Juneau Has a Senator, and the Agony is Over.
Yay. (clap……clap……clap) Juneau has a new senator. Don’t get me wrong. I really am very happy that the insane drama of filling this empty seat is over. I want to be able to summon some real enthusiasm. I want to revel in the Dem’s spineliness in sticking to their guns, and not appointing Tim Grussendorf or Joe Nelson. I want to jump up and down, and pop a cork, and spray champagne all over the capital city. I want to congratulate the people of Juneau for getting a decent person to fill the seat, and finally give them representation. But frankly,…
Swans and Snubs and Bears, Oh My!
Swan Song Alaska has two common species of swans; trumpeter swans and tundra swans. The tundra swan is absolutely striking, with black bill and black feet. It is also known as the “whistling swan” because of the noise its powerful slow wing beats make in flight. To see a pair of tundra swans nesting on a misty lake, is absolutely, breathtakingly magical. A grim death toll of migrating tundra swans is again being observed at northern Idaho marshes contaminated with toxic mining waste. Thousands of swans headed for breeding grounds in Alaska stop each spring at the marshes along the Coeur…
Sarah Palin Out of Touch and Out of Town.
Alaskans are picking themselves up and dusting themselves off today after dodging the bullet that was the appointment of Wayne Anthony Ross for Alaska’s Attorney General. Relief is the word of the day. There were many factors leading to the demise of this nomination; the fact that he called gays “degenerates” in the Bar Newsletter, the condemnation by every major Native organization, the report of comments that can only be described as sexist and misogynistic at meetings and panel discussions, but the final nail in the coffin for several of those “nay” votes may have been the most awesome “gotcha” moment…
What Wayne Anthony Ross Thinks About Gay Alaskans.
Here’s a quick reprint from Bent Alaska. The vote on Ross’ confirmation is scheduled to take place today. [Sarah Palin’s Attorney General Nominee Wayne Anthony] Ross wrote a letter to the Alaska Bar Rag in March 1993 in response to an appeal from “Lawyers Against Discrimination,” a group that opposed the repeal of a non-discrimination ordinance, approved by the Anchorage Assembly, which prohibited the Municipality from employment discrimination on the basis of “sexual preference.” “It was a big messy battle in Anchorage in late 1992/early 1993,” writes Mel Green. “The ordinance was ultimately rescinded.” Discrimination on the basis of sexual…