In Crooked Creek, Alaska, milk is often priced at $20.00 per gallon. A loaf of bread could cost as much as $10.00. These items can be purchased at the village’s single grocery outlet, the Thomas Trading Post. The total Crooked Creek population at the last census was 137. Ninety-three percent (93%) of the inhabitants are Yup'ik Eskimo and Ingalik Athabascan. Crooked Creek is approximately 12 miles south-southwest of the proposed Donlin Mine. The mine, 275 miles west of Anchorage, is on Native Alaska Corporation land set apart for the Kuskokwim and Calista Corporations.
Other villages in this remote part of Alaska and within relatively-close proximity to the mine are as follows: the number beside the village is its population:
Chuathbaluk - 102
Aniak - 501
Crow Village - 6
Red Devil - 23
Holy Cross - 178
Red Devil – 23
The Donlin Mine which can be mapped at 62°02'17.0"N 158°12'39.0"W could become one of the world’s largest gold operations producing 1.3 million ounces annually, except for two obstacles – the obstructionist environmental group Earthjustice and their loyal friend Sharon Gleason, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. Gold is not just for jewelry or for William Devane hawking it for investment purposes, but it is also used extensively in the aerospace industry, electronics, and computers.
As has occurred many times in the very recent past, it is the courts that have an unwarranted and unjustifiable say in legitimate actions. Relative to the Donlin Mine, Sharon Gleason has been blocking the granting of state permits for quite some time, constantly backing legal challenges by Earthjustice. All Federal Permits have been approved.
Reading her biography on Wikipedia, all of her notable cases involve environmental activism. As Brett Huber of Must Read Alaska writes in his article, “Power the Future: Environmental extremism threatens Donlin with death by a thousand cuts”, “This is not consistency. This is ideology cloaked in legalese”.
Progressivism is, at times, born or inherited from one’s chosen profession. While there are certainly exceptions, AI compiles the following list”
Academia and Higher Education
Healthcare (Specific Roles In)
Creative Arts
Media and Journalism
Social Services:
Education
Lawyers
Noting the concluding profession, perhaps Gleason’s big issue is not her knowledge in applying germane law, but her adoration of ideology.