Comments by Griff_in_Fairbanks
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Posted on November 19 at 2:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
To continue - the reasons I do not support most veterans fraternal organizations, especially the VFW:
1. I graduated from high school in 1973. Many of the people I grew up with went off to Vietnam. Some never returned. And, I clearly recall the VFW saying Vietnam was not a war so Vietnam veterans were not eligible for VFW membership. I also remember how the VFW changed its tune when it realized its membership was shrinking drastically because WWII and Korean veterans were dying off.
2. Some years ago, while sitting in a VFW bar with some friends, I hear an obviously intoxicated man declare, very loudly, that "all women in uniform are whores." I was not a VFW member so I didn't feel it right to challenge the individual's statement. Unfortunately, nobody else saw fit to challenge it either and, to make matters worse, the bartender even served him another drink immediately after his declaration. (My friends, who were VFW members, later apologized for his behavior.)
-- For the record, my wife (of 33 years) is a Vietnam-Era veteran, with an Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Good Conduct Medal, and National Defense Medal. My daughter, with similar decorations, is a Sergeant currently serving her second tour in Iraq. Family members aside, I served with many hardworking women who overcame significant prejudice and discrimination in order to serve their country.
3. At other times, in various places, I've heard veterans refer to fellow veterans as ni**ers, beaners, shinobs, g**ks, skimos, and just about every other derogatory name you can think of. I have absolutely no desire to associate with prejudiced veterans like that.
I think I've said enough.
Posted on November 19 at 2:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
gadzooks and ACman - you don't know all the facts.
1. I am a member of the Alaska Native Veterans Association. Racially, I am white ... half Irish and part French, with a little (very little) Native American blood thrown in.
2. The Alaska Native Veterans Association focuses on bringing the same services and benefits to veterans as those enjoyed by veterans in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and other heavily populated areas, without regard to race.
3. The Alaska Native Veterans Association promotes sobriety. Far too many veterans, of all races and ages, suffer from alcohol and drug addiction. To the best of my knowledge, the VFW, American Legion, and AMVETS all have bars so it's nice to have a veterans organization that doesn't promote alcohol consumption.
4. The VA focuses almost exclusively on the Anchorage, Matsu, and Kenai areas, with grudging support for Fairbanks in the form of a limited, understaffed clinic. The Fairbanks Vet's Center provides some outreach to rural veterans but is constrained by budget limitations. Various veterans fraternal organizations also provide limited outreach but focus mainly on their membership, which is centered in cities and larger towns. The Alaska Native Veterans Association seeks to fill the gaps, primarily in rural areas, left by these other organizations.
Posted on November 17 at 2:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes, akguy, you're right ... the problem is often "a student attending or recently expelled from the school" ... however, the weapon used is almost always a firearm, not a bomb.
My memory may be faulty but I can't recall any significant domestic bombings since Oklahoma City.
On the other hand, people using firearms to injure or kill multiple people is an almost daily occurrence. Limiting the field to school-related shootings still yields depressingly frequent statistics.
The bottom line is the odds of someone successfully detonating a bomb is extremely low. The odds of someone using a gun approaches 100%. With that in mind, keeping the students inside the building and, ideally, locked in classrooms reduces the risk, both for individual students and the student body as a whole. Basically, the idea is to eliminate, or at least reduce, the availability of targets for one or more gunmen.
I understand the feelings of the parents -- I am both a father and a grandfather. But I would point out to those parents that a rash reaction might very well put their children directly in the path of danger, rather than keeping them out of harm's way.
As for the length of time, I think it was reasonable considering what all was going on at the time. Unlike many bank robberies, the cops did not quickly catch the robber. That leads me to believe the cops concentrated making sure the school was safe and made catching the robber a secondary concern.
The school IS the 'safe' zone and it takes time to ensure no danger is lurking in or around the school. I can understand the cops taking extra time and care, considering a nervous, possibly armed, bank robber might be hiding in the vicinity.
Ask any infantry soldier ... bunching the students up in a tight group increases the risk, both from gunfire and bombs. Keeping them spread out inside a stout building makes a successful attack much more difficult.
Posted on November 17 at 1:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes, by all means! Flush the children out into the open, where a nut hiding in a nearby building with a rifle can gun down some of them. The ensuing panic and confusion should give the nut time to reload multiple times and continue shooting. The kids will be scared and won't know what to do or where to go, giving the nut a large number of relatively stationary targets. Consider the possibility of several nuts, in a coordinated assault from several nearby buildings. The effort to move the children to 'safety' away from the school could yield a slaughter unmatched in recent history.
Posted on November 16 at 10:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Apparently, you're unaware of the Alaska Native Veterans Association. It is organized and has been in operation for years. Contact Benno Cleveland for information.
Posted on November 13 at 6:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am glad to hear Samson's will be re-opening in a new location. Samson's and Denali Industrial Supply are my primary choices when shopping for hardware and tools.
I live 30 miles out of town, in the Two Rivers/Pleasant Valley area, so neither of these, nor the 'big boxes', are in my "immediate neighborhood." (We do have Pleasant Valley Equipment, at 24 mile CHSR, with a sizable, though limited, selection of hardware and tools.)
The 'big boxes' hold little appeal for me. Their inventory is obviously chosen by Lower 48 corporate minions who might, on a good day, actually be able to spell Alaska, never mind having any idea what we want and need. Searching for items in their cavernous 'warehouse' makes my feet hurt and my bad knee throb. Finally, I get tired of educating their employees regarding the merchanise they carry ... or should carry.
If I can't get what I need at Pleasant Valley Equipment, I wait until my next trip to town. (Or, make a special trip if it's something urgent.) Then, if Denali Industrial Supply or Samson's doesn't have it, I go home and search online because the 'big boxes' probably won't have it either.
For lumber and building supplies, I still shop SBS, just like I have for the last 35 years.
Posted on November 10 at 2:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Doug_in_Salcha - Yes, there was a post between Yukonjohn's first and second posts, from someone using 'rebublicanlooser' as a username. The post was a rant from a troll who obviously was trying to cause a reaction. The DNM apparently removed the post completely rather than simply replacing it's contents with their standard violation of user agreement message.
Posted on November 10 at 1:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yukonjohn - Just ignore rebublicanlooser (sic), they're obviously a small-minded, bitter person.
I agree with what you stated in your posts.
A retired USAF Master Sergeant and a disabled veteran.
Posted on October 30 at 12:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
... 1,344 HEATING DEGREE days ... (Emphasis added.)
Obviously, Isanova, you didn't read or didn't understand paragraph four, where the author provided a definition of "heating degree days."
If a day's mean (i.e., average) temperature is, for example, 30 degrees above zero, then that day is a 35 heating degrees day. (65 degree base temperature minus 30 degree mean temperature equals 35 heating degrees.)
Working it backwards, the average temperature for the 1st through 27th of October was 15.2 degrees above zero. ( 65 - ( 1344 / 27 ) )
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Posted on December 1 at 1:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If it's any consolation, the millitary retirees and disabled veterans are still bringing federal dollars into the state ... and spending most of them on the local economy.
Of course, I understand some Fairbanks and Alaska residents want us to leave ... and take those dollars with us.
On Will Alaska pay a price for ousting Stevens?