Happy Move Your Money Day! Today, November 5, is the day when thousands have pledged to move their money out of the “too big to fail” banks that got us in the mess we’re in, and invest instead in local community banks and credit unions. And if you miss today, any day will do. Check [...]

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 [...]

The Occupy movement has reached Alaska! Occupy Fairbanks photos from Mudflatter “Fairbanksan,” and front page coverage from the Fairbanks Daily News Miner HERE. Armed with megaphones, signs and the power of free speech, Occupy Fairbanks protesters occupied downtown for much of Saturday. The group of more than a hundred people marched from place to place, [...]

Friday afternoon, the offices of the AFL-CIO in Anchorage were hopping. Look at the sinister faces of all those “union thugs.” That’s one thing I’ve never understood. How can any Alaskan, in a state with the second-highest union density in the country, think of unions as “thuggery.” Union men and women are your neighbors, your [...]

  The Constitution. We’ve seen it wrapped around buses, misspelled on Tea Party signs, hailed and praised by the “back to basics” Republicans who tell us that if we just went back to the wisdom of the founding fathers, life would be good again. It’s been waved like the flag, held up like holy writ, [...]

Remember when Governor Sean “Who Needs the Feds” Parnell, and a bunch of Republican “Who Needs the Feds” legislators decided to push to abolish Alaska’s Coastal Zone Management program? When the bill to extend the program failed in the State House, Alaskans effectively gave away their local voices, and turned control of our coastal issues [...]

~Photo by Zach Roberts By Shannyn Moore I remember wondering what gold tastes like. As a child sitting in Mrs. Harris’ Sunday school class, I listened raptly to her recount the biblical tale of Moses coming down from Mount Sinai armed with the Ten Commandments. He’d spent the last 40 days and nights meeting with [...]

This afternoon in Anchorage, several hundred people gathered in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protesters. A crowd this size was a fantastic turnout for an event that was promoted largely on Facebook and by word of mouth. The weather cooperated beautifully. It was a gorgeous sunny autumn day in the 50s, and spirits were [...]

Howdy, Mudflatters! Ready for your dose of Vitamin Democracy? This is where you get to feel important and participatory, and do things that members of free societies get to do – bug your representatives. We don’t ask you to bug them often, or unless it’s really important. This is one of those times. See the [...]

~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more… A half-dozen slurpable stories for your consumption. All titles are links. Eat up!  Westboro Baptist Church to Picket Jobs Funeral Yes, apparently the most hateful, vicious, mean-spirited group of “religious” wingnuts, who made famous the “God Hates Fags” slogan, will be picketing [...]

~Photo by Zach Roberts The OccupyWallStreet movement, through consensus, has issued its first official statement. The process took two weeks. It may seem like a long time, but a fascinating article by Richard Kim of The Nation explains why this statement is a Herculean achievement, and it may not be for the reasons you think. [...]

By Shannyn Moore We take the 49th star on our nation’s flag for granted. That was a hard fight, and statehood wasn’t won on the first pass or even the second. The tipping point and fuel came in large part from the “We-don’t-like-being-bossed-around-by-outsiders” attitude of Alaskans. It’s a bit ironic when we look at ourselves [...]

Fairbanks! Mat-Su! This Tuesday, Vote Like You Mean It. You know how sometimes you stand there in the voting booth, squint your eyes, and vote for the lesser of the two evils. You’re half tempted to close your eyes, make a big circle in the air with your pencil, stab it down on the ballot [...]

I roll over lazily, stretch, yawn, and open one eye… I do a combined gasp/shriek, recoil a little, and bury my face in the pillow. Yes, my strange bedfellow is still here. I thought he left after the 2010 election, but apparently not. Given that you all know how I feel about former U.S. Senate [...]

~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more! Google for Pebble? It doesn’t seem possible that a company which has always been known for its progressive leanings, and whose slogan was “don’t be evil” could be supporting a project like The Pebble Mine. The first hint should have been the [...]