Elise Sereni Patkotak

It being so close to Halloween, I think we should examine the new paradigm in America in which the scariest things of all begin with the words, “The US Congress has formed a bipartisan committee to (fill in the blank – it doesn’t matter because nothing will ever come of it).” Also high on the list are the words, “Hi, I’m from the Affordable Care Act and I’m here to help you enroll online.”

Growing up, I was always told how lucky I was to live in America and not the Soviet Union where people feared their government. How quickly

Maybe this is asking too much from a group that is clearly limited in so many ways but if the Republicans don’t like Obama’s health care plan, what exactly is their alternative plan? Have I just missed it in all my reading and listening?

As someone privileged to get up close and personal with our magnificent wild birds on a weekly basis, I sometimes forget the wonder that overcomes someone interacting with them for the first time. I rediscover that wonder in the eyes of the children who come to events like Owl-O-Ween and hand Kodi, our Northwestern Crow, a dollar bill that he then deposits in his cache jar. It is always an amazing experience. 

How one person who only lives with birds and dogs can possibly spend as much as I do at Costco’s on a regular basis is beyond me. I will not be wanting for cheddar cheese in the near or distant future. Or apples. Or olive oil.

Sigh…

I open the cabinet above my computer in my office and all the CD’s come tumbling out and cut my head.

If this weather continues, this will be the first Halloween I will spend in Alaska in 41 years in which Trick or Treaters will not have to wear snowsuits over their costumes when they come to my door. I’ll actually get to see what they’re supposed to be. This could turn out to be a lot of fun.

Reading what Sal says on Fox News is almost more incomprehensible than listening to it. A couple of examples…

1. “People who see the way that I and Ted Cruz and Mike Lee and a whole lot of other Americans can see that we are taxed enough already—of course, that’s the acronym for the Tea Party movement—we’re taxed enough already and we believe that the Constitution, that’s the blueprint that leads us towards a more perfect union and will fight very strong for that.”

2. “I’ve been saying for years that robust, competitive primaries make for a better political system—it

Listening to McCain rail against the right wing Tea Party arm of the Republican Party and the damage it is doing to the party, you’d almost think he hadn’t started it all by catering to that fringe group with his choice of our gal Temporary Sal as his running mate in the 2008 campaign. He has no one to blame but himself.