In Exposing the Identity of Mudflats Blogger Jeanne Devon, Rep. Mike Doogan Exposes Himself.
27 03 2009Anonymity is an interesting thing. Anyone who has read my “About” page knows that Mudflats popped out of my head and on to my keyboard last May. I, like many of you, get frustrated with my government. There isn’t anyone who pays attention, on either side of the political spectrum, who doesn’t at some time feel like they need to get something off their chest.
I wasn’t quite sure what this whole blogging thing was about, but a dear friend of mine who is a brilliant writer was doing some work for the American Cancer Society blog, and urged me to start one of my own. And so, one evening after some crazy shenanigans from Don Young and a glass of shiraz, the first post went up on Mudflats. It was a strange sensation to write, and then click on that blue oval button that said, “Publish”. With that click, I was putting my opinion out to the world. I was giving permission for people to peek into my brain, and read my diary, as it were. I had no particular desire for anyone to know it was coming from me, and why should they care, anyway? I’m just….me. I’m not a politician, nor a writer, nor a journalist, nor a state or federal employee, nor a lobbyist. I was just a citizen who was paying attention, feeling frustrated, and liked getting stuff off my chest.
I checked my blog statistics later in the day, and noticed that two people had clicked on my article. I sat there utterly amazed. I called to my spouse, “Look at this! Two people read it!” Then, the next day, eight people had read it. I was getting about a dozen hits a day the next week. I didn’t know where they were coming from, but I imagined my little group of a dozen people who enjoyed Mudflats enough to come back and read more. Then twenty people. And by the end of the summer, about 250 a day. Maybe they felt like somebody was speaking their particular truth. Maybe they liked it. It was a good feeling.
The day that Sarah Palin got nominated to be John McCain’s Vice Presidential running mate, life changed. My sister called me at some pre-dawn hour and said, “Did you hear?” I, like many Alaskans, was completely stunned. Sarah Palin? Was I still dreaming? Really? I knew I had to take the day off. I made a pot of coffee, and thought to myself, that my 250 people might not be the only ones interested in this VP pick. Now, many people adored Sarah Palin, and maybe some of them had blogs too….I had never checked, but they must be out there somewhere. But I knew some things about her, and her policies and positions that others might not be able to find out so easily. I decided to write my opinion. So I wrote a post, “What Is McCain Thinking? One Alaskan’s Perspective.” And that’s exactly what the piece was – one Alaskans perspective. My perspective. Just in case anyone was interested.
It took me about 45 minutes to crank it out and click Publish. (Yes, I was still in my pajamas at the time) And it turned out that people were interested. Really interested. By the time I’d made myself a couple eggs and toast, and sat back down there were more than 7,000 hits. By the end of the day there were 64,000. The total readership of that post ended up being almost 270,000 with more than 1300 comments. To say I was shocked is putting it mildly. I began to get emails and comments asking me when I was going to post again, asking questions about Palin, and saying that this was the only “real” information they were getting.
They wanted pictures of Wasilla. They wanted to know about polar bears. They wanted to know what my friends and relatives really thought.
Now, the mainstream media was covering Palin a lot, but just as we tend to converse with friends or relatives, to see what they think of something, to help clarify our opinion, so do people like to hear opinions from a regular person. At least, that’s what I came to believe. The next two months became a frenzy of writing and responding to emails, and managing the hundreds of comments that each post was getting. I got a book offer, interview requests, advertisers asking for room on the site, and I made a decision. I was going to focus on answering the questions people wanted to know, and telling them what I thought. The t-shirts and advertising could wait until later. And interviews? Well, I hadn’t really done anything other than speak my mind, so it seemed a little….silly. There were plenty of other qualified and more interesting people to talk to.
And so the months of September and October passed. My spouse and my kids graciously gave me up to the computer. If you had stock in Pumpkin Flax cereal, I might have made you rich, because it was fast and easy. I didn’t sleep much, and my back began to ache, and my eyes hurt. But, other than that, I was enjoying writing and I felt useful. Apparently reading my little online “diary” was giving people something they wanted.
So, where am I going with all this? Back to the question of anonymity. It stands to reason that when expressing a personal opinion, there may be times when it will be less than flattering to a particular politician. More often than not, the politician is not a member of your own party, but sometimes they are. I’m not one to cushion and coddle Democrats just because they have a D in front of their name. Nor am I one to look for reasons to condemn the Rs just because of political party. Because, that’s really how most people think. They judge people based upon their actions.
Fast forward to the present. Mudflats has become something of an amazement to me. Over the months, kind souls from many places have volunteered their time, and their energy to build this community. It was hard to manage posts that were getting 500 or 600 comments in just a few hours. So the Mudflats Forum was born, run by a team of administrators and moderators who all work very hard for nothing but gratitude. The forum was a way for readers to connect and discuss issues of the day, start their own threads, support each other, and talk everything from Sarah Palin to Barack Obama to salmon recipes. There were postcard swaps, and Secret Santas, and friendships began. Mudflatters from Pittsburgh were the first to say “Let’s meet in real life!” and Mudstock Meetups were born. I started attending local events, rallies, debates, and trying to give my perspective. I felt quite qualified to give my persepective and opinion. All of us are.
But sometimes politicians don’t like people who express their opinions, especially when the opinion is less than flattering, and especially when it’s their own words that come back to bite them. Mudflatters may recall back in December when Rep. Mike Doogan really got under my skin. I had posted previously about Mr. Doogan by noting his reaction to the Palin nomination, promoting his appearance on a local radio show, and talking about the certainty of his reelection. But I don’t always agree with him. The post where I took him to task was entitled “Are You People Nuts? Lessons in Email Etiquette.”
The jist of it all, is that being really rude to people via email does not make them like you, nor does it make you look good. And legislators have a certain vested interest in looking good. Taking the high road when you’re an elected leader is always a good plan, because flying off the handle, or mouthing off at people and insulting them results in the dreaded double whammy of….bad press, and bad public opinion. Neither of those things helps the political goals of being liked, and being reelected.
But here’s where it gets interesting. After the initial opinion piece in Mudflats, I started hearing from fellow bloggers that Mike Doogan was trying to figure out who I was. It seemed strange to me, because really, all I’d done was take his own words and actions and comment on them. Anyone was perfectly free to disagree, or comment on the piece. “He’s rabid,” one blogger told me. Wow. Rabid? I guess I struck a nerve. Over the past few months, I’ve had other messages through the grapevine that he was trying to figure out who I am.
I have to confess, that while I understand the curiosity factor, the fact that an elected representative was this preoccupied with the identity of an anonymous blogger had me puzzled. He wrote a piece for the Alaska Dispatch talking about “accountability”. The thought was that if I was anonymous, I was not accountable. In what way, I wondered. I’m not a journalist. I’m just, as we established before, me. This is my opinion. If he were around, we could ask the “anonymous blogger” of his day, Benjamin Franklin what he thought about this. Using the “screen name” Mrs. Silence Dogood, Franklin was able to put out thoughts and ideas that were weighted on their own merits, not attached to a particular person. Sometimes it’s easier, if you don’t want to think, to attack the person, rather than the idea. I think Franklin would heartily approve of anonymous bloggers.
So, it seemed odd to me that Mr. Doogan was seemingly more focused on the messenger, than on defending his position, or even better, apologizing to people whom he had insulted. I didn’t think much more about it until yesterday, when I got this email:
From: “doogans@gci.net” <doogans@gci.net>
To: akmuckraker@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2009 2:55:14 PM
Subject: your identity
Jeanne:I am reliably told that you, Jeanne Devon, are the anonymous blogger who writes Mudflats. I am planning to reveal this in the enews I send to my constituents tomorrow, and am writing to let you know this and offer the opportunity to comment.
Mike Doogan
I was a bit surprised to see my real name, as you can imagine. But after the initial surprise wore off, it really hit me. This is an elected State Representative, of my own political party, who has decided that it’s not OK for me to control the information about my identity; that it’s not OK to express my opinion on my own blog without shouting from the rooftops who I am.
If I were to appear, as many of you have, at a political rally and I were to hold up a sign that expressed my opinion, I don’t have to sign my name on the bottom. And if someone wants to come online and read my diary, they are free to do so. And if they want to disagree, that’s OK too.
It said in my “About” page that I choose to remain anonymous. I didn’t tell anyone why. I might be a state employee. I might not want my children to get grief at school. I might be fleeing from an ex-partner who was abusive and would rather he not know where I am. My family might not want to talk to me anymore. I might alienate my best friend. Maybe I don’t feel like having a brick thrown through my window. My spouse might work for the Palin administration. Maybe I’d just rather people not know where I live or where I work. Or none of those things may be true. None of my readers, nor Mike Doogan had any idea what my personal circumstances might be. But that didn’t seem to matter.
What appears to matter to Rep. Doogan is that either 1) he feels that if he “outs” me, he’ll change what I have to say, or keep me from saying anything. 2) he gets to play mystery detective (like in his books) and believes people will think he’s really cool for figuring it out, or 3) he feels like getting revenge. He knows I want to remain anonymous, so he’s going to take it away. In any of those three scenarios, he didn’t think it was important to get the bigger picture.
And in any of those three scenarios we should probably find it disturbing that an elected official is using his time and mental energy in this way, against an ordinary citizen. I don’t need to remind Mudflats readers that Alaska is in a time of turmoil. We are facing unknown consequences with an erupting volcano that threatens to wipe out a tank farm on Cook Inlet holding 6 million gallons of oil. We have critical issues in the legislature, including Alaska’s acceptance or rejection of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal stimulus money for education and other critical purposes. We have a governor who has just chosen an incredibly divisive and extreme right wing idealogue as our new Attorney General. And there are only three weeks left in the legislative session. It bothers me quite a bit that instead of focusing all his energy on doing his job, one of our elected representatives would rather spend his time stalking and harrassing a political blogger.
And Rep. Doogan is not the only one who has fallen prey to this preoccupation. Our governor, too, seems to be more interested in bloggers than seems healthy. Just a thought, but perhaps if our politicians were doing their jobs better, there would be no need for political bloggers, and we could all write diaries about our dogs, or our kids, or knitting.
It turns out, that Rep. Doogan did make good on his threat to expose me in his legislative newsletter. It actually suprised me, because I thought that maybe he realized that blowing up a progressive political blogger wouldn’t earn him many brownie points with other Democrats. But nevertheless, here you go.
Anonymous Blogger Anonymous No More
The identity of the person who writes the liberal Democratic Mudflats blog has been secret since the blog began, protected by the Anchorage Daily News, among others. My own theory about the public process is you can say what you want, as long as you are willing to stand behind it using your real name. So I was interested to learn that the woman who writes the blog is Anchorage resident Jeanne Devon.
Best wishes,
Mike
Apparently for Rep. Doogan, the rules of the game are whatever his “theory of public process” say they should be. How does everyone feel about that? And as a former journalist, why is Rep. Doogan criticizing the Anchorage Daily News for protecting my identity?
And here’s another irony. Rep. Doogan thinks he has exposed me, but in reality he has done nothing but expose himself.
March 29th, 2009 at 11:36 AM
i hope you don’t feel that you need to quit because you have been “outed.” You do a great job and are an interesting read. I check you on a regular basis. Good luck.
March 29th, 2009 at 11:58 AM
I don’t know you, and know nothing of your circumstances.
I wish you the best, and encourage you to run for his office. Think of the cold dish to be served when he realizes how he lost many times over.
I do wish you and your family the best.
March 29th, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Well, I am one of Mike’s “Constituents” and have been shocked and sickened in reading the various e-mail interplays with other constituents. Doogan is not only self-righteous, but rude and belittling, and not at all what I consider MY representative. Maybe the next time I am walking my dog, and I happen to pass MIke’s hose which is right around the block I can let him know what I think. You can bet he won’t have my vote next time.
March 29th, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Doogan “outed” you in order to shut you up. If you now shut up, he wins. It’s as simple as that.
If anyone can be shut down simply by a target of their criticism revealing their name, then everyone will be.
Duncan Black is still Atrios even though we know his name. Digby is still Digby even though she made a public appearance (and we now know she’s a she).
Just go back to work and, when recognized, take a bow. You do great work. You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
It’s not nearly as big a deal as you’re making it out to be.
March 29th, 2009 at 1:56 PM
I like that you know how to put my thoughts into word so elequently. How do you do that?!? Please keep at it. Doogan just cut off his nose to spite his face. His career is over, yours has just begun.
March 29th, 2009 at 2:09 PM
[...] Palina? Another blogger who was jealous of how popular AKM had become? No. Mike Doogan is a DEMOCRATIC representative in Alaska who got upset because AKM took him to task over his disgusting behavior towards emailers [...]
March 29th, 2009 at 2:48 PM
I do hope you will continue your excellent work in blogging AK news. My daughter and her family live in Anchorage, and she first recommended I read one of your posts last year…and I was hooked!
March 29th, 2009 at 2:54 PM
I think you need to relax, refresh and then get back to work. And do, do consider running for his office the next time around. Doogan is obviously too busy serving himself rather than serving the public interest.
March 29th, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Maintain this blog, and start a new clandestine one. In the spirit of Ben Franklin.
March 29th, 2009 at 4:06 PM
Please don’t stop writing. I have been both entertained and informed through your writing. I too lived in Alaska for 3 years in the 1970s and the pictures and your writing has brought back so many memories of the craziness of that time and place.
Best wishes for you and your family. Don’t let this two-bit bully drag what you are doing or you as a writer down. Your neighbor to the south…WA state resident…and avid reader.
March 29th, 2009 at 4:28 PM
[...] An Alaska state representative exposes a pseudonymous blogger. [...]
March 29th, 2009 at 6:36 PM
To our Mudflats -anonymous- blogger: I hope you continue to write. You’re an interesting read, a good writer & a sensible observer. Doogan has seemed much more hostile & short sighted than I had expected him to be based on his Daily News columns. Part of the problem of his acrimonious point of view is the problem of those who will support a candidate based on different sorts of blind allegiances – they expect snark rather than results. I guess I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who’s had these opinions of Doogan. Hang in there, Mudflats. You always make good sense & are widely read.
March 29th, 2009 at 6:43 PM
Take a look at Section 1.5 of the Alaska state constitution: “Section 1.5 – Freedom of Speech.
Every person may freely speak, write, and publish on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right.”
And courtesy of the Alaska state legislature ethics code: (yes, they do have one!)
“Sec. 24.60.035. Protection of whistle blowers.
A legislator or legislative employee may not, directly or indirectly, subject a person who reports
to the committee or another government entity conduct the person reasonably believes is a
violation of this chapter or another state law, to reprisal, harassment, or discrimination. A
legislative employee who is discharged, disciplined, involuntarily transferred, or otherwise
penalized by a legislator or another legislative employee in violation of this subsection may
(1) bring a complaint before the committee; and
(2) bring a separate civil action in the courts seeking damages, payment of back wages,
reinstatement, or other relief. (§ 4 ch 127 SLA 1992)”
March 29th, 2009 at 6:50 PM
I’m not sure what you’re decision will be, or if there are reasons for you to come to a particular decision, but I will just point out, that if you quit, he wins.
I’m not a prolific blogger these days, mainly because of lack of time and interest. I was more prolific a few years ago, and had a former state legislator (Republican) try to out me.
Didn’t work. I outed myself. Truth is, I hadn’t really tried to be anonymous (a whois search on the domain would have revealed my name, and I was even listed on a particular blog aggregator using my real name. I was merely using a pseudonym for the same reason others use pen names. He wanted to try to intimidate me. He wanted me to quit criticizing him.
That’s what this loser Doogan wants you to do. Are you going to let him?
March 29th, 2009 at 6:50 PM
I’m not American.
I don’t live in America.
I follow American politics only to the extent that it affects the rest of the world, which, unfortunately in the case of recent years, is a lot.
And even *I’m* MAD AS HELL at what this Mike Doogan has done. If you decide to sue, I would happily contribute to your legal fund.
The decision whether you continue to post is, of course, your own. I hope you stay safe and I hope Doogan never gets elected to any public office again as it’s clear he hasn’t got a single grain of Public Servant in him.
March 29th, 2009 at 7:35 PM
AKM:
I get back from Phoenix, and look at what happens!
I am saddened- not shocked, as you and others have shared Doogan’s behavior before- at what he has done to you and your family, all in order to end your observations about Alaska and Alaskan politics. Please take care of yourself, and come back soon. I would miss you terribly…
March 29th, 2009 at 7:48 PM
I hadn’t heard of your blog until now. I am offended that Mike Doogan would do this to you. I would assume your readership is up, so kudos to you. And I hope Doogan feels the wrath of voters the next time he’s up for re-election. That was a dirtbag thing for him to do.
March 29th, 2009 at 10:21 PM
[...] The Alaskan blog Mudflats played an invaluable role during the presidential election, especially for non-Alaskans trying to get a better perspective on the state and its governor, Sarah Palin. Now, Alaska state representative Mike Doogan has revealed the identity of Mudflats blogger AKMuckraker out of what seems to be little more than a personal vendetta. You can read AKMuckraker’s account here. [...]
March 29th, 2009 at 10:22 PM
PLease keep it going.
You are doing a great service for the people in the lower 48!
It hard to get this type of info in Texas
March 29th, 2009 at 10:24 PM
“You can say what you want, as long as you are willing to stand behind it using your real name. ”
Doogan’s rule: if you don’t use your real name you can’t say what you want.
Great to see such a fine understanding of the principles of free speech at work.
AKM, I just donated $50 to encourage you in your important work.
Doogan, I plan to send twice that much to whoever opposes you in the primaries, you scumbag.
March 29th, 2009 at 10:56 PM
Hi-
I have been a life-long political problem. I was a Reagon supporter, who gave my first ever political money to Obama. My only request is, please don’t let this asshole win, which I think you’ve made clear is not going to happen. I hope that those who believe in a God pray to him (sorry, I don’t, and don’t wish for lightning and thunder if I’m wrong) that you continue to publish.
I don’t care which side of a debate you are on, you should have the ability to state your opinion, no matter your view, anonymously (if I spelled that wrong, sue me).
Good for you for speaking out. Make your voice heard. PLEASE do not let anyone shout you down by speaking your name. If any of your possible reasons cited are your motivation, I’d suggest action be taken to punish anyone liable for placing you or your family in danger.
March 29th, 2009 at 11:50 PM
I’m shocked that any elected official believes they have the right (nevermind the obligation) to reveal the identity of any blog writer. Surely addressing the issues you mentioned would be a much better use of his time and resources. I have to wonder though, exactly how much public money was spent in finding out your identity?
Being “outed” isn’t so bad by the way. So your name has been put out there as some childish revenge trick, so what? You’re still the same person with the same valid opinions and the same right to voice them. If your opinions are enough to get even a couple of people (plus several hundred sheep from each side) thinking about things they haven’t before then you owe it to yourself to keep writing.
I hope this ugly episode doesn’t put you off.
March 30th, 2009 at 1:04 AM
[...] http://www.themudflats.net/2009/03/2…poses-himself/ [...]
March 30th, 2009 at 2:15 AM
PLEASE keep writing and commenting. I don’t know how Doogan thinks he’s going to score points with anyone for this, since its obvious that he is trying to intimidate you into silence and infringe upon your right to free speech, which is reprehensible for any politician – regardless of party. This serves as a great example as to why America needs to break away from looking at things as left and right, Republican and Democrat, liberal or conservative, and observe things with “political atheism”, since there are rights given equally to every American that need to be defended by Americans, and not those towing the party line. I’m sure that Mrs Silence Dogood would agree.
March 30th, 2009 at 2:24 AM
I’m not the type to read your blog… I’m one of those conservative types
. But being outed for any reason is a waste of time and a petty, childish revenge. elected officials should not be going after private citizens.
Good luck, and I hope you are able to continue your blog. Good luck, and I hope that Doogan loses the next election as he deserves.
March 30th, 2009 at 3:17 AM
Those who cannot deal with the message attack the messenger.
It’s the hallmark of a coward and a bully, who invariably turn out to be both.
Doogan has outed himself, not you.
He is a petty little man and will receive as a result of this just what he has earned.
Rock on, sister!
March 30th, 2009 at 3:18 AM
[...] you’ve managed to get yourself some bad press by exposing the identity of a woman who wrote some marginally “mean” things about you… And the worst part is that she used your own words to do it! I mean, what could be worse [...]
March 30th, 2009 at 4:23 AM
[...] surprise when one of her “enemies,” Alaskan state rep Mike Doogan (D), took it upon himself to expose her identity. It’s the responsible thing to do, he [...]
March 30th, 2009 at 5:40 AM
What an a**wipe he is…HEY DOOGAN…why not do the job you were elected to do and stop worrying about what one blogger thinks…
March 30th, 2009 at 5:58 AM
[...] familiar? This might seem like a bit of a stretch here, but I get a similar sense in tone from Jeanne’s letter and this op-ed piece in the New York Times last [...]
March 30th, 2009 at 6:14 AM
I agree with the many people here who note that if you should decide to stop blogging because of Doogan’s petty retribution, he wins and you (unwillingly) legitimize his tactics.
I can imagine how threatening it must feel to have a powerful person, an authority figure in our society, come after you personally and decide that your voice must be silenced. But don’t let him. As you have written, this incident does more to expose him than it does you. Your legal identity has been revealed; his character and weaknesses have also been. Your name is a documented fact — his glass jaw is something that he has probably been trying to camouflage his entire life. And really? Was your blog all that it took to expose him? Good thing the public has a chance to realize what a petty tyrant he is before he’s ever given any real power.
I am one of the many people who came to read your blog after McCain chose Palin as his running mate. It was good to find a well-written and knowledgeable source for information not only about Palin, but also about the other, uh… colorful characters in Alaska politics.
Your blogging, as well as this ugly incident with Mike Doogan is a public service, one that I hope you will continue to provide.
March 30th, 2009 at 6:27 AM
[...] a Blogger: Is it Legal to Reveal a Blogger?” I’ve covered some of the issues around the outing of an Alaskan blogger by a local politician and the legality of such [...]
March 30th, 2009 at 6:35 AM
Write your congress rep!
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
A letter to my representative:
To The Honorable Eddie Bernice Johnson:
I want to begin by thanking you for your service to our district. Knowing that you are my representative gives me great pride and encourages me to keep working within Dallas to make progressive dreams into reality.
To this end, I feel a need to bring a disturbing chain of events to your attention. As a blogger and member of the online community, I know all too well the need to keep my identity hidden in certain forums. We all have jobs and families that could be hurt or jeopardized if we’re not careful with the way we present ourselves. I’ve been very lucky that my interactions online haven’t caused me any personal troubles. But, I have friends who haven’t been so lucky. Some have been harrassed on their blogs and at their homes by unscrupulous people who published the names of their critics and called for outrage, rather than address the actual issues raised on the blogs.
I am not personally acquainted with the writer of the Mudflats blog, but it is my opinion that the actions of your fellow Democrat, and her representative, Mike Doogan, are petty at best, and reprehensible and dangerous at worse. As the blogger points out, Mr. Doogan has no way to know why she chose to stay anonymous on her blog. She may have an ex-lover/husband who is dangerous, or she may work for a company that doesn’t approve of political blogging. But these issues weren’t important enough for Doogan to consider. When she criticized him on her blog, he took it upon himself to find out who she was and publish that information in a newsletter to his entire district.
These are not the actions of a responsible, caring person who should be making important decisions that could directly affect me or any other American.
I ask you to call for his public apology and resignation. If a resignation is not possible, I would ask for the House to publicly reprimand him and strip him of any chairs or positions of honor that he holds. It needs to be made very clear that this betrayal of trust is not acceptable and will not be tolerated in our elected representatives.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I truly appreciate your work and hope to continue watching your accomplishments for years to come.
Bethany P. Keeler
Dallas, TX
March 30th, 2009 at 6:52 AM
I don’t follow Alaska politics (Texan) and never heard of your blog before today; followed the link from Shakesville. And now, thanks to Mike Doogan’s shenanigans, whereas before he would have been just another Democrat, now I know he’s a douche. Good job, Mike! Hope you didn’t have any aspirations to national office, because if you do, I will be sure and link to this little tidbit about you wherever I can! And encourage people to vote/advocate for your opponent, who hopefully is less douche-y.
And yes; please keep blogging. Or maybe take up those book offers…!
March 30th, 2009 at 8:20 AM
– And here’s another irony. Rep. Doogan thinks he has exposed me, but in reality he has done nothing but expose himself. —
Pretty much.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:38 AM
I wonder if Doogan used State resources and time in locating your name? Sounds like a misappropriation of the public’s money. Could be time for a recall vote, or whatever the equivalent procedure in Alaska is to remove him from office. Apparently he has nothing better to do than play on the Internet, so I hope Alaskans give him the time to do so on his own dime.
As someone who takes pains to keep some modicum of privacy on the internet (it wouldn’t be difficult to track me, but I won’t make it easy
), I can relate to wanting to keep online and offline lives separated. Good luck to you, and may Doogan get his just desserts.
March 30th, 2009 at 9:51 AM
I’m very sorry this is happening to you. Do you not have any legal recourse? If this can hurt your business, shouldn’t he be held responsible for that?
It sounds like it’s time for someone to run against him and get him out of there. I’ll be glad to donate to the campaign of any Progressive fit to challenge him.
Doogan is a loser.
March 30th, 2009 at 10:17 AM
AKM,
To be honest, I was not even aware of your blog until I stumbled across the headline of this story today. I live in California, and apart from Palin’s 15 minutes of national fame (or “infamy” depending on how you look at it), Alaskan politics really isn’t a major concern in my daily life.
But upon reading this story, all I can say is that I (like many of the posters here) am totally and completely shocked at this obessesive and maniacal “witch hunt” put forth by Mr Doogan. I will gladly contribute funds to your blog, if it is any encouragement for you to continue your work. And although there likely isn’t much I can do to oppose Doogan’s tyrannical behavior (being a CA voter), we have just recently booked a family vacation to Alaska this coming June, which includes some time in Anchorage. As we sit down to plan out our itinerary for each day, I’m going to make it a point to include some time to visit some public government offices and make clear that the intolerance for Doogan’s reprehensible behavior is felt even all the way down in CA.
Best,
CA supporter
P.S. I would have to agree with many of the posters here, that if you have even an ounce of inkling to try your hand at public office, the irony of you taking Doogan’s position away from him in the next election would be a grave reminder to any other Doogan’s/McCarthy’s of the world that their bully and scare tactics are not acceptable in our democratic society.
March 30th, 2009 at 1:12 PM
I’ve been reading you for a little while now even though I’m a New Yorker, via my friend over at Own the Sidewalk. And I just want to add my voice to the clamor of so many previous comments here — please don’t stop blogging! You’ve got a wonderful voice, witty and homey and warm, and it would be a true shame to let this guy shut you up.
March 30th, 2009 at 3:16 PM
I don’t read Mudflats regularly, but I just added to my Google Reader. This is an outrageous violation of your privacy. Maybe you should run for Doogan’s seat next time he’s up for re-election.
I’m also going to write to my CA reps about this. Scout Finch at Daily Kos has a great open letter to Doogan up on the site.
March 30th, 2009 at 3:55 PM
[...] decided it’s best you hear it from me, rather than from some legislator I offend, as happened to AKMuckraker: The day that Sarah Palin got nominated to be John McCain’s Vice President, life changed. My [...]
March 30th, 2009 at 4:35 PM
I’m not from Alaska. I’ve never had to put up with Mike Doogan personally – all I know is what I read about him on your blog. And now I’m mad as hell. How dare he? This just shows what a petty little man he really is. Kudos to you for continuing to post even after this. Please keep doing this – if you give up, he wins. And if you were to decide to sue, my family and I would support you in any way we could.