Why didn't you do something...?"

Will that be what the world will be asking us two years from now? How much more turmoil and hatred can this Administration create before they are asked to leave the premises of the White House? What more can we do?

And this:


And this:

a few years back for the Talkeetna bluegrass festival.
It before the evil bu$hco took over our country.


We flew Seattle to Anchorage, rented a motor home, and drove to the festival. We were amazed for the next 3 days. We had such a GREAT time. I loved Alaska.

The Hells Angels (The Frozen Few) were the security guards. Their tee-shirts said "Karma Control".

Thanks for reminding me that all you beautiful people are still up there.

I'll buy the first beer. Talkeetna is a TRIP (using that in the old hippie sense of the word)! Usually at Talkeetna on my overloaded Roadie with my spouse and HIS overloaded Roadie. Alaska appears to be a red state; to this day I find that hard to reconcile with everyone I know, and all the folks I meet every day like at Talkeetna. When your local Hells Angels are in charge of collecting Toys for Tots, and you're just as likely to see an FBI agent on the Yukon Quest trail as you are a hippie, well.........

I think it may be the same just about everywhere, and meshing cultures, religions, races and politics IS possible. The problem is, many of these people buy into the lie. It's easier, it doesn't have to be researched or thought out and, frankly, most of the US voting population is very lazy. I don't think many Alaskans are worried about "security", nor do I think they're scared of terrorism - not even with Shrub and his minions pushing terra, terra, terra. The ones who really buy into the Shrub mantra are usually newcomers who have been transferred here by the military or the oil companies - yes, they bring their Lower 48 crap with them, and have since the pipeline boom in the '70s. Some eventually realize that the crap being spewed by this misAdministration is just that, and wind up phasing out of the fundy neocon garbage. Many, however, knowing they'll only be here a short time, just don't give a shit. Ask the GI's stationed at Ft. Wainwright, and one out of three will tell you he/she registered to vote in Alaska just to have additional proof of residence to collect the PFD. They'll also tell you that their CO wants a HIGH percentage of voters in his/her unit, so they just go vote for whoever without knowing a single issue confronting the Borough, State or Nation. Sad. But the Big Oil employees are about the same.

How to change it? Beats me. But a whole bunch of Talkeetna's in every single state, with the same mix of demographics, would be a start. Wishful thinking, huh? Sorry for the rant! :hi:

- 2003

We sell our wares at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. It seems to be a perfect embodiment of how folks on the planet could get along peacefully.

http://www.pikeplacemarket.org

We have shop and restaurant owners from all over the world. We have artists and craftspeople sharing a small amount of space, quite well. We have musicians and street performers and all manner of tourists. What we don't have is LARGE CORPORATIONS! Even though there are plenty of skyscrapers nearby. Our little three square blocks in the middle of the city is a wonder of sights and sounds. We have been a part of the Market for 25 years and all the characters are family to us. Such a diverse group ... living, working and moving through. A great neighborhood health clinic that caters to the poor and homeless, 2 day cares low income housing and a senior center and retirement home. It is this peaceful microcosm that makes it impossible for me to understand the decision of these neocon-sub-humans in our country to go to WAR. I have been in a state of "CRAZY" since. Protests, trying to educate ourselves in Politics, and be effective in some sort of change, has added a whole second career these last few years. Argh!

We live and have our studio thirty miles north in a smaller community, with plenty of kids and grandkids nearby.

There was only one republican in our group of 265 arts and craft people. We made a circle around him reformed him in the street!

Once we were carefree and perhaps we shall be again. We went through all this shit in the 60's so it caught me by surprise this time. We are normally pretty laid back! heh!

PEACE and thanks for your post!

My in-laws lived there for a while; have since moved back here. I got to visit the area (by motorcycle, of course) and fell in love with LaConner, Chuckanut Drive (awesome twisties) and Deception Pass.

You're right about Pike Place Market, too. I know that the Northwest and Alaska don't have a monopoly on this type of "community within a community". When people start asking, as kentuck says, "what did you do" - we can point these out.

Are you in the S "peace" S in the snow picture? That is great and I put it on the desktop.

Did you stop for oysters on Chachanut?

No, we are in Mukilteo, where the ferry goes to Whidbey Island at the south end. Deception Pass takes you to the Island on the North end.

Yeah, huh! That's what we did and where ever we went we kept doin' it!

We stood in candle light vigils here, wishing we were in Crawford with Cindy.

We stuck anti war leaflets on SUV's with bu$h bumper stickers. We made Peace Signs in the snow. We stood on corners with protest signs.

We signed petitions till we were blue in the face.

Chuchanut on a bike is a BALL!!!!!!!!!! And of course we stopped for oysters. There's a little restaurant on a 90 degree curve; just before it is a drive that leads down to an oyster farm. Had some there, and then came back up to the restaurant and had more. Little wooden bridge on the way to the farm.......

All we can do is keep on keeping on. I'll do so by bike, on foot, bicycle, snow machine, dog sled, whatever it takes. And if it takes another silent revolution, I'll be there, too.