Road Trip! ANC to FBX (PHOTOS)
The road from Anchorage to Fairbanks and back is spectacular regardless of the season. I recently posted some photos from an autumn ride which were rich in color and clouds. But winter holds a particular charm of its own, with stands of bare birches and aspen; snow-kissed spruce; sawtooth mountain ridges that somehow look larger clad in white; and expansive vistas of frost-covered valleys, dotted with lakes and rivers frozen solid and covered with snow. There are few signs that humans exist, other than occasional power lines, and the very highway that takes you from the beginning to the end…
Bird of the Week – Great Horned Owl
By far the most common owl in mainland Alaska is the Great Horned Owl. This pretty lady came to visit the WC household when we were hosting Gus, Bird TLC’s Great-horned. Gus was in an outdoor mew, and attracted this girl. It was certainly the most convenient bird photo WC has gotten: from his deck, in his bathrobe, with a cup of coffee at hand. For more bird photos, please visit Frozen Feather Images.
Ms. Understanding Feminism in Fairbanks
**UPDATE** It appears Mr. Roberts has lost his battle to decide which reading materials you may purchase where. From the Co-op’s General Manager: “The next issue is on the way. The co-op does not make buying decisions based on one member-owners wishes.” Feminism is what tells women they can sleep around and just get abortions when they go to (sic) far. Feminism is women saying they want to do it their way and not God’s way, and it gives men the ‘out’ to do nothing. I see feminism as one of the worst heresies that have completely messed up our church today…
Contraception’s Bang for the Buck
JUNEAU, AK—Opposition to abortion rights has been the political hallmark of Alaska State Senator Fred Dyson (R-Eagle River). He is also, as these ironies invariably go, opposed to expanding contraceptive access. “By and large, sexual activity is recreation,” the senator intoned today during floor debate on SB49. “The state shouldn’t finance other people’s recreation.” Does the senator favor elimination of all state parks? What of the Department of Fish & Game—some of which relates to subsistence, but which also serves recreational endeavors? Is he aware that it is public, state-financed roads taking us to our state’s ski resorts, or does he imagine…
GOP Official Ms. Fires
FAIRBANKS, AK — A far-right elected official on the borough assembly has demanded Ms. Magazine be pulled from the shelves of a local grocery store. Lance Roberts does not like the publication’s support for the reproductive rights of women, and demanded the Fairbanks Co-op Market pull the magazine from its shelves so that other shoppers couldn’t make up their own minds on the matter. The store has complied with the politician’s demand, and in his newsletter a gloating Roberts is doing a little end zone dance: The Co-op Market had some left-wing political magazines they were selling, and at that time they…
GOP Tries to Stack the Courts
When you can’t win, change the rules. I’ve wondered why our legislators have spent the better part of their time on bills likely to struck down as unconstitutional. They are trying to rewrite our constitution to hand public money to schools, deny women reproductive justice and deny citizens the right to weigh in on resource development. Lawmakers will vote on bills that they know will end up in court. That takes money that they don’t have to pay for on either side. Maybe we need an amendment that requires those who vote for bills deemed unconstitutional have to pay the…
Bird of the Week – Boreal Owl
Mrs. WC is somewhat famously “the owl lady.” We have three educational owls living with us, which is why there are mice thawing in our refrigerator at this very minute. But this is a wild owl, a male Boreal Owl, photographed in Fairbanks a few years ago. WC was trying to photograph the female, who was on eggs in an owl box, waiting for her to stick her head out. Instead, this handsome little devil flew out. Great, WC thought to himself, you’ve put the female off of her eggs. But when WC looked back at the box, she was…
Miller Time: My Sunday With Joe
Hey Joe, where you goin’ with that gun in your hand? —Jimi Hendrix FAIRBANKS, AK — All three Republican US Senate candidates—Dan Sullivan, Joe Miller and Mead Treadwell—attended the Tea Party-ish Day of Resistance event in Wasilla last Sunday. But only one, Joe Miller, then braved the cold of the interior to attend the rally in Fairbanks. It appears Sullivan and Treadwell would like to peel off a few of the conservative and libertarian activists who are Miller’s base, as long as it doesn’t inconvenience them into having to head north. It was just as well, as candidates of tony…
Day of Resistance
(This is Part one of our Day of Resistance coverage. You can read Part Two here.) The date 2/23 was originally chosen for “Day of Resistance” rallies across the US because the .223 is the ammunition used in the popular AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Alaska organized events in both Fairbanks and Wasilla this year, protesting the federal government’s attempts to regulate firearms and showing support for the 2nd Amendment. The Fairbanks rally at Veterans Memorial Park was organized by The Oath Keepers, a pro-second amendment group made up mostly of veterans and headed up by David Luntz and Donny Meeks. Luntz maintained a Facebook page promoting the…
LGBT Hero of the Day!
Hats off to Alaska Airlines President and CEO Bradley Tilden who sent this letter today to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. It speaks for itself.