A Really Bad Idea Emphasizes Need for Preparedness

A standoff between the state's two largest police agencies threatens to leave the Seward Highway without patrols for long periods over the day and night and extend for hours the closures that follow an accident on the only road south from Anchorage.

The director of the Alaska State Troopers, James Cockrell, says Anchorage should take responsibility for policing its own boundaries, which run from south of Portage to north of Eklutna. But Anchorage city attorney Bill Falsey says local law won't allow that.

 

Traffic was light as motorists traveled along the Seward Highway south off McHugh Creek on Tuesday. (Bill Roth / Alaska Dispatch News)

Troopers have historically patrolled the Seward Highway south of McHugh Creek and up to the entrance of Turnagain Pass, working overtime when they've had to. That's set to go away in early 2017, as budget cuts have pushed the troopers to a "breaking point," Cockrell said Tuesday.

Three Bureau of Highway Patrol officers from the Troopers will still be assigned to the Seward Highway. Their goal will be about 10 hours of patrolling per day, Cockrell said Tuesday.

But when the Highway Patrol punches off shift, there will no longer be an on-call highway cop to respond to crashes, Cockrell said.

 

 

It's a really, really bad idea.

 

There's only one highway that leads into and out of Anchorage. One. It runs north and south at this point. What the dueling police agencies are now telling residents, vacationers, tourists, and fishermen is that when there's an accident, they'll just shut the highway down. You can camp in your car! It'll be fun! Yay!

 

Things are no better in the City of Anchorage itself. Police have all but stopped responding to routine calls, and - by their own admission - some 911 calls go unanswered. It's a battle over the budget, staffing levels, and attrition.

 

The losers, of course, are the public.

 

It comes down to what we've all been saying for some time: you really are on your own, so you'd best be prepared for emergencies. You'll need blankets, any required medications, food, and water in your vehicle.

 

And yes, Virginia, that includes having and knowing how to use a firearm.

Police Blotter: Intoxication, Trespass, and the Usual Suspects

No, I'm not going to post about the despicable and cowardly bombings in Brussels.

All I'll say about that is this: if you have the legal right to carry a weapon, and you're NOT doing so, then you aren't paying attention.

* * * * *

Theft
Woman reported some perfume had been stolen from her room, date unknown, at some point after she lost her room keys, date also unknown. No suspects were identified.

Criminal Mischief/Trespass
Caller reported that man no longer welcome on his property had broken two uninstalled windows while retrieving his personal property from the residence. The unwelcome man admitted to breaking the windows, and also stated that the windows belonged to him. Said man was cited for trespass, per the homeowner's request.

Assault
[A man], 38 yoa, of Kodiak, was arrested on charges of Assault IV after he activated a fire extinguisher and sprayed it in a man's face from only a short distance away.

Welfare Check
Officers responded to a residence from which a call, which much hubbub and uproar in the background, had been received. Officers found several drunks, one of whom the homeowner did not wish to have on his property. The woman left without incident.

Suspicious Person/Activity
A number of unopened beers, believed to have been dropped by a drunken woman who had recently passed through the area, were found in the high school parking lot. Officers seized the alcohol and disposed of it.

Drunken Disturbance
An extremely inebriated caller requested an individual be removed from his residence. Officers responded and observed the individual in question leaving the residence.

Trespass
Library employee called to report an inebriated person harassing patrons at the library. The employee requested the inebriated person be contacted and advised that they are trespassed from the library for a period of 24 hours. Officers responded, contacted the suspect and advised him of the trespass. The suspect left shortly thereafter.

Domestic Disturbance
Officers responded to a residence wherein a mother wished to have her adult son evicted because he had been in her face. An officer advised the woman she could not force her son to leave his home. The mother expressed her displeasure by slamming the door in the officer's face.

Welfare Check
Caller reported that he wanted his adult sons removed from his house for drinking inside the house after being told not to. After being advised that the police could not remove known residents from their place of residence, the caller asked for a welfare check on his sons. They were found to be well, albeit intoxicated.

Friday Morning: Moose, Firearms, and Terrorists

Good morning. I have the radio on, as I type this, and it occurs to me that there are probably not many other cities where the morning traffic reports include moose (and, occasionally, bear) warnings.

The winter solstice is rapidly approaching, and most Anchorage denizens are showing suns of sunlight deprivation. There are only about 4 3/4 hours between sunrise and sunset now, and it will be down to 4 1/2 by the 21st. We really, really need some sunny days, but we also need snow. It's a problem that folks in the Lower 48 don't usually face, but it's a real thing for us.

* * * * * * *

The news, and the ongoing coverage about the San Bernadino terror attack this morning made me think about the times in which we live. I carry concealed anytime I step out my door. Those who would rather that people leave those "nasty guns" elsewhere are, IMHO, living in denial. With Mexican drug cartels using Anchorage (among other cities) as a distribution point; with bears, moose, and wolves in town, it's just prudence on my part. My safety, and that of my family, are my primary motivation for carrying a firearm.

There is no on-site security for the property I manage, and I assume responsibility for that, as well. I fervently pray that I never have to draw my weapon for any reason other than target practice ... but I will not assume that it won't happen. Sors ventus qui es paratus.


* * * * * * *

But since we're on the topic of firearms ...

A lady I work with has known me for years now, and we have a great relationship. Some time ago, she saw my holster sticking out from under the tail of my vest, when I was retrieving papers from the floor.

She got a little pale, and said, "Is that a holster? I hope you don't have a gun in that thing. Guns make me nervous." I tried to keep a straight face while answering that it wouldn't make much sense to wear an empty holster.

I asked her if I make her nervous, and she said no. I gently pointed out that the firearm is an inanimate tool, and that it obeys my commands. While she thought that over, I said, "If I'm trustworthy, then you needn't fear any tool I might use. A hammer, a screwdriver, a cordless drill - all could be dangerous, in the wrong hands."

She allowed as how that's true, and then said, "And you were in the military, so I guess it's okay."

Baby steps ... sigh. But at least those steps are in the right direction: I'll take that conversation as one minor victory.

It's Worth Reading Again

(From a 2009 post ...)

From a comment left at GOC's post on Ammo Sales:

... It's sort of comedic, the way the anti-gun folks have spurred gun sales. But the underlying note is a chilling one. We sense something bad is coming. The borrowing can't continue. The controls are ever-more invasive. Somethings got to give. We don't know where or what, but we're uncomfortable. We take a small amount of comfort in knowing that, if civil controls fail, we're armed.

Having a gun is no panacea. There are always people out there with bigger guns, and more of them. A gun in my hand doesn't mean I can't be killed. But it does mean I can't be enslaved. They can take my life but not my humanity

These are disturbing thoughts to be harboring in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Our political leadership will say I've become another dangerous right-wing kook. Is it true? It's a question I ask of myself. Have I moved into crazy territory? Or am I just telling it like it is?

In any case, I'm not a danger to anyone. Not planning on launching a revolution. I'm just getting on with my stupid life. But I sleep better knowing that if anything comes after me, I've got the right tool to do what must be done.

Posted by TalkinHorse at November 4, 2009 04:04 PM

Exactly.

Man Shoots Self in Head; Treats Himself

ANCHORAGE - Alaska State Troopers say an Anchor Point man who shot himself during gunplay spent five days with a “serious but not life-threatening” head wound before visiting a hospital, treating it with supplies at hand.

... "Investigation revealed (the man) had shot himself in the head on (Saturday) while negligently handling a firearm,” troopers wrote. “(He) did not seek medical attention until (Thursday).

In an email to Channel 2 Thursday night, AST spokesperson Beth Ipsen says the investigating trooper reported that the weapon involved was a .22 long rifle.

... According to Ipsen, it’s not clear whether drugs or alcohol were involved in the incident, but the trooper took note of the man’s medical regimen.

“No treatment before today other than he put Neosporin on the wounds,” Ipsen wrote.

Okay, then.

Weekend Quotes

"Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion . . . in private self-defense. " 

~ John Adams

"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms. "

~ Samuel Adams

" . . arms discourage and keep invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. ... Horrid mischief would ensue were [the law-abiding] deprived of the use of them. " 

~ Thomas Paine

"[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...[where] the government s are afraid to trust the people with arms." 

~ James Madison

Life in Difficult Times

Unless you've been living in a cave for the last six or seven years, it should be obvious that times are tough all over. Unemployment is high, and current events are scary. Without crying "Fear! Fire! Foes! Awake!", let us see what we can do, as individuals.

1. If you have a job, give thanks. As a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, I give thanks to God the Father. You may have other ideas; it is not my intent here to proselytize you. It's the attitude of gratitude that you'll need. Such an attitude helps keep us grounded, regardless of how well we're doing.

2. Simplify your life. Now is not the time to expand. Look for ways to streamline. For example, drink coffee in the morning at home, rather than buying a latte on the way to work, or wherever. Money in the hand is better than money out the window. Our dollars have less buying power these days; you might need that extra five bucks for something more important.

3. While these are dangerous times, don't get so wrapped up in the news that you lose perspective. Remember that reporters must generate numbers to keep their jobs. In simpler terms, they get paid to sensationalize.

There are quite enough bad tidings in the average newscast to depress a clown on laughing gas. Remember to follow the money, and get to the bottom of the news item. Quisnam beneficium? "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6:33-34)

4. Keep your head. Whether you know it or not, people are watching you: wives, children, significant others; friends, co-workers, and so on. Panic not only won't help, it will hurt.

If you pray, pray for wisdom to know what to do in these times. My Bible says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5) Strive to be one who can remain calm, even when things are going wrong - be the calm at the center of the storm. When we panic, it's too easy to miss the way out.

5. Make adjustments, when and IF you can. Is your area hard-hit by recession? If so, can you relocate? There are some parts of the country which are doing better than others.

Can't relocate? Each case is different, but again, "pray for wisdom" comes to mind. There are many variables (i.e., elderly relatives needing care, a house that isn't selling, etc).

Self-reliance and personal responsibility are two of the traits that have made America great, or more accurately, that have made her people great. It requires flexibility of mind and spirit; of seizing opportunity and running with it. It's what we Americans do.

* * * * *

I've received a e-mails asking about things I'm discussing here; it's easier to offer advice when specifics are known, so this is fairly generic. Nevertheless, you all have common sense. I don't think anything I've said here will surprise too many folks.

What I'd like you take away, at the end, is some reassurance. Times are tough, and I believe they're going to remain tough for quite awhile. People who are equally tough will be flexible, and will learn to adapt.

Be of good cheer, my friends. We will get through this; we always do.

I Can't Watch TV Right Now

because - apparently - the aftermath of hurricane monster storm Sandy is the ONLY story. The rest of the world can go hang, because the the Borg news collective media have a ZOMG STORMAGEDDON!!!!ONE!! right in their front yard.

Yes, I know FEMA is fumbling things into place, and the mask has slipped we see people suffering. But it's only been a few days, and the footprint of the storm was HUGE. It's not like it came without warning.

One lady was crying into the omnipresent TV cameras last night about how she didn't have any food. Really? She didn't stock enough to last for four days? After all those warnings about Frankenstorm??

... sigh ...

Shiver Me Timbers

It's 30 degrees this morning, and the oh-so-helpful folks at the National Weather Service* issued a freeze warning for overnight ... but not until 4:40 this morning. How in the ever-lovin' heck was that supposed to help anybody?

Oh, well ... onward and upward.

There are still roughly a thousand customers without power from Tuesday night's storm, and the lack of heat is probably bothering them about now. Long-time Alaskans, and anyone with common sense, will have lots of blankets and/or a kerosene heater. Those who've come here from the Left Coast will be shivering, cursing the cold, and dialing 911 demanding to know when "the City" is going to do something.

I say that not to be insulting to transplants from nanny-state communities, but based on my personal observations of those who have recently arrived. Last winter, some of those folks complained that parking lots were slippery. This, an hour after the snowplows had come through & spread gravel on the freshly-plowed lots.

I finally had to write a memo to those who work in my building, explaining that Alaskans used to be known for their hardy self-reliance. "Look around you ... look at a map ... this isn't Oregon. Buy ice cleats, a flashlight, and a warmer coat, and be an Alaskan. Alternately, Portland is calling you."

Sheesh.    (/rant)

Groundhog asked in comments on a previous post what Alaskans in the smaller towns and villages do to earn a living. Some create artwork to sell on consignment through the various Native Corporations; some work for the State as traveling members of various exploration or response teams, or the Dept of Transportation effecting road repairs; Native Alaskans (you'd call them Eskimos, although that's not what they call themselves) get dividends of a few thousand dollars, annually, for their shares in the Native corporations which sell timber, oil rights, and own other companies in the States; and many live on subsistence, hunting and fishing for food. Some also fly or drive into Anchorage or Fairbanks for work.

That's an over-simplification, of course, but should partially answer Groundhog's question.

And with that, it's time for more coffee. Have a great day, my friends.



* and you remember what "service" means, don't you?

What can you do, for yourself, right now?

by Kirby Ferris

© Copyright Jews For The Preservation of
Firearms Ownership (www.JPFO.org) 2012

Moral conscience is in dwindling supply in this nation. Our bankers are thieves, stealing TRILLIONS because they are allowed to do so. Nearly all of our politicians are venal, lying parasites who a century and a half ago would have all had their heads lopped off by rage-fueled mobs.

A growing proportion of our citizenry behave like hyenas, jackals and vultures at the slightest opportunity. Our nation has been invaded by twenty million illegal aliens.

Only a fool can’t see that we are headed for a potential showdown.

To those who will listen, it’s time to take a look in the mirror and ask yourself: “What am I going to do as this societal and fiscal decay continues to its logical end?”

You need to evaluate what you can independently do for yourself, quietly on your own, in the coming weeks and months? And I mean for just yourself, not your mate, family, friends, or neighbors. You’ll be of no help to any of them unless you’ve got your own base well covered first.

The most fundamental expansion of your personal power is to acquire the tools, and achieve the skill to have the means and wherewithal to defend against one, several, or even a dozen other human beings. The legally safe term is “self defense”, but when the code red light starts flashing, and your options are coming at you with overwhelming intensity, you will shift into the bone chilling animal presence of your primitive ancestors. But you MUST have the tools and a modicum of skill.

Most of The United States is unique in its stubborn persistence in actually preserving, and even expanding, the individual’s unalienable right to meaningful and justifiable self defense. The Second Amendment does not mean your right to squirt someone with pepper spray. It preserves your right to, under certain life-threatening circumstances, apply emphatic lethal force.

But let’s step away from political theory and extrapolate the situation to everyday life. That stranger you confront in the parking lot late at night.

The group of “youths” you run up against if you stroll a block too far into the “bad” side of town. The guy on the park bench watching you jog past.

The weird driver tailgating you on a desolate stretch of road. The knock on your door and someone you do not recognize standing outside waiting to confront you for one reason or another.I’m asking you to either prove or disprove your sanity here: Would you rather deal with these mundane issues armed, or would you rather simply take your chances? This isn’t “Leave it to Beaver” America anymore, friends.

This is now an America that has lost its way, a nation drifting in “situational morality” and where theft is called “redistribution of wealth”. Pre-teens beat innocent people to death, and laugh and giggle as though it were a day at the playground.

Are you going allow yourself to remain defenseless? Are you going to be left staring at your cell phone (if you have time) as your 911 call is ignored because of massive overload?

Are you going to be a survivor, a potential protector of the innocent? Or are you going to be a Darwin Award Candidate, too stupid to even provide for your own survival?

Let’s cut to the chase. In my opinion Barrack Hussein Obama is going to be re-elected. This nation has become addicted to socialism. It will be Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton sashaying into the White House when the smoke has settled.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TIME to wait to see this actually happen to buy a gun or seriously stock up on ammunition. You have to act immediately. You must behave as though you have only a week from the time your read this to get your act together.

The rush is on for handguns. As I write this, Ruger and Smith & Wesson have BOTH suspended taking new orders because of an unprecedented six month backlog. Expect other quality handguns to be fetching record prices. It’s just supply and demand.
So let’s turn to the lowly shotgun in the “if you could own only one gun” debate. NOTE: This evaluation leans heavily on keeping within a tight budget.

A reliable pump shotgun is the gun to own if you could own only one gun. This is for home defense or for tossing in the back of your car in the event of social turmoil. Eight rounds of 00 buckshot skipped across the pavement and into the shins of a mob can be a very significant behavior modification device.

In my town the price of a Mossberg 500 pump (holding up to eight rounds) is less than $300. A box of five 00 buckshot is $4.50 (see photo) and a 25 round box of standard shot is $4.99. Do the math. Compare the cost to a handgun of significant caliber or a rifle of significant caliber along with ammo.
For less than $400 you can be seriously prepared with a shotgun. Practice with the bird shot and only try out the buckshot to get a feel for any difference in recoil. What’s also important is the reliability of a “thrift” shotgun.

The somber fact is that handguns are generally more difficult to hit something with than a shotgun. The “stopping power” of a 12 gauge round loaded with 00 buckshot is ruthless, and therefore preferable. As mentioned above, a street mob scenario presents no contest. A shotgun is just downright scarier to assailants.
Time for theorizing is over. Act now. Do what you can, for yourself, immediately.

Frequent JPFO contributor and strategist, Kirby Ferris, collaborated intensively with Aaron Zelman over the last two years of Aaron’s life. Ferris is currently the Research Director of JPFO.

A Thought on Gun Control

This post over at North's place prompted my comment:

I have long observed that the liberals/leftists/Progressives project their own insecurities & incompetencies on everyone else. They don't trust themselves with firearms, ergo we shouldn't have them either.

Tough. No reason I should disarm in the face of danger simply because THEY have their tails between their legs.

What You Could Do

Alaska is huge in size, but our population is small. All of us Alaskans together couldn’t begin to fill one your big American cities. But this isn’t about population; it’s about freedom. Ten thousand liberty-minded patriots, with their voices and their votes, could help Alaska - and affect the course of world history forever.

Be one of those liberty-minded souls. 


1. If you’re an Alaskan who wants to remain here, make provisions to do so independent of any government handouts or stretched emergency aid. Do whatever it takes to make yourself as independent as possible. If you’re in debt, pay it off as quickly as you possibly can.

When – not if – the government dollars dry up, things will get uncomfortable here; there will be shortages. There will be hardships, by modern standards. The shutting off of dollars from D.C. will be very unpleasant in the short term. If you’re at all interested in owning land, then make your plans to get some.

Make provisions for food and fuel. Stock as much non-perishable food as you can afford. See to your water supply. Cut wood for heating, if necessary. City dwellers may need to get a few extra propane tanks for their BBQ grills. Consider: if the electricity goes down due to a decreased or completely-shut-down natural gas supply, what will you do?

If you’re a renter and can’t make those changes where you are, and if you have the means, look for land now - double up with like-minded friends in a similar situation, if needs must. Our pioneer forefathers "made do" with a cabin and an outhouse. If we have to, we can do it, too.

You don’t have to own land to make this work, but you need the freedom to act independently. Having land of your own would help, but it’s not the only way.

However you do it, make sure you can survive a few months without income, without fuel, without stocked grocery shelves. Be prepared.

It’s not too soon to start.


2. If you have ever considered moving to Alaska, perhaps now is the time. Get here IF you can do it responsibly. 

If you cannot do it responsibly, please stay home. It’s nothing personal, but you will not survive the barely-getting-by, holy-crap-this-is-tougher-than-we-thought times ahead.

Yes, we mean that literally. Alaskan winters are tough with all the modern conveniences. They can be murderous without them.

Bring your firearms. Newly-arrived folks in Anchorage are somewhat insulated from "the wild" ... but even here in town we have black bears, brown bears, and 800-pound grizzlies who would like tourists for lunch. A full-grown moose may weigh 1,400 pounds, and moose will attack and maul when cornered or threatened. We have wolves, too, and they hunt in packs.

This isn't a Disney movie, and the bear you stumble across on the trail - or in your yard - isn't Winnie the Pooh. Do the responsible thing and protect yourself.



And some predators go about on only two legs.
 

Don’t come here expecting a handout from the State of Alaska; that’s an modern myth. There is no monthly payment of any kind, nor is there any annual payment approaching anything like a living wage. Robert Heinlein said it best: "TANSTAAFL: there ain't no such thing as a free lunch."

There is a once-a-year dividend payment from Alaska’s oil saving account, after you’ve been a resident for two years … and that will probably cease as soon as the federal payments do, because the state will have to raid that account to remain solvent in the short term … at least until we can bring our natural resources to market. That may take a few years … and maybe several. Even then, it's only about a thousand bucks a year, and you can't live on that ... even if we assume the dollar will still have any value at that point.

In short - if you’re the type who’d consider moving three thousand miles for the rumor of a check, save us all the trouble and stay home. Whatever shortages and price problems you see in the U.S. could be worse here, and we'll have enough troubles as it is. 

Hollywood recently celebrated the short life and ugly end of an ignoramus who thought he could live off the land without any training or proper equipment. He starved and eventually died of exposure in one of the richest, most abundant areas in Alaska ... because he didn’t know what he was doing.

People like that, we don’t need.

There are many cabins in the wild … but they’re almost never abandoned. This isn’t a place for squatters, and attempting to live in someone else’s digs could find you on the wrong end of a rifle. Again, that’s not the kind of person we need.


But can you provide a service we need? 

Can you build or maintain a power generator and wire it up to a some cabins, a hundred miles from the nearest road? Maintain a medical clinic with irregular or improvised supply?

Can your business provide food or fuel at a relatively competitive price without relying on Outside (i.e., outside Alaska) help? Have you worked in the resource industries - mining, timber, oil, fisheries? Can you fly a plane or crew a ship? Repair appliances or other machinery?

What can you do that will serve you and us in hard times, as well as easy ones?

If there is a mass exodus of nanny-statists who bail at the first sign of hardship … which would be the expected response to the sudden realization that government help isn’t coming … then many homes, at least in the settled areas, may be available on the cheap. But don’t count on that. 

Are you prepared to be independent - needing little-or-nothing from anyone else for most of your day-to-day needs?

Then sell everything for a grubstake, and get here.


3. It is almost inevitable that, should history continue to unfold along this current path, Alaskans will once more have the opportunity to consider independence. If enough of those dependent on Uncle Sugar have gone home, it will pass. So be prepared to hold out through the hard times. It will get better. Be determined to make it ... to survive ... to thrive. Adopt the attitude of America’s rugged Yankee forebears: "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."

Bring your voice. Bring your vote. Bring your guts, your skills, and be determined.


4. And after? If we find we must slip the Federal chains, and can manage to take our own equal place among the powers of the earth - what then?

Bring with you any passion that serves the self-sufficiency of Alaskans and can compete internationally. Can you bring a company here? Information technology, aerospace, defense, biotechnology - if you can keep your start-up running a thousand miles from the Continental US... please consider bringing it here, and pick your staff carefully. It may be rocky roads at first, but tough it out and you’ll be in the position of a lifetime.

Nothing is guaranteed, but Alaska offers a chance to not only survive, but to be successful. It's not a free ride. You have to earn it.



There’s no paper to sign, no club to join. No secret handshake. Just a mission.
Just one promise to yourself, and to your posterity.

Come here.
Tough it out.

Make it work.



(This is part 3 of an essay jointly authored by Jenny S. and me, about a year ago.)

The Challenge

A little over forty years ago, Ronald Reagan looked out across a little auditorium and gave a televised speech. For the first time - but not the last - he took square aim at a totalitarian regime, looked out over the gathered audience, and declared: 

“If we lose freedom here, there is no place left to run to. This is the last stand on earth.”

I am here to tell you, Mr. Reagan may well have been wrong. He was talking about the United States, but only as a whole. It probably never occurred to him to think of autonomous States.

So there is a place to go. I live there.
And you’ve seen quite a bit of it, lately.

Let me tell you about it.


In my previous post, I told you that you were not born out of time. I told you that, because I suspect you are one of those Americans who has felt themselves born out of time, maybe too late … maybe too early. What if I told you that you are supposed to be right here, right now?

If you want to consider it, the Bible says the Lord called forth the generations, in order (Isaiah 41:4) … meaning you were intended to be here, now, and no mistake. If you’re not a believer, then just look at your heart. Were you born to watch adventures unfold on an LCD screen? Or were you born to live them?

Now consider this: at the dawn of the Revolution, the American colonies formed a little string of settlements mostly along the seaboard of a howling wilderness. The oldest of those settlements had perhaps a century and a half of history - many much less. Many were crude affairs hacked out of the woods in living memory. Those settlements were inhabited by a people who had just begun to develop their own identity as a people, and their own self-sufficiency. They were proud of surviving in harsh circumstances, and prouder still of their British liberties under the law.

Until, one by one, those liberties were taken away.

Neighbor looked to neighbor. Some saw life as usual. Some saw only the obligation of duty to the king. Others - our ancestors - saw the growing signs of despotism. And the tensions began to grow. How would the colonies respond?

You know what they did: they declared independence, and then fought to make it so.

I want to tell you: there is a place very much like that today. It’s called Alaska.

We are physically and psychologically removed from the bulk of the nation, a little inset in a schoolchild’s map. Distant and remote from the rest of the nation, we share a border with a foreign nation but not with our American countrymen. To the extent most Americans think of Alaska at all, it’s as a giant national park, or perhaps a setting for a TV comedy, but not a place people actually live. If there has ever been a part of America that a significant fraction of Americans would be willing to part ways with, it’s Alaska. And as the problems deepen in the Lower 48, Americans will have much more on their mind that what’s happening way up north, a thousand miles from their nearest border.

There are right now just over seven hundred thousand people in a land the size of the entire Midwest. When - not if - the inflow of Federal dollars slows to a trickle, there will be significantly less than that, as a great many newly-unemployed, unable to find work, will pack up to return home, to their families and opportunities elsewhere.

At the same time, this land has oil, gas, timber - a wealth of natural resources - a land ripe for the picking. While other nations hungrily scavenge the globe for resources, once our own government finally begins to buckle under its own weight... well, you do the math.

At some point, should things keep going as they are,  Alaska will move toward independence. If enough Alaskans hold out, and enough of those who are here from the Lower 48 go back home during the hard times, there will be an election, and it will pass.

For Alaska, then, will come crisis ... and opportunity.

Alaska can be a plum waiting to drop into foreign hands; it can be a playground for the privileged few - or we can take up the torch and be the last, best hope for human liberty.

We can be free. Free in a way that even Americans have not dared imagine for generations.

Our population is inured to what outsiders would call harsh conditions, and the better part of our elders are ex-military, or came here for the wild land - the free life - of the last frontier. We hike glacier-covered mountains and ride hundreds of miles through ice on open snowmachines for fun. We hunt and fish for food. We garden for vegetables, even in winter, with home-made greenhouses. Our own pioneer days are scarcely out of living memory, and a spirit of rugged independence and familial support still remains a part of the culture. There are no people on this earth more like the first American pioneers than Alaskans today.  

But you’re an office worker in Des Moines, or a machinist from Pittsburgh. You may be saying to yourself, “How can I measure up to those folks?” I’m here to tell you: it’s not a secret. For every life-long Alaskan, there’s a guy or gal who was born elsewhere, right alongside us.

It’s not about being a hero; it’s about rising to a challenge. And I’m challenging you to rise above your routine, your 9-to-5 existence. You must understand that becoming an Alaskan requires a commitment greater than that needed to move from, say, Virginia to Ohio.

You have to want to be here. It’s not necessarily as simple as moving for a new job, pursuing a paycheck. It’s about wanting a better way of life, and then being willing to work and fight for that life.

That desire must be with you when you notice the early winter days growing shorter – and when you reach the part of winter where it gets really cold, you’ll be ready. We don’t put up with the cold; we protect ourselves from it. So we have four-wheel-drive trucks with block heaters, and they stay plugged in, all winter. We wear heavier parkas than you do, maybe, but there are plenty of places in the northern U.S. that get as cold as Juneau or Anchorage … and some of those places get a LOT more snow.

Sure, winter lasts longer here than in places farther south. But to Alaskans, that rates a shrug and a “So what?” It makes us treasure summer more intensely, and is one of the reasons we play harder. Besides, who wouldn’t like a warm summer day that lasts 22 hours, or longer?  We have weeks of those.

It may not be as easy to live here as it is in a comfortable American home - for some that’s excuse enough to stay away.

You either want to be here, or you shouldn’t be here at all.

If you want to, keep reading.


Alaskans have always been independent, self-reliant folks. Innovation is still applauded here, and there’s not yet the same squashing of ‘thinking out of the box’ that goes on elsewhere.

We can stand on our own. We already provide not only enough petroleum for export, but for ourselves. We refine it locally, for our own use. The greater part of our population lives near agricultural areas which, while insufficient for all of our needs, could be expanded. The forests and tundra still teem with game. It won’t be easy to stand on our own feet, but we can do it. We do a lot of that already.

The challenge of maintaining the liberties that America’s Founders envisioned and codified in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution is for the present day.  It’s not some “in the sweet by and by” concept; it’s here and now.

 
Alaska may well represent one of the last chances for an independent State. Others may do the same: New Mexico, Utah, Montana, and a few other states appear to be moving in the same direction. But it’s a special type of person we’re looking for. It’s not hard to move to a developed state and get a job in a thriving community, in an existing industry.

It’s something else altogether to move to an undeveloped state and strive to launch that  industry.


We will then need pioneers who can build a Republic, based on the Constitutional principles our Founders paid for with their own blood. No hand-outs, and no guarantees. But the pay-off will be worth it. Can you look your children and grandchildren in the eyes, and tell them you did everything you could to preserve liberty?

Are you the kind of person who would like to say that?

Then let me tell you how you could, in Part 3.


(This is part 2 of an essay jointly authored by Jenny S. and me, about a year ago.)

I Don't Know Exactly Why

but I haven't been particularly motivated (with only a couple of exceptions) to write about any particular topic. Nothing seems inspiring, lately.

The national political scene leaves me affronted, annoyed, antagonized, bitter, chafed, choleric, convulsed, cross, displeased, enraged, exacerbated, exasperated, ferocious, fierce, fiery, fuming, furious, galled, heated, hot, ill-tempered, impassioned, incensed, indignant, inflamed, infuriated, irascible, irate, irritable, irritated, maddened, offended, outraged, provoked, resentful, riled, sore, splenetic, storming, sulky, sullen, tumultuous, uptight, vexed ... and lots of other synonyms. But you probably know the feeling.

The patent tripe being spewed by the Decepticons in Congress is maddening, because it's so transparent. On the one hand, I'm glad that the maneuvering of the Chicago White House mob is so obvious. On the other, I'm dumbfounded that more people can't see it. One must think they've been captured by a spirit of enchantment.

One of the things that upsets me most is that there are so many liberal lefties & enviro/greenie-weenies in the Anchorage area. I can't imagine why they came up here in the first place ... unless it was precisely because Alaskans have been so stubbornly independent. We used to take pride in our ability to make do, get by, and survive.

I fear that spirit is nearly gone from the Anchorage area. There are too many big-box stores, and even things which were in short supply just a half-dozen years ago are now relatively easy to find. Life in the biggest city in Alaska has become too comfortable. Recently-transplanted people, now making up about half of the population, are likewise from larger cities (Seattle, Portland, and - Heaven help us - places in Kalifornistan).

If the economy truly goes tango uniform and crashes as some predict (up to & including the possible demonetization of the dollar) a lot of these "transplants" may bail and go back to warmer climes. They'd be happier there, anyway. I'm sick & tired of hearing them complain about the snow.

Hey, you! Enviroweenie globular-warming activist! Yeah, you. I thought the earth was burning up ... so why spend all this energy kvetching about the snow? What - we aren't melting fast enough for you?

Tough.

If Alaska returns to its pre-pipeline status as a sleepy backwater of civilisation, then so be it. The ones who remain will be those who are okay with that. Here we are, and here we'll stay.


Okay, so maybe I do have a topic that makes me want to write ...