Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Plant Survey 2009

We're back in town after five weeks in the field doing a plant survey of the KNWR for USFWS. This is the fifth year of the survey and we have camped in about 20 different locations in the Refuge as part of the survey.
The glorious weather of the first two weeks held as we worked in Alitak and Sukhoi Bay. Normal miserable weather returned as we ventured to East Olga Lake and Frazier Lake, although things got better when we spent a few days at Camp Island.

Bear Watching at Hallo Bay with Sea Hawk Air

We headed over to Hallo Bay in Katmai National Park last Friday and spent the day with the bears under the very capable guidance of Roland's wife, Jo Murphy. We were able to observe all sorts of bear behavior rather close up. It was a sunny day with just enough wind to keep the bugs away. A highly recommended trip!

We Hike to Pasagshak Point

We hiked out to Pasagshak Point on the old road on Friday, June 5. The ranchers had done quite a bit of clearing along the road; this is unfortunate as it will increase the number of people driving, rather than hiking, out to the point. The devastation caused by the cattle is unbelievable - Narrow Cape and Pasagshak are being destroyed by overgrazing.

Christie Arrives From Oregon

Our friend, Christie, arrived yesterday from Oregon. She is the owner of Ocean Haven Bed and Make Your Own Damn Breakfast in Yachats, Oregon. We met Christie at Laguna San Ignacio several years ago while petting baby grey whales. Click on the title to see the Ocean Haven website.





Oh boy! Chocolate!



Vito gets in on the fun:

KISAR Helicopter Training on Old Woman Mountain

On Sunday, May 31, 2009, KISAR had a helicopter training session with the U.S. Coast Guard. After a hangar orientation, the group headed up Old Woman Mountain for hoist training. Unfortunately, the clouds came down just as the helicopter arrived, so we did only one hoist with the litter before the HH60 had to slowly make its way down through the fog. Nonetheless, it was a valuable training exercise.

Audubon Society Termination Point Hike

Stacy Studebaker led the hike with 26 participants. The trail was in good shape with some muddy spots and some fallen trees blocking portions of trail. Weather was good: overcast and not too chilly.

Fishing on the U Rascal

A great day on the water with Chris Fiala and crew - I came home with two nice halibut and several large rockfish. NO kings, unfortunately.


Ugak Island

A few of the fat halibut we caught today

Chris and Dan discuss a successful day on the water

Team Sarah is Anti-Free Speech!

The Team Sarah website has "suspended" my membership after I posted a blog entry supporting the Palin/Prejean ticket for 2012. Apparently, Team Sarah does not share Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's support for the First Amendment and free speech. My account on Team Sarah was under the name of Thomas "T" Bagges, a pseudonym I use to avoid harassment from left-wing extremist eco-terrorist, tax and spend, big government, anti-American, tree hugging, global warming believing liberals. Oh, I left out commie pinko socialist teleprompter-needing. Sorry.

I received the following message:

You have been suspended from Team Sarah

Sorry, Thomas "T" Baggs, you can not access Team Sarah as you have been suspended. If you feel that this was in error, please email with details as to what happened prior to your suspension of membership privileges. When an account is suspended we utilize a review process with other individual members, not just moderators, who decide to suspend an account. NOTE: When a serious offense occurs or when profanity is used, we suspend membership privileges without any review. If you wish to have the suspension lifted, with the proviso that you verify your identity and agree to abide by our Terms of Use and Community Standards please email tsgovernance@yahoo.com.

Name the Sarah Palin Memoir on Mudflats

Head on over to The Mudflats and record your suggestions for the title of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's memoir. Or just read the titles already proposed - you won't be able to stop laughing!

Obama's Public Health Insurance Option

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OBAMA'S PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION

The choice of a public health insurance plan is crucial to real health care reform. But right now, it's being smeared by conservatives and insurance-industry front groups. Here's what you really need to know:

1. Choice, choice, choice. If the public option passes, Americans will be able to choose between their current insurance and a high-quality, government-run plan similar to Medicare. If you like your current care, you can keep it. If you don't—or don't have any—you can get the public insurance plan.

2. It will be high-quality coverage with a choice of doctors. Government-run plans have a track record of innovating to improve quality, because they're not just focused on short-term profits. And if you choose the public plan, you'll still get to choose your doctor and hospital.

3. We'll all save a bunch of money. The public option won't have to spend money on things like CEO bonuses, shareholder dividends, or excessive advertising, so it'll cost a lot less. Plus, the private plans will have to lower their rates and provide better value to compete, so people who keep their current insurance will save, too.

4. It will always be there for you and your family. A for-profit insurer can close, move out of the area, or just kick you off their insurance rolls. The public option will always be available to provide you with the health security you need.

5. And it's a key part of universal health care. No longer will sick people or folks in rural communities, or low-income Americans be forced to go without coverage. The public option will be available and accessible to everyone. And for those struggling to make ends meet, the premiums will be subsidized by the government.

Mother's Day Hike to Termination Point

Valerie (White) Aartun, visiting from South Carolina, joined us on Sunday for a great hike to Termination Point. Sunny skies, light wind, and dry (for Kodiak) trail combined for a very enjoyable afternoon. We ran into four other hikers with two black labs and a wiener dog on a leash. They said the weiner dog is the one that goes wild and they have to restrain in the woods.
Map: http://www.trailweek.com/trails/monashka_bay.aspx

Brown Gold for the Garden

Today, the spousal unit and I collected bison chips for the garden. Michelle Obama's organic garden can only look on with envy as we add the magic elixir to our raised beds.

EXTERNAL AIRBAG PROTECTS PEDESTRIANS

Thanks to researchers at Cranfield University, you don't have to feel bad when you plow into a group of pedestrians who are crossing the street too slowly. They have designed an external airbag that mounts to your hood at the base of the windshield. Research shows that this is the area where a pedestrian's head is most likely to hit in an accident. "Test results indicate that the system works extremely well. When fitted to a demonstrator vehicle not originally designed with pedestrian protection in mind, the results were well inside all current legal criteria for pedestrian protection currently in force in Europe," Roger Hardy of the university's Cranfield Impact Centre said.
*

We're Number Three!

La. tops gun death list, Alaska 3rd

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Louisiana has more gun-related deaths per capita than any other state, and Alaska isn't far behind.

That's according to the Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. Second on the list is Alabama, followed by Alaska, Mississippi and Nevada. The group said Wednesday that Hawaii has the fewest gun deaths per capita.

The study says that each of the states had a per capita gun death rate far exceeding the national rate of 10.32 per 100,000 for 2006. Louisiana's rate was 19.58 per 100,000, followed by 16.99 in Alabama, 16.38 in Alaska and Mississippi and 16.25 in Nevada.

The Violence Policy Center says each of the states with a high death rate has lax gun laws and higher gun ownership rates.

The nonprofit compiled its list by analyzing data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

---

On the Net:

http://www.vpc.org/press/0905gundeath.htm

http://www.vpc.org/fadeathchart09.htm

Guns, guns, guns

"...guns have no loyalty; they're not like dogs." (Philip K. Dick, Counter-clock World, p. 173)

Girl beats off muggers with marching band baton

Unfortunately, there was no photo with the story. I wonder if the AP headline writer wants to rethink this one. Click on the title for the story.

Girl beats off muggers with marching band baton
Thursday, April 30, 2009 2:03 PM EDT
The Associated Press

Help Convince Sarah Palin to Accept Energy Stimulus Funds

The Alaska Conservation Alliance offers you the opportunity to lobby Governor Palin to accept the federal stimulus funds related to energy efficiency. A story on APRN today showed that what few "strings" might be attached have actually already been satisfied. And small communities of less than 250 are exempt from any strings anyway. Click on the title to help.
Sarah, this is your opportunity to demonstrate wise leadership and the ability to put the needs of your constituents above political pandering and posturing. Do you have the courage to do what is right? That courage is the mark of a true leader. It's your actions, not your words (however jumbled they may be) that show us what you are really made of.

Sarah Palin Haiku Contest

Click on the title and go for it!

Sarah Palin's Hypocrisy

« Quote For The Day | Main | Lanny Davis Comes Around »

29 Apr 2009 10:43 am

The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin, XXVII: The Stimulus Money

You may recall the Alaska governor's signature move last month. She declared that she would only take half the stimulus money:

Palin first told the news media that she's turning down nearly half the federal stimulus money -- but later conceded that does not count the Medicaid money she is accepting. That brings down what she's refusing to 31 percent of what the state government could get... Palin said she is accepting the federal stimulus money that would go for construction projects, but not funding directed at government operations. "We are not requesting funds intended to just grow government," Palin said. "In essence we say no to operating funds for more positions in government."

Now she's changed her mind:

She earlier called the stimulus package "an unsustainable, debt-ridden package of funds." Alaska's Legislature conducted more than 20 public hearings on the federal stimulus package, and legislative leaders said they couldn't find any of the strings attached to the funds that Palin had warned about. "The Legislature then had to come in and find out through a lot of research that simply wasn't true," Gara said of Palin's argument.

But of course, having lied about how much stimulus money she would take at the start, and lied about the strings attached to the money, she is now denying she has changed her mind on this at all:

Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said the message earlier this year that Palin was going to reject stimulus funds was misconstrued. "She's never said she's rejecting anything. She's been consistent we need to hear from the public, thus the legislative hearings," Leighow said.

I almost miss her. Almost.

(Photo: Robyn Beck/Getty.)

Michelle Malkin: Racist, Poser, Homophobe, Liar

Michelle Malkin is amazingly ignorant - her "blog" is nothing but outright lies, racist and homophobic remarks, and narcissistic posing. Sad and pathetic cries of "look at me".
Check out the swastika in the photo to the left - guess she's pretty weak in the judgment category as well.

Palin Accepts Stimulus Money After All

Just as most of us who realize just how deceptive and pandering Sarah Palin is predicted, she is accepting almost all of the federal stimulus money. "Thanks, but no thanks; oh, uh, thanks after all."
Aide says Palin will OK most stimulus funds

by Mark Thiessen
The Associated Press
Tuesday, April 28, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A spokeswoman for Sarah Palin says the Alaska governor is going to accept most federal stimulus funds.

Spokeswoman Sharon Leighow says Palin is only likely to reject nearly $29 million for State Energy Programs funds because she believes it to be tied to developing a statewide energy code.

Palin had initially indicated she did not want to accept about one-third of the $930 million available to Alaska because of strings attached that would bind the state in the future.

Legislative budget leaders couldn't find those strings, however.

Lawmakers passed bills accepting nearly all funds available to Alaska. Once the bills reach Palin's desk, likely by early next week, she has 20 days to accept or veto them.