Matt West Side Story

One more political blog posting

2008-10-19T10:13:00.003-08:00

Well 2 weeks until the election. My last post ripped McCain's campaign a bit, and I must say it was good to hear him try to somewhat fix that. However, today two people that I'm very impressed with have endorsed Obama. The first is Colin Powell. Powell somewhat disappointed me during the lead up to the war. It's hard to know what he did or did not know, and whether he is loyal to fault. However, I still see him as a good and honest man who does what he feels is best for the country. I would have voted for him had he run in 2000. Today he said:
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"I strongly believe that at this point in America's history we need a president that will not just continue — even with a new face and with some changes and with some maverick aspects — will not just continue basically the policies that we have been following in recent years.... I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Sen. Barack Obama..... He has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president." - Colin Powell Oct 19, 2008
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The second endorsement comes off a lesser known figure named Fareed Zakaria. He is a foreign affairs and global policy journalist. He has an amazing knowledge and comprehension about the world. I've added his sentiments below. They very much reflect my own.

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"I think we have two good candidates. Both are serious people with an obvious commitment to the United States. Both are knowledgeable and substantive. Both talk about reaching across party lines to solve the country's problems.

But I think one is distinctly better for our times.

As I've watched John McCain discuss the current economic crisis, I couldn't help but think that he was really out of his element. His response to questions about the crisis and the rescue package tended to all be about cutting taxes, keeping government small, ending earmark spending.

This is a recitation of 30-year-old Republican orthodoxy and feels irrelevant to the problems we face today.

To get a sense of how divorced from reality McCain is on economics, consider this. He is still promising to balance the federal budget by the end of his first term, while offering large new tax cuts. In reality, the deficit is likely to be $1 trillion. Balancing it would require not good government policies, but magic.

On foreign policy, McCain is a relentless warrior. He wants to fight in Iraq, openly threatens to bomb Iran, is skeptical of the Bush administration's diplomacy with North Korea. He wants to kick Russia out of the G-8, humiliate China by keeping it also out of that body. He sees a world in which a league of democracies will tussle with an alliance of autocracies.

It's a Cold War strategy for a post-Cold War world.

By contrast, Barack Obama has been calm, sensible and intelligent on both economics and foreign policy. His proposals to respond to the financial crisis have been careful, measured and attuned to the moment we're in. Some of them have been adopted by the Bush administration already.

He wants limited tax cuts for the middle class, but also major new investments in infrastructure and alternate energy.

On foreign policy, he argues for greater international cooperation and the aggressive use of diplomacy. He sees a world in which America doesn't have to fight with everyone, and should instead work with other countries to solve the common problems we all face.

I repeat, these are two good men, but with two very different views of the world.

John McCain represents the best of America's past, and Barack Obama the hope of the future -- the hope of a country that can make big changes and live out one of its greatest promises, of equal opportunities for all Americans, of every caste, creed and color.

And America has always been a country that looks forward." - Fareed Zakaria Oct 19, 2008

full text @ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0810/19/fzgps.01.html
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William Ayers

2008-10-10T12:31:00.004-08:00

"McCain has gone in his ads one step too far, and sort of attributing to Obama things that are, you know, beyond the 100-percent-truth test.... there ought to be an adult who says: 'Do we really need to go that far in this ad?" KARL ROVE 9/08

I grew up in Arizona. I have long liked John McCain and favored him in the 2000 elections. But he has changed this time. I admit to heavily leaning toward Obama over the last few months. But I still watch the debates and I still agree with some aspects of McCain's views. Unfortunately McCain campaigns' renewed smear tactics have really upset me. When Sarah Palin and McCain campaign staff are everywhere saying "Obama associates with terrorists" something is wrong. That isn't a debate over issues, policies or ideas. That is the politics of fear...The kind the appeals to the most weak minded Americans.

No one is accusing Obama of helping Bill Ayers bomb anything are they? No one is accusing Obama of sharing Bill Ayers political views are they? No. Bill Ayers might support some of Obama's views. But someone believing in you is definitely not the same as you believing in them. Guilt by association is a dangerous road to go down. Do we really want to judge people on what their acquaintances do or believe? In fact, all Obama is being accused of is associating with him while both were members of the board of an anti-poverty group. Oh and Ayers has helped fundraise for Obama. But, Ayers now holds the position of distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago and received Chicago's Citizen of the Year a few years back.

Don't we have an economic collapse right now? Are we still overextended in Iraq? Aren't there some real issues about our country we could talk about?

I found this today......
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"Senator John McCain: If your campaign does not stop equating Sen. Barack Obama with terrorism, questioning his patriotism and portraying Mr. Obama as "not one of us," I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate, and therefore of potentially instigating violence.....

John McCain, you are no fool, and you understand the depths of hatred that surround the issue of race in this country. You also know that, post-9/11, to call someone a friend of a terrorist is a very serious matter. You also know we are a bitterly divided country on many other issues. You know that, sadly, in America, violence is always just a moment away. You know that there are plenty of crazy people out there.....

John McCain and Sarah Palin, you are playing with fire, and you know it. You are unleashing the monster of American hatred and prejudice, to the peril of all of us. You are doing this in wartime. You are doing this as our economy collapses....

Change the atmosphere of your campaign. Talk about the issues at hand. Make your case. But stop stirring up the lunatic fringe of haters, or risk suffering the judgment of history and the loathing of the American people - forever."

From an editorial by Frank Schaeffer. Shaeffer supported McCain in 2000 and McCain wrote an endorsement of one of his books about military service. Full text at :
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.mccain10oct10,0,7557571.story

Palin

2008-09-30T19:51:00.004-08:00

(my friend Tom at a Palin rally in Fairbanks)

Having Palin on the republican ticket is exciting for Alaska. I must say her first speech, I thought was polished, well delivered and well received. Unfortunately, in recent weeks she is proving to be more and more of a political fiasco.

I admit to a mild liberal bias. However, I like McCain as he's been the senator for my home state as long as I remember. I thought Palin seemed a good bold choice at first. She has done okay as a governor. She did come in as a bit a of reformer after a very despised and corrupt predecessor. Before her vault to the national stage, I think most Alaskans would say she was doing a good job.

We in Alaska find it strange she talks so much about the bridge to nowhere, since she campaigned actively for it for quite a while. She even told the people of Ketchican that it was insulting that its expansion area was being referred to as "nowhere" The Troopergate is also a bit of an issue, although not much as much as the media makes it out. Despite what the author of your forwarded email states, the issue isn't that Trooper Wooten was problematic - everyone agrees the guy was an ass. That was known, reported and the department was taking what they felt to be appropriate action. The concern is that she used her political position to push for his firing and then later fired his boss for (allegedly) not complying. His boss was a very popular commissioner with the troopers. Additionally, Palin promised to fully cooperate with the investigation and even said she welcomed it. So to claim there is a liberal bias to the probe now seems like a bit of late complaint. Funny enough, I actually always expected the investigation to clear her. It has become more controversial now that she won't participate.

And to be clear, let's not pretend that Republicans in Alaska are above the corruption fray and it's just the corrupt democrats trying to bring her down. Republicans here just overwhelming put Ted Stevens through the primaries again despite the fact that is on trial for bribery and corruption as we speak. "Uncle Ted" as he is known here, has such a reputation for pork projects for Alaska he might still get re-elected if he killed someone

To get back to Palin though, the worst is the interviews. I don't think she's a terrible person; she just isn't ready for this level of politics. I feel bad for her. I think she will be a great asset to the Republicans in time, but her inability to perform without the teleprompter is rather alarming. Her answer to Couric on the financial bailout wasn't even coherent, and her response about Russians invading alaskan airspace was simply ridiculous. The governor has nothing to do with the USA response to Russia. Even the NORAD commanders are saying that. She would do so much better for herself if she would just be honest. "no i don't have much foreign policy experience. I'm working with some great advisors, I'm learning quickly and I plan to get involved immediate." That would go over so much better than what she's done.

So I suppose I'm not a fan. She has promise, but I think in the end will be a bigger liability than an asset. However, if McCain loses, I'm sure we'll see Palin again.

Oh and I'm hosting a vice presidential debate party thursday. I'll let you know if my sentiments change.

Saturday

2008-09-13T21:51:00.001-08:00

Today I cleaned almost half of my desk at work up, shot arrows with a friend in his front yard, hit golf balls from his back yard towards a nearby tundra pond, and got my ping pong table set back up. Pretty good day..........

New Music

2008-09-10T20:49:00.002-08:00

I've always liked a variety of music. Anything from classical to hip hop. And now the combination... pretty amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyvj6kxQftw

The trip finishes!

2008-08-18T01:06:00.005-08:00

Three adventurers, for sure! (think of poor Meghan... three guys to deal with!)

Friday morning was easy, easy fishing. I was just using rod and reel (not like those fly fishing other guys!) I spent about an hour on a hole upriver from our camp and in under an hour had caught 2 dollys, 2 rainbow and 1 graying. And that was just the fish I landed. Another two or three spit the hook before I got them in! Not being a huge fisherman, after that I spent a nice few hours in the sun reading while the others got their fishing fix.

A big group of our friends met us on Saturday for the pickup. They boated several hours up from Bethel and met us up on the Kisaralik river. And thank goodness they did! By that point the river had slowed so much we were barely moving. The mountains and hills were gone, we were tire and ready for home! That night our friends prepared a great feast of fresh salmon for us. Yum

Sunday we all came home. I got home about 7:30pm and luckily had the foresight to have taken off Monday from work. What a trip!

The trip continues...

2008-08-18T00:47:00.007-08:00

Sunday we again got off to a mid day start. (a routine began developing here). We would get up somewhere around the 9-10am mark. Usually not too much conversation as Ryan made his coffee in his fancy French press and we all got our oatmeal for breakfast. Key tip - adding craisins to oatmeal adds good fruit and flavor! We would talk and strategize a bit, then go back to some quiet time as we broke down camp.

By noon to 1pm or so we were usually out on the river. Not the type to underprepare, we had two GPS units with the latest topographic maps, several paper maps and a guide paper with some key landmarks/ obstacles to watch for. We also had a VHF radio and a satellite phone for emergencies. (see, mom? safety first!) As you can see, we had some navigational prowess.

Unfortunately while Chris and I were consulting our maps, charts, GPS etc, we floated right by a black bear on the shore! Megs and Ryan later told us how the bear had watched us float by, even raising up a bit. We wouldn't have believed in, but unfortunately photo documentation exisited.

Moving on! We hit the upper falls on Sunday. We climbed up a bluff to scout the area before we went through.

The view from up there was pretty amazing. We could see all the salmon piled up in the water waiting to leap up the falls and continue their journey.

We were able to raft one part but the second part we had to use ropes to line the boats through. Prior to that we had to empty them and carry all the gear around the falls.... whew! So much work!

Monday we hit another section of rapids and had an amazing bear day. Depending on whose boat you were in, we saw between 12-13 bear just that day! My total for the week ended up being 17 bear sightings. Everywhere we camped was covered in bear tracks, but we were never bothered and never saw any signs that bear had been near our camp in the night.

As we continued our trip the river changed fairly rapidly. Mountains faded to background scenery and more rolling hills and bluffs started to appear. The upper river had amazing beauty and a decidedly un-Bethel feel.

Kisaralik Float Trip

2008-08-17T19:04:00.003-08:00

Recently got back from a 10 day trip out in to the wild. Three friends and I went to float down the Kisaralik River. To get to the start we took a float plane about an hour from Bethel to Kisaralik Lake. We were supposed to have a large float plane to take all of us, but last minute it was unavailable, so instead we had to take two trips in a smaller plane (poor Chris missed out on this start photo)

We had the plane stuffed full. No sense going light when rafts are carrying all your gear! We finally got out of Bethel around 4pm on a Friday.

Compare the scenery from photo 1 to photo 2.... the difference? Mountains! Ahhh.... I do miss mountains.

We got camp set up on the lake, did a short hike and prepared to embark on Saturday morning. Friday had been a little questionable with the weather, but once we were out to the lake we had gorgeous blue skies. The only disturbance was the occasional helicopter coming through. There is a gold mining exploratory group not too far from the lake.

Saturday we got a mid-day start. Not having much paddling experience, I started off on the oars. Unfortunately first up on the river was a challenging rock garden obstacle course. Well, a few rocks never hurt anyone, right? As we began down the river, bright red salmon were all over fighting their way upstream.

Bethel has had a pretty cold summer. When my parents came to visit everyone (myself included) commented on how beautiful it was one day - True weather was in the mid 60's with partly cloudy skies. But up on the river, the gods of weather smiled down on us. The weather stayed great, and we took some time to enjoy the views and sunshine. I wouldn't say it was warm that day- it is still Alaska after all- but it was very pleasant....

Negative What?

2008-01-11T00:02:00.000-09:00

It's midnight as I type.......I'm looking down at the weather board in the corner of my screen and all I can do it sigh. The temperature is -20 degrees Fahrenheit. Tomorrow the high- the HIGH - is predicted to be -13 degrees Fahrenheit.

A quick bit of math.......water freezes at 32F, so lets call that "freezing." I am sitting at 52 degrees BELOW FREEZING! Let's go the other way. Think of the difference between "freezing" and 84 degrees. Quite a big difference, isn't it? Well I'm that big of a difference the other way.

Normally I wouldn't complain. But now I'm a homeowner. I returned from Christmas vacation to a frozen and broken water pump and a cracked water line. After getting that fixed, my kitchen sink drain froze. After fixing that my guest bathtub drain froze. I am ignoring that for now, because shortly after that the water line to my kitchen sink froze. Oh and the overflow on my water tank froze, so I didn't get my biweekly water delivery. So like I said, normally I wouldn't complain............ It's just I haven't seen a temperature above -5F since I got back to Bethel on Dec 28th. Oh, and by the way, all these temps are without wind chill, which has dropped the temps to -40F or worse.

On the plus side, I'm learned a lot about plumbing, space heaters, spray insulation, copper and PVC pipe repair, and more. I've also learned an inordinate amount about the underside of my house. I've crawled around under there so much in the last week I don't even need my headlight anymore! Okay, that's an exaggeration. I did just smack my head on an overhead beam.

Hey look.......... -21 F. Sleep well!

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UPDATE 1/12/08 1pm: -27 F. Anyone seen a good deal on a ticket to Hawaii?

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FINAL UPDATE 1/16/08 11pm +32 F. We bottomed out last week at -37F (true temp- not with wind chill) and then Monday afternoon we swung up to the positives. Ahhhhhhhhh......Heat wave!

First Kill

2008-01-06T12:01:00.000-09:00

Light was beginning to creep across the sky, though the sun still had an hour or so before it rose. Our party of three snowmobiles zipped down the frozen river toward the small village of Kwethluk. We came up off the river and passed through the village quickly to begin our southeast travel toward Three Step Mountain. The icy -5 degree F air - its power increased by the 30mph rate of travel- sought out any small piece of exposed skin. Yet for the most part, we were well bundled and warm. Several miles out of Kwethluk we came upon a large set of tracks crossing the river. The sun now peeked over the distant mountains creating a shimmer on the low lying ice fog. Turning to follow the tracks, we came up a small bluff and Ryan glassed the area with his binoculars. Several small herds - 20-40 animals each- dotted the horizon.

We took a break to drink some warm beverage and stretch a bit before beginning the pursuit. Leaving the well travelled trail meant a rougher, and therefore slower, ride. The tundra, frozen as it was, did not have a thick blanket of snow. The hummocks and shrubs then create a bumpy ride. After slowly riding toward our preselected herd we began to use the lower lying lakes and sloughs to creep closer and closer. The animals seemed unpeturbed by our machines noise, but they were aware of our movements. We decided to take turns, with one hunter out front and the other two trailing from a distance. Chris took the first animal down and after a brief meeting at his kill, I set off toward the herd with Ryan trailing.

The animals had run a bit, but not far. I dropped into a frozen lake bed and shot across it, popping up at a slight angle to the herd. They noticed me but didn't move much. Approaching obtusely, almost paralleling them, I got within 100-120 yards and turned off my machine. I held my breath as a gazed through the rifle scope. At this temperature the slightest moisture would ice up the glass. I could my heart's thumping excitement as I shot.............

Nothing. I looked through the scope from animal to animal. No one stumbled, no one fell. The animals walked away a bit, but then stopped again and resumed eating and resting. I watched for several minutes before convincing myself that nothing had been hit. This time I took more time, allowed myself to relax a bit. The 8x power of the scope brought the animals near as I scanned for a shot. Then a bull turned and simply stood - a perfect profile. The crack of the rifle and the fall of the animal seemed simultaneous. No jumping, no running - just a collapse. I waited and watched. The other animals moved away, startled but stopped shortly. Had the desire or need been there, I was still in range. After waiting to ensure the animal wasn't going to rise I slowly headed down. Now the rest of the herd headed off over the next hill.

As I approached I could see the animal was bleeding heavily from the neck. It lay on its side, unmoving. I got off my machine and approached on foot. I could see the heartbeat still thumping in its side - it was alive. I reached the barrel of the rifle toward its head and it tried to pull away, but its body could not respond. With a somewhat surreal sense, I stood a few feet away and fired a point blank shot to the head. Snow and dirt kicked up from the impact. There was no movement after that. I'm not sure exactly what I felt......Excitement, pride in my success, guilt for taking a life, and even some horror that I could fire that last shot. But it was done. My first kill - an Alaskan caribou.

All three of us got a caribou-all clean shots- and we decided to bring them all together to work. As I rode with my friend Ryan to help him pick up his animal we looked over toward Three Step Mountain. The ice fog still rolled near the base of the mountain and the clear sky and bright sun make the fog and frozen ground sparkle. Between us and mountain stood the herd of caribou and beyond all that an endless landscape of open tundra. It was a scene that you wish you could capture with a camera, even knowing a photo would never even approach the beauty of that moment.

The animals won't be wasted. As we were leaving, all that remained on the tundra were the gut piles and the hides. Cleaning the caribou for me was challenging but not particularly distasteful or troubling. The heads and hooves will go to a dog mushing team of my friend Angela. The quarters, rib cages and neck meat were taken and packed on to the sleds to be processed later. Many a delicious dinners await.

We turned and headed toward home just as light was fading from the sky. As we rounded the first bend, the herd of 30-40 caribou were still right there, watching us depart into the coming night.

Tundra Jam

2007-09-02T19:41:00.000-08:00

One of the things I like about Bethel is the friends I have that know how to do random things I've never done before.....like making jam. Simple as it may be, it is very satisfying to make food from start to finish. We picked the blueberries off the ground of the tundra. The don't grow on bushes here.

Apparently there are many different methods to making the jam. Since I was the only one to have never done this before, I sat back and enjoyed the vigorous debate between my friends as to the "right" way to do it.

The ingredient list was pretty simple. Once we finally decided on a methodology, the work went pretty quickly.

The end result? Delicious Tundra Blueberry Jam. Yum

No moose

2007-08-26T21:14:00.001-08:00

No moose hunt this year. I planned on flying to Holy Cross, one of my villages, to do dentistry for a week or two. Then I had two contacts that were supposed to help me get set up to go and try to catch a moose. (Catch with a high powered rifle, that is). I was pretty excited, albeit a bit nervous since I have not killed any big game yet. Cleaning an animal that has 300-500 pounds of meat is a bit daunting for a first attempt. But I felt confident that with a good guide I could have a successful hunt and properly care for and clean the animal.

Then work stepped in..........one thing after another began piling up and before I knew it, my entire Holy Cross trip was no longer possible timing wise. I could go back to Holy Cross later, but moose season is primarily just September. Needless to say it's a bit frustrating and a bit disappointing. My new plan is to concentrate on caribou this winter. A much smaller animal with a much longer season. I have some really good friends here that I trust to teach me how to hunt with respect for the animal and the meat it provides. I really want to learn how to properly harvest and clean the kill, so perhaps it will be better to learn with them and then try for the big moose next year.

(Note: photo is cleaning ptarmigan w/ Ryan and Travis Fall '06)

Opera

2007-08-12T22:47:00.001-08:00

Raise your hand if you love opera....... No? Watch this clip. A large part of it is the man's voice, but part is the judges' and audience's reaction. If you know Simon Cowell of American Idol fame, it's even more moving. If you can watch it without a tear, you're a tougher soul than I.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oxTy7KIAaA&mode=related&search=

Mine

2007-06-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

Closing

2007-05-30T21:08:00.000-08:00

When a surreality becomes reality........ I've been working on buying my first house. Today I got notice that it will be closing on Friday. Pretty amazing. On Saturday I'll have a place that is mine (well, mine and the banks......quiet roommate, though). The Title paperwork's first page had a moderately large figure circled on it that indicated what I owe up front. Thankfully I don't have to even write a check for that. The money will just be debited from my account. I think I might have trouble writing a check that big. While it's a lot of cash money up front, I am still really excited about my new place. I'm already planning the layout, the toys and the parties (sophisticated social gatherings, I mean)

Spillage

2007-05-21T22:51:00.000-08:00

As I dine on this most delicious Marie Callender's pot pie I can't help but notice that as I lean forward my pants feel a little tighter. Granted I wear the same size waistband now that I did in high school......it just seems like the style back then was, perhaps, baggier. I'm not sure where that "baggy" went. Now I fill them out quite nicely. Okay, maybe there is a little bit extra coming over the top. Not when I'm standing, mind you. But sitting...........not so good. Soon I'm going to have to make a decision......go up in size or start working some of this Alaskan insulation off. I suppose it is summer time. Now where are those running shoes?

What a mess.......

2007-05-20T21:20:00.000-08:00

I have a problem....... For the life of me, I can't seem to organize. I have one day a week when I do administrative things. Last week I spent the whole day cleaning my office. When I finally made it, the surface of my desk was very foreign. Unfortunately a few days of patients and various work things and I'm starting to lose sight of the desk again. I think the problem is that while I can put things away, I'm not quite sure how to control new things coming in. My boss gave me a book Getting Things Done. It's about that exact thing: organizing projects and prioritizing incoming things. I've had it for a month or two, and you know? I just can't seem to get it done. Seems interesting with a lot of good ideas, but sometimes I'd rather be checking out the internet news sites or reading something more interesting. My house is not much better. Right now I blame it on the space... my place is tiny, tiny. But I'm buying a new bigger house, so that will shortly cease to be an excuse. Sigh........guess I'll go start on the dishes

Dark Chocolate

2007-04-29T17:17:00.000-08:00

This morning, for some reason, I had a pretty severe craving for bacon. So 3 eggs, a bit of cheese, and six slices of bacon later I was well satiated. I started worrying that all that fat and cholesterol might be bad for me, so I decided to counter it with the protective properties of dark chocolate. Just to be safe, I ate a lot.........I feel much healthier already.

2007-03-24T22:02:00.000-08:00

Today I drove out on the river to cut firewood with my friend Bob and re-sight in my rifle. With all the wind and the lack of snow, the river makes for some pretty nice driving. Bob's a great guy. He's a hygienist at the clinic, and when we aren't working we are always shooting the breeze or arguing about something. He's a George Bush loving, hard core right wing die hard, which nicely complements my left leaning hippie ideology. He just got the big Superman 'S' tattooed on his arm follow by -ixty. That's for his 60th birthday next month.

The rifle shoots low. Hopefully with the new adjustments I can still catch a caribou this year.