Torches and Pitchforks for Parnell
There are certain times when a government crosses a line, and there’s really no other way to adequately express one’s feelings about it than by deploying torches and pitchforks. The glinting of the tines in the firelight, the surging of the crowd, the bellowing of moral outrage… Ahhh. There’s really nothing like it to get the ol’ blood pumping. Well, I guess there is another way, but I’m reasonably sure it’s illegal, and though it might be satisfying the irony of retaliating against a bully by tarring and feathering him could not be overlooked, and might garner said bully some…
Parnell Targets Former First Lady
Obama is a socialist. Health care is communism. Closed parks are fascism. It’s weird the way words and labels get thrown around these days. Apparently dictionaries are one of the things some people no longer believe in. Here’s a word that doesn’t get thrown around but should: corporatocracy. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “a society or system that is governed or controlled by corporations.” I joke about living in a resource colony but it isn’t actually funny. When the Corrupt Bastards Club was running the Legislature, then-Gov. Frank Murkowski asked them to effectively strip Alaskans of the right to…
Parnell Gets Fish Slapped
When one grapples for a visual allegory of what happened to the Parnell administration this week, it’s hard to think of anything more appropriate than this: That’s Sean Parnell on the right, and the Anchorage Superior Court on the left. The Superior Court ruled that the constitutional rights of Alaskans have been violated by the current administration when Parnell & Co. refused to process a four-year-old application to reserve water in the Chuitna River watershed for wild salmon. “Today’s ruling is a victory for every Alaskan who wants to protect wild salmon and the Alaskan way of life,” said Ron…
Bird of the Week – Rainbow Starfrontlet
One of the charms of hummingbirds is their marvelous names. This is a Rainbow Starfrontlet. Hummingbirds have extraordinarily long tongues, to get at the flower nectar that is their primary food. This female is showing you a part of her tongue. Technical stuff: tripod, f5.7, 1/250, ISO1250. For more bird images, visit Frozen Feather Images.
The Muslims Are Coming – Road Trip Comic Enlightenment
“Oh the Muslims… you know they are a coming… they’re gentle and they’re friendly so open up your arms and give’m a hug…” -Opening Song from The Muslims Are Coming The Muslims Are Coming – just released this month on video on demand sites like iTunes and Amazon.com is more than just your standard comedy tour film. Every once and a while a group of comedians with some vague thing in common (usually they have the same agent) get together and go on a tour – they hire a videographer to film the behind the scenes shenanigans that go on –…
Burkas or Booze – Neither matters to a Rapist
By Juliet Jeske – from Julietjeskeblog.com In Slate.com Emily Yoffe makes the argument, The Best Rape Prevention: Tell College Women to Stop Getting so Wasted. She begins by pointing to three high-profile rape cases which involved alcohol but did not occur on a college campus. Yet most of the research she cites are studies about sexual assault on college campuses. Then Yoffe warns of the potential perils of binge drinking including accidental death. At times I couldn’t tell if she was advocating against binge drinking or rape. Finally she used herself as an example, “I enjoy moderate drinking and have only…
Open Thread: Hollis Runs for Lt. Governor
State Senator Hollis French has thrown his hat in the ring for Lt. Governor – running with Byron Mallott. Earlier this week Bill Walker announced that his running mate would be Craig Fleener. So I guess that ends any chance of the Bill Squared ticket. So, Alaska – what are your thoughts? Waiting to see? Or are you preparing your check books to get this thing started?
Sullivan Joins GOP Senate Cannibal Circus
Today, Dan Sullivan (R) announced his run for the U.S. Senate. This particular Mr. Sullivan has the misfortune to share his name with: 1) The weasly, morally bankrupt Mayor of Anchorage 2) The man who started the great Chicago fire of 1871, and let Mrs. O’Leary’s cow take the blame. He also holds the distinction of being the third candidate on the Republican side to be seeking the office currently held by Democrat Mark Begich. Sullivan and current Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell are expected to split the “sanity vote” (although that distinction is subjective), while former and current candidate Joe…
XL Pipeline Profits More Important Than Environment – by Steve Horn for Desmosblog
US Court: Transcanada’s Keystone XL Profits More Important than Environment (via Desmogblog) In a major ruling that’s flown under the radar, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit – based in Denver, Colorado – decided not to grant the Sierra Club and Clean Energy Future Oklahoma a temporary injunction on the construction of the southern…
Time to End Columbus Day
Kid’s love Columbus Day. It’s a day off for no reason – there’s no holiday to really celebrate – no uncomfortable suits to wear at church or awkward family gatherings. Just a day off. The parent may go shopping, but that’s really about it… worst case scenario you end the day with a new TV, or a couch. We were taught that Columbus Day celebrates a great explorer, someone that fought against the group think that the earth was flat. And that he actually discovered something new. When in actuality his discovery of ‘the America’s’ is like me ‘discovering’ that…