Sullivan Fails to Stand His Ground
I support the Second Amendment. I have guns and, because we have some lunatics on the loose in this state, I conceal carry. But I didn’t support the so-called “Stand Your Ground” law that allows people to shoot those they fear without trying to retreat first. If you can retreat safely, you should — rather than take someone’s life. It was a controversial bill that many believed would lead to more violence, so you can imagine my happy surprise when Sarah Palin’s then-attorney general, Dan Sullivan, opposed the bill and helped kill it in 2010. I was impressed that Sarah…
We All Need a Tweditor – Palin Edition
Before we begin: WHY must you continue writing about HER, you demand to know. PLEASE stop giving her attention, you insist. As soon as you pretend she’s not there, she will evaporate into the ether, you delude yourself. I plead guilty to a personal, professional, and morbid fascination with the enduring social and political impact of the trainwreck from Wasilla. Some people are really into sports, or photograph their lunch, or amuse themselves by taking Facebook quizzes to find out what color aura of what punk rock band’s totem animal they are, or other ultimately inconsequential hobbies. And as long as…
Bird of the Week – Goldeneye
This is a bonus week, because it is hard to talk about one of Alaska’s Goldeneye species without comparing it to the other. And Alaska boasts two species of Goldeneyes. Common Goldeneye occurs across much of North America. We see them in breeding plumage here. The male has a roundish white patch between the eye and the bill. By comparison, the Barrow’s Goldeneye is less common, occurring most often in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, and has a crescent-shaped white patch between the eye and bill. You can see that the black and white patterns on their backs are different…
Oh, Snap! (VIDEO)
Alaska Senate candidate Dan Sullivan just got an awesome smack down from the Democratic Party. Born and raised in Ohio, and recently claiming Maryland as his primary residence, it’s not a question of if he’s a carpetbagger, just where from. Dems crush Sullivan 1-0. Wait… 2-0.
Breaking: America Wants Sarah Palin to STFU
Recently, NBC/Wall Street Journal/Annenberg took a poll. They asked Americans if they think the ex-half-governor of Alaska, who didn’t become the Vice President of the United States, and who quit her job “governing” to spend the last six years turning gibberish into books, wearing glittery belt buckles, and subsisting on diet Redbull and the tears of the intelligentsia, should be speaking on the issues of the day. A solid majority, 54% of voters, think she should push her lower jaw up until it won’t go any farther, and hold it locked in that position. If this poll were an election, it would…
Park Service Gets it Wrong on Drone Law
When I worked as a canoe guide in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) about 20 years ago, I came to realize that the concept of “wilderness” was a subjective one. Everyone experiences wilderness and wildness in different ways, and their perspective of what constitutes wilderness is often connected to noise level. For example, certain border lakes in the BWCAW allow for the operation of 25 hp or less motors (while almost all of the 2,000 or so lakes prohibit any motorized craft). For some people, even that was too much; but for others, 25hp or less meant no…
The Weekend Off – The News You Missed
Alaska KNOM – Lacking Sea Ice, Seal Pups Populate Local Beaches Baby seals are appearing on local beaches in greater numbers this year, with over 20 reported sightings in Nome, and a few others recorded in Wales, Teller and Shaktoolik. Anchorage Daily News – Oddball rivers flow north through Alaska Range. Why? Alaska’s landscape has an unusual feature that allows us to enjoy cheap bananas in the Interior and other things that make life possible in the subarctic. The Nenana River, born on the south side of the Alaska Range, makes a U-turn and flows north through the mountains. With it…
The Oily Facts on Prop 1
By Peter Blanas Alaskans understand that oil is the economic cornerstone of our state. Alaskans are right to be concerned, that we have a healthy and productive oil and support industry. It’s also understood that the extraction of oil in the Arctic, is very difficult and expensive, and should come with a good return on investment. We want the industry to earn a healthy profit, along with Alaska, the resource owner. First, a look backward: Oil began flowing down the pipeline from the North Slope in 1977. Daily production peaked in 1988, at just over 2 million barrels a day,…
Bird of the Week – Northern Pintail
If last week’s bird is obvious for its bill, the Northern Pintail is famous for the drake’s namesake tail. Apart from the impressive tail, the white stripe extends up into the chocolate brown neck and the bill is silver and black. Altogether a handsome bird. Like the Northern Shoveler, the Pintail is a dabbler, foraging in the top of the water column. As often as not, what you see are duck butts. For more bird photos, please visit Frozen Feather Images.
Forgotten Founding Father: William Woodford
Not every one who played a part in the Revolution made it to sign the Declaration. This is a picture of Brigadier General William Woodford. I am a direct descendent of his. We talk about the “founding fathers” often enough – but there were so many who gave their lives and had their names forgotten to break away from England. According to history, “He served in the French and Indian War as an ensign in Colonel George Washington’s Virginia Regiment, and was promoted to lieutenant in 1761. During that year he served in the Cherokee expedition under William Byrd and…