Friday Wrap-Up: Guns on Campus, Drilling for Oil

My previous post garnered a bit of commentary, but most of it arrived via e-mail ... an interesting development. Those who wrote agreed with what I said; some felt I didn't go far enough. That's the second time I've gotten comments along that line.

Apparently, many of y'all are already fed up, and waiting for someone to say "Go!" That's very interesting.

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CNN & all the other formerly-mainstream media outlets have already embarked on the process of apologizing for the Times Square bomber. "Oh, poor fellow - his home was foreclosed. That could make him bitter!"

In the last two years, a LOT of your countrymen have lost their homes due to foreclosure ... and not another of them has tried to blow up Times Square.

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Another bunch of enviro-weenie/greenies have filed to block Shell Oil from drilling in the Arctic Ocean. They're using the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as their justification, as we knew they would. Aside from the obvious differences (the drilling here would be in much shallower waters), it's just another scheme to shut down all development in Alaska. They won't be happy until they've immobilized ALL development in Alaska, whereupon they will petition the fed.gov to turn AK into the largest national park.

It ain't gonna happen, folks. Don't assume that federal regulations and Outside interests are going to stop the State from moving forward. When we were a U.S. territory, Outside companies looted our resources, with hardly anything paid to Alaska in return. Now, as a State, the lefty loonies don't want us to develop anything at all.

There will very shortly come a time when we, the people of Alaska, have had enough of being told by everybody else what we can or can't do. Imagine Rhode Island dictating policy to Texas; how long do you think that would last?

That's what I thought.

Beg, borrow, or buy a clue, D.C.-based environmentalists: we've barely tolerated your interference thus far, and you presume much.

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Speaking of responsible development (which WE want more than the tree-huggers do),

A 2-acre area at the Fort Knox Gold Mine near Fairbanks is being dug up to remove pollution from a spill of water with a low concentration of cyanide.

That's exactly why so many Alaskans oppose the proposed "Pebble Mine" at the headwaters of Bristol Bay - Alaska's largest salmon-breeding grounds. Pebble would be, if developed, the country's largest gold mine, with all the tailings, acid, etc that it would entail. Accidents happen, and the location they've chosen could easily be a disaster waiting to happen.

Now, before you leave a comment pointing out that I'm talking both for and against development, go back to the word "responsible." The greenies would claim that Shell's drilling platform isn't safe. We, the owners of the oil, respectfully disagree. There are such platforms all over the place, here, and we're doing just fine.

Yes, regulation of industry is necessary regarding safety and precautions. No, you can't - and won't - be allowed to forever stop us from drilling.

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There's an editorial in today's Daily News, claiming that the University of Alaska's firearms ban is "fair". The piece is written by the president of the University of Alaska system, and he hits all of the liberal hot-button words, trying to misapply various straw-man or other inappropriate conditions to the campuses.

FAIL. Fairness is the cry of the liberals/progressives, and has no bearing on the case. What the ban is, is "unconstitutional" and therefore illegal. Deal with it in a legal fashion, or someone will make you do it. UA administrators: you do know where Colorado is, don't you?

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We enter the weekend with forecasts of sunny, warm weather ahead. Nice. Have a great one, yourselves, and thanks for stopping by.