Sunday Morning in Anchorage

Okay, so another week begins ...

The Daily Noise, like many other papers nation-wide, has been downsizing itself. It reduced the Monday through Thursday editions to only two sections, while its advertising rates have doubled or more over the last four years (doesn't anyone besides me see a connection?).

Today's edition, lacking in ads, was filled with vicious editorials which continue the paper's recent trend of Palin-bashing, and now kicking President Bush as he's leaving the White House.

I've mentioned before that the Noise was relatively mild toward Gov. Palin until John McCain introduced her to the rest of the country. From that point forward, emboldened by the addition of a national audience, the paper has been in the throes of a self-congratulatory diatribe of hatred toward Sarah.

My wife & I looked at the thing for about 2 minutes each today, and decided we will cancel our subscription. We were only getting the weekend editions anyway, and it's just not worth it. There's nothing there that we can't find on-line, and more up-to-date. The few ads that remain are available at the door of the stores we may visit, and the rest is forgettable.

Weather-wise, Accu-Hunch continues its insistence that we'll have a rain-snow mix, with temps in the mid-30s. That's what they said yesterday, too, and it was 41 and sunny all day. At least there are clouds today, so maybe the foreguess will get lucky & be close to accurate.

In the news, the Alaska legislature is opening its 2009 session facing a budget shortfall of some two billion-with-a-"b" dollars. The budget was based on oil prices remaining at or above $70/barrel, rather than the current $35 price.

The House minority leader is also whining about how "Troopergate isn't going to go away" in spite of the State's ethics panel having declared that the Governor did nothing wrong. Give it a rest, folks - there's nothing less attractive than sore losers.

Well, I've had my requisite dose of coffee, and am now debating what to do with the rest of the morning. The girls are preparing for another round of visits to the malls, so I'm on my own.

It has been awhile since I had a day with no agenda at all, and I'm not quite sure how to handle it. But I'll bet I figure something out.

Be of good cheer!