Too Many Dans
In the first of what we hope will be many chuckle-worthy screw ups, the conservative Club for Growth came out with an endorsement recently which was picked up by the Associated Press, and then reported by KTVA Channel 11 News in Anchorage. Somewhere along the line, Dan Sullivan got lost in translation. Dan Sullivan (R-OH->DC->AK) moved to Alaska to become a U.S. Senator. The carpetbagging political climber went from Palin’s second choice Attorney General, to the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources (the move that tipped us all off) and has been groomed and guided for quite some time….
Giessel “Reallocates” Wealth to Donors
I’m still getting used to seeing the Walter J. Hickel Expressway signs. I still think Wally’s Way would have been better, but it gives me a chance to remember to read “Who Owns America” again. My copy has a brown signature inside. A treasure. So, as I pull onto Wally’s Way, heading south, the voice of Lori Townsend making me feel better about the news on my radio. Seriously. If there’s a meteor bearing down on Earth and we’re all gonna die, she should be the one announcing it-she makes even Alaska news sound better. My phone rings. “Did you…
Pluto’s Still Not a Planet… but This is Heartwarming
It doesn’t mean it’s worth any less. Neil deGrasse Tyson was on Late Night with Seth Myers on Friday promoting his show Cosmos, and he received a surprise guest – the (former) planet, Pluto. Tyson, if you recall, is famous for working to knock Pluto off the list of planets. Definitely worth a watch even for the non-science geek. While our Managing Editor, Jeanne Devon, may have a disagreement – I think this ends the argument.
Bird of the Week – Northern Hawk Owl
Another Alaskan owl, now much harder to find, is the Northern Hawk Owl. The Hawk Owl has the longest tail among North American owls. The black border around the white facial disk is also a great field mark. Like the Boreal Owl, the Northern Hawk Owl is a plunge dive feeder, and is suffering from the unseasonable mid-winter rain storms, which make it impossible for them to punch through the snow to the prey below. Last year WC saw exactly one Hawk Owl. For more bird photos, please visit Frozen Feather Images.
Open Thread: Think Warm Thoughts
I know Alaska has had a weirdo Winter, but here in New York we’re ready for it all to end. For now, here’s a photo from spring of last year at Bird Creek. Think warm thoughts.
Palin’s Going “Rogue” TV
I know what you’re thinking when you make your daily pilgrimage to Sarah Palin’s Facebook page. You stare at your screen with a Crunch Wrap Supreme and Diet Redbull clicking “refresh” compulsively, waiting to be the first to capture the lustrous pearls of wisdom that fall like glistening acid raindrops from the unhinged jaw of the former half governor. You think to yourself, “If only I could capture this experience on video!” Seeing a picture of word salad just isn’t the same as being able to watch and listen. Printed words don’t deliver the jutting jaw, the pursed lips, that…
(UPDATE) Parnell’s California Dream
UPDATE: Gov. Parnell’s illegal appointment has “withdrawn his own name,” the Anchorage Daily News reports. “A state law says board and commission nominees must be registered Alaska voters. Mandell told the Daily News he had not lived in Alaska since 1995. Parnell continued to back him, saying the Alaska Constitution required only that nominees be U.S. citizens.” Apparently the quaint notion that we have to follow state law is beyond the governor’s scope. If only he had some basic legal training. Oh, wait. ************************************** $2 billion a year is not enough. Sure they’re the wealthiest entities ever to have existed…
Ms. Underestimated in Fairbanks
FAIRBANKS – Despite recent attempts by Republican Borough Assemblyman Lance Roberts to bully the Fairbanks Co-op Market into no longer carrying Ms. Magazine, this week a new shipment arrived and was stocked on the shelves. Roberts stated that he felt the magazine’s support of reproductive choice for women was tantamount to the Co-op Market condoning “genocide,” and announcing on his Facebook page that feminism was “heresy.” When Roberts learned of the Co-op’s decision to discontinue selling the publication, he beat his chest in his own newsletter, reveling in the outcome of his threats to boycott the market, and the fact…
Alaskans! Run!
The recent boondoggle with the Anchorage legislative office remodel is appalling enough by itself. However it also represents a much greater issue with this legislature. Members of that body are elected and sworn to act in the best interests of Alaska. Currently, they don’t. In negotiating a disastrous lease, they have Alaskans paying for an extensive remodel to a building we don’t own, and then a fivefold increase in rent, and finally locking us into a decade-long lease. This is a bad deal all the way around for the state, and a dreadful misappropriation of funds. Meanwhile, the lessor, a heavy campaign…