~Filmmaker Dennis Zaki & the Mudflats Moose at the top of the world – Barrow, Alaska. next to the famous whale bone arch. Mudflatters may remember our friend and filmmaker Dennis Zaki.  We, and other progressive Alaskan blogs raised money to help send Dennis to the Yukon River village of Emmonak. Dennis flew to Emmonak [...]

I was pleased and privleged to attend “The Gathering of Veterans” on Saturday out in Palmer.  As I discussed in a previous post, this event is put on by Veterans Aviation Outreach, an organization started by my friend Mo Bailey to help veterans living in rural and far-flung areas have access to their federal benefits.  [...]

For those of you keeping up with the ‘fish story’ coming out of Emmonak, check out Kyle Hopkins’ Village blog.   Here is my ‘reduced’ version of how I imagine the scene in the governor’s spokeswoman’s office.  But do read the whole thing HERE. Read as a monologue, with Kyle Hopkins providing the voice on the [...]

Gee whiz!  Think the governor has “issues” with a certain Dennis Zaki traveling to Emmonak? Remember, there was a big dust-up when Dennis filmed Palin’s introduction to speaker Michael Reagan when he was in town.  Radio talk show host Eddie Burke and others questioned his credentials.  Well, question no more.  In the rapid-fire series of [...]

Dennis was finally able to catch a flight today, and has landed in Emmonak. He sent a batch of wonderful pictures for us to enjoy. He promises to send more and keep us updated on the trip. So everyone wave at your monitor to all those in Emmonak who may be watching! (We all wave [...]

By the time the National Weather Service called off its flood warning for Emmonak and other Lower Yukon River villages Tuesday, breakup flooding had soaked a total of roughly 40 communities along more than 3,000 miles of rivers, according to the state. Gov. Sarah Palin sent a letter to President Obama Monday asking the him [...]

I’ve been posting pretty regularly giving updates on the crisis in rural Alaska. The mismanagement of fisheries in Western Alaska has led to salmon runs that are unable to sustain the people who have relied on them for thousands of years as a staple subsistence food, and more recently as a source of income. This, coupled with [...]

Here are two more clips of Dennis Zaki’s video footage that ran on CNN, CNN International, and Headline News today!  Commentary discussed the food/fuel crisis in rural Alaska.  This project has really gotten its wings.  Sources “inside” are saying that this project is putting the pressure where it needs to go. We are holding feet [...]

No, the governor has never released one of her infamous press releases about the crisis in Emmonak and other rural villages, and she has not actually gone to visit any of the places where residents have to choose between food and heat.  No, she has not utilized her worldwide celebrity in the cause of …oh, I don’t [...]

  I went shopping the other day.  I zipped into Carrs on the way home from work, picked up some salad stuff, a couple loaves of bread, a box of Wheat Thins, and a few sweet potatos.  The gas station was across the way, and I filled up at $2.33/gallon.  Then I headed back to the [...]

Charlie Gibson summed it up best when he described Sarah Palin’s utterances as “a blizzard of words.”  So it was with steely resolve and advanced preparation that I donned my metaphorical snow gear, including bunny boots, and sat down to listen to the State of the State address last night.  Then I read the transcript.  [...]

Just got word from Dennis Zaki, that some of his footage was used on the 6:00 news on KTUU, and that on tonight’s newscast at 10pm, there will be footage of the tribal chairman saying thank you to the people who have helped.  There will also be some footage of food donations being offloaded from [...]

Dennis Zaki is busy in Bethel today with a full schedule.  Tomorrow he’s off to St. Mary’s and then Emmonak to continue documenting the situation there. Thanks to all the Mudflatters out there with ears to the ground who have taken the time to keep me posted on the situation in the villages from different [...]

Just threw out an email to Dennis Zaki of The Alaska Report, hoping he wasn’t still in Anchorage waiting for the Bethel airport to open.  I just got a response back.  Dennis is in Bethel, and just getting settled in!  He arrived right before they closed the airport again. He’s got a couple interviews lined [...]

We’ve all been listening to Sarah Palin for the last couple days saying things like “Both the lieutenant governor and I have offered to fly out there and see what we can do personally.”  And then we hear Nick Turner, the local resident whose letter and cry for help, resulted in the current media firestorm about [...]