The Mudflats

Palm Pilot to Nowhere

Palin’s still on the palm thing.  At a speech in Orlando, she referenced yet again the infamous palm writing incident where she had to write the words “Energy, Tax Cuts, and Lift America’s Spirits” on her hand so she’d remember the three things she’d do if she were President of the United States.  Palin the presidential wannabe described the incident by saying she was “busted for using a poor man’s TelePrompter,” and went on to elaborate, “I was just kicking it old school.  It’s the way we used to do it.”   Your assignment for the weekend is to find another human being who is closer to 50 than 40 who uses the phrase ”kicking it old school” without humiliating their children by trying to sound like one of them, and failing miserably.

She also told the audience to get a Bible and look up Isaiah 49:16, which reads, “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.”  ”If writing on one’s palm was good enough for God, then it’s good enough for the rest of us,” she spake.  Hmm.  Drowning almost every living thing on Earth was good enough for God too.  So was turning people into pillars of salt.  And there was lots of smiting going on there for a while, if I remember correctly.  Can we expect her to start striking people dead?  The “it’s good enough for God so it’s good enough for me” defense might be interesting in a court of law.

Say Uncle!

Lookie! Uncle Ted (aka almost convicTED Stevens) is back! He popped out of his hidey hole today to make an announcement endorsing a bullet line to bring natural gas from Alaska to Alaska via an Alaskan route. Some might say he’s a bit late to that party. Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker has been saying this since anyone can remember, and is running his campaign on that issue above all others. And AGIA takes another body blow. Will we have to fork over Palin’s half a billion dollars to exit the Trans Canada agreement after all? Stay tuned…

Cawfey Tawk

Across America, the thinking man’s answer to the Tea Party movement will be seeing gatherings springing up everywhere. Started by a very clever and impassioned Facebooker, the Coffee Party has a mission:

MISSION: The Coffee Party Movement gives voice to Americans who want to see cooperation in government. We recognize that the federal government is not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges that we face as Americans. As voters and grassroots volunteers, we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them.

***There’s a Coffee Party at 10am in Wasilla at the Metro Cafe, and one at 7pm in Anchorage at the Cafe del Mundo on Benson. Wherever you are, you can check for locations near you at Coffee Party USA.***

Good Wife Goes Rogue Rouge

On this week’s episode of “The Good Wife“  Going Rouge makes an appearance!   A backwoods ballistic expert flirts with a lawyer and as part of his flirtation he sends her a lavishly gift-wrapped copy of Sarah Palin’s  Going Rogue.   She responds by sending him a copy of Going Rouge – An American Nightmare!  I hear it got a great cover shot.  

Congratulations, Senator Begich!

Congratulations to Senator Begich for landing a spot on the Senate Budget Committee!  Nice!

Acknowledging his continuing efforts to address the federal budget deficit and growing debt, the Senate approved his appointment to a vacant seat on the Senate Budget Committee, effective Tuesday night.  He joins the Budget Committee with a focus on fiscal responsibility. During his first year in office, he has supported the Senate’s adoption of “Pay-Go” rules, Congressional and Presidential efforts to establish a federal debt commission, a Presidential suspension of discretionary spending, and numerous initiatives promoting transparency and efficiency in government spending.

For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow

Today is the birthday of one of my favorite members of Congress – Alan Grayson. He is living, breathing proof that it is medically possible to be a registered Democrat and also have a spine. He appears to be no worse the wear for having this spine, and to show support for him, there’s an effort to get donations to his campaign. He’s 52 years old, so if you would like to send a symbolic $52 to his campaign, or any amount you see fit, click HERE. This guy is fighting the good fight every day, not only for members of his district, but for all of us. Last week he introduced a simple four-page bill to let all Americans buy into Medicare. It has 50 cosponsors already. You can support the bill at WeWantMedicare.com. And he’s even leading the GOP primary poll in which only Republicans in his district were surveyed! I guess everyone loves a spine.

It’s All Mine

Ah, the loophole.  They always seem to find them, don’t they?  Well there’s a loophole in George W. Bush’s 2002 Clean Water Act that allows mines to dump waste in America’s waters.  But the good news is that the EPA has the authority to close the loophole.  EarthWorks is organizing a call-in day on Monday, March 15 when concerned citizens will call the White House and urge action.  This loophole is allowing the Kensington Mine near Juneau to destroy a freshwater lake by calling this mining waste “fill” and dumping it, untreated into the lake.  It’s also allowing mountaintop removal coal mines to dump their waste into the streams of Appalachia. 

So get ready to enter a new contact into your cell phone, or put it on your speed dial.  It’s the White House!  I think every American should have the White House on speed dial!  202-456-1414.  Call it and ask your president to restore the Clean Water Act’s prohibition on dumping mining waste into clean water.

Last week, the Alaska Board of Game voted 4-3 to open the Northeast periphery of the Denali National Park and preserve to wolf trapping. What this means is that an area around the National Park, referred to as a “buffer zone” no longer exists. The buffer zone was put into place to help preserve the wolves that live in the park and are a huge draw for tourism and wildlife photographers. In recent years, pack leaders wandered out of the park and fell victim to trapping, raising the hackles of wildlife organizations, conservationists, residents who love wildlife, and the tourism industry.

And now, thanks to the challenged decision-making of our new governor (who is much like the old governor on this issue) the tourism boycott has begun.  Thanks a lot, Governor Parnell.  I’m sure business owners across the state are really excited about this, especially since the economy has already reduced tourism by double digits last summer.

The buffer zone helps to keep these Denali wolves alive, because, frankly, wolves don’t really know where the park boundary ends, and where they need to be to stay safe. These packs, which have been studied since the 1930s, have a natural range and it doesn’t exactly conform to the boundary of the park.  And now the northeast periphery, which was formerly a protected area, is open for trapping thanks to this vote by the Board of Game.

The decision swings in the opposite direction  of what park authorities had asked for. The federal authorities had recommended expanding the buffer zone to protect the wolves that wander outside the park’s boundaries. Those particular wolves are the ones typically seen by busloads of tourists who visit the park every summer.

The wolf population is the lowest it has been since 1987, park authorities say. While they don’t know for sure why the numbers have plummeted, they say there has been trapping pressure on the animals.

There are about 70 wolves left in the 6-million-acre park.

Let’s look at this 4-3 vote.

Sometimes the best way to understand a vote, is to understand the votER.  So, let’s hunker down and learn about the latest appointment to this board, one of those on the “4″ side that voted to remove the buffer zone and increase the trapping of wolves.  Governor Sean Parnell recently appointed a man named Al Barette of Fairbanks to the Board.  Mr. Barette has an interesting history.

He retired from the military in 1993 because of an injury, and now lives in Fairbanks with his wife and three children.  He’s also a business owner.  But his kind of business is not the kind of business that will feel the pinch when environmental and wildlife groups expand the boycott on Alaska travel because of this decision.  He owns the kind of business that thinks this decision is just swell.

He owns the Fairbanks Fur Tannery – the first commercial tannery in Alaska.  He started it in 1993 and business is good, but of course it will be better soon.  Here’s a picture of Mr. Barette on the job.

Then, in 2002 he purchased another business – The Alaskan No. 9 Trap Company.  And, believe it or not, they manufacture The Alaska Wolf Trap.   Business prospects are looking good for that one too.

One of his favorite things to do is to teach young, inexperienced trappers how to do it better, and is often seen discussing equipment and tactics “over the counter” at the Alaska Fur Tannery.

And he is so dedicated to wolf elimination, he was even the recipient of the very first permit to shoot one from an airplane, after then Lt. Parnell’s poorly worded ballot initiative permitting the practice passed.  Thousands of Alaskans, myself included, voted the wrong way on that initiative because it was worded so poorly.  A cynic might say that the obfuscation was deliberate.  Voters had voted against the aerial hunt twice before but this time it passed.

But surely, there are two sides to every story.  Granted that tourists will suffer, and the wolves of course, and wildlife photographers, and those in the tourism industry, and small business owners who will feel the pinch of tourism boycotts…  But someone has to benefit from this other than just Board of Game member Al Barette who will be able to sell more traps, and tan more hides.  There are others who benefit. See my emphasis below.

Alaska wildlife advocate Rick Steiner called the Denali decision a slap in the face to the park service and to its visitors who come to the park to see, among other animals, a wolf.

“It’s an outrageous decision,” he said. “The Board of Game placed the interests of three or four trappers on the eastern edge of Denali over the interests of hundreds of thousands of visitors to the park, and countless public comments from Alaskans asking not only to maintain the existing buffer but to expand it.”

He said the economic impact of the tourists that the wolves draw to the state make wolves “worth orders of magnitude more alive than dead.”

The interest of three or four trappers AND the interest of the man who cast the deciding vote to eradicate the buffer zone.  Conflict of interest?  Sounds like it to me.

Once again Alaskans are caught up in the epic battle of the hunters.  On the one hand are the wolves who bring tourists to the park and are worth their weight in public relations gold.  They have to eat, and they have the misfortune of liking to eat the same things we do.  On the other hand are those for whom the Alaska wilderness of their dreams is nothing more than a moose and caribou farm with us the only predator.  It’s good for people who like to eat wild game, yes.  But the big money comes from those who  come to Alaska, kill something, and leave.  And so the state may as well stack boards with those who can make a pretty penny off trapping.  It’s a win-win situation for them, and a lose-lose situation for the wolves and those who derive joy and economic benefit from keeping them alive.

It’s time to elect a new governor.  Before you cast your vote in November, find out what your candidate thinks about the current mission of the Board of Game, and find out if they are appalled by the current conflict of interest that exists on the Board, and the administration’s war on tourism and small business.

While waiting to cast your vote, feel free to let the governor know how you feel about this.  And remember, the wolves of Denali National Park belong to ALL of us, wherever in the country we live.  So, even if you’re not in the state, you have a stake in this.

Governor Sean Parnell – http://gov.alaska.gov/parnell/contact/email-the-governor.html

CALL  907-465-3500   FAX: 907-465-3532

PLEASE ALSO CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND TELL THEM NOT TO CONFIRM BARETTE’S APPOINTMENT. More details on this story to come.

A while ago, I bought a Flip Camera – one of those teeny cell-phone sized video cameras that you can plug right into your pc and upload videos.  And then I created a YouTube account!  So, I filmed a few quick clips at the start of the Iditarod on Saturday, and decided to be brave and see if I could figure out how to get them on the blog.

Taa-daa!

Here’s the spontaneous street serenade by Alaska’s own Hobo Jim! I was so surprised, that I didn’t even think to video anything until the last verse…

And here are a couple teams as they head off for Nome. I was a bit farther down the race route, and out of the crowd.

And where are the teams I’ve been following, you may ask?

#50 Aliy Zirkle of Two Rivers, AK is in 13th Place out of Rohn
#36 Michelle Phillips of Tagish, YT with the “zen dogs” is 25th out of Rohn
#4 Wattie McDonald of Scotland is in 41st out of Rainy Pass
#14 Newton Marshall of Jamaica is in 46th out of Rainy Pass
#61 Colleen Robertia of Kasilof, AK is in 54th out of Rainy Pass

They’re all hanging in there so far. The leaders are on their way to Nikolai.

Leading the pack is Paul Gebhardt #7 of Kasilof.

Dog speed to you all!

You can check out the positions of all the teams at the ADN Leader Board. You can also have fun with the interactive map of the race route.

I spent Saturday morning in downtown Anchorage, Alaska.  It’s my favorite day of the year to do that.  Drab, dreary, early-March downtown is transformed into an exciting yet quaint, cozy yet international mini-city focused on dogs and a silent race across the wilderness that does not involve fossil fuels.

I got there early, giant latte in hand.  I’m not sure exactly what is in this latte, but the lady who makes it sees me coming and whips up this fabulous mysterious concoction.  There’s something about coconut and white chocolate and caramel…  But she just says, “Hey, there!  Want the regular?”  and I say, “Yes!” and then four dollars later, there it is.  I got an extra big whatever-it-is today because I knew it would be serving double duty as a hand warmer and I wanted it to last as long as possible.

After parking in the 5th Avenue Garage I stood at the rail, with a gathering crowd of others who had the same idea.  A quick change into Ice Riders and bunny boots and I was ready to go down to the street level.  Crossing the parking garage, who did I run in to but Heather and John Aronno from Alaska Commons!  Why did I bump into them?  Because apparently they have mastered the mysterious art of being EVERYwhere.  Just ask anyone.

Up to the starting line, where the suddenly wealthier Mayor Dan Sullivan watched the mushers take off.

Each musher got a brief intro, and then a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-  GO!  And off they went – a team of a dozen or so smiling dogs followed by smiling people.  Some of the people are just on the sled for this ceremonial start.  Only the mushers themselves, decked out in their numbered bib will actually head out Sunday from Willow to Nome.

It’s hard to know who to root for.  There are 71 teams, each with high hopes, each having trained for many hours, and each dreaming of being the first to Nome.  I usually pick four or five teams to think of as “mine.”  I pay attention to them as they take off and it makes it easier to connect to them when I hear about them on the trail as news comes in.

I always have fun picking “my teams” and I never know who they are going to be. 

This year, I was quite captivated by a Scottish musher whose dogs were all ablaze in red tartans (see below).  Very dashing.  And fluttering behind the sled was a huge gold and red Scottish flag. Bagpipes played as the countdown was bellowed and he whisked off down the snowy avenue.  But the thing that really did it?  The musher himself was in a kilt!  I presume that a) he was not wearing the kilt in the “traditional” way, and b) that he plans to change before the re-start tomorrow.  Otherwise he might be the first to scratch.  He’s my Team #1.

The crowd loved this guy.  Alaskans don’t much care what country or state you are from.  They love everyone.  The fact that you’re in Anchorage ready to go 1150 miles with a team of dogs is enough.  The crowd cheered just as loudly for the Scotsman as they did for Alaskans.

The next one that caught my attention was the Jamaican team.   Yes, it flashed me back to the year of the Jamaican bobsled team in the olympics.  The Jamaican musher waved a tiny green and black flag, and looked a bit chilly.  I hope he has lots of layers.  He’s #2.

Then after watching a few more teams pass, I decided to go back behind the starting line and check out the teams waiting to go.  The dogs were absolutely electrified.  Many of them strained against the harness barkng and breathless, and had to be held back by handlers.  If you’ve ever seen an excited dog, think of it right now.  Now multiply the excitement by three.  There were dogs yapping, and sniffing, with tongues and tails wagging simultaneously, and ears perked up, and front feet dancing, and whining and some even jumping straight up in the air like they were on a four legged pogo stick.

And then there were these guys.  They were right in front of pogo stick dog.  They looked smart, noble and savvy.  They were determined.  These were lead dogs and I loved them immediately.  It was like a moment of dog Zen in the melee of the canine-fest/winter carnival.  This was my next team.

Then I saw one of my perennial favorites Aliy Zirkle who will be my Team #4.  I like her.  She loves her dogs, and she has a cool name, and a great smile, and I’ve heard many nice things about her.  She’s just one of those people that radiates likeability.  Her best Iditarod placement has been 11th, and I’d love to see her in the top 10 this time.  She also won the Yukon Quest (the other great race) back in 2000.  Here she is about ready to start, standing in front of the Jesus guy.  He had a placard that said, “Jesus Bless Iditarod 38″ on one side and ”Jesus Bless the APD” on the other side.  He kept yelling at the top of his lungs, ”Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Praise Jesus!”  and when a musher pulled out he added, “May the wind be at your back, Jack!”  He was having a grand time. 

I kept walking further in to the “back stage” area.  There were dogs everywhere, and food vendors and suddenly someone shouted out, “Hobo Jim!”  Hobo Jim is a bit of an Alaska legend.  I looked over and there he was, all smiles, with his guitar and he began to sing.  And then, he stopped and everyone packing the street corner burst out into the chorus, “I did, I did, I did the Iditarod Trail!”  And then he finished, and walked back inside.  A random moment of serenade.

Picking my Team #5 was easy.  It began when I spotted a dog in a jacket that said “Until.”  I had to look closely to make sure, but that’s what it said.  It’s not something you see every day. 

A dog dressed in an “Until” jacket.  Until what?  What did this mean?  A riddle!  And then there was another dog – NONE.  And another – ARE.  I sat there, and puzzled.  I spotted another little guy sitting by the back of the truck – ADOPT ONE.  Ah!  “Until There Are None, Adopt One!”  Beautiful.   I remembered reading about this dog kennel.  Many of these were rescued, or unwanted dogs.  The love given to them was obvious. And the feeling was mutual.  I stayed for a long time watching them with their human, and actually got a little choked up thinking of my own rescued bush dog.  Definitely Team #5.

Then there were the big names – Dee Dee Jonrowe, Jeff King, Martin Buser and current champ and 3-time winner Lance Mackey.  You always keep an eye on those teams too.  And I will try my very very hardest not to hold it against Lance Mackey that I had to see this horrifying sign while trying to enjoy my day.

Tomorrow they will be off in earnest, heading north to the coast of the Bering Sea.  Here’s a recap of my five teams in case you want to follow them too.  Or add your own in the comments and share why you like them.

Bib #4 – Wattie McDonald from Stonehaven, Scotland (Rookie)

Bib #14 – Newton Marshall from St. Anne, Jamaica (Rookie)

Bib #36 – Michelle Phillips from Tagish, Yukon Territory, Canada   Noble Zen dogs (Rookie)

Bib #50 – Aliy Zirkle from Two Rivers, Alaska (Veteran)

Bib #61 – The Until dog and the rest belong to Colleen Robertia from Kasilof, Alaska (Rookie)

~Getting shoed up for the trip.

And they’re off….  Wishing everyone a healthy and happy race.