Healthcare’s Groundhog Day
Well, we’re back to the Groundhog Day fire drill about access to health care again. I’m so glad. Really. I was getting so complacent thinking that we’d all be fine since maybe the Affordable Care Act covers radiation poisoning. You know, just in case the Rocket Man gets mad enough at the dotard and launches a missile our direction. This may be that “sick of winning” feeling we were warned about. Strangers are emailing me to tell me to urge Sen. Lisa Murkowski to vote against the newest death panel offering called the Graham-Cassidy bill. Jimmy Kimmel is begging people…
Ermalee Hickel: ‘Beautiful as a butterfly, tough as a boot’
Alaska lost one of its brightest lights this past week. Ermalee Hickel passed away, surrounded by family and at peace. Such a beautiful life lived, it made sense her exit from this realm was exactly how she wanted. If you ever had the chance to spend time with Mrs. Hickel, count yourself blessed beyond belief. She was magic. She made the people around her want to be better people. Her grace was unmatched. Her husband, Wally, described her lovingly as “beautiful as a butterfly, but tough as a boot.” Being a lady, as well as our first lady, didn’t mean…
Alaska’s Voter Rolls Are America’s Latest Data Leak
In a statement released by TargetSmart, it said that the portion of their database that comprises Alaska’s voter rolls were exposed: We’ve learned that Equals3, an AI software company based in Minnesota, appears to have failed to secure some of their data and some data they license from TargetSmart, and that a database of approximately 593,000 Alaska voters appears to have been inadvertently exposed, but not accessed by anyone other than the security researchers on our team and the team that identified the exposure. None of the exposed TargetSmart data included any personally-identifiable non-public financial data. And to be clear,…
“Am I Being Detained?” – Bill Fulton explains what a sovereign citizen is
Back when Bill Fulton lived in Alaska, he had to deal with a lot of crazy people. And when you call someone ‘crazy’ in Alaska, you’re on a whole other level than Lower 48 crazy. From The Blood of Patriots: “The strategic geography and readily available space in Alaska means a large military presence in the state, with nine bases. The civilian population is a strange mix of oil-field workers, adventurers, commercial fishermen, federal employees, naturalists, bush pilots, environmentalists, hard-scrabble wilderness survivors, entrepreneurs, those looking for second chances, and those fleeing the law… It is a tug-of-war between those who…
AAUGHH… Wait. Lisa Did the Right Thing?
For decades, people have wondered what Charlie Brown would have done if he had ever gotten to kick the ball Lucy had been tricking him with for years. I suddenly feel qualified to answer this question definitively. Charlie did the happy Snoopy dance! His eyes may have been a bit wet and he may have whooped too loud for neighbors at 2 a.m., but his joy was known. OK. Maybe that was me during the vote to defeat the repeal of “Obamacare.” There have been many times I believed Sen. Lisa Murkowski would do the right thing for Alaska and…
EPA Should Stand its Ground and Protect the World’s Greatest Salmon Runs
Whenever I give presentations outside of Alaska, I always ask the audience, “How many of you like salmon?” Most hands in the room go up. Then I ask, “How many of you have heard of Copper River Reds?” Many of the hands still remain up. But when I ask, “How many of you have heard of Bristol Bay salmon?” almost all hands go down. And then I tell them the odds are 2:1 that they have eaten some. Nearly half of the commercially-caught Sockeye salmon in the world comes from the Bristol Bay region. The science explaining why Bristol Bay is the…
Alaska’s Two Senators Need To Stand Up To Their Party
Have you noticed how the most recent crop of mosquitoes have the attack and dodging capabilities that you really only see at a military air show? The swallows have fledged and baby ravens are screaming, “WHAT?” at the top of their lungs. WHAT? WHAT? Well, for starters, could you babies give it a break until at least 6 a.m.? The blueberries have some strange blight and the salmonberries are dragging their heels. After their amazing performance last year, well, it’s fine that they slept in this year. An eagle got laid on his back by a mama sandhill crane. Protective…
Alaska Family Action’s Obsession with Where People Pee
My dear Alaskans, there are only two Sundays left. This isn’t a doomsday prediction. There will be Sundays to come – months of them, but I found out from email this week that there are only two Sundays left to encourage my preacher or board of elders to mention from the pulpit to sign a petition in the church foyer to get something on the ballot. Oh, darlings, the pressure is on. I feel it. The email stated, “This is a wonderful opportunity for the church to not only participate, as it should, in shaping public policy in a manner…
Alaska Needs a Hostage Negotiator
Relationship counselors get a bad rap. Probably because it’s too late by the time one person insists it’s important to do. Oh, you go along, and at some point the therapist looks at you and rolls his eyes and tells you you’re nuts to stick around for more crazy town. OK, maybe that was just my experience, but it’s going to take more than a fancy talker with comfy sofas to help what’s going on in Juneau. They need a hostage negotiator. A terrorism expert. I’m talking Bruce Willis in “Die Hard” caliber. I’m sure some precious snowflake lawmaker is…
Tiny Alaskan Island Has Awesome Amount of Pride
Yes, I apologize for the click-baity headline. But it’s rare these days that I can share good news from Alaska… or for that matter anywhere in the US. This news comes from the tiny Alaskan island of Wrangell. For those unfamiliar with the ridiculously huge geography of Alaska – Wrangell is 1,073 miles from the states largest city, Anchorage – that of course includes at least one ferry ride with your car. The population of Wrangell, according to the 2010 census was 2,369. That didn’t stop it’s residents from making a great showing for their Pride this year. Thankfully a Wrangell resident,…