Author Archives: jpeacott

Lions and Tigers and Bears (and Swine and Bees), Oh My!

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Like the cowardly lion, people just love to be afraid.  From bear attacks in Anchorage, to “pandemic” swine flu, to famine caused by a mass die-off of bees, to rampant child abuse and abductions, the news media, the government, and experts of various sorts constantly bombard us with warnings about current or imminent disasters.  Continue reading →

Bad Medicine

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During the recent election campaign, much lip service was given by the candidates to fixing the american health care system.  The politicians, the experts, and the news analysts discussed various methods of reducing the costs, increasing access, and better utilizing information technologies.  But despite all the specific differences in the various plans designed to right all the wrongs of american medicine, there was consensus on three points: the government should control things, Continue reading →

License, Not Freedom

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It is quite difficult to get people who are used to modern city or suburban life to move into the villages and small towns of bush alaska.  While these places have acquired many of the technological features of the rest of the united states, such as television, phones, indoor heating, and so on, they remain difficult to get into or out of, especially in the winter, and lack many modern conveniences.  It has been especially difficult to attract dentists. Continue reading →

The Inhumane Society

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On June 8, 2007, the local newspaper carried a telling story.  It was about the experience of a baby moose that was apparently starving to death because it could no longer nurse after its mother had been killed by a bear.  The moose was picked up by a local group dedicated to increasing the alaskan moose population, treated for a couple of days by a vet, then turned over to the zoo which killed it when it appeared not be thriving.

The reason this all was considered newsworthy was because the state’s head wildlife cop wanted charges filed against the folks who “rescued” the moose because they had no permit to do so.  Continue reading →

An Anarcho-Lefty Personality Cult?

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On a recent trip to the netherlands and belgium, I was struck by the number of items for sale that bore the image of Che Guevara.  There were Che t-shirts and Che bags of various sorts available in all the tourist traps.  This, of course, was not the first time I had encountered Che’s image.  It is all too common to see Che t-shirts here in the states, as well, including those on the chests of self-described anarchists Continue reading →