You are hereBlogs
Blogs
Alaska Girls Kick... Kick What? Say It Louder!
A recent editorial on the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner website has left many of us scratching our heads—especially those of us who fall under the “female” category. The piece, entitled “Shameful Women,” can be found at: http://newsminer.com/news/2009/jul/29/shameful-women/
Some posters say the letter is a parody. It it’s not, it’s a very shallow and uninformed read on the history of women in Alaska. If it is a parody, it was definitely not executed in the proper fashion. Sometimes it’s hard to understand what writers mean when one doesn’t know their style of writing, or their general sense of humor; flat text is often misinterpreted.
However, it inspired me to think of how ingenious women in Alaska truly are. I love this subject, even if I’m going to make a brief study of it—and, of course, we’re still settling down from Golden Days in Fairbanks… our little homage to the mustachioed Felix Pedro. We’ve got garters and feathers on the brain. Isn’t it cute?
Cue back to the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush of the very latter part of the 19th century. Thousands of men from the Lower 48 chase their dream of fortune by making the long, dangerous trek up to Canada, sans Alcan, to attain wealth and fulfill that sense of emptiness that some people are just born with… could that partially account for the “pioneering spirit”? Anyway, in those days where technology was lacking and moves were much more permanent, the migration of people and the amount of support required to keep these prospective prospectors going was incredible. And what was a good support for men other than general stores, carpenters, shipping experts and other businesses? Women, of course!
We all know that Cowboy Jack would sing about cutiepies on the Texas plain when westward migrations started up. Traveling men were lonely, not to mention full of testosterone. None of that “metrosexual” culture back in those days. Raw meat? Check. Smokes? Check. Tabacky? Check. Obligatory spittoon? Check. Leather? … well, let’s just check that one. Raw masculinity of that nature required the company of its opposite to bolster and reassure it—which would be the unbridled feminine nature of those mysterious “women.”
Men had the incentive of wealth to bring them North, and they could attain it through the method of hard work. Women the incentive of wealth to bring them North—and their wealth would be extracted through the men who would be attaining it. Culturally, women were very dependant on men—how else were women, especially as second-class citizens with no voting rights, supposed to survive and live independent lives? Very few women did. As such, it was either marriage or family wealth that would keep women surviving. Not part of a well-connected family or married? If you hadn’t found a better way to work it, you were guaranteed dead!
Anyway. Women in the North stood to make a fortune off of the fortune stood to be made by men. If they couldn’t mine the dirt, they would mine the men. Secondhand wealth was better than nothing for second class citizens! Either could be achieved through marriage, or through the creation of one’s own business… mainly speaking, prostitution was the main method down that path. One might argue about the immorality of the situation—but get to the source! Shame on the men, in this case, for providing a need for services or an audience in general! If immorality is to be brought up here, then that’s a moot point. Women were doing their best to survive in the world of then—and sometimes it involved a great deal of shrewdness.
Peddling sex isn’t exactly my bag, and neither is the public exposition of sex. But I am a woman in the modern age with a college degree, voting rights, a backbone, and a [rickety] car that I paid off all by myself. I don’t have to resort to uncomfortable or risky measures in order to ensure my survivability. If I choose a mate, it will be out of my own choice, and not merely out of necessity. I don’t have to prey upon men to make money, and I certainly have the socially acceptable and legal right to ward off men who may choose to prey upon me. My status in today’s world is much better than that of the women who came to pioneer the frontier. Not to mention, a point to be proud of—Alaska women have morphed into unequivocal powerhouses today; more of us attend college or pursue vo-tech in order to apply ourselves and make livings. We have great careers, and engage in our communities and roll up our sleeves to get the dirty work done. And work on the North Slope and fish. We women in the state are tough! As the old adage goes… Alaska Girls Kick Ass!
Growing up in the military, I always felt that I had to live under the notion that either I would be an unmarried but successful powerhouse on my own, or get married and have the career-oriented portion of the marriage bent toward whoever the breadwinner happened to be. Especially having grown up in the military—my vision of the likelihood of that breadwinner being me was rather bleak. So, I studied hard in school, worked for good grades and participated in as many activities as I could so I could enrich my own life and gain valuable experience to propel myself forward—or push my children to do the same thing. I also attained a journalism degree in order to be able to do freelance work in case one day I decided to become a stay-at-home mother. (Which there is nothing wrong with, by the way!)
However, in Alaska… the valuable lesson I learned… is that women don’t need men to survive. We choose because we want to—not because we have to.
Thing is, I want to fall in love and get married and have a family one day—of course, when the right person comes along. However, considering that background that I just described, I had always felt that I would come to a fork in the road and be forced to make a choice. But, in Alaska I learned that I don’t have to make a choice! Love her or hate her, I did learn this from Governor Sarah Palin, when I met her in April 2006. I can have a husband and a family, pursue my career, smile, and be successful in whatever I choose to put my efforts toward. You can have it all if you want it badly enough and plan on working for it. I think this is a fairly non-partisan and fulfilling lesson.
Not to say that we women don’t need men. Men are nice to have around and talk to—but in the end, in the Last Frontier, if you can’t make do for yourself, how can you make do for others? In a place like Alaska, exercises in independence make you smart, sharp, and a great asset to whomever one may decide to possibly pair up with.
But it’s nice to know that I have a choice, as opposed to women from the generations ago when our great state was in its formative eras.
Can you tell that I am feeling pretty good? I just caught my first fish in Alaska, and I’m very proud! I’m totally taking on the world, in case you haven’t noticed. What on earth will happen when I catch my next fish? This Southern-Belle-turned-Snowball is pretty thrilled!
“Abdication” versus “Transition”… Quick Thoughts on Sunday the 26th
So, I hit up the Governor’s Picnic and the following transition ceremony on Sunday. I tweeted live to spit out spontaneous thoughts and tweetpic’ing quick iPhone photos (complete with mysterious black line that shows up in all photos now after my phone’s glorious near-demise in the Chena River over July 4th weekend) to curious folks out there in cyberspace.
Due to my forgetting my trusty tripod, the video I took was a tad shaky. A security volunteer who is a former cohort from the Capitol was kind enough to let me stand in a place where I really ought not to have stood… but, really, I had one of the best seats in the house, even if it was a little far away.
Tweets, and quick pics:
Parnell's dad gives benediction. Now the flag song =)5:02 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
Yay AK flag song...5:01 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
This is the most packed iveseen this place. http://twitpic.com/brhza5:00 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
Hoping ppl give Parnell a chance. It's only another ~18 mths in office.4:58 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
@shushwalshe she seemed like a comic kind of exasperation. Can't wait to see what comes up on the new tweet feed. Whole new ballgame.4:57 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon in reply to shushwalshe
No matter how you feel, palin brought in a new era of awareness and activity. Hate her or love her, yr paying attention, aren't you?4:56 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
Thinks this woman arguing with security is insane. Grateful that security is letting me stand here.4:54 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
Parnell wrapping up his speech. Palin told media to leave his two girls alone.4:52 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
@AKpoli there are signs that support her, too. There's a tremendous split.4:51 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon in reply to AKpoli
@shushwalshe they were hecklers; there are some off to stage right. Wish you were here!4:49 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon in reply to shushwalshe
Gov Parnell approaches http://twitpic.com/brgac4:48 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
Campbell is done. Therriault introduces Parnell.4:44 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
Palin criticized outside interests, predatory media, and espouted her love of AK. Vivacious.4:43 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
Sharpshooters scattered about.4:39 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
Campbell is speaking.4:37 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
Palin must be feeling pretty good right about now. Parnell & Campbell just signed their oaths.4:36 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
Where's the AK anthem?4:35 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
She brought her daggers.4:30 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
Palin istalkibg about state sovereignty, energy.4:28 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
She's on fire, man.4:27 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
Gov palin stage http://twitpic.com/brcwf4:25 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
Sarah gets up http://twitpic.com/brc3i4:20 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
Fbx transition http://twitpic.com/br9yy4:07 PM Jul 26th from TwitterFon
I had the fortune of quickly meeting Jason Jones of The Daily Show. While filming a segment with cute little old ladies in Palin t-shirts, I managed to snap a photo of him. The videographer accompanying him immediately told me the photo was backlit and utterly useless. Yep, a true artist! It was funny. Upon meeting the guy, we talked about how The Daily Show had its own Street Team during the 2008 election… just like how my old employer, MTV, had the Street Team ’08; I was its Alaska reporter. It’s up to you to decide which one was superior. The Jones piece on Comedy Central was, while I understand the point Governor Palin was trying to make—seriously funny. I love KTUU Channel 2, but it is funny to see a cup get chucked at the live van, and then see someone hurry from behind it. Yes, I laughed—and I’m sure KTUU did, too.
However, that “media” Jones criticized? You can see none other than the Office of the Governor’s videographer in a couple of shots… kinda funny!
I do have to wonder, though, if Alaska media has been embarrassed by the relative positive coverage Governor Palin received prior to the VP nod, turned feeding frenzy. Were Alaska reporters embarrassed that two sessions’ worth of fairly nice things to say was “disproven” by the awesome-o-matic research prowess of outside media? How much were outside influences a true contender in the terms of shaping public opinion? I simply find it hard to believe this whole thing. Just me. Then again, I noticed a change in her; but I’m also not spending my career devoted to taking her down, or planning on making money off of her family’s troubles, as we know some reporters and others plan on doing.
As this has been a busy week with some interesting developments, this post is a brief, silly one—but I’ve already said my peace. I do wish that people would lay off of Palin, though; the more attention she gets, the more money she will end up receiving from people who are quick to accuse the media of being predatory to her. Everyday Americans love an underdog, much to the chagrin of the late General George Patton—and Americans outside of us media-types are likely to see her as such an underdog. Something to ponder…
Alaska-based Soldier Held By Taliban—Now What?
By Dani Carlson
Staff Writer
The Alaska Standard
We’ve seen videos of American soldiers held up like prize marbles, Arabic characters scrolling across the screen to throw extremist rhetoric into the faces of viewers. Most soldiers look exhausted and sullen, and may recant their lives in America. … I can’t even think of any more descriptors, because I just don’t want to. As a child of the United States Army, stationed on both corners of the country and twice in Europe, I immediately picture my schoolmates, my aviator uncle, my dad (even though he’s been retired for a few years), or my close friends who happen to be serving in the Iraqi province of Diyala right now, as the face you might see in such a video. Read more
Rep. Richard Foster in Stable Condition
This came down today from the House Speaker's Office (chopped to paraphrase):
"Rep. Richard Foster recently had a reoccurrence of a staph blood infection... [...] He underwent surgery in Tacoma on Tuesday, July 14 and is in stable condition this morning. We will provide you updates if there is a change in condition. Thanks for your support. [...]"
Wishing Rep. Foster a speedy recovery. He's, to put it colloquially, pretty super!
All The Stimulus Criticism?—Too Much, Too Late…
I think we can all see that the ARRA (American Recovery & Reinvestment Act—aka “The Stimulus”) hasn’t had any of the effect that we had been promised—so far. (I’m an American. I like results!) It had been hyped up as a gateway of money that would be released to our state governments and have a fairly immediate impact on our economy and well-being. Surprise, surprise—it has been a gateway of money, but where’s the visible positive impact?
Let’s go back to the beginning. Fiscal tightwads had decried the stimulus proposal when talk surfaced in 2008, saying that the debt that we were to be cramped with would be tremendous. Spenders with dollar signs mysteriously emblazoned on their eyeballs said we should release the money to help people in need, such as ailing non-profits, broken municipalities, and the average American. That proposal rolled through Congress and was passed without much incident. After passage, mystery was abound as the facts and figures in terms of what state would get how much money slowly drip-dropped out of the information faucet… leaving some of us to shake our heads as to why over half of the stimulus was heading straight back into federal entities. (I want to know how computer upgrades for the State Department in DC will help the average taxpayer; better yet, why weren’t those funds cleared through a separate allocation? Why did our Congress and Senate buy off on something that wasn’t what it was advertised as, in the first place?)
Suddenly, conservative governors piped up, asserting their claim for responsible fiscal policy by proclaiming their states would not be taking the money that was set to be coming out. Ironically, governors at the forefront of decrying the stimulus AFTER the fact were Louisiana’s Jindal, South Carolina’s Sanford (my hero), and our own Alaska Sarah.
While I have much sympathy for Sarah in terms of the deplorable job the media has done in covering her, I sincerely disagree with the way that she went about this stimulus business.
We heard little from her about the ARRA as it was making its way through slippery Washington, DC, eyes. When the money pretended to rain down charitably on our poor little heads… she then spoke up fervently, saying that the stimulus money would only serve to put us deeper into debt, further past the staggering numbers we’re already eye-to-eye with. She said our grandchildren will be saddled with all the debt that only money could buy and then some. The talk was passionate, the talk was furious, and the talk was tough.
Thing is, I agreed with every word of it. The stimulus was a rotten idea. When an idea not only is a bad apple, a rotten egg, and smells fishy—you’d better hurry up and take out the trash. The stimulus really has, so to speak, stunk up our fiscal future.
But where do I disagree with her? The timing of her statements. We should have been hearing these things weeks prior to when she had started to vociferously make her concerns about the ARRA known. Republican legislators in our legislature were against it—a vague indication of such was that our own Alaska Republicans in Washington voted against it. Representative Young and Senator Murkowski had been talking about the stimulus, frantically making their opinions about the financial burden known, and expressing their terse regret after the votes came down and the bill was signed into law.
Now. It’s a nice sentiment that Governor Palin had in wanting to turn the funds away. And I am sure that those who knows fiscal sense in the Legislature agreed with her, too, in essence. The problem is—our hands are tied. The ARRA was voted into law, casting a tax-debt burden unto each and every one of us. Just because our state might have turned money away did not mean that we would be excused from that burden—and then our share would have been redistributed, while we still would have had to pay for it. We’re all screwed! We’re all in the same boat, and the ship is going to run aground with each and every one of us aboard. Pretend that the money, in this case, is a paddle. We might as well take our paddle—because if we don’t, someone else is going to grab it and use it, and we’re still going to be on that crash course!
It was not with pleasure that the Legislature took Governor Palin to task—at least, not over this issue. I’m sure that House and Senate leadership, really, had to voice their willingness to accept the stimulus through gritted teeth. Our Legislature isn’t stupid (for the most part), and isn’t ignorant about an issue with such impact as this. I’m sure that there was an element of drama and the desire to take the Governor to mat over something, anything—but this is a case where I think that, in action, Governor Palin was wrong and the Legislature was right. The sentiment and the intent was there, but, again, the action was wrong.
Alaska’s Embarrassment versus South Carolina’s Embarrassment… versus Titans’ Embarrassment…
By Dani Carlson
Staff Writer
The Alaska Standard
And so, the downpour of criticism continues for Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Aren’t we all a little sick of hearing about this? I know I am. I get the point; she quit, she left all of us in the dust, she’s a horrible person, yadda-yadda, blah-blah… What do I think? I think it’s time for us to get on with our lives. The people who hate her won’t change their minds about her, the people who love her won’t change their minds about her, and those of us in the middle are going to remain in the middle. Read more
She's Gone; You're Not Happy.
I remember Senator Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. The new Illinois senator sparkled and glowed with an aura of pleasantry and affability; a certain spark of gentility and humbleness was ignited with each word. I remember thinking, “We’re going to see that man again,” when his speech was finished.
Sure enough, we saw him again, in the middle of his first term as an Illinois United States Senator, tackling Democratic politics and delivering a message of hope and optimism. We saw him take on Democratic strongholds such as the Clintons, rise up and represent an unrepresented demographic in the country, and listened to young people and older Americans alike. His respect for international perspective and the welfare of the average American was stunningly different from those of other leaders and politicians that had come before us. His wife was a beautiful demonstration of what a successful American woman with a true story of hardship coming up the ranks on her own valor and talent ought to be. He asked the media to leave his two little girls alone, out of the spotlight—and the press were so kind, and truly listened to him and treated the girls with the utmost respect.
And he was running for the office of President of the United States, too. Boy, weren’t we lucky!
It was when he defeated Hillary Clinton for the nomination for election to the nation’s highest office that we saw the Obama promise roll faster and gain more momentum. He united the country and really sent tremors through the instituted stronghold of tyranny and brazen disregard for humanity—a precedent set by the evil, ruthless Bush administration. He shattered barriers and rallied the disenchanted Americans who had suffered through eight years of atrocity, full of corruption that had never occurred in any other administration America had ever seen. Except for the Reagan presidency, of course.
Then came along Sarah Palin, the twit Governor of Alaska. She was defeated by Barack Obama’s strong speaking skills and preternatural wisdom. She was an awful person. I feel sorry that a great American like John McCain, who’s always been a symbol of American values and has never hurt a fly in his life, had to run with a dummy like her.
Here are some of the differences between Barack Obama and Sarah Palin:
.- Sarah Palin was regarded with controversy in her home state. Barack Obama never did anything wrong while holding offce. She’s a real bitch, you know. Barack Obama has never made a decision that didn’t settle well with anyone.
.- Sarah Palin has five children, and couldn’t be expected to do her job as Vice President. Barack Obama has two daughters, and since he is a man, he can do his job. After all, his wife stayed at home to take care of the children. This proves that no woman with children in her right mind can seek public office.
.- Sarah Palin didn’t have an abortion when she found out she would be having a special-needs child. Barack Obama certainly would have told his wife Michelle to do the right thing and abort a fetus with problems. After all, being pro-choice means that abortion is your first option at all times.
.- Sarah Palin has poor parenting skills, and her daughter got pregnant at 16. It’s all Sarah’s fault, because only bad 16-year olds have sex. Right? Barack Obama’s daughters will never make a mistake in their entire lives. Why? Because Barack Obama is a perfect parent.
.- Sarah Palin’s daughter and little boy deserved attacking and parodying. They are not as good children as the Obama girls.
.- Sarah Palin’s experience as an American is not as important as that of Barack Obama’s. Alaska is a dot on the map compared to his rich Chicago experiences. This proves that Alaskans are not suitable for national office.
.- Sarah Palin doesn’t have feelings. Barack Obama does. But if she did, his are more important, anyway.
.- Sarah Palin ditched her first term as Governor of Alaska. Barack Obama resigned his first term as a United States Senator. But he became President. She’s just a loser.
.- Sarah Palin is awful with the press. Barack Obama’s administration has a great relationship with media today, and is honest and forthcoming in all they do.
.- Sarah Palin makes poor hiring decisions. Barack Obama was totally in his right to bring such a talented man like Tom Daschle to his administration!
.- The list goes on and on. Sarah Palin is just not as valuable a human being as Barack Obama is.
# # #
In all seriousness, Barack Obama deserved to have human treatment from the media. His daughters deserved the media hands-off approach that they were treated with—no children should be subjected to being ripped to shreds by strangers, much less publicly. I’m sure President Obama is a man of good character, despite how much I severely disagree with a majority of his policymaking.
The problem is—I feel as though whoever would have stepped up to the plate of the Republican ticket vacancy next to John McCain would have been destroyed, whether or not it was Palin. Since President George W. Bush is out of office and has retreated to Texas, liberals need a new punching bag.
Ego and past policy aside (and there is so much bad blood that obviously existed prior to the nomination), I think Governor Palin was not treated equitably by the media. Past controversies of hers were dug up and studied, whereas… Obama’s? Not so much. Obama asked the media to respect his family’s privacy—as well they should have. The Palins were not afforded the same respect. Not only that, but Sarah Palin was criticized for getting angry at the media for attacks on her family. Barack Obama would have been in his right to get angry, too, if the media went after his children.
Question: if it had not been Sarah Palin on the VP nomination, how would she be viewed these days?
Governor Palin’s focus on Alaska has certainly been questionable since the election ended. Her approach has been, too. I, as a Palin voter in the 2006 election and an ardent supporter of hers, have been scratching my head and trying to think of what her logic must be. The Office of the Governor was hell to deal with this session, I will admit. The Legislature and the Governor’s Office butted heads and wouldn’t budge. But it’s the nature of the game. That’s the professional side of things. I’m sure she has a tough personality to work with.
However, the intrusion into the personal life was hard to watch. It was borderline obsessive and people seemed to have fun doing it. I think there were a million better things to talk about than Sarah Palin's personal life. Really.
I don’t think she’s got a presidential run in her sights at this point. After the high numbers of ethical complaints brought against her, the fiscal conservative in her is enraged over the amount of money being spent to investigate each claim. We all should be enraged. It doesn’t cost the person filing the complaint a cent to do so, but it costs the state—us—money. Who can blame her for having a book deal? Her family is deep into legal debt from the ethics violations complaints that have thus far turned out to be bogus. How else do you expect her to pay for it? She has children to take care of!
By the way, who makes a porno about political figures? If it was done about Obama, the offense flag would have been raised. I also heard that defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Condi Rice have body doubles in the “feature.” It’s so easy to pick on “loser women.” Oh, and by the way, violence against women or the fantasy thereof isn’t funny at all. But apparently lots of people do think it’s funny, including Terry Tate. Seen the video? If you’re laughing, I want you to imagine Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, or your own mother or sister in Palin’s place. Are you laughing now?
Let me state right now that I’m not as much of a Palin supporter as I was in the past. But the idea of kicking someone when they’re down is not classy at all. And this woman is down, and her family is, too. They’ve been through enough, especially with having their drama played out on the national screen, no matter who started it or said what first.
No matter what she does, someone’s going to have something nasty to say about it, whether it's deserved or not.
Let me also state that I think the press conference was a strange performance. Usually press conferences answer questions; this one happened to raise more. Maybe the answers will come down the line sometime soon. I, for one, hope they do.
As far as I’m concerned, I think she did the right thing. So many people have been criticizing her, and publicly saying she’s unfit to be governor. Now she’s stepping down, and still taking heat. This is what her opponents wanted, and she’s giving it to them. And apparently no one’s happy with that, either.
I think critics should be thrilled and comfortable with this. You got what you wanted. Move along, now. The show’s over.
Although, I have to say—watch out, Republicans. Any one of you could be next. First it was Stevens, now it’s Palin. Next up… who?
Live Blog
Sullivan was just sworn in. Giving his speech now.
Andy Clary
Staff Writer
The Alaska Standard
Live Blog
George Sullivan just received a long standing ovation.
Andy Clary
Staff Writer
The Alaska Standard
