Ann Brown is WC’s former law partner and the current chair of the Alaska Republican Party. On September 13, the Anchorage Daily News once again gave her space for an opinion column, in which she woodshedded her fellow Republicans for letting a Democrat, Mary Peltola, get elected to Alaska’s sole seat in the House of…
In a speech to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts addressed the collapse of public respect for the U.S. Supreme Court. He said it’s wrong for people to deem the court illegitimate because its decisions are unpopular. “Simply because people disagree with an opinion is…
Vic Kohring was a crook. He was a crooked politician, captured on video accepting cash from VECO CEO Bill Allen for his vote on a tax law Allen wanted, and then soliciting still more cash. Yes, the U.S. Department of Justice wrongfully withheld evidence at Kohring’s trial. But there’s still those damning videos from Suite…
Ms. Gail Fenumiai, DirectorDivision of ElectionsCourt Plaza Building240 Main Street, 4th FloorJuneau, AK 99801 Re: Matter of David Eastman Dear Director Fenumiai: Wickersham’s Conscience has long admired your reasoned and principled approach to the sometimes challenging issues of Alaska elections. For example, WC wrote applauding your decisions in Senator Lisa Murkowski’s write-in campaign, decisions that…
As you might imagine, WC is immensely pleased that Alaskans selected Mary Peltola to fill the balance of the late Don Young’s term as Alaska’s sole U.S. representative. Representative-elect Peltola is all of the things Sarah Palin is not: thoughtful, articulate, in touch with Alaskans and their views, informed and compassionate. She’s also the first…
This post was written pre-surgery. Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, the very worst environmentally contaminated sites are designated for cleanup by a scoring system called the Hazard Ranking System. If they are bad enough, they get on the National Priorities List – a euphemism if WC…
August set a record in Boise, Idaho for the greatest number of days hotter than 100° F ever, beating the record set in 2017. Happily, WC’s central air-conditioning system worked pretty well. WC dealt with the blast furnace temperatures by huddling around his AC vents. But, hotter or hottest, August is done, maybe way past…
A Freudian slip, also called parapraxis, is a communications mistake that is believed to be linked to the unconscious mind. The theory – backed by some decent science – is that this kind of gaffe reveals secret thoughts and feelings that people hold. About 45 minutes into the July 21 testimony of former Trump White…
Lunatic, Lunacy: late 13th century, “affected with periodic insanity dependent on the changes of the moon,” from Old French lunatique “insane,” or directly from Late Latin lunaticus “moon-struck,” from Latin luna “moon” Etymology Online It is a remarkable coincidence that the new Chair of the Idaho Republican Party, elected on the occasion of the most recent supermoon, is named Dorothy…
An essay by David James, of Fairbanks, Alaska, that is dead on. Morality is not simple. It’s easy to hold absolute positions in the abstract, but when human realities intrude, what seems straightforward becomes complex. For instance, the Ten Commandments state, “Thou shalt not kill.” No exceptions. Yet the Bible is littered with exceptions, because…
Idaho is a thoroughly Republican state. Both U.S. Senators, both U.S. Representatives, a supermajority in both houses of the state legislature, the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and nearly every elected ministerial office. Those elected officials seemingly vie with each other to see who can be the most conservative. But they aren’t conservative enough for Mike Lindell,…
Reader JER, with an assist from Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, offers the first nominee for the Wickersham’s Conscience 2022 Hypocrite of the Year: U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R, Wisconsin), who is JER’s senator. Reminder: You can suggest candidates for Hypocrite of the Year. WC will select from among your suggestions the worst of the…
The Alaska Constitution was written in 1955, near the height of the anti-Communist hysteria that gripped the United States. It was the peak of the McCarthy Era. While the state constitution is mercifully free of much of the political baggage that attended that dark time, there are places where the hysteria plainly crept in. Article…
Winston regrets his purchase of a Corvette: “I’ve decided I don’t like the car I bought last year. I want to return it and get my money back.” Clyde is disappointed with his lottery ticket: “My ticket didn’t win anything; I want my money back.” Janet and Dave met with their bank loan officer. “We…
It’s hardly a secret that the Matanuska-Susitna Valley faces a number of grave problems: substance abuse, failing schools, appalling levels of sexual assault and entrenched bigotry and racism, to name just a few. Which makes the recent decision by the Mat-Su School District to focus on a non-existent problem both a further demonstration of bigotry…
Several readers have asked WC what he thinks is at the heart of all the problems facing America. It’s more than one thing, of course. But with this post, WC concludes this semi-regular series, which has used mostly photographs to illustrate the problems. Here’s Part 1; here’s Part 2; here’s Part 3; here’s Part 4.…
WC notes that the Utah County, Utah Sheriff has accused the Utah County District Attorney of being among the pedophile, child-eating Democrats. The Utah County Sheriff is an enthusiastic QAnon supporter and the QAnon nut jobs, of course, think that Democrats have a secret, nationwide ring of cannibalistic pedophiles who feast on young children. WC…
“There will come a point when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.” — Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Vice Chair, House Select Committee on January 6, 2021 Insurrection WC is no fan of Rep. Liz Cheney’s position on most issues, but cannot question her courage, her honesty and her responsibility to her oath…
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy still hasn’t removed WC from his reelection campaign mailing list. The latest fibs arrived last Friday. As far as WC can tell, the Legislature enacted the PFD that Dunleavy is claiming credit for despite Dunleavy’s best efforts to frustrate the process. After all, Dunleavy wanted a much bigger dividend, $6,700, and…
Several readers have asked WC what he thinks is at the heart of all the problems facing America. It’s more than one thing, of course. But with this post, WC continues his semi-regular series, using mostly photographs to illustrate the problem. Here’s Part 1; here’s Part 2; here’s Part 3. This is another case where…
WC has only seen three wolverines the wild. And none of them resulted in a photo. WC saw the first on the third day of a torrential rainstorm, washed out of an attempt to climb Scott Peak, hiking out down Sunset Creek in Denali National Park. That wolverine was loping steadily upstream – the gait…
Several readers have asked WC what he thinks is at the heart of all the problems facing America. It’s more than one thing, of course. But with this post, WC continues his semi-regular series, using mostly photographs to illustrate the problem. Here’s Part 1; here’s Part 2. In this case, this particular problem is pretty…
May is behind us. Spring this year has been a thing of fits and starts – and spring weather is still a emerging concept in southwestern Idaho. We suffered two more mass shootings this month and, in response, Congress again did nothing. Another elementary school shot up, and but the Republicans in Congress continue to…
WC and Mrs. WC, with Tropical Birding Guide Sam Woods, visited the Uvalde, Texas cemetery on April 25 of this year. It’s a very pretty place. There was a known Golden-fronted Woodpecker nest at the cemetery, and it was a species we wanted to see and photograph. Cemeteries are often birding hotspots, islands of very…
Elderly Mandarin: “Would you betray your Emperor?”Young Mandarin: “Never. My loyalty to the Emperor is pure.”Elderly Mandarin: “Doubtlessly. But would you betray your Emperor for 10 million pieces of gold?”Young Mandarin: “10 million pieces of gold? A man could live well a very long time with that much wealth.”Elderly Mandarin: “Well then, would you betray…
Several readers have asked WC what he thinks is at the heart of all the problems facing America. It’s more than one thing, of course. But with this post, WC continues a new, semi-regular series, using only photographs to illustrate the problem. WC cautions readers that some of these photos contain obscenities. But that’s part…
Exhibit ASteven F. Holtze, is a Texas multi-millionaire and a major Republican donor, who runs a natural-health and hormone replacement clinic, paid more than a quarter million dollars to ex-Houston police captain Mark Aguirre to find election fraud.1 It was Aguirre who on October 19, 2020, rammed his car into the a cargo truck owned by…
Dear Lt. Governor McGeachin: The Idaho Statesman reports that at a campaign event on April 21, in response to a press inquiry about your botched and overdrawn Idaho Lt. Governor’s Office budget, you said, Honestly, who cares about $2,000 … in the lieutenant governor’s budget? I think more people in Idaho are concerned about their…
WC’s mailbox has been stuffed with messages from “Tito Dunleavy” lately, all asking for money, for WC to “sign” Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy’s birthday card, or seeking WC’s contact information for “important news.” Or sometimes all three. In the emails from “Tito,” there’s always a photo of the very small, curly-furred brown dog at the…
If you blinked, you missed April, as well as a lot of mighty fine birds. But it’s already time – past time, in fact – for a look back at stories that didn’t make blog posts, or require follow up, or just meet the Magpie Principle. As ever, absolutely no journalism has been committed in…
Wickersham's Conscience 
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