I was very disturbed to read yesterday that Alaska Rep. Mike Doogan had taken it upon himself to “out” the anonymous blogger, AK Muckraker, publishing the formerly anonymous blogger’s name in his legislative newsletter.
So I guess this is what elected officials do in Alaska, run down vindictive personal vendettas against anyone who opposes them. How Boss Tweed of him. AKM has only ever posted personal opinion and facts. But it seems this is a bad thing to do, in Mike Doogan’s eyes. He didn’t sue for slander, or libel, or defamation of character, or anything else. No, this was just to try to hurt AKM because apparently that’s the kind of guy he is. Forget freedom of the press, forget freedom of expression. Many, if not most, of the bloggers I’ve read are anonymous, and for good reason. Apart from cyber-stalking, there is real-world stalking. Let’s hope Rep. Doogan is still above anything like that, but frankly any integrity he may have had is demolished in my eyes.
By shining a light on the political machinations up there, AKM garnered a whole lot of attention for what has been the wittiest, best-written political blog I’ve ever read. Let us hope this is not an end to it.
NOTE: from Library Grape: New facebook group started to call out Mike Doogan for his shameful actions: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=82564017994 .
The Wandering Mind 
Thanx for showing your support, Didge. I just loved Mudflats: I found it to be the single BEST, most reliable, well-informed and honest source of information about the whole Palin machine during the election. Between ourselves, you know how many times we saw stories in the big mainstream media that had been shamelessly “borrowed” from Mudflats, and AKM never asked for anything in return except a little privacy, despite the fact that the info posted, whether you agreed with it or not, was never slanderous or malicious. My understanding about Douchebag Doogan is that AKM didn’t so much trash him, as post some of the things he’d actually said and did not deny. If he’s so ashamed of his own words, he should certainly understand about an individual’s desire for anonymity, when AKM is not and never has been an elected or public figure.
Anything anybody is willing to do to show a little love for AKM would certainly be on the side of the angels.
That’s the thing, nothing on Mudflats is made up or sensationalized. If all news outlets had the same level of investigative journalism as AKM displays on Mudflats, we’d all be better off. Most of them have degraded to infotainment. It’s show business, baby! We would never had heard half of the stuff about Palin if we’d relied on MSM to fill us in.
Mudflats is grass-roots reporting at its finest.
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New facebook group started to call out Mike Doogan for his shameful actions: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=82564017994 . Tell your friends.
if anyone wants to see the blogpost that Doog got so hot and bothered about, here it is:
http://www.themudflats.net/2008/12/26/are-you-people-nuts-lessons-in-email-etiquette/
Wow, what a vidictive m’f**ker. Imagine a so-called public servant endangering the privacy, and possibly the personal safety, of a private citizen and his/her family because s/he had the nerve to say he was rude, and prove it with his own words.
I remember reading that post, and was ASTOUNDED that a public servant, and elected official, would behave in such a puerile, dismissive and just plain rude manner. It would have been unthinkable, if we didn’t have the proof of it.
Big fish-little pond syndrome? Or just your garden variety, small-minded bitter nebbish?
“Big fish-little pond syndrome? Or just your garden variety, small-minded bitter nebbish?”
I think both. He is a nasty, bitter little man who may be fully aware that in a more populated area, he couldn’t get elected dogcatcher, and I get the impression that he is angry at how the world has changed: that he’s having trouble keeping up with all this new technology, and that everything can’t be done with a manual typewriter, a box 0f carbon paper and a phone with a dial on it. He probably loved it back in the ’70’s, before answering machines, when if he didn’t want to talk to somebody he’d just dodge their calls and pretend their letters got lost in the mail.
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Oh, my. I love Mudflats – it is actually the only political blog I’ve ever read on a regular basis. Maybe the attention will just make it stronger and better. Sometimes the right side wins…
It’s too bad this is what it took, but good going on that lengthy cite on the Blog Herald, Didge! I was glad to see that AKM added a new post today.
Wow, I just now had a chance to check out that link. My goodness. Makes me wish I’d taken a little more time on it rather than firing it off in a fury! 🙂
I haven’t even had time to check out Mudflats today, but I saw the post Snoskred put up on the old site here on WordPress, the “thank you” post. I can’t even imagine what AKM and family are going through right now.
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