| December 30, 2005 Editor’s Desk by Aaron Selbig, insurgent49 It’s been a big week here at Insurgent Headquarters. Auld Lang Syne. Ever wondered what in the hell that means, anyway? Well, according to Webster’s ... fondly remembered times. Ahh ... that’s nice. This is the time of year, of course, when everyone and their brother is turning out their ‘best of’ lists for the last year. Best movies, best albums, best celebrity breakups, etc. Here at insurgent49, we are not totally impervious to the cliché, and so I’ll take a stab at a 2005 i49 ‘best of’ list. Since we’re primarily concerned with two things here, Alaska and political/social issues (hmm ... maybe that’s technically three things), let’s call it ... The
Biggest Alaska News Stories of 2005
(in no particular order) The “Bridges To Nowhere” Oh, what fun we had with this one; but not as much fun as the national media had with it. As if from a coma, the lower 48 suddenly woke up to the fact that Alaska has been receiving the lion’s share of federal goodies for years, and it was because of these two bridges (well, Katrina had something to do with it, too). Bad, baaad Uncle Ted. Gas line Negotiations The biggest non-story of the year, by far. So much ink and breath was spent on this subject in ’05, we could’ve built a hot air pipeline to Mexico. Don’t get me wrong: an LNG pipeline, if it is ever built, could indeed be the most important thing to happen to our state in thirty years. But are we any closer to it now than we were then? And is it worth staking a political future on? Only the Shadow (and the Governor) knows ... The “Bald Ego” The story of Governor Murkowski’s jet was a holdover from 2004 (one of those stories that JUST WON’T DIE!), but since he finally got it this year, it counts. Oh, Frank ... red state Alaska could’ve forgiven you for the longevity bonus, for failing to bring a gas line contract to the table (as you repeatedly promised), and for pushing your daughter on us (turns out she’s a LOT more likable than Dad), but that damned airplane will be final nail in your political coffin.  Passing of Jay Hammond Alaska lost a giant, literally, with the death of the ‘Bush Rat’ governor. Will men like him ever surface to the top of the political heap again? The Front Lines of Global Warming Melting permafrost. Receding (and even disappearing) glaciers. Uncontrollable forest fires. Shishmaref falling into the sea. All over Alaska, the evidence of global warming is obvious and quite alarming. National Geographic even did a cover story on it, featuring the Last Frontier. Yet many Alaskans, especially those in public office, gladly join the chorus that global warming is a made-up conspiracy theory brought forth by liberals. Hmm ... maybe when all the dead spruce trees on the Kenai are replaced with date palms ... Skyrocketing Oil Prices Oil at seventy bucks a barrel? Sweet! A state budget surplus of one billion dollars? Nice! But did anyone notice what it costs to fill up the family SUV? Alaska: the Rape Capital of America Once again, Alaska led the country in reported rapes. Add that to our top-ten rankings in suicides, domestic violence, child abuse and drug/alcohol addiction, and our state is looking like the First Frontier for social ills. The causes of and solutions to these problems are indeed complicated, but is the leadership of Alaska even taking the crucial first step of admitting we have a problem? One candidate for Governor said last week that the answer was more oil jobs. Ugh. Okay, I know we missed a few, but 2005 has been a trying year and we’re just worn out. If you think we’ve egregiously missed something, feel free to send us an email with your suggestion. Also, you may have noticed that our list is dominated by bad news. 2005 wasn’t all bad. In fact, there was one big story this year that, hopefully, provided some hope and inspiration to progressive Alaskans: Insurgent49 Launches Website, Newspaper Auld Lang Syne. Regards, Aaron Selbig Editor, Insurgent Media AK |
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December 23, 2005 December 16, 2005 December 10, 2005 December 2, 2005 November 25, 2005 November 18, 2005 November 11, 2005 November 4, 2005 October 28, 2005 October 21, 2005 October 14, 2005 October 7, 2005 September 30, 2005 September 23, 2005 September 16, 2005 September 9, 2005 September 2, 2005 August 26, 2005 August 19, 2005 August 12, 2005 August 5, 2005 July 29, 2005 July 22, 2005 July 15, 2005 July 8, 2005 July 1, 2005 June 24, 2005 June 17, 2005 June 10, 2005 June 3, 2005 May 27, 2005 May 20, 2005 May 13, 2005 May 6, 2005 April 28, 2005 April 21, 2005 April 14, 2005 April 7, 2005 April 1, 2005 |
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| Copyright 2005
Insurgent Media.
All rights reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
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