Jamie Smith has a way of capturing an entire argument in a drawing that WC admires very much. And he makes you smile; well, if you’re not a teabagger. Here’s three of his recent Joe Miller pieces. Jamie, WC takes you at your word that folks can “Feel free to rip off & repost.” This…
The October 15, 2010 issue of Rolling Stone features an article by Matt Taibbi that’s as furious a broadside against the Tea Party as anything the Teabaggers have ever loosed against liberals. Portions of the article may not be suitable for those with . . . tender . . . sensibilities. A sample: [T]he Republicans…
As WC has posted earlier, he supports Ethan Berkowitz for Governor. WC is not a huge fan of Berkowitz; he sometimes panders to the voters and some of his ideas are frankly weird. But if you can’t strongly support any of the candidates, then your only choice as a voter is to choose the lesser…
Tomorrow is the 493rd anniversary of Martin Luther‘s posting his 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church, Wittenberg, Germany. To celebrate, WC offers his own 95 Theses, 95 reasons not to vote for Joe Miller. Trust WC, readers; it was difficult to narrow the field to just 95 reasons. Have you taken your anti-nausea medicine?…
Sarah Palin, after losing a bid for the Lt. Governorship in 2002, was awarded a consolation prize: a seat on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. She famously resigned as a commissioner to protest fellow commissioner Randy Ruedrich’s ethics violations: he used Commission computers on Republican Party business and possibly leaked confidential information. That…
WC recognizes that most Teabaggers aren’t exactly deep thinkers. They seem to seize on simple slogans from their candidates, no matter how flaky those candidates may be. The unreasoning, uncritical acceptance of Joe Miller would seem proof enough. So at the risk of arguing to those who don’t care, WC proposes to look at the…
Okay, if you’ve already read Vic Fischer’s outstanding essay in Sunday’s Anchorage Daily News, you can probably skip this blog post. WC has never met Vic Fischer, but his record of public service, research and writing are admirable in every way. And WC was pleased to have him weigh in on Miller and Murkowski. Understand…
A redacted set of documents from Joe Miller’s personnel file were released by the Fairbanks North Star Borough this afternoon. In the event, Miller decided not to appeal Judge Burbank’s decision, and to permit the documents to become public. While the details are important, the heart of what they say is this: Miller has blamed…
WC and his loyal readers took a day off from politics; alas, the election is so close that only one day may be permitted. WC now returns to Election 2010 in general and Joe Miller in particular. President Harry Truman famously had a sign on his desk that said, “The Buck Stops Here.” Passing the…
WC is heartily sick of politics in general and Joe Miller’s antics in particular. November 2 cannot come soon enough. But while we wait to see if Joe Miller appeals Judge Burbank’s decision, or the contents of Miller’s redacted employment file, WC declares a time out from politics and invites his readers to spend a…
WC is generally not a fan of country music. Nashville cliches and blatant appeals to ignorance and intolerance. But Kathy Mattea, especially in the last ten years or so, has been an exception. Tonight at Hering Auditorium, she sang a lot of songs from her most recent album, Coal, some of her old stand-bys, including…
WC reader Paul reminded WC that some folks are already doing early voting. WC isn’t that good at planning. But perhaps it is time for WC’s voting guide to go up. WC approaches this blog post with some trepidation. For many years, WC would carefully cut out the newspaper ad from the Interior Taxpayers Association.…
Margaret and Helen is one of the most popular blogs on WordPress. They get in some lovely zingers, like this one: And I find it odd that Sarah Palin can see November from her house but she couldn’t see a teen pregnancy coming if her life depended on it. Maybe if she spent more time…
The Anchorage Teabaggers have launched a last minute hatchet job on Supreme Court Justice Dana Fabe. They even brag it’s too late for her to do anything about it: “There is not much time left before the election so Fabe will not be able to campaign against this group or a grassroots effort.” Election by…
Joe Miller preaches a static U.S. Constitution, a document whose meaning doesn’t change over time. Every word has precisely the same meaning today that it did 221 years ago. To which WC says, “Piffle.” Let’s take just one example: the U.S. Air Force. After all, Joe Miller is a West Point graduate, and, if only…
“You are what your record says you are.” Bill Parcells, NFL Football Coach The news on Candidate Miller comes in so fast that it can be hard to keep up. So as a civic service, WC offers an UPDATED primer on the Miller Follies, offering all of the links – well, most of the links…
The flow of illegal immigrants from Mexico into the U.S. is undeniably a problem, although there have been sharp declines in recent years. But Joe Miller’s solution – a Berlin Wall across the southern border of the U.S. – is an obscene, despicable idea. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to stop the outflow…
WC was privileged to be in Kokhanok, Alaska earlier this week, for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Kokhanok Wind Project. Kokhanok is on the southeastern shore of Lake Iliamna, in southwestern Alaska. Getting anything there by land is ludicrously complex, with multiple barge transfers, truck hauling and barge landings. Fuel for electricity, by necessity, arrives…
There’s not much WC can add to this amazing letter: Except to ask: Why didn’t other prominent Republicans sign? Randy Ruedrich? John Coghill? Gary Wilken? Does the Republican Party’s “Statement of Principles” only apply if the candidate feels like it? Or doesn’t have something to hide?
WC has been away. While he was away, Joe Miller’s hired muscle assaulted, handcuffed and attempted to have Alaska Dispatch editor Tony Hopfinger arrested at a public event. Hopfinger’s real alleged offense? Persisting in asking questions that Joe Miller didn’t want to answer. Joe Miller is famously a defender of the U.S. Constitution, even if…
WC has been out in remote Alaska where the internet is irrelevant. Substantive posts will resume soon, probably tonight, but in the meantime, here’s an excellent XKCD to give you something to think about: WC has said it before: XKCD is one of the consistently amazing and amusing webcomics that’s out there.
Annals of the Former World, By John McPhee Farrar, Straus and Giroux; (June 15, 2000) John McPhee, in the opinion of most people, is America’s greatest living expository writer. In the opinion of the Pulitzer Committee in1999, this is his greatest work. Except, perhaps, for Coming Into the Country, it’s hard to argue with that…
WC really isn’t a macro photographer. Basically, if it doesn’t have feathers, WC isn’t usually interested. But the combination of open lakes and ponds, and sunlight that can still melt some frost, has created some subtle beauty in Fairbanks. While the frost feathers form all the way around the branches overnight, the sunlight…
Although WC has been focused on Joe Miller a lot lately, there are other important things happening in interior Alaska. And they are a lot more fun – and a whole lot more fun to look at – than Joe Miller. Or Sarah Palin. Specifically, there’s a Palm Warbler hanging out in South Fairbanks right…
Dear Sarah: In your speech in California last night, you pointed to Pat Tillman as an excellent example of an American hero. Sarah, even if you could manage to get your foot out of your mouth long enough to try, you’re still not qualified to lick the dust off Pat Tillman’s boots. Pat Tillman gave…
Jim Whitaker accused Joe Miller of a very serious, illegal use of Fairbanks North Star Borough computers. Local Republican leaders like Ralph Seekins, and State Party Chair Randy Ruedrich, responded by basically accusing Whitaker of lying. After all, Ruedrich said, Whitaker came out in support of Presidential candidate Obama; how can you believe him. To…
Sometimes WC can point to one of his favorite web comics and comment on Official Republican U.S. Senate candidates at the same time. Dogs of C-Kennel, written and drawn by Mick and Mason Mastroianni for John Hart Studios, has as its premise a pack of pooches in the dog pound. Today’s cartoon makes a nice…
WC isn’t the only blogger who is . . . unhappy . . . with Joe Miller. For WC’s readers, here a selection of other bloggers’ posts for readers’ amusement and edification: Paul Jenkins is the Editor of the Anchorage Daily Press. His essay on Joe Miller’s touting his Bronze Star is shattering. If you…
Updated. Both the News-Miner and the Anchorage Daily News are reporting on former Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker’s public comments on what Joe Miller actually did at the Borough that led to his, ah, “resignation.” The Daily News reports, “What I was informed of at the time was that there were several borough…
The Face in the Frost, John Bellairs ISBN 158754105X (2000) This is fantasy reduced to its purest form. From a laugh out loud first few pages you are plunged into nightmare and horror through to a purely satisfying ending. In decades of reading fantasy, WC knows of no story that better illustrates the form. Something different…
Wickersham's Conscience 
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