Mayor Misrepresents Student Performance
I look forward each week to Sunday’s Alaska Ear column in the Anchorage Daily News, as penned by formerly-anonymous reporter Sheila Toomey. For many years I considered it purely entertainment, until I got involved with the fetid swamp known as Alaska politics. It was then that I discovered the accuracy of The Omnicient Oriface’s information. So it was with great interest that I read this tidbit from Sunday’s column: “. . A couple of weeks ago earwigs reported our new school superintendent, Jim Browder, walked out in protest while Mayor Sullivan made a presentation at some big public meeting. The…
EXCLUSIVE: FBI Militia Informant Tells All
Bill Fulton, undercover FBI informant in the “Alaska Militia Trial,” gave a lengthy interview to The Mudflats about his role in the case, and his controversial life in Anchorage before it was revealed. In this article, he shares his candid opinion about local Anchorage media, national progressive media, Joe Miller, and what they got wrong. Yours truly didn’t even escape entirely unscathed. Bill Fulton came to Alaska, the biggest small town in the world, and became instantly “known.” He owned a shop in Anchorage that was utterly unforgettable. A military supply store, which doubled as offices for a security company,…
The New ADN Paywall
The publisher of the Anchorage Daily News has announced the paper will begin charging readers 80 bucks a year to access its website. In one respect, I’m quite sympathetic to the paper’s move. I support paying reporters, editors, photographers and others who allow a news organization to exist. Few of the folks who are howling, and who feel entitled to the work of others for free, go to their own jobs without compensation. I believe an informed citizenry is crucial to a functioning democracy, and we had better ensure journalists continue to cover things like school board meetings, legislative hearings,…
‘Recess’ won’t set GOP-led House back
by Shannyn Moore ADN comment I remember sitting inside during recess in fourth grade. Mrs. Henwood, my favorite teacher ever, was tough as nails. Her sparkly glasses and no-nonsense teaching made me adore and fear her at the same time. My times-tables were giving me fits. “You don’t come to school for recess, Shannyn, you’re here to get your work done.” I learned more than my times-tables from her. Buckle down, get it done, then you play. When I’d passed all my timed tests she gave me a bag of jelly beans. I don’t like jelly beans, but it was…
Ethics Complaints and the Power of Precognition
The Daily News in an op-ed piece yesterday said something interesting. Alaska citizens have a right to file ethics complaints against their elected representatives. State law guarantees it. But when Alaskans use the ethics law to score political points, they abuse that right — and may put it at risk. Score political points? Abuse their rights as citizens? Wow. That’s a fairly strong accusation. And it makes the assumption, of course, that the complaints are frivolous, and without merit. It sounds like something we ought to know. But how do we determine if the complaints are indeed frivolous? Well, we could…