By Shannyn Moore Many of us sat through parent-teacher conferences this week, poring over the progress of our children. I remember the anxiety growing up. I fretted over what they would tell my parents. Was I living up to my potential? Would I end up in a padded room talking to myself someday? Oh, wait, [...]

It just wouldn’t be Halloween without something really scary. This year’s winner? Zombie Palin!   Hey, it may be the only way she ever finds any brains. And now a special Halloween treat for your internet basket. Back in October of 2008, Mudflatter Eddie Fireplace Palin delighted us all with his poem The Paven, inspired [...]

Are we really surprised that Alaska is overrepresented in anything having to do with bizarre politics? No, we are not. Inspired by the very strange Herman Cain ad, in which his campaign manager, as a finale, takes a nice deep drag off a half-smoked cigarette, followed by a cutaway to an extreme closeup of Herman [...]

By Erin Pohland Greetings from Kinshasa, the city where my baby eats everything he can! So, today it happened — the DHL plane left from Goma, Reverend Bashaka picked up the Swahili paperwork (with translations — certified and notarized! — in French AND English) and brought it to me. I took it to the Embassy. [...]

Well, I had good intentions. I was going to put up pictures of Jack O’Lanterns with the faces of each of the Republican candidates for President and make you pick which one was the scariest. But my little plan, as compelling as it was, fell short. Why? Because apparently, people who will carve pumpkins to [...]

Those darned uppity citizens. The Pebble Partnership already sued them once to keep an initiative off the local ballot. It didn’t work.  The Save Our Salmon initiative on the Lake & Peninsula Borough ballot was recently passed by local residents near Bristol Bay. It will give the Borough and its residents the right to decide [...]

By Wickersham’s Conscience This post started out as a semi-serious recounting of one of the two documented instances of a cougar – a mountain lion – in Alaska. It seems that back in 1989, an off-grid homesteader outside of Wrangell named Paul Matteoni claimed to have opened his door and have seen two green eyes. [...]

The fine folks over at The Mudflats Forum have now created a special place  to gather and post about your Occupy events and comment on others around the world.  You can join in and participate HERE. The Occupy Wall Street movement is gaining steam, and the unique sense of connection and solidarity between cities is [...]

  Neighbor Dan had a visit from Brian today, and it appears that he’s found a way to accessorize. We’ll never know exactly how it happened, but this yellow nylon rope seemed to make a great cat’s cradle on that beautiful set of antlers.  It doesn’t appear to be bothering him, and it won’t be [...]

Why occupy Wall Street? This one is a four minute, thirty second must-see that gives your four reasons. There is some interesting history from Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Alan Grayson and others that illustrates what’s gone so terribly wrong, and how we need to right the course. Extremely well done.

  From CNN Money: The choice between the current tax system and the Perry plan will be a no-brainer for the very rich, who would do much better under his system. And it will be easy for most low-income working-class families, especially if they have kids. They’d be far happier under a system that preserves [...]

Forgive me a second while I try to calm down. I… it’s…. I’m sorry. Just… just give me a second. (You kindly wait while I compose myself) You know how Governor Parnell tells us that we have to give $2 billion back to the oil companies every year? It’s not that he really wants to, [...]

At Occupy Oakland, a U.S. Navy sailor holds up a copy of the Constitution to the advancing Oakland PD, who are about to clear the park. [photo by Pancho Pescador]

Mudflats readers will remember coverage over the last year of the issue of the “Unsuitable Lands Petition” that Cook Inletkeeper and the Chuitna Citizens Coalition submitted to the state. Basically, what this petition did was to put forth the idea that certain areas are just plain unsuitable for coal strip mining – specifically the areas [...]

Senator Bill Wielechowski and Rep. Les Gara held a press conference yesterday talking about how corporations attempt to wield their power over the Alaska legislature through the use of the Alaska Business “Report Card.” Let’s listen to what this is all about from Rep. Les Gara. Now, think about corporations for a moment. I have [...]