~And they would’ve got away with it too… if it weren’t for that pesky Constitution! The question is “school choice.” That’s what they call it, anyway. Anchorage is fortunate in that there is already a great network of 27 charter schools available for those who want a public school alternative. And America is fortunate that [...]

By Wickersham’s Conscience The Costa Concordia still lies on her side off the Tuscan coast, with 16 confirmed dead and many still missing. Alaskans know, to their sorrow, that not all ship’s captains are scrupulously careful, not all crew members fully qualified, and not all accidents truly accidents. A Dutch salvage company is struggling to [...]

By Carl Johnson While preparing to head off alone into the bowels of the Death Star to disable the tractor beam holding theMillenium Falcon captive, Obi Wan Kenobi rhetorically asked of Han Solo, “Who is more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him?”  I think of such questions sometimes when my legislators act foolishly. [...]

~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more… Adorable on Steroids Be warned. Do not play this video unless you are able to handle a serious overdose of cuteness. This is a polar bear cub from the Scandanavian Wildlife Park. His mother was unable to nurse him, so little Siku [...]

by Greg Palast The GOP is pushing a pipeline that could blow you to pieces Palast conducted a five-continent investigation of Big Oil for British TV’s premier current affairs program, Dispatches, and for BBC Worldwide. This report is based on the broadcast seen prime-time worldwide—but not yet in the USA. Whistleblowers have told Britain’s “Dispatches” [...]

    By Tele Aadsen This photo was taken in Sitka, but could be almost anywhere in Southeast Alaska. The Tongass National Forest blankets most of our region, a crazy quilt of western red cedar, Sitka spruce, and western hemlock that covers almost 17 million acres. Not only is the Tongass the largest national forest [...]

By Wickersham’s Conscience WC’s readers will recall that back in June 2011, WC was critical – well, vitriolic, really – of Governor Parnell’s decision to litigate the endangered species classification of the Cook Inlet Beluga Whales. Because Parnell’s other bad decisions had removed Alaskan officials from the group that develops the recovery plan, Alaska had no [...]

As Thanksgiving approaches, let’s all give a big helping of thanks (and an even bigger ladle of sarcasm gravy) to Sean Parnell for yet again wasting our money. Thanks, governor. Cook Inlet has a problem. It used to have a large, healthy population of beluga whales. The population of about 1,300 animals was large enough, [...]

Apparently someone put something in Don Young’s oatmeal this week. OK, yes… he’s got something in his oatmeal every week, but this week he got an extra helping. Or perhaps he jus needs a bran muffin instead. Or perhaps the propeller beanie he wore to the Resources hearing a few days ago was a liiiitle [...]

“Destroying a wild salmon stream to sell coal to China is about the worst idea in Alaska’s proud history of salmon protection.  We’ve always promoted responsible mines.  But this one is irresponsible,” said Representative Les Gara, of state plans allowing dredging of eleven miles of the Chuitna River’s tributaries to keep moving forward. We couldn’t agree more. [...]

Here is the next installment of Greg Palast’s new book Vulture’s Picnic. He has allowed The Mudflats to bring you Chapter 7 – My Home is Now a Strange Place in its entirety. This is an exclusive excerpt, just for Mudflatters. I find it absolutely riveting. If you need to catch up, here are links [...]

There are some times when you tune in to right wing radio in this town, and the jaw-dropping willful ignorance is so overwhelming, so stupefying, so abhorrent, that no commentary is necessary. There are times when all you have to do is print a little bit of transcript, and let them out themselves for who [...]

This from Diane McEachern who posed for the original “Occupy the Tundra” photo. ******************************************** Yup’ik Elder Esther Green and I went out on the river at her request. She instructed me to post this photo of her “Occupying the River.” She also would like to include the sloughs, streams, brooks, and ocean. She wanted to [...]

~An Exxon Valdez oil-filled footprint on a beach in Prince William Sound, known as “The Death Marsh” and “Diesel Beach.” Taken July 4, 2010 – twenty-one years after the spill. (photo by Jeanne Devon) By Prof.  Rick Steiner In what could be the final court showdown regarding environmental damage from the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil [...]

By Shannyn Moore A friend of mine has a “driving teenager.” I know my time is coming, so I’ve watched their interaction closely. “Be home by 11. Wear your seat belt. Call or text me to check in at 10. You can’t give rides to anyone. Don’t bring the car back on empty. Don’t drink [...]