Alaska Outlaws Synthetic Cannabis – What’s the Big Deal?
Synthetic cannabinoids, originally intended to mimic the effects of medical marijuana, have now been criminalized in Alaska with House Bill 7, signed by Governor Sean Parnell. The bill will take effect on July 7. These products have been changed from Schedule 2A to Schedule 3A controlled substances. Alaskans caught possessing less than 12 grams of substances like Spice or K2 (both recently for sale in Anchorage and Fairbanks smoke shops) will face a misdemeanor. Possession of more than 12 grams becomes a felony, effective next Friday. The bill also criminalizes sale of K2, Spice and other synthetics, often marketed as…
Open Thread – More Shrimp
Last night’s Open Thread got me thinking about shrimp. In a variation on the theme, here’s an actual shrimp from the waters outside Whittier in Prince William Sound. When they first come up from depths of 400 feet or more, their eyes glow an eerie orange. I normally wouldn’t think of a shrimp as a handsome or festive animal, but you’ve just got to love this little guy.
Palin Suspends Quitting to Attend Movie Premiere of “The Undefeated”
Sarah Palin’s One Nation bus tour has screeched to a halt. After the media reported it had been canceled, her Facebook page explained her summer plans on June 22 in a note titled: *Sigh* Reports of Tour Demise are Greatly Exaggerated The coming weeks are tight because civic duty calls (like most everyone else, even former governors get called up for jury duty) and I look forward to doing my part just like every other Alaskan. I didn’t put the *sigh* in there. Just to be clear. That was the actual title of the post. The beleaguered exhalation came from…
Pride Weekend – Joy and Sadness
~The Empire State Building in rainbow colors last night to celebrate marriage equality I, like many Americans, sat last night riveted, watching the New York State Senate debate and vote on a bill for Marriage Equality. I watched while Senator Ruben Diaz monopolized the floor talking about how his rights were being violated by having to stick to a 2 minute time period for comment. He wanted to make sure he had three times the time of anyone else to talk about how God had already made the decision about gay marriage, and it wasn’t Albany’s place to…
Frank Bailey on The O’Reilly Factor Tonight (UPDATE)
For those of you playing “Follow Frank,” you can catch him tonight on The O’Reilly Factor with Bill O’Reilly to talk about Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin. I know you’ve all got Fox News on right now, so you won’t even have to change the channel to catch BillO. Yes, I am kidding. At least it’s not Sean Hannity again. I’ll post the video here when it becomes available. Carry on and enjoy the weekend knowing that a giant asteroid is not going to pummel the Earth on Monday. UPDATE: or “Another Reason Not to Trust Fox” Looks like they…
Oyster Roundup!
Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more… Palin Quits for Jury Duty? She’ll quit on Republican women’s groups, she’ll quit on pro-life fundraisers, she’ll quit on CPAC, she’ll quit on four colleges, she’ll quit on the great state of Alaksa. Frank Bailey said that trying to get Sarah Palin to commit to anything was like “nailing Jell-O to a tree.” So I found it interesting that her sudden affinity for commitment was for something that everyone else tries to get out of – jury duty. Considering that jury duty comes with a couple…
Open Thread – Scenes from Setnetting the Kasilof (LKB)
Here are just a few pictures from my weekend at the mouth of the Kasilof River: The constant, beautiful view from the beach is Mt. Redoubt Volcano — if you remember, it was the one spewing a bit in 2009. Occasionally in the nets we catch more than just Red Salmon — here a King decided to join us as well. In the other net, we also got a few small flounder. Saturday on two nets after both tides, the camp ended up with 34 Reds, one King and 3 Flounder. This is looking down in the direction of the…
EPA v. Polluters – Senators Begich & Murkowski on the Wrong Side
Alaskans have a (how shall I put this) prickly relationship with the EPA for the most part. You can live most anywhere in the lower 48, and chances are you’ve never had to personally interact with the EPA and don’t know anyone who has. You live in your house, you do your thing, and the only time it comes up is when you hear the Tea Party talk about how all them damn regulations keep mucking things up and killing business and jobs. But in Alaska, the EPA and its involvement in development both big and small seems to…
Open Thread – No Pebble Mine
This picture is good for the heart in so many ways. For more information on the proposed Pebble Mine project, go to savebristolbay.org Photo of fresh Bristol Bay King Salmon by Jon Corbett