04 February 2011

Alaska Digest & 2nd Amendment News: Friday, Feb. 4

Time for the end o' the week wrap-up:
  • Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On:  There was a 4.6 magnitude earthquake last evening at approx. 8:30. Personal observation: Many of the 'quakes which occur to the north and northwest affect the northern two-thirds of Anchorage, but are rarely felt on the south side of town, where I live. Last night's tremor was something else: there was a barely-discernible trembling, followed by a loud bang and a sharp jolt which rattled dishes and windows, caused the kitchen cabinet doors to open slightly & close with a slap, and moved the couch. It then continued to shake, diminishing gradually over the next 10 seconds or so.
  • Money (That's What I Want): The Anchorage School District, amid much hand-wringing and warnings of the dire consequences of poverty, passed a $638 MILLION budget last night, in this city of only 280,000 people. That's right, folks: something close to $16,000 per student. And what do we get for this massive bloat?  A graduation rate in the neighborhood of 52 per cent.
  • Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems: The proposed reductions in federal spending also have people in the Bush wringing their hands. It seems that many of the small air carriers here have been receiving subsidies for their flights to remote villages (which means almost ALL of them). Without those subsidies, the numbers of flights would be cut, and air fare would go up. And I thought it was rather expensive already. Example: Current price for a round-trip flight to Homer - 230 miles away, by road, making a 5-hour drive - is $246.  That buys a lot of gas, even at our current price of $3.49/gallon. 
  • When Seconds Count: You're familiar with that old saw about how "when seconds count, the police are minutes away"? There's a letter to the editor in today's paper from a gentleman who intervened in an assault, stopping a man from hitting a woman. But here's the money quote: "A man began to assault a woman on Ingra Street. Intervening, I held him in an armlock for 25 minutes until police arrived."  25 minutes. Are you paying attention yet? 
  • And finally, there's this: JPFO ALERT: Good Cop ... Bad Cop.  Excerpt:"One of the most laudable movements in America today is the group known as “Oath Keepers”. (Visit the “Oath Keepers” website.)
    The Oath Keepers represent the very best in American law enforcement (as well as the U.S. military … but that’s another story). The police of Oath Keepers are the “Good Cops”, the truly Good Cops.
    These loyal men and women have publicly re-declared that they will keep their oath to support and defend the Constitution from all enemies “foreign and domestic”. To them, this solemn promise is a sacred honor, not just some patriotic homily. This means they have sworn to obey the Second Amendment.
    Sadly, if there are “Good Cops” then there are also some “Bad Cops”. Fortunately for us, the Good Cops outnumber the Bad Cops by at least twenty to one. This is an imprecise estimate, but candid (and very private) discussions with police officers seem to support the reality that, at the most, five percent of cops nationwide are “dirty”.
    What makes a Bad Cop? Two things leap right out front in the personality profile of a Bad Cop: Arrogance and Authoritarianism."  Read the rest.

3 comments:

Jenny said...

Air transport costs are tricky.

Fuel is a large part of it of course, but a larger part I think is just how expensive it's become to run an airplane.

For instance, ever X hours (or X starts), you have to tear the engine all the way down, look at every little piece, and put it back together.... and that's hardly an inexpensive process.

The result is that a lodge owner I know, who's aircraft carries maybe a dozen people and their gear, has ran the numbers and figures he spends $700 every time he turns the engine on.

Multiply by all the parts across the airframe, add the small production runs for a/c parts and supplies*, plus the insurance costs running through every level of the chain...


... I'm amazed you can get anywhere for just $200 by air in this state in a puddle jumper.









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* catch-22, its so expensive not many people end up flying, which means your demand pool is similarly small, which means you can't see much, which means your per-unit costs are astronomical

Home on the Range said...

Between insurance and fuel the cub was going to have to go if I was going to go back to grad school. Hard decision, but it's just gotten too damn expensive to fly for fun any more. Shame.

Anonymous said...

I totally disagree that there are ANY GOOD cops. See, IF there were "good" cops they'd be arresting and citing their colleagues who violate the law and the rights of the citizenry. But they don't. They line up and cover for them instead of turning them in. Therefore, there are NO GOOD COPS.

Just because a cop is "less bad" or "not as corrupt" does NOT make them "GOOD."

I hold them all including all the courts in this country in complete and utter contempt.


Diamondback