Many Alaskans fondly embrace and proudly recite the defiant expression from the 1970s: “We don’t give a damn how they do it Outside.” Though often it’s because we can’t get it done the same way they do it Outside because of cost or geography or our small population — or because some online merchants still refuse to ship to the 49th state.

Legislators are being held after school this month and the state is paying for the extra time because the governor did not do his homework.

This is more about who will pay the cost of the president’s war on Iran and how it’s disrupting the global flow of oil than it is a history lesson about Alaska oil production. But stay with me as I run through the history to get to my point.