Join me and author Amanda Coyne of Alaska Dispatch today at firedoglake.com for a book salon featuring the new release Crude Awakening – Money, Mavericks and Mayhem in Alaska by Coyne and co-author Tony Hopfinger. Details below. Hope to see you there! [Cross-posted from Alaska Dispatch] Jeanne Devon, AKA AK Muckraker, who runs the popular [...]

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 [...]

Many of you know Diane McEachern as the “Occupy the Tundra Lady.” She’s the one who posted a picture of herself attending a solo vigil (plus a few dogs) out near Bethel in rural Western Alaska. The picture rapidly went viral, and Diane has used her 15 minutes of fame to draw attention to an [...]

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, [...]

  Alaskans are busting their buttons this week. I couldn’t let these wonderful accomplishments pass without a little hat tip to the folks that made their fellow Alaskans proud as peacocks. Brian Schmidt An Australian-based astrophysicist, Brian Schmidt, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics is a product of the Anchorage School District, having graduated [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Saving Alaska from pirates – it’s the sort of thing I’ll bet those adventuresome souls who join the Coast Guard dream about when they sign on the dotted line. If I’m right, then it was a good day for the crew of the Coast Guard vessel Munro, based out of Kodiak. They seized a pirate [...]

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 [...]

If you’re in Alaska tonight, look up! Aurora Alert! If you’re unlucky enough to be under cloud cover, or somewhere you don’t get to appreciate our beautiful northern lights, you can enjoy this amazing video of what they look like from the space station. Incredible! And in case you thought we were the only planet [...]

On September 17, hundreds of protestors descended on lower Manhattan to publicly denounce the nation’s current financial system. The demonstration’s organizers plan to continue occupying the area around Wall Street for weeks or even months—however long it takes to change a system they say benefits the rich and powerful at the expense of middle-class and [...]

I don’t think there’s a progressive woman out there who hasn’t at one time found it more than a little frustrating that the women in politics who seem to get all the press, and who seem to represent the gender in general are… how shall I put this kindly … nuts. Not to name names, [...]

You don’t hear THAT every day. But today, we did. It seems that the exclusion of same-sex couples from the property tax exemption that benefits seniors and disabled veterans violates that amazing document known as the Alaska Constitution. Glory be. The ACLU was on the case and challenged the exclusion of same sex families on [...]

Thursdays in the Mud is back after a little summer hiatus! I’ll be back in the studio with Shannyn Moore talking about all your favorite miscreants, ne’er-do-wells, and the news of the day. You can tune in to KOAN 1020am and 95.5fm in Anchorage, KXLJ 1330am in Juneau, or stream it live on the internets [...]

If there’s one thing that all Alaskans are presented with on a daily basis, it’s this – the photo op. Whether it’s sweeping mountain vistas on the way to work, spectacular wildflowers, berries on the bush, a moose in the yard, or a fish on the hook, the beauty of The Great Land is impossible [...]