Empire – This is what it takes to get into…
Sarah Palin, Speaking American, and Donald Trump
Authors note: Since every other blog and news site on the planet has commented on this, I felt that the Mudflats should share in at least some of those clicks. Because let’s be honest here, the only reason any of us are covering her at this point is for the traffic; she doesn’t have the influence to really justify it. So with that statement out of the way, enjoy the slow moving train wreck. You’re reading this because, like me… you quietly hate yourself. But look at it this way; you didn’t have to transcribe 15 minutes of Palin-Speak. There seems to be two out…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska ADN – Tundra Green — an illustrated history of cannabis in Alaska On Feb. 24, the initiative to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana passed by Alaska voters takes effect, adding another wrinkle to the unique history Alaska has with the plant. Here is an illustrated history of marijuana in Alaska. ADN – Alaska government spent nearly $28 million on database project scrapped before it was ever implemented The Alaska Department of Public Safety took 11 years and spent at least $27.9 million trying to replace the state’s aging criminal information database before the project was abandoned, derailed by problems with funding…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska ADN – Begich unveils consulting firm, will work in aviation and health care Former Alaska U.S. Sen. Mark Begich said Saturday that he’d founded a consulting firm and would work for a health care trade organization and an Alaska airline, Grant Aviation.Begich, a one-term Democrat who last year lost his re-election bid to Republican Dan Sullivan, said in a press release that he’d been hired by the airline and by the National Association for Home Care and Hospice. Juneau Empire – Female AKNG boss is one of few in country When Gov. Bill Walker announced Friday that retired U.S. Army…
Click Bishop Takes a Page from Palin – Reads Dr. Seuss
Republican Senator Click Bishop, whose district covers land from Fairbanks to Valdez took a page from Sarah Palin and read a story by Dr. Seuss to the Alaska State Senate. Well, it wasn’t quite a Dr. Seuss original – more of a revision of Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham seen through the filter of government overreach. Unlike Half-Term Palin’s teleprompter read at CPAC last year (when she held the book as a prop), Click seems to have actually written the words down in a copy of Green Eggs and Ham. I’m hoping that he bought a new copy and didn’t ruin one of from his grandkids….
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska ADN.COM – With more Alaska women incarcerated than ever, some moved to men’s jail The number of women incarcerated in Alaska is at an all-time high, with the sole women’s prison in the state overcrowded enough that the Department of Corrections is now housing female inmates at Anchorage’s jail for men. DailyMiner.com – Seven bills and resolutions so far head to Juneau from Interior Interior lawmakers had their names on seven of the 63 bills or resolutions pre-filed in the run up to the start of the 29th Alaska Legislature. Many of the Interior delegation bills included retreads of legislation or…
The Weekend Off – News You Missed
Alaska Fairbanks Newsminer – Alaska governor issues order to halt 6 megaprojects Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has ordered a halt to all non-obligated state spending on six major projects: Ambler Road, Juneau Access Road, Susitna-Watana Dam, Kodiak Launch Complex, Knik Arm Crossing and Alaska Stand-Alone Pipeline Project. ADN – Video: Anchorage chef strives to be an example for the disenfranchised Aaron Dollison, 49, grew up in Anchorage and learned to cook from his mother. He went on to cook at Susitna Foods & Spirits and Denny’s, but he learned how to cook in bulk in prison. Juneau Empire – Hunters find…