we, the people, of the earth...

 the people of Rus are protesting..last week several hundred were arrested.  one was a man who wants to run against Put, of course their rules state that one can not have been arrested so they do arrest him for 15 days to try and make sure he can't run.

 in this global world, it may be getting tougher to be a dictator.  N Kor seems to be pulling it off but still i suspect more and more reality leaks into even that closed country.  the people are empowered by the other regular folks who protest i believe.  perhaps the many protests here after our mess of an election will empower others to stand up to their horrible leadership.

 news of our protests here after the travel bans did reach those abroad.  for those who thought we as a people did not care of their troubles it was a way of letting them know that many do care and want to support.

 seems every day is crazier than the last.  nice to see the senate investigation seems to be going a bit smoother than the congressional one.  Nunes has made a mess of that.  the truth will come out.  i guess Rus meddling started earlier in the election than many of us knew.  they meddled in the primaries as well.  why were they so hell bent on getting iitoo into office...that will be determined soon enough.

 these are pics from Fairbanks of course, I'm on call.  was called in once but since i don't run balloon pumps that didn't actually happen.  I'll probably try to take a rest after i write this.  it's pretty doubtful I'll be home all night.

 had been walking with a friend.  his posts on fb are generally pretty right leaning.  he brought up some political stuff gently.  i had mentioned over a week ago that i felt that one of these days Flynn would be found to have given up information before killing himself.  he laughed.  then later this week Flynn has offered to give information in exchange for immunity.  nobody is biting on that one yet. i may have been getting close to truth on that one.  i suspect people get themselves in to situations over time that if you had told them in advance they would never believe themselves capable of.  the guy seems to have had a good long record in the military.

i just figured at some point the reality of what he has allowed himself to be taken in to will be too much for his conscience.

 if he really wants to redeem himself he will stand up, speak out and take the consequences of his actions.  he can still be a hero and find a way to live with himself.

 the weeks ahead will be interesting, but mostly sad.  the divisions we have allowed in our nation have led us to be easy targets for this hacking.  we want to believe so we do, no matter what.  will those who believed the fake news targeted at them be able to let it go and realize they were duped.  will those of us who are no doubt being targeted now be able to stop before we react to stuff and double check sources.  it's easy to see headlines that make you feel vindicated and believe them...but we all must resist this.

 we all must insist on checking sources and seeking out the truth from the fiction.

 more and more i see that what we were all taught our whole lives was bull.  do not speak of politics or religion.  we need to speak.  we need to have rational discourse on all topics in order to immerse ourselves in different viewpoints and find some truth.

 we may not agree but if we can keep conversations civil we may all learn a bit about how other see things. i also think these more open conversations will make us more invested in our government and bring more people out to vote.  we have divested from our politics and our government, allowing the few to make the decisions for the many.  we must take back our government.

 i believe the first step to that is talking to each other.  it is much easier to name call and scream on facebook or twitter, but when you are standing with someone or speaking live on the phone, you naturally temper yourself.  you have to.  so much people say on these social sites they would never say to each other in a normal confrontation.

 it is sad to me that this election has put walls between so many of us. those with differing viewpoints find it easier to just block each other.  i have done this as well.  a political discussion isn't a winner take all scenario.  we should not be arguing to win, we should be discussing to understand.

 my views have changed a great deal over my life time.  i credit conversations with many folks as the reason for this.  even if at times i have found their opinions on subjects wrong at times, often as i pondered the opinion i had to admit that they had made some points.  i actually like having some of these discussions. i don't like having opinions rammed down my throat or being made to feel as if my opinions are idiotic.  that is not how a rational debate should play out.

 in order for us to alter our own opinions or those of others we must be calm, we must listen.  too often people listen only enough for a rebuttal.  their brains churning out their response as they chomp the bit to tear into you.

 I'm happy to see the people of Rus protest. i wish them the best as they, like all of us pawns on the earth, deserve the freedom to live our lives and find our peace.

 so many nations are in crisis at this time.  the crooked leaders seem to survive while the poor regular folks take the brunt of it all.  we the people of the earth are more alike than we are different.

 we may have different religions, we may have different looks and clothes and cultures but at our core.  people are quite similar.  people grow up, want a life that brings them happiness and careers that bring them some satisfaction.  we want relationships with others that bring us joy.  we mostly enjoy the beauty that exists around us.  we like to laugh.  most want to raise families to be productive and happy members of a society.

 it is one thing i like about the internet.  i like about this blog and other blogs and all these social sites...it reminds me that while i live my life here, there are many others living lives in parallel places, doing the same things, seeing the same things,enjoying the same things.

 the bad part of news and the internet is it can give you a simplistic view at times.  it can show you the same information over and over until you believe that this is the general truth of all.  i remember watching the doc white helmets.  it's in Syria, these guys respond to bombings and rescue many folks.  from the news i see it's easy to forget that there are still individuals attempting to live their lives there in Syria.

 there are good people scattered across the globe, in truth there are far, far more good people than bad people.  the evil gets too much attention but remember that the good is there.

 the good is all around you.  as the evil bears down on you via the media...try to find the beauty, the kindness.

 i have several favorite quotes...one is "practice random acts of kindness and senseless beauty".

 kindness starts with you and reverberates out from you.  it starts with a smile or opening a door for someone or holding an elevator.  picking up some litter, stopping your car while some ducks pass by.  it is in us all to be kind.

 today i feel a bit like we will find a way out of this current situation with this iitoo.  i feel a bit like the truth is creeping out and those who are fighting to hide it all are fighting a losing battle.

 will there be justice, i have no idea.  sometimes justice is not to be found in this life.  sometimes you have to accept that there will be justice in the next life.  or karma.  I'm okay with that.

 some days it is harder than others.  it can be frustrating.

 find a way to speak to those around you...lets start the new way...lets allow conversations about previously unspoken things.  even if we disagree lets have rational conversations with each other on topics.  if it gets heated lets find a way to bring a rational discussion back.

 you do not have to have multiple degrees to be capable of having an opinion, and your opinion is valid...often it is the observers in life who see the truth.  seek the truth out, be open to the fact that you may be wrong.

 if you are thinking of others as you ponder these issues i feel you will see them in a new light.  it's not all about how things impact you directly.  we are all in this together....so we have to try and think more globally.

 the dogs love to run.  i love watching them.

 lazy day today in many ways.  got good sleep. seems like the days i blow off the dog walk are the days i get called off.

 life goes on for us all.  the sun comes up and the sun goes down.

 the earth is more powerful than the beings on it.  we like to think we have control but we do not have control...we only can control how we react.  the human spirit has an amazing ability to do this no matter what horrible situations are thrust upon us.  those are the stories that often amaze us all...the stories of those who are in the worst situations and yet somehow find a way to react internally in some positive way.  they can beat you and they can kill you but they can't take that away from those who have that ability.  it's always inspiring.  off to nap in case that phone rings again.

grateful for:  A.  opinions and sharing opinions.  B.  freedom of speech  C.  those who serve and protect and defend our way of life.

it's kind of Monday..

 my work stretch begins tonight.  we shall see how it goes.

 yesterday i had skills fair.  it's a necessary evil of my work.  they have streamlined it as much as possible so i give them credit for that.  i also add in doing ICU skills fair.  i have for past few years also done ER's but when i looked at doing it yesterday they had moved it to another building...so i would either need to walk for a bit in snowy conditions or drive to another building.

 annoying as hell.  if this isn't convenient, it isn't happening.  texted another friend who floats there and she doesn't do the ER skills fair.  we got no email about it so i let myself off the hook and took the pups to the dog park.

 these are on another outing with dog friends last week i think.

 the pups seemed pretty amp'd up after being left at home while i did the skills fair.  jumping at a premium for Ivy Rose.

 trying to train this out of her, of course, the other humans can not be made to behave how you desire of them.  this doesn't make them at fault in any way. she is my dog and therefore the jumping is on me.  one lady seemed bent on training her with her own tactics despite me letting her know those tactics have not worked and the best thing i've found is to just turn your back and ignore her attempts at attention.

 best with her on this seems to be no touch, no talk, no eye contact.  total Cesar moves.  she kept just pushing Ivy off, which made Ivy jump more and more and more.  i'm pretty sure at this point any attention Ivy gets for this behavior just says to her brain, "cool, i totally got the human to play with me"  if you add verbal even better.  so exciting.  overall, i would say the jumping has decreased.  there are fewer incidences and i am able to do better at distracting her or just grabbing her and hanging on until the human has passed.

 we got buckets of snow yesterday. it is that heavy spring snow.  i was laughing though as people up here were bitching right and left about this snow like it's really unusual or something.  in truth, it's not even April yet so snow is totally normal this time of year.  we are still working our way into break up season...which is what we call the season between winter and spring.

 the lakes and rivers all around us up here remain totally frozen.  it may be starting to get sketchy as far as driving on them around Anchorage at least but we are still in a frozen state at this time.  those lakes and rivers will begin to break up over the next month.

 our temps are overall warmer and the sun is out longer and longer which speeds up this break up process.  i think we had a week of warmer weather that just teased folks into believing that winter was behind us.

 i have seen snow up here in July...it can happen anytime in this state.

 the 8+ inches we got yesterday will quickly melt off i'm sure...that is spring snow. good for making snowmen though.

 Ivy ran off a lot of energy in Homer...i really should live at a beach again...miss my Ketchikan days for that anyway. love the sounds of the sea and the tides and tide pools.  those were awesome in southeast AK.

 these are from a sunset i enjoyed before heading to homer last weekend.

 pups are sleeping right now.  i'm sure as soon as i stand up that will change.  they do love their walks.  not sure where i'll go today.

 news continues depressing.

 keep waiting for some big break that opens it all up and ends this hell.  in the meantime executive orders keep getting signed that may destroy some important elements of our society.

 happy at least with the level of dysfunction that seems to exist in the current admin.  iitoo is going after his own party members...the freedom caucus. i may be wrong but i think it's those extreme right folks who are the ones that still show up at his campaign rally's...yes campaign.  he turned in paperwork to run for the 2020 election on his inauguration day.  this is part to do with being able to collect donations, part to be able to control who attends any public gathering he wants to have and part to do with what can or can't be said about him by certain groups.  non-profits i believe.

 everything he does seems to benefit himself and his family and the other wealthy members of our society that surround him.  as always in his life it seems.  he has a hoard of lawyers that do their best to keep him just on this side of legal in all endeavors.  all the talk of how corrupt others are when he is as corrupt as they come.  it's laughable if it wasn't the reality we live with at this time.

 saw some reporting that Rus had an entire network of people to create fake news to influence our election.  much of this fake news that was thrown at people is still what they believe to be true and no amount of evidence will dissuade them it seems.

 also Nunes to me is looking like a patsy to this regime.  probably another fall guy.  got caught sucking up to the power in place in hopes of personal gain no doubt.....it may come back to bite him.  hoping when all is said and done these folks who have not stood up will be taken down.  i've no doubt they will all be ditched by iitoo.  he could care less how many of them get trampled and destroyed as long as he remains above it all....

 iitoo may at last do one thing right that was a campaign promise.  he may succeed in draining the swamp..it will be a swamp of mostly GOP members though.  i'm not saying that there aren't some swampy folks in the Dem camp...but right now it's looking pretty swampy in the GOP.  if we survive this with our Democracy intact we will need to really make sure we take steps to prevent this sort of thing from reoccurring or it will be back in the next election and the next and the next...until they will be successful in destroying us.

 below are from Seward...

 i'm still left wondering how much money do these people need.  are they never satisfied.  i can see why the Bible warns us over and over of the evils of money.  this is for sure an example of how money and power corrupt people.  there is never enough for these people.  makes me grateful for me relatively simple life.  i have more than i need and i could improve my relationship with money and material goods as well.  it is a lesson for all on the evils that come from greed.

 Lowell Point is always a favorite spot. i  will say the road was pretty crappy.  i ended up parking and walking.

 Tusker is doing well on his swimming skills.  do want to get them to the local dog pool and keep forgetting to sign us up...but i want to make sure Ivy isn't forced into the pool.  i want her to not be scared.  i sense she'll get in on her own at some point.  good for her to know how to swim though...and it would be another way to wear her sweet self out

 great little houses out there.  not too many and in the event of a tsunami they will be wiped out.

 watched a favorite movie i have not seen in ages, Once.  enjoyed as usual.  great music in that movie as well.

 pups had a great time running on the beaches.  thinking i'll see how full the rovers run parking lot is.  maybe a good and easy place to get to.  will start to have to avoiding all rivers and lakes though for puppy safety though.

 this crew of 7-8 sea lions showed up while we were at the beach in Seward.  it was so funny to watch.  they were very curious about the puppies and the puppies were equally curious about them.  the pups were watching from the shore and these sea lions kept craning their necks out of the water to look at the puppies. went on for some time.

 thankfully, the pups seemed to know better than to attempt to venture much closer to the sea lions.  not sure that would go well for them.  sea lions can be pretty brutal hunters.

 would not want my sweet puppies to end up on the sea lion menu

 this is as close as they got.  no doubt those sea lions could have made a pretty fast movement towards shore if they desired.  excellent swimmers.  haven't heard of many sea lion/dog attacks though.  if it were orca's i'm sure i would have leashed these guys up for sure.

 always fun to watch the wild life in Alaska.  have been very blessed and it really just makes me want to protect our natural places more.

 one can hope that right will prevail and greed will fail.  that isn't always how it works in this world though...

 for now there is the beauty and the awesomeness of all that has been created and we should all vow to be stewards of all that is beautiful and all that was created.

 lots of snow on those mountains and i think the Kenai was in for more snow like we got.  happy i got my drive in before the worst of the snowstorm hit.

 more of my sea lion friends.

 can never get enough of this.  can't fathom ever leaving this place and more and more i find myself not even wanting to leave for a vacation elsewhere...why with so much to see here it feels like to me.

 Tusker with sea lions off shore.

 Ivy with sea lions...guess i better get myself moving. the pups will do better with me at work if they are a little bit worn out.  cloudy out.  haven't even looked at what the weather is up to. cloudy...perhaps some light snow at times.  i can survive that.  walking in this slushy snow is always a bit challenging and my knee has been a bit sore since this weekend.  probably twisted it on the beach at some point.

grateful for:  A.  rational and involved folks who are doing the leg work of all of this.  thank you fellow citizens  B. the luxury that i have in my life that allows me the extra joys like dogs, walks, freedom  C.  family and friends who allow me to ramble on