Alaska Earthquake January 5th 2013

From surveillance video in a hardware store:



     

Alaska Moose used as a workhorse?

I got this in an email recently:

ALASKAN CLYDESDALE

Only in Alaska....... This guy raised an abandoned moose calf with his horses, and believe it or not, he has trained it for lumber removal and other hauling tasks. Given the 2,000 pounds of robust muscle, and the splayed, grippy hooves, he claims it is the best work animal he has.

He says the secret to keeping the moose around is a sweet salt lick, although, during the rut he disappears for a couple of weeks, but always comes home.... Impressive !!

Bound to be someone out there that will raise some issues with this treatment of a wild animal.

To them I say. "If the Moose keeps coming back, what's the problem?"

Is this story true? I mean, if mooses made good domestic animals, wouldn't everyone be using them? And the edges of some of the images in the photo, looked to sharp, I had doubts it was authentic, so I looked it up on Snopes.com, and it turns out the photo and the story are false:

Logging the Northern Way

It has the same photograph, with a different story. Apparently there are several versions of the story. But Snopes explains that the photograph is a fake; the story is just a story. It's been circulating with the photoshoped photo since 2007. They point out some flaws in the photo that show it's been altered.

But interestingly enough, Snopes also provides some links to three examples (with photos) of moose that have actually been domesticated to haul things. So apparently it can happen, but none of the domesticated moose they show have antlers like this creature. Something that size could kill a human quite easily, which is why I suspect that domestic moose are not common.
     

Hawaii or Alaska? Why not Hawaii AND Alaska?

I read an essay recently about someone's chance encounter with Obama in Hawaii, before he anounced he was running for POTUS. I got the gist of it just fine, but the conclusion, to me, was a bit off.

My Chance Encounter with Obama in Hawaii

It was three days before the New Year in late 2006, and I was eating a burger with the traveler and writer Paul Theroux on Oahu's North Shore. Beside us in the rickety little shack was a quintessentially Hawaiian group of Chinese Americans, African Americans, semi–Southeast Asians and kids who could have been any or all of the above, waiting for the dad in the group to bring over their avocado burgers from the counter. It took Paul and me a few seconds to realize that the dad in question — who looked like a skinny teenager — was, in fact, the freshman Senator from Illinois, who was expected to enter the presidential race in the next week or two.

We couldn't help breaking in on his private moment to say hello, and Barack Obama, intruded upon in a place he'd probably come to get away from people like us, could not have been more friendly and engaged; we felt we could have talked burgers — and places and books — with him all day. But you expect that of a politician, whose livelihood depends on winning hearts. The more remarkable thing, we both felt, was that this sparkling stranger was so much like the kind of people we meet in Paris, in Hong Kong, in the Middle East: difficult to place and connected to everywhere. Like the air of his home island (not really Eastern or Western, but a vibrant mingling of the two), he spoke for the dawning global melting pot of today. [...]

The article then goes on about how last century was the "American" century, but the 21st century is the "Global" century, and America, just like it's enemies, is refusing to climb aboard the fast moving train of what the rest of the world is doing. The rest of the world, which relates to images more than ideas, is unhappy with America. Obama is the answer to this "problem".

The Author compares Alaska to Hawaii. Hawaii is the melting pot, the future. Alaska is the America of his childhood; beautiful, but too self-reliant and fortune-seeking.

[...] Barack Obama the man is sure to disappoint some of the expectations his fans have; any man would, especially in the age of the 24/7 news cycle. But the past and the future that he speaks for are precisely the ones that belong so uniquely to the new century and the 95% of humans who are our neighbors at the global burger table. It's more than possible to make your fortune in Alaska — but I'd much rather find the future in Hawaii.

Now you can read the whole thing, there are a few good phrases in there ("...a world where people communicate more with images than ideas and assumptions travel faster than truths"). Yes, I get it. But I did find it had a tone that was somewhat irritating. The implication would seem to be that we should be less self-reliant and more conformist to what the rest of the world wants.

The global burger table thing is fine. Obviously that is happening. Obama as an image, the multicultural melting pot thing, fine. But the conclusion, that we have to choose the "future" - Hawaii, not the fortune seeking past, as represented by Alaska, doesn't cut if for me.

We are clearly moving into the future; we can only go forward. And as we go forward, change will come. Globalization is coming, and it's more a question of how and when, than if. But as we move forward, and as American changes, as it inevitably will, it is my hope we build on the firm foundation of what is the best from our past and present.

I don't think American exceptionalism is something to be ashamed of, just because some folks around the globe think we need to become more like them. My voting Republican in this last election wasn't about "fortune seeking", or living in the past. It was about insuring a future that will value and bring forward the best America has to offer, not only for ourselves, but for the global burger crowd too, which we are also a part of.

Those kids around the global burger table may find themselves in need of Alaskan oil one day. Self-reliance is not a bad thing, but even Alaskans know the value of neighbors they can rely on. None of us live in a vacuum. And Alaskans, I'm told, often spend their winters in beautiful Hawaii. Hawaii and Alaska both have much to offer.

The "either-or" analogy does not ring true for me, it's too restrictive. We need the best of both worlds, or should I say, the best of all worlds. Globalization will require some conformity, some compromise, by everyone. Yet as America does it's part and conforms with it, we need to be sure we don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. Having a seat at the global burger table and helping pay the bill doesn't mean we need to forget who we are or where we came from, or where we would like to go from here.
     

How is this for the "Bear Necessities"?

Here is an email I got recently:

Build It . They WILL Come

Some people build swimming pools in their back yards. But outdoor pools in Alaska just won't work. Since this particular family lives on the outskirts of Anchorage, they decided to build a sturdy, colorful playground for their 3 and 4 year old sons, with smooth- stone gravel all around it to avoid knee scrapes and other injuries.

They finished building it on Saturday evening, and the following morning, as the Mom was about to wake up the boys and have them go out to play in their new play center, this is what she saw from the upstairs window:










...guess it gives a whole new meaning to 'build it and they will come.'

I looked it up on Snopes.com, and it's more or less true:

Playground Bears in Alaska

I say "more or less true", because the text in the email isn't what the mom said, the actual story is a bit more interesting. It seems the bears damaged the playground and toys with bite marks and scratches.

When I read this I was thinking, "It must be scary to see that and then let your 3 and 4 year olds play out there". Well it seems the parents think so too, and they have taken some precautions since then. Follow the link to find out more.

Very cute... as long as they don't eat your kids!
     

Palin and the Negligent Malevolence of the MSM

I have recently read a "Straw Man" argument on the Politico blog:

Why the media should apologize
Sarah Palin gave a really good speech. Why go beyond that, asks Simon.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — On behalf of the media, I would like to say we are sorry.

On behalf of the elite media, I would like to say we are very sorry.

We have asked questions this week that we should never have asked.

We have asked pathetic questions like: Who is Sarah Palin? What is her record? Where does she stand on the issues? And is she is qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency?

We have asked mean questions like: How well did John McCain know her before he selected her? How well did his campaign vet her? And was she his first choice?

Bad questions. Bad media. Bad.

It is not our job to ask questions. Or it shouldn’t be. To hear from the pols at the Republican National Convention this week, our job is to endorse and support the decisions of the pols. [...]

It goes on, and on, and ON like that. What complete and utter BS. Not to mention arrogance and disdain.

I've never said the media shouldn't ask questions, and I don't know ANYONE who has. So what the hell is he talking about? What has Palin supporters upset is not questions, but the lies, smear and distortions about Governor Palin that are demonstrably untrue, that the media is so quick to embrace, promote and acclaim.

That's quite a different thing from being upset about questions being asked. Note to Simon: don't talk down to us or at us like we're ignorant morons, too stupid to understand the value of questioning. It's just that sort of weaselly, disingenuous elitist BS that's got so many of us angry with the MSM. Many of us understand the difference between real journalism and partisan propaganda.

When I went to college in the late 1970's my major was "Mass Communications". A great deal of that dealt with journalism basics. How to gather information and check facts to assemble and present a news story that could withstand scrutiny.

That is something fundamentally rudimentary to what a journalist does (or should) do.

So it's with this background that I look upon "journalism" by the main stream media today. I'm appalled at what I'm seeing.

So-called journalists seem to simply be lifting and repeating George-Soros Democrat talking points verbatim. They are repeating smears and rumors without doing any research, fact checking or verification. If I, who have even fewer fact checking resources available to me than professional journalists have, can go on line and search through public records and see, in context, what things Sarah Palin has said and done as a mayor and as Governor of Alaska, certainly journalists can do the same?

The talking point today is that she's hiding. The media has sharpened every knife in their drawer, and they now demand that she present herself for a stabbing-fest.

If she's not in a hurry to rush into that, I can't blame her. She's not hiding, she has been available talking to voters on campaign events, but the media doesn't want to cover that.

A lot has happened in her life in a short time since the nomination. She's still Governor of Alaska, and still a mother with kids, including a son about to go off to war. She's juggling a lot of things right now. If she needs some time to prepare herself before facing the decidedly hostile media, so be it. Obama has had a lot more time to prepare for the spotlight in a national campaign, much more than she is going to get. We understand that the MSM would rather deal with her as unprepared and vulnerable as possible, and therfore don't want to wait. But they will have to for a bit.

In the meantime, what the media could do, is actually get off their backsides and do some REAL journalistic WORK. Many of the supposed questions they are asking already have answers; they don't all have to be answered personally by Sarah Palin. If I, a non-journalist, can find the answers to so many of their questions, answers that are in things she has already said publicly, then surely the journalists could do the same - if they were sincerely interested in actually finding factual, true answers.

The MSM has revealed their bias for some time now. Remember Dan Rather-Gate? Fake memos about President Bush, being pushed by CBS as true during the 2004 election?

What about all the things about Barrack Obama that the media neglected to tell us, about his lengthy associations with hate-mongers and terrorists? I was able to find these things out on my own, before they became widely known to the general public. Surely journalists could have done the same? Those things only became know in the MSM because bloggers kept talking about issues that the MSM would not, until it became impossible for the MSM not to address them.

It seems that many journalists knew about John Edward's mistress and her baby. But they deliberately made a decision to not tell us about it. They decide to spoon feed us only what they want us to know or believe.

All things considered, it seems that most journalists in the MSM can't be trusted to dig for information and present facts that don't support their own personal political agenda.

Regarding Palin, it seems that the MSM has already chosen Obama for us; and if we want something different, they are going to fight it. Real journalism be damned.

One of the courses I took in college was called "Propaganda and Public Opinion". I learned how public opinion could be manipulated by withholding information, presenting information out-of-context, and mixing up lies with facts, and repeating lies until they become generally accepted. With such creative mixing and editing of facts and lies, you could make JFK look like Hitler, and Hitler look like JFK. It was a real eye opener.

We need real journalism, not propaganda. Of COURSE the media does need to question Palin; I have no doubt they will have plenty of opportunity soon enough. But let them be warned; we want real journalism, not just regurgitated George Soros talking points. Not neglectful research, partial facts, rumors, unsubstantiated gossip, or opinion masquerading as fact.

Some advice for the MSM:

Just as Sarah Palin needs to prepare to be questioned, Journalists also need to DO THEIR HOMEWORK before they question her; not waste her time and ours by asking questions they could have easily found the answers to on their own, like so many of the rest of us have done already. DON'T WASTE OUR TIME.

I should also add "Don't waste our time asking stupid chauvinistic questions from the 1950's that offend and bore those of us who are already living in the 21st century." I can't believe some of the stuff I've been hearing. Is this really the 21st century? Sheesh!

Journalists need to report on the whole, larger picture, not just fragments they can spin to suit their own agendas. That may have worked in Hitler's Germany, but we expect something better.

They need to be equally vigorous in their questioning to BOTH political parties, and seek to find real answers, not opinion and conjecture. There ARE such things as FACTS. We are tired of their attempts to merely sway public opinion toward the answers they want us to embrace.

To the journalists who want more respect, I say: Start actually DOING your JOB, and you might get it. Ask tough, intelligent questions, of ALL the candidates. Let us decide from the facts, stop talking down to us, stop presenting your opinions as facts, and stop making things up!

I realize that it's human nature to be biased. Save your bias for opinion pieces and editorials; that's where it belongs. Being a PROFESSIONAL in journalism actually needs to mean something; when it does, you will find you are respected more.

More journalism, less BS, please. Thank goodness we are going to see actual debates to base decisions on, not just media sound bites. At least, I hope we are.


Related Links:

Hell freezes over

Sarah Palin Smears, Lies, Rumors and Gossip

Governors, Senators, Qualifications & Reforms
     

Sarah Palin Smears, Lies, Rumors and Gossip

If you can't argue with what someone says, assassinate their character. That's what the left is making a massive effort towards doing to Sarah Palin.

I've been reading things this past week that are just ridiculous. Total fabrications. Even the MSM is quoting lunatic posts from the Daily Kos as if they were facts! How is anyone supposed to debate about things that are just made up out of thin air? Whatever happened to journalism? Checking facts?

Here are two sources for Palin fact checking:

FightThePalinSmears.com

We are not connected to or supported by the McCain/ Palin campaign. Strictly supported by ads.

Many of the major lies are listed in the left sidebar for quick and easy reference. Breaking stories in the center. Lots of links. References and resources in drop down menus from the top.

Palin Rumors

Cripes, this has gotten ridiculous. Folks, look, let’s just run through a list here. (Updated.)

An extensive list, with embedded links. The list numbers 53 items, at the time I'm publishing this link.

Fortunately, the true facts do matter to many of us. Wouldn't it be nice if the MSM thought the truth was important, too?

Here is an introductory video about Sarah Palin, that was meant to introduce her at the RNC. They cut it from the program due to time restraints, which is unfortunate. It's only about 4 minutes long, and it would have cleared up some things about her.



By not showing the video before she gave her speech, the teleprompter was thrown out of synchronization. Sarah gave that great speech just from her notes. Looking on the bright side, we found out she doesn't NEED a teleprompter.

     

Patrick's Palin Roundup

Pat has a good cross-section of thoughtful Sarah Palin commentary:

Round up: all Palin all the time

Great links! Lots of good read'n!
     

Sarah Palin on Energy for America

Here is an interview with Sara Palin that was done August 1st 2008, by Larry Kudlow. She talks about America's energy needs and what Alaska can offer, and how and why she needed to fight the corruption in the state to achieve the natural gas pipeline to the lower 48.

My Interview with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has exactly the high energy, political toughness, and conservative reform message that would boost Sen. John McCain’s presidential run if Big Mac were to put her on the ticket. In an interview last evening on CNBC, Palin was very clear on her drill, drill, drill message for Alaska and the rest of the U.S., along with her strong supply-side tax-cutting and free-market economic views. She did not shirk from questions about an investigation of her firing the state’s safety commissioner. She told us she has nothing to hide — let them bring it on.

Palin is dealing with Alaska’s culture of corruption by supporting all manner of reform and investigation. She basically dissed Ted Stevens, calling him a distraction. She then talked about cleansing the Republican party of all the pork-barrel corruption that cost it the congressional election of November 2006.

Palin’s response to all the vice-presidential talk is fascinating. It was a point of view I have never heard before and it underscored her independence. I have interviewed all the veep prospects, and I still have Gov. Palin at the top of my list.

I hope readers will enjoy this interview: [...]

(bold emphasis mine) I enjoyed it! And in case you missed it, this video is also excellent:



A practical energy policy we can believe in. Follow the "Energy VP" link below, where Pat has a link to the entire video.


Related Links:

Palin - the energy VP

Fred Thompson Sizes Sarah Up

The Four Stages of Conservative Female Abuse

Colorado teacher and mother of four: A Vote for Sarah Palin
     

Levi will join Bristol at the Convention

By RACHEL D'ORO, Associated Press Writer Tue Sep 2, 6:28 PM ET

Levi Johnston to join Palin family at convention

WASILLA, Alaska - The boyfriend of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's unwed, pregnant daughter will join the family of the Republican vice presidential candidate at the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Levi Johnston's mother said her 18-year-old son left Alaska on Tuesday morning to join the Palin family at the convention where Sen. John McCain will officially receive the Republican nomination for president. The boy's mother, Sherry Johnston, said there had been no pressure put on her son to marry 17-year-old Bristol Palin and the two teens had made plans to wed before it was known she was pregnant.

"This is just a bonus," Johnston said.

The young man's presence could set off a media frenzy around the young couple as photographers and cameramen scramble for pictures of the two teenagers.

[...]

Sherry Johnston said she was worried about her son dealing with all the attention. She said it was difficult enough for teenagers to deal with any pregnancy, having the entire nation watching made it worse. [...]

I'm glad he's going to be there. But how obnoxious is the media going to be? I really thought candidate's children were off limits. Obama himself even had enough class to say so himself the other day. So will they leave the kids alone?

About Palin herself, Pat has this great post:

Hurricane Sarah

It has some great excerpts from three different articles, about what Sarah Palin did in Alaska that has earned her the reputation of a strong executive and a proven reformer. Very impressive, a must-read.
     

Wow! What a Great Choice!

I hadn't considered Palin much, because conventional "wisdom" on Veep matters had it that McCain had to pick his Veep from a key swing state. Leave it to John McCain to do something unconventional.

I saw her speak this morning, it was wonderful. The more I hear the more I like what I hear. I'm very enthusiastic about this ticket. Hooray for us!


Related Links:

It's Palin!

Fred Thompson on Palin

Palin for America: A true conservative: “She knows when to stand up and doesn’t let anyone tell her to sit down”