There's a Sense of Calm

Perhaps it's an odd sense, up here, but still ...

The national news is full of the cackles and crowing of the progressives, over the impending destruction of the U.S. economy, and the dire predictions & stern bleating from the ineffectual Republicans. Meh.

It all seems to be so far away, these days. The more frenetic the events in the Lower 48, the quieter it is here. It feels much like the scene in Titanic when the ship is about to slip beneath the waves for the last time: there's a hush that occurs at such a time, as people are suddenly reminded of the transience of our existence. The U.S.A. may or may not survive this wrenching turn toward socialism. It's a lead-pipe cinch that it won't look like it used to, because it has already changed into something our grandparents wouldn't have recognized. Soon we may not recognize it, either.

So why are we insulated? I'm not saying we'd be unaffected, but we do have a bit of a separate economy (though based on the same currency), and our power grid is of the stand-alone variety. We'll give it a go, if needs must, as we have always been isolated to a large extent from the rest of the states. I don't imagine for one second that it would be easy, comfortable, or desirable. But we would struggle on.

In the meantime, we go about our daily existence. Snowy roads, cold temps, northern lights, moose in traffic, and all the other things that make life in Alaska an adventure.

In the meantime, I'll keep my eyes on my God, and not on elected officials 4,000 miles away.

75,000 Cattle Dead from Five Feet of Snow

No one except threecollie has been talking about this, and I'll bet most of you haven't heard about it at all.

Ranchers are still digging out thousands of their cattle that became buried in a record-setting snowstorm in South Dakota late last week and over the weekend.

One would think the death of 75,000 cows by upwards of five feet of snow might get some national attention, but as one blogger observed, it has taken some time for the news of the precipitation massacre to reach outside of local media.

... More than 22,000 homes and businesses in western South Dakota remained without power into this week, according to utility companies. National Guard troops were helping utility crews pull equipment through the heavy, wet snow to install new electricity poles.

At least 1,600 poles were toppled in the northwest part of the state alone, and workers expect to find more, Grand River Electric Coop spokeswoman Tally Seim said.

This is absolutely horrible, and it's had zero mention on the national news.










I grew up in farm country, and haven't ever seen anything this bad except from flooding. The silence of the media is not surprising, but adds to the list of unforgivable sins they've been committing over the last 15 or 20 years.

ConocoPhillips to Increase Alaska Production

From KTUU Channel 2 in Anchorage:

By Mark Thiessen The Associated Press  

5:20 p.m. AKDT, April 17, 2013

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—

ConocoPhillips says it's ready to increase its investments on Alaska's North Slope.

The oil giant on Wednesday announced it's taking the move after the state Legislature last weekend passed a new oil tax bill that reduced taxes on the industry in an effort to boost the flow of oil through the trans-Alaska pipeline.

This is good news for Alaska, especially after the gloom-and-doom-sayers who predicted that the lowered tax rates would spell disaster for the State.

There's a bit more at the link.

Straight From the Horse's Mouth

So the Romneys are selfish for keeping a horse?

And employing a groom - with a family to support, and

paying for feed that’s sold by someone - with a family to support.

And transported in trucks by someone - with a family to support.

Which were manufactured in a factory by people - with families to support and

nourished with stuff that’s grown by farmers - with families to support.

And housed in a barn built by construction workers - with families to support,

using materials trucked by drivers - with families to support.

And made with materials from factories with workers - with families to support.

Sounds to me like Mitt Romney's one horse has already done more to put Americans to work, than that horse’s (oops) in the White House.

h/t Sandi S.

Poor Obama

So Fox News has this headline: "Irene a Curveball for Obama Amid Economic Push".

Who cares if it inconveniences the President? What about the 65 million people who are fleeing the storm? The businesses that are disrupted? Property damage?

But no, we should worry about The Won ...

Why, again?

Joy in Mudville

There's bad news, but then there's good news.

Bad:
The unemployment rate among young adults in Anchorage, as reported recently by the local newspaper, is about 24 percent*.

Good:
My grown daughter finally landed a job interview today, and was offered a job on the spot. She starts tomorrow. Happy happy!



* It's the only segment of the workforce that's so bad; the rest are fairly flat - not a lot of new jobs, but no major lay-offs, either. We're reasonably well insulated from the Lower 48 market in that regard. A local economist likened it to being in a boat, off-shore, watching the coastline burn. Rather graphic, that, but fairly accurate.

The Perfect Storm

Alan Caruba outlines the problems facing these United States in a perfect commentary. I recommend you read it here.

h/t to GuyK for pointing it out.

Sunday Morning Wrap-Up

It's been a strange & eventful week in southcentral Alaska.

Mt. Redoubt's eruption, yesterday, dumped one-quarter inch of the abrasive, corrosive ash on the southern Kenai Peninsula. Sounds like Homer got the worst of it; that's only 125 miles south of Anchorage, as the eagle flies, although it's a five-hour drive.

There are 15 (or is it 16) candidates for Mayor, in Tuesday's election.

There are 22 candidates competing for 4 school board seats.

There's the strange case of the machete-murderer who's blaming E.T. for commanding him to carry out multiple killings and shootings.

The U.S. Department of Justice moved to dismiss its own charges against former Alaska senator Ted Stevens, although the judge has yet to rule on the motion. While it would be a vindication of "Uncle" Ted, it's too late to do anything about him losing his seat after 40 years, in a very close election.

A black bear has been chasing - and in at least one case, treeing - people in Far North Bicentennial Park, here in Anchorage. The local bear expert from the Dept of Fish and Game is looking for the critter, but hasn't seen it yet.

* * * * *

On to other things: we're just another day or so shy of reaching 14 hours between sunrise & sunset. It was just dark enough to make walking difficult, at 10:00 last night. We're still gaining well over five minutes per day of daylight, and of course it's light long before and after the "official" times. In summer, here, the sun never goes that far away - it dips just below the horizon for about 90 minutes, in June, but the skies never really get dark.

One of the bigger concerns here is that the tourist season is looking a bit shaky, this year. Many of the charter companies (fishing, flight-seeing, whale-watching, sightseeing) are offering prices at half-off to locals, just to drum up a bit of business.

The Daily Noise is reporting that cruise line revenue is down about 40 percent for Alaska. That's not good.

South-east and south-central Alaska rely on tourism for a very large part of their revenues, each year. The impact on smaller retail outfits - stores, artisans, art galleries, souvenir shops, fishing charters, etc - will be devastating.

Long-time readers of this little blog will remember that I used to manage several buildings, including a retail mall in downtown Anchorage. The mall specialized in Alaskan-made merchandise, with nearly 20 mom-and-pop shops. Without tourists, they will not survive.

Summer here is only about 100 days long, and those shops must make the bulk of their annual sales during that time. If not, they won't make it through the upcoming winter. That's just the way it is.

On the one hand, I'm glad now to be out of the tourist-related business, with all of its ups and downs. I do miss working downtown, with its coffee shops, restaurants, sidewalk vendors, buskers, and multitude of colorful characters. On the other, my new job is much more stable, and less prone to economy-related downturns.

* * * * *

That's about it, for today. If the volcano blows again, or anything else of interest happens ... I'll be back!

Huh??

Heard on the morning news: "the big oil companies tell us to prepare for a rise in gasoline prices as the economy recovers and demand increases."

The economy is recovering? Did I miss a memo?

House Conservatives Offer Stimulus Package

For what it's worth, some of the elected officials in D.C. are trying to do the right thing, that is, what's right for the country and not just for themselves.

Read about the Republican Study Committee's "Economic Recovery and Middle-Class Relief Act" here, and see what you think.

Maybe it's too little, too late. Maybe it doesn't have the proverbial snowball's chance. But maybe ... just maybe ... if the House members get enough letters, e-mails, and phone calls ...

Who knows? All I know is that it won't happen without citizen involvement.