Columns 2017

Both parties need to retire

Posted on by Elise Patkotak

Has it occurred to anyone else that both the Democrats and the Republicans have become the parties of dysfunction? Is it perhaps time to retire them both to the dustbin of history and start anew?

Look at the Dems. They lost the election and since then have pretty much been curled up in a whimpering ball of shaking goo. If Hillary had won and then it became public knowledge that her win had been at least partly assisted by the Kremlin, the Republicans would not be curled up and quivering. They would have fourteen special committees investigating it. They would Continue reading →

Scribblings

Quoth the Raven – Nevermore

Posted on by Elise Patkotak

No photo could do justice to what I see outside my window. Ice fogs are all over Anchorage and one settled in my circle. I looked out as darkness fell and all I see was a gray, icy world with frozen trees encased in frost. It is a world straight out of Edgar Allen Poe. You could almost hear the raven. Continue reading →

Scribblings

It’s that time of the year again

Posted on by Elise Patkotak

The air around the state feels cleaner, more easy to breathe, as though a pestilence had departed. And then I remember that the air has improved everywhere but in Juneau where all the bad air is about to descend in one foul smelling ball of politicians who will once again spend more time than allotted trying to avoid making the hard decisions about how to keep Alaska financially afloat.

Just as the spectacle of the Orangeman starts to sink into our consciousness as the most horrible of horrible political mistakes America ever made, here comes the Alaska Legislature to show Continue reading →

Scribblings

I don’t get it

Posted on by Elise Patkotak

Republicans have been screaming for over four years about repealing the Affordable Care Act. Yet they now need another year to come up with a plan to do that while trying to salvage the good things in it… like coverage even for pre-existing conditions. What the hell have they been doing for the past four years? Did they seriously spend all that time bitching about something without trying to figure out a plan to fix it? Or are their brains so small they couldn’t handle two things at once… abolishing one plan while replacing it with another.

Assholes. Idiots. No, Continue reading →

Columns 2017

A country of war

Posted on by Elise Patkotak

I’m probably not the only person in this world who is very, very glad to say goodbye to 2016. It was a horrible year. And I’m not just talking about the Orangeman’s election. Yes, that will probably be the downfall of democracy and our country as we know it, but it still wasn’t the worst part of 2016. That honor goes to the endless wars in the Middle East.

We are now in our 15th year of war there and are no closer to solving the problem of terrorism than we were the day after 9/11. In fact, there Continue reading →

Scribblings

Another day at Bird TLC

Posted on by Elise Patkotak

Heading off to my first day of 2017 at Bird TLC. If anyone out there is worried about retiring and wondering if life holds meaning beyond retirement, I heartily suggest you find your passion and pursue it. That’s what I did. And my retirement has been filled with eagle poop and owl pellets and friendly nips from my Cache Crow Kodi and I could not be happier or feel more fulfilled.

There is life beyond a paying job and it’s more wonderful than you can imagine. No paycheck can equal the thrill of watching an eagle you’ve helped rehab be Continue reading →