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Michael Armstrong

@maarmstrong.bsky.social
699 followers 420 following 327 posts

📎Writer, journalist emeritus. #prostatecancer survivor. New College-Fla. grad. I write strange science fiction. Born in Va., raised in Fla., Alaskan since 1979. I like extremes. Tuggeht-Uzintun.

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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
About 700 people attended a #NoKings rally today in Homer, Alaska (pop. 5,500). @indivisible.org
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
About 150 people in Homer, Alaska attended an #ICEoutForGood protest against ICE and a vigil for #ReneeGood. It was the first event I covered for the #HomerIdependentPress after coming out of retirement so of course someone rolls coal. (Photos by Michael Armstrong/Homer Independent Press)
A woman holds a sign reading “this is democracy” while being covered in smoke from a truck that rolled coal.A protester holds a sign reading “stop ICE terror; defund Trump’s Gestapo.”A person holds a sign with a heart and the words “Renee Good.”People holds signs and flags along the Sterling Highway in Homer, Alaska.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Well, I thought I had retired from journalism… I’m now the volunteer editor for the Homer Independent Press. We went live on New Year’s Day. homerindependentpress.com/2026/01/01/e...
homerindependentpress.com
Editorial: Castles in the air – Homer Independent Press
by Michael Armstrong Interim editor, Homer Independent Press Decades ago, when my wife and I added on to our 320-square-foot dry cabin on Diamond Ridge, we had to jack up the building to put in a full...
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
Protesters showed up on a sunny but chilly day for the #RemoveTheRegime rally in Homer, Alaska.
#RemoveTheRegime protesters hold signs at WKFL Park in Homer, Alaska.A sign with a quote from #TimothySnyder reads “People who assure you that you can only gain security at the price of liberty usually want to deny you both.”Homer, Alaska artist Gary Lyon holds a sign he drew himself that shows Smokey the Bear and the words “Only you can prevent fascism.”A person in a snow man costume holds a sign reading “The wrong ICE is melting.”
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Holy coronal mass ejection! I think these are the most amazing auroras I’ve seen in 45 years in Alaska! Taken from Diamond Ridge, Homer, Alaska, looking all directions. #auroras #NorthernLights
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
When I lived in Florida I knew about snow but no way one told me about the magic of hoar frost. Photos taken with a #LensBaby Sweet 22 lens.
Hoar frost covers a stalk of pushki.Hoar frost glows on fireweed along a snowy trail.Hoar frost makes patterns on metal siding.
Hoar frost covers a metal sculpture of a bird created by Mike Sirl.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
About 700 people showed up for the #NoKings protest in Homer, Alaska. That’s almost 5% of the population on the Southern Kenai Peninsula.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Some of the best reporting on l’affair Vance has been by @matt.akmemo.com . Holly Todd’s cartoon here is wonderful. mailchi.mp/thealaskacur...
mailchi.mp
Freedom of speech for me, not for thee
Far-right Homer Rep. Sarah Vance got her way after complaining about the Homer News’ coverage of her Charlie Kirk rally
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
@nytimes.com reports on the resignation of four Alaska journalists. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/u...
nytimes.com
Journalists at 3 Newspapers Quit Over Edits to a Charlie Kirk Story
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Oh no! I’ve been scolded by Rep. Delores Umbridge. alaskawatchman.com/2025/10/02/r...
alaskawatchman.com
REP. VANCE: Why I criticized Homer News for ‘vile and slanderous’ statements about Charlie Kirk
The following post was published on Alaska Rep. Sarah Vance’s Facebook page on Oct. 2. It responds to criticism she has received for calling out the Homer News for the way it characterized the late Ch...
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Here in Homer, Alaska, yet another media corporation has bent the knee because a conservative Republican Representative, Sarah Vance, did not like how the Homer News covered a vigil for Charlie Kirk. But Alaska reporters still have integrity. #indivisible www.juneauindependent.com/post/editor-...
juneauindependent.com
Editor, most news staff of Carpenter Media’s Alaska newspapers resign due to censoring of story
Article about a Charlie Kirk vigil referring to controversies involving him was altered after a GOP Alaska lawmaker complained to company management
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 27/09/2025
More on l’affaire Vance in which reporter Eric Stone interviews me. My quote: “I don't think newspapers should be intimidated by their government. I think the government should be intimidated by the newspapers.” alaskapublic.org/programs/ala...
alaskapublic.org
Alaska News Nightly: Friday, September 26, 2025
Juneau residents will soon decide whether to change the city's sales tax.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 27/09/2025
Matt Buxton nails it.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
The Rep. Vance press-bullying story has been picked up by Matt Buxton of the Alaska Current. thealaskacurrent.com/2025/09/25/a...
thealaskacurrent.com
Alaska GOP Rep. Vance threatens boycott of Homer News over Charlie Kirk coverage - The Alaska Current
Extreme-right Republican Rep. Sarah Vance this week joined the fervent movement of conservatives using their official platforms and conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death to try to silence the pre...
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, didn’t like the Homer (Alaska) News coverage of the vigil she organized for Charlie Kirk. On her official letterhead she threatened a boycott. Intimidating a free press because you don’t like what they write? I wonder who she learned that from?
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
Every year artist Mavis Muller coordinates the creation of a beautiful basket on a beach in Homer, Alaska—and then it’s transformed into heat and light.
People gather around the 2025 Homer Burning Basket, Open, in Homer, Alaska.The 2025 Homer Burning Basket, Open, burns in Homer, Alaska.I made a little offering for the 2025 Homer Burning Basket, Open, in Homer, Alaska.I made an offering for the 2025 Homer Burning Basket, Open, in Homer, Alaska. When opened, it reads “hope.”
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
“The settlement is (the) largest payout in the history of U.S. copyright cases. Anthropic will pay $3,000 per work to 500,000 authors.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/t...
nytimes.com
Anthropic Agrees to Pay $1.5 Billion to Settle Lawsuit With Book Authors
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
About 145 people showed up for the #WorkersOverBillionaires Labor Day rally in Homer, Alaska.
Two people hold signs that read “Stupid White Hippies for Democracy” and “I May Be an Old White Hippie But I Know a Fascist When I See One.”A person holds a sign that reads “No One Works Hard Enough to Earn a Billion.”A person holds a sign that reads “Labor Built This Nation; Autocrats/Oligarchs Hands Off!; Billionaires, Hands Off!”Protesters in Homer, Alaska cross the highway. One man holds a sign reading “I’m for Democracy.”
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
Scenes from the Freedom Over Fascism rally held in Homer, Alaska, on Saturday, July 19. @50501movement.bsky.social
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 13/07/2025
Seen in Homer, Alaska.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
Homer, Alaska had 700-800 attend a #NoKings protest. A Pride parade followed.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
In November 1940 Paris students protested against the Nazi occupation … with fishing poles.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
I bought a box of paper clips to hand out to Democracy protectors. I’m adding the paper clip to my profile. The Norwegian Resistance was bad ass. My niece’s Norwegian husband had a grandfather who was in the resistance.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
About 50 people showed up on 5/30 to greet Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan at a closed visit at the Homer (Alaska) Senior Center. They protested possible cuts to Medicaid. #savemedicaid #nomorekings
Protesters in Homer, Alaska wait to greet Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan on 5/30/25 before his closed visit to the Homer Senior Center. “Sen. Sullivan let’s nix your health care” one sign reads.A protester in Homer, Alaska waits to greet Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan before his closed visit to the Homer Senior Center. An empty chair has signs reading “Reserved for Sen. Dan Sullivan” and “Waiting for Dan-O.”Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan enters the Homer Senior Center on 5/30/25 in Homer, Alaska. About 50 protesters waited for him. He didn’t engage with them. “Shame! Shame!” some shouted.Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan drives by protesters in Homer, Alaska on 5/30/25 on his way to a closed meeting at Homer Senior Citizens Center.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Signs from the #MayDay protest in Homer, Alaska. It was cold and rainy but about 50 still showed up. A blessed #Beltane to all.
A woman in Homer, Alaska holds a sign that reads “Donnie ‘Two Dolls’ must go.”Protesters in Homer, Alaska demonstrate on May 1.A protester in Homer, Alaska folds a sign that reads “Trump’s tariffs lost Alaska (Permanent Fund) Dividend $2 billion in 3 days. It’s over $2,400 for every resident in Alaska.”A protester in Homer, Alaska holds a sign that reads “When will Congress grow a spine? Impeach Trump.”
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Thanks to whomever on the @maddow.msnbc.com show who snagged this photo I took of the April 19 Homer, Alaska protest for tonight’s broadcast. It was a great segment on the protests in Alaska.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
Signs and scenes from the April 19 protest in Homer, Alaska.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
The Irish Starry Plough flag and the Alaska flag are very similar. The Alaska flag includes the North Star with the Big Dipper. I wonder if anyone has researched this connection or the influence of the Starry Plough on Benny Benson, the AK flag designer. discover.hubpages.com/politics/His...
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
About 500 people showed up for the #HandsOff rally in Homer, Alaska. About 10,000 live in the Homer area. #StandUpForDemocracy.
A sign reads “Hands off our democracy.”A sign reads “Trump’s tariffs =
tariffs = taxes = recession.”Protesters in Homer, Alaska, gather for a Hands Off rally — the words on the sign.An Elon Musk puppet holds a chainsaw. His hat reads “Make Again Again Again.”
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Alaska has a new newspaper, The Seward Folly, published in Seward, Alaska. My friends Marylynn and Bob Barnwell started it. I’m helping them by covering the Seward City Council. Hurray for community journalism! sewardfolly.com.
sewardfolly.com
The Seward Folly
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
I’ve started a new column in the Homer News, “Aging Gracefully.” www.homernews.com/life/aging-g...
homernews.com
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
About 350 people showed up on International Women’s Day in Homer, Alaska, in a Stand Up for Democracy protest. #resist
Protesters wave signs at a Stand Up for Democracy event in Homer, Alaska.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Number 2,457 in “How those DOGE cuts are working out in red state America.” www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/c...
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
#AlaskaJournalists: Are you following the Associated Press guidance on using the dead president name for Denali? I can’t remember what the Alaska AP Style book pre-2015 said.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Here’s the ad Bezos didn’t want published in the @washingtonpost.com. www.commoncause.org/articles/jef...
An image of Elon Musk is above a photo of the White House with the caption “Who’s running the country? Donald Trump or Elon Musk?”
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
I guess I wasn’t the only one to give Mt. McDeadPresidentWhoNeverVisitedAlaska a bad review. Google Maps turned off review posting. #Alaska #Denali
A Google Maps screenshot has this text: Posting is currently turned off for this type of place
Some types of places are more likely to receive posts, like reviews, that violate Google's policies. To prevent this, Google has turned off posting.
About posting restrictions

-
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Today’s act of resistance: Leaving a 1-star review for “Mountain named after a dead president who never visited Alaska” on #GoogleMaps. #DenaliForever #Alaska #TruckFump .
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Progress report, day 21 of the second Trump presidency: a sign at the Soldotna, Alaska, Fred Meyer store.
A sign reads “Due to market conditions and supply chain logistics, all egg sales will be limited to 2 units per transaction. Thank you for your cooperation.”
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Winter carnival parades in small town Alaska are different than other northern cities. The Bossy Pants dance troupe march with the Krewe of Gambrinus, “a social and pleasure club,” in the Homer Winter Carnival Parade. This year’s theme was “Sunshine and Snowflakes.” Note the XtraTufs.
Women in white dresses and gold lame tights twirl parasols in the Homer Winter Carnival Parade.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
A pair of great gray owls have been hanging out at the Homer Alaska Airport. On 2/5/25 they were at the end of FAA Drive. About six photographers with huge lenses showed up. What3words location civil.tingly.headlights.
A great gray owl flies over a field at the Homer Alaska Airport.A great gray owl sits on the fence at the Homer Alaska Airport.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
The Homer (Alaska) Bookstore owned by my wife and her partners now sells e-books through the Bookshop.org platform. Now there’s an alternative to buying from a billionaire who pals around with FOTUS. And look! They sell my novel, Truck Stop Earth. bookshop.org/beta-search?...
bookshop.org
Bookshop.org US
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Trump’s executive order restricting gender-affirming surgery on teenagers begs for malicious compliance by doctors. According to this study, 97% of breast reduction surgeries were done on cisgender male teens. hsph.harvard.edu/news/gender-...
hsph.harvard.edu
Gender-affirming surgeries rarely performed on transgender youth | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
A new Harvard Chan School study found little to no utilization of gender-affirming surgeries by transgender and gender-diverse minors in the U.S.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
My wife’s hippeastrum bloomed so fast it knocked itself over. Fortunately, I staked it with an old fishing rod.
A plant with a large red flower lies fallen.A large plant with a red flower that fell is staked and placed upright.A large red flower with a star shaped pattern.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Fuck Google. When Google Maps makes the Denali map change, Alaskans should flood Google with corrections. “Google said it will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ and change Denali to ‘Mount McKinley.’” www.cnbc.com/2025/01/27/g...
cnbc.com
Google says it will change Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America' in Maps app after government updates
In posts on X on Monday, Google said it will follow the government's lead in changing the names on its Maps app.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
You can change the maps but you can’t stop the mountain. Denali is its name, forever and from time immemorial.
A large snow covered mountain, Denali, rises above the Alaska Range as seen from a viewpoint in Denali State Park.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
In February 1981, 40,000 Alaskans didn’t even blink at being outdoors to see Pope John II. Also, he held Mass. www.adn.com/opinions/202...
adn.com
Remembering Alaska’s visit from the Pope, 40 years later
Although his stopover was only 4.5 hours long, his schedule was crammed!
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Canadian humour can be a bit too biting for tender Texans. bc.ctvnews.ca/vancouver-st...
bc.ctvnews.ca
Vancouver strip club's X account suspended over cheeky marquee message
The marquee at The Penthouse strip club in downtown Vancouver is known for its edgy comments on politics and pop culture.
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
I love this fact from Tom Kizzia’s article on Jimmy Carter. “The state Department of Labor recently ran a check to see how many current Permanent Fund dividend applicants also applied as adults in 1982, the first year of the dividend program. The answer: less than 12%.” www.adn.com/politics/202...
adn.com
Jimmy Carter shaped modern Alaska in profound, lasting ways
He was the only U.S. president to hang a map of Alaska on the wall of the Oval Office. By championing the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, he helped create millions of acres of nationa...
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
On March 1, 1976, Jimmy Carter spoke at New College of Florida while running for president. He made a solid stump speech and a joke explaining the gap between his sons’ and Amy’s birth (“Rosalyn and I had a fight and then made up.”). Carter was a decent and honorable man.
Jimmy Carter speaks on March 1, 1976, at New College in Sarasota, Florida.A man holds up a sign reading “But can he dance?”
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Michael Armstrong @maarmstrong.bsky.social · 25/12/2024
My sister gave me a #Lensbaby Sweet 22 lens for Christmas so of course one of the first things I photographed was a dead fish on the Homer Spit beach.
A dead fish is on the beach in Homer, Alaska.
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