Fair game for the Alaska Indepence Party

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a good point today. Why is the McCain campaign getting so much coverage on a non-news issue like Ayers while Sarah Palin gets a pass on her association with the Alaska Independence Party? The Alaskan Independence Party can be summed up in just two words: Alaska First.

Until 2002, Todd Palin was a member of the AIP. As governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin addressed their convention this year and told them to “keep up the good work.”

I’m tired of listening to her repeat the campaign slogan “Country First” when she supported the AIP’s separatist propaganda.

Dexter Clark, one of the AIP’s vice chairmen, spoke of how thrilled he was when Sarah Palin got elected. Right before he talked about “her moving up.”

Filed under: eye opener, freedom of speech, alaska independence party, palin, secessionist

An American Life – past and present

Times sure have changed.

In 1999 a 2-bedroom with 2-bath condo in Dupont Circle sold for $150,000, gas cost $1.25 per gallon, a round-trip flight landing in Amsterdam and returning from Paris sold for $375, and $1US pretty much equaled €1 EUR.

In 1999 I made half my salary today. And that salary paid for rent, student loans, trips to Europe, and classes at local universities. Let me tell you, I had no complaints.

Today the property that sold for $150,000 costs $575,000, gas rose from $1.25 to $3.60, a nonstop round-trip ticket from DC to Amsterdam in April increased from $375 to $1014, and the $1US converts to €.70 EUR.

I look at my standard of living today after these last eight years, and remember how far my dollar stretched in 1999, and let me tell you… I’m pissed.

Filed under: eye opener, featured, freedom of speech, money, politics, questions

Being Practical

Keep true the dreams of thy youth.
- Friedrich von Schiller

I’m not entirely sure what are the dreams of my youth. I feel I’ve carried the same dreams for so long that they’ve always been with me.

Instead of taking steps to write and travel more, I wallow in the reasons why I can’t right now.

I don’t have time to finish the essay on Portuguese church feasts. I’m too old to take street hip hop dance lessons. I don’t have money to travel outside of the United States. I ought to be practical.

Trouble is I’m tired of practical.

I dream of taking two years to criss-cross the globe. Or returning to school full-time to study archaeology. Or of buying property.

And that’s part of the problem.

Filed under: eye opener, dream, life