Columns 2009

When the banks, brokerage houses and mortgage lenders were sucking under because of their greed, bad investments and utter disdain for reality, Congress passed a bill giving them billions of dollars in relief so fast that the ink had barely dried on it before the first check was cut. The Bush administration called for this money to be appropriated without any strings attached because there was simply no time for details. I believe the general attitude was, “Trust us. We’re from the government and we can handle this.”

How many times do we have to fall for a line like

Cutting the state budget through a hiring freeze is like me cutting my budget by eliminating all green food purchases, whether jelly beans or broccoli. It doesn’t make sense. And it doesn’t in any way address whether or not the green food was a major cause of my debt or whether eliminating it would have any appreciable effect on my overall economic health.

The fact that even I can see the deficiencies in this approach to our fiscal problems should be a large flashing red light with siren blaring alarm considering my general inability to have the slightest amount of

As I watched the inauguration yesterday, I couldn’t stop wondering if the villages in Bush Alaska that were probably listening to it on public radio had heat and food to go with the ceremony. I wondered if they wondered whether the promise of American would ever make it to where they live.  It’s been a long time since the first non-Natives hit these shores and announced they would bring “civilization” to the people they found here. So far, our achievements are underwhelming.

It seems we did a pretty good job of disrupting a way of life that survived the cold,

Rae Fancher spent a childhood in which physical, sexual and emotional abuses were rife.  I read about this 23 year old being the first Alaska Native female ever accepted into the Naval Academy with joy at the thought that some kids can escape their abusive past without putting a bullet to their head or a noose around their neck.

But even as I read about Rae’s choice to survive, I found myself thinking of the recent statistics about suicide in Alaska. We have the highest rate in the nation, twice the national average. The rate for youths in Alaska between

I start with a pair of long johns. Then I pull a pair of heavy knee socks up over them. Then I pull on heavy wool sweatpants. Then I put a T-shirt on, then a sweatshirt over that. I sit down and put on yet another pair of socks before finally putting on my walking shoes with Yak-trax. I somehow heave my body up and put on a coat liner, followed by a woman’s parka from Barrow that goes halfway down my calf. I pull up the hood with a warm fur ruff to protect my face from the cold.

Following a time honored tradition, today’s column will reflect my selections for my annual Hall of Infamy. People, places and/or things inducted into this hall are those that annoyed and irritated me more than usual last year.  As always, we will end the induction ceremony with another inductee retired to a permanent room of dishonor in the Hall.

People talking on cell phones get a nod in this column every year, but this year I want to be a little more specific and send out a Bronx raspberry to those people who talk into their phones via tiny sets stuck