The Inner Alaska

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Tuesday March 02, 2010 · 1:25 AM PST

2010/03/02 · 01:25

In 1983 I went to see a movie that was adapted from one of my favorite books, 'Never Cry Wolf' by Farley Mowat. I did not expect anything amazing or necessarily memorable. I was simply hoping that the movie would be fairly faithful to the book, which I had found enchanting, hilarious and, at last, a serious call for conservation of our natural heritage. I was simply hoping for a good movie. The lights went down, the music started, and I realized that I had been completely unprepared for what was about to happen to me.

jlang57

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Friday February 26, 2010 · 10:31 PM PST

2010/02/26 · 22:31

While reading 'The Wrecking Crew' by Frank Thomas, I came across the following passage.

"Rule two. Congress can regulate all it wants but without enforcement it is meaningless. Immediately upon taking office, (Anne) Gorsuch did away with the EPA's Office of Enforcement. She then came up with a series of schemes that seemed designed to make the agency's work impossible: turning over enforcement power to the states; making toxic waste reports that had been mandatory into a handful of questionnaires that would go to only a hanful of polluters. ... But for the true believing wingers it was never enough. In a memo leaked in 1983, a particularly zealous member of Gorsuch's inner circle assailed a slightly less zealous colleague for being too strict on pollution enforcement and thus "systematically alienating the primary constituents of this Administration, the business community." " ('The Wrecking Crew', by Thomas Frank, Metropolitan Books, copyright 2008, pg 159)

It set me thinking about the primary constituents of the insurance companies and the motives of big business as it pertains to health care and whether or not it may be possible to entirely redirect the business motives of an industry into something more humane.

jlang57

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Thursday May 14, 2009 · 3:59 AM PDT

2009/05/14 · 03:59

We have been through a horrible dream in the last eight years. We have seen the White House co-opted by a radical right wing group who eviscerated the constitution, passed laws that built the foundation for a modern police state, and instituted policies that denied everything that this country had been founded on.

I have been thinking that much of that was behind us, that we could begin the healing of so much that went wrong, especially with resounding victories in both the House and Senate and the election of a true man of the people to lead us out of the wilderness we were lost in.

The problem is, however, that they are back.

jlang57

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Thursday May 07, 2009 · 8:20 AM PDT

2009/05/07 · 08:20

I have been discussing the issue of torture with a local conservative talk show host via the e-mail.

My position is that torture violates our basic premise upon which this country was founded and is, regardless of the supposed effectiveness, an immoral action. His view is, of course, different, though he has admitted that it is wrong.

I'm looking for a little additional assistance from all of you to buttress my arguments.

jlang57

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Tuesday April 21, 2009 · 12:23 AM PDT

2009/04/21 · 00:23

First, let me say that I voted for you, I was proud to do so, and still am. I was so completely impressed with your speech on race that I was sure that I had found a candidate that would make a difference. The way you ran your campaign and the manner in which you spoke affirmed in me the hope that there would be a difference this time around.

To this point, there has been a great deal of difference and I have been impressed with both your willingness to seek bi-partisan agreement and your ability to look at a decision and, after listening to people, re-think it, as well as your strength in pushing forward with ideas to help the nation work its way through the economic mess we are in.

However, there are, I believe, two issues that you have may not have completely thought through, so, as one who helps pay your salary, I am going to brief you on what I think are the second most important issues we are facing, after the economy.

jlang57

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Wednesday January 21, 2009 · 8:34 AM PST

2009/01/21 · 08:34

An incredible day, historic in so many different ways. But I can't help but wonder what it is that we are expecting here.

jlang57

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Sunday December 07, 2008 · 11:50 AM PST

2008/12/07 · 11:50

I have exchanged e-mails with one of the local right wing talk radio disc jockeys in this very conservative agrarian town. Recently, he stated that he believed that waterboarding and sensory deprivation were not torture, that he was against torture, and that the founding fathers would support such extreme measures to protect the nation. This is my response.

jlang57

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Wednesday November 26, 2008 · 7:28 AM PST

2008/11/26 · 07:28

My father was an Electrician in Alaska, working on a BMEWS, (Ballistic Missile Early Warning System), station when I was six years old. It was during this time, I recently found out, that he experienced the other side of unionization.

jlang57

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Monday November 24, 2008 · 8:18 AM PST

2008/11/24 · 08:18

My grandfather, Jess Edge, was a copper miner in the hardscrabble thirties in Bisbee, Arizona. He was blackballed for his union activity under one of the most anti-union organizations in American history. His story has something to tell us all.

jlang57

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Tuesday November 18, 2008 · 2:35 PM PST

2008/11/18 · 14:35

Senator Lieberman was forgiven? Good.

jlang57

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Wednesday November 12, 2008 · 8:03 AM PST

2008/11/12 · 08:03

Living in the predominantly conservative agricultural area of central Washington state, I don't get to listen to much in the way of progressive or Democratic talk. I must be satisfied with listening to the local conservative talk show hosts, and they have been spending a lot of time discussing Sarah Palin.

jlang57

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Tuesday November 11, 2008 · 8:30 AM PST

2008/11/11 · 08:30

Years ago, when I was working at the local community college, I was asked for a comment on the issue of flag burning.

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The Inner Alaska

Turning the insurance industry from 'The Dark Side'

The Recurring Nightmare

Looking For Information

Dear Mr. President,

Where Is America?

Response To A Supporter Of Torture

The Other Side of The Union or My Father's Past Revisited

Civil Rights By Any Other Name or My Grandfather's Past Revisited

Lieberman Was Forgiven? Good.

Someone Take The Shovel Away

To Burn The Flag