A year ago today I began this blog - and so sorry to be cliche, but oh - what a year! I coudn't have dreamt up half of what happened this last year.
I learned a lot from this little experiment, and will continue it further. The last several weeks have been a flurry of activity for me personally, and I hope to be gone for a sizeable chunk of the summer. Some of my focus needs to go to exciting new things happening in my own life (okay, a whole heaping bunch of my focus.) But I do want to tweek the blog a bit, and really define what should go into it - and not neglect it so poorly as I have lately (though I might add, I've also neglected sleep and healthy stress levels as well.)
I got into this to get an Alaskan Native voice out there, a perspective on things both mundane and elevated. Some of my goal for this year is to get MORE. I would love for Alaska Native guest bloggers to post on here, and hope a whole lot more Alaska Native blogs will get notice, and begin.
Happy Birthday to me! And here's to another year...
Showing posts with label bloggers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bloggers. Show all posts
Friday, June 5, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Bloggers on the Bus!
Progressive Alaska mentioned this awhile back, but I've been so busy lately I forgot all about it until I read Mudflats just a few minutes ago. Lots of Alaskan progressive bloggers (including Alaska Real!) are mentioned in the book, "Bloggers on the Bus: How the Internet changed Politics and the Press." I haven't seen it yet, but Mudflats has, and posted earlier:
I was at work the other day when the mailman came in and handed me the usual
stack of bills and junk mail, with the addition of a big brown padded envelope. “What’s this?” I thought, raising an eyebrow. It’s been my experience that brown padded envelopes are usually a good thing. And this time proved to be no exception.
Inside was my very own copy of Bloggers on the Bus with a nice little press release including a description of the book:
In Bloggers on the Bus, Boehlert examines how, at critical junctures during the election, the bloggers, and not the Beltway media, set the agenda. By communicating directly with their audience and involving their readers, bloggers helped democratize the political process by chipping away at the mainstream media’s control over campaign narratives. They infuriated the Republicans along the way by forcing a televised Fox News debate to be cancelled, vetting Sarah Palin better than the GOP had, and using technology to outmaneuver John McCain whose party, still in love with AM talk radio, seemed oblivious to the political revolution unfolding online. Boehlert also reveals the untold stories of the internet activists who have amassed so much power in such a short period of time with so little money or resources behind them.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Another Alaskan village in trouble - follow-up
Today, I was very proud of so many Alaskans, Americans - and Alaskan bloggers. Especially those "anonymous" kind.
Pardon me for quoting a favorite show, but there was a "Native" moment in a West Wing episode I really connected with when I first heard it. The press secretary is trying to talk two "Indians in the lobby" into not going to the press right before Thanksgiving. They have been trying to have their case heard for 15 years (not exactly unheard of in Indian country.)
At the end of it all, she asks them, "How do you keep fighting these smaller injustices, when they all come from the mother of all injustices?"
The Native lawyer answers her, "What's the alternative?"
In other words, keep fighting.
I find it very easy to get discouraged with Native issues, and this is often how I feel. We fight because we must, because the only other alternative is to give up. Certainly, there are many who have.
Last night I did a post about a story that appeared in the Bristol Bay Times - another Alaska village in trouble. Yet the news wasn't even that the village was in trouble, as many, many villages are. It was the humanity lent to the letter of a resident, the personal stories. In an emergency, in an honest to goodness, having to choose between heat and food situation, a man reached out to Alaskans and asked for help for his people.
The response to the man's letter was beautiful. In just a few short days, bloggers have posted like crazy, asking for help. Celtic Diva made sure I knew about some of the "behind the scenes" work the bloggers were up to, including Progressive Alaska, The Immoral Minority, and Isiik's Thoughts are posting. Mudflats got on the front page of the Huffington Post with her excellent commentary. Alaska Report will be heading out to Emmonak, and other villages, to try and get more coverage for the situation. Donations have begun to trickle (and I hope, soon, flood) in. It is not a government bailout, it is not a permanent fix, it is not The Answer to all that ails - but it is the beginning of something good.
Mudflats related what the man who wrote the letter, Nick Tucker, said on KUDO:
Oh, and you can donate on the post from last night.
I am both more fortunate, and less fortunate, than these villagers. Living in the "big city" of Anchorage now, I cannot connect with my heritage as well, I missed much of what would be commonplace by living here, not where I was born. Yet the biggest trouble this week has been the failure of my car against the cold. It will be an inconvenience, but I ate good today, I am sleeping warm, and I will go to my job tomorrow - because I have one. The same cannot be said of the people in Emmonak, and of many places around the state. Many times, the fight just seems to be about what you are willing to give up.
But today, I got a big shot of hope. I - and I suspect many Native people - can get pretty discouraged in The Fight. You can believe you are only fighting so you know you aren't giving up - not with a real belief that change will come. The news of the dying villages got some news coverage this year, but it made one of the people I was with at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in October comment, "Man - we've been talking about that for decades!" It is easy to think your voice is never heard.
This week, one Native man raised his voice. The Bristol Bay Times reported, ADN made a mention. Then the bloggers got ahold of it, and wow, watch it go! His voice has been carried around the world, and right before my eyes, I'm watching a very wonderful thing. They are listening, and they are responding with action. With money, comments, passing the word - the proverbial ball is rolling.
No, I'm not getting ahead of myself. No, its not all okay now. No, there is no solution. Yes, there's about fifty billion other problems. Yes, the work ahead is exhausting to think of. The village, and many others, still have little heat, and little food - and no money.
But today a Native man raised up his voice, and was heard.
Today was a good day.
_
Pardon me for quoting a favorite show, but there was a "Native" moment in a West Wing episode I really connected with when I first heard it. The press secretary is trying to talk two "Indians in the lobby" into not going to the press right before Thanksgiving. They have been trying to have their case heard for 15 years (not exactly unheard of in Indian country.)
At the end of it all, she asks them, "How do you keep fighting these smaller injustices, when they all come from the mother of all injustices?"
The Native lawyer answers her, "What's the alternative?"
In other words, keep fighting.
I find it very easy to get discouraged with Native issues, and this is often how I feel. We fight because we must, because the only other alternative is to give up. Certainly, there are many who have.
Last night I did a post about a story that appeared in the Bristol Bay Times - another Alaska village in trouble. Yet the news wasn't even that the village was in trouble, as many, many villages are. It was the humanity lent to the letter of a resident, the personal stories. In an emergency, in an honest to goodness, having to choose between heat and food situation, a man reached out to Alaskans and asked for help for his people.
The response to the man's letter was beautiful. In just a few short days, bloggers have posted like crazy, asking for help. Celtic Diva made sure I knew about some of the "behind the scenes" work the bloggers were up to, including Progressive Alaska, The Immoral Minority, and Isiik's Thoughts are posting. Mudflats got on the front page of the Huffington Post with her excellent commentary. Alaska Report will be heading out to Emmonak, and other villages, to try and get more coverage for the situation. Donations have begun to trickle (and I hope, soon, flood) in. It is not a government bailout, it is not a permanent fix, it is not The Answer to all that ails - but it is the beginning of something good.
Mudflats related what the man who wrote the letter, Nick Tucker, said on KUDO:
“Thank you. I am choking, and tears are coming out of my eyes. You are giving us hope.”
Oh, and you can donate on the post from last night.
I am both more fortunate, and less fortunate, than these villagers. Living in the "big city" of Anchorage now, I cannot connect with my heritage as well, I missed much of what would be commonplace by living here, not where I was born. Yet the biggest trouble this week has been the failure of my car against the cold. It will be an inconvenience, but I ate good today, I am sleeping warm, and I will go to my job tomorrow - because I have one. The same cannot be said of the people in Emmonak, and of many places around the state. Many times, the fight just seems to be about what you are willing to give up.
But today, I got a big shot of hope. I - and I suspect many Native people - can get pretty discouraged in The Fight. You can believe you are only fighting so you know you aren't giving up - not with a real belief that change will come. The news of the dying villages got some news coverage this year, but it made one of the people I was with at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in October comment, "Man - we've been talking about that for decades!" It is easy to think your voice is never heard.
This week, one Native man raised his voice. The Bristol Bay Times reported, ADN made a mention. Then the bloggers got ahold of it, and wow, watch it go! His voice has been carried around the world, and right before my eyes, I'm watching a very wonderful thing. They are listening, and they are responding with action. With money, comments, passing the word - the proverbial ball is rolling.
No, I'm not getting ahead of myself. No, its not all okay now. No, there is no solution. Yes, there's about fifty billion other problems. Yes, the work ahead is exhausting to think of. The village, and many others, still have little heat, and little food - and no money.
But today a Native man raised up his voice, and was heard.
Today was a good day.
_
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Palin's blogger comment
I was annoyed at Palin's comment (I heard it last night - believe it aired the day before?) about bloggers, but this post on Open Salon was pretty good about it.
The clip (below) was basically a comment discrediting (all?) "false allegations" against her (which seems to be her new favorite phrase now that the terrorists, Ayers and lipstick words have gone the way of her vice-presidential candidacy.) These false allegations are to be discredited because the media probably got it from some blogger sitting in their parent's basement in their pajamas.
This reminded me a bit of the community organizer comment she made (useless and mean-spirited) but a bit dumber. She might be reminded of that quote:
"Don't pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel."
She's taking on "the media," "journalism," and now bloggers too? What's funny if you watch parts of the Matt Lauer interview, she goes between blaming the media for the loss and (no kidding) talking about how she wished she could have done more interviews because the media is how you get your message out there.
From the Open Salon post:
I really don't think she understands that when you take a huge bunch of people, lump them all into one and dismiss them - or mock them, as she seems to like - it doesn't help your case any.
The clip (below) was basically a comment discrediting (all?) "false allegations" against her (which seems to be her new favorite phrase now that the terrorists, Ayers and lipstick words have gone the way of her vice-presidential candidacy.) These false allegations are to be discredited because the media probably got it from some blogger sitting in their parent's basement in their pajamas.
This reminded me a bit of the community organizer comment she made (useless and mean-spirited) but a bit dumber. She might be reminded of that quote:
"Don't pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel."
She's taking on "the media," "journalism," and now bloggers too? What's funny if you watch parts of the Matt Lauer interview, she goes between blaming the media for the loss and (no kidding) talking about how she wished she could have done more interviews because the media is how you get your message out there.
From the Open Salon post:
And the irony is that her worst moment with the media in the campaign just concluded came not from a blogger in pajamas, but from well-dressed Katie Couric on mainstream CBS, who asked Sarah Palin what newspapers she read, and she couldn't name a single one.
Maybe she was getting her news from some blog...
I really don't think she understands that when you take a huge bunch of people, lump them all into one and dismiss them - or mock them, as she seems to like - it doesn't help your case any.
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