Here are two interesting and very different word clouds. The first is from President Obama’s state of the union address. The second is from the official Republican response delivered by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. The more often a word is repeated in the speech, the larger the word will appear in the cloud. h/t The [...]

There’s no doubt about it. Alaska is blessed. Just ask Governor Sean Parnell. These are golden oily days indeed. In his state of the state address last week, he told us that financially, we’re doing just fine, thankyouverymuch But what if…  What if some day we aren’t? We should really start cutting the budget just [...]

by Linda Kellen Biegel Last week, I listened-in on an Alaska Public Offices Commission hearing regarding an old friend of ours here at Mudflats, Mr. Bob Griffin. You remember Bob: – In April 2011, he ran on his status as a veteran and a pilot in order to win a seat the Anchorage School Board [...]

By Shannyn Moore The war on science is winning. And I’m not talking about those who confuse weather and climate. Nope. I’m frustrated with the continual election of candidates with a faith-based bias when it comes to policy that should rely on science. In a letter this week, Ed Fogels, deputy commissioner of the Alaska [...]

This was one of those sunsets where each minute you thought to yourself that this must be the absolute peak of color and light. And then another minute would go by and it would get better. Ultimately, though, I went with the shot from the last bit of dying light. It looks as quiet and [...]

In my last post, I talked a bit about Andrew’s birth and foster families. My relationship with them is complicated at best. I’ve been told that the little boy in the picture is Andrew’s older brother, Baracka or Barack (his foster mother calls him Barack, his father calls him Baracka). While it’s certainly crossed my [...]

While most can no longer stomach the cringe-inducing, stomach-churning, never-ending bouts of ethically challenged mud wrestling that are the Republican debates, apparently to others they do make a difference. CBS News notes: Nearly two out of three South Carolina Republican primary voters say the recent Republican presidential debates played an important factor in their decision, [...]

From my Fairbanks friend, the talented and incomparable Jamie Smith. Check out his work at Ink & Snow.

By Elstun Lauesen One of the terms we often hear lately is “agenda.” This politician has an “agenda” or that group has an “agenda.” Mostly we mere mortals are left to speculate what an “agenda” might be among the players in the rarified climes of politics. Thanks to the just concluded trial over the lines [...]

A Move to Amend rally on Anchorage’s Federal Court House steps on the second anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling “Citizens United” will be one of many rallies all over the country on (hopefully) all 100 federal court steps in the nation. The ANCHORAGE CHAPTER OF movetoamend.org will host a rally on “Legalizing Democracy and [...]

Was Sarah Palin’s proclamation, “If I were in South Carolina, I’d vote for Newt” really an endorsement, or just her attempt to keep the wounded elephant that is the current presidential GOP lineup limping forward as far as possible before it collapses under the weight of its own unelectability? Correspondence from Palin seems to indicate [...]

Thanks to all who contacted their legislators regarding SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) yesterday. Google didn’t go dark, but included a link to take action against these two bills and got over 4 million people to make their feelings known. That’s some pretty impressive online activism. Wikipedia, Reddit, and a [...]

More than a million signatures (that’s 3,000 pounds worth) were gathered and delivered today to ensure that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker would face a recall election later in the year. That’s what happens when you push policies that effectively eliminate most collective bargaining rights for many public employees. Just to play it safe organizers overshot [...]

by Linda Kellen Biegel When “One Anchorage” was preparing to file their now-successful petition with the city to place their initiative on the April 3rd ballot, most supporters and those experienced with similar campaigns agreed that it would be very difficult to provide a rational argument against the initiative itself. As it states on the [...]

According to the Anchorage Daily News: Dozens of dogs, cats and parakeets seized by authorities in two unrelated animal cruelty cases over the weekend have packed the Anchorage animal shelter and prompted a plea for donations of food, blankets and kitty litter. One case involves 22 cats, the other 39 dogs and more than 40 [...]